Mono Project

Mono is a comprehensive open source development platform based on the .NET framework that allows developers to build Linux and cross-platform applications with unprecedented productivity.

Mono's .NET implementation is based on the ECMA standards for C# and the Common Language Infrastructure.

Sponsored by Novell and led by Miguel de Icaza, the Mono project has an active and enthusiastic contributing community. Mono includes both developer tools and the infrastructure needed to run .NET client and server applications

And here you can listen the noted developer Miguel de Icaza talking about the Mono project. Ever wanted to run your .NET applications on Linux or a Mac, check out this show!

By Edge Pereira

Web Projects and Source Control in Visual Studio .NET

Some developers believe that source-code control is a necessary evil. Yet, source-code control is a sound business practice supporting your software development process. In this article you will be shown a real-world step-by-step approach to effectively using Microsoft® Visual SourceSafe® as your source-code control mechanism. In this article, you will be shown how to create a new SourceSafe database, how to check in and check out files, and how to create releases using labels. Take a look about how to use Visual SourceSafe for ASP.NET

No one person can master all the languages, techniques, tools, and processes required to create world-class software applications rapidly and consistently. That's why most professional developers work in teams. Efficiency and economy demand it. In the same way, most software development teams adopt a parallel development methodology that liberates individuals from the constraints of serial development, where one developer completes one task before the next can begin another. Parallel development allows multiple individuals to work in isolation, safely developing the same, or different parts and versions of a project at the same time. To realize the benefits of parallel development, teams must implement processes so that project contributors can expeditiously, incrementally, and sometimes automatically resolve small conflicts before they grow into big ones. Visual Studio .NET can improve a team's ability to cooperate by ensuring adequate developmental isolation.

By Edge Pereira

Researching the new Windows interface

Check a very interesting video from MSDN about the Microsoft Tech Research team.
Those guys are really cool people, with very interesting ideas. But I guess they end up by bending over the Mac platform.
Look at the video of the research they are doing for the new Windows version.

I am not against Microsoft copying things from the competitors. I am a End User, and as far as I am concerned, the more features and navigable paths I have, happier I am.

Design Patterns - Refactoring C# code in VS.Net 2005

Refactoring is a formal and mechanical process, used to modify existing code in such a way that it does indeed become 'better' while preserving the program's intended functionality. In addition to improving a program's overall design, the refactoring process tends to yield code which is far easier to maintain and extend in the long run.

Here it is a very nice article about this matter

And by the way, look at the new VS.Net 2005 interface...just great!!

By Edge Pereira

Rendering ASP.NET controls in Mozilla, Opera, Netscape etc

Stop a while and think with me. Do you guys agree with me that it is a common point that ASP.NET controls should render with no hassle in any browser?
Sure. but lately I haven't seen this happening in my Mozilla FireFox.
The page which is perfect in my IE60; it just looks *terrible* when navigating on Mozilla FireFox.

Doing some research in the net (of course) I found out that ASP.NET by default targets HTML 4.01 and CSS. For other browsers such as Netscape, the ASP.NET browser detection engine classifies them as down-level browsers, so do not be surprised if you see pages rendering in HTML 3.0 when your open-source browser can perfectly show HTML 4.0 content.
To avoid that, add these lines to your web.config:

#browserCaps#
#result type="System.Web.HttpBrowserCapabilities, System.Web, Version=1.0.3102.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a" /#
#use var="HTTP_USER_AGENT" /#
#TagWriter=System.Web.UI.HtmlTextWriter /#
#/browserCaps#
note: # means the opening and closing XML tags... blogger.com does not support XML comments.

That will push HTML 4.0 content, no matter the browser is. Of course, you do not want to force this always I guess, so just play around with browserCaps and you can even make your app be 100% fully compatible with Netscape 6.x or 7, Mozilla 1.0, Opera etc and tell it to always use HTML 4.0

By Edge Pereira

The New Face of the Silicon Age

US jobs are fleeing overseas...

United States
GDP per capita : $35,060
Unemployment rate : 5.8%
Labor force : 141.8 million
Population below the poverty line : 13%
Typical salary for a programmer : $70,000

... and heading to the subcontinent ...

India
GDP per capita : $480
Unemployment rate : 8.8%
Labor force : 406 million
Population below the poverty line : 25%
Typical salary for a programmer : $8,000

Top 5 US Employers in India
General Electric 17,800 employees
Hewlett-Packard 11,000 employees
IBM 6,000 employees
American Express 4,000 employees
Dell 3,800 employees

More to see? Click here

A Good Piece of Advice

...coming from the IBM CEO to the new software companies:
Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It's quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn't as all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it. So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because, remember that's where you will find success.

Thomas J. Watson, Sr.

By Edge Pereira

Longhorn!

For you guys to take a little look about how is becoming the new windows version. Of course, a lot will change since this is a alfa version. But it is interesting to get to see the images (special attentions to the lateral vertical bar)

Versioning Control

So I finally got in touch with some people with really cool ideas about versioning since the Source Safe is a so called 'Sucks-app' (dont know exactly why...except its problems with remote versioning). These are the products I got recommended.
- CVSGui
- Concurrent Versioning Systems
- Perforce (That's a really impressive one, but is paid)

And the cool part: mostly of them are freeware or are under GNU License, it means, open source. God bless the OpenSource movement! Now I hope I can get some work done so I can test them out.

Google Copernicus Center is hiring

Google is interviewing candidates for engineering positions at our lunar hosting and research center, opening late in the spring of 2007. This unique opportunity is available only to highly-qualified individuals who are willing to relocate for an extended period of time, are in top physical condition and are capable of surviving with limited access to such modern conveniences as soy low-fat lattes, The Sopranos and a steady supply of oxygen.

The Google Copernicus Hosting Environment and Experiment in Search Engineering (G.C.H.E.E.S.E.) is a fully integrated research, development and technology facility at which Google will be conducting experiments in entropized information filtering, high-density high-delivery hosting (HiDeHiDeHo) and de-oxygenated cubicle dwelling. This center will provide a unique platform from which Google will leapfrog current terrestrial-based technologies and bring information access to new heights of utility.

Do you want to apply? Click here

Meanwhile, at the hall of the justice...

Can you hear me now??
Ringtones have become a huge business, and this year they have just overtaken the single CDs sale !!! Read more...

Gates Foundation donates US$ 83M to the fight against turbeculosis
He who just doesn't dominate the world, but indeed help to make it better as well. Read more...

Blog this!
The bookmarks that turned a mild-mannered law professor into an Internet rock star. Read more...

At last, the code !!
It took at least 10 years, but then finally someone broke the MS security fronts and exposed the windows source code in the net. Read more...

The largest domain in the world

It os from Whales, which are a well-known crazy people.
Check it here

The Management Game

It tests your entire skill set - people management, resource allocation, strategic analysis and planning. It also tests your courage under fire - can you stand up to the scrutiny of top management along with that of your peers in the industry? Will the decisions you make result in breathtaking profits or devastating losses? Will you enjoy the sweet taste of victory or the bitter agony of defeat? Are you destined for management glory or will you be the kid sitting on the sidelines, waiting for the bell to ring?

Try to find out The Management Game.

By Edge Pereira