Microsoft framework is demystified thanks to DIY developer who hasset up site to teach use of the software by video - and what's more its cheap
Computer programmers who work in the IT industry know it is a never-ending learning cycle trying to keep up with all the latest technologies.
Someone in the industry once described it as trying to swim up a waterfall. The torrent of new technologies constantly coming onstream means no one can become complacent and let their skills go stale.
Microsoft is sure to keep programmers' and developers' noses at the learning grindstone for the foreseeable future with the release of its .NET (pronounced dotnet) technology.
This new framework for software development is aimed specifically at internet-connected computers. For example, the newest upgrade of the popular programming language, Visual Basic 6.0, is Visual Basic.NET. It is estimated that Microsoft spent more than $3 billion (€2.96 billion) over four years to bring the .NET technology to market.
In February this year, Visual Studio.NET, the suite of programmer tools used to develop .NET applications, was released. According to Microsoft, Visual Studio. NET enables the easy delivery of highly distributed, programmable services that run across stand-alone machines, in corporate data centres and across the internet.
Scott McFarland, a 32-year-old software developer for nine years who is based in Dallas, Texas, took an interest in .NET technology when it was announced in June 2000.
However, he said, he found it hard to see where .NET would fit in. So, working with some friends, he developed a few applications based on the .NET technology.
This year, Mr McFarland decided to set up a site for the developer community called www.learnvisualstudio.net where programmers can download free instructional videos on using .NET that he narrates.
He said the idea struck him a long time ago when he used Keystone Learning Systems' videos. But, he said, they didn't provide sufficient detail and also charged a high fee for eight to 10 hours of content.
"While I had a great deal of respect for what they were doing, they excluded a lot of people," Mr McFarland said.
In order to teach programming techniques on his videos, he uses a program called Camtasia from a company called TechSmith, which captures and records all mouse clicks and movements on the screen.
"It's the perfect format to instruct people," Mr McFarland said. "I narrate as I demonstrate a particular technique in Visual Studio.NET. It's like having someone instruct you as they look over your shoulder."
He has now recorded 175 videos that range in length from five minutes to 30 minutes, and total 35 hours.
On the site, he asks for a $15 tip if someone wants to view all the videos - those that are archived and new.
Mr McFarland said 30,000 people have accessed the site but he would not disclose the number of supporters who have tipped him.
Judging by the number of compliments his site receives, he is serving an untapped market. In a sidebar on the site's home page, he prints some testimonials that congratulate him on the novelty of this way of teaching.
For example, Mr Matthew Reynolds, founder of .NET 247, is quoted on the site as saying: "LearnVisualStudio.NET shows .NET developers how to use the awesome features of .NET to create great code. Grab some popcorn, sit back and learn. Heartily recommended."
And Mr Casey Hughlett, director IT services, Company Dance, wrote: "I have read books, studied online, and no one else is doing what you're doing. This is exactly the kind of thing I need. I'm like, just show me a quick run-through, and I can pick it up from there. Keep up the great work. Thanks a bunch."
Mr McFarland says what he is doing is a community effort. "I'll never get rich doing this," he said. Most of his financial investment has been spent upgrading bandwidth, hosting and promotion on websites such as Overture and Google. This exposure has paid off. He acknowledged the site is "definitely successful. Because of the generosity of the users, it supports itself and then some".
By day, he works as a software developer for a large manufacturing company in Dallas and on nights and weekends he works on learnvisualstudio.net. "It has forced me into learning things because of user request," he said.
He tries to record one new video or one hour of content each week. While he does not have a teaching background, he said he received some public speaking experience when he briefly served as a church minister during college.
Mr McFarland says Visual Studio.NET is the best product for developing applications that Microsoft has come out with. While he is not remunerated by Microsoft for teaching its products, he says someone from the company did contact him about his site.
Certainly Microsoft has put a lot of resources behind promoting the .NET framework. About 250,000 developers have received training through more than 200 courses on .NET and more than 200 books on .NET for developers that are now available.
For example, one advertisement in a technical magazine charges $1,000 for 30 hours of training and the average computer text book costs between $40 and $50. The difference between these books and the other teaching sites are that they teach what Mr McFarland offers on an honour system.
carolpower@ireland.com
