MSDN Blogs

Posts

| |

The Galactic Patrol

I use NewsGator; and love it!

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 0 Comments
I use NewsGator to aggregate blogs so I can read them in Outlook (where I spend much of my time), and also to post to this blog. It is great!

...
The Galactic Patrol

characteristics of testing

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 2 Comments
A new PM just joined my team, and he scheduled time to come talk to me about the role of testing in our product development. While thinking about what I would tell him, the following (possibly unrelated) question popped into my head: "What...
The Galactic Patrol

If a metric falls in the forest, did it make a sound?

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 0 Comments
I heard a comment today that really struck home with me: "If you aren't willing to act on a metric, you might as well not measure it." This makes sense to me, and also strikes a nerve. I know I've seen any number of metrics over...
The Galactic Patrol

An example of Test-Driven Development

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 0 Comments
A fairly long description of a project using TDD can be found at:

http://redsquirrel.com/dave/work/babySteps/#200306

I've skimmed it, and look forward to perusing it in more depth when I have time.

...
The Galactic Patrol

Howdy

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 0 Comments
Ah, the first post on my public blog. I’ve had an internal blog for a couple months now, and I’m ready to break out of my cocoon. <grin> Quick bio: I’ve been at Microsoft for about 7 years, pretty much always on the same team...
The Galactic Patrol

Closing the cycle between test and customers

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 0 Comments
I was thinking about the role of test this morning. We measure the quality of the product - but in some sense we have to take an educated guess what "quality" means. In the end, the customer determines if it is a quality product, and...
The Galactic Patrol

I hate cancer

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 8 Comments
I’m not sure how useful it is to hate a genetic flaw – but I found out recently that my mom has cancer. Earlier this year I found out that my cousin Ben does too. It really leaves me breathless, and asking myself those...
The Galactic Patrol

What dinglehopper are you?

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 0 Comments
I've seen a plethora of web sites recently that give you a small personality quiz, and use the information to associate you with some amusing object or feature. Anyone take the "What OS are you?" quiz? (I'm Win9x - bummer.) ...
The Galactic Patrol

Is test listening to customers?

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 0 Comments
I believe the ultimate arbiter of quality is the customer. In my imaginary world, I wish I could get a list of all the bugs customers will find in our product, go back in time, and fix them before release. Needless to say, there are...
The Galactic Patrol

Athens PC and my phone

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 4 Comments
At the recent WinHEC conference, a prototype PC dubbed 'Athens' was unveiled. One of its features is an attached phone; the computer is supposedly smart enough to mute its other sound output when the phone is in use. This seems very backward...
The Galactic Patrol

"By Design" a desirable resolution?

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 1 Comments
Keith Stobie (a test architect on my team) made a comment recently, along the lines of: "If testers aren't getting some bugs marked 'by design' and 'no repro', then they are probably being too conservative in their bug filing." This intuitively...
The Galactic Patrol

BBC: "Microsoft has announced that new versions of its mouse will be fitted with wheels that tilt as well as roll."

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 1 Comments
BBC: "Microsoft has announced that new versions of its mouse will be fitted with wheels that tilt as well as roll." Seems like the mouse is more and more turning into some kind of generic “hand tool” – someday it will become...
The Galactic Patrol

What is 6% of $250,000?

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 3 Comments
I read this blog entry from Chris Sells recently, describing his thoughts about real estate agent fees. Having just sold one house and purchased another, I am completely sympathetic. 6% just seems like too high a vig to pay, just...
The Galactic Patrol

Contacting me

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 0 Comments
If you would like to contact me, my work e-mail is bwill@microsoft.com, my home e-mail is domanite@hotmail.com (use that one for spam, please), and you can also IM me at domanite@hotmail.com.

...
The Galactic Patrol

Taxes: a six-course meal, or a-la-carte?

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 0 Comments
Ok, I admit it - I'm a control freak. (Like you aren't. <grin>) What I really want is for the government to give me an itemized reciept at the end of the year saying "here is all you paid in taxes, and here is where each piece went." I don...
The Galactic Patrol

Its a girl!

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 3 Comments
Gina and I went to Evergreen Hospital today for our week 20 ultrasound – you know, the one with legs and arms and toes. * She * is quite an active little tyke, rolling around in her comfortable little cubby! Yes, that’s...
The Galactic Patrol

Strange new virus rumored

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 0 Comments
Seen recently at http://trademark.blog.us/blog/2003/08/19.html#a789 : "You have just received the Amish virus. Because we don't have computers this virus works on the honor system. Please delete all the files from your hard drive and manually...
The Galactic Patrol

fun with consumer electronics (and the perils of the super-remote)

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 2 Comments
So, I’m on vacation here at my in-laws, and I’m blogging of course. It seems to be my new morning ritual, instead of reading the newspaper. Anyway, there are hordes of kids running around everywhere, so to keep them entertained...
The Galactic Patrol

My laptop is *so* *slow*

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 2 Comments
Fairly frequently these days, my laptop just slows down to an unendurable crawl. Everything slows, even screen refreshes. It is a Toshiba Techra 8200. Per helpdesk guidance I chkdsk'ed and defrag'ed; but it still happens. My current...
The Galactic Patrol

Hosting visitors to Microsoft

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 0 Comments
I ran across this interesting post: “This upcoming week is shaping up to be one the most memorable in my young life. I'm taking a trip to geek mecca: Microsoft HQ. I get to meet Scott Guthrie, Rob Howard, Don Box, et al. And if that weren...
The Galactic Patrol

Howard Dean blog - revisited

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 2 Comments
The shine on the Howard Dean blog is wearing off for me. Most of the posts aren’t by Dean himself, and seem pretty much boiler-plate rah-rah stuff. (This seemed exciting at first, but is now getting a little old.) The ones that...
The Galactic Patrol

my bank account as an RSS feed?

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 2 Comments
You know, logically, the following idea has so many flaws – security, privacy, is it even really useful… and yet, I find it mysteriously alluring. To watch in real-time the ebb and flow of my finances; to see how long it takes the...
The Galactic Patrol

"Alex, I'll take 'Foreign Relations' for $200, please..."

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 0 Comments
In the “truth is stranger than fiction” department, this article claims that five gubernatorial hopefuls in California will be appearing in a debate, game-show-style. I’ll be the first to say that one shouldn’t take...
The Galactic Patrol

on vacation...

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 3 Comments
Starting today, I am on vacation, going to that * fabulous * vacation destination – West Virgina. Maybe I can get a tour of the coal mines. <grin> Seriously, you can expect the blogging output to decline over the next...
The Galactic Patrol

EverQuest: It's not just an adventure - it's a job

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 3 Comments
Here is a guy who ‘professionally’ makes real money off of virtual artifacts – apparently a good living! Wow.

http://www.juliandibbell.com/playmoney/

...