Hardware Podcasts

The Showstopper Show

Oxide and Friends · 17 Aug 2021 · 1h 26m · Episode 10

What this episode covers

Bryan Cantrill and Adam Leventhal of Oxide Computer Company host a discussion with G. Pascal Zachary, author of 'Showstopper!', and Jessamyn West, daughter of Data General engineer Tom West, about the human cost of building Windows NT and the Eclipse minicomputer. Zachary and West analyze how the 'cult of the hotshot programmer' and the lack of modern software engineering practices led to severe personal anguish and family breakdowns for the teams at Microsoft and Data General. The conversation contrasts the 1990s 'battleship' development model with today's open-source, service-oriented software landscape, highlighting the shift from software as a static artifact to a continuous, often stressful, service.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Data General, Microsoft
Also
Showstopper! The Breakneck Race to Create Windows NT and the Next Generation at Microsoft, The Soul of a New Machine, Windows NT, UNIX, VMS, Open Source

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