Sunday, March 27, 2011

Smart Phones, Software Development and the Future

Original Post:

Smart Phones, Software Development and the Future

The market is flooded with new, shiny and do-it-all smart phones and every manufacturer is trying to woo new customers with new ideas, designs and features. Apple's iPhone, Microsoft's Windows Phone 7, Google's Droid, and Rim's BlackBerry are a few in the list.

SmartPhones.gif


Today, I find my iPhone being one of the most common parts of my life. If I leave it for 15 minutes, I feel like I have left a body part somewhere. To give you an idea, here is a list of the tasks I do with my iPhone.


  • Obviously, Phone calls
  • Text messaging – I found it useful even when there is noise, you can still text.
  • Emails – I check most of my emails while I am doing some other activities such as at the Gym, waiting somewhere or even while watching TV or waiting for Neel's school bus. This saves me lot of time and hassle of going to my computer.
  • Photos and Videos
  • Music – I use all the time at the GYM.
  • Games – Neel and I play lot of games on it. I play two games only, Angry Birds and Chess.
  • All schedules and reminder
  • Maps and directions
  • All calendar events
  • Alarms
  • Online banking and stock market updates
  • Stop Watch – I use all the time when I am having Neel practice at the field.
  • Weather – I check it every day, a few times a day to keep me up to date with the weather.
  • News – Check news online
  • Website updates – I check C# Corner and other websites
  • Messengers chats
  • Shopping research
Smart phones market is the fastest growing business today and probably for the next decade.Nielsen predicts that the smart phones will take over the regular phones in year 2012.
SmartPhones2.gif


IDC predicts, the he worldwide market for smart phones expected to grow 55.4% this year compared to 2009 amid better than expected demand. This is 10% higher than the previous forecast from the International Data Corporation.

IDC prediction also predicts that by 2014, the Android and Windows Phone will take over the iOS (iPhone) by a big number and Google's Android will lead the way.



As a developer, you should think about development of smart phones now. Smart Phones development is one of the Top 6 Software Development Trends in 2011. Today, the market is flooded with many Tables. Check out my blog Are Tablets the Future?

I have been a Windows Client applications developer for almost 14 years now. I have also been developing Web application for a while but recently, I have switched my focus to smart phones. Novell, recently launched the MonoDroid that I am using to build Android based applications using C#. I am using the MonoTouch iPhone/iPad development.

Cheers!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

7 Golden Rules to Impress Your Project Leader

7 Golden Rules to Impress Your Project Leader
There are several ways to impress your boss. You could sing, dance or buy him/her a beer - it all depends on what kind of boss you have. How about losing a tennis game? For our sake, we will focus on impressing a technical boss, such as your team leader, technical leader or project leader, the person who is responsible for assigning you work and reviewing your work the first time you deliver it. The person can also be a direct client you are working for.
With that said, this comes from within me. If I am a client or a project leader or a technical leader, this is what I would look for.
DOS days are gone when the definition of an expert programmer correlated with your typing speed and memory. The faster you type without looking at manuals (command syntaxes), the sharper a programmer you were considered.
Those days are long gone. Welcome to the Visual world. Welcome to the RAD (Rapid Application Development) and RIA (Rich Internet Applications) world. Welcome to the Web 2.0.
Today, you do not need to memorize commands and syntaxes. Tools such as Visual Studio 2010 Intellisense, ReSharper and SQL Prompt are here for you.
So what exactly do you need to focus on?
A computer program solves a problem. First, you need to find the most efficient and effective solution to your problems. Anybody can write code. Yes, that is true. Nowadays, anybody can write code, but the winner is the one who writes the most efficient code.
Check out my blog Top 10 Things Every Developer MUST Do
Besides writing efficient code, what else should you keep in mind?
You need to know the following:
  • What tools and technologies are most efficient for your project?
  • What user interfaces are best suited for your application?
  • Have you commented and formatted your code?
  • Have you used the latest features provided by the tools and technologies?
  • Have you tested your code?
So how can you improve? Here are some of the pointers I noticed from my personal experience. I have been involved with every aspect of the software development life cycle from meeting non-technical clients, understanding their needs, writing detailed specifications, writing design documents to coding, testing, installation and development. I have also managed several projects simultaneously with in-house developers, offshore teams, and a blend of both.
Here are my 7 golden rules in my book:

Continue reading ...