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Evolution of learning
So we’re now To me weblogs constitute major shift in the way I learn. The shift is towards being more connected with the source of learning. Here are some of the reference points that show just how much weblogs have changed things. Sometimes in late 80-ties I was reading a photocopy of a photocopy of K&R C bible. My English was poor, so was the quality of the print. I knew only a handful of people who we’re also learning C. That book and these people were my source of learning. By the beginning of 90-ties I was able to muster myself a real copy of Charles Petzold’s Programming Windows (1st edition). My English was somewhat better too. But again, I was pretty much on my own with the book and a copy of Win32 SDK. The next big step was understanding Kraig Brockschmidt’s Inside OLE 2. This time I had access to people who knew the technology more than I did. I even got a few of my questions answered by the author via email! A few short years later I’m learning in a vastly better environment, thanks in large part to weblogs. The fact that many authors are also webloggers changes my perspective on published word. The books have become live. Not only do I know that authors are alive and well – I get to follow their current thinking while reading their books. Of course improved book reading experience is only one aspect of learning that weblogs changed for the better. Another is the formation of my learning community. I’ve always had reservations about the use of term ‘community’. It seemed to vague and undefined. Where can I get the names of people in my “local community”? How close should I live to “local community center” to be part of it? How does one becomes a member of “international community”? Can I get a list of members? Well, weblogs make community tangible. For me, it’s the people in my RSS subscription list and places and resources they refer to. This is my “learning community”. I though that it might be valuable to share an annotated list of weblogs I’m subscribed to. I did separated weblogs in categories, but had a hard time trying to categorize them. These really smart people express their views on all sorts of subjects. Also note that I only provide brief description that might not capture all of the topics covered by weblog’s author. If you’re in the process of learning about .NET, WS, Groove, Software development or simply want to stay current in the world of software I suggest checking out the weblogs below.
.NET and WS A weblog that focuses on .NET, development tools and Web Services. You'll find here a technical perspective with a lot of common sense. Clemens Vasters: Enterprise Development & Alien Abductions I’ve met Clemens as WS DevCon in Not only a leading educator, Don is also one of the leading architects of WS protocols, proving the point that the key skill of an architect is the ability to explain. Drew’s weblog focuses on .NET and WS and provides useful links to development resources and publications. Drew is also one of the people who answer tough questions on CLR forum. I’ve met Greg when he attended WS DevCon in This weblog by Mike Gunderloy maintains razor sharp focus on one topic: tools that matter to software developers living in Microsoft world (like me). I’m sure Mike saved countless hours for many people by providing quick tool reviews – just enough to decide if you need to check it out or not. Jason Whittington is an instructor at Develop Mentor specializing in .NET. As many other I come to believe that developmentor people are amongst the best teachers. Jason’s often goes in depth in .NET in his weblog. While Peter was working as consultant he maintained an engaging weblog on .NET and WS. Now that he became Program Manager with .NET team his weblog is pretty quiet. I’m hopeful this is temporary. Sam’s weblog needs to introduction. This subscription is a must-have for anyone interested in .NET. Sam is documenting .NET space in a way Dave Winer does it for blogging space. sellsbrothers.com: Windows Developer News Chris Sells (“consultant, author, speaker and general technology wonk”) maintains a public weblog of stuff that matters to software developers living in Microsoft world. While this weblog is open, Chris writes most of the postings. Chris was the organizer of WS DevCon I've enjoyed so much. Brad Wilson, another valuable contributor to developmentor’s .NET forums, offers his expertise in weblog form as well. Brad seemed to work with .NET since its inception. There’s quite a bit of personal musings here, but technical bits are worthwhile. On this weblog by Larry O'Brien you’ll find news references along with good commentary on Microsoft, .NET and C#. Ingo is an author of one of the books I’m reading – “Advanced .NET Remoting”. His weblog provides insight on .NET (espetially WS and Remoting part) as well as some good commentary on enterprise technologies. I had a pleasure meeting Ingo at the WS DevCon. Software Development IUnknown.com: John Lam's Weblog on Software Development John’s weblog raises pertinent issues that are often widely discussed and debated within my learning community. Joel Spolsky is an opinionated software developer and entrepreneur who uses his weblog to post articles on topics of software development and market strategy. This feed brings all sorts of technical articles covering diverse topics. I haven’t found the way to filter this feed by topic of interest. StronglyTyped - Richard Caetano's weblog on software development Richard’s weblog explores topics of software development with .NET and C# Weblogs and WS Sam is maintaining a high traffic weblog on everything from WS interop and SOAP to weblogging and RSS. Sam was another superb speaker that I’ve met at WS DevCon. You get Dave’s uber-weblog by default when you install Radio. Though the years Dave have dedicates an amazing amount of bandwidth to blogging. By now you can pretty much follow his life down to the last detail as well as most of tech world. Simon is the creator of numerous WS tools and utilities, including his own SOAP stack. Simon seem to currently focus on weblogging tools. This weblog is a good source of technical info on these subjects. Technology Trends Being CTO of Macromedia Jeremy’s opinions can provide you with a clue of his company’s technical strategy. Here you’ll find interesting commentary on the communication technologies and Internet applications. I’m amazed how a CxO of a big company can find the time to maintain good quality weblog. John was VP of technology at IBM until a year ago. I’ve attended his keynote on future of Internet and though that his perspective of high-level technology trends might be interesting. Jon Udell has a great skill to pick up on clever products and techniques. He is able to spot technology trends while they are still barely taking form. Oftentimes a great read for people thinking of future of technology. I think there’s nothing wrong in consuming propaganda as long you don’t use it as your only source of news. Volker Weber maintains a weblog that mixes references to technology news with an assortment of other curious information. Makes a great addition to my daily information diet. Groove Jeroen’s weblog is a great source of news and information about all things Groove. He aggregates most of noteworthy technical and end-user Groove resources. I’m thankful to Jeroen for advising me get on with weblogging using Radio. A good way to find out how software really works then listening to people who actually create it. John is working on Groove Web Services. I’ve subscribed after meting John at WS DevCon. Another Groove guy. I’ve subscribed to make sure I don’t miss John’s perspective on Groove, but there’s was not been much happening here so far. Another Groove guy. Paresh often publishes technical content on Groove and WS as well as some good general commentary. It seems Ray Ozzie’s weblog is being read by anyone even remotely familiar with Groove. When active, this weblog offered a great view on company’s strategy and insightful analysis of collaboration technologies. I’ve became familiar with SBC on Groove technical forums where he provides answers to hard questions. His frequently updated weblog talks about Groove and often explores new enterprise technologies. I would like to thank people listed above for giving their time to explain; inform; share their thoughts and experience; guide with their expertise.
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