David Coveney

A personal blog transitioning into an exploration of the intersection of design, technology and ethics

Tag: change

  • Don’t design in customer traps on your systems

    Don’t design in customer traps on your systems

    You know that friend, the one who always promises to help you move flat, or help you fix your mower, but then doesn’t turn up? Yes. Or the guy who goes on a date and pays for the meal and somehow that comes with access to your body? Or the airline that makes you think…

  • A little change on this website

    A little change on this website

    In the past, this website was sort of my place to keep family and friends in touch. I first set it up in 2005, just before going away to Peru on travels. It was a great. Facebook had been invented but wasn’t generally available or popular yet, other platforms weren’t well thought through or scattered,…

  • The astonishing power of modern computing

    The astonishing power of modern computing

    Being very old (or at least, that’s how I feel being in tech!) means that after coming up to nearly forty years in technology, I’ve seen some changes. My first computer at home, that I owned, that I could truly call my own, was a Dragon 32. It was a small, 32KB computer using the…

  • The productivity paradox

    The productivity paradox

    I came across this chart recently and it gave me pause for thought as someone whose life work is designed to improve productivity. It shows that from 2008, although we know technologies have been growing in power, productivity growth suddenly dropped away from the trendline following the global financial crisis. Why? This is where I…

  • Recovering from a heart bypass. The physical and mental challenges.

    Having a coronary artery bypass isn’t much fun and comes with challenges. Four years later I thought I’d describe some more of my experiences.

  • Interesting times in the world of software

    Interesting times in the world of software

    About a decade ago, I was at a conference and talking to a fellow developer (I still call myself one, even though I don’t code so much these days) when he giddily told me about the funding he’d got for building a new piece of software he was hoping would make it big. It was…

  • The great pension scam, how people were conned, and how young people fixed it

    The great pension scam, how people were conned, and how young people fixed it

    In my previous post, I discussed the importance of separating wealth from income, and to stop beating up a chap called Rob Barber who made the mistake of having a high income but not feeling rich. I get exactly where he’s coming from because I’ve been in the same position. In fact, it was more dangerous,…

  • The EU are bullying the UK

    The EU are bullying the UK

    A short screenplay, by me. It’s a Monday morning at a small train station on a mainline. It’s bustling as business travellers head to London for their week’s business. The air is cool, with people blowing little clouds of steam as they head into the station from their taxis and cars. Mr Hock, a late-middle…

  • Why political parties lose support by winning.

    Why political parties lose support by winning.

    People do like to look back angrily, don’t they? Yet many a time, their anger today doesn’t reflect how they really felt back then. If you look at the Iraq War, and the UK’s involvement in it, most people supported the action. For sure, an awful lot of people today don’t think it was right…

  • Our office cleaner doesn’t vote. I think I know why.

    Our office cleaner doesn’t vote. I think I know why.

    Ever noticed that there’s a group of people who don’t vote? Good people, by and large… but they don’t vote. Eventually, I think I worked it out.