#479 – Dave Plummer: Programming, Autism, and Old-School Microsoft Stories

Overview

This episode features Dave Plummer, a legendary programmer and former Microsoft engineer, discussing his journey from early computing to creating iconic software like Windows Task Manager. He shares insights into programming, the evolution of technology, his experiences with autism, and his passion for building and restoring both software and hardware.

Notable Quotes

- You don't want your operating system to be an adversary. – Dave Plummer, on user experience in software design.

- Making cool stuff—that's really the meaning of life. – Dave Plummer, on creativity and purpose.

- If you're hitting on me, please let me know and be specific because I'm clueless. – Dave Plummer, humorously describing his literal interpretation of social cues.

🖥️ Early Computing and the Joy of Programming

- Dave’s first exposure to computers was the TRS-80 Model 1, which he set up at a Radio Shack as a curious 11-year-old.

- He credits the Commodore 64 as the most influential computer of its time, surpassing even the Apple II in impact.

- His early programming experiences included writing a Galaga clone in machine language and accidentally erasing it, teaching him the importance of data management.

- Dave’s love for programming solidified in university, where he realized he didn’t care what he worked on as long as he was coding.

💻 Microsoft and Iconic Software Contributions

- Dave joined Microsoft after cold-emailing employees using registration cards from his Amiga software sales.

- He worked on MS-DOS, adding CD-ROM caching and optimizing memory usage, and later contributed to Windows 95 and NT.

- Task Manager, which he developed as a side project, became a legendary tool due to its simplicity, robustness, and efficiency.

- He also ported the beloved Space Cadet Pinball game to showcase NT’s graphical capabilities.

🧠 Autism and Unique Perspectives

- Dave describes autism as a monotropic focus, allowing him to intensely concentrate on one task at a time.

- He struggles with interpreting social cues, often relying on post-processing interactions to understand what went wrong.

- Literal thinking has led to humorous and awkward moments, such as correcting Bill Gates during an introduction.

- He emphasizes the importance of leveraging strengths, like creativity and focus, while managing challenges like sensory sensitivities.

🔧 Debugging, Craftsmanship, and the Evolution of Programming

- Debugging was a major part of his career, often requiring deep dives into assembly language and call stacks.

- He believes great software teams rely on both brilliant people and excellent tools, lamenting the lack of modern systems like Git during his time.

- Dave sees the future of programming shifting toward higher abstractions, with AI playing a significant role in generating and optimizing code.

🕹️ Side Projects and Lifelong Curiosity

- Dave is building an AI to play the Atari game Tempest, leveraging Python and Lua for reinforcement learning.

- He restores vintage hardware like the PDP-11, rewriting kernels and integrating old components.

- His GitHub Primes project benchmarks programming languages by running identical algorithms, with Zig and Rust often leading in performance.

- Dave’s passion for creating cool stuff drives his work, from software to restoring classic cars.