James Steele

All things dotNet running through my veins
Console Application Problem.. Start minimized??
Any ideas on how (the best way) a Console Application can start ITSELF minimized? I have been trying to track this down for a while now.
Pro ADO.NET with VB.NET 1.1 (From Professional to Expert)

I just finished previewing a portion of Pro ADO.NET with VB.NET 1.1.

I must say that I began my reading with a little bit of scepticism figuring that this was yet another rehash of the MSDN Library. I am happy to report that I was wrong.

If you think that when it comes to ADO.NET you have been there, done that, got the t-shirt, then you really should pick up a copy of this book. The authors of Pro ADO.NET really take the time to teach the real nuts and bolts of using ADO.NET effectively and efficiently using concrete examples. Topics that are covered include ADO.NET architecture, Data Sets, Data Adapters, Data Readers, data relationships, performance optimizations, and much more. If you are looking for something to fill the gap that the MSDN Library or books that are near carbon copies of the MSDN Library have not filled, then look no further. This book is the one. If you ever wanted to take that next step and truly become an ADO.NET guru, I recommend adding this book to your collection.

Independent? Can't find a job? Get of your butt and stop blaming others!

Warning! Rant on whiners follows....

A colleague of mine sent me an article about the current hiring situation in the IT Industry, and it got me thinking. Man am I sick and tired of those who constantly blame others for them not being capable of finding work. I am sure you know a few them... You know the type...

The articled reaffirmed for me that as a consultant you have to be flexible and be able to adapt to market conditions. It’s the whole supply and demand thing. If there are not enough people that want your services, then find something else to do. If I have to become a teacher, construction worker, author, presenter, whatever.. You do what it takes. Hopefully you can find a demand for something that also fits your interests and passions. That is one of the things I DO love about this country (Canada) and I am sure the same can be said for the U.S. and others. I can be whatever I want to be and nobody can do a damn thing to stop me. Watch me!

We have two choices

1) Sit and feel sorry for ourselves and blame the rest of the world for us being out of work

2) Get off our ass and do something about it and take accountability for our situations.

I prefer the second option.

Puzzled? How to re-assign object reference of web control in ASP.NET

1) I have a web server control, lets say TextBox1 (System.Web.UI.WebControls.TextBox) declared (not dynamically created in code behind) inside a form on my aspx page
2) This control has the runat="server" attribute
2) Inside the PageLoad event I dynamically create another TextBox control (TextBox2) and set its Text property to some text "My New Text"
3) Still inside the PageLoad event I try set TextBox1 = TextBox2
4) Now that TextBox1 points to TextBox2 I look at the value of the Text property on TextBox1 (in the Watch window) and see that it is equal to "My New Text"
5) Great so far... Not so fast. When the page gets rendered TextBox1 does not contain the string "My New Text"
6) HOW COME????

FireFox - A Serious Contender to IE?
I have been using FireFox for a couple of weeks now. The implementation of Tabs and lack of clutter has me hooked. I am going to start testing a few of my ASP.NET apps and see if there are many issues with rendering. So far, things look I'll keep you posted.

So why are you using/not using FireFox? Can FireFox take a signfigant bite out of IE's market share? Its going to be interesting to watch.

Get Firefox!
Download Windows Media Player 10

Windows Media Player 10 will be available for download today at 6am P.D.T as announced by Microsoft.

Check out this PDF for a Features Overview.

Coming Soon! Visual Studio 2005 Beta 1 with Team System

Rick Laplante informs us that the next release of the Beta 1 will be call "Visual Studio 2005 Beta 1 Refresh with Team System"

It’s also great to be back in the office and see the progress the team has made over the past month! I’m excited to say that today we signed off on the the last few issues and started the release process for the next Community Technology Preview. You should be able to get the bits off of MSDN later this week. DVDs are being burned as well and you’ll be able to get them at VSLive Orlando next month. This will be a big CTP because it will include the Team Foundation server installation (which I know many of you are very anxiously awaiting). It will also be based on the Whidbey Beta 1 bits so you will finally have a matched set of Beta 1 compilers/editors/frameworks, and the Team System all in 1 place. Because it’s based on the Beta 1 bits, the official title of the release will be "Visual Studio 2005 Beta 1 refresh with the Team System".

Can't wait. Will I ever get any sleep!

 

Concerns Mount over Major Web Strike Tomorrow!

For what its worth I came aross this at eWeek.com

"A coordinated online strike against Internet servers by terrorists, dubbed "electronic jihad," may or may not strike this week, security experts said. One security researcher in Moscow warned that Thursday would be the day in question. "

I guess we will just have to wait and see but I am not holding my breath.

Charles Petzold - Code: This Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software

I spent a couple of hours last night listening to an interview with Charles Petzold that was conducted by Carl & Rory on DotNetRocks. I particularly enjoyed the first 45 minutes or so where Charles talked about his interest in the history of the computer. Both Carl & Rory gave very high marks for his book (Code: This Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software)  discussing the inner working of computers. After reading some reviews and discussing the book with some of my colleagues that have already read it, I decided to order a copy of the book today. It sounds like this book should be a staple for anyone wanting to learn about how the guts of computers work.

Carl & Rory . You did a great job getting Charles to open up a bit. He did not seem like the easiest subject to interview. I especially enjoyed the story about how he was an accomplice in writing a virus and placing it on the PC of a senior editor (I think he was an editor anyway)  at PC Magazine. Hilarious stuff!

I highly recommend you all have a listen to the interview. This is truly a great interview with a quality individual.

Click on the book for details.

Which Media Player Software are you using? WMP, Real Player, Music Match???

I have tried all three of these media players on my PC and I have been very disappointed with the performance when working with large lists of media (30,000+ items (Mp3, Mpg, etc...) It takes a long time (minutes) to load and save playlists etc). Windows Media Player seems to be the worst. I have plenty of CPU power and a GIG of RAM.

Am I expecting to much when dealing with such a large volume? Are others having similar problems?  My guess is that I am just going to have to create smaller playlists.. oh well.

So what media player software are you using?

Frustrated and looking for a decent media player!

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