sambeau

64 ms·

661.
Star Wars lightsabers finally invented(theguardian.com)
3 points by sambeau 13y ago|0 comments
662.
Twitter files for Thanksgiving IPO (theguardian.com)
1 points by sambeau 13y ago|0 comments
663.
by sambeau 13y ago
Yes, I chose to stop there for pragmatic reasons, however, the intention was always to add the other 4, 5 & 6 byte forms if/when needed. This was as much as I needed to test my wide char code (and to parse written languages e.g. Ch
664.
by sambeau 13y ago
I was on the Amiga at that point and even if there was a free compiler it was never on the shareware disk it was supposed to be on and there was usually a bit missing. I got a copy of Turbo-C (with a book, maybe?) and programmed (on a PC)
665.
by sambeau 13y ago
In my experience it isn't the IT managers who trust Gartner —it's the IT-managers' managers. Is this just because non-IT managers don't trust what IT managers say? If so then this is a case of shifting the burden of resp
666.
by sambeau 13y ago
Serious Question: Why does anyone care what Gartner think? I have worked with companies that cared more about getting into some quadrant of some Gartner graph than they cared about the quality of their products. Is Gartner more than just a
667.
by sambeau 13y ago
I learned to program in C in the late 80s, before the web, and then went on to do a CS degree at university. Learning to code was very difficult in those days. 1. There were no free compilers outside of academia. 2. Compilers cost hundred
668.
The NSA files(theguardian.com)
7 points by sambeau 13y ago|0 comments
669.
by sambeau 13y ago
I can confirm. I have also worked with a number of programmers who have been 5x as productive as an average programmer and one who was easily 10x, possibly more. My old manager handed Mr 10x a company chequebook and said "write your ow
670.
The end of Airplane mode in the US - and UK?(theguardian.com)
1 points by sambeau 13y ago|0 comments
671.
by sambeau 13y ago
I once wrote a programming language that used UTF-8. I was rather proud of this hack that succinctly allowed UTF-8 variable / function names. I went searching for it and, sure enough, I still like it. BAD_UTF8 = [\xC0\xC1\xF5-\xFF]
672.
by sambeau 13y ago
I agree with everything you say here. My only question is: is the process you describe for new problem areas actually TDD? EDIT: I've just been introduced to the concept of 'Spikes' which sound very much like this.
673.
by sambeau 13y ago
OK lets examine the commonly accepted meaning of Agile Development and see where TDD fits in. TDD is at odds with half of the Agile Manifesto, namely: * Individuals and interactions over processes and tools * Responding to change over follo
674.
by sambeau 13y ago
If you are iterating their isn't always distinct prototypes — just quick first-draft implementations. Sometimes these are good enough. In my experience once everyone is happy with the way something works then it is sensible to move to
675.
by sambeau 13y ago
I say exactly that in my comment. I'm not suggesting that tests shouldn't be written — I'm suggesting that tests shouldn't be re-written without just cause.
676.
by sambeau 13y ago
What designer? Small agile teams don't have a designer and a 'front-end guy' and a 'PM' and an 'architect'. They often only have one and in my case he (I) is also the PM (or PO in our case). Design-led s
677.
by sambeau 13y ago
In fact, it's not wanting to change the tests that causes the problem here This is the point I was making. Programmers never want to change the tests as, often, it has taken as long to create the tests than it did to write the code.
678.
by sambeau 13y ago
My problem with TDD is that it, fundamentally, isn't agile. It either relies on a waterfall-like process where the full design is known before-hand and therefore what tests have to be written, or it locks a programmer (and designer) in
679.
Google unveils major upgrade to search algorithm (bbc.co.uk)
1 points by sambeau 13y ago|0 comments
680.
by sambeau 13y ago
I'd love to see this for Scotland. I'd be tempted to buy my favourite Hebrides.
681.
by sambeau 13y ago
"In other words, they are still guessing" That's called science. Only it isn't guessing.
682.
by sambeau 13y ago
Phil Plait's Bad Astronomy Blog has a good piece on Climate Change Denial too: "And I’ll remind you that while denialists are distracting everyone about the “pause”, about climate sensitivity, and all that, the Arctic sea ice is
683.
IPCC climate report: humans 'dominant cause' of warming(bbc.co.uk)
31 points by sambeau 13y ago|41 comments
684.
The man who makes £100,000 watches(bbc.co.uk)
1 points by sambeau 13y ago|0 comments
685.
by sambeau 13y ago
The behaviour displayed in the video could easily have been from the UK. I suspect it applies to any large multi-lane highway / motorway / autobahn etc It was really interesting to see this as it demonstrates behaviour I've b
686.
by sambeau 13y ago
While there may be more cars doing return journeys I suspect there will not be the same level of traffic jams as the cars return. 1. Most outward trips would be chained: drop 1, drop 2, drop 3, return to base; rather than: drop 1, return to
687.
by sambeau 13y ago
I think this is a step-backwards. It's a terribly flawed concept for two reasons: 1) the screen is already an infinitely customisable graphical touch UI 2) you need to set your portable device down on a flat surface to use it Without i
688.
by sambeau 13y ago
The two main ways self-driving cars could clear up traffic jams are: * Far fewer cars needed — as more cars could be shared * Far fewer parked cars — as cars needn't stay with the 'driver' The two cases are linked: a car that
689.
by sambeau 13y ago
I only ever saw retweeted or starred tweets from it (as I quit direct twitter a while back, deciding instead to view it only through Stellar). I had assumed that what I saw was a tiny proportion of tweets — those that were funny and/or
690.
by sambeau 13y ago
Am I alone in being slightly disappointed to discover that Horse_ebooks is not a robot? I've had to conduct a mini-self analysis on this news, as I find myself disappointed. Why? All I can come up with is that I found joy in the befudd

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