Software Development: Opinions

If Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the State Board of Education have their way, soon every California student will have to pass an algebra test to graduate from the eighth grade.

Now that I know for certain I'll be receiving a pre-beta build of Windows 7 at Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference (PDC) in November, it's time to start thinking about some of the performance-related characteristics I'll be looking for in the new OS.

You don't have to be a programmer to be a mobile innovator. All you need to do is open your eyes to the fact that a smart phone or QWERTY handset is a personal computer, sans legacy baggage. In the future, user-facing computers will have more in common with the high-end mobile devices of today than with the eight-core desktops and quad-core notebooks of 2009.

The question of why so many Google products are classified "beta" -- and classified thusly for so long -- has knocked around the tech press for some time. However, no one really seemed to know the answer, at least no one outside of Google.

InfoWorld has been all over this week's official launch of Android, the new smartphone platform from Google. With its slick interface and open application platform, Android shows every sign of giving Apple's iPhone a run for its money when the first phones begin shipping in late October.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the well-known (at least in the geek world) computer flick "WarGames," wherein a 1980s computer wiz accidentally connects via modem to the WOPR (War Operation Plan Response) mainframe, a supercomputer designed to conduct World War III scenarios. In doing so, he kicks off a series of events that bring the world to the brink of nuclear holocaust. Perhaps you recall the various times when, even in the underground NORAD bunker, there were speakers connected that allowed the computer program Joshua to read aloud. "Shall we play a game?" is a line we'll never forget.

It was a decision heralded by industry media types and praised by blogging heads around the Internet. Steve Sinofsky, the legendary show-runner for Microsoft Office, would take over the Windows reins from the departing Jim Allchin.

Last week I said I would look at Google Chrome "from a developer's perspective." I should have specified what kind. I meant I was considering it from a Web developer's perspective: What does it mean for Web application builders to have yet another browser enter the already-crowded field?

Heathrow’s T5 software testing issues have highlighted the importance of software testing, I hope that lessons have been learnt and that CIO’s across the world will take note in the future.

As my colleague Martin Heller recently observed, smart coders always optimize the slowest thing. Trying to optimize every trivial performance issue in your code is just chasing your own tail. You should find the one problem that's causing the biggest performance hit and fix that first.

The best technology products are often the product of a singular vision. Look at Apple. Look at Nintendo. These companies' enduring successes owe their existence to the presence of a strong guiding hand: someone whose exacting standards ensure that the project never strays too far from its core goals and principles.