Bruce Eckel's Weblog http://www.artima.com/weblogs/index.jsp?blogger=beckel Artima Weblogs is a community of bloggers posting on a wide range of topics of interest to software developers. Artima.com http://www.artima.com/images/artima88x33.gif http://www.artima.com/ I Believe in Design http://www.artima.com/weblogs/viewpost.jsp?thread=274384 I finally bought a Dyson vacuum cleaner yesterday. It completely changes my cleaning experience. Design that asks and answers the right questions can completely change other experiences, too. Two Conferences and a Workshop http://www.artima.com/weblogs/viewpost.jsp?thread=270853 I drove down to Boulder last weekend to participate in an open-spaces Python conference, speak at an eyes-forward programming conference, and attend a workshop on TurboGears 2. Here's what I learned. You Can't Do What You Want By Doing Something Else http://www.artima.com/weblogs/viewpost.jsp?thread=269972 I'm reading Po Bronson's "What Should I Do With My Life?" which is brilliant on many levels. For one thing, it's the anti-self-help book; it's just stories from talking to people, and by no means is everyone successful. Speaking At Developer Day in Boulder http://www.artima.com/weblogs/viewpost.jsp?thread=269973 I will be giving the closing keynote at the Developer Day conference in Boulder, CO this coming Saturday, October 10. The goal of this conference is to be cheap and local, so I'm curious to see how it works. Discover and Promote What Works http://www.artima.com/weblogs/viewpost.jsp?thread=269807 Our typical approach to problem-solving is to invent something new. If you've been around the block a few times, it gets harder to convince you to jump into yet another untested scheme. DimDim Works Well http://www.artima.com/weblogs/viewpost.jsp?thread=269722 I recently held an exploratory meeting with a potential new client where we needed to share a screen over the internet. Neither of us had used DimDim but it did the trick with no snags. Two Kinds of Management http://www.artima.com/weblogs/viewpost.jsp?thread=269349 Guidance & inspiration vs. directing & controlling. First Steps in Flex: 6 Screencasts Available http://www.artima.com/weblogs/viewpost.jsp?thread=268433 My coauthor James Ward was here last weekend and we managed to debug the screencasting process and produce 6 screencasts. On his next visit we plan to finish creating a screencast for each chapter in the book. Disintermediation http://www.artima.com/weblogs/viewpost.jsp?thread=268312 The internet takes a formerly-expensive cost (communication) and drives it to essentially zero. Any activity where communication is important is being disrupted. To find out how much, drive the result as far to the extreme as possible. We No Longer Need Power http://www.artima.com/weblogs/viewpost.jsp?thread=267861 There's a saying that's been traveling the business circles in recent years: "Speaking truth to power." It means you are so confident and direct that you can actually tell someone in power what's really going on. Google Chrome Changes the Game http://www.artima.com/weblogs/viewpost.jsp?thread=266136 My prediction of how Chrome -- both the browser and the OS -- is going to flatten the playing field for programmers. Upside-Down Examples http://www.artima.com/weblogs/viewpost.jsp?thread=265829 The kind of thing I've been talking about: time-share restaurants, edupunk and microlending. Podcast Interview with Linux Outlaws http://www.artima.com/weblogs/viewpost.jsp?thread=265525 The Linux Outlaws podcasters interviewed me when I gave a keynote at EuroPython. Specs Without Tests Are Meaningless http://www.artima.com/weblogs/viewpost.jsp?thread=265376 In hindsight, it seems strange it has taken us so long to figure this out in the computing field. Applications elsewhere might be even more important. Thinking Upside Down http://www.artima.com/weblogs/viewpost.jsp?thread=265021 Remember when you were a kid, hanging upside down over the couch? Everything you looked at was different.