Well, I'm a software developer and I can relate to what you're saying. I certainly don't try to defend poor software, and often I find myself frustrated with the current state of software.
But, the reality of the situation is, you can't change the whole world all at once! Do what you can, plan to change the world and operate step by step. In the meantime, make your money, earn your living and deal with the current state of affairs while you're improving the world in your spare time! :D
The one linked in the headline was the result of a professional programmer and OSS enthusiast spending probably an hour of their time doing something very difficult for the benefit of the community. The only reason they were able to spend that hour was because they had previously spent probably 10+ years studying English. Had they not spent that hour, the odds of me independently deciding to translate that email were zero. So, I would suggest upgrading that comment to "The one linked in the headline was a generous contribution to the community of the type which we should enthusiastically encourage."
Almost all professional translators strongly suggest that one translate exclusively from one's non-native language into one's native language. I think that is kind of a silly rule in the real world, but there is a reason it is so popular: idiomatically phrasing things in one's non-native language is really freaking hard. I've almost certainly produced Japanese much worse than that when paid money to do so.
More broadly, I'm reminded of a comment I heard from bilingualism debates when I was six: always remember, prior to criticizing someone for their accent, that it means they speak one language more than you do.
I was just going to comment on this quote. Glad someone beat me to it.
I wonder if it's actually one of the biggest problems, though? What are the average number of invalidations for other industries? Do other industries also suffer from "The Lodsys Problem" to the same extent as software? I'd also like to see a reference for that number!
My inclination is that, yes, software patents are terrible and should be abolished. Also, regardless of how 90% compares to other industries - it's a strong indicator that the way patents are granted in the first place is very broken.
Maybe you could change this into a poll?
I use Google Reader and check it often, but I'm very selective of what I subscribe to, so there's not usually a lot of updates to catch up on.
Cool. Anything similar for *nix and Windows? I'm fairly certain you can embed WebKit in GTK - in fact, I think that's functionality exposed by the API.
I'm not sure to what extent it's supported with other language bindings, though.
"Blog" is a verb as well as a noun. In this case it is just the usual rule of "-ing" taking a verb into its present participle (adjective) or gerund (noun) denoting the action or process of the verb.
Very thorough introduction that emphasizes the right points. I like the author's dislike of the canvas element - and specifically his description of why he dislikes it, and how he ultimately accepts it and encourages it's use as a way to further web standards.
I'll recommend this read to any of my technically-oriented friends who ask me about html5 in the future.
https://github.com/GrooveStomp/SnakeEyes