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Archive for July, 2006
Google Weather Maps?
Posted in: General, Weather by Steve on July 24, 2006
Yes, I’ve been testing out some programming in ASP.NET with the Google API (version 2) and testing to see if I can get weather information to map to certain points. I was struggling with trying to get a radar image to overlay on top of a google map. I did some research and found that someone already has this functionality on their website and has done a very nice job:
So I thought, instead of just weather radar and conditions, maybe I’ll start to put a storm report map together. The Storm Prediction Center puts out a map of storm reports, which contain Tornado, Hail and Wind Reports. In each line of the report, they contain a Latitude and Longitude, which could then be added to the page. However, I found a site that does this as well.
I just can’t win. So I’m looking for other options on how to use my new domain, www.wxsavvy.com. I still want to use the google maps somehow, but I’m just not sure how.
On another note, I found a component that allows you to add Google Maps with just adding a few lines of code: (http://blogs.b-es.de/blogs/mh_blog/archive/2006/06/02/819.aspx) it is currently down.
Now What?
Posted in: General by Steve on
The application has gone live. I still have a couple of changes left to do, however, the program is now in the hands of the client. I feel so relieved that it’s done. I’ve put in hundreds of hours to reprogram everything to near programming perfection (well as much as it can be based on the business logic of the client). I am so happy with this release and I’m so ready for a break.
I finally have some time to start working on some of the other things that I’ve been neglecting the last 4 months. I have a lot of things to do around the house, work on some of my other side projects (such as www.wxsavvy.com), and relax. I’ll also have some time to actually put some thoughts up here on programming like I’ve been talking about for so long.
Cool USB 2.0 to SATA/IDE Adapter
Posted in: General by Steve on July 17, 2006
I found a great tool for transferring data from old hard drives or setting up new computers:
http://www.cooldrives.com/saandidehadr1.html
I read some great reviews on this so take a look!
Bug Tracking
Posted in: General by Steve on July 12, 2006
So now that I’m done with the programming, it’s time to look for bugs in the software. It’s one of the most important parts of deploying new software, however, it’s one of the least documented. How do we get the bugs into a central database that can be managed by the software company?
There are a lot of different ways to do this, but which one is the best. I’ve heard really good things about FogBugz, but that has a per-user fee, which is something that I don’t want. TestTrackPro is also a good provider (which we use here), however, customizing it for what we want to do is a project in itself. Countersoft has Gemini, which seems like the way to go because it is a single installation fee and can be on an internet facing server. Users can add their issues fairly easily and they have a program that allows them to take screenshots and submit them to the database.
I haven’t run across many others that I like. I know there are some open source bug tracking software out there on SourceForge but I haven’t gotten a chance to really dig into them and customize it to make a sound judgement.
Done with Core Programming
Posted in: General by Steve on July 10, 2006
I am finally done with the core programming of this program. Finally, no more 100 hour work weeks. I can now spend time out in the pool!
There’s a lot of things that need to be tested yet, but the client hardly uses the site the true way it was intended. So those bugs will come out later when they actually test the site out (when they need it). I do have the interface done up pretty nicely. I’m not thrilled about the 800×600 constraint from the client, but we have worked around it. I can focus on getting some other things working with the site (such as upgrading the telerik controls to 2006 Q2). I’ll be posting some of the methods that I used to get the program together. Some of the examples will be from the telerik controls, Infragistics controls and LLBLGen Pro.
I recently upgraded to version 2 of LLBLGen Pro and didn’t want to test it out with the program until I was sure about the code base not changing so much that it would break the site more than I have time for right now. We’ll see how that works out, but from what I’ve read, the dynamic SQL that is generated is a lot faster than version 1.
I am also looking at upgrading my computer, well, actually building a brand new one. I would like to get the Pentium D processor because I’ve heard good things about it’s ability to handle multi-tasking better than the AMD counterpart. I want to find the best programming computer parts to put together.