Archive for category Software/Tech

Recruiting and skills

Talking with so many people in the community, a subject that comes up often is that of “How do I find good people?”  I’ve actually been doing some education with those looking to staff up their projects or organizations (see my “I need a SharePoint Guy” slides on slideshare.

So it comes as no shock the post Catrina Fake (co-Founder of Flickr) just made about the challenges of finding the right people.  But her take is somewhat different than many of the staffers I’ve talked to.  Her view is that finding good engineers isn’t as hard as some might claim, but it’s the finding of the cross disciplined engineer that’s the difficult task.

So for those of you out there looking to make a move, check out the things that she mentioned and consider adding something besides that next level of recursive optimizations to your resume.  Check out a user group on a subject you’re not familiar with.  Try out a role you haven’t done before.  Take on a task that you have been avoiding because it’s just “not in my job description.”  It might just pay off – with both better job offers and a better understanding of the whole software/tech industry.

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Windows At Work

I normally don’t post contest links, but this one is for a fully loaded HP TouchSmart TX2 (if you’ve seen me around, that’s the one I’m using) so I thought I’d better get the word out.  It’s a simple contest and one that can help out with your visibility or just give you an excuse to try something new, so again – I figured why not?

So what is it?  All you need to do is write up a article for Code Project targeted for a Windows 7 client project that you have done.  It’s that simple.  The details are at http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9702416 – but it’s a great chance to get your name out as someone who’s up on the platform, a credit for your articles list, and a chance to win a really great laptop.  And when you submit your article, leave a comment with a link to it, I’d love to see what everyone is doing!

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Zune Power User Tips

This started out as a not for myself, but since it was so useful, I thought I’d pass it on.  I’ve been finding some really neat new features that slipped in on the Zune 4.0 or even the 3.0 update that I missed.

http://forums.zune.net/513727/ShowPost.aspx

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John Weston’s TechNet Radio program is on air again.

John just let me know that he’s just re-launched his TechNet radio program today with an interview with Deborah Lovell – AITP president. 

You can find his relaunch show at http://edge.technet.com/Media/TechNet-Radio-Community-Corner-with-John-Weston-Episode-1/ and keep an eye out for follow up shows at http://blogs.technet.com/jweston/default.aspx

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Arch Reactor forms a Hacker Space in St Louis.

I can’t let St Louis get too far ahead of us!  Looks like I need to get more involved in the Austin Hacker Space movement!

http://archreactor.org/

Looks like their first meeting is next week.

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Getting your feet wet in SharePoint

I had to link blog this – it’s promising to be a GREAT series.  I couldn’t have done so well myself.

http://www.sharepointhillbilly.com/archive/2009/08/07/getting-your-feet-wet-writing-code-for-sharepoint-ndash-part.aspx

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A nice, detailed analysis of the Office 2010 NDA coverage to date

SharePoint Joel (http://www.sharepointjoel.com/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?List=0cd1a63d%2D183c%2D4fc2%2D8320%2Dba5369008acb&ID=243) has a very nice summary of the current state of Office 2010 and SharePoint discussion points that are covered by and released from the current NDA’s.  If you’re looking to blog or present on the new features – take a quick read through the post above.

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Real-time surround air traffic control

I want!  http://nevver.tumblr.com/post/128929601/realtime-3d-airtraffic-fubiz  Of course I mean the display hardware mostly.  The controls seem like they could be refined a bit more.

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Michael’s Networking Toolkit for Micro Framework

While I’m looking at my Micro Framework notes, I wanted to push this one out as well.  over at CodePlex (http://mftoolkit.codeplex.com) you can find Michael’s toolkit for networking Micro Framework boards.  To get your interest, let me just quote directly from the latest release notes:

  • Web server improvments, fixed several bugs and added Cookie and Mime (POST) support
  • NtpClient initial version
  • uALFAT initial version
  • fixed several bugs in Dns library
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    Oh, did I mention there’s XBee support in there too?  OK, I’ll stop typing because you’ve already clicked over and are downloading the toolkit!

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    Microsoft Hohm enters Beta

    Some of you may have already seen the Hohm site – but if you haven’t you can take a look over at www.microsoft-hohm.com (and sign up while you’re there.)  I’d also recommend taking a look and possibly subscribing to the team blog – http://blog.microsoft-hohm.com

    So why the blog post?  Well lots of people saw what Hohm is about – letting you know your energy usage and allowing you to plan and optimize what you’re using (which is pretty critical as I type this and look at my weather station readings – 107.32F right now.)  This helps us survive the bills and the weather and our power grid survive the demand load that summers generate with record breaking heat and expanded populations in the hotter parts of the country. 

     

    But there was something in the announcement that I don’t know that a lot of people caught.  That was this line in the release – “… if you are a customer of a Hohm-partnered utility company you can choose to automatically upload your energy usage data into the application in the near future.”  Hmmm.  Now that’s interesting.  I was hoping for something like this eventually, but it sounds like the feedback loop of our “Smart Power Grid” efforts are actually starting to come about in the real world!  Now that’s progress!

    BTW, why did I put this also under Robotics?  Because that feedback loop that’s starting to happen is exactly what mobile robots have to do all the time.  Not just send instructions on power consumption, but monitor usage, monitor needs, prioritize, and then manage that consumption to goal.  Lots of crossover opportunities. 

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