Wednesday, September 17, 2003
We here on the Delphi/C#Builder team firmly believe in the term "eating your own dogfood." (I really hate that term, BTW). With that we've moved from an internally developed source-code archiving tool to StarTeam. Our hope is that by providing in-house real-world usage we can help improve the product. There are several of us on the team that have very strong opinions about how a source-code management system should work. This is from years of having to struggle with all the half products out there and also from breaking down an developing our own internal system (let's just say that I know a few things about version-control...).
This transition has not been without its trials... however so far the added benefits of StarTeam are certainly out weighing the pain we are incurring during this transition. I must say that I am certainly impressed with the versatility and configurability of StarTeam. Most of the pain we are incurring is just having to train folks in a few new processes. This is sorta like trying to turn an oceanliner... you have to plan your move in advance and communicate to all involved.
One of the areas in which StarTeam excels in, is in workflow control. StarTeam integrates bug tracking, requirements management, tasks, and developer discussions. These are collectively known as a "process item". By controlling how a "process item" transitions through its various states, you can better insure that things won't slip through the cracks. There's also this really interest "nag" feature in the form in notifications. You can configure an item, such as a Change Request, to notify the responsible developer or manager if the item sits in a certain state for too long. Also, it can be configured such that when a new item is created without an assigned "owner" or responsible person, it will notify a list of users asking each one to accept or decline responsibility. All this is done via email with links to a special web-server on the hosting server.
This is just a small piece of what this system can do for medium to large teams. We also work with many other dev teams located throughout the globe and having a common source-code system has been a clear advantage.
This certainly sounds like a shameless plug... well it is and it isn't... This blog was suppose to include little tidbits about some of the things that happen in the Delphi/C#Builder team. So I figured some insight about what other tools we use would be interesting.
Canon EOS 300D / Digital Rebel Review: 1. Introduction: Digital Photography Review
Canon EOS 300D / Digital Rebel Review: 1. Introduction: Digital Photography Review
A coworker just stopped by and told me about the new Canon EOS 300D. I've had my eye on the EOS 10D for a while... now I might have to rethink that. This thing is essentially a 10D with fewer "pro" level features... all for $899! vs. $1499 for the 10D.
Art Watch - September 7, 2003 - MP3s Are Not the Devil - The Ornery American
Orson Scott Card has this very reasonable retort to all the shenanigans that the RIAA is pulling as of late. Couldn't have said it better myself...
So far I haven't really missed using NewsGator for reading news groups now that it has expired... However I do kinda miss the RSS feeds from other bloggers out there... Looks like I might have to go ahead and register it...
Monday, September 15, 2003
Oh, BTW.. I was all excited about the device coming with Windows Mobile 2003... well it doesn't. I obviously mis-read the offer... no big deal. It did come with some dev tools from ViewSonic and also the Compact Framework. This was on a separate CD install and the CF was not pre-installed on the device. All the marketing and offer collateral certain gave the impression that it would be pre-installed... but hey it was free so I'm not about to complain.
OK, after playing with the ViewSonic V37 Pocket PC and comparing it to my Dell Axm X5.
My first impressions of the V37 were largely positive. It is certainly thinner and lighter than the X5. The screen is just a smidgen larger, but you can only see the difference when placed directly next to one another. The brightness and contrast of the display was very good and virtually identical to the X5. It has a reasonable feel in the hand, however it does feel a little more delicate or flimsy. The Axim has rubber grips down the side that give it a solid, slip-free feel in the hand. If my hands are a little dry and slick, the V37 feels like it might be able to slip from my hand.
The only standard expansion slot is an SD slot in the middle of the top of the device. It does support SDIO which is just now an emerging standard for using an SD slot for things other than memory, much the same way that Compact Flash slots are now used for a myriad of non-memory devices. They included some collateral in the box that offered an 802.11b SDIO card. However when I went to their site it is still not available. What is taking so long to get the SDIO devices onto the market? Wireless SDIO cards were announced almost a year ago to be shipping Q1 of this year.
I transfered my 128 Meg SD card from the Axim to the V37 and it immediately recognized it and was able to read it just fine (I would hope so...). I have some programs on the SD card and so I ran them. They seemed to load faster on the V37 than they do on the X5. Probably because the SD slot is a newer design and uses the full 4-bit transfer, although I don't have any hard facts on this.
The V37 does't have a user-replaceable battery like the Axim so you are probably stuck with sending the device to a repair center for a battery replacement. However battery technology these days is getting better all the time so I imagine that the built-in battery will give several years of useful life. I also have not run any battery run-down tests so I can't give any details on the battery life.
The docking stand is fairly small and lightweight. This is both good and bad. The connector on the docking stand is fairly tight so you have to hold the base with one hand and undock the device with the other. It is also for this reason, the docking stand is more portable so you can more easily take it with you. The Axim docking stand is a beast. It is very heavy and allows one-handed un-docking. It also has a slot in the back to allow you to keep a second battery charging which contribute to the weight.
Since the V37 and the Axim both use a 400Mhz XScale, I can't say that one performs any faster than the other. They seem to be on par with each other.
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Disclaimer:
The opinions expressed here are mine. They should in no way be construed as being the opinion of my employer,
Borland Software Corp. If you actually think that my opinions are a reflection of Borland, then I have a bridge I can sell you.
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