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Visual Studio add-in development. 
It's a fascinating area to work in, although it can be totally infuriating at times when you just can't achieve what you want to with the interfaces available!
Anna ![Rose | [Rose]](https://codeproject.global.ssl.fastly.net/script/Forums/Images/rose.gif)
Riverblade Ltd - Software Consultancy Services
Anna's Place | Tears and Laughter
"Be yourself - not what others think you should be"
- Marcia Graesch
"Anna's just a sexy-looking lesbian tart"
- A friend, trying to wind me up. It didn't work.
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Anna-Jayne Metcalfe wrote:
you just can't achieve what you want to with the interfaces available
Been there, do that. My group writes software that has overall responsibility for running our machine. The machine is an aggregation of components from groups within our company, vendor components, and occasionally customer-supplied bits. A major part of our job is just getting these various bits to play nice in the same sandbox. Believe it or not, we even have troubles getting pieces built by groups within our company to work together. For a long time we had a corporate culture that encouraged empire-building, and a 'fortress' mentality between departments. That culture has faded, but the boundary lines are now built into a lot of legacy hardware that we still need to support.
Software Zen: delete this;
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That sounds very familiar. 
The latest one we've uncovered is that although each version of Visual Studio .NET has pretty much the same interfaces (look up EnvDTE in the help), the Visual C++ interfaces (VCProjectEngineLibrary) are - despite having the same name and version - implemented by different typelibs by the different VS.NET versions.
As a result, if (as we do) you build an add-in under 2003, to get the same binary working under 2002, 2003 and 2005 is somewhat convoluted - especially if you want to use events. Even #import won't work as the typelibs have the same name, so we have to pre-generate them (with changed namespaces) and #include them directly. That breaks IDispEventImpl in interesting ways, but that's another story...
Anna
Riverblade Ltd - Software Consultancy Services
Anna's Place | Tears and Laughter
"Be yourself - not what others think you should be"
- Marcia Graesch
"Anna's just a sexy-looking lesbian tart"
- A friend, trying to wind me up. It didn't work.
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I work in the public sector. :->
I am currently trying to show the users which is the correct way to hold the mouse, and how to overcome the "paper out" printing problems.
For the experienced users how to use IE to browse web.
In my free time (thank god there is such a thing in public sector), I try to feel usefull and that I can do something creative (even without the right tools), so I design the web site of the prefecture I work. Check if you have nothing better to do here http://www.nakorinthias.gr/[^], http://www.nakorinthias.gr/Kep_New/[^]. (Only in greek for the moment.)
...Plug & Pray... 
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Embedded development of 3G hardware/software.
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; what kind of applications?
Software Zen: delete this;
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It is the Layer 1 hardware and software that implements the physical layer of the 3G cellular standard.
It is a lot of fun to work on. Our ASIC designer use VHDL to build the hardware netlist which we put onto an FPGA that is interfaced with an ARM processor. Typically the HW does the bulk of the processing and the SW runs as control and post processing.
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I do Network, Digital Video Surveillance, Computer Based Point of Sale support, configuration & installation. As well I maintain a Management interface that I designed in PHP w/ a MySQL backend. I also develop troubleshooting utilities to make everyones life easier (C++/WxWidgets/C#/What is required). On top of all that I designed, developed and maintain the company web site.
What would you call that? I consider my job IT anyway.
Later. Diilbert
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Sounds familiar. In addition to building ink jet controller software, I'm also the departmental 'crap job' guy. I maintain our SourceSafe data base, I'm responsible for the build process, I write the installs, and I've developed our principle debugging tool (a TCP/IP sockets-based TRACE-like facility).
Software Zen: delete this;
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Real estate investor.
--
"The money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its rule by preying upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is concentrated in a few hands and the Republic destroyed."
-- Abraham Lincoln
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At the moment integration testing of set top boxes for television and worknig on related build systems.
The tigress is here 
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How often do people ask you if you can get them free cable?
Software Zen: delete this;
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I agree, but sometimes you need the marketing people to sell your product.
WM.
What about weapons of mass-construction?
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After 7 years of my company changing names and/or owners; 4 of the last wondering if I would have a paycheck next week and the last 4 of no raises; the last 1 of promises that if I just hang in there I will be "rewarded" because I am a "very valuable member"; I am just tired of working period!
I began working in IT because I loved it. Now, it is just a job that pays the bills till my investments mature enough for me to retire or I die of overworking.
--
"The money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its rule by preying upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is concentrated in a few hands and the Republic destroyed."
-- Abraham Lincoln
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Robert, you sincerely need to look around for another position. I've seen situations like yours before, although I've never been in it myself. Nothing is worth the stress and hassle you're going through. Frankly, that "promises-of-being-rewarded" thing is a load of crap. The people making the promises are the ones busily packing their golden parachutes, and will bail as soon as possible. Meanwhile, it's the poor schmucks like you that will get stuck with two weeks of severance pay and a pink slip.
Software Zen: delete this;
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I wish what you were telling me was something new. I have already taken steps to change careers. My current position just pays the bills while I establish myself in my new career where I work for myself. Thanks for the advice. 
And just for the record you are completely correct! If I didn't work with some great people I would have left long ago. And if the positions that are out there didn't require me to take 25-50% paycuts. There are a number of reasons that I have stayed, some good and some not so good, but the "promises to reward" were not anywhere on the list of those reasons!
2 weeks of severance. Wow. The situations you have heard of have been generous! At my company they started with 1 week for each year you worked. That was the first 2500 person layoff. Then it went to 3 days for each year for the second 1500 person layoff. Then it went to have a nice day for the 3rd, 4th, 5th, quarterly hand-basket.
My conclusion is that while working for someone else is the "safe-secure" way to make a living, it just isn't for me. It is a great crutch for now, but it is not what I want. I'd rather spend my time doing whatever I choose while the check rolls into the mailbox and not have to wonder if the paycheck is going to be there.
--
"The money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its rule by preying upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is concentrated in a few hands and the Republic destroyed."
-- Abraham Lincoln
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The culture I've been in for 3 years is the worst I've ever experienced. Yet the technical challenges and skills I've aquired are quite pleasant.
The good news is, I've taken a new position at a new company, starting next Monday. If half of what they've said is true, it is 100% better than my current job.
<signature>
It's good to live,
Josef Wainz
Software Developer
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Let's hope, another 3yrs will not suck you!!!
I'm wondering how you've tolerated 3yrs...
Cheers!!!
Vadivel Kumar
My Articles | My Blogs
Love All
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Yeah. I know. I work for myself and I'm still not happy all the time with my job all the time.
Developing software is fun but usually only at the beginning and at the end of a project. The bit in the middle, the boring implementation after the fun of the analysis and the design doesn't inspire me anymore.
Seeing the end result, and the users face's light up with realisation of how good the system will be for them makes the middle bit worth while though.
Michael
CP Blog [^] Development Blog [^]
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Michael,
You need an employee to do the boring bits
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Nishant Sivakumar wrote:
You need an employee to do the boring bits
If I could afford somebody, then I would. The only problem is then hiring somebody who thinks along the same lines as me when it comes to building software.
Michael
CP Blog [^] Development Blog [^]
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Michael P Butler wrote:
The only problem is then hiring somebody who thinks along the same lines as me when it comes to building software.
Amen to that!
Marc
MyXaml
Advanced Unit Testing
YAPO
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Michael P Butler wrote:
If I could afford somebody, then I would.
The trick lies in how to sell more and code less, so you can afford (and need) someone else.
I see dead pixels
Yes, even I am blogging now!
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I am hired in a 2 people company!!!
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