Over the weekend I was asked a couple of times what podcasts I listen too and how do I find the time? Well the short answer is that I only find 30min (approx) on the way to and from work. I catch the train which usually entails a 10 minute walk to the trains station, 5 mins of waiting for the train, 10 mins on the train and then a further 5 mins walk to the office. As such I usually end up listening to about a podcast (occasionally 2) a day. I typically choose from the following list:
<Self Promotion>The Microsoft Developer Show – A (mostly) weekly show that features developers around the world working with Microsoft technologies</Self Promotion>
Arcast – A great architecture show hosted by Ron Jacobs out of Microsoft (speaking of which he will be visiting NZ next week!)
Dr Neil’s Notes – Neil Roodyn’s weekly synopsis of what is happening around the traps
UberTablet – Mr Tablet PC himself, Hugo occasionally finds the time to talk it up with people doing things in the Tablet/UMPC space
OnTheRun – All the technology you can get your hands on and more
dotNetRocks – One of the longest running shows and IMHO goes for too long and tends to be drawn out. Still a great listen but you need a good hour of time to kill
HanselMinutes – I’ve only just started listening to this show and it’s been great. A wide cross section of topics!
SQLDownUnder – Greg Low talks about everything data and not just with people down under
The other point of interest that came out of SQL Code Camp followed Adam’s insightful presentation on Reporting Services best practices (which would be more appropriately labelled “Adam’s rules to better reporting”). On the way back to the city I asked Adam who he turned to for information on user interface design. In typical Adam fashion his answer was himself. One of the concepts behind the product we have built at Intilecta is that there are two distinct parts, the core delivery platform (otherwise known as the content delivery platform or the CDP for short) and the content itself. Unlike most ISVs who build a product then worry about how it looks, a large proportion of our development resources (and testing) have gone into building intuitive, effective and minimal interfaces. To this end we have a number of reference books that we consult for opinions. We also try to read a number of design oriented blogs and other design critiques. A couple of the names that are worth a read:
- Edward Tufte
- Creating Passionate Users
- Stephen Few (Updated: Stephen’s blog has moved, this is now the correct address)
- Signal v’s Noise
If you know of anyone else who has a great eye for user interface design, please feel free to add a comment!
P.S. did you know that there is a new member of the DPE team in Australia, Shane Morris, who is a User eXperience Bloke!