Microsoft Philippines is conducting an event for developers called "Defy All Challenges: The .NET Developer Roadshow" on March 26, 2008 at SM Megamall Cinema 4, Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City, Philippines. I think this is going to be a great event! I've already talked to few developers and they are definetely excited although some raise concerns about the cost of the event (P500).
Paolo Tioseco, a Technology Specialist for Microsoft Philippines asked me to post the event details at DevPinoy.org and I've decided to create my own banner based on their original poster.
Oh! and I have a small one too!
Tech is fun!
Yup! Me and my wife are coming to the VS 2008 Kickoff event in Los Angeles today. Wohoo! This is the first time we'll see Bill Gates live in person and we are excited about it.
Wohoo!
I'll post some pictures here tommorow to show you guys what transpired at the Nokia Theatre and Los Angeles Convention Center.
See yah at the event!
Woohoo! That was a great Code Camp. Thanks to Woody and the gang for making this event happen. It was a fun and knowledge-filled event. I even got swags (a few books, a shirt, a small bag and a gym cup from Avanade)...
Me and my wife will be at the Code Camp in Fullerton tommorow and we are excited. Code Camp is a great time to get together, learn new things about technology and network with people with the same mindset about technology and that is passion for learning and enriching knowledged. We are driving tonight to Fullerton so that we can be early tommorow.
There are already a few sessions that I am eyeing to go to. One of them is the session of John Bowen regarding WPF DataBinding and WPF controls. I met John Bowen 3 years ago in the .NET Rocks roadshow bus. I think this session is going to be awesome. I've been playing with alot of WPF lately and I'm interested in seeing and learning cool things about this technology.
Another session I'd love to see is the topic "Branching and Merging Guidance for VSTS 2008 and Team Foundation Server" presented by Mickey Williams. I haven't done anything with VSTS before but I know its going to be a great primer for me because merging and branching is one of the things that happens alot when you are in a team development environment.
Oh boy! This is going to be a great Code Camp. Time to go home and get ready for this event. See you there!
Have you ever thought about doing a Celebrity Deathmatch for developers? Well CodeSqueeze has just started one and in its first edition they have put two of the most popular .NET bloggers face-to-face. Scott "The Man" Hanselman vs. Phil "You will get" Haack.
Scott Hansleman has been on the forefront of technology and blogging for many years. Before recently joining Microsoft, Scott is most famous for his blog Computer Zen, where he releases famed “Ultimate Tool” lists, and primary driving force behind the Das Blog project. His recent adventure is trying his hand at podcasting which can be found at Hanselminutes.
Phil Haack is most known for his blog Haacked. Rarely off-topic, he flexes his mature .NET development skills with in-depth examples and anecdotes. By day, he is a Sr. Program Manager at Microsoft - by night, he is the lead of Subtext an open source blog engine.
Checkout the blow by blow breakdown and see who is the winner of the first ever Celebrity Deathmatch for developers ;)
Wow, NBA.com is now joining the silverlight bandwagon.
NEW YORK — Dec. 10, 2007 — The National Basketball Association (NBA) will employ Microsoft Silverlight on NBA.com to further enhance the online video experience for NBA fans around the world. Microsoft Silverlight, a cross-browser, multiplatform plug-in for delivering the next generation of media experiences and rich interactive applications for the Web, will also be utilized on WNBA.com and NBADevelopmentLeague.com.
NBA.com will feature a full-screen NBA photo gallery, offer video highlights and deliver additional interactive applications throughout the site using Microsoft Silverlight. Through the use of Microsoft Corp.’s new application, the NBA will be able to provide further access to its extensive digital video library, integrate the video experience seamlessly into the site, and ultimately provide fans with access to more online video features.
Read the full article here...
I'm a big NBA fan and i frequently visit the site (atleast 4 times a day). Basketball is one of the most popular sports in the world and this partnership I think would greatly boost the adoption of Silverlight in the mainstream.
One more reason why i should kick my gears up another notch with silverlight.
A few days ago in Twitterland, Tim Heuer had a contest. He said that whoever twitts him first would get a Microsoft Vista and Ofiice 2007 Ultimate... I quickly sent him a twit but sadly me efforts fell short. My friend Jon Galloway beat me by a second and he officially won... Jon feeling the pain of my defeat sent me a message saying that I can have the prize because he already have an MSDN subscription. Sweet!
Oh boy! That made my day!
Just today I got an email from Tim telling me that he already sent me the package and my eyes got big because it has some extras include in it.
"package en route: DHL Tracking #248211XXXXX Sent 12/07/07 to Keith Rull
includes: Vista Ultimate, Office Ultimate, Expression Studio and VS2008 Pro as well as some stickers."
Wooohoooh! That's what I call Microsoft Lovin'! Thanks Tim and Jon! Now my Christmas list is almost complete... hmmm.. I wonder who's going to give me a Zune and an XBOX. :)
Now, onwards to SilverLight!
*update* [20071211]: I got the package from Tim yesterday :) Awesome! Now I don't have any excuse to neglect WPF. Thanks Tim!
...and it has pure Ruby goodness tied into it! I think I'm going to wash my .NET hands today with Neatbens SOAp enhancements. Congratulations to the great folks from NetBeans! You definetely nailed it this time.
From their official press release:
The focus of NetBeans IDE 6.0 is superior developer productivity with a smarter, faster editor, and the integration of all NetBeans products into one IDE. NetBeans IDE 6.0 features Ruby/JRuby/Ruby on Rails support, enhancements for improved Swing development, a new Visual Game Designer, updated Data Binding support, integrated Profiling, and more. The new installer lets you customize your download preferences--use it to choose the features and runtimes you need.
Highlights of NetBeans IDE 6.0 are:
Java
* Swing GUI Builder
* Intelligent Editor
* Profiler
* Debugger
* Updated Platform APIs
C/C++
* C/C++ Projects and Templates
* Source Code Editor
* Multiple Configurations
* Class Hierarchy Browser
* File Navigation
Ruby
* Ruby on Rails Support
* JRuby Runtime
* Code Completion
* Debugger
* Refactoring
Mobility
* Game Builder
* Device Fragmentation
* SVG Graphics
* Web Services
* Handheld Device / Set Top Box
Web & Java EE
* Visual JSF Design
* Enhanced JavaScript
* AJAX Enabled Components
* CSS Editor
* Web Services & SOA
SOA
* XML Schema Editor, XSLT Designer
* WSDL Designer
* BPEL Designer
* Service Assembly Editor
* Deploy to JBI compliant runtime
Awesome! Really awesome! I've been using Netbeans on the side(due to my obedience with .NET) and it has been a great experience for me. I have used Java IDEs in the past(Visual Cafe 4 anyone?) and i must say that Netbeans has come along way since the days of old when Eclipse elitist call Netbeans a "a tool for non-serious java developers". I think this release has proven that NetBeans is valid alternative against the big boys(Eclipse & IntelliJ among others).
Now, onwards to a cup of Java. ;)
I was working on a report today when I opened my Excel 2007 and this is all i got:
To my surprise there was no toolbar. No menu. No spreadsheet tab. Nothing. All i got was a window with the manification option showing on top of the form. I right-clicked on the bar and this is what i got:
What in the world happened? This was working fine a few days ago! Arrrgh! :( Good thing there is Google Spreadsheet handy!
I'm still a big fan of VB.NET even if I haven't touched a single VB.NET code in a year and one the biggest VB.NET fanboy I know has just started a website all about the good things you can do with VB.NET. Chris Williams (VB.NET MVP) has just started a website called ILoveVB.NET. The idea is to build a community that would champion the cause of VB.NET(which is to make the world known that VB.NET is a first class programming language and not a code kiddies toy anymore).
Here's the official message from Chris Williams:
This is the place where we show off all the amazingly cool stuff you can do with VB.NET.
If you're passionate about VB.NET, or you have an interesting project or maybe you're providing community support to a technology that doesn't currently have language parity, then you've come to the right place. We will gladly host your project and blog(s).
If you're looking for answers, you may find them here as well. If you're tired of looking everywhere for code samples and only finding C#, keep checking back here. We're making contact with the product teams and working towards getting the samples and SDKs you want.
Once again, thank you for stopping by. If you need anything, feel free to ask.
Chris Williams
Man, I bet you Paul, Carl, Bill and the VB.NET MVPs are going to be excited about this!
I've just finished downloading Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 bits last night and I think I'm about ready to install it on my VPC (yup, I don't want to install it yet on my real machine.). I'm really excited about this new release since it looks really really promising. I've seen blogs giving it high praise and some not giving it a nod of acceptance(a few I should say) but for me it's the best Visual Studio to come out yet. I've been playing with the beta version since last year and really happy with this new release from the VS Team.
I know there are several things to consider before you install this version and I'm really glad that Jon made this list to keep as sane when installing/upgrading to Visual studio 2008. Great job Jon!
Now I'm ready to rock!
Sounds like Woody, Lynn, Jason, Tim, Anand, Rob, Mithun and JD are going to hit the road with there Microsoft Truck this 2008.
What's a Code Trip? Think of it like Cannonball Run. Only slower, and geekier. We sat around on a campfire burning copies of Microsoft Bob a while back and decided we needed to hit the streets. We want to get out to developers and hear some stories and have some fun (JD wants to blow stuff up, so we're trying to work that in). Really, it is going to be what you tell us it is. One RV, bunch of geeks, lots o' code. Join the trip!
This is going to be awesome. I go to MS conferences alot and have met a couple of MS Developer Evangelist in the past (specially those who are in the SoCal area) and I think it's a great time for me to meet the other MS Developer Evangelist who cover the west coast.
Hey Woody! Can you reserve me one of those XBOX 360 :D I think that would look great in our living room :P Just kidding.
I just saw this because Jojo Paderes had his status in GTalk pointing to this link.
According to Mercer, the Philippines is still one of the cheapest IT outsourcing destination in the world. The figures states that as of 2007 IT Managers in Manila only earn $22,280/year on an averaged ranking third compared to Switzerland, the highest paying country which has their IT managers average a whooping $140,960/year[link].
|
Figure 1* |
| IT Manager: 10 top-paying countries (various currencies) |
| |
|
Local |
USD |
EUR |
GBP |
| 1 |
Switzerland |
176,920 |
140,960 |
110,990 |
74,150 |
| 2 |
Denmark |
722,310 |
123,080 |
96,890 |
64,750 |
| 3 |
Belgium |
95,380 |
121,170 |
95,380 |
63,760 |
| 4 |
UK |
62,180 |
118,190 |
93,090 |
62,180 |
| 5 |
Ireland |
85,200 |
108,230 |
85,200 |
56,950 |
| 6 |
US |
107,500 |
107,500 |
84,650 |
56,550 |
| 7 |
Germany |
84,020 |
106,730 |
84,020 |
56,160 |
| 8 |
Canada |
106,000 |
93,860 |
73,870 |
49,370 |
| 9 |
Hong Kong (China) |
702,720 |
90,340 |
71,120 |
47,530 |
| 10 |
Australia |
115,480 |
88,850 |
69,950 |
46,740 | |
| Figure 2* |
|
| IT Manager: 10 lowest-paying countries (various currencies) |
|
|
Local |
USD |
EUR |
GBP |
| 1 |
Vietnam |
15,470 |
15,470 |
12,180 |
8,140 |
| 2 |
Bulgaria |
34,25o |
22,240 |
17,510 |
11,700 |
| 3 |
Philippines |
1,106,700 |
22,280 |
17,540 |
11,720 |
| 4 |
India |
1,120,490 |
25,000 |
19,680 |
13,150 |
| 5 |
Indonesia |
289,155,000 |
31,720 |
24,970 |
16,690 |
| 6 |
China (Shanghai) |
265,810 |
33,770 |
26,580 |
17,770 |
| 7 |
Malaysia |
129,930 |
35,260 |
28,040 |
18,740 |
| 8 |
Czech Republic |
791,430 |
35,880 |
28,250 |
18,880 |
| 9 |
China (Beijing) |
285,130 |
36,220 |
28,520 |
19,060 |
| 10 |
Argentina |
133,040 |
43,180 |
33,990 |
22,720 | |
| Figure 3* |
Figure 4* |
| IT Manager: 5 highest paying positions in Asia |
| |
|
Local |
USD |
| 1 |
Hong Kong |
1 702,723.00 |
90,344.03 |
| 2 |
Australia |
2 115,483.00 |
88,846.75 |
| 3 |
Japan |
3 10,347,000.00 |
87,638.17 |
| 4 |
South Korea |
4 69,374,000.00 |
74,022.62 |
| 5 |
Singapore |
5 104,127.00 |
66,615.70 | |
| IT Manager: 5 lowest paying positions in Asia |
| |
|
Local |
USD |
| 1 |
Vietnam |
1 15,473.00 |
15,473.00 |
| 2 |
Philippines |
2 1,106,700.00 |
22,281.05 |
| 3 |
India |
3 1,120,486.00 |
24,996.90 |
| 4 |
Indonesia |
4 289,155,000.00 |
31,721.24 |
| 5 |
China - Shanghai |
5 265,814.00 |
33,768.74 | |
*Note:
-
Average total cash compensation includes base pay and annual bonus.
-
Foreign exchange conversions were made as of November 2006.
-
Source: Mercer: 2007 IT Pay around the World. |
You can treat the numbers above in different ways... either Manila is not getting the big piece of the pie because we are undervalued (considering that we are the largest english speaking nation in Asia) or... That we can attract more companies to outsource to Manila because we are talented and cheap enough to do projects for other countries which means a larger economic growth for our country.
I think the numbers above would fluctuate specially knowing that the US Dollar is currently in a slow decline and Euro starting to dominate the markets.
The Philippines has a great talent pool when it comes to IT and most of the them work hard to hone their skills even if they don't get paid that much. That's what I call responsibility and commitment to bringing ang building a world class application from a truely world class workforce.
Hayy, I hope Manila gets a bigger piece of the pie :( Till then, Mabuhay ka Filipino Developer!
"Ayayay Caramba!" Another great app from the makers of VisualSVN.
Introducing VisualSVN Server. VisualSVN Server is a packaged that contains all you need to start(and managed) your own SVN repository. Think of it as your own mini toolbox of goodies for SVN. The package comes with SubVersion, Apache and sleak lookin' management console.
And best of all, it's 100% free.
Oh boy! Oh boy! Oh boy! Talk about geeky goodness! In case you miss the news, VS 2008 is ready for download for MSDN subscribers. Not an MSDN subscriber? Fear not! VS Express 2008 was also shipped today!
Want to learn whats on VS2008? Check out the video tutorials here or just read what ScottGu has to say.
Jeff also mentioned that Team Suite and TFS is also available and that the 90 day trial(in case you are not an MSDN subsriber) can be downloaded from the MSDN website.
I was explaining the benefits of outsourcing projects in Manila today to someone who has a huge project.. probably between 1 year to 2 years of development amounting to atleast $50K for the initial concept. He asked me to help him find a suitable outsourcing company preferrably in Asia. I then made a push to have him look at several company's in Manila which he agreed... what i did next was show him a website of a known development company. He read everything and browsed every page on their site to get more information about them. We were having a great conversation and I think he ha already decided that he is going to contact this one company but then he decided to look at their methodologies section... there he noticed something that he didn't like about the website...
"Some comment?" What? Nice coding standard there buddy.
I mean, come on! If you are posting a code snippet to an ad atleast make sure that the code looks good and follows your motto "Code of Discipline" because to tell you frankly it makes your company look bad when you don't QA what you push to visitors even if it's just an image.
In the end, he got turned off and asked me to show him a different outsourcing company.
Sad. Sad. Sad. A missed opportunity.
James McGovern has has posted this stat on how vast the network is inside the Big House in Redmond and i'm quite amazed in their IT infrastructure:
Microsoft internal IT:
600k connected devices
10,000 Servers
3 Datacenters 1 operations center
11% is virtualized in Microsoft Datacenters
330 of 385 servers run Windows Server 2008 (RC0) plus all 85 Microsoft.com servers
11 clustered systems
30,000 users in redmond domain (50,000 with vendors)
NAP reporting 140K clients, 90 clients deferred mode
The Redmond Active Directory domain is running in Windows Server 2008 mode since last thursday (Nov 1st)
Microsoft Email:
6 million internal emails per day
20 Million emails from Internet
97% rejected as spam
99,999 uptime
Want to read more? Go to James McGovern's website and check out this crazy stat.
Hmmm... I wonder how many geeks are running the show in such a huge network. Hmm.. Do you know?
I know, i missed alot after i didn't go to MIX07. I told Jon that i'll be coming to MIX07 but something happened with my project and i was asked to tend the wounds. This time I won't let the chance to party with Miguel, Jeff, Phil and Scott pass me by!
MIX08 here I come!
My friend Mohammad Azam (Azamsharp) of GridViewGuy.com is looking for talented developers who also have extra-ordinary writing skills. He is looking for people who can contribute well-written articles to his website and in return he'll pay you $10/per article. So if you think you are up for the challenge and you have the skills and the motivation to write then send him a message at azamsharp@gmail.com.
We are currently using Gemini here for our issue tracking and we love it eversince we had it installed in our server but this joy of Gemini has not stopped us from searching a better alternative because there are things that we don't like about it(specially that cost part of the software). That lead me to scour the web to find alternatives that we might consider in the future as a viable replacement for our long trusted Gemini. to my surprise I only found 4 open source ASP.NET bug tracking solution compared to the gargantuan list that I saw for PHP. Below are the 4 applications that I found and my comment about each project.
Sounds strange but it's true. Just ask Mark Anders and he'll tell you the complete story. ;)
Anders:
"... The original prototype was written in Java. I loved Java as a language and Scott(Guthrie) did too. So it was done in Java, and we took that around to lots of different groups. The first group that we took it to was the tools team. The VB and the InterDev teams were in a feud, and when they saw our demo they liked it. They said, 'If you build that, we will target it with our tools."
New to C#? Need to know whats on C# 3.0? Then download this 500 page book coutersy of Microsoft. It's the most complete C# reference you can find and it is primarily written by the engineers of the C# language
Go download it here!
Thank you Charlie for the link!
It's true. Everybody has their own match. Their own weakness. Their own kryptonite that would hold them to their knees and trade their philosophies and senses for a chance to break free.
And for my friend who is a recognized Linux and Java guru(he founded the largest Java User Group in the Philippines) its the skimpy pants and hanging shirts.
The photo was taken on a Linux conference in Manila back in 2005. Just look at how hard Melvin held on to Microsoft. Mercy!
*Disclaimer* According to Melvin, He still preffers Linux over Windows and that all he did that day was touch Microsoft but never had the chance to use it. :P
comments? go here! >> http://devpinoy.org/blogs/keithrull/archive/2007/08/21/even-linux-gurus-have-their-match.aspx
Hmmm... I was browsing CS today when I saw an announcement about the upcoming CSDC (Community Server Developer Conference) and man was I excited! I think its about time that Telligent gets the guys together and show them the stuff that they have been baking since the announcement for CS2008. I've been running CS in the developers community that I lead for two years now and I think going to such events would help us know great things that we can do and implement at our CS install.
Gee! I'm excited.. but.. I can't go unless somebody sponsors my plane ticket and registration :P
Anybody interested? :P Scott? Alex? Rob? Anyone?
Hey guys! Please vote the DevPinoy theme as the best looking theme for Community Server. You can vote for us here. Thanks guys!
I was browsing devpinoy today when I saw a post by one of the members about his "maintenance project" boredom. While I was reading his post I kinda had this "blast from the past" moment wherein memories of how i was back when i was starting my career as developer started vividly jumping into my head. I coudn't stop laughing for a couple of minutes because I just can't believe that some of the things that I did back when I was a little bit younger.
I used to get bored easily specially if the project that I am working on is boring, not challenging, repetitive or just something that doesn't even burn a braincell to accomplish. I would get so bored that i dread the idea of even going to work.
Yup. That was me back then.
I'ts funny how far I've reached eversince that days... I was so focused on new things, new technologies, new ideas that I forgot the reason why I was hired in the first place and that is to do work and do a good job on it. I think I was so engulfed in the idea that knowledge on every aspect of technology(even if its the most useless piece of code) would give me an edge over everybody.
It was a bad choice, a bad decision but i have learned to grow from it and now here I am, smarter than the developer I used to be. I guess I grew older and started to realize that knowledge is only important if you are using it in a positive and productive way. Any experience you learn from your daily life is a preparation for you in the future.
Through the years of working I was able to formulate a strategy on how to combat boredom... it has worked for me but believe me, it takes time to master. I can't say that I have mastered it completely but i do know that it has helped me little by little to establish myself as a better, smarter and a more patient individual. Below is the list of things i do to make work a little bit more fun than usual:
-
Try to learn as much as you could about the project. It doesnt matter if its a big task or not. Whats important to me is the idea that I might learn something new about project even if its the most boring project in the world. As I always say "You never know when you will find the next gem between the rocks."
-
See maintenance projects as a way for me to imporve the code. Whenever I'm assigned to maintenance project I see to it that I leave that project in a better shape than when I first got it. I usually pad my timeline with extra hours so that I could refactor the code. I always say to myself that any code that I touch is my property even if i didn't started it. You don't want to hear somebody saying something awful about your work(even if the code is not 99% yours) and perople usually blame the first developer or the last developer who touched a project. Always leave a mark of excellence on every work you do.
-
Take it as a challenge even if you hate the project. Don't dread the project because you wont be able to make good results. One of the things I learned in my career is that managers can easily spot if you don't like what you are doing and this can sometimes lead to bad impressions about your personality. What i usually do it code my heart out until my frustration(and burdens) are gone.
-
I'm paid to code and I should do it. Let's face it, even if you don't like a task but i's your job you need to do. It's the people who clean the drainage system.. they may not like cleaning, scrubbing and removing thrash in sewer but they need to do it because it's their job. We are not paid to like our job. We are paid to do the job and do a great job. Managers expect that from us thats why they assigned us to that task because the believe that we can accomplish it and think that we have the right skills to turn bad code into magic.
-
...and finally. Smile. No matter how hard the task, No matter how boring, No matter how repetitive. Always smile. I remember someone told me before that when you smile and feel good about yourself you always end up doing great things and you make people around you feel good. Stressing yourself about a small problem takes alot of brainpower and I would rather focus my energy on building solutions than drowning myself in the sea of problem.
I hope this helps you, I know it did wonders for me and it could do the same to you too! Practice this 5 things and reap the rewards of a happier work life.
***Want to comment?*** Comments are welcome but I suggest you post them in my DevPinoy blog. ;) Click here go there now.
I know Carl's going to be there. Dustin signed up. Shawn is too. Gee! I think this is going to be fun!
But i can't come.
I wanted to go to Jeffrey Palermo's party but I had a more important engagement that I need to attend(I'm preparing for my wedding in July). I wanted to contribute something to his event so I decided to make this badge ;)
|