NEWS worthy Clips (2/2)

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Collaborative Culture for Software Developers

Expression and inspiration rule at this computer party

What happens?

Last May, about 95 people for various stages of the 12-hour event. The party played out like this:

2:15 p.m., study hall: Programmers arrive and begin quietly on their laptops. A few guys soon get up and graze the spread covering the kitchen counter: burritos, pulled pork, chocolate cake.

3:28 p.m., syncing up: Three laptop-toting strangers sitting around a table on the sundeck strike up a conversation about a new social-networking startup.

4:37 p.m., tech toys: All of a sudden, someone zips through the kitchen on a Segway scooter. Programmers leap up, take snapshots and immediately upload the images to .

5:03 p.m., : By talking shop with techies here, a business owner knows quickly who is competent.

In full swing

6:59 p.m., hostarrives: Serialentrepreneur Joel Harrison returns home after logging nine hours at the office, and the party is in full swing. Soon after the 59-year-old eases into a chair, engineers half his age chat excitedly with him about what they’re working on. Some don’t realize they’re swapping stories with a man who co-founded hard disk drive maker Quantum in 1980. Harrison, now on his seventh startup, tries to pass as just another techie.

“I came home tired,” Harrison says, “but this has me.”

9:11 p.m., lightning lectures: Nearly 50 people cram into the living room for an hour and a half session of six-minute technical talks.

Winding down, but going strong

11:00 p.m., relaxing: Several partiers are in the pool or outdoor hot tub giving their brains a break. After an hour they towel off and go back to the computers for some serious work.

2:05 a.m., coffee to go: The remaining 35 late-nighters pull the furniture back in place and pack up the power strips scattered throughout the house. Six wide-eyed techies don’t want to call it quits. They load into cars and continue discussions about action scripts, Twitter adapters and theoretical web services at a local café.

 

Vocabulary Focus

collaborative(adj)--- involving two or more people working together for a special purpose

tricks of the trade (idiom)--- clever methods that help you to do a job better or faster

word of mouth (idiom)--- information heard from other people, not based on fact

churn out (phr. v)--- to produce large amounts of something quickly

play out(phr. v)--- to happen and develop

strike up (phr. v)--- to start a conversation with someone

talk shop (idiom)--- to talk about your job or field when not at work

in full swing (idiom)--- already been happening for a period of time and still having a lot of activity

wind down (phr. v)--- to end gradually or in stages

call it quits (idiom)--- to stop doing something

Specialized terms

pet project(n phr)--- 基于兴趣而做的研究计划 a favorite activity done for its enjoyment, rather than out of necessity

graze the spread (idiom)--- 不吃正餐而不停地少量进食桌上各种点心 instead of sitting down to a full meal, repeatedly returning to eat small amounts of a lot of different foods arranged on table or counter

serial entrepreneur (n. phr)--- 连续创业家 someone who successfully starts a serious of new companies

towel off (phr.v)--- 用毛巾擦干 to dry yourself with a towel