seanb

Another emacs package I've been meaning to try is "disaster", which shows you the assembly that the code under your cursor compiles to: https://github.com/jart/disaster

What c++ is sorely lacking, in my opinion, is a (library) package management system.

Comment · 15 years ago

I'm not on Lion, but even on Snow Leopard, Sublime will only show a tab for a file if you double click the file in the sidebar, or edit the file (which Convert Tabs to Spaces is doing). Though there might be a Lion specific issue aside from this.

Comment · 15 years ago

I find mathematical notation to be very read-friendly. Reading a paper from an unfamiliar field can be tough, as knowledge of the standard notation is typically assumed (as is the case when reading code from an unfamiliar programming language).

Mathematical "code" isn't usually meant to be read without the surrounding variable and notation declarations, for example "Let x be ..." or "where • is the ... operation". If those are provided, short variable names and terse notation allow for the intent to be presented clearly, without it being obscured by line-length restrictions and a limited number of generic constructs (eg. for-loops instead of the summation operator).

That said, I'm finding this C implementation of J to be pretty cryptic. Of course, that's no reason to dismiss the J programming language itself.

Comment · 15 years ago

The thing I'd really like to see in a portable computer is a touch-interface/mouse-interface hybrid. For example, you dock your iPad in a keyboard docking station (with mouse), and the interface morphs into standard OSX, with all the power and abilities that come along with that. Take it out of the keyboard dock, and it's an iPad again, with the finger friendly iOS touch interface (and limited to touch apps). Desktop apps and touch apps could share data, but would ideally have different interfaces. E.g. OSX's Mail.app and iOS's Mail app.

For HP of course, substitute webOS "slate" for iPad and custom desktop Linux distribution for OSX (I wish).

Comment · 15 years ago

Ah, good ol' At Ease. The crippled app-launching interface it provided seemed to be entirely responsible for the nearly universal hatred of Apple computers by students at my high school. Compared to Windows 95, At Ease gave the impression that Macs were only capable of performing simple tasks. Everyone was thrilled when the Macs were replaced with cheap Windows machines.

Comment · 15 years ago

St Cloud, MN (An hour west of Minneapolis) No remote, unfortunately.

eBureau (http://www.ebureau.com, http://www.apple.com/business/profiles/ebureau/)

We're looking for a (junior) programmer. Must be comfortable on a unix-like OS (we use OS X and FreeBSD), and able to take on projects involving C, C++, Objective-C, PHP and SQL. You'd be part of a small group of developers, and have a lot of independence. We use git and SVN.

Email me (seanbillig@ the URL above) links to code you've written in any language if available, eg. github, bitbucket, personal website, etc, and we'll have an informal chat. Attach a resume and cover letter for HR.

We're also looking for a mid-level account manager/sales support person. Brief HR description: Account Manager - Finance is a mid-level position. It requires a B.S. in finance or accounting, strong analytical skills, and work experience in a similar role. Send resumes to jobs at ebureau.com

Comment · 16 years ago

"My students need iPads to assist them in English, Social Studies and Creative Writing!" ($10,648 to go)

I bet they do.

(Of course, a lot of the requests are reasonable, but I'd like to see the donations go to students a bit more impoverished... Room to Read comes to mind.)

Comment · 16 years ago

Getting enough sleep? Definitely worth a watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hAw1z8GdE8

Personally, I found that taking a full-time programming job destroyed my out-of-office motivation and productivity. It might be worth trying a job in a new industry for a while, or working out some sort of part-time agreement with your employer -- you might find your brain itching to code and produce something after work hours.

Comment · 16 years ago

Another headphone to consider is the AKG K81 DJ, for around $60-80. It's a closed supra-aural design (sits on your ear). I haven't tried them personally, but I've heard they sound fantastic.

Comment · 16 years ago

I code almost all day wearing a pair of these. Without music playing, they mostly block out a conversation on the other side of the room. With music, the outside world is nonexistent. The biggest downside is a weak plastic headband casing. There's a strong metal band inside, but the plastic casing will eventually crack (it happens to most owners -- might be dependent on head size). That said, I wrapped mine with clear packing tape a couple years ago and they've been fine since. They're comfortable enough to wear for an hour or two on, 15 minutes off, repeat.

Another great sounding set is the Audio-Technica ATH-M50. I bought my brother a pair for $100 new on eBay. They're more durable than the HD280s, and fold up better for portability.

Avoid the HD202 unless you have small ears. Also avoid anything from Grado; they're totally open (lots of sound leaks in and out), and are mostly appropriate for rock (they have a very "colorful" sound -- not at all faithful to the source material). Don't go anywhere near Bose. You'll get a lot better sound for a hell of a lot cheaper from just about anything made by Sennheiser, Audio-Technica, Beyerdynamic or AKG.

This is a great source for info: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/ Try not to get too sucked into the hi-fi tomfoolery though, for $100 you can get a great set of cans, and a laptop or mp3 player will be a sufficient driver. A lot of the higher-end gear will require an amp to sound decent, and there's some wickedly diminishing returns once you pass the $100-200 point. There are a lot of conflicting reviews on that site, but there's seems to be a general consensus about certain models (the ATH-M50 is widely respected, for example).

[For the best noise blocking (aside from in-ear), you want a set of closed "circumaural" (around the ear) headphones. Open-back cans don't block any external sound, so you have to crank up the volume to drown it out.]