Gamification. The word sends shivers of revulsion down my spine. Yet, as I stare at the list of claimable accolades for Visual Studio Achievements, a “motivational” extension for Visual Studio 2010 that allows coders to garner points by completing certain excessive programming tasks, I can’t help but wish I owned a copy of Microsoft’s latest IDE.
We’re so used to the typical combination of black text/white background in our office apps that we’re practically blind to it. Yet, the simple act of switching these two variables could be the key to keeping headaches, eye-strain and tiredness at bay — or alleviating them completely.
