Tag Archives: Tech

I’ve been doing crosswords (American style) for most of my life but one thing I’ve never understood is how one goes about constructing them. It really is a hard problem when you think about it. Forget about clues and all … Continue reading →

Cyborgs. It’s a familiar trope to those of us who enjoy science fiction. I’ve always thought that I’m a bit too old to experience being a cyborg in any non-trivial way but then I read this article by Alberto Navarro . … Continue reading →

Well, not really a poll but at least some random opinions. A while ago, I mentioned a discussion I had with Perry Metzger about pair programming. Metzger, who is a serious person and well worth listening to, is a huge … Continue reading →

According to an Ars Technica report, ISPs say that their customer service is so good that customers don’t seek other providers. That claim was made by the NCTA-The Internet & Television Association, a cable industry trade association in response to … Continue reading →

As many of you know, Edsger W. Dijkstra was an important and prolific mathematician and computer science. He was responsible for, among other things, the widely used shortest path algorithm. One oddity of his work was that a substantial part … Continue reading →

Some of you may have noticed that I can occasionally be cantankerous—I prefer to think of it as being charmingly eccentric—about certain topics. Whatever you call it, there’s no denying that I’m inclined to view any subject that could be … Continue reading →

Talk about carrying coal to Newcastle. It is, I think, safe to say that every Irreal reader already knows why programmers need doors that can be closed. It’s well plowed ground involving familiar concepts such as “being in the flow” … Continue reading →

If you’ve been reading Irreal for a while, you know that one of my goals is to be able to leave my house with nothing but my iPhone. That’s possible right now if you live in the right state, have … Continue reading →