technology trends
If you haven’t been able to keep up with my blistering pace of one blog post per year, I don’t blame you. There’s a lot going on right now. It’s a busy time. But let’s pause and take a moment to celebrate that Elon Musk
programming languages
I didn’t choose to be a programmer. Somehow, it seemed, the computers chose me. For a long time, that was fine, that was enough; that was all I needed. But along the way I never felt that being a programmer was this unambiguously great-for-everyone career field with zero downsides.
technology trends
Since I started working on Discourse, I spend a lot of time thinking about how software can encourage and nudge people to be more empathetic online. That’s why it’s troubling to read articles like this one: My brother’s 32nd birthday is today. It’s an especially emotional
programming languages
These two imaginary guys influenced me heavily as a programmer. Instead of guaranteeing fancy features or compatibility or error free operation, Beagle Bros software promised something else altogether: fun. Playing with the Beagle Bros quirky Apple II floppies in middle school and high school, and the smorgasboard of oddball hobbyist
eink
Sure, smartphones and tablets get all the press, and deservedly so. But if you place the original mainstream eInk device from 2007, the Amazon Kindle, side by side with today’s model, the evolution of eInk devices is just as striking. Each of these devices has a 6 inch eInk
user experience
Most discussions show a bit of information next to each user: What message does this send? * The only number you can control printed next to your name is post count. * Everyone who reads this will see your current post count. * The more you post, the bigger that number next to
user experience
I’ve long believed that the design of your software has a profound impact on how users behave within your software. But there are two sides to this story: * Encouraging the “right” things by making those things intentionally easy to do. * Discouraging the “wrong” things by making those things intentionally
programming languages
Computer performance is a bit of a shell game. You’re always waiting for one of four things: * Disk * CPU * Memory * Network But which one? How long will you wait? And what will you do while you’re waiting? Did you see the movie “Her”? If not, you should. It’
user experience
I’m getting pretty sick of being nagged to install your damn apps. XKCD helpfully translates: Yeah, there are smart app banners, which are marginally less annoying, but it’s amazing how quickly we went from “Cool! Phone apps that finally don’t suck!” to this sad, eye rolling, oh-great-of-course-you-have-an-app-too
web development
It’s been six years since I wrote Discussions: Flat or Threaded? and, despite a bunch of evolution on the web since then, my opinion on this has not fundamentally changed. If anything, my opinion has strengthened based on the observed data: precious few threaded discussion models survive on the
user experience
For the last year or so, I’ve been getting these two page energy assessment reports in the mail from Pacific Gas & Electric, our California utility company, comparing our household’s energy use to those of the houses around us. Here’s the relevant excerpts from the latest report;
touchscreens
I’m a little embarrassed to admit how much I like the Surface RT. I wasn’t expecting a lot when I ordered it, but after a day of use, I realized this was more than Yet Another Gadget. It might represent a brave new world of laptop design. How