langreiter.com plain, simple: 2005-04-03

LANGREITER.COM plain, simple

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2005-04-03

CREATED BY chris • LAST EDITED BY chris 7172 days AGO

2005-04-03-lastSkiDay

Avi Bryant: "Recently, I've started paying much closer attention to the "other half" of software development: the small applications built (or half-built) by users, not developers, in small businesses or small departments; the specialized timesheets, customer databases, todo lists, shift schedules, project charts, contact lists, issue trackers; the millions of one-off tools for managing highly specific data for a highly specific market, evolved in place by the people who use them. These are the applications that consultants never see, because even one day of a consultant’s time would be more than the application was worth or the company could afford. Joe Kraus calls this the long tail of software, Clay Shirky calls such software situated, but most people at most companies just call it Excel."

Shouldn’t be spreadsheets

In related news, Avi just started a new company, Smallthought.

2005-04-03-xls

Kottke on Veen on Getting Design Done (cf. Pick Two)

SciAm: The Feynman-Tufte Principle — "A visual display of data should be simple enough to fit on the side of a van."

Aus dem Wochenends-Standard: Noch Westösterreicher gesucht, die sich um den Fortgang der heimischen Phraseologismenforschung verdient machen wollen (indem sie nämlich die Fragen dieses Fragebogens nach bestem Wissen & Gewissen beantworten).

2005-04-03-misc

Paul Graham: "But you know what the most surprising thing is? How bad some of the smartest applicants' ideas are."

"[...] having invested time in something doesn't make it good."

Sad but true.

"Work people like doesn't pay well, for reasons of supply and demand."

2005-04-03-badIdeas

What's up with aeiou.at?

2005-04-03-aeiou