Canon 650D at John Lewis

I have been looking around for a while for a decent DSLR camera, after reading reviews I was looking at either the Canon 550D or the Nikon 3200. Then I saw that Canon had released the Canon 650D, reading the reviews of this camera I decided it was either this our the Nikon 3200. I went to John Lewis to have a play with these 2 cameras and after taking some shoots was much happier with the Canon, the Nikon 3200 seems much cheaper (as is), but the Canon ticked all the right boxes.

When it came to price John Lewis sold the camera for £620 with a 18-55mm lens and a camera bag, this was a deal up to September 26th. I could not make it to the shop before this date and thought I did not mind missing out on the camera bag, but the day after they did not include the bag and they put the price up to £650. Is this some sort of price adjustment to get rid of the Canon 600D, have they put the price up so they can later add a better discount? I don't know. Hopefully I will find a good place to buy this camera soon

Delphi RAD Studio XE3 now available

Delphi XE3 has now been released. This version of the software development suite now supports Windows 8 and Mountain Lion for the Mac. This version does not include the ability to develop mobile apps, but it will come later, which will allow users to develop apps for iOS (iPhone, iPad) and for Android devices.

I am looking forward to having a closer look at XE3 in the near future.

Here is a link to the preview site
RAD Studio XE3

Open plan offices are bad for software development

I work as a software developer and last year I moved job to an open plan office, which I thought was a good idea as I suffer from claustrophobia and did not like working in my previous office as it was completely enclosed with no outside windows, which cause some anxiety. Since I have moved to the open plan office there are some advantages and some disadvantages, particulally relating to my job role.

Advantages
1) The main advantage of my current office is that it has windows and a nice view.

2) It is easy to see if someone is in, although with using MS Lync you know if someone is available to talk.

3) More people on the same floor space. Putting separation between offices and corridors takes up more floor space.

4) Easier to change office layout. It makes it easier to move desks to a different configuration.

5) Can be an advantage if the manager is also in the ofice, they get a better feeling of how the office and staff are operting rather than being in their own office.

Disadvantages
1) The main disadvantage is the amount of noise, being a software developer you need to be able to concerntrate for long periods of time, up to 30 minutes if you are working on something complex. Constaint noise and people talking and even shouting causes breaks in concentration. This means a reduction in efficiency and a more likelihood of errors to occur. 

2) Air conditioning causes confrontation between employees. People do like different conditions and temperatures, air conditioning is difficult to get right when there are only a couple of people in the room, but when there are over 30 there is more chance that someone will what it cold and some want it warm. 

3) Lighting is similar to air conditioning, some people like it bright and some light it dark. 

4) Less wall space, means you have less area to hang white boards and information. Currently where I work my team are in the centre of the office and have a very small area at one end (1.5m wide) to hang information on projects. 

5) Video conference and calls are harder work because of the surrounding noise. 

I conclusion open plan offices may work for certain industries and types of work, but I do not believe they are a productive environment for software development.