Why I'm using a MSI install package

Early on I decided I would use a MSI based installer for my product. Many would argue(and possibly rightly so) that there are easier/better installer technologies out there. However since the whole point of my company is to make life easier for Active Directory/Windows Administrators I felt I had to go with MSI. MSI packages are the easiest way to distribute applications in an Active Directory environment without add on packages such as Microsoft's SMS. I flirted with the idea of ditching MSI after a couple of hours of wading through some MSI tables in Orca, but then I thought back to all the times as a network administrator when I would think, "If only they had given me an MSI based installer this would be so much easier." Besides I had that aha moment with MSI and it doesn't seem so bad now. There will be some more MSI posts coming as it is the part of the project I'm currently working on.

I guess what I'm getting at with this post is that I need to remember who and why I'm really developing this product. I was a Network Administrator first. I must make sure I don't forget my old pain as I move forward. As a quick note my new day job is in a NDS(my older friend) environment, so forgetting some of my old Active Directory based pain is a danger I'll need to watch out for.

So until next time as you work on your projects, "Remember the pain!"