- Posted by Ian Suttle on July 31, 2008
- Filed under General
Here at IGN Entertainment we're almost always looking for smart and curious software engineers to join our teams. Whether you're a .NET (C#), Java, or C++ programmer we'd like to hear from you. We prefer a bit of experience and a degree, but if you're one of those natural whiz kids continue reading.
Why might you want to work at IGN? I'm biased of course, but we're absolutely awesome ;). We work on a variety of applications including ecommerce, media, file distribution... we cater to heavy spikes of demand (our page loads are measured in millions to hundreds of millions per month)... we're not afraid of new technology... the gaming industry is always changing... flexible schedules, casual dress, competitive pay, good benefits, blah blah blah.
If you're not repulsed but such awesomeness feel free to contact me!
- Posted by Ian Suttle on June 17, 2008
- Filed under General
Go ahead and try to go to www.GetFirefox.com. I dare you. Insane things will happen like the server won't respond because it's being overloaded. Okay, maybe that's not crazy or insane given the popularity of Firefox, new releases, and open source community backing.
Fileplanet.com has the file available here: http://www.fileplanet.com/187938/180000/fileinfo/Mozilla-FireFox-3.0
- Posted by Ian Suttle on April 23, 2008
- Filed under General | OS
XP Pro is great. Vista is... what was it mom said about not having anything nice to say... i forget... Horrible. Server 2003 is cool as well. The problem is XP and 2003 are becoming aged. We've been working with these OS's for quite some time now and quite frankly I'm getting bored with them.
I got a new workstation at the office (Dell XPS 720) and decided to brave the latest in OS tech - Windows Server 2008 Standard, 64bit. Ohad's Windows Server 2008 as Workstation and Convert Your Windows Server 2008 to a Workstation blog have been quite helpful. I've enabled a number of these features including the beautify move through enabling themes (hey Vista may suck but it's perty).
One note to you developers out there using a 64bit OS and 32bit installs of VS2k5 and 2k8 - don't try to mix SQL Server 2005 32bit and 64bit features. Sounds like a stupid thing to try but I did it:).
- Posted by Ian Suttle on March 6, 2008
- Filed under General
I'm the drummer... this party rocked!
- Posted by Ian Suttle on February 5, 2008
- Filed under General | Office
I’m constantly writing email and documents using abbreviated names for products and features we have here at IGN Entertainment. Words like “registration” are universally recognized from the abbreviated use of “reg” as is “Fileplanet” from “fp”. By themselves neither of these short forms are valid words therefore annoying me with the little red squiggly line beneath (I use Office 2007). It’s easy to right-click these and “Add to Dictionary” or “Ignore” to get rid of the error indication. In thinking about it though, the proper answer is to type out the full word.
Right or wrong, I don’t want to type out the whole word. It takes time... time that somehow I've talked myself in to not having :).
Then it struck me today – AutoCorrect does this all the time for words I misspell; I can probably add my own AutoCorrect terms! Yep, I could. Here’s the quick and dirty on how that’s done:
Start by typing out a word you love to incorrectly abbreviate… I’ll choose “fp”.
Now right-click the abbreviate, go to the AutoCorrect menu, and choose AutoCorrect Options.
As you can see I’ve entered “fp” as the text to Replace, and “Fileplanet” as the text to replace it With. Click “Add” and you’re all set!
Now test it out by typing the abbreviated word and watch it magically transform into your intended real-life word.
I wonder what else I haven’t considered which is so simple and productive?
- Posted by Ian Suttle on January 30, 2008
- Filed under General | Startups | Social Networking
A friend of mine, Chris Anderson, is taking the leap of faith and has started an Internet company called Capzles.com. The idea is you tell a story using linear, time-based, layouts of media including photos, video, audio, blog entries, etc. This could be your life, your vacations, a product history, biography, marketing promotion, whatever. I love this idea. In fact, I love it so much I had considered the same idea myself before I ever knew Chris was working on this project and we were literally 100 yards away from eachother in an office suite. The initial force inside me was to capture a variety of details about my kids' lives which you can't capture in a photo album, photos site, blog, or any other form of album-like archiving I've seen.
Capzles explains their site with the following:
Capzles uniquely blends social networking and storytelling, allowing
users to express themselves through combined videos, photos/images,
blogs and music/audio along horizontal timelines (capzles) to share
stories. From vacations to new product launches, Capzles lets anyone
tell their stories in a fast, easy-to-use, high-style Flash interface
that more accurately reflects personality and style. Capzles is where
its audience is - everywhere on the Web - with its destination site,
widget for personal Web space, or licensed software.
Today he presented his creation at Demo 08. If you're not familiar with Demo and like new tech and startups, check it out.
If Capzles sounds interesting to you check out this video.
- Posted by Ian Suttle on October 11, 2007
- Filed under General
DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG! I knew it was coming, but I didn't realize the computer manufacturers were getting to this already. Alienware launched both a desktop and a laptop with optional Solid State drives, up to 64GB (32GB x 2) in size. If you can't imagine the possibilities and benefits that's okay, Alienware will tell you what they are:
Most Durable and Reliable
Solid
state drives (SSD) are ideal for road warriors and other enterprise
users who rely heavily on the data they store in their notebooks.
- With
no moving parts, SSD can withstand extreme temperature ranges, and
conditions of vibration and shock in transit, as well as in outdoor
environments.
High Performance
Flash memory delivers performance that keeps pace with "on the go" lifestyles. Compared with the HDD:
- SSD speeds up operating system boot and application launch/runtime by up to 2 times.
- SSD maintains fixed performance that does not deteriorate over time as the media fills up.
- Flash is noise-free, enhancing the user experience.
More Power Efficient
Flash
memory saves power, keeping notebooks running longer so that users in
transit can perform numerous read/write tasks every operating hour.
- SSD consumes up to 50 percent less power than the rotating HDD.
- SSD extends the battery life of your notebook.
Cooler
With no moving parts, flash remains cool in operation.
- Unlike HDDs, SSD does not require constant cooling for proper operation.
- SSD keeps notebooks cooler by consuming significantly less power than the HDD.
I still didn't believe it so I began to configure my own system and to my geeky satisfaction, it was real.
- Posted by Ian Suttle on October 9, 2007
- Filed under General
I visit Amazon fairly regularly... maybe monthly or so. Once thing I've always admired both from a consumer and an ecommerce architect view is their well-crafted recommendations engine. Recently they introduced a flash "recommendation carousel" allowing you to see pics of recommendations and rotate through them. Did this change my recommendations or increase the effectiveness of delivering info to me? Nope. In fact, I now have less data at my disposal. I don't see a name, description, or price. However what they did accomplish was they got my attention. It's new and different for ecommerce sites. I immediately checked out the recommendations, played with the rotation for a few, and have now blogged about it :). Nice work Amazon.
- Posted by Ian Suttle on September 24, 2007
- Filed under General
I've been interviewing and hiring engineers for years and the one saying that holds true in this experience is "it's hard to find good help these days." Not to say there aren't a number of bright individuals with good experience and characteristics out there, it's just they all have jobs already. It literally can take six months or more to find the right candidate for the position. Maybe I'm too picky. I probably pass up some would be good candidates, but I very rarely hire a bad one. I probably couldn't pass my own interview process actually :). Through the years I've come to realize some key traights of good engineers:
- Foundational knowledge - It's not enough to know the textbook on the latest and greatest programming language. You need to understand the fundamentals of software engineering. School may not be teaching you the latest version of .Net or Ruby on Rails, but they're teaching you about data structures, object oriented concepts, etc.
- Relevant experience - Okay, so knowing the textbook is good too. A good engineer can learn a new language and set of tools, and combined with foundational knowledge and industry experience they're now a well oiled programming machine.
- Positive attitude - Negativity is infectious; avoid it at all costs. We all get stressed and frustrated at times but how you react to those situations shows your true character.
- Sense of humor - If you can't smile, I can't hire. A good sense of humor can make up for other imperfections you may have.
- Dependability - Huge. If you can take the baton and carry it through to the finish line you're worth gold. There's a pit crew there for support but you've got to drive the car. Whatever you do, don't drop the ball... or crash the car to stick with the analogy :). It was pointed out by a reader this sounds critical so let me clarify. I define "drop the ball" as being flakey and not as making mistakes. Making mistakes is a natural progression of learning and growing and is expected without lashings in return :).
- Communication - You must be able to understand what's being asked of you and discuss important topics. If you can't, you won't build the right software and you'll mold inaccurate perceptions. Your manager should also be up to date on status, happenings, and obstacles. It's your manager's job to help clear the path.
- Creativity - Can you think outside of the box or do you hit your face trying to find your way out? In the software engineering world no two projects are the same and if they are, well that's what code reuse is for (note I'm specifically NOT saying Copy and Paste).
- Enthusiasm - Love what you do. Learn what's new without your job requiring it of you. Keep up with the latest trends. Work on your own pet projects. If you got in to the "computer industry" for the greenbacks, I predict a change of profession in your future :).
The position being hired for likely has specific requirements and would be in addition to the traights I've listed. Lastly, everyone can improve on all of these aspects so don't give up hope if you think you fall short.
Oh yeah... if you do fit this description contact me - I have a job for you :)
- Posted by Ian Suttle on September 18, 2007
- Filed under General | Open Source
I love the lifelong learner approach to life. There isn't a soul on this earth who's "knowledgeable enough" or who's an expert at all things. God knows I fall very deep into that category. Software developers are lucky in this sense - there are seemingly endless resources available to learn more about a vast number of technologies and approaches.
Open source projects are one of my favorite ways to learn and expand my imagination. I find it almost exciting (nerd) to review open source implementations to see how the developers think and create. Open source projects also add a certain level of design validity - they're under the scope of the community who has the power to comment and improve upon the design.
One site I've been keeping my eye on over the past couple of months is DotNetKicks. If you aren't familiar with them I encourage you to take a peek. Basically DotNetKicks is the Digg of the .Net development niche. Back in July Gavin Joyce announced DotNetKicks had become an open source project. It took me a couple of months but last night I finally downloaded the source and began to dive in to check out the mechanics of the app. I was pleased by the overall organization of the solution, readability of the code, the use of tests, a multi layer approach, and clever integration of a few external open source projects.
If you're interested in continually growing your skill set you should consider going to school on others' hard work :).
