AdamU's WebLog

Thoughts and the occasional rant from Adam Ulrich, a Test Manager in Microsoft's Designer Tools Group. All things Sparkle, Acrylic, testing, recruiting and hiring.

Will it Blend? That is the question!

We're having fun watching the BlendTec commercials since we've announced that the product code named...

Author: adamu Date: 02/01/2007

on the Frontline

Two weeks ago, I spent an entire week at a customer site. This customer is in Raleigh, NC, and I got...

Author: adamu Date: 07/04/2006

June CTPs now available

We've made available new CTPs of Expression Interactive Designer and Graphic Designer that work with...

Author: adamu Date: 07/04/2006

That's right, you're not from Texas, but Texas wants you anyway

With apologies to Lyle Lovett.... I'm spending this week in Texas; specifically, at Microsoft's Las...

Author: adamu Date: 04/24/2006

March CTP of Interactive Designer now available

enjoy! https://blogs.msdn.com/expression/archive/2006/03/09/543851.aspx

Author: adamu Date: 03/09/2006

recruiting at Syracuse U

I went to Syracuse a little over a week ago to recruit for Microsoft. Since I started on the Sparkle...

Author: adamu Date: 03/06/2006

What's the difference between SDE and SDET at microsoft?

I was exchanging email with a candidate last night who was confused about the differences between...

Author: adamu Date: 01/27/2006

Expression Interactive Designer - Now available!

It's been a work in progress for what seems like a lifetime... But as of right now we FINALLY have a...

Author: adamu Date: 01/24/2006

Windows Live Local - Virtual Earth

I was playing around with Virtual Earth on Windows Live Local, and they've recently added a bird's...

Author: adamu Date: 01/13/2006

Christmas Presents and teams long since past

I went to a White Elephant gift exchange with about 20 other people about 2 weeks ago. What was...

Author: adamu Date: 12/29/2005

Greetings from Shanghai

I was in Shanghai last week to interview candidates for Microsoft, and got a day to do a little...

Author: adamu Date: 11/09/2005

What is Acrylic For?

Andrew Watt, an infopath MVP asked, "What exactly is Acrylic for?" Acrylic is intended for pro...

Author: adamu Date: 10/27/2005

In case you missed the Sparkle Video on Channel 9, here's the link:...

Author: adamu Date: 09/23/2005

You've Got Questions, I've got Answers... Part 2

OK, here's your chance. Blast away. I did this last year, and got lots of questions from people...

Author: adamu Date: 09/22/2005

Sparkle and AdamU

Well, given that we (finally!) announced today (at PDC) the project I've been working on for the...

Author: adamu Date: 09/15/2005

Static Code Analysis

I started using a tool this week that measures the lines of code (LOC) that are going into our...

Author: adamu Date: 07/27/2005

Myth Busting Testing #3: Test Automation is like car insurance.

Ok, Myth #3: An automated test must find bugs to be useful. Here's a scenario for you: you have a...

Author: adamu Date: 07/22/2005

Myth Busting Testing #2

Myth #2: Testing does not, by itself, improve software quality. I love this one! I must have heard...

Author: adamu Date: 06/25/2005

Myth Busting Testing and Test Automation

I've been reading a lot lately, and wow, there are so many opinions on the advantages and...

Author: adamu Date: 06/23/2005

Engineering Excellence and TrustWorthy Computing

For the last several years, Microsoft has had days devoted to Engineering Excellence (EE), and to...

Author: adamu Date: 06/22/2005

Father's Day Camping - Acrylic Style

I was camping this weekend in Central Oregon. Each year my wife's father's siblings (all 8 of them)...

Author: adamu Date: 06/21/2005

Test Automation, plus what is it like to be in Test at Microsoft?

It's not sexy, but it sure is fun. Santosh recently had a great post on what it's like being in test...

Author: adamu Date: 06/15/2005

Does quality really matter?

We talk alot about trade-offs in getting a product out the door. We draw a triangle, the triangle of...

Author: adamu Date: 06/15/2005

not as simple as Red vs Blue

I ran into Adam Barr (www.proudlyserving.com) last week while volunteering to assist with a local...

Author: adamu Date: 04/26/2005

Hmm, High-Nerd: Nerdier than I thought I was.

I think it was all that Math, plus spending 10 years working in Nuclear Power Plants so that I know...

Author: adamu Date: 03/31/2005

windows media player 10 now available

Another update for windows xp, windows media player 10 is now available, and can be downloaded at:...

Author: adamu Date: 09/02/2004

We don't make the software you use, we make the software you use better....

BASF used a variation on the above as it's corporate tagline. Michael Hunter, the technical lead for...

Author: adamu Date: 07/23/2004

Microsoft, customers and innovation

As I was checking the MSFT price this morning after the big announcement on stock buy back...

Author: adamu Date: 07/21/2004

Preparing for technical positions at MS: part deux: Industry route

If you've been working (or idling) for a year or more since you hung up your full time academic cap...

Author: adamu Date: 07/06/2004

Disclaimer

These postings are provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights. The content of this...

Author: adamu Date: 06/18/2004

Questions, Questions, Questions

I got several email responses about how hiring works at Microsoft, and what I look for in hiring. I...

Author: adamu Date: 06/10/2004

I put a couple of links on my main blog page, will add more as I run across stuff that I enjoy. If...

Author: adamu Date: 06/02/2004

Why QA? Why Microsoft?

I came to Microsoft 8 years ago, happy but a little frightened about a salaried job, happy not to be...

Author: adamu Date: 06/02/2004

Introductions

I'm Adam Ulrich, and I'm the test manager for a version 1 tool in the developer tools division of...

Author: adamu Date: 06/02/2004