Steve Rowe's Blog
Ruminations on Computing - Data Science, Programming, Test Development, Management and More
Real Numbers In the Next-Gen DVD Battle
Finally some real numbers showing how the two sides compare. In the first quarter, BluRay sold...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 04/28/2007
Teaching Your Team To Program
The world of testing is becoming a lot more technical than it once was. While there is still a need...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 04/27/2007
Agile Testing Netcast
I tried a new netcast today. It's the initial netcast from Jason at Parlezuml. I believe the weekly...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 04/26/2007
Teaching Yourself To Program
Following up on my last post, I'll give some instruction for those testers who want to become...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 04/26/2007
Fred Fish Dies
Those of you who owned an Amiga were probably aware of the Fred Fish disk collection. For those that...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 04/24/2007
It's Difficult to Grow a Test Developer
A lot of testers begin life as software test engineers. That is, they execute tests but don't do any...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 04/20/2007
How Much Better Is High Definition Video?
Moving to HD is expensive. You have to buy a new TV, new DVD player, and possibly a new receiver. If...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 04/19/2007
Do You Have Golden Ears?
Here is an interesting demo I heard about on This Week in Media. It contains 2 audio clips in both...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 04/18/2007
Windows Media for Firefox Users
Microsoft just released a Windows Media Player plugin for Firefox. This will allow people who use...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 04/17/2007
The Purpose of Coding Standards
I'm involved with a group at work crafting the coding standard for test developers across much of...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 04/16/2007
Why Windows Can't See 4GB of Memory
Interesting post by Hilton Locke about why installing 4 GB of RAM on a 32-bit box doesn't actually...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 04/14/2007
My New Addiction: Puzzle Quest
I don't do a lot of gaming. Once upon a time I did, but now that I'm married and have kids, my...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 04/14/2007
Getting Real In Software Development
At the recommendation of one of our designers, I just finished reading the book Getting Real by the...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 04/13/2007
April Netcast Update
About time for another update of my netcast list. It's changed a little and some have moved...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 04/12/2007
Top 10 Most Influential Amiga Games
I have a soft spot in my heart for the Commodore Amiga. It came out 22 years ago in 1985 and was way...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 04/12/2007
Death of the Floppy Drive
The floppy disk has been dead for a while now. It's just too small and too slow. I haven't really...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 04/09/2007
Breaking Down the Test/Dev Barrier
Similar to the solution I consider in my post on single-function roles, the Braidy Tester has a...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 04/07/2007
Can Code Be Truly Self-Documenting?
I know I'm stepping into the middle of a holy war here but I've been in some conversations on this...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 04/07/2007
Redfin: Real Estate Revolution?
Ever since I sold my first house, I've thought that the real estate business was in need of a...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 04/06/2007
Yet Another Way To Connect Your PC and Your Screen
First it was VGA, then DVI, then HDMI, now we add DisplayPort. Engadget is reporting that...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 04/06/2007
A Crack In the DRM Wall?
...More like a gaping hole. To date there has been a unified face put on major digital media assets....
Author: SteveRowe Date: 04/02/2007
Ten Things You Should Know As A Developer
Andres Taylor gives us his top ten things he's learned about software development. The list is...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 03/25/2007
Showstopper!
I just finished reading Showstopper! by G. Pascal Zachary. It recounts the creation of Windows NT...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 03/25/2007
Some Good Advice for Managers
Some good advice for managers courtesy of the guys at Business Intelligence Lowdown. They give 73...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 03/22/2007
Beware of Single Focus Roles
I recently attended a talk advocating combining the management of test development and development....
Author: SteveRowe Date: 03/21/2007
Selling Discrete Audio Cards Isn't Easy
EliteBastards has an interesting article speculating about the future of Creative Labs. Creative was...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 03/21/2007
Interview With Dave Caulton of Zune
Windows Weekly has an interesting interview with Dave Caulton of the Zune team in this week's...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 03/16/2007
Programming Language Hierarchy
My last post made me recall this programming language hierarchy I ran across some time ago. Read it...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 03/14/2007
You Can't Teach Height, But Can You Teach Programming?
There's an old basketball saying--attributed to Frank Layden of the Utah Jazz-- that "You can't...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 03/14/2007
Microsoft Announces HD-Photo
Once known as Windows Media Photo, Microsoft just released a new photo format called HD-Photo. Bill...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 03/11/2007
TechFest 2007
Microsoft has a large number of pure researchers working for it. They are collectively known as...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 03/07/2007
Geeks Wanted
I thought this was too cool not to post. For those that don't have the ASCII table memorized, the...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 03/03/2007
Teaching My Son To Program
A few months back I read the article, "Why Johnny can't code" by David Brin. He talks about the...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 03/01/2007
Programming, Bridges, and ... the Halting Problem?
Jt Gleason contends that building software is not like building bridges because of the halting...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 02/28/2007
In Defense of Logic Questions
Microsoft has a history of asking logic questions in its interviews. Because of this, there are many...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 02/23/2007
Crossing the Uncanny Valley
The "uncanny valley" is the name for a phenomenon in computer graphics where the closer something...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 02/22/2007
Hiring Great Testers - Interviewing
A friend IM'd me yesterday saying he was being considered for a test manager position somewhere. In...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 02/22/2007
I'm Going To Disneyland!
We're taking the munchkins and heading to southern Kalifornia. Don't expect to see any new posts...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 02/15/2007
Copy As Path
Here's a cool little Vista trick I just learned: Browse to a file. Hold down shift and right-click...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 02/14/2007
Display Adapters Demystified
The world of display adapter types is an alphabet soup of options today. HDMI, DVI, VGA, UDI,...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 02/13/2007
February Netcast Update
It's been a while since I posted my list of netcasts. I've had less time of late to listen to...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 02/09/2007
The Sorry State of HD Television
I attended a Superbowl viewing party at a friend's house today. No, the screen wasn't larger than...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 02/05/2007
Why Writing Software Is Hard
Scott Rosenberg just published a new book called Dreaming in Code about a project to create a new...
Author: SteveRowe Date: 02/03/2007