Here are the top ten shows on IT Conversations (by download) for September 2008.
- Episode 19 - StackOverflow (Rating: 2.67)
Joel and Jeff discuss scaling and social effects in Stack Overflow, how to handle growth and the launch in a controlled way, and answer listener questions about backups, database design, and maintenance programming.
- Episode 18 - StackOverflow (Rating: 2.60)
In the eighteenth episode of Stack Overflow, we finally meet Michael Pryor, the co-founder of Fog Creek Software -- and discuss the progress of the Stack Overflow beta in some depth.
- Episode Seventeen - StackOverflow (Rating: 2.00)
In this special "developer edition" podcast, Jeff and the Stack Overflow development team discuss the development processes and decisions that go into building a public community web site for programmers.
- Manolis Kelaidis - bLink: Connecting the Analog and Digital Worlds (Rating: 4.67)
Wouldn't it be amazing if you could hold a "book" in your hands which had hyperlinks? Why would that be amazing, you ask? Well, what if the hyperlink triggered a process that makes a nearby computer, for example, play an MP3 of animal sounds that match the story? In this keynote presentation from the 2007 O'Reilly Tools of Change for Publishing conference, Manolis Kelaidis introduces blueBook, his prototype that merges the analog and digital worlds of books.
- Joel Spolsky - The Three Ingredients Of Great Products (Rating: 4.40)
Joel Spolsky is a highly revered software pundit, an eminent author, the host of one of the most widely read blogs, the co-founder of New York based FogCreek Software, and a witty and intelligent person to listen to. He believes that the three key ingredients that make great software are: making users happy, obsessing over aesthetics, and observing culture code. In elaborating these ideas with plenty of examples, he doesn't spare his wonderful sense of humor.
- Jimmy Wales - Open or Closed? The Future of Search (Rating: 3.17)
"Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge." That is the goal of Wikipedia's creator, Jimmy Wales. He has set his sights on Google and the other corporate Search Engines with his new project "Wikia," a personal search engine-builder.
- Episode Sixteen - StackOverflow (Rating: 4.50)
Joel and Jeff discuss the perils of programmer design, the purpose of a private beta, the importance of quality chairs for programmers, and the mysterious cone of uncertainty on software projects.
- Pete Blackshaw - Consumer Megaphones (Rating: 4.00)
Dr. Moira Gunn speaks with Pete Blackshaw, author of "Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends," about consumer megaphones -- the folks who get extremely displeased and upset with products or services.
- Cliff Schmidt - The Talking Book Device (Rating: 4.25)
People learning to read will soon be able to use a handheld device to practice their reading skills when trained teachers and the Internet are not available. Using inexpensive hardware, Literacy Bridge plans to provide Talking Book audio players/recorders in developing nations starting this fall, with a goal of selling them for $10 per device or less. Listen to Cliff Schmidt describe the Talking Book and the benefits it will bring to people in far-flung locations.
- Episode Fifteen - StackOverflow (Rating: 3.00)
It's the special listener question show! Joel and Jeff answer questions from the audience on making the transition from developer to manager, how to Get Things Done, the hidden value of in-person code reviews, and more.
