This post over at The Daily WTF struck a chord with me. I can definitely feel the pain of trying to explain programming to non-programmer – or even just explaining what it is I do. Most times, I just get blank stares. To most people, “I work with computers” is the only thing they understand.… Continue reading On Being a Programmer in a World of Non-Programmers
Category: tech
Long-term Away Messages
Recently, I’ve started using Instant Messaging software again after a long hiatus. I stopped using it (for a variety of reasons) shortly after I left college (back in 2001). Now that I’m back “on IM,” there’s some things I’ve noticed – some of which I used to do myself, but that now just annoy me.… Continue reading Long-term Away Messages
Applying Old Laws to New Technology
You’ve probably heard of the RIAA and the MPAA (the Recording Industry Association of America and the Motion Picture Association of America, respectively) before. They’ve been in the news a lot lately – suing old people who don’t have a computer for sharing mp3 files on the Internet and so forth. A recent Slashdot story… Continue reading Applying Old Laws to New Technology
“What is a blog” – In Plain English
Stumbled across a neat video, explaining what a blog is and what the big deal is about them these days. It’s a really good video, too – it does a really good job of explaining (to the non-technical enthusiast audience) why blogs are so popular (and so important). I highly recommend giving it a view,… Continue reading “What is a blog” – In Plain English
On The Other Hand – or, Don’t Steal the Focus: Part 2
Touching again on the whole topic of “don’t steal the focus,” I thought I’d point out that the Microsoft Windows Vista User Experience Guidelines has an entire section just on Error Messages, and wouldn’t you know… they advise you not to steal the focus from the user. Although they may sometimes be guilty of violating… Continue reading On The Other Hand – or, Don’t Steal the Focus: Part 2