(Photo: Global Nerdy)

If you work at a startup and have ever seen two engineers cozied up next to each other on a beanbag chair intently gazing into the same computer screen, you've probably got some pair programmers on your hands. Soon, like a couple who has soured on each other's affection, they will quibble over the tiniest infractions and eat dinner sullenly, with nothing more to say to each other.

The concept of pair programming--two engineers sharing a computer and working on the same code together--is nothing new, but The Wall Street Journal has discovered the phenomenon and seems simultaneously shocked and awed by how it works.

If the ideal for pairing is soulmate-level bonding, the reality can be more like an endless bad blind date. Annoyances that plague partners everywhere can quickly pile up: from poor personal hygiene and table manners, to feet on shared desks and loud chewing.

At the core of pair programming is a commitment for teamwork, and there's no "bad breath" in "team."

Still, pair programmers can experience a sort of symbiotic bond. "The communication becomes so deep that you don't even use words anymore," one Facebook programmer told the Journal. "You just grunt and point."

Hmm, sounds more like a pair of old marrieds to us.

Talk about a reset button. (Image: screencap)

Startups and established tech companies alike love nothing so much as feeding their employees. How else does one keep developers tied to their desks for those all-night coding sprints? However, just a few days of eating at one's desk and the filth starts to build up--pizza grease, Cheeto dust, and let's not even discuss the trauma of soaking one's setup in cold coffee.

Luckily, Logitech has heard the prayers of techies everywhere and just debuted a keyboard that is washable. We're not talking a mere sponge bath, either--the demo video shows a keyboard fully immersed in a tank of water. Finally, freedom from the consequences of our lunch-related decisions.

Surely it's only a matter of time before we see this added to the standard array of Silicon Alley/Valley perks. At the very least, it'll do more for the quality of one's worklife than a Segway.

(h/t @Farhad Manjoo)

(uxdelante.com)

All this time we thought programmers were the rock stars, but according to Reuters, designers are beginning to surreptitiously usurp that title. A breathless feature entitled "In Silicon Valley, designers emerge as rock stars" claims that designers are becoming just as valued as programmers when it comes to building startups. Who knew that in order for people to use a product, it has to look as good as it works? (Everyone.)

Most people apparently still think of designers as traditional art school students who can whip up Photoshop mockups but go cross-eyed when trying to implement them on the web. But designers aren't just graphic artists anymore: now, they're a double threat, because they can code and make things look pretty. And we don't know if you've ever seen a programmer attempt to design a website, but for the most part it ends up looking exactly like Terminal, with neon green text on a black background, which is to say--ew.

According to Reuters:

In the latest generation of innovation, heavily concentrated in applications for mobile devices and social networks, and relying on ever-cheaper cloud-computing services, success depends not on whiz-bang technology, but rather, on a subtle sense of how to make features useful and engaging.

Ugh, now products have to be useful and engaging? It's almost like a $150,000 salary isn't even worth it any more.

Haha, JK.

Reuters is careful to remind readers who might get carried away that programmers are still the top dog in the Valley, with the note, "To be sure, engineers still occupy a rarefied perch at the top of the Silicon Valley hierarchy, and are the target of the fiercest recruiting battles."

Perhaps the NYPD can knock those devs off their high ground.

This is a guest post from Tarikh Korula, founder of Uncommon Projects, and originally appeared at his blog, unprojects.

I’m often asked what the difference is between NYU's ITP and MIT's Media Lab. Sometimes from prospective students, but mostly from high-powered executives or important writers who have heard of the program or The Show. I had one friend once who left Media Lab disappointed, so I’m super-qualified to speak about it.

MIT kids are smart. Really smart. They probably have been studying violin since they were, like, two. Then they wrote software algorithms when they were 10 to approximate a symphony that could play along with them in real time while they played Bach concertos. If these kids were a rock band, they’d be Emerson, Lake and Palmer with a laser show and a 360 major label deal.

ITP kids are... resourceful. We didn’t invent hacking or email or lasers and shit. We invented QTVR, PComp, Gurl, Arduino and Foursquare. Instead of beautiful John Meada visualizations, we’ve got a lot of wooden tiles that move in concert to show you a picture of yourself and we think that’s art. It’s not really, but we never studied art so we don’t really know any better. If we were a rock band, we’d be the Ramones with their shitty recording contract and Laurie Anderson playing midi controlled tambourine.

And that’s the difference between Media Lab and ITP. I created this Google spreadsheet MIT:MSG :: ITP:CBGB for further study.

I hope this helps clear things up and finally puts the question "What’s the difference between ITP and Media Lab?" to rest.