Pragmatic

Follow up (Part A) to Watch This Time and Space where we address durability of mechanical watches vs quartz watches, accuracy, using the band as a charging point, batteries and cameras and whether a smartwatch without an always-on face is a failure. With Vic Hudson and John Chidgey. Related Links: Railroad Chronometer Support Pragmatic on Patreon Episode sponsor: Harvest: Harvest allows you to tra...

We delve into Barcodes and RFID tracing their history and dissecting exactly how they work and where the future of identification technology is headed specifically for shopping experiences. With Vic Hudson and John Chidgey. Previous Pragmatic Episode Links: Episode 16: One Man’s Hopes and Dreams of an RF Bubble Episode 39: Look Ma, No Wires Related Links: Dewey Decimal System Barcode Barcode...

We delve into energy conversion efficiencies of solar photovoltaics, fuel cells, the Hydrogen Economy, steam and hydro-turbines and ways you can conserve energy in your home. With Vic Hudson and John Chidgey. Previous Pragmatic Episode Links: Episode 2: The Battery Problem Episode 2a: The Battery Problem Follow-up Part A Episode 2b: The Battery Problem Follow-up Part B Episode 2c: The Battery Prob...

Managing features and requirements on your project is difficult and scope creep is your constant enemy. John and Seth explore classifying features, dealing with client requests and making it all work to a plan for internal and external projects. With Seth Clifford and John Chidgey. TechDistortion Companion Article: Four Quadrants Related Links: Finding Colours That Sell Scope Creep Activated Sludg...

Follow up (Part A) to Hopefully They Don't Burn It where Vic and John touch briefly on DRM, looking at kill switches and when it's right/wrong to use them confirm that Chapters is still open, touch on libraries already lending books via Kindles and more. With Vic Hudson and John Chidgey. Related Links: Amazon Wipes Customers Kindle Episode 12 Pages Blocks Planes Die Bank Device When an eRe...

Working in retail and in customer facing roles comes with its own set of challenges. We dive into coping mechanisms, closing a sale and identifying when you're being worked over, Apple's Genius Training manual and the effectiveness of tipping. With Vic Hudson and John Chidgey. Related Links: Gizmodo: Apples Secret Employee Training Manual Banning Tipping At My Restaurant Tipping (PDF) Does...

Follow up (Part A) to Coffee where Marco and John revisit Johns coffee setup, oxalates, different milk warmer/frothers, portafilters, cold-brew coffee, reasons why grounds are left behind when you pop an AeroPress filter off and lots and lots more. With Marco Arment and John Chidgey. Related Links: John’s New Gear and New Favourite Coffee Auswana GlassHouse Mountains Coffee Breville BMF600 B...

When you create a product the time inevitably comes when you have to either hand it over or shut it down. Marco Arment joins John to look at how they have approached the problem of letting projects go. With Marco Arment and John Chidgey. Related Links: Instapaper Overcast The Magazine Betaworks D&LP: Defects and Liability Period Tumblr The Magazine is shutting down The Magazine is making a boo...

eReaders have many advantages over paperbacks and although Amazon would have you believe that eBooks are leading the way, the paperback is far from dead and we look at both sides of the debate. With Vic Hudson and John Chidgey. Related Links: Paperback Books Kindle Books Outselling Paperbacks The Rise of e-Reading Average Book Weights Kindle Paperwhite Kindle Paperwhite (1st Generation) A Comparis...

Independence and job satisfaction is a consideration whether you work for yourself or for a large corporation. Understanding what matters to us the most we consider how recognition plays a role and the differences between whichever path you choose. With Vic Hudson and John Chidgey. Related Links: Microsoft Excels Lead Developer Vesper Review: MacStories Overcast Icon Napkin App Support Pragmatic o...

Remaining productive in your projects with limited time and constant interruptions can lead to giving up. John delves into strategies for being productive in a real world situation and it's not about the tools but about how you set your time and goals. With Vic Hudson and John Chidgey. Related Links: The Critical Path Lao-tzu Quotations You Need an MVP Support Pragmatic on Patreon Episode spon...

Follow up (Part A) to Safety, Safety Everywhere with Fire Extinguishers being fitted to the wrong spot in a Nuclear Reactor and the dangers of Nitrogen purging. With Vic Hudson and John Chidgey. Related Links: Pierced Containment With 6 Holes Columbia’s First Victims Atmosphere of the Earth Nitrogen Nitrogen CSB (PDF) Support Pragmatic on Patreon

Radio and Amateur/Ham Radio played a huge role in John's career in Engineering. We delve into EM Waves, Antennas, Transmission Lines as well as many of the facets of Amateur Radio including DX-peditions, Fox-hunting, Hamfests, Moonbounce and more. With Vic Hudson and John Chidgey. Related Links: Amateur (Ham) Radio Operator Amateur (Ham) Radio OSCAR DX Century Club Q-Codes ARDF (Fox-Hunting) S...

The Apple Watch promises new functionality from a smartwatch. John dissects the detail behind the power demands of wristwatches, screen types, movement types, GPSs, super-capacitors, batteries and why the Taptic engine could be a big deal. With Vic Hudson and John Chidgey. Related Links: Mechanical Watches The Watch The Hamilton Watch Company Quartz Watches Seiko Astron SQ 35 The First Quartz Wris...

Cancer is the number two cause of death in the US and can affect anyone at any age. Federico Viticci joins John to talk about the history of the disease, what it is, how we fight it and Federicos first-hand experience with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. With Federico Viticci and John Chidgey. Related Links: History of Cancer Oncology Cancer Leading Causes of Death Chemotherapy Radiation Therapy Targetted...

Working in Engineering construction sometimes requires working away from home and this comes with its own set of challenges. Vic Hudson joins John to talk about good and the bad and the issues no-one else seems to think or talk about. With Vic Hudson and John Chidgey. TechDistortion Companion Article: Death By Site Related Links: Fly In Fly Out Suicide Rates Doctors for FIFO Workers Support Pragma...

Why write open source code and when you should start. If you're interested in Python, John's found just the man, Nick Coghlan of Red Hat joins John to discuss open source, python and how a casual interest can turn into big part of your career and your life. With Nick Coghlan and John Chidgey. Related Links: Red Hat Linux Open Source Keep Calm and Merge On Comparison of Open Source Software...

Everyone thinks they know the best way to write code. Irrespective of the platform there's some common concepts that every programmer should try to follow. Guy English joins John to discuss everything from comments to object structures and more. With Guy English and John Chidgey. Related Links: Code Complete by Steve McConnell Can Commented Out Code be Valuable? ArsTechnica How do I deal with...

Loyalty to a single platform can be a risky business position for developers. Russell Ivanovic of Shifty Jelly joins John to discuss his experiences on Android vs iOS and shows that putting Android willingly in your blindspot may cause you to miss out. With Russell Ivanovic and John Chidgey. Related Links: The Android Screen Fragmentation Myth Bug Splitting PocketCasts Motivated Reasoning Cognitiv...

Where does one host their site or service on the Internet? There are lots of choices, places and trade-offs to consider. David Smith joins John to walk through the options as we explore which is the right choice for different use cases. With David Smith and John Chidgey. Hosts we use: Digital Ocean CloudShards Soft Layer Linode Related Links: WordPress WordPress Optimisation Bible Blogger cPanel S...

Since information could travel faster than the weather we've strived to predict the weather more accurately into the future. Joel Housman joins John to dig deep into just how hard weather prediction can be and why. With Joel Housman and John Chidgey. Related Links: Weather Forecasting Synoptic Scale Meterology Atmospheric Pressure Dark Sky: A Weather App To Keep You Dry (Review) Weather Data a...

On the day following the launch of his new app Overcast, Marco Arment joins John to talk about coffee. We cover the history from the 13th century to present with brewing techniques and a bit about our personal journeys with that wonderful brown liquid. With Marco Arment and John Chidgey. Caffeine systematic name: 3,7-dihydro-1,3,7-trimethyl-1H-purine-2,6-dione; aka 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine aka 1,3,...

Follow up (Part A) to Gambling Machines where I talk briefly about why I left Zero-Sum games out of the episode, how Italy is facing the similar problems with slot machines and insurance vs gambling. Thanks to Jordan, Nick, Andrew and Frank (from Italy). With John Chidgey. Related Links: New Comma 6A Slot Machine Rules Italy Rounders IMDB Support Pragmatic on Patreon Episode sponsor: LIFX: LIFX is...

Follow up (Part A) to Daylight Saving where we quickly touch on Seasonal Affective Disorder and whether Daylight Saving _actually_ contributes to it. Thanks for the feedback Andrew McAuliffe. With John Chidgey. Related Links: Circadian rhythm Daylight Savings: Not a Bright Time for All What is Seasonal Affective Disorder/Winter Depression? Seasonal affective disorder Support Pragmatic on Patreon E...

The Surface Pro 3 claims to be the best of both a laptop and tablet experience but in trying to compromise for both, new issues about its optimisation for either use case become evident. Myke Hurley joins John to dissect the Tablet Laptop category. With Myke Hurley and John Chidgey. TechDistortion Companion Article: Tablet Laptops You Can’t Fight The Physics Related Links: Center Of Mass Mic...