Dave Plummer: Programming, Autism, and Old-School Microsoft Stories | Lex Fridman Podcast #479

Dave Plummer is a programmer, former Microsoft software engineer (Windows 95, NT, XP), creator of Task Manager, author of two books on autism, and host of the Dave’s Garage YouTube channel, where he shares stories from his career, insights on software development, and deep dives into technology.
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*EPISODE LINKS:*
Dave’s X: https://x.com/davepl1968
Dave’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavesGarage
Dave’s Secondary YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@davepl
Dave’s GitHub: https://github.com/PlummersSoftwareLLC
Dave’s Books: https://amzn.to/41qd5IB

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*OUTLINE:*
0:00 – Introduction
1:22 – First computer
7:00 – Dropping out of high-school
14:41 – Joining Microsoft
16:53 – MS-DOS
20:05 – Windows 95
26:52 – The man behind Windows
31:48 – Debugging
37:05 – Task Manager
42:14 – 3D Pinball: Space Cadet
47:13 – Start menu and taskbar
58:12 – Blue Screen of Death
1:00:21 – Best programmers
1:08:22 – Scariest time of Dave’s life
1:15:50 – Best Windows version
1:17:40 – Slot machines
1:21:23 – Autism and ADHD
1:40:43 – Fastest programming language
1:44:48 – Future of programming

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