'Cookedinput copy handleedit' presentation slideshows

Cool Code

Presented at GeeCON (18th May 2012) Video available on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/44792649 In most disciplines built on skill and knowledge, from art to architecture, from creative writing to structural engineering, there is a strong emphasis on studying existing work. Exemplary pieces from past and present are examined and discussed in order to provoke thinking and learn techniques for the present and the future. Although programming is a discipline with a very large canon of existing work to draw from, the only code most programmers read is the code they maintain. They rarely look outside the code directly affecting their work. This talk examines some examples of code that are interesting because of historical significance, profound concepts, impressive technique, exemplary style or just sheer geekiness.

1.87k views • 47 slides

Worse Is Better, for Better or for Worse

1.48k views • 44 slides

Worse Is Better, for Better or for Worse

Presented at GOTO Aarhus 2014 (2nd October 2013) Over two decades ago, Richard P Gabriel proposed the thesis of "Worse Is Better" to explain why some things that are designed to be pure and perfect are eclipsed by solutions that are seemingly limited and incomplete. This is not simply the observation that things that should be better are not, but that some solutions that were not designed to be the best were nonetheless effective and were the better option. We find many examples of this in software development, some more provocative and surprising than others. In this talk we revisit the original premise and question in the context of product development and user experience, challenging some common ideas of what delights the user, the customer and the market and what should (or should not) be simple in a product.

2.06k views • 42 slides

Worse Is Better, for Better or for Worse

1.34k views • 36 slides