Create Great .NET User Interfaces

I'll be speaking on the above subject at a meeting of the .NET Developers Association in Redmond, WA next Monday, July 12. Here's the blurb:

Even the most beautifully coded application will flop if people hate to use it. And they will, if its user interface is not designed with their goals in mind. What makes a great UI? How can you apply the principles that work so well for the guts of an application to its front end? I'll show you specific techniques (with code!) that you can use immediately to reduce complexity for your users and improve your presentation layer's efficiency and maintainability.

More details here. Next Monday is also my first day at a new job, so it'll be a busy day: work until 3 p.m., drive to Redmond, give my talk, drive home, and go to work Tuesday. Yikes!

  9 Jul 04 10:16 AM · Comments (1) · Tags: .NET

Betsy Aoki Fan Club

Scoble asks: What do you like/hate about Microsoft blogs?

Well, frankly, it is a bit of information overload. It's a full-time job just to keep up with blogs.msdn.com, and I have to wade through a lot of BizTalk/C++/Exchange/Windows Mobile stuff that's really not relevant to me. And what's the deal with this guy? ;-)

Occasionally, however, sifting through all that chatter pays off: I discover an unsung blogger who speaks to my soul, one whom I may never have found otherwise. Betsy Aoki is such a blogger; I find her (too infrequent) posts a perfect combination of smart, funny and quirky that never fails to bring a smile to my face. (Don't worry, Betsy: I'm happily married and I live 200 miles away, so you're not likely to find me lurking in the bushes outside your home or office. I'm content to eStalk™ you via RSS.)

I hereby propose the formation of a Betsy Aoki Fan Club; to join, post a comment. Live it vivid! :-)

  8 Jul 04 12:06 PM · Comments (5) · Tags: Blog, Microsoft

Radio Phil

While in Edmonton, I discussed with my friend David Jurewicz the prospect of creating a customized Internet radio station as a means to share our favorite music with others. I did some research and discovered Live365 and Yahoo's LAUNCHcast.

Live365 costs a minimum of $10/month and requires (or allows, depending on your point of view) you to upload your content. LAUNCHcast is available in free (ad-supported) and premium ($3/month) versions, and provides all content for you. It uses a Netflix-style rating system to allow you to specify the genres, artists, albums and songs you like, then selects music that fits your preferences. This is a quick and easy way to create a custom station -- you don't have to spend time ripping and uploading music, and you get to hear music you may not already own -- but it affords you less control over programming (LAUNCHcast doesn't have several of my favorite artists and albums in its library).

You may sample my LAUNCHcast station here; it leans heavily toward jazz (primarily bop, fusion and Latin), with a touch of trance/atmospheric. Let me know what you think!

  8 Jul 04 11:15 AM · Comments (0) · Tags: Music, Tech

Cool Art

Spent the long weekend in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (my wife's hometown) with family and friends. On Tuesday, we visited the Edmonton Art Gallery, where I thoroughly enjoyed the "Thriller" exhibition. My favorite pieces were Christian Marclay's Telephones, Janet Cardiff's Muriel Lake Incident and Allyson Clay's Improper Perspectives. If you have an opportunity to view the work of these artists, I urge you to do so.

  8 Jul 04 10:40 AM · Comments (0) · Tags: Personal

Life's Unanswered Questions

Why don't posts like this:

Programming with the Cryptography APIs
Join Microsoft experts on June 23rd, 2004 to ask questions about techniques and best practices in using the Cryptographic APIs to help secure your applications. Let us know what changes you would like to see in the CryptoAPI and its documentation on MSDN.

look like this?

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  8 Jul 04 10:11 AM · Comments (0) · Tags: Humor