Where do you look for the next high tech cluster? Why is harder to connect with potential areas of potential software industries that it should seem to be? In this episode, we look at the giant of Africa, Nigeria, and ask how it might be better connected to the global computing community [1707]

Ok. Software is a global industry. But how did it get that way? And what role might the United Nations have had in its globalization. The story of IFIP in this “Global Code”. [1706]

We can’t answer the question “Where is the Russian software industry going” without knowing where it has been. The story is not as simple as we might like – as any one might light. It has promise and problems, but all are held in a context that has all the making of a classic Russian … Continue reading »

We have a global trade in software. How does software cross borders? How do you inspect something that is little more than 1’s and 0’s? With a lot of discussion and a lot of agreement. The framework for international digital trade. [1703]

Is it a good idea to certify programmers? It depends. It depends on what you want to do. Minimize risk? Perhaps. In some cases, perhaps. To expand status? Doubtful. To build the profession? Almost certainly not. Yet, it is something that governments regularly consider, as was recently the case in Malaysia. [1702]

What’s in a name? The IEEE asked that the podcast move in a new direction just as I was spending time in Germany studying the European approach to high technology. Tech is Tech, as we all know, but different people do different things with it. And if you don’t understand the subtitles of local ideas, … Continue reading »

Industrie 4.0. A mouvement that some, including the German government, represents a revolution that is as important to manufacturing as the original industrial revolution of the 18th century? Will it be a true revolution? Probably not? Is it important? Perhaps. What will it accomplish? It might do to manufacturing what cloud computing did to software … Continue reading »

You can’t change something until you have a way to change it. For that simple reason, a fundamental principle of change management, it took fifteen years for the U. S. Government to embrace Open Source. How and why you get from nothing to something is the theme of this episode of Errant Hashtag. [16220]

Who is a programmer? Who can speak for software? What happens when you are not formally trained in software and don’t feel the need to get such training? The world seems to be filed with software experts, whose connection to software’s quite distant. This seems especially true the world of computer-based simulation, where researchers are … Continue reading »

Who is Ralph E. Flanders? And why should we care. Flanders is one of the links on the long chain that connects industrial engineering to software developing. In that chain, he has a special place, a place that was concerned about technical leadership and how to support that leadership. Though he is virtually forgotten today, … Continue reading »