They're out!

MSDN subscribers can download Windows Vista via http://msdn.microsoft.com/.

If you're running Windows XP and want to try out the .NET Framework 3.0 RC1, then get the bits at http://msdn.microsoft.com/windowsvista/downloads/products/getthebeta/default.aspx

The .NET Framework download is available for everyone. Not just MSDN subscribers.

When I need to have my code write files to a unique folder, I often use the following trick.

string folderName = someRoot + @"\" + username + @"\" + DateTime.Now.Ticks.ToString();

As long as I'm not writing code which runs multiple threads this will pretty much guarantee me of a unique folder name and it looks nicer than a Guid as a folder name. 

I'm working on a ASP.NET 2.0 web application right now, which uses a Visual FoxPro database. I want the database to sit in the App_Data folder of my web application and I also want my connection string to use a relative path to access my database.

I found that SQL Express supports this, but the documentation suggests that it'll only work for the AttachDB value in a SQL Express connection string. Luckily this is not true. As shown in the sample below. The "|DataDirectory|" element can be used to point to the App_Data folder of your webapplication. I assume this will work for any database connection string.

<connectionStrings>
 <add name="Develop-One.Framework.Properties.Settings.ConnectionString"
      connectionString="Provider=VFPOLEDB.1;Data Source=|DataDirectory|UserData"
      providerName="System.Data.OleDb"/>
</connectionStrings>

Just some info that reached me via email, but I think will be useful for everyone.

MSDE will not be supported on Vista. In most cases you can best migrate to SQL Express.

• Please upgrade your MSDE applications to SQL Server 2005 Express Edition (SQL Express) at the earliest opportunity, if Windows Vista compatibility is essential for their businesses.
• MSDE mainstream support (on Operating System releases before Windows Vista) will continue until April 8, 2008 (extended support until April 8, 2013).  Also, no new MSDE redistributions will allowed after June 30, 2007. As ISV, you can sign up for royalty-free redistribution rights for SQL Express.
• Like MSDE, SQL Express is free to download, deploy, and redistribute.  There are several significant benefits to upgrading MSDE applications to SQL Express. Benefits include increased maximum data base size of 4 GB, removal of the workload governor, a free, integrated management tool (SQL Server Management Studio Express), SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services and importantly serviceability with Windows update.
• Technical guidance and migration resources are available at www.microsoft.com/sql/express.

• Microsoft is working on a whitepaper which will clearly articulate when to use SQL Server Express and when to use SQL Server Everywhere.
• For now – SQL Express Everywhere is a lightweight in-proc database (a set of dlls that an ISV can embed in an application, <2MB in size). It provides the SQL programmability model (ado.net, oledb provider) and one can use SQL Server Management studio to administer. It is therefore ideal for single user desktop applications or mobile applications that need a local data store (up to 4GB in database size). 
• To keep its lightweight nature, some of the database features like stored procedures are not supported by SQL Server Everywhere. If the ISV needs a local datastore that needs these rich features, they should use SQL Express. 
• Here are some links for additional information:
  o www.microsoft.com/sql/everywhere (there is a brief comparison of express and everywhere here)
  o www.microsoft.com/sql/express
  

Microsoft and Citrix have released a press release stating that they will be working together closely to use WANScaler technology to improve Application Access and Address Branch Office Complexity.

Citrix acquired WANScaler technology recently, adding WAN Optimization to their Application Delivery Strategy, by the take over of Orbital Data.

MRA Group is EMEA Gold Partner for both NetScalar as well as WANScaler technology.

On the 15th of September the Software Developer Network, a usergroup of Dutch software developers, will be hosting it's quarterly event. We have a great line up of sessions, see below. The conference will be held in the Reehorst in Ede in the Netherlands.
Registration has opened! Go to: http://www.sdn.nl/Default.aspx?tabid=247

Speakers and sessions:

Ron DeSerranno writes about a new type of webapplication that he has seen that was build using .NET 3.0. He describes a bookstore that is presented to the user in a 3D environment and where the user feels like he or she is in the store.

The part of .NET 3.0 that makes this possible is largely XAML. A new markup language which in it's basic form is simple enough that it may replace HTML and is at the same time extensive enough that it can take on Flash.

Personally I feel that AJAX is a step back in time. And tooling like ATLAS is really just IDE enhancing technology to generate code that has at it's very core still the JavaScript engine which has seen no improvements in the longest time. So while AJAX aims to use the technology available to the full 100% it is based (and limited) on technology from years back.

XAML offers technology which is not looking back, but instead offers a new platform language, using the .NET Framework as it's platform, which aims to use today's hardware to the max. Much more interactive and 3D content is at our fingertips.

Writing this entry I just thought of a great feature for Word 2007. What if you could save a Word document as XAML instead of HTML. I just checked this isn't possible right now, but I think I'll submit a feedback report to Microsoft on that.

Microsoft has released Visual Studio 2003 Service Pack 1.

Link: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=dc455c5d-2c99-43cc-ad71-4e0beb71bfa7&displaylang=en

For a list of bugs that were fixed in this service pack go to http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;918007

One minute I'm learning stuff about Orbital applicances, the next Orbital Data has been purchased by Citrix. Read more on the Citrix website.

I know I was impressed with Orbital, but here are the reasons why Citrix thinks they're great:

1. Best Ease-of-Use. Unlike alternative products that can be difficult to deploy and manage, Orbital Data offers several unique capabilities that make it virtually “plug-and-play,” a critical advantage for under-staffed IT departments in remote branch office locations. Its AutoOptimizer™ technology automatically applies the best combination of performance-boosting techniques for each data flow to match the application, the data and the network conditions without requiring configuration or management changes. Orbital Data is also the only solution on the market to feature true “network and application transparency,” meaning that network monitoring tools, firewalls, routers and applications need no modification when the Orbital solution is deployed. Just plug it in, and it works. This advantage will help drive faster adoption throughout the existing Citrix installed base and will make the Orbital solution an ideal fit for the extensive Citrix channel.
2. Best Solution for Small Branches and Mobile Users. Orbital Data was the first company in the industry to deliver a compact, software-based version of its branch appliance technology that can be deployed directly on a remote user’s PC. In contrast, most alternative solutions are delivered only as appliances, limiting their value to employees who are physically located in a large branch office. Solutions that do offer software clients are limited to accelerating only a narrow class of applications. Orbital Data’s software client addresses both of these limitations, accelerating all TCP-based applications to all remote users, including employees in small “micro branches,” home offices or on the road. This client capability also provides an ideal strategic fit with Citrix’s end-to-end strategy, extending application delivery from the datacenter to the desktop.
3. Best Acceleration over Long Distances. The Orbital Data solution excels in some of the most problematic branch office application delivery scenarios, most notably file sharing and bulk data transfer applications that deliver large files over long distances. With the growing importance of business requirements such as disaster recovery, outsourcing, digital asset management and collaborative engineering, these advantages can be significant to many large enterprises.
4. Best Acceleration of Citrix Presentation Server. Orbital Data also offers the best solution to further accelerate applications delivered by other Citrix products, most notably, Citrix Presentation Server™. In internal tests, Orbital Data has been shown to improve the performance of Presentation Server by as much as five times for end users, especially for remote printing and local file save tasks that necessitate the transfer of large volumes of data over the WAN. This capability gives Citrix an ideal opportunity to leverage its installed base of more than 160,000 Citrix Presentation Server customers and presence in enterprise WANs across the globe.
5. Highly Extensible Architecture. Orbital Data also offers a highly-extensible architecture, making it easier for Citrix to add innovative new capabilities, including tighter integration with other elements of the Citrix end-to-end application delivery infrastructure.

The Software Developer Network (in the Netherlands) will organize their quarterly conference next month. A sneek preview as to who will be speaking in the C# track:

- Peter van Ooijen: Het web als infrastructuur voor applicaties, hoe gebruik je dat
- Dennis Vroegop: Community Server
- Erik van de Ven: WCF Security
- Raimond Brookman: Altas
- Alex Thissen: ASP.NET 2.0 caching

Keep an eye on www.sdn.nl for more info.

Yesterday I had a training from Spyro Papademetriou from Orbital Data. I now know all there is to know about accelerating Wide Area Network's using the Orbital appliances.

It's tremendous what they can do in optimizing your connection. Up to 4600 times faster connections. At first I didn't quite believe it, but now, understanding the underlying technology and having seen the demo: I'm a believer!

The demo showed a 4MB powerpoint taking about 3 minutes (=180 seconds) to download from the States to the Netherlands over a WiFi connection in the conference area. Using the Orbital appliance it went down to about 15 seconds. After changing the powerpoint and the uploading of the same file back to the server only took 9 seconds. Cool!

I've just finished writing two chapters for the Microsoft Training Kit for exam 70-529 entitled: "70-529: TS: Microsoft® .NET Framework 2.0 - Distributed Application Development".

It's been a great experience and I can't wait to see a copy from the printer.

I just discovered a brilliant new feature in Outlook 2007: timezones!

When creating an appointment you can now select in which timezone the appointment takes place. I travel a lot between the States and Europe. This is great!!!

A while back I tried to install VirtualPC on Vista and failed. Last night I continued my battles and discovered that VirtualPC 2004 SP1 actually gives me a different error. This time it said it could not run on a 64bit OS. This gave me hope. I figured, what the heck let's just jump in and install Vista beta 2 CTP 5456 on my laptop.

I did and it's running nicely, next step, install Virtual PC SP1. By mistake I clicked the MSI file, and that will give you an error quite a ways into the installation process, but if you click setup.exe then there is no problem. I've been able to fire up my exisitng virtual machines and the seem to run fine. Only 'problem' right now is memory. Vista hogs a little more than XP and this leaves less for my virtual machine. 512MB is enough to run Visual Studio 2005 though.

I've also installed Office 2007 beta 2, and it too looks nice. The Outlook 'pst' files haven't changed in format. Which is good, beacuse when I go on a trip I copy my pst-file to my laptop and when I get back I copy it back onto my main machine. But I run Plaxo and Office 2007 seems to discard some of the data which Plaxo puts into the pst-file, which means I need to reconfigure Plaxo after copying the file.

I had a need for knowing which Microsoft Management Console snap-in's are available. A little digging on the Internet gave me:

.msc files are associated with MMC, so you can just run them.

On my machine, WindowsXP SP2, the Component Services snap-in (comexp.msc) is located in c:\windows\system32\Com which means I can't just go to [Start][Run] and enter comexp.msc to start.

Updated 6/30/2006: As my friend Kishor correctly points out, it is possible to start the Component Services management console by running dcomcnfg.exe

Yesterday I spoke at a meeting of the Maine Developer Network about building a Smart Client application using C# and .NET 2.0.

It was a two hour session where I used an application that is close to completion to show how to create a typed dataset, deliver the data to a client using webservices, consume the service and asynchronously use the data retrieved to send a newsletter using the .NET mail classes.

Go to the Maine Developer Network website to download the presentation.

I knew it was possible, but never took the time to have a closer look at how to do it.

With embedded resources you can embed whole files (binary and text) in your assembly. Today I created a Console application that provides help when you pass the '/?' switch. The helpfile is a plain textfile, embedded in the assembly.

Here's how it is done:

1. Add the textfile to your project.
2. Set the property 'Build Action' to 'Embedded Resource'.
3. Use code below to retrieve file as string.

private static string GetFileFromResources(string filename)
{
Assembly assembly;
assembly = Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly();
Stream stream =
assembly.GetManifestResourceStream("Type assembly namespace here" + "." + filename);
StreamReader sr = new StreamReader(stream);
string file = sr.ReadToEnd();
return file;
}

Soma announced today that WinFX is being renamed to .NET Framework 3.0. Jason has more detailed info though.

WinFX will become .NET 3.0 while still running on the CLR 2.0. C# 3.0 will not be part of this release, but rather remain part of the 'Orcas'-release (scheduled for sometime 2007). I guess they'll have to rename it to C# 4.0.

Updated 6/13/2006: There is also a .NET 3.0 website at http://www.netfx3.com/

I finished installing Vista beta 2 and Office 2007 beta 2 on my test machine. It all looks really cool, but sadly beta 2 does not yet include Virtual PC Express ER.

Not to be held back I downloaded Virtual PC 2004. But sadly this version won't run on Vista.

So I guess my move to upgrade to all beta stuff has just ground to a halt... :-(

I'm in the process of upgrading my laptop to Windows Vista beta 2 and Office 2007 beta 2. Since I do all my development in VirtualPC mode, my first step will be to determine how well my VirtualPC images run on Vista.

I love the way the Vista Enterprise site provides the reader with an example of using Virtual PC Express:

"With Virtual PC Express, you can conveniently run two operating systems on a single computer through a virtual machine. While the latest operating system version (Microsoft Windows Vista Enterprise, for example) runs as a host, the other operating system (Microsoft Windows XP Professional, for example) runs as a guest in the virtual machine."

Well I'll be giving it a try.

Btw. for downloading Vista, WinFx and more, go to: http://msdn.microsoft.com/windowsvista/downloads/products/getthebeta/