03 Jan 2013

Which .NET Mocking Framework Do You Prefer?

Surveys, Testing
We are preparing to evaluate mocking frameworks that support .NET to determine if our current mocking framework is still the best solution for us.  Before we actually start the evaluation, we’d like to get a general idea of which .NET mocking frameworks are popular amongst developers out in the rest of the world. To aid in this endeavor, we have created a simple survey with two questions (or three, depending on how you answer the first question).  Essentially, the survey asks which of the following .NET mocking frameworks is your primary (or preferred) framework.  The list of frameworks is comprised…
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02 Jan 2013

A Backup Strategy

Guidance, OneDrive, Windows 8
Anyone using computers for any amount of time knows that backups are a must.  We’ve all heard or read that it’s not if your hard drive fails but rather when your hard drive fails you’ll wish you had backed up your files.  However, history has taught me that it’s not always a failed hard drive that makes me run to my backups but the more likely catalyst is my own actions.  For example, have you ever re-imaged a computer, thinking you’ve backed up everything you considered important, only to realize five minutes after installing the operating system that you forgot…
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26 Dec 2012

My Smartphone Past

For Fun, General News
While off for the Christmas holiday, I decided it was time to clean up my home office.  While it’s quite easy to get rid of some junk (e.g. dozens, if not hundreds, of MSDN CDs/DVDs from 8 years ago) some items from my personal gadget history are harder to part with.  Let’s take smartphones, for example.  For those of us who have used and relied on smartphones for years now you know all too well how attached you might become to a specific device.  It kind of makes sense, I suppose, since you use the device multiple times a day…
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16 Dec 2012

Support and Suggestion Links for Visual Studio and Windows Phone

Visual Studio, Windows Phone
This post is as much for my benefit as it is for anyone else :-)  Although I have frequented all of the sites referred to below, it sometimes takes me a minute or two to come up with the link.  Being able to reference this blog post just might save me a little time in the future.  Along with that, it may also point out a few support sites that you weren’t aware of. The links below are specific to Visual Studio and Windows Phone.  As these are two of the most common technologies that I interact with on a…
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12 Dec 2012

Team Foundation Sidekicks for TFS 2012

TFS, Utilities
If you make use of Team Foundation Server and you don’t have Attrice’s Team Foundation Sidekicks in your toolbox, you should!  I have been using the Team Foundation Sidekicks for years now and would hate to be without them.  As of today, Attrice has made available a new version compatible with Team Foundation Server 2012 – both the on premises version as well as the Team Foundation Service (i.e. Microsoft’s cloud offering for TFS). From their blog: This release functionality is mainly identical to the version of Sidekicks for Visual Studio 2010, with support of TFS both on premise and…
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24 Nov 2012

//build/ 2012 100GB SkyDrive Voucher Never Expires

General News, OneDrive
For those lucky enough to attend the //build/ conference this year, you not only received a Microsoft Surface RT tablet PC and a Nokia Lumina 920 smartphone but also a voucher for 100GB of additional SkyDrive storage. After applying my voucher code to my existing SkyDrive account, I had a total of 125GB of storage. The extra 100GB shows up as an "enthusiast bonus" as shown here: Naturally, the first question I had after adding the additional storage was - Does the Enthusiast Bonus ever expire? After posting my question to the SkyDrive forums and not getting an answer after…
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20 Nov 2012

My Premise on Premises

General News
I want to start this post out by stating that I am not normally one to get hung up on specific terminology.  In general, if everyone understands the intent and direction of a given conversation (or a topic being read) then the end goal has been accomplished.  However (there is always a “however”, right?), for as long as I can remember, I have also had a tendency to judge written articles, e-mail messages, etc. based upon the number of misspelled and/or misused words – keeping in mind that I am not a grammar or spelling expert. That said, there has…
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30 Oct 2012

(At Least) 5 Things I Hope to Learn at //Build/ 2012

Conferences
Now that //Build/ 2012 is finally upon us, there are a few things I’ve been wondering about that I hope to finally learn more about this week.  These items include: What's new in the Windows Phone 8 SDK.  Although there have been leaked versions of the Windows Phone 8 SDK, I have not given it much thought because a) It is unlikely the SDK is incomplete, b) You are trusting the SDK has not been tampered with (i.e. I don't want to introduce any malware), and c) I'd simply just rather wait for the official SDK. What's new in Windows…
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