So anyway, I ended up calling back later and getting Comcast to fix their problem. They had somehow confused my account with someone else’s and had sort of reset or “uninitialized” my account. This time I was told that I had a different cable modem and that the one I’ve had for the last several years that I’ve used for Comcast and other services was never registered with Comcast. So it was my fault. But thankfully they were patient with me and configured the “new” modem to work. Thanks Comcast! 😛

I also got a cell phone from Cingular. I’ve been trying to find some sort of solution for the cell phone crisis I’m currently having. Basically, Sprint (my old provider) has no bars right where our house is. This isn’t killer since obviously the phone is of most use when I’m away from the house, but it’s annoying and in general, quite aggravating to have to leave the area to check my voicemail. So I tried Cingular. I wanted to upgrade and get the data plan that would allow me to check email and such. Cingular’s final charge is about $80/month. Verizon offers faster data speed but costs about $80/month. Sprint costs $55 and has the high speed and some features that I prefer. Quite annoying.

I’m still undecided what to do…

A neat session this morning on Agile Development. While not pushing the “Microsoft Way” of doing Agile Development it was a thought-provoking session talking about the need to focus on the “ingredients” that make the Agile “recipe” work. Not terribly new or innovative (this stuff has been around for a while and I’ve had some exposure to it through Extreme Programming) but it really made me wish that we implemented it in some form. In the project that I’m working on right now, it’s a difficult environment since we’re spread out geographically and much of the development effort is performed in different places, in different time zones, by just a few developers. However, I do feel that it would be well worth it to pursue this (and actually implement this for the next phase of our project).

Some of the key “ingredients” include a heavy focus on communication within the group, a willingness to change as your environment changes, a focus on strict but simple rules and procedures for the software development lifecycle, and a focus on the customer. Like I said, it’s not new, but it really does challenge the traditional software development process.

More session summaries as I have time,

Well, I’m here at TechEd 2006 in Boston, MA and things are about to begin. It’s been neat so far. Boston [seems] to be a pretty place. More details may confirm otherwise. Anyhow — the break-out sessions will be beginning soon and I’ll get a chance to get blasted by some Microsoft advertising while learning probably not that much. The food is good though. That’s always important. Internet access is ubiqutious. They have wireless here all over and I have quite fast wired Internet access in my hotel room.

Let’s see how this goes…

Well, I’m heading off Sunday evening to Boston for Microsoft’s Evil TechEd 2006 Conference. It should be fun! I’ve been to Boston before with relatives but really briefly (I think a few baseball games and that’s it). When I was a little kid, one of my favorite books was Make Way for Ducklings. The book takes place in Boston’s Public Garden and so it will be neat to take a stroll through the area. Most likely I’ll be traumatized as I see hippies begging for change and business people talking into their Bluetooth headsets instead of cute ducks and noble policemen. I believe the hotel is only a block away.

I’m also considering actually keeping a running commentary on my experiences. Posting daily! Maybe!

We’ll see what happens…