Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips A few observations from a few more days with the iPad. You touch the iPad with your hands, even with dirty hands. Handwriting recognition software is one of the apps that could change everything. A few more impressions after a few more days with the iPad. The number 1 question: What can […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Initial impression – I like the iPad. Let’s not forget how far hardware has advanced in two years. I bought an iPad this morning. I have a model with WiFi and 16 Gigabytes of memory. As most people already know, it doesn’t have: a phone 3G a camera (neither video nor still) […]

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by Dwayne Phillips As a designer and writer, two of my favorite tools are the blank sheet of paper and the pencil. I love a blank sheet of paper. I love to have a pencil in my hand when I’m looking at a blank sheet of paper. This is freedom. There are no guidelines, no […]

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by Dwayne Phillips A challenge in systems engineering is tracing from requirements through design and implementation to testing. This is done in almost all development methods (often people do this without realizing it). I show a method of tracing that uses Microsoft Word features and link to a video demonstration of the technique. A Requirements […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Design reviews can be important parts of projects. At design reviews, we attempt to communicate clearly and minimize misunderstandings. There are several design reviews that are important to the success of a project. This essay describes one design review that people want to have but should never be allowed. We have design […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Engineers create wonderful things now and then. Oblivious users turn the creations upside down and use them backwards. Such oblivious use teaches great lessons that smart organizations use before going to production. Engineers have their babies. Not the human kind of baby, though some engineers have those, too, but the system-that-they-create kind […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Technical debt in a system builds as changes are made to the system. At some point, the expense and risk of the next change is prohibitive. This is the first post I will make about fill-in-the-blank debt. These all go back to the concept of technical debt in a technical system. Systems […]

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by Dwayne Phillips I voted on Tuesday using a paper ballot where I filled an oval with ink to register my vote. This removed one computer from the voting system. I think that was a good thing. I voted on Tuesday. The voting place near my home in Northern Virginia used paper ballots. This felt […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Some days it rains – literally and figuratively. Have a plan that provides a way to make use of the time. I have been outdoors all day recently while taking a walk. Guess what? Some days it rains. Sitting in the office back in Northern Virginia we would look out the window […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Much has changed in computers in the past 30 years. Something that has not changed is that the input/output part of the computer is paramount. See, for example, the iPhone computer. It was in the dark ages of computing back in 1978. I was taking a class in assembly language programming for […]

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