My Vista Experience Begins..

And its finally here! My old computer finally packed in, and I have had to invest in a new machine, so I am now running Windows Vista.

My experience so far:

Setup

Installation was a cakewalk. I don't really remember doing much, and was quick. I put the disk in, answered a couple of questions (time zone settings and language springs to mind). The machine carried on doing its stuff, restarted a couple of times, and I was up and running within 15 minutes.. Definitely a much nicer experience over Windows XP (which in turn was much nicer than Windows 98).

First Contact

Once set up, I was presented with the logon screen, I then of course signed in. Windows Update then pops up asking to check for updates, I let it run off and do that (there were about 50 to install). They then installed fine in the background, but one did fall over - my graphics driver. I rebooted to let the other updates set in, tried again and all installed fine. Awesome.

Things I Like So Far...

• The interface, I really like it, looks real slick and the extra eye candy really does make the computer much more pleasurable to work with.
• Integrated search, I was expecting this to be really sluggish based on previous Windows experiences with this sort of thing, but it works REALLY well.
• Overall performance seems a lot better, things seem a lot more responsive and copying a large chunk of my mp3 collection onto the new box seemed to be a lot faster, I know they have made improvements to the file copy algorithms, but I was surprised to see the extent of it!
• The revised versions of solitaire and freecell are cool =)

... And Things I Not So Happy With (Sad Face)

• Windows Key + I no longer opens IE/Firefox, instead its placed in the "Search" box, there may be a way to disable this, but I not found it yet (not really looked to be honest!).
• Due to my delay in installing my graphics drivers, Aero was not enabled by default, and it wasn't immediately obvious on how to get it running. However - I was quickly able to find it by opening the control panel and typing "Aero" into the search box.

I have lots more to look at yet, and I will try to blog as I go, however, I am working from home today and must get back to it =)

Technorati Tags: vista,experience,aero,review

Great Code Colouriser from CarlosAg for Windows Live Writer

Found a link to this great code colouriser from CarlosAg in the blogosphere to plug into Windows Live Writer. Works really well, and nice and quick (found many that either format incorrectly or do it perfect but slowly).

Here's a sample:

/// <summary>
/// Says Hello to the User.
/// </summary>
public void SayHello()
{
    // Say Hello to the User.
    MessageBox.Show("HELLO!");
}

And a screen grab:

Special thanks to CarlosAg for sharing.
Check it out!

Technorati Tags: live writer,plug-in,code colour,CarlosAg

Mock Exam for 70-316 Passed (Finally!)

Good news people, I have finally passed the mock for 70-316. Although I am still not 100% confident on passing the thing for real, I am feeling a lot more confident each and every day.

The new job is really helping and paying dividends, I am no longer having to "translate" code in my mind when at work and at home. Sounds like no big deal, and I guess in many ways its not.. But it IS helping. I guess its like any language, be it code, vocal, written whatever, the more you use it, the better you get with it.

The mock did highlight some weak areas which I still need to work on:

Data Access
Seems I am still having problems, I think this is probably because I haven't done a great deal of DAL design and implementation at this stage. I am still getting caught by the odd red-herrings thrown into a question to throw you off (i.e. DataAdapter.Update or DataTable.Update).

Code Access Security
Keeps god damn getting me, and the annoying thing is, pretty much everyone I asked who I am in touch with in the dev world say they never use it! Grrrr!

Oh well, its all fun and games really =)

Technorati Tags: exam,70-316,c#,study,data access,code access security

Holy Crap! 5GB Free Online Storage (Courtesy MS SkyDrive Team)

Just received this on the Google RSS Reader, I actually said "Wow" out loud. 5GB storage for free, integrated into the Live Platform, "wow" indeed.

Thanks guys on the SkyDrive team! Thanks very much!

Technorati Tags: microsoft, live, skydrive, online storage

Week 1 in Summary

Well, I am almost at the end of my first week with my new employer. What can I say other than I am really happy with this job!

So, here's the "plus" points I have so far:

• Dual Monitor Setup Rocks
  I don't have dual monitor setup at home (but I will do now dammit!) nor with my old employer. Obviously, my new one does. I am actually working on a slightly lower-spec PC than before, but because I can have everything open I need to, and see everything clearly and quickly, I am so much more productive!
• Having People who Know Their Stuff
  This may sound like a bit of a no-brainer, but my new manager, REALLY knows his stuff, and the business systems in place. Now, whenever any of the team (including myself) have a problem, they ask him, and I have yet to see him give an answer in under 2 minutes. I'm truly impressed. One of my favourite quotes is "if you can't explain it to a six year old, then you don't understand it yourself". I love it, because it's so true. My manager explains things so well, you can just take what he says and run with it. Very productive and above all, it enables us all to develop and learn.
• Good Integration Plans Make the Difference
  My manager has also got a great plan for getting me up and running. As you all know, I am a junior developer. I am learning a lot, but I still have a lot to learn. I am happy because I am not being asked to run before I can walk, but I am still being challenged and learning new things.
• Give People Babies
  No I don't mean leave that unwanted child on their doorstep, or unprotected bedroom antics, but give them responsibility and projects that they can call their own. I have already been given some insight on the projects I will be working on, and where I fit into these projects. For example, I will be assisted in getting up and running on one of my future projects (since there is some learning curve involved) but will then move on to manage and lead the project in its entirety. This gets me enthusiastic and proud of the work I am doing. Everyone loves their babies.

In Summation...
I am leaning stacks of stuff already, I am really enjoying the work, and I can't wait to get back in on Monday morning!

My test results for my MCAD are already creeping up purely because I am now working in C# all day! Hoo-rah!

Great Summary of New VS2008 Goodies

I came across a great summary page of the new features available to us geek's within the new Visual Studio 2008 release. Definitely worth a read, there were things on there I were not aware of that may be useful! (I TinyURL'd it since its quite a long address!) =)

http://tinyurl.com/2zhmpn

I hope they make you more productive!

Technorati Tags: visual studio 2008 , goodies

The I'm Initiative - Can't Believe This Hasn't Been More Public!

Microsoft! What are you doing?! I have just found this site by accident! This is an EXCELLENT initiative!

The I'm Initiative basically consists of people adding a special code to their personal message on Live Messenger. Every time they then open a chat window with a friend/colleague, Microsoft will then make a small donation to the charity selected.

Here's what it says on the site:

Each time you start a conversation with Windows Live Messenger, Microsoft will make a contribution to your preferred organization. (Bonus: there’s no cap to how much Microsoft is willing to give. Seriously, the sky’s the limit.) And all your friends get to see the cause you choose.

Instructions are given on the site (it's dead easy). And once updated, you get a little   next to your name. Having seen this I do remember seeing it on a couple of contacts previously, but I was not curious as to what it was (just thought it was some Live Messenger addon!).

Sadly, there are not any British charities/organisations on there at the moment, so I cannot support something on my home turf, however I opted to support the American Red Cross, since I know they certainly do a great deal (not suggesting the other charities do nothing).

Sadly, the initiative is not open to anywhere but the United States at the moment, so I cannot participate =(

My main worry is that I found the site by accident, why hasn't this been made more public?!

Technorati Tags: blogging , instant messaging , live messenger , i'm initiative , charity