A Brave New World
Jan 12th
After much thought and consideration, I have decided to change the engine the runs my blog to from BlogEngine.NET to WordPress. I must admit, so far I am impressed. It has been really easy to use and the set-up was a breeze. I am going to spend the next few days learning all the new features, and importing my old blog posts. More posts soon.
What is Microsoft Silverlight?
Jul 4th
Microsoft Silverlight is a technology that allows you to create an RIA (Rich Internet Applications);that run in a web page.
When the silverlight plug has been installed into a web browser, browsing to any site that has Silverlight application in it will cause the browser to download and execute the application in the Silverlight plugin. This could be used to display anything from a menu system, advertising banners, games or video. It is really up to the author to decide how creative they want to be.
Another way to look at Silverlight is that it is akin to Adobe Flash. The most compelling thing about it is; if you are already writing applications using the Microsoft .net platform, you are going to be able to pick Silverlight up and run with it very quickly. Silverlight seperates logic from presentation by using XAML for the layout and display, and code behind files such as .cs and vb, to implement the logic and drive what the application needs to do. Silverlight is based on the Microsoft.NET Common Language Runtime.
Now that I have finished the look and feel of my website, I'm going to create a few simple Silverlight applications to enhance it and give it a bit more eye candy, and share with you how each application has been put together.
See you for part one in the next post.
Social Networking – Speeding Up The Information Super Highway
Jun 5th
Something has become very apparent to me over the last couple of months while using Twitter. It’s very valuable. While web sites and RSS feeds give us much of what we want, there is nothing like hearing news from someone standing next to you. It's more personal, more direct, and you tend to be gripped by it. This is what Twitter brings to the table. Granted, some people just don’t get it, but this is the same with all new thinking; you have to give it a chance.
Personal Live News
Is exactly what twitter brings you. My job is writing computer software. It's a constantly changing landscape, and if you want to remain employable in my profession, you have to make sure that you are keeping up with the latest trends in the industry. All of the people I follow are in the same profession as me. It may not sound very exciting or very social, but it is. Myself, and my fellow tweeter's are all in the same game, and as such, all of the information we share is related. A direct consequence of this is, that someone may tweet something that I have never heard of with a link. I can click that link and be taken to the article they were reading on the web. The effect; I learn about something I didn’t know, and I didn’t have to search for it. The news came from someone with similar vested interests as me and as a result, is valuable.
My top tip for using twitter: Try to connect with people in the same group as you. Whatever your group may be, I can guarantee there are people on Twitter that like what you like and you may just get something valuable out of it.
Progwizz is a software developer who has been writing code for the internet and the desktop for the last ten years. He is also pretty good at server configuration and IT, and has a weakness for gadgets.