Yep, it was bound to happen. Curiosity set in and I looked to see how much this new Windows 7 thang is running. $29.95 ain't too bad. But, as we all know, that's just the beginning. The first gram is free. You and I both know that installing a new release leads to more serious drugs. I mean, apps. I mean...you know what I mean.

Anyhoo, last time I worked with Visual Studio it was pretty impressive. Visual Studio 2010 is out in beta, beckoning me to download it and play around...for free. Yep. Been there, done that. And, about to do it again. My problem is I have to see for myself what's going on. Because the longer I develop systems, the truer I find the old adage "Opinions are like elbows. Everybody has one." Well, no need to be crude, amigos!

One thing I love about Studio is all the templates. That's just me, but I love the templates in Word, too. Yes, I fall in that category of people who AREN'T great designers, like say Erica Greco who *is* a great designer. What's so good about Erica's work? Well, take the design she did for Rails Envy. And, I promise I'll work on my grammar.

I'm looking at the >* part. Greater than everything. Simple. Gets the point across. Edgy. I like stuff like that. Can I come up with it off the cuff while I am trying to figure out stuff like how to hook up a service oriented architecture? I dunno, maybe. But, let's just say I can remodel my bathroom, too. Given time. Yep, take a look...nevermind. So, that's why designers get paid the big bucks for short jobs. They deserve it. I'm not saying use a template for your next app, but how about getting some good ideas and having a starting point.

Same with the wizards. I like thumbing through the wizards and just seeing what's out there. This shouldn't take forever to do. And, you should do some looking around regularly. Even if you have to shell out some bucks.

Have you gotten so pissed off by for-pay software companies that you're never going back to the "dark side"? Fine. But, don't cut off your nose to spite your face. If you don't look at the competition, you are gonna get very, very extinct. You know, besides smoking, that's what killed off dinosaurs!

So, now there's a new group here on Codetown. It's called .Net Town. There are a couple of discussions seeded out there for you to take part in. I mean, write something. You can even say something as poignant as "C# is so much smoother than Java...", but please follow it up with a little "because..."

Hey, I'm getting called into the kitchen where some java is brewing. Talk to ya'll soon. And, happy holidays from the Swamp! (click me)