usability
From Engadget’s review of the iRiver H10: So the first thing we noticed about this player when we opened it up was, unfortunately, a huge orange flyer [. . .] From Larry Osterman’s review of the iRiver H10: My concerns started when I opened the box. To the left of the
naming conventions
Alan Green rails against the meaninglessness of SomethingManager: How many classes do you come across named SomethingManager? Any decent sized commercial system seems to have plenty – SessionManager, ConnectionManager, PolicyManager, QueueManager, UrlManager, ConfigurationManager, or even, sadly, EJBManager. A quick look at the dictionary entry for “manager” and “manage” gives at least
programming languages
Tom’s criticism of Mikael Grey’s article, How to Become a Rock Star Programmer, starts off promisingly enough: Let’s start with the title. There is no such thing as a “Rock Star Programmer,” so if you want to become one, you already have problems that reading a blog
furniture
A few years ago, I did a bit of research on computer desks and decided on this AnthroCart model: And it’s a fantastic computer desk. But its Wife Acceptance Factor (WAF) is abysmal for a few reasons: * It’s absolutely enormous * It’s black * It’s design is better
usability
I’m currently re-reading the book About Face. I hadn’t revisited this book since I bought the original version way back in 1995. The update, which was published in 2003, is a significant overhaul – and frankly much better than the original. Adding the second author, Robert Reimann, was
software development concepts
I was struck by a comment in Steve Yegge’s not-so-new blog: How could you have arrived at [the conclusion that top tech companies do a good job at interviewing] after reading this blog entry? Did you read a different post than the one I wrote? I said
usability
The Windows Live Local mapping service is surprisingly difficult to use. It certainly looks simple enough: Like everyone else, the first thing I do when I encounter a new mapping solution is try my current address. In this case it’s my work address. But when I press enter, I
rapid prototyping
This Gamasutra article highlights some intriguing real world experiences in rapid prototyping: The project started in Spring 2005 with the goal of discovering and rapidly prototyping as many new forms of gameplay as possible. A team of four grad students, we locked ourselves in a room for a semester with
password management
I have fifty online logins, and I can’t remember any of them. What’s my password? I can’t use the same password for every website. That’s not secure. So every password is unique and specific to that website. And what’s my login name? Hopefully it’s
software development
One of the peculiarities of software development is how rapidly knowledge becomes obsolete. Dan Appleman cited a parable from Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass which illustrates this wonderfully: ‘Now! Now!’ cried the Queen. ‘Faster! Faster!’ And they went so fast that at last they seemed to skim through
.net
Richard Grimes recently posted an Analysis of .NET Use in Longhorn and Vista, wherein he draws two conclusions: 1. Between PDC 2003 and the release of Vista Beta 1, Microsoft has decided that it is better to use native code for the operating system 2. Microsoft has shown no intention
programming
It’s remarkable how much you can learn from other programmers. Not by reading their code, mind you, but by realizing that programmers are human beings. Nowhere is that more evident than these two collections of interviews with notable programmers: Both Programmers At Work: Interviews with 19 Programmers Who Shaped