From the Editor, January 2004: Tools, Tips and Tech for Your Next Project

Grok Headline matches for From the Editor, January 2004: Tools, Tips and Tech for Your Next Project

January 2004 Letter from the Editor

January 2004 Letter from the Editor 01/23/2004 02:24 PM
Many new data-related features will be enhanced in Europa, including the addition of support for new data types such as variable character, variable binary, and blob types for increased compatibility with SQL Server 2000 and the upcoming version of SQL Server, code-named "Yukon." Support for subqueries is just one of many new enhancements to the SQL language in Europa, such as the ability to execute the following: SELECT * FROM foo t1 WHERE f1 IN (SELECT f1 FROM foo).

Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah
Marshall: January 11, 2004 - January 17,
2004 Archives

Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah
Marshall: January 11, 2004 - January 17,
2004 Archives 01/16/2004 01:04 PM
Joshua Micah Marshall has published Clark’s testimony .. Transcript of Clark's testimony to congress on Iraq .. getting unfairly drudged .. invented quotes

talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2004_01_11.html#002415
track this site | 6 links

"Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah
Marshall: January 04, 2004 - January 10,
2004 Archives"

"Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah
Marshall: January 04, 2004 - January 10,
2004 Archives" 01/07/2004 06:08 PM

Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah
Marshall: January 25, 2004 - January 31,
2004 Archives

Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah
Marshall: January 25, 2004 - January 31,
2004 Archives 01/26/2004 04:12 PM
BREAKING: Kerry couldn't get laid at St. Paul's! .. Josh Marshall

talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2004_01_25.html#002490< br />track this site | 4 links

Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah
Marshall: January 18, 2004 - January 24,
2004 Archives

Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah
Marshall: January 18, 2004 - January 24,
2004 Archives 01/22/2004 07:16 AM
talking points interviews george soros. also, josh is already up in new hamphire on his reader funded venture .. TPM has a good interview with George Soros .. interviews

talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2004_01_18.html#00245 4
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From the Editor: January 2005 - Security
on the Go

From the Editor: January 2005 - Security
on the Go 12/19/2004 03:17 PM
Now that work is just a verb, not a place, are all your security assumptions wrong?

CueSheet Tools and Editor

CueSheet Tools and Editor 07/15/2004 05:15 PM
CueSheetMaster v1.2.1

January 2004 Zillman Column: Finding
Experts on the Internet 2004

January 2004 Zillman Column: Finding
Experts on the Internet 2004 12/27/2003 05:28 PM
January 2004 Zillman Column - Finding Experts on the Internet 2004
http://virtualprivatelibrary.blogspot.com/Finding Experts on the Internet 2004.pdf
http://www.zillmancolumns.com/
http://www.InternetExperts.inf o/

The January 2004 Zillman Column is now available and is titled Finding Experts on the Internet 2004. This column brings together the many resources for finding qualified experts on the Internet. The Internet is the source for literally thousands upon thousands of experts on every subject and this column gives you a comprehensive listing of where to find these experts and is taken from my Subject Tracer™ Information of Blog. This is a "must" reference for anyone even thinking about obtaining the leading expert in your business or special interest subject area!

From the Editor: Tools for Desktop
Success

From the Editor: Tools for Desktop
Success 03/13/2003 10:25 AM
The April issue of Linux Journal looks at applications that meet the needs of business and standards that are bridging the gap between competing Linux desktops.

FutureBASIC 4 revamps editor, project
manager, more

FutureBASIC 4 revamps editor, project
manager, more 08/04/2004 08:21 AM
Staz Software announced the release of FutureBASIC 4 on Wednesday. The new version of the company's BASIC coding tool features a revamped editor and project manager, a new button bar in the project manager window for quick access to such tasks as syntax checking and application building, an XML-based scripting system for automating tasks and more. FutureBASIC uses a subscription-based model that allows upgrades for one year after payment of US$169 for a license. Annual renewals are $99, and reviving an expired subscription costs $129. FutureBASIC I and II users will pay $149 to upgrade to the new version. System requirements were not available as MacCentral posted this article.

Eclipse launches new Visual Editor
project

Eclipse launches new Visual Editor
project 11/17/2003 06:42 PM
The Eclipse consortium tomorrow will announce the establishment of the Visual Editor Project, a new effort to create and deliver an open visual GUI construction and editing platform. The project is designed to generically work with any user interface framework and programming language Eclipse supports; ultimately, it will implement a reference GUI builder for the Java Swing/JFC and SWT graphical user interface frameworks.

11 Tips From a Senior DMOZ Editor

11 Tips From a Senior DMOZ Editor 12/01/2002 07:55 AM
"1) No or little content = no addition. 2) The more subject specific the web site or page, the better."

Notes and Tips: Apple Tech Tips

Notes and Tips: Apple Tech Tips 04/22/2004 09:19 AM
Apple offers troubleshooting tips on Software Update, printing, Mail crashes and more.

Tech employment slips in January

Tech employment slips in January 02/05/2005 09:11 PM
ZDNet Feb 4 2005 9:32PM GMT

Microsoft Project 2002: System Policy
Editor and Templates

Microsoft Project 2002: System Policy
Editor and Templates 04/27/2004 05:33 PM
The Microsoft Project 2002: System Policy Editor and Templates download includes the Microsoft Project 2002 system policy template. You must install the System Policy Editor and the template on your computer before you can create a system policy file.

Subscription growth in tech bl0gs:
January wrapup

Subscription growth in tech bl0gs:
January wrapup 02/05/2005 09:31 PM
My earlier analysis of tech-blog subscription trends suggested that accelerating growth might have tailed off. But with final numbers for January now in, it appears that the foot is on the accelerator again. Plenty of caveats apply, of course. I'm assuming that Bloglines public subscribers are a reasonable proxy for all Bloglines subscribers, that Bloglines is a reasonable proxy for the whole blogosphere, and that the small sample of blogs I'm looking at is representative. On that basis, though, here's how it looks. ...

Hiring A Tech Editor

Hiring A Tech Editor 01/21/2003 04:45 AM
"I want to hire and editor to review the work and provide comments and corrections. What should I expect to pay someone with the knowledge I'm looking for?"

January 26, 2004

January 26, 2004 01/26/2004 03:31 AM

“Please do not use cover letters that you copied out of a book. If you write ‘I understand the position also requires a candidate who is team- and detail-oriented, works well under pressure, and is able to deal with people in departments throughout the firm’ then at best people will think you're a bullshit artist and at worst they will think that you were not born with the part of the brain that allows you to form your own thoughts and ideas.”

Getting Your Résumé Read

January 27, 2004

January 27, 2004 01/27/2004 01:43 PM

Reminders:

• Thursday morning I'll be giving a free lecture at UC Davis
• Friday evening,  7:30 PM, I'll be meeting up with a huge group of Joel on Software folks at Au Coquelet Cafe, 2000 University Ave. at Milvia, in Berkeley, California. If anybody is nearby please go in and warn the manager we're coming; I got about 45 rsvps.
• Not in California? I'm working on a Fog Creek open house in New York Real Soon Now.
• Anywhere else? Join our Meetup group and hang out with other Joel on Software readers in your city on Wednesday, February 18th. So far 28 cities in the world have hit critical mass (5). The London group is already up to 29 members!

In the meantime entertain yourself with some of Rory Blyth's inspired comix.

This one's a riot: "Ooooooh! I know! We could print out the data, scan it in, and then paste the image into Excel!".

And some disclaimers:

• The remark yesterday in tiny print could not possibly be homophobic, because I'm gay and thus granted automatic diplomatic immunity from all charges of homophobia.
• Putting spaces in front of commas is really not that bad, but I stand by my claim that it's not very professional looking, and, merely as a point of information, at least on the resumes I get, this particular error occurs on 37% of cover letters from people with Indian names and 0% of the cover letters of people without Indian names.
• Anyway talking about punctuation is really, really boring, so please let's stop.
• There's nothing like 100,000 incoming links from Slashdot to uncover those rare people without a sense of humor... but you can't tell people, "no, it's a joke, you just didn't get it" because the one thing common among all people without a sense of humor is that they inevitably think they have a very good sense of humor; your joke just wasn't funny.

In the spirit of the escalator

The number one best way to get someone to look at your resume closely: come across as a human being, not a list of jobs and programming languages. Tell me a little story. "I've spend the last three weeks looking for a job at a real software company, but all I can find are cheezy web design shops looking for slave labor." Or, "We yanked our son out of high school and brought him to Virginia. I am not going to move again until he is out of high school, even if I have to go work at Radio Shack or become a Wal*Mart greeter." (These are slightly modified quotes from two real people.)

These are both great. You know why? Because I can't read them without thinking of these people as human beings. And now the dynamic has changed. I like you. I care about you. I like the fact that you want to work in a real software company. I wanted to work in a real software company so much I started one. I like the fact that you care more about your teenage son than your career.

I just can't care about "C/C++/Perl/ASP" in the same way.

So, maybe you won't be qualified for the job, but it's just a lot harder for me to dismiss you out of hand.

January 31, 2004

January 31, 2004 02/10/2004 02:45 AM

Geodog: “So I walked into the cafe tonight and looked around for the Joel group -- like any other geek, I was too shy to ask anyone, but when I spotted a big table lined entirely with males, mostly in their mid-twenties to early forties, not too well dressed, predominantly European-American, I knew that I had found the geek gathering.”

January 08, 2004

January 08, 2004 01/08/2004 07:12 PM

Joel on Software Dinners

Montréal, CA: January 15th. If you can come, please RSVP by posting one message here so we can get a rough count.

Berkeley, the other CA: January 30th. If you can come, please RSVP by posting one message here so we can get a rough count.

We did this in Oslo with great success. Basically we'll take over a room in a restaurant, eat, drink, be merry, and talk about software development.

Other Upcoming Events

I'll be speaking at CUSEC 2004 (Canadian Undergraduate Software Engineering Conference) in Montréal on January 15th.

Playlist

It's top secret. The only thing I'll admit to was Vince Guaraldi "Linus and Lucy." And Auld Lang Syne.

FogBUGZ for Unix and FogBUGZ for Macintosh

... will ship, I think, on Monday, subject to reality sticking its big ugly face in the way.

January 20, 2004

January 20, 2004 01/22/2004 02:10 AM

I will be speaking on the subject of Designing Applications with the User in Mind at UC Davis on January 29th. The speech is free and open to the public so if you're in the Davis/Sacramento area please come.

UC Davis
Thursday, January 29, 2004
10 - 11:30am
at the University Club (map )

 

January 19, 2004

January 19, 2004 01/19/2004 02:02 PM

SysAdmin Week

After a bit of a scare discovering that a few of our critical files were not getting backed up, and with various system administration things starting to cross from annoying into the category of downright emergencies, I am going to spend a few days focused on improving our network infrastructure.

All of our backups are done to hard drives, not tapes. It's not that much more expensive than tape, and it's a lot more convenient. For example all our workstations and laptops are backed up using Veritas NetBackup Pro which creates hard-drive based backups on a server. Anyone can browse the last 5 versions of any file on their hard drive and instantly restore it; if a complete system is lost NetBackup does "bare metal restore", and, the part I like best -- if two people have the same file it is only stored once. This saves gigs and gigs of space because almost every machine here has the same OS files, the same development environment, the same full text of MSDN, etc. Servers are backed up over the Internet using Dantz Retrospect, also to a hard drive at a different location. Retrospect has the advantage of supporting "open file backup" on SQL Server databases, backing them up while they're running. As far as I can tell, this relies on an underlying feature of Windows 2000 which allows you to make virtually instantaneous, atomic copies of any open file (Windows does this using "Copy on Write," where the file is simply marked as being "copied," the copy itself doesn't take place until one copy is written to, and then only on a sector-by-sector basis). Dantz has the disadvantage of some architectural decisions that reflect it's Macintosh heritage which do not really make sense... for example, rather than the traditional Windows server model of having two apps -- an invisible service and a management console which controls that service -- there's just one app. This means you can only run one management console and if you lose it (e.g. someone else is running it in a different session) you can't get in, requiring drastic process killing or rebooting. And the number of new concepts you need to learn to set up simple server backups is astonishing... it took me way too long to get things set up and then it took several weeks of occasional tinkering to get it to work, and even then it seems to get flaky and decide it doesn't want to backup and doesn't want to tell anyone that it doesn't want to backup, so I have a weekly scheduled task to kick the sucker. Somewhat frustrating but I have no experience with other server backup products and suspect the others are just as bad.

I just woke up to the fact that we were paying about $6/GB for disk storage on Dell SCSI RAID arrays, and for backup media I don't need SCSI and I don't need RAID, so I'm going to try a LaCie Big Disk Drive connected to the backup server over USB 2.0 which is about $1.20/GB.

Meetup

So far there are 136 people registered at Meetup.com. London, Toronto, and Dublin have passed the threshold of 5 members for meetings to actually be held. I was thinking it might be fun to pick the city with the most people on this list for my next vacation.

 

January 28, 2004

January 28, 2004 01/28/2004 06:40 PM

For some reason, Microsoft's brilliant and cutting-edge .NET development environment left out one crucial tool... a tool that has been common in software development environments since, oh, about 1950, and taken so much for granted that it's incredibly strange that nobody noticed that .NET doesn't really have one.

Please Sir May I Have a Linker?

** Heute verwende ich die deutsche Version von CityDesk um mein Weblog zu erstellen. No, I don't speak German, but I know CityDesk well enough to find my way around!

January 30, 2004

January 30, 2004 02/10/2004 02:45 AM

Ted r eviews my speech.

Scoble: “I hate to play the ‘it'll be fixed in Longhorn’ card, but I'm going to.” OK, you tell me when my customers have Longhorn and I'll think about using .NET then, mm-kay? My money is on 2008.

The Salamander .NET Linker and Mini-Deployment Tool might be a solution. Has anyone evaluated it in depth?

January 13, 2004

January 13, 2004 01/16/2004 11:27 AM

Whoo hoo! There's nothing better than shipping a new product.

Fog Creek Software is proud to announce: FogBUGZ for Unix and FogBUGZ for Macintosh.

All About FogBUGZ
System Requirements: Unix | Macintosh | Windows

Today is Monday, right?

January 12, 2004

January 12, 2004 01/16/2004 11:27 AM

The Montréal Dinner will be held at Marché Mövenpick, 1 Place Ville-Marie, near St. Catherine & University, downtown, on Thursday, January 15th, 2004, at 7:30 PM.

The Berkeley Dinner will be at 7:30, on January 30th, 2004. Tentatively scheduled at Au Coquelet Cafe, 2000 University Ave. at Milvia.

January 17, 2004

January 17, 2004 01/17/2004 10:59 PM

Meetup.com organizes regularly scheduled Joel on Software reader meetings in 640 cities around the world on the third Wednesday of every month. The next one is coming up on January 21st.

I'm not sure exactly how it works... I think that as soon as they get 5 members confirmed in a particular city, the meetup is officially on, otherwise it's automatically cancelled.

Meetup.com was created by my fellow New Yorker, Scott "Fries With That?" Heiferman, who also founded i-traffic.com (now a part of agency.com).

"January 2004"

"January 2004" 01/03/2004 07:07 PM

January 2004 Zeitgeist

January 2004 Zeitgeist 02/10/2004 02:50 AM
Top 10 search terms for this past month. 3331 different keyphrases Search Percent .dmg ...

IBM to spin off Eclipse tools project

IBM to spin off Eclipse tools project 01/22/2004 02:13 AM
Seeks more vendor involvement in developing industry standard, open-source Java development platform.

Bits & Bytes for January 26, 2004

Bits & Bytes for January 26, 2004 01/26/2004 08:43 PM
Internet News Jan 27 2004 0:35AM GMT

ASP.NET Webcast Week - January 19-23,
2004

ASP.NET Webcast Week - January 19-23,
2004 01/18/2004 11:30 PM
Learn about ASP.NET from the experts! These free events are live and interactive. Live code demos and attendees asking in depth engaging questions are all part of this live event. This is a great way to get educated, engaged, and enlightened on Microsoft developer tools.

Execs & Accounts for January 23, 2004

Execs & Accounts for January 23, 2004 01/23/2004 08:49 PM
Internet News Jan 24 2004 1:04AM GMT

MSDN January 2004 Shipment

MSDN January 2004 Shipment 12/23/2003 01:33 AM
-2011.2 DirectX® 9.0 SDK Update - (Summer 2003), Microsoft Enterprise Instrumentation Framework, Microsoft Mobile Internet Toolkit 1.0, Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003 SDK (English), Windows® SharePoint™ Services 2.0 (English, French, German, Italian, Japanese) -2589 Windows® Small Business Server 2003 - Disc 1 (English). Note: Small Business Server 2003 Premium Edition includes a premium technologies CD that includes SQL Server 2000, ISA Server 2000, and their latest service packs. The premium technologies CD is not included as such because these products are already included in your subscription, however the CD is available from MSDN Subscriber Downloads. -2590 Windows® Small Business Server 2003 - Disc 2 (English) -2591 Windows® Small Business Server 2003 - Disc 3 (English) -2592 Microsoft Office Outlook® Standard 2003 (English) -2499.1 Microsoft Business Contact Manager for Office Outlook® 2003, Microsoft Data Analyzer, Microsoft Office FrontPage® 2003 (English) -2501.1 Microsoft Business Solutions - Solomon 5.5 Volume 2, Solomon 5.5 Service Pack 1, FRx Financial Reporter 6.5 for Solomon and Forecaster 6.7 (English) -2503.1 Microsoft Business Solutions - Great Plains 7.5 Disc 2, Microsoft Business Solutions - Great Plains 7.5 Service Pack 1, FRx Financial Reporter 6.5 for Great Plains and Forecaster 6.7 -2594 Microsoft Office Professional 2003 Multilingual User Interface - Disc 1 (Arabic, French, German, Italian, Japanese) -2595 Microsoft Office Professional 2003 Multilingual User Interface - Disc 2 (Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Simplified Chinese) -2596 Microsoft Office Visio® Professional 2003 Multilingual User Interface Pack - Disc 1 (French, German, Italian, Japanese) -2597 Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003 (English

Execs & Accounts for January 26, 2004

Execs & Accounts for January 26, 2004 01/26/2004 08:43 PM
Internet News Jan 27 2004 0:35AM GMT

Eclipse Web Tools Platform project
proposal

Eclipse Web Tools Platform project
proposal 05/07/2004 08:31 PM
Something in the Ecl ipse Web Tools Platform project proposal caught my eye: "The goal of this project is to support a vital application development market, rather than to 'commoditize' viable commercial product spaces with an open source alternative. Commercial vendors will use what this project delivers as a foundation for their own product innovation and development efficiency."

Eclipse Launches Web Tools Platform
Project

Eclipse Launches Web Tools Platform
Project 07/28/2004 02:37 AM
[PRWEB Jul 28, 2004]

BEA's Vision for Eclipse' Web Tools
Project

BEA's Vision for Eclipse' Web Tools
Project 03/22/2005 07:06 PM
Open Enterprise Trends Mar 22 2005 10:24PM GMT
Grok Description matches for From the Editor, January 2004: Tools, Tips and Tech for Your Next Project
GrokA matches for From the Editor, January 2004: Tools, Tips and Tech for Your Next Project

From the Editor, January 2004: Tools, Tips and Tech for Your Next Project

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