A New Version of WinTask - 3.9

WinTask 3.9

The good folks at TaskWare have released a new version of the favorite tool in my toolbox - WinTask.

The big news here is that WinTask has added support for Chrome.  So now you can test Windows applications, and web applications in Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Chrome! copyrightjoestrazzere

Here is the vendor's version history of WinTask: http://www.wintask.com/version-history.php

Check this tool out at http://www.wintask.com/

You can see some of my WinTask utility scripts here, using the WinTask tag.

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This article originally appeared in my blog: All Things Quality

	My name is Joe Strazzere and I'm currently a Director of Quality Assurance. I like to lead, to test, and occasionally to write about leading and testing. Find me at http://AllThingsQuality.com/.

Test Automation Is ...

Test Automation Is

According to Google (and Google knows everything), test automation is: copyrightjoestrazzere

• Test Automation is easy
• Test Automation is complex
• Test Automation is now
• Test Automation is making you crazy
• Test Automation is a good thing
• Test Automation is important
• Test Automation is required
• Test Automation is bad
• Test Automation is not the icing on the cake
• Test Automation is preferred
• Test Automation is a specialized career
• Test Automation is sometimes complicated
• Test Automation is a much talked about topic
• Test Automation is in itself a software development activity
• Test Automation is more difficult that people often realize
• Test Automation is a full-time effort
• Test Automation is more than a set of tests
• Test Automation is becoming cross-discipline
• Test Automation is the next logical step
• Test Automation is largely a technical exercise
• Test Automation is an investment
• Test Automation is an agent of transformation
• Test Automation is always viewed as the most desired approach for testing
• Test Automation is obviously the right thing
• Test Automation is no longer confined to programmers and scripters

Can you add to the list?

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This article originally appeared in my blog: All Things Quality

	My name is Joe Strazzere and I'm currently a Director of Quality Assurance. I like to lead, to test, and occasionally to write about leading and testing. Find me at http://AllThingsQuality.com/.

Perhaps They Should Have Tested More - Apple iOS 6 Maps

Show me the way to go home

I'm tired and I want to go to bed

I had a little drink about one release ago

And it's gone right to my head

Apple's new iOS 6 software update replaces Google Maps with Apple Maps as expected, but so far, unhappy users are panning the change in websites and online forums. copyrightjoestrazzere

Apple is receiving massive backlash from users around the globe, who report that Apple’s replacement maps, “Apple Maps,” are riddled with strange glitches, inaccurate direction and location data, and fall short of Google Maps.

• Called "an unsightly blemish on what is otherwise a beautiful OS"
• Train stations have gone missing
• The Sears Tower in Chicago has been moved to a smaller tower
• In Ireland, Dublin has been given a new airport where a farm called Airfield currently stands.
• Searches for London mostly tend to redirect users to the small city of London in Ontario, Canada.
• Stratford Upon Avon disappeared

Perhaps Apple should have tested more.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/20/apple-map-fails-ios-6-maps_n_1901599.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bianca-bosker/apple-ios-6-maps-debacle_b_1900211.html

http://theamazingios6maps.tumblr.com/

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/iOS-6-Maps-Getting-Flack-From-Apple-iPhone-iPad-Users-382359/

http://idealab.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/09/how-bad-is-apples-ios6-maps-disaster.php

http://www.tntmagazine.com/news/world/new-apple-ios6-maps-software-found-to-have-extensive-glitches

http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Horizons/2012/0920/iOS-6-Apple-Maps-launches-to-a-cacophony-of-jeers

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/20/technology/apple-ios-6-leaves-out-googles-maps.html?_r=0
http://longislandreport.org/news/new-apple-maps-bring-new-york-jets-back-to-hofstra/14353

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An update:

In http://www.apple.com/letter-from-tim-cook-on-maps/ Apple's CEO writes:

At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customers. With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment. We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better.

I think I know one thing they can do to make Maps better - test more!

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A further update:

The former head of Apple's Maps team, a 10-year veteran, was fired.

Some might argue that he should have been tarred and feathered, but Apple has, reportedly, restrained itself and merely fired iOS 6 Maps chief Richard Williamson.

http://www.tgdaily.com/mobility-features/67736-apple-fires-maps-head-richard-williamson

Perhaps his replacement will want to test more.

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And finally, Google to the rescue!

http://lifehacker.com/5968068/google-maps-is-now-available-for-ios-devices

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This article originally appeared in my blog: All Things Quality

	My name is Joe Strazzere and I'm currently a Director of Quality Assurance. I like to lead, to test, and occasionally to write about leading and testing. Find me at http://AllThingsQuality.com/.

It's Time To Vote - For SQAForums!

Vote for SQAForums.com

Once again the Automated Testing Institute is conducting their annual "Automation Honors" voting. From their website: copyrightjoestrazzere

The industry's original set of awards dedicated to software test automation is again looking to crown industry leading tools, resources and practitioners with automation's top honor. That means it's time for all of you to get busy!

The ATI Automation Honors awards rely on industry practitioners to identify which tools, resources and people are the best, which have the most significant upgrades and/or which are setting the trends that will help to take software test automation to the next level in the coming year. The 4th Annual Awards promise to be even bigger and better with more categories, more trend analysis, a live ceremony at the TestKIT 2012 Conference, video presentation ceremony, and much more.

In the category of "Best Automated Testing Forum" my vote again goes to SQAForums.com.

With almost 200,000 registered members and numerous tool-specific and tool-agnostic forums, SQAForums is the best place I've found to ask questions and get answers about all facets of test automation, as well as general Test and QA issues. And, I'm lucky enough to be one of the Moderators!

If you like SQAForums, as much as I do, you can go here to vote:
http://www.automatedtestinginstitute.com/home/index.php?option=com_jforms&view=form&id=22&Itemid=186

And if you haven't visited SQAForums yet, why not come and pay a visit at:
http://www.sqaforums.com

Tell them your friend Joe sent you!

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This article originally appeared in my blog: All Things Quality

	My name is Joe Strazzere and I'm currently a Director of Quality Assurance. I like to lead, to test, and occasionally to write about leading and testing. Find me at http://AllThingsQuality.com/.

There's A Bug And It's Been Assigned To Me

To the tune of "There's a hole in the bottom of the sea"

There's a bug and it's been assigned to me

There's a bug and it's been assigned to me

There's a bug, there's a bug, there's a bug and it's been assigned to me copyrightjoestrazzere

There's an issue in a bug and it's been assigned to me

There's an issue in a bug and it's been assigned to me

There's a bug, there's a bug, there's a bug and it's been assigned to me

There's a defect in an issue in a bug and it's been assigned to me

There's a defect in an issue in a bug and it's been assigned to me

There's a bug, there's a bug, there's a bug and it's been assigned to me

There's a glitch in a defect in an issue in a bug and it's been assigned to me

There's a glitch in a defect in an issue in a bug and it's been assigned to me

There's a bug, there's a bug, there's a bug and it's been assigned to me

There's a fault in a glitch in a defect in an issue in a bug and it's been assigned to me

There's a fault in a glitch in a defect in an issue in a bug and it's been assigned to me

There's a bug, there's a bug, there's a bug and it's been assigned to me

There a failing in a fault in a glitch in a defect in an issue in a bug and it's been assigned to me

There a failing in a fault in a glitch in a defect in an issue in a bug and it's been assigned to me

There's a bug, there's a bug, there's a bug and it's been assigned to me

There an error in a failing in a fault in a glitch in a defect in an issue in a bug and it's been assigned to me

There an error in a failing in a fault in a glitch in a defect in an issue in a bug and it's been assigned to me

There's a bug, there's a bug, there's a bug and it's been assigned to me

There a problem in an error in a failing in a fault in a glitch in a defect in an issue in a bug and it's been assigned to me

There a problem in an error in a failing in a fault in a glitch in a defect in an issue in a bug and it's been assigned to me

There's a bug, there's a bug, there's a bug and it's been assigned to me

There a typo in a problem in an error in a failing in a fault in a glitch in a defect in an issue in a bug and it's been assigned to me

There a typo in a problem in an error in a failing in a fault in a glitch in a defect in an issue in a bug and it's been assigned to me

There's a bug, there's a bug, there's a bug and it's been assigned to me

There's a feature in the code and it's been assigned to me

There's a feature in the code and it's been assigned to me

So there's a bug, there's a bug, there's a bug and it's been assigned to me

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This article originally appeared in my blog: All Things Quality

	My name is Joe Strazzere and I'm currently a Director of Quality Assurance. I like to lead, to test, and occasionally to write about leading and testing. Find me at http://AllThingsQuality.com/.

Remembering September 11, 2001

Anna Williams Allison

Eleven years later, I remember September 11, 2001.

I remember being in a morning meeting and one of the staff members was late. When he came in, he asked if we had heard the news about a plane crashing into the World Trade Center. We hadn't. We finished our meeting, then went upstairs to the lunch room (with its huge projection television) and saw that the news channels still weren't sure if this was an accident or some sort of attack.

Shortly after that, we watched in horror as another plan crashed into the second tower. Then it was clear that this was no accident.

A very sad, unsettling day.

copyrightjoestrazzere

The next day, I got a phone call from a friend. He told me some more sad news. A former co-worker was on American Airlines flight #11 - the first plane to crash into a tower.

Anna Williams Allison was a colleague at Bachman Information Systems. She and I both worked in the Quality Assurance department.  She was very smart, very energetic, and a terrific QAer.  I learned a lot from her, and I like to think she learned something from me.

When we both left Bachman, we remained friends, and occasionally spoke, emailed, shared ideas about QA and work, and had lunch. She eventually formed her own company - doing QA training and presentations. She was very good for the QA field.

Anna was on flight 11, on her way to a customer engagement.

I miss her, both professionally, and as a friend. Each September 11th, as the country shares remembrances of a sad day in our history, I think of her again. We in the QA community are poorer without her.

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This article originally appeared in my blog: All Things Quality

	My name is Joe Strazzere and I'm currently a Director of Quality Assurance. I like to lead, to test, and occasionally to write about leading and testing. Find me at http://AllThingsQuality.com/.