Dear Colleague
Welcome to familiar's
incisive Summer edition of 'times'!
This issue we update
you with our latest project news and look at how familiar is providing
a much needed service to a national charity. We focus the limelight on
the .NET vs Java wars and look at how the two technologies compare
- we're keeping our minds open - see what you think, and feel free to
mail us your views (we'll reward you with a free coffee mug!).
Our new Process Corner looks at the principles behind 'agile' software
development and how lightweight, flexible processes are required to 'tame'
challenging projects. We're especially interested in this topic of discussion
as many of the principles align closely to our JERID™ development
process.
We searched, we read and we précised what the world thinks, so
please have a read, follow the articles that interest you, and be sure
to let
us know what you think!
Included this issue:
| • | This months SPOTLIGHT on the .NET vs Java wars |
| • | New! PROCESS CORNER - hints & tips for delivering quality software |
| • | New! PROJECT NEWS - why we're in our customers' good books! |
| • | Features, news & articles on BUSINESS |
| • | Information about the newest TECHNOLOGY and trends |
| • | BREAKING NEWS - familiar friends making the news |
Visit us at: www.familiar.co.uk
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familiar's
STAR service to charity |
This issue we dig into the talk, hype & smoking guns behind the
.NET vs Java war that threatens to change the software development
landscape...
Back
to Basics - .NET in a Nutshell
What's really under the hood of the .NET platform?
Want to find
out more? Find out here
Java & .NET essentially complementary?
According to research from the Gartner group, Java and .NET look set to
coexist as standards for enterprise development.
Want
to find out more? Find out here
J2EE
& .NET frameworks compared
How does Microsoft's .NET framework implement the kind of functionality
behind Java APIs such as JDBC, JNDI and Java Beans?
Want
to find out more? Find out here
UnGNOME
territory
With Sun's decision to adopt GNOME as the replacement to the aging and
unloved CDE Desktop for Solaris how will the GNOME leader's proposal to
write GNOME applications in .NET go down?
Want to find
out more? Find out here
Award
winning productivity
Sun's J2EE platform and Microsoft's .NET framework both scoop winners'
medals in the 2002 JOLT Product Excellence Awards.
Want to find out more? Find
out here
Agile
Development
In February of last year, a number of well respected process "gurus",
each representing their own particular iterative approach to developing
software, got together to discuss alternatives to "heavyweight"
software development processes. What emerged was the "Manifesto for
Agile Software Development", a statement of the common values of
agile or "lightweight" processes. Unsurprisingly, many of the
good practices proposed are already core to our JERID™ process.
Want to read the principles
behind the manifesto? Find them here
Watch
and weight
Research by the Cutter Consortium shows that agile development processes
are poised to overtake traditional 'heavyweight' approaches to software
development. Good news for familiar's JERID™ approach then!!
Want to find out
more? Find out here
Wicked
Problem
Ever worked on a project where stakeholders disagree with each other,
requirements are volatile, and risks are high? (We have!!) If so, you've
encountered a "wicked" project. Find out more about how to get
some discipline in place.
Want
to read the article? Find it here
CMM
& eXtreme Programming (XP) - do they fit?
The Capability Maturity Model was developed by the Software Engineering
Institute to measure the maturity of an organisation's software development
process. Is this model still appropriate for organisations using lightweight
processes such as XP?
Want to find out
more? Find out here
The brains being the amazing Mind Mapping technique can teach you how to think more creatively and solve problems more easily. At familiar we've even started capturing initial customer requirements using Mind Maps - you'd be surprised at how well this has worked!
Want to find out more? Find out here
Treat people right, Make more money!
Clearly having happy, contented employees can only lead to success... so what is it that ensures that your company & employees are successful?
Want to find out more? Find out here
How productive are your staff?
Or rather, how are you measuring their productivity? Just because developers are in the office 12hrs a day doesn't mean they're focused on churning out quality deliverables.
Want to find out why? Find out here
Internet scams
A survey by the US National Consumer League (NCL) has produced a list of the top 10 most prevalent net frauds.
Want to find out more? Find out here
Infrastructure
for change
Intamission's IntaSpaces enables organisations to deploy applications
and services "on the fly" without any service interruption to
users. Find out why IntaSpaces technology has Jini and JavaSpaces technology
at its core to realise the full scope of its vision.
Want to find
out more? Find out here
Sun's
J2EE app server bundled into Solaris
How will Sun's decision to integrate the application server formally known
as iPlanet with its Solaris 9 operating system affect iPlanet's competitors?
Want
to find out more? Find out here
Linux
for the Playstation 2!
Sony's port of Linux to the PS2 means you can legitimately work in front
of a games console!
Want to find out more? Find
out here
Lego
Mindstorms meets Java
With the development of LeJOS, a Java based replacement firmware (OS)
for the Lego Mindstorms RCX you can now program your Lego robots using
Java!
Want to find
out more? Find out here
Waste
Watchers
Every year in the UK, 1.5 million computers, many of which still contain
working parts, are dumped in landfill sites. In addition, as mobile phone
users discard their outdated handsets for newer models, the number of
phones entering the waste stream is causing toxic chemicals to enter the
soil and groundwater.
Want to find
out more? Find out here
Here
are some charities which can put your unwanted hardware to good use…
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