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Tuesday, February 02, 2010

  12:43 PM - Site Moving, Or What's New Ending Soon
This site's "what's new" information feed is served by Blogger. As Blogger is discontinuing their FTP publishing service, that will no longer work. I have not yet decided whether to:
  • Discontinue the "what's new" feed (which was really just a slow trickle).
  • Migrate the site to gisdeveloper.blogspot.com (which would break links and require changes to the site structure but would also get rid of the Tripod's annoying popups and banners).
  • Change to a "pull" model to bring the Atom feed from BlogSpot into the Tripod page.  This could involve client-side AJAX but is more likely to be supported by server-side Perl code so that updates can be cached.
Switching from Blogger to another blogging tool is not an option: I like Blogger quite a lot and have been using it for other sites.
0 comments [post]  

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

  11:43 AM - SciTE 2.01-wbd-1
An updated SciTE 2.01 installer is available here.
Note, a substantial refactoring of the SciTE internals was released in the
summer, with version 2.0. Version 2.01 is a bugfix release that landed
later in the summer.

The changes appear to have stabilized now, but more conservative
technology adopters may still prefer to wait a little longer before
upgrading. Just in case, a version 1.77 installer is still available
for download.
3 comments [post]  

Sunday, July 12, 2009

  10:18 PM - SciTE Setup Restored
The setup wizard for SciTE is once again available for download. Sorry for the inconvenience. My environment is still not fully set up yet (e.g. not just in terms of computer but also in life, e.g. still waiting for furniture), but I intend to post an update in August - either based on SciTE 1.79 or 1.80 depending on timing.

I am also looking for a new long-term home for the files, as I am having trouble getting a webspace set up with my new ISP and decided not to depend on them after all. Currently the setup wizard is hosted together with the web pages on Tripod, but space and bandwidth are both constrained and this has been a problem in the past. It should be OK on a provisional basis, though.
5 comments [post]  

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

  4:46 PM - SciTE links broken
The website where the SciTE installer was hosted came down during a cross-country move, and unfortunately the backup copy is still packed and hasn't yet emerged into the light of day. This means the link to my SciTE installer is offline for the moment. Sorry for the inconvenience. I will get it restored when I can.
2 comments [post]  

Saturday, January 24, 2009

  2:51 PM - Back to GIS
So, it has been two and a half years since I left my career in the GIS software industry to pursue something of broader scope in some ways, narrower in other ways, as the Enterprise Architect for a private, regulated, vertically integrated electrical utility.

It was a great experience for me - I was able to diversify my background, helping to guide application architecture and infrastructure platform choices not just for GIS - not even mainly for GIS - but for a broad range of applications throughout the enterprise. I also got exposure to IT operations, working closely with the manager of operations and sometimes backfilling for him, which gave me a new appreciation for what is required to keep thousands of computers (servers, desktops, and laptops) running well and all of their users satisfied.

Through the projects I was involved in (either as a manager or as a doer), I gained a broad apppreciation of what is involved in the business of running a utility - not just the one I worked for, but many others throughout North America (even a few in the West Indies, although I didn't get to visit them in person). So I gained a perspective that I never, ever would have gotten from the outside.

I worked with a number of system integrators during my tenure. When I did, I watched carefully and learned, because I knew it was always possible that I would return to the consulting field. So in some cases I saw examples of what not to do (e.g. things that really do not play well from the client perspective), and in other cases I saw things that I could adopt to elevate my own practice. Both are valuable insights.

The experience was not without its growing pains, mind you, but it was very rewarding and I will never regret doing it.

But now, I'm back in the GIS industry. I say back since it is a return, even to my old employer, but I don't see it as a step backward. I am coming to a position that leverages the experience I gained on the other side of the fence: I will be providing professional services almost exclusively to the utility sector. I hope it will afford me the opportunity to bring a new flavor to my work, bringing value not only through my previous background in GIS, but leveraging the things that I have learned since then.

Am I still a GIS Developer? Well, I don't code as much these days, but I still know how and I do so when required (or outside of work, when I feel like it). But the team that I joined has some really good people with excellent coding skills and detailed product knowledge which complementary to my own expertise, so between us we'll get the job done.

Why did I make this change, if working for a utility was such a positive experience - why not just stay where I was? The simple truth is I need to move across the country for personal reasons, and I saw this as a good way to maintain some continuity in my career as I move into a new phase in life. But, it's a no-compromise move and I am really looking forward to it.
0 comments [post]  

Sunday, December 07, 2008

  12:10 PM - SciTE 1.77-wbd-1
I've published a new version of SciTE, based on the official distribution of 1.77 plus my changes. This version also includes:
  • Updated context menu handler from Andre Burgaud
  • Updated version of Lua bit library from Reuben Thomas
  • Updated code to restore the Lua package environment during buffer changes
The new version is published in the usual place.
2 comments [post]  


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