Vince Blasberg's Blog

SQL 2005 - The Easy Uninstall Tool

Thank you Microsoft SQL Team for the SQL 2005 Beta uninstall tool.  I don’t think that it was announced or mentioned loud enough.  Most people will be running Add/Remove which is a bit tedious.

It’s simple either way, but it’s even simpler to run the uninstall utility from the June CTP version located at:     “Setup Tools \ Build Uninstall Wizard \ sqlbuw.exe”.   The utility works for a while on the .Net Framework 2.0 phase, so be patient while it removes files that it thinks you don’t need.

After uninstalling SQL 2005 Beta, I had to run Add/Remove->Repair on VS 2005 because some of the VS2005 Beta2 components weren’t registered anymore, but that’s expected with beta builds.

This “sqlbuw.exe” tool makes the monthly CTP replacement easy.  Your mileage may vary.

Star Wars - Everyone's a Critic

Microsoft’s Brian Moore arranged a free Dallas-Ft. Worth showing of Star Wars Episode III on May 19th.  I skipped that opportunity so that I could make it a family event with my wife and two sons.  We got there at 9am this morning.

It was a good movie for several reasons, namely to finish telling the story.  Our overall assessment was that Episode III was not made as well as it should have been.  The fades all look like they were done with Pinnacle or Windows Movie Maker, which is great for a free product.  The sound, though loud, was not as realistic as it should have been.  We went to a special digital projection showing to get the most out of it.

It looks like Burger King and a few other products are profiting on the hype.  Those commercials are really dumb but it’s their marketing dollars.

I heard a few other people say that Episode III was the best one, so I’m glad others enjoyed it more.  There were some serious scenes and the credits rolled more names that I’ve ever seen in a movie.  It is still worth the money to see in a theater and we will buy the DVD when it comes out.

Go enjoy it yourself if you haven’t already.

VS2005 Debugging with Firefox

I have a few co-workers that are devoted Firefox users and saw this today.

In a Visual Studio web project, the newest Firefox will open pages if it’s the default web browser.  After you exit the Firefox browser, it will close but Visual Studio is still in debug mode until you press the stop debug button or terminated the aspnet_wp.exe instance.

To get the XSL / XML debugging easier, we had to right-click the ASPX file and select “Browse With” to select Internet Explorer.

I wonder if I’m missing something.  Is there a simple way to debug web projects using Firefox or is this disconnected debugging state expected?  When I have the task of cross-browser testing, I would like to know the answer.

Thanks,
-VinceB

Running a .Net SIG - Very Rewarding

Running an INETA sponsored group is actually some fun.  It keeps me involved with the technology and with some of the professionals who enjoy it almost as much as I do.  John Davis and myself run the Dallas C# SIG.  We meet at the Microsoft Dallas campus on the first Thursday of each month.

If you aren’t connected to a .Net user group or two, you’re missing out on some good training (and pizza).  If you would like to get a group started in your area, contact INETA or your local Microsoft .Net Evangelist.

User Groups and SIGs – Very rewarding!