Chris Hammond

DotNetNuke Upgrade and Consulting specialist

News

Thanks for visiting my blog, you can find more about me at ChrisHammond.com. I specialize in all things DotNetNuke

Cool Sites

My domains

Projects

Archives

June 2007 - Posts

Problems installing VS 2k5 SP1 on Vista?

So I know I did this back in November without issues, but in February I reinstalled XP and got away from Vista.

Last week I went back to Vista in order to get better support for my new Canon HV20 camcorder.

I installed Visual Studio 2k5 the other day, and immediately tried to install SP1. I've been unable to get SP1 to install. It never actually errors out, it loads the screen that says "extracting" in the title bar, and says it may take a few minutes to a few hours to install. I've let it run multiple times for 12 hours, and this time around it's been running 24 hours, with no change in status.

Anyone have any ideas? I guess i'm about ready to uninstall VS and start over if I can't figure out anything else.

Importing Video from the Canon HV20 to Windows MovieMaker

If you recently purchased a Canon HV20 you might be a bit surprised when you go to try and use any of the High Definition video you recorded with it. Canon didn't bother to include software on the CD to actually use the video you record. You might try hooking up your camera to your Windows XP machine via Firewire but that won't get you very far either. All I was able to do was to get it to the point where it would transfer DV, which wasn't acceptable to me so I didn't even bother to see if it would work.

Instead I installed Windows Vista Ultimate on my desktop tonight. I installed my old Firewire card, hooked up the HV20 to the machine and I had Moviemaker importing video in no time, in HD even! I will let it import tonight and see what all I can do with the video in the morning. I have a tape with about an hour's worth of content on it, some of it for www.project240z.com so I hope to get that posted online tomorrow.

Back in the Saddle Again

Well... I'm back onto Vista yet again. I started running Vista on my main desktop back in the fall, sometime right around the RTM date. February came and I was getting sick of it. I was having a horrible time with Vista, I reinstalled XP and came to find out that most of my problems weren't actually Vista, but my network in my house, my domain controller was down, but up, and killing the network. Once I got that cleaned up XP was flying again.

So this past weekend I got a Canon HV20 camcorder, and XP just won't handle it with Windows Movie Maker, which I use for all the videos I put together for my Datsun 240Z over at www.project240z.com. So tonight I reinstalled Windows Vista Ultimate. I just finished reinstalling Office 2007, and now have some more things to install, configure, and play with. Hope to try to transfer some video later tonight.... More on that if it happens!

DotNetNuke wins Editor's Choice from Visual Studio Magazine

Last week it was announced that DNN won Editor's choice from Visual Studio Magazine, read the press release here!

OpenForce 07 Speaker Announcements

A day or so ago Joe posted a link to the speaker announcements for the OpenForce 07 conference in Vegas in November.

There are some very cool topics that will be covered out in Vegas. I hope to meet as many of you as possible, and see you in my presentation as well! Here's a link to the OpenForce page.

Here's a list from the current Speaker's page.

GENERAL

DGN100: DotNetNuke Open Force ’07 Keynote Address
Shaun Walker

DGN103: Panel Discussion: DotNetNuke – The Road Ahead
Joe Brinkman
Nik Kalyani
Scott Willhite
Shaun Walker
In this panel discussion, the four co-founders of DotNetNuke Corporation will share their vision for the company and the DotNetNuke Open Source project. The resources, approach and business model required to manage and grow a large Open Source project such as DotNetNuke are substantially different than those required for a commercial software company. Get an inside look at how DotNetNuke Corp. is addressing today’s challenges while preparing for the future.

DGN102: The Quiet Enterprise Web Revolution: DotNetNuke as a Weapon
Mark Trenchard
Enterprises are grappling with ways to reduce system complexity and cost yet increase capability, speed to market, and flexibility. Current web technologies give enterprises the rare opportunity to get it all and the ones that get it are quietly reinvesting in web architectures to achieve competitive advantage. In this session, Mark looks at DotNetNuke from an IT leader’s chair and believes that the solution has a strong value proposition for companies that want to build out a multi-portal platform with a rich set of shared services.  He will discuss the DotNetNuke advantages from an IT leadership view and explore the dimensions that are unique to larger enterprises that may need additional investment.

SKIN DESIGN

DSD201: Creating Accessible DotNetNuke Skins Using CSS
Lee Sykes
Cathal Connolly
In this session you will learn how to create a clean, simple, search engine-friendly and accessible skin that takes advantage of the features that CSS layout designs provide: accessible, flexible, search-engine-friendly, small file size, and cross-browser compatible. You will also become familiar with issues that need to be considered when creating skins that meet accessibility legislation and are XHTML compliant. We will take a freely available XHTML- & CSS-based skin, convert it to a DotNetNuke skin, and configure it to ensure that it renders compliant markup. In addition, we'll look at transforming non-compliant portions of markup, and look at techniques to ensure that your site remains compliant.

DSD101: Introduction to DotNetNuke Skinning
Tracy Wittenkeller
This session will give you a better idea of how to create great-looking and flexible skins for DotNetNuke that utilize CSS. First we will review how to create properly formatted and flexible HTML and CSS for DotNetNuke skins and containers. Then we will take a closer look at XML attributes and the important role they play in defining skin and container functionality. The session will also touch upon customizing the default DotNetNuke menu and its CSS styles. Finally, we will review the proper process for packaging DotNetNuke skins and containers.

DSD202: Menu Controls for DotNetNuke Skins
Peter Schotman
In this session we will compare and review various free and commercial menu controls for DotNetNuke skins. We will use a range of examples to understand best practices, advantages and drawbacks of the various menu controls.  This is a session for the intermediate to experienced skinner who wants to expand her/his toolbox.

MODULE DEVELOPMENT

DMD303: Advanced DotNetNuke Module Development Concepts
Charles Nurse
This session will focus on some advanced module development topics, including: module skinning/templating techniques, DAL+ and database agnostic tips, module plug-in architecture, use of the property editor and other “included” controls in DotNetNuke modules, use of rendered webControls for performance improvements and for intellectual property concerns.

DMD302: Building Advanced Modules Using DotNetNuke WebControls
Jon Henning
There are numerous free offerings that are available to module developers wishing to create compelling user interfaces. In this session we will explore controls that are available “out of the box” and learn how easy it is to extend existing controls using the Microsoft AJAX Control Toolkit.

DMD102: Building WAP DotNetNuke Modules Using AJAX, Web Services and SilverLight
Philip Beadle
Mitchel Sellers
This broad overview will introduce the WAP development model, AJAX support, as well as Web service consumption within a module. You will also learn the steps required to deploy a compiled and source version of your WAP module for installation. Next, we will show how to build a new generation of DotNetNuke modules with AJAX and Microsoft Silverlight, incorporating new user interface capabilities such as vector graphics, media, animations, and XAML.

DMD201: Creating Secure DotNetNuke Modules
Cathal Connolly
In this session we will take a sample ASP.NET application and point out a number of security issues it contains. We will then convert it to a DotNetNuke module and see how some of these issues are automatically protected in DotNetNuke. We will also review methods you can use from the DotNetNuke security API to protect against exploits.

DMD203: Data Exchange and User Personalization in DotNetNuke Modules
Vicenç Masanas
One of the many built-in capabilities of DotNetNuke modules is “Intermodule Communications.” This is the ability to interact with other modules on the page. In this session you will learn how to build sets of modules that work together and pass information on the same page and also across pages. We will also explore the use of Personalization classes to persist user information and as a communication path between modules.

DMD204: DotNetNuke Module Localization
Peter Donker
Erik van Ballegoij
DotNetNuke has supported static localization since version 3.0. For Web sites needing more than one language this is only half of what is needed. The goal for a true multilingual site is that visitors can select another language, and without leaving the page, see the same text in the desired language. In this session, you will learn real-world techniques for creating multilingual DotNetNuke modules.

DMD202: DotNetNuke Modules: Beyond the Browser
Nik Kalyani
DotNetNuke modules are generally designed to function with a Web browser as a client. In this session you will learn how to extend your module beyond the browser and onto the desktop. We will review how to use the “Widget Toolkit” to create Vista Sidebar Gadgets and widgets for various other platforms that act as clients for DotNetNuke modules. You will learn how these same techniques can be used to quickly extend DotNetNuke to mobile clients.

DMD101: From ASP.NET Application to DotNetNuke Module
Erik van Ballegoij
How often do you receive requests for “porting” ASP.NET applications to DotNetNuke modules? When businesses start using DotNetNuke for their corporate Web sites and intranets, it’s only natural to think about moving older applications to the DotNetNuke platform. In this session you will find out how little effort it takes to convert an ASP.NET application into a DotNetNuke module by using the ASP.NET TimeTracker Starter Kit as a case study.

DMD301: Powershell for DotNetNuke
Joe Brinkman
Windows PowerShell is an elegant new dynamic scripting language from Microsoft that is built on .Net and that was designed to help automate many administrative tasks.  As the heart of the next generation of Microsoft Exchange, Powershell is proving to be much more than just another DOS prompt.  In this session, you will learn how to use PowerShell to expose the power of DotNetNuke on the command line.  You will also learn how you can use a simple module for DotNetNuke that allows you to run PowerShell scripts from within the browser.  Come learn how you can Power up your DotNetNuke administration with Microsoft PowerShell.

SITE ADMINISTRATION

DSA201: AHA! -- A High Availability DotNetNuke
Scott Willhite
Whether your business is a SOHO, a SMB or a Fortune 500 market leader, you rely on your Web applications to be available for business when your customers are. The DotNetNuke platform is highly configurable and can be tuned to meet a vast array of service-level needs. In this session we will articulate high-availability options for each of these tiers of service. No theories, smoke or mirrors... this session comes with real-world testimonials and configurations that work.

DSA101: Building a Community Site with DotNetNuke
Patrick Santry
In this session you will learn how to use DotNetNuke as a platform for building highly engaging community sites. Much of what you need to build a community site is available in the base installation of DNN. We will discuss ideas on using RSS, forums, blogging, and other tools within the DotNetNuke framework to build the stickiness of your site and grow your online community.

DSA203: Configuring DotNetNuke Portals for International Audiences
Sebastian Leupold
A growing number of global organizations need to cater to an international audience with their Web sites. DotNetNuke provides a number of options to fulfill these needs. This session will demonstrate how to set up DotNetNuke in an international and multilingual environment based on the site requirements and the size of the company.

DSA301: DotNetNuke Performance – Why? What? How?
Charles Nurse
Using DotNetNuke as a case study, this session will focus on how to set up a performance test plan for an ASP.NET application. The first half of the session will consist of three main parts – (1) Why do you need a performance test plan, (2) What needs to be in the performance test plan, and (3) How to carry out the test plan including the types of data that need to be collected. The second half of this session will focus on the results of the DotNetNuke performance tests and what general recommendations can be made.

DSA202: Site Administration Best Practices for DotNetNuke Portals
Chris Hammond
This session covers tips and tricks learned over many years of DotNetNuke development and administration for hundreds of portals and clients. You will learn best practices recommendations for configuring and maintaining your portals, users, and modules for different types of Web sites.

OPEN SOURCE PROJECT

DOS202: Continuous Integration Using CI Factory
Jay Flowers
Charlie Poole
CI Factory is an open source framework that will help your setup and configure your Continuous Integration (CI) environment with minimal effort. In this session we will show how to implement CI for your project using CI Factory. Since a key component of any CI process is automated unit testing, we will also be looking at one of the most mature unit testing frameworks for .NET -- NUnit.

DOS102: Panel Discussion: .Net Open Source Architectural Models
Jay Flowers
Phill Haack
Rob Conery
Joe Brinkman
Jon Galloway
Joe Brinkman moderates a panel consisting of .Net Open Source developers Phil Haack, Jay Flowers, Jon Galloway and Rob Connery to discuss the different architectural models employed by various .Net Open Source projects.

DOS101: Panel Discussion: Open Source on the Microsoft Technology Stack
Scott Guthrie
Phill Haack
Rob Conery
Shaun Walker
Shaun Walker moderates a panel discussion on the state of Open Source on the Microsoft technology stack with Microsoft’s own Scott Guthrie and industry Open Source experts.

DOS201: Using the Subsonic DAL with DotNetNuke
Rob Conery
Jim Bonnie
Subsonic is an open Source Data Access Layer, that promises, “All your database belong to us”. This session gives a quick overview of the various data access layer methods that exist for DotNetNuke, along with a newcomer to the family, Subsonic. A demonstration of the power and flexibility of Subsonic is provided using a working system, wrapping-up with a demonstration of how this functionality can easily be added to DotNetNuke sites.

 

More Posts