Step into the origins of What A Lot Of Things with this special bonus episode that takes Ian and Ash back to where it all began - the hiking trails of Ilkley Moor! Long before they were podcast hosts, the duo's casual walks and pub visits sparked the conversations that would eventually become the show. Now, armed with new wireless microphones, they…

In this episode, Ian and Ash embark on a meandering journey through the digital wilderness, pondering the merits of a smartphone-free childhood and the peculiar world of software code review and pull requests. From nostalgic ramblings about bakelite phones to imagining a world of smart telegrams, our intrepid hosts navigate the treacherous waters o…

In this rollicking 18th episode of What A Lot Of Things, Ian and Ash dive into the choppy waters of Apple's tussle with the EU over the Digital Markets Act, pondering the implications for developers and users alike. They then take a wistful trip down memory lane, discussing the persistent challenge of legacy systems and out-of-support software, wit…

In this episode of "What A Lot Of Things", Ian and Ash consider the nature of time, before diving into two main topics: AI's evolving role in our lives and the nature of creativity. They discuss "large action models", the new Rabbit R1 device, and Apple's recent AI announcements, debating whether AI is best viewed as a feature or a standalone produ…

In this episode of "What A Lot Of Things", Ian and Ash celebrate their podcast's return to a regular cadence, with episodes now coming out every two weeks. The duo cover two main topics - local democracy and the backlash against social media algorithms. On local democracy, Ian discusses his experience running for town council, the arcane rules and …

In this latest episode of the "What A Lot Of Things" podcast, hosts Ian and Ash explore intriguing aspects of technology and its broader implications. They delve into the evolving career paths for testing specialists, discussing how testers can navigate organizational challenges and develop fulfilling careers. The conversation shifts to a significa…

In this episode, Ian and Ash delve into the complexities of managing IT service providers, exploring the challenges and strategies of working with consultancies and independent contractors. They also discuss the cutting-edge topic of AI voice cloning, examining its potential uses and ethical implications. From historical pirate accents to futuristi…

In this episode, Ian and Ash delve into the evolving landscape of social media, examining the implications of TikTok's potential ban in the U.S., the integration of AI in testing, and the shifting dynamics of platforms like Twitter (now X). They share personal anecdotes, discuss the significance of data privacy, and explore the future of social med…

This episode of the podcast features Ian and Ash in a humour-filled comeback, diving into the fascinating world of generative AI and the impact of Baldur's Gate 3 on the gaming industry. They explore the nuances and controversies surrounding AI, from its potential to enhance creativity to the ethical concerns and the skepticism it faces. The discus…

Ian and Ash talk about those pesky testers forming communities and taking on toxic cultures, plus forming a dilapidated mind shack using personal knowledge management tools like Obsidian. Links Zettelkasten - Slip Box not SlipKnot More Zettelkasten Obsidian Home Page Ian's Thoughts on Obsidian Testers walkout after layoffs in the QA Team Raven test…

Ian and Ash talk about the (mis)use of metrics, including the big four and happiness indices plus how proud Ash was of his Certified Scrum Master qualification but now bashes Scrum with everyone else. Links Here I Belong by Matt Hartley Douglas Adams: How to stop worrying and learn to love the Internet RFC 821 - Simple Mail Transport Protocol (not …

Links Team Guide to Testability Publishers Page The Great Post Office Scandal Publishers Page Scandal at the Post Office Panorama BBC TV Episode The Great Post Office Trial BBC Radio 4 Serial The Great Post Office Scandal Author Nick Wallis 39 Post Office convictions quashed after Fujitsu evidence about Horizon IT platform called into question My f…

Links Bugs in our Pockets: The risks of client-side scanning What A Lot of Things on Amazon Alexa Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson The Metaverse and How We'll Build It Together, at Facebook Connect 2021 An Interview with Mark Zuckerberg about the Metaverse, by Stratechery A $10 Million Investment In SecondLife from IBM is the Latest Push to Build V-Bu…

WARNING: We talk about Apple's proposed measures to limit the spread of child sexual abuse material on its platform. Episode Links Are 64% of Features Really Rarely or Never Used? What's in a name: Experimenting with Testing Job Titles What A Lot Of Things Episode Three – Four day work week and Design Thinking Google Ventures Paper Prototyping vide…

Links The Mists Of Time clip from Episode 5 Ian’s Other Podcast Ash’s Twitter Nemesis - @ashwinter Ben Horowitz, Partner at Andreessen Horowitz Ben's book: The Hard Thing About Hard Things Ian’s book highlights from The Hard Thing About Hard Things The Guardian: Dan Price, CEO of Gravity Payments, who took a $1m salary cut to pay his workers a mini…

Links: Some actual beard ASMR. “I’ve sold Agile to Brockway, Ogdenville and North Haverbrook” on slide 15 of Jon McNestrie’s talk at Lean Agile Brighton 2019. Ian’s Agile Octopus Timing Alexa Skill. git rebase. Twitter to clear out inactive accounts and free up usernames. The Other Ash Winter’s Twitter Account. Ian’s three-letter Twitter handle. Th…

Links: * Amazon Developer Services * Alexa Skills Kit * Agile Octopus * AWS Lambda Layers * Ian's Alexa Skill Source Code * Falsehoods Programmers Believe About Time * Leeds Tech Bubble Divisions * Even Techies are Sick of Inequality in San Francisco * Code Club * Empowering Women with Tech * Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds Full Theme…

Links: Steamed Hams Trial of Four Day Work Week at Microsoft Japan Utopia for Realists by Rutger Bregman On the Phenomenon of BS Jobs Steve Jobs: The Next Insanely Great Thing Don Norman: Rethinking Design Thinking Natasha Jen: Design Thinking is BS IBM Design Thinking Intro Course d School Design Thinking Process IBM Design Thinking Loop Agile inc…

Links: Scottish Voice Recognition Elevator Ian’s Machine Learning/Data Science links Deep Learning Specialization | Coursera Applied Data Science with Python | Coursera Kaggle: Your Home for Data Science Titanic: Machine Learning from Disaster Team Topologies Conway’s Law DevOps TopologiesBy Ian Smith & Ash Winter

Ash and Ian talk about collective bargaining in tech, and “cargo culting”. Links Collective bargaining: Business Insider - Here's the memo Google CEO Sundar Pichai sent to employees on the changes to Google's sexual-harassment policy after the walkout. Whole Foods employees demand Amazon break all ties with ICE and Palantir All workers need unions …