Why, because I'm going to buy an Apple.  Yeah, you heard me, I'm going get one.  Ok, so maybe that isn't a good reason why Safari is going to become the browser of choice.  However Jeff Lynch definitely lays out a few more legitimate reasons in his blog entry "Why Safari May Become the Browser of Choice!"

ReSharper 4 isn't out but there are nightly build.  If you're a hard core enough geek, go and grab the build and get exponential power of…  ReSharper 4.  In a nice Agile like way it states in the entry "ReSharper 4 Nightly Builds – Are You Geek Enough?", that it will be ready when its ready.  Thank you, please don't hurry crap out to market.  That would be bad!  Even though I'd also suspect that beta builds of JetBrains ReSharper are probably better code than 90% of the stuff that comes out to market as full releases.

Make sure to hit up both links from that entry about 3.0 support and of course the nightly builds page.

The last article for this keeping up entry of mine, is Boodhoo's article over on Code Magazine's site, "Individuagility".  The main points of this article I all to often assume are things anyone doing anything remotely development related would do.  I've been incorrect about this far too many times.  The main things that I always find myself implementing far too often are;

1. If you’re not using source code control, stop reading this right now and go and get your code into a source control repository.
2. Get a continuous integration server in place. This is essential if you want to get yourself working in a more agile fashion.
3. Set up automated build scripts to work in conjunction with your continuous integration server. As a small victory, see if you can set up a build that will automatically deploy new builds of your application for you.
4. Start learning an automated unit testing framework.  …and like Boodhoo and many others, mine also is mbUnit.
5. Get some design patterns knowledge.
6. …the last point I really dug from the article is really hard core and philosophically vital, "Now let me make the last and most important point: Become a student of your profession."  Boodhoo is 100% on the money with this idea.  One MUST admit and stay the course for their entire career if they expect to get to and maintain confidence and capability in the profession.  The developer world is NOT for the feint hearted, the un-driven, or the "I just want a job I can have until I retire" mind set.  If those are what you want, go drive tractor trailers, buses, or something of that sort.  Being a software developer will NOT be a good idea for you.

So Boodhoo, Jeff, and Ilya Ryzhenkov I send thanks for the ongoing great write ups, blog entries, and articles.  Keep up the good work. 

Hello Blogosphere,

This is my short rant on two words that drive me nuts and often make fairly educated people sound stupid.

It reads, “- Produce well architected, efficient SQL within a complex data model. Demonstrate ability to troubleshoot database performance problems in applications written in ADO.NET, and VB.NET using SQL as the backend for data access.“

I’m not sure if I should even be very judgemental about someone using the faux word “architected” or “architect” as if it where a verb.  It just drives me nuts though and I’m no grammar Nazi.  It’s just like the other faux word “irregardless”.

For some context, that these words usually imply a lack of English acumen, please read on.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/irregardless has the faux word “irregardless” defined.  But what does it have written about this word?

“Irregardless is considered nonstandard because of the two negative elements ir- and -less. It was probably formed on the analogy of such words as irrespective, irrelevant, and irreparable. Those who use it, including on occasion educated speakers, may do so from a desire to add emphasis. Irregardless first appeared in the early 20th century and was perhaps popularized by its use in a comic radio program of the 1930s.”

So now we know, it is not a word.  Public speakers use it to show emphasis?  I know enough people that laugh, chuckle, and sometimes outright point out the problem with the word to public speakers.  So how about you public speakers up the ante a bit and stop using faux words!

For the faux word “architected”, just think of it like this.  One would not “architect” a “architecture”.  This is exactly how it is being used.  So the next time you’re slaughtering and beating the poor word architect by forcing into verb usage, think about what architecture you might be building and ask yourself why you’re picking on the poor architect.

So the next time one is writing, try to think through real word usage.  We humans have enough communication issues as it is, we don’t need extra help by overloading word usage even more than it already is.

Thanks,

ME

I officially joined the effort for the Windows Live Writer called smugmug4writer for Smugmug, currently maintained by Chris Patterson.  I've found myself using the plugin so much while writing entries that I finally decided I'd contact him and see about doing some additions.  If any readers use this application, make sure to leave a comment or three about what additions you might like.

Like any project on CodePlex you need to setup the utility to get the code out of their TFS (Team Foundation Server) Source Repository.  This is done with some tools Brad Wilson and crew are responsible for.  There is also another solution offered by Teamprise to connect to CodePlex Projects.

To download the tool for working on one of the CodePlex Open Source projects swing over to the CodePlex Open Source Project titled "CodePlex Source Control Client".  To grab the Teamprise client swing over to their site.  You'll also need to go pick up a free (as in beer) license for use.  It is subject to "approval" and all but I think they're still sending them out to CodePlex users.

Once I downloaded the Teamprise Client I went to connecting up to the project.  First off go to the actual project page on CodePlex to find the specific details for connecting.  The connection details are located on the right hand side of the "Connection to Source Control Server" section.

I got the Teamprise Explorer downloaded and installed.  Received my key also and entered that.  The first thing that pops up is the login details screen.  The odd thing is the _cp is stuck on the end of the username regardless of what the CodePlex username you have is.

The next that will pop is an activation screen.  I just hit auto-activate and it took care of this itself.

Below is the display of what the full screen looks like.  If you click on the root of the project (the $ symbol) in the Source Control section of the Teamprise Application below and right click…

…this menu will appear.  Here you'll see what are generally the standard options for access to TFS.  First things first, set your working folder for TFS.  This is the area where the code will be put.

The working folder will prompt as below, click on Browse and select a directory.  I highlighted where I've added the specific directory that I want my code to be placed in.

Next I right clicked on the root again and selected Get Specific Version…, the reason being that I don't trust TFS with the simple Get Latest Version command.  I've been rubbed wrong by its performance and behavior in the past.  So I like to play it rough with ole' TFS.

The next screen gives the standard options for getting a specific version.  Since there is nothing in the directory then I figured nothing needed selecting (here's to hoping TFS behaves as designed).

Next the application begins getting the latest files.  Notice that the notification dialog is rather boring and plain.  The real info is now displayed in the application, which has lost focus, but shows the active status down in the lower right hand side.  I've highlighted it below.

After all is retrieved the files are no longer shadowed out in the Source Control area.  Navigate to where you placed them in the directory structure on your machine and you'll find that they've been downloaded accordingly.

…now get started on some open source CodePlex Projects.  I've explained it, so ya aint got no excuse do ya! 

 

So over the next few weeks and days I’ll be pushing out a new development process, methodology and helping extensively with the consulting roles here at work.  My main goal is to make us FAST and to maintain quality and expand that.  One of the best ways to come upon mankind is of course, the Toyota way!  With that in mind I stumbled upon the Kanban Process Template for TFS, which we happen to be using (TFS, not Kanban).  I hope that I can also bring this into the work environment and gain even more productivity and gains in efficiency!  Go check it out yourself if you’re into the efficiency of doing things right, well, and downright top notch.

On another note, the ole’ gritty Portal Project that came out a long time ago has been updated too.  Utilizing .NET 3.5 and such it is now looking pretty cutting edge.  Go check it out too on CodePlex.

As I start my WebTrends blogging I also have stumbled onto some other analytics products and social information applications.  These help in general daily activities a LOT!  One that my buddy Eric Sterling showed me recently is Xobni.  Xobni basically keeps track and ranks all the e-mail addresses, phone numbers, and a lot of other information, then provides via a side bar a summary of that.

Just a few screen shots of the various capabilities.

This image is of the sidebar, with the To-Do Bar minimized right the the side of it.

This is the analytics screen for outlook.  Analyzing the inbound e-mail, frequency of traffic, etc.