Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction

Microsoft Flight Simulator X SDK SP1A Released!

2007-05-15T23:34:00Z

Download Here In an effort to better support our customers and our community, we’ve committed to releasing an update to Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX) – termed Service Pack 1 (SP1). There were three main goals of this update: Performance Improvements Blocking 3 rd Party Issues Egregious Bugs Of course, we always strive to release only quality code, but it is a fact in software engineering that no piece of software ever is shipped “bug free.” The extent of the work done in SP1 is a testament to...(read more)

FSX SDK SP1A BETA

2007-03-28T06:58:00Z

Greetings -

In an effort to test the robustness of the RSS feed system and to see if anyone actually monitors this blog any longer, I thought I would mention that the SP1 update for FSX has gone to Beta today. This is due to a ton of hard work by a lot of people on the team, and we are all very excited about how this update will be received by the community and our customers.

In addition to the dramatic performance improvments and overall quality and polish in the base FSX product, we've done an immense amount of work to improve the SDK and the run-time components associated with SimConnect, modeling components and other third-party development related features.

The efforts of the beta program will only make the final release of the SP1 update that much better, and we appreciate the efforts of everyone on the beta team who take the time and effort to not only test the product, but to provide valuable feedback that makes fixing the bugs dramatically more efficient.

I look forward to being able to update this blog once again when we announce the final release of the SP1 update for FSX.

The SDK Update for FSX has Released!

2006-12-10T07:40:00Z

Now that I actually may have a tiny, weeny bit more time to devote to external communications, I'd like to announce the availability of the Service Pack 1 (SP1) update for the FSX SDK. You can find it here: http://www.fsinsider.com/Community/Developers-Corner.

This was a much tougher update to get out the door than any of us imagined - so I apologize for it's tardiness. However, I think it is adds immense value to any developer looking to build add-ons for FSX, so please take the time to download and install ASAP.

Over the next few months I'm going to attempt to address issue here in my blog that we find to be points of confusion for people. I00 also encourage you to visit the FSDeveloper.com forum to find additional help or post answers to problems that you think others might find valuable (http://www.fsdeveloper.com/).

Yes, I have nothing to say...

2006-03-23T02:34:00Z

So my attempt at breaking the world record of silence between posts is now broken. Actually, it's been quite a busy year, and I have to admit that once time starts slipping away, it becomes more and more difficult to jump back into barely-started projects. But I digress...

The catalyst for this post is the recent news that the new Windows Vista operating system is, well, "not" slipping. That is, the scheduled release of Vista has been augmented to strategically maximize it's effectiveness to the consumer in such a way as to now be available in January '07. Ok, it's slipping.

I don't want to start a debate on the merits of this decision, why it's good for the consumer, and even better for Microsoft, but I do want to address how this affects the release of FSX.

That is, I have absolutely nothing to say.

I mean, nothing has changed.

Everything that has been said to this point still stands.

Re-read the FAQ posted on www.fsinsider.com if you must.

"We are working hard to deliver Flight Simulator X in the holiday 2006 timeframe."

I know this is just short of what you wanted to hear, but it's the best I can do right now. Stay tuned...

And now, another, hopefully shorter, period of silence until I have 10 minutes of uninterrupted time to blabber - I mean blog - again:).

Opening Day

2005-11-10T03:35:00Z

Welcome to my first forray into the world of blogging. Surprisingly easy to set up, I've spent more time worrying about what to write than it took to create the site in the first place. If you haven't given blogging any thought, I encourage you to start one today.

I should first give credit to Jason Waskey for the continual pestering it took to get me to jump on this. I also want to pay homage to all the other Flight Simulator Bloggers who have come before me:

Thanks for taking a leadership role in this area!

I'm not going to spend a lot of time right off the bat with Jack Handy material, but I do want to say what a pleasure it is to work with such a fine bunch of folks on the Microsoft Flight Simulator Team. I've had the advantage of being part of the Test, Development and now Program Management organizations, all on Flight Simulator, and through these transitions I've gained valuable insight into how each of these teams work. With this knowledge, and the previous experience I have from the Aerospace Industry, I aim to significantly change the way we work with the Flight Simulator Community. The majority of my posts here will be work related, but the occasional personal tid bit will no doubt find it's way into my ramblings.

Thanks - and boy does it feel good to finally be part of the 21st Century!