Steve Rowe's Blog
Ruminations on Computing - Data Science, Programming, Test Development, Management and More
GVim As Notepad
When I first encountered Unix in the early 1990s, I needed a text editor. I tried Emacs but the meta...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 05/24/2008
Are Audiophiles Going Extinct?
This article says that they are. More importantly, it says that people do not care as much about...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 05/23/2008
Get Rid Of Your Security Blankets
A while ago I took a class on Scrum and Agile Project Management. During the discussion on Scrum, it...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 05/20/2008
Intel Atom's CISC Legacy
Interesting article over at Ars Technica discussing the CISC nature of the Atom processor and how...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 05/19/2008
Vim Tip: Finding a Variable Declaration
For most programming, I use Vim as my text editor of choice. It has a steep learning curve, but is...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 05/17/2008
Design Principle: Don't Repeat Yourself
There's a design principle I neglected to mention in my initial list but which certainly merits...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 05/15/2008
Keep Your Eyes on the True Goal
We recently went through mid-year reviews and I found myself repeating similar advice several times....
Author: SteveRowe Date: 05/07/2008
A Microsoft-Yahoo Takeover Primer
Marc Andreessen has a great blog post today laying out the possibilities in the Microsoft-Yahoo...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 04/28/2008
Prefer Composition Over Inheritance
It's probably about time to bring my "Design Principles To Live By" series to a close. This is the...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 04/28/2008
A History of Filesystems
Ars Technica has a very interesting article about the history of filesystems. They cover all the...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 04/25/2008
Know That Which You Test
Someone recently related to me his experience using the new Microsoft Robotics Studio. He loaded it...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 04/21/2008
Slow blogging season
I apologize for the very light blogging of late. I've been busy working on the project for my latest...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 04/12/2008
Don't Blame the Compiler
It's been a busy week without much time to blog. In the mean time, here's a good reminder. It's...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 03/27/2008
Which Language To Learn Next?
Once you have mastered one programming language, it is a good idea to branch out and learn some...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 03/19/2008
Your Hard Drive Probably Isn't Running At Full Speed
Here's a little known fact that could speed up your life. Most SATA hard drives in the market today...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 03/17/2008
Ten Years Later...
It was ten years ago today that I joined Microsoft as a full time employee. When I started we were...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 03/16/2008
Audio Not Keeping Up With HD Video?
Here is an interesting read about how the audio in HD TV is not keeping up with the video. People...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 03/14/2008
Update on Windows Home Server Corruption Issue
The WHS team has an update on their blog regarding the corruption issue. In short, they fully...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 03/11/2008
Four Years and 300 Posts Later
It was four years and approximately 300 posts ago that I began this blog with a simple hello world....
Author: SteveRowe Date: 03/10/2008
Suggestions for Smoother Meetings
A few weeks ago I attended a training and had an opportunity to try out the ideas generated from my...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 03/10/2008
What Tests Belong in the BVTs?
BVTs or Build Verification Tests are standard Microsoft parlance for the tests we run every day to...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 03/05/2008
Drobo + Windows Home Server = Goodness
I've been using Windows Home Server (WHS) for a little over a month now. While there is still an...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 03/03/2008
Is That A Wiki In Your Pocket?
Here's a cool little tool I discovered recently. It's called DokuWiki on a Stick. DokuWiki is a...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 03/01/2008
When to Test Manually and When to Automate
There's a balancing act in testing between automation and manual testing. Over my time at Microsoft...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 02/26/2008
Classes Should Exhibit High Cohesion
This is part 4 of my ongoing Design Principles series. When designing the classes in your model, it...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 02/25/2008
Podcasts I Listen To Regularly
It's been a while since I posted my list of podcasts and my tastes have changed since then. Here's...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 02/24/2008
Is There Value In Code Uniformity?
There seem to be two opposing views of coding standards. Some think that they should enforce...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 02/19/2008
HD-DVD: 2006 - 2008, R.I.P.
According to reports, Toshiba will soon stop manufacturing HD-DVD equipment. The writing has been on...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 02/17/2008
Evaluating Your Skill As A Leader
Someone recently characterized for me one way leaders are evaluated. This certainly isn't the only...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 02/14/2008
Arc Is Out
Over 6 years ago Paul Graham told the world that he was working on a new programming language called...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 02/11/2008
Modularization vs. Integration - Which Is Best?
Clayton Christensen's second book, The Innovator's Solution, produces several important theories in...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 02/07/2008
Vista Audio 1 Year Later - Interview with Cakewalk
One of my readers tipped me off to an interesting interview with Noel Borthwick, CTO of Cakewalk. He...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 02/05/2008
Project BBQ Reports Are Released
Project BBQ is the premier interactive music industry think tank. Everything from PC-audio to game...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 02/04/2008
The Tipping Point: Not True?
There's a popular business book out right now called the Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. In it he...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 01/29/2008
Unboxing Drobo
My Drobo arrived today. It is a slick device. As one accustomed to the PC world, even...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 01/28/2008
Trying Windows Home Server
Over the weekend I installed Windows Home Server on a spare box that I had. So far, I'm impressed....
Author: SteveRowe Date: 01/22/2008
Prefer Loose Coupling
This is the 3rd post in the Design Principles to Live By series. Coupling is the degree to which...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 01/18/2008
Do We Need A New Kind of CS Degree?
Joel Spolsky suggests that we should have something called a BFA in Software Development. That is, a...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 01/09/2008
Two Software Development Worlds
I was recently listening to an interview with Joel Spolsky. The main subject is interviewing and...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 01/02/2008
Welcome to 2008
Not a great start for 2008 out here in Seattle. We had a big fireworks display at midnight on the...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 01/01/2008
Just a Geek
I just finished reading Wil Wheaton's "Just a Geek." It recounts his struggles after...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 12/29/2007
First EMI, Then Universal, Now Warner...
Apparently Warner Music just announced that they were releasing all of their tracks DRM-free. That...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 12/28/2007
Encapsulate What Varies
It took a lot longer than I expected but this is first installment of my Design Principles To Live...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 12/26/2007
Let It Snow!
Here's my white Christmas:
Author: SteveRowe Date: 12/25/2007
Merry Christmas To All!
Merry Christmas everyone. I hope you are all able to spend some good time with family and friends....
Author: SteveRowe Date: 12/25/2007
What Is Test Automation?
I talk about it a lot, but I don't know that I've ever defined it. A reader recently wrote in and...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 12/19/2007
Welcome Matthew van Eerde to the Blogosphere
One of my team members, Matthew van Eerde, just joined the blog world. Check out his inaugural...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 12/18/2007