Mono With SharpDevelop 3.0

Currently experimenting with Gecko browser in Gtk# application (to attempt to achieve cross-platform client ambivalence). Since I haven't made the complete jump to Ubuntu (yet) I had some issues targeting Mono with SharpDevelop 3.0. I found this site invaluable. Using_Mono_with_SharpDevelop_3.0

Houston...we have a problem

I am sighing in disbelief, not because it doesn't make sense - it does; if we can't all aspire to be astronauts then what do we aspire to? Computer Worm Strikes International Space Station. You would think the virus writers might cut people some slack - especially when your life support system is probably very complex. Not necessarily something like a system "restore" point could take care of.
Then again we are dealing with types of individuals whose latest scheme is sending you an e-mail claiming to have kidnapped your child. How low can you sink?

I guess that's one good reason why we keep looking for sentient life elsewhere...

Electronic Voting

So GCN had an article Lab certifying voting equipment failed to meet requirements so here we go again. What now? Legislators are trying to govern/regulate/enforce processes that they don't really understand. Anybody remember the internet being a "series of tubes"?

What particularly stands out in the article was "the manufacturers are not allowed to play a role in the testing process" and "In July, EAC sent a letter to SysTest about concerns that the lab 'is allowing and inviting manufacturers to play an inappropriate role in the development of test plans'".

This is not to say that an independent testing committee isn't needed. It is needed. What is also needed is the colaboration of development AND testing in order to verify that the software is in fact doing what it intends to be doing. Any tester worth their salt would agree that this dialog is a necessity. Rule #2 of the Sociopathic Obsessive Compulsive: When give a choice - pick both!

How-to Fail Using Scrum

If you are using Scrum and/or XP - you must see this video! Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Even if you're not "Agile" it is well-worth watching 10 Ways to Screw Up with Scrum and XP presented by Henrik Kniberg. This is exactly the type of dialog that needs to be happening in our industry.

Kudos to you Henrik!

Trust me when I tell you I do NOT give those out freely!

Domain Driven Design

I've been noticing a great deal of talk about DDD. InfoQ has made a freely available PDF on-line DDD quickly. It is interesting enough; it seems to reflect a great deal of "common-sense". The most important aspect I've noticed (I haven't read this in its entirety yet - and I'm by no means an expert) is the facilitation and constant communication feedback which is often missing (especially in larger companies). Ayende is working on a book around this topic, using BOO the "wrist-friendly" language. Food-for-thought and some decent ideas anyway...

Espresso, anyone?

I usually start the day with a 4-shot espresso (they just don't make regular coffee strong enough anymore) - but that's not the one I'm talking about. I'm talking about Expresso 3.0 . If you are like me and resort to having use Regular Expressions once every other harmonic convergence - this is a good tool to use. One of the most valuable features is the ANALYZE window - which breaks down your cryptic string into a logical instruction set; a.k.a - is this expression really doing what I think its doing? You can check out RegEx Designer.NET if you help compiling your expressions into .NET assemblies as well.

F# Download (Is it a floor-wax or dessert topping?)

Hint: It's both. Things are about to get a lot more interesting. As the object-orientated world and functional programming world beget a love-child. First-class NET citizen, dynamic-linking and preemptive threading? What's not to love? Can't wait to try this one on for size...F# Download

For a decent discussion on the topic look at Matthew Podwysocki's Blog.

Be sure to check out Retlang which seems to be an outstanding open-source library for managing concurrency!