WebLog of Ken Cox

Tech Ed Online, Tech Days Canada, and Blogging

Ken Cox [MVP] — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 21:16:00 GMT

Gosh, Microsoft has more developer web pages than a person can browse in a month! It's a full-time job trying to keep up with what everyone's doing and saying! How does anyone get any billable work done? Anyway, I've just been alerted to Tech-Ed Online...(read more)

Review: Advanced ASP.NET AJAX Server Controls For .NET 3.5

Ken Cox [MVP] — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 21:26:00 GMT

Advanced ASP.NET AJAX Server Controls For .NET 3.5 is a fine resource for ASP.NET developers who want to build high performance, data-driven Web applications with a richer user interface. The introduction of ASP.NET AJAX 2.0 extensions caught many of...(read more)

Weblogs.asp.net and www.asp.net Under New Management

Ken Cox [MVP] — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 20:01:00 GMT

I just learned that our favourite Microsoft community sites ( www.asp.net , www.iis.net , www.silverlight.net , and www.windowsclient.net ) are under new management. The fabulous people at Telligent are "changing direction to focus more on building and...(read more)

The Joys and Benefits of Being a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional

Ken Cox [MVP] — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:39:00 GMT

I've received the Microsoft MVP award for the tenth year in a row! The award brings lots of benefits - tangible and intangible: Microsoft provides a free MSDN subscription Direct interaction with top guns like ScottGu and the ASP.NET team A worldwide...(read more)

See You at Tech Days Canada 2008 in Toronto

Ken Cox [MVP] — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 19:05:00 GMT

Hey southern Ontario folks, don't miss Tech Days Canada 2008 on October 29th and 30th in Toronto. If you're into Microsoft technologies, you're sure to find something that you want - or need - to know about. There are over 30 sessions in five tracks....(read more)

Silverlight 2 Release Candidate Available

Ken Cox [MVP] — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 02:54:00 GMT

When a product like Silverlight 2 gets to the Release Candidate (RC) stage, you can be pretty sure that the shipping features and APIs are set in stone. The last sprint is to sand down a few minor edges, watch for showstoppers, and make sure the installation...(read more)

New Stuff Coming for ASP.NET and Silverlight

Ken Cox [MVP] — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 00:45:00 GMT

Interesting that you can peer into Microsoft's technology future just by scanning the planned PDC 2008 sessions . For example, here's Simon Calvert's ASP.NET 4.0 Roadmap: "See how you can taking control of your control IDs, display images using the new...(read more)

Silverlight 2 Will Ship "Later This Fall" - On Oct 27 or Nov 22?

Ken Cox [MVP] — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 20:56:00 GMT

Many architects and developers have enterprise projects in the works that depend on the release of Silverlight 2 , so having a final release ship date is important. In an interview with MS PressPass , Scott Guthrie says, "Silverlight 2, which will ship...(read more)

Could MS Take the Shine Off Chrome?

Ken Cox [MVP] — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 15:30:40 GMT

Microsoft has no plans to support Silverlight on Chrome - at least according to a post by Yi-Lun Luo on the Silverlight forums : "Hello, currently we don't have plans to support Chrome. We will support it in the future if it gains enough market share...(read more)

Testing Sites Against IE 6, IE 7, and IE 8 (beta 2)

Ken Cox [MVP] — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 15:18:27 GMT

Microsoft has updated the Virtual PC hard disk images that let you view your sites in IE 6, IE 7, and IE 8. This is handy for scenarios like mine where a client's Web application officially supports only IE 6 but I want the latest and greatest on...(read more)

Using the Silverlight Server Control in ASP.NET Pages

Ken Cox [MVP] — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:02:00 GMT

Microsoft makes available server controls that help you insert rich media such as Silverlight into your ASP.NET pages. If you’re confused about where to find the latest version of these controls, you’re in good company! Pre-release versions have appeared...(read more)

Enabling JavaScript IntelliSense in External Libraries

Ken Cox [MVP] — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 17:23:00 GMT

To get JavaScript IntelliSense working in VS 2008 SP1, you need to tell IntelliSense the location of the libraries that you're using. You do that by adding a special comment at the top of the .js file. It's three slashes followed by the reference in an...(read more)

Visual Studio 2008 SP1 Adds JavaScript Formatting

Ken Cox [MVP] — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:24:00 GMT

Just a "two thumbs up" for the addition of JavaScript™/JScript® formatting in Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack 1. I don't like leaving messy-looking code - especially since JavaScript makes the trip all the way to the client. My formatting preference is...(read more)

Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack 1 Released

Ken Cox [MVP] — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:59:00 GMT

Important: Run the Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack Preparation Tool at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=121685&clcid=0x409 . Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack 1 (exe)...(read more)

Converting VB LINQ to C# LINQ

Ken Cox [MVP] — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 20:12:00 GMT

VB.Net to C# Converter is one of the few conversion tools that knows about LINQ and lambdas and the other 3.5 stuff. I turned to a trial version of the product after going in circles on this VB code conversion: Dim q = From c In dc.Categories, _ p In...(read more)