InfoOverload

As developers, we are asked to absorb even more information than ever before. More APIs, more documentation, more patterns, more layers of abstraction. Now Twitter and Facebook compete with Email and Texts for our attention, keeping us up-to-date on our friends dietary details and movie attendance second-by-second.

Does all this information take a toll on your psyche or sharpen the saw? Is it a matter of finding the right tools and filters to capture what you need, or do you just need to unplug. Is ZEB (zero email bounce) a myth or are there substantive techniques for prioritizing your live as a developer?

Join Scott Hanselman as we explore this topic…perhaps we’ll crowd-source the answers!

Scott Hanselman

Scott Hanselman work's out of his home office for Microsoft as a Principal Program Manager, aiming to spread good information about developing software, usually on the Microsoft stack. Before this he was the Chief Architect at Corillian Corporation, now a part of Checkfree, for 6+ years. He was also involved in a few Microsoft Developer things for many years like the MVP and RD programs and he'll speak about computers (and other passions) whenever someone will listen.

Before Corillian and Microsoft he worked as a Principal Consultant at a local Microsoft Solution Provider called STEP Technology, speaking, writing, consulting, and very much not getting rich during Web 1.0. Even earlier, he worked at a Car Parts Data Warehouse called Chrome Data, and before that he had a small company that specialised in internationalisation and thunking. He's also been an Adjunct Professor at OIT, teaching C#. On the side, he created the first PalmPilot Diabetes Management System in 1998 and sold it to a healthcare company five years later. It's now in limbo, but he's trying to get it released as Open Source.

What else would you like to know?

He's am an early adopter, it seems. He ran Tweak Computer Support BBS, with some success, a very long time ago. He was a FidoNet node. He has nice teeth and loves cheese amongst other things. He likes Tools, and he's co-written some books. He's diabetic. He likes studying Amharic and Zulu/Ndebele and listening to African Music as well as other more diverse music. He knows Black Hair and can both braid and cornrow. He has a podcast. He hacks on hardware and waste time. He does Open Source. He has a large forefive-head. He is good at Excel and keeps his résumé mostly up-to-date for no reason. He and his wife speak Sign Language to his son and his wife speaks Ndebele. He has a great family and has had great teachers and a fantastic wedding with a great Cake Topper. He doesn't sleep too much. He writes a lot. He's trying to raise $50,000 for Diabetes research. 

The Venue

The talk will take place in the School of Computing's Queen Mother Building at the University of Dundee. The building is located on the North side of the campus looking out onto Old Hawkhill. Access to the venue will be via a door on the Park Wynd side of the building. The venue is 10-15 minutes walk from Dundee Train Station and approximately 20 minutes walk from Seagate Bus Station. There are various public car parks in the area.

Schedule

18:30 Doors open

19:00 Introduction

19:05 Scott Hanselman