Jackie Goldstein's Weblog

I’m a VB !

2009-06-30T09:08:12Z

Check out the growing set of video and text interviews with leading VB developers at the I’m A VB site. You can find my interview at Jackie VB ....(read more)

How Clients Negotiate with Software Vendors

2009-06-29T14:04:12Z

I came cross this video on Antonio Chagoury . It is one of those “Very funny, but painfully true” videos that depicts how ridiculous it would be if the same negotiating tactics used with software vendors were used in other scenarios. How many of you deal with these tactics on a regular basis? How do you respond to them? While we try to be flexible and “creative”, we normally do expect to get paid not only for our time, but also our expertise. I also know how much (actually, how little...(read more)

Using Speech Recognition to Program in Microsoft Visual Studio

2009-06-08T04:34:00Z

We have just posted a very cool video showing off some of the work we have been doing with Voice Recognition. At Renaissance, we try to allocate time for our developers to explore new tools and technologies that are not necessarily related to their current projects. This speech application is the result of one such project developed by Kim Major ( http://blogs.microsoft.co.il/blogs/kim ). The video ( http://www.renaissance.co.il/VSSpeech.aspx ) offers a glimpse of our thinking and early implementation...(read more)

Meetings, Version 2.0, at Microsoft

2009-05-18T16:24:17Z

A very interesting interview with Steve Balmer in yesterday’s New York Times. Particularly good advice on how he now likes to run meetings, which is applicable to technical meetings as well....(read more)

Renaissance April 2009 Newsletter now available

2009-04-21T20:45:04Z

The April 2009 edition of the Renaissance Computer Systems Ltd. newsletter is now available at http://www.renaissance.co.il/newsletters/NewsApr09.pdf In this Newsletter: Renaissance sponsors Internet and Mobile Boot Camp Speaking of Startups… Tools, Technologies, and Techniques – Visual Studio Database Edition (“Data Dude”) On the Lighter Side - Everything's amazing, nobody's happy...(read more)

Word Mail Merge with Attachment

2009-04-06T14:19:01Z

UPDATE #2: Thanks to the comment by Tony, making 2 simple changes to the code eliminates the need for step (3) below. I’ve commented out the line Set oOutlookApp = GetObject(, "Outlook.Application") and changed Set olNS = oOutlookApp.GetNamespace("MAPI") to ' By following change eliminates the security access prompts! 'Set olNS = oOutlookApp.GetNamespace("MAPI") Set olNS = ThisOutlookSession...(read more)

Innovation = Execution

2009-04-06T11:07:03Z

I recently listened to a podcast with Guy Kawasaki , where he talked about successful companies and innovation. His position is that successful innovation is not necessarily revolutionary breakthroughs – but rather, the execution of new/improved ideas. In thinking about this, I realized that Guy’s concept applies to Microsoft as well as to my company, Renaissance Computer Systems . In the case of Microsoft, we always hear claims that Microsoft “stole” this technology or that idea and is not...(read more)

A Different View of Twitter

2009-04-02T20:41:07Z

If you are tired of being abused by your friends and neighbors for not Twittering enough (or at all), you can send you tormentors the link to the video below. This video humorously presents a different view of the Twitter phenomenon. Enjoy! via Lior...(read more)

Just Released – Visual Basic QuickStarts and How-to Topics for PrismV2 (Composite Application Guidance for WPF and Silverlight)

2009-03-31T08:55:18Z

The Microsoft Patterns and Practices group just Released a set of Quick Starts and How-To documents for using Prism in Visual Basic - Visual Basic QuickStarts and How-to Topics for PrismV2 (Composite Application Guidance for WPF and Silverlight) This release is provided to help Visual Basic developers use the Composite Application Library. The release includes QuickStarts, the Composite Application Library (only provided in C#), and documentation. The documentation includes: Visual Basic Content...(read more)

Giving Presentations – From 1 Hour Down to 2 Minutes

2009-03-19T12:55:57Z

As someone who has been been on the developer conference speaking circuit for over 10 years, the standard session time of an hour and a quarter (75 minutes), including time for Q&A, is pretty much ingrained in me. Even VSLive conferences, who for many years held on to their 60-minute session format, switched over to the 75-minute format a few years ago. So imagine the “change” when I had only 2-3 minutes to pitch my company at the Internet and Mobile Boot Camp this week. This short...(read more)

The Official Release Version of ASP.NET MVC 1.0 is Now Available

2009-03-18T15:31:34Z

The official version of ASP.NET MVC 1.0 is now available for download here . I’ve already suggested that you check out the free 184-page book chapter on building an app with MVC by Scott Guthrie....(read more)

Everything's amazing, nobody's happy

2009-03-18T15:20:07Z

This is a great video clip from comedian Louis CK’s appearance on the Conan Show. Sometimes we takes things, especially technology, too much for granted…...(read more)

Renaissance to Sponsor Internet & Mobile Boot Camp

2009-03-12T16:01:17Z

My company, Renaissance Computer Systems , just posted a press release announcing that we are sponsoring a special event for startup companies next week – the Internet & Mobile Boot Camp , being run by Boot Camp Ventures on March 16 th 2009, in Tel Aviv. At the Internet & Mobile Boot Camp , a select number of innovative Israeli Internet and Mobile Companies will present in a dynamic and intense format before an exclusive audience of seasoned investors from the US, Israel and Europe. It...(read more)

Free Scott Guthrie ASP.NET MVC chapter download

2009-03-12T07:42:52Z

If you want an amazing hands-on look at the new ASP.NET MVC framework, you must download this free 184-page book chapter Scott's NerdDinner.com chapter . This chapter is written is Scott’s usual clear and graphic style – lots of screen shots and clear, organized explanations....(read more)

March 2009 Meeting of Israel Visual Basic User Group

2009-02-27T10:59:09Z

This month we take a look at design and architecture, rather than specific technologies. Konstantin Triger, a Senior Consultant at Sela, will take a look at the deadly sins of performance, particularly from the design perspective. It is important to remember that low-level implementation details are irrelevant if the high-end design accounts for 90% of the bottlenecks in the final product. This session will help to make correct performance related decisions during design phase and will...(read more)