Mockup / Wireframe / Prototype Tools

Balsamiq “Mockups”

• demo video
• Adobe AIR based licensed$$ desktop version – very full featured
• Web based demo - works well for quick thoughts

Pencil

• free
• Cross platform desktop app
• Sketchy stencil for the “low fidelity” look

Gliffy

• free basic web functionality
• $$ubscription model for featured version

SketchFlow is apparently coming back to VS2012 – Microsoft seems to be in a bit of a tizzy buttoning down all the loose ends in the latest transition to all things immersive.
Infragistics has Indigo Studio
There’s tons more out there… prototyping is apparently a very hot item

iTunes finally has “add to play up next”

WHY did that take till 2013?!?
Can’t believe they whacked CoverFlow in iTunes 11… I guess I’ll probably forget how much I liked the full screen CoverFlow eventually but man what a wild judgment call on Apple’s part there.

DST T-SQL

-- this code returns the start and end datetime’s for DST in the current year
-- DST begins at 2am on the SECOND SUNDAY of March and ends the FIRST SUNDAY of November

SELECT 
  DATEADD(HOUR, (MULTIPLIER + 7 /*skip the first week*/) * 24 /*24 hours a day*/ + 2 /*offset to 2am*/, StartWeek) AS StartDate, 
  DATEADD(HOUR, MULTIPLIER * 24 + 2, EndWeek) AS EndDate 
FROM ( 
  SELECT 0 AS MULTIPLIER, 1 AS DOW UNION ALL 
  SELECT 6, 2 UNION ALL 
  SELECT 5, 3 UNION ALL 
  SELECT 4, 4 UNION ALL 
  SELECT 3, 5 UNION ALL 
  SELECT 2, 6 UNION ALL 
  SELECT 1, 7 
) dow, 
(SELECT 
  '03/01/' + convert(varchar, DATEPART(YEAR, GETDATE())) AS StartWeek, 
  '11/01/' + convert(varchar, DATEPART(YEAR, GETDATE())) AS EndWeek 
) DST 
WHERE DATEPART(WEEKDAY, StartWeek) = DOW