About

My name is Steven Robertson and this website is my personal homepage. I’m a software developer, working with a lot of different programming languages and tools. I’m primarily interested in cross-platform applications development using languages such as Java, Scala, C# (with mono), C, and C++ with the Qt framework. I’m also working with Excel and VB.NET including ExcelDna or whatever tools are right for the job, while managing the IT systems at my workplace too, an independent oil and gas engineering consultancy called Ingen Ideas.

I developed an interest in Playdar (a music content resolver) around November 2009 and I’ve been working on a few open-source projects related to that since then, starting with Windar and then onto Playnode and Spiffdar. I’ve been sitting on some ideas for a music website since around 2003 and content resolution is a useful component of that. Some of those ideas have been done by other people since then but not quite how I had imagined and possible I could still improve upon that kind of service when I have the time to complete it.

I’ve gathered a few books over the years, and kept many of them. These are currently on my book shelves:

Since I upgraded an O’Reilly book from a Kindle edition I’m now avoiding Kindle books preferring DRM-free PDFs (reading these on an iPad with GoodReader). Using DesktopShelves (Mac OS) there is a book-shelf for these too:

My new years resolution is to read more and get deep into the subjects that interest me most, such as enterprise systems architecture, analytics, functional programming, and learning JavaScript in depth. I’m interested in using more of the great free and open-source tools such as MongoDB, Solr, Tomcat and OpenEJB.

Right now I’m most comfortable using Mac OS Lion on my personal laptop, for work and play (and ideal for music applications), while I’m also regularly on Windows and Linux too. My favourite flavour of Linux is Arch Linux.

I respect the fact that Windows is often easy to deal with in modest business environments but I’d rather be using Linux for server applications, not least because it is easier to provision in virtual infrastructure. I don’t much like the one-stop-shop for solutions that Microsoft would be. Not everything they produce is very good. Certainly most of it is bloated beyond belief.

I really like systems that aim to keep things simple and remove redundancy and Apple have done a great job of that in recent years. I’ve got an HTC Google Nexus One running Android for my mobile phone/internet. The trouble with Apple and these gadgets is I’m sorely tempted to replace the Android phone with an iPhone, if it is ever lost or broken – purely for convenience and iTunes Music Match perhaps – all things considered. Ouch. They do that on purpose. I favour choice, so in principle I think I would rather have an Android device.

Google makes awesome web applications. Google Calendar, Mail and Reader are ideal for some of my needs.

My biggest passion seems to be with technology, and I’m constantly learning and trying to keep up with trends while making my own informed decisions. I resist jumping onto the latest band-wagon. I assume that there is often good reason and note where the herd may be heading so I won’t be left behind, and take some time to consider things.

“The only thing constant is change itself.” – Heraclitus

“It is change, continuing change, inevitable change, that is the dominant factor in society today. No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be.” – Isaac Asimov