Kelly White

September PDXUX.Net Meeting

2008-09-04T15:44:00Z

September PDXUX.Net Meeting: "Silverlight Deep Zooming"

Why choose Barack Obama

2008-08-29T06:17:00Z

Have you been watching the Democratic National Convention? Did you watch Michelle Obama speak? How about Hilary Clinton? Bill Clinton? Joe Biden? Al Gore? Barack Obama? Did you watch the entire speeches or just catch the sound bites on the 10:00 news? Don't worry if you missed it, you can watch any and all of the speeches in HD at http://gallery.demconvention.com/. This is a high quality video, just like what NBC's Olympics site had. What I find interesting is their HD video content is being delivered via Silverlight. I find that very interesting.

If you've read my blog before you may know that I'm a registered Democrat. Early on in this election I supported Hillary. I was very disappointed and heart-broken as I watched her lead slip away. When it came time for Oregon to have its primary election I wasn't sure what to do. I was planning on voting for Hillary. On the Sunday before our primary, Barack Obama held a rally on the waterfront in downtown Portland. I didn't attend but watched it on television. I was impressed. I was amazed. I voted for Barack in the Oregon primary election.

I've been pretty quiet about my political beliefs when talking to family members. I grew up as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and my entire family is active members of the church scattered throughout Idaho and Arizona. Mormons traditionally vote Republican. Many of my family members were supporters of Mitt Romney. I feel now is the time for me to explain why I am voting for Barack Obama and why I think they should do the same. Good thing us Mormons are forgiving of each other, eh?

Over the last four days I've spent an average of 5 hours each day listening to and watching the Democratic National Convention. I'm planning on doing the same during the Republican Convention. I've made a decision to support Barack Obama and I need to be sure that I'm making the correct decision. By watching the Republican Convention I will either solidify and finalize that decision, or identify new questions that need to be answered before my decision can be finalized.

This election is important. Some may say that all elections are important, but this one is important to me. I'm not voting for a candidate, I'm voting for me. I'm voting because I want my voice to be counted and heard. In 2000 I was supporting Al Gore but didn't vote because I lived in Idaho where Gore had zero chance of winning. I will never make the mistake of not voting again.

In this election I believe only four issues matter:

Nuclear Energy - Our energy/oil crisis is the number one problem, and I firmly believe the only way we can fix this long term is with safe and efficient nuclear energy. Solar and wind power are great and help out a little bit, but we aren't going to be able to truly end our dependence on oil and solve the energy crisis we face without nuclear energy.
Housing Market - Currently I rent a home in Hillsboro, Oregon. I have younger siblings in both Arizona and Idaho who have purchased similar-sized homes (or larger) for half the price compare to the one I live in. I'm wondering if I'll ever be able to afford a home in Oregon, let alone one with a yard. The prices on homes throughout America have started to adjust back to normal, but not in Oregon. Jeff Merkely, how can you help me on this? Will you?
Economy - This is perhaps most voters' number one issue. I've moved it to three because I believe a large part of this can be solved by increasing the amount of nuclear energy we generate. Item number two is really a subset of this item, but is listed higher for personal reasons. There's a lot more to talk about here, but I assume most people already understand why this issue is so important.
Universal Health Care - I find it very frustating that ever since I've moved out to Oregon I haven't been able to afford having my family on a health plan provided by any of my employers. It's actually cheaper to have my wife and children have their own policy. How in the world does it cost more money to have them on my plan, versus having them get their own? Their premiums consistently go up, and their benefits go down. This is one area that frustrates me to no end. What about all the families who don't work in the tech industry like me and have a smaller income? Ever see the movie John Q? How about Sicko? This is the point where I seriously start to consider moving up to Vancouver, BC. I could easily work as a software developer up there. I also hear the fishing is great. But seriously, why should I have to move from America to get decent and affordable health care coverage for me and my family?

Now there are lots of other issues that matter and need to be solved, but for me those are lower priority than these four. I recommend listing to Barack Obama's speech from tonight. I also recommend listening to Bill Clinton's speech from last night. If you do that you'll understand why I am voting for Barack Obama, and you'll come to realize that you should vote for him as well. Seriously, don't take my word for it, listen to him.

Barack Obama is grounded in reality. He knows what its like to not have a lot of money, to live from paycheck to paycheck. He knows what its like to have to go to school on student loans and then be wondering how you'll pay them back when you can't even get a job that brings in enough money to pay your bills. Barack Obama realizes that 95% of Americans deserve and need tax breaks. He wants to do away with tax shelters and corporate loop holes, and instead give breaks to those who take the risks of starting up new businesses. He believes in the importance of nuclear energy and wants to see us using more of it. He understands the importance of health care for every American and has a plan to increase benefits, not take them away. He will stop the insurance companies from denying services to those who deserve it. He had a grandma who had cancer and had to argue on the phone with the insurance companies to get services covered.

I'm not sure how Barack will help me with my housing market problems here in Oregon. I first need to go through my local representatives and get these stupid land use policies changed. It will be tough, and I'm guessing I'll be stuck where I'm at until this startup which I work for takes off and makes billions. Yeah, I'd be ok with that kind of solution to my housing market problems. But until then....

We've got a three-day weekend coming up. I know most of you won't be working on Monday. If you didn't take the time to listen to Barack Obama speak, then I encourage you to make an effort to do that. But don't stop there. Take the time to tune into the Republican National Convention (ignore the javascript errors on their website). Pay attention to the speakers and what is said. Take an interest in this election. Make sure you're registered to vote. Encourage others to do the same. Above all, focus on the issues that matter most to you. Make a list and verify the candidate you're supporting is actually the better candidate and will accomplish what you feel is most important. Don't stand for negative campaigning, but do stand for what you believe in.

Cell phone numbers DO NOT go public tomorrow

2008-08-22T02:12:00Z

Have any of you ever received the following email (or one similar) from a friend?

Just a reminder that all cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies tomorrow and you will start to receive sales calls. You will be charged for these calls.

To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone: 888-382-1222. It is the National DO NOT CALL list. It will only take a minute of your time. It blocks your number for five (5) years. You must call from the cell phone number you want to have blocked. You cannot call from a different phone number.

Make sure to listen to the entire message after you have entered your number until the voice tells you that it is removed. I just did it and it was easy. You can also do this on-line at http://www.donotcall.gov/.

However, this is something you do not have to worry about. From the FTC website (emphasis added):

If you’ve received an e-mail telling you that your cell phone is about to be assaulted by telemarketing calls as a result of a new cell phone number database, rest assured that this is not the case. Telemarketing to cell phone numbers has always been illegal in most cases and will continue to be so. In response to recent e-mail campaigns urging consumers to place their cell phone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry, the Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission issue this advisory to give consumers the facts.

....

Here’s what you need to know about the National Do Not Call Registry program:

FCC regulations prohibit telemarketers from using automated dialers to call cell phone numbers. Automated dialers are standard in the industry, so most telemarketers are barred from calling consumers on their cell phones without their consent.
The federal government does not maintain a national cell phone registry. Personal cell phone users have always been able to add their numbers to the National Do Not Call Registry — the same Registry consumers use to register their land lines — either online at www.donotcall.gov or by calling toll-free 1-888-382-1222 from the telephone number they wish to register. Registrations become effective within 31 days of signing up and are active for five years. There is no cut-off date or deadline for registrations.

Yeah, it would be scary if telemarketers were allowed to call our cell phones. Fortunately the government has prevented that problem from ever occurring. And don't worry if you've been one who has rushed off to register your cell phone number with the Do Not Call Registry. You're in good company. I registered my cell phone number when I first moved out to Oregon, and then I did it again today.

July PDXUX.Net Meeting

2008-07-14T15:02:00Z

It's amazing how the summer heat takes so much out of everyone's time and energy. Join us tomorrow evening to hear Erik Mork talk about the new Silverlight 2 Beta 2 and see how you can get started enhancing your web applications with this new technology.

--Kelly

WHAT: July PDXUX.Net Meeting

WHEN: Tuesday 07/15/2008
6:30 p.m. Pizza
7:00 p.m. Presentation

WHERE: Robert Half Technology
KOIN Center (Map)
222 SW Columbia Street
Portland, OR 97201

WHO: Erik Mork
Erik Mork is a speaker, consultant and Silverlight enthusiast in the Portland area. He specializes in Smart Client/RIA application development with Silverlight, ASP.NET AJAX, and other technologies. He's focused on making the web V.Next, and his consulting company can be found at http://www.silverbaylabs.org/.

TOPIC: What's new in Silverlight 2 - Beta 2
What's the big deal with Silverlight 2? What's the story with the latest beta release? Is it ready for primetime? Erik tackles these questions by reviewing what Silverlight 2 is and where it's going. If you're new to Silverlight, this is an opportunity to understand it, and if you've already played with Silverlight, it's a chance to further learn about the platform. Applications will be presented for 1) fighting corporate greed and 2) mindhacking with Silverlight. Erik will have the mindhacking source code available for all attendees.

While you're at it, consider visiting our Premium Sponsors that make these meetings possible:

Robert Half Technology http://www.roberthalftechnology.com/

Looking forward to seeing you all there!

PAXNAUG is FREE to attend

2008-06-24T03:52:00Z

Someone on the PADNUG mailing list asked a question about whether there was a cost to attend the PAXNAUG June meeting which will be held this week. I typed up a quick reply which I thought I'd shared here as well. And seriously, if you're interested in sponsoring PAXNAUG or PDXUX.Net, feel free to contact me.

PAXNAUG is a free event, just like PADNUG and PDXUX.Net. You should definitely come, and please feel free to encourgage others.

If by some chance you feel guilty about showing up and partaking of the grub--some recruiters may feel this way--then please feel free to contact either George or myself about sponsoring PAXNAUG. :) Seriously.

This audience tends to be very technically competent, these are guys who would rather code than play Halo 3 (at least some of the time). And as far as the type of coding they do in their spare time, it isn't just basic web sites, either. These are junior-level architects who single-handedly manage multiple n-tiered applications for the Windows, Xbox 360, and Zune platforms. Well, "junior-level architects" might be stretching it a bit, but seriously, feel free to show up and find out for yourself who this group really is and what we're all about.

Regards,
Kelly White
(The junior-level nerd herder)

PAXNAUG June Meeting - Developing XNA Games for the Zune

2008-06-23T06:38:00Z

Interested in developing games in XNA for your Xbox 360? What about developing games in XNA for your Zune? Ok, perhaps you don't have a Zune, but wouldn't you like to develop a game in XNA for my Zune?

PAXNAUG will be meeting this Wednesday and XNA MVP, George Clingerman will be presenting on just that, developing games with the XNA framework for the Zune. The meeting starts at 6:30, and you'll probably want to get there a little early.

If you think this sounds interesting but are not sure how it translates to your work skillset, then take a lesson from a page out of my life/book. With a current "top secret" Silverlight project I'm working on I found it better to opt out of the WPF pages model and instead use a screen manager like you'd find in XNA development. This approach wouldn't have even crossed my mind if I hadn't been exposed to it from XNA meetings, such as the one coming up this Wednesday. However, this approach is exactly what I need for the current application I'm building. Pretty cool, eh?

Besides, XNA is a breath of fresh air. It's nice to learn about development that is fun and actually released, rather that something that is not yet fully baked/adopted (e.g. Silverlight), or something that is what the boss would only approve of you learning (ASP.Net/SharePoint/LINQ/WPF). Don't get me wrong, these other topics are awesome and something that I thrive on, but sometimes you just need to unplug from the day-to-day technologies while you still keep sharpening that saw.

Here's a link via Upcoming. Hope to see you there!

Master Chief does Speak and Spell

2008-06-23T06:02:00Z

Here's a blog post I never got around to writing from last year's GameFest. The title just cracks me up, and yes, I'm one of those that laughs hardest at his own jokes.

Kids + Xbox 360 + XNA Homebrew Games = Master Chief does Speak and Spell

Just one of the things announced at GameFest (from developermag.com). This is so going to be my next project, that is, if it would only pay the bills.

GAMEFEST: Landmark legal move allows consumers free use of Halo, Forza and Viva Piñata assets in homebrew works

After announcing the 2.0 version of XNA Game Studio during Gamefest's keynote, XNA general manager Chris Satchell also revealed that the company had made an "unprecedented" move to allow consumers direct, legal access to game content from a number of Microsoft-owned IPs.

Effectively immediately, Microsoft has granted consumers "a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use and display Game Content and to create derivative works based upon Game Content, strictly for noncommercial and personal use".

The licence, similar to the Creative Commons agreement that some writers and artists use to give their works free and open copyright to the public, gives users access to any game published by Microsoft Game Studios (but not any third-party brands). Users don't get rights to share the games themselves, but can share creations that use game content.

....

More details can be found at Microsoft's official 'rule' list for the agreement.

NYTimes covers Earth Class Mail

2008-06-22T18:32:00Z

There's a good article in the last week's NY Times about Earth Class Mail. It's a good article explaining who we are and what we do.

We also released another big feature this last week. Now when you sign up for your account at Earth Class Mail, you have the option to sign up for a prestigious street address in L.A., Manhattan, or San Francisco.

As a side note, I just signed up for my own personal Earth Class Mail account. Right now I'm finishing up the 1583 forms. I don't know if I'll have time to get them notarized this week. However, I'm really looking forward to the benefits of using this product.

Hello

2008-05-28T06:44:00Z

Yes, I'm still here. Things have been busy. PDXUX.Net meet last week. Earth Class Mail keeps me busy (and happy). I'm finally getting back into some Silverlight dev projects at home. I've been digging into Amazon's S3 API, and Basecamp's API. It's amazing that I'm just now digging into those, and that they've been out for so long. I should have some nice apps I can be releasing (or at least talking more about) here in the next month or so. Jasmine is doing softball, so that keeps me really busy with games and practicing. I took Tyler and Jasmine out to the golf course again to hit range balls, and everytime I do that it is painful, but someday they'll thank me. XNA projects have fallen behind, not sure if I want to try and attend Gamefest 2008 this year, I just don't know if I have the time. I'll try, though. Can't attend the PAXNAUG meeting tomorrow night though, got a softball game for Jasmine. I really need to do a better job promoting them. Been playing around with Lego Mindstorms, Tyler loves that. He comes in the office and points to the desktop icon and tells me he wants me to start a new robot. That's fun, but I keep putting him off cause we're doing other stuff instead. Forgot Carrie's birthday, forgot Mother's Day, forgot Dad's birthday. Since MIX I've been going non-stop, wow, I need to unplug. Actually that's what I've done, if you can't tell. Now it's time to get back into the fight. It's been a good break. I think I ready to start rocking and rolling.

I'll tidy up this post later, add some links and formatting. Right now I just wanted to say hi.

Convincing the boss to use Silverlight - Part 3

2008-04-09T07:58:00Z

Shortly after I got back from MIX08 I gave a brown-bag presentation at my previous work titled "Silverlight for Agencies." The presentation was based off my "Silverlight for Designers" talk that I gave at the Boise Code Camp, but modifed to include less how-to examples and more demos to illustrate how Silverlight could be used and sold. Below is the follow-up email I sent around to managers and co-workers shortly after the presentation. Links that referred to local network paths have been updated. I hope some of this is helpful to at least one of you. Please feel free to use and modify my slide deck as needed, however most of the time was spent talking and showing demos. Thanks and enjoy!

Subject: silverlight brown bag followup
Hello,
Two weeks ago I gave a brown bag on Silverlight which some of you may have missed. During the brown bag I mentioned some resources which are included below. Thanks!
SilverlightForAgencies.pptx – My Slide Deck.
[was local network path, get at http://sessions.visitmix.com/] – Scott Guthrie Keynote (skip to 49:45). If you watch one thing, this is the most important. It is chucked full of demos that real sites and agencies are using Silverlight for. This isn’t just about Rich Internet Applications or cool animations, but also advertising and marketing. Highlights from this session include:
Demo of the new built-in ad templates available in Silverlight
Demo by DoubleClick on how they use Silverlight for Advertisting
Demo by NBC for how they are using Silverlight for 2200 hours of HD video sharing, picture-in-picture, 4 live video streams, etc.
Deep Zoom demo for Hard Rock Café (http://memorabilia.hardrock.com/)
Demo by AOL for using Silverlight to create their new online email client
Demo by Aston Martin showing how viewers can customize cars and see close-up changes in detail
http://sessions.visitmix.com/ – All sessions from MIX08 are available for download and viewing here. I recommend the following:
BT06 – Silverlight and Advertising, by Eric Schmidt
T23 – Hard Rock: Behind the Music with Deep Zoom, by Scott Stanfield
CT01 – Building Rich Internet Applications (Part 1), by Joe Stegman and Mike Harsh
CT02 – Building Rich Internet Applications (Part 2), by Joe Stegman and Mike Harsh
T20 – Creating Rich, Dynamic User Interfaces w/Silverlight Controls, by Karen Corby
T30 – From Flash to Silverlight: A Rosetta Stone, by Rick Barazza
http://www.cookingwithxaml.com/meals/financials/default.html – Example of an LOB application using Silverlight.
http://blogs.msdn.com/brada/archive/2008/03/10/cool-silverlight-momentum-video-posted.aspx – two minute video highlighting some of the different sites and applications built in the last 6 months since Silverlight was officially released.
Regards,
Kelly

Convincing the boss to use Silverlight - Part 2

2008-04-09T07:42:00Z

I thought I'd share a couple emails I sent that I sent around to my managers and coworkers right after attending MIX08. At the time I was working for an interactive marketing agency who is a dotnet shop but does all interactive work in flash. These emails are the approach I was taking. Hopefully you find them useful or can point out ways I could do this better. Thanks, and enjoy!

Subject: silverlight being used for the olympics
There’s a good article in PCWorld that talks about how Silverlight is being used by NNC to stream video for the Olympics web site. Just so everyone is clear, the demo at MIX was with Olympic coverage from previous years. This year’s coverage at Beijing will be shown live and then made available as video on-demand.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,143232-page,1/article.html - the article
http://adamkinney.com/blog/317/default.aspx - features implemented on the site
Default View
Large View
DVR-like controls
Share with a Friend
Sports browser (34 different sports, 2200 hours of video)
Large View w/ Picture in Picture
The Control Room (4 camera angles of the same event playing at once)
Regards,
Kelly

Convincing the boss to use Silverlight - Part 1

2008-04-09T07:27:00Z

Subject: Silverlight in Financials Sample
Here’s an example of using Silverlight 2 to create an online financial services application. Play around with it and see that it’s a full blown app. It really shows the power of what we could start doing in the RIA space. I’d think there would be a lot of money in making the health industry a little bit more sexy from a technology perspective.
Regards,
Kelly
Silverlight in Financials Demonstrator
Yesterday at the Financial Services Developers Conference in NY, Marley Gray & Joe Cleaver showed the "Silverlight in Financials Demonstrator".
The demonstrator is a 'mock-up' website that shows the interactions and experience you could get from a silverlight enabled site. Features like interactive video that drives charts, client-side charting, drag & drop, client-side calculations (for responsiveness), cross-domain web services calling, etc. come together seamlessly to create a slightly different banking experience from what we see today.
If you have Silverlight 2, you can play with the demonstrator at this site
You can also see an internal (=not polished) recording of a walk through of the demonstrator from this silverlight streaming video.
If you want a script that helps you walk through the interactions, you can find one here.

PDX Webfoot - sign up to attend now

2008-04-09T01:49:00Z

All registration for Webfoot is being done through Upcoming, a social event calendar website. Right now we're limiting the attendance at 200 people, so be sure to register now rather than later. With past events we've been known to get a surge of late registrations all at once and you don't want to miss out on this event so please, reserve your spot now!

PDX Webfoot will be held this Saturday, April 12th, from 1:00pm to 7:00pm. This is a FREE event for the whole family, with sessions on

Silverlight
Flex/AIR
Safe Internet Browsing
Internet Explorer 8
and more...

There will also be FREE food (pasta/salad/soda/dessert - just like the InstallFest). For more information please visit the web site at http://pdxwebfoot.com/.

New Opportunities

2008-04-08T04:37:00Z

Yeah, I've been busy and I need to catch up on my blogging. Well here's a start. Last time I mentioned how I'd been super busy. That hasn't changed too much recently. Here's why...

Last Friday was my last day at White Horse. I was only with them for a short time, and unfortunately there were countless reasons why I should move on and zero reasons why I should stay. I decided it was time to leave the agency world and start putting my CS degree to work by developing software for real (process and product). I need to be challenged by my work. To quote Fred Brooks, I want to "build castles in the air, out of air" (i.e. real products and not just marketing web sites). I also need to be closer to my family with a much shorter commute. It was just too hard on everyone with me having a 60-90 minute commute one way (drive vs MAX).

Today was the first day at my new job, working at Earth Class Mail. I'm not going to say a lot about them, if you want to learn more you can read about them on their web site. They're a start-up. I think this is a great opportunity. I'm really excited about their product and working with them. I'm really, really excited about what the next year will bring. I think I have a lot that I can bring to the table and I'm really looking forward to this. Now if I can only get past being "the new guy".

If I've broken bread with you at Nerd Dinners or other events and you're interested in the many other opportunities at Earth Class Mail, please send me an email and let's schedule a time to meet up. I'd be more than happy to tell you all about them, but beware, I'm a kool-aid drunk who's pretty new on the job and may have a biased opinion. Oh well, I believe I'm entitled to this type of behavior at least once in my career.

Finally recovered from MIX08

2008-03-28T06:12:00Z

Wow. It's been three weeks since I left the MIX08 conference at Las Vegas. I think I'm finally recovered and can start blogging again. I have a lot I want to say, so instead of writing one really long post I think I'm going to break it up into a series posts based on different topics. Hopefully that works, and if not, oh well.

First off, MIX was awesome. I got to meet a ton of new people, saw old and new friends, caught up with local Portlanders, played some Rock Band, watched some Donkey Kong, got a hug from Laura Foy because I said I was friends with Rory, wrote a bunch of code, attended fewer sessions than in previous years, talked to more people than in previous years, remembered how to twitter, and overall walked less because I was staying in the Venetian for the first time in 3 years. Whew!

Is that enough to wear me out? No, not really. The part that wore me out was leaving MIX early to hop on the Code Trip Bus, literally staying up all night preparing demos and presentations, presenting in Salt Lake City, presenting at the Boise Code Camp, catching a 6:40AM flight back to Portland, launching a reskinned site for Columbia Sportswear, organizing the March PDXUX.Net meeting, attending the March PDXRIA meeting (with Mike Culver), attending the March PAXNAUG meeting, launching the PDX Webfoot site, and then still falling behind on everything else that is going on (which you'll find out about soon enough). With that said, I haven't had this much fun being this busy in a very, very long time. It's amazing how much satisfaction there is at the end of a day when you're completely worn out and exhausted.