An IT Manifesto

I hope you all had a good Valentine's Day, but I'm not going to talk about such matters today. Instead, I have a technologist's manifesto, which details the most important things that IT employees should know about the industry. One of things that spanned multiple items was that IT professionals shouldn't be arrogant, which is actually a true stereotype (propagated by Nick Burns). Why does this happen? Well, when you learn a lot of big words and understand things that most people don't it tends to make your head big. I'll admit, that I conscientiously have to make sure that I don't fall into this trap. Anyway, it can cloud your decisions and design things for yourself rather than your users. Another big thing is calling something "good enough" way too quickly, which leads to shoddy code, security holes (especially the ever popular buffer overflowing), and a less appealing experience for users. If iTunes didn't have so many easy-to-use features, it wouldn't have usurped so much market share from players like MusicMatch and Winamp. It seems like another big pitfall is not accepting simplicity, which can lead to obfuscated code or just complicated solutions to easy problems. I think that the better technology companies weed out this train of thinking in technical questions during interviews, but it still lurks around out there. If you plan on (or currently are) working in computing, that article is an essential read.

I actually do have one V-Day article today, and that's Apple's gift to its customers: anyone who pre-ordered a MacBook Pro will have their machine ship this week with an upgraded processor! The higher-end one will have a 2 GHz Core Duo and the cheaper one will feature a 1.83 GHz Core Duo chip, and customers will now be able to upgrade their MacBooks to 2.16 GHz when they buy at the Apple Store. Definitely a welcome present for most fans. Some guy believes that Apple may truly be working on an iPhone, and I'm citing it because he has some good points with regards to patents Apple has filed and alliances that its chip-making partner has made. Having an always-connected iPod would be pretty sweet, and it's what I've always claimed that I've been waiting for Apple to come out with. While I'm on music, Franz Ferdinand has said that they support ripping songs to mp3 players and downloading songs legally, which tends to shake out artists who just produce albums with a hit single and lots of filler. What's even better is that they're a good band and are awesome live. If you use Firefox, then it's likely that you've noticed memory leaks upon extended sessions and opening many tabs, and apparently it's because they cache your immediate history in RAM for faster browsing. I personally think that it compromises their image among most computer geeks as making a lite browser, and it should be a feature that you can turn off. Lastly, the Nintendo Revolution logo has leaked thanks to a clumsy game developer, and it doesn't look all that great but doesn't look like a hoax. Some gaming outlets are claiming that it's unofficial and even the name is tentative, but I wouldn't be surprised if this is what they went with, though the Gamecube and N64 logos were much cooler.

This shot is one of a few new ones Sony has released for The Da Vinci Code, which also includes some of Jean Reno and Ian McKellen, but they didn't look as cool as this one. I was rather tempted to post one of the many new ones for Silent Hill, but I felt that the best ones may be a little creepy to force you to look at. All you Die Hard fans may be disappointed to know that production on a fourth installment has been forestalled by Bruce Willis's desire for a better script, which is good because at least he still has his standards. There is a chance that this movie won't get made, because I can't see them going forward without Willis. Meanwhile, we've discovered that Transformers is closing in on the end of pre-production and may start shooting by the end of May, which would mean that it could go head-to-head with the Fantastic Four sequel. I would hope that Bay's movie would turn out better. Avi Arad has been hinting that a Captain America movie may be in the works, which would hopefully redeem the franchise from the 1992 film that tanked. Lastly, if you didn't see enough King Kong in theaters, then you'll love the Extended Edition DVD that will hit stores at the end of March. God only knows what scenes he actually cut from the film.

I thought that I'd try out Tuesday's Tales this week:

What is your most treasured material possession?
Probably my classical guitar. It never can/will fail me,and it's always entertaining (not just for me, but for a group of people).

What is the best advice that you've ever received?
"Don't ever let someone else make your world for you, because they'll always make it too small."

What characteristics do you think youÂ’ve inherited from your parents?
I'd say my ambition, my temper, my sensitivity, and my meticulous nature.

Is there one piece of criticism that sticks in your mind?
People saying that I'm too thin or that I should eat more or something. It pisses me off because back when I was fat they were all critical of me. You just can't make some people happy.

What ambitions do you still have to fulfill?
Almost all of mine! A good family, a steady (high-paying) job in a good city, creating a video game, and making a product that changes the way the world sees some aspect of technology.