Rob Mensching's Blog - page 14
Today we released WiX v3.7 RC. When I introduced WiX v3.7 I noted that WiX v3.7 would be a short release. If you have not pulled down a WiX v3.7 drop, I highly recommend it to let us know if there are any showstoppers. At this point in time I expect the release to wrap up before the end of the year. Wondering what is in this shortest release in the WiX toolset's history?
A couple weeks after I started Microsoft, 13+ years ago now, my dev manager at the time invited me to lunch with him. Over lunch he asked me a question that would define my career: "Did I see myself becoming a manager or a technical individual contributor at Microsoft?" I said I was interested in pursuing the individual contributor track and he explained how career advancement was more challenging via that route. I accepted the challenge that day and today I reached my goal.
It is my pleasure to announce that WiX toolset v3.6 is now officially declared Production/Stable. The final build number is v3.6.3303.0. You can download it from here.
As prophesized, the first build of the WiX v3.7 toolset was released today. Here's what is on the docket for WiX v3.7.
When the WiX toolset transferred to Outercurve Foundation I forgot one detail that was apparently interesting to some of you. The license changed from the Common Public License 1.0 (CPL) to the Microsoft Reciprocal License (MS-RL). Here's why.
This is straight up tl;dr but the closing statements from members of punk band Pussy Riot are a fascinating. I don't know that I could write such poignant text ever, much less under similar circumstances. It was mostly intellectual for me until one defendant's psych eval identified her values as: justice, mutual respect, humaneness, equality, and freedom.
When I first moved to Seattle, I lived downtown and commuted to work via bus. That worked out well until the fall when the snowcapped mountains in the east started whispering, 'Snowboarding.' I shopped around until I discovered the then brand new 2000 Nissan Xterra. It was perfect for hauling me and up to 4 friends into the mountains no matter the conditions. I don't do that much any more but I still drive the same vehicle. It's getting up there in years and I anticipate I will have to replace it in the next few years. I dreaded that thought until I read an article on Geekwire comparing electric cars. Now I'm excited, sorta'.
The WiX Toolset was Microsoft's first Open Source project released back in April, 2004. Being first meant we were guinea pigs for a number of new legal and business processes. By 2009 Microsoft had learned a lot about these processes and created the Outercurve Foundation to encapsulate them. Today the WiX toolset finally moves from Microsoft to join Outercurve. Why now? What changes? Let's see if I can answer those questions.