- Capturing the records of the Japanese-American internment, particularly the oral histories, is significant because many of the interned people never talked about it, even with their families or children. Without Densho’s efforts, this history could have been lost. https://www.laserfiche.com/simplicity/densho-digitization-preserves-internment-history/ 11 comments history
- As institutional memory leaves and fewer people know skills such as COBOL, companies stake their business on software and hardware that they don’t understand, don’t know how to fix should it break, and can’t afford to replace. https://www.laserfiche.com/simplicity/need-legacy-modernization/ 97 comments programming
- Idaho's Judicial Branch converted from its legacy computer system only when it was end-of-lifed by its vendor. But the department is converting the entire state into one system that will allow anyone to file court records electronically, a project that should be complete by the end of 2018. https://www.laserfiche.com/simplicity/idaho-adopts-electronic-court-records-system/ 19 comments law
- So what exactly is it? A botanical guide? A medical journal? A science fiction novel? An elaborate hoax? Nobody knows. https://www.laserfiche.com/simplicity/now-can-decode-voynich-manuscript 19 comments history
- People who work at tech companies with unlimited vacation policies may actually end up taking less vacation, or even no vacation at all. There may be social pressure not to take vacation, and organizations where employees have to get the manager’s approval may find approval is difficult to get. https://www.laserfiche.com/simplicity/time-implement-unlimited-vacation-policy/ 10 comments technology
- You might think that software 50 years old, for a rocket that no longer flies, in a language hardly anyone ever uses, would be nothing more than a museum piece. But it turns out that it’s offering us some valuable lessons. https://www.laserfiche.com/simplicity/3-things-learn-from-apollo-lunar-module-code 15 comments programming
- While Shannon was a contemporary of people such as Alan Turing, and also worked on cryptography during World War II, he hasn’t been nearly as well known. But that started to change this year when groups like Bell Labs, where he worked from 1941 to 1958, held events honoring his accomplishments. https://www.laserfiche.com/simplicity/can-thank-claude-shannon-cat-videos/ 29 comments compsci
- Watching "Roots" this week? A new cache of historical documents makes it easier to research pre-Emancipation African-American individuals. https://www.laserfiche.com/simplicity/freedmens-bureau-project-brings-roots-to-life/ 5 comments history
- The astounding thing about Bill Gates' book list is not the quality of the books on it, but simply the fact that as a CEO he reads at all. https://www.laserfiche.com/simplicity/simplicity-2-0s-summer-reading-list-for-2016/ 25 comments books
- Researchers are using image analysis and artificial intelligence to help determine when the first books of the Old Testament were written, based on what some describe as the ancient equivalent of Post-Its. https://www.laserfiche.com/simplicity/researchers-use-ai-for-bible-interpretation/ 2 comments artificial
- Archivists recently found the 1903 Wright Brothers patent for their airplane, after it had been missing for 36 years. https://www.laserfiche.com/simplicity/uh-oh-seen-the-wright-brothers-patent-lately/ 5 comments history
- Feeling like everyone is a better software developer than you and that someday you'll be found out? You're not alone. One of the professions most prone to "imposter syndrome" is software development. https://www.laserfiche.com/simplicity/shut-up-imposter-syndrome-i-can-too-program/ 863 comments programming
- Particularly if this week’s Daylight Saving Time has you down, it might be a good time for a nap. In fact, for that reason, Monday was National Napping Day. https://www.laserfiche.com/simplicity/can-napping-boost-your-performance-at-work/ 4 comments productivity
- By abolishing time zones, all the convoluted code that programmers have written to deal with time zones could be eliminated. On the other hand, like any rewrite, eliminating all that code—even in the name of simplicity—might introduce its own problems. https://www.laserfiche.com/simplicity/how-it-can-eliminate-daylight-saving-time-zones/ 90 comments programming
- Programming Leap Year is complicated enough, but it gets worse. Last year wasn’t a leap year, but it contained a leap *second*, a literal extra second that’s occasionally added to the calendar to keep the atomic clock synchronized with the Earth’s rotation. https://www.laserfiche.com/simplicity/leap-year-leap-second-and-other-it-headaches/ 14 comments programming
- It’s important to think of yourself as a therapist when you’re working on a change management project, because therapists can’t say things like, “Just get over it." https://www.laserfiche.com/simplicity/change-manager-therapist-babysitter-cat-herder/ 3 comments sysadmin
- It should go without saying that your office should already have a disaster recovery plan that helps protect the firm’s data and other records. But too often, companies don’t think about the more human side of a disaster. https://www.laserfiche.com/simplicity/in-a-crisis-does-your-office-know-what-to-do/ 12 comments sysadmin