Does anyone have experience with embedding messaging or mailing programs into VS? I'm interested in things like Skype or Instant Messenger being embedded as tool windows. If you use (or have used) something like this, how has it affected your productivity?
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63answers:
2
A:
I'm not sure why you want to do this? I find I already have too little space in VS.
That aside, almost every dev team I have been on now communicated via a combination of IRC, MSN, Skype etc. We have always found that a flashing toolbar is a much smaller distraction to your programming zone than a tap on the shoulder. It also means we can stick our headphones on, and faze out into focused programming land, aka "The Zone", without concern for missing co-workers trying to get your attention.
Gregory
2009-04-07 01:52:12
I, for one, _hate_ those flashing toolbar options - at one point resorting to having a tri-screen setup (ie, two screens, plus a small crappy old screen located just outside of peripheral vision so that I can check it when *I* want, not when *they* want!)
Arafangion
2009-04-07 02:48:04
I want to just be able to open a sliding tab right in VS and as someone a question. The same question can be asked of bug tracking - why would anyone use a web browser if FogBugz can be integrated right into VS?
Dmitri Nesteruk
2009-04-07 09:09:51
A:
I second the fact that I would find this very annoying; I prefer to read messages on my own basis, not when someone wants to send me something, and then be forced to distract my attention from what I'm on.
That said, you could fairly trivially host some sort of messaging website (twitter perhaps, or any other) in a tab in VS. I wouldn't, but you could.
Noon Silk
2009-09-03 00:59:13