New Year 2017

It is the beginning of 2017 and for many of us, that means picking a New Year's resolution.  This year I'm sticking to the basics and focusing on spending more time with the family and getting more exercise.  Part of that means I am going to stop working on ResNova projects.  That is the company that spawned out of a hackathon in 2012.  We had a great run but like many startups focused on our technology and didn't get enough product into the hands of our users quick enough.  Although I'm sad about cutting ties it's a good thing in freeing up time for the next big thing.  It is probably fitting since the last entry was in 2104 about the hackathon.

So with any luck, I'll have time to blog about a big project I'm working on in the house and an interesting new sport I can't wait to try.

Until then.  Enjoy,

Freeon

Build 2014

It's another year and the Build Windows Conference sells out in record time.  I'm amazed at the new pace Microsoft is cranking out new products.  Typically the Build (formally PDC) was reserved for big product announcements.  These days that seems to be happening every 8-10 months.

• Build 2012 - October 30th
• Build 2013 - June 28th
• Build 2014 - April 2nd

As everyone else I'm excited to see what's coming down the pike but it's dizzying keeping up with all the new technology.

The team and I are still plugging away on Inkredible Memories (formally Wedley) from the winners circle at the Build 2012 Hackathon.  The development focus is Windows 8.0 until the first release which will be both 8.0 and 8.1.  After the April announcement, I fear we will have Windows 9 to contend with too.

I'm looking forward to some soft of consolidation between the WP8 and RT frameworks.  That would be crazy but hey, neither platform seems to be gaining traction on it's own.  How about a mini tablet I can use my Bluetooth headset to make calls from?

I'm not able to attend this year but I'll be watching the vids on Channel 9.  Who knows maybe some spots will open up like they did last year.
http://www.buildwindows.com/

Build 2012

I attended the Build Windows conference October 30, 2012. This was a great opportunity to network with the folks at Microsoft and developers from all over the world.

They constructed this huge auditorium that reminded me of a beet tent in Oktoberfest we attended in Munich, Germany. Jordan Rudess from Dream Theater was on stage talking about his music and Windows 8 apps which was pretty cool because I used to listen to them all the time back in the day.

This was my first Build conference, I attended VS Live last year. The difference was pretty extreme. Microsoft was going all out to showcase Windows 8, Windows 8 Phone, and the Surface Tablet. Even the campus buildings were decorated for build

My favorite part of the conference were the hands on activities. The Azure Daily Challenge was my favorite. Basically you sit down, someone gives you an overview of what to code and you dive in. Get stuck, you elbow your neighbor grab a sponsor to help. To finish the challenge you demo the code for a sponsor and get a prize. Each day the challenge increased in difficulty.

The sessions were recorded very professionally so you can review them later.  Good thing, because you can only absorb so much new stuff during the day. You can find the recordings on channel 9: http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Build/2012

Last but not least was the Hackathon hosted during build.  This was not really part of build since it occurred in the off-hours after the normal build day was over.  So while most folks were having diner, or enjoying the sights of Seattle a few of us were hunched over computers creating Windows 8 / Windows Phone 8 software as fast as we could.  More on that in the next post.

All in all great conference.  I highly recommend Build to developers deciding which conference to attend.

Black Ops

In my spare time I have been playing Call of Duty Black Ops. This game is awsome! Linked is a good guide to all things CoDBo:

http://boards.ign.com/call_of_duty/b6860/197935741/p1/

http://callofdutyblackopsmultiplayer.net/call-of-duty-black-ops-guide/

Travel

1. Providenciales, Turks and Caicos


2. Newport, RI, USA


3. Munich, Germany

• Create your own travel map or travel blog


• Find the best vacation rentals at TripAdvisor

Promiscuous Integration

Did the title grab your attention? Good, check out Martian Fowler's bliki post addressing parallel development techniques and how they fit with Continuous Integration.

Check it our here:
http://martinfowler.com/bliki/FeatureBranch.html

Greg the Architect

I found a great set of videos on youtube: http://www.gregthearchitect.com/

Each episode follows the an action figure named Greg as he tries to make sense of vendor jargon, C level buzzwords and the hype of SOA.

Direct links:
Greg the Architect - SOA This. SOA That.
Greg the Architect - ROI of the Beholder
Greg the Architect - FocusPocus
Greg the Architect - Off the Grid


Enjoy,
Freeon