March 2003 - Posts

• Automatic Code Generation

  I have been thinking about using some sort of automatic code generation for the DAL on my next side-project. I am not sure if I will try out one of the tools available out there, or try and spin something on my own. Does anyone have any opinions on the current code generation tools out there? - James Posted Mar 30 2003, 11:40 PM by jamesavery with 6 comment(s)

• Win a Tablet!!

  Now this is a contest I might have to enter. A new tablet pc sure would be sweet. :)  http://www.tabletpcdeveloper.com/content/contest/contest.aspx - James Posted Mar 27 2003, 12:16 AM by jamesavery with 3 comment(s)

• User Group Presentation

  I have agreed to give a presentation at the Cincinnati .NET users group, this will be my first time speaking at a user group. I am a little nervous about it, but I think it will go pretty well. The topic of the presentation is going to be ASP.NET Best Practices which is something that I have been working on and thinking alot about lately. I look forward to having the opportunity to try out some of these ideas on people before putting them in writing or posting them. - James Posted Mar 26 2003, 07:17 PM by jamesavery with 7 comment(s)

• Welcome Nino

  My co-worker, and .NET expert, Nino Benvenuti has started a blog here at dotnetweblogs and I would like to welcome him to the fray! I started my new position at G.A. Sullivan a couple weeks ago and Nino has been great in on-boarding me and helping me get acclimated to the new environment. Nino works with many of the new .NET mobile technologies so be sure to check his blog out for tons of information on building mobile apps with .NET. - James Posted Mar 26 2003, 06:34 PM by jamesavery with 1 comment(s)

• More Wrox and Author Payments

  Brady Gaster left some thoughtful comments on my last post: that, my friend, was the point, and the reason behind the activity of writing in the first place. sorry for the rant, but it seems to me that the notion of getting paid for it is, well, great, but not the reason. people who teach do so because it means something to them. not because it pays well. your sixth-grade English teacher could have told you that. :) Click here to read the complete comments I understand what he is saying, and I agree, I write because I like to help and teach people not for the money. That does not mean that companies should take advantage of me or other authors. I know alot of teachers that only teach because they really love doing it and love helping children grow, but it still really pisses me off that they do not get paid well. When I was a teeneager I worked with my little sisters teacher at the local grocery store, just because he loved to teach doesn't mean he should have to bag groceries on weeknights. I think the same goes for authors. P.S. I never got paid any royalties for my book either, and all the other payments were late as well. -James Posted Mar 24 2003, 07:40 PM by jamesavery with no comments

• Wrox

  Mads Haugbø Nissen Says: This book, C# Design Patterns Applied, was recently released on Wrox, so it seems as they are still going on despite of financial troubles. I don't think that is the case. This book was probably finished and sent to press before the financial collapse of Peer Information Group (parent company of wrox). I think this is particular shitty for the authors of this book, as Peer Information Group is selling this book with absolutely no intentions of ever paying the author royalties. This would really burn me. It is one thing to go out of business and not pay any of the authors, but it is another to continue to sell these books for a profit and never intend to pay the authors. It is a possibility that the initial press run would only cover the advance already paid to the author, but I kind of doubt it. -James Posted Mar 24 2003, 07:04 PM by jamesavery with 5 comment(s) Filed under: .NET

• Microsoft is not invincible

  Russell Beattie Says: They use their monopoly advantage to take over whichever market they set their eyes on. And this means that whether you're a Java programmer or a mobile developer, Microsoft is actively planning to make your skills and livelyhood obsolete. Don't forget it. I think this is a funny misconception that I see all over the place. Microsoft has been a very successful company, but they do not dominate all of the markets that they set their eyes on. They have been beat in the past, and are getting beat right now in a number of different markets. Look at Microsoft Money vs. Quicken, PocketPC vs. Palm, AOL vs. MSN, and the list goes on. Microsoft is not an invincible company and they do not conquer every market they get into. Getting past this misconception is important because you will then realize that Microsoft is a huge company filled with highly intelligent people who are working hard to improve current software and build new software, not some invincible monster. How could you not like a company like that? After all, if it was not for Microsoft we might all be using Macs, where the only innovation is design. - James Posted Mar 23 2003, 10:56 PM by jamesavery with no comments

• Blog Rolls and OPML

  Scoble Says: I really hate my blogroll. I don't want to keep it up. Too much of a pain in the ass. I wish I had a little tool to make it easier. Plus, if I really put all the 400 sites on it that I visit regularly, it'd get way way too long. Clearly people get value out of blogrolls, though. I regularly get visits from links to me on other sites. Most news aggregators can output a OPML file of all the RSS feeds. This file could be quickly transformed into a list of html links using a little XSLT. I wonder why none of the blog apps have done this yet? I am sure most people would prefer to upload their OPML file then manually add all the links. Scott: Let me know if you would be interested in adding something like this to dotnetweblogs.com, I could whip up a quick little user control to make it all work.  - James Posted Mar 19 2003, 07:04 PM by jamesavery with 3 comment(s)

• e750

  I hate it when this happens. I just bought an e740 about a month ago and the new e750 is coming out soon. Looks pretty cool, but if anyone is looking at Pocket PCs I would wait for the next XScale processor, the current one really sucks. - James Posted Mar 19 2003, 06:52 PM by jamesavery with no comments

• InfoPath: Hype Backlash

  Whenever an application is hyped before its release there is bound to be some backlash as certain users find out that the application is not exactly what they expected it to be. I think this is inevitable when you have people like Don Box raving about an application that some people will expect way to much from the application, and be disappointed when they get their hands on it. I think because guys like Box were raving about Infopath, people began to think this application was going to be a developers tool, but I do not think this is the case. InfoPath is built for the Office power user, not developers, otherwise why would it be packaged in Office??  I have had the chance to play around with InfoPath and I think it is a great step for Microsoft. Here are InfoPath's strengths as I see them:  1) Creates an alternative to filling up spreadsheets full of business logic.   2) Provides an easy way for a power user to submit or receive a web service exposed by another company.   3) Infopath could be used to replace the web based front-end for data input applications. Instead of users having to deal with Internet Explorer and web shortcoming they could submit and edit data through InfoPath.  4) Infopath will make it much easier for us in IT, instead of having to import excel spreadsheets we will have XML which will be much easier to work with. I also think that InfoPath, along with OneNote, represent something important. They represent that Microsoft is aware of the threat to their office crown and is willing to try and beat it using innovation. These applications represent some of the first major changes in the office suite for some time, and definitely the most innovative products from Microsoft for the office professional in awhile. I think this approach will be rewarding for both Microsoft and for the consumers who use the software, I can't remember the last time I heard this much hype about part of Microsoft Office. Hell, half the people I know could not tell you the difference between Office 2000 or 2002, but I don't think anyone will have that trouble with this version. I applaud Microsoft for the innovation and look forward to seeing the future of InfoPath and OneNote. - James Posted Mar 18 2003, 07:43 PM by jamesavery with no comments