Photo by freefotouk [Flickr]
“It was the damnedest thing; I walked right past a group of those computer geek types and they were organized into two sides arguing about, of all things, rest versus soap. I’m not kidding. Don’t they realize they could use a lot more of both?” - the same non-techie who walked past [...]
Entries Tagged as 'coding'
Is your Web API painful to use? 4 common mistakes that scream “YES!”
December 11th, 2008 · No Comments
Tags: coding · first impressions · hard knocks · how-to
The Paradox of Change: Rewrite that Web App
August 26th, 2008 · No Comments
Those working at the highest levels of abstraction inherit the most change from below.
Your application framework may be like standing on the shoulders of a giant, but that giant is a beneficiary of an entire civilization, which is nested on the ground of the Earth, which itself is locked in orbit around the Sun, which [...]
Tags: coding · hard knocks · how-to · mindshare
If You Aren’t Hosting Your Own Software For Real Customers Then Prepare to Lose
May 15th, 2008 · 1 Comment
The world is full of commercial software developers who breathe a huge sigh of relief when they ship a new release of their project. They start thinking about vacations. I used to be able to relate to that.
Before starting WGM, I used to be among the purist crowd who considered the ability to [...]
Tags: coding · hard knocks · mindshare · startup life
Dear Mr. Falsely Idealistic Software Zealot (Who Really Wants Everything For Free)
February 22nd, 2008 · 3 Comments
Paraphrased e-mail:
“You should be ashamed of yourselves for charging for software built on free software!”
Hey Potential Customer Who Feels All Software Should Be Free,
I wanted to write you a quick note about your “free software stack” jab.
Libraries, frameworks, languages and operating systems are the prime candidates for being open-source software. Hobbyists, professionals and students can [...]
Tags: coding · delirium · hard knocks · startup life
Remember The Milk: 1 Month Review & Tips
December 30th, 2007 · 2 Comments
Remember the Milk is web-based task management app.
It’s been a month since I made Remember The Milk (RTM) part of my daily life. At this point, I’d go through massive withdrawals if I had to “Forget The Milk”.
Tips:
It’s not very obvious that you can edit multiple tasks at the same time by pressing ‘m‘. [...]
Tags: coding · reviews · startup life
Atlassian Responds to “JIRA is Annoying”
December 13th, 2007 · 2 Comments
After my post “JIRA Is More Annoying Than Having to Eat Three Times A Day” was published yesterday, Jon Silvers from Atlassian (developers of JIRA) stopped by and left a friendly comment.
I’m incredibly impressed that my tongue-in-cheek critique came to his attention so quickly.
Hey Jon,
First, thanks for commenting! I’m glad you [...]
Tags: coding · hard knocks · mindshare · startup life
JIRA is More Annoying Than Having to Eat Three Times a Day
December 12th, 2007 · 9 Comments
Photo by bocavermelha
Up until I snapped a few minutes ago, I wasn’t sure anything could be more annoying than having to eat every day. After all, I’ve been told by close friends that I’d be a happier entity if I was simply a brain in a jar, left entirely to its own thoughts. I don’t [...]
Tags: coding · delirium · hard knocks · startup life
I Learned My Most Important Software Lessons in BASIC
December 9th, 2007 · 6 Comments
Photo by Balakov
I’ve been programming for about 16 years now.
I almost called this my “Most Important Programming Lessons”, but I consider writing software to involve far more than a mastery over programming arcana.
When I first discovered source code, I didn’t pick up a manual and start reading about data structures and flow control. That [...]
Tags: coding · hard knocks · startup life
How to Share Tasks in a Dependable Way That Your Team Will Actually Use
December 4th, 2007 · 3 Comments
Photo by jazzmasterson
If we’re anything alike, you also use a wild tangle of web applications to manage your life or job. We all love web applications — they’re often inexpensive (if not free) and they allow us access our data from almost anywhere. If you have a modern cellphone then you’ve probably also felt the [...]
Tags: coding · startup life