In Windows XP's Add/Remove Programs you get information about installed applications such as copyright, version, last run, etc.  At first glance this information appears to be gone in Windows Vista's Programs and Features.

Where'd the Program Information Go?

I was recently trying to figure out the version of Silverlight that I have installed, but selecting the item from Programs and Features doesn't tell me anything.  Also, clicking Uninstall immediately starts the uninstallation without showing me the version, and clicking Change didn't do anything at all.

I was thinking to myself, "Microsoft wouldn't just remove this information totally ... that would be stupid," so I spent a little more time poking around and found that you can right click on the column headers, click on More... and get a dialog that allows you to select other columns to display.

The information that used to be available by default in Add/Remove Programs is now displays in these columns.  It sucks that it's apparently hidden from view, but I guess it didn't take me too long to find it.

Loading

Another change in Programs and Features is the loading.  Add/Remove Programs could take a long time to display, but once it did you had everything available.  Programs and Features loads installed applications bit by bit, and refreshes the screen.  This is annoying if you've started scrolling down or selected an item before its done loading, because the refresh causes things to jump around.

While its nice that it loads a lot quicker in Vista, it almost appears to be worse because it punishes you for trying to use it too quickly.  This reminds me of how Windows boots a lot more quickly in XP and Vista, but it does more things after you've logged in so the system really isn't available immediately.  If you click on the Start menu too quickly it will go away.  Again, punishing you for working too quickly.

I'd like an OS that keeps up with how fast I want to work.

I haven't stayed on top of this blog because I've been so busy with so many different things that taking time to write a post seems to be far down on the priority list.  I'm not going to say that will change this year, because that's almost cliche, but some of the things on my goal list will naturally lead to some posts here.

CodeMash

CodeMash v2.0.0.8 was awesome.  There have already been so many other blog posts talking about how great it was, so I'm not going to go into detail.  I'll sum it up by saying that it was totally worth it, and I'd be insane to miss it next year.

Resolutions

I have some goals for 2008, but really only one resolution.  My resolution is to do the push-up a day challenge.  But I decided to also do a sit-up per day, and throw in jumping jacks to toss in some cardio.  Today I've done 20 of each.  As the year moves on and things get harder, I may have to only do the exercises every other day, in order to give my muscles a chance to recover.

Goals for 2008

• Present at at least 2 technical user groups
• Write at least 2 articles for established websites
• Contribute to a well known open source project
• Create a fun game in Silverlight and host it at CodePlex
• Create a custom layout for this blog and port it to SubText
  

Wow, that's a lot, but I already have one user group talk scheduled.  Should be a fun year.

Christopher Hawkins' post Monday Consulting Questions: Three Reason Not to Work On-Site resonated deeply within me. As most things are, working on-site isn't a black and white issue. You have to take the bad with the good.

One thing I've learned about working on-site is that you have to throw out your methodologies and adopt your client's. You won't be able to get the respect you need for your preferred practices, so you have to bend over.

Another down side to working on-site is that you lose your sense of belonging. You are kind of like an employee of your client, but at most a second class version. You also have to conform to the rules, such as things listed in an employee handbook, for both your client and your employer.

If you aren't independent, you also lose your connection with your real employer - your consulting company. It's really hard to maintain a connection with your company. I'm extremely fortunate that my employer does an excellent job at making me feel like I'm an owner of the company, and not just a stooge out in the world making them money.

Another issue is who owns your equipment. I'd prefer to work on my own machine when I'm on-site, but usually decisions like that are beyond my control. The next best thing is to use portable apps to protect your privacy and reduce your footprint on your client's hardware.

On the flip side, one of the good things about working on-site is that your client (usually) knows exactly what you've been working on and will be aware of the reasons behind delays or issues that pop up. If you're working on-site and you have the problem Christopher mentioned where the client thinks you're "just typing all day" then you've got other deeper issues that working off-site won't fix.

Visibility is an important thing, as is being close to your clients. Working on-site gives you that visibility.

Labels: misc

I call the few business days between Christmas and New Year the "Holiday Hump", kind of like people call Wednesday the "Hump Day". We're in the midst of the holiday hump here. A long Christmas weekend is out of the way, but I still have the in-laws descending on my house this weekend, and whatever we end up doing on new year's eve.

I have neglected this blog, and I'm considering making it my new year's resolution. I'm still really into reading various blogs, even if the RSS feeds I subscribe to have changed over time. I still enjoy reading Joel Spolsky, Jeff Atwood, Leon Bambrick, K. Scott Allen, and others, but those are the first that came to mind.

I suppose I started this blog because I wanted to be able to contribute to the community like these other people have inspired me, but I've found that writing doesn't come as easily to me as I'd hoped. Also, I realized that blogging is life for some people and it's just a supplement for me. I still think I have things to contribute from time to time, but I also have been working on such mundane things lately that nothing has come up.

It will be really interesting to see what pops up once the current project I'm working on is up, and into the new year. This project is due the first week of January, but we'll see about that. I was complete with code, had the design documents updated, had started on a user guide and had my one resource doing unit testing and working on example configurations when I was blindsided on Friday morning. I should have seen it coming, but there has been totally new functionality added to the requirements. Requirements being a non-existent document. I'm not really upset about the change of scope because I've had to deal with it plenty of times in the past, but I'm not sure what will happen if I don't meet the deadline. Things are so disorganized here that I really have no idea.

Holiday hump, project hump (almost), and unsure about what the new year will bring. In the face of all of this uncertainty, I'm still blessed with a loving family and I still love what I do. Maybe I don't need any new year's resolutions after all.

Labels: misc

Last night was shaping up to be a pretty dull Halloween. My son wasn't feeling well (probably just teething) and with the rain and temperature dropping, we decided to not go out for trick or treat. At this age, he wasn't looking forward to it, so it's not like he even noticed.

Then, at 8pm, we heard two gunshots outside our house. They were 5 or 7 seconds apart. After the first one, I thought it might have been a backfire from the state route just on the other side of our neighbor's house. But the second gunshot convinced me of what they were. I tried calling the neighbor whose house was in the direction of the gunshot, but got no answer. His lights weren't on and we suspect that he might even be out of town. Our neighbor on the other side heard the gunshots too, and agreed that they were gunshots, not something else.

I called 911 and the police showed up about 8:17pm. The first officer parked in our driveway and approached our front door with his hand on his gun, still holstered. There was a second police cruiser on the road that stopped in front of our house. I opened the front door and told the officer what we heard, but stayed inside. The officer said that they'd go check out the neighbor's property, and he took off across my front lawn. The other officer stayed in his cruiser and drove over to in front of the neighbors house.

They searched the neighbor's property, the first officer on foot, and the second using the spotlight on his cruiser. About 5 or 6 minutes later the first officer came back to say that they didn't find anything. The neighbor's house was secure and they didn't find any bullet holes in the windows or walls of the house. The officer also verified that the cars parked in the neighbor's driveway were ones that I'd expect to be there. There was nothing else for them to do at that point and the officer told me not to hesitate calling 911 if anything else happened. The officers then hurried away. I got the impression that they were probably pretty busy on a Halloween night.

All in all, I think the police showed up fairly quickly and did a good job investigating the incident. I don't like not knowing what actually happened, but at this point I don't think I'll ever know. My wife thinks that it might have been someone just shooting out of their car as they drove by, but I don't think that was what happened because the shots were too far apart to be coming from a moving car and not sound differently. I still haven't gotten a call back from the neighbor whose house the shots sounded like they came from, but maybe that will provide more insight.

Labels: misc