Sylvain Cyr's Blog

I’m currently re-installing windows on a computer and I thought it would be good to have a checklist of what should be installed.

Let’s keep that list for free (no charge) software.

• Antivirus. I think Avast (http://www.avast.com/en-ca/free-antivirus-download) is probably the best free antivirus software around. Keep in mind that it is for home use if you want to keep it free.
• Archiver. 7zip (http://www.7-zip.org/) is the one use on every machine. It integrates perfectly with windows and is able to open almost all archives.
• Adobe pdf reader (http://get.adobe.com/reader/). If you have an older machine, Foxit has an excellent reader, which can be found here http://foxitsoftware.com/Secure_PDF_Reader/
• Office software. LibreOffice is a great suite of applications  for the office. It can open almost every MS Office files. It can be found here (http://www.libreoffice.org/download)

For the advanced user.

• A good ftp client. Filezilla is just perfect and i have not seen it crashed yet.  http://filezilla-project.org/download.php?type=client
• A text/Code editor. http://www.pspad.com/

If you have other software in mind, let me know by using the comments section.

Dear readers,

Today I watched many tutorials concerning asp.net mvc. The essential videos on http://www.asp.net/mvc are pretty awesome. Now I understand more what is so cool about mvc. The way it’s done it’s simply brilliant.

Yesterday I read and listened about disconnecting from programming, computers but mostly work. You can watch the cast here , it’s from Scott and Rob in their weekly “kind of” radio show – This Developer’s Life 1.1.0.

This is a real life situation, it’s sometime really hard to disconnect from work and enjoy our lives a bit. Please dont think that being in the same room as your family and working on your computer is the real way to enjoy your family. Friday I took the day off to be with my older daughter who is 3 years old for a party at the daycare where she is attending. You can’t put a price on the happy face she had on that day.

If you are similar to me in the way that programming is not just a work but a passion it’s even more important to keep the balance between virtual and real life.

Enjoy their podcast.

Recently I’ve been upset about code not being tested… mostly because I’ve been told it was and deployed it…

Sometimes it’s better to redo some code yourself and finally test it than having trouble, debugging in a rush because it’s not working anymore and finally tested it in the live environment because you didnt have time to do it otherwise. If you’ve been forced to go down that path, the level of trust you gave to the programmer that coded it just dropped.

Programming is not much about the code, it’s about a business that needs your work to run. A programmer is responsible for much more than the code.

When you ask a programmer to code something, you’re not asking for perfection. You’re asking for the to work under the conditions you specified.

It is fine to take some time to test your code to make sure it works. As a programmer, you should be able to tell if your code works and you should be able to prove it. You might not be the fastest to deliver but the quality of your work will be working for you in the long run.

I know it sucks sometimes to test your code because you’re sure it works, it’s a simple code. We’re all humans, sometimes you lack of sleep, sometimes you got disturbed in the process…. and at the end, your code is compiling, but a line in your code is not doing what it was supposed to.

Without doing it the hard way, it’s possible to test your code just by creating a class that has some scenarios in it so you can test your objects and methods. You will be able to use it later and you have a proof  that it works. It’s nice to use a framework for unit testing but if you dont have the time to learn it at this time, just do a simple class to test your code, it might save your job in the long run.

Would people trust you on words if they were about to drive a car you built ? I know I would not.

kindle

Some weeks ago, I wanted to thank myself for working so many hours at work and on some outside projects…

I started to look for an ebook reader. Many bookstores offer their own. I looked online on my favorite bookstore… Amazon. I discovered the Kindle. Even though when I pay for something I want it  right away, the product looked so great. I just ordered. I waited 2-3 days max to get it. It was worth the wait.

The Kindle is just amazing. The display is identical to a book and the weight is kept to a minimum.

You can read anywhere, the light won’t reflect on it like some other products that act as ebook readers.

And if you often buy technical books, you know they tend to be thick and sometimes pricey. With the kindle, you can buy a ebook directly from it. And the choice is there, because it’s linked with amazon and you save if you compare with a regular book. The first book I bought was about wordpress and I saved about 15$. You see the product can pay for itself in a year or so.  If you like classics (not technical), many are free, I’m currently reading Sherlock Holmes and it didnt cost me a dime.

Have nothing negative to say about the kindle. Just a great ebook reader at a great price.

Welcome everyone,

Thanks for passing by. I’m going to add some posts here from time to time. Keep on watching.