Longhorn Killer App

Since the PDC last Fall, Microsoft has produced a series of concept apps to demonstrate how Longhorn's key technologies will enable the creation of groundbreaking new applications. The sample apps certainly look cool, with lots of 3D graphics and animation, but so far none of them have made me want to install Longhorn as soon as possible. Until now.

Check out this video of an app from Microsoft Research called Photo Triage. It (apparently) employs Avalon and WinFS to visually categorize collections of digital images. Some have questioned how Windows will obtain all the cool metadata WinFS needs in order to sort and search our data; this app nicely demonstrates one way it could work. I want it!

via John Lam

 30 Jun 04 11:10 AM · Comments (0) · Tags: Software, Windows

Department of Redundancy Department

I first learned of the release of Visual Studio 2005 Beta 1, as well as Express Editions and the MSDN Feedback Center, shortly after midnight this morning. Since then, I've seen it reported by dozens of bloggers, and the day is young. ('We blog more by 8 a.m. than most people do all day.') If you're a .NET blogger and you haven't yet written about today's new releases, please don't!

What is the thought process that leads one to blog about an event of this magnitude? 'If I don't blog this, nobody will hear about it!' Or perhaps, 'Ooh, if I hurry and blog this, I'll be the first, and I'll get lots of links and notoriety!' Please.

Before you post (not just today, every day), I urge you to peruse the home page at weblogs.asp.net or do a search at Technorati. If you don't have anything to say that hasn't already been said several times, do us all a favor and step away from the keyboard. Thank you.

 29 Jun 04 8:31 AM · Comments (7) · Tags: .NET, Blog, Rants

"Are you a Tech Girl?"

Hmm... I'm not sure what to make of this:

You must be over 18.
You can be described as a "Tech Girl," "Geek Chick" or "Network Ops Cutie."
You need a pleasant speaking voice and able to talk "tech."
Calls can become sensual so you need to be OK with that.
Be willing to take calls from those who find your certifications very sexy.

 28 Jun 04 2:21 PM · Comments (1) · Tags: Humor

Confessions of a Software Developer

If there's an upside to being involuntarily unemployed twice within seven months, it's that it incites introspection: Am I the common denominator? Do I have some fundamental flaw that leads my employers to conclude that I'm not worth my salary? Might I simply be choosing employment that's poorly suited to my personality and abilities?

I've read a few things over the past several months that have resonated with me:

Alan Cooper, in his piece, "The Software Practitioner Triad," wrote:

Programming — constructing release code — isn't the same as engineering.... Production programming['s] primary goal is producing a shippable product, not solving its technical problems....On the other hand, technical problem solving demands experimentation, which is naturally repetitive and empirical....Clearly — for the sake of the schedule, the budget, and the customer — programmers should never be tasked with engineering duties, and engineers should never be directly responsible for programming release code.

Reading that was a lightbulb moment: Engineering — problem-solving — is what motivates and inspires me; I find writing production code tedious and repetitive. Cooper also nailed the reason I've always had difficulty accurately estimating how long my projects will take: Engineering is inherently unpredictable, especially when dealing with unfamiliar technology, and should be done before the schedule is set and production coding begins.

Craig Andera, pleased that one of his side projects had achieved "1.0" status, wrote:

This is really a milestone for me. Like many people in my line of work, I have a fairly short attention span - I tend to focus on something intently for a while, figure out about 80% of it, and then move on to the next thing. That's an asset when you're teaching a class or researching a new technology, but I've long been aware that "real" developers don't have the luxury of moving on once the interesting bits are finished.

Amen! If I could, I'd hire a ghost programmer to do the grunt work, so I could concentrate on the juicy bits. (Hmm, maybe that's a good case for offshoring?)

Finally, Gretchen Ledgard discussed the book Now, Discover Your Strengths:

The authors write:

"Most organizations are built on two flawed assumptions about people:

1. Each person can learn to be competent in almost anything.
2. Each person's greatest room for growth is in his or her areas of greatest weakness"

And likewise:

"These are the two assumptions that guide the world's best managers:

1. Each person's talents are enduring and unique.
2. Each person's greatest room for growth is in the areas of his or her greatest strengths."

Reading that, I wondered: What are my strengths, and how can I capitalize on them while managing my weaknesses? I bought the book this week and took the online assessment; my results are here.

Last week, I received two job offers. One of them was similar to what I've been doing for the past five years: Working from home, self-managed, developing ASP.NET applications from start to finish. I love the flexibility and independence of working from home, but it's a two-edged sword: It's too easy not to work when I don't feel like it. And I've learned that I often don't feel like it if I'm not doing something new and challenging.

The other, the one I accepted, is unlike any job I've had before. I'll have to get up every day and commute to an office, just like real adults do, and I'll have co-workers and a manager. But rather than writing production code, I'll be supporting other developers, debugging their code, solving the problems that have them stumped. It will be interesting to see if I've correctly identified my strengths. Stay tuned!

 26 Jun 04 1:58 AM · Comments (2) · Tags: Career

How to Survive Creative Burnout

Speaking of death-march projects, here's an article I wish I'd had last summer: How to Survive Creative Burnout.

 23 Jun 04 7:00 PM · Comments (0) · Tags: Career

Back to Blogging

Heather Hamilton wonders why bloggers keep falling off. I can't speak for everyone, but here's my story...

When I went dark last August, I was in the final throes of a death-march project, one of those that seems like a good idea at the time, but ends up going on far longer than anyone anticipated. It was my first experiment with an "agile" methodology, but I obviously did it wrong ('An agile methodology is neither agile nor a methodology. Discuss.') Bottom line: I spent my last couple of months there working overtime to finish the project and trying (unsuccessfully, as it turned out) save my job; I was laid off in October.

Thankfully, I was able to land a consulting gig within a month: I worked on a medical transcription app for a large healthcare provider. Like resuming dating after a divorce, it was reassuring to have a client who liked me and my work ('I am still attractive!') It was, however, the first time in over four years that I had to actually go to work -- I'd been working from home since early 1999 -- so by the time I got home in the evening, blogging was the last thing I felt like doing.

About the time that project was ending, I was offered what seemed like my dream job: developer evangelist for a consulting firm/component vendor. I would be paid to promote the company's products and services among the .NET developer community by writing technical articles, speaking to user groups and participating in online discussions; blogging was actually in my job description! Unfortunately, after only four months my employer decided he couldn't actually afford a developer evangelist, and my position was eliminated.

Thankfully (again), I've landed a new job; I'm scheduled to start in mid-July, after my vacation. This time, I've made sure it's with a financially stable company and that the position capitalizes on my strengths, so hopefully I can remain employed for at least a year this time.

So, Heather, I hope that answers your question. ;-)

 23 Jun 04 6:00 PM · Comments (0) · Tags: Blog, Career