Software development is a somewhat abstract process and, often, estimating the path from feature ideation to completion is an exercise in guesswork.  An unfortunate fact of life as a web engineer is that building blocks involved are often undocumented, unsupported, incomplete, and/or convoluted.  If, like me, you work in a distributed environment, your different team members surely have different Read the article >>

This post is a visual history of Microsoft Windows.  For more from our Visual History Series: Mac OS X Microsoft Windows Linux/Ubuntu (coming soon) iPod (coming soon) iPhone (coming soon) Android (coming soon) Netscape/Firefox (coming soon) Safari (coming soon) IE (coming soon) Super Mario (coming soon) Legend Of Zelda (coming soon) Sonic The Hedgehog (coming soon) Bomberman (coming Read the article >>

Visual History Series Mac OS X Microsoft Windows Ubuntu (coming soon) iPod (coming soon) iPhone (coming soon) Android (coming soon) Netscape/Firefox (coming soon) Safari (coming soon) IE (coming soon) Super Mario (coming soon) Legend Of Zelda (coming soon) Sonic The Hedgehog (coming soon) Bomberman (coming soon) Pac Man (coming soon) Metroid (coming soon) Do Read the article >>

After 4 years of building, fixing, and managing software, I've come to realize that the default state of everything is failure. Chances are that your fancy feature doesn't work when you first ship.  That new process probably has plenty of holes in it.   Everything is a work in progress, and your world is in perpetual beta. In startup life, there are TWO worlds you live in.  One that celebrates Read the article >>

As an aspiring guitarist, I've noticed that music, like other forms of creative art, painting, drawing, or design, require high amounts of passion, enthusiasm, and resolve.   More and more, I've found the same about development -- developers do their best work when they are working on something that they are personally passionate about.  Software engineering is a fundamentally creative practice -- Read the article >>

If you're anything like me, you get a knot in your stomach in the morning when you check your inbox. Emails are imposing.  Sometimes, they come with an expectation of response.  Often, there is a task to be completed before I can give that response.  To add insult to injury, my inbox is a bottomless jumbled mess of action items that are different priorities.  It represents a footrace towards Read the article >>

I'm a classically trained programmer.  That means that in school, they taught me C++, Java, Lisp, and a handful of other techie stuff.  There was a class which included 'the lifecycle of applications', but, beyond that, I've never been really trained in any of the softer skills associated with software engineering. One of the things that I've learned in the past year is the importance of dialogue Read the article >>

A few days ago, I was taking a break from hacking to get some coffee downstairs.  StepOut's offices are on the 4th floor, so I press the 'down' button, enter the elevator, and take out my iPhone.  One tweet, 25 seconds later, and I'm downstairs.  Cross the street.  Light's red.  Take out phone, scroll more tweets.  There's a line at Starbucks.  Check Email.  Still waiting in line -- Better Read the article >>