Just a very quick post in case you missed the updated link in my previous post.
There is the distinct possibility that this blog may go quiet for a while. It seems a little silly to cross-post to both here and My New DevExpress Blog.
So if you’re looking for CodeRush, CodeRush Xpress, RefactorPro or DXCore information, head on over to My New Blog and check out the rest of http://devexpress.com/ whilst you’re there.
It’s true what they say…
“As one door closes, another opens”
…and who can tell what new opportunities the new door might reveal.
Just recently I blogged there’s going to be “too much happening at work, for me to be able to juggle all my “Official” work, with my DX-Squad responsibilities.”
…and this is technically true. If I had to do both one thing and the other without some sort of reconciliation, I’d probably go mad.
However it wasn’t the *entire truth*.
You see there is a very good reason that there’s going to be “too much happening at work”….
Big Announcement
I’ve joined DevExpress
Yup I’m going to join Mark and the gang in promoting the DevExpress IDE Tools.
CodeRush Pro/Xpress, RefactorPro and DXCore
Its worth noting that I’ve not actually given up my previous job. DX did ask, but honestly the family business couldn’t take the hit at this time. We’ll see what happens in the future… Who knows :)
Instead I’ll be working part time on all manner of things CodeRush related. But rest assured… My existing employer is aware of the situation and is ok with this new arrangement.
So what’s changed?
Well that’s a good question….. The simple answer is … well … not much really :)
I asked what my job title would be. The best we’ve come up with so far is “CodeRush Community Evangelist”. What do you think? Can you come up with anything better?
In theory, I’m going to be more focused. After all I’m being paid to do this now. This also means that I’ll be forgiven more easily by my wife, for the amount of time I sometimes spend in the evenings on these things :)
One way of looking at this, is that DevExpress thought it would be cool to be able to direct my efforts a little more than they do now.
The way I see it, it’s not such a good idea to dig too deeply into this sort of thing… If I ask too many questions they might change their mind :)
Community Plugin Site
Don’t worry the community site is still a community site. It and the plugins on it (current and future) will continue to be owned by the community. Nothing is changing there.
I’m going to continue all of my community stuff. I’ll still write plugins. I’ll still blog. Hey you never know they might even let me write on the official site :P.
What will I do?
The simple answer to this is ‘More of the same’. I’ll have greater access to the devs behind this wonderful set of products (You know, the crack squad of awesome guys that actually implement the stuff that Mark Miller comes up with)
With this new level of access, I should be even better equipped to answer questions and writing plugins. So we all win. Hurrah!
The biggest change from my perspective is that I can’t say “I don’t work for DevExpress” anymore. I’m going to have to work on that one :) Although it’s already recorded all over the place, so I hope you’ll forgive me if I don’t attempt to track down each and every instance.
So what next?
So I’m just off now for my ‘Kool-aid upgrade’.
Instead of making regular visits to the Kool-Aid fountain, I’ve got this new Kool-Aid Patch which hydrates Kool-Aid directly from moisture in the air around me. :)
Oh and while I’m on the topic of Kool-Aid, If anyone thinks for a minute that this will make me *more* Pro-CodeRush, I advise you to stop and think for a minute about that….
How exactly is that possible?
Seriously?
So after my Kool-Aid upgrade, I’ll be off to learn a few secret handshakes and will catch you all on the other side.
I think things are about to get interesting :D
I’ve been a member of DX-Squad since some time in April 2006.
After driving Mark Miller, Dustin Campbell and others round the bend asking questions, I finally started retaining enough of this information, that I was able to repeat it to others who came along asking similar questions.
A little while later Dustin suggested I be invited to join the DX-squad, and Mark Miller agreed. I am very grateful to them both for this.
DX-Squad is “A volunteer group of advanced users supporting our tools/component technologies and development community”
What this boils down to, is helping out on the DX forums answering questions on DX technology. It’s kind of like being a DevExpress MVP. And in exchange, DX grants the squad a gratis license to their stuff. It’s an arrangement which benefits both parties and I have found it to be very agreeable.
So I’ve been hanging out on the forums and more recently on twitter answering questions on CodeRush etc for the last 4 years or so. However I’m afraid the time has come to leave.
Unfortunately nothing is forever, and there’s just going to be too much happening at work, for me to be able to juggle all my “Official” work, with my DX-Squad responsibilities.
This being the case, I’m afraid something has to give… and realistically I’m afraid it’s membership of the DX-squad that is going have to loose out in this case.
So after a little over 4 years of helping to answer questions on CodeRush, the DXCore and related tech, I think it’s time to move on.
It’s been great working with my fellow DX-Squaders, who all do a great job supporting their respective areas of DevExpress goodness. I hope they’ll not shun me too much for this decision, and might even continue to provide the odd nugget of help in the future, if should I need it :)
I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who’s ever used a plugin that I’ve written, and even more so to those who’ve suggested ideas (whether I’ve taken them up on the idea or not). I encourage everyone to go take a look at CodeRush, CodeRush Xpress, Refactor Pro and the DXCore.
IMO they are truly the most useful tools I’ve ever come across.
Unfortunately now (as has oft’ been said)…
…All good things must come to an end.
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