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GPS: 4) What is your computing environment - hardware, software, and how much time you spend on development?

Simon Funk: For a few years now I've been doing pretty much everything on an ultra-portable laptop running Linux (currently Ubuntu on a PortableOne UXM520). I generally use vanilla C for anything performance bound, but am increasingly moving to Python for everything else. Linux of course includes an endless supply of useful tools and libraries which I take for granted--gnuplot proved quite handy for visualizing the Netflix runs, for instance.

I think like many people, I worked on the Netflix thing round the clock for a while at first (well, as best I could while hosteling around New Zealand) and then that tapered off in response to the lonely cries of my other projects. Development of this sort is my full-time endeavor, though, so it's just a question of what's on the front burner at the moment.

Incidentally, I have been spending a lot of time these days without a ready internet connection, which is a hassle in many respects but at the same time I think I'm far more productive for it. I catch myself regularly wanting to pop over and check for new email or Slashdot articles, but since they're not there I just hunker down and keep on with what I'm doing. And what I've realized after a bit of this is that it always happens coincidentally when I get to the really hard parts--especially when I get to a path I know I need to go down but which I've been down many times before without success. With ready distractions, it's possible to avoid these dark alleys essentially indefinitely. But when the excuses are all gone, you just suck it up and go for it, and eventually you work through it and have your moment of glee, and it's all worth it. And then you start the game with the next set of dark alleys--but hey, that's progress!

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