I have been wishing for one feature in MSN Messenger what Yahoo messenger had for so long i.e. enable chatting even when in offline mode.

At last this feature is now available on Windows Live Messenger - beta. You can now chat with others even when in offline mode.

VistaDB 2.1 database for .NET has been released

This 2.1 update includes over 60 improvements, including new support for .NET 2.0 and Visual Studio 2005. VistaDB is a small-footprint, embedded SQL database alternative to Jet/Access, MSDE and SQL Server Express 2005 that enables developers to build .NET 1.1 and .NET 2.0 applications. Features SQL-92 support, small 500KB embedded footprint, free 2-User VistaDB Server for remote TCP/IP data access, royalty free distribution for both embedded and server, Copy 'n Go! deployment, managed ADO.NET Provider, data management and data migration tools. Free trial is available for download.
- Learn more about VistaDB
- Repost this to your blog and receive a FREE copy of VistaDB 2.1!

Diwali(Deepavali) is the one Hindu festival that unites the whole of India. It is traditionally known as the "festival of lights", for the common practice is to light small oil lamps (called diyas) and place them around the home, in courtyards, gardens, verandahs, on the walls built around the home and also on the roof tops.

Diwali is one of the most celebrated festivities in the Indian culture. Uniting all members of the community, young and old, rich or poor, the lighting of the lamps represents a way of paying obeisance to God for attainment of health, wealth, knowledge, peace and valoured fame. People give expressions to their happiness by lighting earthen diyas and decorating the houses to welcome Lakshmi- the Goddess of wealth and prosperity, bursting fire crackers and inviting the near and dear ones to their households for partaking in the luxurious feast. It is also marked as the beginning of the Hindu New Year and as a brand new beginning for all. Diwali is celebrated for five days, each day having it's own significance, rituals and myths.

Wishing all my fellow Indians a Very Happy Diwali and Prosperous New Year.

The Security Center in Windows XP SP2 provides a feature to check the status of the antivirus in realtime but this wasnt effective because the antivirus provider didnt update thier products to take advantage of the Windows Security Center. Hence a user would see an alert whenever he switched on his computer warning that the antivirus wasnt upto date.

Today I saw that Norton had updated their products with the Norton WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation) update. Now Windows Security Center will be able to report the current status of the antivirus whether it is upto date or not. Read more about this at  http://www.symantec.com/techsupp/sp2/faq.html

Received the Visual Studio .NET 2005 Refresh 1 DVD on Monday and installed it on a computer which had an earlier version of Visual Studio .NET 2005 Beta 1 and it didnt complain and installed with out a hitch.

Started the interface and had a look at the Distributed System template found in the "Other Project Types | Visual Studio Solutions". This was formally called White Horse and it was an impressive feature to work on the application by getting a idea of the environment on which it will be hosted so that bugs and limitations can be detected during the project development rather than the deployment phase.

Going through the Quality Tools and the concept of unit testing is the most impressive one ever seen in the history of Microsoft tools.

Does any one have any idea when the CDs will be distributed for VSTS - CTP. I am waiting for it still and hope that it comes soon so that I can start experimenting with its new features for large team working.

Has anyone received them yet. Do let me know.

Those who are aware about the Tech Net Virtual Labs

I worked on 2 sessions in Active Directory and it was great and worth experimenting with. But it still has that drawback where the firewalls in corporate organizations have to be configured to allow Port 3389 (Terminal Services Port). Too bad....

Now new labs have been added and they are:-

Exchange

Learn how to take advantage of key features of Exchange Server 2003. This lab provides exploration of the Microsoft Active Directory and Exchange management packs and walk-through server configurations. In addition, you'll explore antispam and SMTP security features, migration from Exchange Server 5.5, disaster recovery and more.
Updated August 11, 2004

ISA

In this virtual lab, you'll experiment with ISA's advanced application-layer firewall, VPN, and Web cache solution. Gain exposure to new features in ISA 2004 and learn more about securing Exchange Server with ISA. The enhanced security of the virtual lab's sandbox environment provides the resources you need for testing ISA's newest features.
Updated August 11, 2004

Microsoft Identity Integration Server (MIIS) 2003

If your organization is looking for an identity and access management solution, step into the MIIS 2003 virtual lab. In this hands-on experience of MIIS 2003, you'll walk-through potential usage scenarios, learn how to synchronize different directories and data sources, automate identity management tasks, and maintain a consistent state of directories over the lifetime of user accounts.
Updated August 11, 2004

Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) 2005

Take advantage of key features of Microsoft Active Directory and SQL Server management packs as well as new features of MOM 2005. This virtual lab allows you to experiment with managing Exchange and Active Directory and Monitoring SQL Server with MOM 2005 in the enhanced security of a sandbox environment.
Updated August 11, 2004

Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003

Test the capabilities of SMS 2003 in the sandbox environment of this virtual lab. Experiment with and learn more about SMS 2003 and Microsoft Active Directory integration, patch management, security updates, Office deployment and configuration of SMS for hardware and software asset inventory and usage.
Updated August 11, 2004

Security

Improve the planning and management of your organization's security strategy with the help of this virtual lab. Familiarize yourself with and test security features of products such as Exchange Server 2003, Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server and Windows Server 2003, and tools including Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) and Software Update Services (SUS).
Updated August 11, 2004

 
Windows Server 2003

In this virtual lab, you'll have the opportunity to road-test new and improved features and functionality of Windows Server 2003, including performance, management, and usability enhancements to Microsoft Active Directory. In addition, hands-on labs provide guidance in scripting, Rights Management Services (RMS) and more.

Here is an article how to achieve visual effects with the DataGrid control ie drag and drop columns in the Data Grid. This uses GDI functionality to perform screen captures, and eventually drag-and-drop experience.

Read it here.

I have written a series of articles on my tour of Longhorn. This is based on my experiences with Longhorn that was released at PDC 2003. The articles can be found here.