Just read this official Microsoft document.
It’s 12 easy pages.
October 31, 2012
September 5, 2012
Dragon NaturallySpeaking version 12-Dictation software
I just upgraded to version 12 of Nuance’s Dragon NaturallySpeaking, the popular dictation software. I am actually “writing” this post by dictating it on my Bluetooth microphone. I continue to be amazed at how accurate the software is. This really is a remarkable product. If you ever wanted to get dictation software, but you are not sure whether it was good enough, I’m here to tell you that it is definitely good enough. In fact this product has been good enough for several versions. I have been using it for years and it gets better and better.
What is even more remarkable is the fact that I can walk on my treadmill desk with the noise of my footsteps, and the fan from my air conditioner blowing in the background, and it doesn’t seem to interfere with the translation of all. I can remember the earlier versions were more sensitive to background noise. And still you should use it in a quiet environment.
If you have any questions about it feel free to ask. I think using this product is a great preventive measure for carpal tunnel syndrome.
March 3, 2012
Successful Large Scrum Project
From 2009 – 2010, the US Veterans Administration built a system called the Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS). It reportedly used agile methods including Scrum and appears to have been a success. Here are some links for further information.
Early report mentions agile. Budget is in the ballpark of $100 Million.
http://www.va.gov/recovery/Agency_Plans_and_Reports.asp
A VA press release from January 31, 2011 indicates the system was launched successfully thanks to agile methods
http://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=2037
The Linked-In profile of a person working on the project indicates that there were 12 Scrum teams involved. I am not citing that out of respect for his privacy as I do not know him. Though you should be able to find it by searching linked in for terms ‘VBMS’ ‘agile’
July 28, 2011
MOQ SetupSequence is great for mocking
If you use mocking frameworks, you may run into scenarios in which you want an operation to behave one way on the first call, and a different way on the second or third call. In the MOQ framework, which I use, I just discovered the SetupSequence method. (more…)
December 31, 2010
“Hard Choices” Architecture Game
I just downloaded a board game, entitled “Hard Choices” from the SEI’s website at http://www.sei.cmu.edu/architecture/tools/hardchoices/. It is a metaphor for a software development process and the hard choices one must make to balance forces in achieving ones goal. (more…)
October 9, 2010
Using Software to fix Software defects
I am attending our weekend Twin Cities Code Camp. One of the speakers, and leaders, Jason Bock, gave a talk on evolutionary programming. He mentioned that Genetic Algorithms could be used to fix defects in existing code. I found an article on that at http://elliottback.com/wp/fixing-bugs-with-genetic-algorithms/. It points to a paper at http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~weimer/p/weimer-gecco2009-preprint.pdf This is obviously not well developed yet. But it seems very exciting to me. I can write a few tests, take a nap, wake up when I’m ready, and implement the solution provided. I’ll have to explain that I’m “working” to my boss, when he hears me snoring.
