========================================================= -------- DEVSOURCE -------- ========================================================= October 27, 2004 =========================================================
IN THIS ISSUE: --Let's You And Him Fight --Gearing Up Software Factories --Programming Guidance from the Ubergeeks --Towards Usability: An Interview With Theo Mandel --DirectX and the .NET Programmer --Microsoft Preps Previews of SQL Server 2005 --Discussion Forum: How Do You Decide Which Conference To Attend? ========================================================= Let's You And Him Fight Many years ago, I was an active player of fantasy role-playing games -- the somewhat grown-up version of Dungeons & Dragons. I found FRP a great way to try on a "persona" without getting hurt; the worst that'd happen is that I had to roll up a new character. One important lesson I learned from my FRP days was that it's much safer (and more instructive) to set two opponents at each other (say, the orcs and the demons), sit quietly on the sidelines while they duke it out, and then pick up the booty afterwards. Maybe that's how I ended up as a journalist. I get to sit quietly in technical sessions given by real subject experts, as at last week's Applied XML DevCon, and I can listen to the people who know what they're talking about challenge each other. And, honest, I mean that in a GOOD way. First, they ask better questions than I could ever formulate. But mostly, I'm sick and tired of presentations in which techies talk about how great a new technology is, without acknowledging that isn't quite perfect. Those speakers show how something works, not how it *doesn't* work. (And which situation will you find more frustrating, back at the office?) At this DevCon, presenters not only disagreed (*ever* so entertainingly) but they began to address possible ways to solve the problems. How refreshing! And instead of picking up the loot after the fight, I got to write about the experience, as you'll see in the links below. Boy, do I have a cool job, or what? --Esther Schindler, DevSource editor (and one-time elven archer) ========================================================= Gearing Up Software Factories Microsoft is getting behind generative software development, which aims to let development tools do the grunt-work and write the software for you. At OOPSLA, the company announced the delivery of its first Software Factory components, which plug into the Visual Studio Team System. http://eletters.ziffdavis.com/zd1/cts?d=69-101-11-98-2611-1498-1 ========================================================= Programming Guidance from the Ubergeeks Despite disagreements about XML's warts, developers and technologists at the Applied XML DevCon iterate a recurring theme: programming works best when the standards stay simple. http://eletters.ziffdavis.com/zd1/cts?d=69-101-11-98-2611-1501-1 ========================================================= Towards Usability: An Interview With Theo Mandel It's one thing to try to make your apps easy-to-use for the people who'll work with them every day. It's another to get specific, hard-hitting advice from one of the experts. You're sure to come away from this interview with a to-do list of ways to make your user interface more understandable. http://eletters.ziffdavis.com/zd1/cts?d=69-101-11-98-2611-1504-1 ========================================================= DirectX and the .NET Programmer If you're not programming games or video, should you just forget about DirectX? Not necessarily. http://eletters.ziffdavis.com/zd1/cts?d=69-101-11-98-2611-1507-1 ========================================================= Microsoft Preps Previews of SQL Server 2005 As SQL Server 2005 nears its third beta, Microsoft will release CTPs (Community Technical Previews) to developers. http://eletters.ziffdavis.com/zd1/cts?d=69-101-11-98-2611-1510-1 ========================================================= Discussion Forum: How Do You Decide Which Conference To Attend? What makes you choose one technical conference over another? And just how do you convince the boss you *really* need to go to Hawaii? http://eletters.ziffdavis.com/zd1/cts?d=69-101-11-98-2611-1513-1 ========================================================= eNewsletter Information ========================================================= You are subscribed to the DevSource newsletter with the e-mail address [EMAIL PROTECTED] To change your HTML/text preferences, change your e-mail address or subscribe to other eNewsletters from Ziff Davis Media, click here: http://eletters.ziffdavis.com/zd1/cts?d=69-101-11-98-2611-1516-1 To unsubscribe, click here: http://www.pcmag.com/unsubscribe_newsletter/0,4225,,00.asp?n=87&type=u&sh=y&[EMAIL PROTECTED] Copyright 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Ziff Davis Media Inc., 28 East 28th Street, New York, NY 10016
