It’s late at night. I’m ways too tired to keep on working or start reading, so as usual in this situation, I switch to reading newest blog stuff and browsing YouTube, MetaCafé & DailyMotion. Here you go with today’s findings:

• Why does agile software development pay? Excellent content although I would have enjoyed some words about the optimal conditions to use an agile method.

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=OWvSnYjqOTQ]

• 2 videos on software projects shipping late.

The first one is an inspiring speech excerpt by Steve McCarthy, head of Microsoft Visual Studio team. Too bad it’s too short.

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=kGKMTCvq-RM]

The second one is a must-see, by AxoSoft’s founder @ 2006 conference “Shipping Software On Time“.

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=o68bLCX5CVo]

• Halftime! Take a break:

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=rXKQ0DiTpWM]

• Software project management saga in 2 episodes by Bas de Baar:

1/2:

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=vgOVuFpw0Tw]

2/2:

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=ORzQQn3YTV4]

• Too long a conclusion (65 minutes…) & not exactly on software project management but rather on the impact of software on community. Still an interesting view point on the role of software. Software is as crucial in the 21st Century as steel was in the 20th Century, according to by Eben Moglen, head of the Software Freedom Law Center. I think the statement is a bit far-fetched, but rather stimulating, intellectually speaking. A lot of things he says (“software is crucial towards economic development”) are true but such awkward statements such as “the good news is that nobody owns software” (first, it’s wrong; second, had it been true or should it become true, it wouldn’t be good news at all – but I acknowledge that’s just my opinion). Excellent points on the importance of mathematics.

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=NorfgQlEJv8]

Nota Bene: for those of you who read French, a really good blog on software project management is Laurent Deséchalliers’s, right here.

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Unlike Apple and Google & putting the few exceptions aside, Microsoft has historically hardly shown appeal-driven & KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) taste when designing consumer applications. Well, things seem to be changing fast: with the XBox 360, killer app Photosynth, SoapBox, the release of Windows Vista & now Silverlight, Microsoft’s product portfolio suddenly looks more sexy.

I’m very happy to see the company’s transforming so fast to adapt the long term thirst for ‘beautiful things’. I guess there’s more to come from Redmond.

Download Microsoft’s Silverlight (read MSFTie & blogger Don Dodge’s product analysis) Development Kit (SDK well done guys) for PC & MAC right here.

Now I just hope the rich media fight between Microsoft & Adobe, 2 companies I am fond of, will benefit the entire computer industry and most of all Internet rich media developers & end users.

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