Atlanta ASP.Net MVC Developer/ Architect
Technology
Google Reader – Gears and List View
Jul 25th
Shawn (the ADO Guy) pointed me to Google Reader last Summer and that spelled the end of my Blog Lines use. Both are web based readers, and ideal for reading RSS feeds at various computers. It remembers all feeds, and even what has been read from machine to machine, I used to waste time manually catching up in RSS Bandit when moving between my main PC, the Living Room laptop and work.
Be sure to read in List View, this way you can quickly home in on posts that interest you. I have over 100 feeds and Mr. Index Finger was getting pretty tired with the next button, I expected a whopping blister with the video game like rapid fire of next, next, next!
An irksome issue with online based services is they do not work on most planes, trains or automobiles as just like me they lose the plot when an Internet connection is taken away. If you have not heard, Google Gears is a new Google API that hopes to address this. So far Google Reader is the only application I know of to use Google Gears, and it does not support images yet. Interestingly Google Gears was a project conceived in an employees ’20% work on what you like time’. Please, please let someone else’s 20% now be looking at hooking up Gmail and Google Docs and Spreadsheets – these simplified my life albeit with another increased dependence on the Internet.
Microsoft Architecture Journal
Jul 17th
Why was I not aware of this? It is a free quarterly print/web publication, after scanning the back issues it looks more useful than the MSDN Magazine is lately:
Sign up here: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/arcjournal/
PDFs are there too; I just put all the issues on my thumb drive ready for the next Atlantic flight.
Speaking at IASA Atlanta: May 9th
Apr 24th
This should be fun a night, I will kick off with a light hearted look at Cruise Control – it is amazing how many projects still do not use Continuous Integration. My plan is take demos and a few slides – knowing the Architect Group the audience will soon be talking more than me 
Next I will give a more formal presentation on Software Estimation – it will be a little dry, but I expect people in the room will liven it up with amusing tales from the field. We all have tales to tell of estimates which went awry.
The Architects group is really meant for Architects and CTOs with 10+ years experience. Even are you not an Architect (yet!) come along this month and enjoy these basic topics. Be aware that most regulars will call out any BS from presenters, I fully expect to be challenged and hope to learn a lot from other attendees.
The Atlanta IASA website is http://www.iasahome.org/web/atlanta.
We meet at Matrix in Dunwoody:
May 9 – 6:30pm to 8:30pm
Matrix (on the top floor)
115 Perimeter Center Place NE
Suite 250
Atlanta, GA 30346
The office is secure so if you are late knock on the window to the left of the door and someone will let you in.