It’s easy to think of search (ie searching on Google or Bing) as simply a (boring) research activity. And in turn, to think that all the innovation in search is about providing a ‘better’ result. But what does ‘better’ mean when it comes to search? Joseph Pine’s TED talk on what consumers want is a good insight into how the search game is changing (and hat tip to Michael Gray for the...
It should come as no surprise that search engine usage is increasing – but perhaps the rate of increase will (come as a surprise that is). comScore figures released this month show that search usage (note: includes search engines and related properties) increased by 46% in 2009. Google sites were in the order of 58% increase. That’s significant. How many industries do you know (or...
I loved Sara Ford’s thoughts about coding katas. Yes, most coding should really be referred to as coding kihon (as you practice daily), and coding kumite when you’re deep in a project. Nice one. I also enjoyed Steve Andrew’s post on Shotokan Development that Sara linked to.
Oh, and good luck in your new role Sara.
Some interesting resources noticed recently.
Richard Banks has a writeup about getting Git and TFS Working Together.
Meanwhile Paul Glavich has a nice 180 page free download about .net performance testing and optimisation. It’s part 1 of a new book he’s writing. Download available here.
Bing’s new Finance updates are nice. I guess. Here’s a search for ‘msft’ on Bing. Click on the Investor Data button and you’ll see this: Yep, that’s a charting error. But let’s assume that little issue will be resolved soon (and it may even be something on my machine – there’s a bit of beta stuff installed I have to admit). Clicking on OK gets us to the details: A nice...
I really liked Angus’ recent post on User Stories (Wikipedia link about User Stories here) and how he grapples with question of whether they are even needed. User Stories feature prominently in the upcoming Visual Studio 2010 releases, so you’re sure to hear more about them (in the Microsoft space that is). The value in Angus’ post is how he outlines the issues (and thoughts from a variety...
I’m looking forward to the upcoming Azure launch in Australia, if for no other reason than finally learning what the proper pronunciation is :-) Is it a-zue-er or is it azsh-or ? Tuesday Feb 23 in Sydney is the official launch. Mark your calendars! But for added goodness, get along to a user group and hear David Lemphers talk about it non-stop (that’s right he scales!). Andrew Coates has all...
Good to see that the new dates for the Australian ALM Conference have been confirmed (as per organizer Anthony Borton’s blog post on Monday). It’s now set for 13-14 April 2010 at Luna Park (in Sydney). The conference has a great line up of sessions and speakers, and will be the official Australian launch of Visual Studio 2010. There’s also training and stuff after the event. The cost is...
Yes, it’s a little early, but I thought I’d get in with my blogging resolution for next year. I’m going to link more. I used to write a lot of shorter link posts here pointing to sites, news and blogs I thought useful. But with social networking popularity and Twitter in particular most of my linking over the last year has been via those channels. This is easier for me, more consumable by...
The true test of any company, product or service is in their Christmas message right? (I’m joking). So let’s consider how Microsoft adCenter and Google AdWords stack up against each other. I spend a fair bit of money with each, so it’s reasonable to expect something useful in the Inbox at Christmas time. Microsoft AdCenter First up, Microsoft adCenter. Here’s the message I received a few...