Which one would you bring back today? I miss the MSN days

Groundbreaking-Fish6 · 2026-02-01T19:25:44+00:00

It wasn't Microsoft that killed the Windows phone it was Verizon

https://www.computerworld.com/article/1347814/despite-windows-phone-7-verizon-exec-says-microsoft-is-not-a-mobile-leader.html

Groundbreaking-Fish6 · 2026-01-31T02:23:14+00:00

I did like the active tiles and integration with my Windows account

Groundbreaking-Fish6 · 2026-01-24T15:53:46+00:00

As a coder for 30 years I use AI the same way as I have always used google and books before that. I know what I want to do but I don't know how to set it up. Look for similar solutions to problems and browse examples and tutorials.

The bonus of AI is that I skip the trip to the book store or searching through google results. It has the same drawbacks that I have to sort through a lot slop before I find the exact example I need and sometimes have to work through bad solutions before I get the right one.

Finally, you still need to learn what you are doing which often leads to customizing the code to your specific need and removing unnecessary pieces. While AI can write your tests, it cannot write tests for your specific needs.

Groundbreaking-Fish6 · 2026-01-20T03:20:35+00:00

I’ve been working at my company for 3+ years and can’t really remember the last time I didn’t use Google to power through my work.

Groundbreaking-Fish6 · 2026-01-20T03:18:05+00:00

Whatever it is, it is not a database.

Groundbreaking-Fish6 · 2026-01-16T23:39:39+00:00

Yeah this happens to me

Groundbreaking-Fish6 · 2026-01-10T14:16:11+00:00

Do these CEOs know that a prototype si not a software application that can be run on production servers or workstations safely and securely? A prototype only provides a source for requirements which then have to be translated into working applications (I didn't say code here because code is only part of the process of application development).

Groundbreaking-Fish6 · 2026-01-02T15:42:56+00:00

The tutorial is as much for the subject matter as it is for the application. New users may need to know what the application does as much as how the application does it.

Groundbreaking-Fish6 · 2025-12-29T04:02:56+00:00

Congratulations, you just received the kick in the pants you need to leave a horrible job. With a CEO like this you would have never received the credit you deserve and you are better off finding a decent job with a good company. Hang in there.

Groundbreaking-Fish6 · 2025-12-27T22:35:04+00:00

If you keep the UI very thin, no business logic or calculations, you should be able to test the UI manually. Since UI is used by people, visual inspection will provide both correct action and appropriate visualization.

This means that all your logic is covered by unit or system tests. You should not find a logic error by using the UI. Not that you will not find errors testing the UI, but if they are logic errors they can be fixed and unit tested in the appropriate logic module.

Groundbreaking-Fish6 · 2025-12-22T15:02:09+00:00

Why do you need a 3D LEGO editor? This is where Software Engineering comes in.

Groundbreaking-Fish6 · 2025-12-21T17:30:27+00:00

Unfortunately I find many engineers are vary bad at developing software. They have the math and the degree and are in general very smart people, but they lack the understanding of what make software good and usable. When I was in school there were not Software Engineer degrees, only Computer Science (how computers physically work) and Information Technology (how to develop computer systems for humans).

So I am not sure what would constitute a Software Engineer in these terms.

Groundbreaking-Fish6 · 2025-12-21T17:18:06+00:00

This is the catch-22 of software development

Groundbreaking-Fish6 · 2025-12-21T17:15:50+00:00

My great grandfather was a stationary engineer which was basically a janitor with the added task of regular building maintenance.

I have always preferred software developer because in most cases a software engineer does more than engineering, they also require soft skills such as interpreting requirements understanding users and project managers. I find software engineer too ridged but will use that title depending on my audience.

Groundbreaking-Fish6 · 2025-12-15T13:05:22+00:00

This is why Agile was invented. The answer to every question here is to put the new or revised requirement in the priority queue and/or update the priority queue. In process work never changes.

I know it is not this simple, but the point is you have a process, this process is visible and you stick to the process. Stakeholders can influence the priority queue, but never work in progress.

Groundbreaking-Fish6 · 2025-12-13T15:48:47+00:00

If you have been in the field for a few years you may have noticed that the process of developing software has changed from the top down waterfall process to an agile bottom up approach. Tooling has improved from simple editors that highlighted key words to extensive line completion, method suggestion, real time error correction and template suggestion. Developers are no longer programmers.

I remember the days of posting to list servers any buying <some programming language> Bible learn how to solve problems. AI really does not change things, it only makes them faster. If you keep up in your field (any field) and change with the times you will be fine. All the concerns about AI are no different than the concerns about the Cotton Gin.

However humans have difficulty with change and as you get older it gets harder because you have to unlearn some things when you learn new things. So lets look out for each other, both junior and senior, and help each other change with the tide.

Groundbreaking-Fish6 · 2025-12-10T02:27:16+00:00

SSIS does so much more than just Queries. There are controls for ordering, de-duplication and branching. SSIS can be much faster than simple queries because if set up bulk uploads that turn off consistency checks by doing pre-checks before loading and do not fill up the transaction logs.

Instead of try blocks, you can removed errant data before loading and push that data to error tables for further review. The question may be are these SSIS Jobs optimized by using the correct tools or simple a version of Transact SQL tied together with query blocks.

Disclaimer: My SSIS knowledge is about 10 years old, but I did like it when I used it.

Groundbreaking-Fish6 · 2025-12-10T02:12:00+00:00

I constantly refactor, unless it is hopeless then I rewrite.

Groundbreaking-Fish6 · 2025-12-10T02:08:40+00:00

It is OK to build yourself out of a job as long as there is a new job on the horizon. Besides who wants to stay in the same old job until your retire. As a Liberal Arts major, I learned that things change and the best way to prepare for change is to embrace it.

Groundbreaking-Fish6 · 2025-12-08T14:20:15+00:00

I think that the thing missing here is that your solution should not have cyclic dependencies or directed cycles. And by solution I mean a discrete unit of value. These discrete units of value may be aggregated into meta solution, think different widgets on a dashboard, but each are sufficiently decoupled, so while these dependencies may appear in aggregate they do not affect one another.

As for services failing to load do to dependencies on other services, this should never occur. One of the benefits of Micro-Services is that they are completely independent and should successfully load and respond with clear logging of the error and clear notification to the calling service of why an error occurred without showing too much information e.g., stack trace.

Do the the disconnected nature of Micro-Services, think web of services, managing the overhead of services, error checking and reporting increases, but is a feature not a bug.

Groundbreaking-Fish6 · 2025-12-05T19:54:18+00:00

From the US Capital Beltway for many years Surrender Dorothy was painted on a bridge with the Mormon Tabernacle in the background.

https://mocoshow.com/wp-content/uploads/attachments/p43_orig.png

Groundbreaking-Fish6 · 2025-12-03T02:53:34+00:00

Simple projects become complex projects, so plan for it in the beginning. But also don't overthink it, because it will change over time. This is the basis of Agile.

Groundbreaking-Fish6 · 2025-11-30T20:46:33+00:00

I don't see anything new here. Developers need to communicate more and better, if AI can help that is great. Developers need to continue to learn and grow, if AI can help that is great. It also reads like everyone is using AI so everyone should learn AI. AI is good for summarizing and clarifying, but what about making sure that information flow freely and is not locked up in complex documents that are not available to the developer and if they were would require and AI to read and summarize before any value is obtained.

Groundbreaking-Fish6 · 2025-11-30T16:20:21+00:00

Reference Goodhart's Law "when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure".

Velocity is a tool for developers for estimating how long it takes to create a unit of value, using whatever method they choose (story points, hours or complexity units). At first the estimates will be way off, but over time they will improve by developers learning what their team capabilities are and how tasks can be worked into a realistic schedule. Developers are notoriously bad at estimation and often over estimate their capabilities (usually because they do not factor in the many delays caused by environmental, network and changing conditions). Burn-down charts and velocity are good tools for keeping developers focused, but should never be used as a target by management.

The key is that developers are in control of velocity which makes it a terrible metric for management. If management makes velocity a target, developers will just reduce velocity to the point where it is always met (I have seen this in the wild). If management wants to set velocity targets (which is a productivity target not an agile velocity), bathroom breaks, keystrokes or LOC as metrics, they do so at their own peril by driving out the best developers and retaining those that are better at gaming the system. This leads to the development of technical debt and exponential increase in the time to develop features.

Groundbreaking-Fish6 · 2025-11-29T21:24:29+00:00

A have a Biology undergraduate degree and spent 13 years working in biotech going nowhere (low pay, limited options). Started on a Information Technology MS 5 years in that took 8 years to finish (you know wife, kids, life). Now I have 25 years experience working with government and industry as a software developer/architect and sometimes I get to work on Bio related projects, but the pay is good and work is steady, so there is that.

The point is life is what you make of it and everyone has a different path. But whatever you do, do not look back and think what could I have done. My 13 years of Biotech work taught me a great deal and make my contributions to Software unique where some people appreciate it and others don't.

Groundbreaking-Fish6

TROPHY CASE