Archive for the_time('F Y')


31 July 2007 in Windows | Comments (4)

Admittedly this is a frustration induced post but seriously, how can the connectivity story in Vista have so many issues? I work on several networks:

  • Work, wireless
  • Home, wireless
  • Home, wired
  • Cafe net occassionally
  • VPN to work from home

At the moment, no matter what I do I cannot get the VPN connection to realise that there is an active internet connection. I can be connected over wireless or jacked right into the network and still no-go. Even though the icon in the system tray has the little world icon denoting that I have an active internet connection, the actual “connect to network” dialog begs to differ.

This happens somewhat often based on disconnecting from one network and connecting to another. Even disabling my wireless connection and re-enabling it doesn’t seem to be enough to fool that dialog to want to let me connect. I’m effectively being forced to restart my machine to connect to the VPN.

Windows Vista Connect To Network Dialog

I eventually found a work around on the web here. I’m really looking forward to Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista.

– JD

Average Rating: 5 out of 5 based on 263 user reviews.


30 July 2007 in General | Comments (6)

Lately I’ve been thinking a bit about how developers progress and evolve into better developers, partly inspired by recent pod casts from folks like Scott Hanselman about how to become a better developer in six months.

Before I go further, I don’t believe any endeavour has a point of perfection, even the best in a field is striving to do even better. Nobody is immune from needing to increase their skill level and if you think you are or can’t be bothered then change fields – you’re likely just holding others back by being a stick in the mud.

How do I try to become a better developer?

  • Work with the best. I have the fortunate situation of working with a couple of the best developers I’ve ever met. Working on solutions with them, nutting out how to tackle a problem and general knowledge sharing has enabled me to learn a considerable amount from them.
  • Reading blogs isn’t enough. I used to believe that simply consuming huge volumes of information from blogs and software development related sites would make me a better developer. I’ve since come to realise it only helps in making me aware of the possibilities but doesn’t help me practically. Now when I spot a blog post about something that takes my interest I’ll try and pull down some code or implement what is being shown. Actually doing things is far better than just reading about them.
  • Subscribe to mailing lists. Blogs and various sites are good to keep track of but it’s quite a learning experience to track mailing lists for projects that you’re interested in. Even tracking mailing lists in areas that you won’t be using day-to-day are great for providing perspective on what other developers are up to, for example, I watch the Moonlight mailing list about the Silverlight port to run on mono / linux. Mailing lists provide the nitty gritty detail about what is going on behind those blog posts that just trumpet new versions.
  • Actually write code. This one seems like a no-brainer and relates closely to point two – if you’re thinking about how something could be done then just write it up. I have a ‘research’ folder in my dev directory so where I spike up silly little bits of code just to see how something might work. Writing, combined with the reading I’m already doing, provides a complete learning experience.
  • Participate in discussion. Too many people are happy to be wallflowers and just watch others discuss and debate topics that relate directly to them. Why wouldn’t you share your thoughts if it affects you or is directly related to you? Usually fear of being cast as wrong about something or looking stupid. I try to take the approach of always sharing my thoughts no matter how stupid I may look – either I’ll be corrected and learn from it or I’ll look like I’m super clever. Ideally over time you’ll tend towards the latter. Never be ashamed or afraid of engaging in conversations and debates.

As you can see, much of my view about becoming a better developer is tied to a “use it or lose it” attitude being augmented with giving yourself new ideas seeded from other people. One thing to remember is that the evolution happens gradually over a long period of time, applying rules like this doesn’t mean on Monday I’m going to suddenly be a developer God.

I’m happy to hear if anyone else has habits that have helped them evolve as a developer.

– JD

Average Rating: 4.5 out of 5 based on 193 user reviews.


18 July 2007 in Business & Mindscape & Windows | Comments (4)

I’ve been a bit quiet lately with so much going on with Mindscape and life in general. The good news is that we have recently elected to expand our team to help ensure we continue to deliver (if you are interested check out the position information here).

I’ll be delivering two lunch time sessions at TechEd this year, one regarding unit testing and another about how to get up and running with BackgroundMotion. I’ve been to TechEd for the last two years and it has been fantastic and I think it will be the same this year. Unfortunately the tickets are already sold out but I’d love to catch up with anyone who follows my blog that lives further afield that Wellington :)

I’ve been up to my elbows in WPF recently and look forward to posting some of the things I’ve discovered on here soon (as a side note, Expression Blend is possibly the best V1 product I’ve ever used, it’s fantastic!).

More posts to come,

– JD

Average Rating: 4.6 out of 5 based on 185 user reviews.