`Softie in Question: Clint Rutkas

Job Title: Technical Evangelist

You´ve got all of these crazy gadgets sitting around your office. Can you explain what some of these things are?
This´s all .NET hardware that I´ve built, namely a computer-controlled, light-up dance floor, a self-balancing skateboard and an automated bartender called Drinktendr.

So, your job is what?... to come up with cool ideas and figure out how to make them into realities?
I am part developer, part content producer for Channel 9 and I run the Microsoft blog Coding4Fun – which, yes, is all about learning how to make fun stuff with .NET technology.

Through the act of learning, people start to see the technology from a new viewpoint: what they once perceived as a nail may been seen as a screw to be used in a completely different way and create something nobody´s ever thought of before.

I try to keep all of the stuff very DIY too. Look at the Drinktendr: I could have spent a lot more money on it, but I wanted to prove that you can go to any old hardware store and get 99% of the materials to make it. Look at the table it´s on – straight from IKEA. I want it to be more about brains and inspiration than access to resources.

How´d you get this balance of hardware and software background?
Well, my dad is a tool and die maker – they´re the people who help make and maintain complex manufacturing machinery – so, I was influenced by him and, therefore, have an engineer-ish background. But, early on, I started tinkering with computer software and have been blamed for every time our family computer crashed since I was about three.

I studied programming in school and later worked for two startups in Chicago. I was creating content management and consumer relational management systems. Riveting stuff...

How was the transition from a small start-up to Microsoft?
Somewhat surprisingly, the energy level is basically the same. At a start-up, it´s "go go go" and you feel like "if I fail, the company fails." Here at Microsoft, each group is like its own small business and you still have the excitement and energy. However, things are much more stable and you have a lot of backing to expand your personal horizons.

Now, I can go and say “Hey, I want to work on Project X and here´s why it´s a good idea.” And – so long as it´s within the business´ needs for that team – they encourage me to challenge myself and learn new skills.  If I want to learn to do project management instead of development work, then that path is open to me too.

Can you give us an example?
Oh, I´ve got lot of them. I wanted to learn Windows Presentation Foundation and I used the process to create what eventually became Drinktendr – which in turn has been showcased at a number of events and gotten other people excited about what can be accomplished with WPF.

Have you ever thought about what kind of havoc could be caused by combining a light-up dance floor, a Segway skateboard and a robotic bartender all at once?
Yeah, they´re probably best kept separate.

What would you like to build next?
I´d like to take the dancefloor technology and use it to light up an entire skyscraper. I´m pretty sure nothing like that´s been done on that scale. I’ve only seen where it´s in one color, nowhere near the extreme I want to explore.

LINKS:
Clint´s awesomely named personal blog: http://www.betterthaneveryone.com/

In case you didn´t slow down to check them out before...
Channel 9: http://channel9.msdn.com/
Coding4Fun: http://www.coding4fun.com/

Action shots from the Drinktendr buildout:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/betterthaneveryone/4056098083/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/betterthaneveryone/4056832486/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/betterthaneveryone/4056830406/