I started in Sequence back in January 2007 where I had my sites firmly set on being a development team manager. After a year of trying I found that I had actually re-discovered my love for crafting code and designing / developing systems so I settled back into the position of Senior Developer.

During my time at Sequence I have had the pleasure of working on a variety of projects that have ranged in size from a small application to a large enterprise system. All of them in some way or form being web based.

The one project that really stands out for me and will actually go down as the highlight of my career so far was the Snow+Rock Pathfinder application. This Windows Phone 7 application started life as a pitch to Microsoft for a showcase application that was passed over in terms of showcase application in favour of other bidders. Luckily for Sequence one of these other bidders pulled out and left a gap that because of our designs and how the application was shaping up we were able to fill.

This resulted in me working closely with the Microsoft DPE team working very hard to get the application to pass the high Microsoft quality baseline right up to the make or break point before it got installed on  a bunch of press phones for the pre launch event.

The biggest highlight was when Paul Foster of the DPE sent an email letting me know that the app panoramic had been used during the professional developers conference (as you can see in the pic).

Pathfinder is still winning awards and only last week won an award at the Cardiff Design Festival.

The other technologies that I have had the pleasure of using have included Azure, SharePoint, Silverlight and Dynamics CRM this goes to show that the whole of the Microsoft product stack is what interests me and I enjoy producing solutions with.

Why leave?

Sequence has built a reputation for great design and do constantly deliver well designed web sites but the opportunity to work in any medium other than HTML are scarce. Now the time is right and I feel that I would like to work on some projects that push my buttons, I find XAML a much more exciting way to build UI’s that feels so much more right and polished then HTML. That said I won’t be totally abandoning Web based projects but variety is the spice.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people at Sequence for making the last 4 years hectic, interesting, taxing … well everything you would expect when working at an agency!

So what’s next?

I am moving on to a much smaller firm that’s a little closer to home. Here I will have the opportunity to push those buttons of mine.

What about the Cardiff WPUG

Up until now Sequence have been kind enough to help with the group even going as far as providing the drinks. Another thing that I would like to thank them for. The group is however going with me and I will continue to organise events. Yes things have been quiet recently and I do apologise for that but plans are afoot so expect some news soon.

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is on fire!.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 6,300 times in 2010. That’s about 15 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 14 new posts, not bad for the first year! There were 35 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 3mb. That’s about 3 pictures per month.

The busiest day of the year was October 21st with 211 views. The most popular post that day was WP7 Don’t give false impressions..

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were reddit.com, twitter.com, mix.dj, facebook.com, and google.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for visual studio 2010 logo, mike hole, mics.com, visual studio logo, and dynamics crm silverlight.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

WP7 Don’t give false impressions. October 2010
3 comments

Dynamics CRM 4 with Silverlight Part 1 – The IFRAME approach. April 2010
3 comments

I made this … October 2010
2 comments

Windows Phone 7 – Starting out July 2010
8 comments and 1 Like on WordPress.com,

WP7 What to do before the tools are released. August 2010

It all started at 1am on Tuesday 26th and after a long labour that started with my partner Helen wanting a water birth in Llandough Hospital resulting in a c-section in  

University Hospital of Wales (The Heath) at 10.30pm.

Talk about making an entrance! Ed is fantastic weighing in at 7.8 has all his fingers and toes and as you can see some mousy hair.

… can it? I am sure I am paying for 20Mbps.