test262 – ensuring that JavaScript implementations comply with the ECMAScript specification

With so many JavaScript implementations out there, how do you guarantee that all of them stay true to ECMA-262 (the ECMAScript language standard)? The answer is test262, a suite of tests to be run by an implementation. Quote from the test262 website:

The cost of iCloud per device

In the Q3 earnings Call on July 19, Apple detailed how it will pay for the iCloud services – it defers revenue from its devices. All sums additionally cover the costs for minor operating system upgrades.

ECMAScript.next: Array.from() and Array.of()

On July 9th, Brendan Eich announced that Rick Waldron had prototyped [1] two new methods for ECMAScript.next: Array.from() and Array.of(). Both methods are also useful in current JavaScript.

OS X Lion: observations and tips

• Update 2011-07-29: More content in the Mail section. Mentioned path bar and status bar in section on Finder.
• Update 2011-07-27: Material on iMac freezes; longer conclusion; sections on Mail, iCal, preparing for Lion.

Having used Lion for a few days, this post describes my experiences and gives tips for using it.

Three annoying habits of successful people

The article “3 Annoying Habits of Successful People” starts by quoting Peter Drucker:

Coaches, he said, spend a lot of time teaching leaders what to do. But we don’t spend enough time teaching them what to stop.

Then it lists three annoying things that successful people tend to do:

Google+ – observations and future

A previous post gave an in-depth look at what Google+ is and how it was created. This post lists my observations after having used Google+ for two weeks. It relates those observations to what a technical lead on the Google+ team wrote about its future.

Google becomes more focused, closes Google Labs

Could it be? Is Google becoming more focused?

JavaScript properties: inheritance and enumerability

Update 2012-10-29: “Properties in JavaScript” is a general introduction to how properties work.

This post examines how inheritance and enumerability affect operations on properties in JavaScript.

Will there be a single Microsoft operating system by 2015?

This is my next... reports an interesting rumor: There will eventually be a single Microsoft operating system. Quote:

Programming: the benefits of taking a break

This post lists several benefits of taking a break during programming.

Are older people better programmers?

Peter Knego states something interesting: “It's official: developers get better with age. And scarcer.”. He uses reputation and other metrics from StackOverflow to corroborate his point.

CoffeeScript – overrated?

There has been an interesting thread on Reddit with the title “DAE [Does Anyone Else] think CoffeeScript is ridiculously overrated?” [via @k33g_org]. This post provides some perspective on that opinion.

Presenting at MunichJS can get you a job

Quick anecdote from MunichJS, a JavaScript user group in Munich: Student Felix Niklas held a lightning talk at a meetup, about implementing OS X Lion’s email thread unfolding animation in CSS [gist, demo – works on Chrome, Safari]. Buddycloud’s Simon Tennent was in the audience, liked the talk and hired Felix to do front-end engineering for them.

SourceMap on Firefox: source debugging for languages compiled to JavaScript [update: WebKit, too]

Update 2011-09-16: Source maps are coming to WebKit, too. Mozilla and WebKit implementers might even agree on a common format.

More and more languages are compiled to JavaScript. Mozilla has plans to let you debug those languages in their source code (no need to look at JavaScript).

Managing the flood of social content

We all know the problem: Social web applications such as Facebook and Twitter produce a lot of content. Now Google+ joins their ranks. The article “When Google Circles Collide” argues that, as a search company, Google should do a better job of filtering that content.

Comments on Jon Rubinstein’s WebOS letter

After initial reviews of HP’s TouchPad were mixed, Jon Rubinstein (head of HP’s Palm unit) wrote a letter [1] to his staff. This post summarizes that letter and gives additional perspective.

The next big thing – if you look for it, you won’t find it

Especially the tech industry is obsessed with finding the next big thing. This post argues that that is usually not a smart thing to do.

Google+: An interesting product, badly marketed

Google+ is Google’s new service for social networking and information sharing (a “Facebook competitor”, if you will). This post provides an overview of Google+: What it is, how it works and how it was created. It argues that Google has not marketed this product properly. Update 2011-07-22: Google+ – observations and future