Asymptomatic

There must be intelligent life down here

Technical Books Are Broken
April 09, 2012

Write Your Own Adventure ProgramsOn a family trip to the Computer Museum in Boston I convinced my parents to buy me a copy of Write Your Own Adventure Programs for Your Microcomputer, since I was an Infocom junkie and had been writing my own “adventure programs” for some time already. I think this was my first technical book, and it was the first technical book that I met with disappointment.

I’m not sure how I picked up programming prior to books. Probably a combination of experimentation and entering programs from magazines. Unlike the other few kids I knew who also had computers, I didn’t spend a lot of time playing games. I mostly wrote code. Technical manuals that helped with this were rare.

Culture of Exclusion - A Response
April 05, 2012

Super Happy Block Party #shbpSkippy recently provided me a link to Ryan Funduk’s post on Our Culture Of Exclusion, which is all about how - in addition to the implication of women being excluded from technology by gender - technology conferences are exclusionary of anyone who doesn’t want to drink themselves into a stupor afterwards.

I have not personally ever excluded anyone based on their not wanting to drink. I have excluded non-drinking people based on their personality or other behavior, and have tried to be polite as possible about it. (Dude sat at our table while I was trying to chat with a couple of other guys about something not explicitly tech-related, like travel, and started yammering about his experience with Linux – time to get out of dodge.) But that they weren’t drinking wasn’t a factor in my decision.

My Bed Has a Remote Control
April 04, 2012

Logitech Harmony 650I currently enjoy operating my new Tivo via the iPhone interface. This is unusual because I’m very committed to the idea that remote controls should have physical buttons. I like being able to navigate the controls of my appliances using touch alone, and the iPhone screen not only doesn’t have any tactile feedback to let me know where the buttons are, but also has nothing to detect pressure, so merely placing my fingers against the glass is enough to trigger any of the on-screen buttons.

What I like about the Tivo interface is that it communicates bi-directionally with the device. I can see the TV guide along with what shows have been recorded, and instantly start any of those shows on-screen simply by touching them. Normally, I’d need to operate the controls to navigate through the Tivo’s on-screen menus, which is tedious and (ironically) not as well-designed as the UI on the phone.

In Search of Desktop Apps
April 03, 2012

I’m not sure why, but I crave more interaction with my desktop. The exact things that I can’t seem to get out of iOS and the things that happen more readily in WP7 are what I want on my Windows desktop. I don’t really want gadgets, per se, but I’d really like some applications that served specific purposes and worked really well.

For example, I’ve been complaining about the to-do list app forever. I realize that this can be done (to some incomplete extent) by using a web service. But the only gateway to that is via something like Chrome’s application shortcuts, which are useful, but are still a website inside of Chrome without complete access to desktop features (notification tray, integration with other applications, additional shaped window features, and on and on.).

Where I am right now
March 25, 2012

It’s a cocktail/coffee shop with nice cakes and affordable sandwiches. The staff is efficient and friendly, not just courteous, and not so chummy that it’s ok to forget a spoon with your chai. The furniture is worn, like that used chair you hated to get rid of because it was so comfortable but eventually wore out, and they recycled it with a little love and carefully, yet artfully applied upholstery. There are some love seats, and some deeper chairs, but most of the seating is movable and comfortable, while allowing access to coffee and work tables.

There are tapestries. Sure, they’re like the old stone castle wall hangings, but a bit more modern and eclectic. Long and printed with modern patterns, these separate the open windows and decorate the architectural sections of the environment. The sound in the rooms is muffled, so that you can still hear that there are other groups of people talking, but you can’t hear the conversation across the room echo off of cold concrete blocks. There are coves for small groups to meet and chat and throw in ideas. The lighting is not harsh, spotted so that it hits just the right places where you’d put your work. There are attractive, movable floor-standing lamps, just in case.