developer.* Blogs - My Only Resolutions - Comments

Less Relevant Technical Detail

Daniel Read — Tue, 24 Jan 2006 07:35:03 -0800

Indeed, Dr. Dobb's Journal (using the proper spelling and full name, which I fudged earlier) does get technical at a low level on a variety of technologies, many of which are not relevant to me directly in my daily work. However, I've enjoyed reading them to the extent that they communicate something general, either explicitly, or as subtext.

For example, I recently read an article about a home-grown "TinyBasic" compiler that certainly has no direct bearing on my day job, but the article contained some cool stuff about language grammar and compiler design.

Dan

Dr. Dobbs = Bob Dobbs?

Andy Tegethoff — Tue, 24 Jan 2006 07:22:02 -0800

I've always wondered that...
Anyway, I have a subscription to Dr Dobbs now, but I usually find it just TOO detailed, and frequently out of my area of expertise. Which is not to say that I don't want to be challenged, or stay narrow-band w/r/t learning. It's more a question of cost/benefit ratio in reading the mag. It's thick, but it doesn't yield much useful info for me. Do you ever find that to be the case?
Still, it's free, so I renewed the last time it came up.

Dr. Dobbs Is a Good One

Daniel Read — Tue, 24 Jan 2006 06:09:50 -0800

Software Development is still good reading these days, though the influence of the giant media company that owns it is felt more and more every month (Alexa being only a recent case in point). I heard that a male columnist quit SD in protest also; I'm interested to learn who that is.

That said, I'm really enjoying another publication (which retains a very indie feel despite also being owned by CMP), Dr. Dobbs. They have the same free subscription deal that SD has, and it's sort of a yang to SD's yin. Whereas SD stays at a somewhat higher level, Dr. Dobbs gets way down in the weeds.

Welcome to the world of RSS! I predict that RSS will be your primary window to web content in a matter of weeks. I love it.

Dan

New Reading

Andy Tegethoff — Mon, 23 Jan 2006 15:48:49 -0800

Thanks, guys.
I've actually kept my sub to Software Developer going for some time, but I'm less than thrilled with them right now after finding out what they did to Alexa (see Edward's most recent post).

I just renewed MSDN, after letting it go almost a year ago. I find that most of the articles don't really apply to things that I do or even would do, but it's still usually good info. The problem is that it tends to pile up very quickly.

But the really big move is that I just installed RSSBandit, and I intend to start tracking a lot more blogs, and to generally get on the RSS train. It seems that's where the best info is these days anyway.

Plus, I tend to prefer supporting independent voices (in whatever I'm interested in) and it seems like that's a more genuine way to do that than to worry more about published materials.

All that said, I'm open to suggestions!

Welcome Back, Working Boy!

Daniel Read — Mon, 23 Jan 2006 12:38:22 -0800

Good to have you back on the blog. I look forward to future posts.

Dan

resolution to read

jos.trem — Mon, 23 Jan 2006 11:22:41 -0800

Andy: The personified Internet cannot hold you to your pledge, of course! But the readers here at dev*.* can at least encourage you with questions and comments.

So... What printed or online journals do you commit yourself to read?

My Only Resolutions

Andy Tegethoff — Mon, 23 Jan 2006 08:02:40 -0800

I've been sucked in by that most dangerous of forces: career inertia. I've grown dependent on my job to deliver learning opportunities. The problem is, it isn't....