Z Trek: The Alan Zeichick Weblog

, , ,

Despairing of the “brogrammer” world, thanks to GamerGate

It’s hard being a female programmer or software engineer. Of course, it’s hard for anyone to be a techie, male or female. You have to master a lot of arcane knowledge, and keep up with new developments. You have to be innately curious and…
, , ,

Next steps for Hewlett-Packard post-split

Neil Sedaka insists that breakin’ up is hard to do. Will that apply to the planned split of Hewlett-Packard into two companies? Let’s be clear: This split is a wonderful idea, and it’s long overdue. Once upon a time, HP was in three…
, , , , ,

Big Data Divinations – Your business partner’s book about Big Data

You’ve gotta read “Data Divination: Big Data Strategies,” Pam Baker’s new book about Big Data. Actually, let me change my recommendation. If you are a techie and you are looking for suggestions on how to configure your Hadoop installation…
, , ,

You’ve got 30 seconds. Make the most of it

Thirty seconds. That’s about how long a mobile user will spend with your game before deciding if he or she will continue using it. Thirty seconds. Maybe a minute. If you haven’t engaged the customer by then, forget it. That’s according…
, ,

Three first impressions of Apple Watch, Pay-to-Yelp and something old

First Impressions of the Apple Watch: Surprised that it’s not called the iWatch. The user interface looks surprisingly cool. Distressed that the Apple Watch needs to be charged every day, but if the docking station is sufficiently easy to…
,

Learning COBOL might be a great job move

Once upon a time, back when dinosaurs roamed the planet, I learned COBOL. While I never wrote any deployed applications in the language, I did use it to teach an undergraduate course in computer science for business majors, back in the early…
, , , ,

They want to steal your data

“My name is Patricia from the Bank of America fraud prevention department. This important message is for Mr. Alan Zeichick. We are calling to verify some potentially suspicious activity on your account. It is very important that we speak with…
, , ,

What to do when, not if, your cloud goes down

Cloud-based development tools are great. Until they don't work. I don’t know if you were affected by Microsoft’s Azure service outage on Thursday, August 14, 2014. As of my deadline, services had been offline for nearly six hours. On…
, , , ,

For your customers, support low- and intermittent-bandwidth mobility

We drove slightly more than 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers), my wife and I, during a weeklong holiday. We explored different states in the western United States: Arizona (where we live), Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming. The Rocky Mountains are…
, , ,

Look to the intranet for shared corporate data — it’s a Big Data problem

Where do your employees go to find shared data? If it’s external data, probably an external search engine, like Google (which apparently holds 67.6% of the U.S. market) or Bing (18.7%) or one of the niche players. What about internal corporate…
, , , ,

Microsoft’s bold ambition scares me

Microsoft has evolved considerably. It's moved from its early days selling developer tools, or its era focusing on Windows and Office, or its run as a server software maker, or its first iteration as a cloud/online services company. Despite…
, , ,

Developer programs are a good investment in your employees

If your developers aren’t enrolled in developer relations programs, they will grow old and stale. They will become moldy. They will pine for the Good Old Days and opine endlessly about the irrelevance of new tools, new platforms, new paradigms…
, , , , , ,

The future of computing: Android Everywhere

GOOGLE I/O 2004, SAN FRANCISCO — What is Android? It’s hard to know these days, and I’m not sure if that’s good or not. We all know what happened when Microsoft began seeing Windows as a common operating system for everything from embedded…
,

Don’t sign the non-compete agreement

Are you covered by a non-compete agreement at your current employer? Are your workers covered by a non-compete? While non-competes may make your executives (and their attorneys) feel good, they may not be good for your company. Non-compete…
, ,

Forget Big Data and worry about Bad Data

Two consulting projects this year have involved lots and lots of data. One was the migration of a very complex customer database and transaction logging system to a cloud-based CRM platform from a homegrown system. The other involved performing…
, , ,

It’s time to learn Swift

SAN FRANCISCO — I expected a new version of OS X, the operating system for Mac desktops and notebooks. I expected a new version of iOS, the operating system for iPhones and iPads. I did not expect a new programming language. Yet that’s what…
,

Liminal moments

This is one of a series of articles I wrote for the monthly Bulletin of Peninsula Temple Sholom in Burlingame, Calif. The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit, Shall lure it back to cancel half…
, , ,

Git control of your software development assets

There are lots of reasons to use Git as your source-code management system. Whether used as a primary system, or in conjunction with an existing legacy repository, I’m going to argue that if you’re not using Git now, you should be at least…
, , ,

With Surface Pro 3 Microsoft withdraws from the Tablet Wars

With the May 20 introduction of the Surface Pro 3, Microsoft has unofficially withdrawn from the tablet market. If you’re looking for a tablet computer, your two main platform choices are now Android and iOS. The Surface Pro 3 isn not an…
, , , ,

Coping with complexity at the SDLC Acceleration Summit

South San Francisco, California — Writing software would be oh, so much simpler if we didn’t have all those darned choices. HTML5 or native apps? Windows Server in the data center or Windows Azure in the cloud? Which Linux distro? Java or…
,

Celebrating the joy of community

This is one of a series of articles I wrote for the monthly Bulletin of Peninsula Temple Sholom in Burlingame, Calif. Mah tovu ohaleha, Yaakov, mishk'notecha Yisrael! Vaani b'rov chasd'cha, avo veitecha, eshtachaveh el heichal kodsh'cha…
, ,

Do you want to be a billionaire?

Would you like a billion dollars? Software companies, both startups and established firms, are selling like hotcakes. Some are selling for millions of U.S. dollars. Some are selling for billions. While the bulk of the sales price often goes…
,

Holocaust scrolls and congregational listening

This is one of a series of articles I wrote for the monthly Bulletin of Peninsula Temple Sholom in Burlingame, Calif. Did you know that we are safeguarding a Holocaust Torah at Peninsula Temple Sholom? You can see the scroll in the Raiskin…
,

Weights and measures: PTS by the numbers

This is one of a series of articles I wrote for the monthly Bulletin of Peninsula Temple Sholom in Burlingame, Calif. The Torah is big on counting. Members of tribes, size of armies, measurements of the Ark of the Covenant. The fourth book…
,

Ideas to drive the new year

This is one of a series of articles I wrote for the monthly Bulletin of Peninsula Temple Sholom in Burlingame, Calif. Happy New Year! While this is the February 2014 edition of the Bulletin, as I write it's the last few days of December…
, , , ,

Read about Carla Schroder’s nerd life – and it’s a good life

"I tried working for some tech companies like Microsoft, Tektronix, IBM, and Intel. What a fiasco. I can't count how many young men with way less experience and skills than me snagged the good fun hands-on tech jobs, while I got stuck doing…
,

You won’t believe what they are saying about tech women

Technology is a rewarding career track. It also can be an incredibly hostile career track, especially for the females of the species. Here are 13 links to what they’re saying about women in tech - plus a bonus off-topic one.  If you're…
, , ,

Amazing women in tech? Just say “Yes”

We need all the technical talent we can get. Whether we are talking developers, architects, network staff, IT admins, managers, hardware, software or firmware, the more women in technology, the better. For everyone – for companies, for customers,…
,

Smart glasses you have to see to believe

LAS VEGAS — If you are a geek, there are few events geekier than the huge Consumer Electronics Show, held here each January. Here is where you’ll find the latest toys, toys, toys, toys, toys and toys. Such as smart glasses, smart cars, shape-recognizing…
, , ,

Dancing with Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak

I’ve had the opportunity to meet and listen to Steve Wozniak several times over the years. He’s always funny and engaging, and his scriptless riffs get better all the time. With this one, he had me rolling in the aisle. The Woz's hour-long…