Channel 9 - Discussions by cmcmsf

Coffeehouse - Code Camps

cmcmsf — Mon, 27 Feb 2006 04:53:05 GMT

I went this past Saturday in NYC, and it was a lot of fun, and holds a lot of promise for future code camps. It wasn't perfect, and the sessions were uneven, but the great sessions were really great, and I learned a lot.

It was also a lot of fun meeting and mingling with some of the best in the business. The enthusiasm in the community totally gets me juiced.

It went from 9 to 6, with short breaks between the sessions, so I was exhausted at the end of the day. But it was definitely worth it for me, and the price was right (free)

- Mark

Coffeehouse - Help me out here......need guidance

cmcmsf — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 21:17:36 GMT

When I counted recently, I scared myself

Nope -- that was the problem. I'd get through about 50 to 100 pages, then move on to something else because of a) boredom, b) guilt of not reading the other books, c) lack of focus, d) change of course because I got to something in one book that I didn't understand, and had to start learning about that in another book.

Tech Off - So much information. So little time.

cmcmsf — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 21:14:21 GMT

I try to help with a reply I posted here:

http://channel9.msdn.com/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=161270#161270

- Mark

Coffeehouse - Help me out here......need guidance

cmcmsf — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 21:06:19 GMT

Welcome to the world of "too much information". I struggle with this almost every waking moment. I'm convinced of the following (it doesn't mean I'm successful at following through with this advice all the time):

1) Reading and not "doing" will only ever get you a very superficial understanding of any technology, no matter how much you read.

2) Trying to learn everything (and, man, do I understand the desire for this) is a virtual impossibility.

3) There is no human way to become an expert in everything these days. Way too much technology. Focus on one topic at a time, pick a book, magazine article, website article to start with, and do all the examples -- even if it's just typing in the printed samples. It will force you to think about what you are typing in.

4) Although you should focus on one topic at a time if you want to become an expert in it, get a tutorial book on the basics. I have made the mistake way too often of trying to dive into an advanced topic well before I could even hope to understand it, simply because I did not understand its prerequisites. It's a product of impatience.

5) It's easy to get overwhelmed when you think there's so much to learn, so little time, and you think the rest of the people in your field are passing you by. I've come to realize that the established experts have focused on this stuff for a very long time, but the vast majority of people are in the same boat as us. They just don't admit it, or they appear to know so much more when, in fact, they are very knowledgable in just a limited number of topics. Don't worry -- even if you feel it will take you a year to learn a lot of this stuff well, there will always be a need for your "next year's" knowledge.

6) As others have implied here, and on other threads, focus is a key. You need a quiet "alone" place to read, and a quiet "alone" place to experiment on the computer. No distractions and total commitment. Also, fully expect frustration at times. And Google.com is your friend.

I literally have over 100 .NET books. I'm a book addict, and almost all of them have bookmarks within the first 50 to 100 pages. My mistake. I should have focused on the basics, first, with maybe 2 or 3 books, then zoomed in on one or two technologies at a time (say, Web Services and ADO).

Good luck.

- Mark

Coffeehouse - What makes an Application great?

cmcmsf — Mon, 06 Feb 2006 03:39:19 GMT

Off the top of my head, I'll say --

1) It helps the intended users be more productive in their tasks,

2) It stays out of the users' way,

3) It does not force them to work harder at learning the application than it does for them to do their job (and, therefore, violate # 2),

4) It doesn't make the user afraid to use it without the conscious or subconscious fear of it crashing (and, again, violate # 2),

5) It doesn't force the user to read a manual in order to do at least 80% of what it's meant to automate (in other words, it's intuitive).

I'm sure others can bring up many other points. Many developers are good at creating software that works well. The hard part is satisfying above list. I have known very few developers and teams who were able to satisfy all of those.

One of the biggest weaknesses is the ability for developers to place themselves in the users' shoes. They find it very hard (and often don't even bother) to frame their mindset to the users of their software. Ignoring that is one of the biggest sins of software development, in my opinion. This is why "eating your own dogfood" is so very important (but not always possible). It's so much easier to meet these goals when you are your own target audience.

If you really want to be proud of the applications you develop, your goal should be to empathize with your target audience. Otherwise, it is just a job, and you'll do enough just to get by (writing code that just "does" something).

Coffeehouse - What are you listening to: 2006

cmcmsf — Thu, 19 Jan 2006 06:00:29 GMT

Tegan & Sara...big time! Just discovered them a couple of weeks ago, and now I'm addicted.

Folksy, edgy, poppy, rock, a bit whacked, whatever. Sweet and funny twin sisters from Canada. Great to play the guitar along to. Takes repeated listening, but well worth the effort.

Their latest album is from 2004 (So Jealous) and is their most accessible. But they are not mainstream.