Channel 9 - Discussions by Jack Poison

Coffeehouse - WPF Data binding...

Jack Poison — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 14:07:48 GMT

Rob,

Do you know off-hand if there are any demos / hands-on labs for changing the appearance of a scrollbar (or similar functionality)? I can change a button easily enough, but I'm kind of stuck on how to handle, say, a scroll bar where I want to modify what the arrows look like and such.

Any help would be appreciated.

Coffeehouse - Microsoft to Alter Vista (Modifying Vista's search?)

Jack Poison — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 15:48:19 GMT

I am of the opinion that if Microsoft had a better reputation amongst the population, then this would be a much smaller issue.

My, it's funny how the past comes back to haunt.

Coffeehouse - blackberry v win mobile

Jack Poison — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 17:08:35 GMT

desiny wrote:

A quick q, but does the blackberry device even come close to comparing to the m$ devices? Technically, Aseptically, User friendliness.

I have a Vodafone blackberry device and it sucks, no 3g coverage, no features, email not in the exchange folders.

How can I make a case to change? Surely there is something I am missing with the Blackberry?

Does it really matter with M$??? Since they only seem to care about $$$? Maybe posting on an M$ message board might give a bia$ed opinion. You might want to cross post your question on $lashdot or something.. Ju$t an opinion.

Troll.

Coffeehouse - Google Maps or Microsoft Maps

Jack Poison — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 13:50:41 GMT

I know it's already been stated..

But, thank you Microsoft, for making me install an add-on to look at a Map. Just what I wanted to do to my PC today.

Coffeehouse - Microsoft Mediaroom

Jack Poison — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 19:02:32 GMT

Bas wrote:

Jack Poison wrote:
Come on, MS. Surprise us. Wow us. Do something unexpected.

Like a table that has a huge multi-touchscreen that recognizes objects for a surface, or a cross-platform version of the CLR, for instance.

Exactly (to Surface).

More of the things like that, rather than this run-of-the-mill crap.

Think "Revolution", not "Evolution".

A cross-platform version of the CLR --by itself-- doesn't "Wow" the masses.. Give a killer app with it.

Coffeehouse - Microsoft Mediaroom

Jack Poison — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 17:29:31 GMT

Will we even hear about "Microsoft Mediaroom" a year from now?

Right now, I'm stiffling a yawn.

"Personal Media Sharing" - I can do that with YouTube and MySpace.

"Multimedia Application Environment" - (dynamic video-on-demand portals, casual games and interactive TV services.) - I can do a lot of this with Comcast on demand, right? I get casual games on my XBox 360.

"Enhanced MultiView capabilities. " - I can only pay attention to one program at once. Repeat after me: less is more.

Sound like there are still plenty of people in Redmond who just "don't get it".

Come on, MS. Surprise us. Wow us. Do something unexpected.

Coffeehouse - Thurrot weighs in ....

Jack Poison — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 15:45:15 GMT

JChung2006 wrote:

It isn't Safari. It's iPhone, iPod, iTV, etc. They've branched out the desktop PC industry and are into consumer electronics.

It wouldn't surprise me if, deep within the bowels of Cupertino, they're working on a video game console. Let's call it iPlay, iGame, iWhatever.

Agreed, on all accounts.. But, after hearing about the Tiger preview, I think Microsoft should start a new marketing campaign: "Cupertino, Start your photocopiers..."

Coffeehouse - Nice Flow from Microsoft..

Jack Poison — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 15:43:29 GMT

As much as I like to bash Microsoft for poor marketing (correctly, in my opinion), I have to give some applause for a nice workflow.

Problem: I was planning on visiting someone today. I got a phone call from this person that they needed me to swing by a mutual friend's house to pick up a car seat for a baby (long story). I didn't know this mutual friend's new address, as they moved a few months ago.

1) I opened Outlook 2007 up. Updated my contact info with the new address.

2) I clicked on the Map icon at the top. It opened up my Web Browser to Local.live.com showing me where it was on the map.

3) I hovered over the address. A pop-up bubble appeared offering for me to add driving directions. I did this.

4) I instantly got directions. I clicked on a button to "send to Mobile". I entered my phone number (and "save for later")

5) I got an SMS message on my phone almost instantaneously that had the link to the directions.

6) I clicked on the link. About 10 seconds later, directions and all appeared on my phone.

This whole thing took about 45 seconds.

Pretty darn cool.

Now, why can't Microsoft make a commercial showing people that they can do this? The general public likely thinks that only MapQuest, Yahoo Maps or Google Maps (double-true.. ) can do all this.

Make your presence known, Microsoft. Let people know the full functionality of your software!

Thanks for letting me rant.

Coffeehouse - example of bias, but tech bias

Jack Poison — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 13:47:16 GMT

Massif wrote:

eagle wrote:

Please give us a link to an article or story by the BBC with a positive spin on an American event or company.

First find a positive American event or company

(I know, I know I'm stirring.)

I am an American.. And find this terribly funny....

Coffeehouse - SOA - dead or alive?

Jack Poison — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 17:47:55 GMT

SOA is Alive and Well..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOQcjvUHZ0k (3min 5 sec)

(SOA This... SOA That...)

Coffeehouse - One more quasi-famous person ticked off at Microsoft..

Jack Poison — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 17:44:28 GMT

JKelley wrote:

Stebet wrote:
No-one. The Onion is a satire news site.

Satire yes, but Piven is one of the stars of HBO's Entourage also.

That's his latest role. You'll also see him in PCU (one of my favorites) and a bunch of movies with John Cusack.

Coffeehouse - What's going on at Microsoft?

Jack Poison — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 16:03:46 GMT

mVPstar wrote:

Zune is another area where they have the potential to deliver cool stuff but just don't really deliver anything.

It's been, what 5 months and all they've managed to push through firmware updates are silly performance improvements (which I don't really notice) and a more random shuffle?

Really...

I keep hoping that Microsoft will pull some cool stuff out of its sleeve. Surface actually got my hopes up...

But, this really feels like an abusive relationship: we keep getting told "things will get bettter.. Just you wait!!!" and "Wait the announcement next week.. You won't believe it!!". And suddently getting hugely disappointed: slapped in the face. And yet, we keep believing for some reason.

I wonder if this trend will ever turn around.. I wish Microsoft would excite us and make us proud of using their technology.

Maybe they'll even look at the results of that survey floating around on the homepage.. It seems to ask questions in this very area.

Coffeehouse - One more quasi-famous person ticked off at Microsoft..

Jack Poison — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 15:16:44 GMT

Works fine for me in IE 7 from Windows XP SP2.. Anyone else having problems?

Coffeehouse - One more quasi-famous person ticked off at Microsoft..

Jack Poison — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 15:01:02 GMT

It's time for Microsoft to, ah, "Recognize..."

Link

Coffeehouse - WPF - Which way to go?

Jack Poison — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 18:42:04 GMT

I'm trying to create a Listbox which doesn't use the standard "arrows" in the scroll bar area. Meaning, if there are lots of items in the list box, traditionally, there is an up arrow, down arrow, and a sliding control to move up and down. I want to change it to a different type of arrow, or maybe even removing it all together.

How is the best way to approach this?

Coffeehouse - Question about using Linux.

Jack Poison — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 15:20:47 GMT

I'll try these out. Thanks guys.

Coffeehouse - My review: Revolution OS

Jack Poison — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 14:35:12 GMT

More Propaganda -

I actually managed to see this when I was out East.

http://www.nerdsthemusical.blogspot.com/

Thing basically ran like a 2 hour musical Apple commercial.

Coffeehouse - ActiveSync: how bad is it?

Jack Poison — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 14:32:34 GMT

My Experience with Active Sync -

Bluetooth Syncronizing sucks. Big time. I mean, if I have my PDA with an Active BT radio on and my PC has on one too AND there is already an association between the two, I think it should automatically sync, just as if the PDA was in a Cradle. In Active Sync, you have to say "connect via Bluetooth".

Syncing my tunes onto my phone is extremely slow through WMP. I have more success when I take out my MicroSD card and put it into my PC directly.

My Outlook will only sync my Exchange account OR my home account. I'd love for it to have a separate folders for the different Email accounts, instead of only allowing one.

Other than these issues, my ActiveSync seems to be generally adequate for me.

Coffeehouse - Question about using Linux.

Jack Poison — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 14:26:00 GMT

I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction.

If I have a Suse Linux workstation set up, how do people recommend I access it from a PC? I'd like to learn more about Linux, and would love either a command-line interface from Windows into my Linux box, or something akin to Remote Desktop into it.

Anyone point me in the right direction as to what I should use and a good walkthrough on installing it? I already have the workstation set up ok, and opened an SSH port in the firewall.

Thanks for any help.

Coffeehouse - when is the right time to leave?

Jack Poison — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 18:18:20 GMT

JohnAskew wrote:

Look into building "User Stories" with your clients, and examine how TDD and Agile methodologies can mend your environment.

Take it to them.

The problem with Agile methodologies is that you need to have all parties "buy into" the methodology you are choosing. It sounds like, from the author's original email, is that this would be a hard sell.

I had a very similar problem with my old employer.. Parts of it are par for the course in the development world (changng specs, etc..) but many other things were done for purely political reasons.. ("No, we can't use .NET... Bill over here has been with the company for 10 years, and he doesn't know it also says it's a bad idea"). it even hit a point that, with one major project, I laid out why their current design was wrong and that "Within 6 months, X Y and Z would happen (namely, delays, errors, severe user complaints, etc..)" all in writing. I was proven correct, sadly, but also got the reputation as a "Know it all". At which point I was essentially idled and left the job. For me, it was sanity: I literally was going nuts that people would intentionally make bad design decisions for the sake of keeping their older developers happy.

That all being said, yes, every place has problems. But if it's really messing with your head: leave. Period. Move if you have to. There are plenty of jobs out there, although you might have to move to get one. It will be worth the headache down the road.

Coffeehouse - Microsoft Vista - Ultimate Kitchen Edition

Jack Poison — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 18:32:00 GMT

Bas wrote:

All very true. Origami is a good example of why this may go wrong. Xbox 360 is an example of why this may work. We'll have to see.

When I saw your subject, I immediately thought of one of those refridgerators with a screen in the door. It would make sense, to me, if this kitchen appliance became sort of like that. A fridge with a (fixed) tablet in it.
That might help lure in buyers: everyone needs a fridge. If, for a few hundred dollars more, you can get one with an embedded kitchen appliance, that might make it worthwile. Also because Microsoft could make some sort of deal with fridge makers to bring down cost.

Good point, and what you said makes for a good idea:

What if the TabletPC / Kitchen appliance was subsidized by Ad Revenue? Your Fridge has an LCD screen built into it.. It shows ads for a variety of purposes. If your Fridge PC was connected to the internet via 802.11*, then the ads could rotate. Microsoft gets its ad revenue and Vista-based PC in the kitchen.

So, if I was a joe-blow customer who had choice between fridges: a regular fridge or a TabletPC fridge for the same price, guess which one I'd pick?? Surely, not everyone would (some people without the internet at home, some of the ABM zealots, etc...) But, I think a lot of people would go for it. And, if the PC itself didn't have internet access, but people wanted the fridge anyway, it could have ads "Preloaded" on it. Kinda like in the US, how re-runs of Star Trek TNG have Nissan sponsering the closed caption - even in reruns on tons of networks, Nissan still has the ads it paid for 10 years ago.

Listen up, Microsoft.. Cool stuff!

Coffeehouse - Microsoft Vista - Ultimate Kitchen Edition

Jack Poison — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 17:17:34 GMT

Bas wrote:

Omitted.. See above..

You make a point: Microsoft did not say that it wouldn't be cheap or practical.. But if it is anything like the Orgami project, then it will be priced out of range for the average joe. If people really need it (or think they need it like an iPod), then they'll pay lotsa $$$ for it. If they don't --really-- need it, but think it might be cool, the price will have to be right.. To answer your question: it's my cynicism which thinks it will not be cheap or practical.. Sure, it will have recipes and the like. Maybe even a calculator.. So, by definition, it WILL be practical, just not in a cost-efficient manner.

As to the random guy, he was actually a Secretary of Labor in the early 90's, and an economist.. Not quite random, even if I don't like his politics. But, again, you bring up a good point: will this device fit into my budget? But "Is it necessary?" isn't the whole picture. Not everything has to be necessary: Potato Chips and Donuts aren't "Necessary", but we'll buy them anyway. People need to think it would be neat to have and not too much money.

Just like with "Surface", let's see where it is at in about 6 months... If Anywhere.. I'm still waiting for the onslaught of UMPCs to take over the US....

Coffeehouse - As much as I bash Microsoft Marketing..

Jack Poison — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 16:47:03 GMT

ZippyV wrote:

Have you seen the movieclips from Office 2007? They are very good! There is not so much humor in them as in the Live Meeting commercial or the OneNote ad but I think the new one fit well:

http://www.office2007.com/ -> The Films -> Day 6

Two thoughts:

1) Banana Peels are not slippery..

2) I agree, they are better than that crappy Geico-Caveman-Wannabe- "Dinosaur theme" MS Office Campaign.

Last thought with MS Marketing and so-off-subject: I read somewhere that Microsoft was supposed to spend $100 Million US $$$ marketing the Zune.. Does anyone here actually think that money was well-spent? (Source) Let's hope the money is better spent in the future...

Coffeehouse - Microsoft Vista - Ultimate Kitchen Edition

Jack Poison — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 16:37:15 GMT

Looks like Microsoft is gearing up to start a push for Kitchen Computing..

http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=492

I hope, when developing ***AND MARKETING*** the product, Microsoft will realize that if they put "Kitchen" and "Computer" together, there will be less sales.

Example: I heard on the radio today (Link and Text) that Tech workers in the US have stagnant salaries, when adjusted for inflation. If this is true, how can I convince my spouse that "we need a computer for the kitchen"? This is not easily done, unless you've far more disposable income than I do.

This being said, how about microsoft develop something that is a Kitchen "Appliance", that is cheap and practical? And, if they want to, make more expensive versions for those who have the income I don't.

I also don't trust HP / Dell / others to be this thoughtful if THEY were the ones to build this Killer Kitchen app.. Microsoft, if they want to not lose more ground to the home consumer to Apple, will need to take the bull by the horns on this one.

Thoughts?

Coffeehouse - WPF Windows Apps - Bad Graphics Quality

Jack Poison — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 15:01:34 GMT

Do you have the XAML handy? See if this can be reproduced?