.net
As part of my new advertising initiative, Microsoft and I are teaming up to donate $10,000 in support of open source .NET projects. Why am I focusing on .NET open source projects? In short, because open source projects are treated as second-class citizens in the Microsoft ecosystem. Many highly
technology trends
In a recent post, Dave Shea documented his love/hate relationship with the pixel grid: Here’s the caveat though – high resolution displays. At 100dpi, ClearType wins out, but we’re not going to be stuck here much longer. Give it a few years, let’s do this comparison again
programming languages
Dennis Forbes took issue with my recent post on C# and the Compilation Tax, offering this criticism, pointedly titled “Beginners and Hacks:” Sometimes [background compilation and edit and continue] are there to coddle a beginner, carefully keeping them within the painted lines and away from the dangerous electrical sockets along
programming languages
If you didn’t get a chance to watch today’s historic interview between Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, you should. Finally seeing these two computer industry giants on stage interacting with each other was fascinating and at times even a little touching. * Steve Jobs and Bill Gates Prologue * Steve
computer hardware
I’ve never understood programmers who loved the craft of programming, but were disinterested in the underlying hardware – the very tool that allows them to practice their craft. I have an unabashed love for computer hardware that borders on inappropriate. I’m not ashamed to admit it. Warning: this post
hardware
In When Hardware is Free, Power is Expensive, I referenced a Google whitepaper (pdf) that explained why typical PC power supplies are not particularly efficient: Most likely, the computer you’re using wastes 30-40% of the electrical power it consumes because it is using an inefficient power supply. It’s
software development concepts
Bill Gates has often said that over time, the cost of computer hardware approaches zero. Here’s one such example: Ten years out, in terms of actual hardware costs you can almost think of hardware as being free. History has proven him right. Computer hardware isn’t literally free, of
hardware
The mouse wheel is so integral to my mousing experience now that it’s difficult to imagine using a GUI without one. Although I clearly remember using mice without scroll wheels, I can’t recall exactly when the transition occurred – when mouse wheels became a standard, expected feature on every
programming languages
It’s hard to imagine now, but in the early days of Microsoft, Bill Gates was an actual programmer. One bit of hard evidence is the BASIC program DONKEY.BAS included with original IBM PCs running IBM DOS 1.10. The history of this weird little program is covered in
user experience
Asa Raskin, the son of the late Jef Raskin, recently gave a presentation at Google on the work his company, Humanized, is doing. It’s largely a continuation of the work of his father. One of the most interesting aspects of Jef’s work was zoomable user interfaces. Asa’s
programming languages
My all-time favorite programming quote has to be this Nathaniel Borenstein bon mot: It should be noted that no ethically-trained software engineer would ever consent to write a DestroyBaghdad procedure. Basic professional ethics would instead require him to write a DestroyCity procedure, to which Baghdad could be given as a
podcast
It was my great honor to participate in this week’s episode of .NET Rocks! .NET Rocks! is a long running internet radio talk show for software developers that goes all the way back to 2002. I’ve listened to their shows off and on for years. They’ve interviewed