I pointed out the obvious in my last post that I haven't been posting much lately. Partially, the holiday season was to blame, but there is a bit more news than that...
Many of you know me as Lead Architect for Monster. Well, after 6 1/2 years there, I decided to move on. It wasn't an easy decision, the company and people are still top-notch and I wasn't unhappy there, but it came down to the fact that it was time for a change.
As of two weeks ago, I am now still wearing my Architect hat, but now at VistaPrint (http://vistaprint.com) in Lexington, MA. This page explains what VistaPrint does better than I can, but the essence is that we offer low-cost custom graphic design and printing services over the web, all based on the .NET Framework. I'm enjoying the change of industry, moving from software-based services to creating real, hold-in-your-hands manufactured goods. The commute is a little longer for me, but it isn't terrible at all (besides, the Lexington area has many more restaurants than Maynard.)
Look for continued posts from me on architecture, Team System, ASP.NET and local New England events, but as I'm focusing on learning the ropes here, it may take a few weeks for me to get back to normal blogging.
-Chris
[Okay, I've been neglecting my blog for too long, but I have a very good reason - more on that in a later post.]
If you're in the greater Boston area this Wednesday evening, stop by the Microsoft offices in Waltham from 6-9 PM for the next Boston .NET User Group meeting. This month, we'll be hosting a Visual Studio 2005 Launch Event in conjunction with INETA. This night, driven by the community for the community, will be a great way to quickly grok some of the key areas of Visual Studio 2005.
There's a great lineup planned for the evening:
- Jesse Liberty - Forms Based Security, Roles, Personalization, and Web Parts
- Tony Pino - Master Pages, Site Navigation, Themes, and Skins
- Chris Bowen - Visual Studio Team System
- Richard Hale Shaw - New Windows Forms Controls and Snippets
- Chris Pels - The Data Binding Model in ASP.NET 2.0 for Databases, Objects, and XML
I'll be attempting the near impossible as I try to cover the main features of Team System in a stunningly-short 30 minute window. People who know me know I can speak for, well, a LONG time about Team System, so keeping myself from offering extra details will be a challenge.
It should be a great time and I hope to see you there!
-Chris