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Older Developers: Bad Habits Are Killing Your Career
9 Comments | Posted by Dave in Developers
OK, so my last post about five pervasive myths about older software developers was definitely getting a lot of:
Go old guys!
“Old guys! Old guys! Rah-rah-rah!”
in the comments. And it wasn’t necessarily undeserved…after all, it was about debunking myths that have crept in as supposed truisms over the years. But I left out a tiny little detail about something important.
Read more on Older Developers: Bad Habits Are Killing Your Career…
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Five Pervasive Myths About Older Software Developers
49 Comments | Posted by Dave in Developers
I recently celebrated my 40th birthday. A friend joked to me, “Hey, guess that means you’re too old to program anymore!” I laughed on the outside, but it gave me pause. Age discrimination is nothing to laugh about in our field. COBOL guys faced this problem years ago as Java guys like me were ascending the ranks, and we laughed heartily about legacy code and their inflexibility with new technology.
Read more on Five Pervasive Myths About Older Software Developers…
About 12 years ago, I was a member of the Professional Services Group for a C++ tools company. They created a great framework for C++ classes, particularly dates and strings, that really didn’t exist in a standard format at the time. They dominated the market because their tools were second-to-none.
Read more on Trust But Verify, A Consulting Love Story…
Diablo II (DII) may be an old game but it’s a classic. I’m one of thousands who gave up hours and hours of my life to it. I have very fond memories of those times, staying up late with my friends on the phone, hacking evil monsters to bits, making the world safe again. I think it’s a great form of geek therapy where no matter how bad your day was at work, taking out all the monsters on the Arreat Summit would somehow make things feel right and good in the world.
And with all that time invested in the game, there were a few lessons that are very applicable to real-world software development. With Diablo III now generating a new wave of excitement for Blizzard’s series, I thought I’d share my insights from my favorite game of the early 21st century.
Read more on Developer Lessons from Diablo II…
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Android App Store: The Cure Is Worse Than The Disease
3 Comments | Posted by Dave in Companies, Software
iPhone app development is a pain–onerous approval process, random rejections, lousy development environment, a requirement where all developers need to get Apple tattoos, the list goes on. But is Android the platform that is poised to take the crown from the Cupertino Competition? Android has its share of problems too…
Outsourcing: The word American developers love to hate. There are lots of stories out there about failed efforts that involve offshore development (“offshoring”). I even have a few myself. But this post is not about bashing outsourcing countries, the cheapskates that hire them, or the project managers who can’t control the resulting chaos. This is about understanding why we have such a difficult time making offshore development work before any of those folks get involved.
Read more on The Real Reason Outsourcing Continues To Fail…
Since we’re on the topic of hiring and interviewing, let me regale you with a story about two developers. This is an entirely fictional tale, but drawn from real-world observation and experience over 17 years of employment.
Read more on Hiring Ren and Stimpy…
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Stop Dumbing Down The World with Bad Interview Questions
6 Comments | Posted by Dave in Developers
With the Holiday Dead Zone coming to an end and the global economy picking up, I’d like to talk a little about interviewing software developers since hiring season is now upon us. Ever been to an interview where they ask some whopper like this?
Read more on Stop Dumbing Down The World with Bad Interview Questions…
I’d like to take a minute and wish all the readers of this blog, no matter where they are in the world, or what holidays they celebrate this time of year, a season of peace, happiness and joy. Enjoy the time with your family and friends.
Read more on Happy Holidays to You and Yours…
My posts on Google’s Go (Part 1 and Part 2) definitely touched a nerve with a few folks. And I appreciate good dialog on ideas like this…
One pervasive question that I keep hearing is “Who is Go good for?“ And I’m having a hard time finding a good answer. Even Go’s own FAQ page is uncharacteristically vague about it.
Read more on Google Go: Good For What?…
