Rachel Reese's blog

Google definitions

I'm sure someone's blogged this before, but how cool is this!?

If you Google what is a web browser (for example) the first link that comes up is "Web definitions for Web Browser".  Click on it, and you get a list of definitions of  “web browser”.  Nice. 

Reflection

I posted a question late last week to a couple listserves I'm on:

Given only a string variable containing the name of the property you wish to call, how does one go about calling it? 

The answer came back fivefold nearly immediately: “Use reflection. It's really easy.”  Oh goody, thinkest I, a chance to learn something. 

For those of you who haven't picked it up yet, there's really not much to the concept.  By far the most helpful thing I found, was Bipin Joshi's article covering it, on DotNetBips.com:

Introduction to .NET Reflection

Happy reading!

Linux hacked more than Windows

All of Microsoft's security pushing seems to be paying off. The article makes the point that it's just because less experienced folks are deploying the solutions. But of course, with Microsoft catering to the less experienced and locking things down that should be locked down by default, fewer attacks happen, whether these folks are experienced or not.

http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/software/0,2000061733,39116229,00.htm

" An analysis of hacker attacks on online servers in January by security consultancy mi2g found that Linux servers were the most frequently violated, accounting for 13,654 successful attacks, or 80 per cent of the survey total. Windows ran a distant second with 2,005 attacks. A more specific analysis of government servers also found Linux more susceptible, accounting for 57 per cent of all breaches.

" In a similar analysis last year, Windows proved far more vulnerable, with 51 per cent of successful attacks on government servers made on some version of the Microsoft operating system. "

More on the Application Blocks

Just a couple good articles I found this morning over on 4Guys:

An Introduction and Overview of the Microsoft Application Blocks

Examining the Data Access Application Block

Microsoft Application Blocks

I've seen people blogging on the application blocks before, but I ran across a few people this weekend that had never even heard of them, so I thought I'd create a short list of available application blocks.

These are all written or approved by Microsoft, and can make your life a hundred million gazillion times easier.  Compare it with: buying a robot to do your dishes, laundry and vacuuming, given that there are clothes and dishes in various piles all over your countertops and floor.  Seriously.

data access application block: http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/dnbda/html/daab-rm.asp?frame=true
exception management application block: http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/dnbda/html/emab-rm.asp?frame=true
authorization and profile application block: http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/dnpag/html/authpro.asp?frame=true
aggregation application block: http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/dnpag/html/ServiceAgg.asp?frame=true
asyncronous invocation application block: http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/dnpag/html/PAIBlock.asp?frame=true
configuration management application block: http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/dnbda/html/cmab.asp?frame=true
updater application block: http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/dnbda/html/updater.asp?frame=true
user interface process application block: http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/dnbda/html/uip.asp?frame=true
web services facade for legacy applications: http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/dnpag/html/WSFacadeLegacyApp.asp?frame=true

Happy Programming.  :-)

Update: Heh.  Oops.  I *swear* I have this one copied into the notepad version of this message I was working on... <shrug>
The Caching Application Block:http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/dnpag/html/CachingBlock.asp?frame=true

Helllloooo Gadget Stores

Now, this is something I've known for quite some time, being a gadget freak gal, but I'm glad some of the consumer electronics folks are perking up their radar.  It's also one of about a billion reasons I prefer shopping online. 

http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/0116womengadgets16.html

"...women are involved in almost 75 percent of all electronics purchases..."

"Women actually spent more on technology last year than men, according to the Consumer Electronics Association....  But electronics stores have been slow to catch on. Nearly three-quarters of women surveyed by the industry group complained about being ignored, patronized or offended by sales people when shopping for electronics.

“Forty percent of the women said they were treated better when accompanied by a man. "

"A meager 1 percent of women surveyed thought manufacturers had them in mind when creating products, according to the report, released at last week's Consumer Electronics Show."

Fortune 500 companies headed by women CEOs gain more in 2003 than their male-run counterparts...

Eight Fortune 500 companies have female CEOs, and as a group they outperformed the broader market by a substantial margin ... a 52 percent gain for the women vs. a 27 percent gain for the index of all large companies.

http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/0105womenceos05.html

Working with ASP.NET's Graphics on the fly?

This is one of the coolest, most useful ASP.NET things I've ever seen. 

Interactive Mapping Using SVG & ASP.NET

Tax tips for Arizonans

About AZ Quest For Kids
Arizona Quest for Kids is a nonprofit organization that nurtures the hopes and dreams of children who may otherwise not be able to attend college. The program provides adult mentors and college scholarship to talented and deserving young students from families with few financial resources

Candidates for the program are identified at the fifth-grade level and are matched with an adult mentor until they reach the college age. Currently, there are 75 students participating in the program. Once the student successfully graduates from high school, Quest for Kids provides the equivalent of four year's tuition at an Arizona university.

David Highmark, chairman and chief executive officer of Northern Trust Bank of Arizona, founded Arizona Quest for Kids in 2000 to help improve the state’s low number of students graduating from high school and provides financially disadvantaged youth the opportunity to attend college. Through Quest for Kids, he and other organization sponsors hope to provide scholarships to thousands of children across the state.

http://www.azquestforkids.org/school%20tax%20credit.htm

Arizonans: Get training, give to charity...

This just posted on the AZDNUG site..... http://www.azdnug.com/Families.aspx

The eBay Auction is here:  http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3645164527