Ribbets

Random: Google Weather API

rob henwood — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:33:36 +0000

Get the weather in your app using Google:

Weather API documentation (sort of) http://blog.emerick.org/2008/05/07/google-weather-api-feed-documentation/

Office: Reading Word Documents

rob henwood — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:25:38 +0000

Visual Studio Tools for Office (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_Studio_Tools_for_Office)
- Word Object Model Overview
  
  (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/kw65a0we(VS.100).aspx)
- Structure of a Word Document
  (http://www.linguistics.ucsb.edu/faculty/cumming/WordForLinguists/Index.htm)
Apache POI Java Library (http://poi.apache.org/)

Search: Search Engines for CD/DVD

rob henwood — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:11:09 +0000

Search engines for files on a CD/DVD:

Search Maker Pro (http://www.searchmakerpro.com/index.html)
Zoom Search (http://www.wrensoft.com/zoom/)
Adobe Catalog (http://help.adobe.com/en_US/Acrobat/9.0/Professional/WS58a04a822e3e50102bd615109794195ff-7c36.w.html)

YAGNI

rob henwood — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:41:30 +0000

You ain’t gonna need it
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YAGNI

Energy: Game Console Power Consumption

rob henwood — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:46:15 +0000

Power consumption of games consoles. Wii wins.

Wii <20W – the green option
XBox360 ~185W
PS3 ~195W
PC ~200W

See http://www.hardcoreware.net/xbox-360-ps3-wii-power-consumption/2/

Random: Tree Generation

rob henwood — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 12:06:34 +0000

Algorithmic Botany

http://algorithmicbotany.org/

Energy: Piezo Leaf

rob henwood — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 11:53:25 +0000

Flapping Piezo-Leaf Generator for Wind Energy Harvesting

http://ccsl.mae.cornell.edu/node/116

BizTalk: Continuous Integration

rob henwood — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:27:27 +0000

This sample code outlines how to set up Continuous Integration, Automated Unit Tests, and to create an MSI Package using Team Foundation Server 2008 (TFS) with BizTalk Server 2009.

Setting Up Continuous Integration, Unit Tests, and MSI Creation in BizTalk 2009 Sample Code
http://www.biztalkgurus.com/media/p/23834.aspx

SCRUM: Resources and Comments

rob henwood — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:24:09 +0000

Resources

Scrum Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrum_(development))
It’s about common sense (http://www.controlchaos.com/about/index.php)

Criticism

http://www.codeinstructions.com/search/label/Agile

Personal View

I like:

Visibility of tasks (typically on a whiteboard)
The concept of task ownership – taking on tasks as and when you can
The sprint – keeps the team well focussed

I dislike:

Micro focus – the team can lose sight of the big picture
Say something, say anything – sometimes there isn’t much to say in a daily stand up and it’s excrutiating to go round finding out what people are doing especially if they are immersed in a long task. This is probably something to do with…
Scrum size - I have been involved in mega Scrums with far too many people in the circle. Whatever happened to the Scrum of Scrums?
Ego – Some people just say too much

SCRUM: VSTS 2008

rob henwood — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:39:25 +0000

SCRUM Template for Visual Studio Team System
http://www.codeplex.com/VSTSScrum