Caddickisms

Let’s face it… some stereotypes exist for a reason. Even among native English speakers, in general, programmers are not known for their English skills. I know a few who buck that trend, but there are plenty of examples to prove the rule.

For example, while withdrawing a student from a course earlier today, the system sent back this confirmation message:

Withdrawment was successful.

Yeah. That’s a whole new word right there. Thanks for your contribution to the English language, nameless programmer.

Most of you have probably run across these kinds of things as you work with the various computers that permeate our lives. Whether it’s the grocery store self-checkout, the gas station self-serve pump, or the computer in your house, some programmer got the technical part right (hopefully) but let the English slip.

What examples have you seen?

Related posts

• Your toilet probably flushes in E-flat (6)
• Writer’s Blog: Striking Writers Head to Capitol Hill (0)
• Wheel of Lunch! (0)
• Unexpected costs, things that have broken lately, and lessons learned (0)
• This post is like a bunch of words on a piece of paper, except it’s electronic (0)

New York Times columnist David Pogue has had two extremely good posts lately. One is aimed squarely at general computer users, and both are of great use to technical writers.

In the generally focused Tech Tips for Basic Computer Users, he points out things that all us geeks think everybody knows about computers. There are a fair amount that I didn’t know, however, so the list’s worth a look (though the article is so popular that it may have overloaded NYT’s comment system - the page took a really long time to load).

Here are two examples:

1. Pressing ALT and the Tab key together in Windows will cycle you through all of your open programs. I’m frequently amazed when people don’t know that simple time-saver.
2. Pressing ALT and F4 together will close the current window. So if you do it now, it will close this browser.

Takeaway for technical writers: Don’t assume your readers know these shortcuts. Be specific in how to perform required tasks.

The other article is good for any business writer, really, but it’s especially well suited to technical writers.

It’s really easy, as a writer, to slip into jargon. We’re comfortable with the specialized language and the meanings of all these words that confuse regular people. If you’re responsible for communicating with someone who doesn’t live and breathe in your corner of the world, though, you’ve got to be careful to use plain language.

Here’s an excerpt from Pogue’s article:

* Display. “Display” can be a noun (”a display of fireworks”). It can also be a verb that takes a direct object (”He displayed emotion”). It is not, however, a verb without a direct object, except in magazines like PC World: “Shows filmed in high-definition end up displaying in letterbox format.”

Displaying what in letterbox format? Fireworks? Emotions?

The word this writer was looking for is “appearing.”

[...]

* Enable. Who on earth says, “Enable the GPS function”? Only user-manual writers and computer-book authors. Say “Turn on GPS” instead.

[...]

* Functionality. WOW, do I despise this pretentious word. Five syllables–ooh, what a knowledgeable person you must be!

It means “feature.” Say “feature.”

I’ll add my own pet peeve here: Utilize. I want to scream every time I see this word. It’s another example of trying to sound smarter. It’s “use”. There is absolutely no difference in meaning. “Use” is much simpler and more common. That’s a good thing. Use it.

Oh, and while I’m talking about writing skills, here’s another tip for everyone, and it applies to speaking as well: be careful with clichés. If you’re not 100% sure you know it, don’t use it (or better yet - GASP - look it up!). Example: it’s not “for all intensive purposes,” it’s “for all intents and purposes.” “Intensive purposes” doesn’t even make sense. Think about what you’re saying. Most of the time, that will help.

Okay, I’m off to utilize the functionality of the TV remote control to enable the screen to display. For all intensive purposes, that should wrap up my night.

Related posts

• Unexpected costs, things that have broken lately, and lessons learned (0)
• Programmer English (4)
• Customize your WinXP Control Panel (0)
• Alice: Through the Monitor (or Creating new worlds for Novices) (0)
• A child’s view of computer repair (1)

Through watching the Randy Pausch lecture (mentioned in my previous post) I discovered a great free tool for learning how to program, called Alice. What’s different about Alice is that it lets students learn the basics of object-oriented programming while avoiding a lot of the frustrations that normally come from this kind of exploration. It also makes it very easy to create working 3-D virtual worlds (it was originally conceived as a rapid prototyping tool for these environments).

As described by Caitlin Kelleher, Assistant Professor at Washington University in St. Louis and creator of Storytelling Alice (more on that below):

Alice is a programming environment for creating 3D animated virtual worlds that was designed to make programming accessible to novice programmers from middle school through early college. Alice provides a drag and drop environment which allows students to gain experience with a variety of programming constructs without encountering the frustrations of syntax errors. By making the process of learning less frustrating, Alice helps a broader spectrum of students interested in learning to program get started.

The Alice environment itself is getting an upgrade as well. While revolutionary as a programming tool, the animations it produces are rather crude looking. Through a partnership with Electronic Arts, the system will benefit from the visual resources of mega-popular video game The Sims, dramatically increasing the realism and range of options within Alice. As the March 2006 press release states:

The Sims content will transform the Alice software from a crude, 3D programming tool into a compelling and user-friendly programming environment. Development for Alice 3.0 will begin immediately and will span the next 18 to 24 months. Experts say that when the transformation is complete, the new programming environment will be in position to become the national standard for teaching software programming.

Earlier I mentioned Storytelling Alice. That’s a version written by Kelleher for her Ph.D. with the specific goal of enticing middle-school girls to try out programming through the promise of telling a story. Based on the research she was very successful…

Storytelling Alice provides a motivating context in which to learn programming. A study comparing middle school girls’ experiences with learning to program in Storytelling Alice and in a version of Alice without storytelling features (Generic Alice) showed that:

• Users of Storytelling Alice spent 42% more time programming than users of Generic Alice.
• Users of Storytelling Alice were more than three times as likely to sneak extra time to work on their programs as users of Generic Alice (51% of Storytelling Alice users vs. 16% of Generic Alice users snuck extra time to program).
• Despite the focus on making programming more fun, users of Storytelling Alice were just as successful at learning basic programming concepts as users of Generic Alice.

My impression is that the next version of Generic Alice will incorporate some of the ideas from Storytelling Alice. I hope that’s true.

As you may be able to tell, the prospect of making programming concepts more palatable (and even fun!) for a wider group of students, and girls in particular, excites me. Even if programming itself doesn’t become a passion or career path for kids, learning to think through a process in a detailed way, employing logic, developing troubleshooting skills, and creative problem-solving are just some of the major benefits that can be gained through an exploration of programming. I would in no way classify myself as a programmer, but I do have some experience with different programming languages and I can easily see how the concepts I apply when “playing with code” apply to other areas of my life as well.

As I implied above, creativity is a major part of programming, though it’s not always easily seen by non-programmers. In the end, that’s what is so attractive about Alice — it brings the creativity front-and-center and “tricks” the student into learning programming as a means to their creative end, which, really, is the way it should be.

If I had kids anywhere near the right ages to start exploring this kind of thing, I’d be all over it.

Technorati Tags: Alice 2.0, programming, The Sims, Randy Pausch, middle-school girls, education, creativity, technical skills

Related posts

• Randy Pausch passes on (2)
• Whatever you do… (0)
• What I’ve been thinking (0)
• Video games and simulations (0)
• VeinViewer (0)

In the last month or so, it seems like Murphy is camped on my front step.

• Computer - dead. Motherboard, presumably, is fried, based on research.
• Car inspection - over $500 more than expected in repairs.
• VCR - dead.  Yes, I still had one. No I don’t have a DVR. I don’t have digital cable either.
• Wife’s TV - extremely unreliable, verging on death. Picture fades to black for long stretches.
• Three extra trips to the lab for wife’s newly diagnosed chronic condition (in addition to the chronic condition we both already have).
• Medicine for that condition.
• $600 in further repairs for same car in one month.
• Shocks are shot in the other car.

So what am I doing about this stuff?

• Car repairs - Paying for it, of course. No choice in the matter. The only thing I’m doing is putting off repairing the shocks, since I only use that car to get back and forth to work. One more repair and I’ll have no choice but to buy a new car, which is way outside of reality at the moment. These cars each have to last me another 5 years if I can help it.
• VCR - nothing. Wife has a VCR we can use in the meantime (though it’s virtually featureless, it has the benefit of working.)
• Medical stuff - again, paying for it. No choice. At least I can work out payment plans for much of it, though that mostly just extends the pain.
• Computer - trying desparately to save enough to buy a new(er) one that won’t be obsolete in a month and a half. Best price so far is $600 that I don’t have. Last time I saved that much discretionary cash it took me well over a year. The above problems aren’t helping.

What have I learned from this?

• It’s easy to blow through your emergency fund. Make it as large as possible.
• Preventative maintenance should always be considered (a tune-up a while ago might have saved me some of this latest car cost).
• The health care system is way too expensive.
• I can get away with not having my own computer for a couple months, but it takes a lot more organization, and access to the internet through some work computers (for online banking, email, and this blog mostly). If I couldn’t do that, I’d be sunk. I seriously miss Quicken, though. What I can’t do is empty the memory stick in my camera (which is also broken, btw - the camera, not the stick), or get the existing pictures off my old computer, or work on my musical hobbies.

I had an unexpected influx of cash recently, which is extremely helpful. Instead of helping to get me out of debt, though, as it was intended, it’s just keeping me from going farther into debt. Still good, though. Excellent timing in that regard.

(Btw, this post isn’t meant to be looking for pity; I understand I’m still in a way better situation that many folks. This is just a venting and reflection post.)

What curveballs has life thrown at you lately? What have you learned from it? If you’re comfortable doing so, please leave a comment.

Technorati Tags: personal finance, murphy’s law, life lessons

Related posts

• What I’ve been thinking (0)
• LinkList: Personal Finance + Sci-Fi edition (0)
• LinkList: LifeHacker edition (0)
• Free legal music downloads (0)
• Weird Al Tube (0)

Computer Tips For Everybody » Blog Archive » Create a custom Control Panel in Windows XP
This is a timely tip for me, as I just received a new laptop with WinXP on it at work, and I’m trying to reaquaint myself with the little tweaks that aid in productivity. I’d probably opt for just turning on the setting that makes the Control Panel appear as a menu rather than in a new window, but this is a handy alternative to have in my back pocket. It also helps for those of us who keep initially going to the Programs menu to find the Control Panel, rather than the Settings menu, just out of habit (I mean, everything else I use is under Programs…).

Technorati Tags: computer repair, computer tips, windows xp, control panel

Related posts

• Unexpected costs, things that have broken lately, and lessons learned (0)
• Technical writers, pay attention (0)
• Programmer English (4)
• Outsourcing your life, and the 4 hour work week (0)
• LinkList: LifeHacker edition (0)

When I returned from my vacation yesterday, my computer would not recover from hibernation mode (i.e., it wouldn’t turn on). I went into a local computer store today to ask a couple questions and my wife and kids stayed in the car. Apparently my wife was explaining to my 2-year old why I was in the store, because when I came out, my daughter asked if my “proputer” was broken. After I confirmed it was, she was quiet while my wife and I talked about the rest of the day.

Then, in a quiet moment, my daughter said seriously, “Do you have some tape?” I was completely puzzled by that apparent non-sequitor, but my wife clarified that she meant tape to fix my computer, like we would use to fix one of her toys! When we said that was a good idea, but this couldn’t be fixed with tape, she said, “Oh,” and looked a little disappointed.

She put a smile on my face while I was getting more depressed about the state of my primary computer.

I love my kids (and I wish this problem was fixed so easily).

Technorati Tags: parenting, computer repair, children

Related posts

• What I’ve been thinking (0)
• Whatever you do… (0)
• Things overheard in my house lately (0)
• Star Wars: A Cute Hope (0)
• Review: Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (0)