Switchable Graphics on Lenovo T400
I have had Windows 7 Pro on my laptop for about a month and I couldn't be happier with how well it runs. In fact, I just posted an article on Experts Exchange about how to get your Thinkpad up and running on Microsoft's latest OS. For those of you that don't want to take the jump to EE (or don't have an account with them), I have copied the article I wrote here as well. more…
.NET 4.0 and Nant,NUnit
After my recent post on Atlassian's "Starter Licenses" for their products, I decided to finally set up a Continuous Integration server at my house for a few projects I am working on. I use NUnit at work and the Bamboo community thinks very highly of Ross Rowe's .NET Builder plugin (using Nant). However, it seems that both NAnt and NUnit don't play nice with my development environment: namely, Visual Studio 2010 Beta 2. There are a few resources out there on getting Nant and Nunit set up, but I wanted to go through the changes I needed to make to get the tools working with the new framework. Let's start with NAnt! more…
Atlassian drops the $10 bombshell
As many developers know, one of the biggest hurdles to productivity is communication. Oftentimes, engineers tend to lean on the side of intraversion (learn more about the 10 Types of Programmers here). That said, Atlassian’s collaboration and development tools help to keep teams talking (well, at least communicating) and working as efficiently as possible. However, until now the tools have leaned towards the expensive side: around $1200USD for 25 users. That is, until now. more…
Microsoft’s (Free) Winodws 7 Launch Event
Here is something to get a little excited about: Microsoft is holding launch events around the country and providing free copies of their latest operating system, Windows 7, to attending IT professionals.
Choose from two AM and two PM tracks depending on the kind of work you do or what you are interested in. As for me, I am checking out the Windows 7 developer track in the AM and the Windows 2008 R2 track in the PM.
The best part about this whole event is that it is free. As a young developer, I am keen on any opportunity to chill with like-minded nerds.
Check out the link for more information on the where and when: http://www.microsoft.com/business/thenewefficiency/Chicago/default.aspx
Turnkey Linux: Deployment on Steroids
There are so many options out there for web applications, it is almost mind-numbing. For content management systems there is Drupal, Joomla!, Mambo, ModX and dozens more. There are web application frameworks like the python-powered Django or Ruby on Rails. Even basic web development typically requires a myriad of applications to get much of anything off the ground: the Apache webserver (if you are an open-source kinda person), PHP, CGI and Perl for server-side functionality. There have been so many instances where I just wanted an application up and running for testing and I didn’t want to muddle through installation and configuration. I just want to make it work so I can get developing. Enter TurnKey Linux. more…
Programming shortcuts: .NET’s double-edged sword
It’s not uncommon for my co-workers and I to talk about how to shorten syntax and use some of the new features of C# 3.0 in our codebase. Recently, a friend suggested we try and use autoproperties exclusively. However, what started as a way to save two or three lines of code per instance became a lesson in why such shortcuts can lead to serious headaches.
derekheiser.com, wordpress redesign
With a little over six months since release, derekheiser.com had more-or-less served its purpose to get me a job. Having said that, I figured if I had the opportunity to make more of my web presence, I might as well.
Despite having a full time job, I am always looking for new experiences to broaden my programming repertoire. Also, my job as a full-time software developer affords me the ability to write about new and exciting programming topics (yes, they are indeed out there!)
So with the help of wordpress, I am converting the site from just a static “hire me” webpage to a dynamic “learn from me (and maybe hire me)” website.
