In the Fourth installment of our series, “The Interviews” we interview the founder of the ASoft Company, and creator of the AutoExit Add-In for Windows Home Server.  It all started with Microsoft's innovative idea, the Windows Home Server (WHS). As the word spread so did the need for specialized software. Once more and more home users and small business invited the Windows Home Server into their realm, the WHS Add-ins craze took off. They are small and specialized software that began pop up from all corners of the globe. In the last two years many things around the WHS have changed and the improvement in the add-in quality is significant as well.

With every new add-in the functionality, stability and style are better and stronger than in previous versions. It makes one wonder what is the force that pushes all that enthusiasm and the creativity? And what is behind all these add-ins? Many people were having those same questions and we at Home Server Land (HSL) realized that there needs to be a common roaming/reading ground where those questions can and will be answered. That train of thought is how we arrived at a new Blog series, "The Interviews". The interviews blog is by no means exclusive to the add-in authors. We also ask and invite hardware and software OEM's and as well as Microsoft employees to join in. In this blog the discussions are open to everything concerning the Windows Home Server, no question is too dumb and no idea is too small. So, now let us start the interview with our special guest today. 
 

• HSL:  What is your full name and how old are you?
• Nick: My name is Nick Asseloos, 30 years old.

• HSL:  You have your own company, would you tell us its name please?
• Nick: ASoft - www.asoft.be

• HSL:  Where are you from?
• Nick: From the coastal region in Belgium

• HSL:  Do you have an avatar?
• Nick: No, except on some websites.

• HSL:  What do you do for a living?
• Nick: I'm a developer in a large company and work mainly on testing software (test automation, performance testing,...)

• HSL:  Do you have any hobbies?
• Nick: My family, developing software, squash

• HSL:  How long have you been using computers?
• Nick: I started around 1991/2, with DOS / Windows 3.1

• HSL:  Do you remember the first computer program that you coded?
• Nick: My first app was a DOS application that you could use to look up DOS error codes and for Windows a simple address book.

• HSL:  How or why did you decide to use the Windows Home Server?
• Nick: I had done a lot of beta programs for Microsoft and I was invited to the beta program of WHS. The more I got familiar with it, the more I liked it and saw its Potential. It's a really great platform to work with and it is very useful in keeping your whole network in shape. It can save you a lot of time and it makes the job easier of sharing stuff across the whole family. Ever since then it has been a vital part of my network.

• HSL:  Please tell us about your WHS setup?
• Nick: My machine is a custom built machine, that I had in spare when I bought a new one. It has 3Gb RAM, Dual Core, with 1 TB disk space. Installation was very easy, haven't had   any problems with it, smooth and simple.

• HSL:  Which add-ins do you use on your Windows Home Server?
• Nick: AutoExit, my new addin that I'm developing ;-) and WHS Disk Mgt

• HSL:  Why did you make this add-in(s)?
• Nick: As I used WHS daily, I had the feeling I was missing something to shutdown/reboot my machines, I thought: why don't I port my desktop shutdown tool to WHS. So as means of learning how to create an add-in and to see how that turns out I created it.

• HSL:  How would you improve or change the WHS platform?
• Nick: Well as my main interest in WHS is the development side, I would like to have all the SDK related stuff improved. Make it easier to create add-ins, more documentation,  more API's exposed, more support for different controls, more...

• HSL:  Do you have any new projects or what else are you working on?
• Nick: Yes, I have a couple of projects I am working on atm. I'm writing a new add-in, which I actually started in 2007 when I started with AutoExit, but as AutoExit got popular I continued working on AutoExit first. Now that the final of AutoExit 2008 R2 is out, and AutoExit 2009 which will be a minor update to 2008 R2 is in public Beta. I got the new add-in Out of the freezer and started again. ATM it's in Alpha testing with some testers and I hope to release a private beta in Soon.  AutoExit 2010 is also in the works, as this will be a major update with lots of new features. It's currently in Alpha testing but this one is still too young to start testing with  private testers. And I'm also working on new articles, like I did about the new WHS PP-2 API's. So enough work going on and starting from soon, things should start appearing in public.

Name Location Website Add-ins

Nick Asseloos Belgium www.asoft.be AutoExit