After too much pain with both BlogEngine.NET and GoDaddy hosting I moved this site over to WordPress (on DreamHost) last week. I’ve been using WordPress and DreamHost for years on my other sites, so it was only a matter of time before my personal blog finally made the move. Recent issues with BlogEngine.NET – including Search and Comments not working after a recent update – were the final straw. I’d been dreading the work involved to make the move, but it turned out to be pretty easy. I basically followed the steps Merill outlined, with a few tiny additions that I’ll outline below. The process even includes a CSV with the […]
Predictably Irrational
You’ve probably heard of Dan Ariely’s book Predictably Irrational by now. It seems to be garnering a cult like following of late, and will likely be one of those books that everyone has an opinion on (along with The Tipping Point, Freakonomics, Purple Cow, and of course Twilight 
) Aaron Wall put me on to the book a few weeks ago and I have to agree it’s well worth reading. The book covers the irrational behaviour we all seem to exhibit, and looks at how to both insulate ourselves from the ‘tricks’ played on us, as well as how we might use them to our advantage. It works both ways I guess. […]
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) at SBTUG
Next Wednesday (Sep 30) at SBTUG we’re lucky to have Kristin Rohan from SassySEO along to give us a Beginners Guide to SEO For Business. Make sure you RSVP here. It kicks off at 6pm next Wed 30 Sep at Microsoft, North Ryde (full details and map here). (We ask for a $5 donation to help cover the cost of pizza.) SEO for Business She’ll be covering a number of areas including: Why it is relevant What tactics you can use both internally (ie on page) and externally (ie off page) How to optimise using ‘white […]
CodePlex.org versus CodePlex.com
At one time in the not-too-distant past, the mention of ‘open source’ carried a stigma with it. Perhaps an inkling that it was not high quality. Or managed by socially inept geeks. Or not well supported.
But those days are long gone, and the adoption of open-source in the enterprise is high. And while this in itself is not particularly new, what is new is that it is finally being acknowledged by major closed-source companies. Microsoft is an obvious case in point.
The recent announcement of Microsoft’s CodePlex.org is welcome news to many, and seeks to be much more active than previous initiatives – but what does it really mean?
versus
CodePlex.org is Microsoft’s new foundation:
“The […]
Virtualisation Smackdown next Wed 26 August
I’m pretty excited, I gotta say, about this month’s Sydney Business & Technology User Group meeting – we’re having a Virtualisation Smackdown! It’s this coming Wednesday, starting at 6pm.
Here’s the details:
Date: Wed 26 August 2009
Time: 6pm – 9pm
Location: Microsoft, North Ryde (map)
Web: www.sbtug.com
Phone: 0413 489 388 (call me if you get there after 6pm and need to get it)
RSVP on Facebook (or email me)
Smackdown, Schhhmackdown!
What this means – for the smackdown uninitiated – is that we have a panel of speakers (6 in our case) each present on a different virtualisation product. We’ve got Citrix coming along, VMware, and Microsoft each presenting on a few of their products. The smackdown term came to […]
Windows Marketplace for Mobile
I was a little disappointed to read Microsoft’s Developer Strategy for the Next Generation of Windows Phones. Unveiled last week, this PressPass piece indicates that Microsoft will be sharing 70% of sales revenue with developers for any Windows Mobile 6.5 applications sold through Windows Marketplace for Mobile. (Note: 70% is the same as Apple shares on their AppStore) Put another way, Microsoft is charging you 30% of your sale, for giving you the opportunity to make your app available via Marketplace for Mobile. This seems high to me. Of course, having access to a huge international market is fantastic (and well worth the 30% commission I’m sure), and the promised feedback […]
Photosynth and Location
Perhaps you missed this little gem: Photosynth Map Explore. I hope not, because I think it represents an interesting insight into the future of location. A little while back I was underwhelmed with Photosynth, but I did look forward to improvements with location being tied in. Photosynth Map Explore is the answer. It’s early days, but the potential here is huge. I love it. I was, and still am, looking forward to every photo being geo-tagged and angle coded. But here’s the obvious tipping point I missed. At some point we’ll get to a point where we have enough geo-tagged photos that we’ll be able to go in […]
The Twitter Popularity Contest
I’ve been wondering what’s next after Twitter. Where are all the cool kids heading these days? After all, it has become so mainstream now that the inevitable transformation from intimate community to marketing broadcast is all but complete. The vibe on Twitter has changed. Yes I know, that’s what the Un-follow option is for, but that doesn’t stop the fact that Twitter has changed. And for me, I guess I’ve become a little disillusioned of late. Here’s a few thoughts. Warning: tongue-in-cheek *analysis* follows: People follow you to be followed back Has this been going on for a while, or has it just started in the last few weeks? […]
Suggestions for Microsoft – Engage the Developer Community better
This was originally titled: “Frustrations with Microsoft – Part II” and is a follow on from my post in January. But I decided to change the title so that it comes across more positive. I don’t actually like complaining (seriously!) and my real aim is to provide constructive thought, so tweaking the words a bit will hopefully help. That said however, I do see a problem with how Microsoft engages with the wider developer community, both here in Australia and globally. I’ve been chatting through these ideas with a few people over the last months, and whilst I get some occasional nods of agreement, I realise for the most part I’m on […]
Silverlight 2 update gets it right
Last month I lamented the complexity Microsoft was imposing on products. Today’s Silverlight refresh is a simple example of them getting it right – it’s, um, simple. Here’s the upgrade screen you see when hit the Silverlight install page. I especially appreciate the message (marked in the red box). One big button. Simple. (Of course if you’ve got the developer tools installed, you’ll need to install the new developer version.) (via Tim Sneath)
Microsoft Windows Mobile seems a little lost
It’s been heartening to see some glimmer of hope on the Microsoft Windows Mobile horizon (in spite of disheartening trends). The announcements at Mobile World Congress this week show that Microsoft is at least trying to improve their offering, with UI improvements in Windows Mobile 6.5 as well as various integration strategies including My Phone (hey what’s that rhyme with…), Marketplace (think AppStore) and Skyline (for pushing personal and work email). All good stuff. But the glaring omission of course is any announcements about location on Windows Mobile. Whilst Google continues (or is that finalizes?) setting the foundation for location aware mobile platforms, Microsoft is still playing catch-up. Although I do note Google’s […]
Frustrations with Microsoft – Part 1 – Complexity
In a word: Complexity Yes, I know I’ve touched on this before, but it seems more apparent than ever that one of the problems crushing Microsoft at the moment is a set of overly complex experiences. We need simplicity. One the strongest marketing messages you can broadcast is: It just works! Give me a product that just works, and you’ve got yourself a fan. Companies like Apple (the current poster-child for ease), Atlassian, and Nokia generally get this. To be fair Microsoft has tried to make things simpler (and perhaps too far in some cases – check out the latest version of Movie Maker for proof […]
Trimming the fat?
The Microsoft layoffs (they’re reducing headcount by approx 5.21%) announced last week have been well and truly covered, with many (like Mini) saying it’s too little, too late, and others lamenting that a company of Microsoft’s stature has ‘steeped’ to get rid of it’s biggest asset. My opinion? Well, it’s just business right? I’m sure the decision wasn’t made lightly, and who am I to conjecture as to what the proper decisions should have been? Check back when I’m heading up a billion dollar company and I might just have something worth hearing in that regard… Is it the right decision? Time will tell. Trimming fat So, moving on. […]
SBTUG: Wed 28 Jan 2009 – SharePoint, Windows 7 and Touch
Quick details: The Sydney Business & Technology User Group When: Wed 28 January 2009 Time: 6pm (until approx 8:30pm) Where: Microsoft, North Ryde Contact: Craig Bailey : 0413 489 388 Cost: $5 donation (to cover Pizza) More details: www.sbtug.com About our sessions: SharePoint for Managers : Kathy Hughes Kathy will […]
Windows Live Tools for Visual Studio Getting Started Guide
As Nick has mentioned we’ve released a Getting Started guide for the Windows Live Tools for Visual Studio controls. The November CTP (details here, download here) has a bunch of controls for implementing Live Services in your web apps. It includes ASP.NET controls for Contacts, Login status, Maps, Messenger chats, Silverlight streaming etc. The November CTP includes compatibility with Windows Azure and was upgraded for Silverlight 2.0. The Getting Started guide is 53 page PDF and is available for download via pZing. It covers all the basics plus a few cooler techniques you might otherwise miss. Simply click on the image to the right to download it. Enjoy. […]
nsquared Microsoft Surface apps
I thought you might be interested in this video – in it Neil chats with Eric Havir and demonstrates some of the educational apps we’ve been building for Microsoft Surface. The chemistry one at the end of the video is my favourite. It’s a little difficult to make out exactly what is on the screen at times, so make sure you click on the ‘watch in HD’ at the bottom right of the YouTube page to see it in all its hi-res goodness (assuming you have the bandwidth). And a big shout out to Tricky Business who provided designer input for the chemistry app. I […]
Running Google Chrome on Windows 7 Beta 1
If you are having trouble running Chrome on Windows 7 then chances are you are running the 64bit version of Windows 7. The solution is pretty simple. I’ve put it below, and note that it is almost entirely copied from Sandip’s BlogsDNA blog here – I’ve simply incorporated some of the comments into the screenshot. Right click on your Google Chrome icon and bring up the properties. Add –in-process-plugins to the target field (after the chrome.exe). Note, that there are two dashes at the start there (not one long one). For example, my complete target is as follows: "C:\Users\Craig Bailey\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" –in-process-plugins Click Apply and run […]
Live Mesh gains credibility
You’ve hopefully seen the news about Live Mesh winning the Best Technology Innovation of 2008 at the Crunchies. I think this is an important award for Microsoft, since it indicates that there is at least some mainstream acceptance that they’re doing something cool and innovative (note: by mainstream, I’m talking about people in tech as a whole – not just Microsoft fan boys like myself. And I’m obviously not referring to mums and dads . I’ve been using Mesh for a while, and whilst I’ve been happy with it I have to admit to being initially underwhelmed. File sharing – big deal. It wasn’t until later that I started understanding the full […]
New Generation workers and Email
I had to shake my head when I read this Accenture survey on the demands of the Millennial Generation. The usual ‘demands’ of wanting to choose their technology, insisting on state-of-the-art technology, not wanting to seek corporate approval, requiring new communication channels, etc all came up. It seemed odd that a survey like this would appear after all the economic changes of late. Turns out that although the results were published in November, they were based on a survey conducted back in June this year. How times change*. I’m guessing if Accenture conducted another survey, the ‘demands’ of Millennials would be more like the rest of the workforce at the moment: […]
Outliers
Malcolm Gladwell is a great story-teller, no doubt about it. I loved his latest book Outliers. And whilst I agree with Joel Spolksy that the book is little more than cleverly strung together anecdotes, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have value. For example, Gladwell’s chapter on the necessity of hard work (you must do your 10,000 hours) to achieve success is a good motivator. Yes, it might be common sense, but how often do we see people falling for the ‘overnight success’ mentality? Pretty often, if the sales of ‘get rich quick’ and ‘instant solution’ books/seminars/etc are any indication. Just got to find that shortcut… However there were […]
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