Today I am trying to track down a naming issue. Microsoft doesn't brand Visual C++ with version numbers anymore; they stopped doing that after VC++ 6.0 (which I used as a CS student for the semester and-a-half I was one). They switched to the .NET 200x nomenclature. So in updating documentation from that ancient period of VC++ version numbers, I'm trying to obtain a one-to-one mapping of "7.x" versions to ".NET 200x" versions. I've been bugging a couple developers here, including Brian, but if anyone out there has a solid answer for me, drop me a comment down below and we'll talk.
I'm pretty excited about several of my documents shipping, because I've been working on them since late January. Of course, I'm experiencing so-called "feature creep" as developers work in last-minute changes to the code. Some of these changes affect the documention I've already had reviewed, so I have to get some portions reviewed again. In the case of completely new features, I just make sure that the developer and my lead writer see the new/changed content once.
NI matches charity donations up to $1000 per person per year. Obviously, everyone is busy collecting money for Katrina relief efforts. I've done my own fundraising drive and will end up with something close to the limit that I'll pass on to the Red Cross.
I realize this entry is rather boring; hopefully I'll have some fun stuff to talk about once I have more free time to post, e.g., after my documentation ships :-)
In the meantime, I'll post links to this 1/2 TB hard drive. Half a terabyte?! The hard drive in my first computer was 540 megabytes. I feel lucky to have witnessed those days :-) Of course, my dad was there when computers had no hard drives at all. Scary thought! I wonder who the first person was to say "Hey, maybe people want to store more than a few kilobytes of information after they turn off the computer." Non-volatile storage - what a genius :-) Anyway, with 4 IDE ports and numerous SATA ports per motherboard, storage is becoming virtually (hah) limitless. But I'm sure people said that back in the good ol' days of the 5.25" floppy ...
I'll post one more link to one of Apple's newest gizmos. I've been putting off buying an iPod for so long now, but I think I might have finally caved in with this latest announcement ...
Quoted from Ryan's entry:
ReplyDelete<<<<<<<<<<< Of course, I'm experiencing so-called "feature creep" as developers work in last-minute changes to the code. Some of these changes affect the documention I've already had reviewed, so I have to get some portions reviewed again. In the case of completely new features, I just make sure that the developer and my lead writer see the new/changed content once. >>>>>>>>>>>>
I know exactly what you are talking about. Our products are continually evolving as UL standards, NSF standards, and client preferences change. We do a lot of custom work, so we are often at the whim of our consumers, as well as our engineers. The engineers will often get brilliant idea in a flash of genius...the genius, of course, is only apparent to them. Once we publish a manual, it is not unlikely to have something added or changed within the first 2 weeks. Lately, marketing has been the culprit, changing the names of our products to make them more appealing. Yesterday, my coworker spent 45 minutes going throught two manuals changing "50" to "55" - an aesthetic change, but (according to marketing) necessary, in some skewed way. What the customer (and marketing and engineering and service and auditors and standards boards and technicians and operators) wants, he gets. :) When the documentation is actually finished an put away, though, you get the good feeling of a job well-done. I like that.
Do you ever get discouraged because you know from your personal life that no one actually ever reads manuals? That they will break the product before looking in the manual? I read them all, but I can't say that about anyone else that I know. Just a thought.
Regarding the new slim iPod. I was also "on the fence" and in recent weeks had decided I would get one soon (my birthday is October 4). Now, I will wait for a while, until the older, larger iPods go down in price. They were never very large to begin with, really.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the size of hard drives. My frist computer had 16 MB of hard drive space, and I thought I would never fill it. I had games and applications, which only took up about 4 MB, total. My dad used punch cards in college. :) My old computer still works well. It was extremely stable and never crashed once. *sigh* The good ole days!
I've caught myself starting to say "When I was your age..." with regards to the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS. As in, "When I was your age, the Gameboy had four colors! And we liked it that way, dagnabbit!"
ReplyDeleteYour's had color!? Mine was the two-tone, black-on-tan, original. My parents couldn't afford the other kind when it finally came out. Color....sheesh....
ReplyDelete