So I finally gave something back. Granted, in proportion to how I've benefitted from open source software over the years, it's not much. But it's (marginally) better than nothing, right?

I released a Drupal module I call Commentify, which is one of several modules I wrote (or thought up/architected) to integrate Drupal with the proprietary CMS we use at work.

This happens to be the module with the widest potential appeal, since I can't imagine too many people are interested in modules that interface with proprietary registration systems, or with non-mainstream, non-public video vendors. (Randy's Location Ads module rocked, but there's no way that's ever going to be ported to Drupal 5.x or 6.x)

Basically, it lets you attach Drupal as a commenting solution to any sort of foreign content management system.

It was something of an inauspicious release, because I managed to make not one but TWO big, bonehead mistakes with CVS, which I blame on haste and my preference for and familiarity with Subversion.

Embarrassing, but they were fixed with some help from the CVS guru at Drupal.org.

Or, "does the process matter more than the work?"

Maybe I've been in my isolated little work world for too long, where I've had to wear lots of hats, and for the most part, teach myself everything I've needed to know, and just get things done. But apparently that's not important these days. These days, you need to GTD. And agility in your process is not enough, you have to be Agile, and Scrum.

What's all this? Well it seems to me that the process of how work is done, especially software development work, is more important to some people than the work itself.

I've been dismissed from interviews because I couldn't describe the Scrum process, yet I've worked iteratively on software projects, delivered features on deadline, and added features over time. Hmm.

I've read job requirements that include "Must follow GTD process and be Agile". Hmm.

I've watched 'professional developers' fritter away time and money talking about their code sprints while not actually delivering any product (or even product components). Hmm.

I guess it all looks good on a resume, and I may be naive, but when did concentrating time and energy (and money!) on the process become more important than concentrating on building the product/service? When did buzzword compliance become the key criteria for evaluating employee potential?

Where do you draw the line between the effort you spend on organizing your time and the effort you spend actually moving work forward?

Flame me if you must.

Following up on an earlier post with a quote from a slashdot post of similar name.

Here's an interesting observation apropos to my current situation, and I'll leave it at that:

by osolemirnix (107029)

So if this guy complains that their projects back in the days at salon went bad, I'm not suprised. He's not a coder after all, he was a typical clueless product manager - started out as a journalist and suddenly he was responsible for a type of product he knew nothing about: CMSs, in addition to having no other qualification in software development or a related area (UI design, project management).

So am I surprised this project didn't succeed? LOL, of course not.

You wouldn't let a journalist build a space shuttle or a car now would you? But software? Sure, software is easy, anyone can do it. In the end, it's probably not harder than building a car, but not easier either. it just takes proper skills for all roles in the team, is all.

My siblings and I have differing opinions on whether or not one should pay for software. Having racked my brain for hours tracking down small bugs in perl/php/shell programs (more often than not the result of a single misplaced character), I can appreciate the effort that goes into making polished applications. Plus, our friendly local rocket scientist probably wouldn't appreciate piracy of other's work (unless it was from Sony of course).

Anyway, I've been on a software buying-spree of sorts lately, picking up some OS X apps that I use just about every day.

Parallels Oh, sacrilege. Running Windoze on a shiny new Mac. I hate to do it, but there are a couple of apps that just refuse to run correctly on my system of choice. So Parallels lets me run XP alongside OS X on my MacBook. With the latest beta, it even lets you view Mac and Windows applications together, shares the doc, and lets you drag and drop, as well as cut and paste between systems. VMware has also released a beta of its own virtualization software for Intel Macs, but it's not quite as feature-rich as Parallels at this point. We run a lot of our servers on VMware at work, so it'll be interesting to see how their product develops, but for now, I fully endorse Parallels for mac. At $80, there's no excuse to buy a Dell anymore.

TextMate My new favorite text editor. Features great syntax highlighting out of the box, lots of handy vi like key commands, autocompletion, a tabbed interface, etc. etc. etc. 39 euro. I don't know what that is in 'merican money, but it's well worth it.

Transmit I stopped using NcFTP when I found out about Transmit and TextMate. Transmit lets you access servers via FTP and SFTP as if they were local, so I can use my favorite text editor instead of slogging through vi or emacs on one of the annonyingly underconfigured servers at work. $29.

OmniGraffle Like Visio, only it doesn't suck. Makes it easy to diagram databases, workflows, org charts, etc. With shiny buttons and automatic drop shadows, of course. One of the pricier apps on my list at $80-$140, but an invaluable tool for planning software and networks, and giving presentations.

OmniPlan A new application, also from OmniGroup. I haven't had much hands on time with this yet, but it promises compatibility with Microsoft Project, and makes shiny Gantt charts. I was sold. $150.

Pages and Keynote AKA iWork. Ok, Apple is a multibillion dollar corporation, not a small developer. And Steve Jobs is an egomaniac that would probably eat kittens, if not for his fervent veganism. But for $86 (tax included) you get a fantastic word processor and presentation program that kick the living shit out of MS Word and Powerpoint. Plus, MS Word and Powerpoint cost at least $129 each purchased separately. And they're made by Microsoft.