Geeky Stuff

24: The Unaired 1994 Pilot

Frank — Wed, 07 May 2008 11:48:00 GMT

What if 24 took place in 1994?

This YouTube video definitively answers that question:

[hat tip to Scott Lock for sending this my way]

Technorati Tags: 24,Humor,Technology,1994,AOL

First Look at Popfly Game Creator Alpha

Frank — Fri, 02 May 2008 15:16:00 GMT

Adam Nathan and Suzanne Hansen discuss the Popfly Game Creator in this Channel9 interview.

Popfly Game Creator Alpha is available today, and it's a brand new tool for building 2D games in Silverlight that requires zero programming to build games.
How easy is it to build games? Well in this interview Adam Nathan builds three games from scratch including
- A Space invaders clone (3:15 - 23:55)
- A 2D car game that plays like "snake" (23:55 - 37:51)
- A 2D side scroller with a Ninja fighting rocket chickens (37:51- 55:04)

Hmm, I've got some ideas what do to with this technology.

Grand Theft Schnauzer, perhaps?

Or how about the Wedding Planning Marathon?

Players would have to gather wedding items (invites, flowers, etc) while dodging well-meaning, unsolicited advice.

[found via Alvin Ashcroft's Twitter feed]

Technorati Tags: Popfly,Silverlight,Casual Games,Game Development,Adam Nathan,Suzanne Hansen

Can You Break a Billion?

Frank — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 18:07:00 GMT

A $603 million fine? Ouch.

But this cartoon puts it into perspective.

On another note, I wonder if the EU would ever fine a company like SAP for having a monopoly/large market share on ERP software?

Technorati Tags: Bill Gates,Humor,European Union

The Knowledge Hoarders

Frank — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 01:02:00 GMT

The developer community is all about sharing knowledge and experience to make all our jobs a little easier.

It's why we blog, hold Code Camps and speak at user groups.

A lot of people ask me how I got involved supporting the developer community.

Here's how it all began.

Many moons ago, I had a consulting gig at a large company in NJ that was experimenting with .NET.

They had a product that came in two flavors: a VB5 desktop app and a classic ASP web site.

This was 2003 and .NET was still relatively new, but quickly becoming a desirable skill.

Two consultants had been chosen to start work on the .NET version of the project.

One talked constantly, the other was kind of quiet, not unlike another Jersey-based duo.

They sat in a room by themselves and kept to themselves.

They never talked much about what they were working on or their progress in converting the app over.

Due to their extreme secrecy, we started to call the office they occupied "Area 51."

They made it seem as if .NET development required special knowledge only they could posses.

Anytime they were asked about .NET, they'd either change subject or start talking about abstract (and obscure) computer science concepts.

Senior management promised us that we'd all work .NET "someday soon."

Months went by and nothing came out of the "secret lab" other than promises and vague talk of "custom controls" and a "specialized framework."

It was their extreme secrecy around .NET and their snobbery that motivated me to search for ways to learn .NET on my own.

That's how I found N3UG and discovered the .NET developer community.

Between learning on my own and working on other small consulting projects, it wasn't long before I had built up my own .NET skills.

It quickly became clear to me, that they were hoarding knowledge and spreading misinformation to secure their place at the client.

Not long after that, I found another client that was doing .NET work exclusively and left.

Persons who hoard knowledge for their own benefit are dangerous.

Consultants who do so are doubly dangerous.

Technorati Tags: Developer Community,Jay and Silent Bob,.NET

Context Sensitive Ads Gone Wild

Frank — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 12:45:00 GMT

Fellow Tablet MVP Craig Pringle noticed something unusual in his blog's advertising.

I doubt those are the kind of Tablets people reading Craig's blog are looking for.

This isn't the first time context sensitive ads have caused mayhem and controversy.

Technorati Tags: Tablet PC,Google Ads,Humor,Just Wrong

Silverlight Rehab: When You Love Silverlight a Little Too Much

Frank — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 16:58:00 GMT

Silverlight really is like Flash on Crack.

Some people at Microsoft really love Silverlight a little too much and Channel 10 has recorded a session where those addicted to Silverlight can discuss their addiction.

Silverlight Rehab - You're not alone

You know, this reminds me of a song.

[found via Adam Kinney]

Technorati Tags: Silverlight,Silverlight Rehab,Humor,Channel10

Twitter in Plain English

Frank — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:37:00 GMT

At my Introducing Silverlight talk on Saturday, I mentioned Twitter.

Most people in the audience hadn't heard of it and I found it somewhat hard to explain.

Actually, the concept is easy, the purpose of Twitter takes some clarification.

Thankfully, there's this video: "Twitter in Plain English"

Twitter in Plain English from leelefever on Vimeo.

If you like the idea, you can follow my Twitter feed at http://twitter.com/Tableteer and the happenings of the Silverlight DC area community at http://twitter.com/SilverlightDC.

Technorati Tags: Twitter,Silverlight,Twitter in Plain English

Andy Leonard Speaking at RV.NUG Thursday

Frank — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 12:09:00 GMT

Database guru, all around great guy and groomsman in my wedding, Andy Leonard will be speaking at the Roanoke Valley .NET User Group this Thursday.

Details below:

April Meeting: Testing the Database - Andy Leonard

When: 4/3/2008 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Add to Outlook/iCalendar
Where: NEW Roanoke County Public Safety Building

Abstract:

In this presentation I cover types of database tests and an introduction to testing using Visual Studio Team System Database Edition. Highlights include a custom test condition and an overview of ETL testing. BIO: Andy Leonard is a SQL Server database and Integration Services developer, SQL Server MVP, Solid Quality Mentor, engineer and author.

Technorati Tags: Roanoke,RVNUG,Andy Leonard,Unit Testing

Microsoft Health & Life Sciences Developer and Solutions Conference 2008

Frank — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 23:16:00 GMT

This looks interesting: The Microsoft Health & Life Sciences Developer and Solutions Conference is coming to Atlantic City this April.

From the web site:

This is a unique event designed for developers, architects, technical and business decision makers in the healthcare industry. Please join us to discover how Microsoft, its partners, and customers make possible the delivery of Software + Services in Health & Life Sciences.

The event event has a blog with updates to the sessions and agenda, even a humorous cartoon or two.

They will also show off Microsoft Surface. I wonder if they'll have a health care specific demo.

As the cartoon illustrates, I do hope they pick the subject matter of that demo carefully.

Check out the promotional flyer for more information.

Although geared primarily towards the healhcare vertical, the sessions include a wide variety of topics of interest to just about anyone.

Confirmed Technical Sessions include:
· Programming Microsoft Silverlight 2.0
· Building Secure ASP.NET AJAX Applications
· ASP.NET AJAX Design & Development Patterns
· SQL Server Data Services – scalable, easily programmable and highly available utility-based data store
· Building Enterprise Office Business Application Mashups
· Windows Presentation Foundation for Information and Data Visualization
· Managing the Application Lifecycle with Visual Studio Team System
· Presence and speech enabling your applications with Microsoft Unified Communications
· Architecting for High Performance and Multicore with Microsoft HPC and the .NET Parallel Framework
· Maximizing Data Value through Design of Charts and Visualization

All this and the event is free.

Technorati Tags: Healthcare,Atlantic City,Microsoft,HLSDevCon,Surface

Cap Area .NET User Group Meeting Tonight

Frank — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 16:57:00 GMT

Normally, the Cap Area .NET User Group meets on the fourth Tuesday of each month.

However, due to a scheduling conflict, the meeting was moved to tonight, Wednesday, March 26.

The normal schedule will resume next month.

Here's is the topic and speaker for tonight's talk.

What's New in Visual Studio 2008 - Paolo Del Mundo

Wednesday, March 26, 2008 at 7:00 PM
This session will present the new features of Visual Studio 2008 and .NET Framework 3.5. These new features include:

Multi-Targeting Support

Javascript Debugging

Javascript Intellisense

Web Design and CSS Support

Performance Improvements

Access to .NET Framework Source Code

... and much more!

Hope to see you there.

Technorati Tags: Cap Area .NET,User Group,Northern VA,Visual Studio 2008