I’ve been spec’ing out a new desktop and am intrigued by something I’m not sure I’ve seen before. It’s actually possible to get a computer with too much RAM now. 32GB is not really high-end, or expensive, and yet I can’t really think of any consumer/business application that would use that. Programs like photoshop or [...]
Eric F. Savage
Good stuff, updated weekly(ish)
To switch or not to switch, part 2
Posted May 19th, 2011
Continued from Part 1, I’m looking at candidates to replace my current main language: Java. I’m not actually eager to get rid of Java, I still really like it, and enjoy working in it, but I need to convince myself that it’s the right choice for me to continue to invest unpaid time in, or [...]
affinity.txt
Posted May 17th, 2011
SEO sucks. It’s a fun little game to play for a while, but at the end of the day almost everyone loses. The searchers lose because they can’t find the best stuff any more. The search engines lose because their searchers see worse results and are less happy. Legitimate creators and business lose because they [...]
When will Google buy VMWare?
Posted May 16th, 2011
From Chromebooks to DropBox, we’re heading towards the first computing revolution that will leave the typical early adopters behind.
To switch or not to switch, Part 1
Posted May 15th, 2011
I was listening to a talk the other day and the speaker derisively mentioned “those people who are happy writing Java for the rest of their lives”, and I thought “Am I one of those?” and then I thought “is that a bad thing?”. As part of my “question everything” journey, I decided that it [...]
The Ultimate Music App
Posted May 14th, 2011
There’s an ever-growing number of online music services out there, but none of them have really nailed it for me. Here’s my list of demands: Instant Purchase – Simple one or two click purchase, which adds it to my portfolio. Downloading from one place and uploading to another is dumb. Standard format/no DRM – This [...]
Software that isn’t afraid to ask questions
Posted May 13th, 2011
An area that user-focused software has gotten better at in the past 10 years or so is being aware, and protective of, the context in which users are operating. Things like autocomplete and instant validation are expected behaviors now. An area that software is really picking up steam is analytics, understanding behaviors. You see lightweight [...]
Ideas are like rabbits
Posted May 12th, 2011
I’m not an advocate or follower of any particular productivity framework, or even that you should have one, but I’ve recently rediscovered a fragment of one that has been very significant. The short version is that writing down ideas makes room for more, the long version follows. As hinted at in my previous post, I’ve [...]
Freelancing vs. Contracting vs. Employment
Posted May 11th, 2011
I’ve been freelancing for a little over two months now, and already it has been an exciting, rewarding experience. I figured I would share a few observations. What do I mean by “freelancing” as opposed to contracting. I admit there is no official differentiation of the two, this is strictly my own, and I apply [...]
Ubuntu: See you in 2012
Posted April 14th, 2011
As a follow-up to my previous post, I’ve just finished moving off my Ubuntu VMs. I don’t necessarily blame Ubuntu for this, but it’s just a little too laggy in a VM. I bet it’s only a few ms most of the time, but it’s noticeable and it’s frustrating when you’re in a good flow. [...]