Archives
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Smarter ways of working - Groove!
My business buddy in India - Ashok Hingorani (CEO CompuTact) is well-mentioned in this article regarding communications and collaboration tools.
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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! -
Ray Ozzie memo: 'Internet services disruption'
The famous Ray Ozzie memo is now out on the web -
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Ray Ozzie starts a new Weblog (..ur ..v3)
Ray Ozzie has a new version to his weblog site (frequented by Groove folks & users) to a v3 at MSN Spaces. Very interesting reading!
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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! -
How Much Is My Blog Worth?
A lot more than I thought! :-)
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If only Open Source came with Open Minds...
I picked up the lead on this one via Bruce Hopkins who pointed out to an interesting post by Shaun Walker - No Respect for Windows Open Source.
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I am on the DotNetRocks Road show!
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DotNet Rocks Hits The Road!
Carl & Crew & the DNR RV are coming to Farmington CT!
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Groove Spaces for public consumption
My Groove cohort, Andy Swarbrick (PopG) is hosting Groove Spaces for public consumption - one-stop place for interesting Groove spaces. Go fetch & enjoy!
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Windows SharePoint Services Service Pack 2 Released
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Microsoft reorganizes - Groove moves up?
From today's Wall St Journal [subscription required] :
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SmartPart for SharePoint: Version 1.1.0.0 Released
New features:
- custom toolpart support
- access to the underlying web part
- "hidden" custom properties
- various minor improvements
SmartPart for SharePoint: Version 1.1.0.0 Released -
India's Next Step: Software Supplier
First it became a hub for IT services. Now, India stands to become a major force in the software industry, too.
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HyperThreading vs DualCore (Intel procs)
Intel's DualCore processors are quite interesting but I was wondering what advantages they hold against Intel's own HyperThreading procs? (Having acquired two H-T proc machines for my lab over the past year). This illustration summarizes the H-T & D-C comparison:
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CTDOTNET - Special Presentation: Richard Hale Shaw on C# 2.0
Connecticut .NET Developers Group's UPCOMING SPECIAL PRESENTATION (Tuesday July 5th 6-8PM) - Richard Hale Shaw on C# 2.0: Generics, Iterators and New Language Features - more details here...
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Only Ray can get Bill out of Outlook - How to Escape E-Mail Hell
The current issue FORTUNE magazine has an excellent interview with Ray Ozzie and Bill Gates about the future of Email.
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Memorial Day Parade - West Hartford, CT
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BAD MOVE STARBUCKS!!!
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Conn. .NET Developers Group Presentation (May 24th) - Michael Stiefel on 'Securing SOA with WSE 2.0'.
UPCOMING PRESENTATION (Tuesday May 24th 6-8PM) - Michael Stiefel (Reliable Software) on 'Securing Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) with Microsoft's WSE 2.0'.
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Richard Hale Shaw to present at the Connecticut .NET Developers Group - C# 2.0 New Language Features
RHS comes to CTDOTNET on Tuesday July 5th. Topic: C# 2.0: Generics, Iterators and New Language Features.
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It pays to take surveys - Larkware Reader Survey results!
I am a lucky winner of the Graphics Server .NET 2.5 package that was a prize in the Larkware Readership Survey drawing. Looking forward to checking this package out soon!
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Language surveys - C#/.NET edges out in large enterprises
In addition to the recent Larkware's readership survey results, gathering statistics about development languages and platforms is important for decision-making by book-authors and IT management. A recent poll by ComputerWorld shows C# in the top 5 (with 72%) and .NET as the preferred platform/API (at 51%). The survey by ComputerWorld had another interesting facet - 86% of the responses were from large enterprises ( > 100 employees).
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Larkware's Reader Survey results
Maestro Gunderloy has released the 'Larkware Reader Survey' results. A sample size of 485 unearthed some interesting results, notably below, which highlights the position of VB6 vis-a-vis VB.NET. Perhaps, the VB6 petition is seriously lacking supporting statistics?
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Deleting nodes in XML using Recursion
There's a good example (in C#) by Urmila Singhal on using Recursion to delete nodes in an XML document. One can delete all occurences of an XML node from an XML doc by providing a node name or with an optional attribute name of the nodes to be deleted.
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Hear Mondays on a Friday!
Carl has made available a lot of very funny MP3 audio clips from his Mondays show - my favorite one is about the Harvard Economics Professor's horse sense. I am glad I studied Economics elsewhere.. :-)
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Blogging can help in Healthcare
NC Hospital Tries Marketing with Patient Blogs [Health IT World News]
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RHS' all-day C# Mini Code-Camp
Richard Hale Shaw gave an all-day C# Mini Code-Camp at MSFT Waltham MA on Saturday (04.30). Over 300 attended!
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Conn .NET Developer Group presentation - Victor Mushkatin (AviCode)
Victor Mushkatin (AviCode) gave a presentation on Monitoring and Troubleshooting of .NET Application in Production Environment to the Connecticut .NET Developers Group on Thursday (Apr 26th).
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CMM-SEI & MSF 4 with VSTS (blogs)
With the advent of VSTS2K5 and MSF 4 integration, there will be renewed interest in CMM-SEI. MSF Formal has been renamed to MSF for CMMI. Having worked with CMM L-4 projects, I can see the importance of it in enterprise settings. Some related blogs covering this aspect (pun intended) of development are - Rick LaPlante, David Anderson & Adam Gallant and of course, Rob Caron always has the pulse of VSTS and Software Engineering.
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Writing Groove applications
Paresh Suthar (Groove Engineer) has a post on writing Groove applications. A 'must-read' if you develop for the Groove platform.
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Passed 500th posting
Didn't quite realize it but I passed the 500th postings mark!
Jeepers.. time passes fast when you are having fun.. ;-)
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XML DataSource Controls in .NET 2.0 (Article @ O'Reilly)
From OReilly -
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Visual C# 2005: A Developer's Notebook (Ch 01 - C#2.0 free download)
Jesse Liberty's new book Visual C# 2005: A Developer's Notebook is almost here (April release scheduled).
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Blogs Will Change Your Business [Business Week]
Current issue of Business Week has this on its cover - Blogs Will Change Your Business
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Microsoft and Research In Motion to Bring Enterprise IM to BlackBerry
Microsoft and Research In Motion to Bring Enterprise IM to BlackBerry - using MSFT Live Communications Server 2005.
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Mobile Development Time: Microsoft Emerging as Most Predictable Platform (for development)
Wireless Developer Network reports that the Microsoft's Windows Mobile platform has emerged as the most predictable platform (in terms of development time).
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Problems downloading VS2005 Beta 2? Get it via postal mail
Downloading VS2005 Beta 2 has been quite problematic for a few of us (it took me a few long-waiting tries but finally got through). MSFT can mail you the bits (free shipping in USA).
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Visual Studio 2005 Beta 2 Expiration Date
Dan Fernandez, Visual C# Product Manager reports that the Visual Studio 2005 Beta 2 Expiration Date is May 1st 2006.
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Turning intelligence into performance
Turning intelligence into performance [via Infoconomy] - Biz Intelligence vendor Hyperion's new Application Suite 4 goes beyond Corporate Performance Management (CPM).
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Microsoft goes for the Defense Dept Market
FCW has an article on Microsoft's New Market - namely, the DoD market which brings in new opportunities for Microsoft partners and developers. Microsoft's recent acquisition of Groove brings it more presence in the Homeland Security IT market.
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Larkware Reader Survey
Maestro Gunderloy is conducting a Larkware Reader Survey. The Larkware site is a terrific source of developer information and taking the survey may win you some Fabulous Prizes.
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Microsoft Completes Acquisition of Collaboration Software Provider Groove Networks
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Excellent two-part interview with Ray Ozzie (Microsoft-Groove)
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Last call to register - Mini CodeCamp C# Special Edition (@ Watham MA)
Last call to register - Mini CodeCamp C# Special Edition (@ Watham MA All day Saturday April 30th).
Done in the CodeCamp tradition and will benefit VB/C++ developers who want to get into .NET or C# programmers looking for an all-day refresher course.
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What does it mean to sponsor a Connecticut .NET Developers Group meeting event?
(Our thanks to Julia Lerman of Vermont .NET Developers Group for the idea)
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Using Reflection - balancing the issue with 'loose coupling'
Sahil Malik's post on the performance of Reflection raises some issues. While Reflection can bring in the power of extensibility ('loose coupling via Interfaces') it comes at the cost of performance (as pointed out by Sahil). Justin Gehtland's example of extensibility using Factory methods and XML config files concludes with - "That means you shouldn't do everything via reflection, but its judicious use for something like loading a dynamically assigned class at runtime (but binding it statically to a known interface) is perfectly reasonable, especially if you are talking about a modern distributed application, where the two more important criteria for boosting performance are limiting round trips on the network and minimizing hits to the database. If you can solve those problems, then maybe you can think about how a little reflection affects performance. I find that extensibility is usually a more important factor for me."
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INETA Newsletter interview with C++ Guru Kate Gregory
The March '05 issue of INETA Newsletter has a nice short interview with C++ Guru Kate Gregory. Kate shares some of her opinions on C++ in a managed world - "I actually prefer VB to C# because I never drift off into C++ by accident." I can relate to that!
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On unbecoming a MVP (a romantic note on tech volunteering)
My favorite Irish blogger Paschal has expressed some discontent about the recent MVP awards. With tech volunteering: there is much to learn in addition to giving it back to the community - improving leadership and communications skills, to name a few. One of my most enjoyable volunteer jobs was to teach senior citizens how to use the Internet at my local library. To see them do and learn how to send emails to their grand-kids, track their pension investments or a retired art school-teacher surf to the Louvre website brought an inner joy. But I learned a lot from that experience as well - it improved my communications skills. For me to translate technical knowledge in very simple English terms was something tremendous.
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Visual Studio Hacks
OReilly has a new book out - Visual Studio Hacks 'Tips and Tools for turbocharging the IDE'. With 5 example hacks shown (in pdf).
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Ex-Groove exec loses initial bid to nix Microsoft deal
ZDNET reports: An ex-Groove Networks executive suffered a legal setback on Friday in his bid to block Microsoft's takeover of his former company. [via Glenn Roncal in Gv3 Developer Groove Space].
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INETA Survey on Interop
A short (6-ques) INETA Survey on Interop may also win you a $100 ThinkGeek certificate [via The ServerSide.Net].
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An ongoing battle in the world of SOA - ESB vs Fabric
There is an ongoing battle in the world of SOA - it primarily hovers around the competing architectures of ESB (Enterprise Service Bus) and SOA Fabric. LooselyCoupled follows the battle with some insightful posts and on the other side Dave Chappell debunks some of the myths pertaining to ESB. Dave also explains Microsoft's position on ESB.
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An update on CodeZone from INETA
With reference to a prior posting - here's an update on CodeZone from Chris Pels (INETA Board Member). There is a bigger picture and the use of Federated Community Services which puts it all under one umbrella.
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Richard Hale Shaw on Hungarian Notation
RHS has a great little piece on Hungarian Notation. I particularly liked his affinity towards 'C' and how he started on it a couple of decades ago (a not too different experience for me as I recall). Since we are on the topic of language evolution & naming conventions - I am reminded of Fortran, a language I had used considerably in my earlier career years doing mathematical applications. Fortran has a unique capability with implicit declarations: variable names that started with 'i, j or k' were 'vectors' or integers. Similarly, 'd' was double precision or 'f' was a float (real) type. Fortran had another unique type that is still unmatched - the 'complex type' (it's matched only by a language's external function library). We are still not too far away in this path of variable declaration and naming conventions - see Cw (C-Omega) declaration of streams:
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SP1 for Windows 2003 Server released
SP1 for Windows 2003 Server has been released. Now to upgrade the servers and test out the ASP.NET & SharePoint sites again.
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Making CodeZone more relevent (under INETA)
Wow! The recent INETA (MSFT) announcement regarding CodeZone has got a bit of skeptical discussion going - Hannes P, Frans B & Jeff P. Even Maestro Gunderloy has expressed skepticism.. ;-)
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Running ASP.NET and SharePoint together
For the past several months, my attempts in configuring ASP.NET and SharePoint to work together has been tricky at best. A recent KB article has been most useful but a tool to manage the configuration could be better - perhaps a feature added to the SharePoint Configuration Analyzer. A simpler configuration tool would also help small IT shops that are not technically prone.
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Microsoft Announces CodeZone!
Microsoft announces CodeZone! Codezone will be a 'community of communities', a place for you and your groups to post links to your own articles, Web sites, blogs, discussions and events.
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Conn .NET Developers Group Presentation by Chris Bowen
Chris Bowen spoke at the Connecticut .NET Developers Group on Tuesday. It was attended by ~60 (standing-room only!) and it was very well received. Chris spoke about Agile Development (Unit Testing) today and tomorrow (with VS.NET 2005).
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VS2005 Pricing - SNAFU But Not FUBAR
MSFT's recent announcement about VS2005 pricing for MSDN has just about everybody up-in-arms. Larkware (Mike Gunderloy) gives a good pricing analysis and Eric Bowen's insights on how the pricing may hurt MSFT is worth considering.
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Chris Bowen to present at Conn .NET Developers Group & Julia's terrific idea for Dev Group meetings
Chris Bowen (Sr Architect @ Monster.com) is presenting tomorrow at the Connecticut .NET Developers Group. His topic is 'Agile Development using VS.NET 2005' and we are all looking forward to it. If you are in the neighborhood (MSFT Farmington CT office) during 6-8PM, then drop in.
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The Future of Software Development - series by Ralf Westphal
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Skype tidskrift
Skype har dess egna tidskrift (weblog) med oberoende nyheterna, beskådar och service -
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Collaborative Excel Spreadsheets using Groove
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Extending MSN Developer Network with Groove
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Redux: SharePoint or Groove - its successful deployment depends upon 'A Culture of Collaboration'
As an addendum to my prior posting - Ray Ozzie's statements on the 'A Culture of Collaboration' [via Groove Networks' corporate blogs]:
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SharePoint or Groove - its successful deployment depends upon 'A Culture of Collaboration'
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Microsoft buys Groove and all the crystal ball readers and prophets come out..
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MICROSOFT TO ACQUIRE GROOVE NETWORKS!!!
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MSDN Webcast: DotNetNuke and ASP.NETv2
MSDN has a 3-part webcast planned in April for DotNetNuke and ASP.NETv2! We (the Connecticut .NET Developers Group) use DNN for our website and also added a Community Server recently.
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Acoustic Research Bookshelf speakers for $50 pair!
Normally, I don't push consumer products but this is a good deal to consider - Acoustic Research Bookshelf speakers for $50 pair!
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'BlogMap' new feature - Blogger neighborhood
Chandu Thota is busy adding new features to his 'BlogMap'. I utilized it to pinpoint my blog site. The new feature of 'BlogMap' shows your neighborhood of (registered) bloggers. There are three known ones within my vicinity (or click icon below) and now to get Carl Franklin in here also. -
Importance of Code Reviews with tools and why it should be a 'peer review'.
I got this link to the SSW Code Auditor via DataGrid Girl. I was reminded of a 'Code Review' enigma about a year ago in a client's .NET project. One of the development-leads of the project insisted on a code-review which was fine with me but his fixation with 'get/set' property mechanisms and naming conventions bordered on nit-picking and I couldn't review his code. Furthermore, his reluctance in using tools like FxCop or even looking into 'refactoring' for efficiency was very questionable (but understandable as his code would have to get beaten up by the tools).
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Track the Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer's record setting flight
Track the Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer's record setting flight (click on picture)..
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Microsoft Solutions Framework (MSF) for Agile Software Development, Beta
I got this via Eli Robillard's posting - Microsoft Solutions Framework (MSF) for Agile Software Development, Beta.
It is encouraging to see the MSF mature rapidly (and to meet the upcoming VS2K5 Team System).
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Julia Lerman gets published in MSDN Mag!
I just saw Julia's article about ADO.NETv2 listed on MSDN Magazine [April '05]. Congratulations Julia! Looking forward to reading it.
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To FLOSS or not to FLOSS that is the question?
Michael Hensen [WebVize] is in a predicament - to FLOSS or not to FLOSS.. [sorry.. I just couldn't let that pass.. ;-)].
I had a post recently about James "Sherlock" Gosling's changing heart regarding the Open Source industry. The post includes my sentiments regarding the same matter (referring also to comments by Chris Chapman).
It is a difficult decision by individual developers who wish to incubate and grow a company. Most of my work are for clients and thus such decisions (or discussions) do not occur frequently. I am reminded of a philosopher, Jason Shaw's statement - "To learn how to think with your heart, think with your mind and then compromise the best answer for your soul."
Good luck & Good fortune WebVize.
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Some thoughts on BitTorrent, Podcasting & Groove
This is something I posted within a Groove space (in a discussion thread regarding BitTorrent, Podcasting & Groove). Posted here verbatim.
Regarding Podcasting -
Carl Franklin (an associate - we run the local .NET developers group www.ctdotnet.com) has a terrific 'video' on configuring Bittorrent clients (www.pwop.com/video/BitTorrentDemo/btTutorial.htm). Carl runs an online radio show, .NET Rocks that just celebrated its 100th show! (www.dotnetrocks.com). He also uses Bittorrent to distribute content (mp3/wma files). I also recommend taking a look at another client NIMIQ - www.nimiq.nl which uses .NET and is well suited for podcasting.
Regarding Bittorrent -
Bittorrent's original purpose is as a file-distribution protocol that "seeks pareto efficiency" (in an excellent economics paper by Cohen, the inventor of BT). It does this by ensuring pipelining, choking algorithms & tracking which also tracks "leechers" who download content but do little or nothing to upload which leads to the distribution inefficiency.
Regarding Groove+BT
A Groove+BT combination in the GFS may work (a seperate option as in the manual download perhaps) but am not sure what gains it will bring. This is partly, for the role & need of the Tracking/Relay servers in the architecture. The tracking, storage & forwarding mechanisms itself, will induce a complexity (overhead & the needed security layer) that may affect performance. In itself, GVO does have a BT-like distribution (e.g.,'fanning') so I am not sure if incorporating a BT-architecture will bring gains (perhaps marginal at best). The primary goals of GVO (IMHO) is security & P2P syncing - stability & currency within spaces and doing it with minimal or no external resource dependencies (e.g, relay servers, trackers, etc).
There are BT-clients out there that "cheat" - wrongfully reporting the upload statistics, thereby avoding "snubbing/choking" by other BT-clients. There are situations where such "cheating" is needed - large-file distribution during emergency crisis (eg, Tsunami relief) where the end-user can only consume (download) and not upload especially over very low bandwidth like dial-ups. A seperate BT+GVO tool (3rd party development) may be worth exploring and this was suggested before by a few Groove developers.
(Un)fortunately, as with all "commons" (commonly consumed resources) there will always be inefficiencies - be it in distributing content or bringing in content.
SBC
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XML Reader with Bookmarks [from MSDN]
XML Reader with Bookmarks - a great idea from MSDN, I can see its usage in traversing a XML tree with a 'breadcrumb' trail. This idea is a whole lot better than trying to make XML into a relational database.
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No Presentations without Code! Carl Franklin at the Connecticut .NET Developers Group meeting.
More details here...
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James "Sherlock" Gosling the Father of Java, Chides Open Source Development Community
An Aussie Linux rag had this about James "Sherlock" Gosling - 'Father of Java chides open source developer community' [via Sadasivuni].
I am reminded about the Holmesian (or Sherlockian) deduction -
"The word "Sherlock" has entered the language to mean a detective or nosy person; it is also commonly used in American slang to mean a knowledgeable person, as in the sarcastic phrase "No shit, Sherlock", uttered when someone says something obvious."
My sentiments about the Open Source "business" are given by Chris Chapman's statements -
"JUST SAY NO TO GPL! This control is NOT GPLed! No permission is given to allow any portion of this control to appear in any GPL/FSF or other Stallman/Raymond licensed application. Support capitalism and free, independent developers!"
The last phrase captures it all.
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APRESS encourages book reviews for User Groups
APRESS encourages book reviews for User Groups. Got to get it for us at the Connecticut .NET Developers Group!
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INETAA (INETA Academic)
This is certainly interesting - INETAA (Academic). I picked it up via MSDN Student Flash. Need to find out more as to how it would play here in Connecticut along with our Connecticut .NET Developers Group (which is an INETA member).
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Wrapping SharePoint API calls for easier development
It looks like the development API calls to SharePoint still need some diluting - there are two efforts in that direction: Addy Santo's WSSDAL and Bil Simser's SharePoint Wrappers 0.10
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CTDOTNET Event for Feb 22nd with Carl Franklin & more upcoming presentations
On Tuesday Feb 22nd (6-8PM) Carl Franklin will give a presentation on new .NET Developments. Carl is a nationally recognized speaker and author. Carl runs the very popular .NET Rocks online radio show that just celebrated its mileston 100th show! Carl runs a .NET weblog and was interviewed by the MSDN magazine as well. This event will be held at the Microsoft Farmington CT Office on Feb 22nd (6-8PM).
Visit our new website for more information - http://www.ctdotnet.com/ (Connecticut .NET Developers Group)
Please send an email to ctdotnet @ gmail.com if you plan to attend. We still need a pizza/soda count!
UPCOMING PRESENTATION (Tentatively March 22 or March 29) - Chris Bowen (Sr Architect @ Monster.com) on Agile Development with Visual Studio .NET 2005. Now tentatively set for March 22 or March 29 - more details forthcoming..
UPCOMING PRESENTATION (June 28th 2005) - Mario Cardinal on Enterprise Architecture and MSDN Enterprise Library - more details forthcoming..
Visit our new website for more information - http://www.ctdotnet.com/
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MSDN Nuggets - short movies that show how!
MSDN Nuggets - A good idea! In about 10 minutes, view the technical know-how regarding MSDN topics. Works with a Media Player 9.
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Code Camp 3 - fills up
Not suprisingly, the Code Camp 3 has filled up . Now, I just hope I get into the particular sessions I have in mind (its first-come, first served). It should be a fun week-end.
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A new book about the Common Language Runtime
Got to get that one - Customizing the CLR.
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Disc Stakka CD/DVD Manager for MSDN Subscriptions CDs/DVDs!
Microsoft and Imation have collaborated to bring you the revolutionary new MSDN-enabled Disc Stakka CD/DVD Manager. This comprehensive disc management solution, designed specifically for MSDN developers, includes an automated process for exporting disc information from your MSDN subscription index into the Disc Stakka's database.
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MS Bashing - when definitely not to do it
Chris Garrett has a very reactive post to ThreadWatch's MS bashing. I concur with Chris - a website that professes to be "less noise, more signal" is certainly not using the Dolby System to lessen their noise about Microsoft. There is nothing more debilitating than listening to MS Bashing at work when you are developing .NET applications! About 2 years ago, I had encountered a tech lead (manager) whose constant MS Bashing at the start of every morning and opportunity was most demoralizing to the team members who were making a living with the .NET technologies. I saw that as very poor management and deplorably weak leadership that sapped motivation and was counter-productive.
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More on Joel Spolsky's College Advice
Jon Galloway's posting on why 'Joel got it wrong' has made me rethink Joel's College Advice. I had added to Joel's advice earlier on but I too don't think that 'C' in particular, is the correct choice. The emphasis really must be on *'Data structures and Algorithms' . Why? The most critical CS course, in my opinion, is *DS-A. Usually, this is a sophmore course in college and taught after a course or two of structured language programming (these may be Pascal, Java, C# or even C/C++). The *DS-A course is the foundation and a pre-requisite for most other CS courses - compilers, databases, networks, automata, etc.
If a student is very familiar with Pascal, Java or C then getting into another structured language is almost trivial (quite a few C++ programmers claim that they got into Java/C# over a week-end).
So, in terms of 'College Advice' - I would recommend taking a *DS-A course (and the near-mastery of a structured language would be presumed). *DS-A courses make better programmers (eventually better developers & architects) who go on to write systems with fewer bugs and thus, obviating the need for bug-tracking tools. ;-)
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DotNet Rocks #100 is online!
I just spent an enjoyable ~2 hours listening to the 100th DotNet Rocks Show. Congratulations to Carl & crew for this milestone. Sorry to see wunderboy Rory leave because of a hectic work schedule but with the new incoming talent (Richard Campbell) - the show will go on! Check it out!
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.NET XML Best Practices
A three-part series by Aaron Skonnard on .NET XML Best Practices [via Ken Brubaker].
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SharePoint 2003 Resource Center
Lamont Harrington's blog site has a SharePoint 2003 Resource Center that's updated frequently - a good reference spot.
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Flickr Service has an API
Flickr has an API service available for non-commercial purposes - there's also a .NET API kit to upload images and other services.
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HP ousts CEO Carly Fiorina
HP ousts CEO Carly Fiorina [Reuters].
Not many remember what Compaq did with DEC. My heart goes out to the Hewlett family.
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Windows 2003 64b Server closer to release...
ComputerWorld reports that Windows 2003 64b Server is closer to release. I am eagerly waiting for this one..
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My Computer Lab
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Connecticut .NET Developers Group on the roll!
The new Connecticut .NET Developers Group is now on the roll! We have been having .NET-related events since last October and now have a new website rolled out. I have to thank the MIGANG.ORG for DNN insights. My thanks also to the CTDOTNET guys in putting our new DNN site together – Doug Haynes, Carl Franklin, Arthur Dzhelali, Aaron Junod & Jay McAnally.
For Feb 22nd, we have Chris Bowen (Sr Architect Monster.com) presenting on Agile Development & Unit Testing with Visual Studio .NET 2005. Details at our site..
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Google Maps!
Google Maps is now online!
(still beta though)
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Scoble in Financial Times article regarding Corproate blogging in America
Feb 7th issue of my favorite newspaper, the Financial Times (FT - subscription required) had an article on bloggers in corporate America. Scoble is quoted - "It's the new world and you want to be part of the conversation".
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SMS to Skype is here!
SMS to Skype is here [link via Robin Good].
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Trying out GMail and Orkut (both from Google)
I have been using GMail lately (giving out accounts as well) and I know it's not fashionable any more. I have also manged to get into Orkut. Orkut is a Social Network that's by invitation-only and its network is predominantly based out of Brazil (not quite sure why but would like to know). I got in touch with Alex Schoch, a Brazilian Groove Space friend of mine. Initially, Orkut's system was excruciatingly slow but it's only very recently it has improved acceptably. Both, GMail and Orkut are run by Google - it will be interesting to see how far they will take it.
I am not particularly fascinated by Social Networks but find the technology behind it very interesting. John Dvorak is quite skeptical about it also
(not that it says much).
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Excellent (biz) article about Collaboration (mentions SharePoint and Groove)
Excellent (biz) article about Collaboration (mentions SharePoint and Groove). It's a good one to send to business clients and associates. [link via Sanjana H in a Groove Space]
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BlogMap works!
Chandu Thota's BlogMap at work -
(only off by 2 miles)
I copied the resulting map image file. I didn't want to load his server everytime someone accesses my blog posting.
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CoSurfing re-invented
Jybe: CoSurfing re-invented - links browsers together, to surf together.
This feature has always been available within Groove. I guess that's what they mean by 're-invented'.
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A weblog site by a chef and geek that makes you hungry..
A blog site that makes you hungry. It's run by a talented chef (Madman Madhu) who also happens to be a geek. His photo gallery can make your mouth water.
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Al Capone is alive and well and living in India
From the gallery of uncanny resemblances - Al Capone and Madhu 'Madman' Menon.
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Knuth's Art of Computer Programming V4 (and what Bill Gates said about it)
Donald Knuth's Magnum Opus is getting another volume - The Art of Computer Programming Vol 4 and it should be out soon. One of my favorite bookstores (BookPool) has an excerpt from it. The AoCP is the source for computer science algorithms and data structures -
If you think you're a really good programmer. . . read [Knuth's] Art of Computer Programming.... You should definitely send me a resume if you can read the whole thing. -Bill Gates
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What Dorks don't get..
Joe Stagner has a good little piece - 'Dork of the Week Award goes to - eWeek's David Coursey'.
I concur and that Dork is another Dvorak in the making and quite simple doesn't get it albeit Coursey still professes that he is "strongly in favor of stopping software pirates".
I believe that most of the hackers who create the viruses, trojans and other maladies to attack MSFT products use bootleg copies anyways. So it's about time they start paying for it. Hopefully, this will bring down the maladies from hereon.
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Dare Obasanjo asks why Microsoft Won't Bundle Desktop Search with Windows
Dare Obasanjo asks why Microsoft Won't Bundle Desktop Search with Windows. I think it may have to do with non-technical issues like European Union's "supposedly-competitive" trigger-happy bureaucratic lawyers.
I think MSFT is being cautious and not feeding their new nemesis - the political technocrats in the EU. I had a related posting recently.
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The Battle of the Bug Killers (Joel vs Eric)
SourceGear recently introduced 'Dragnet' - I think this directly competes with FogBugz. I got to use FogBuz in a fairly large project last year and I was quite impressed by its simplicity. Except for the annoying 'picture of the day', it performed remarkably well but I'll certainly check out DragNet. In addition to JoelOnSoftware, I have been an avid reader of *Eric Sink's writings and I am sure Eric's counter-attack is part of a well-thought out plan. Such competition benefits the end-user, i.e., the development team and that is good.
*highly recommend taking a look at Eric's 'Not A Legend' movie
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On Being Reduced To Tears
Matt Warren has a very thoughtful piece regarding the current EU rulings against Microsoft. I replied to his posting but would like to repost it here -
Keep in mind that the anti-Microsoft decision came from the EU's judicial system - a "country" which is still having a very difficult time formulating a constitution and they call themselves a democracy!
Regarding EU's own software - there is the huge monster system called SAP which is in need of an aenama and there's Linux which is a ripped-off version of Unix/Xinu that was freely available in educational institutions back in the 70s and 80s.
So much for EU innovation.
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Using Microsoft SharePoint in Multilingual Scenarios
Wow! I have to check this one out with my SharePoint servers - Using Microsoft SharePoint in Multilingual Scenarios.
I have several collaborative situations (websites and Groove spaces with users from 20 different countries) that would do a lot better if it were a bit more multilingual.
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80/20 Rule (aka Pareto Principle) - recommended book
In these blog postings, I have seen several references to the 80/20 Rule (aka Pareto Principle but which is actually a misnomer). I bought this book at a used bookstore and got a lot out of it for less than ten bucks! It's a general, very-readable introduction to the 80/20 Principle and how it can be used in various situations (including business).
80/20 Principle -
Reviving my Radio Userland weblog
I have decided to give Radio Userland another try - that software really is quite buggy but rumor has it that they are really going to do something about it. (It may be that users are abandoning it for TypePad or Blogger). We'll see..
I have been using Radio Userland for well over 2.5 years and it has a lot of my prior content. I'll post my non-technical topics there.
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Dvorak on People Networking stuff
Normally, I don't think much of what John Dvorak writes. He often dunks Microsoft with anecdotes and rants - seeing that he has made most of his career pushing Microsoft products till FLOSS came along which he favors very zealously.
These two amusing postings by him captures his sentiments about People Networking stuff (suprisingly it has nothing to do with Microsoft) -
The New Networking Crock
Business Networking Systems, Dead Already? -
Download chapter from Effective C# - Distinguish between Value Types and Reference Types
Chapter 6 of Effective C# - Distinguish between Value Types and Reference Types is here [PDF format]. Better still - get the book: Effective C#.
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30m SharePoint Portal Server licenses out there!
I got this via Patrick Tissegham who got it via Joris - SharePoint Portal Server is MSFT's fastest growing product with 30m licenses!
That's Portal server (not WSS) licenses and you can imagine the number of clients associated with it. That truly is remarkable!
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Private Syndication RSS - More than it meets the eye: Get ready to pay for content
Private Syndication (be it via RSS or other formats) is back as a discussion topic - Dare Obasanjo mentions it as a RSS Bandit feature accomodation, Tim Bray lays out some commercial value-added from EBay or your bank and Dwight Shih's 'Say No To Private Syndication'. The latter views it more as an issue of risk in privacy and trust. I view it as a "new News market" evolution - quite soon, you will pay for content from the RSS Pundits (via PayPal integrated into their weblog site of course). Feeding you expert opinions, advice and rubric that you can't get anywhere else fast.
Why so? Private syndication RSS feeds would enjoy more First Amendment freedoms like the HBO TV channel and soon, Howard Stern on Sirius satellite radio and you may get away with similar law-suits currently faced by ThinkSecret.
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Yet Another Calling Card (literally - with Skype)
Stuart Henshall describes a calling card that one can use with Skype. It gives a literal meaning to 'calling cards'.
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Dare Obasanjo's XML Metacrap - a small note
Dare Obasanjo's recent piece on Folksonomies, Taxonomies and Metacrap (shouldn't that be Volksonomies?) would provoke cognitive psychologists and computer scientists alike. Machine representation of semantics is preceded by knowledge representation (e.g., semantic networks) first and it defines the vocabulary also. This task has been ongoing from both sides of the fence - cognition and AI. Language semantics is an extremely difficult entity to emulate - ambiguity abounds (see Wittgenstein's language thinking concepts). Machinists have had limited success in a very limited capacity - Terry Winograd's SHRDLU in the "small blocks world" is a good example. I recall working on SHRDLU (in LISP) in a grad course in the mid-80s - it was quite amazing to see the machine respond to your queries (with meaning et al).
Current effort using XML tags are also represented in Topic Maps which shows tremendous potential but that too is restricted to the "small world knowledge domain". A fine example of domain expertise in HealthCare is SNOMED which makes healthcare knowledge and terminologies more palatable to the machines. Marry SNOMED with TopicMaps and you have some promise. But this marriage should be presided and blessed by the domain experts first rather than XML-Tag-happy constructs.
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Shafer doesn't get it (redux)
Alex Barnett points to a thought-provoking piece by Jack Shafer.
There is no 'hype' here - any new idea has an incubatory period which brings in excitement (commonly misinterpreted as 'hype'). Blogging has rattled the Big Media companies and macho journalists alike. They keep forgetting that the First Amendment protects Big Media companies, macho journalists and puny webloggers equally. The main difference this time is that the puny webloggers have a direct access to a media channel - the Internet. This may change if Big Media companies lobby the legislators to tilt the new media channel to their favor.
The future does look exciting.
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US Navy chooses Groove over eRoom and Lotus Domino
To manage critical information in humanitarian relief effort - the US Navy chose Groove over eRoom and Lotus Domino. [ComputerWorld 01.24.05].
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C++ in a .NET world
Richard Grimes has a new book out - Programming with Managed Extensions for MS Visual C++.NET (vers 2003).
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Mark Miller's presentation at the Connecticut .NET Developer Group (Tues Jan 25th)
Mark Miller (Chief Architect at Developer Express) spoke last night at the Connecticut .NET Developer Group meeting. Details here..
Also see Aaron Junod's blog posting.. Highly recommend you try out Developer Express' DxCore (free download)
Picture above (right to left) - Arthur Dzhelali, Carl Franklin, Mark Miller & self.
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My Computer Lab (with new additions)
My Computer Lab - an update from June '03
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eBay charity auction for Tsunami Relief - bid on .NET expertise
This is a supreme example of how the .NET technical community is pooling in their talents for the Tsunami Relief effort - an eBay auction for .NET development expertise.
[via Julia's DataFarm Blog]
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Mark Miller to speak at the Connecticut .NET Developer Group (Tues Jan 25th)
Mark Miller (Chief Architect of Developer Express) is going to speak at the Connecticut .NET Developer Group (Tues Jan 25th 6PM). The topic is on Visual Studio .NET tools. It will be held at the Microsoft Farmington, CT office - details at the CTDOTNET website.
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IT Doesn't Matter And Now IT Doesn't Compute - Nicholas Carr's NYT Op-Ed
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My Nerd Score - it has to be wrong!
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DevSource - looks like a very commercial version of MSDN
I just saw this one - DevSource and it looks a very commercial version of MSDN.
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Gang of Four (GoF) - second edition?
DevX has an interview with John Vlissides (GoF) that's well worth reading (some interesting history of how 'patterns' and the GoF book evolved).
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An excellent Blogging Software comparision table (includes .Text)
An excellent Blogging Software comparision table (includes .Text). UPDATED Table: May '04.
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CSharpDevelop (a VS.NET2K3 alternative) works well with Groove Web Services (GWS) development
I have managed to get quite a few of my Groove development projects (using GWS) running under the new version of #develop. This is good news for those who want to develop Groove Web Services applications without the expense of VS.NET2K3.
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New version of CSharpDevelop v1.0.3.1768 is here.. get it if you can..
New version of CSharpDevelop v1.0.3.1768 is here.. get it if you can.. ***(there's a persistent download error at the server).
***[UPDATE]: The server is back online albeit a bit slow with heavy load presumably.
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Scoble and Joe Wilcox bash it out with betas
Scoble refers to the recent post by Joe Wilcox in which Mr. Wilcox finds the practice of frequent beta releases by Microsoft is quite detrimental -
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Second blog posting with SimpleBlogger
see prior posting.
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First blog posting using SimpleBlogger (via InfoPath)
This is using the SimpleBlogger from Guoqiang Wu. Still have to figure out some features of this one.
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Patterns & Practices' Enterprise Library to be out soon..
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GMAIL beta email accounts available
I have a few GMAIL (Google) beta email accounts available - drop me an email (via contact on the left). First come, first served.
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Adding to Joel Spolsky's College Advice
I like Joel Spolsky's postings as they are certainly thought provoking and at times quite argumentative - my recent posting generated a couple of thousand hits & still counting! His recent posting giving 'college advice' is most interesting and I hope it is followed (and adhered to) by the readers. I would like to add one fact that is grossly overlooked - in this IT profession, be prepared to go back to school to learn something new, perhaps often. That's the nature of this industry and profession - it's dynamic with everchanging technologies that demands that you keep up. Going back to school may mean technical certifications (eg., MCAD/MCSD/MCDBA) or more business-like (eg., PMP / MBA) - all depending upon your career track.
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SKYPE API v1.1 updates
Skype API v.1.1 docs has been updated. There is more information on the Skype Developer Program including certification. There is a very interesting development - Skype API COM Wrapper that should perk the interest in most of us.
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Webcast on Disaster Relief and Emergency Preparedness (Role of the Internet and New Media in Tsunami Relief Efforts)
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I got Scobleized and Scoble got Fortuneized
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64-bit Windows XP Tested And Reviewed
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InfoWorld Selects Groove Virtual Office As Team Collaboration ''Technology of the Year'' For Second Consecutive Year
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An exceptional blogsite describing the Medical Relief Efforts in Sri Lanka
This BLOG contains information relating to the work of the Batticaloa Disaster Health Response Team, a collaborative initiative set up to provide medical services in immediate aftermath of the tsunami of 26th December in the Batticaloa District of Eastern Sri Lanka.
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A report about relief in Sri Lanka (via Groove space 'Sri Lanka Tsunami Aid')
This is a report (an email) received and posted in a Groove space 'Sri Lanka Tsunami Aid'.
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Thoughts of technology in the wake of a tragedy
I have Sanjana's poignant essay here in this post - 'Thoughts of technology in the wake of a tragedy'. Sanjana Hattotuwa is a cofounder and strategic manager of InfoShare (based in Sri Lanka) and was the subject of my prior post on the Tsunami relief efforts currently underway in Sri Lanka.
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Virtual Volunteering in SE Asia Tsunami relief efforts with Groove - Microsoft technologies at its finest
