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Jim Hugunin leaves Microsoft and IronPython
Today marks the end of a crazy six year journey for me at Microsoft. I clearly remember my brutal first 8 months at this company as I worked with lawyers, marketing folks and execs to figure out if and how we could release IronPython as an open source project from Microsoft. The final approval for that release came…
Computing at scale, or, how Google has warped my brain
A number of people at Google have stickers on their laptops that read "my other computer is a data center." Having been at Google for almost...
99 Out Of 100 Programmers Can’t Program – I Call BS
Why the claim that 99 in 100 programmers can't program says more about a company's job ads and interviews than about programmers.
The interruptible programmer
I’m 37, and I’ve been a (professional) developer for 16 years. You would have thought that in that time, I’d have figured out an effective work style which delivered the desired outcomes (code cut, products shipped etc) without causing detrimental knock-on effects - but, sadly, you’d be wrong. I think the style in…
My zero-equity co-founders
One of the unusual aspects of my online backup startup is that I'm a sole founder. Despite such commentary as Gabriel Weinberg's Will single founders please stand up? and Ray Grieselhuber's The Royal We: Single Founder Startups , single-founder startups are still unusual and carry with them some stigma — Paul Graham…
How to get a job at a kick-ass startup (for programmers)
When I finished college, I was incredibly naive when it came to finding a great job. I knew that I...
Why are technical recruiters so clueless?
Are there any recruiters working in technology who get it? Anyone putting in just a minimum of effort to appear even half-way competent? If so, they need to speak up. The reputation of their profession is being soiled by completely clueless hacks. Here’s a pitch I just got this morning: …
What developers think when you say "Rock Star"
When you say "rock star" in your job post, you're discouraging the best software developers from contacting you. When you write, "We're looking for a rock star developer." A developer sees, "We...
The Clean Coder: The Craftsman 62, The Dark Path.
Fri, 17 Mar 2002, 14:00 "Hey Alphonse," Jerry called as I walked by, "let's do a bit of practice. I've got a kata I'd like to show you." ...
Why I Love the Khan Academy
Salman Khan, the principal behind the Khan Academy material, understands something very important that emanates throughout all of his lectures whether they be on calculus, projectile motion, or thermodynamics: There is a difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something.