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Executive Dashboard   25 Sep 04
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Thanks to Sven C. Koehler. He pointed out me to Edward Tufte’s interesting forum. There are some interesting answeres in the thread, esp. the graphic about the patient. Isn’t every company a patient? :-)
 I'm developing an executive dashboard, and I haven't been satisfied
 with the business graphics that are widely available
 (e.g. gauges, dials, stoplights). I decided to make a "Zen" version
 of a KPI status indicator, using as little color as possible,
 and incorporating E.T's innovative "Spark Line" metaphor for display
 of trends. The graphic below shows the proposed KPI display across
 the top of a browser screen with a descriptive example in the middle.
 Any feedback would be wonderful!

 Comments: Because of complex KPI names (e.g. This Week versus Last Week
 Sales (All Divisions), KPIs were labeled with Roman numerals.
 Balloon help could display the KPI name when the cursor brushes the
 KPI indicator.

link

My LinuxTag 2004 photos   25 Sep 04
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Some photos from LinuxTag 2004 in Karlsruhe. I especially liked the Xbox booting Linux screenshots. pics

I need my daily dose of vim .. even in Mozilla   25 Sep 04
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mozex.mozdev.org/

Mozex is an extension which allows the user to use external programs for these actions:

  • view page source
  • edit content of textareas (possibly utilizing a spell-checker in the text editor)
  • handle mailto, news, telnet and FTP links
  • download files

Skolelinux: V1.0 with codename Venus is out!   25 Sep 04
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Skolelinux is made as free (as in speech) software, and is an overall computer solution based on school's resources and needs. It is based on Debian and runs very well on older hardware, too.
  • Skolelinux is a network architecture tailored for use in schools.
  • Skolelinux is designed to be easy and cheap to maintain.
  • Skolelinux gives the students their own usernames, home directories and services.
  • Skolelinux includes OpenOffice.org
link

"Example instead of test-first"   25 Sep 04
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Just now seen on the pragprog-list by Massimiliano Mirra: Many have a problem with ``test-first’’ because they can’t see how a test can come before the thing to be tested even exists. So I just replace the word ``test’’ with ``example’’, and tell the student that ``one great thing is that not only examples do tell you where to go with your program, but if you shape them in a certain way, they’ll also serve as tests later’.

Example isn’t another way to teach, it is the only way to teach.

   --Albert Einstei

Succinctness is Power!   25 Sep 04
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(Source: Paul Graham)

"The quantity of meaning compressed into a small space by algebraic signs, is another circumstance that facilitates the reasonings we are accustomed to carry on by their aid."

  • Charles Babbage, quoted in Iverson’s Turing Award Lecture

paulgraham.com/power.html

The first person to write about these issues, as far as I know, was Fred Brooks in the Mythical Man Month. He wrote that programmers seemed to generate about the same amount of code per day regardless of the language. When I first read this in my early twenties, it was a big surprise to me and seemed to have huge implications. It meant that (a) the only way to get software written faster was to use a more succinct language, and (b) someone who took the trouble to do this could leave competitors who didn’t in the dust.

Brooks’ hypothesis, if it’s true, seems to be at the very heart of hacking. In the years since, I’ve paid close attention to any evidence I could get on the question, from formal studies to anecdotes about individual projects. I have seen nothing to contradict him.

CIO magazine current issue all about agile... (IT oriented, but)   25 Sep 04
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Denis Haskin posted this to the XP-ML. lnik
 I assume this popped up on everyone else's RSS aggregator as well, but...
  From Darrell Norton's blog [1] and Artima developer forum [2]: the
  current issue of CIO magazine is all about agility:
  http://www.cio.com/archive/081504/index.html

Knoppix remastering mini-howto   25 Sep 04
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(Source: Daniel Stirnimann) This mini howto shows how you can easily make on your own customized knoppix build. Apart from that, there are a few working methods described which make doing changes conveniently. The howto is intended for people who work occasionaly on their builds.

link

screen -x for remote pairprogramming   25 Sep 04
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This tiny tool is great to have 2 people look and type into the same shell window. Works great with vim :-)
  • Both ssh or telnet into the same (remote) Unix machine and account.
  • One enters screen, then starts vim, then the other enters screen -x.
  • ctrl-d to exit screen)

Linux Gazette article about screen

Increasing Software Development Productivity   25 Sep 04
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(Source: Mary Poppendieck) Income growth of workers in any economic sector is directly related to productivity growth. In the past, the productivity of the technology sector grew not because technical workers were becoming more productive, but because technical capability was growing so fast. Unfortunately for the incomes of software development professionals, this is no longer the case. Future income growth will be related to our ability to increase software development productivity.

How can software development productivity be increased? Through the same approaches used in operations: a focus on customer value, a short, effective supply chain, healthy discipline, and innovation. Mary will discuss techniques that businesses have used for decades to jump-start an increase productivity, and show how they can be used to increase software development productivity. pdf

 

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