This last week, I ended up on an impromptu work trip to New York. While on the trip, I had the opportunity (and plenty of time with flights and layovers) to read a few books. I'll be updating the blog shortly with some reviews on those books.

Some notes on NYC though...

This was my second trip, although this time I was on my own in the evenings. I did go to Times Square a lot, since it was nearby, and there is always something going on there. My hotel was right by Madame Tussaud's and Ripley's Believe It or Not, but I didn't go in. What was the point? When I went out there, no camera. That did change. As per a blog review from Scott Hanselman, I picked up the the Flip Video Ultra. It is a nice little camera - takes some good video, but no stills. However, you can get a still out of the video with the desktop software. The downside was: it kept throwing errors on Server 2008, and after some extra settings in Windows I finally got it working. The videos are exported as AVI files and are decent quality. I unfortunately was unable to get the staff at one of the Chipotle's restaurants to record a message to D'Arcy Lussier, what with his insane fascination with the restaurant chain that is unavailable in Canada... Maybe if he had Papa John's pizza instead he could focus on bringing them to Winnipeg (they are in Canada, but far and few between...)

Times Square was amaazing. The Reese and M&M's store... the HUGE Virgin Megastore... The Toys 'R Us with the ferris wheel inside it... as well as posters for all the broadway plays including Spamelot, Lion King, Young Frankenstein... Yes, Young Frankenstein on Broadway... Right across from my hotel... I wished I had the time to make it there.

I also attended the New York .NET User Group meeting, which was their Speaker's Idol. Was a great presentation. Was invited out for drinks afterwards, but I had a few things I had to pick up before I headed back to Winnipeg the next day. It was a great time, but humid as hell. I was not prepared for that.

Anyways, book reviews to come in the next few days!

I found a great resource for converting Windows Server 2008 into being, as several have dubbed it, Windows "Workstation" 2008!

http://www.win2008workstation.com/wordpress/

It covers setup, configuration, etc. This is a great resource, though. Vista was always slightly sluggish with everything and installed so much crap that it bogged the machine down. However, setting 2008 up as a workstation works flawlessly! No problems, no crashes, no sluggishness except when I intentionally overload it... And that's my own damn fault. Definitely worth finding it all in one spot instead of hunting down online for random references here, there and everywhere!

Although this does not relate directly to coding in general, but to any company that services customers in any field, one must always be concerned with quality and how you relate that to the customer. For those who have worked with me, several things are apparent when dealing with a customer-related project:

1. I am picky as hell when it comes to quality and getting the functionality right.
2. I am PICKY AS HELL when it comes to quality and getting the functionality right.

Today, as many know, was Canada Day which is usually a holiday for most Canadians. But, for some of us select few who service clients outside of the Great White North, it is also a day when some people have to work. Today, several issues raised their head and I am proud to say that my coworkers were able to overcome each and every issue thrown at us today, with naught but a skeleton crew. There were big issues, small issues, and some ultra-critical issues. However, the purpose of what I am saying here is to ensure that quality is paramount, or at least that the client understands when quality is being put to the wayside for a delivery.

When I was a development manager, I reviewed (in excruciating detail) most of the items that launched through my team. And when I say excruciating, I think I drove some of them nuts with my detail. "That accented French character is missing..." "This validation is not enabled but has to be as it is a required field..." "The image is 2 pixels too big..." (Yes, I have done the 2 pixel thing. Many times. I have 2 former client contacts i credit for that - I became ultra-picky to please them and I don't regret it one little bit.) When most of my products were general public-facing items, I had to be; we are working on the "face" of our clients on the web and have a duty and responsibility to ensure that they have no egg on their face. We have to ensure that the information provided by them and their other partners are presented in the manner they expect.

So, with public facing items, we have 2 problems: Proper functionality and proper information. Proper functionality, in a developer shop, is somewhat simple: Play with it and make sure it doesn't break. How do you do that? Do everything in your power to break it using the interface provided (which, in these cases, are web browsers). We had all the proper functionality, without doubt. Everyone did a great job. However, we caught a few errors on our demo server before launch today. Why were some things caught here? Partly because I am PICKY AS HELL (see above) when it comes to ensuring the message is correct. Usually I don't QA the whole task anymore, but this was a significant launch... well, this was SEVERAL significant launches, so that explains why a few things were missed, especially with the skeleton crew (again, you guys did an AWESOME job today). But this is why we have a demo server - to catch those items BEFORE they go live. I am glad to say that although a few were tasks on our part, some were not and were provided by the client. (To explain without breaking any client confidentialities, some information displayed was completely wrong. As the client was out today, we launched with the info provided, but made them aware that updated information to be correct should be provided immediately after they return tomorrow.

Now, back to an initial point: the customer service. Because we launched early, this product did not have the level of QA we would normally give it (many members of a team reviewing it), but the one saving grace for that today was that it WAS a holiday. This allowed the team members there to focus on the applications and dive in to ensure a proper review was done. Less bodies, but more focus. And quite a few items were found and corrected, before launch. The client was made aware that the level of QA was not to our satisfaction because we were launching early, but we still gave it our all. I think the amount of QA done today was less, but the quality of the testing was higher than normal because people could focus more without distraction. (And, because I was not interrupted a lot, I gave my 2 cents in the testing as well.. OK, my thousand dollars, and I apologize to those I continually sent updates to, because I am... see above point 2). But we set the customer's expectations, gave them what they wanted, and still managed to ensure quality was not jeopardized. And, because of this, the client was happy.

What more can you say when the client asks for something on a holiday and you meet and most likely exceed their expectations? No more needs to be said.

Team, you all did a great job today.

Once again, I needed to clean up my laptop with a fresh install. So, today, I tried again in installing Server 2008.

After some worry and how the last time it failed for network usage, the assistance from D'Arcy Lussier helped a lot! It is now running on my machine.. and a HELL of a lot faster than Vista.

However, some things I noticed:

• Windows Live services will not install. (I am not the only one who noticed this.) Going back to an earlier version of Windows Messenger is not a big deal... but I miss Windows Live Writer since I just got it installed and was liking it for my updates.
• Setting up Windows Aero (some people hate it, I really like it) was kind of dumb - had to enable the service manually
• Wireless setup took some enabling and installing from my Dell disks, but got it working finally

Even with the problems... Server 2008 was the quickest Windows installation I have ever had! Was pretty sweet. Now to install VS and start my Silverlight presentation...

Later this month (June 25, to be exact), Rod Paddock will be visiting the Winnipeg .NET User Group and talking about Silverlight for Business Developers.

While at DevTeach, I had the opportunity to see an all-day presentation by Rod and Jim Duffy on Silverlight development. Their presentation covered a number of items, including how to style Silverlight applications, data access, etc. Basically, it gave a nice broad introduction to a technology that will be growing in use as it begins to mature. Now that Microsoft has announced that Beta 2 of Silverlight will be released soon, alongside of a "Go Live" license for Silverlight (which basically means that Silverlight applications can now be fully launched for clients and customers, but should still be made known that it is still in "Beta"), I foresee that many applications will grow to use it as time goes on.

That being said, not everyone will switch right away. Why? Well, after becoming immersed back in many technological areas of late, I have become introduced to a movement, if you will, called ALT.NET. One of the elements of this movement (and, by no means, is the only piece of the puzzle) is that one should not limit one's self to a specific technology or methodology - basically, "The right tool for the job". Currently, there are many a site out there (including sites that we do for our clients at work) that utilize large elements of Flash content. If it works and does the job, why change? Depends on what we want. If we want a little animation for marketing purposes, use Flash; almost everyone already has the player installed so why change it? However, if we want a Rich Internet Application (RIA), then we now have options with both Flash and Silverlight.

I can see, still, that Flash will continue to dominate at this time. Why? Lots of investment already by companies with employees already skilled in the technology. It works, it has had years to gain maturity in the industry... why break a good thing? However, it is not the most user friendly for a developer. ActionScript is similar in nature to JavaScript, which many a developer has said sucks (although fellow Canadian Justice Gray is not one of them). The largest complaint, and I have only worked with ActionScript in a very cursory manner, is that there is no true IDE in which to code for it (nothing native to the Adobe suite at any rate). (CAVEAT: Yes, I know that Adobe Flex is now out, but I have not used it and have not discussed it with anyone who has. It may be good, and is geared towards developers, but the inherit items within ActionScript may make using it more complex than it has to be.) There are some coming out, sure, but it's not as intuitive for a developer. And, when one is creating a RIA, understanding software development and how to effectively parse, utilize and manipulate data, is essential. I work with some extremely creative and highly intelligent individuals, but only a few of them grasp the "developer mindset". That being said, what a developer would make look like your standard button these guys can make look like gold to the end user. Different skill sets for different folks. And the rare occasion is that you find individuals who can really bridge that gap between developer and designer.

So, what about Silverlight? It uses 2 tools and multiple technologies. First, for designers, there is Expression Blend (to truly take advantage of Silverlight as it currently stands, you need the 2.5 Preview). This is the designer tool that is used in order to build Silverlight (or WPF) applications. It creates the same solution files that the development tools use, which is completely interchangeable. Speaking of, the developers in a Windows environment use Visual Studio 2008. This allows them to build applications using their favourite .NET compliant language. (Personally, though quite comfortable with VB.NET, I am using some of this time to learn C# more effectively and get back into {} and ;.) The same solution file can be passed back and forth, which is great, because then a developer can add actions and events to items within the Silverlight application in a similar way to how they do it with ASP.NET and WinForms - no new language, no new environment, just a comfortable starting point where you learn a new technology and apply it in a much more seamless manner.

So, after all this, what preparation? Before Rod speaks in Winnipeg, I want to give an Introduction to Silverlight presentation to my coworkers and colleagues. I want to encourage attendance to the event, but also want to get people looking into this system for building RIAs, which seem to be where many an application is going. I think that this is going to be key to have a proper evaluation and review of a competing technology, but also a technology that can be used side-by-side with other pieces. Who says you have to be exclusively Flash or exclusively Silverlight? (Although Adobe and Microsoft, respectively, would probably like that; but keep in mind that Microsoft has not yet migrated to all Silverlight yet either... I had a blog post I read on this that I just have to find...) EDIT: Link added to the previous content for information as to why MS has not fully migrated - it is the obvious.

The key thing here, though, is choice. And to get choice, you have to be informed. This is one way that I hope to contribute and drive people to look at this technology. Whether adopted or not, an informed decision cannot be made without investigation, testing, and most of all having fun in building stuff. That will make or break it for a company.

Just installed Windows Live Writer to do my blog posts, and so far, it's not bad at all. Very simple interface. And the nice thing is it will allow me to save drafts without being online.

What will this mean? It means I may blog more, as I can do other tasks a little easier rather than worrying about timeout on the interface (which has happened before), or an internet connection which just dies from time to time (thanks Shaw).

I just got back from Toronto today. Yes, I went again. This time it was for client meetings, though, so was not for a purely technical experience. That being said, I do work in a software company and so it was about software we were talking about.

Although the client conversation has nothing to do with the various technical pieces running through my mind right now, I have 3 primary things I want to learn in the near future:

• Silverlight development
• WPF development
• WCF development

But the question is... how can I make sure that I learn the technologies?

After reading a recent post by Justice Gray where he discusses technical presentations of late, he makes a strong point about how many presenters are in it for the wrong reasons. There are many who participate for the right reasons, but there are some who do not. I would be doing presentations going forward for somewhat selfish reasons too, but for a different end goal. My goal is to learn the technologies. How can I make myself do that? By preparing to do a presentation on the topics that I am learning. This gives me incentive to learn better, as I would have to present that information to others to absorb. Yes, it's selfish, but it makes sure that I know what I am talking about otherwise I make myself lose all credibility with anything I do in the future.

Pressure? Sure. Resulting satisfaction? As D'Arcy said recently, there is a difference between teaching and speaking. But your incentive for how you approach the presentation is really what is key. For me, any presentations I do would be twofold: one, to teach (depending on the depth of the presentation; introductory ones may be used merely to spark interest in others rather than detailed teaching)... where was I? Oh yes, to teach others a new technology or idea. But second, to teach me several things - the necessary information one needs to make a valid presentation, to learn new technologies for myself and my own personal growth, but also to give back into the community here and elsewhere that has helped spark a newfound interest back in developing. (For those that don't know me very well, my current position has me in a project management role, not a development one. The Winnipeg .NET User Group and DevTeach, as well as meeting many people at these conferences, have continued my interest in development and keeping me current and wanting to challenge myself more.)

So there we have it. I will be learning these technologies and holding myself accountable for them via a presentation/teaching method, either through the User Group, through a code camp, or even if just being used internally in my own workplace to impart the knowledge. I know there have been challenges before that I have slacked on, but a more focused method here (along with still reading a ton of books, alternating technical and business (usually company profiles) ones) will allow me to continue to grow.

So I am back at Winnipeg now. DevTeach went well, as my previous posts imply. But the end of the conference was interesting too....

Friday Daytime

This was the Silverlight session from Rod Paddock and Jim Duffy. Was a great intro to all aspects of Silverlight and what it is capable of right now. Although I have seen a ton of writeups of bits and pieces here and there, I am the kind of person who needs to see something in action first to learn it - I cannot learn from a book alone. This was great, though - a brief but thorough overview, and teasers of where things may be going. Now, it was said that this is Microsoft's replacement/answer to Flash. If so, it has a bit of a ways to go (which is true - this is still a beta after all). But looking at it, here are some initial comments:

• There are only a limited number of fonts allowed. This is because if it is not cross-browser compatible (eg. the mouse wheel working) then it is not included. This does not bode well for those of us who have to use specific client fonts that cannot be given away to all customers. What about including embedded fonts, like Flash? That would be ideal for such a situation.
• How much of a subset is it of WPF? In Silverlight, labels are called Textblocks. In WPF it's still a label (at least according to Expression Blend). Could we not get some consistency there?
• It's a real pain to not be able to drag controls onto the form/grid/canvas in VS 2008. Yes, you can drop into the XAML, but it's not the same. A basic button could still be added by a developer who may or may not know XAML that well, but full designs should be done by a designer using Expression Blend (I fully agree there).

Overall, though, a great session.

Friday Night

Started out with drinks and dinner with my aunt and uncle who I hadn't seen in a year. So, one plate of chicken fingers and 5 Strongbows later, I got into a cab to meet up with a friend of mine for drinks. We found a martini place and went there and met up with a few more friends. 7 martinis (and one shot) later, we all proceeded to head out somewhere else. An Irish pub with a live band, which was great. BUT, another 5 beers (not Strongbow, but something comparable). After that... to bed, massively drunk, after like 5 glasses of water. Now, this meant getting back to the hotel around 5 AM... so no longer Friday night. And checkout was at 11 AM.

Saturday

Got up massively hung over. Got ready to check out of the hotel. Had a nice long shower and drank about 5 more glasses of water. Went down to the lobby, checked out, and went to the airport. Now, my flight didn't leave til 6 PM and this was around 11 AM. So, hung around TO airport all day (didn't have the strength or will to go ANYWHERE else). Hung out there, read a lot, and relaxed until my flight back.

So, the flight. Got on the plane. Found my seat and sat down as one is wont to do on a plane when you board. Well, most people at any rate. About 15 minutes after the plane was SUPPOSED to leave, we get an announcement apologizing for the delay but that there is a luggage issue. OK, so we sit back and relax. Then, we watch as passengers are moved from the back of the plane to first class. Again, sit back and relax. First class was empty when I boarded, and many of them are seniors so all appears well. I went back to my book. When I look up, 3 cops are walking past my chair. NOW I pay attention. They go to the back of the plane, where the individuals were moved up to first class from. There is a "discussion" with an individual back there. Not of North American heritage, as the accent (and eventually seeing him gave away) gave away. This was an individual whose accent I would place as being from India (this is due to the fact that i have some friends from India and the accent was very similar - not 100% certain, but fairly certain). They started escorting him off when he turned around and started to walk back to his seat. The officers behind him asked what he was doing and he said he needed his things, which the cops had in hand. He reluctantly turned around and went out with them, another officer with his bag and passport. About 5 minutes later, the individuals moved up front went back to their seats. The captain made an announcement, indicating that the individual refused to listen to the attendants, was not sitting down but was causing a ruccus (I think some other passengers complained), and was causing some red flags in them. It turns out that not listening to an attendant is an offense and gets you arrested. Now, keep in mind, WE HAVE NOT LEFT THE TERMINAL YET. So, an eventful show there right from the get-go. They offered us a free drinkn to compensate... but I was having none of that in my hung over state. Hot tea it was (also to soothe my throat).

But there we have it - another fun-filled, eventful conference attended. I can honestly say that the flight back was the most interesting flight I have ever had. At any rate, time to go back to reading and then crash and catch up on my insomnia-riddled trip.

About a month ago, I registered for a Twitter account. I thought it would be a fad that I would toss out quickly, but nope - am hooked. More than Facebook. Why? It's simple, it's brief, and you don't need all that extra crap that comes with Facebook (freaking "Little Green Tree" application...).

So, for those interested in adding me, you can add me here.

I also recommend getting Twhirl, which is a desktop application that resides in your systray to follow your Twitter information. It's nice as it is hidden there and you don't need to go into the web site to get the information.

Enjoy!

Like the rest of this week, not starting off well. I couldn't fall asleep until 6 AM, so getting up for the morning sessions was out of the question. This is going to be bad for tomorrow, as the all-day Silverlight presentation is tomorrow. I better get my @$$ out of bed.

So far this afternoon, attended one full session and in the middle of another. First, was Markus Egger's presentation which served as an introduction to WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation). It was an introductory session, which was good to have as I know some but not a ton. What's nice is that Silverlight is a subset of WPF, so getting to learn Silverlight will give me an idea of what to expect when playing more with WPF.

Currently, am in Rod Paddock's presenting on AJAXing your ASP.NET application. A few nice tips and tricks here, but is more or less the basics of AJAX of which I understand the root basics as well. However, some of the tweaks are really cool.