An OS(X) transitioning to the cloud.

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Anyone who knows me will know that I am not much of an Apple fanboi.  I used to own an iPhone 4, but switched to Windows Phone over a year ago and haven’t looked back. I also own a MacBook Pro that solely runs Windows 7.

However, today Apple announced OS X “Mountain Lion” and I am 100% totally blown away at what it represents.

Apple are doing something so very very right in the OS world.  They are transitioning to delivering a traditional PC OS in a cloud world… and doing it well.  Basically this boils down into two things that blow me away:

  • Smaller, shorter releases each year
  • Cloud features baked into the OS.

Moving to a yearly (min) release cycle with smaller set of features is critical for keeping pace with what is going on in the world.  Being able to take advantage of new services etc…

Baking in the Cloud deeply into the OS e.g. saving/opening to/from iCloud via standard OS open/save dialogs is fantastic & means developers don’t need to do that work in their apps. 

This all might seem very simple and obvious, but doing these two things in software as complex as an OS is no mean feat.

More importantly, getting a company the size of Apple to agree internally, agree on a strategy and push in a direction like this, is in my view, the real accomplishment here.  This will pay dividends for them in the next few years.

I have high hopes for Microsoft’s forthcoming Windows 8 to make similar advances.  They just have to.

You can read more about the release here: http://daringfireball.net/2012/02/mountain_lion

-CJ.

Can Microsoft overcome the smartphone app gap?

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I recently did an interview for  piece in the Puget Sound Business Journal and the article by Skip Ferderber was also posted to TechFlash.

http://www.techflash.com/seattle/2012/02/can-microsoft-overcome-the-smartphone.html

I really enjoy developing My Trips for Windows Phone.  The platform and tools are extremely easy to pick up if you are an existing .Net developer.  I had never written a mobile application before and was up and running in a short period of time.

If you are a developer or know how to code, go grab the free developer tools and start building!  http://create.msdn.com

We are hiring…

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We are starting the hunt for our first Seattle/Bellevue based staff.  The first role we are posting is for passionate developers who know their way around the MS development stack.

Here are the details…

[Update: here is the official posting on the Provoke site: http://provokesolutions.com/about/job01.html]

INTERMEDIATE SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS – BELLEVUE, WA

Don’t bother joining one of the large, faceless and boring big software companies in the Seattle/Bellevue area; instead join a small and vibrant multi-national software development consultancy that will treat you like the great developer you are and not another commodity.

Provoke are looking for self-starters who live and die by the thrill of working through a coding problem and love applying their art to solve complex real-world challenges.

THE ROLE

As a developer at Provoke you will focus on designing, building and delivering world-class software solutions on the Microsoft technology stack. You will be working on a variety of web, mobile and cloud software solutions.

We are looking for someone who prides themselves on a high level of understanding of any of the following technologies:

  • Mandatory: C#, ASP.Net, WCF/Web Services, HTML, CSS, JavaScript/JQuery, XML, MS-SQL
  • Bonus Points: SharePoint, Windows Phone, Mobile Web toolkits like Sencha Touch/Kendo UI

In order to deliver the high quality of standard required you will have a minimum of two years’ experience in a software developer position (or the temperament and ability to show us you are a rockstar regardless).

You will have strong problem solving skills, the ability to multi-task projects, and have a good understanding of standard systems development lifecycle processes in order to apply Provoke’s methodology effectively on project engagements.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU?

Provoke offers excellent pay (base and bonus package), exceptional benefits (including medical, dental, vision, PTO) and perks. Being a multi-national company with offices in exotic locations such as New Zealand travel is also a possibility. Provoke offers training and development opportunities such as attendance at conferences and conventions to ensure you stay on the top of your game.

Our Bellevue office is conveniently located in the heart of the downtown.

ABOUT PROVOKE

Founded in 2001 with the mission to create compelling and valuable web experiences, Provoke Solutions has become a world leader in online development, mobile solutions and experience design consultancy.
Provoke has a rich pedigree in design-led software development and have core competencies in; portals and collaboration, content management, search, mobile, cloud applications, unified communications and business intelligence. They offer the full suite of services, from strategic consulting, through to design, development and integration.
A long-term Microsoft Gold partner, in 2011 Provoke’s industry-leading work and commitment to innovation were rewarded with being named as Microsoft Country Partner of the Year for New Zealand.

CONTACT US TODAY

[contact-form subject=”Job Posting Contact”] [contact-field label=”Name” type=”name” required=”true” /] [contact-field label=”Email” type=”email” required=”true” /] [contact-field label=”Website” type=”url” /] [contact-field label=”Comment” type=”textarea” required=”true” /] [/contact-form]

Provoke Solutions Inc. is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. Applicants are considered for all positions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, ancestry, marital or veteran status.

New Zealand and Australian SharePoint Conferences 2012

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SharePoint has one of the most vibrant and amazing communities in the tech industry.  Meeting people and talking about everything from the latest techie thing you are working on to how your running is going is all part of the entertainment, education & bonding when attending a SharePoint conference anywhere in the world.

imageIf you are in the New Zealand or Australia region of this fine planet imagearound the latter half of March and you are interested in SharePoint, I urge you to attend the New Zealand SharePoint Conference 2012 or the Australian SharePoint Conference 2012.  These are two excellent grass roots events organized by some of the dedicated community leaders and MVPs from the area.

They just released their agendas: Australia, New Zealand  and they have a fantastic line up of speakers from all over the world.

I am privileged to be heading down and will be speaking at both events on building online applications in a hybrid world and sharing some stories and thoughts with you in a keynote.

Register via the event sites below:

http://www.sharepointconference.co.nz

http://www.sharepointconference.com.au

If you are attending, come and say hi.

-Chris.

Why, I think, My Trips has high a customer rating…

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As you may, or may not, know I build a fairly well used TripIt.com Windows Phone application called My Trips.  It all started as a side project when I switched from an iPhone to Windows Phone & there wasn’t a tripit app out at the time.image

Well as time has gone on (over a year in the marketplace now), it’s had really good reviews (currently 4.5 out of 5 stars).  And I have a theory on why … (other than it being a kick ass app of course!)

I get very little negative feedback in the review system.  Why is this?  Well I think its because I highly encourage My Trips users to engage with me when they have any questions, feedback or concerns.  How do I do that?  A couple of different ways that are not rocket science:

  • Contact info in the About page in My Trips (email, web, twitter)
  • Twitter comments & replies to people moaning about the official TripIt.com app on Windows Phone.
  • Automated feedback if something bad happens in the app.

The third one is really what I think has made ALL the difference in My Trips.  Here is what I mean by “Automated Feedback”.

If something bad happens in My Trips and my code doesn’t cope with it (poor coding on my part) then I catch the Exception in the Unhandled Exception handler and do something with it.

  1. Log all the exception information to Isolated Storage for the record
     
  2. Prompt the user with a Message Box that says “Something bad happened :(“  and “Would you like to report this problem so we can fix it?”
  3. If they click “OK” then it creates an email with things like a stack trace, and other environmental information in it.  All they have to do it click send.

Most of the time a user clicks “OK” and sends me a bug report (not often any more … but in the beginning I got quite a few).

This means two things happen…

Firstly, they don’t go running to the Marketplace and leave a bad review because they have already sent feedback (to me).

Secondly, I take the bug reports REALLY seriously and I try to fix them ASAP.  I reply and tell them I am looking into it & once I have found and fixed it I reply and say “Thanks again for reporting the issue” and that it will be fixed in the next update.  They feel good because the problem is fixed and that someone listened to them.

So what the real moral of the story here? … actively engage your users.  Especially if something bad happens to their experience in your application.

Its easy to do and I would urge everyone who writes apps to do something like this.

@toddbaginski also put me onto another service called bugsense that helps you record issues and errors in much the same way.  They have a Windows Phone plugin too!

This is the out of the box unhandled Exception Handler that you need to plug code into in App.cs:

// Code to execute on Unhandled Exceptions
private void Application_UnhandledException(object sender, ApplicationUnhandledExceptionEventArgs e)
{}

Thanks and happy coding…

-CJ.

New job, new blog…

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Kiwi

Out with the old, in with the new …

With my recent change in job I felt it was about time to find a new home on the net.  So welcome to looselytyped.net a spot for all my ramblings.

I hope to continue blogging mostly about SharePoint, being a kiwi abroad & what ever else takes my fancy.

My old blog will continue to live on here, and I am not planning to migrate posts etc…

What’s up with the weird bird?

@ProvokeZoo “animals” pick a mascot that they think best describes them.  There are lions, tigers, snakes, elephants … you name it there is probably one.  I picked the Kiwi which contrary to popular belief isn’t a fruit (take note, Kiwi Fruit are different).  I felt it was a good choice being a New Zealand abroad.  We print our animal on our business cards and so hopfully it will spark up some interesting discussions to.  For example, did you know that they lay the largest egg in relation to their body size of any species of bird in the world?!?!

I hope I will post here more frequently than my old blog.  Hopefully with a little more of my personal note/takes on things and hopefully something you will find interesting.

In the theme of out with the old and in with the new … here is my new view over Bellevue from Provoke’s new office location.

Provoke Seattle