Using what you write

The Coding4Fun column has
had some interesting side effects. I get to use the code I write, something that
isn't very common when you are paid to write samples.

I wanted to pull down the new
Matrix Trailer, but it is around 60mb and I often switch networks (VPN on/off to get my
mail, connect to the VSS on an internal server, etc.) so I opened the
Background Copy program from my second
issue... off it goes, incremental background download (can't take credit for
any of that, thank the team that built BITS!)..
my wife has had the email checker (actually an early build without an
options dialog, I just put the values right into the .config file for her) from
the
third issue running 24/7 and my home music system uses the
code techniques from the
first issue as it scans our system for music updates every few
hours.

This is pretty cool so far, and right
now I'm running some code, (that I hope will make it in as part
of the next issue/installment), that is making my Messenger name into
something ugly like "Duncan (Listening To: I Love Myself Today -- Bif Naked
[3:52])"

The next thing is to make it work the
other way around: instead of personally using code I wrote for publication, I
want to publish code
I wrote at home for use by everyone else.