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Niklaus Wirth: Geek of the Week

Richard Morris — 02 July 2009

It is difficult to begin to estimate the huge extent of the contribution that Niklaus Wirth has made to IT as it exists today. Although now retired for ten years, he remains a abiding influence on the design of computer languages. It is likely that the first structured computer language you ever learned was written by him. He still has fascinating views on contemporary software trends, as Richard Morris found out when he spoke to him.

Expecting the Worst

Larry Gonick — 23 June 2009

Optimists are often disappointed

To Boldly Ask IT for Development Work

Phil Factor — 22 June 2009

Phil has always been mystified by the way that, in Science-Fiction films, the crew of space-ships are able to reprogram their ships' computers in order to respond to emergencies, needing no more than a brief klip...klop...klip on the keyboard to effect a huge software change. A life in IT has seemed so different, and so he wonders if there a more realistic way that one might imagine IT's contribution to Space adventures

Green Enterprise

Larry Gonick — 17 June 2009

How to Profit from saving the world, or not

Craig Newmark: Geek of the Week

Richard Morris — 15 June 2009

Occasionally, readers of Simple-Talk will ask quizzically if the 'Geek of the Week' that the editors have chosen really is a true 'geek'. Nobody could ever ask that about Craig Newmark, the founder of the famous website 'CraigsList'. The site is uncompromisingly geeky in attitude, spartan in appearance but immensely popular, and supported by an army of enthusiasts. One can say exactly the same about the admirable Craig Newmark himself.

Smelly Code

Larry Gonick — 10 June 2009

Sometimes viewing a problem from a distance can clarify matters

Raw Materials: Being and Knowing

Larry Gonick — 03 June 2009

Schrödinger's cat escapes its box.

Ken Blanchard meets the One Minute Reporter

Richard Morris — 28 May 2009

With economic doom and gloom all around him, Richard Morris decides to seek advice before starting a business. Who better, we suggest, than Ken Blanchard, the relentlessly optimistic purveyor of uplifting materials to the wannabe entrepreneurs, and author of the best-selling 'One Minute Manager'. We sent him of into the rain in his trilby to interview Ken and infuse himself with some get-up-and-go

The Book 'Confessions of an IT Manager'

Phil Factor — 27 May 2009

For three and a half years, the 'Confessions of an IT Manager', by Phil Factor, have been a distinctive part of Simple-Talk's output. Now compiled into a 300 page book, they form a unique commentary of the comic, and someties bizarre, nature of a career in IT.

Raw Materials: Disapproval

Larry Gonick — 20 May 2009

"It is a narrow mind that cannot see things from more than one point of view." —George Eliot

Raw Materials: Harmonious Connections

Larry Gonick — 13 May 2009

In which Arthur makes some changes for the sake of another

Raw Materials: Cloud Computing, the Next Generation

Larry Gonick — 08 May 2009

The pros and cons of having computing power close at hand.

Marc Wick: Geek of the Week

Richard Morris — 06 May 2009

Marc Wick is the genius behind GeoNames, the free Web Service that powers a number of popular GPS applications and games. It is an open-source database of geographical information that is used by hundreds of applications from iPhone apps to political organizations. Its data is used for research and geo-visualizations in universities around the world. It underpins a large number of geography-aware applications and can be loaded into SQL Server Spatial and used with the new geospatial features of SQL Server 2008

Raw Materials: Recipe for Disaster

Larry Gonick — 06 May 2009

A hardware problem disrupts a culinary algorithm.

Raw Materials: Transportation Management

Larry Gonick — 29 April 2009

Transportation Management is an information technology problem in more ways than one.

Auguries

Larry Gonick — 23 April 2009

Raw Materials: In his quest for certainty, Arthur plays chicken with common sense.

Sarah Lacey on The Rise of Web 2.0

Richard Morris — 14 April 2009

Sarah Lacy's commentary on the IT Industry for BusinessWeek is widely read and causes polarised opinions. She is a skilled and experienced writer whose work on TechCrunch is a virtuoso display of the art of blogging. Her treatment at the hands of the audience at SXSWi 2008 Tech-fest was the stuff of every journalist's nightmare, and baffling to those of us who watched the video in retrospect. We sent Richard Morris meet her and find out more.

The Wardrobe Compatibility Matrix

Larry Gonick — 05 April 2009

The Theoretical foundations of wardrobe security are little understood.

Making IT Work in the Public Sector

David Craig — 30 March 2009

The Information Technology Reform Act, commonly known as the 'Clinger-Cohen' act, spelled the end of the 'Wild West days of federal IT'. By contrast, in the UK, the cowboys are everywhere in the public sector since the British Labour Government decided to bypass the Civil Service and use their favorite management and IT systems consultants to implement a host of unmitigated and shameful IT disasters.

Females Explained

Larry Gonick — 22 March 2009

Raw Materials Comic Strip:Language can mean more than we intended, or less.