About Larry

Larry O’Brien is a professional writer and software developer who lives on the Kona side of the Big Island of Hawaii.

I specialize in developing content for introducing and explaining software development technologies to programmers. Examples include:

  • Signed articles
  • Whitepapers
  • Web Tutorials
  • Samples
  • Screencasts
  • Demos

I also do analysis of vendor and software development processes that is both confidential and objective. I have no vendor affiliation, an
unparalleled BS detector, and can explain software development issues and conclusions to any audience, whether corporate, technical management, or staff.

I have particular interests in:

My clients have included:

  • Microsoft
  • Sun
  • Intel
  • AMD
  • SAIC
  • Cap Gemini
  • Major airlines and travel reservation sites (references on request)

My articles have appeared in most software development trade publications. I regularly publish in:

I have won awards from:

  • The Computer Press Association
  • American Society of Business Press Editors
  • Western Publications Association

I first programmed professionally in 1980. I wrote a program to control a laser cutting machine, which carved saws from sheets of titanium. One
of the first blades we cut was acquired by the New York Museum of Modern Art for its permanent industrial design collection.

Currently, I prefer to program in C# or C++. My preferred IDE is Visual Studio 2005 Team System with the ReSharper plug-in.
For Java projects, I prefer IDEA to Eclipse but can live in either.

Process-wise, I actually like architecture and design and specs, but understand they too rarely exist. I won’t work on a project of more than 1,000 lines of code
if it does not have:

  • A unit-test suite
  • Defect tracking system
  • Integration before check-in

I won’t work on a project of more than 10,000 lines of code if it does not have:

  • Dedicated QA Process
  • Documented architecture
  • Metrics-based schedule tracking
  • Incremental delivery

I grew up outside of Boston, in Belmont, Massachusetts, and went to Southampton College on Long Island, where I dual-majored in English and
Marine Biology before dropping out.

I moved to San Diego in 1985 and worked for the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration for awhile.

A screenplay I wrote led to misadventures in Hollywood for awhile.

In 1989, I moved to San Francisco to take the position of Product Review Editor for the magazines Computer Language and AI Expert.

In 1990, I was promoted to Editor-in-Chief of Computer Language. Ditto for AI Expert in ‘91.

I was the founding editor of Software Development magazine. Ditto for Game Developer magazine.

Along the way, I was promoted to Editorial Director of the Software Development publishing unit of Miller Freeman Inc. (now CMP)

In 1996, I quit publishing to launch an Internet game company called 1711 Software. We developed middleware for Massive Multiplayer Role-Playing Games. We went broke

I rode the dot-com bubble from Architect to Vice President of Technology for a company called iMind Education Systems. On paper, I was a millionaire for, like, 8 weeks.

For a period of, like, 3 months, I was the VP of Development at an Internet marketing company called 10th Dimension

In 2003, I was offered an extremely attractive job at a major software company located in the Seattle area. The ease with which I turned it down led me to
realize that I was really willing to trade off a great deal for independence.

My wife, Tina, and I moved to Hawai’i in July of 2004.

We like it here.

I love the ocean. I think fish are really beautiful.

Tina really loves the ocean and fish, too, which works out well for us. I proposed marriage at 94′ at Blue Corner in Palau.

We’re both PADI Divemasters. We’ve dived in:

  • Palau
  • Yap
  • Fiji
  • Vancouver Island
  • Sea of Cortez
  • Bali & Komodo Islands
  • Irian Jaya
  • Papua New Guinea
  • Almost every dive site in California & The Channel Islands

Since moving to Hawai’i, we freedive far more often than we SCUBA dive.

Favorite freedive spots on The Big Island are:

I really like Frisbee. Go figure.

For those interested in disc golf on The Big Island,

on the first Sunday of the month, about 8 guys play at Manuka State Park. There’s a fantastic
course in Hilo, that you can read about at the Hawaii Castaways Disc Club. In late January, HCDC puts on the “Big Island Open,”
which is a pretty big tournament. The first day is played in a tight, wooded course at McKenzie State Park
and includes some insane over-the-waves shots. The second day is at the Hilo Wailoa course mentioned above.

There are also casual disc golf courses at Kealekehe High School near Kailua Kona and Hawaii Preparatory Academy in Waimea.

I grow, process, and roast my own coffee. It’s insanely labor-intensive, but very satisfying.

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