STG's

I've used my original Microsoft Natural Keyboard for 11 years. It still worked fine, although some letters were starting to wear out a bit. It did look old though. I eventually decided to get a new keyboard, and being ergonomic was a major factor. I can use a regular keyboard, but it feels too crowded. I also have one of the rounded MS keyboards, but while better than a regular keyboard, it's still not as good. I literally been looking around for years. Ergonomic keyboards are impossible to find in Brazil, unless you want the really cheap kind - one I bought (Teclado Ergonomico Leadership) had noticeably worse keys in 6 months of use! It used a ABNT layout too, which I really hate. So eventually I decided to buy a Microsoft Natural Ergo Keyboard 4000. Well, I actually decided I wanted it - I couldn't figure out how to buy one - Amazon won't ship it to Brazil, and I couldn't find anyone else that would... Luckily I mentioned that to a friend which immediately suggest...

Since I posted a comment to another blog, I might as well blog myself :-) Lately I've taken an interest in MMOs, and have been playing Guild Wars and Tabula Rasa. I also tried a few freebies like Dungeon Keepers, Exteel and others, but they were not worth the time. Guild Wars is quite beautiful, doesn't have much lag (being in Brazil, how it reacts to lag is a major issue) and have a number of convenient features - such as traveling instantaneously and bots available for quest. Plus, it's a one time payment. I seem to always be needing more space though. I like the sci-fi theme of Tabula Rasa a lot more. However, the lag here is horrible, even when the server and areas are supposed to be low on users. It's almost like it has no predictive capabilities on the client and is only updating the screen after checking with the server. I've checked the FPS info and it's not it - even when it's at 60FPS or more it's still very choppy. Also, it has a per-month f...

I've recently read Continuous Integration: Improving Software Quality and Reducing Risk . It covers nicely the what, how and why of Continuous Integration (CI) - the practice of setting a build system such as Cruise Control, with a full build - and usually tests - whenever something on the project source code changes. The most important reason is that your project is always ready to go, and with good tests, you can quickly get feedback on anything that breaks them right after you add the problem. Of course, I'd say CI is much more important to web apps/services and teams than sole software developers such as me . I do use a build system, Visual Build . I only run a full build with it on shipping a new version, however. I have it set up to build the EXE, run a few tests (WAY too few...), protect it, generate the web pages and RSS feed, build the install, and send all that... It was a major effort to set it up, but it did change my checklist from about 30 items to just a few tha...