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

Lex Fridman Podcast

Lex Fridman

Philosophy, Society & Culture, Science, Technology

4.7 • 13K Ratings

🗓️ 29 August 2025

⏱️ 120 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

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:
(00:00) - Introduction
(01:14) - Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections
(10:16) - First computer
(15:54) - Dropping out of high-school
(23:35) - Joining Microsoft
(25:47) - MS-DOS
(28:59) - Windows 95
(35:46) - The man behind Windows
(40:42) - Debugging
(45:59) - Task Manager
(51:08) - 3D Pinball: Space Cadet
(56:07) - Start menu and taskbar
(1:07:06) - Blue Screen of Death
(1:09:15) - Best programmers
(1:17:16) - Scariest time of Dave's life
(1:24:44) - Best Windows version
(1:26:34) - Slot machines
(1:30:17) - Autism and ADHD
(1:49:37) - Fastest programming language
(1:53:42) - Future of programming

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	The following is a conversation with Dave Plummer, programmer, and an old school Microsoft
0:04.4	software engineer who helped work on Windows 95, NT, and XP, building a lot of incredible tools,
0:13.3	some of which have been continuously used by hundreds of millions of people, like the famed Windows Task Manager.
0:22.9	Yes, the Windows Task Manager, and the Zip-on-Zip compression support in Windows.
0:29.0	And he ported the code for Space Cadet Pimball, aka 3D Pinball, to Windows.
0:36.3	Today, he's loved by many programmers and engineers for his amazing YouTube channel called
0:40.8	Dave's Garage.
0:42.0	You should definitely go check out.
0:44.3	Also, he wrote a book on autism and about his life story called Secrets of the Autistic
0:50.7	Millionaire, where he gives really interesting insights about how to navigate
0:55.1	relationships, career, and day-to-day life with autism. All this taken together. This was a
1:01.7	super fun conversation about the history and future of programming, computing, technology,
1:07.6	and just building cool stuff in the proverbial garage.
1:13.8	And now a quick few second mention of each sponsor.
1:16.8	Check them out in the description or at lexfregman.com slash sponsors.
1:21.0	It's the best way to support this podcast.
1:23.2	We got Uplift Desk, which is an incredible company that has been my go to for a long time
1:29.2	for all my office and pocket studio furniture.
1:31.8	ZogDog, which is a platform that connects patients
1:34.1	with top rated healthcare providers,
1:36.1	Finn for AI agent for customer service,
1:38.8	Allio Capital for folks who understand
	...

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