May 2007 - Posts
I'm sure there are many nonprofits that are desperate for qualified volunteers to create web sites, build a membership database, or troubleshoot computer and LAN problems, There are also geeks who get a kick out of doing these tasks either for the experience or just to perform a useful public service.
To that end, Microsoft Canada has sponsored MatchIT, the IT Volunteer Matching Exchange. It's an IT volunteer matching exchange that connects skilled volunteers to IT and Web projects and opportunities in Canadian charitable and nonprofit organizations.
At .NET user groups, I've run across recent immigrants who have problems breaking into the business despite their excellent computer science education in their old country. Unfortunately many employers look for "Canadian experience". This would be a great way to get that experience on a resume, improve their English or French skills, and help a good cause at the same time.
MatchIT is a Canadian initiative for Canadian nonprofits. That said, I can't see why many regions around the world couldn't offer a similar service.
Bravo!
I really appreciate the recorded presentations on ASP.NET AJAX and Silverlight from Microsoft. However, the latest "beat pause" phrase by MS speakers is getting on my nerves.
A single verb isn't sufficient at present. You don't "drag a control" onto a page, you "go ahead and drag" it. Participants aren't invited to "download" the sample after the talk, they should "go ahead and download" the code.
Well, the next time you're giving a talk, why not "go ahead and count" how many times you're using the nonsense phrase? As you're about to utter the useless filler words, you can "go ahead and stop".
What will the next pause word be? "Exactly" was hot for awhile and "absolutely" still has fans. Starting a sentence with "So" has faded marginally in the last while but remains in the MS top ten. Years ago, "Like" and "I mean" were the popular sentence starters among those who found themselves talking before they knew what they were going to say.
I'm still getting my head around the alpha of Silverlight 1.1. The more I see, the more I think this is going to be huge.
One of the best ways to come to grips with new technology is to look under the hood to see how it was put together. To that end, don't miss this great tool from Ernie Booth that plugs into Reflector and lets you browse the source of a Silverlight application as it runs. This really helps you understand all of the components that go into putting a Silverlight application into a browser page.
To give the plugin a try, point it at Mike Stall's little demo here.
I just received a copy of Microsoft SharePoint 2007 for Dummies by Vanessa L. Williams. I was the technical editor of this title. Overall, I found it a good book with valuable hands-on information for setting up and managing a SharePoint 2007 portal.
There were a couple of general problems that I noted during the tech review:
- It often wasn't clear whether the author was referring to Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 or Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 or both products.
- The screenshots were hard to read and it was difficult to tell just what element was being discussed.
The first issue has been fixed in the editing process. It's much easier to tell whether you're dealing with the full-blown MOSS 2007 or the basic WSS 3.0 product.
The screenshot problem hasn't been fixed. It's actually worse in the printed book than in the bitmap images I saw. By requiring full screen images instead of focused portions, the publisher has done readers a serious disservice. The resulting images are too small, washed out, and very hard to comprehend without a magnifying glass.
For example, look at the image on page 119 and see how difficult it is to focus on the global breadcrumb - even with the callout. The screenshot wastes half a page just to show a tiny line of text in the upper-left portion of the browser pane. Yuck.
Sorry folks, but the Dummies book designers really need something like "Readable Screenshots for Dummies" to make their screenshots usable. It's just not fair to authors to have their text content illustrated by such poor graphics.
I'm really excited about the potential found in Silverlight 1.1. The ability to create rich, browser-embedded applications using .NET languages is very appealing.
I mentioned to a control vendor that what I really need to move forward is a grid control for Silverlight. His response was to question the whole feasibility of building a mission-critical Web application on the top of Silverlight.
Hmmmm... If large companies have a group policy that disables ActiveXObject creation, are we in trouble?
It seems to me that Flash hasn't been a problem that way. Is it because Flash is shipped with Internet Explorer and gets special treatment? Will Silverlight, as a Microsoft-supported product, get an exemption to corporate curbs on ActiveX?
Do I jump head first into Silverlight 1.1 or stick with advanced Web apps that work magic with JavaScript, CSS, AJAX, and DHTML?
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