It's go time
Hello Technet! I'm starting a new blog here. Join me, won't you?
My name is James Furdell; I work at Microsoft. (The first step is admitting it, I'm told.) I work as what we call a "Software Development Engineer in Test" (SDET) for the group that produces Windows Mobile; that means I'm responsible for creating test plans and writing test automation code to make sure the OS that shows up on your mobile device is as bug-free as possible.
I'm really not your typical geek. I've got a pretty varied background, and a lot of away-from-the-computer interests; I'm not always right on top of what toys have been newly released (like the HTC TyTN with which I'll be "dogfooding" Windows Mobile 6) or what they can do, so I'm likely to write here about varoius discoveries I make as a new user of Windows Mobile. Hopefully it will be interesting information for IT professionals, which is the Technet intended audience (and, hint: I'll be working on stuff that affects IT Pros directly). Mister Softee isn't paying me to evangelize, but so far I'm impressed by my dogfood device, and I expect that once they finally get around to giving me a SIM card, it will save me a lot of time and increase my productivity (really!).
My background info:
All throughout my childhood, I would spend hours writing games in BASIC on my family's Kaypro computer. (It didn't even run MS-DOS; it ran CP/M. How's that for old?) I graduated from Emory University with a degree in English and Film Studies (believe it or not), and minored in Computer Science. I worked in publishing for a little over a year, doing graphic design and copy editing. I decided it would be fun to get "under the hood" of the design software I had been working on, so I went to Georgia Tech to get a masters degree in CS.
My first post-GaTech job was as a technical writer for AppForge Inc., working primarily on their product manuals; this was an Atlanta company that created a kind of virtual machine that ran on PalmOS and could run Visual Basic code, making the platform much more accessible for the casual developer. Thus, my current job brings me back into the world of mobile devices, which should be fun (and not surprisingly it's changed a lot since 2001).
After AppForge I moved to the Washington D.C. area and worked as a developer for Planning Systems Inc. from 2001-2005. This was mostly C and C++ work on Unix and Linux systems on contracts for the FAA and the Navy.
I'm relatively new to Microsoft and to testing, having joined in 2006 as a tester on Vista's Software Protection Platform team. After Vista released, I moved to the group known as Mobile and Embedded Device Product Group. However, I'm not new to blogging; I garnered some local media attention for why.i.hate.dc (since handed over to someone else), where I broke new ground in the emerging markets of profanity and seething rage. (Yeah, I didn't like living there; don't worry, I promise to keep it clean here). And my family's blog at furdell.com is still going relatively strong, and is a fun side project.
I'm not planning any bold mission statements for this blog; it's likely going to be a repository for my thoughts about working at Microsoft and the world of Windows Mobile technology, and also for obscure pop-culture references. Enjoy!
