My Two Favorite Things!

Visual Studio + Xbox Achievements?!

Now, you can earn achievements while you use Visual Studio!

http://channel9.msdn.com/achievements/visualstudio

Multi-line test steps added to Microsoft Test Manager

I just discovered a recent (October 2011) blog post from Brian Harry where he discussed a service pack release that allows test authors to utilize line breaks in test steps and a couple of other things.

NOTE: This is not the same as Service Pack 1 (SP1). This is a separate install.

1. After you have installed this service pack.
2. Open a new or existing test case in Microsoft Test Manager.
3. Place your cursor at the end of a test step and hit ALT+ENTER to insert a line break. Continue typing to add text on a second line.

MTM Test Case - Multi-line Test Step

MTM Test Runner - Multi-line Test

So, there you go! There will be other usability enhancements within the next version of the product and I’ll highlight those in upcoming posts.

CodeMash Shout-out!

CodeMash 2012 in Sandusky, Ohio starts tomorrow (Jan 11) and runs through Friday (Jan 13). If you can make it, you should definitely try. I’m not able to go since I just switched jobs, but I want to hear your feedback on the event!

There looks to be a session on “Slate time for Windows Azure” and anything with the word ‘slate’ always intrigues me. (I can’t wait until we have those transparent, flexible slates they show in movies like Avatar or Minority Report!)

My colleague, Clint Edmonson always puts on a great show and will be doing a session entitled “A Force of One: Agile and the Solo Developer”.

Check out sessions from some of my other colleagues below:

session	presenter	time	location
wednesday, jan 11
building social games using html5 with windows 8, azure, and .net (full day)	nathan totten	all day	nile
html5 is here & the web will never be the same	brandon satrom & clark sell	1:30pm	salon g
windows phone 7 workshop	jeff blankenburg & dave bost	1:30pm	sage/zebra
thursday, jan 12
what the heck are they doing over there? inside the ms web stack of love	scott hanselman	9:45am	orange
what’s new in windows phone mango	jesse liberty	9:45am	salon g
breaking the barrier with node.js on windows & azure	glenn block	1:45pm	salon a
coffeescript is for closers	brandon satrom	3:35pm	salon e
a force of one: agile and the solo developer	clint edmonson	3:35pm	aloes/leopardwood
friday, jan 13
making crazy money with games and the cloud	brian prince	9:30am	salon b
an introduction to SignalR	brady gaster	9:30am	nile
dealing with information overload	scott hanselman	10:45am	aloes/leopardwood
mobile smack down iron chef style	jeff blankenburg	1:45pm	zambezi
ask us anything. seriously.	ms team	3:00pm	zambezi

There are plenty of other interesting-looking sessions like:

• Putting the D&D in TDD
• .NET TDD Immersion
• Beginning and Intermediate Software Craftsmanship Workshops
• The People vs JavaScript (amusing description!)
• Async from the Inside
• Async from the Outside
• Making a Mockery of Hard to Test Code
• …and plenty more!!

First Week at Microsoft

For those of you that don’t know, I’ve recently switched jobs and I’ve just completed my first week at Microsoft as a Developer Technology Specialist.

I’ll be focused on talking to customers in Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and other neighboring states about the features and benefits of working on the Microsoft developer platform and it’s amazing developer tools. I’ve long been a fan (and evangelist) of Visual Studio and TFS, so this is a great fit for me. (I’ve got some big shoes to fill since Bill Maurer has this position before me and I am lucky to still be able to work along side him in his new role.) Besides the developer tools, I’m also excited to talk to customers about other current and future technologies like WCF, WPF, etc.

I’ll still be heavily involved in the St. Louis Days of .NET and other community events. I look forward to seeing many of you at our 5th anniversary event this August!

If you are interested in learning more about the Microsoft developer platform, it’s now my job to talk to you! 🙂