The topic of the night was NHibernate (and several related technologies) given by Jeff Doolittle. Jeff’s the CTO of Lotpath (built on ASP.NET MVC), so he and his company are definitely eating their own dogfood with what he presented.

After the presentation and questions, quite a bit of networking went on. I talked to several developers I hadn’t before, including a recent FSU grad who’s been developing iPhone and Android apps for Watch Do It. Swag, books and full-on software licenses were raffled out at the end as well (I won a copy of ReSharper!). Even after we were kicked out, several of us hit Doghouse Grill for another hour or so.

Needless to say, if you’re a developer in Fresno, this is definitely a good group to attend and meet other local geeks at. The subject matter spans quite a bit, half the time not even .NET specific. Thanks to Gustavo Cavalcanti, who’s been organizing this user group for some time now. Send him an email if you want to get on the list. The next one is on May 13.

That being said, there’s also groups for Drupal, designers, and social media. I’m sure there’s more, so let us know.

In addition, check out the Fresno-area techies wiki. Request access, add yourself to the directory, and post any local events such as this one.

Next up: the 59 Days of Code kicks off on Friday, April 23 at 10pm. Hope to see some of you there!

59daysofcode.com

Fresnans know all too well that we’re not commonly referred to as a hub for tech startups and talent, so this is definitely a boon for the local community. Sure, I’m stoked to enter Out of Eggs into the “In Progress” category of the contest. And it would definitely be nice to win a prize. But more importantly, I’m eager to see all the other apps that join in along with their enthusiasm and creativity. And will this competition significantly boost recognition of local talent by the community and investors? I sure hope so.

Also see:

http://twitter.com/59daysOfCode
http://blog.irmsgeekwork.com/2010/the-59daysofcode-web-mobile-apps-competition

In Fresno the only real options I know of are AT&T (DSL or “U-verse”) and Comcast (cable). For the last few years we’ve had AT&T’s DSL Elite (6 Mbps @ $35/month), and that’s been fine, but a few things have changed…

We need more speed…12 Mbps+ speed!
Yes, 6 Mbps downstream is a lot already, but these days we’re watching HD-quality video from Netflix, Hulu and other sources (usually streamed or live). The kicker is my wife is now uploading 10+ gigs of pics after a weekend photo shoot and our 768 Kbps upstream just isn’t cutting it. Here are my “before” speed tests:

We don’t need a home phone line.
Actually we haven’t needed one for a while with two cell phones. But now there’s Google Voice for an extra phone number or Skype and other VOIP services. Cell service has gotten better at our house recently as well.

We don’t need cable or satellite TV.
Our current setup consists of a Tivo HD DVR with integrated Netflix streaming and Amazon VoD. I get excellent HD reception for over-the-air broadcast channels with an outdoor antenna. Plus there are plenty of Redbox kiosks and Blockbusters around the corner while the physical medium for movies still exists. This probably won’t work for hard core sports or movie enthusiasts, but it does for me, my wife and my kids.

Bottom line: We need faster internet and nothing else for our home. So what’s the best deal…

As usual, both AT&T and Comcast try to bundle packages together. They want you to buy it all: internet, phone and TV. For years it’s always been a hassle to subscribe to their services a la carte. For this reason I had to start on online chat with both companies to work out a deal. At least this removes the hassle of doing it over the phone. Usually someone responds via chat within minutes if not immediately.

Obviously internet coverage will vary by specific location, but here are the options I had at my address in 93720.

AT&T U-Verse

DSL only goes up to 6 Mbps downstream currently, but U-Verse has 12 Mbps and 18 Mpbs downstream options ($55 and $65/month respectively). I assume 1-2 Mbps upstream but I forgot to ask and it doesn’t say.

At first they said I needed to subscribe to at least their TV service in addition to internet to get the $55/month internet price. I said I wasn’t interested and they changed it to no TV service required but a $150 installation charge. Not great, but at least there’s no contract.

Comcast Cable

They have the same 12 Mbps and 18 Mbps downstream options for cheaper than DSL ($43 and $53 respectively). Like AT&T, there’s no contract, but they try and steer you away from a la carte. But in chat I got the “stand-alone” internet offer out of them and whittled it down from a $100 to a $50 installation charge. Tack on $3/month for the modem and I’m at $45/month. They also state a 2 Mbps upstream which if even close is awesome.

Winner: Comcast

Bottom line: $10/month cheaper and a $100 cheaper install than AT&T. $17/month cheaper and a $125 cheaper install than AT&T. Pretty easy decision.

Update 9/21/09

Comcast’s website and online chat say one thing (see below), but when I called 1-800-COMCAST, I found out the above applies to the bay area and not Fresno. What they offer here past their 6 Mbps package is a 16 Mbps package (not 12 or 18) with a 2 Mbps upstream.

The cost is cheaper $35/month + $3/month modem rental + $25 install, but it’s only good for a year. It’s not a contract though, so you can cancel anytime. I scheduled my install and plan on doing just that as after a year it doubles to $70/month. At that point I’ll shop around again for the best deal or attempt to negotiate the existing one.

Update 9/24/09

The Comcast guy just left my house. Initial speed tests rock!

The Comcast guy said I should see speeds “burst” when downloading larger files or streaming. And BTW, he also claimed that by the end of this year Comcast is rolling out 50 Mbps downstream / 12 Mbps upstream to all cable modem subscribers in Fresno with this same package. Their lower-cost 6 Mbps downstream package should also double in speed.

Update 10/28/09

The Business Journal reports Comcast’s “wideband” 50 mb/sec is also coming soon. I’ll post here with new speed tests when I’m upgraded.

Update 12/4/09

The cost of the modem rental went from $3/month to $5/month (making my cost now $40/month). Tweeted @comcastcares and they said the Motorola SB6120 (currently $93) is a good one. Considering buying it.

I was born and raised in Fresno, and for at least 90% of the last 12 years I’ve been a full-time software developer for 6 different companies in the area. I hate to say it, but with most of them it was only about a year or two before I had to put in my resignation. They all had great people and great potential. But there was always some big setback that eventually caused me to leave.

Most recently my issues with these companies have been with both business direction and how they valued their developers. As engineers, we want to create and have our ideas listened to and our accomplishments valued. Lack of this is the main fault of most of the places I’ve worked for in Fresno (some more than others of course). Developers should never be treated as just “task monkeys” and handed a to-do list of specific items to check off. Many fall into that trap simply because that’s how it’s been for them for so long. At the point that it becomes “just a job” and they can’t wait until the clock hits 5 or 6 every day, and that’s only if they’re lucky and not forced into overtime.

Some of us have entrepreneurial aspirations and some do not, and that’s fine. But I think all developers want to contribute ideas and be in on the decision-making process wherever we work. We want to innovate all the time, and from my experience companies around here give little effort if at all to encouraging this process. At companies like Google it’s part of your job description. It’s no secret that sometimes half their new services came out of their “innovation time” policy. Plenty of startups elsewhere do something similar. Managers and company owners need to be open with their business goals and ask their people to openly discuss ideas and company direction. I know I would enjoy my job more if that was part of my responsibilities.

And I don’t think companies realize this, but with poor developer treatment they are taking a huge hit in efficiency. Projects start going in the wrong direction because they’re not listening to their people. In turn employees start working at a 25% motivation level because they don’t feel valued. The company starts falling way behind in current technology. Then developers stuck in this old technology realize they’re not going anywhere with their skills. It’s a vicious cycle. Developers that get fed up start looking elsewhere for something better, and when they have a tough time finding a better job around Fresno, they leave. That’s part of the “brain drain” we hear about.

Back to company mentality, we’re still behind in technology for the most part in Fresno from what I’ve experienced. Where are the companies really using social media or blogging regularly? Why do I still hear more about building Windows apps than mobile apps? Why do all these local companies spend so much time and money hosting their own servers (for internal use or external clients) instead of co-locating? It isn’t new news anymore that using cloud services (Google, Amazon or otherwise) are much more reliable, speedier and secure. Why are people still maintaining Exchange servers and installing Office on every workstation? Even Microsoft, who benefits from all the companies sticking with “classic” Exchange and Office setups realizes this is inevitable. They can host Exchange for you and are coming out with a browser-based version of Office 2010. Even Washington DC moved to Google Apps. At least consider What Would Google Do? This is 2009 people!

Myself and a handful of good developers I know in Fresno are very rooted here and thus determined to find the best place to work that they can. (That or start their own company). For me it’s because family and friends around here come before my career. Take that away from me and I’m out to bigger “tech hubs.” I know personally some good developers here that aren’t as rooted are just waiting for the right opportunity to leave. The business case for local startups Plastic Jungle (only local company I’ve seen on TechCrunch) and Vine Global (winner of last year’s Start-It-Up contest) to stay put were not enough, so recently they both left.

On behalf of all software developers in Fresno and Clovis (let alone the startup scene and effect on the economy locally), I sure hope this trend turns around soon.