Right on. Wish I'd said that.

Lots of non-programmers think that the only thing programmers do all day is type code. And often, if they're your boss, they will not understand if you are sitting at your desk, eyes glazed, thinking. But "prior proper planning prevents piss-poor performance."

Thinking counts as part of your job. But don't think abstractly, put thoughts down on paper, maybe write some pseudocode to get the structure of the program down. Then begin (as a previous poster suggested) with a small task from the pseudocode, and code it up.

Seriously, if you can show that you're working on the problem (with pseudocode or other notes), often your boss will leave you alone and leave you get the coding done.

First, nice to see the Doctor in the lead. I've been a fan since the 80's (Tom Baker) and love the new incarnation(s) of him.

But I'm surprised that Dana Scully isn't listed!!!

I had a weird thought, too. If you combined Frankenstein and Lecter, you'd get a doctor that creates life so he can eat it.

Not sure I agree with their pick of Lotus 1-2-3, as Visicalc was the app that made Apple computers suddenly "useful" for something other than hobbying. And granted they mentioned Visicalc, but it was Visicalc that convinced IBM that there might be something to this "personal computer" craze.

Not sure if operating systems count, either, but both Unix and the Mac GUI should count as "killer" - Unix for its longevity and hardiness some 40 yrs later, and the Mac GUI for proving that people would use a GUI rather than a command line.

I'd agree with a previous post that MacPaint (and later Photoshop and Illustrator) should be in there.

Hypercard, while a huge hit on the Mac, never translated to the PC, so I'm afraid it doesn't make the cut.

I agree with their inclusion of Quark XPress, though again it was another app that led to its creation - Framemaker, originally written for Sun, was later paired with the Mac and Adobe's Postscript printers to create desktop publishing.

I also disagree with Minesweeper. I'd vote for one of the earlier computer games, like, say Zork or the Hitchhiker's Guide. There were lots of folks like me spending their nights mapping Zork or trying to figure out what the pocket fluff in Arthur's pocket was for.

On balance, it seemed their picks were very PC-centric.

I agree, this is the best idea I've seen in this thread. Now, about next year....?

I'd label each one "Do Not Use This Drive." I'd put a program on it labelled, "Do Not Open This Program." Create the program so that it causes their mail client to email you from their email account. See how many emails you get. This would be a good opportunity to teach them how they can protect themselves from data theft, trojans, etc.

You must not live in the midwest (or the south) where the local cops can (and will) do whatever they can get away with, esp. in small towns and out in the county. It can be as simple as, "We knew your daddy and he was a bad apple."

Here in Kansas City we had a sheriff whose son pleaded guilty to indecent liberties with a child as well as child rape.

The "law" is only as fair as those who enforce it.

To the mods - this isn't flamebait. It's just a joke. The previous post is more vicious than this post.

Au contraire mon frere! I just recently bought a 2002 dual processor Powermac G4 for 275 bucks. It runs the latest version of Mac OS X, runs great, and I paid about 10% of its original price.

You should qualify your statement - "Used computers aren't good value for your money UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR."

If you're a saavy bargain-hunter you can find real gems on eBay or in the classifieds.

"Let me help." A hundred years or so from now, I believe, a famous novelist will write a classic using that theme. He'll recommend those three words even over "I love you."
--Capt. Kirk to Edith Keeler

Currently my home machine is Ghostwheel. Previous machines have been named Morpheus (from the Matrix, not mythology), Kermit (it was green), Batman (and Robin), and HAL 9000.

..a "stay" is just like hitting the pause button. Perhaps we're all jumping the gun here. It may be that (like so many things Bush left) Obama hasn't had time to review this case and filed to keep it paused until the Justice Dept. can give him an opinion.

Or, I could be totally wrong and DOOM is around the corner... ;)

Geez! For people who are fortunate enough to work in the field they love, some of them sure complain a lot! Y'all sound like a gaggle of old crones kvetching about the new butcher in town.