Blogs

Ramblings of a c# developer

John Powell is an experienced Windows software developer having built business applications in a number of sectors over 18 years. John's current focus is on managing software developers at a strategic and tactical level and providing architectural input at the organisation level.

That's funny

I had to chuckle today, I was searching for a link someone told me existed for TaskClerk and stumbled across a whole lot of sites stating they had cracked TaskClerk. What! I exclaimed - its free you wallies what are you trying to crack?My guidance to would be users is -> Download it from an official site, its quicker and very free!... (more)

TaskClerk Version 107

Version 107 of TaskClerk has shipped. This version contains some bug fixes and was compiled under Visual studio 2008 - The framework has not been upgraded but work has started on the WPF version and some enterprise features, thanks to the efforts of my friends.Download at http://www.taskclerk.com/downloads.ashxHave a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!Enjoy!... (more)

Version 106 of TaskClerk

A new version of TaskClerk has been shipped. This version contains an updated printing dialog and some improved UI usability features.Enjoy!... (more)

compilewith.net

Paul Jackson has held various development roles over the last 15 years ranging from Software Engineer to Technical Architect. He has extensive development experience using many languages and methodologies. Paul is an excellent communicator, standard setter and best practices expert in all aspects of design, development and software quality assurance.

Silverlight 2 and a new look Web site...

Things have been decidedly busy over last month or so making my posts a little sparse - or more accurately non-existent - I have been working with Silverlight 2 beta 2; I certainly like what I see, even if it's not quite there yet, compared with WPF that is, it shows real promise. However, the jewel in the crown for me is the integration of the DeepZoom technology (previously known as SeaDragon), it is truly awesome! Just check out what the boys and girls at Vertigo have put together (pay special attention to the Hard Rock Memorabilia sample): ... (more)

WPF - Data-binding a lesson in framework design

In WPF we tend to take data-binding for granted. It is just one of those features that just works. In this post I want to briefly bring your attention to how the data-binding system works with regards to non-FrameworkElement derived classes, not because you need to know to be able to use it, but because I think it has all the hallmarks of a good API design. Consider this XAML: <Page xmlns="..." xmlns:x="..." xmlns:sys="clr-namespace:System;assembly=mscorlib"> <StackPanel x:Name="panel"> <ListBox x:Name="colors" Margin="10"> <sys:String>Black</sys:String> <sys:String>Red</sys:String> <sys:String>Green</sys:String> <sys:String>Blue</sys:String> </ListBox> <TextBlock Text="{Binding SelectedItem, ElementName=colors}" FontSize="36" Margin="10"> <TextBlock.Foreground> ... (more)

WPF - Selecting TreeViewItems in code

This appears to be a common problem for people with various solutions, most involving some walking of the visual tree, which to my mind is a little overkill. Also, you've got to wonder what the WPF team were thinking when they left out such a core (and apparently much demanded) feature, so there has to be an easier way, right? As with most things like this you rarely find a complete solution in a single location, but that is what this post (and possibly a one or two more) will give you - which will not involve walking the visual... (more)

Techn@gerial

Matt Jones has over 15 years industry experience, focusing on development management in telco, defence and internet markets. He is a proven and successful manager of delivery teams and has expert knowledge of software development, project management and product development lifecycles. He has in depth knowledge of outsourced resourcing models and extensive line and organisational management experience.

Evernote

I have often sought the latest and sometimes the greatest of note taking tools. I despise paper for many reasons; its impermanence, “losability” and “unsearchableness”. Above all though, paper is not available, on a general basis unless you want to carry reams of it everywhere you go. My handwriting skills are also pretty poor on [...]... (more)

Entropy Revisited

My previous post about software project entropy was slightly abstract. I thought I should therefore address this in light of more thought about the subtleties of software engineering and planning for software projects. Previously the context of the post was the disconnect between management expectations and practicality. Software projects are very difficult to plan accurately, primarily [...]... (more)

Tufte does project management graphics

Edward Tufte is an information design specialist, his work is absolutely outstanding; he has written four wonderful books on information design and the presentation of information. Whilst browsing his site recently I stumbled upon this thread: Project Management Graphics (or Gantt Charts), which starts with a Tufte reader outlining their issues with using Gantt charts [...]... (more)