If you following information technology you’ve probably heard the term Software-defined Networking in conversation, and the explanations of what it is are often lacking. Here’s a simple summary. Throughout the history of networking we’ve managed routing and switching by logging into the routers and switches themselves, issuing commands, and getting our desired outcomes. This doesn’t scale, since large…
Big Data Explained in 2 Bullet Points
Big Data is a term that is becoming increasingly common within information technology, yet few people understand it well enough to describe it succinctly. Let’s change that. Big Data is a new approach to data processing that has two primary components, 1) how data is stored, and 2) how data is analyzed. Here are the two central concepts:…
3-Phased Information Processing: The IT Meta-skill
Having worked in IT for a good bit of time I have thought a lot about various information technology skillsets and which will become more vs. less important as we move forward. Software development is quite strong vs. time because it’s a skill that is highly correlated with intelligence and creativity–two things that are likely to remain most…
A Possible Text Editor Change for 2012?
I’m considering making an attempt to move from TextMate to MacVim/Janus as my main text editor. I have a few main things I do with TextEdit that I need to be able to (mostly) replicate: Git integration with my website (I use git to do all updates) Snippets Blog integration (I use TextMate to do all blog updates)…
Interesting Web Data from a Day on the Front Page of Hacker News
I spent yesterday on the front page of Hacker News for my git primer, which resulted in over 12K page views and some fascinating insight into what technologies are being used by HN’s readers. Here are some of the main data points: Chrome is stomping Firefox among HN-browsing developers (50% vs. 27%). Almost 10% of readers came from…
Some Thoughts on the Future of IT
I see the cloud as a means by which business units will disentangle themselves from internal IT shops, eventually moving to a model where internal IT equates to one primary component, which are high-power IT experts with exemplary communication skills who serve as proxies between the business unit and outsourced IT services. There will be a small shop…
The Three IT Roles: The King, the Sage, and the Cog
I observe three basic types of people working in the IT field: kings, sages, and cogs. The King The king is one who has complete control over how they are going to orient a given IT shop. He creates strategy and manages the implementation of that strategy. Most importantly, he can come up with his own ideas and…