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• 2010 Chicago Code Coming In May

  - by Tim Murphy

  The Lake Count .NET User Group is putting on it’s second Chicago Code Camp on May 1st.  I would encourage everyone to come out and participate in the Chicago area .NET community.  You can register here.  Better yet come of with a presentation of your own.  I have submitted an abstract for a presentation on Office Open XML. del.icio.us Tags: Chicago Code Camp,presentations,Office Open XML,LCNUG

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• Choice of Operating System Version for Azure Roles

  - by kaleidoscope

  Customers can now choose when their applications receive new operating system updates and patches by selecting which version of the operating system their applications will run on in Windows Azure.  Right now there is only one available operating system version (released on December 17th, 2009), but new builds with the latest updates and patches will be released regularly.  This new feature allows developers to test their applications when new patches come out before upgrading their production deployments. To select an operating system version for your application, add the new osVersion attribute to your service configuration file.  The full list of available operating system versions is maintained in the Configuring Operating System Versions topic in the Windows Azure MSDN documentation.   Sarang, K

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• Retrofit WebForms with ASP.NET MVC - NoVa Code Camp 2010.2 Demo

  - by Soe Tun

  Thank you to everyone who attended my Retrofit WebForms with ASP.NET MVC session at NoVa Code 2010.2. It was a fun event for me and I hope you had a great time and learned something from it. I wish I had more time to go over some more important topics in more detail. I *promise* I will be writing blog post series about it since I'll have some vacation time during the December holidays to cover some topics that I didn't get to cover in detail.   Please note that the ".bak" file included in the zip file is a SQL Server Database backup file. You have to restore it on your Database server to run it with the source code demo.   Please feel free to ask me about the demo project through Twitter or from this blog post. I'll be glad to help you out. If you want me to give this presentation at your .NET User Group, please let me know and I'll be honored to speak there also.   Again, thank you all and have a great holiday season. Here is the download link to my Demo project Zip file with the PowerPoint presentation in it. Please let me know if the link doesn't work.

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• BizTalk 2009 - Messages: Last 100 Received

  - by StuartBrierley

  Having previously talked about the lack of the traditional HAT in BizTalk 2009, the question then becomes how do you replicate some of the functionality that was previsouly relied on? In BizTalk 2004 we had a query in HAT to return the messages received in the last day.  While not a direct replacement the following query replicates some of the usefullness of this query in a BizTalk 2009 hatless environment. Basically we are creating a query to search for the last one hundred tracked messages that were received by BizTalk: Coming up: Messages - last 100 sent Messages - last 50 suspended Service instances - last 100

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• Pimp the Podcast

  - by Liam McLennan

  David Starr interviewed me for his pluralcast podcast. We talked about software craftsmanship and how to spread knowledge.

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• You wouldn&rsquo;t drink 9 year old milk would you?

  - by Jim Duffy

  This is an absolutely brilliant campaign to urge users that its time to move on from IE 6. I like how it puts it terms that everyone can understand and has probably experienced at one time or another. How many times have you opened the milk, took a sniff, and experienced that visceral reaction that accompanies catching a whiff of milk that has turned to the dark side of the force? I call it Darth Vader milk. :-) Of course I’m assuming that you haven’t used IE 6 for a long time now. It is our responsibility as information technology workers to communicate to our friends and family how lame using IE 6 is. Shame them into upgrading if necessary. I don’t care how you get through to them but get through. Tell them that only losers use IE 6. Tell them you’ll cut them out of the your will. Tell them they’re banned from your annual BBQ blowout. Tell them that [insert their favorite celebrity’s name here] thinks people using IE6 are losers.  :-) Seriously, IE6 sucks and blows at the same time and has got to go for a number of reasons including the security leaks that come with using it. Confidentially, I urge them to upgrade for purely selfish reasons. Because I am the first level of computer support for waaaaaay to many of my family members I always advocate they use a current browser (IE 8 or Firefox) and anti-virus software (AVG). Call me selfish but I’d rather not waste my time dealing with a virus or malware that could potentially slip through with IE6. Yes, I’m selfish with my time that way. :-) Have a day. :-|

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• More useful Sql Server Serivce Broker Queries

  - by ChrisD

  SELECT 'Checking Broker Service Status...' IF (select Top 1 is_broker_enabled from sys.databases where name = 'NWMESSAGE')=1     SELECT ' Broker Service IS Enabled'  -- Should return a 1. ELSE     SELECT '** Broker Service IS DISABLED ***' /* If Is_Broker_enabled returns 0, uncomment and run this code ALTER DATABASE NWMESSAGE SET SINGLE_USER WITH ROLLBACK IMMEDIATE GO Alter Database NWMESSAGE Set enable_broker GO ALTER DATABASE NWDataChannel SET MULTI_USER GO */ SELECT 'Checking For Disabled Queues....' -- ensure the queues are enabled --  0 indicates the queue is disabled. Select '** Receive Queue Disabled: '+name from sys.service_queues where is_receive_enabled = 0 --select [name], is_receive_enabled from sys.service_queues; /*If the queue is disabled, to enable it alter queue QUEUENAME with status=on; – replace QUEUENAME with the name of your queue */ -- Get General information about the queues --select * from sys.service_queues -- Get the message counts in each queue SELECT 'Checking Message Count for each Queue...' select q.name, p.rows from sys.objects as o join sys.partitions as p on p.object_id = o.object_id join sys.objects as q on o.parent_object_id = q.object_id join sys.service_queues sq on sq.name = q.name where p.index_id = 1 -- Ensure all the queue activiation sprocs are present SELECT 'Checking for Activation Stored Procedures....' SELECT  '** Missing Procedure:  '+q.name  From sys.service_queues q Where NOT Exists(Select * from sysobjects where xtype='p' and name='activation_'+q.name) and q.activation_procedure is not null DECLARE @sprocs Table (Name Varchar(2000)) Insert into @sprocs Values ('Echo') Insert into @sprocs Values ('HTTP_POST') Insert into @sprocs Values ('InitializeRecipients') Insert into @sprocs Values ('sp_EnableRecipient') Insert into @sprocs Values ('sp_ProcessReceivedMessage') Insert into @sprocs Values ('sp_SendXmlMessage') SELECT 'Checking for required stored procedures...' SELECT  '** Missing Procedure:  '+s.name  From @sprocs s Where NOT Exists(Select * from sysobjects where xtype='p' and name=s.name) GO -- Check the services Select 'Checking Recipient Message Services...' Select '** Missing Message Service:' + r.RecipientName +'MessageService' From Recipient r Where not exists (Select * from sys.services s where  s.name  COLLATE SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS= r.RecipientName+'MessageService') DECLARE @svcs Table (Name Varchar(2000)) Insert into @svcs Values ('XmlMessageSendingService') SELECT  '** Missing Service:  '+s.name  From @svcs s Where NOT Exists(Select * from sys.services where name=s.name COLLATE SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS) GO /*** To Test a message send Run: sp_SendXmlMessage  'TSQLTEST', 'CommerceEngine','<Root><Text>Test</Text></Root>' */ Select CAST(message_body as XML) as xml, * From XmlMessageSendingQueue /*** clean out all queues declare @handle uniqueidentifier declare conv cursor for   select conversation_handle from sys.conversation_endpoints open conv fetch next from conv into @handle while @@FETCH_STATUS = 0 Begin    END Conversation @handle with cleanup    fetch next from conv into @handle End close conv deallocate conv ***********************

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• Windows 8 Install

  - by Richard Jones

  So did my first Windows 8 install today. Did it on a Macbook Pro (bootcamp partition). Bootcamp partition, needed to be formatted by Windows 8, in-order to proceed. However once done install went smoothly. Installed the Apple Windows Support stuff in compatibility mode; which went well. I tried it first not in compatibility mode and it caused a Blue Screen of death (which now has a :-( icon ) The volume, brightness etc. soft keys work well. I had some trouble joining wireless networks; so hopefully a windows update will resolve. First impression, is that 'its just like Windows 7', but with Metro. We'll see what happens over the next few days.

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• Exporting from the GAC

  - by TATWORTH

  Recently I had need to export from the GAC - here are some useful resources:http://gacassemblyexporter.codeplex.com/SourceControl/list/changesetshttp://blogs.msdn.com/b/johnwpowell/archive/2009/01/14/how-to-copy-an-assembly-from-the-gac.aspxThere is an alternative method at http://aspdotnetcodebook.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/get-copy-of-dll-in-gac-or-add-reference.html that involves de-installing what is part of the operating system - I would recommend this as a method of last resort.

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• Own a book

  - by Rajesh Pillai

  Its a pleasure to introduce my first initiative, http://ownabook.org/,  which is live now and is in beta.  Go get in the queue to grab your hardcopy of your favorite book or audio as applicable and when published.There is no catch.  This site is being built using ASP.NET MVC 3, jQuery and other good stuff.  I will open the source once the beta period is over, and filled with more functionality.Every month a winner will be selected and couriered the book.   The intent behind this service is to help motivate to keep the reading habits alive.  Though it is never guaranteed the winner will read the book, but, nevertheless, being on the positive note is always a good thing.Hope you will like the service.

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• Announcing SharePoint Saturday Columbus 2010

  - by Brian Jackett

  It is with great pleasure that today I can announce the very first SharePoint Saturday Columbus.  SharePoint Saturday Columbus 2010 will be happening on August 14th at The Conference Center at OCLC in Dublin, OH.  As many of the readers of my blog may be aware I’ve attended or spoken at over half a dozen SharePoint Saturdays in the past 8 months alone, but this will be my first time actually organizing one.  Myself and a group of very dedicated individuals have been hard at work the past few months getting the ball rolling and we’re happy to see it taking shape.   Pertinent Resources Website – find announcements and up to the date details at www.SharePointSaturday.org/Columbus Twitter – follow us at @SPSColumbus Email – email us at [email protected] with any questions, comments, or concerns   What can you do?     There are three main areas that we are looking for your help at this time. Spread the word – simply put start spreading the word to friends, coworkers, user groups, clients, and anyone else you think may be interested in SharePoint Saturday Columbus 2010.  We’ll be opening registration in early July so look for an announcement with details closer to that timeframe. Sponsorship – if your company or a company you know is interested in sponsoring SharePoint Saturday Columbus 2010 we have many opportunity levels available.  Email [email protected] for more information and we’ll send you a sponsorship packet. Speakers – if you or someone you know is interested in presenting at SharePoint Saturday Columbus 2010 please fill out a speaker submission form found here and email it to [email protected] by July 10th. I hope you can join us for this great event!         -Frog Out

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• FILESTREAM in SQL Server 2008 R2

  - by CatherineRussell

  Much data is unstructured, such as text documents, images, and videos. This unstructured data is often stored outside the database, separate from its structured data. This separation can cause data management complexities. Or, if the data is associated with structured storage, the file streaming capabilities and performance can be limited. FILESTREAM integrates the SQL Server Database Engine with an NTFS file system by storing varbinary(max) binary large object (BLOB) data as files on the file system. Transact-SQL statements can insert, update, query, search, and back up FILESTREAM data. Win32 file system interfaces provide streaming access to the data. FILESTREAM uses the NT system cache for caching file data. This helps reduce any effect that FILESTREAM data might have on Database Engine performance. The SQL Server buffer pool is not used; therefore, this memory is available for query processing. FILESTREAM data is not encrypted even when transparent data encryption is enabled. To read more, go to: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb933993.aspx

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• BIDS Helper 1.6 Beta Release (now with SQL 2012 support!)

  - by Darren Gosbell

  The beta for BIDS Helper 1.6 was just released. We have not updated the version notification just yet as we would like to get some feedback on people's experiences with the SQL 2012 version. So if you are using SQL 2012, go grab it and let us know how you go (you can post a comment on this blog post or on the BIDS Helper site itself). This is the first release that supports SQL 2012 and consequently also the first release that runs in Visual Studio 2010. A big thanks to Greg Galloway for doing the bulk of the work on this release. Please note that if you are doing an xcopy deploy that you will need to unblock the files you download or you will get a cryptic error message. This appears to be caused by a security update to either Visual Studio or the .Net framework – the xcopy deploy instructions have been updated to show you how to do this. Below are the notes from the release page. ====== This beta release is the first to support SQL Server 2012 (in addition to SQL Server 2005, 2008, and 2008 R2). Since it is marked as a beta release, we are looking for bug reports in the next few months as you use BIDS Helper on real projects. In addition to getting all existing BIDS Helper functionality working appropriately in SQL Server 2012 (SSDT), the following features are new... Analysis Services Tabular Smart Diff Tabular Actions Editor Tabular HideMemberIf Tabular Pre-Build Fixes and Updates The Unused Datasets feature for Reporting Services now accounts for new features in Reporting Services 2008 R2 like Lookups and new features in Reporting Services 2012. SSIS: emit an informational message when a variable has an expression defined and EvaluateAsExpression = False SSAS: roles reports points to wrong server SSIS - Variable Copy / Move broken in v1.5 "Unused DataSets Report" not showing up in Context menu on VS2005 if Solution Folders used SSAS Tabular: Create a UI for managing actions SSAS Tabular: Smart Diff improvements for new schema and Tabular models SSIS: Copy/Move Variable Erroring due to custom Control Flow item Icon SSIS Performance Visualization Index out of range fixing bugs in AggManager when aggregation design IDs don't match names The exe downloads are a self extracting installer, the zip downloads allow for an xcopy deploy. Make sure to note the updated xcopy deploy instructions for SQL Server 2012.

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• Finding Buried Controls

  - by Bunch

  This post is pretty specific to an issue I had but still has some ideas that could be applied in other scenarios. The problem I had was updating a few buttons so their Text values could be set in the code behind which had a method to grab the proper value from an external source. This was so that if the application needed to be installed by a customer using a language other than English or needed a different notation for the button's Text they could simply update the database. Most of the time this was no big deal. However I had one instance where the button was part of a control, the button had no set ID and that control was only found in a dll. So there was no markup to edit for the Button. Also updating the dll was not an option so I had to make the best of what I had to work with. In the cs file for the aspx file with the control on it I added the Page_LoadComplete. The problem button was within a GridView so I added a foreach to go through each GridViewRow and find the button I needed. Since I did not have an ID to work with besides a random ctl00$main$DllControl$gvStuff$ctl03$ctl05 using the GridView's FindControl was out. I ended up looping through each GridViewRow, then if a RowState equaled Edit loop through the Cells, each control in the Cell and check each control to see if it held a Panel that contained the button. If the control was a Panel I could then loop through the controls in the Panel, find the Button that had text of "Update" (that was the hard coded part) and change it using the method to return the proper value from the database. if (rowState.Contains("Edit")){  foreach (DataControlFieldCell rowCell in gvr.Cells)  {   foreach (Control ctrl in rowCell.Controls)   {    if (ctrl.GetType() == typeof(Panel))     {     foreach (Control childCtrl in ctrl.Controls)     {      if (childCtrl.GetType() == typeof(Button))      {       Button update = (Button)childCtrl;       if (update.Text == "Update")       {        update.Text = method to return the external value for the button's text;       }      }     }    }   }  }} Tags: ASP.Net, CSharp

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• A little gem from MPN&ndash;FREE online course on Architectural Guidance for Migrating Applications to Windows Azure Platform

  - by Eric Nelson

  I know a lot of technical people who work in partners (ISVs, System Integrators etc). I know that virtually none of them would think of going to the Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) learning portal to find some deep and high quality technical content. Instead they would head to MSDN, Channel 9, msdev.com etc. I am one of those people :-) Hence imagine my surprise when i stumbled upon this little gem Architectural Guidance for Migrating Applications to Windows Azure Platform (your company and hence your live id need to be a member of MPN – which is free to join). This is first class stuff – and represents about 4 hours which is really 8 if you stop and ponder :) Course Structure The course is divided into eight modules.  Each module explores a different factor that needs to be considered as part of the migration process. Module 1:  Introduction:  This section provides an introduction to the training course, highlighting the values of the Windows Azure Platform for developers. Module 2:  Dynamic Environment: This section goes into detail about the dynamic environment of the Windows Azure Platform. This session will explain the difference between current development states and the Windows Azure Platform environment, detail the functions of roles, and highlight development considerations to be aware of when working with the Windows Azure Platform. Module 3:  Local State: This session details the local state of the Windows Azure Platform. This section details the different types of storage within the Windows Azure Platform (Blobs, Tables, Queues, and SQL Azure). The training will provide technical guidance on local storage usage, how to write to blobs, how to effectively use table storage, and other authorization methods. Module 4:  Latency and Timeouts: This session goes into detail explaining the considerations surrounding latency, timeouts and how to assess an IT portfolio. Module 5:  Transactions and Bandwidth: This session details the performance metrics surrounding transactions and bandwidth in the Windows Azure Platform environment. This session will detail the transactions and bandwidth costs involved with the Windows Azure Platform and mitigation techniques that can be used to properly manage those costs. Module 6:  Authentication and Authorization: This session details authentication and authorization protocols within the Windows Azure Platform. This session will detail information around web methods of authorization, web identification, Access Control Benefits, and a walkthrough of the Windows Identify Foundation. Module 7:  Data Sensitivity: This session details data considerations that users and developers will experience when placing data into the cloud. This section of the training highlights these concerns, and details the strategies that developers can take to increase the security of their data in the cloud. Module 8:  Summary Provides an overall review of the course.

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• Slide decks of Windows Phone 7 talk @ MoMo

  - by subodhnpushpak

  Hi, I presented a talk on Windows Phone 7 @ MoMo and got awesome response, even though WP7 is quite new still. I also demoed 2 applications on both emulator and the actual device. It enjoy the look on audience faces when they see the app actually work on actual device. I see a great opportunity on WP7 and everyone I met agrees on the fact the WP7 has a very bright future ahead. The Ecosystem which WP7 has (developing/ debugging tools, emulator, almost flat learning curve,  office/sharepoint integration a lively forum, marketplace) makes it a major player in mobile, already. Here is the slide – deck. Here are the details of the event. http://momodelhi11.eventbrite.com/#m_1_100 And here are few snap shots of the event. Windows Phone 7 Demo VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL    Do provide your comments.

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• SSIS 2008 Configuration Settings Handling Logic for Variables Visualized

  - by Compudicted

  There are many articles discussing the specifics of how the configuration settings are applied including the differences between SSIS 2005 and 2008 version implementations, however this topic keeps resurfacing on MSDN’s SSIS Forum. I thought it could be useful to cover the logic aspect visually. Below is a diagram explaining the basic flow of a variable setting for a case when no parent package is involved.   As you can see the run time stage ignores any command line flags for variables already set in the config file, I realize this is not stressed enough in many publications. Besides, another interesting fact is that the command line dtexec tool is case sensitive for the portion following the package keyword, I mean if you specify your flag to set a new value for a variable like dtexec /f Package.dtsx -set \package.variables[varPkgMyDate].value;02/01/2011 (notice the lover case v in .value) You will get errors. By capitalizing the keyword the package runs successfully.

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• Cloudcel: Excel Meets the Cloud

  - by kaleidoscope

  Cloudscale  is launching Cloudcel Cloudcel is the first product that demonstrates the full power of integrated "Client-plus-Cloud" computing. You use desktop Excel in the normal way, but can also now seamlessly tap into the scalability and massive parallelism of the cloud, entirely from within Excel, to handle your Big Data. Building an app in Cloudcel is really easy – no databases, no programming. Simply drop building blocks onto the spreadsheet (in any order, in any location) and launch the app to the cloud with a single click. Parallelism, scalability and fault tolerance are automatic. With Cloudcel, you can process realtime data streams continuously, and get alerts pushed to you as soon as important events or patterns are detected ("Set it and forget it"). Cloudcel is offered as a pay-per-use cloud service – so no hardware, no software licenses, and no IT department required to set it up. Private cloud deployments are also available. Please find below link for more detail : http://billmccoll.sys-con.com/node/1326645 http://cloudcel.com/ Technorati Tags: Tanu

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• Is Innovation Dead?

  - by wulfers

  My question is has innovation died?  For large businesses that do not have a vibrant, and fearless leadership (see Apple under Steve jobs), I think is has.  If you look at the organizational charts for many of the large corporate megaliths you will see a plethora of middle managers who are so risk averse that innovation (any change involves risk) is choked off since there are no innovation champions in the middle layers.  And innovation driven top down can only happen when you have a visionary in the top ranks, and that is also very rare.So where is actual innovation happening, at the bottom layer, the people who live in the trenches…   The people who live for a challenge. So how can big business leverage this innovation layer?  Remove the middle management layer.   Provide an innovation champion who has an R&D budget and is tasked with working with the bottom layer of a company, the engineers, developers  and business analysts that live on the edge (Where the corporate tires meet the road). Here are two innovation failures I will tell you about, and both have been impacted by a company so risk averse it is starting to fail in its primary business ventures: This company initiated an innovation process several years ago.  The process was driven companywide with team managers being the central points of collection of innovative ideas.  These managers were given no budget to do anything with these ideas.  There was no process or incentive for these managers to drive it about their team.  This lasted close to a year and the innovation program slowly slipped into oblivion…. A second example:  This same company failed an attempt to market a consumer product in a line where there was already a major market leader.  This product was under development for several years and needed to provide some major device differentiation form the current market leader.  This same company had a large Lead Technologist community made up of real innovators in all areas of technology.  Did this same company leverage the skills and experience of this internal community,   NO!!! So to wrap this up, if large companies really want to survive, then they need to start acting like a small company.  Support those innovators and risk takers!  Reward them by implementing their innovative ideas.  Champion (from the top down) innovation (found at the bottom) in your companies.  Remember if you stand still you are really falling behind.Do it now!  Take a risk!

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• Good use of the Charms Bar in Windows 8 Metro.

  - by Shawn Cicoria

  If you’re using Win8 yet, no doubt you’ve run into the charms bar.  There’s a feature to extend via Share, links to your application. Details on the HOW are here: Adding share (Metro style apps using JavaScript and HTML) http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/hh758314.aspx Do, Digital Folio has taken their shopping tool to Win8 and enabled some really cool ways to take advantage.  I was fortunate enough to help out the folks there a while back on some other things, but their app is a nice shoppers aid. Digital Folio for Windows 8 | Instant Price Comparisons from Major Retailers on the Products You Want

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• Speaking at SW FL Code Camp Sept 8th 2012

  - by Nikita Polyakov

  It’s always a great time when it’s a Code Camp! I will be presenting “Windows [Phone] Live Tiles & Push Notifications“ at this year’s South West Florida Code Camp 2012 on September 8th.  As with many Code Camps – it’s going to be a trick to pick which session to go to at each time slot, and that’s how you know it’s a good one – so much content – so many great speakers! Hope to see you there! Details & Registration: http://codecamp.swfldev.net Code Camp 2012 will take place at: Hodges University 2649 Professional Circle Naples, Florida 34119 Don’t forget about these two great events coming up as well: http://www.TampaCodeCamp.com and http://itprocamp.com/tampa/

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• Remember way back when we had a free decompiler?

  - by Justin Jones

  I, like probably so many of the rest of you, was mortified when Reflector was sold to RedGate. I knew where it was going. Suddenly you had to install it instead of just download and run it. I had a deep down feeling that one of the most useful tools in my arsenal was about to become a corporate product and no longer belong to the world of free tools. Sure enough it did. For a while now I’ve limped by without my favorite decompiler. This was made a little easier by the fact that you can now debug into the .net framework, but I still missed Reflector. JetBrains, makers of the superawesome and well worth the cost ReSharper (no it’s not free) have made their own decompiler that is comparable with Reflector, and it’s free. It’s still a corporate product, and JetBrains isn’t exactly known for making free software, but for now we have an option back on the table until some other industrious developer makes the next Reflector. dotPeek can be downloaded here.  http://www.jetbrains.com/decompiler/

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• Visual Studio Tips and Tricks

  - by deadlydog

  Just found a few websites that show some Visual Studio tips that I haven't seen before, so I thought I'd share: 1 - Tips and Tricks for the Visual Studio .NET IDE 2 - Essential Visual Studio Tips & Tricks that Every Developer Should Know 3 - Channel 9's Visual Studio Toolbox - weekly series dedicated to showing all the cool stuff that Visual Studio can do and how to be more productive with it.

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• People != Resources

  - by eddraper

  Ken Tabor’s blog post “They Are not Resources – We Are People” struck a chord with me.  I distinctly remember hearing the term “resources” within the context of “people” for the first time back in the late 90’s.  I was in a meeting at Compaq and a manager had been faced with some new scope for an IT project he was managing.  His response was that he needed more “resources” in order to get the job done.  As I knew the timeline for the project was fixed and the process for acquiring additional funding would almost certainly extend beyond his expected delivery date, I wondered what he meant.  After the meeting, I asked him what he meant… his response was that he needed some more “bodies” to get the job done.  For a minute, my mind whirred… why is it so difficult to simply say “people?”  This particular manager was neither a bad person nor a bad manager… quite the contrary.  I respected him quite a bit and still do.  Over time, I began to notice that he was what could be termed an “early adopter” of many “Business speak” terms – such as “sooner rather than later,” “thrown a curve,” “boil the ocean” etcetera.  Over time, I’ve discovered that much of this lexicon can actually be useful, though cliché and overused.  For example, “Boil the ocean” does serve a useful purpose in distilling a lot of verbiage and meaning into three simple words that paint a clear mental picture.  The term “resources” would serve a similar purpose if it were applied to the concept of time, funding, or people.  The problem is that this never happened.  “Resources”, “bodies”, “ICs” (individual contributors)… this is what “people” have become in the IT business world.  Why?  We’re talking about simple word choices here.  Why have human beings been deliberately dehumanized and abstracted in this manner? What useful purpose does it serve other than to demean and denigrate?

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• Having trouble with font on this blog?

  - by TechTwaddle

  Sometimes when I open this site on other PC’s the font of the posts turns out be very small and it can be a pain to read the text. Not sure if you’ve noticed the ‘Customize’ bar on top of the page, so I thought I’ll let know. This bar helps you customize the way you want the page to look and saves the settings for you so you don’t have to change it every time. You can change the font size and the main page positioning. The white arrow marks in the image above shows the settings I find convenient.

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