John Topley's Weblog
Experiences Category Article ArchiveIf you've missed an article then follow the links below to view the articles within the category. Friday, 04 March 2005I don't know what I do for a living. I'm deadly serious, I don't know what occupation to put against my name on forms, or precisely what to say when people ask me what I do. I want to say something that captures the creativity of programming or the unique thrill when the computer does something that I made it do. Wednesday, 09 February 2005The Truth About Real Programmers Most organisations of any size that practise software development usually have a Real Programmer. I'm sure you know the type—they have a brain the size of a planet and are undoubtedly masters of their field. Friday, 28 May 2004I've just spent a week on holiday on the Greek island of Santorini, which is the southern most island in the Cyclades group. We stayed in the excellent El Greco hotel apartments in the capital, Fira. Saturday, 01 May 2004Software Review: VisiCalc For The IBM PC VisiCalc for the IBM PC was first released in 1981. I thought it would be interesting and instructive to take a look at a piece of software that is not only twenty three years old, but that also defined a market. If you're not familiar with VisiCalc then you should know that it was the world's first electronic spreadsheet. Wednesday, 21 April 2004My partner asked me recently why people hate Microsoft so much and it's a question I've been pondering for a while, as well as thinking about my own attitude towards the world's largest software company. I consider myself to be in an unusual position in that I'm a Java developer who does actually like Microsoft. Friday, 02 April 2004I've just received an e-mail that has totally baffled me. Upon first reading I thought that it was spam and this article was going to be a name and shame exercise, as I did previously. However, now I'm not so sure that it is spam but I don't really know what it is. Saturday, 25 October 2003It's the end of an era. Concorde, that magnificent feat of engineering and disastrous example of economic planned, has retired. There is no longer a supersonic civilian airliner. In the not too distant future, there will be no one alive who has walked on the surface of the moon. Tuesday, 30 September 2003I've just returned from a week's holiday in the beautiful town of Alghero in Sardinia. Alghero is in the north west of the island and dates back to the twelfth century. Sunday, 07 September 2003I visited the Design Museum in London recently because there were two exhibitions that I wanted to see, both of which subsequently reminded me of why I enjoy computer programming. Tuesday, 17 June 2003To my surprise, I've been programming in Visual Basic 6.0 again recently. I'm still writing Java code in my day job but I had occasion to create a demo VB application. Sunday, 08 June 2003I first started programming for the PC in about 1996. I'd seen some screen shots of Visual Basic 4.0 in a computer magazine and thought that it looked pretty good and quite different from the boring programming in BASIC that I'd done at school. Wednesday, 04 June 2003When is a nerd not a nerd? It depends on the subject that the person is nerdish about. about, it would seem. |
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