#Tech

A random assortment of ramblings on all things tech from a former developer, technology manager and comedy writer.

by Phil Johnson

Phil Johnson is a writer and editor for ITworld.com, after having survived 17 years in the corporate wild as a software/web developer, technical lead and project manager.

In his spare time these days, when he's not chauffeuring his daughters to and from school, lessons and Justin Bieber movies (ugh), he enjoys drawing cartoons, tweeting about his life and taking pictures of cranes.

Making non-coders code

Posted Sep 20, 2012 - 11:53 am

[chunklet]
Let's leave things like programming, commercial airplane flying and reality show hosting to the professionals
Boston, coding
The most WTF-y programming languages

Posted Sep 25, 2013 - 06:00 am

The GitHub Archive reveals which languages seem to baffle developers the most
Adam Bard, BigQuery
Pair programmers wanted; week-long audition required

Posted Sep 10, 2012 - 09:20 am

[chunklet]
Hashrocket pair programmers Paul Elliott and Matt Conway demonstrating their technique Hashrocket/Paul Elliott
Agile, coding
Who really wants a self-driving car?

Posted Feb 20, 2013 - 01:14 pm

There's lots of hype around self-driving cars; some of it sounds good, some of it sounds pie-in-the-sky and some of it sounds downright dumb
accidents, Aud
Wait – maybe JavaScript IS the top programming language

Posted Jul 09, 2013 - 06:00 am

The ubiquitous language that’s the “glue” of web pages tops some recent rankings of programming languages
Yahoo, Amazon
7 frustrating things about being a programmer

Posted Feb 13, 2013 - 12:30 pm

Like any other job, programming has its frustrating aspects. Here are seven things that drove me nuts
Agile, bug
Students hurt by the digital divide

Posted Feb 04, 2013 - 01:05 pm

Millions of students in the U.S. don’t have access to high speed Internet services at home and it’s hurting their chances for academic success, but fixing the problem is not going to be easy or cheap
broadband, cable
Buy Matthew Broderick’s old movie computer and possibly impress Ally Sheedy

Posted Jun 26, 2013 - 06:00 am

Now’s your chance to own the famous computer from WarGames
Ally Sheedy, auction
Data: the ultimate Internet music royalty

Posted Nov 19, 2012 - 11:21 am

In the battle over music streaming royalties, one musician wants something more valuable than money: information
cello, Clear Channel
Do drugs help programmers?

Posted Nov 07, 2012 - 12:34 pm

[chunklet]
Is this the key to better code - or just the munchies? REUTERS/Andres Stapff
[/chunklet]
acid, coders

Join us:

October is...
Unified Communications Month

BY THE NUMBERS: UC&C

HOW-TO: Look alive and professional in Web meetings

TIP: Use your cell phone as a WiFi VOIP phone

TOOLBOX: Six alternative tools for small business collaboration

CASE STUDY: Enterprise social network moves ad agency into the future

Microsoft's Security Essentials isn't the best antivirus program, according to Microsoft

2 comments
AMD pushes forward with new video cards and a few surprises

2 comments
Change Microsoft Office 2013's default search engine from Bing to Google

2 comments
See - and hear - what it was like to surf the web 20 years ago

1 comment
Valve completes its trifecta of announcements with the Steam Controller

1 comment

White Papers & Webcasts

White Paper

5 Steps for Building a Secure Cloud

Webcast On Demand

Containerization Options: How to Choose the Best DLP Solution for Your Organization

Webcast On Demand

CDW Software Asset Management

See more White Papers | Webcasts

Join today!

Get FREE access to premium content, in-depth reviews, practical tips

How it works: The basic tech behind the Internet
You may think you know, but do you really know?
Free and cheap ways to study for IT certifications
Helpful tips for finding inexpensive study resources and getting hands-on experience
iOS vs. Android vs. BlackBerry vs. Windows Phone
Which platform provides the security you need?