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Showing posts from 2013

Make your Windows command line better

In my current project, I am stuck with Windows 7 which means no Bash :( I could have installed Cygwin as usual but this time, I decided to extend my knowledge of the Windows command line and I found this: doskey . With the doskeys defined below, the Windows command line is still far from being as powerful as an old good Bash but it is a bit more user friendly. Even better, I found the Windows PowerShell which has familiar notions like profile and aliases . The doskeys I use: My PowerShell profile: Recommended link: https://github.com/mathiasbynens/dotfiles/blob/master/.aliases

Transferring SMS from iPhone to Android (for developers)

I recently bought a Nexus 4 to replace my old iPhone 3GS. The transition has been smooth except for the transfer of the SMS from iPhone to Android which led me to write some code and this post. The most interesting article I found on this subject was  iPhone SMS to Android Converter . Considering iSMS2droid has not been updated since October 2011 and does not seem to be compatible with iOS 6, if you choose this solution, you will have to upload your messages on  Jan Grewe  server. You decide for yourself if you are OK with sending your SMS database to his server. I chose to follow another path. After failing to find iSMS2droid or SMS Backup & Restore source code I started coding my own  SMS transfer application . Limitations Only works with iOS 6 SMS Only works with Android having the  sms://  content provider Does not handle attachments yet Requires  Android SDK  to build the Android app Step 1: Find your iPhone SMS database In short: Backup your iPhone with iT

Pair Programming good practices from my experience

Get the best hardware you can .  Saving on hardware is stupid . One big screen is better than two . It is easier to look at the same thing .  Always talk out loud what you think . Your pair cannot read your mind . Switch roles frequently . At least every 25 minutes . It helps the pair stay focused. Take breaks . A day of pair programming can be exhausting! Use Test Driven Development . It helps you keep track of what your doing. It can improve the quality of your code. But do not forget the goal which is code that works, not test coverage . Recommended readings: http://www.extremeprogramming.org/rules/pair.html http://guide.agilealliance.org/guide/pairing.html http://www.wikihow.com/Pair-Program http://blog.xebia.com/2010/05/09/practical-styles-of-pair-programming

About Estimation

Recycling an article I wrote in French in 2010 . Following endless estimation sessions in the project I am working on, I have come to ask myself some questions about this practice. Why do we estimate? I think an estimation session should have two purposes. To share a common understanding of upcoming stories. To estimate upcoming work in order to plan the next steps and monitor the evolution of the project. Who should attend the estimation session? Anyone who can clarify upcoming stories and anyone who will carry these stories to completion. To improve your estimation session, you can try the following: divide the estimation session into two stages . Understanding upcoming stories. Estimating the work to be done. Understanding upcoming stories through discussion among project participants is the highlight of an estimation session . The shared vision emerging from these exchanges will facilitate future communications. Estimating should be more relevant and should be d

Cannot unzip files in OSX Mountain Lion? Try "sudo killall -KILL appleeventsd"

Unzipping files recently stopped working on my MacBook Air running OSX Mountain Lion. I found the solution to my problem on StackExchange: execute the following command in a Terminal: sudo killall -KILL appleeventsd Other symptoms / problems solved by this command: Opening downloaded files from Chrome is not working "Show in Finder" is not working Alternatively, you can kill the appleeventsd process in Activity Monitor: Source:  http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/70160/can-i-fix-things-so-archive-utility-doesnt-hang-on-all-zip-files

Sugru, it works!

I recently broke my glasses and unfortunately it is a part that cannot be replaced. Sigh! I thought to myself, this is the perfect opportunity to try Sugru! (Amazon affiliate link) For those of you who have never heard of Sugru, you need to watch the following video: So I bought a pack of Sugru at Rough Trade East , a really nice record, Sugru and Arduino shop in East London. Then I found this tutorial: How to replace missing pads on glasses , and I gave it a try. I am pretty happy with the result: To get more ideas of what you can do with Sugru, follow the link !