digitalBush

At work we've been using Visual Sourcesafe for nearly 4 years now.  We're a small operation of 3 developers, so it hasn't been too much of an issue.  There have been some pain points, but as a whole things have gone okay with the process.  The reason why this has worked is that most projects were internal and everyone ran the latest bits.  For us, source control was more of a history of what we had changed and when.

Even though we're a small operation, that's no excuse for using a sucky source control product.  While sourcesafe has been okay for our past needs, our current projects are in dire need of a source control upgrade.  The sticking point with sourcesafe was long running projects to overhaul existing software.  Branching and merging in sourcesafe was just too painful (read that as unusuable).  We can't really afford to be making changes to the trunk that make us unable to release bug fixes for a month or two.

Hello Subversion!  We decided to try out Subversion for an application that fit the criteria above.  It's an established project that needs a serious revision to it which was scheduled to take one month.  This project is central to our company's processes, so interim bug fixes are a must.  The project is almost finished and here's what happened with our trial run.  As expected, an "immediate need" fix was requested while we had the application in shambles for the next major update.  We were able to change that code in the trunk and then merge that change with the branch.  The whole process was so effortless that I don't think I can ever look back to sourcesafe.  

I'm officially sold.  The switch to Subversion will be free except for our time.  Subversion is free and VisualSVN Server makes it a snap to setup and integrate into our currect domain.  TortoiseSVN and AnkhSVN handle our client needs and Visual Studio integration.  If you are a sourcesafe user, run (don't walk) away!  The grass is greaner on the other side.

I took the plunge and bought myself the new 3G iPhone.  I've had it about a week, so I wanted to share my impressions with you all.

Photo courtesy of originalgoast

Why Did I Do It?

For the past 3 years I've been using handed down phones from other people in my company.  They were free, but sucky.  I decided that I wanted a phone that was suitable to read email and actually be able to respond.  I have about 12 gigs of music that I toted around on a 5th gen iPod, and this was an chance to consolidate.

What Do I Like?

First off, the phone looks awesome.  I like the design. I like the extra screen real estate that's provided due to the fact that it's touchscreen.  Speaking of the touchscreen, I was pleasantly surprised how well the interface works.  All of the touch gestures are intuitive and interaction with the phone just works.  I haven't gone crazy with the applications, but I have managed to download a couple that are useful.

What I Don't Like

Currently there is a known problem with the current software configuration that will cause 3rd party apps to not startup.  At first I thought this was an application problem, but I just realized today that it's something on Apple's end.  Steve Jobs says it will be fixed this month, so no big deal there.

What Caught Me Off Guard?

I'm a little annoyed about the battery charging situation with my 3rd party accessories.  It turns out that the 3G iPhone won't accept 12v charging that my car charger provides.  It will only charge on the 5V pins that you would get from the USB connection.  This just means that I have to be extra careful when buying new stuff that it says that it's iPhone 3G compatible.

What Would I Change?

I'm not digging the conversation bubble interface with the texting.  I would personally like to see texts in email format.  Then it might make sense to allow multimedia messages.  I'd love to see something like this be configurable.

Conclusion

At present I'm still very satisfied with my purchase.  If the application startup issue gets resolved this month, then I'll be happy.  First and foremost, it's a phone.  It's been doing that part well for me.  I also wanted email, and I've got that.  Lastly, I wanted to have it replace my iPod, and it does that for me also.  So far, it's fulfilled my needs.  Anything else above that is a bonus for me.

I'm typing this blog post from Google's new Chrome browser.  The interface is aesthetically pleasing, but there's more under the hood that will get us where we're going.  

Google's latest development looks to enhance the overall browsing experience by sand-boxing the sites that you visit.  This is important because no longer will a poorly coded site take down the entire browser no more than a poorly coded program will crash the OS.  In my eyes that comparison is ultimately where this browser is heading.  I foresee Google turning Chrome into a bootable browser making low powered machines a thin-client to their web offerings.  

Everyone has been gawking at the built-in task manager, but it's important to notice some of the subtle things this browser is doing.  Right clicking on the url bar gives an option for paste and go.  Doing a find in the document gives indicators in the scroll bar to help you find your way to what you want.  Tabs are draggable and can even be detached from the current window.  There's quite a few goodies here for a beta product.

I'm glad to see so much competition in the browser market.  This encourages innovation and emphasizes the importance of standards compliance.  Right now Google Chrome is just beta, but it shows some promise.  I'm looking forward to watching it's progress.

This is cross-posted from geekintoshape.com.  Since I started this weight loss goal on this blog, I'll continue to post my monthly updates through the end of the year.  If you want to read more about my weight loss adventures, please head on over to Geek Into Shape.

So, last month I sucked it up and only lost one pound. Since I decided to run a 5K race today (more on that later), I spent all of August getting ready for it so I wouldn't die. 3 runs a week sure does help the weight come off! See for yourself.

269.2 lbs! That makes my weight loss for the month about 5.5 lbs. I'm very satisfied with the results and hope that I can continue my momentum into September.

It's not all good news though. I fell off towards the end of the month due to me stressing out. I ended up eating out a lot more than usual at lunch as a result. Also, the running makes me want to snack more and that's not too good either.

My plan for this month is to continue with the running and to try to cut back my eating to what it was. For this month my goal is to lose another 5 lbs.