Ted Neward on Interoperability

Document databases as a service? For sure! Carl and Richard talk to Ryan CrawCour about Azure DocumentDB. DocumentDB is a JSON store - with an amazing set of features, including SQL querying. What? Ryan talks about how DocumentDB provides a fast, scalable place to store objects and write your queries any way you like. You write the rules for how your data partitions between collections, as well as the performance of each of those collections, and you can change them on the fly. More sophisticated than a simple key-value-pair store, but less structured that a relational database, DocumentDB sits in a great spot in your data storage needs. Check it out!Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/net-rocks/donations

29 Sep 201558min

The most requested (and most postponed) Geek Out of them all - Quantum Computing. How much is hype, and how much is real? Richard walks through the history of quantum computing, starting with the understanding of quantum mechanics in the first place, and how modelling that in a classical computer created problems. As it turns out, there are many approaches to quantum computing, and no "one right way" has appeared yet. The state of quantum computing today is like the state of classical computing in the 1950s before the advent of the transistor. Possible, but very difficult and not broadly applicable. Let us know what you think!Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/net-rocks/donations

24 Sep 201559min

So what does a web development stack look like today? Carl and Richard talk to Dan Wahlin about his explorations with the new ASP.NET vNext stack, checking out Angular2 (as opposed to the separately developed Angular1) and getting into using containers for development. Containers take virtual machines to the next level, with lower resource requirements and detailed manifests. As Dan points out, container technology comes after the configuration-as-code movement, and is a key part of the container approach. The focus is on Docker, but there are other container solutions out there that are well worth exploring!Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/net-rocks/donations

23 Sep 201555min

It's been on the news, but do you really understand what happened with the Ashley Madison hack? Carl and Richard talk to Troy Hunt about his experiences around his web site Have I Been Pwned and how the Ashley Madison hack blew up his traffic and made him think deeply about privacy. You may not care for the company, but you can't deny the significance of a multi-million dollar business blown up by hackers. Digital security is no joke - a failure can cost millions and destroy lives.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/net-rocks/donations

22 Sep 20151h 1min

Universal Apps are all about XAML! Carl and Richard talk to the original XAML believer, Billy Hollis, about the new Universal App model and its focus on XAML. As Billy says, both Windows 10 and Office 2016 are using XAML now, so it's not going away. But first a quick digression on Windows Phone and Android - is the Universal App model going to save Windows Phone? Or should it all be Android in the end anyway? The conversation also ranges over some of the new opportunities coming in the future, like HoloLens, and the importance of XAML in that space as well. There has never been a better time to dive into this tech!Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/net-rocks/donations

17 Sep 20151h

Heard of NativeScript? Carl and Richard talk to Sam Basu from Telerik about NativeScript, a dev stack using JavaScript to build native mobile applications. Sam describes how NativeScript is different from Cordova, since it doesn't use HTML or a runtime that essentially hosts a browser - instead it has a custom UI markup language that is rather similar to XAML and compiles into native code on iOS and Android (Windows Phone coming soon). So if you like working in Javascript but want native performance, you should take a look at NativeScript!Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/net-rocks/donations

16 Sep 201551min

Ci with SQL Server? Are you crazy? Carl and Richard talk to Ike Ellis about what it takes to get databases changes happening as smoothly as application changes. Really! Ike talks about the concept of database lifecycle management and how it is orthogonal to application lifecycle management. The tricky bit is managing the data! And to help with that, Ike discusses a great tool chain of source code management, testing and deployment tools that work with databases like SQL Server and integrate into your usual development lifecycle toolchain as well. This is some next level DevOps thinking!Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/net-rocks/donations

15 Sep 20151h 1min

So what about building apps with Unity 3D? Carl and Richard talk to Brice Fernandes about what it takes to build using this cross-platform 3D framework. Brice talks about the important elements of gaming, including the art, user experience and game play itself. You need all three to some degree, great games do all of them well. The conversation digs into the variety of styles of games and the strengths and weaknesses of Unity in those different roles. Could you build things other than games in Unity? Yes, but would you want to?Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/net-rocks/donations

10 Sep 201557min