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The origins of Microsoft product codenames is a fascinating topic. For example, Burton (Microsoft's internal name for Team System) is named after a snowboard company. Longhorn, the next version of Windows is named after the Longhorn Saloon & Grill at the foot of Whistler mountain in BC.
Chris Bowen recently posted a nice guide explaining all of the Team System codenames. Here is another comprehensive list of Microsoft product codenames.
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Just came back from a meeting of the East of Toronto .NET User Group. During the course of the meeting I ended up:
- Joining the user group administration :-)
- Returning home with a gi-normous box of pizza and some useful MS swag
Barry Gervin from ObjectSharp gave a great presentation on Mobile Development with a focus on SQL CE, part of the Microsoft Mobility User Group Tour. At the beginning of the meeting, I got the chance to play with an HP iPAQ hx4700. The VGA display on that device is simply unreal - check it out for yourself.
Barry had a lot of insights on deployment. I found a lot of the content was relevant in my day to day work. Got some solid info on P/Invoke in a mobile context. Also creating update services and applets (using the Agent object) to deploy self-updating PPC applications.
A special thanks to Kate Gregory and Chris Dufour for setting up a .NET user group based in Oshawa. This makes it very easy for developers at the East end of Toronto to participate in .NET community-based activities.
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I just got word that I am now part of the MSDN/INETA Canada Speakers Bureau! :-)
For more information about the bureau, please check out the following link:
http://www.msdn.microsoft.com/canada/speakers/
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Last Wednesday, our first user group meeting went off without a hitch. We had over 200 signups and a very strong turnout! I'd like to personally thank Harp Girn and Microsoft TechNet Canada for their support.
The focus of the meeting was Service Pack 2. IT Evangelist Bruce Cowper gave an informative rundown of the primary features of the service pack from a user perspective. I was particularly interested in what Bruce had to say about the command-line configuration of the Windows Firewall and the Memory and Network Protection features (those topics have a tangential relation to Longhorn Security). On September 23rd, Bruce will give a special presentation at Microsoft Canada focused on SP2 deployment. Be sure to check it out.
Here are some photos from the meeting (Bruce Cowper on the right):
If you would like to join our merry band of Toronto IT Professionals, feel free to sign up at: http://www.twsug.com
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I just came back from Redmond from some amazing training sessions on Team System. I can't really blog too much about it because some of the sessions were NDA, but I took some interesting photos I can share with you:
Here is a photo of Jon Box and I chatting about Team System and book authoring. He has a wicked self-deprecating sense of humor and he's a great guy all around. Be sure to check out his blog: http://radio.weblogs.com/0126569/
I also met quite a few Microsoft "celebrities", including a brief encounter with Robert Scoble, sporting a camera and ready to film another report for Channel 9!
The main Microsoft Campus is really a beautiful place, with well manicured lawns, trees and flower gardens. Here is a photo of the path leading up to the Microsoft Platform Lab building.
Throughout the building, there are all kind of plaques explaining the origins of various product codenames. Here is a transcript of the origins of the CLR: "Lightning was one of several code names for a high performance, managed execution system for COM+. It eventually became the .NET Common Language Runtime which is an integral part of the .NET Framework"
No explanation needed here. This was a sign hanging in our main session room.
The birthplace of Team System - Building 41
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As an IT Professional, I've had many discussions with my peers about the true cost of implementing Linux in the enterprise or a business environment. The primary argument I keep hearing over and over again is that you don't have to pay to download or use Linux. My personal belief is that someone at some point has to pay for it - be it with money, effort or time. This article from Forbes Magazine outlines some really great benefits of using Microsoft software.
http://www.forbes.com/enterprisetech/2004/08/31/cz_dl_0831msft.html
Thanks to Noah for the article link.