Jon Galloway
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Inkscape to support XAML export
Today, Adam Kinney gave me the tip off to some cool news: Inkscape is adding XAML export.
Great, what's Inkscape? Glad you asked! Inkscape is an open source vector graphics editor, like Adobe Illustrator. Rather than drawing in pixels (like you'd do in Photoshop, Paint.NET, etc.), you're drawing in vectors. Inkscape is a little unique in that it uses SVG (scalable vector graphics) as its base format. SVG is a W3C standard, with pretty good support in most non-IE browsers (check out SVG Tetris in Firefox 1.5 or higher). It's unfortunate that IE doesn't (and likely never will) support SVG, since browser support for standards based vector-based graphics and text could do so much for the web.
Although the drawing primitives in XAML are very similar to SVG, up until now there hasn't been a really solid way of developing assets in SVG and moving them to XAML.
Right now, there are only two real ways to do any serious design in XAML:
- Buy Expression Blend and Expression Design ($599)
- Buy Adobe Illustrator ($599) and use the XAML export plugin
Now that Inkscape is picking up XAML export, there's a third way that doesn't start with any buying.
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Large file uploads in ASP.NET
Uploading files via the FileUpload control gets tricky with big files. The default maximum filesize is 4MB - this is done to prevent denial of service attacks in which an attacker submitted one or more huge files which overwhelmed server resources. If a user uploads a file larger than 4MB, they'll get an error message: "Maximum request length exceeded."
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Why CodingHorror is horribly wrong about Blacklists and Virus Scanners
Jeff and I had an interesting debate on virus scanners a few weeks ago. He posted his take on the conversation yesterday, and (surprise!) we both think we won the argument. I believe the difference of opinion really comes down to a few different assumptions about the problem we're trying to solve:
- Different classes of Anti-Virus Software (Quality AV Software vs. Bundleware)
- Antivirus Effectiveness (Is it really just 33% effective?)
- The Goal of Virus Protection (Risk Management vs. Invincibility)
- Modeling the Threat (Known malware vs. New malware)
- Approach to Security (Practical vs. Theoretical)
- Productivity Tradeoffs (Virus Scanning vs. Running As Administrator)
So, let's go through the list:
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Ten Tips for a Happy Upgrade to Visual Studio 2008 (Release)
Visual Studio 2008 has been out for over a week. I've upgraded three machines (two Vista, one XP) from Beta 2 to RTM, then upgraded a couple of projects. I've also been watching blog posts and listening in at the Twitter water-cooler to hear about other developers' experiences, problems, and recommendations as they go through the upgrade experience. So, here's my quick guide to a smooth upgrade to Visual Studio 2008.
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Thanksgiving as a lifestyle
Disclaimers: I'm really getting out of character here, as I tend to keep focused on the code on my blog, but Rob's post inspired me... If code's what you're after, these aren't the droids you're looking for. You can move along. You're still here? Well, then, you should know that this is written as much for me as for anyone else. Hello, future Jon (apparently in need of a pep talk)! -
Rebooting the Monoppix project
Roiy and I have decided it's high time for another Monoppix release. Monoppix is a Linux Live CD pre-configured with Mono, MySQL, and a bunch of sample applications and training material. It's all designed to make it ridiculously simple to work (and play) with a configured Linux / Mono setup without having to spend hours or days getting it all set up. -
I'll be at DevConnections & OpenForce November 5-8
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Silverlight doesn't require any JavaScript
It's easier to understand Silverlight when you understand that, at its heart, it's a simple browser plug-in. JavaScript is extremely useful for browser detection, and it's the only way to interact with Silverlight 1.0, but JavaScript not at all required to display a Silverlight control with XAML content.