Sometimes you have to remember that there is an order of operations. You go into the doctor’s office and you have to order the operation ahead of time, otherwise they don’t give you one.
Windows 8, Internet Explorer 10 and Web Developers
I just got done reading the specs on Internet Explorer 10’s tablet ‘features’ in Windows 8. This new set of features is incredible on the surface, but as a developer I’m flabbergasted that Microsoft has decided to ignore the de facto standards and now has created yet another touch/tablet interaction model. I’m not flabbergasted a company would do that, because Apple did it with the iPhone and iPad to create the de facto standard that RIM (disclosure: I work for a subsidiary of RIM) and others have followed. What this means for developers who are trying to reach the widest possible audience is that their web applications are going to have to choose between:
- Lots of branches in their code to handle every possible variation of event detection
- Send users away
- Attempt to use some open source or home rolled equalization library that tries to mask the differences (this way could lie madness)
- Give the users a lesser experience
- Create multiple versions of the same thing, each with their own special ‘per device’ sauce (this way also lies madness).
Maybe there’s another option, but I just don’t get why Microsoft has done this to devs.
Today BDConf wrapped up. It’s targeted primarily towards mobile development and I had a chance to go to their first event in Grapevine, TX in March. One of the things that they talked about was writing for an ever changing web audience that accesses your site/web application through any number of devices. However, this sort of added complexity from a major player in the OS department means that one of two or three things is going to happen, and one of them isn’t going to be developer buy in. I’m convinced that Microsoft is going to have to either adopt some method for giving developers a smaller amount of effort to reach their audience on a Windows 8 tablet, or they’re going to really hurt their end user experience.
I want to create interactive, 3D-space enabled applications with rich interactions that happen to live in a browser, but Microsoft is definitely not reaching out to developers to create a “bold”* new experience in IE10. They’re not making it easy for end users to have a great, familiar experience. If you’re switching from an iPad 1 or 2 to a Windows 8 tablet you’re going to get fed up, and move back to the iPad. If you were to switch from the iPad to the PlayBook you’d be comfortable. Microsoft has created a barrier to entry, and this is not a good move. They’re distancing themselves from developers, and they’re distancing their users from rich content.
(update:) Don’t misunderstand me to think that all of what they’ve added to IE10 is a move in the wrong direction, but it’s just not cool that they added a bunch of new HTML5 standards support, and ripped the mobile/tablet market a new hole to support.
* Microsoft employees used the term “bold” numerous times during their announcement presentations today and many people in the media and on twitter noted this.
Don’t Bat an Eye at 40 Lashes
So in the Old Testament Law of Moses, given to the Jews while they were in the “Promised Land” God says in Deuteronomy 25:3 that you may give a man up to 40 stripes [lashes]. Just to be safe the Jews made it a tradition to only lash someone 39 times in case someone counted wrong. This sort of thing amuses me greatly. Let’s obey the Law for righteousness, unless we can make a new, and improved Law.
I prefer the New Testament doctrine of grace, but often this gets screwed up to create new and improved grace, too. If you’re adding or subtracting from the Bible to help it where God needed some clarification that you happen to have the perfection to offer, you’re probably a bit over-confident.
Grace, it’s what’s for breakfast, lunch & dinner.
Calvinism-ism
Quote
In a phone call with my friend Brad today he said something I asked permission to quote. He gave it to me, so here you go:
“Calvin [attempted to] systematize scripture. Everyone [of his followers] after him systematized Calvin”
Sign Here
I was at the dentist today and they had me fill out a 9 (or so) item form about cancer screening. I’m all for screening where it is needed, but the 9 items that required my signature were not necessary. They were just stats. 27% of this (fear here) and some group of (fear there) do not require my initials.
Let me sign that I do or do not want the screening procedure that is more expensive and move on. If I can’t afford the screening, or don’t want it, let me opt out. Let me just check, “No,” sign the form, and move on.
Forms designed like this upset me because they’re designed to scare patients and to earn the office more money through fear and nonsense. Let’s do away with fear as marketing and leave it to the terrorists. They’re better at it anyway.
You Don’t Know Percentages
When what you read is:
Debt increase by presidents: Reagan 186%, Bush 54% Clinton 41% Bush II 72% Obama 23%. /source CBO [from Twitter].
Does your brain translate it to this:
It turns out those percentages don’t add up to the actual national debt value, so the numbers seem wrong. But when someone shows you percentages get out your spread sheet or calculator to make sure that you’re not being had. If you say that Obama has had less spent during his presidency or that Clinton was a spendthrift or any number of other things based on percentages you’re probably doing it wrong. And yes, this is showing billions and trillions [the formatting isn’t quite right in the copy/paste].
Due to the compounding values of those debt numbers this massive expenditure of “only” 23% is rather ‘off’. Additionally Obama’s presidency is not over, so calling this one is a bit premature.
I say we call them all out for being fools with the financial resources. Additionally: congress(es) is (are) also responsible for this.
History Repeats Itself
From the Stanford Technology Venture Program – Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders:
“I can only encourage you to make mistakes. It is perhaps the most valuable part of the learning experience. When you make a mistake it’s the only way for you to understand the context of the impact or the cost of your actions. … Just don’t make the same mistake twice. ” – Mark Jung
I try to learn from my mistakes and others’ mistakes, but I have to agree: when you make a mistake it sticks. Sometimes it’s the pain, sometimes it’s the survival, and sometimes it’s the wonder that you get to experience life in a new way. Don’t be afraid of mistakes as much as you’re willing to learn from them.
Bread Alone
I asked Jessica, “What is this bread doing soaking in the blue bowl?”
She replied, “It’s benadryl, for the dog, so that she can stay calm after her surgery.”
“OK,” I said, satisfied by that answer.
“Don’t eat it,” she added to help me grasp the seriousness of the situation. She knows I have a special place in my heart for benadryl soaked bread. 😉
Backy Juice
Yesterday Jessica accidentally spilled a container of tobacco juice which we made for some lawn maintenance strategy that was suggested to us. The problem is that we tried to employ this strategy about 3 years ago, maybe more. So the nasty smell was from fermented tobacco juice. It stinks quite badly. I hope we’ll be able to sell the house now 😉
Bananas
It turns out that my family does not like dried bananas. At all. I discovered this during our family trip because I opened up a package of dried bananas and the whole car churned into a cacophony of complaints that it smelled bad or that someone had farted or died in the car.
I ate the dried bananas anyway. I enjoy them.