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  Examples of bad design

Good designs always help users solve their problems in a convenient and familiar way. It takes little or no time for users getting used to the product with a good design. In contrast, bad designs frequently introduce confusion and complexity to users. Before we design any product, we should think carefully about every aspect of the product. We share some really bad design here to show how they can affect people's life. 1. USB Connector Have you ever put one in right on the first try? We frequen...

   Bad design,Usability,Web design     2013-09-25 22:57:49

  Reasons to use blue in design

Blue color is used in many product designs and logo designs such as Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and our site. Why do companies choose blue color in their design? It's not a coincidence for them to choose blue. One saying is the color blue is associated with trust, efficiency, clarity and simplicity. Beside this reason, are there other reasons? From an interface design standpoint, blue is an incredibly useful color. Among the dark colors designers have in their toolbox, red, orange and green al...

   Design,Blue     2013-12-13 07:13:22

  Introducing the for-if anti-pattern

Over the years, I've seen a bunch of coding anti-patterns. I figured maybe I'll share a few. Today, I'll introduce what I'm calling the for-if anti-pattern, also known as "We'll sell you the whole seat, but you'll only need the edge." This is a special case of the for-case anti-pattern, where all but one of the cases is null. for (int i = 0; i < 100; i++) { if (i == 42) { do_something(i); } } This can naturally be simplified to do_something(42); The for-if anti-pattern arises in ma...

   Programming,Anti-pattern,for-if,efficiency     2012-02-02 10:18:15

  It Should Only Take You a Few Hours...

It sure seems easy to make a table. Anyone can do it, right? Get 1 large flat rectangular piece of wood, 4 equally tall wooden poles, 4 nails and a hammer. Nail the 4 poles to each corner of the flat rectangular bit, and you have a table. Ta daaa! Now ask a carpenter to craft you a table. First they will spend time discussing the purpose and function of the table - indoor or outdoor, kitchen or dining room, for show or heavy use, what load does it need to bear. Then they will determine th...

   Programming,software,Craft     2012-03-01 05:09:10

  Creativity requires isolation

How many times have you tried to get something done that needed some touch of originality and creativity and yet got that annoying mind block which is manifested by blank stares, scratching and biting on anything in reach? “all the damn time” I hear? As preconditions to be creative, one should know something well while having the utmost focus on it. Someone who knows little about aerodynamics can’t come up with the idea for next concord. And focus has two aspects: kno...

   Creativity,Isolation,Quiet,Paper,Pen     2011-11-28 09:33:57

  Bionic Office

Well. That took rather longer than expected. We have, finally, moved, into the new Fog Creek office at 535 8th Avenue, officially ten months after I started pounding the pavement looking for a replacement for my grandmother's old brownstone where we spent our first few years, working from bedrooms and the garden. Most software managers know what good office space would be like, and they know they don't have it, and can't have it. Office space seems to be the one thing that nobody can get rig...

   Work place,Life,Office,Confortable     2012-01-18 09:00:55

  Python Patterns - An Optimization Anecdote

The other day, a friend asked me a seemingly simple question: what's the best way to convert a list of integers into a string, presuming that the integers are ASCII values. For instance, the list [97, 98, 99] should be converted to the string 'abc'. Let's assume we want to write a function to do this. The first version I came up with was totally straightforward: def f1(list): string = "" for item in list: string = string + chr(item) return string ...

   Python,Optimization,Anecdote,Loopup,ASCII     2011-12-18 10:52:49

  A tour to Tumblr's office

This week Yahoo has made a deal with Tumblr that Yahoo would acquire Tumblr with $1.1 billion. The reason why Yahoo wants to acquire Tumblr is still not so clear. It may be because they don't want to miss the chance again after they missed the chance to acquire Facebook. But anyway, let's take a tour to the office environment of Tumblr. The big logo after entering the door. The office building in Tumblr has two floors. Most people are working on the first floor. Cute decorations Technical t...

   Tumblr,Office,Tour     2013-05-22 12:25:32

  Do You Morph Into A Different Programmer?

Every experience you have as a software developer should change you in some way. And I don’t just mean growing older by virtue of time passing. Everything you do should evolve your understanding of your craft (and/or related skills) or your understanding of yourself – which ultimately achieves the same goal. I am not just talking about major milestones in your software development career like switching jobs, becoming a leader/manager or starting you own company. Every job, ev...

   Programmer,Steps,Process,Developer     2011-08-18 08:59:01

  It makes nothing but sense...Mobile Payment...

Chinese New Year is around the corner, every place in China and lots of places in the work have been in the CNY mode. People are rushing out to get all the stuff ready to welcome the New Year Eveand the Spring Festival. I also packed my stuff and flew back to my howntown in China to enjoy the great moment to stay with families and hang out with friends whom I have't been seeing for almost one year. I am exited... However, the first thing stunned me is not my friends but the mobile payment s...

   CHINA,WECHAT PAY,ALIPAY,MOBILE PAYMENT     2018-02-12 00:07:46

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