John Kennedy's BlogNewbie PM in the Games WorldWhoops..- October 19, 2007 Ah, well this is interesting. If you can read this, I managed to adjust the date when this blog entry would be posted to a week after I left Microsoft. At this moment, I'm probably enjoying some very unhealthy fried food in Belfast. So thanks again for all the comments you guys have left on my blogs over the years: your feedback make it worth doing. Keep in touch!http://blogs.msdn.com/johnkenn/archive/2007/10/19/whoops.aspx So long and thanks for all the fish!- October 12, 2007 OK heroes, this is my last blog entry as today is my last day at Microsoft. Ive greatly enjoyed the last eight years here, and sorry I cant say longer. However, its back to Ireland I go. If you would like to stay in touch, please feel free to visit my person website at: http:www.johnterencekennedy.com Thank you, and goodnight!http://blogs.msdn.com/johnkenn/archive/2007/10/12/so-long-and-thanks-for-all-the-fish.aspx Windows Mobile 6 Docs: Now in Seven Languages- October 12, 2007 Good news if English isn't your first language, or, I guess, you want to test your foreign language skills. Using a rather cool machine translation system from Microsoft Research, the Content Publishing Team have managed to convert the Windows Moble 6 SDK into multiple languages. You can even read them side-by-side to compare, in case the translation is lacking. Your feedback is definitely welcome, so please check it out. (link now inactive, sorry)http://blogs.msdn.com/johnkenn/archive/2007/10/12/windows-mobile-6-docs-now-in-seven-langu... Windows Mobile Documentation: MSDN Shuffle- October 11, 2007 Back to work for a moment: if you now go to the MSDN site and check the Windows Mobile docs - in fact, the entire Windows Mobile and Embedded docs - you'll see one important difference: nothing. Well, hopefully you won't spot anything out of the ordinary. http:msdn2.microsoft.comen-uslibraryms376734.aspx However, in the background for weeks, we've been moving around every single topic we own, and sorting them into a considerably more logical platformrelease structure. This sounds both trivial...http://blogs.msdn.com/johnkenn/archive/2007/10/11/windows-mobile-documentation-msdn-shuffl... Can I be honest here for a moment- October 10, 2007 Someone suggested in a comment to a previous posting that I write about the current state of the industry, and as Im leaving the company, I might as well be completely honest. That would be a great idea, but remember that I only have the viewpoint of a foot soldier rather than a general, and so Im not sure that I know the current state of the industry in any way that would be meaningful. Also, I dont think Ive ever been dishonest when writing this blog (haha) so there might not be much new...http://blogs.msdn.com/johnkenn/archive/2007/10/10/can-i-be-honest-here-for-a-moment.aspx How can I make you love me!- October 9, 2007 Last month was my last full month at Microsoft, which means it was also the last full month in which I had a chance of getting more hits on my blog than my manager. I didn't manage it! Despite the fact that he didn't have a single new post, he still beat me by a comfortable margin. That's the benefit of getting onto a lot of RSS feeds while in a different team, I guess... So, perhaps there is still hope for this month. I might be gone at the end of this week, but at least my manager will see...http://blogs.msdn.com/johnkenn/archive/2007/10/09/how-can-i-make-you-love-me.aspx Coding in Notepad. For free.- October 4, 2007 As a 40 year-old computer nerd, Im interested in how home computer programming has changed over the years, and Im seriously wondering if were seeing the end of the hobbyist computer programmer. Hey, Im leaving Microsoft next week, so indulge me. My first computer was one that I borrowed from a good friend when I lived in N. Ireland. That friend now runs a best-selling Linux magazine in the UK: its fair to say we have different outlooks on the computing industry. That little white plastic...http://blogs.msdn.com/johnkenn/archive/2007/10/04/coding-in-notepad-for-free.aspx Time to move on- October 2, 2007 Next week will be my last at Microsoft. Its just shy of eight years ago, that I came to the US from Northern Ireland, to work as a ProgrammerWriter for the Visual C++ team. I worked on the ATL and MFC documentation, and to be honest and this is something that is probably apparent if you read the ATL documentation I never really completely understood it. Class factories COM Blegh! No thanks. Thats not me. So I was relieved when I moved onto the Visual C team, where I learnt all about managed...http://blogs.msdn.com/johnkenn/archive/2007/10/02/time-to-move-on.aspx Windows Mobile: Programmatically Making Contact- October 2, 2007 Ive recently been working on a Windows Mobile Starter Kit (Ill be uploading it shortly) that interacts with the internal Contacts database on the Windows Mobile device. Last time I wrote an application that tried to read the Contacts, I used C++ to play around with POOM (the Pocket Outlook Object Model) and lets just say it wasnt the most fun I've ever had. This time, however, Ive been using C to do all the dirty work, and its absolutely wonderful. If there is one thing that C makes easy, its...http://blogs.msdn.com/johnkenn/archive/2007/10/02/windows-mobile-programmatically-making-c... |