Smart data structures and dumb code works a lot better than the other way around.

The next best thing to having good ideas is recognizing good ideas from your users. Sometimes the latter is better.

A security system is only as secure as its secret. Beware of pseudo-secrets.

Equally, the Internet interprets attempts at proprietary control as threats and mobilizes to defeat them.

The central problem of C and C++ is that they require programmers to do their own memory management

If you have the right attitude, interesting problems will find you.

The combination of threads, remote-procedure-call interfaces, and heavyweight object-oriented design is especially dangerous... if you are ever invited onto a project that is supposed to feature all three, fleeing in terror might well be an appropriate reaction.