GIT Tortoise

I've recently moved all my projects to GIThub.com This is mainly due to the fact the popularity gain by GITHub compare to Google code. I was a big fan of Tortoise SVN and luckily it is now available for GIT as well. You can download it from the following location:
https://code.google.com/p/tortoisegit/

Also if anyone wants to use GIT with Visual Studio, here is how;

1. Install GIT for windows
https://code.google.com/p/msysgit/downloads/list?q=full+installer+official+git

2. Install GIT source control provider
http://gitscc.codeplex.com/

and your done! Don't forget to select GIT from the VS Source control settings.

Google Buzz

After months of inactivity, I finally decided to disable buzz. Sorry but I’m no longer on Buzz.

Reducing number of news streams helps me to focus on things which are relevant and important. By disabling buzz I reduced my social focus to Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and Facebook. I also reduced people I follow in Twitter. Last few months I was overloaded with few things and could not read as much I used to.

I’m not a big fan of Facebook, so I will be mainly using my twitter account for updates. And those updates will be automatically added to my Google+, LinkedIn and Facebook accounts. So if you’re interested, Twitter will be my main source for updates. Follow me @ludmal

Is Silverlight really dead?

When Silverlight initially released I was skeptical about it. It was meant to replace Adobe Flash back then. There were quite a few arguments I had with my colleagues about Silverlight and its future. But today, after 4 years of Silverlight’s initial release how many web sites do we see in Silverlight?

The future of the web depends on HTML 5 and Javascript. Open standards and 3rd party libraries are the main reasons for this adaption. I clearly don’t see a potential for another technology. However I’m really impressed with Windows 7 Mobile and MVC from Microsoft. I see a potential in terms of web and mobile. I also heard that Microsoft is working on a new UI application model --“Jupiter” which is simlier to Windows 7 Mobile.

Visual Studio LightSwitch

New product in Visual Studio family to create rapid data-centric applications for both desktop and cloud.

Resources:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/lightswitch
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/hh335065.aspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/hh335061.aspx

Hope this helps!

Follow me at twitter @ludmal for quick updates

Moving your business into the Cloud

Cloud computing is ideal for medium and small scale business. Most of the large scale businesses however, are reluctant to move into the cloud. Mostly because they have already invested on their IT infrastructure or fear of exposing their corporate data. Entrepreneurs are finding cloud computing is more beneficial to their businesses. Mainly because to start their businesses with minimum cost on IT infrastructure.

In Cloud Computing--computing power is used like water or electricity, pay only for usage. This has gained significant benefits for businesses. Scalability is vital for any business and cloud computing allows them to grow computing power with minimum cost. Business can run the IT infrastructure without support of internal tech staff hence save money on payroll.

Drawbacks of using cloud computing are very low compare to its benefits. However, service outages are a major drawback on cloud computing. But those outages are significantly low with major service providers like Google, Salesforce and Amazon.

It is vital for businesses to keep their operation costs to minimum. By moving to cloud computing businesses can gain significant benefits like low operation cost, scalability and availability. For example Google Apps for Business is ideal cloud solution for an small and medium scale business.

Most of my personal projects will be retired soon

Finally, I decided to retire most of my personal projects. It was too long ago I developed those software projects and it is time now to put them aside and move on with new ideas. Some of the projects however never actually completed. Following are the projects which are going to retire end of this month and domains are already on sale. Please let me know if anybody interested in purchase.

boilcode.com / codeswave.com – Online code snippet management library for developers.

facebook-stats.com – Facebook statistics such as frequency of updates, user base, top users etc.

twitter-stats.com – Twitter statistics such as frequency of updates, user base, top users etc.

groupon.lk – Groupon.com like site for Sri Lanka, i.e. to get best deals in town.

newsflippers.com – This project is actually similar to http://fastflip.googlelabs.com/. Currently the concept still remains but with a different presentation in my new project www.channells.com

prodznet.com – An effort to categories the cheap and best products by price and user reviews on the internet.

qnote.us – Online notepad with offline writing ability.

webexten.com – Replacement for extensible-web.com but decided to keep the name as it is—extensible-web.com

However my XWT Framework project , Extensible-web and Channells.com site still in active development, also some of my new ideas yet to be released.

All the above domains are for sale, but if anybody requires source code please email me and I would be more than happy to send them.

SOA

Most of the IT guys must have heard the term “SOA”, but there are very few who understand the concepts of it. There are many aspects to SOA in various standpoints. For example a view on SOA can be different from a Business owner to a Technical architect. SOA is not simply a “Web Service”. It is a design paradigm—to develop software as a service.

In technical perspective, it is to expose application functions as services so that the various applications can communicate each other regardless of the various platforms and boundaries. It is an architectural approach which matured from component oriented development and object oriented development.

In business perspective, it is an application design paradigm which will eventually increase the business ROI and reduce the TTM (Time to Market). Business process changes can be easily reflected on the application functions with minimal time & effort. It can also reduce the cost of application maintenance and integration.

SOA is not just a technical artifact—it is a design paradigm which embraces separation of concern and reuse.

Let's make the web faster

This is very useful for web developers, Tips and Tricks to improve web application performance. (obviously from Google) http://code.google.com/speed/articles/

Ludmal.net in Chrome store

I just submitted ludmal.net to chrome web store. You can install it from here and please don't forget to leave a comment. :-)

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/clcenpmkmbdaglnanmdcginkhmhphdog

Why moving to Cloud?

Internet is everywhere and literally it is impossible to survive without internet. Moving to cloud is a smart decision I've made. I have all my documents, photos & projects on Dropbox and I have access to those with my Mac, Office PC and iPhone whenever, wherever required. But while I encourage my friends to move in to the cloud, there are some frequently asked questions. Have a look at them and my answers.


Question: What is the guarantee that my data wont be lost?
Answer: Well, what is the guarantee that your hard disk wont break or your laptop wont get stolen?


Question: Is my data secure? 
Answer: Is your data secure today anyway? what happens if somebody steal your laptop or  hack to your computer. The best practice is not to save any of the confidential data on laptops or personal computers. (Credit Card, Bank account or Passwords)


Question: But I need internet to access to cloud?
Answer: You don't have to connect to internet 24/7 to access your data. For example www.dropbox.com provide an easy way to sync your local folders with their cloud service. So online or offline you will have access to your data.


Question: Why should I move to cloud?
Answer:

• how many times you wanted to send your resume or a document but had to wait until you go home and access your home PC? 
• how many times do you take backups or photos or docs?
• what happens if your hard disk burnt or someone steal your laptop?
• what if you want to share a document with your friend and work with him/her collaboratively?
• how much hassle to go through if you want to re-install your PC?
• how hard is to find a photo of your last vacation?
• how many times do you send emails just to access a file on the go?

By answering to the above questions, if you already feel unsecured or unorganized then move in to The Cloud. 

Email me if you need any assistance or consultation on how to setup your working environment. 

Read my other relevant posts;

http://www.ludmal.net/2010/11/anywhere-anytime-on-any-device.html

http://www.ludmal.net/2010/12/how-to-manage-your-code.html

http://www.ludmal.net/2010/12/transformation.html

Install drop box - http://db.tt/2fpKw7n

Blogger Views

Have a look at new blogger views:

http://www.ludmal.net/view/snapshot

You can change the views from the top left corner.

Download Google SEO Guide

Download the Google's SEO Guide : http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2010/09/seo-starter-guide-updated.html

Few ways to improve Visual Studio Performance.

Few ways to improve Visual Studio Performance.

1. Switch off Auto Recovery. Tools > Options > Environment > Auto Recovery
2. Show empty environment at start up. Tools > Options > Environment > Start up
3. Disable HTML Validations. Tools > Text Editor > HTML > Validation (clear Show Errors check box)
4. Switch off Animate environment tools. Tools > Environment > General
5. Turn off Track changes. Tools > Text Editor ( clear Track Changes check box)
6. Uninstall startup plugins. (if you install any)
7. For C#, disable Navigation bar. Tools > Text Editor > C# (clear Navigation bar check box)
8. Set HTML Designer to Source View. Tools > HTML Designer
9. Start Visual Studio from Command prompt. Start > Run > then type “devenv”

2 Week Challenge

It’s been a while that I haven’t posted anything. Busy work life is my usual BS. Anyway, the first month of the year was very tranquil and I was away from my computers most of the time. My New Year resolution was to take things easy, but realized without challenges life would be bored.

So I decided to start a 2 week challenge. I wanted to keep it short and simple initially, and then to come with more difficult and interesting challenges as I progress. Let see how it goes.

You can also start your own challenge for 2 weeks—if not for a month. For example learning a new programming language or learn to play guitar would be interesting.

API Design

My last technical presentation for the year 2010. The tech talk is about How to design API's. Please find the presentation slides and hope this helps.

How to manage your Code Repository

Managing a personal code repository is not that easy, especially when you have projects of all different technologies. I currently develop applications in Java, Apple & Microsoft. Being a Microsoft guy for a decade I recently moved into other development areas which is pretty interesting and keeps me very busy.

All so often I get this question -- how do I manage my code repository. So thought of writing a small post which might help someone.

I use code.google.com to manage all my projects. The projects I host in code.google.com are my personal projects and I really don’t mind sharing it with public. I use SVN as my source control system. For developers who do not want public access to their source code can use GITHUB paid version which is as similar to code.google.com.

Following is my main Project folder hierarchy;

APPLE
---- IPHONE
---- IPAD
---- MAC
GOOGLE
---- EXTENSIONS
---- APP_ENGINE
MICROSOFT
---- XWT
---- ASP.NET
---- WPF
---- WIN

All of the above projects source are managed by code.google.com. Since I develop for both Apple and Microsoft; I have to use both Mac and Windows OS also three different Development IDE’s -- Visual Studio, XCode and Eclipse.

I use Ankh SVN plugh-in and Tortoise SVN for Visual Studio which is pretty awesome. For XCode and Eclipse I use Versions. All of the above folders are sync with my DropBox private folder, so that even if I don’t have my development PC--I can still continue my work from any PC. Also I have mirrored my local Project folder to a Portable HD. The following diagram will show you the overall setup.

I use Mozy.com for my weekly project backups, so my Projects are well secured from any disaster. I have pretty much the same setup for my other stuff as well. For example, Artworks, Video projects, Scanned docs and so forth.

The main idea behind this setup is to continue my work regardless of where I am. And by mirroring my code with multiple sources guarantee my code safety.

Hope this helps!

Software Design Principles & Patterns

Recently I've done a training session to my office colleagues on Software Design Principles & Patterns. I discussed on the most important design principles and design patterns. Hope it will be useful to you as well.

Gmail – the best example for iteration perfection

When Gmail initially released back in 2004, it was just a simple email system. By giving more storage and Ajax request processing technique made Gmail to gain attention from the users. But Gmail lack most of the functionalities which other email systems provided back then, such as folders or labels.

But today, Gmail is probably the best Web Application on the internet. Throughout the years Google engineers made the Gmail perfect by adding features— at least every month.

As developers, we typically experience the “Add More Features” syndrome. Rather than releasing to the market quickly we keep adding and adding more features to our app, eventually we loose the interest and the product was never released.

Release your app quickly to the market and also release features more often. Through development and release iterations makes your app perfect overtime.

iTunes Connect holiday shutdown

App Store submissions will be closed from 23 December to 29 December. Following is the official email from Apple. Also this only applies to Apple iOS developers.

iTunes Connect will be temporarily shut down from Thursday, December 23 to Tuesday, December 28 for the winter holidays. Access will resume on Wednesday, December 29.

During this shutdown, iTunes Connect will be unavailable. In addition, app releases and pricing changes which are scheduled to take place during the shutdown will be handled as follows:

All releases will not appear in the App Store until Wednesday, December 29. This includes apps scheduled to appear on the App Store for the first time as well as updates to existing apps.

Pricing changes will cause the app to become unavailable for purchase until Wednesday, December 29, at which point the app will become available at the new price. Please check to ensure you have not scheduled any price changes during this time.

Transformation

I still remember the days we wrote software and distributed in Floppy diskettes or CD’s. Back in those days web was merely bunch of static pages which most of the companies used to publish their company profiles.

But in the past few years’ things have changed immensely. People are connected to internet than ever before—we are in the process of transforming to a new technology era.

What does this mean ;

To Users :
People are connected to their loved ones than ever before—Social Networking. They were able to access their personal data such as photos from anywhere in the world.  Their productivity software is no longer limited to their desktop PC.

To Developers :
Developers have huge opportunities through various platforms. They no longer have to waste time on marketing or distributing their software. Apple App store, Windows marketplace, Google App Engine & Chrome App store reaches millions of user’s everyday.