Heading off to Guerilla.NET training in Torrance, CA tomorrow. See ya in a week or so...
L8R
Friday, February 21, 2003
M$ embarks on a P2P social experiment with ThreeDegrees...
ThreeDegrees is a Peer-to-Peer application that is a distinct divergence from Microsoft's productivity-based software offereings. The intention is to create virtual liquid Drain-O for any spare time you may have. But, this is targeted not at the old codgers over 25 years old, but instead at the 13-20year old crowd. Combine Messenger, IE, MediaPlayer, and silly-putty and you may have an idea of what this product might be. This is not your father's Microsoft Bob! :)
Click here, to sign-up to be notified about the Beta...and be assaulted by some hideous red/orange background.
ThreeDegrees is a Peer-to-Peer application that is a distinct divergence from Microsoft's productivity-based software offereings. The intention is to create virtual liquid Drain-O for any spare time you may have. But, this is targeted not at the old codgers over 25 years old, but instead at the 13-20year old crowd. Combine Messenger, IE, MediaPlayer, and silly-putty and you may have an idea of what this product might be. This is not your father's Microsoft Bob! :)
Click here, to sign-up to be notified about the Beta...and be assaulted by some hideous red/orange background.
Windows Server 2003 + SQL Server 2000 DataCenter = Benchmark Spankfest!
In a Microsoft announcement released today:
"NEC published a TPC-C benchmark result that places Windows Server 2003 and SQL Server™ 2000 Enterprise Edition in the lead for the fastest 32-way online transaction processing (OLTP) server in the world. With this achievement, Windows Server 2003 and SQL Server 2000 now hold world records for performance at every end of the spectrum, including the best 2-way, 4-way, 8-way, and now 32-way systems"
Obviously benchmarks, much like statistics, can be misleading, but this is quite impressive considering that just a few years ago Microsoft was merely "Licensing" the core SQL Server 6.5 DBMS from Sybase(a stripped-down clone of SyBase's offering at the time). SQL Server should now be respected for the quality product it is.
In a Microsoft announcement released today:
"NEC published a TPC-C benchmark result that places Windows Server 2003 and SQL Server™ 2000 Enterprise Edition in the lead for the fastest 32-way online transaction processing (OLTP) server in the world. With this achievement, Windows Server 2003 and SQL Server 2000 now hold world records for performance at every end of the spectrum, including the best 2-way, 4-way, 8-way, and now 32-way systems"
Obviously benchmarks, much like statistics, can be misleading, but this is quite impressive considering that just a few years ago Microsoft was merely "Licensing" the core SQL Server 6.5 DBMS from Sybase(a stripped-down clone of SyBase's offering at the time). SQL Server should now be respected for the quality product it is.
Changes to MSDN, ASP.NET, and WindowsForms.NET websites.
The ASP.NET website has recently added a new "Starter Kit" section containing new boilerplate examples for Time Tracking, Reporting, Community Websites, and the existing IBuySpy sites.
In addition, Microsoft is about to release a similar set of "Starter Kit" samples for the WindowsForms.NET website including the recently released TaskVision sample project.
On top of all that, MSDN is about to go through a face-lift, and they are asking us developers to help them decide which design to choose. Note that option #3 looks very similar to the styles used on the Asp.NET and WindowsForms.NET websites.
Microsoft hired VertigoSoftware again to create the WinForms and ASP.NET examples. This is an old relationship dating back to the Fitch & Mather Stocks sample created for the Windows DNA architecture.
The ASP.NET website has recently added a new "Starter Kit" section containing new boilerplate examples for Time Tracking, Reporting, Community Websites, and the existing IBuySpy sites.
In addition, Microsoft is about to release a similar set of "Starter Kit" samples for the WindowsForms.NET website including the recently released TaskVision sample project.
On top of all that, MSDN is about to go through a face-lift, and they are asking us developers to help them decide which design to choose. Note that option #3 looks very similar to the styles used on the Asp.NET and WindowsForms.NET websites.
Microsoft hired VertigoSoftware again to create the WinForms and ASP.NET examples. This is an old relationship dating back to the Fitch & Mather Stocks sample created for the Windows DNA architecture.
Thursday, February 20, 2003
Microsoft acquires Virtual PC from Connectix
As a developer using MS tools, it makes me wonder if this is in any way a part of the .NET initiative for the MAC, or if its just a way to garner better position for supporting compatibility with the MAC OS platform.
From MacCentral:
...
"This fits very well with how we look at our strategy -- this is all about compatibility," said McDonough. "Our products are all about letting Mac users be compatible with people running Windows; this is a natural extension of that strategy."
...
As a developer using MS tools, it makes me wonder if this is in any way a part of the .NET initiative for the MAC, or if its just a way to garner better position for supporting compatibility with the MAC OS platform.
From MacCentral:
...
"This fits very well with how we look at our strategy -- this is all about compatibility," said McDonough. "Our products are all about letting Mac users be compatible with people running Windows; this is a natural extension of that strategy."
...
Monday, February 17, 2003
Google buys Pyra!!! (Blogger.com, BlogSpot.com, etc.)
The acquisition of the most prolific source of content by the #1 search-engine is very exciting, and gives much legitamacy and stability to the Blogging world.
Bloggers rejoice!
The acquisition of the most prolific source of content by the #1 search-engine is very exciting, and gives much legitamacy and stability to the Blogging world.
Bloggers rejoice!
Sunday, February 16, 2003
"Spotted" something else interesting on Paul Thurrott's Supersite...
Lastyear I began hearing about the idea of watches running on the Microsoft platform under the Smart Personal Object Technology (SPOT) initiative. However, with not being funded to travel to all the technology shows, I didnt get all the dirt on the idea until I read Paul's article posted last month.
This article offers some details on the initiative as well as a FM-based broadband network called "DirectBand" which is intended to deliver content to these devices. What struck me as a major concern, was the following comment in the article:
...
Each DirectBand signal is encrypted with private/public key mechanism that's based on a unique identifier supplied with each watch. Even Microsoft doesn't have access to the user database, Gulranjani said, since those numbers will be applied at manufacturing.
...
*cough* bullshit *cough*....I may be a tad bit paranoid, but even if Microsoft doesnt have access to the user database, you better believe it that every hacker in the world will be looking for a way to take advantage of the unique identifier in these watches! And if the hackers dont do it, I guarantee that the NSA, FBI, CIA, and every other "intelligence service" will find a way to bend this to their will. What could be more powerful information than where someone is, and what they are doing at any given time. Everything comes with its price...this time it may be your privacy...
Lastyear I began hearing about the idea of watches running on the Microsoft platform under the Smart Personal Object Technology (SPOT) initiative. However, with not being funded to travel to all the technology shows, I didnt get all the dirt on the idea until I read Paul's article posted last month.
This article offers some details on the initiative as well as a FM-based broadband network called "DirectBand" which is intended to deliver content to these devices. What struck me as a major concern, was the following comment in the article:
...
Each DirectBand signal is encrypted with private/public key mechanism that's based on a unique identifier supplied with each watch. Even Microsoft doesn't have access to the user database, Gulranjani said, since those numbers will be applied at manufacturing.
...
*cough* bullshit *cough*....I may be a tad bit paranoid, but even if Microsoft doesnt have access to the user database, you better believe it that every hacker in the world will be looking for a way to take advantage of the unique identifier in these watches! And if the hackers dont do it, I guarantee that the NSA, FBI, CIA, and every other "intelligence service" will find a way to bend this to their will. What could be more powerful information than where someone is, and what they are doing at any given time. Everything comes with its price...this time it may be your privacy...
A peek into Microsoft Windows development (Windows Server 2003)
Just ran across part two of an interesting three-part series entitled "Windows Server 2003: The Road To Gold". It gives some nice insight into the MS development process, and the unbelieveable scale of their latest progeny, Windows Server 2003.
"There are 5000 developers on the Windows team generating over 50 million lines of code for Windows Server 2003. It's an enormous task, the biggest software engineering task ever attempted. There are no other software projects like this."
-Mark Lucovsky, Windows Server Architect
Just ran across part two of an interesting three-part series entitled "Windows Server 2003: The Road To Gold". It gives some nice insight into the MS development process, and the unbelieveable scale of their latest progeny, Windows Server 2003.
"There are 5000 developers on the Windows team generating over 50 million lines of code for Windows Server 2003. It's an enormous task, the biggest software engineering task ever attempted. There are no other software projects like this."
-Mark Lucovsky, Windows Server Architect
Friday, February 14, 2003
Political hokey-pokey...
With the impending attack on Iraq looming ahead, I think it is appropriate for some rare political blogging...
US Senator Robert Byrd published an anti-war editorial 2 days ago entitled "Reckless Administration May Reap Disastrous Consequences" Whether or not you agree with his politics, his passionate rhetoric is quite compelling...and I have to agree that even with the chaotic state of the world, Pres. Bush's meager attempts at "international diplomacy" come up lacking.
On a lighter note....The Onion published a biting satire on the unasked questions of why there is a double standard in the diplomacy towards North Korea vs. Iraq.
With the impending attack on Iraq looming ahead, I think it is appropriate for some rare political blogging...
US Senator Robert Byrd published an anti-war editorial 2 days ago entitled "Reckless Administration May Reap Disastrous Consequences" Whether or not you agree with his politics, his passionate rhetoric is quite compelling...and I have to agree that even with the chaotic state of the world, Pres. Bush's meager attempts at "international diplomacy" come up lacking.
On a lighter note....The Onion published a biting satire on the unasked questions of why there is a double standard in the diplomacy towards North Korea vs. Iraq.
A new .NET language is born! Waaaaaaaa!
S#.NET (SmallScript) just went Beta, and will provide a SmallTalk compatible scripting language for .NET:
...
"The SmallScript System is a platform suite of solution components and tools including S#, a superset of the Smalltalk-98 language."
...
We now have a veritable buffet of .NET languages with C#, VB.NET, Managed C++, J#, JScript.NET, NETCOBOL, Eiffel.NET, Perl.NET, Fortran for .NET, Python.NET, etc...(See MSDN for a list of "Language Partners")
I wonder if it would be worthwhile to become a multi-language programmer and "cherry-pick" the right language for each job...COBOL for reports, Fortran for math, Perl for text manipulation, etc....gives me the urge to go back and take those Programming Language theory classes I skipped.
For more info read this DevX review of S#.NET features.
S#.NET (SmallScript) just went Beta, and will provide a SmallTalk compatible scripting language for .NET:
...
"The SmallScript System is a platform suite of solution components and tools including S#, a superset of the Smalltalk-98 language."
...
We now have a veritable buffet of .NET languages with C#, VB.NET, Managed C++, J#, JScript.NET, NETCOBOL, Eiffel.NET, Perl.NET, Fortran for .NET, Python.NET, etc...(See MSDN for a list of "Language Partners")
I wonder if it would be worthwhile to become a multi-language programmer and "cherry-pick" the right language for each job...COBOL for reports, Fortran for math, Perl for text manipulation, etc....gives me the urge to go back and take those Programming Language theory classes I skipped.
For more info read this DevX review of S#.NET features.
Blog much?
CNet has an insiteful article about the power of blogging for Coders. Blogs are definitely here to stay, and seem to be going through a boom with the prolific emergence of "flavorized" blog sites for every genre, hobby, sport, technology, and religion you can imagine.
As for us, developers, its a way to get more than our resume' published...we can actually contribute raw editorials, post code snippets, or just rant about our favorite bugs without being sanitized by an editor. :)
CNet has an insiteful article about the power of blogging for Coders. Blogs are definitely here to stay, and seem to be going through a boom with the prolific emergence of "flavorized" blog sites for every genre, hobby, sport, technology, and religion you can imagine.
As for us, developers, its a way to get more than our resume' published...we can actually contribute raw editorials, post code snippets, or just rant about our favorite bugs without being sanitized by an editor. :)
Bugged?
Next time you are annoyed about some newly discovered .NET bug, you might wander over to this website to submit it to the list...or just peruse the bug list so you can enjoy other developers' misery instead of gnashing teeth over your pitiful little bug.
Next time you are annoyed about some newly discovered .NET bug, you might wander over to this website to submit it to the list...or just peruse the bug list so you can enjoy other developers' misery instead of gnashing teeth over your pitiful little bug.
.NET v1.1: Upgrade well or upgrade hell?
Early & Adopter on : Running Multiple Versions of the Framework Side-by-Side
This is an interesting and sometimes amusing article discussing the various aspects of deployment once we have 2 versions of the framework(VisualStudio.NET 2003 ships in a couple months). I hadnt thought much about the versioning issue, even during my brief stint of beta-testing on Everett (Visual Studio.NET 2003).
...
This is important. If you compile an app against v1.0 of the Framework, but you run it on a machine that only has v1.1 installed, it will “just run”. You won’t get any warnings, errors, or anything. It will just “try” to work.
...
The more that I think about it, the scarrier it seems for someone to trust code written, compiled, and tested against v1.0 to successfully run without retesting on the v1.1 runtime. This is ean specially sticky issue for non-corporate library and consumer-app developers who do not have control over deployment. This really makes me want to rethink my whole approach to the Smart Client concept....hmmmm.
Early & Adopter on : Running Multiple Versions of the Framework Side-by-Side
This is an interesting and sometimes amusing article discussing the various aspects of deployment once we have 2 versions of the framework(VisualStudio.NET 2003 ships in a couple months). I hadnt thought much about the versioning issue, even during my brief stint of beta-testing on Everett (Visual Studio.NET 2003).
...
This is important. If you compile an app against v1.0 of the Framework, but you run it on a machine that only has v1.1 installed, it will “just run”. You won’t get any warnings, errors, or anything. It will just “try” to work.
...
The more that I think about it, the scarrier it seems for someone to trust code written, compiled, and tested against v1.0 to successfully run without retesting on the v1.1 runtime. This is ean specially sticky issue for non-corporate library and consumer-app developers who do not have control over deployment. This really makes me want to rethink my whole approach to the Smart Client concept....hmmmm.
Borland.NET???
Borland's new "SideWinder" IDE for .NET is an emerging competitor to VS.NET....but can it compete? The IDE tries to approximate the VisualStudio.NET environment, including IntelliSense and everything. Unfortunately, the IDE's style and behavior is freakin annoying as hell...I would much rather stumble around in the SharpDevelop camp at this point...
Borland's new "SideWinder" IDE for .NET is an emerging competitor to VS.NET....but can it compete? The IDE tries to approximate the VisualStudio.NET environment, including IntelliSense and everything. Unfortunately, the IDE's style and behavior is freakin annoying as hell...I would much rather stumble around in the SharpDevelop camp at this point...
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