Columbus Lightning Talks
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Tonight at the Columbus .NET Developers Group (CONDG), they are having 8 lightning talks as their presentation. Lightning talks are basically 10-15 minute presentations that go one after another, with 1 minute breaks for setup/teardown.
Here are the subjects that were presented:
Steve Horn - ADO.NET
Matt Casto - Silverlight (consuming ADO.NET)
Amanda Laucher/James Bender - F#
Steve Harman - Rhino Mocks
Brian Sherwin - Log4Net
Jon Kruger - LINQ to SQL
John Vottero - PowerShell 4 Devs
These presentations were also videotaped, and will be made available on the CONDG website.
Also, in the early housekeeping, there were two major announcements made:
1) Brian Prince has accepted the Architect Evangelist role with Microsoft. He'll be working alongside me in the Heartland.
2) Carey Payette was elected the new president of CONDG. Congratulations Carey.
Here are the subjects that were presented:
Steve Horn - ADO.NET
Matt Casto - Silverlight (consuming ADO.NET)
Amanda Laucher/James Bender - F#
Steve Harman - Rhino Mocks
Brian Sherwin - Log4Net
Jon Kruger - LINQ to SQL
John Vottero - PowerShell 4 Devs
These presentations were also videotaped, and will be made available on the CONDG website.
Also, in the early housekeeping, there were two major announcements made:
1) Brian Prince has accepted the Architect Evangelist role with Microsoft. He'll be working alongside me in the Heartland.
2) Carey Payette was elected the new president of CONDG. Congratulations Carey.
Labels: ado.net, CONDG, F#, jeff blankenburg, lightning talks, linq, log4net, microsoft, powershell, rhino mocks, Silverlight, sql
That's Certainly An Unfortunate Truncation...
Friday, February 22, 2008
Snow Day? Are You Kidding Me?
Snow days in Columbus, OH are an absolute farce.
I've certainly Twittered about this in the past, and this probably will not be the last time I complain about it. Today, nearly every school in the Greater Columbus area is closed.
Last night, you'd have thought we were living in New Orleans the day before Katrina hit. "Winter Storm Warnings" and "Weather Advisories" were all I could find on the television (when I wasn't completely glued to LOST.) But yet, this morning, the roads were clear, and my driveway had just a little snow on it.
I had to pick up a book from the library today. So I went out. The roads are DRY. There are a million cars on the roads. The mall looked like tomorrow was Christmas.
How is this a snow day?
Maybe my memory is spotty, but I recall snow days in Cleveland when I was a kid. Snow days shut down the city. Snow days meant your parents weren't going to work...not because they had to watch you, but because their office was closed as well. Snow days always meant tons of time to play in the snow, because there was 6-10 inches of the stuff.
I've always been confused by Columbus's policy of the "2-hour delay." FOG causes a 2-hour delay. Heavy rain causes a 2-hour delay. This means working parents have to miss even more of their workday because...
1) School bus drivers can't drive in the fog/rain?
2) Lawyers love a good "schoolchildren injured by weather" lawsuit?
3) Superintendents just don't feel like working on gloomy days?
I can't think of a good reason to postpone school and interrupt everyone's lives for FOG?
But back to today's rant: Why today is a snow day. It's raining here in Columbus. Most of the snow is melting. So why is school closed? Why was the city in a panic last night?
Why do we base so many of our daily decisions on the ramblings of a guy that's right about 40% of the time? Lewis Black said it best: "In Latin, meteorologist means LIAR. Al Roker was the weather man in NYC, and three years ago we had a blizzard. We were supposed to have, according to Al, 4 to 12 inches of snow. That's his prediction. We had 36 inches. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, he was 2 feet off. That's not even in the ballpark. If you were a roofer and you built a roof and it was two feet off, you'd still be serving time. Al Roker makes 1.5 million dollars a year as a weather person and he doesn't know sh** about the weather."
I've certainly Twittered about this in the past, and this probably will not be the last time I complain about it. Today, nearly every school in the Greater Columbus area is closed.
Last night, you'd have thought we were living in New Orleans the day before Katrina hit. "Winter Storm Warnings" and "Weather Advisories" were all I could find on the television (when I wasn't completely glued to LOST.) But yet, this morning, the roads were clear, and my driveway had just a little snow on it.
I had to pick up a book from the library today. So I went out. The roads are DRY. There are a million cars on the roads. The mall looked like tomorrow was Christmas.
How is this a snow day?
Maybe my memory is spotty, but I recall snow days in Cleveland when I was a kid. Snow days shut down the city. Snow days meant your parents weren't going to work...not because they had to watch you, but because their office was closed as well. Snow days always meant tons of time to play in the snow, because there was 6-10 inches of the stuff.
I've always been confused by Columbus's policy of the "2-hour delay." FOG causes a 2-hour delay. Heavy rain causes a 2-hour delay. This means working parents have to miss even more of their workday because...
1) School bus drivers can't drive in the fog/rain?
2) Lawyers love a good "schoolchildren injured by weather" lawsuit?
3) Superintendents just don't feel like working on gloomy days?
I can't think of a good reason to postpone school and interrupt everyone's lives for FOG?
But back to today's rant: Why today is a snow day. It's raining here in Columbus. Most of the snow is melting. So why is school closed? Why was the city in a panic last night?
Why do we base so many of our daily decisions on the ramblings of a guy that's right about 40% of the time? Lewis Black said it best: "In Latin, meteorologist means LIAR. Al Roker was the weather man in NYC, and three years ago we had a blizzard. We were supposed to have, according to Al, 4 to 12 inches of snow. That's his prediction. We had 36 inches. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, he was 2 feet off. That's not even in the ballpark. If you were a roofer and you built a roof and it was two feet off, you'd still be serving time. Al Roker makes 1.5 million dollars a year as a weather person and he doesn't know sh** about the weather."
Labels: columbus, jeff blankenburg, ohio, weather
Free Software!!!
As I hope you'll recall, we had some Visual Studio 2008 Install Fests late last fall. These events sold out in under 48 hours. We gave away 525 disks that could be redeemed for a full version of VS2008 Professional.
I've just heard back from the organization that was running this effort for us, and there's been a surprisingly LOW redemption rate. This is just a friendly reminder to everyone that has a Trial disc and has not gone online to redeem it for their full version.
THAT OFFER EXPIRES ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2008!
Please make sure you get yours in. I'd hate to see you miss out on this offer.
I've just heard back from the organization that was running this effort for us, and there's been a surprisingly LOW redemption rate. This is just a friendly reminder to everyone that has a Trial disc and has not gone online to redeem it for their full version.
THAT OFFER EXPIRES ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2008!
Please make sure you get yours in. I'd hate to see you miss out on this offer.
Labels: jeff blankenburg, microsoft, visual studio
Visual Studio Has Arrived!
Monday, February 18, 2008
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For those of you that had the good fortune to get over to one of the Visual Studio 2008 Install Fests we had late last year, today's your day!
The full licensed copy of VS2008 Pro has been mailed, and you should be receiving it as soon as TODAY.
Keep an eye on your mailboxes...
Labels: jeff blankenburg, microsoft, visual studio
Why I Will Probably Be Sticking With Sprint (through my contract)
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
So I'm sot sure why, but yesterday was the most traffic this blog has received EVER. And not just by a little bit. Double my most visitors ever. Most of that traffic came because of my (somewhat lengthy) post about Sprint.
In fact, I was contacted by the Consumerist with some advice. Basically, they had discovered that there is an "Executive Service Hotline" that can be called, but is certainly not advertised. It's not even a toll-free number. What is IS, however, is the answer to anyone's issues with Sprint.
The phone number is: (703) 433-4401.
I called it this morning, and got a person on the first ring. Tammi McCants was her name. After going through the standard Sprint security measures, she asked how she could help me. I explained my situation (including much of my previous post) to her, and she understood my concerns. She looked through the notes that had been left on my account, and felt that the reps I had spoken with had misunderstood what I was asking for.
She assured me that I would have no issues in returning the HTC Mogul I am currently using, and receiving the Moto Q 9c as well, including the $100 refund I was requesting. It was as if there was a seperate number for real customer service that Sprint had been hiding from the public.
So, for the remainder of my contract, I will be sticking with Sprint as my service provider. Mostly because it will cost me $400 + tax to leave, and a new provider is going to get me with new activation fees, new phones, etc. But I would not expect to be renewing any contracts between now and then. That they can be certain of.
Labels: jeff blankenburg, sprint
Why I Will Most Likely Be Leaving Sprint As A Customer...
Monday, February 11, 2008
So, as I sit on hold with Sprint, I was inspired to write a second post today...
I have been a customer with Sprint since 1998. 10 years. For the first 9 of those years, it was sheer bliss. They had phones that I wanted, they had plans that fit my lifestyle. And they were constantly recognizing that I was a long-time customer and conceding deals that (at least I like to think) were not available to the public. Things like waived activation fees, shipping on new phones, etc.
In addition, they have the cheapest unlimited data plan around. $15. What a deal for an internet addict such as myself!
It was even a smooth transition when I added my wife to the mix. Very easy (in fact, my current plan included a free second line that I was not utilizing, so she came on almost completely free.)
However, in August, I took a new job with Microsoft. It involves significantly more travel than I had done in the past, as well as the opportunity to work remotely from home. These two things resulted in some pretty amazing bills my first couple of months on the job.
So I called my next available Sprint representative, and wanted to talk through my options for changing my plan to accomodate my newly found additional minutes. We found a plan that was desirable (1400 minutes a month, still including my wife's phone for free), and cost the same as my old one (after applying a generous Microsoft discount.) I was in heaven. Until my first bill.
It was supposed to be about $100. It was $190. This was clearly not solving my problem. So I called them. After about 30 minutes of trying to explain my situation (I had not gone over on my minutes, BTW). We finally determined that when the plan was changed, only MY phone was moved to the new plan, and, in fact, my wife's phone was still rockin' steady on the old plan. So all I'd really done was ADD a second plan to my account, not replace the old one. So she credited my account and assured me that the problem was corrected. Great! I can certainly appreciate a mistake, as long as it's corrected.
So all is well until the next bill comes. Same mistake. I call, and I get practically the same resolution. Now we're alightly annoyed.
Here comes December's bill. Guess what? It's still wrong. I've had enough. I call angrily. I finally get someone on the phone that knows what they are doing. He walks me through all of the steps he's taking, and the problem is corrected. And come January, IT ACTUALLY IS! Woo hoo!
But now my phone, the Treo 700wx is acting up. I have to take the battery out and replace it about twice a day, and about once a week, I'm forced to do a "hard reset" which erases everything from the phone, forcing me to start over. Thank God I pay the $7/month for the replacement warranty. Oh, except that warranty only assures me a refurbished version of the same phone I'm struggling with. Well, that's not an option.
So, infuriated, I call to change this policy. Those of you that know me well know that I live by a policy of "everything's negotiable." Surely, if they can give me a phone that costs $350 (the refurb), they can give me a "different" phone that costs $350. I am, of course, told that will not be possible. So I politely (as politely as I can) ask to cancel my account. This is apparently the magic word at Sprint: CANCEL. In fact, they have an entire department dedicated to making sure that I don't cancel. My customer service agent immediately becomes my inside source. He starts to tell me all of the things that I need to do and say to get what I want from the "cancellation department." So I am transferred to them. And I have a nice conversation. Almost everything I ask for happens. The phone I want was actually $550, and I am more than willing to pay the difference. $200. She obliges me. And I get the phone 3 days later, free of shipping charges, activation fees, or even taxes (don't tell the IRS.)
This is where it takes a turn for the worst. After a week with this new phone, the HTC Mogul, I start to realize that it's just like the last phone I hated. It has a horrible one-handed experience (read: I can't text while
So I called my friends at Sprint tonight to talk through my return options (ones I was assured "wouldn't be a problem" when I purchased the phone). I've determined that based on the extremely limited phone options Sprint offers, the only one that is really going to meet my needs is the Moto Q 9c. I'd really like to make an exchange of sorts. The Moto Q 9c has everything I want in a phone. Good form factor, built-in GPS, WM6, the list goes on. And a ONE-HANDED keyboard. After spending 55 minutes on the phone with a customer service rep, here's what my options were:
1) Return the HTC Mogul, and receive the Moto Q 9c, but get no refund of the difference in price ($100).
2) Return the HTC Mogul for a full refund, and go back to using the battered and broken Palm Treo 700wx.
3) Talk to the cancellation department again (I'm starting to see a pattern) and try and get the "fair" deal I am looking for.
As you can guess, I chose option #3. So the rep told me he would be transferring me. But before he transferred me, he started to give me advice, just like last time. Tell them this...make sure you tell them you want to cancel...just make your demands known...etc. And then I got HUNG UP ON. No transfer, no nothing. Just a busy signal.
After a little yelling at the room I'm sitting in, I redial Sprint. I don't have another hour to burn. It's already 11:00 PM, and I just drove two hours to Cleveland. So when their voice recognition software kicks in, I say the magic words. "Cancellation." I am immediately transferred to the Cancellation Department, and I got to talk with a new rep. For the rest of the story, we'll call her "The Rep That Likes Customers To Leave For The Competition." Or TR for short.
So I tell TR my issues, and she is sympathetic, just like I'm sure the script told her to be. I'm very friendly, and she's receptive to my needs. All I'm asking for really, is to return one phone, and get a phone that is $100 cheaper. Oh, and to be refunded the $100 difference. I guess I don't think that I am being difficult.
Instead, she reviews how I got the Mogul at such a discounted rate. She tells me that she's not even sure how someone could have given me the price that I was given. She then proceeds to tell me that not only can I not get that $100 returned to me, the Moto Q 9c will actually cost me $50 MORE! I kindly ask her to remind me what it's going to cost to cancel my account and move to another provider. She is very quick to let me know that it will be $200 per phone (me and my wife, remember), plus tax. THERE'S TAX ON A CANCELLATION FEE? UNBELIEVABLE! My account is now clearly flagged as "LET HIM GO, ALREADY." Before we end the call, she asks me if there's anything else she can help me with tonight (from the script), and I politely respond with "Clearly, there isn't anything you can help me with." Click.
Tomorrow, I will be talking with AT&T and Verizon to see how we can start a new relationship together. I'm looking forward to a world where new phones are available when then come out, not 6-12 months later. A world where each and every move I make doesn't start a new 24 month contract. A world where customer service is exactly that. Service. Not an opportunity to upsell me again. Goodbye Sprint. It's been a fun 10 years of loyalty and defending your honor to my mocking colleagues and friends, but I think it's about time we start seeing other service providers.
Here's to hoping I get one of these soon:
Anyone have any reason why I should pick one provider over another? I'm looking for compelling arguments. The iPhone is NOT a compelling argument.
Labels: customer service, sprint, sprint pcs
Why Do You Write Code?
Today I posted the question "Why Do You Code?" on the always-reliable Twitter, and I got some great responses. I am posting them here. I think this type of conversation is my favorite part about social networking, by far. Click on people's names to follow them on Twitter! Thank you to everyone that added their answers!
If you didn't get to participate, please add your answer to the comments!
ohiomikeward I code because I enjoy it... love seeing an idea that started in my head come together as a rendered page on the internet.
objo we get to learn how things work (domains) and we get paid to solve puzzles.
johnnystock I agree with @objo solving complex puzzles and finding ways to do what can't be done = cool feeling
mjeaton I enjoy taking an idea and making a working product out of it. Same reason I enjoy woodworking.
babernethy I tend to agree with Jon Rentzch http://snurl.com/1zg57 on the topic, that programmers like to solve problems, not "just code"
fallenrogue Mostly my love of correcting the factual inconsistencies of so-called "hacker" movies.
fallenrogue and the chix0rz, of course.
nathanblevins Coding is similiar to creating, like art or singing or etc. It is a way to express yourself. That is what got me into it.
jamesbender It allows me to be creative and play with all the "new shiny toys."
brianhprince creative outlet. quietly taking over the world. stress relief. can't throw a ball.
RossCode It's all about understanding someone's business and being able to help them better it. Coding is just the tool to get there.
MichaelDotNet Honestly? I love taking something and having complete control over it muhahahaha The computer is my [expletive deleted]!
toddkaufman Because my true dream of becoming a professional dancer went away after the knee injury in '95
bsherwin I'd go postal making Big Macs, paving roads or changing light bulbs in parking lots.
objo another one .... how many jobs out there get to create something from nothing?
timwingfield To create something, the continual learning, and the new challenges. And because those pesky mortgage bills keep showing up.
FalconGN because it can be fun to solve business problems with technology.
timwingfield forgot the obvious one...Because it's FUN! It's not a "job" if you love it.
ViNull I live to code of course, I don't code to live =) Seriously, it is a "runner's high" thing
allennoakes answer: to satisfy my curiosity of patterns and logic.
ViNull I'm about understanding someone's problem and solving with them; I get no greater "thanks" than seeing my software in use
lozanotek I've always in the "it's just fun" camp. A while back, I realized that I was good at it and had a blast
cwoodruff I code because I can and enjoy they look on people's faces when I deliver a great tool to make their lives easier.
davidmohara Because I get paid to do something I would be doing anyway. (I know that doesn't explain the why though)
davidmohara "Why" isn't any different for developers than it is for other careers - it's about an aptitude (calling?) and opportunity
mattblodgett I originally liked programming because it was hard. I'm still hooked because I realize how hard it is to do it _well_.
Arnulfo I code because it was MY career choice. Influences: fun, geek factor, money.
alanstevens I code because I couldn't stand the other careers I tried. Late one night, I realized people get paid to do what I was doing.
pandamonial Besides all the other stuff, you never go a day without learning something so you never get bored
nathanblevins cause "reaching rank 45 in Halo 3" does not really inspire an impressive image? lol
DavidWalker I started coding for fun & young w/ C64. For last 15 years its been about providing value for the cause - Biz, Community, etc.
dcampbell A little late to the game with a less altruistic answer. Cash.
gilesgoatboy honestly, because it's fun, it pays well, and it's so [expletive removed without permission from Giles Bowett] easy. solving puzzles in code ~= video games with words.
dshultz because it's challenging, fun and there's great satisfaction in creating a well-functioning app.
johnkellar I code because I enjoy making things easier for people. To help someone else be more productive and see their satisfaction.
sadukie It's my inner engineer that drives me to code.
If you didn't get to participate, please add your answer to the comments!
ohiomikeward I code because I enjoy it... love seeing an idea that started in my head come together as a rendered page on the internet.
objo we get to learn how things work (domains) and we get paid to solve puzzles.
johnnystock I agree with @objo solving complex puzzles and finding ways to do what can't be done = cool feeling
mjeaton I enjoy taking an idea and making a working product out of it. Same reason I enjoy woodworking.
babernethy I tend to agree with Jon Rentzch http://snurl.com/1zg57 on the topic, that programmers like to solve problems, not "just code"
fallenrogue Mostly my love of correcting the factual inconsistencies of so-called "hacker" movies.
fallenrogue and the chix0rz, of course.
nathanblevins Coding is similiar to creating, like art or singing or etc. It is a way to express yourself. That is what got me into it.
jamesbender It allows me to be creative and play with all the "new shiny toys."
brianhprince creative outlet. quietly taking over the world. stress relief. can't throw a ball.
RossCode It's all about understanding someone's business and being able to help them better it. Coding is just the tool to get there.
MichaelDotNet Honestly? I love taking something and having complete control over it muhahahaha The computer is my [expletive deleted]!
toddkaufman Because my true dream of becoming a professional dancer went away after the knee injury in '95
bsherwin I'd go postal making Big Macs, paving roads or changing light bulbs in parking lots.
objo another one .... how many jobs out there get to create something from nothing?
timwingfield To create something, the continual learning, and the new challenges. And because those pesky mortgage bills keep showing up.
FalconGN because it can be fun to solve business problems with technology.
timwingfield forgot the obvious one...Because it's FUN! It's not a "job" if you love it.
ViNull I live to code of course, I don't code to live =) Seriously, it is a "runner's high" thing
allennoakes answer: to satisfy my curiosity of patterns and logic.
ViNull I'm about understanding someone's problem and solving with them; I get no greater "thanks" than seeing my software in use
lozanotek I've always in the "it's just fun" camp. A while back, I realized that I was good at it and had a blast
cwoodruff I code because I can and enjoy they look on people's faces when I deliver a great tool to make their lives easier.
davidmohara Because I get paid to do something I would be doing anyway. (I know that doesn't explain the why though)
davidmohara "Why" isn't any different for developers than it is for other careers - it's about an aptitude (calling?) and opportunity
mattblodgett I originally liked programming because it was hard. I'm still hooked because I realize how hard it is to do it _well_.
Arnulfo I code because it was MY career choice. Influences: fun, geek factor, money.
alanstevens I code because I couldn't stand the other careers I tried. Late one night, I realized people get paid to do what I was doing.
pandamonial Besides all the other stuff, you never go a day without learning something so you never get bored
nathanblevins cause "reaching rank 45 in Halo 3" does not really inspire an impressive image? lol
DavidWalker I started coding for fun & young w/ C64. For last 15 years its been about providing value for the cause - Biz, Community, etc.
dcampbell A little late to the game with a less altruistic answer. Cash.
gilesgoatboy honestly, because it's fun, it pays well, and it's so [expletive removed without permission from Giles Bowett] easy. solving puzzles in code ~= video games with words.
dshultz because it's challenging, fun and there's great satisfaction in creating a well-functioning app.
johnkellar I code because I enjoy making things easier for people. To help someone else be more productive and see their satisfaction.
sadukie It's my inner engineer that drives me to code.
Labels: code, code to live, jeff blankenburg, twitter
Upcoming Events in Our Area
Monday, February 04, 2008
This information will also be going out in the MSDN Flash email, but if you're not subscribed, I wanted to make sure you got it here as well.
ArcReady http://www.arcready.com/
ArcReady is a free half-day series covering the topics important to aspiring and existing software architects.
Cincinnati 3/3/2008
Nashville 3/4/2008
DevCares http://www.devcares.com/
DevCares is a FREE half-day technical training series created by Developers for Developers! We’ll address the needs and issues of developers today and show you how to make a real difference in the way that you work!
Southfield, MI 02/15
Columbus, OH 02/29
Central Ohio Day of .NET April 19, 2008
The Central Ohio Day of .NET is a joint venture between the Dayton .NET Developers Group, Central Ohio .NET Developers Group and the Cincinnati .NET Users Group. The event originally was called the Cincinnati-Dayton Area Code camp and ran in 2006 and 2007 under that name. With the inclusion of the Columbus group the event has been renamed to the Central Ohio Day of .NET. The event is a FREE day of technology discussions devoted to helping the local development community grow.
Day of .NET events are a series of mini-conferences organized by developers for developers. You can find out more about Day of .NET events, including seeing upcoming events, on the series website at http://www.dodn.org/.
Visual Studio 2008, SQL Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 LAUNCH EVENTS!
3/13/2008 Cleveland, OH
3/18/2008 Detroit, MI "Premier Event"
3/20/2008 Columbus, OH
4/3/2008 Indianapolis, IN
4/14/2008 Pittsburgh, PA
5/1/2008 Nashville, TN
5/13/2008 Grand Rapids, MI
5/22/2008 Louisville, KY
Labels: jeff blankenburg, microsoft
Do No Evil....My Butt.
Friday, February 01, 2008
So, I've got em. They're busted. Google has knowingly done evil.
Those of you that have been reading my blog for a little while have seen my video series, JUXtapose. I've been uploading it to Soapbox (MSN Video), where it gets rendered and served from, saving me the bandwidth issues. And since I've been doing this, I've noticed that the videos don't seem to come through in Google Reader.
So, I'm new to this, I must be doing something wrong. I uploaded it to YouTube...just to see what the differences were. I even used the YouTube video once as the embedded video file in my blog post. And magically, it came through. It was shown (and played) inline in my aggregator. So now I'm convinced I did something wrong with the Soapbox video. I've tried 3 or 4 different methods to use the Soapbox videos (they seem to retain the quality better), and none of them get that video to show up in Google Reader.
So on my dedicated server, I am running SmarterMail, a free, web-based mail server. As part of the interface, I can subscribe to RSS feeds as well (not unlike EVERY mail client anymore). So I subscribed to my blog, to see how it worked. The Soapbox videos came through with NO issue. They look and function perfectly.
So Google, it's your turn. Certainly your spiders will find this message. I want an explanation. Am I doing something wrong, or have you just created an RSS Aggravator for me? I think I know the answer, and you're guilty.
Those of you that have been reading my blog for a little while have seen my video series, JUXtapose. I've been uploading it to Soapbox (MSN Video), where it gets rendered and served from, saving me the bandwidth issues. And since I've been doing this, I've noticed that the videos don't seem to come through in Google Reader.
So, I'm new to this, I must be doing something wrong. I uploaded it to YouTube...just to see what the differences were. I even used the YouTube video once as the embedded video file in my blog post. And magically, it came through. It was shown (and played) inline in my aggregator. So now I'm convinced I did something wrong with the Soapbox video. I've tried 3 or 4 different methods to use the Soapbox videos (they seem to retain the quality better), and none of them get that video to show up in Google Reader.
So on my dedicated server, I am running SmarterMail, a free, web-based mail server. As part of the interface, I can subscribe to RSS feeds as well (not unlike EVERY mail client anymore). So I subscribed to my blog, to see how it worked. The Soapbox videos came through with NO issue. They look and function perfectly.
So Google, it's your turn. Certainly your spiders will find this message. I want an explanation. Am I doing something wrong, or have you just created an RSS Aggravator for me? I think I know the answer, and you're guilty.
Labels: google reader, jeff blankenburg, JUXtapose, RSS
Jeff Blankenburg is a Developer Evangelist for the Microsoft Corporation. I have a passion for user interface technologies, including CSS, 