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REVIEW: Zune 2.0 - the best player on the market!

Bill Evjen — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 02:50:30 GMT

I got one of the first Zune players when it came out. There were things that I liked/disliked about it. The worse thing about it was the software that it came with. It was clunky and not to practical so I really didn't end up using it that often. Though, with that said, Microsoft recently released the new 2.0 version of the Zune software which was basically a complete new software package. With the new software and the changes to the firmware that was made to the Zune player along with the client software upgrade - the Zune player is the best player on the market! It is better than IPOD and any of the other players out there. Here are some of the cool Zune features:

BIG Screen! Look at the size of this screen. You might be looking at this and think that the screen size is oddly shaped to watch a movie or something, but the video that is played in this plays sideways so that you turn the Zune player to the side and it is like a widescreen view of what you are looking at. You will find that this is one of the biggest screens for a media device on the market. Especially compare the size of this video screen to what you see for the IPOD and there is no comparison!

One thing that I didn't like about the IPOD was that you are working with non-MP3 files - you couldn't just take your .mp3 files that you already have all over your system and just move those files to you player. The Zune player does make use of the .mp3 file extension - so moving over your already pre-existing files is a quick and easy thing to do.

So, what kind of media can go on your Zune? - MP3s, movies (.mp4), podcasts, pictures, and there is even a radio. I have become completely addicted to the podcasts:

There is a directory of video and audio podcasts for you to subscribe to. You can also find your own podcasts and add them to your subscriptions. The Zune software will keep the latest number of versions available for you synced up to your player. So, for me, I have the latest three episodes of all my podcasts synced up to the player and can watch them on my computer (with the client software) or on my Zune player. It has become a kind of Tivo for me as I watch the NBC Nightly News and other news programs (the complete video program) on my computer in the morning with the software. I have never been so caught up with the news (from around the world as I love the BBC newscasts as well).

Another nice thing about the Zune player is that with version 2.0 - it now has an exposed MAC address which is nice as the Zune player has wireless. This means that you can sync your Zune over your wireless network and also share items with other Zune players nearby.

Two Senior C# Programmers Needed

Bill Evjen — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 14:02:21 GMT

Want to join a .NET development team that works on with the latest and greatest? A team that is making a difference in the collective investment space? I have a couple of spots for some new team members in our St. Louis office. I am looking for strong .NET developers with the following focus:

· .NET 2.0/3.0

· ASP.NET

· AJAX

· JavaScript

· HTML (of course)

· CSS

· VS2005

· And more….

The company is Lipper and we have some outstanding benefits. Send me your information via the Contact part of this blog if you are interested.

The company? Lipper, a wholly owned subsidiary of Reuters – the news and information company. You will find that we have a fast-paced environment working on the edge of technology with the goal of producing the best software this space has to offer. Outstanding benefits as well.

UPDATE: Go to http://www.lipperweb.com to apply.

Welcome to Fellow Blogger Kevin Grossnicklaus

Bill Evjen — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 16:21:14 GMT

I've known Kevin for a number of years as a friend and more recently as a co-worker. "G" has just started his blog at http://geekswithblogs.net/kgrossnicklaus and is one of the .NET voices of St. Louis. Kevin's focus is on the Smart Client and especially in the area of Smart Client frameworks. In fact, he is giving a presentation on a framework that he has been working on for some time. It is quite worth the look. Glad to see you blogging finally Kevin.

Alas my friends - I'm not TechEd bound

Bill Evjen — Tue, 29 May 2007 03:10:57 GMT

I wanted to ... oh yes, I wanted to come to TechEd. It is one of the best conferences out there and it is something that you will find simply overwhelming. I am unable to attend as the product that I have been working on for more than a year for Lipper is about to release (June 15th) and that is tooooo close to be messing around at a conference (no matter how cool I think that conference might be).

I have to say though that the product we are releasing (for the financial services industry) is outstanding and will be the premier product in the collective investment space. I am simple amazed and stunned by it and will give you all more details after its release!

With that said, enjoy TechEd! If this is your first time - don't get hung up with all the PPT sessions. The absolute best experiences in learning that I have EVER had at TechEd is sitting with the MSFT teams in the exhibition hall and going over my issues and their futures. Keep that in mind. You will get the DVDs with all the PPTs and the audio and can review those later - you will not get the opportunity to sit next to Steve Lasker everyday and go over what you are dealing with in your SQL Server environment!

An article showing Oracle and .NET working together

Bill Evjen — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 22:50:26 GMT

I was recently in an article detailing the power of putting an Oracle 10g database together with a .NET application. Oracle Magazine recently did an article of what I have been working on for the last year as the Technical Architect for Lipper. Take a read. The article intro goes:

"Developers want - and need - more choice than ever. From shopping cart applications to Web 2.0, from SOA to the database, from .NET to Java, programmers face increasing challenges in an increasingly diverse workplace."

Tag, I’m It

Bill Evjen — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 20:53:00 GMT

Ok, I was tagged by Jim Minatel and I have to list five things about myself that you might not be aware of.

#1 – I work for Lipper, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reuters. I just moved to Lipper as their Technical Architect after about 5 years at Reuters. I am leading the effort to design and build their next-generation platform and premium product offering (all .NET of course)!

#2 – I am married to an outstanding lady I met in Europe. She's from Finland and we have three kids aged 8, 6, and 1 together. Everyone in my family has dual-citizenship EXCEPT me!

#3 – I am an air-cooled Volkswagen fanatic and have owned in my past a '68 Karmann Ghia (my first car), '64 ½ (really) Volkswagen Camper Bus (built the engine myself), '62 Bug, and a '72 Fastback (kinda rare).

#4 – I have a Russian linguistics major and journalism minor and I enjoyed a front row seat in the Russian Revolution of 1993.

#5 – I am one of the rare folks that grew up and spent most of my life in the Seattle area and has since left for some sunshine! And No, I have never worked for Microsoft (the most asked question of me).

Google is the word!

Bill Evjen — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 17:19:00 GMT

Was that a quote from Grease?

Well, anyway, when I heard that Google had become a word in the Oxford dictionary, my first thought was if you were using the MSN Search engine, could you say you were “Googling” on MSN? Looking at the new definition, it seems not. The definition is:

Google as a verb is defined in the dictionary as;

intr. To use the Google search engine to find information on the Internet. trans. To search for information about (a person or thing) using the Google search engine.

BOSTON! Why is TechEd 2006 here?

Bill Evjen — Mon, 12 Jun 2006 12:40:00 GMT

I thought that Boston would be a cool city to have TechEd in, but alas, it is disappointing. The Convention Center is quite a bit out of the city if you are walking. Taxis are expensive and the city around here seems quite dead. Hotels are expensive and the traffic in the morning is crazy. It took the bus 50 minutes to get 8 miles from the hotel to the convention center.

I've been to around 5 different TechEds and by far the best one I have been to was in Dallas. Dallas is a great city.

My brother George makes head coach!

Bill Evjen — Mon, 08 May 2006 18:36:00 GMT

http://naia.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl-div2/spec-rel/050406aaa.html

Beer Connoisseur

Bill Evjen — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 20:05:00 GMT

I love craft beers. Always have and always will. A good friend of mine (and co-worker) from Brussels just came to visit the office in St. Louis this week and much to my surprise he brought me a fine collection of Belgium beers.

These are great beers and are typically very strong on the alcohol side (usually around 10-12% while a typical American beer is 3-4.5%). Included in this batch is the following:

Trappistes Rochefort
Corsendonk
McChouffe
Kasteel
Orval

Most of these are Trappist beers. For more info on these beers made by monks visit here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trappist_beer

Can you tell I'm giddy?