Be sure to upgrade to the latest version of Live Search for Windows Mobile.

• Enhanced Locate Me. The Live Search Home screen includes a Locate Me control that works both on GPS-enabled phones and without GPS.
• Bird’s Eye View. This cool new map view shows a low-level, three-dimensional perspective of a location
• Predictive text in the search control

• Enhanced Locate Me.

• Bird’s Eye View

• Predictive Text

It’s time to install the MVP Global Summit Countdown Sidebar Gadget.

MVP Summit 2009

Microsoft will host the 2009 MVP Global Summit March 1-4, 2009 at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle, and at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington.

MVP Award recipients are invited to attend the MVP Global Summit, one of the largest multiday Microsoft MVP events. At the MVP Global Summit, MVPs receive access to exclusive technical content, participate in direct feedback sessions, and meet with Microsoft executives, product teams, and their peers from around the world. Microsoft executives and employees welcome MVPs to the Global Summit at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington and in Seattle. The MVP Global Summit features more than 400 technical sessions in which MVPs can connect with other MVPs, build relationships with Microsoft experts, and provide real-world insights and feedback to Microsoft product teams.

I’ve added UserVoice to my Web site. This is to allow all my readers an opportunity to engage with each other, and to help determine “Where we will go tomorrow”.

What is UserVoice?

Here are some suggestions to get things started:

• Add 30 Days of .NET Mobile Applications to CodeProject
• Do some Windows Mobile Development Screencasts
• Do more advanced Windows Mobile developer articles
• Do more beginner Windows Mobile developer articles
• Use QR Codes for Mobile Devices

But what about you? What do you really want? Where to you want to go tomorrow?

Note: You don’t have to join or sign up for anything to add suggestions or vote on suggestions.

UserVoice also has great RSS feeds:

I also added the feedback tab widget, see below, to allow easy access to the feedback feature:

I’m not sure exactly how long I’ve been on Twitter, but it is a decent bit. I know I am the 7943052 member to join, because that is my user id, and Twitter uses a simple auto-incrementing integer to assign member ids. You can find your user id, by checking the RSS link at the bottom of your Twitter home page. Here’s mine:

http://twitter.com/statuses/friends_timeline/7943052.rss

Feel free to follow me on Twitter if you like:

http://twitter.com/CJCraft

Not too long after joining, I decided I wanted to use a client application to access Twitter instead of the Web page. I decided to use Twhirl.

It’s a great little app, and it really does a great job of solving the “Accessing Twitter on the Desktop” problem. The only problem I have with it is for some reason after a certain amount of time passes the application disappears, and its tray icon disappears as well.

This has been really bothering me for a couple months now, and I haven’t been able to find a great solution for it. Up until now my solution has been to open the Windows Task Manager, and kill the process and restart it manually myself. This always works but is a bit of a pain, and means I could miss messages since client Twitter applications can only pull messages so far back.

I decided it was finally time to do something about this problem, or either find a new Twitter client.

After a little research, here is what I learned:

I learned on GetSatisfaction.com that this was a fairly common problem, and there wasn’t a great known solution for how to fix it, except on a Mac.

Apparently this an issue with Adobe Air and not Twhirl directly.

It amused me the solution was to right click the tray icon and select “Reset Windows”. Too bad I can’t see the tray icon on my system, lucky Mac users with your visible invisible icons.

People must REALLY like Twhirl because one user rebooted their computer 20 times, and then reformatted their disk to get Twhirl again, and they were upset with Adobe for this.

Here’s how to fix it

I decided to try Process Explorer. I had a feeling it would have an option to help me make the invisible visible again.

Process Explorer Official Overview

“Ever wondered which program has a particular file or directory open? Now you can find out. Process Explorer shows you information about which handles and DLLs processes have opened or loaded.

The unique capabilities of Process Explorer make it useful for tracking down DLL-version problems or handle leaks, and provide insight into the way Windows and applications work.”

Process Explorer is to Windows Task Manager what Superman is to Clark Kent. In other words, it's the bomb. It’s actually useful.

All I had to do once I had Process Explorer installed and running was find and right click twhirl.exe, then click Window, and Bring to Front.

If you click on the Process Explorer image it will open a larger full sized version.

I hope this helps others in their fight to be able to use Twhirl once again. I only wished I had picked up my boxing gloves sooner. Hope to see you on Twitter soon!

You’ve probably figured out by now that I’m a big fan of keyboard shortcuts. And you probably know that I present at a lot of user groups and code camp, sometimes I even present on keyboard shortcuts. Recently I learned about some PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts that I didn’t already know and I decided to share them with my readers, since many of you also use PowerPoint to do your presentations.

Here are what I consider the “Top 10 PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts”:

Built-in PowerPoint Slide Show Cheat Sheet (Press F1 during Slide Show)

One of the things I really like about working for ACS Technologies is we create software solutions for almost every OS platform out there. We are mostly a Microsoft shop, which is a perfect fit for me, but because we write solutions for churches and schools many of our products also work with other OS platforms. Really puts me in a great position to see the good and the bad for various solution platforms whether it is Windows Mobile, the iPhone, OS X, ASP .NET, and so on. I love it.

I while back I could resist picking up a used Apple PowerBook off eBay for a deal. I’ve been playing with it off an on since then and it's not all bad. One thing I have been disappointed with is until recently I haven’t been able to figure out how to connect to my laptop remotely from one of my other PC’s. Today I decided I would solve this problem.

Here’s the way I found to allow Remote Desktop Administration of an Apple from a PC:

Apple PC

Go to System Preferences, then open Sharing, in the Internet & Network section.

Enable Screen Sharing, and click Computer Settings…, make sure to enable “VNC viewers may control screen with password: ********”, and to assign a strong password. This is what will actually allow you to connect to your Apple PC.

Go to System Preferences, then open Network, in the Internet & Network section.

Locate your IP Address, probably want to either the Ethernet one or the AirPort one. You’ll use this to find your Apple PC.

Windows PC

You’ll need to download a VNC client, I recommend TightVNC, it is free, proven, and I like how it works. After that just run your VNC client, use your Apple PC IP address from above, along with your password from above and your golden.

I noticed today that Twitter has been very stable lately. Actually, I really hadn’t noticed any downtime in almost a week. I decided to check http://status.twitter.com/ and find out if this is true. From what I saw, there has only been 104 minutes of unscheduled down time in the first 11 days of July. That’s less than 10 minutes of downtime a day. Good job, guys!

Twitter really has a lot of potential to bring people together by making us more transparent to each other. For example, if you only know me from my blog, then there is a lot about me that you don’t know. Friend and family know me in some ways, and coworkers know me in some ways. Depending on what I decided to share on Twitter, my friends and family can learn a lot more about what I am working on at work, and my coworkers can learn a lot more about what is going on at home. All of this in easy to digest 140 maximum character messages.

My Twitter URL: @CJCraft

As much as I like what Twitter can do, it wasn’t long ago that I was become very irritated with the frequent “Twitter Blackouts” that were occurring on an almost daily basis. A lot of people were considering leaving Twitter, and the thought crossed my mind a couple times. I was really started to get frustrated with Twitter, and I wasn’t the only one:

Without Twitter many people had to resort to drastic measures to fill the void. One poor soul even had to the leave the side of his computer, and actually build a real life version of the Twitter Fail Whale.

Others made online portals dedicated to the phenomena: http://failwhale.com/

And to top it off, you can even follow the Fail Whale on Twitter: @FailWhale 

Yeah, I “failed” for it too. I couldn’t resist, so I made a Twitter photo mosaic that is composed from all the friends pictures of the top 100 most popular Twitter users. 

Resources I used in creating: Too Many Tweets: A Twitter Photo Mosaic.

• Ranks the most popular Twitter users.
  • http://www.twitterholic.com/ 
• Get File Name from URL (C#/.NET)
  • http://www.thejackol.com/2007/04/10/get-file-name-from-url-cnet/
• Where is my Twitter ID number?
  • http://getsatisfaction.com/twitter/topics/where_is_my_twitter_id_number
• Scott Hanselman: The Weekly Source Code 22
  • http://www.hanselman.com/blog/TheWeeklySourceCode22CAndVBNETLibrariesToDiggFlickrFacebookYouTubeTwitterLiveServicesGoogleAndOtherWeb20APIs.aspx
• Change File Extension
  • http://bytes.com/forum/thread486309.html
• How to make your own photo mosaics
  • http://www.engadget.com/2004/10/19/how-to-make-your-own-photo-mosaics/
• Twitter is over capacity
  • http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3045/2567701776_89cd1ca33e_o.jpg
• Twitter fail whale
  • http://www.coolest-gadgets.com/20080630/twitter-fail-whale-kinetic-sculpture/

We only have one more day left in our 30 days of .NET [Windows Mobile Applications]. Where do we go from here?

I’m really happy with the 30 Days of .NET so I do think I will continue that in one format or another for some time. It’s been a blast. And everyone knows my passion for Windows Mobile programming so we keep finding way to work that in there as well.

I haven’t quite decided what I’ll do for next month but I’m sure it’ll only get better as we move forward.

There have been a lot of request for applications that haven’t made it on deck yet, and obviously they aren’t all going to get done tomorrow. But I think I’ll be able to throw in some Bonus Day of .NET or Return of Day of .NET and knock some of them out over time.

My goal is to take all the existing content and clean it up some and make more through and detailed learning materials to really help beginners take off with Windows Mobile.

Hope you’ll join me on the road ahead…

Wow, today was a busy day. I gave a Windows Mobile Programming presentation today at a .NET user group I help run, PDANUG. I changed it up at the very last minute, and instead of doing the presentation I was planing on doing we wrote a Windows Mobile application together. It was great. I think everyone contributed, and got something out of it. In the end we had a very nice Prize Picker application that we will be able to use again and again in the future. And I have a new talk that I can present. Any takers?

What is My IP?

You may have seen sites like WhatIsMyIP.com, IPChicken.com, and my favorite IPCow.com. Most people prefer command prompt and good ole IPConfig. But sometimes when you are troubleshooting an issue with a friend of family member over the phone that’s not always the best idea. Usually in those kind of situations it is easier to send someone to a Web site and just have them read the value to you. I think some of the sites above will render appropriately on a mobile device, pretty sure IPCow.com does.

But what if you can’t connect to the Internet, and you need to see your Intranet IP address. In this case, and many others, one wants something a little more direct, and clear.

For this reason, “What is My IP?” exists. It couldn’t be simpler. Run the program, then see your IP address, or IP addresses in case you have multiple connections open. Which is very possible with today’s devices, with everything from Bluetooth, cellular connections, wireless connections, and more.

This application only does one thing, so it needs to do it very well. And it needs to be appealing in how it looks and how it does it.

Since the application has minimal features, it has a minimalist style to it. There is only one focus point of attention and that is the large network icon in the center of the screen. Everything else is clean and simple.

There’s only one method of note in this application: RefreshData()

   1: private void RefreshData()

   2: {

   3:     string deviceName = System.Net.Dns.GetHostName();

   4:  

   5:     textBoxDeviceName.Text = deviceName;

   6:  

   7:     IPAddress[] addresses = Dns.GetHostEntry(deviceName).AddressList;

   8:  

   9:     comboBoxDeviceIP.Items.Clear();

  10:     for (int i = 0; i < addresses.Length; i++)

  11:         comboBoxDeviceIP.Items.Add(addresses[i].ToString());

  12:  

  13:     if (comboBoxDeviceIP.Items.Count > 0)

  14:         comboBoxDeviceIP.SelectedIndex = 0;

  15: }

Download executable: whatIsMyIP.cab

Download Source Code: whatIsMyIP.zip

Feedback

Not bad 10 applications in 10 days. Won’t be long before we’re at 20 applications in 20 days, and then 30 applications in 30 days. Keep the feedback coming.

This is my favorite application so far. The concept is awesome. It takes the idea of a "sound effect keychain", and make it into a fully open and extensible mobile application.

Mobile FX

So if you are following me, then you know that if you press the birds button you'll hear a birds sound effect, and if you press the bomb button your hear a bomb sound effect, and son on down the list.

This application tries to be as much about form as it is function. All of the icon graphics are created with Axialis IconWorkshop. (Thanks for the heads up, Jamey!) It makes making really great icons a snap using its Image Object Packs. (See the image to the right for a small sample.)

What I really like about this application is there is the possibility of creating add-in sound packages. I'll discuss this more in a follow up blog posting to come soon. [If there is interest? Let me know.]

The way the application works is it looks for an XML file that tells it where each of its possible icons are and where the sound files for each icon are located as well. If you want to change the order of the icons on the screen just change the order of the "buttons" in the XML configuration file.

I haven't completed the extensibility point for others to add there own icons and sounds but that is a small enhancement which I'll do shortly.

Download executable: mobileFX.cab

Download Source Code: passwordGen.zip

Feedback:

How interested are you guys in the follow up article? Is this something you would enjoy? Would you like a second pack of sounds? Is this application something you would use? Would you create a sound pack of your own?

Today was a day I get to pick what I was going to write. One thing I've been doing a lot of lately is taking screenshot captures of either my emulator or my device. I don't know if there is a perfect solution for this, but I figured this would be a great "pain" to try to overcome.

Also, I just think this is a great utility to learn from and to use.

Mobile Capture

As always, let's look at how the application looks. Noticed I had more controls than I could put on one screen. Or if I could put all the controls on one screen it was going to look like a train wreck. I really try to make it so that if the user has to do something "tedious" like data entry, especially on a mobile device, that there is some sort of "cool" factor for the user to "experience".

In this case, I decided to make 3 sections to the form and have each fill the screen in response to the user clicking either the light blue "Capture", "Activation", or "Option" buttons. Notice how I disguised the buttons to look like section headers.

With a little effort each section could expand open as a visual effect, I choose to have the section just instantly pop to their minimized or maximized states. This would be a great feature enhancement for an enterprising reader to tackle. Just a matter of fine tuning it.

As far as features go, we have a lot happening there as well. Full Screen mode, Area mode, Hardware Key support, Time support, and the ability to take multiple pictures in a row.

That's a lot of application to take on in one day, and really only a couple of hours, but that's how we do it around here.

One issue I ran into was I managed to confuse myself. I though when I called Form.Hide() that is wasn't hiding the form's menu bar in time before the screenshot was taken. So I went and found the following blog article: Christian Helle's Blog: Programmatically Minimize an Application in .NET CF 2.0. Work's fine, but so does Form.Hide() just didn't figure it out for a while. Figured I'd leave Christian's code in for while since it is more interesting, P/Invoke and everything.

I wasn't quite sure the best way to take a screenshot anymore in .NET Compact Framework, so I looked that up to find a better way. I found this: Alex Yakhnin - Creating a screen snapshot in CF v2. And I decided it would do lovely, and it has so far. I haven't had the first problem with it.

Does anyone recognize where the feature set of this application is based on? It is a very famous Windows graphics program that was really popular a few years back now. Give it a guess.

The .NET Compact Framework HardwareButton device component made working with the device's hardware buttons a snap.

The way the application figures out what it needs to do between on the various combinations, and there are a lot of them, is pretty cool to check. Notices I didn't say clean and slick, just pretty cool. It could use some clean up.

I'm really happy with the UI; it was a simple trick to pull off the effect but I think it works great. Try it out see what you think! Alright well I think that wraps up day 05, I hope you like the

application.

Download executable: mobileCapture.cab

Download Source Code: mobileCapture.zip

Feedback

I'm looking forward to seeing where we go next. I hope you are too. There hasn't been a lot of comments yet but I know word hasn't really gotten out yet either. But feel free to post your comments and ideas.

I got to check out the city some today. I heard that it was supposed to be a nice warm sunny day, but I guess the sky had other plans for today, like rain, rain, and rain. :D

Pretty cool hotel, I at the Renaissance, right down the street from the convention center. One weird thing is there is a light switch that controls the power to my desk lamp, AND the router for my Internet. There another "light" switch by that one, but I haven't figured out what it is for yet.

I've been hoping for some big things to happen in Mobility and this year seems like a good year for some of them to take place. Hopefully, there will be some non-NDA announcements that I'll be able to share with everyone. If not, then there's always the weather ;)

[Source: Jason Langridge's WebLog]

Guitar Hero is now available on Windows Mobile. Yeah, I already bought it too.

My one compliant is that on the AT&T Tilt I wish I could configure the buttons for each guitar string. I have a hard time rockin' out using that rocker button.

Guitar Hero III Mobile Screenshots:

Song List

1. Santana - Black Magic Woman
2. Wolfmother - Woman
3. AFI - Miss Murder
4. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Suck My Kiss
5. Alice Cooper - School's Out
6. Pat Benatar - Hit Me with Your Best Shot
7. Van Halen - You Really Got Me
8. KISS - Strutter
9. Smashing Pumpkins - Cherub Rock
10. Stone Temple Pilots - Trippin on A Hole
11. Matchbook Romance - Monsters
12. Motley Crue - Shout at the Devil
13. Black Sabbath - Paranoid
14. The Allman Brothers Band - Jessica
15. Scorpions - Rock You Like A Hurricane

It's almost that time. What time is it you ask? Well, it's only 4 days, 02 hours, 20 minutes, and 22 seconds left until this year's Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Global Summit.

And the best part, at least for me :D, is that'll I'll be going this year. I can't wait to meet all the other MVP's, and to get to hang out with some of my developer friends that I don't get to see nearly enough.

This year's conference looks to be really exciting. I'm expecting some big news to come out of Redmond next week.

And I was able to find a great "utility" to help me keep track of when the conference starts: :D

Windows Vista "MVP Global Summit Countdown" Sidebar Gadget

Due to the scheduling conflict with the Heroes Happen Here Event in Charlotte, the April PDANUG Event has been moved to April 29th, 2008.  More details to follow.  See you all in Charlotte tomorrow!

Tuesday, April 29th, 2008
Chris Reeder, Chris Craft, and Page Brooks
Topic: SQL Server 2008, Windows Server 2008, and Visual Studio 2008 (Respectively)

Tuesday, April 29th, 2008, is the next meeting of the Pee Dee Area .NET User Group.

Chris Reeder, Chris Craft, and Page Brooks will be presenting on the latest exciting new products from Microsoft.  First, Chris Reeder will give us a run down on a few cool features in SQL Server 2008.  Next, Chris Craft will take us on a tour of some excellent new features in Internet Information Services 7 (IIS7).  Page Brooks will finish off the presentation with a few cool tips and tricks in Visual Studio 2008.

Please click the link below to register.  We use this information to determine how much food to buy!

Here is the tentative schedule:
6:00 PM - 6:20 PM Socializing / Free Dinner
6:20 PM - 6:30 PM Introduction, Sponsor Time, and News.
6:30 PM - 8:00 PM Presentations

"The  Census Bureau will tell a House panel today that it will drop plans to use handheld computers to help count Americans for the 2010 census, increasing the cost for the decennial census by as much as $3 billion, according to testimony the Commerce Department secretary plans to give this afternoon."

[That means the cost increased by around $8/person to count, and classify, each of us with a paper-based census.]

HTC Census Phone Specifications:

• Dual-band CDMA/EV-DO device
• WiFi; Phone Connector; miniUSB; Bluetooth
• No microphone or speakerphone built-in
• 6.1 x 3.1 x 1.4 inches (154 x 79 x 29 mm); 12.3 oz (350 g)
• QVGA touch display (240x320); 3.5 Inches
• Windows Mobile 5 OS for PPC
• Intel Bulverde 416MHz processor
• GPS with Sirf Star III chip [neat to way to verify and monitor census enumerators, mashups possibilities would have been awesome]
• SD slot for memory
• Fingerprint reader [I'm guessing this is for data security?]
• Data connection only device [device does not allow voice calls, only data transmissions]

How Much is a Billion? [from about.com]

• If we wanted to pay down a billion dollars of the US debt, paying one dollar a second, it would take 31 years, 259 days, 1 hour, 46 minutes, and 40 seconds.
• A tightly-packed stack of new $1,000 bills totaling $1 billion would be 63 miles high. In comparison, jet planes fly at 30,000 - 40,000 feet (5.7 - 7.7 miles high).
• About a billion minutes ago, the Roman Empire was in full swing. (One billion minutes is about 1,900 years.)
• About a billion hours ago, we were living in the Stone Age. (One billion hours is about 114,000 years.)
• About a billion months ago, dinosaurs walked the earth. (One billion months is about 82 million years.)
• A billion inches is 15,783 miles, more than halfway around the earth (circumference).
• The earth is about 8,000 miles wide (diameter), and the sun is about 800,000 miles wide, not quite a million.

Total cost of the 2010 census to between $13.7 billion and $14.5 billion [from nextgen.com]

"Gutierrez said reverting to a paper-based census, in addition to other costs not associated with the handhelds, is expected to increase the cost of the 2010 census to between $2.2 billion and $3 billion through fiscal year 2013. That would bring the total cost of the 2010 census to between $13.7 billion and $14.5 billion. He said the bureau would need an increase of $160 million to $230 million for fiscal 2008 to cover costs associated with returning to paper, with an additional $600 million to $700 million for fiscal 2009. Gutierrez added that the majority of the cost increases would occur in 2010."

[So it actually costs somewhere around $37/person to count and classify each of us, or around 7 hours of minimum-wage labor.]

[It looks like the made the right choices: they tested years in advance, and when they knew they couldn't add the new 400 requirements, and meet their deadline. So they decided stopped the project. There are worse endings a project can have.]

[I wonder if the "Real ID Act" is meant to handle the Census as well.]

[I was pretty excited when I first heard about this projects goal of mobilizing the US Census, especially when I learned it would be done using Windows Mobile devices. I'm not surprised the project was ended considering the development team was faced with 400 new requirements this late in the game, with an already booked schedule. The US Census is used for many, many demographic and statistical tasks. We do a lot more than simple count the number of Americans. And I think that is the challenge, that stopped the project from making it to the finish line. Big government, requires big software, which is hard to do on small devices.]

Growing up I always loved Mad Magazine, and one of my favorite parts were all the Mad Fold-Ins, in the back of the magazine, that Al Jaffee created.

The New York Times has a special online article that has many interactive Mad Magazine Fold-Ins on topics ranging from Presidents, War and the Military, Pop Culture,  to Sports.

Fold-Ins, Past and Present - The New York Times

90 Artists Remix Stan Lee's Best Characters

That stained glass Spiderman is totally sweet! And magneto with duckies. That would be a good "Come up with the best story for this 'situation' contest".

"Magneto vs. The Duckies" or "No More Spandex"

Oh no! The evil Magneto has kidnapped the President's...   daughters'...   three little duckies: Huey, Dewey and Louie and has forced them to fight him to the death!

The duckies only chance was if someone could raise the $3,014,170,389,176,410 ransom Magneto demanded for their safe return. Unfortunately for the triplets, the president was a little short after spending over $611.5 billion.

Desperate Huey decided to contact their great uncle, who even though a bit of a Scrooge, surely wouldn't want to see his three grand-nephews end up on Magneto's dinner table. Their uncle was quite shocked, and embarrassed after having told most of the world that he was worth, "one multiplujillion, nine obsquatumatillion, six hundred twenty-three dollars and sixty-two cents", and telling his nephews that it was more like "five multiplujillion, nine impossibidillion, seven fantasticatrillion dollars and sixteen cents", he didn't have the heart to tell Huey now that it was really more like $137 billion.

Instead he chooses to tell them about how when he was their age he had to defeat villains far worse than Magento... every day... on the way to school... and uphill both ways... [Click! Huey hangs up]

Louie the youngest of the twins, decides to use a trick that their brother Phooey would always use when he got in trouble: cuteness...

Immediately Louie falls back into the curl of Magneto's right arm and stares back up at his "favorite person in the whole wide world". At first, Huey and Dewey think Louie must have lost his friggin' mind, but then they too remember their forgotten brother, and join Louie in his mastermind scheme. Dewey decides the only thing cuter than a little yellow fluffy duckie, is a sleeping little yellow fluffy duckie. He then hops up on Magneto's shoulder and begins to purr. Why? Because it is extra cute!

Huey, determined not to be outdone by his younger brothers, recognizes that Magneto has some kind of helmet fetish, and decides that certainly Magneto would appreciate him being his own personal hood ornament.

Right then, Magneto's heart grew three sizes larger, and he thought to himself, "How Cute!" He then proceeded to explode causing reality to turn purple, and time to stop.

[The End]

 

Your Turn

Don't worry your safe from my humor, with the entire Internet between you and me, you shouldn't suffer any long term effects. But if you liked, or didn't like, or think you can do better I'd love to hear your version. Feel free to post as a comment or link back from your blog. You could pick another picture as well, if you like.

If you have ever used Total Commander for Windows then you know how fast it is. It gives the command prompt a run for its money.

I was looking around the other day, and notice there is a version for Windows Mobile and it is FREE. Grab it here.

Main features:

• Copy, Move whole subdirectories
• In place rename, create directories
• Delete (no recycle bin)
• Zip and unzip
• Properties dialog, change attributes
• Built-in text editor
• Search function (also for text)
• Select/unselect groups of files
• Select with [Sel] button
• FTP client
• Registry editor
• LAN access
• Send/Receive via Infrared (OBEX)
• Brief, full and large icons mode
• Single or two file window mode
• Option to hide all files in ROM
• Directory hot list as in Total Commander
• Directory history through drop down list
• Tree view
• Configurable button bar
• Simple help function
• Supported languages: English, German, Catalan, Czech, Danish, Dutch, French, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish and Swedish

Today a friend of mine called me, and asked me to help him with a problem he was having.

I soon learned that he has an ASP.NET application set up on Windows Server 2003, but he couldn't get the application to load in the browser. Anytime he tried it would always give him a "404 File Not Found" error.

We checked all the usual suspects: IIS running, ASP.NET installed, Web site and virtual directory set up and configured correctly, permissions, checked for a App_Offline.htm file, and so on.

Everything looked good, and we still couldn't see the page. I thought this was odd, we should be seeing something. I then decided to try viewing some static items like images, and some html pages that we in the Web site as well. Wow, these would actually come through fine every time. For some reason, ASP.NET just didn't like us.

I have to admit, I didn't see the answer at this point and I turned to the Web. It took some considerable search-fu, but after a little while I was able to find the source of our troubles.

By default Windows Server 2003 has a security policy enabled that prevents Active Server Pages from running.

Here's all you need to do if you ever run into this:

Open IIS manager, and check Web Service Extension folder, make sure ASP.NET extension is listed and marked as "Allowed".

I couldn't believe it, on Christmas Eve 2007 my XBox 360 came down with the "Red Ring of Death". I was a little worried at first, because I have had my XBox 360 for well over a year now and I didn't think it was still covered under warranty. I checked and repairs would cost around $150, but then I found out that I wouldn't be charged anything since Microsoft has extended the warranty for up to three years.

What was really cool is the return process can all be done online: http://www.xbox.com/support/contact.

I choose this option and received my free return shipping box today, in about a week even with the holidays, and the weekend. All in all, so far, it hasn't been a bad experience at all.

So tomorrow I'll mail my XBox 360 back to Microsoft and hopefully soon I shall see her again, safe and sound and ready for me to unlock the Dead Rising Zombie Genocider Achievement.

Zombie Genocider (20)- TYPE: 1 Play REQ: Defeat at least 53,594 zombies. [NOTE: The population of Willamette, Colorado before the zombie outbreak was 53,594.]

Another year and another 365 days, actually another 366 days since 2008 is a leap year.

Cool Fact:

February 2008 has five Fridays - it starts and ends on a Friday. Between 1904 and 2096, leap years with same day of week for each date repeat every 28 years which means that the last time February had 5 Fridays was in 1980 and next time will be in 2036.

It's nice to know if you ever want to find information about "The Princess Bride" all you have to do is simply search for the word inconceivable.

I couldn't resist it, even though I already have a copy of "The Princess Bride", I simply had to order the new "20th Anniversary Collector's Edition".

I have to admit I've come close to buying "The Princess Bride - Dread Pirate Edition" already. Honestly, I think the 180 degree symmetrical logo is what did me in. I mean who is that smart that they can come up with something like that? I don't know how many times I flipped the DVD case saying, "Wow, it still says The Princess Bride". That's just cool. (Okay, I guess it doesn't take too much to amuse me either then.)

I've played  a lot, and I do mean a lot of Star Wars games over the years, but Star Wars: The Force Unleashed looks like it might be the Chosen One.

LucasArts is saying this will be the biggest and most intense Jedi game yet. Let's just saying say seeing Darth Vader's secret padewan pulling a star destroyer out of the sky and crashing it into the ground in front of him is - AWESOME!

Maybe you would expect Vader's pupil to use the force to dominate the weak minded pilots of the star destroyer, or maybe to manipulate the guidance system of of the ship through some unknown force technique, but no this dude is direct. He reaches up towards the sky and pulls the huge ship out of the clouds almost as simply as a child might take an apple from a tree.

If you have Windows Vista Ultimate, then maybe you have experienced Windows DreamScene.

If you want to learn more about Windows DreamScenes check out my earlier article, What is a Dream? Or watch the video I made below for a taste of the feature.

Many newer Windows Mobile devices have powerful graphics capabilities. Most now have some support for Mobile DirectX.

I think the Windows Mobile user interface and user experience would be greatly enhanced by the addition of a DreamScene for Windows Mobile feature.

Right now UI and UX is one of the key purchase decisions points. The hardware is there, the software is ready, and the market is here.

This is a great feature for Windows Mobile 7, or Windows Mobile 8.

If you agree you can vote or replay on my post on the Windows Mobile Owners Circle Suggestion Box.

We went and saw I am Legend last night. I think everyone enjoyed it and had fun watching it. It definitely had its "jump" moments. One of the more memorable ones was when the audience see how much gas cost before the infection spread throughout the population.

High Definition Trailer

Update:

Okay, okay. They're not zombies. They are more like zombified vampires, or some such hybrid-monster.

I was reading Wired's article: Review: I Am Legend Thrills, Then Chills, and it reminded me of something.

"... did anyone else notice during an opening shot, sandwiched between posters for Broadway shows, there was a billboard showing the Batman symbol with the Superman logo superimposed over it and the date, 6.15.2010, etched below both?"

I noticed that too.

I couldn't resist making the trip down to Columbia, SC to experience the Columbia Enterprise Developers Guild's Visual Studio 2008 Install Fest.

Glen Gordon and Chris Eargle did a great job hosting this event.

There were a little over 25 attend, and everyone walked away with a copy of Visual Studio 2008 Professional.

During the event everyone had an opportunity to experience Halo 3 and Rock Band for the XBox 360.

And there was a special appearance by Halo's Master Chief himself. I don't have any actual pictures, but the image below is close to the experience.

Microsoft has created another awesome resource for Windows Mobile developers!

INNOVATE ON Windows Mobile located at http://www.innovateonwindowsmobile.com/.

Scott Hanselman posted an awesome music video a friend of his, Matt Hempey, did with his band, The Richter Scales. It's really, really good.

Ars Technica has a good write up of Windows Live Messenger 9 Beta.

Windows Live Messenger 9 Features

• Multiple Points of Presence Support: Ever been annoyed by the fact that logging onto Messenger from another computer logs you out of the first one? If so, you'll be glad to be able to log on from multiple locations at once. And so will you.
• Signature sounds: Find new and creative ways to annoy your coworkers with personalized sound signatures.
• Per-contact sounds: That one friend who keeps annoying you with constant IM's? Give them a rude sound.
• Animated .GIF display pictures: Now your friends can be forced to look at your baby while he's making silly faces.
• Links in status messages: As if there wasn't enough to click on, now URLs in the status bar can be clicked.
• Anti-spam filter: You can now report users who spam you via IM, which should do absolutely nothing to stop them in future.

Get the new Windows Live Messenger 9 Beta

I can't believe it is already Thanksgiving. The year has just flown by.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the holidays!

Chris Williams has a post on his blog listing some of his best Halloween movie picks.

Here are mine:

IMDB: Army of Darkness	IMDB: Hannibal	IMDB: Shaun of the Dead

Yesterday, Saturday, October 20, 2007, I did a presentation at the Fall 2007 Charlotte Code Camp. I actually ended up doing an encore presentation due to the overwhelming number of people who showed up. My presentation was titled "Visual Studio 2005 Tips & Tricks".

Presentation Highlights:

• Tons and tons of Visual Studio 2005 keyboard shortcuts
• Windows keyboard shortcuts
• Internet Web browser shortcuts
• Many developer utilities and tools for Visual Studio 2005
• and more..

If you attended the event, or are just curious, and would like to have the slide deck I presented just use the link below:

Visual Studio 2005 Tips & Tricks Presentation PowerPoint

Right now you can get a free USB 2.0 2GB Flash Drive when you buy CA Internet Security Suite 2007, which includes Anti-Virus, Personal Firewall, Anti-Spyware, Anti-Spam, and more.

It comes with three licenses, and it is Vista compatible. The Flash Drive is tiny, and can be snapped into a credit card size carry case if desired. Also the flash drive is ReadyBoost capable.

It is a free after rebate deal, $59.99 before rebate at CircuitCity.com, or you can buy it off eBay for around $20-$25 after shipping.

What do you get when you combine Star Wars and the Family Guy?

Family Guy: Blue Harvest - Sunday, September 23 9/8c

Family Guy Star Wars Special Preview

Need more? How about what do you get when you combine Star Wars and the Simpsons?

Simpsons Star Wars Parody

I own quite a few of the APC UPS backup power products. And usually after two or three years, the UPS no longer work under load when the power goes out.

I tried buying replacements on eBay, but I wasn't happy with the quality of the third party products. They just didn't last as long. And I tired ordering replacements from APC, but I wasn't happy with the price. Seemed better to wait for a sale or deal to come around and just by a new UPS altogether.

Well not sure what changed but now you can find APC UPS replacement batteries on Buy.com for a fair price, IMHO.

Most desktop APC UPS solutions use the APC Replacement Battery Cartridge #2. Last I had checked, the price was $29.99 with free shipping. The price is only $19.99, if you qualify for $10 off for being a new Google checkout customer. You can search for other models too.

A nice bonus included in the price is that you get a box, and a prepaid return label so you can send your near-dead battery back to the recycling plant. So you can help protect the environment, while helping to protect your PC's.

If you are like me and have your machine set up to dual boot between multiple OS's then you are probably familiar with the following screen:

I installed Windows XP Professional, followed by Vista Ultimate 32-bit Edition. So I have the following choices:

Earlier Version of Windows

Microsoft Windows Vista

In Windows XP, if you had a dual boot set up you can rename boot items simply by modifying your boot.ini file. You'd see something like the following. And it was a simple matter to rename "Windows XP Professional" or "Windows 2000 Professional" as you saw fit.

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINNT="Windows 2000 Professional" /fastdetect

In Vista, the boot.ini has been deprecated and is no longer used. So how does one rename the vaguely named "Earlier Version of Windows"?

Just recently, I was exploring the PAE, or Physical Address Extension, feature in Vista and something caught my eye.

The command I used to enable my PAE was: BCDEdit /set PAE forceenable

The command I used to make sure the setting changed was: BCDEdit /enum

Windows Legacy OS Loader
------------------------
identifier              {ntldr}
device                  partition=D:
path                    \ntldr
description             Earlier Version of Windows

Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier              {current}
device                  partition=C:
path                    \Windows\system32\winload.exe
description             Microsoft Windows Vista
locale                  en-US
inherit                 {bootloadersettings}
osdevice                partition=C:
systemroot              \Windows
resumeobject            {24f09df2-46fc-11dc-bcba-e9d5c4ed2e43}
nx                      OptIn
pae                     Default

Opportunity was knocking, and I wasn't going to miss the chance to take advantage of it.

A little deductive reasoning and I had the following command: BCDEdit /set {ntldr} description "Microsoft Windows XP"

And then I received a "The operation completed successfully." message for my effort. And after a quick reboot, all is well.

A while back I bought a new desktop. One of the things I decided to do was go with 4GB's of RAM.

It was a no brainer. Newegg.com has a great deal on RAM. You can get 2 sticks of 1GB RAM, the good stuff, here for $88.99, or $53.99 after rebate. At that price I figured it made sense to go ahead and purchase 4GB's worth.

So I installed XP Professional 32-bit, and then I installed Vista 32-bit on my new machine so could dual boot as needed.

Hmm, not quite 4GB I was hoping for. Maybe I have a bad chip? We test all chips in all slots, everything looks good. BIOS and boot screen both report 4096 MB of RAM.

Windows Vista or Windows Server 2003 may report less memory than you expect
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929580/en-us

This problem occurs because the address space is limited to 4 GB in a 32-bit hardware environment. Memory may be relocated to make room for addresses that the basic input/output system (BIOS) reserves for hardware. However, because of this limitation, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Vista cannot access memory that is relocated above the 4 GB boundary.

Here are a few more sources of information if you'd like to learn more:

Coding Horror: Dude, Where's My 4 Gigabytes of RAM [You can really learn something here.]

AddressOf.com:  Windows Vista supports 4GB of memory. Sure it does...

Chris Pirillo: 32-Bit Windows and 4GB of RAM

RunQA.com: Windows Vista 4GB RAM shows up as 3.2GB why?

It doesn't look like I have a chance, but maybe I can squeeze out a few more megabytes than 3007 if I can change some related settings.

I little research, and I learned how to enable PAE, or Physical Address Extension, on Vista here.

Alright, now BIOS says I have 3007 MB of RAM, so I've made the situation even worse.

I try setting my BIOS, called Memory Remap Feature, to move PCI memory addresses above the 4GB space, and see if that helps.

Hmm, well I have 4 GB of RAM in my BIOS now, but Vista says I only have 2047 MB of RAM so that's not what I want.

I even disabled PAE and left the Memory Remap Feature enabled just to in case, and still only gave me 2047 MB of RAM in Vista.

Before Memory (RAM): 3007 MB

After Memory (RAM): 3007 MB

That only leaves one thing to do if you want 4GB, or more RAM in Vista, or really much more than 3GB. Install Vista 64-bit Edition.

Much better, much better. (Ha, Just so you know Windows Live Writer will not install on Vista 64-Bit Edition.)

I was reading Casey Chestnut's Blog post, "Silverlight isnt everywhere", and once again I agree with Casey.

It wasn't too long ago that Casey and I were both hoping Microsoft would take advantage of the Compact Framework and move it onto the XBox 360. In this case, Microsoft recognized the same possibilities as us, and the XNA platform was created.

Microsoft Silverlight is a web-based subset of WPF. During development it was named WPF/E, which stood for "Windows Presentation Foundation Everywhere".

It reminds me of the joke, "Friendly fire isn't." And now we have, "Windows Presentation Foundation Everywhere" isn't.

Casey's right: It would be a brilliant move on Microsoft's part to port Silverlight to every platform they can including Windows Mobile, XBox 360, and MCE.

• Windows Mobile has a tough fight on its hands with the iPhone. And it does look like Silverlight will be coming to Windows Mobile in some format or another.

Silverlight for Windows Mobile YouTube video

• XBox 360 has a tough fight on its hands with the Wii. The XBox 360 does not even have a Web browse r. What gives? Wii can play Flash games. Now imagine if the XBox 360 could play Silverlight games!

Now Microsoft will use Silverlight to advertise the XBox 360 on Microsoft.com, and that is great and all, but it is so short sighted. We can do better. We are so close.

Heck, I even think Silverlight is a great opportunity for Microsoft to bring back the AutoPC platform.

I've been with Bank of America for at least a decade, quite possibly a dozen years now. Well, I've been with the same bank that whole time, just now it's name is Bank of America, previously know as NationsBank. And while sometimes I think I'm getting the shorter end of the stick, overall I've been very happy with my choice.

But lately I've been having second thoughts...

Recently, Bank of America updated that ATM in the area where I live. They can now scan deposits, whether they be checks or cash.

Here are some more details: Bank of America to Improve ATM Deposits.

To be honest, at first I was really excited as I always found it to be a chore to have to fill out a deposit slip and everything else. This new method would be more efficient, cheaper, quicker, and less error prone. Sign me up!

There's only one problem. It doesn't work. It never works for any of the checks I have. And on all the ATM's I've tried if the machine can't OCR the check's information then it doesn't give me the opportunity to tell the ATM the amounts. I basically get to try a few times, and then the machine rejects the transaction.

Please, Bank of America, pretty please, let's be friends, and let me give you my money. Oh well, hopefully soon they work out the kinks and this will be the awesome system it is capable of being.

So do you have a computer? Then you probably have your own Niagara Falls of computer cables pouring off at least one edge of your computer desk.

Is there anything we can do to solve this problem?

Most of us have seen those fancy Velcro ties that companies like APC make. They generally sell in packs of six, with an average cost of one or two dollars per Velcro tie.

The best deal I have seen so far is for a 50 pack of 8" Velcro Reusable Ties for 5$. You can find them in either black or gray. Sometimes I can find them in the stores but most times I have to order then online here.

They aren't as nice as the high end APC manufactured ones, but they are usually more than strong enough.

I think you'll find that you and your army of fifty of your new friends have a much better chance of surviving the battle against the probably fifty evil cable overlords that take over your computer desk.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Topic: Visual Studio .NET Tips and Tricks - Part II

Tuesday, September 11, 2007, is our next meeting of  Pee Dee Area .NET User's Group.

Chris Craft, from ACS Technologies, will be presenting Visual Studio .NET Tips and Tricks - Part II.

Material from Part I will be recovered for any of those who may have missed it, and new tips and tricks will be presented.

Visual Studio .NET is filled with thousands of features and capabilities that make our lives as developers more efficient. The number of features that Visual Studio .NET contains is immense. The Visual Studio .NET Tips and Tricks presentation is a compilation of my favorite, and most popular, tips and tricks for this great IDE. Developers who are unaware of these timesaving features miss out on opportunities to increase their programming productivity and effectiveness. This Visual Studio .NET Tips and Tricks presentation is meant to explain how to use Visual Studio .NET more effectively.

See you there!

Here is the tentative schedule:
6:00 PM - 6:20 PM Socializing / Dinner
6:20 PM - 6:30 PM Introduction, Sponsor Time, and News.
6:30 PM - 7:45 PM Presentation
7:45 PM - 8:00 PM Drawing and Wrap Up
Please subscribe to the PDANUG Upcoming Events and News Feed here.

Good News : Free Games . Bad News : Ad Supported. They just show up in menus and load screens, not during actual game play, so I think it will be okay.

More Bad News : You will have to get an account to FilePlanet.com, but it can be the free one. Just create an account don't choose a membership.

Far Cry Full Game [Free Game - Ad Supported] Details

Step into the role of John Carver as he escapes a brutal kidnapping and finds himself on a tropical island full of mercenaries. Rely on firepower, strategy, and stealth as you assault each open-ended area on your own terms!

This free game is supported by in-game advertising.

Download Here

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Full Game [Free Game - Ad Supported] Details

The Prince returns in this stunning action adventure game with a unique time-manipulation mechanic and intense combat.

This free game is supported by in-game advertising.

Download Here

Rayman Raving Rabbids [Free Game - Ad Supported] Details

Rayman Raving Rabbids marks the return of the iconic video-game hero, Rayman, in his funniest and zaniest adventure ever. When the world of Rayman is threatened by a devastating invasion of crazed, out-of-control bunnies Rayman must rise up against his furry foes to foil their wicked plans.

This free game is supported by in-game advertising.

Download Here

Sometimes, I've found it advantageous to run Vista with User Account Control off. I'm not sure if it is the right choice, actually for most users, in most situations it's a big mistake, kind of like driving without your headlights on.

For better or worse here's how to do it.

Enter "User Accounts" in the Vista search / launch prompt.

Now choose "User Accounts" at the top of the Vista launch menu.

You can also get there by opening the Control Panel and searching for "User Accounts".

Now you'll need to find the Turn User Account Control on or off option.

Simply enable or disable the checkbox to match your preference and your are set.

By the way, you can enable and disable the User Account Control from a command prompt if you so desire:

Disable User Account Control

C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /k %windir%\System32\reg.exe ADD HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /v EnableLUA /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

Enable User Account Control

C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /k %windir%\System32\reg.exe ADD HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /v EnableLUA /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

Now you have done it. You've gone and upset the Windows Security Center.

Here's how to appease it, and grant yourself a reprieve.

You could disable ALL Security Center notifications, but I think that is a bad idea, by following this guide.

Or you could modify your registry and just disable the User Account Control warning message, by following these instructions.

Today I was greeted by the following dialog box:

I immediately thought, "Hmm, that's strange. Why is my C:\ drive not trusted all of a sudden? It's works fine for all my other existing projects. What's special about this new one?"

I had the answer, but I didn't realize it at the time. After reading Scott Hanselman's Sharpen the Saw for Developers article, I had wanted to check out the source code for DotNetKicks. So I had downloaded the source code, and extracted it to my C:\Projects\ folder.

I started to search for more information about this "The project location is not trusted" error message I was getting, and I found out the following:

First, I found this on MSDN

The Project Location is Not Trusted Dialog Box

This dialog box appears if you attempt to open or create a client project on a Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path. By default, a UNC path is not a trusted location for a project. Your project might not run correctly when you attempt to debug or run from this location.

 That is definitely the dialog box I was getting. Now I was concerned. One thing I am sure of, is that if my computer thinks my C:\ driver is an untrusted UNC path, I was going to be in a world of hurt, if I didn't find and fix the fundamental issue.

This information also concerned me because I was using a Virtual PC to try and open this project with. And I started to wondering if this was somehow playing a part in the issue.

Next, I found the same issue on Dave's Tech Shop

Dave didn't have the answer to my problem, but he did discuss how to give FullTrust permission to a UNC path.

Finally, I discovered Stephen Cawood's Geek Literature blog, and his article .Net project location is not trusted.

Stephen explains that there is a new security feature that applies to downloaded zip files. What I learned completely surprised me, since I've downloaded countless projects before and had never seen nor heard of this before.

Here's what I had to do to unblock the project I had extracted from a zip I had downloaded off the Internet.

 

Right-click the Zip file, choose Properties, click Unblock, click Apply and then unzip.

Why does it have to be so hard to simply install SQL Server 2005? Why can't I simply load a DVD into my computer, see a well designed and thought out install dashboard, make a few choices and click install?

The installation adventure for SQL Server 2005 is some kind of man versus machine epic battle. In one corner you have some poor soul who would like to get some work done today, in the other corner you have Legion. Legion is comprised of many souls including but most certainly not limited to the following: SQL Server Itanium, SQL Server x64, SQL Server x86, 32 bit, 64 bit, Developer Edition, SP1, and so on. Individually all of these things are great. Once you manage to extract the piece you are seeking all is good in the world.  But as long as they are combined into one mindless mob and you have trouble.

Why did the SQL Server 2005 setup application have to be written as a Web application? Was this the best choice for a setup application that runs off of a DVD? Were there any pros to a pseudo Web deployment package? Well, here are some cons:

Scary dialog, that warns me about potential security and privacy issues I should be aware of and avoid.

See, if this wasn't a Web page it could probably detect what Platform I was on and everything.

I'll go ahead and help it out, and choose SQL Server 2005 Developer Edition (English). Too bad I can't give any extra point for getting language right, since English was the only language on the DVD.

Now what should I do? Hmm, autorun.inf says run the HTML application "splash.hta", but this is Web application isn't it? so shouldn't I choose the HTML Document "default.htm"?
Is this background information I know fair to expect of all users? What about new developers? Does this create an artificial learning curve up front? Nobody can use it, until they figure out how to install it.

If you choose default.htm, which I still maintain is a reasonable choice, you will see the above, which reminds me of seeing "You Have Died of Dysentery" message in the old Oregon Trail game you may have played as a kid. At this point you can once again click and "Allow Blocked Content...". Well forcing me to confirm twice is okay because it is just Microsoft left hand watching out for Microsoft's right hand. I can understand that.

Hey where do you think you are going? Don't you know about allowing active content? Are you sure you want to let this file run active content?

Oh, you are. Well, too bad because you have an "Error on page." and nothing is going to happen. So ha. See what I mean about dying of dysentery? Sucks doesn't it?

Alright, some how or another you manage to recover from your dysentery, and make it back to the earlier step and choose "splash.hta". After realizing, that it followed that something named splash must be the installation executable.
Oh look, it needs us to tell it what Platform we are using, AGAIN. Not only can it not determine this on it own, which I'll admit maybe I do want to install the 32-bit (x86) version on my 64-bit OS, but at least remember once I tell you.

Oh boy, looks like we are getting close now. One problem I have with this screen is that nothing is selected by default. I would have one option, probably the "Install Server components, tools, Books Online, and samples" already selected in some manner, even if the text were only marked as bold.
Keep in mind all of the dialogs and forms are building up on our desktop. We now have at least three or four different active dialogs open right now.
If we were to choose an item in the above dialog it would open yet another dialog. One final usability treat is that once you pick a main option of this dialog, it will close itself and only itself. So if you wanted to do more than one thing it has listed, which it looks like it is encouraging then you can either sort through all the open dialogs you have already, or even more fun if you closed any of them, start all over again.
One more thing to note is this screen is labeled as SQL Server 2005 (Disc 1 of 2) is there another dialog for SQL Server (Disc 2 of 2)? One can only wonder considering this DVD is Disc 1 of 1.

Oh yeah! We are about half way through our adventure at this point, but the worst is behind us. From here most hardy adventurers make it to the promised land of our forefathers, and I have confidence you will too.

Take note, that it is after this point that Microsoft ask for your permission to log errors and issues, and track usage to help them improve Microsoft SQL Server, maybe it should be at the beginning of the setup application and not the end?

Gordon: And what about escalation?
Batman: Escalation?
Gordon: We start carrying semi-automatics, they buy automatics. We start wearing Kevlar...they buy armor-piercing rounds.
Batman: And?
Gordon: And you're wearing a mask… and jumping off rooftops. Now, take this new guy. Armed robbery, double homicide.
Got a taste for the theatrical. Like you. Leaves a calling card. [hands Batman a Joker playing card]

BioShock uses the latest version of SecureROM technology which includes an authentication technology similar to the activation process that is used in Windows XP and Windows Vista, with a very strict limitation. You may only install the software twice ever. It does appear they do allow you to install the game twice on two machines if you'd like. And I think you can play simultaneously.

I did find out that if you uninstall BioShock, then you are credited back for the installation. That means as long as your hardware doesn't crash, you don't replace any hard drives with out first uninstalling BioShock while connected to the Internet, then you will be able to continue using BioShock.

You are allowed to contact SecureROM in the event you were unlucky and explain to the powers that be why you deserve another chance.

I believe Office 2007 has this "feature" as well, when it comes to handling volume licence users. If you had 10 licenses, as long as you remembered to uninstall before you formatted, and as long as you knew you needed to, you weren't using up licenses. When did we find out, on our eleventh install, after we called Microsoft up to explain there were only like 8 of us using the software.

My biggest complaint is, it takes a long time to install and setup up a machine, soon it will take just as long to uninstall and clean a machine just to be able to safely format it and start over and keep your software.

Over all it's not a real issue that I think will hinder me, but I don't feel that it helps me either. In the past I've waited until a PC was on its last leg before formatting it, now I may be taking a risk on losing my software long term. And I'm not sure one Mulligan is enough.

It's seems like everyone is in love with this game. If you can get it to run on your system it's a good bet you will be too.

Source: GameStats.com

BioShock is one of the very few Direct X 10 Games that are available now, or anytime soon.

Think you got what it takes to play BioShock? Read 'em and weep.

Operating Systems: Windows XP (with Service Pack 2) or Windows Vista

Minimum System Requirements:
CPU: Pentium 4 2.4GHz Single Core processor
System RAM: 1GB
Video Card: Direct X 9.0c compliant video card with 128MB RAM (NVIDIA 6600 or better/ATI X1300 or better, excluding ATI X1550).
Sound Card: 100% direct X 9.0c compatible sound card
Hard disk space: 8GB free space

Recommended System Requirements:
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo processor
System RAM: 2GB
Video card:
DX9: Direct X 9.0c compliant video card with 512MB RAM (NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GT or better)
DX10: NVIDIA GeForce 8600 or better
Sound Card: Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ series (Optimized for use with Creative Labs EAX ADVANCED HD 4.0 or EAX ADVANCED HD 5.0 compatible sound cards)

Vista Experience Score:
Processor: 5.0
Memory (RAM): 5.2
Aero Graphics: 5.3
Gaming Graphics: 5.4
Primary Hard Disk: 5.4

Important Note: Game requires Internet connection for activation

The demo for BioShock is 1888 MB alone! So right there you have a hurdle to overcome. You can try downloading it from one of the gaming sites, but most are overwhelmed right now. It is available on Bittorrent from what I read. I wanted to download it from Steam, but even they were maxed out. I ended up using GW Channel's PowerGrid application to stream it down at speeds averaging 3,912 Kbps. Whoo, hoo!

Scott Hanselman's blog, at ComputerZen.com, is one of my favorites. He seems to always have the best answers to the worst problems.

Recently I had purchased a Western Digital MyBook 500GB External Hard Drive. (I managed to find them at a local Sam's Club for only $120, which was a steal at the time.)

I installed and setup the external hard drive and collected at least 200GB worth of data on it before I noticed something. "This hard drive came formatted as FAT32, which doesn't support files larger than 4 gigs."

This was a problem for me for two reasons. I wanted to use the external hard drive for both Virtual PC images and PC backup images, both of which can be larger than 4 gigs.

I knew I could copy off all my data and then format the drive as NTFS, but this meant finding over 200GB of free space on my network, which I could do but would be a hassle to do and the undo again.

Fortunately for me I remembered an article I had read on Scott's blog: "The Duh Files - The file is too large for the destination file system".

C:\Users\CJCraft>convert /?
Converts a FAT volume to NTFS.

CONVERT volume /FS:NTFS [/V] [/CvtArea:filename] [/NoSecurity] [/X]

  volume      Specifies the drive letter (followed by a colon),
              mount point, or volume name.
  /FS:NTFS    Specifies that the volume will be converted to NTFS.
  /V          Specifies that Convert will be run in verbose mode.
  /CvtArea:filename
              Specifies a contiguous file in the root directory
              that will be the place holder for NTFS system files.
  /NoSecurity Specifies that the security settings on the converted
              files and directories allow access by all users.
  /X          Forces the volume to dismount first if necessary.
              All open handles to the volume will not be valid.

Brilliant, simply brilliant. Thanks again, Scott.

What is the PopSci Predictions Exchange?

It's The Hollywood Stock Exchange for science and technology.

You get $250,000 in virtual PopSci dollars. Then you can expand your portfolio with bets on energy, space, consumer technology and extreme science, and compete against other players for prizes and bragging rights (So far I'm up $20,994).

So far here's my portfolio:

Overall Rank: 369 of 2465 (percentile: 85%)

• iPhone Hack in First Two Months (IPHACK) 5.36%
  • Will the iPhone be hacked to run third-party applications within two months of its U.S. release?
  • If nothing else it'll run DOOM. It's already on almost the entire Apple iPod line. I've made 5.36% on this one so far.
    
• PlayStation 3 Wins Console Wars (PS3WINS) 12.36%
  • Will the PlayStation 3 outsell both the Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Wii by the end of 2009?
  • I can't see the Playstation 3 making this kind of come back. So I'm shorting selling this one. I'll make money if the price goes down, which it will , -12.36% already.
    
• Skydiving Altitude Record Broken (SKYDV) 9.55%
  • Will a human successfully break the world record for skydiving of 102,800 feet by the end of 2009?
  • So let's see. There is a world record of 102,800 feet. Alright well then someone can do 102,801. Easy money.
    
• Major U.S. Hurricane in 2007 (HURICAN) 13.87%
  • Will a Category 3, 4 or 5 hurricane make landfall within the U.S. this year?
  • Weather seems a little volatile lately, and fairly good odds to me on this one. 13.87% and counting.
    
• Google Overtakes Yahoo (GOOGL) 17.07%
  • Will Google.com overtake Yahoo.com as the world's most trafficked Web site by the end of 2007?
  • To me Yahoo seems more like a portal site to me than Google, but I couldn't resist the easy profit due to market popularity. This one might max out the way it is going.

This is a long video, a little over eight minutes, but it is so worth seeing. It has several plot twists in it, worthy of M. Night Shyamalan himself. Just wait, Disney will make a movie out of this yet.

Corporate Comedy by Corporate Comedian Don McMillan.

This is a great PowerPoint presentation on how NOT to do PowerPoint presentations . It's about 4 minutes of pure PowerPoint wisdom, plus its hilarious.

How NOT to user PowerPoint by comedian Don McMillian

I've post an article about Microsoft Popfly on CodeProject.com.

CodeProject.com: Meet Microsoft Popfly: Part I - Mashup App Creator Built On Silverlight

It covers the following areas:

Popfly Space	Popfly Web Page Creator
Popfly Mashup Creator	Popfly Block Creator

If there is enough interest, then I'll do a part two on building mashups, and a part three on creating Popfly blocks.

I just saw on Robert Scoble's Blog that Microsoft has released a new version of Windows Live Writer. And I thought the previous version was good.

Since I both use and really like Windows Liver Writer, and its Free, I figured I give my endorsement and big thanks to the team for great job.

"Writer is a desktop application that makes it easy to publish rich content to your blog."

Highlights of New or Improved Features

• Inline spell checking
• Table editing
• Ability to add categories
• New look and feel

Key Features

• Compatible with your blog service
• WYSIWYG editing
• Rich media publishing
• Powerful editing features
• Offline editing

Developer Community

• Blog
• Community Plugins - here are three I'm trying out.
• Insert Spaces Emoticon
• Allows you to insert a Live Spaces Emoticon into your blog entry
• Paste from Visual Studio
• Easily transfer syntax highlighted source code from Visual Studio to elegant HTML in Windows Live Writer.
• XFN Link Editor
• This plugin enables Windows Live Writer to insert XFN (XHTML Friends Network) aware links.
• Forum
• Developers
• Provider Customization API

[Download]

---

There are new versions of Windows Live Messenger 8.5 Beta and Windows Live Mail as well.

I've put together a beginner's introduction into Silverlight on CodeProject.com. The article covers how to use Silverlight to create the famous Sierpinki Triangle fractal. It's really meant to help someone who wants to create their first Silverlight experience, but then again maybe that's you?

Sierpinski Triangle - An Introduction into Silverlight by Example

There's a whole set of "Hi, I'm a Marvel... and I'm a DC." parodies on YouTube. They are terrific, made my day. There are nine of them in total, and they crack me up. I think I'll watch them again.

I've been using Popfly for just a short while now, and while I do enjoy the drag and drop visual design surface, it doesn't lend itself to text lists very well. Sometimes I just want a text list of all my possibilities in one place.

This "Cheat Sheet" covers the top 50 official Popfly blocks, and not any end user created blocks. There's almost another 50 of those as well.

I figured I'm probably not the only one so here's my list. I created the list using the Block Inspector Block's getOperations method.

Overtime I'll probably spruce this up some and add more detailed information. Hope it helps!

  BLaugh Block

• getRandomComics
• getComic

 Block Inspector Block

• getOperations
• getAllowedValues

 Calculator Block

• getRandomWholeNumber
• getRandomNumber
• getMaximum
• getMinimum
• round
• add
• subtract
• multiply
• divide

 Carousel Block

• addImage
• setFrameColor
• setAttribution

 Combine Block

• combineTwoLists
• combineThreeLists

 Conversation Block

• addMessage

 Digg Block

• GetStories
• GetPopularStories
• GetUpcomingStories
• GetStoriesByContainer
• GetPopularStoriesByContainer
• GetUpcomingStoriesByContainer
• GetStoriesByTopic
• GetPopularStoriesByTopic
• GetUpcomingStoriesByTopic
• GetStoryByStoryId
• GetStoriesByUser
• GetTopics
• GetTopicByName
• GetUsers
• GetUser
• GetUserFriends
• GetUserFans

 Digital Podcast Block

• Search

 Facebook Block

• getFriends
• getUserInfo
• getPhotosOfMe
• getPhotos
• getPhotoAlbums
• getGroups

 Filter Block

• filter
• truncate

 flickr Block

• getGeotaggedPhotos
• getPhotos
• getTags
• getUserPhotos
• getPhotoset

 Gauge Block

• setValue
• increaseValue

 GameTrailers Block

• getFeeds
• getTrailers

 GeoNames Block

• getLatitudeAndLongitude
• lookupOnPlaceName
• lookupOnLatitudeLongitude
• lookupOnZipCode
• lookupOnCityState

 Image Scaper Block

• getImages
• getUniqueImages

 Image Comment Block

• comment

 Indeed Jobs Block

• search

 Live Spaces Block

• getPhotos
• getFriends
• getLists

 MSN Horoscopes

• getMonthlyHoroscope
• getWeeklyHoroscope
• getDailyHoroscope

 MSN News Feeds

• TopBoxOffice
• JimJubekMoneyCentralColumn
• LizPulliamMoneyCentralColumn
• InCarNation
• TopCelebrities
• TopMovieRentals
• InTheaters
• ComingSoon
• TopStories

 My Live Contacts Block

• getContacts

 News Reader Block

• addNewsItem

 Page Turner Block

• addNewsItem

 PhotoFlip Block

• addImage

 PhotoSphere Block

• addImage

 PhotoStack Block

• addImage

PhotoTiles Block

• addImage

RegExp Block

• getMatches
• isMatch
• isWholeNumber

 RSS Block

• getItems
• getFeed

 SeattlePublicLibrary Block

• getBooks

 Slideshow Block

• addImage

 Snipshot Block

• editImage

 SoapBox Block

• search
• getFeaturedVideos

 Sort Block

• sort

 Stock Quotes

• getStockGraph
• getQuote

 Text Helper Block

• getSubstring
• append
• skipFirstCharacters
• split

 Timer Block

• tick

 Trynt Block

• calculateLoveFactor

 Twitter Block

• getLatestPosts
• getFriendsPosts

 Upcoming Block

• findEvents

 User Input Block

• getText
• getTwoTextValues
• getThreeTextValues
• getChoiceFromDropdown
• getTwoChoicesFromDropdowns
• getThreeChoicesFromDropdowns
• getTextAndChoice

 Video Player Block

• findEvents

 Virtual Earth Block

• addPushpin
• setMapView
• drawLine
• deleteAllPushpins

 Whack-A-Mole Block

• addImage

 Yahoo! Answers Block

• getAnswers

 Yahoo! Images Block

• search

 Yahoo! News Block

• search

 Yahoo! Term Extraction Block

• getTerm

 Yahoo! Traffic Block

• getTrafficForAddress
• getTrafficForZipCode
• getTrafficForCoordinates

 Yahoo! Video Block

• search

 XBox Live Block

• getGamerCard
• getLastPlayedGames
• getPlayerPresence

"Moonlight is sculpture."

— Nathaniel Hawthorne

Microsoft Top Banana Silverlight Application: watch Video Interview, watch Video Presentation

Adventures In SoftwareLand: Silverlight is going to be huge for MicroISVs

Hannes Preishuber: Silverlight Slot Machine

Ozzie Rules Blogging: Writing a Windows Sidebar Gadget in Silverlight-dead simple!

Ozzie Rules Blogging: Easily create cool XAML objects from the WMF files/Clipart collection

"The intellect of the wise is like glass; it admits the light of heaven and reflects it."

— Augustus Hare

Ezequiel Jadib - Silverlight: Where to start?: excellent collection of Silverlight resources

The Code Project - Sierpinski Triangle - An Introduction into Silverlight by Example

ScottGu's Blog - Tip/Trick: Supporting Full Screen Mode with Silverlight

Silverlight first steps: Getting started with simple analog clock - Build Silverlight in Notepad

Free: Clinic 5135: Introduction to Developing with Windows® Presentation Foundation and Visual Studio® 2005

The Sierpinski triangle, also called the Sierpinski gasket, is a fractal named after Wacław Sierpiński who described it in 1915. Originally constructed as a curve, this is one of the basic examples of self-similar sets.

View Silverlight Sierpinski Triangle demo

Download Silverlight Sierpinski Triangle source code

Note: The background stripes are from Stripe Generator - ajax diagonal stripes background designer, very cool Web 2.0 stripe generator.

As promised, I have updated the Silverlights Out game. Really all I did was give it a new paint job, so it looks as cool as it really is. :) Animated scrolling starfield background, transparency, and those cool glass icons everyone likes to use these days.

Silverlights Out 2.0

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Topic: Real-World Windows Communication Foundation
Our next event will be held on Tuesday, May 8th, 2007. Thad Smith, from ACS Technologies will be presenting real-world development with Windows Communication Foundation. This presentation will include pragmatic approaches to utilizing the Windows Communication Foundation in your solutions.  See you there!

Here is the tentative schedule:

6:00 PM - 6:20 PM Socializing / Dinner
6:20 PM - 6:30 PM Introduction, Sponsor Time, and News.
6:30 PM - 7:45 PM Presentation
7:45 PM - 8:00 PM Drawing and Wrap Up

PDANUG serves the Pee Dee Area of South Carolina. Our group focuses on the .NET Framework and related technologies. We cordially invite anyone that is interested to join us at our monthly gatherings. You can find more information on our meeting location and topcis below. You may also contact us by emailing admin@pdanug.net for more information.

If you are interested in our group, please register! This helps us gain an understanding for who is interested in attending our events.

Click Here for detailed driving directions

So you're downloading the eight 743.9 MB files needed to install Visual Studio Code Name "Orcas", and you're thinking to yourself, "Self, there HAS to be a better way."

Well, there is. Two simple registry changes and you can go from 2 maximum downloads to 10!

Oh BTW, we're working with the Registry so you know the drill. Be careful. Enter at your own risk.

Increasing IE's Maximum Concurrent Downloads Setting

1. Click on the Start button and select Run.
   
2. On the Run line type Regedt32.exe and hit Enter.
   This will launch the Registry Editor.
   
3. Locate the following key in the registry:
   

   
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings

4. Click on the Internet Settings Key. Now go to the Edit menu, point to NEW, and click DWORD Value.
   
5. Type MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server for the name of this DWORD Value.
   
6. Double-click on the MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server key you just created and enter the following information:
   
   • Value data: 10
   • Base: Decimal
     
7. When finished press OK.
   
8. Click on the Internet Settings Key. Now go to the Edit menu, point to NEW, and click DWORD Value.
   
9. Type MaxConnectionsPerServer for the name of this DWORD Value.
   
10. Double-click on the MaxConnectionsPerServer key you just created and enter the following information:
    
    • Value data: 10
    • Base: Decimal
      
11. When finished press OK.
    
12. Close the Registry Editor.

It was really hard for me to find the settings needed to configure a server to "serve" Silverlight applications. So I've posted them here. Hopefully it will help someone.

These are really for WPF, but they worked fine for me with deploying Silverlight applications. The key ones are highlighted in a bold green.

Register MIME Types and File Extensions

You must register several MIME types and file extensions so that the browser on the client's system can load the correct handler. You need to add the following types:

I couldn't resist jumping on the Silverlight bandwagon. So I created a Silverlights Out game. Just something quick and dirty to get a feel for the technology.

I had to try and improve on the orginal so I'd made the game toggle lights across borders. So if you click on a light on the left, it will effect the light on the other side and vice versa. Enjoy. :)

I've got some plans for some nice improvements, so stayed tuned.

Silverlights Out

See it!
http://www.cjcraft.com/Blog/content/binary/silverlightsout.gif

Use It!
http://cjcraft.com/silverlight/silverlightsout/silverlightsout.html

Download It! (source code and all) [quick and dirty garage project, that's why it is so CHEAP]
http://cjcraft.com/silverlight/silverlightsout/silverlightsout.zip

Umm, Describe It!

Lights out is a one player puzzle that is played on a 5 by 5 grid of squares in which every square has two states: on and off. The game starts off with all squares off, where the goal is to turn on every square. By selecting a square, all the surrounding squares' (up, down, left, right) state is turned toggled. For example, on a 3 by 3 grid of squares with all squares off, if the center one is selected, it will turn "on" the 4 up, down, left, right squares from it.

We all went to see Spider-Man 3 last night and had a blast, lots of fun.
Very ambitious movie, almost tries to cover too much material.

"Next summer, the greatest battle lies... within."

"A strange black entity from another world bonds with Peter Parker and causes inner turmoil as he contends with new villains, temptations, and revenge."

Pretty cool looking at the statistical ratings for Spider-Man 3 at IMDB.com.

Interesting trivia:

• This film is reportedly the most expensive film ever made in U.S. dollars, with a budget of $250 million. This breaks King Kong (2005)’s record of $207 million, and in terms of adjusted dollars, would be third to Voyna i mir (1968)’s budget of $560 million.
• The over 600 latex "web" balloons in the celebration scene had to be hand-painted with a Sharpie marker.
• Thomas Haden Church worked out for 16 months to build up his physique to portray Sandman.
• Kirsten Dunst dyed her natural blond hair red for the role of Mary Jane Watson. Bryce Dallas Howard dyed her natural red hair blond for the role of Gwen Stacy.
• The film's translation in Russia is "Spider-Man 3: Enemy in the Reflection"

Joel Spolsky has an excellent article on office design, especially manufactured walls. It's really insightful.

Joel takes you through how FogCreek, paid for expensive office renovation, with their first office. All of which wasn't really tax deductible.

But with their new office they are going to use manufactured walls. Since manufactured walls are a real asset, not only can they write off the office expense, they even get to lease the purchase.

This explains why so many tech companies prefer cubicle farms over having real walls. But I think Joel's right, with manufactured walls you get the best of both worlds.

We're starting to outgrow our current office at Taylor Data Systems. I'm glad there are other options for us besides cube farms.

The 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint

Presentation Guru Guy Kawasaki discusses a rule called 10/20/30 PowerPoint rule in one of his recent blog posts. What is the 10/20/30 PowerPoint rule? He states, “a PowerPoint presentation should have ten slides, last no more than twenty minutes, and contain no font smaller than thirty points.”

Guy argues this rule is applicable for any presentation to reach agreement: for example, raising capital, making a sale, forming a partnership, etc.

1. Problem
2. Your solution
3. Business model
4. Underlying magic/technology
5. Marketing and sales
6. Competition
7. Team
8. Projections and milestones
9. Status and timeline
10. Summary and call to action

Like they say in the Guinness commercials, "Brilliant!" I'm sold, and the fences this creates really helps keep things simple and easy for everyone presenters and listeners both.

Get accepted into Windows Home Server Beta 2.

Windows Home Server
https://connect.microsoft.com/WindowsHomeServer

Install TVersity on WHS.

TVersity is Release 0.9.9.1 (November 26, 2006)
http://www.tversity.com/download.html

TVersity QuickStart Guide
http://tversity.com/support/quickstart/

DivX - XBox 360 Guide
http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/1002/2

Install DivX Windows Media CoDec on WHS

DivX Windows Media CoDec
http://www.free-codecs.com/download/ACE_Mega_CoDecS_Pack.htm

Since Windows Home Server runs on a modified version Windows 2003 Small Business Server, you can install the Windows Media related codecs from the Ace codec pack instead (this is because WMP 11 is not currently available on this systems).

Connect to WHS from XBox 360

Enjoy the show!

You probably already know that Daylight Saving Time has been extended by 4 weeks. This is a result of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. It will begin 3 weeks earlier in the spring, and end 1 week later in the fall.

If you have a Windows Mobile device you should know that your devices are probably not ready for this decision. Just in time, Microsoft has released a series of updates that should correct for this.

Windows Mobile Updates for Daylight Saving Time (PocketPC)

Windows Mobile Updates for Daylight Saving Time (Desktop Tool)

Windows Mobile Updates for Daylight Saving Time (Smartphone)

Windows Mobile Updates for Daylight Saving Time (Windows CE)

So now the question is does it support cold-boot recovery or does the device forget about DST everytime the battery dies etc? Hmm... ;) [Windows Mobile & DST: It's like nailing jelly to a wall.]

The Making of the Windows Mobile Updates for Daylight Saving Time

In the begining Microsoft had a knowledgebase article that simply listed the registry changes that needed to be made and left it up to the poor reader to implement the modifications.

I couldn't help but thinking isn't that like Microsoft saying you need to chop down this tree and here's an axehead. Huh? I hate to think it is really all that difficult to create an Windows Mobile cab file. ;)

Fortunately, edgeblog took the requirements and released the results as a cab file.

It's even worse for Windows CE device users. (BTW did you notice any update links missing up above!) Here's an article that gives their options:

Method 1 (for end users): Manually adjust the clock for daylight saving time
You can manually adjust the clock for daylight saving time. To do this, follow these steps:

1. In Control Panel, open Date/Time.
2. In the Date/Time Properties dialog box, make sure that the time zone is set to the correct time zone for your area.
3. Click to clear the Automatically adjust clock for daylight saving check box.
4. Click OK.
5. Manually adjust the clock at the start of daylight saving time and at the end of daylight saving time.

Ha, I love it! That's funny! There's a method 2, and it basically says contact the OEM. Ha! Stop! Your killing me! No seriously, I really laughed out loud when I read that.

Can't you see the new advertising campaign: Windows CE now with Manual Clock 2.0!

So I've been using Windows DreamScenes for a little bit now and decided to give DeskScapes a try.

Here's a good background information site: http://www.istartedsomething.com/20070108/windows-dreamscene/

Here are the key differences:

Windows DreamScene at a glance:

Windows DreamScene is an animated wallpaper technology that plays high-definition video content as your wallpaper. The key ability of it is that it can do so without using significant amounts of CPU (basically the decoding of the video is the only real CPU use involved).  The animation itself is run through the hardware accelerated DWM.

• A Windows Vista Ultimate Extra
• Run High-Definition Video as a Wallppaer
• Uses .MPEG/.WMV as content

Windows DreamScene Potential Content:

NASA - Multimedia - High Definition Video Gallery

Stardock DeskScapes at a glance:

The first enhancement is a new program called DeskScapes.  DeskScapes extends DreamScenes to support dynamic content (i.e. videos are pre-rendered).  With dynamic content, you could have your wallpaper change based on weather, time of day, or news.  Or you could just have some cool Direct3D "stuff" that runs (like one of those fish aquariums running as your wallpaper). 

• Extends Windows DreamScene to support Dynamic/Live content
• Adds support for the .Dream format
• Displays author info/URL in the desktop background dialog
• Supports triggers (change videos based on time, weather, etc.)
• Is only available for Windows Vista Ultimate Users
• Is free

Stardock DeskScapes Content:

http://dream.wincustomize.com/index.aspx

http://www.wincustomize.com/skins.aspx?libid=50

The Windows DreamScene Preview for Windows Vista Ultimate is now available.

Windows DreamScene Preview

Update type: Optional

When you install this Windows Ultimate Extra, you can select a video for your desktop background in the same way that you select a stationary picture, and you can choose new positioning options for static and moving backgrounds. Windows DreamScene video support requires a graphics card that supports Windows Aero. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.

More information:
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=80872

More information:
http://support.microsoft.com/

DreamScene Videos:
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=windows+vista+dreamscene

Look Ma! No CPU! [Yes, it is running in the background :p]

My new favorite expression is "It's like nailing jelly to a wall". I find it to be a very useful expression in software development and IT, especially in the write anything, for anyone, at anytime, for any price world of mobile enterprise application development.

I've found a valuable scientific resource which probes this very important topic:

"We've all heard the old saying "it's like nailing jelly to a wall" to describe a task that is very difficult or impossible. But is our view of the difficulty of this task justified? Has anybody actually tried nailing jelly to a wall? In this experiment I attempt to establish, one way or the other, the validity of the old proverb."

http://graeme.woaf.net/otherbits/jelly.html

If you're like me and have a Tablet PC with Vista then you need to grab the free Microsoft Experience Pack for Windows Vista.

Overview

Computer Associates is offering a FREE one year trial of their CA Internet Security Suite 2007 product.

All the Computer Security You Need
• Prevent Theft of Personal Data
• Stops Viruses, Worms, Trojans, Spyware & more
• Prevents Hacker Attacks
• Blocks Pop-ups

I've been using it a while and have been very pleased with it, plus its FREE!

Mark you calendars! The .NET University is coming to Florence, SC! Are YOU ready for Vista? Don't miss this BIG event.

PDANUG Event Reminder
Tuesday, January 9, 2006
Topic: .NET University - Windows Workflow Foundation

.NET University in Florence, SC

Event ID: 1032315697

Tuesday, January 9, 2007 6:00 PM - January 9, 2007 8:00 PM Eastern Time (US & Canada)

McLeod Medical

800 Cheves St.
Florence South Carolina 29506
United States

Event Overview

This class will take place over four consecutive user group meetings: 

11/14/2006 – Windows Cardspace – taught by Page Brooks
12/12/2006 - Windows Communication Foundation – taught by Glen Gordon
01/09/2007 - Windows Workflow Foundation – taught by Brian Hitney
02/13/2007 - Windows Presentation Foundation – taught by Chris Craft 

The Pee Dee .NET User Group is proud to present .NET University as a 4-part series during this winter's meetings!  Join us to get an overview of the next version of the .NET Framework (.NET 3.0), including Windows Communication Foundation, Windows Presentation Foundation, Windows Workflow Foundation, and Windows CardSpace. All topics are covered at a 100-level, and labs will be included with the courseware. Upon completion, registered attendees will receive their official .NET University alumni T-Shirt and a Certificate of completion. Space is limited, so register early to get your seat at .NET University!

I think I now know how badly Ralphie Parker wanted an "Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle" in A Christmas Story.

Coding4Fun's 2006 Holiday Gift Guide

Coding4Fun's 2005 Holiday Gift Guide

Maybe if every day was Christmas then I'd be set with my list of what to ask for. Right now it's hard for me to find things to mark off. Pretty good list, most things on there I have seen before but there were some items that were new to me.

The Remote Desktop Connection (Terminal Services Client 6.0) for Windows XP update allows Windows XP machines to connect to Windows Vista with Network Level Authentication enabled. Plus it has some other nice enhancements.

· Network Level Authentication
· Server Authentication
· Plug and Play redirection
· TS Gateway support
· Monitor Spanning
· 32-bit color and font smoothing

What is everyone using for antivirus protection on Windows Vista?

Right now I am using the Windows Live OneCare Beta for Vista.

What it is

An automatically self-updating PC care service that’s always on, helping provide persistent protection against viruses, hackers, and other threats, and helping keep your PC tuned up and your important documents backed up.
 
What it does for you

• Runs quietly in the background, providing anti-virus, anti-spyware, and firewall protection
• Updates itself to help you keep ahead of the latest threats
• Runs regular PC tune-ups
• Provides one-click solutions to most problems
• Makes backups a breeze
• Lets you see the status of your system at a glance

Internet Explorer Developers Toolbar

With the IE Dev Toolbar you have several features at your fingertips to go deep into existing pages or pages that you are currently creating. You will be able to explore the DOM tree and find elements on the page, disable IE settings, view information, outline elements, control images, resize pages to common screen resolutions and have a powerful ruler that lets you measure pixel perfect content on your page.

The toolbar can be downloaded here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=e59c3964-672d-4511-bb3e-2d5e1db91038&displaylang=en

Support can be found here:
http://channel9.msdn.com/wiki/default.aspx/Channel9.InternetExplorerDevToolbar

Here is the official list of features.

Overview

The Internet Explorer Developer Toolbar provides several features for exploring and understanding Web pages. These features enable you to:

-- Explore and modify the document object model (DOM) of a Web page.
-- Locate and select specific elements on a Web page through a variety of techniques.
-- Selectively disable Internet Explorer settings.
-- View HTML object class names, ID's, and details such as link paths, tab index values, and access keys.
-- Outline tables, table cells, images, or selected tags.
-- Validate HTML, CSS, WAI, and RSS Web feed links.
-- Display image dimensions, file sizes, path information, and alternate (ALT) text.
-- Immediately resize the browser window to a new resolution.
-- Selectively clear the browser cache and saved cookies. Choose from all objects or those associated with a given domain.
-- Choose direct links to W3C specification references, the Internet Explorer team weblog (blog), and other resources.
-- Display a fully featured design ruler to help accurately align objects on your pages.


The Developer Toolbar can be pinned to the Internet Explorer browser window or floated separately.

This version of the Developer Toolbar is an updated version of Beta 1; it was updated on October 31, 2005. Several issues are resolved and some feedback has been incorporated.

-- Element bounding box calculations are more accurate.
-- Outlining of elements is now significantly faster.
-- The image report no longer crashes.
-- Installation no longer requires a reboot. (Beta 1 users will still be prompted to reboot because the current installer invokes the original uninstaller).
-- The minimize and maximize buttons now refresh after the "Resize" command.
-- The "Select element by click" bounding box is now more visible on pages with blue backgrounds.
-- The attributes editor (middle pane) now has variable width fields (for example, you can type beyond the width of the box).
-- Fixes for some pages that do not trigger OnDocumentComplete events.
-- Fixed the continuity of using "element" rather than "tag" in the menus.
-- The ruler is easier to use and to scroll.
-- Enabling/disabling images no longer restarts Internet Explorer.
-- The Resize menu now contains more resolutions.
-- Editing a property is now much less likely to let keystrokes "leak" back to IE and navigate without the user expecting it.
-- Trying to use the ruler while IE is in "folder mode" should no longer crash the browser.

New features and functionality have also been added.

-- Default styles (in the third pane) now appear in gray, separating them from explicit styles.
-- The ruler dialog is always populated with the ruler information if there is just one ruler.
-- The ruler dialog now describes advanced features.
-- "Undo all" reverts the page to the initial state.
-- You can now remove all outlines.

Mark you calendars! The .NET University is coming to Florence, SC! Are YOU ready for Vista? Don't miss this BIG event.

.NET University in Florence, SC

Event ID: 1032315697

Tuesday, November 14, 2006 6:00 PM - Tuesday, November 14, 2006 8:00 PM Eastern Time (US & Canada)

McLeod Medical

800 Cheves St.
Florence South Carolina 29506
United States

Event Overview

This class will take place over four consecutive user group meetings: 

11/14/2006 – Windows Cardspace – taught by Page Brooks
12/12/2006 - Windows Communication Foundation – taught by Glen Gordon
01/09/2007 - Windows Presentation Foundation – taught by Chris Craft (That's me! You don't want to miss this one! <wink>)
02/13/2007 - Windows Workflow Foundation – taught by Brian Hitney

The Pee Dee .NET User Group is proud to present .NET University as a 4-part series during this winter’s meetings!  Join us to get an overview of the next version of the .NET Framework (.NET 3.0), including Windows Communication Foundation, Windows Presentation Foundation, Windows Workflow Foundation, and Windows CardSpace. All topics are covered at a 100-level, and labs will be included with the courseware. Upon completion, registered attendees will receive their official .NET University alumni T-Shirt and a Certificate of completion. Space is limited, so register early to get your seat at .NET University!

http://mapit.ebay.com/home

This is a real neat Web utility eBay has to allow you search a radius in miles around a city, state or Zip Code, for what ever your heart desires.

Considering the time of year, I decided to search for "Frankenstein" in all categories in the city of Florence, SC 29501 with a radius of 25 miles.

Apparently one of my close neighbors or not so close neighbors has a "Halloween Battery Operated Noise activated Frankenstein". Now how cool is that. You know you want it! Go ahead, nobody's looking make your bid!

I could imagine a neat Windows Mobile utility that uses "Map It" and a GPS unit to let users see what people are selling right where they are - complete novelty item of course.

[He looks like some of the guys I work with with! Ha, ha, you know who you are!]

The Sect of Homokaasu - The Kill Everyone Project

The world is overpopulated. The people that overpopulate it are stupid. They should be killed.

http://homokaasu.org/killeveryone/

Genocide has never been this easy!

As of June 17, 2006, 12:22 UTC, the total number of kills amounted to 5,879,052,873, and the project been running for 1866 days. There are 73,622 registered participants, averaging 79,854 kills each. As of August 17, 2006, the estimated date of the world population coming to an end is November 23, 2006.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kill_Everyone_Project

You can always count on The Daily WTF to put a smile on your face:

[I wish someone had told me this is okay before.]

You could set me on fire (please don't) and I would still think some of these are funny.

Pop-up Potpourri: Givin' It 120%

Pop-up Potpourri: Announced By God

Pop-up Potpourri: Julialicious

Pop-up Potpourri: June Bugs

Pop-up Potpourri: Tax Time Edition

Pop-up Potpourri: Octopurri

Pop-up Potpourri: Se7en Deadly Messages

Pop-up Potpourri: Sixth Time is the Charm

I am actually excited about seeing Snakes on a Plane now that I got a call from Samuel L. Jackson.

Here's a recording if you want a sample. When Samuel L. Jackson tells you Snakes on a Plane just might be the best motion picture ever made, and you don't want to mess with him on this - maybe you should go see Snakes on a Plane.

He knew I worked with computers, and somehow he knew my hobbies and traits. Heck, he even knew how I get to work!

If you want to have a little fun, go here to get a call from Samuel L. Jackson.

I've been wanting to get my MCAD, MCSD, or MCPD certification for some time now. I've taken and passed two of the required tests for MCAD or MCSD. My ultimate goal is to have the Microsoft Certified Trainer in a year's time [August 22, 2007]. I'm not sure how realistic it is, but I'm going to give it a shot.

Exam 70–315: Developing and Implementing Web Applications with Microsoft Visual C# .NET and Microsoft Visual Studio .NET

Exam 70–316: Developing and Implementing Windows-based Applications with Microsoft Visual C# .NET and Microsoft Visual Studio .NET

A lot of people question the value of developer certifications. I do think the certifications are worth about the $125 each they cost to take. I don't think that can point out a superstar programmer, but I don't think they are meaningless either.

I'll post progress updates here.

http://gallery2.mastermaq.ca/albums/1.aspx

This collection contains miscellaneous pictures, and the sub galleries are organized by
subject. All pictures are 288 pixels by 288 pixels, which sizes down correctly to the 96x96 size of a display picture.

In the last year I have managed to get myself in much better shape. I have gone from 209 lbs. and 26% body fat, to as low as 154.6 lbs. and 9% body fat. For the most part, I hold steady between 155 lbs. and 160 lbs. Ultimately I would like to at least tap 149 lbs, maybe for just a day, seems kind of low - The wind might blow me away then.

Mostly I've been running and being more careful with my diet. But now I'm thinking a little strength training might do me some good. Yesterday I ran across this on Dan Ciruli's Blog:

Last year, my brother Dave had a great resolution: on January 1 he did a pushup and a situp. On the 2nd, he did two pushups and two situps. And so on. By April, he was doing 100 of each per day. By July, 200 per day. And, of course, on December 31st, he did 365 pushups and 365 situps. And during the course of the year, his physique changed drastically. In September, when he turned 40, his wife gave a toast at his birthday dinner and said that he looked better then than he had in their entire relationship.

So starting today I'm going to take on this new resolution. Today was pretty easy: one push-up and one sit-up. I actually did fifty sit-ups, since I am already doing sit-ups as part of my excercise regimen. I do three sets of fifty a day, so I have a while before this resolution catches up with me there.

I will post resolution updates here as time progresses. [hehe, apparently I thought it was 2008 for a little while there.]

2006.10.02 - Day 047
Today's Sit-Up Count:      047
Total Sit-Up Count:         1128
Today's Push-Up Count:   047
Total Push-Up Count:       1128

2006.10.01 - Day 046
Today's Sit-Up Count:      046
Total Sit-Up Count:         1081
Today's Push-Up Count:   046
Total Push-Up Count:       1081

2006.09.31 - Day 045
Today's Sit-Up Count:      045
Total Sit-Up Count:         1035
Today's Push-Up Count:   045
Total Push-Up Count:       1035

2006.09.30 - Day 044
Today's Sit-Up Count:      044
Total Sit-Up Count:         990
Today's Push-Up Count:   044
Total Push-Up Count:       990

2006.09.29 - Day 043
Today's Sit-Up Count:      043
Total Sit-Up Count:         946
Today's Push-Up Count:   043
Total Push-Up Count:       946

2006.09.28 - Day 042
Today's Sit-Up Count:      042
Total Sit-Up Count:         903
Today's Push-Up Count:   042
Total Push-Up Count:       903

2006.09.27 - Day 041
Today's Sit-Up Count:      041
Total Sit-Up Count:         861
Today's Push-Up Count:   041
Total Push-Up Count:       861

2006.09.26 - Day 040
Today's Sit-Up Count:      040
Total Sit-Up Count:         820
Today's Push-Up Count:   040
Total Push-Up Count:       820

2006.09.25 - Day 039
Today's Sit-Up Count:      039
Total Sit-Up Count:         780
Today's Push-Up Count:   039
Total Push-Up Count:       780

2006.09.24 - Day 038
Today's Sit-Up Count:      038
Total Sit-Up Count:         741
Today's Push-Up Count:   038
Total Push-Up Count:       741

2006.09.23 - Day 037
Today's Sit-Up Count:      037
Total Sit-Up Count:         703
Today's Push-Up Count:   037
Total Push-Up Count:       703

2006.09.22 - Day 036
Today's Sit-Up Count:      036
Total Sit-Up Count:         666
Today's Push-Up Count:   036
Total Push-Up Count:       666

2006.09.21 - Day 035
Today's Sit-Up Count:      035
Total Sit-Up Count:         630
Today's Push-Up Count:   035
Total Push-Up Count:       630

2006.09.20 - Day 034
Today's Sit-Up Count:      034
Total Sit-Up Count:         595
Today's Push-Up Count:   034
Total Push-Up Count:       595

2006.09.19 - Day 033
Today's Sit-Up Count:      033
Total Sit-Up Count:         561
Today's Push-Up Count:   033
Total Push-Up Count:       561

2006.09.18 - Day 032
Today's Sit-Up Count:      032
Total Sit-Up Count:         528
Today's Push-Up Count:   032
Total Push-Up Count:       528

2006.09.17 - Day 031
Today's Sit-Up Count:      031
Total Sit-Up Count:         496
Today's Push-Up Count:   031
Total Push-Up Count:       496

2006.09.16 - Day 030
Today's Sit-Up Count:      030
Total Sit-Up Count:         465
Today's Push-Up Count:   030
Total Push-Up Count:       465

2006.09.15 - Day 029
Today's Sit-Up Count:      029
Total Sit-Up Count:         435
Today's Push-Up Count:   029
Total Push-Up Count:       435

2006.09.014 - Day 028
Today's Sit-Up Count:      028
Total Sit-Up Count:         406
Today's Push-Up Count:   028
Total Push-Up Count:       406

2006.09.13 - Day 027
Today's Sit-Up Count:      027
Total Sit-Up Count:         378
Today's Push-Up Count:   027
Total Push-Up Count:       378

2006.09.12 - Day 026
Today's Sit-Up Count:      026
Total Sit-Up Count:         351
Today's Push-Up Count:   026
Total Push-Up Count:       351

2006.09.11 - Day 025
Today's Sit-Up Count:      025
Total Sit-Up Count:         325
Today's Push-Up Count:   025
Total Push-Up Count:       325

2006.09.10 - Day 024
Today's Sit-Up Count:      024
Total Sit-Up Count:         300
Today's Push-Up Count:   024
Total Push-Up Count:       300

2006.09.09 - Day 023
Today's Sit-Up Count:      023
Total Sit-Up Count:         276
Today's Push-Up Count:   023
Total Push-Up Count:       276

2006.09.08 - Day 022
Today's Sit-Up Count:      022
Total Sit-Up Count:         253
Today's Push-Up Count:   022
Total Push-Up Count:       253

*2006.09.07 - Day 021
Today's Sit-Up Count:      021
Total Sit-Up Count:         231
Today's Push-Up Count:   021
Total Push-Up Count:       231

2006.09.06 - Day 020
Today's Sit-Up Count:      020
Total Sit-Up Count:         210
Today's Push-Up Count:   020
Total Push-Up Count:       210

2006.09.05 - Day 019
Today's Sit-Up Count:      019
Total Sit-Up Count:         190
Today's Push-Up Count:   019
Total Push-Up Count:       190

2006.09.04 - Day 018
Today's Sit-Up Count:      018
Total Sit-Up Count:         171
Today's Push-Up Count:   018
Total Push-Up Count:       171

2006.09.03 - Day 017
Today's Sit-Up Count:      017
Total Sit-Up Count:         153
Today's Push-Up Count:   017
Total Push-Up Count:       153

2006.09.02 - Day 016
Today's Sit-Up Count:      016
Total Sit-Up Count:         136
Today's Push-Up Count:   016
Total Push-Up Count:       136

2006.09.01 - Day 015
Today's Sit-Up Count:      015
Total Sit-Up Count:         120 
Today's Push-Up Count:   015
Total Push-Up Count:       120

2006.08.30 - Day 014
Today's Sit-Up Count:      014
Total Sit-Up Count:         105 
Today's Push-Up Count:   014
Total Push-Up Count:       105

2006.08.30 - Day 013
Today's Sit-Up Count:      013
Total Sit-Up Count:         091 
Today's Push-Up Count:   013
Total Push-Up Count:       091

2006.08.29 - Day 012
Today's Sit-Up Count:      012
Total Sit-Up Count:         078 
Today's Push-Up Count:   012
Total Push-Up Count:       078

2006.08.28 - Day 011
Today's Sit-Up Count:      011
Total Sit-Up Count:         066
Today's Push-Up Count:   011
Total Push-Up Count:       066

2006.08.27 - Day 010
Today's Sit-Up Count:      010
Total Sit-Up Count:         055 
Today's Push-Up Count:   010
Total Push-Up Count:       055

2006.08.26 - Day 009
Today's Sit-Up Count:      009
Total Sit-Up Count:         045 
Today's Push-Up Count:   009
Total Push-Up Count:       045

2006.08.25 - Day 008
Today's Sit-Up Count:      008
Total Sit-Up Count:         036 
Today's Push-Up Count:   008
Total Push-Up Count:       036

2006.08.24 - Day 007
Today's Sit-Up Count:      007
Total Sit-Up Count:         028 
Today's Push-Up Count:   007
Total Push-Up Count:       028

2006.08.23 - Day 006
Today's Sit-Up Count:      006
Total Sit-Up Count:         021 
Today's Push-Up Count:   006
Total Push-Up Count:       021

2006.08.22 - Day 005
Today's Sit-Up Count:      005
Total Sit-Up Count:         015 
Today's Push-Up Count:   005
Total Push-Up Count:       015

2006.08.21 - Day 004
Today's Sit-Up Count:      004
Total Sit-Up Count:         010 
Today's Push-Up Count:   004
Total Push-Up Count:       010

2006.08.20 - Day 003
Today's Sit-Up Count:      003
Total Sit-Up Count:         006 
Today's Push-Up Count:   003
Total Push-Up Count:       006

2006.08.19 - Day 002
Today's Sit-Up Count:      002
Total Sit-Up Count:         003  
Today's Push-Up Count:   002
Total Push-Up Count:       003

2006.08.18 - Day 001
Today's Sit-Up Count:      001
Total Sit-Up Count:         001  
Today's Push-Up Count:   001
Total Push-Up Count:       001

If the Send-To-X Power Toy is not one of my favorite power toys, it is definitely one of the most useful I have found.

Here's the 50,000 foot overview:

*** SEND TO X

Adds the following new commands to your "Send To" menu:

  - Send To Any Folder
  - Send To Clipboard as Contents
  - Send To Clipboard as Name
  - Send To Command Line

Even though it is a Windows 95 Power Toy, I've used it on Windows XP, etc. with no problems. [Read: You should set a system restore point because you know better. You were warned.]

Page Brooks has made a shell extension that does the key parts. The Send-To-X can work on multiple files, not sure if his can.

Here's the full read me text for the Send-To-X power toy.

    Send To Extensions
 
    Microsoft Windows 95 PowerToys
 
    Copyright 1995-1996 Microsoft Corporation
 
    * Send To... Any Folder
 
  Send a file or files to Any Folder, and you will be shown
  a dialog box that lets you choose where the files should
  be copied or moved.
 
    * Send To... Clipboard as Name
 
  Send a file or files to the Clipboard as Name, and the names
  of the files are placed on the clipboard.
 
    * Send To... Clipboard as Contents
 
  Send a file to the Clipboard as Contents, and the contents
  of the file are placed on the clipboard.
 
    * Send To... Command Line
 
  Send a file to the Command Line, and the "Run" dialog appears,
  with name of the file already typed in for you.
 
    * Send To... Mail Recipient
 
  Send a file or files to a Mail Recipient, and a mail message
  will be created with the file(s) already attached.
 
  There are three types of mail recipients.  You probably will
  need only one of them. In the "Add/Remove Programs" section
  of the Control Panel, double-click "Send To Extensions" to
  remove the ones you don't need.
 
  "Mail Recipient MAPI" sends the message via the Microsoft MAPI
  protocol.  MAPI is supported by Microsoft Mail 3.x and Microsoft
  Exchange.
 
  "Mail Recipient CMC" sends the message via the Common
  Messaging Calls protocol, a protocol defined by the X.400 API
  association.  CMC is supported by Microsoft Exchange, and
  possibly other mail programs.
 
  "Internet Mail Recipient" sends the message via Microsoft Internet
  Mail and News.  It doesn't really work yet, but at least you know
  that I'm thinking about it.
 
    Tips and tricks:
 
    * To add/remove selected extensions, double-click "Send To
  Extensions PowerToy" in Control Panel: Add/Remove Programs.
 
    * To change the name of an item in your Send To menu, click
  the Start button, select "Run", then type "sendto".  This
  will open a folder view on your Send To menu, at which point
  you can create, rename or remove items.
 
    * When the Send To menu is open, if you hold down the Control
  key while you click on the extension you want to send the
  file to, the behavior will change slightly.
 
  *   Send To... Any Folder will copy the files with their
      short names.  (Normally, it copies the long names.)
 
  *   Send To... Clipboard as Name will copy the short file
      names to the clipboard.  (Normally, it copies the long
      file name.)
 
  *   Send To... Clipboard as Contents will display a dialog
      box allowing you to override its choice of file content
      type.  Note that if you pick a type that does not match
      the actual type of the file, the data won't quite appear
      the way you intended, if it appears at all.
 
  *   Send To... Command Line will put the short file name
      on the command line.  (Normally, it puts the long file
      name on the command line.)
 
  *   Send To... Mail Recipient will attach the files with
      their short names.  (Normally, the long file name is used.)
 
    Limitations:
 
    * Send To... Clipboard as Contents
 
  If the file does not contain a recognized format, the
  clipboard won't contain anything terribly interesting.
 
  You cannot send folders or multiple files to the clipboard
  as contents.
 
    * Send To... Command Line
 
  You cannot send multiple items to the command line.
 
  To add more than one item to the command line, you can
  drag them onto the "Run" dialog box, and they will be
  added.
 
    * Send To... Mail Recipient
 
  You cannot send folders to mail recipients.

Everybody has one, an old computer, maybe even an old server, that they have no idea what kind of memory it takes, how much it can hold, or how much it would cost to upgrade the beast. Sure you could lookup motherboard, and memory module part numbers and find out yourself. But now there's an easier way:

The Crucial System Scanner automatically detects your computer's information and gives you the details you need to purchase a compatible upgrade. To run the Crucial System Scanner, you need Microsoft Windows 95 or higher.

http://www.crucial.com/systemscanner/

Try it, you'll like it!

I am a cofounder, along with Page Brooks, for the Pee Dee Area .NET User Group located in South Carolina, which has just recently been accepted into the International .NET Association (INETA).

The International .NET Association (INETA) provides structured, peer-based organizational, educational, and promotional support to the growing worldwide community of Microsoft® .NET user groups. Our mission is to offer assistance and resources to community groups that promote and educate their membership in Microsoft's .NET technologies. INETA welcomes all facets of the .NET user community, from developers and architects to project managers and IT professionals.

I thought it might be helpful if I shared what I've learned about INETA for anyone else that might be interested.

INETA Speaker Bureau - listing of individuals who speak for INETA.

INETA Speaker Bureau FAQ - good FAQ on requesting speakers, etc.

INETA Newsletters - large listing of newsletters that will bring anyone up to speed on INETA.

INETA Live! So You Want to Hold a Code Camp? - Web cast, but I am not sure there will be a recording.

Northeast Regional User Group Leadership Summit - maybe Page or I can make this.

INETA Birds of a Feather - think of these as mini-presentations during the TechEd 2006.

[I've added some more information in the comments to keep this topic up to date as I've learned more about INETA.]

Award for Customer Excellence

Now this is a classy idea, for a company to reward its customers that help it help its customers.

I like to think my suggestions and comments really made a difference to the Compact Framework 2.0 and SQL Server 2005 Mobile Edition.

March 14, 2006
Topic: SQL Reporting Services

Our next event will be held on Tuesday, March 14, 2006.  Chris Craft, from Taylor Data Systems, will be giving us the scoop on SQL Reporting Services.  At our last event Doug Turnure brought us lots of stuff to give away, so don't miss our next event!  As usual, the meeting will be held at the McLeod Plaza Classroom in McLeod Medical Plaza.  We will kick things off at 6:00 PM.  A tentative agenda is posted below:

Click Here for Driving Directions

Directions to the Classroom
Enter the McLeod Medical Plaza using the 800 Cheves St. entrance (Bottom Right-Hand Corner of Map)
Take a left and look for room (PC - Plaza Classroom) it’s on the first floor.

Contact Information:

Chris Craft
843.230.4620 [cell phone]

Thanks,
The PDANUG Team

Typically you speak of syntax errors and logic errors. For the most part logic errors are the worst, but there is a special case of syntax errors that can really wreak havoc on one's day.

These types of syntax errors have a certain "smell" to them, and almost always have the trait of compiling just fine, but producing what at first appears to be an almost nonsensical error. With 20/20 hindsight they are perfect error descriptions, but that is after the pain and suffering is over.

Take the following for example:

Unhandled Exception.

System.StackOverflowException: Exception of type System.StackOverflowException was thrown.

At first look it appeared to be caused by the following:

One of my favorite tv shows was Firefly. I would absolutely love to see the Browncoats rise again.

"We plan on raising enough money to fund 24 new episodes of Firefly – a whole new season of shows. Every cent of this money (minus credit card fees) will go directly to Joss Whedon to use as he sees fit to continue the trailblazing story of Firefly."

Click HERE to donate!

I think a lot of tv shows are written for the "lowest common denominator" and to appeal to the masses. Firefly had depth and quality that was uncommon to say the least for network television. If Firefly could make the jump from network-supported to fan-supported we'd really have some must-see tv.

Firefly:

Five hundred years in the future, a renegade crew aboard a small, mobile, spacecraft tries to survive as they travel the unknown parts of the galaxy and evade warring factions as well as authority agents out to get them.

Serenity:

Captain Malcom Reynolds finds himself running from a skilled Alliance operative who wants River Tam, and who will stop at nothing to get her; meanwhile, River's capabilities become more clear to the crew of Serenity.

January 2006
Topic: Our First Meeting / Web Security

We are proud to announce the details for the first Pee Dee Area .NET User Group meeting. The meeting will be held on January 10, 2006 at the McLeod Plaza Classroom in McLeod Medical Plaza. We will kick things off at 6:00 PM.

            The big prize for the night will be a brand new copy of Halo 2 for the Microsoft XBox!

Here is the tentative schedule:

6:00 PM - 7:00 PM Socializing / Dinner
7:00 PM - 7:10 PM Introduction and Sponsor Time
7:10 PM - 7:15 PM News Items & 1st Drawing
7:15 PM - 7:55 PM Presentation
7:55 PM - 8:00 PM 2nd Drawing and Wrap Up

Click Here for Driving Directions

Directions to the Classroom
Enter the McLeod Medical Plaza using the 800 Cheves St. entrance (Bottom Right-Hand Corner of Map)
Take a left and look for room (PC - Plaza Classroom) it’s on the first floor.

Contact Information:

Chris Craft
843.230.4620 [cell phone]

Thanks,
The PDANUG Team

I have been using Microsoft Streets and Trips 2006 since its release. Overall it is a great new version with many enhancements at a great value. I picked up my copy for less than $30 new.

For some reason the Pocket Streets and Trips has not been updated and there was real opportunity for improvement and value here.

My favorite new features is the night map mode, driving guidance with voice prompts, and rotate map to follow travel direction.

Microsoft has a good overview here.

One question I have is how the heck do you label stops in the route planner. I like the number system, but I would at least like tool tips or something other than a number and an address to identify a stop. I'm hoping I'm missing something...

From day one Microsoft has had a central focus on software development, and in programming especially.

With the XBox 360 release quickly approaching, I noticed one important oversight in the XBox 360 platform...

If you look back to the Atari 2600, one of the cartridges Atari released was Basic Programming. This allowed the end user to create their own applications and games for the Atari 2600, albeit very limited ones.

Microsoft has released dozens of programming languages for almost as many platforms, everything from desktops, pda's, tablet pc's, smartphones, and even watches.

I think there is a huge untapped pool of possibilities for end user created content.

Maybe something like a .NET Compact Framework for XBox 360. It seems like an absolute winner to me. I'd think Microsoft could port Windows CE to XBox 360 even if it required an emulator to run. I also think it is a move in and of itself that could push XBox 360 to the lead in the console wars.

Now the question is how to make it happen...

The company I work for Taylor Data Systems has just recently become a Microsoft Certified Gold Partner.

Gold Certified Partners represent the highest level of competence and expertise with Microsoft technologies, and have the closest working relationship with Microsoft.

We specialize in Windows Mobile solutions for enterprise level applications. We've worked very hard to make it to where we are and it is nice to have a little lime light now.

We're having our next geek lunch on Friday, December 2, 2005. The time and place are 11:15 am at El City Grill in Florence, SC. Please feel free to attend if you are able to make it.

We're having a geek lunch on Friday, November 18, 2005. The time and place are 11:00 am at Jack's Restaurant in Florence, SC. Please feel free to attend if you are able to make it.