I thought I might follow up on my previous post, regarding technologies. Even though I regularly avoid many technologies as "frills" or "fads", there are some technologies that work their way into your life in a mindless fashion. They're simple to learn, simple to use and completely functional.

Once such technology is the DVR. AT&T makes my DVR scheduling available from the internet. I am a big fan of Battlestar Gallactica on the SciFi channel. I knew I would be absent on Friday night, so I was able to record the episode (actually, I record the series). On my return Sunday, I settled in and watched my show, and even skipped the commercials! Nifty technology.

Another technology I appreciate is wireless networking. At work, it is not a big deal, because I develop on a desktop. But at home, it is very worthwhile. While I still develop on a desktop at home, I like being able to move around with my laptop and "intereact" with the TV show. Again, Battlestar Gallactica and the SciFi web site triggered this behavior, but wireless was the catalyst that made it possible.

One last  technology I appreciate was made possible way back at the introduction of Intel's 80386. The 80386 had an almost unused feature called hardware context switching. It was sort of clunky and not very efficient (read: fast) in the early renditions. But it laid the groundwork for hardware assisted virtualization. Today's VMWare is a great example of a technology that makes my life as a software developer a lot easier. While it is not simple, it is easy to use and its benefits far outway the learning curve. Definitely a must have technology. Even at $189, it can make you a much more productive hobbyist programmer.

So while I may be a Luddite, at least I'm not a Neanderthal Luddite.