James Finnigan

I was playing Robozzle with my oldest and he was having a blast and loved that he was programming like Dad does.  (He did let me know he wants to be policeman though. :)  It’s a fun way to introduce kids to programming and reminds me a little of the little logo turtle. 

I didn’t start out programming that way – I got into programming because my Dad was too busy to start the games I wanted to play on a computer.  Funny how one things leads to another – I ended up learning how to start the games, then I wanted more games which meant I had to program them from books (basic on the TI, don’t remember the other languages).  And eventually we learned how to make the computer do stuff (little Tron games on an apple IIe that my Grandpa had, that kind of thing).  We had a lot of fun with it, and I was way ahead when I took my first programming class – so much so that I finished very early and spent the time playing various computer games (full circle :).  So I’m a big believer in teaching kids skills through games (more fun for you, too).

What games have you found that do this for programming?  What really easy programming experiences are out there?  I would love to hear what you’ve found, and recommend that you give Robozzle a try (and contribute more easy puzzles so kids have more puzzles before things get too tricky).

[re-post from my MSDN blog]

The hypervisor support in Server 2008 is now out in beta and it's great to see the product hitting the street.  Virtualization is a huge change for the industry that can do a lot for everyone from data-centers to software houses, to people who just want to be able to run programs without worrying as much (yes, yes, escape exploits would remain a concern).

Here's a review from Windows IT Pro.  Of course, this isn't what I actually work on - I work on the Virtual Machine Manager.  Sadly, our product is still behind closed doors - I can't wait to get it out to customers.

To follow along until then, enjoy Rakesh's blog, which explains such decisions as Why we decided to manage VMWare.

Cheers,

James

[crosspost from my msdn blog]

I thought this was a fascinating presentation on how to meet the needs of the poor by generating recognition and profits for corporations.  I think the approaches were interesting.

Well, fun times.  I've taken a position on the Virtual Machine Manager team.  I'll be one of the lead developers working on the next version.  It's an exciting space, with a lot of players and a lot of new technologies.

I'm also hiring.  So if you're interested we have a number of interesting positions UI and non-UI related (as you might imagine :)). 

Here's a link to a UI programmer position, but please feel free to send me a message if you're interested.  And again, I'm hiring for non-UI positions as well - the link is just to show a little more information about the team and the direction that we're headed.   (We are a C# shop.)

If you're interested in hearing more, you can follow along on the team blog.

A wonderful thing finally happened.  The live search mobile app (in my opinion, one of the reasons to own a smartphone), now has speech recognition.  On my old Cingular 2125, it was a huge pain to type in addresses, businesses.  Even on my new Blackjack, it's considerably better.

[ via Rob's blog]

For the french speakers (or not).  I'm not exactly sure what this is, but it made me laugh.  It reminds me of all the cheezy French class videos.  

How about that - Vista's Photo Gallery (which I love) is getting an update as a Live asset.  I suppose they believe that it makes sense to have a strong web connection for that feature.  It seems like we're ending up with two versions for some features in Vista - the one that shipped with the OS, plus another version with Live in the name.  Window Mail; Windows Live Mail Desktop.  Windows Photo Gallery; Windows Live Photo Gallery.  More to come?

Other than edging into the Sentence Name area, this change includes easy photo publishing to spaces, panoramic stitching and more. :)

Breaking when the instruction pointer leaves the module

Finding where a bad HRESULT is returned

[update: fixed munged links.  Now with "working."]

 Coolness. 

Quote

RELEASE: Family.Show - a free Family Geneology application based on Windows Presentation Foundation

Description taken from the web site:

"For a hobby that revolves around dead people, genealogy is remarkably popular: it's the fastest growing scene in North America. And a perfect study for Vertigo's next Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) reference application for Microsoft.

Our designers employed every trick in the WPF book– styles, resources, templates, data binding, animation, transforms– to present an innovative visualization of the classic family tree, freeing our developers to concentrate on behind-the-scenes features like XPS, P/Invoke wrapper for Windows Vista common dialogs, and ClickOnce for WPF."

A couple comments:

1)  1.63MB!  This is once again, a tiny WPF-based application at only 1.63MB in download size for Windows Vista, demonstrating once again, how application libraries are built directly into the operating system making WPF applications slim and optimal by taking advantage of the native services and functions within the OS.

2)  DRAG & DROP PHOTOS:  I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the developers designed drag & drop correctly:  All you have to do to bring in a photo into the program is drag and drop it onto the "blank" photo frame for an individual and you're finished.

3)  XML & GEDCOM EXPORT:  Geek moment here, but all data is saved in XML making it very easy to read into other applications.  And what's more, it will also export into GEDCOM format so that it can be read & displayed in basically any other geneology software.

4)  SAVE TO XPS:  Want to send your family tree to someone else to see?  Create a read-only XPS document out of it and have them view the content the way itwas meant to be viewed.

5)  BEAUTIFUL!:   This is just a gorgeous program.  The graphics are extremely scalable, the visuals and animations are smooth an appealing, and the overall program design is just so well done.  Good job, Vertigo.  Folks, if this doesn't demonstrate to you how Windows Vista is simply an awesome platform for next generation applications, I don't know what will. 

--------------------

FREE DOWNLOAD:  http://www.vertigo.com/familyshow.aspx

(This isn't the only application by Vertigo that leverages .NET and the Windows Presentation Foundation.  Check out there other creations at http://www.vertigo.com/lab.aspx)

I absolutely loved this clip talking about how traditional advertising is losing touch with today's consumers.  It recasts the consumer/advertiser relationship as a marriage (well, a pending divorce) and is fun to watch.  I think it probably applies even more to me than to most folks.

It's a Microsoft video (I generally don't like our marketing, but this is great), and I think it's related to Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions.

Super cool - they use standing waves to write on water.  They're going to put it in amusement parks and the like - I'd love to see it hooked up to a camera (not sure if it's capable of that - it's a funny-shaped 'S').  It's odd that it seems to be so calm except the letter.

The goal

I think that most things don't need to require a UAC prompt to install - just install it for that user.  Why not make the MSI so it doesn't prompt and your users get a smoother experience?  (Also, I feel much better installing a program that doesn't require elevation to install - at a minimum I know it's not disabling my anti-malware software.)  Ideally, with that same package you could optionally install per-machine (which requires elevation).  Here's some information on how to make it happen...

I'm not sure I learned anything practical here, although there's plenty to think about.  Some of Ford's failings (is that useful?).  It's briefly interesting to consider - although a certain amount of it would certainly come from his nature and upbringing, I wonder how much of it can be ascribed to the pressures of success (and pressure for continued success) on the successful - as it says in the Bible "it is easier for a rich man to pass through the eye of a needle, than to get into heaven."

I mostly found myself thinking about the author (consider the source, as they say).  As with any history, I wonder how much is true, how much is a matter of perspective, and how I can expect to understand which is which well enough to come to my own conclusions.  (Centralized media doesn't do anything to help me in this plight, although blogging has shown that decentralized media isn't exactly a cure, either...  I think information's power to enable those that provide either it, authority or notoriety will always lead to issues.)  Here's an example - while in France, I was friends with a lovely old lady (Mme. Bâtard) whose husband was a reporter - she had entirely stopped reading the news because what she read was so different from what she witnessed.  I would never recommend that approach, but it is telling.  What made her (an insider of sorts) feel so strongly - was it reporters' different perspective that left out points she found critical and/or focused on what she found meaningless/misleading?  Was it different exposure to those populations (e.g.. Perhaps a reporter commented on character in business or political dealings while she observed character in personal dealings)?  Deliberate bias?  Probably a mixture as the differences in perspective and exposure are inescapable, and manipulating a bias seems to be the nature of those in power.  This is even a point in the book - talking about how Ford used his power to expertly maneuver media.  ("History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it" - Winston Churchill)

I also wonder what the author got from the book - he probably needed something with visceral enough details to sell the book, advance some issue, gain reputation and notoriety and to sell enough copies to satisfy some economic goal.  These pressures would have led to certain predictable outcomes.  An example of this is how (I'm told) many articles come from press releases written by companies - easy copy, which is adopted because it's easy.  Eye-catching if slightly misleading headlines (ahem - msn.com).  Or, if there isn't clarity between two possible  histories, wouldn't authors tend to choose those which would sell more books, or which advance their cause?  Anyway, those sorts of basic pressures impact history (past, present, and future). 

I wonder how those natural principles also apply to the internet - I'll watch with interest, but I don't pretend to understand it: As a programmer I'm more focused on producing sound bits than deeply understanding sound bites;  as someone making use of what seems to be increasingly biased (persuasive?) information, I feel obliged to spend at least some time trying.