The 20 MB hard drive; 3.5 billion Reddit comments; and much more

The year is coming to a close, and this week’s dev digest takes a trip down memory lane, and not just the recent past. Learn about the history of the 404 error code, revisit the cutting-edge 20 MB portable drive from 1985, and check out the lessons one developer learned from 20 years in software.

This week’s top links

• GIZMODO hits us with a big blast from the past with their recent review of the 20 MB portable drive that was among the coolest things in computing in 1985.
• Monday’s Google Doodle celebrated 50 years of teaching kids to code to mark Computer Science Education Week.
• David Walsh’s most recent installment of “Confessions of a Web Developer” will strike a chord with anyone who has been doing web development for a while, including gripes, advice, and motivation.
• WIRED recently produced an interesting history of the 404 error code. Everyone knows what a 404 code is, but do you know why?
• Back in October, The Verge published a fascinating profile about a judge who codes. He decides many of technology’s biggest legal cases.
• Ian Miall recently published a post about the myths, collective fictions, and guiding principles he’s seen over the past 20 years in software development. While methodology changes and is flexible, Miall decides he’s fine with whatever it takes to create cool projects.
• Reddit Favorites has scraped all 3.5 billion comments left on Reddit since 2010, and here are the top books on programming that Reddit recommends.

Tips from Intertech

• If you haven’t read our founder Tom Salonek’s guide to letting go of a failing strategy, then the end of the year is a great time to evaluate your current efforts and improve your approach in the new year.
• Tim Star recently updated our Design and Code Review Checklist for 2018 with new content and updated best practices. It’s a resource we give to our devs for making sure their code is optimized and we offer it to our readers for free, so make sure to grab a copy!

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