Hi! I’m Tom Frauenhofer, a software developer with over 26 years of experience in the tech industry. I’ve worked at various companies during my travels, large, small, and in-between. I’ve used a lot of different technologies and tools over the years, and I’ve seen a lot of different ways to build software that are the “correct” way that you’ll have to excuse me if I sometimes come across as a curmudgeon.
I’m currently a Senior Software Engineer at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center in beautiful Hawthorne, NY. As they are gracious enough to pay my salary I feel it is my obligation to mention any conflicts of interest in anything I write. And don’t expect me to spill any company secrets or the like! I enjoy working where I work, and I find I have a lot of freedom to explore lots of new and different ways to do things.
These days I’m mostly using Adobe Flex and Air to build applications, and I have to say I’m impressed with the technology, the community, and what I’m seeing from Adobe. Not that it’s perfect – hey, it’s software, it’s never perfect. I’ve also been involved in the the Rational Jazz joint project with IBM Research, and I use this as a part of my day to day work.
In my past I’ve also done a lot of Palm OS programming. One thing that my Palm development experience has taught me is what happens when you confuse business decisions with innovation. Palm has a special place in my heart, though, and I hope that they can finally turn the corner and come up with some new and exciting products (but it’s a race to see if they can keep themselves capitalized long enough).
Oh, and if you couldn’t tell, I love mobile tech. iPod, iPhone, Treo, Windows Mobile, Nokia/Symbian, etc. I really see a future for a more pervasive computing platform. But the user experience is going to be the key. It’s not just having a great app – it’s filling a need and doing it in a way that is enjoyable to use.
About the photograph:
This is a photo that I took on September 28, 2007, while hiking inside Mount Haleakela on the island of Maui in Hawaii.
