The company I work for are currently undergoing a site wide renovation and I'm involved in the 'consultation' on what the R&D work spaces are going to be like. There is no scope for individual private offices - so lets not start on that topic. One big requirement is that the office layout can be flexible (i.e. team areas can be create...
I've always thought that a dual screen setup is sufficient for application development. One screen for the code and one for documentation/testing. In some cases I could see another pc with one screen to be useful for testing in a different environment. Then I saw this. I'm not sure what to do with so many screens but I'm still a bit env...
Programmers as a group have a not exactly ill-deserved reputation for thinking little of others work/opinions and thinking a great deal of our own. I know that, I see it in myself all the time, and I consciously let such things slide on that basis when I see them. But... I'm in the unfortunate position where I'm working in an environme...
We have project activities now and then where a few of the employees agreed upon at the last project activity set something up, like a bowling night, board gaming night, movie night or, for that matter, jujutsu test practice which we actually had once. The costs for these things tend to range around 10-15$ per person, 5$ more if you coun...
I am always misunderstood by my non-technical boss. Its frustrating that they would think that a programmer isn't working when he's not in front of the computer typing code.... or even when in front of the computer and has his browser on, reading about new programming stuff. It got to the point where I was told I was unproductive even ...
There are good times and there are worst times. I recently had to write code in a hot room with temperatures near 107°F (42°C); nothing to sit on; 64 Kbps inconsistent internet connection; warm water for drinking and a lot of distractions and interruptions. I am sure many people have been in similar situations and I would like to know yo...
My experience with my laptop is that the screen is almost unreadable when working outdoors, and as the weather gets better I'd like to move from working in the tornado shelter to the picnic table. Are there any devices out there that are good for coding in bright environments? Needs a readable screen with a decent resolution, decent si...
Pair programming appears to be a bit of a marmite topic. Personally I think it can be be a huge benefit if done correctly; but plenty of people, management especially, seem to see it as "wasting" a developer. A good pairing could give you a good productivity boost (more than the two individuals could produce working alone), and provide...
Now that I am about to start a career as a programmer, I wonder if programming is always as interesting as it is initially to a programmer. After years of programming, does this job still remain interesting? ...
Possible Duplicate: How to convince my boss to provide quiet working conditions? I work in a noisy office. I'm forced to listen to music, and I find this hampers my concentration. My best solution so far is to come to work at 6am, but I still have to work until 5:30 so it is a long day, but the first hours are bliss. Does the...
I need to get a graduate up to speed as a asp.net c# developer (with some sharepoint lucky him). I’m thinking on creating a list of a web casts and putting some incentives in place to become certified as Microsoft web developer. Also chalk talks on friday with yours truly on TFS and real world databas design. Any other thoughts? It ...
In chapter 15 of The Deadline by Tom DeMarco working extra hours is discussed. One of the characters says she forces the developers out of the office every evening so that they can't work extra hours. She says this makes people concentrate on their work, use time more productively and lets them get more things done. The way she does tha...
Every programmer's top motivator is different. It may be company's brand development platform (java, .net, etc.) satisfying salary location of the company flexible work hours organizational culture or a combination of these There are lots of other ones that can be added to this list. So, what do you think? ...