Blog on Accentient

Can You Automate Copyright Registration From an Azure Pipeline?

Fri, 26 Jun 2026 10:00:00 +0000

Short answer: not the whole thing, and you shouldn't want to. You can automate the tedious, deterministic part of registering your source code with the U.S. Copyright Office, but the filing itself still needs a human. Here's where the line is, and how to build a pipeline that respects it.

There's no registration API to call

You can't POST a registration. Filing runs through eCO (soon to be ECS), and it's interactive by design: you complete the application, pay through Pay.gov, and upload the deposit copy. ECS has so far shipped public records (CPRS) and recordation, not a registration submission endpoint. The 2018 modernization notice floated the idea of public APIs, but as of the February 2026 ECS updates that's still aspirational. So any tool promising end-to-end automated filing today is either wrapping a browser or making something up.

Associating Commits to Work Items for Traceability

Sat, 13 Jun 2026 15:09:16 +0000

It's a smell when I don't see commits associated with a work item. It usually means the Developers decided that traceability isn't worth the extra step. It is. Linking a Git commit to the work item it implements is a tiny habit that buys you bidirectional, end-to-end traceability from plan to release, and it's one of the highest-return things a Scrum Team can do with Azure DevOps.

Why it matters

What Makes a Good Bug Report

Wed, 27 May 2026 14:56:58 +0000

A bug report is exactly what it sounds like: the reporting of a bug or other unwanted behavior in the product. The point of writing a good one is to give the Scrum Team enough information to understand it, gauge its impact, and decide if it's worth fixing. Most bad bug reports fail not because the bug was hard, but because the report was lazy. Here are the fields that actually help Developers reproduce and fix the problem.

Nexus Sprint Planning in Practice

Tue, 12 May 2026 13:13:41 +0000

People hear "Sprint Planning at scale" and imagine a giant meeting with sixty people in a room trying to plan one enormous Sprint. That's not how Nexus Sprint Planning works, and if that's what you're doing, stop. The flow is more sensible than that, and it starts well before anyone sits down to plan.

It starts with cross-team Refinement

In single-team Scrum, Product Backlog refinement is optional and not even an event. In a Nexus, Refinement is a proper event and it's required, because at scale it does double duty. It identifies dependencies across teams, and it helps those teams forecast which will deliver which PBIs. The Product Backlog must be decomposed so that dependencies are identified and removed or minimized, and refinement continues until PBIs are sufficiently independent to be worked on by a single Scrum Team without excessive coordination.

From Manual to Automated Acceptance Tests

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 11:58:36 +0000

Professional Scrum Developers agree that automated testing is awesome and a must-have. But if your team isn't there yet, "go automate everything" is useless advice. The good news is that the path from manual to automated acceptance tests is gradual, and Azure Test Plans is built to let you walk it one step at a time. Start where you are.

The foundation is already familiar. A Test Case is just another work item type. It can be lightweight, with only a title and description, serving as documentation. Some test cases morph into manual tests with real steps and expectations. Others get associated with an automated test. That last kind is where ATDD practitioners want to end up, and Azure Test Plans, automated tests, and Azure Pipelines together give you the foundation to build it yourself.

In-Sprint vs. Out-of-Sprint Bugs

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 13:25:17 +0000

Not all bugs are the same kind of problem, and treating them as if they were leads teams astray. A bug can be found in a product already delivered to production, in a done Increment from a previous Sprint, or in the Increment being developed in the current Sprint. That last category behaves very differently from the first two, and it's worth being deliberate about both.

In-Sprint bugs: part of the work you're building now

Nexus Support in Azure DevOps, Honestly

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 08:14:52 +0000

Let me be candid, because I'd rather you hear it from me than discover it mid-scale. There is no first-class support for Nexus in Azure DevOps. There's no "enable Nexus" switch, no built-in Nexus Sprint Backlog board, no Nexus dashboard waiting for you. I helped create the Nexus framework alongside Ken Schwaber, so I'd love to tell you otherwise, but I won't.

The good news is that Nexus is just Scrum. A Nexus is a framework, similar to Scrum, that binds together the work of three to nine Scrum Teams working on a single Product Backlog to build an Integrated Increment. Schwaber describes it as an exoskeleton to Scrum. So everything you already know about using Azure DevOps for a single Scrum Team still applies. Only a couple of tweaks are needed to support multiple teams working on one Product Backlog.

The Supreme Court Leaves the Human-Only Rule Standing

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0000

This is the last stop on a road I've been following since the overview and the appeals court ruling. On March 2, 2026, the Supreme Court denied certiorari in Thaler v. Perlmutter, declining to hear the case. For anyone building software with AI, that quiet one-line order is the most consequential thing to happen to this question yet.

What a cert denial means, and what it doesn't

Stephen Thaler petitioned the Court in October 2025, asking it to decide whether a work created entirely by AI, with no traditional human contribution, can be copyrighted at all. The Court said no thanks. A denial of certiorari is not a ruling on the merits. The justices didn't endorse the D.C. Circuit's reasoning, and a denial doesn't create nationwide binding precedent the way a full opinion would. What it does is leave the appeals court decision undisturbed. The human-only rule stands, and the Court has signaled it isn't in a hurry to revisit it.

Reusing Tests and Building a Regression Suite

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 16:14:43 +0000

Every Sprint you build a test plan full of acceptance tests. When the Sprint ends, what should you keep, and how? Not everything deserves to outlive its Sprint, but the tests that protect your Increment absolutely do. Here's how I think about promoting tests out of a Sprint's plan and into a durable regression suite.

Reuse a test, or truly copy it

By design, a single Test Case work item can be associated with multiple PBIs. If you've got a generic test, say, verifying that a page request returns a response in 5 seconds or less, you can reuse it simply by adding that existing Test Case work item to another suite. Just know the catch: if you tweak it for the current Sprint, like changing 5 seconds to 3, that change affects every instance of that test case. It's a reference, not a copy.

Tags, Fields, and Area Paths: Slicing the Backlog

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 15:24:17 +0000

Sooner or later your Product Backlog gets big enough that you want to slice it: show me just the mobile work, just the bugs, just the items for the payments area. Azure Boards gives you three tools for this, and teams constantly reach for the wrong one. Here's when to use a tag, a field, and an area path.

Tags: lightweight and ad hoc

Managing One Product Backlog Across Many Teams

Mon, 26 Jan 2026 16:46:15 +0000

When organizations scale Scrum to several teams, the first thing that tends to fracture is the backlog. Every team wants its own list, and before long you have three or four backlogs, three or four orderings, and nobody with a coherent view of the whole product. That's a mistake. In a scaled setup, there is one Product Backlog and one Product Owner. Full stop. Each team's view is filtered, but it's still one backlog underneath.

Inspecting Test Progress Mid-Sprint

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 09:38:40 +0000

If your forecasted PBIs are expressed as failing acceptance tests, then progress becomes wonderfully simple to read. The more passing tests, the more progress. Right after Sprint Planning there should be zero passing tests. By the end of the Sprint, hopefully, all of them pass. At any point along the way, passing tests divided by total tests roughly equates to progress. The work per test isn't perfectly even, but it's close enough to steer by.

Workflow State Categories: Why Your States Map the Way They Do

Mon, 22 Dec 2025 11:42:17 +0000

Here's a question that stumps a lot of teams the first time they customize a process: how does Azure Boards know that "Committed" in Scrum and "Active" in Agile mean roughly the same thing? The agile tools work the same way regardless of which process you picked, even though every process names its states differently. The answer is state categories.

What a state category is

Two of My Books Are in the Anthropic Settlement

Tue, 09 Dec 2025 15:31:00 +0000

I've spent a fair amount of ink on this blog arguing that AI-generated code has no human author, and therefore no copyright. This post is the other side of that coin, and it's personal. Two of the books I wrote were in the pile of pirated works Anthropic used to train Claude, and today I filed a claim in the settlement.

How my books ended up in a lawsuit

The two titles are old friends: Building Web Applications with ADO.NET and XML Web Services and Working with Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Team System. One is from the early 2000s, the other from the Team System era, and both were properly registered with the U.S. Copyright Office back when I wrote them. I didn't go looking for this fight. The works were swept up in the class because they were among the books Anthropic obtained from pirate libraries to feed its models. When the claims process opened, I checked, found both titles, and filed.

Configuring Additional Teams in One Project

Mon, 08 Dec 2025 13:10:23 +0000

When you create an Azure DevOps project, a single default team is created with the same name as the project. For single-team Scrum, you just add the Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Developers to that team and you're off. Backlogs, boards, and dashboards are configured automatically. But the moment you need more than one Scrum Team in one project, you start touching Boards team configuration, and that's where people trip.

A Naming Convention for Test Cases

Mon, 17 Nov 2025 09:24:17 +0000

A single PBI with five acceptance criteria can produce five or more Test Case work items. Multiply that across a forecast of eight PBIs and you're staring at 40-some test cases in a Sprint. Without a naming convention, that list becomes a soup of vague titles that nobody can scan. So adopt one. It costs nothing and it pays off the moment your test count climbs.

The convention I recommend

Scrum Work Item Types, Decoded

Thu, 30 Oct 2025 12:05:54 +0000

Azure DevOps offers more than a dozen work item types, but most don't relate to planning and managing work. In the Scrum process, the ones that actually matter for a Scrum Team are Product Backlog Item, Bug, Task, Impediment, Epic, and Feature. Here's what each is for, and which ones teams tend to misuse.

Product Backlog Item

Area Paths vs. Iteration Paths

Fri, 17 Oct 2025 09:02:42 +0000

Two of the most useful organizing concepts in Azure Boards get confused all the time, and the confusion creates real mess in a backlog. Area paths and iteration paths sound similar and live near each other in project configuration, but they answer two completely different questions. Area paths answer "what part of the product, and whose?" Iteration paths answer "when?" Tangle them and you'll spend Sprints untangling.

Area paths model space

ATDD vs. TDD

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 13:36:12 +0000

ATDD can sometimes be confused with TDD. It's akin to confusing ADHD with ADD, but I digress. The two practices share a family resemblance, and people who've only heard of one tend to assume it covers the other. It doesn't. They operate at different altitudes, and the best teams run both.

Same instinct, different altitude

Both are test-first. In both, you write a failing test before you write the thing that makes it pass. That shared instinct is why they get lumped together. But what each test is about could not be more different.

Don't Create Tasks Before Sprint Planning

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 09:35:18 +0000

It's a smell when I see tasks created and associated with a PBI before Sprint Planning. I run into it constantly, usually from well-meaning teams who think they're getting a head start. They're not. They're manufacturing waste, and a particularly stubborn kind of it.

Here's the reasoning. In Scrum, Task work items represent the plan for developing the forecasted PBIs in the Sprint Backlog and achieving the Sprint Goal. Tasks decompose the plan for the current Sprint. That's their whole job. All the tasks for a PBI, together with that PBI, form part of the Sprint Backlog. So a task that exists before the PBI has even been forecast into a Sprint is a plan for work the team hasn't decided to do yet.

Project Dashboards vs. Team Dashboards

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 15:34:07 +0000

When you create a dashboard in Azure DevOps, you make a choice that's easy to breeze past: is this a project dashboard or a team dashboard? They look similar and they're built from the same widgets, but they serve different audiences and they're owned differently. Getting the distinction right keeps your information radiators from turning into a confusing pile of overlapping signboards, especially once you're running more than one team.

ATDD on a Scrum Team, Concretely

Wed, 06 Aug 2025 12:51:02 +0000

Starting work by creating failing tests can feel counterintuitive and weird. It also works. Test-driven development proves that every day. Acceptance test-driven development, or ATDD, takes the same idea up a level: instead of driving the design of the code, it drives the team's shared understanding of what they're building and what Done looks like at each step.

That shared understanding is the whole point. ATDD encourages the Developers to discuss the acceptance criteria collaboratively with the right people. Those conversations yield practical examples from the user's viewpoint, and those examples become the basis for the acceptance tests. All of it can happen before any application coding begins.

Shared Queries Every Scrum Team Should Create

Mon, 21 Jul 2025 09:22:54 +0000

Work item queries are one of the most underused features in Azure Boards. They let you view, filter, and sort your work so you can decide what to act on, and they can power charts on dashboards and wiki pages. When you save a query to Shared Queries instead of My Queries, everyone with access to the project can run it. A few well-chosen shared queries can quietly keep a Scrum Team honest.

Information Radiators That Actually Inform

Mon, 07 Jul 2025 13:06:05 +0000

An information radiator is any display, physical or electronic, placed somewhere visible that shows process or product information. The phrase has been around for years, but plenty of teams set one up and then forget the second word. A radiator that nobody looks at, or that shows noise instead of signal, isn't informing anyone. In Azure DevOps, the dashboard is your best radiator, and it's only as good as the widgets you choose to pin.

Acceptance Is Not Acceptance Testing

Mon, 16 Jun 2025 12:09:13 +0000

As I visit with software development teams, I keep running into the same confusion about the word "acceptance." Two ideas get jammed together that really shouldn't be. Let me pull them apart, because the distinction matters more than it sounds.

Acceptance criteria are the Product Owner's or stakeholders' definition of success for a given PBI. They define Done. Acceptance testing is the activity of verifying that those criteria are satisfied. One is the standard. The other is the act of checking against it. Conflating the two leads to sloppy thinking and, worse, sloppy claims about what's actually finished.

Stop Using the Value Area Field

Tue, 27 May 2025 10:44:27 +0000

Open a PBI work item form in the Scrum process and you'll find a field called Value Area with two options: Business and Architectural. It looks helpful. It isn't. I'd leave it alone.

The problem starts with the premise. A Product Backlog Item can have value for any number of reasons, well beyond the two choices in that drop-down. Forcing every item into Business or Architectural pretends the world is simpler than it is, and the pretense costs you more than it gives.

Marketplace Extensions Worth Installing on Day One

Tue, 13 May 2025 12:51:55 +0000

The Azure DevOps Marketplace boasts more than 1,200 extensions across all the services. That's a lot to wade through, and most teams either ignore it entirely or install a dozen shiny things they never use. Over many years of training and coaching Scrum Teams, I've come up with a short list of extensions that have proven their worth. I'm not saying my list should be your list, but it's a sensible place to start.

Write Acceptance Criteria You Can Actually Test

Mon, 28 Apr 2025 16:26:14 +0000

Acceptance criteria are the Product Owner's or stakeholders' definition of success for a given PBI. Most teams write them as prose, a few sentences describing what the feature should do, and then move on. That prose reads fine in a refinement session. It falls apart the moment you try to test it.

Here's the shift that changes everything: write your acceptance criteria knowing you'll generate Test Case work items from them. Once you internalize that, you stop writing paragraphs and start writing something a Developer, and a tool, can act on.

Committed vs. Forecasted: Scrum Guide Drift in Azure Boards

Wed, 09 Apr 2025 11:45:41 +0000

Open a PBI in the Scrum process, walk its workflow states, and you'll hit one that hasn't aged well: Committed. It's a small word on a drop-down, and it carries a decade of disagreement.

One of the most controversial updates to the 2011 Scrum Guide was removing the term "commit" in favor of "forecast" for the work selected in a Sprint. Before that change, practitioners used to say the Development Team commits to the items it will deliver by the end of the Sprint. Scrum now calls that selection a forecast, because forecast better reflects the reality of doing complex work in a complex domain.

No Human, No Copyright: The Appeals Court Confirms It

Fri, 21 Mar 2025 10:00:00 +0000

A while back I argued that if an AI writes your code, probably nobody owns it, and that the question was still working its way through the courts. One of those courts has now answered. On March 18, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit affirmed the lower court in Thaler v. Perlmutter, and the speculation I wrote about in the overview got a good deal less speculative.

Stakeholder Access Is Free Transparency

Thu, 20 Mar 2025 16:38:01 +0000

Here's a feature teams routinely leave on the table: Stakeholder access. It's free, it's unlimited, and it gives the people around your Scrum Team a window into the work. If you care about transparency, and Scrum says you should, this is one of the easiest wins in all of Azure DevOps.

Stakeholders are users with free but limited access to the features in Azure DevOps. The Stakeholder access level can be assigned to an unlimited number of users without a license or subscription. That's worth repeating. You can give every manager, sponsor, and interested party in the building a real, live view into the product and process without paying a cent.

Turn Acceptance Criteria Into Test Cases by Paste

Mon, 03 Mar 2025 08:05:13 +0000

You've written good acceptance criteria for a PBI. Now you want one Test Case work item per criterion so the Developers can swarm, test, and deliver in a more asynchronous way. Typing each one by hand is tedious, and tedious work gets skipped. There's a faster path, and it's hiding in plain sight.

Azure Test Plans has a grid view that lets Developers add or edit test cases in a two-dimensional grid, similar to Microsoft Excel. Combined with copy and paste, it turns a PBI's acceptance criteria into a stack of test cases in seconds.

Customizing a Professional Scrum Process

Mon, 17 Feb 2025 09:37:27 +0000

The Scrum process in Azure DevOps is the closest fit to the Scrum Guide of any system process, but it isn't a perfect fit. Over the past decade the Scrum Guide evolved while the process largely stood still. The good news is that you don't have to live with the drift. You can customize the Scrum process to line it up with the Scrum Guide and with how your own team actually works.

The Pre-Game Checklist: Setting Up an Org and Project Right

Fri, 31 Jan 2025 09:43:47 +0000

In rugby, a lot happens before kickoff. Fields get selected, dates get negotiated, teams get formed, and player positions get designated. Scrum development efforts have a pre-game too. It's everything from establishing the vision to provisioning the environment to organizing the team, and it runs right up to the start of the first Sprint. A few of those setup decisions are painful to reverse, so I treat them as a short checklist worth getting right.

Who Owns the Code Your AI Just Wrote?

Tue, 14 Jan 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Here's an uncomfortable question for every team leaning on AI to ship faster: if an AI wrote your code, who owns it? Under current U.S. law the honest answer is probably nobody, and that should bother you a lot more than it seems to. It bothered me enough that I put together whoownsthecode.com with IP attorney Brad Frazer to lay the problem out plainly. The short version fits on a bumper sticker: AI code means no author, which means no copyright.

Azure Test Plans Is Your Sprint Plan, Not Just a Test Tool

Mon, 13 Jan 2025 11:14:08 +0000

Most teams I meet think Azure Test Plans is simply about creating and running tests. That's how Microsoft promotes the product and how it tends to get demoed. It can certainly do those things. But it's also ideally suited for something far more interesting to a Scrum Team: representing the Sprint plan.

Here's the reframe. One of the outputs of Sprint Planning is the plan, which describes how the Developers will deliver the forecasted PBIs. Most teams use tasks. The Scrum Guide is actually quiet on the subject, which means Developers are free to experiment. One option is to formulate the plan using acceptance tests. The Developers are going to have tests anyway, so why not start the Sprint by creating those tests and let them drive the development?

Choosing a Process: Basic, Agile, Scrum, or CMMI

Mon, 30 Dec 2024 09:01:47 +0000

Every Azure DevOps project starts with a decision that most teams make in about four seconds and then live with for years. When you create a new project, you have to pick a process. That process defines your work item types, your workflow states, and your backlog configuration. It quietly shapes how your team thinks and talks about work from that day forward.

There are four system processes available out of the box, and they exist to meet the needs of most teams.

Azure DevOps + Mural = Awesome Visualizations

Thu, 25 Apr 2024 14:48:43 +0000

I'm a fan of Mural and a super fan of Azure DevOps. Turns out they work pretty well together. Using Mural as a front-end to Azure DevOps offers an alternative approach to planning, visualizing, and managing work with creativity and flexibility. Mural's visual collaboration platform transforms the traditional, linear task management experience found in Azure DevOps into an interactive, digital workspace. Teams can easily create visual roadmaps, story maps, and Sprint plans, as well as collect freeform feedback during Sprint Reviews and Sprint Retrospectives.

Practicing Hypothesis-Driven Development in Azure DevOps

Tue, 02 Apr 2024 14:09:26 +0000

I like to think of Scrum Product Owners as mini-CEOs of their product. As such, they should be empowered to drive value in any direction that they desire. This often requires a Product Owner to hypothesize about an outcome and then run an experiment to prove or disprove it. Rather than just building features blindly, a Professional Product Owner bases their decisions on data.

Hypothesis-Driven Development

Hypothesis-Driven Development (HDD) is a complementary practice that incorporates an experimentation-based approach to product development. With HDD, each Product Backlog item (e.g. feature or user story) begins with a clearly defined hypothesis that predicts how this new capability will impact user behavior or achieve specific outcomes. The results from these experiments guide the next steps: whether to iterate, pivot, or abandon - all based on actual data rather than just guessing.

Facilitating a Nexus Sprint Review

Fri, 15 Mar 2024 15:30:52 +0000

Over the years, I’ve been asked multiple times what a Nexus Sprint Review might look like. I’ve not been satisfied with the guidance I’ve found online regarding Nexus Sprint Review, so I decided to finally write my own." Please feel free to adopt any ideas from this post and run your own experiments. Also, if you are not using the Nexus Scaled Scrum Framework, that’s fine. Just know that in this blog post, when I refer to Nexus Sprint Review, you can think scaled Sprint Review.

Creating a Custom SSDT Test Condition

Wed, 09 Oct 2019 16:47:39 +0000

I was teaching our new SSDT2019 class today and, while discussing SQL Server Unit Testing, I was asked why the default Row Count test condition only tested for equality (and not less than, greater than, or inequality). I decided to build one that did just those things.

First, I dusted off the old guidance from (cough) 2012 and was amazed that the guidance still mostly applied. Using Visual Studio 2019, I created a new C# Class Library (.NET Framework) project named CustomTestConditions. I generated and associated a strong name key and then referenced System.ComponentModel.Composition and the Microsoft.Data.Tools.Schema.Sql.dll assembly.

Find PBIs Without Test Cases

Tue, 08 Oct 2019 16:33:37 +0000

I'm feeling encouraged. It seems that more and more teams, whether they are using automated or manual tests, are using Azure Test Plans to create and track their acceptance testing efforts. I was teaching a pre-conference workshop at STARWEST last week, and a student asked how to find all the Product Backlog Items (PBIs) in the current Sprint that *didn't* have any associated Test Cases. If a team is using Bug work items, they could be included as well.

Creating a Product Backlog Treemap

Thu, 02 May 2019 13:28:43 +0000

Product Backlogs are boring. Not only are they one dimensional, but they are often unordered. This is to say nothing of their potential lack of information as well. (User) story maps are way more interesting. Not only are they two dimensional, but they group features and ideas and help to visualize the release plan. Also, teams that practice story mapping tend to be more Agile, with engaged Product Owners and stakeholders. SpecMap is a great story mapping Azure Boards extension by the way.

Scrum in a Nutshell

Mon, 17 Sep 2018 05:42:11 +0000

At the beginning of a Sprint, the Product Owner presents a refined and ordered Product Backlog to the Developers. A Sprint Goal is crafted and the Developers select an achievable set of the items to achieve the Sprint Goal best. This is their forecast. The Developers also create a plan to achieve the Sprint Goal by developing the forecasted items. All of this goes into the Sprint Backlog.

The Developers proceed to work to achieve the Sprint Goal, assessing their progress and updating their plan at least daily in a short meeting known as the Daily Scrum. The Scrum Master helps the entire Scrum Team follow the rules of Scrum and be productive throughout the Sprint, as well as help the organization understand this empirical way of working.

What's our Sprint Goal?

Wed, 23 May 2018 07:41:51 +0000

According to the Scrum Guide, the Sprint Goal is an objective set for the Sprint that can be met through the implementation of Product Backlog. It provides guidance to the Development Team on why it is building the Increment. As the Development Team works, it keeps the Sprint Goal in mind. Unfortunately, there is no first class support for Sprint Goals in VSTS. Instead, a team could write it on their whiteboard, use the VSTS Wiki, or add something to a dashboard (in fact there is a widget extension in the marketplace for doing the latter). While these are all working solutions, they don’t necessarily keep the Sprint Goal “in the team’s face” while they plan and execute their work in the Sprint Backlog.

Energizers

Thu, 08 Feb 2018 10:16:51 +0000

An energizer imparts energy, vitality, or spirit to other people. Energizer activities are important in classroom training environments - especially right after a large lunch. Here is a good list of energizers recently compiled by Jesper Fernström (a fellow trainer from Sweden) …

Happy Salmon - You can also try playing in groups of 3, 6, and 10+ to experience locking, normal, and chaos respectively
Longest caterpillar - Everyone moves around in the room. When you meet someone do a quick Rock-Paper-Scissors. The loser stands behind the winner, hands on the winner's shoulders, and loudly chants the winner's name while the winner finds another caterpillar for a new round of Rock-Paper-Scissors. Losing caterpillars attach to the winner and help chant the winner's name. Repeat until there is only one caterpillar. Feel free to keep chanting for a while for good measure.
Chairs - Split into three groups. Give each group a secret mission (turn chairs upside down, stack chairs, and put chairs in a circle). Without talking, teams start fulfilling their mission. See if they can find a way to fulfill all 3 goals.
Non Musical chairs
Connecting people - One person starts telling facts about himself, like "I have a dog", "I play tennis", and so on. As soon as someone else hears something that connects them they physically connect with hooked arms. The newly connected person starts calling out facts until the next person connects. Repeat until all are connected.
Introduction circle - Stand in a circle facing each other. One person takes a step forward and tells everyone one thing about herself, like "I have a dog". Everyone who fits that statement takes a step forward. Reset and repeat as many times as you like.
Stop them - 5 people facing a single person from a few feet away. The 5 starts moving towards the single person who is not allowed to leave his spot and must now stop them from walking into him using voice, body language, and facial expressions only. They will only stop when they feel there is a genuine command to stop. Prepare to have your personal space invaded!
Making rain
Silly walk - As in Monty Python. One person leads, and others mimic. Switch leader between every walk.
Human knot - Even number of people. Every person raises their right hand and takes hold of someone else's raised hand. Then take hold of another person's left hand using the left hand. The human knot has formed. Now try to untangle it without letting go of holding hands. The grip can be loose and flexible, but you cannot let go entirely.
Helium stick - Give a yardstick/rod (~3 feet long) to a group of 4-6 people. Ask them to estimate how long it will take them as a group to lower the stick to the ground. Have them standing on both sides of the stick balancing it horizontally at chest height using only one extended finger each under the stick. Their goal is to gently lower it to the flow, as a group. Feel free to question their ability to follow instructions when the stick starts to rise ... which it will.

Room configuration for team-based training

Fri, 02 Feb 2018 09:55:31 +0000

When planning a team-based training event, please consider the room configuration. Having a comfortable table and chair arrangement will go a long ways towards a positive learning experience.

Round or square tables allowing students to sit in teams of 4-6 with laptops is ideal. Include wall space for plenty of whiteboards, flip charts, and sticky notes. Even for training that is not specifically team-based, pairing is still encouraged. This means there only needs to be one laptop for every two students.

Should our team use Scrum?

Tue, 31 Oct 2017 10:36:12 +0000

As a traveling Scrum and DevOps consultant I’m constantly asked “Should our team use Scrum”? Now you might think that being a Professional Scrum Trainer – and serious Scrum fanboy – I would always answer “Yes!”. Well, you would be wrong. I frequently talk people out of Scrum – for the right reasons.

Professional Scrum Trainers know how hard it is for a team, not to mention an organization, to adopt and practice Scrum according to the Scrum Guide. Therefore, we want to make sure the teams and nature of the work are right for the Scrum. To that end, I’ve come up with five simple, mostly non-scientific, yes/no questions that I use to survey the inquisitor.

Which tests are my regression tests?

Thu, 28 Sep 2017 20:16:49 +0000

Although we can’t help you decide which tests should be part of your regression suite, we can help you easily identify them by using tags.

Over the years, we’ve seen teams using Team Foundation Server and Visual Studio Team Services to create a separate static test suite or even a test plan. Those approaches are way too much work. Let’s look at a much easier approach.

First, we’ll create a simple test plan for Sprint 2 …

Create a Professional Scrum process

Wed, 15 Mar 2017 21:22:36 +0000

Visual Studio Team Services’ customization capabilities are to a point now where I can write this blog post … as a rebuttal to any earlier post of my own. As you may know, the Scrum Guide has been updated more frequently than Microsoft’s Scrum process (template) which, when launched, was meant to be an exact implementation. It falls upon the community (me and you) to update the Scrum process ourselves. Maybe that was Microsoft’s plan all along. :-)

Wassup Team Room?

Fri, 30 Sep 2016 13:05:47 +0000

According to Microsoft’s official definition, Team Rooms, like chat rooms, “provide teams with a space to discuss work in progress, ask questions, share status, and clarify issues that arise.” Sounds great, but I find that most teams I train, coach, and consult are using other products for this type of collaboration. Add to that a general feeling that Microsoft isn’t innovating within this feature, and I’d pretty much written off team rooms.

Ordering the Product Backlog by ROI

Mon, 15 Aug 2016 14:28:08 +0000

The Scrum Guide says that the Product Owner is the sole person responsible for managing the Product Backlog and that Product Backlog management includes ordering items in the Product Backlog “to best achieve goals and missions”. One of the best ways to do that is to order based on the principle of Return on Investment (ROI). This is simply the numeric business value divided by the numeric effort (e.g. story points). This may sound easy, but it’s not - mostly because Product Owners don’t track (or even know how to track) business value. #ThisIsSad.

Stakeholder Traceroute

Mon, 13 Jun 2016 14:09:43 +0000

I’m always amazed at how difficult and even impossible it can be for stakeholders to get their ideas into some product backlogs.

I’ve started asking teams to run a stakeholder traceroute. In other words, walk me through the process that a user might go through in order to get a good idea (not necessarily a bug) in front of the Product Owner. Here is an example …

The good news is that I still meet teams who value their stakeholder’s opinions and will give them (near) direct access to their product backlog. Oh, and if you are using Microsoft Team Foundation Server or Team Services, you can add as many stakeholders as you want. Free.

Storyboard your ideas for free

Tue, 15 Dec 2015 10:01:47 +0000

Update (April 2016): Microsoft has released Office Integration 2015 Update 2.

With the recent release of Team Foundation Server Update 1, Microsoft has enabled all users to create storyboards in PowerPoint for free. This means that even stakeholders (VSTS/TFS users that don’t need a license) can now also create storyboards in PowerPoint without a Visual Studio license as well.

This capability is provided by the Team Foundation Server Office Integration 2015 Update 1, which includes a standalone Office integration installer that provides Excel integration, Project integration, and the PowerPoint-based storyboarding tool.

Microsoft, please give us a Scrum process template

Wed, 04 Nov 2015 16:11:00 +0000

In 2014, the Scrum Guide was moved off of Scrum.org and posted to ScrumGuides.org. At the same time, all of the major Scrum organizations in the world acknowledged this as the official definition of Scrum. Unfortunately, Microsoft still hasn’t received the memo.

Sure, they have a Scrum process template and it was quite good (back in 2010) because it was very minimal - “barely sufficient” even. Unfortunately, as the Scrum guide evolved, the template did not. What’s worse, Microsoft decided that we all wanted Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) support in all templates. Our once-very-lean Scrum process template has wandered away from the light and become bloated with waste - no longer “barely sufficient”.

Dude, where's my releases?

Mon, 21 Sep 2015 19:09:39 +0000

You may have noticed when creating a new Scrum team project in Visual Studio Online or Team Foundation Server 2015, that the iteration list looks a bit different. Yes, Microsoft flattened out the list of iterations, listing only sprints and no more releases:

Previously, new team projects created using the Scrum process template would have default iterations like this:

Turn off the Diagnostics Tools window in Visual Studio 2015

Mon, 17 Aug 2015 11:58:41 +0000

I’m sure it’s awesome. I’m sure it doesn’t impact performance (much). I’m sure my apps would be more awesome if I used it, but …

… today I want to turn off this “helpful” window from always showing while I was debugging my code …

So I followed these steps …

Turn off Automatic Updates on Windows 10 Professional

Mon, 03 Aug 2015 14:14:32 +0000

Call me weird, but when I create and maintain virtual machines for demonstration and training, I like to be in control of if/when Windows updates are installed. This is fit for purpose since I’m not using these VMs for production. In Windows 8.1 it was a straightforward setting …

Visual Studio Live! in Austin

Wed, 03 Jun 2015 22:07:03 +0000

Update: Added additional links for my same talks at VSLive! in San Francisco today (17 June, 2015)

Thank you to those who attended my two talks today. I enjoyed our conversation about Technical Debt and Professional Scrum Development.

Here are a few bookmarks that I mentioned during my talks …

Technical Debt

Professional Scrum Development

Also, here is my ScrumRobot source code which helps me quickly create areas, iterations, Product Backlogs, and Sprint Backlogs for demos and training. Put it to good use please.

Attachment: ScrumRobot.zip

Use Excel to Create Repetitive Work Items

Tue, 24 Feb 2015 10:27:15 +0000

Teams often ask me for any shortcuts to periodically creating the same work items, such as for each sprint or release. In other words, they want to create the same Product Backlog Item or Task (but hopefully not Bugs) over and over.

My first suggestion is to use work item templates in TWA or TFPT to pre-populate fields. While helpful, this approach only helps with a single work item; but what about a series of work items? Excel is the answer (but you already knew that, didn’t you).

Promoting a PBI to a Feature (Epic)

Thu, 29 Jan 2015 11:27:29 +0000

For Scrum Teams using TFS 2013 to create and manage their Product Backlog, they may want to take advantage of the new Agile Portfolio. This “higher level” backlog allows a team or organization to plan and track initiatives, features, epics, etc. The term “Feature” is the default, but with on-premises TFS, you can customize this.

Recently, a team I was working with renamed Feature to Epic, and then wanted to “promote” several of their current PBI work items to Epics. I supported this decision, because it helps keep the Product Backlog “pure” - only containing items than can actually be developed. I wrote a script to create Epics which were basically copies of the respective PBIs. Part of this script was to set the original PBI to the Removed state, but I wanted to add a new reason that was more meaningful than “Removed from the backlog”.

Team members in the Readers group can create work items!

Mon, 17 Nov 2014 12:02:25 +0000

Watch out. This could happen to you and your team.

Let’s assume you have a single team project with three teams (Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato) …

Next, let’s assume you have Jake, a stakeholder, asking for access to the team project. You don’t want Jake to be able to add, edit, or delete anything, only to read data. Following MSDN’s guidance, you add Jake to the Readers group …

Using the Kanban Board to Implement a Definition of Ready

Fri, 14 Nov 2014 12:57:29 +0000

More and more teams are adopting a Definition of Ready (also known as DoR or Readiness Criteria) to avoid starting work on PBIs that are ill-defined, such as those that do not have clearly defined acceptance criteria. While some teams can do this implicitly, others want a formal definition to explicitly communicate this working agreement with their Product Owner and stakeholders. Some teams want to make this definition actionable, such as creating tasks to move a PBI through each Ready "gate".

What’s New in the Visual Studio Scrum 2013.4 Process Template

Fri, 14 Nov 2014 07:28:20 +0000

Many Visual Studio and .NET announcements were made this week. A minor one was the RTM of Visual Studio 2013 Update 4. This update included improvements and bug fixes to Team Foundation Server 2013.

To satisfy my curiosity, as I’ve done in the past, I wanted to see what’s new in my favorite process template, so I downloaded the 2013.3 and 2013.4 versions and compared them using the tf folderdiff command …

tf folderdiff “Microsoft Visual Studio Scrum 2013.3” “Microsoft Visual Studio Scrum 2013.4” /recursive

A unique load testing experiment

Tue, 21 Oct 2014 16:26:13 +0000

Most of the guidance you’ll find about Visual Studio Ultimate Load Tests suggests that they are only for load testing Web Performance tests. Actually, they can be used to load other types of tests, such as unit tests. I demonstrated this at STARWEST last week. Instead of load testing the execution of a database or other service, I thought I would try something fun. I created a simple unit test that played a random tone using the beep command and then placed that under load.

Develop.Idaho 2014 Videos Published

Fri, 09 May 2014 14:54:38 +0000

Updated 20 May: Added presentations (but no videos) from the "Business of Software" track.

It took a few extra days to get these produced and published, but they are now on YouTube for your enjoyment.

Welcome (Martin Hambalek)
Keynote “It’s more than just writing code” (Ryan DeLuca)
“Data-driven decision making” (Dr. Vijay Dialani)
“The Rocket Ride” (Ryan Grisso)
“The new ‘Internet’ and how to leverage it” (Candace Sweigart)
“The Target breach was just the beginning” (Brad Wiskirchen)
“Preventing, Preparing For, and Protecting Your Company After a Data Breach” (Cece Gassner)
“The Role of Software in the ‘Automation of Normal’” (Randy Grohs)
“The Challenges of Moving from On-Premise to Cloud” (Jared Sund)

I’ve attached links to the respective presentations. Hopefully you can correlate them with the videos.

What's New in the Visual Studio Scrum 2013.2 Process Template

Mon, 24 Mar 2014 14:47:10 +0000

I noticed today that the process templates in Visual Studio Online are showing a “.2” suffix in their names. I’m not exactly sure when this update occurred, but am pretty sure it’s related to Visual Studio 2013 Update 2, which is imminent.

So, I launched Visual Studio 2013, opened Team Explorer, and downloaded the Microsoft Visual Studio Scrum 2013.2 process template. I extracted it right next to the prior (RTM) version.

Free TFS 2013 Webinars in March and April 2014

Mon, 17 Mar 2014 20:56:50 +0000

I noticed that Microsoft Customer Service & Support (CSS) is offering a number of great webinars in the coming days on various TFS and ALM topics …

TFS Release Management Tool (19 March 2014)
TFS Work Item Customization (26 March 2014)
TFS Migration (2 April 2014)
TFS Warehouse and Reports (9 April 2014)
TFS Upgrade Scenarios (16 April 2014)

Each event is scheduled twice each day. Once in an India/EMEA friendly time (4pm to 5:30pm IST) and again in a more US/North America friendly time (1:30 to 3:00 pm EST). All webcasts are 1 1/2 hours in duration.

Use this time zone converter to help determine your local time zone.

The ProcessTemplateEditorPackage package did not load correctly

Wed, 26 Feb 2014 08:55:24 +0000

Yesterday, while using Team Explorer for Visual Studio 2013 to customize a process template, I ran into this error …

As suggested, I checked the ActivityLog.xml, but it didn’t offer anything more than just the message CreateInstance failed for package …

TFS 2013 Best Practices Analyzer (BPA) fails with %TFSServerURLValidated% error

Fri, 14 Feb 2014 09:16:10 +0000

Earlier this week I installed the Team Foundation Server 2013 Power Tools and went to run a BPA scan. It finished very quickly, giving me a couple of strange %TFSServerURLValidated% messages …

Viewing the report showed an additional warning “Cannot validate the URL provided”. I double-checked the spelling of my TFS URL, but it was fine. By selecting the “Other Reports” option, I was able to find the root cause …

Unconfiguring Team Foundation Server 2013

Thu, 13 Feb 2014 12:32:12 +0000

This is an update to an older post that I had written for TFS 2010. Here are the steps to unconfigure TFS 2013 …

Execute tfsconfig setup /uninstall:all.

This should be done from the %ProgramFiles%Microsoft Team Foundation Server 12.0Tools directory.

Drop the Tfs_Configuration, Tfs_Warehouse, and (optionally) any team project collection relational databases.
Drop the Tfs_Analysis Analysis Services database.

Quality Enablement through Agile Testing

Wed, 06 Nov 2013 16:49:29 +0000

Thank you for attending last week’s Quality Enablement through Agile Testing event put on by Microsoft here in Boise.

I hope you had fun exploring the testing tools in Visual Studio and Team Foundation Server. I know that I enjoyed co-presenting with Jason Singh and Steve Lange. I also enjoyed explaining and demonstrating how Lab Management can simplify your build > deploy > test lifecycle.

SharePoint 2013 support for Windows Server 2012 R2

Wed, 06 Nov 2013 16:34:47 +0000

UPDATE (14 March 2014) - As a few of you have pointed out, Service Pack 1 for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013 is now available.

Wanted to share a surprise impediment from earlier this week.

Actually, I should have known better than to try and install the latest greatest ALM tools (TFS 2013), alongside the latest greatest SharePoint (2013), on top of the latest greatest Windows Server (W2012R2). The resulting odd behaviors were confirmed first by fellow MVP and Scrum trainer Neno Loje, and then by KB2891274 that he shared with me.

Tips to passing the Professional Scrum Developer 1 assessment

Mon, 07 Oct 2013 13:05:11 +0000

Scrum.org’s Professional Scrum Developer I (PSD I) assessment measures knowledge of how to build complex software products using Scrum, and allows people to validate this understanding. If you are considering taking this assessment, here are some tips to follow:

Read the most recent Scrum Guide in your native language and then read it in English
Take the Scrum Open assessment until you can achieve 100% repeatedly
Study for the PSD assessment by reading
1. The PSD Objective Domain
2. The PSD course (if you take it)
3. My Professional Scrum Development with Visual Studio 2012 book
Take the Developer Open assessment until you can achieve 100% repeatedly
Set aside a clear time to study and then take the exam

Remember: Reading the Scrum Guide and related reference materials alone is not necessarily enough prep for someone to pass a Professional Scrum Assessment. Questions often ask test-takers to interpret information and apply it to challenging situations, so knowledge gained from personal experience and other sources is typically needed.

The One Work Item check-in policy

Mon, 07 Oct 2013 12:17:16 +0000

Thanks to my fellow Visual Studio ALM MVP Colin Dembovsky for building the “One Work Item” check-in policy that I was always too lazy to build.

Judging by the title, it may sound like one of the other work item related check-in policies provided by Microsoft, but this one is different. It allows the team to select the type of work item required to be associated with a check-in, as well as the count (exactly 1 or at least 1).

Measuring the Business Value of a PBI

Fri, 04 Oct 2013 16:18:43 +0000

I’m curious. What do you enter in the Business Value field? Take this PBI work item for example …

According to MSDN you are supposed to type a number that indicates the relative business value of the item.

Awesome. Are we talking about money? new customers? a percentage decrease in lawsuits? the number of new followers on Twitter? Sure. Maybe. The problem is that the field is numerical, so you can’t get real creative on what you type in the field. You also can’t combine scales. In other words, I can’t have some PBIs measured in $ value and others in smiles. The scale has to be the same, which usually means there is no scale and the field sits idle.

Who wants to be a Professional Scrum Trainer?

Tue, 24 Sep 2013 10:42:58 +0000

Registration is now open for our Professional Scrum Developer Train The Trainer (TTT) event in Stuttgart, Germany on December 2-6, 2013. This will be the last such event this year.

We are looking for experienced trainers who, at their core, are solid software developers who use the Microsoft Visual Studio (2012/2013) ALM tools, know Scrum, and know the contemporary Agile software development practices.

As a Scrum.org trainer you will have a leading role in the evolution and maturity of Scrum to improve the profession of software development. As a Professional Scrum Trainer (PST) for PSD courses, you will be recognized as a trusted expert in teaching people how to deliver real working software as part of a Scrum Development team. You will also enjoy these benefits:

Schedule and deliver public or private PSD .NET courses
Most PSTs can easily become certified to teach PSF at no cost
Advertise public courses on http://courses.scrum.org
Be listed on the Scrum.org trainer page http://www.scrum.org/Find-a-Scrum-Expert
Leverage Scrum.org’s courseware and materials so you don’t have to maintain your own
Network with other PSTs on dedicated discussion lists & at exclusive events
Learn more about the benefits of becoming a Scrum.org Trainer

Qualified candidates will be invited to attend this event in Stuttgart. Candidates who are invited will receive more detailed information about the process for becoming a trainer. To submit an application or to learn more, use the links below.

Get ready for the launch of Visual Studio 2013

Thu, 12 Sep 2013 14:27:05 +0000

Visual Studio 2013 will launch on November 13. You can join the festivities virtually from your workstation or mobile device. Watch the keynote speech live or at a later time. You can also hear how customers are already using Visual Studio and get detailed insight into using the product’s features and services by watching technical sessions conducted by the Microsoft development team. This will be the first launch available in multiple languages.

Story Mapping Software

Wed, 11 Sep 2013 09:46:02 +0000

Updated 16 Sep, 2015 to freshen up the links

A few weeks ago I ran a free, half-day Agile software requirements workshop in Boise. There were over 100 attendees and we had good conversations about requirements, user stories, acceptance criteria, behavior driven development, estimation, and story mapping.

Story mapping is a practice created by Jeff Patton that converts a flat Product Backlog into a picture. The map helps to group ideas, manage large stories, as well as plan, estimate and schedule a Sprint. Most importantly, it’s an information radiator that helps people understand the big picture and road map.

Rename a TFS Project Collection

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 09:00:53 +0000

I was asked the other day how to rename a Team Project Collection.

There is a way, and it is more like a three card shuffle than anything else, and will work in TFS2010 and TFS2012.

The super quick guide: You detach the collection, and rename it on the reattach.

The step by step guide

1. Notify all the users and agree a time to do this, allocate at least half an hour to have breathing space.

You need to ensure that there are no builds or tests running, and have enough time to reset the build and test controllers and agents to point to the renamed collection. This is also assuming that you are going to keep the collection on the same SQL instance. so don’t need to consider the move from Enterprise to Standard edition (compression).

Exporting TF Status to Excel

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 10:15:18 +0000

You can use TF.EXE STATUS to display information about pending changes to items in one or more workspaces. I use this prior to migrations to see what users have files checked-out and locked, and they types of pending changes I’m up against. The utility can give you two outputs: Brief and Detailed.

Brief looks like this:

What’s new in the Visual Studio Scrum 2.1 Process Template?

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 16:01:22 +0000

If you’ve connected to the hosted Team Foundation Service lately, you’ve noticed a new version of the Scrum template is available …

Being the curious type, I connected to the service with Visual Studio 2012, downloaded the new template, and compared it with the 2.0 process template using the Compare tool in Visual Studio …

Removing TFS bindings from solutions and projects

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 11:24:17 +0000

When you try to open a solution that is under Team Foundation Server Version Control for a TFS that you don’t have access to, you will receive the message "The solution you are opening is bound to source control on the following Team Foundation Server" …

Clicking Yes is pointless, because you don’t have access to the TFS. Your only option is to click No. When you No, you are shown a message that "The solution appears to be under source control, but its binding information cannot be found" …

Useful TFS Links

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 20:57:22 +0000

I have just finished delivering a Team Foundation Course today, and we had some great discussions around TFS Administration, upgrading, adoption etc.

As usual, there is a whole pile of questions that you don’t have the time to go into in great detail, or you point out a thread.

Below is the list of items that came up for discussion:

Visual Studio 2010

Item	Link
TFS 2010 Service Packs and Hotfixes	http://blogs.msdn.com/b/granth/archive/2012/01/03/tfs-2010-what-service-packs-and-hotfixes-should-i-install.aspx
Team Foundation Power tools	http://visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com/c255a1e4-04ba-4f68-8f4e-cd473d6b971f
Productivity Power Tools	http://visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com/d0d33361-18e2-46c0-8ff2-4adea1e34fef
Team Foundation Sidekicks	http://www.attrice.info/cm/tfs/
TFS Admin Tool	http://tfsadmin.codeplex.com/
Feature Packs by licence	http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/ff655021.aspx
Scott Hanselman's	The Best Visual Studio 2010 Productivity Power Tools Power Commands And Extensions
Build Extensions (APRIL 2012)	http://tfsbuildextensions.codeplex.com/
MSBuild Extension Pack (Nov 2011)	http://msbuildextensionpack.codeplex.com/
TFS2010 Build Extensions (for ant/maven builds)	http://visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com/2d7c8577-54b8-47ce-82a5-8649f579dcb6
Code Maid	http://visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com/76293c4d-8c16-4f4a-aee6-21f83a571496
TFS Install Guide	http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=24337
Check In Policies	http://checkinpolicypack.codeplex.com/
How to create custom check-in Policies	http://www.ssw.com.au/ssw/standards/DeveloperDotNet/Custom_Check-In_Policy_for_Visual_Studio_Team_System%20_v7.doc
Merge	http://blogs.msdn.com/b/jmanning/archive/2006/02/20/diff-merge-configuration-in-team-foundation-common-command-and-argument-values.aspx
Branching Guidance	http://vsarbranchingguide.codeplex.com/

Build

Item	Link
TFS2010 Build Versioning	http://tfsversioning.codeplex.com/
nUnit for Team Build	http://nunit4teambuild.codeplex.com/
Wire nUnit in to TFS 2010	http://www.heikura.info/publish-nunit-test-results-as-part-of-team-build-in-team-foundation-server-2010
Beyond compare config	http://www.scootersoftware.com/support.php?zz=kb_vcs
Remote desktop connection manager	http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=21101
Testing Tools in TFS 2010	http://blogs.msdn.com/b/anutthara/archive/2010/02/09/resources-for-test-tools-in-visual-studio-2010.aspx
Security Permissions	http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms252587(v=vs.100).aspx
Team Build Properties	http://www.woodwardweb.com/vsts/30_useful_team.html
Team Build Property reference	http://blogs.msdn.com/b/aaronhallberg/archive/2008/02/12/team-build-2008-property-reference.aspx
Team Build Reference Guide	http://www.platinumbay.com/blogs/dotneticated/archive/2009/10/11/team-build-property-reference-guide.aspx
Jim Lamb simple versioning walkthrough	http://blogs.msdn.com/b/jimlamb/archive/2010/02/12/how-to-create-a-custom-workflow-activity-for-tfs-build-2010.aspx
Build Classic ASP	http://stackoverflow.com/questions/8746855/classic-asp-how-to-automate-deployment-in-continuous-integration-environmen http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3769210/build-classic-asp-with-tfs-2010 You need to have an empty solution, add an empty project, add the various .asp, and other content files in to the project. You can edit the .csproj to move the required files to the output directory. A bit of kludge, but it will help you get a version stamped set of files.
BizTalk 2010 Build and Deploy	http://biztalkci.codeplex.com/
BizTalk walkthrough	http://lajak.wordpress.com/2011/02/19/build-biztalk-deployment-framework-projects-using-tfs2010/
BizTalk Deployment Framework	http://biztalkdeployment.codeplex.com/
Wiring the BTDF in to the build	Discussion around the framework http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/biztalkgeneral/thread/d52bd0c6-7fd9-4da1-afe3-cf66984c6ff0

Visual Studio 2012

Item	Link
Team Foundation Power tools	http://visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com/b1ef7eb2-e084-4cb8-9bc7-06c3bad9148f
TFS Install Guide	http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/download/details.aspx?id=29035
Get Rid of All Caps	http://www.richard-banks.org/2012/06/how-to-prevent-visual-studio-2012-all.html
Visual Studio 2012 Demo and hands on lab scripts	http://blogs.msdn.com/b/briankel/archive/2011/09/16/visual-studio-11-application-lifecycle-management-virtual-machine-and-hands-on-labs-demo-scripts.aspx

Visual Studio 2008

Item	Link
TFS Install Guide	http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/download/details.aspx?id=15743
TFS 2008 Service Packs	http://blogs.msdn.com/b/granth/archive/2012/01/03/tfs-2010-what-service-packs-and-hotfixes-should-i-install.aspx

Windows 8 Keyboard shortcuts

Item	Link
Keyboard shortcuts	http://blogs.technet.com/b/next/archive/2012/03/20/the-full-list-of-keyboard-shortcuts-for-windows-8.aspx

Hope that helps someone (apart from me!)

Upgrade your Sprint Retrospective Meetings

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 11:48:42 +0000

Tired of asking each other "how the Sprint went"?

Try one of these alternate Sprint Retrospective activities to change the pace a bit:

Check them out and give them a try at your next Sprint Retrospective meeting. If I’m missing one, please let me know.

TFS #loc.MinimumNetFXVersion and Windows 2012 0x0000005D

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 20:40:50 +0000

A tale of two error in the path to RC install.

I wanted to install the RC of TFS2012 to do some upgrade proving. To keep up to date the target is Windows Server 2012, running SQL 2012, and TFS2012 on VMWare Workstation 8.0.

To keep it light to start with – no SharePoint.

So I rolled out my Windows 2012 Server Beta and got the error:

Implementing Scrum Using Visual Studio 2012

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 06:52:25 +0000

Updated 6/12/2012 : Since my breakout session today was on the same topic, I thought I would just hitchhike onto this post from Sunday. My presentation and an updated ScrumRobot are available for download below.

Wow. What a great pre-conference yesterday at Microsoft TechEd in Orlando. Thanks to David Starr and the 80+ folks who were interested enough in the topics to hang out for the all day conversation.

Photo: Teams self-organizing to build a Product Backlog. You can find more photos here.

Which Scrum Team member should set PBI and Bug work item states?

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 12:29:29 +0000

This is a fairly common question, usually by teams new to Scrum. The Scrum Guide clearly identifies the roles and their responsibilities. Team Foundation Server does not. It only identifies security groups and permissions.

Teams that have been using Scrum for a while should answer: "Let the team decide". I’m good with that answer.

For team members that don’t yet know where the rules of Scrum stop and self-organization begins, I provide the following guidance on who should "flip the switch" at each state transition of a PBI or Bug work item type:

Scrum Fundamentals Workshop in Boise

Wed, 02 May 2012 10:52:28 +0000

Thank you for attending the workshop yesterday. You can find the presentation link below.

It was three hours of packed information (and a packed room). I believe we had around 90 people in the workshop.

The workshop focused on five primary topics:

Scrum is popular (because it works)
Scrumdamentals (the fundamentals of Scrum)
Using Scrum
Continuous Improvement
Next Steps

As I mentioned, there are some good resources for you to bookmark:

Running nUnit in a TFS11 build on 64 bit server

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 07:40:39 +0000

Overview

In TFS/VS 11, frameworks other than MS Test are supported, which is cool. Peter Provost mentions them here.

OK, so you start to use this great new feature, queue up a team build and the tests aren’t run.

Assem Bansal has a great article here, so you do that, and no tests are run either. Confusing. The issue is that the 64 bit version is not picking up the reference to the test extension even when it is installed. Hey, it is a beta!

Reporting Waste with TFS

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 19:37:44 +0000

Tracking waste in TFS

Overview

Tracking waste and gathering the empirical data is one of the most effective ways of convincing people for the need to adapt.

This needs an Estimated Effort field, as in Scrum for Team System template.

This can be done with the MS templates, by adding this field in.

You need to use the estimated effort field, so that the burndown is not affected.

Steps

Within the area path of the team project, create a top level area called waste, under that add the key waste areas as you become aware of them

Whenever a team member encounters an issue that is causing them to lose time, they create a Task (Sprint Backlog Task in SfTS 3) and set the Area path (feature scope in SfTS 3) to be waste and the sub area if known.

Then update the estimated effort with the amount of time lost.

Set

Estimated Effort = time lost

Planning scope/Iteration Path = sprint

Work Remaining = 0

Feature Scope/Area Path = WasteSubArea

Description = Meaningful comment

Title = Meaningful Title

Create a separate work items or update the work item as and when further waste is identified.

Reporting

Create a new work item query, and save it with a meaningful name. I have used "Waste Query"

Add the columns that you want to report on, by editing the column options. I have added the Estimated Effort and Area Path columns

After saving the query, you can then open it up in excel and create a report with a pivot table and a chart to help create transparency regarding waste

Other Process Templates

For this to work with other process templates, you will need to add in an "Estimated Effort" field to the Task work item

Create Yesterday’s Work Items Today

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 20:51:48 +0000

Team Foundation Server 11 has made it even easier to create a work item with a date prior to today. Awesome. So, why would you want to do this? Work with me here …

Maybe you are importing requirements, test cases, or bugs from another tool. Maybe you want to back-fill a Sprint backlog with tasks you were tracking by hand. Maybe you want to create a utility to automatically populate several sprints of work in order to generate and study the burndown and velocity reports. Ok, maybe that last one is just interesting for me as I’m writing my latest book.

Upgrade TFS 2005 to TFS11 Beta

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 06:51:05 +0000

This is one journey to upgrade TFS 2005 to TFS11

Key points if you are in a hurry

You only get one chance at the upgrade, on the initial install. You need to do this as two upgrades TFS2005 –> TFS2008/2010 –> TFS11.

Two Step Warning

TFS2005 to TFS 11 is not supported in the documentation. Upgrades from TFS 2008 and 2010 are supported. You need to migrate to TFS 2010 first, and then to TFS11.

Opening SharePoint documents in Visual Studio 11

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 06:46:18 +0000

Today I was trying to open the ProcessGuidance.html file ...

A double-click, or a right-click > Open both resulted in Internet Explorer asking me if I want to Save or Cancel the document download. This was a surprise. I was expecting it to just open the web page.

SQL 2012 powered by Visual Studio

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 07:26:24 +0000

In case you hadn’t seen it, SQL Management Studio 2012 is now a Visual Studio powered tool.

Technorati Tags: Visual Studio,SQL2012,IDE

Nice…

Diving into the Visual Studio Scrum 2.0 Reports

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 22:01:40 +0000

Being the geek I am, I wanted to take a detailed look at the reports in the new Scrum template. Rather than wait for guidance to be posted, or call up my friends at Microsoft (again), I thought I would do my own experimenting.

I downloaded the Visual Studio Scrum 2.0 – Preview 3 process template from the Team Foundation Server 11 Beta into C:Microsoft Visual Studio Scrum 2.0.
I launched SQL Server Business Intelligence Development Studio (BIDS) otherwise known as Visual Studio 2008. (I can’t wait for this to be unified into one IDE someday).
I created a new Report Server Project named ScrumReports.

What’s new and different in Visual Studio Scrum 2.0?

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 21:10:26 +0000

Try this: Download the Visual Studio Scrum 2.0 – Preview 3 process template from the Team Foundation Server 11 Beta into one folder and then do the same with the Visual Studio Scrum 1.0 version of the template.

Next, drop to the (Developer) command prompt and run this:

tf.exe folderdiff "C:Microsoft Visual Studio Scrum 1.0" "C:Microsoft Visual Studio Scrum 2.0" /recursive

SharePoint Foundation 2010 using local accounts

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 03:49:45 +0000

When configuring Team Foundation Server 11, the default action is to install and configure SharePoint Foundation 2010. I think this is great. I really love SharePoint 2010, and am glad that Microsoft opted to install the newer version automatically, rather than WSS3 like it did previously. Keep in mind that WSS3 will still work with TFS11 and even has a smaller RAM requirement as well.

I don’t want to be Windows User in my Visual Studio 11 Beta

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 21:01:28 +0000

I don’t know why it bothers me so much to see "Windows User" every time I fire up my Visual Studio 11 Beta …

… but since it does, I thought I would share with you the steps I took to change it. Actually, these steps are not too different from a previous blog post I made about a previous version of Visual Studio.

Installing the TFS11 Beta

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 18:25:03 +0000

Config

To use the new version of TFS on a clean VM, I am going to use the following:

VMWare Virtual Machine, 2 Proc, 2 Core 2 GB RAM

Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 64 bit
SQL2012 RC Enterprise – the perspectives are worth it
- This is not officially supported but I would be surprised if it doesn’t work!
MOSS 2010
TFS 11
VS 11 Ultimate

Step 1 Read the Manual

Download and read the install guide from http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=29035

Visual Studio 11 Beta Downloads

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 22:53:20 +0000

Microsoft has made the Visual Studio 11 beta versions available today. #Awesome

I’m glad to see the lineup includes some familiar faces as well as some nice surprises (i.e. Microsoft Test Manager now part of Premium edition).

Visual Studio 11 Ultimate Beta
Visual Studio 11 Premium Beta
Visual Studio 11 Professional Beta
Visual Studio 11 Test Professional Beta
Visual Studio 11 Team Foundation Server Beta

There are also a number of Express editions and standalone installers.

TFS2010 Build output to a Custom Folder Structure

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 10:38:03 +0000

How to output TFS2010 build output to a subfolder

The scenario that exists is that I need to build a more detailed tree structure in the build output. I was looking for the least intrusive means of being able to get the build to output to subfolders.

So, I took a branch of the default build template (so I didn’t mess with the rest of the team while I experimented) and started to edit.

Scrum Power of 3 imbalance – Scrum Master as Product Owner

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:48:19 +0000

The question was recently posed to me – What conflicts occur if the Scrum Master is also the Product Owner?

This can be seen as a workaround for not getting a dedicated Product Owner, which is dangerous as the key issue of not having anyone in a critical role is not being addressed.

There are many conflicts that will arise, the main ones I see are below:

a) Internal conflict within the individual – The Product Owner is focussed on getting value to flow through to the customer (usually through a deeper or richer feature set) and the Scrum Master is the sheepdog managing the framework and getting the team to achieve at higher level (better quality, more self-organisation, higher degree of cross functional skills, better engagement with the business). At times there will be a natural conflict between these two perspectives. This will cause an internal struggle within the individual when trying to balance these tensions. Within a young team, there is often an urge to focus on velocity, not extending the definition of done. This will result in technical debt and a slower long term velocity. This is where the Scrum Master would counsel the lower velocity for the long term outlook, whereas the Product Owner may be comfortable with the initial burst in velocity unless they understood the ramifications. Hence the reason that they are stated as 2 separate roles.

b) Time conflict – These are two full time roles, and having one person doing them will result in neither role being performed well. The context switching in the attempt to change between roles would incur waste. It would encourage the multi role person to not maintain a sustainable pace, leading to burn out.

c) Conflict between the Development Team and the Multirole Individual – In a manner similar to when I am training, when the Development team approach the SM-PO, they would need to clarify which persona they are talking to. In one conversation they may get contradictory

Technorati Tags: Scrum,BestPractice,Dysfunction,Roles,ProductOwner,ScrumMaster

. It is very difficult to clearly separate the two perspectives in the one individual – we just aren’t wired that way. This results in a lack of clarity of the perspective (either PO or SM). There is a very high probability that the individual would slip between the roles, and may eventually not even be aware of the boundary. The confusion from this would result in stress within the Development Team as they have lost capacity of their Scrum Master Shield to protect them from the various demands on the time. The poacher and the game keeper are the same person.

d) Team Imbalance conflict – there is too much responsibility resting with one individual. The trinity works to balance the competing stresses and demands on the team – having only two roles available at any one time means there is an imbalance – resulting in vacillation, variation of decisions, and not all the conversations taking place and perspectives taken.

The image above shows a balanced perspective from the three perspectives of the scrum roles, which results in balanced discussions.

The imbalance is highlighted in the extreme, with a blurring of the perspectives, potentially resulting in only two of the roles being represented. This results in an imbalanced discussion – and not the full spectrum of conversations and view presented.

A tripod doesn’t stand too well on two legs!

e) Stakeholder engagement with Team – Due to the dual nature of the multirole individual, then uncertainty from the stakeholders/customers on the interaction with the Team would arise, for the same reasons as the Development team and multirole individual engagement.

Hey – We have that, what do we do?

The only thing to do is separate the roles to different people. All three roles are critical for successful scrum, and it will eventually cause a lot of friction.

Migrating Areas and Iterations from TFS2008 to TFS2010

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:33:50 +0000

I ran into a migration today where the client had scores of Area nodes in their TFS 2008 team project that they wanted migrated over to their new TFS 2010 team project. My usual "Well, if you manually re-create them, you can use it as an opportunity to clean up the list" speech didn’t go over too well, so I searched for an automated solution (feeling too lazy to build one). I found that fellow MVP Neno Loje had created both a 2008 and 2010 version of just such as tool (as well as a 2005 version if you care).

Team Alerts in Team Foundation Server 11

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:01:16 +0000

Team Alerts are just one of the many new features coming in the next version of Team Foundation Server. They simplify the creation and management of alerts that impact that entire team.

For example, take the situation where you want the team member who requested a build to be notified if that build failed – and nobody else. In Team Foundation Server 2010, this was only possible by having each team member create the appropriate build alert with criteria filtering out on those events where they requested the build, or by creating a custom web service that did the filtration work.

Thought for today: TFS build agents are like shared, network printers

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:36:19 +0000

Here’s your thought for the day:

Think of Team Foundation Build build agents like shared, network printers in a large enterprise. Each printer can be assigned one or more tags such as laser, ink, color, duplex, or stapler. When it comes time for a user to print a document in the enterprise, they can require duplex laser color and the printing software will find an available printer that meets the criteria and send the job there.

Run Visual Studio 11 ALM VMs on a 32-bit operating system

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:57:27 +0000

Like most Microsoft ALM geeks, I downloaded the Visual Studio 11 ALM VM the day Brian Keller posted it. One of the first things I realized is that the VM is for 64-bit operating systems only. This is because Team Foundation Server 11 only runs on a 64-bit server OS. This is no problem for me, because I have Hyper-V running here at my desk and I can run 64-bit VMs just fine. But, if you are one of the unfortunate many who do not have a W2K8 64-bit environment sitting around, then this blog post is for you (maybe).

Chicago Visual Studio ALM User Group: VS11 and Scrum

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 17:43:12 +0000

I was in town this week delivering a Professional Scrum Developer Train-The-Trainer (TTT) event. Last night I gave a presentation to a full room at the Chicago Visual Studio ALM User Group on using Visual Studio 11 and Scrum to manage product development.

What a great time … although my title slide yielded a few strange looks when people came into the room:

Special thanks to Angela Dugan (Microsoft) and Polaris Solutions for organizing this and providing the beer (that’s right beer) and sandwiches.

Microsoft launches Team Foundation Service Preview

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 12:55:20 +0000

There are many, many new and cool technologies and products being introduced, announced, and launched at //Build this week.

One of these is close to my heart: the Visual Studio Team Foundation Service Preview which is available at tfspreview.com. This preview is more than just a "rent-a-source-control-repository" in the sky, but it’s a full ALM tool that provides collaboration services for development teams of any size, including the new Agile project management tools.

A Scrum comparison of the MSF/Agile and Visual Studio Scrum templates

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 09:45:47 +0000

While it’s possible for a Scrum team to use the MSF for Agile Software Development v5.0 process template to implement Scrum, it makes more sense to use the Visual Studio Scrum 1.0 process template, as it was created specifically for teams using Scrum. That said, I wanted to share with you an objective side-by-side comparison of the two templates:

Comparison	MSF/Agile 5.0	VS Scrum 1.0
Effective version	3.0	1.0
Can implement Scrum?	Yes	Yes
Uses Scrum terminology?	No	Yes
Number of work item types	6	7
Leverages work item hierarchies?	Yes	Yes
Track Sprint dates, goal, and retrospective notes?	No	Yes
Has Excel planning workbooks?	Yes	No
Has Excel reports?	Yes	No
Has sample/template documents?	Yes	No
Number of .RDL reports	16	7
Project portal dashboard(s)	Task Burndown, Burn Rate	Release Burndown
Has process guidance?	Yes	Yes
Available "out of the box"?	Yes	No
Supported by Microsoft?	Yes	Yes

Emergent Architecture Presentation at TechEd 2011

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 19:09:58 +0000

UPDATE (3 June 2011): Watched the recorded presentation on Channel 9.

I finally got my (final) Emergent Architecture (DPR308) presentation posted. I had a couple of people tell me that the deck they downloaded from the TechEd Session Documents page was an old one.

If you missed the presentation, you can watch the video online and see just where you are on the graph below!

Files: Presentation (7mb)

Would You, Could You With TFS?

Fri, 27 May 2011 23:00:39 +0000

As you know Team Foundation Server 2010 supports most (but not all) Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) activities as the busy diagram below (from InCycle Software) suggests:

In addition to identifying the few gaps in ALM support (and ways to plug them), there are a couple of other myths that we busted last week at TechEd during my interactive presentation titled "Would You, Could You with TFS":

Visual Studio Technical Learning Center at TechEd 2011

Tue, 24 May 2011 23:09:39 +0000

I wanted to post a short video of the Technical Learning Center (TLC) at this year’s Tech-Ed conference in Atlanta, GA. The TLC is the place to see Microsoft product demos, talk with industry experts, learn about Microsoft services, and connect with your peers. In case you didn’t make it, the video below shows just how cool and organized the area was.

Professional Scrum Developer Questions asked at TechEd 2011

Wed, 18 May 2011 20:57:25 +0000

Q.	We are implementing Product Life Cycle Management (PLCM) as part of our ISO certification. How does Scrum fit into the ISO world? We are also adopting 3M’s (our parent company) Lean Six Sigma process. Same question, how does Scrum fit into Lean Six Sigma?
A.	PLCM (or just PLM as some refer to it) describe the life of a product in the market. The lifecycle has stages: introduction, growth, maturity, and saturation/decline. Scrum only deals with the development of the product. Where the two management ideas intersect would be in release planning. The product owner, and other stakeholders, decide what features (PBIs) need to be in each of those releases. This is manifested through the product backlog. Smart planning and prioritization can help the product grow to maturity and hit (and stay in) the sweet spot of the PLCM. As for how the larger discussion of ISO and Scrum fit together, I recommend reading this IEEE paper on the subject which concludes that ISO does not equate to quality but only helps ensure the Agile (Scrum) practices are being followed. While Lean Six Sigma and Scrum have similar goals, the integration of the two strategies must be done carefully to ensure success. Here are are a couple of articles on the subject: Integrating LSS and Scrum and Can Scrum Support Six Sigma?

Q.	In Team Foundation Server, using hours (for baseline, remaining, and completed) how best to move an uncompleted task over to the next Sprint?
A.	From a Scrum point of view, you wouldn’t want to move a task to the next Sprint unless the PBI or Bug that it was associated with was selected and committed-to by the Scrum Team. Assuming that is the case, then the developer who owns the task would re-estimate the remaining work. Tracking baseline and completed hours are considered waste because they don’t produce meaningful metrics in Scrum. Personally, I would just create a new task work item so that the old task would maintain its history and state according to the previous sprint.

Q.	We have 5 .NET developers and 5 AS/400 developers. I know Team Foundation Server makes sense for .NET but can it store the RPG code?
A.	Absolutely. Team Foundation Server is more than capable to store any development related artifact, such as RPG source code files. As the team matures in its understanding of ALM and usage of Team Foundation Server they can create and use work items to plan and track their work and associate to the checked-in code for maximum traceability. The question comes down to ease-of-use and how to allow the RPG developers to access source control with the least amount of friction. Ideas include using the TF.exe command line utility, the Team Foundation Power Tools Windows shell extension, or the Eclipse plug-in or cross-platform support found in Visual Studio Team Explorer Everywhere 2010.

Q.	In getting started, would it be better to get Team Foundation Server or go get ScrumMaster certification?
A.	To get started with Scrum, download and read the Scrum guide from Scrum.org. If you require training on the basics of Scrum then consider attending a Professional Scrum Foundations class, otherwise attend a Professional Scrum Master class. Passing the assessment to achieve the certification is optional. Once your team starts maturing in their game of Scrum, then consider implementing it using Visual Studio Team Foundation Server – unless of course you are already using TFS, then start using Visual Studio Scrum as soon as possible.

Q.	Where do I store the D.O.D. (Definition of Done) in Team Foundation Server?
A.	Unfortunately there is no first class (read: auditable) way of storing a team’s definition of done in Team Foundation Server. Your choices are to store the list in a document or on a wiki page on the (SharePoint) project portal. You might also consider using Thomas Schissler’s work item control.

Q.	Moving from Team Foundation Server 2008, importing work items from various sources (e.g. using Excel), can the Agile Excel templates be used?
A.	Yes, Excel is an extremely flexible way of importing work items from many data sources (not just Excel).

Debugging a Dysfunctional Team

Wed, 18 May 2011 13:33:12 +0000

UPDATE (3 June 2011): Watch the recorded presentation on Channel 9.

Yesterday I gave a talk at TechEd on Dysfunctional software development teams. We primarily focused on people dysfunctions, but also talked about process and tool dysfunctions.

If you attended, thank you for patience with my laryngitis. You can find the presentation attached below.

Files from Implementing Scrum pre-conference at Microsoft TechEd

Mon, 16 May 2011 20:30:04 +0000

UPDATE (3 June 2011): Here are the answers to questions that were asked during the pre-conference.

Thank you for attending the preconference yesterday. I hope the presentation and ensuing conversations were of value to you. I know they had value for me, and I thank you for attending.

You can find links to the presentation and some of the demo files below. Here are the bookmarks we covered as well:

Files: Presentation (12mb) | Slides (8mb) | Demo files (18kb)

Scrumming in DC

Mon, 02 May 2011 11:17:14 +0000

Actually at Microsoft’s MTC in Reston, Virginia, but close enough.

Thanks to everyone who attended our event, either online or in-person, last week. It was great to have such a large group that was so interested in Scrum and Visual Studio’s ability to enact it. We had some great discussions, questions, and real-world examples.

Excluding folders and files when adding to source control

Thu, 14 Apr 2011 12:20:16 +0000

Nov 2016 Update: I’ve had a few people reach out to me over the years and ask about how to do this in 2013, 2015, etc. The answer is to use a .tfignore file as outlined here.

In Team Foundation Server when you are adding items to source control, Microsoft automatically excludes certain folders and files:

This is helpful when adding a folder (especially with subfolders) of files, specifically Visual Studio projects. The thinking is that you typically don’t want to add files in Debug, Release, or ClientBin folders as well as certain binary files (.pdb, .obj, .dll, .exe, etc.). You can always recreate them later as needed.

Technical Session Levels (100, 200, 300, and 400)

Wed, 13 Apr 2011 13:27:59 +0000

You always hear about "level 200", "level 300", and "level 400" talks at conferences. Well, I have always wondered there was a standard rating system that all speakers agree to. If so, whose rating system would it be? I know that there is a standard system for rating movies (G, PG, PG13, R, NC17). I tried to create a Wikipedia page a few years ago but it got removed because of some reason or another. Probably because nobody agreed with me.

Agile Scrum Development Practices with the Experts - see you in DC next month

Fri, 18 Mar 2011 15:22:15 +0000

If you are in the DC area next month, you should attend this exciting, free event where will explore Scrum in the real-world and how you can adopt a more Agile approach to software projects leveraging Team Foundation Server 2010 for development projects on any platform.

Ken Schwaber will be delivering Management & Scrum: From Here to Agility in the morning and I will be demonstrating how Visual Studio 2010 can implement Scrum in the afternoon.

Awesome SharePoint training deal at Mindsharp’s Customer Appreciation Event

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 10:27:09 +0000

SharePoint educator, and Accentient Partner, Mindsharp, launches their first Customer Appreciation event. This event will run through the month of March, thanking customers for their continued support. The event will extend customers special package pricing on Mindsharp’s UserVersity computer based training products as well as Mindsharp public and private training classes. According to Bill English, Author and CEO of Mindsharp, "To put it simply, we just wanted to say Thank You to our customers and give something back in appreciation of their support." Customers will receive an average of $26,795 value for $995. It will include the 2007 UserVersity computer based training lessons, 20% off the just released 2010 lessons, one online or live seat at any Mindsharp public training class, 20% off a private class, and 20% off all Mindsharp public classes taken through December 31, 2011.

Microsoft launches Test Professional Product Tour

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 09:57:29 +0000

Microsoft just launched the "Test Professional Product Tour". Whether you are new to Visual Studio 2010 Test Professional or have some experience using it, this tour provides customers with a 200-level experience that can be followed-up with the downloading of the trial edition.

First, visit this site for the tour and then when you are reading to download and go hands-on, visit this site.

Links from my Boise Code Camp 2011 talks

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 11:42:46 +0000

Here is a quick post with the materials and links from last weekend at the Boise Code Camp.

Scrum Workshop (with Adam Cogan)

Official Scrum Guide
Mike Cohn’s articles on User Stories | Planning Poker
Visual Studio Scrum 1.0 template
Professional Scrum Developer program

Also, check out the photos from ‘camp on Flickr. In the meantime, you can enjoy Adam and his blue screen right before our talk.

Montreal .NET Community presentation

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 10:25:18 +0000

I’d like to say thank you to the community and the coordinators of the Montreal .NET Community for hosting the event last night. I enjoyed talking about my two favorite subjects: Visual Studio 2010 and Scrum. We also talked about the Professional Scrum Developer program.

Presentation (PDF) | Bookmarks (ZIP)

Unconfiguring Team Foundation Server 2010

Fri, 21 Jan 2011 08:26:17 +0000

I actually had a need to do this today, so I did some browsing of the Team Foundation Server – Setup forums and found these steps:

Execute tfsconfig setup /uninstall:all.

This should be done from the Program FilesMicrosoft Team Foundation Server 2010Tools directory.
Drop the Tfs_Configuration, Tfs_Warehouse, and (optionally) any team project collection relational databases.
Drop the Tfs_Analysis Analysis Services database.
Optionally, delete any SharePoint site collections that were created.
Optionally, delete any SQL Reporting Services folders that were created.

Unconfigured! (is that a word?)

ScrumButs and Modifying Scrum

Fri, 17 Dec 2010 08:22:22 +0000

ScrumButs are reasons why teams can’t take full advantage of Scrum to solve the problems and realize the benefits. Every Scrum role, rule, and timebox is designed to provide the desired benefits and address the problems. ScrumButs mean that Scrum has exposed a dysfunction that is contributing to the problem, but is too hard to fix. A ScrumBut retains the problem while modifying Scrum to make it invisible so that the dysfunction is no longer a thorn in the side of the team.

A ScrumBut has a particular syntax: (ScrumBut)(Reason)(Workaround)

Visual Studio 2010 Test Professional Webcast

Thu, 16 Dec 2010 14:29:36 +0000

Thank you for attending our recent Visual Studio 2010 Test Professional Webcast. I hope you enjoyed seeing an end-to-end simulation as a user story emerged into a testable requirement and how to implement Acceptance Test-Driven Development using Visual Studio 2010.

Note: During the Webcast I think I incorrectly stated that the Visual Studio 2010 Feature Pack 2 was a free download. In fact, you must be an MSDN subscriber to download it. Also, a question was asked about Coded UI (and fast-forward) support for Infragistics controls. I did some research and the support is not there yet, although Microsoft and Infragistics are both working on it. Please keep your eye on this blog post to be updated as new information becomes available.

Top 5 Reasons to use VS Database Projects

Fri, 10 Dec 2010 19:00:00 +0000

There is a traditional resistance to using database projects – the production system is the reference point, and I have a backup, so what is the problem, right?

Since the GDR2 was released, this traditional logic was rendered obsolete, and the database developers can come in from the cold. Given that most apps eventually store the data, it is important to make sure that the database is robust, well-written, performant, and does integrate with the rest of the application. In the spirit of Nick Hornby, I offer my top 5 reasons to use database projects in Visual Studio.

Tech Ed Berlin Links

Wed, 17 Nov 2010 13:26:34 +0000

On the Tech Ed Berlin VS2010 Ultimate booth, we fielded a wide range of questions about Visual Studio and TFS. We used a few web pages to help with the discussions, and the most visited ones are below:

Link

Comment

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/fda2bad5(VS.100).aspx

The Visual Studio ALM home page

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=3afc2930-24c3-4a97-9850-aab507edb043&displaylang=en

Case study describing the benefits of adopting TFS in management terms

http://consultingblogs.emc.com/crispinparker/archive/2010/06/28/scrum-for-team-system-v3-0-msf-agile-v5-0-and-team-foundation-server-scrum-v1-0-beta.aspx

Comparison of the MSF Agile, the MS Scrum and EMC (formerly Conchango) TFS project templates

Upgrading TFS to 2010

Fri, 12 Nov 2010 22:17:00 +0000

At TechEd Europe 2010, I had the privilege to work on the VS2010 Ultimate booth. It was great to meet so many folk, and find out how different people were using TFS and VS2010.

One recurring question was about upgrading, and the ways to do it.

Neno Loje delivered a great talk about administration of TFS, in which he covered a range of topics, including upgrading. I recommend watching the recording to check how you are doing. The recording is at http://www.msteched.com/2009/Europe/DEV311.

He recommended an approach that will import the previous version in to a new instance of TFS. The advantages of this is that you can move to a 64 bit application tier, and have the certainty that the new instance is up and running before importing the existing data.

Visual Studio ALM Rangers using Ruck, not Scrum

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 09:33:01 +0000

I thought this post by Willy was interesting. It seems that the Visual Studio ALM Rangers are using a variation of Scrum that they are calling Ruck.

In the game of rugby, Ruck is a loose Scrum. The Rangers have adopted it as a term to define their unique and flexible process in order to handle distributed teams, part-time team members, and different time-zones.

For those of you who don’t know, the Rangers are a group of Microsoft internal and external folks (including MVPs) who build and deliver out-of-band solutions for missing features or guidance in Visual Studio.

Dear HR Managers

Tue, 21 Sep 2010 07:06:27 +0000

I love this new letter to HR Managers (or anyone who wants to hire a ScrumMaster). It’s short and sweet.

Here’s the link so you can use it yourself.

Welcome new Professional Scrum Developer trainers

Tue, 21 Sep 2010 07:01:42 +0000

I see that Microsoft has updated their PSD page to include the latest batch of new trainers. There are almost 40 trainers listed, from all over the world. Nice work everybody.

If you’d like to become a PSD trainer, follow this link.

Palouse Code Camp 2010 – Date Change

Fri, 17 Sep 2010 21:11:38 +0000

For those of you who were planning on attending the Palouse Code Camp at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington this weekend, the date has changed!

According to their website, the new date is Saturday, October 30, 2010. This is the Saturday directly following Microsoft’s PDC conference in Redmond, so it is only a short drive or flight to Pullman for the dedicated ‘camper.

Visual Studio Rangers publish guidance for Visual Studio 2010 Database projects

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 15:06:11 +0000

Today the Visual Studio ALM Rangers published more solid guidance. This time it was around a favorite topic of mine – Visual Studio database projects.

This guidance focuses on 5 areas:

Solution and Project Management
Source Code Control and Configuration Management
Integrating External Changes with the Project System
Build and Deployment Automation with Visual Studio Database Projects
Database Testing and Deployment Verification

This release includes common guidance, usage scenarios, hands on labs, and lessons learned from real world engagements and the community discussions.

Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Lab Management released

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 03:54:24 +0000

Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Lab Management is now available. This is great news. Also, Microsoft is including it at no additional charge to customers who have Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate with MSDN or Visual Studio Test Professional 2010 with MSDN. This is awesome news because they were going to price it per CPU.

Here are some useful links:

· Visual Studio Lab Management Information
· Visual Studio Lab Management Trial and Instructions
· Visual Studio Lab Management Setup Videos
· Microsoft Virtualization VHD Test Drive Program and VHD Download
· Visual Studio Lab Management’s Team Blog and Getting Started Guide
· System Center Virtual Machine Manager Blog and Installation Guide

Scrum on Dot Net Rocks

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 09:06:13 +0000

Rich has been busy this week, and was on Dot Net Rocks (for the first time !).

http://www.dotnetrocks.com/default.aspx?showNum=585

A great discussion of Scrum, Agile and VS2010, and how it plugs in to professional Scrum developer program.

It all started with Martin Fowler’s comment about flaccid scrum (http://martinfowler.com/bliki/FlaccidScrum.html), the PSD program helps folk sharpen up their scrum game to combat this.

Managing Projects using Microsoft Visual Studio Scrum 1.0 (Part 2)

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 13:40:35 +0000

UPDATE: The LiveMeeting recording has been posted on Channel 9.

Thank you for attending part 2 of our Managing Projects using Microsoft Visual Studio Scrum 1.0 webcast today. Here are some links and resources that I promised.

Presentation

Managing projects using Microsoft Visual Studio Scrum 1.0 (part 2)

Bookmarks

Urban Turtle Software

Demo Files

Sample product backlog and shortcut batch file

Be sure to check back in a few days for the LiveMeeting recording. We’ll post it on our blog.

Managing Projects using Microsoft Visual Studio Scrum 1.0

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 14:28:41 +0000

UPDATE: The LiveMeeting recording has been posted on Channel 9.

Thank you for attending the webcast today. Here are some links and resources that I promised.

Presentation

Managing projects using Microsoft Visual Studio Scrum 1.0 (part 1)

Bookmarks

Installation

.bat file for deploying the VS Scrum 1.0 SharePoint template

Learning Team Foundation Server

Visual Studio Scrum Webcasts

Sat, 14 Aug 2010 07:49:16 +0000

Next week, Rich is hosting two webcasts on "Managing projects using Microsoft Visual Studio Scrum 1.0".

Part 1 is on Tuesday 12pm MST

https://www.clicktoattend.com/invitation.aspx?code=149942

Part 2 is on Thursday 12pm MST

https://www.clicktoattend.com/invitation.aspx?code=149944

Hope to see you there!

Friends of the ‘Turtle

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 19:27:53 +0000

Accentient is pleased to announce that we are officially a friend of the Urban Turtle.

Accentient is both an Urban Turtle "Select Partner", which is a highly recognized and trusted organization that can provide you with various services to make you successful with Scrum TFS and Urban Turtle as well as a Professional Scrum Developer (PSD) Select Partner who has demonstrated unique value in delivering the PSD course.

Urban Turtle is an intuitive Scrum tool for TFS built to simplify your software development cycles. It was built by experienced Scrum coaches and practitioners, Urban Turtle helps you deliver kick-ass software sustainably, every iteration.

Visual Studio 2010 Lab Management availability announced

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 23:59:56 +0000

Yesterday at the VSLive! keynote, Microsoft announced that Lab Management will be generally available at the end of August. Also, it will not be sold as a separate product, but instead will be available to Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate with MSDN and Visual Studio Test Professional with MSDN subscribers.

This announcement further proves that Microsoft remains committed to enabling developers of all skill levels and organizational sizes to easily build business applications that target the desktop, cloud and Web. Lab Management provides an integrated platform for managing your virtual testing environments, which drives greater efficiencies and cost savings by automating workflow, utilizing Hyper-V and System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM). It is essentially a "private cloud" solution that enables teams to quickly provision virtual environments. These environments enable organizations to easily develop and test against a predictable base state, lowering the risk associated with software development due to unpredictable build processes and test environments.

Download the trial software or a VHD Test Drive today.

Scrum and VS2010

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 10:07:31 +0000

Thanks to the folk who made it to the VBUG meeting. It was great to talk about Scrum and VS2010.

A copy of the presentation if you would like to download it Scrum and 2010

Also, here is the link to the download of the Microsoft VM with 2010 all loaded and the excellent labs as well.

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/briankel/archive/2010/06/25/now-available-visual-studio-2010-rtm-virtual-machine-with-sample-data-and-hands-on-labs.aspx

VBUG Event

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 19:36:59 +0000

I am really looking forward to going to the Bracknell VBUG group to talk about Scrum and VS2010 on July 7. It should be a great evening. http://www.vbug.co.uk/Events/July-2010/VBUG-Bracknell-SCRUM.aspx

Scrum vs Scrum (rugby and process)

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 22:12:19 +0000

I am a huge fan of both Rugby Union and the Scrum methodology. When I first heard of the framework there was a sense of wonderment at the use of the rugby term to describe the development framework.

For those folk who are not too familiar with the rugby version, this is a short video of just scrums.

Tech-Ed 2010 Presentations

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 00:45:36 +0000

Thank you to everyone who attended my talks at Tech-Ed 2010 last week in New Orleans. I had a great time talking Scrum, Visual Studio 2010, and all intersections in-between.

Here are my presentations, in case you want to download them.

<li><a href="DPR205.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">DPR205 - Understanding the Professional Scrum Developer Program</a></li>

<li><a href="dev312.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">DEV312 - Let Build Automation in Microsoft Visual Studio Team Foundation Server 2010 Work for You</a></li>

Also, I uploaded a few random photos to flickr.

Adding HEAT output to the GAC

Thu, 03 Jun 2010 12:27:12 +0000

There are situations (infrastructure component used across the enterprise is one example) where it is more useful to put the assembly in to the GAC.

Using Heat, a transform needs to be used that will add the assembly=".net" to the wixobj.

In the wixproj File, add a transforms line:

Add Heat to Wix Project

Thu, 03 Jun 2010 12:11:56 +0000

There are two really powerful ways to harvest the output from the build in to Wix.

Heat extensions that are native with the Wix Install or John Robbins Paraffin. The advantage with using Heat is that with some clients there is a lot of controls with utilising software from the interweb, and Heat is available from the same location as Wix.

The Wix installation is available from here, remember that you will need v3.5 to use with Visual Studio 2010. (Yes it is still listed as Beta, however it works very well!)

Customizing Team Foundation Server Project Portals

Sat, 29 May 2010 17:57:57 +0000

I just noticed this new article online at MSDN.

Phil Hodgson provides guidance for potential process-authors who wish to customize process templates used to create team project portals on SharePoint.

Visual Studio 2010 ALM Guidance from the Rangers

Wed, 12 May 2010 16:11:44 +0000

Now that Visual Studio 2010 has launched, teams are discovering just how much capability is included within those .iso files. MSDN does a good job of explaining what the buttons do, but you really need good guidance to go along with the how-to. The Visual Studio ALM Rangers have you covered.

They already have many documents published:

They have a couple more in the works:

Is Annotate good for Scrum teams?

Mon, 10 May 2010 18:55:14 +0000

As you know, you can use the TFS Annotate command to learn which team member made a particular change to a particular file. It can also show you who wrote each line of code in a file and when. This tool has many uses, some of them bad, such as blaming a team member who broke the build, failed a test, didn’t conform to the definition of done, etc. In fact, the same feature is Subversion is simply called blame.

Test-Driven Test-Driven Development (TDTDD) = a chicken and egg dilemma

Mon, 10 May 2010 17:22:16 +0000

Weird thought for today: if unit tests are just code, then shouldn’t you write tests before you write that code? Test-driven-test-driven-development (TDTDD) if you will. But then where would it stop.

Application Lifecycle Management interview at the Visual Studio 2010 launch

Wed, 05 May 2010 21:15:48 +0000

At the Visual Studio 2010 launch a few weeks ago I was interviewed, along with David Starr, about ALM. I just found the recording online.

Here are the steps to get to it:

1. Go to http://channel9.msdn.com/vs2010_ch9live_ondemand.htm

2. Drag the selector bar ahead to about the 7 hour mark.

New Scrum one pager by the VS ALM Rangers

Wed, 05 May 2010 20:47:35 +0000

The Rangers have published an update to the quick reference stack, and one of my favourites is the Scrum chart. Download the full pack here.

The pack is broken down by headings

Start Here
Planning
Design
Dev Debug
Database
Testing
Build
General

The Scrum quick reference is in 7. General.

Getting to Done with VS2010

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 00:01:28 +0000

One of the most critical aspects of any project is when have you got to done. This is one of the central principles of Scrum, as it is the contract between the team that is going to produce something, and the Product Owner who is going to take delivery of it. In waterfall projects, it is just as critical. Due to the focus on the Big Design Up Front, it is costly in terms of time and effort to revisit a phase once it is "done".

Visual Studio 2010 Presentations at DevConnections

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 01:39:18 +0000

Thank you to everyone who attended my talks at DevConnections in Las Vegas this week. I enjoyed meeting you and showing you the new capabilities in Visual Studio 2010.

VVS01 - Agile Database Techniques Using Visual Studio 2010	Slides	Demos
VVS05 - Implementing Scrum Using Team Foundation Server 2010	Slides	Demos
VVS10 - Team Foundation Server 2010 - Migrate or Integrate?	Slides	Demos

Professional Scrum Developer training commences

Sat, 10 Apr 2010 02:27:59 +0000

The first PSD training books have arrived at their destination, ready for class to begin on Monday … in Brazil!

We wish Giovanni Bassi good luck with his class next week. He is running the first PSD class in the world, starting on the same day that Visual Studio 2010 launches.

Let’s rock!

Manually Processing the Team Foundation Server 2010 Data Warehouse and Analysis Services Database

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 19:07:10 +0000

There are many reasons and times that you will want to manually process the TFS 2010 Data Warehouse and Analysis Services databases. The primary reason is that you are impatient and want to see your reports and metrics right away. An example of this is right after you create a new team project, you may see one or more Reporting Services errors on the project portal (see below). These will go away after a period of time (which can be specified) but if you want to clean them up immediately (because you have OCD or something) then you can follow the steps in this post.

Free Silverlight 4 Online Training Course

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 16:44:06 +0000

The Silverlight 4 Training Course includes a whitepaper that explains all of the new Silverlight 4 features, several hands-on-labs that explain the features, and a 8 unit course for building business applications with Silverlight 4. The business applications course includes 8 modules with extensive hands on labs as well as 25 accompanying videos that walk you through key aspects of building a business application with Silverlight. Here’s a list of the modules:

Sam Guckenheimer and Ken Schwaber discuss the Professional Scrum Developer program on Channel 9

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 22:21:07 +0000

Ken Schwaber, co-inventor of Scrum, and Sam Guckenheimer, Group Product Planner for Visual Studio discuss the Professional Scrum Developer (PSD) program around Visual Studio 2010. PSD includes a unique and intensive five-day experience for software developers. The course guides teams on how to turn product requirements into potentially shippable increments of software using Visual Studio 2010, the Scrum framework, and modern software engineering practices.

Q&A Brian Harry Discusses ALM and Team Development in VS2010

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 20:11:56 +0000

I just found this article in Visual Studio magazine where they interviewed Brian Harry (Microsoft Technical Fellow and Product Unit Manager for Team Foundation Server). Brian talks about testing, data and team-based development, and the Teamprise acquisition in Visual Studio 2010.

Palouse Code Camp

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 15:55:15 +0000

I had the honor of meeting a couple of dedicated software developers from "up North" at the Boise Code Camp this last weekend. They’ve been coming to our ‘camp for a couple of years now and are ready to pull the trigger on running one of their own. This is awesome.

The Palouse Code Camp will be held at the Washing State University in Pullman, WA. This is just over 300 miles from Boise State University where we held our event. The preliminary date is 18 September, 2010 but it could change based on events at the school, etc.

Bookmark www.palousecodecamp.org and we’ll see you there!

Boise Code Camp 2010 Rocked!

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 16:26:39 +0000

I had a lot of fun this weekend hanging out with my fellow developers, speakers, and hungry-minds at the Boise Code Camp.

Here are a few photos and a small video of the welcome session attendees.


Amit, Mithun, and Chris	David Starr our happy host	Ole Dam discusses leadership	Elle runs a tight ship	Welcome session (.wmv)

Also, for those of you who attended my presentations, here are links to the demo files:

VS2010 upgrades

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 22:01:23 +0000

With the release of 2010 on 12 April, MSDN Premium subscriptions are moved to higher level products. This is all outlined in the VS2010 Roadmap, and the details of what is involved in each subscription is outlined in the MSDN Subscriptions Matrix. So if you have VSTS Development Edition, you are upgraded to VS2010 Ultimate.

This was going to expire on 21 March, however is now aligned with the VS2010 launch date, so is open until 12 April. This promotional offer is a great way to step up the version of VS that you are using, at a considerable cost saving.

SQL Injection – the best way to avoid a speeding ticket!

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 19:49:25 +0000

For those cities or countries that take photographs of your license plate, then looks up who to send the speed ticket to.

Credit goes to the original hacker – whoever that may be.

Group photo from MVP Summit

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:18:32 +0000

Here’s a group photo of many of the Visual Studio ALM MVPs and some Visual Studio Product Group people at the 2010 MVP Summit a few weeks ago.

The photo was taken in building 34 on 18 February, 2010.

ASP.NET MVC 2 Released

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:24:50 +0000

ASP.NET MVC 2 is a framework for developing highly testable and maintainable Web applications by leveraging the Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern. The framework encourages developers to maintain a clear separation of concerns among the responsibilities of the application – the UI logic using the view, user-input handling using the controller, and the domain logic using the model. ASP.NET MVC applications are easily testable using techniques such as test-driven development (TDD).

Microsoft released this last Friday. You should go download it and then go learn how to use it.

Be among the first to get Visual Studio 2010 Professional

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:38:14 +0000

Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Professional will launch on April 12. You should secure your copy today by pre-ordering at the (very affordable) estimated retail price of $549, a savings of $250.

If you use a previous version of Visual Studio or any other development tool then you are eligible for this upgrade. Along with all the great new features in Visual Studio 2010, the Professional edition includes a 12-month MSDN Essentials subscription which gives you access to core Microsoft platforms: Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise, and Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Datacenter.

So visit the pre-order site to check out all the new features and sign up for this great offer.

The Scrum Team needs another role

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 03:45:33 +0000

According to the Scrum Guide, a Scrum Team consists of the ScrumMaster, the Product Owner, and the Team. This works great, until issues, impediments, and dysfunctions are identified and its time to do some serious housecleaning (read: fire or repurpose team members). Since this is dirty work nobody likes to do, I propose a new, fourth role be added to the Scrum Team for just such situations: The Cleaner.

So if you are the schlubbish team member who holds the team record for number of impediments (caused), then beware when this guy comes to your cubicle:

TFS 2010 Licensing - Multiplexing

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 21:57:55 +0000

I was reading through the new Visual Studio 2010 Licensing White Paper released a couple of weeks ago. It contains a good explanation and examples of multiplexing scenarios. These sounded very familiar, as some of our clients have implemented these in the past. Just to clarify, these scenarios do not reduce the number of TFS CALs that are required, as some people think. End users or devices that accesses TFS in any way, other than the New Work Items (WIWA) exception, are required to have the appropriate licenses, regardless of whether they are using a direct or indirect connection.

No Branch by Label in TFS 2010

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:32:40 +0000

This came up today during a presentation I was giving. I didn’t realize you couldn’t do this from the new Branches in 2010. I did some research and wanted to share my findings.

In TFS 2010 (RC), if you right-click on a regular folder, such as my Code folder:

… your branching options are (Changeset, Date, Label, Latest Version, and Workspace Version):

Test Scribe for TFS 2010

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 04:42:56 +0000

This tool popped-up today during our Scrum Developer trainer-prep in Sydney. One of the teams decided to be over-achievers and delivered their test cases (and results) in a nice Word document format. Turns out they used this Test Scribe tool available on the Visual Studio Gallery. Although in a pre-release version, it worked pretty good and generated some nice-looking

Test Scribe is a tool for generating documentation about TCM (Test Case Management) artifacts. Testers can use a stand-alone client to connect to a TFS 2010 server/project. With a Test Plan selected, users are able to generate a Test Plan Document, including information about the plan, the suite hierarchy, and each test case contained in the suites.

Looks like there might be some issues with using it SxS with VS 2008.

The World Cup: How Sports Unites Us

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 23:34:08 +0000

I was flying on US Airways and was reading their January 2010 issue of their free magazine when I came across an article written by Robert Tuchman. It was titled The World Cup: How Sports Unites Us and states something that I’ve always believed: the round ball with the black spots on it is a great cultural barrier neutralizer.

At Accentient, when we deliver classroom training to teams of software developers of mixed nationalities and cultures, we try to keep things as simple as possible, especially when the subject matter is as deep and dry as it is sometimes. Early on I made the decision to use the (soccer) World Cup as my point of reference in our samples, discussions, and activities. Everyone in the room, including the late-to-the-game Americans, understand the references to teams, matches, standings, and statistics. It has served us well.

I (Heart) Smart Elevators

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 16:32:33 +0000

In Paris for a week and working at Microsoft’s new "Le Campus". It’s very new and very cool. One of the coolest things about the building is the smart elevators. They are not a new thing, but you don’t see them very often in the USA. Here’s how they work.

Step 1 – enter the floor you want to go to.

Generating INSERT statements to accompany your Database Projects

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 16:40:03 +0000

Microsoft has yet to provide us with some kind of utility to handle the importing, managing, versioning, and deploying of data along with our schema changes inside Visual Studio Team System 2008 database projects. For most of the teams I work with, their needs are simple: they just want the ability to store data (INSERT statements are fine) in scripts within their database projects. Ideally the project would be smart enough to know which version of data goes with which version of schema, but for now they’re able to live with handling that manually.

Team Foundation Server 2010 SDK on MSDN Code Gallery

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 13:24:24 +0000

Until the regular SDK documentation on MSDN is updated for Team Foundation Server 2010, you can find information at its official home on Code Gallery.

You will find the samples for the Team Foundation Server SDK (samples are no longer included with the Visual Studio SDK), deep dive documentation, and links to shared source projects and other resources. This page is maintained by the TFS product team at Microsoft.

Exporting all work items from all team projects

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:53:25 +0000

Somebody asked me a simple question the other day: "how do I export all of my work items at once". I suspected they were looking to perform a backup, but it sounded like they might want to import into another system or just archive them in some readable way. I suggested Microsoft Excel, but it can only fetch work items from one team project at a time. So repetition, using a Macro or a human, would be required.

Lower Alabama .NET User Group

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 23:41:01 +0000

I was in Mobile Alabama for the week talking Team System and got invited to the Lower Alabama .NET User Group (LANUG) to speak on VS 2010 and TDD. This was a fun evening, good pizza, and test-first software development. Thanks to Ryan Duclos and Matthew Hughes for coordinating this. if you attended, the files are linked at the bottom.

Attachment: LANUGDemo.zip (28k)

Custom Check-in Policy for Exactly One Work Item

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 01:10:36 +0000

Out of the box, Microsoft has a Work Items check-in policy which requires you to select at least one work item when checking in your code in TFS 2008. If you install the Team Foundation Server Power Tools, you’ll get the Work Item Query check-in policy. This is nice because it allows you to specify a team query to which the work item associated with a check-in must belong. The example I give is that the team may want to spend the next couple of days on a "bug bash", so you could use this policy to point to the "Active Bugs" query, etc.

Unit Testing and Test Driven Development in Visual Studio Ultimate 2010

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:51:35 +0000

I’ll be presenting a talk on Unit Testing and TDD using Visual Studio Ultimate 2010 in Mobile, Alabama next month. If you are in the area, please join us at the ITT Technical Institute on Tuesday, Nov 10, 2009 at 6:00 PM. Thanks to Morrison Management Specialists for sponsoring the event.

Contact Ryan Duclos to RSVP or if you have any questions.

Also, be sure to attend Alabama Code Camp 8 (Jan 23, 2010)

Changing the licensed to user in Visual Studio 2008

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 01:09:44 +0000

If you’re like me, then you don’t pay attention when you install a lot of software. Often times I just click Next > Next > Finish without reading the screens.

For example, I guess I wasn’t paying attention to who the registered user was when I installed Visual Studio 2008 or Windows for that matter, because the splash screen shows this:

Yes, it’s a registry setting and you can find/set it here:

Team Foundation Server 2010 Installation Guide

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 22:16:17 +0000

Don’t trust the install guide that you find inside your Beta 2 download media. It’s an older version that was from last month.

Instead, download the latest, beta 2 guide (TFSInstall-beta2-9192009.chm) here.

DeployToDatabaseAddToServerExplorer

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:31:53 +0000

I’ve been doing a lot of work with the Database, er Development edition of VSTS 2008. Of course I’m running the GDR-R2 version which really changed the architecture of the database projects, as well as the process of building and deploying.

Prior to the GDR, if you deployed a database project it would automatically create a Data Connection in the Server Explorer window. I liked this, because I would almost always follow-up a first time deployment with some data generation or unit testing, and it just made it easier to select the pre-defined connection from the dropdowns. It seems that the GDR erased this timesaver.

For example, I just deployed a GDR-R2 database project according to these settings:

And when I go to the Server Explorer window, I don’t see my VSTSdev.AdventureWorks2009.dbo connection like I would have expected:

Well it seems that this change was by design and it is configurable! According to Duke Kamstra, there’s a property in the database project (.dbproj) file that lets you control this behavior:

<DeployToDatabaseAddToServerExplorer>False</DeployToDatabaseAddToServerExplorer>

If you set the property to True, the connection will get added to the list which Server Explorer displays, and the behavior I enjoyed prior to GDR will return. For added coolness, if you always want this behavior you could modify the template(s) that are instantiate dbproj file(s) from: C:Program FilesMicrosoft Visual Studio VSTSDBExtensionsSqlServerProjectItems**.dbproj

Duke also tells me that the same property exists in Visual Studio 2010.

Everybody Lies

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:18:22 +0000

I was at a client site last month where they have TFS2008SP1 installed and running on Windows Server 2008 SP1. Everything was working fine. We created several team projects. No problems.

I come back three weeks later and it wouldn’t create a team project. I kept getting the “Project Creation Wizard encountered a problem while uploading documents to the Windows SharePoint Services server” error. According to the client, they hadn’t touched anything. So, I started with Ben Day’s blog post on the subject, but his fix didn’t work for me. I then checked all the service accounts, permissions, farm administrator group, database status, etc. – all the standard things, but no help.

Microsoft releases SharePoint Application Development guidance

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 20:21:24 +0000

The Developing SharePoint Applications guidance helps architects and developers design and build applications that are both flexible and scalable. It shows developers how to provide IT professionals with the information they need to maintain those applications and diagnose problems when they arise. The guidance also discusses approaches for testing SharePoint applications, such as how to create unit tests, and how to stress and scale test.

You can review the guidance project on CodePlex as well as on Microsoft’s site. You can download the guidance document (11 mb) here.

MSDN Presents: The Next Generation Client Experience

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 10:33:53 +0000

Join Microsoft and your fellow developers September 15, 2009 for an afternoon at the Overland Park Cinemas exploring the next generation of client experience from a developer’s point of view.

Topics include Windows 7 for Developers, IE8 for Developers, and Building Business Applications with Silverlight 3.

The event starts at 1pm. It should be a fun afternoon.

You can register here.

Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ)

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 00:13:04 +0000

I’ve been hearing about these type of government contracts more and more lately. I guess they’ve been around for years, but just maybe getting more popular in the circles I travel. IDIQ contracts provide for an indefinite quantity of supplies or services during a fixed period of time. They are frequently awarded by US Government agencies, including the GSA and the DOD. They are most often used for architect-engineering services, such as IT projects.

Eclipse + Teamprise FAQ

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 21:18:20 +0000

I spent this morning working with a client who will be using Eclipse and Teamprise client to support their ongoing Java break/fix work while they migrate their application to .NET. Both teams want to use (the same) Team Foundation Server so that work items, version control, and automated builds are shared between all.

These are some questions that came up during a simulation that we ran through this morning, as well as some answers back from Martin Woodward of Teamprise. I wanted to share with anyone else who might have similar questions.

First Look: Visual Studio Team System 2010 Test Edition

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 21:10:03 +0000

Thank you for attending this week’s webcast on the new capabilities of Visual Studio Team System 2010 Test Edition. Specifically, we covered these topics:

What’s New in Test Edition

Test Case Management

Test Projects

Test and Lab Manager

Running Manual Tests

Automating UI Tests

Lots of demos!

Attached is the recorded webcast in case you missed it. Watch this blog as well as our home page for more webcasts coming in the near future.

Silverlight Fire Starter event coming to Redmond/Online Sep 17th

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 21:00:41 +0000

Microsoft is hosting a Silverlight 3.0 Fire Starter event in Redmond, WA on the 17th of September. The event has a spectacular speaker line-up with Scott Guthrie keynoting the event followed by Tim Heuer, Adam Kinney, Karl Shifflett among many other rock stars. The entire event will also be broadcasted online via Live Meeting.

New Team System book available

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:37:32 +0000

The book Managing Software Development Projects using Visual Studio Team System/Application Lifecycle Management is now available. The book was written be a fellow Team System MVP in Brazil, Ramon Durães. The book is in Portuguese.

Table of contents:

Application Lifecycle Management
Team Foundation Server
Development Methodology
Work items
Team Foundation Server Version Control
Architecture
Development
Tests
Database
Visual Studio Team System Web Access
Reports
Team Foundation Build

Read more about the book here (in Portuguese) or here (English translation).

First Look: Visual Studio Team System 2010 Architecture Edition

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 19:06:20 +0000

Thank you for attending last week’s webcast on the new capabilities of the Architecture Edition. Attached is the recorded webcast in case you missed it.

We’ve got two more webcasts scheduled for this month: First Look: VSTS 2010 (repeat) and First Look: VSTS 2010 Test Edition. Watch this blog for more details.

Attachments: FirstLookArch2010.zip (7mb)

SQL Server Magazine’s Community Choice Awards – Nominations are open now

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 19:46:07 +0000

I wanted to make sure you were aware of the upcoming Community Choice Awards. Nominations opened last week and will close on August 10th. Here is the promotion that is being sent to through emails and in the magazines …

Welcome to the 2009 Community Choice Awards (CCA), as presented by Windows IT Pro and SQL Server Magazine! These awards allow YOU to decide what IT products get chosen for acclaim and recognition. We want to hear from IT pros, DBAs, and developers about what they think the best products are in a given category.

Click HERE to nominate your favorite IT products. Here are the award categories:

• Best Active Directory & Group Policy Product
• Best Antivirus/Malware Product
• Best Auditing and Compliance Product
• Best Backup and Recovery Software Product
• Best Business Intelligence and Reporting Product
• Best Cloud Computing Product or Service
• Best Database Management Product
• Best Database Monitoring and Performance Product
• Best Deployment Product
• Best Development Tools Product
• Best Hardware: Server
• Best Hardware: Workstation
• Best Hardware: Mobile device
• Best Hardware: Networking Product
• Best Hardware: Appliances Product
• Best Hardware: Storage Product
• Best Interoperability Product
• Best Messaging Product
• Best Microsoft Product
• Best Mobile and Wireless Software Product
• Best Network Management Product
• Best Patch Management Product
• Best Scripting Product
• Best Security Product
• Best SharePoint Product
• Best Systems Management Product
• Best System Utility
• Best Training and Certification Product or Service
• Best Virtualization Product

Seats still available for tonight’s IEEE Career Building Workshop in Boise

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 19:22:47 +0000

There are still openings for tonight’s Boise IEEE Career Building Workshop. RSVP if you are interested in attending. This workshop is for those that want to improve their resume.

Workshop highlights:

• Resume review
• Networking Opportunities
• IEEE Career Resources
• Free Food

Tonight, August 5, 2009 7:00PM – 8:00PM
Library! At Hillcrest. Limhi Conference Room.
5246 W. Overland Road, Boise ID
Located in the Hillcrest Shipping Center at Overland and Orchard.

Download Microsoft Expression Studio 3 Trial

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:55:46 +0000

It’s released, but not yet available for MSDN subscribers. That said, you can download the Trial Edition and get your hands on it. My understanding is that you can product key activate it later, when it shows up on MSDN.

Click here For more information on Express Studio 3, including a top 10 list of features. I’m most excited about #7 …

Team Foundation Server Integration – share your Expression Studio project files with those of your colleagues by using check in and check out functionality with Microsoft Team Foundation Server integration.

Automating the Creation of TFS Service Accounts

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:21:30 +0000

When setting up new virtual machines for Team Foundation Server 2010, I find myself having to manually create the four amigos: TFSSERVICE, TFSREPORTS, TFSBUILD, and WSSSERVICE (per the installation guide). Needless to say, this gets quite old, so I set out to automate this process.

First, I checked out Grant Holliday’s post from 2007 on Hands Free TFS Installation. I was only interested in the part where he creates the accounts and sets the permissions. His approach uses a (.bat) batch file, so he’s limited to using "NET USER" commands such as "net user TFSSERVICE * /DOMAIN /ADD /EXPIRES:NEVER". I wanted to specify account description and have more control, so I decided to integrate his ideas with mine into a (.vbs) VBScript file. I also added code to create groups, such as the TFS Administrators group, which I always suggest having.

Developers Developers Developers Developers Book

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 19:36:11 +0000

There’s a new book out (download or Lulu) which blends content from Microsoft's {You Shape} It campaign. Developers Developers Developers Developers is a free download and released under a Creative Commons license.

Here’s a snapshot of the table of contents …

Working with Brownfield Code by Donald Belcham (Microsoft MVP)
Beyond C# and VB by Ted Neward (Microsoft MVP)
Remaining Valuable to Employers featuring Barry Gervin, Billy Hollis, Bruce Johnson, Scott Howlett, Adam Cogan, and Jonathan Zuck
All I Wanted Was My Data by Barry Gervin (Microsoft Regional Director and MVP)
Efficiency Upgrade by Derek Hatchard (Microsoft Regional Director and MVP)
Getting Started with Continuous Integration by Sondre Bjellås (Microsoft Regional Director and MVP)
On Strike at the Software Factory by Daniel Crenna (Microsoft MVP)
C# Features You Should Be Using by Ted Neward (Microsoft MVP)
Accelerate Your Coding with Code Snippets by Brian Noyes (Microsoft Regional Director and MVP)
Is Silverlight 2 Ready for Business Applications? by Jonas Follesø (Microsoft Regional Director and MVP)
Innovate with Silverlight 2 by Daniel Crenna (Microsoft MVP)
Real World WPF: Rich UI + HD by Gill Cleeren (Microsoft Regional Director and MVP)
Hidden Talents by Peter Jones
Creating Useful Installers with Custom Actions by Christian Jacob
Banking with XML by Peter Jones
Sending Email

Windows Server 2008 SP2 and TFS 2008

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:15:19 +0000

Windows Update dropped the SP2 update at my doorstep yesterday.

Since I’m always nervous about patching a server running Team Foundation Server, I checked with the VSTS product group.

Brian Harry indicated that installing SP2 on a TFS box will be just fine.

Happiness.

First Look: Visual Studio Team System 2010

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:07:25 +0000

Join us tomorrow (Tuesday, June 23rd) at 2pm MST for the following webcast:

First Look: Visual Studio Team System 2010

Microsoft has been working hard on their next generation of Visual Studio Team System. The 2010 version will deliver new capabilities for everyone on a project, including architects, developers, project managers and testers.

Since beta 1 released, the experts at Accentient have been hard at work, putting it to the test, and demonstrating it to our clients. We would like to share some of this insight with you.

Join us for a tour of the marquee features and improvements found in Visual Studio Team System 2010:

Separate and improved install and configuration process
Team project collections
Architecture explorer
UML support
Hierarchical work items
Improved test case management
Source control branch visualization
Workflow-based build
Test and Lab Manager
UI testing

Whether you’ve already adopted Team System, or have been waiting for the critical "third version" to be released before you commit to trying it, you should attend this webinar, see it firsthand, and get your questions answered.

There are a few seats left. Please be sure to register to attend.

ClearCase and ClearQuest Integration and Migration Bookmarks

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 17:12:10 +0000

Last week I gave a presentation on integration and migration options for IBM ClearCase and ClearQuest. Here are some bookmarks to some various tools and articles that came up:

I hope this helps anyone who is looking into to this.

SoCal Team System

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 18:58:37 +0000

Finally, there’s something to do in Southern California besides surfing, celeb-watching, and working on your tan. Mike Vincent, a VSTS MVP, has taken the lead on setting up this new user group.

The kickoff meeting is this month, June 23rd and I’ll be presenting a grab-bag of topics on best practices. Time permitting, I’ll show a bit of VSTS 2010 beta 1.

So, if you are in the SoCal area, be sure to come to support this user group, and attend the first meeting.

IBM Rational ClearCase and ClearQuest Sales Discussion Guide

Fri, 29 May 2009 21:47:47 +0000

I’ve been getting asked more and more about IBM’s CC and CQ products, and not just how to migrate away from them to TFS. Some clients are wanting to know why Team Foundation Server is better. I think it’s obvious, but sometimes have difficulty putting it into an executive summary with all of the details.

I happened upon this document today, which gives an overview of IBM Rational, ClearCase, ClearQuest, pricing, licensing, competitive messaging, and other resources.

Microsoft Learning's new Hardware Level 6

Fri, 29 May 2009 17:28:33 +0000

I ran across this document today, which details out Microsoft’s virtualization strategy on implementing 64-bit (Hyper-V) virtualization in the classrooms. As virtual machines do more, and require more resources, so must the hardware/software requirements of the training centers be updated.

In a nutshell, here are the requirements for HL6:

Hardware

· 64-bit Intel Virtualization Technology or AMD Virtualization processor (2.8 GHz dual core or better recommended)

· Dual 120 GB hard disks 7200 RPM SATA or better (striped)

Microsoft Learning’s new Hardware Level 6

Fri, 29 May 2009 17:28:05 +0000

In a nutshell, here are the requirements for HL6:

Hardware

· 64-bit Intel Virtualization Technology or AMD Virtualization processor (2.8 GHz dual core or better recommended)

· Dual 120 GB hard disks 7200 RPM SATA or better (striped)

· 4 GB RAM expandable to 8 GB or higher

· DVD (dual layer recommended)

· Network adapter

· Sound card

· Video adapter aero-capable recommended

· Super VGA monitor (17 inch/ 43 cm)

Software

· 64-bit Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Edition

· Hyper-V role configured

· Microsoft Learning Lab Launcher – Hyper-V version

Mining Software Effort Data: Preliminary Analysis of Visual Studio Team System Data

Tue, 19 May 2009 21:50:58 +0000

Ok, I’m on a Microsoft Research kick today. I admit it. Some of you know what I’m talking about – you find one cool project and that leads to another one, and another one and before you know it you’re finding and reading a paper titled “Mining Software Effort Data: Preliminary Analysis of Visual Studio Team System Data”.

It seems that some really smart people on the VSTS product team got together to analyze actual VSTS data and prove that (in software development) smaller features can be estimated more accurately than larger ones. In other words, there is a positive correlation between actual estimation error with feature size.

Realizing Quality Improvement Through TDD

Tue, 19 May 2009 21:19:17 +0000

I was talking TDD with Doug Seven at Tech-Ed last week. He gave a great presentation on Agile Development with Team System 2010. Afterward we were brainstorming on ways to get people to write unit tests. We both agreed that it has to be understood and driven by management. While we may never get management to understand the intricacies of unit testing or the discipline of TDD, but we may be able to appeal to their desire for software quality. On that point, Doug guided me towards this document on Microsoft Research from January 2008.

Altova DiffDog now Supports Database Differencing

Tue, 19 May 2009 15:25:46 +0000

I met up with the Altova folks last week at Tech-Ed and asked about any cool improvements or features in their 2009 version of DiffDog It turns out there are two new, albeit surprising, features in there: compare and merge (the contents of) database tables.

It looks pretty good, and very similar to Microsoft and Red Gate’s products – just surprising to see it in an XML compare/diff tool.

Deploying GDR (R2) Databases

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:45:00 +0000

As I was explaining how the Build > Deploy process is radically different this week, a question came up about licensing restrictions around the vsdbcmd.exe command-line utility that ships with the GDR. Here’s a quick history lesson:

The Pre-GDR Way

The Build process analyzes the target connection and then assembles all of the various .sql scripts into one large .sql script. The resulting script would contain CREATE or ALTER statements depending on what it found when it studied the target connection. The script also contains other custom scripts and variables you want to define. The problem is that this Build process requires access to that target environment. This was not always a possibility – either the developers didn’t have permissions, or ISVs didn’t have physical access to their customer’s datacenters. Finally, the Deploy process would then just execute the big .sql script against the target connection, which could be done using VS, SSMS, SQLCMD, etc.

What’s your favorite (Microsoft) product’s end-of-life?

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 23:00:00 +0000

I happened upon this interesting Microsoft site the other day. You can lookup the end-date for mainstream as well as extended support for your favorite (Microsoft) software product, such as Team Foundation Server 2008:

You can lookup by index, product family, or by searching.

You can read more about Microsoft Support Lifecycle here. Be sure to checkout the list of obsolete products too (like Microsoft FoxBASE).

Oracle buys Sun

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:00:32 +0000

According to Bloomberg, the deal was for $7.4 Billon in cash. This should prove interesting, especially since Oracle now owns two major database platforms (Oracle and MySQL). On one hand this means (arguably) a single competitor for Microsoft’s SQL Server, but yet a company that has an alternate operating system (Solaris) and a major database component, so potentially a competitor to Windows. It will be interesting to watch this.

Here are the details on Sun’s site and Oracle’s site.

Two Accentient Consultants Named Team System MVPs

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 16:29:45 +0000

I’m pleased to announce that fellow Accentient Consultants David Starr and Michael Vincent have been named Team System MVPs!

David Starr is the founder of the Elegant Code community blog and podcast series, and also organized the recent, highly successful Boise Code Camp. David has over 18 years of experience in software development and has held numerous leadership positions in technology teams. He is a frequent speaker at technology conferences, a writer, and is involved in several .NET and Agile professional organizations. His passions include Agile software development, building strong teams, Application Lifecycle Management, Visual Studio Team System, and .NET.

The economic downturn has hit our local Chinese restaurant

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 17:16:36 +0000

… but not in the way you might think.

Our geek lunches and impromptu geek meetings usually end up happening at the Oriental Express (a.k.a Jimmy’s) here in Boise.

Check out the fortunes that 3 (out of 4) eaters at our table received last week:

The 4th guy (I’ll assume it was Chris Frye) got a fortune about love or romance or something. So last year!

Congratulations, you've installed dasBlog with Web Deploy!

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 07:00:00 +0000

After logging in, be sure to visit all the options under Configuration in the Admin Menu Bar above. There are 26 themes to choose from, and you can also create your own.

Team Foundation Adapters Project

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 00:02:51 +0000

I’m pleased to announce that the Team Foundation Adapters project is up and running on CodePlex. The project description is as follows:

Team Foundation Adapters make it easier to do proper unit testing of applications that utilize the Team Foundation Server API, by providing a simple mechanism for mocking the commonly used sealed classes in the API, which cannot otherwise be mocked.

This is not vaporware folks. There’s a working implementation, complete with sample unit tests. The project does not cover the entire Team Foundation API just yet. But it establishes a clearly defined baseline that will grow as needed.

General Access Denied error when using Hyper-V with existing VHD images

Sat, 21 Feb 2009 18:14:08 +0000

I’ve really been enjoying my Samsung 128GB SATA 3.0Gb/s Flash-based Solid State Drive (NSSD). Per Doug Seven’s advice, I’ve been copying over my existing Virtual PC 2007 hard drive images to the SSDD, and booting them up with Hyper-V. For the most part, there hasn’t been a problem, except yesterday I started receiving “General Access Denied” error message, something like this:

VMMS Account does not have sufficient privilege to open attachment ‘E:Hyper-VWindows Server 2008Windows Server 2008.vhd’. Error: ‘General access denied error’ (0x80070005).

2009 Boise Code Camp

Sun, 01 Feb 2009 18:23:56 +0000

In this economic climate of cut training, cut travel, and general layoffs, it is more important than ever that we keep our technical chops and strong relationships in the development community. That’s good stuff, because:

The 2009 Boise Code Camp and Tech Fest is open for business at BoiseCodeCamp.org.

Sessions are already being registered on the site and we are off to a great start.

This year we are trying something a little different and are hosting 2 sets of sessions throughout the day. In years past it as been apparent there is an appetite for technology sessions that are not necessarily based on code. Typical interests are in Agile development practices, Project Management subjects, Information Technology topics (read networking, virtualization), and anything infrastructure related like IIS, Exchange, and SharePoint.

Quote of the day

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 22:36:32 +0000

"Weeks of coding can save you hours of planning"

-Anonymous

Inside the Microsoft Build Engine

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 16:00:39 +0000

There has been a vacuum of really good, actionable information on MS Build and Team Foundation Build for developers. I’m pleased to report that this is no longer the case! Inside the Microsoft Build Engine, by Sayed Ibrahim Hashimi and William Bartholomew, fills the void with a book that serves well as both a learning guide and a reference tool. Here’s the product description:

"The build process when code gets assembled to see how and how well it works is a critical step in software development. Developers had few options for customizing the build process before Visual Studio 2005 and Visual Studio 2008, but the Microsoft Build Engine (MSBuild) enables developers to customize each step during a build. MSBuild is extensible and uses an XML file to describe each step, allowing the build master or developer to easily change and augment how projects are built. This book offers hands-on guidance for customizing MSBuild, and provides a cookbook of examples on Web deployment, automated releases, and other essential topics. It also covers Visual Studio Team Foundation Build, the build engine in Visual Studio Team System."

Bad Apple Behaviors

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 07:06:24 +0000

One of my non-technical enjoyments in life is listening to the This American Life podcast, from Public Radio International. It isn’t always my political cup of tea but it is always entertaining.

I was catching up on some past shows recently, when I ran across this episode:

December 19, 2008: "Ruining it For the Rest of Us."

The prologue to this episode is the first 13 minutes and is a wonderful discussion of team dynamics. I strongly suggest downloading and listening to it.

From the This American Life website:

How to Disable the Team Members feature of the October 2008 Power Tools

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 23:02:38 +0000

Some Team System users are complaining about problems with the Team Members feature included in the Team Foundation Server Power Tools – October 2008 Release. For team projects with many members, the load time can be excessive. Other problems have cropped up as well. For instance, one user reported that their Windows Communicator freezes during long TFS operations like "get latest". Although the Team Members plug-in has some very useful features, you may find that it’s more trouble than it’s worth for your particular situation. In this case, you have two options:

A Visual Studio Mystery - The Case of the Missing Menu Items

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 16:01:14 +0000

Recently I was working with a client who installed the Team Foundation Client 2008 on his workstation, and subsequently decided to install Visual Studio 2008 Development Edition. The installation completed normally, but when he launched Visual Studio he quickly discovered that some important things were missing.

For instance, the File menu was missing the New Project item. It was as if the we were still looking at the Team Foundation Client, and that the installation of the Development Edition had somehow failed. At first this was very puzzling until a sharp developer suggested that we look at the Settings (Tools –> Import and Export Settings)

Another TFS Blogger

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 07:09:55 +0000

Kevin Hick, a talented .NET developer who has done extensive work customizing Team Foundation Server at HBOS in the UK, has started a blog to share some of his more interesting TFS discoveries with the rest of us. You find his blog here. If you work with TFS you’ll want to add Kevin’s blog to your reader.

New Visual Studio Team System 2008 VPC Images Available

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 06:16:02 +0000

Brian Randell recently announced the availability of new Visual Studio Team System evaluation VPC images. These virtual machines are very handy sandboxes that contain Team Foundation Server and Team Suite, all setup and ready to go. You can use these virtual machines not only for evaluating purposes, but also for learning about Team System and experimenting without worrying about messing up things.

These virtual images are set to expire in December 2009, providing a full year of use. The set consists of four versions:

Using 64-bit Windows Server 2008 as a Workstation OS, Part 3

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 07:23:08 +0000

This article lists the steps I used to setup Windows Server 2008 (WS2008) Standard Edition as a workstation operating system on two different laptops.

First, if you plan to use WS2008 and Hyper-V to run virtual machines on a laptop, you’ll get best results if your laptop meets these criteria:

Processor that supports hardware virtualization (required for Hyper-V)
At least 4GB memory (8GB if you want to run multiple virtual machines simultaneously)
Fast internal hard disk (I’m using a 320GB 7200 RPM SATA drive)

I should also mention that I’m using WS2008 for running virtual machines in Hyper-V, and also for email, web-browsing, word-processing, spreadsheets and presentations. That’s it. Since Hyper-V performance is of primary importance to me, I don’t install the Vista-like Desktop Experience feature or tweak processor scheduling to improve media playback.

Now, here are the specific step to install WS2008.

Using 64-bit Windows Server 2008 as a Workstation OS, Part 2

Sat, 27 Dec 2008 23:00:57 +0000

Way back in July I wrote a blog post explaining why I switched from Windows Vista to Windows Server 2008 (WS2008) as the primary OS for my laptop. Well I’ve lived with WS2008 for a few months now, and although there are more than a few inconveniences associated with it, I still think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, at least for the work that I do. As I installed WS2008 on my laptop I made notes, thinking this might be useful information, not only for the next time around, but also to share with my compatriots in the blog-o-sphere.

The Visual Studio Install Process for the Whole Enchilada

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 05:10:33 +0000

I recently had to go through the process of installing Visual Studio 2008 with a team getting ready to use Visual Studio Team System and Team Foundation Server. Further, I have been tinkering with Silverlight 2 recently and this has even more tooling around it.

Based on this experience, I thought I would outline the installed components. You’ll see that it takes awhile to get through all of this.

Keep in mind, this is the install for the client side. Not the server or the build machine.

Virtual Networking in Hyper-V

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 17:41:28 +0000

Getting a virtual machine connected to the outside world in Hyper-V is a non-intuitive process. I had to bumble around with it a bit before finding the secret combination that worked well. Before I show you how it’s done (or at least one way of doing it), here are a couple of things to keep in mind:

<li>When you add the Hyper-V role to Windows Server 2008, Hyper-V more or less takes over the physical computer and Windows Server 2008 becomes a virtual machine running in a special space called the home partition.</li>

<li>Hyper-V uses the concept of virtual networks. It’s as if your computer magically ingested a Netgear network switch, you know, that little blue box with lots of blinking lights on one side and network cable plugs on the other, which you use to create a home computer network. That’s right, the brilliant folks at Microsoft figured out how to suck one of those network switched right into their server operating system (I’m not sure, but I think they’re using <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willy_Wonka_and_the_Chocolate_Factory" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Wonkavision</a> technology to do it). Not only is the network switch virtualized, but all the cables to connect to it are virtualized as well. Now that’s handy.</li>

<li>Hyper-V implements three types of virtual networks: external, private and internal. An external virtual network gives virtual machines direct access to a physical network adapters on the physical computer. In effect, the virtual network shares the physical network adapter with the parent operating system (the Windows Server 2008 originally installed on the computer). A private network is used to connect two or more virtual machines running on the same physical computer to one another. An internal network is just like a private network, except it includes the parent operating system as well.</li>

<li>A virtual machine connects to a virtual network through a Hyper-V network adapter. Yep, you guessed it – a Hyper-V network adapter is virtual as well. Each virtual network adapter can connect to only one virtual network. However, a virtual machine can have multiple virtual network adapters, with each adapter connected to a different virtual network.</li>

<li>You can create any number of virtual networks and virtual network adapters in Hyper-V, limited only by how much load the hardware can support.</li>

<li>You cannot create an external virtual network that connects to a wireless network adapter. Sorry, the folks who created Hyper-V simply decided not to go there. Fortunately there’s a simple workaround that I’ll show you in this post.</li>

Let’s say you want to configure your virtual machine to automatically use the physical network adapter whenever it’s plugged into a live connection, and also use a wireless connection when the physical network adapter is not plugged in. Here’s how you do it:

Bruce Campbell in Minneapolis!

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 17:48:29 +0000

A couple weeks ago I was in Minneapolis on a gig. Planning to fly out Saturday morning, I looked for something to do Friday night. I found this ad in the local paper:

So I ran down and bought a ticket to the Friday 9:40 show. I'm a big fan of Bruce Campbell, and his ever "B" movies. In fact, a little know piece of trivia is that I named my malamute "Brisco" after Brisco County Junior. So, in addition to enjoying the My Name is Bruce movie - which was about Bruce Campbell playing an horror-movie actor who gets asked to fit a real-life zombie. Ya, I know.

We'2013-08-28 18:33:43'll miss you Scott Chestnut

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 20:12:26 +0000

I lost a friend from High School a few weeks ago - Scott Chestnut (yes that's a Toga). I've known Scott since junior high and spent many a weekend evening with him in high school. We drifted apart since graduation, but saw each other a few times. One such encounter was an impromptu lunch with some other 1986'ers here in Boise in 2006 (Scott's in the center with his trademark "turban" haircut).

Which Edition of Visual Studio 2008 to Install on Team Foundation Build 2008?

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 16:58:48 +0000

I finally took the time to put together a chart showing which edition of Visual Studio needs to be installed on the Team Build server to achieve specific features. As you can see, Team Suite has you covered. As for the question of whether or not you need to purchase an additional copy of Visual Studio for this - that question has been answered on Jeff Beehler’s blog as well as in the VSTS 2008 Licensing White Paper.

Boise Scrum with Team System Event

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 22:55:25 +0000

What?

Increasing Your Agility with Scrum and Visual Studio Team System

When?

12/12/2008 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Where?

Microsoft Corporation 401 West Front Street Suite 400 Boise, ID 83702

Why?

Martin Danner, Richard Hundhausen, and I are teaming up to bring you a 4 hour introduction to Scrum and the supporting capabilities of Team System. This is a free event, open to the public, and is sponsored by Microsoft.

Team Foundation Build and FinalBuilder

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 07:02:48 +0000

When looking at FinalBuilder and Team Foundation Build side by side, the obvious breakdown in features and advantages looks like this.

<li>Team Foundation Build provides a complete build solution with easy integration to other components of Team Foundation Server and Visual Studio Team System. Here is a set of features that detail what integration really means.

<li>Build reporting and archiving inside Team Foundation Server</li>

<li>Easy access to source control</li>

<li>Ability to quickly spool up quick and dirty builds</li>

<li>Simple scheduling tools providing day, time, and event driven build firing</li>

<li>Easy to use retention tools for "expiring" old build artifacts</li>

<li>Automated test execution</li>

<li>FinalBuilder provides an excellent visual development environment with pretty widgets to drop on a design surface. Creating build scripts visually can be a nicer design experience than working with the raw XML found in Team Foundation Build and tools like nAnt.Microsoft obviously recognizes the value of visual composition as the next version of Team Foundation Build (2010) is built on WF (Windows Workflow). This means builds tasks are effectively WF activities. If you've worked with WF, you may know that WF almost implies the next point: Team Foundation Build scripts will be built visually via a design surface in Visual Studio.</li>

<li>Arguably, the most significant advantage FinalBuilder has today is in the number of out-of-the-box build tasks (actions in FinalBuilder language) that come with the product. A complete list of FinalBuilder actions is available <a href="http://www.finalbuilder.com/Products/FinalBuilder/FeatureMatrix/tabid/63/Default.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>.</li>

<li>The complete list of FinalBuilder actions is exhaustive and I don't dare replicate it here.</li>

Integration of the 2 Products

Regarding using Final Builder with Team Foundation Build, it is important to note that the two products don’t preclude each other. Far from it, FinalBuilder ships with an integration task for working with Team Foundation Build. See this article for more information about using that integrated functionality.

Microsoft FireStarter Events

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 04:46:32 +0000

Microsoft has certainly been ratcheting up the community involvement over the last few years. In a down economy like this one, free training opportunities suddenly take on even more significance. Local user groups, Code Camps, product release events, and occasional “just because” events all provide opportunities to get together with local developers and maybe add a tool or two to your toolbox. One such initiative is the Fire Starter Event series.

My First VSTO Application - BeSure

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 04:01:00 +0000

If you exchange email with me on a regular basis, you know that I am the king of email faux pas. I regularly do things like this:

Use CNTRL+Enter to send an email sooner than I really want to send it.
Send emails that are missing attachments.
Send from my work account when I meant to send from my personal account (this one is a biggy in Outlook).
Hit Reply All when I meant Reply.
Include the wrong person on the CC line.

In short, I am well aware of proper email etiquette, but I am notoriously bad at exercising it. All I really need is a last minute check to ensure I am not doing something stupid.

Enter my first real (Visual Studio Tools for Office) application. I just want to give myself an “Are You Sure” screen before sending an email in Outlook and review all the critical aspects of the email before I send it.

Yet Another Use of a Unit Test Framework

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 19:19:02 +0000

Believe me, I understand TDD. I grok it. It is in my soul.

I also happen to believe (and know from experience) that unit test frameworks are valuable far beyond their use in TDD. Some of the best uses are for integration tests at the API level.

It is this coolness that makes it so handy to run a unit test harness as a load test run using VSTS. I worked with one client who had a particular need for this in testing a HUGE network of independently addressable embedded Linux devices, each one exposing a TCP/IP-level API. More on how to running unit tests as load tests here.

Team Build Target Map

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:57:40 +0000

Team_Build_Target_Map1.docx (22.73 KB)

I had the good fortune of reviewing the upcoming book titled Inside the Microsoft® Build Engine: Using MSBuild and Team Foundation Build. This book is an absolute must for anyone who is creating and customizing build definitions in Team Foundation Build. As part of my review process I created a map that lists the order of target invocation. I found this map very handy, so I’m posting it because I figure others will find it handy too. The map is listed below, and also contained in the attached word document. If you make any corrections or improvements to the map, please share back!

How fast is the VelociRaptor drive?

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 23:33:58 +0000

So I splurged recently and picked up one of the new Western Digital 300GB SATA VelociRaptor drives. I also happened to be in Las Vegas, and there was a Fry’s nearby. I think that was the cause, and the effect was me ending up with the drive, but I digress. Every so often, I wonder how fast my various 5400, 7200, and 10000 RPM drives are, especially taking USB 2.0 and ESATA into account. I downloaded the latest version of HDTach and went to work with my not-very-scientific performance tests:

VSTS Things I Learned Last Week

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:59:36 +0000

I taught another week long class on Team System last week and as always, I learned a lot. It’s a definite truth that if you want to learn about something, teach a class on it.

The other thing about is that each client you work with is looking to solve a different problem and you get introduced to new scenarios when you work through the “How can I solve that problem” discussions. This week included a lot of those types of discussions, and I therefore had to dig a bit.

Seattle Code Camp

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:12:28 +0000

I attended Seattle Code Camp 2008 in Redmond this weekend and it was a fantastic experience! I will definitely be back next year.

This is certainly not the largest Code Camp out there, with only 125 attendees at the peak over the weekend, and the after party was a simple affair in a room on the MSFT campus. It wasn’t the frilly stuff that mattered, it was the content and who was giving it.

This Afternoon in Boise

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:49:01 +0000

Hope to see you at the MSDN event in Boise this afternoon. I am doing a session on Silverlight in the IMAX theatre and other topics include VSTO and SQL 2008.

C’mon over at 1:00 for the afternoon.

Meet the 'Mavens

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 21:25:27 +0000

I met up with Steve Smith at PDC last week, as well as Rick Strahl and Jeffrey Palermo (of Party with Palermo). It seems that these guys along with some other respected technologists (Hanselman, Guthrie, Osherove, and Howard) are aggregating over at DevMavens. The term Maven means an expert, connoisseur, or a person with special knowledge, which these guys have plenty of.

2010 Feature Preview for TFS : VSTS 2010

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 23:32:54 +0000

I am in the TFS 2010 cool features talk at PDC with Brian Harry. I’ll stream notes into this post, but please be aware that this discussion focuses on Team Foundation Server, not the full compliment of tools that make up Team Suite.

Also important to note is the significant size of this release. True to form for any given significant software product, version 3 (in this case 2010) is a tremendously significant release. Team System is a good example. The 2010 release will be HUGE. Brian Harry notes that it takes about 8 hours just to demo all the new features.

Boise MSDN Event

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 23:05:55 +0000

Boise area .NET folks have no shortage of community events these days and November is shaping up with some particularly good gems. These events are free to attend and you get to mingle with same jovial crew you know and love from your favorite user group meeting (ok, that was a stretch).

Thursday, November 06 MSDN Event - Silverlight 2.0, SQL Server 2008 and VSTO This half day event looks at the 3 technologies named in the title. Good stuff, that. I did my duty with VSTO last time, so I appreciate that this time around I will get to look at Silverlight 2.0.

Script for creating workspace and initial folder structure in TFS

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 23:47:02 +0000

At a client site this week, and having to generate the same initial folder structure for many team projects, so I thought I would create a script (.BAT file, no PowerShell sorry).

Below is the script, but here are a few details to point out:

I assume that my workspace name and local folder name is the same as the team project
I put my local workspace folders under a common D:Workspaces folder
You can set the team project name easily by tweaking the SET line below
I could have, and should have parameterized the folder root, TFS, comments, etc.

Hope you can make use of it:

Code Cast 16 - Glenn Block on ALT.NET at Microsoft

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 17:07:00 +0000

Download the MP3

On this episode of the Elegant Code Cast, Glenn Block tells us about life inside Microsoft for the ALT.NET crowd. Glenn has been with Microsoft for several years and has worked in several departments during that time, trying to bring the ideals of ALT.NET to the company. His experiences in MS Learning, P&P, and now in the framework team, make for some great stories.

SQL Server 2008 Report Builder Available

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 21:51:12 +0000

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services Report Builder 2.0 delivers an intuitive, Office-like report authoring environment enabling business and power users to leverage their experience with Microsoft Office 2007 products. Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services Report Builder 2.0 supports the full capabilities of SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services including:

Flexible report layout capabilities of SQL Server 2008 Report Definition Language
Data Visualizations including charts and gauges
Richly formatted textboxes
Export to Microsoft Office Word format

Features specific to Report Builder 2.0 are focused on simplifying the process of creating and editing reports and queries and include the following:

Easy to use wizards for creating table, matrix and chart data regions
Support for directly opening and editing reports stored on the report server
Support for using server resources such as shared data sources
Query designers for multiple data sources including a Microsoft SQL Server-specific query designer

A Primer on ALM in the Microsoft Stack

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 05:58:46 +0000

By now I you’ve likely heard the term ALM. For the uninitiated, here is the latest from Wikipedia.

Application lifecycle management (ALM) regards the process of delivering software as a continuously repeating cycle of inter-related steps: definition, design, development, testing, deployment and management. Each of these steps needs to be carefully monitored and controlled.

Does this sound familiar? It should. This is YAW2QH2DS (Yet Another Way to Quantify How to Deliver Software). This smacks of other big acronyms you may be familiar with like CMMI or *UP.

I don’t mean to trivialize this with curmudgeonly developer attitude. The idea of measuring our organization’s maturity level in the software delivery craft matters. It matters because successful small companies typically get bigger, and the challenge to every one of these organizations is how to stay successful as they struggle with issues of scaling up. It matters because it isn’t good enough to compile and run software. It needs to work well, solve a good problem, and actually be delivered into the hands of users.

Seattle Code Camp 2008 is just around the corner

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 17:07:03 +0000

The Seattle developer community is holding Seattle Code Camp November 15-16, 2008 at the DigiPen campus in Redmond, Washington (close to Seattle). Please pass this notice on to folks you think are interested in either attending or speaking. Speaking of speaking, they are looking for speakers. If you hit the code camp site, you will see that they don't have sessions or tracks listed at this point. This 'camp is a blank page at this point that needs to be colored in - which is a great venue for presentations. If you have something you are passionate about but have never done any public speaking I encourage you to give it a try. If you are an experienced speaker, this is your time to get involved in your local community and share some of your experience.

Convince Me You Can't Branch by Purpose

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 03:22:16 +0000

As I have stated before, I am amazed at how an organizations culture (read: dysfunctions or strengths) are reflected in their source control systems. This is a really a restatement of Don Norman’s assertion, which says, “The design of a software system reflects the culture of the organization that created it.”

So, not to belabor a point, but can anyone really make a case for a SCC model that is not a Branch-by-Purpose model? Here’s my guess. If you literally are unable to use this model in SCC to ship your software, I believe I can find a smell that is causing it.

PDC Underground - be part of it!

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:34:58 +0000

Whether you’re attending Microsoft’s PDC or not, The Underground is the place to be!

Microsoft and INETA have joined forces to bring you a truly amazing experience in downtown Los Angeles on the Wednesday during PDC. They’ve got a fantastic speakeasy evening lined up, one that’s sure to leave a lasting impression. It’ll be a great night of vignettes, networking, music, dancing, food and drinks!

Check it out. See you there!

Visual Studio Team System Announcements today

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 20:25:04 +0000

Microsoft published more information today about Visual Studio 10 and .NET 4.0. Click here to read the Press Pass and here to read some additional information.

Oh, and for SA customers, some really interesting news has come out that will impact you in just a few days:

Microsoft also announced that VSTS 2010 will provide a unified VSTS Development and Database product. As a benefit to existing Software Assurance (SA) customers, those who currently own Visual Studio Team System 2008 Development Edition or Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition will receive all the following products starting Oct. 1, 2008, for free:

• Visual Studio Team System 2008 Development Edition

• Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition

• Visual Studio 2005 Team System for Software Developers

• Visual Studio 2005 Team System for Database Professionals

Team Foundation Server for Microsoft Access developers

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 20:45:33 +0000

I was invited by INETA to speak at the Pacific Northwest Access Developer Group (a.ka. the Seattle Access Group). Now, Access developers are typically "teams of one", but I thought that any team developers or consultants attending the meeting would get the ALM story and features of TFS. They did.f

As it turns out, the steps to integrate Microsoft Access 2007 with TFS aren't all that difficult:

Install and configure TFS to allow the developers to connect
Install the MSSCCI provider on each developer's desktop
Install the Access Developer Extensions on each developer's desktop
Create and configure the Team Project, version control folders, and workspace(s)
Follow the guidance on using Access with Source Control (you can ignore the references to VSS).

Remember: you can't View, Compare, or Annotate any Access objects under source control, with the exception of code (modules, macros).

What to Do with Left Over Stories

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 16:16:41 +0000

You get to the end of your sprint and there is that are 2 incomplete stories left on the sprint backlog. Story A is judged to be 80% done, Story B was never even started. What do we do with these stories?

Options:

Give 80% of the point value of Story A to the team for the current sprint.
Split Story A into smaller stories and take credit for the done work, push the next work into the next sprint.
Take both stories an re-prioritize them.
Automatically take the stories into the next sprint, no debate.
And many others I am sure are being practiced in companies today.

What Should Be Done

No credit to velocity is given for either story.
Re-estimate and re-prioritize the stories.

Why It Should Be Done

Story A

Story A was 80% complete. Incomplete work is not counted in the velocity because doing so allows the organization to consider work done that really isn’t.

Shelving is the June Cleaver of TFS Source Control

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 16:05:32 +0000

Ever notice that no matter what shenanigans Beaver would get into, June always believed everything was fine? No matter how many scotches Ward had after dinner, there was no problem, according to June. June Cleaver is the classic enabler with a bad case of denial.

So is the TFS Source Control Shelving feature.

Don’t get me wrong. Sometimes everything really is okay. Sometimes I just want to push my code into a shelf set because I have to go to my kid’s play in 5 minutes and I just want to make sure I am backed up in case the building burns down in the next 2 hours. Sometimes.

Microsoft joins Object Management Group (OMG)

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:44:17 +0000

Last week, Microsoft announced that they had joined the Object Management Group. OMG is the consortium responsible for many distributed, and object-oriented specifications. One of their sets of standards defines the Unified Modeling Language (UML), and I’m sure that’s the reason Microsoft joined the ranks.

Knowing what’s coming in the Rosario (and beyond) versions of Visual Studio Team System, I’m glad to see this happening, as it reinforces that Microsoft is taking their modeling strategy to the mainstream.

VS Extensibility Roadmap

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 16:43:15 +0000

I'm sitting through the two-day Visual Studio Extensibility (VSX) Developers Conference this week and Rico Mariani gave his roadmap to Visual Studio extensibility. Here are some highlights of the coming, "decade worth of work" ...

VS10 (the version after 2008, a.k.a. "Dev10")

New editor with fine-grained extensibility
Build on Microsoft Extensibility Framework (MEF) which is "COM for the managed world"
All new features that should support multiple languages do

VS11

VSTA (DLR) used for macros and other end-user extensibility
Critical mass for managed extensibility models enables several common classes of add-ins to be built purely in managed code
Common project system
Richer, common base types and protocols for discovery, activation, and manipulation
Asynchronous extension and visualization model and showcase examples

VS12

Boise SQL Server User Group Presentation

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 22:24:13 +0000

Thanks to those who attended the second meeting of the Boise SQL Server User Group. We had a good turnout of around 30 people and I hope everyone enjoyed my presentation of SQL Server 2008 Integration Services (SSIS). I tried to balance the presentation between those who hadn't used SSIS and those who have.

If you are interested in the sample projects, packages, and data files from the talk, here they are.

VSTS Profiler Improvements in SP1

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 22:08:35 +0000

As you know, Visual Studio 2008 and Team Foundation Server 2008 Service Pack 1 was released earlier this month. Most of SP1 was about bug fixes and performance, but it seems that the profiler team snuck in several new features as well:

Adding support for instrumenting 64-bit managed C++ applications
Improved instrumentation experience with pre-compiled web sites
Shipping the 64-bit performance SDK (VSPerf.h, VSPerf.lib)
Ability to load a previously saved filter on non-English VS installations

Here is a link to the VS2008SP1 readme and a page listing all of the SP1 downloads.

Red Gate acquires .NET Reflector

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:04:56 +0000

I got an email this morning, as I'm sure many of you did, from Lutz Roeder ...

After more than eight years of working on .NET Reflector, I have decided it is time to move on and explore some new opportunities.

I have reached an agreement to have Red Gate Software continue the development of .NET Reflector. Red Gate has a lot of experience creating development tools for both .NET and SQL Server. They have the resources necessary to work on new features, and Reflector fits nicely with other .NET tools the company offers. Red Gate will continue to provide the free community version and is looking for your feedback and ideas for future versions.

Here is the new page for .NET Reflector.

Yep, I'm old

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 03:05:11 +0000

But at least I had a cool party to send me off to my next 40 years. Last Saturday, around 140 of my closest friends and family converged on a park in Boise to roast a pig, drink from the keg, and poke fun at the new-old guy.

Wish you were here. Maybe at my 80th.

Kathleen Dollard in Boise tonight

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 03:13:53 +0000

Wow, two great speakers in less than a month. Last month, we had Kalen Delaney speaking at Boise's inaugural SQL Server User Group and tonight at the Idaho .NET User Group, Kathleen Dollard an INETA speaker is sharing her "Twelve Gems and Eight Dragons talk."

Here are the Twelve Gems

System.AddIn - one of two new features in 3.5 that are getting overlooked; allows you to let other people provide customization to your application; wraps everything about managing app domains; check out the Pipeline Builder tool on CodePlex
HashSet - sets = groups and very high performance, and sets are mutable; LINQ allows set-type functions, but is missing some features and always returns copies
WPF Async Data Loading - Asynchronous behavior offered for instance loading and (sometimes) property retrieval, by leveraging the ObjectDataProvider IsAsynchronous property in XAML
Generic Classes C# - Generic classes encapsulate operations that are not specific to a particular data type; the most common use for generic classes is with collections like linked lists, hash tables, stacks, queues, trees, and so on. Operations such as adding and removing items from the collection are performed in basically the same way regardless of the type of data being stored; Why generics? improve performance, enhanced behavior with 3.5, improve robustness by catching typing errors at compile time, reduce amount of code via generic refactoring; Kathleen's guidance is to stop using System.Collections and replace it with System.Collections.Generic
Refactor/Rename - in her opinion the most commonly used refactoring; now available in Visual Basic as well
Snippets (your own) - Microsoft's provided snippets are marginal; Kathleen says not to use Microsoft's snippet editor, but rather Bill McCarthy's Snippet Editor 2008 instead
Understanding Your Code - static analysis (FxCop, VSTS Code Analysis - but custom rules are hard), code-based analysis (CodeIt.Right and StyleCop), and VSTS Code Metrics (maintainability index, cyclomatic complexity, depth of inheritance, class coupling, and lines of code) - cool and (some parts) are useful, unit test code coverage, and performance
Data Driven Unit Testing - data sources define conditions, can be Excel, quality team can be included and expand the list, consider naming classes by condition, do not demand 1:1 class correspondence, and anticipate n:1 test correspondence
Extension Methods - Extension methods enable you to "add" methods to existing types without creating a new derived type, recompiling, or otherwise modifying the original type so you don't have to wait for Microsoft to provide functionality you'2013-08-28 18:17:51've been waiting for;
System.Exception.Data - a key/value pair collection to provide additional, user-defined information about the exception
Partial Methods - separate responsibility, pretty useless unless they can interact; partial methods allow interaction between partial classes; they required definition of clear extensibility points and are a replacement for intra-object dependency
Document Outline - provides an outline view of elements and scripts in the current document (Web or Windows forms)

Here are the Eight Dragons

Using 64-bit Windows Server 2008 as a Workstation OS, Part 1

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:23:50 +0000

I just replaced Windows Vista Ultimate x64 on my laptop with the 64 bit version of Windows Server 2008. What prompted the change? Well, I was hoping to improve the lackluster performance of Vista. I would happily trade in the consumer goodies in Vista for better productivity. Unfortunately it seems to be an either/or proposition. But the most compelling reason for me was Hyper-V, the new virtual server from Microsoft. I do a lot of work with virtual machines, mostly to run a complete Visual Studio Team System environment in a sandbox for development and training purposes. Although Virtual PC 2007 is a good product, Hyper-V seemed to offer better performance and more flexibility with features like snapshots. Hyper-V also supports 64-bit guest operating systems, while Virtual PC 2007 can only run 32 bit OS’s.

What does "Done" mean?

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:40:43 +0000

OK, let’s say you’re on a Scrum team that’s planning its next iteration. You pull a story to implement Feature X for the next release of Application Y. You review the specs, maybe have a conversation or two with the product owner to clarify a few details, and discuss implementation details with your team lead. Cool. Now, you design the feature, code it up, build it and tweak it until its working to your satisfaction.

DreamSpark

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:01:56 +0000

Back in the 80s (way back!) Apple got a toe-hold in the PC market in part by engineering a high presence in colleges and high schools. The theory was that if you get a young person started on an Apple computer then they will want to continue using Apple computers into their adult careers, if for no other reason than they already know how to use it. This strategy actually worked reasonably well.

Chasing the predator is a qualification for governor?

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 21:58:09 +0000

I'm sure most of you have seen the (original) movie Predator, released back in 1987.

First, Jesse Ventura became the governor of Minnesota in 1999. Next came Arnold Schwarzenegger who became governor of California in 2003. Also in 2003 Sonny Landham ran for governor of Kentucky. He is now running for the US Senate.

Michael Vincent on Dynamic Languages

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 03:31:21 +0000

I got an opportunity to attend the LA C# User Group tonight, and listen to Mike Vincent speak on this subject. I'm familiar with the concepts and capabilities of dynamic languages, but looked forward to getting my questions answered.

The behaviors of a dynamic language include several cool behaviors:

Extend the program by adding new code
Extend objects and definitions
Modify the type system

The downside:

Two Types of Bugs

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 10:24:25 +0000

A bug is a bug is a bug, right? Not so!

Most development shops treat a bug as a task. That seems reasonable - it's a bit of work that needs to be done. Unfortunately, it's not so easy. If a bug is discovered in a feature that is currently under development, and it will be fixed in the current Sprint (iteration), then the bug can and should be treated as a task. It would be considered a new Sprint Backlog Item that must be closed before the feature can be considered "Done". However, if the bug is not fixed before the feature is considered "Done" (yes this really happens), or the bug is discovered after the feature has be deemed "Done", then the bug becomes a bit of work to be scheduled into a future Sprint. In other words, the bug should be treated as a Product Backlog Item.

Electronic Scrum Boards

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 02:44:32 +0000

While at TechEd 2008 earlier this month I attended a presentation by Colin Bird where, among other things, he presented the next generation of the Conchango Scrum For Team System process template. According to Colin, Conchango will continue to offer a free version of their scrum process template. But, they will also be offering for the first time an "enterprise" version that they will sell for a yet-to-be-determined fee. This enterprise version will contain an exciting new feature: and Electronic Scrum Board. This WPF application simulates the cork board and index cards that many scrum teams use to track the progress of their sprint. Each row represents a Product Backlog Item (also called a User Story) that describes a specific feature to be implemented, while each card represents a Sprint Backlog Item that describes a specific task. The columns on the board represent the various states for a Sprint Backlog Item.

Kalen Delaney in Boise tonight!

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:19:27 +0000

Tonight is the maiden voyage of the Idaho SQL Server User Group and what a way to send it off - with Kalen talking about SQL Server 2005.

Counting heads in the room, it looks like we have about 33 people, including Kalen and Cindy Gross (Microsoft). That's a nice sized group for an evening gathering of a user group in Boise.

After enlightening us with her background, and deep history working with SQL Server, Kalen jumped right into the nuts and bolts of SQL Server 2005: The Costs of Concurrency.

Version Control with 2008 SP1

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 23:33:12 +0000

I am a simple man. All I ever wanted was drag and drop for source control. That folder chooser dialog was a bear. Now we will get it with Visual Studio 2008 SP1. Thank goodness. From the web site:

Simplified the user experience through cleaner "Add to Source Control" dialogs, drag and drop support to the Source Control Explorer and a much easier to use "Workspace" dialog for working folder mappings.
Version control now automatically supports non-solution controlled files.
Various changes to the Source Control Explorer such as a new checkin date/time display column, local path hyperlink support and en editable source location field.

I am not a big fan of installing a beta SP on may dev laptop, but I gotta tell ya, I did it for that feature alone.

Introducing the Boise APLN

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 23:32:06 +0000

Some of us here in the Treasure Valley have decided to start a Boise chapter of the Agile Project Leadership Network. This is a group of people passionate about Agile and sharing experiences and best practices with each other.

From the APLN website:

APLN was founded in 2004 by a group of people who are active in writing about, practicing, and evangelizing the movement towards fast, flexible, customer value driven approaches to leading projects of many types. Although this organization is separate from the Agile Alliance, our intention is to work closely with that group within the software community, but also work with people and companies outside of software and IT to help them become better Project Leaders.

I have been party to the APLN discussion at the annual Agile conferences and have found great value in the stories presented there. If you are interested in becoming part of the discussion, jump in to the Google Group.

Technorati Tags: Agile,Boise

Attendee-Driven Presentation

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 21:47:06 +0000

I've seen Test Driven Development work, so why not adjust it slightly and have the attendees (who own the requirements after all) drive the presentation? Today, at the in-between conference (a.k.a. Microsoft Community Summit 2008), I did just that. I had the attendees drive my four hour presentation. I did this in the Open Space room, and it not only fit with the theme of that room, but it worked great!

As the attendees arrived, I handed them 3-5 3x5 cards - the cool ones from 3M that you can sort, stack, and stick to surfaces.

SharePoint Web 2.0 Fire Starter event at Microsoft

Wed, 28 May 2008 17:38:56 +0000

In typical FireStarter event style, this event will be delivering a first class experience to all attendees and make them experts on developing on SharePoint technologies before the end of the event. There should be great speakers from the Microsoft roster presenting some awesome topics that will help you build and customize web sites with SharePoint and Web 2.0 technologies.

Logistics

Where: Microsoft Conference Center (Building 33) – Kodiak Room

Elegant Code to host Open Space Get together

Wed, 28 May 2008 17:15:49 +0000

Elegant Code is hosting an Open Spaces session. An Open Spaces session is a discussion where the attendees generate the topics. There will be no presentation, no lecture, no PowerPoint slides, etc. The main point of this is a discussion were all the attendees can grow and learn from each other. The topics for discussion will be created by the group. The discussion will be facilitated, but just to keep the conversation going, not to drive it in any direction.

The first one will be held on June 3rd, at the Casa Mexico Restaurant in the Hyde Park section of Boise. They offer beer and wine in addition to the great "South of the Border" food.

If you would like to attend, please RSVP at scott.schimanski@gmail.com.

Viewing Your Backlog

Fri, 23 May 2008 04:33:34 +0000

In many Agile development processes, there exists the idea of THE BACKLOG. This is particularly true in Scrum, the methodology that originated the idea. The recipe from Scrum is a Product Backlog which contains all the requirements or features desired in the software being created.

The backlog items are organized in priority order, determined by the Product Owner (PO). The PO can use any criteria to prioritize the backlog items. Priorities may be driven by risk, return on investment, or client demand. No matter what technique is used, this prioritization is crucial to the use and effectiveness of the backlog.

Phoenix Sky Harbor airport needs a valid SSL certificate

Mon, 19 May 2008 02:00:03 +0000

Can someone please help them? While traveling through PHX today, on my way to Houston, I logged on to their "Sky Harbor Public WLAN" and actually got connected. They must have upgraded their gear, because a year ago it was not so friendly. Also, all of the US Airways clubs have ditched their private wireless networks and gone with using the general Sky Harbor Public WLAN network, which means even more travelers will see this embarrassing error:

GeekFest Party at TechEd 2008 Developer Conference

Sun, 18 May 2008 14:42:18 +0000

Let’s face it, going to technical conferences is good for your career, but it’s not a whole lot of fun. What you need is an outlet. You need to have fun. That’s where we step in.

Cheap beer and lousy pizza!

Microsoft is bringing back GeekFest! Join them at Howl at the Moon for a night of lousy pizza, cheap beer, dueling pianos, socializing and one wild rubber duck competition….yes, a rubber duck competition.

There is limited invitations available, so what are you waiting for? If you are attending the TechEd 2008 Developer Conference, you can pre-register here.

Register and pick up your "duck" ticket in the TechEd Technical Learning Center (TLC) at the Developer Tools & Languages (TLA) information desk. You must have a "duck" ticket to get into the party. One "duck" admits up to two people.

When:
Tuesday, June 3, 2008 from 7:00 PM -10:00 PM ET

Where:
Howl at the Moon, 8815 International Drive, Orlando, FL 32819

Ticketing:
You must have a "duck" ticket to attend the party. One duck admits two.

Boise SQL Server User Group

Thu, 01 May 2008 16:45:07 +0000

The newly formed Boise SQL Server User Group kicks off its first meeting with Kalen Delaney on June 25, 2008.

I'm happy to see a Microsoft SQL Server user group in Boise. It will fit nicely with the other development and SharePoint groups in town.

For more information, contact Cindy Gross of Microsoft.

Problem downloading from Sharepoint to Vista

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 18:47:37 +0000

I recently ran into a problem with our new Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) 3.0 instance running on Windows Server 2008. I'm running Windows Vista x64 on my laptop, which has been working very well. But, when I tried to download a file from this new SharePoint site, the download started OK but then stopped almost immediately, as if the connection was lost.

I did some searching around the web and came across this post. As it turns out Windows Vista can negotiate the TCP packet size with Windows Server 2008 to optimize download speed. Apparently my router (A NetGear FVS318) is throwing a wrench in the works by blocking the SYN packets used to negotiate packet size. Result: no download!

Tagging Team System Work Items

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:11:07 +0000

I expect some people to see this and say, “Hey, that’s clever.” I know that others will read this and think, “What a hack.”

Whichever side you fall on, there is little debate that navigating Work Items in Team System via customizable queries can be a little frustrating at times. The rub is in the data matching and ensuring you have fields defined for all the data you want. Often, I want to work with a set of work items that seem to have little to do with each other and aren’t tied together with a genuine data model.

Can't print locally when using remote desktop to my server

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 19:19:23 +0000

This is a very popular question on various forums, but none of them exactly answered the problem for my situation, so I wanted to share my approach.

Scenario

Windows Server 2003 (local)
Windows Server 2008 (remote)
HP4345MFP installed on my (local) home network at IP Address 192.168.1.115 port 9100

I'm sitting at the (local) 2003 server and when I remote desktop (RDP) into my (remote) 2008 server I want to print locally to my HP. Seems like a common use case, but I couldn't get it work for the life of me, until today.

Fix Attempt 1 - Enable local devices (didn't help)

Regional Director: 2007 Global Impact Awards

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 18:47:27 +0000

I had to show off my three amigos here. In 2007, as in 2006, I logged enough Global Impact activities to achieve the gold status award. Along with it came the bronze and silver awards as well. This time, they are mounted to more easily sit on a shelf ... or so that the RDs don't try to use them in a car wash or something.

Installing a TFS Production Server - Meeting Notes

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:34:13 +0000

I just had a meeting where we discussed setting up a TFS 2008 production server and I went through the system requirements with our system administrator. The focus was on groups needed in Active Directory, what software is needed on the server, things like that.

Here are some camera phone shots of the whiteboard during this discussion. Wow.

What's the takeaway from all this? PLAN YOUR IMPLEMENTAION DELIBERATELY. Stand up a research VM and play with it before you decide how you want to set up a production system.

Rosario April CTP Available for Download

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 22:41:10 +0000

Now that Team Foundation Server 2008 is out, the Visual Studio Team System product team is totally focused on the next version, known as Rosario. If the current release rhythm continues, Rosario is likely to be released in 2010 (Visual Studio 2005 was released in November 2005, and Visual Studio 2008 was released in November 2007).

The latest version of Rosario is now available for public download on the Microsoft download site. This version is called the April Community Technology Preview (CTP). It's called a CTP because the product is still under development. The CTP gives the development community an opportunity to see what's been produced so far and provide feedback. It's not called a Beta because the bits have not been as thoroughly tested. For this reason, Microsoft recommends that this CTP release not be used for any sort of production development.

Transferring domains away from GoDaddy

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 18:19:43 +0000

You'd think this would be simple wouldn't you? Well, I liken it to trying to get out of a Casino - the doors are not clearly marked, for obvious reasons.

Here's my scenario

I have a domain (or two) registered at GoDaddy, because I purchased the domains from somebody and/or had a knee-jerk reaction to their cheap rates and/or wanted to use their heightened protection and affiliated Domains By Proxy service. In any event, I'd rather move them to my preferred registrar: DirectNIC. I've been with them for years and their services are exactly what I need and their UI is (ahem) easy to understand.

TFS Team Project Permissions Relief

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 04:24:07 +0000

When creating a new Team Project in your Team Foundation Server, everything is nice and smooth right up until you get to the permissions of groups and individuals. This can be a real PITA because permissions must be set up in 3 separate places.

Team Project level permissions within TFS itself
The Share Point Portal site for the Team Project
The SQL Reporting Services site created to serve reports on the Team Project

If you have done a little forward thinking, you have Active Directory groups for the major role mappings you want to make in all three of these areas. This will make the task a little better, but by the time you've gotten through with your Reporting Services permissions, you start to wonder if you remembered all the right group permissions way back on the Team Project itself. You know that feeling, and by the time you've assured yourself all is well, 10 minutes have elapsed.

Enter the CodePlex project “Team Foundation Server Administration Tool”. This handy little utility lets you see permissions for each group across all 3 areas all at once. There may be the occasional uncaught exception or UI oddity, but this beats the heck out of doing the job manually.

Multiply your team's voltage by working in parallel

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 01:26:17 +0000

My final talk at VSLive! San Francisco this week was on one of my favorite topics - parallel development. In other words, dealing with the real-world situations where multiple developers are coding away on the same project, and even the same file.

The first order of business was to have a few of the ex-Visual SourceSafers lay down on my couch so we could discuss their phobias and irrational urge to run to their "safe place" - a.k.a. locking.

Are developers getting smaller?

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 01:18:18 +0000

We all know the sedentary lifestyle of your classic IT person can lead to ... shall we say ... bloat. I regularly joke that the only thing bigger than your typical (Unix) system administrator is his beard. I jest.

Anyway, we do what we can to avoid the bloat, including running (literally) some form of carbon-based defrag on a regular basis, to compact that extra space.

... and it may be working across the industry.

Should you Migrate to Team Foundation Server or just Integrate with It?

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 01:16:38 +0000

That was the topic of our discussion today at VSLive! San Francisco. Unfortunately, in the short amount of time (75 minutes) we didn't get too deep into all of the tools and techniques, but I did get my point across: I feel that Team Foundation Server (TFS) can do it all, and you should strive to migrate your source/revision control system, requirements and defect tracking system, document managing system, automated build and deployment system, and even your custom process workflow over to TFS.

What's your VSTS worst practice?

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 01:07:41 +0000

For those of you who joined me at VSLive! this week in San Francisco, I had fun sharing many worst (or un-preferred) practices I've run into over the years. My talk broke them down into several areas: TFS installation, TFS configuration, team projects, work items, and version control. Hopefully I didn't make anyone feel tool uncomfortable when I highlighted your practice on the big screen!

Actually, it was all in good fun. By highlighting Team System worst practices, we were able to define Team System best practices and preferred practices.

A Geeky Road Adventure

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 01:54:55 +0000

I am currently in Jacksonville, North Carolina to teach a 3 day Team System class to the U. S. Marine Corp. To get here, I took 3 planes today with the last one loaded up with Marines on their way to Camp Laugune, just like me.

I was listening to podcasts, mostly "This American Life" and ".Net Rocks". In fact, if you are at all into Team System, you have go to listen to this episode of .Net Rocks: Joel Semeniuk on the State of Team System. Joel sheds some light on what to expect in Rosario, which is a mature v3 of Team System with a strong focus on test.

Who is a Product Owner?

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 14:43:54 +0000

Because of the decentralized control model of Agile software development methodologies, there is a living debate on the role of a Product Owner, particularly in Scrum which defines the term.

Here are links to sufficiently ambiguous definitions from some trusted sources, all saying effectively the same thing.

http://www.scrumalliance.org/articles/39-glossary-of-scrum-terms#1122
http://www.mountaingoatsoftware.com/product_owner

More informative is this course description from the Ken Schwaber for his Certified Product Owner Course.

http://www.controlchaos.com/certification/cspo.php

and this course description from Mike Cohn:

http://www.mountaingoatsoftware.com/product_owner_training

TFS Global Lists Cannot Be Deleted

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 21:18:31 +0000

Seriously. They can’t.

http://forums.microsoft.com/MSDN/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=259259&SiteID=1

You may delete specific values, but not the list itself. This means you can effectively "zero out" a list by deleting all of it's items.

I don’t quite understand why this would be a good feature, as it doesn’t really stand up for a test of trace-ability. I just deleted a Team Project whose work items referenced a global list, so there are no references to the list in the system anymore.

Lightweight Scrum Process Template Updated

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 07:17:04 +0000

Mike Azocar, a fellow Team System MVP, reports:

We released LWS version 2.1 today. This version includes a new process guidance and SharePoint template as well as many work item enhancements. You can download it at
www.codeplex.com/vstsscrum

Mike also indicates that they will soon release a version that will work with the Project Server connector.

Managing Global Lists in TFS

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 21:37:39 +0000

Having just inherited a TFS installation to manage, I received a request to add some values to a global list. I got a little nervous about this when I saw that the server had many (MANY) global lists in it already and I wanted to be very careful not to break anything during this change.

Of course the first thing I did was consult the master book on the subject of TFS, Rich's Working with Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2005 Team System. This was a great start to groking the whole Global List thing.

Teamprise 3.0 Ships

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 20:42:13 +0000

Martin Woodward has done his magic again! For those of you who don't know Martin, he is the primary developer of Teamprise, a fantastic suite of client applications that gives Java developers cross-platform access to Team Foundation Server from the command line, a stand-alone GUI or an Eclipse plug-in. In his blog, Martin announced the release of Teamprise 3.0, updated to take advantage of the new features in Team Foundation Server 2008. This release contains some many impressive new features including check-in policy support, recursive folder compare, single sign on support on windows clients, and gui support for version control undelete and destroy commands. Perhaps the most impressive new feature is the full Team Build integration and the brand new Teamprise Extensions for Team Foundation Build, which allows developers to use Ant scripts with Team Build - amazing! Even better, Teamprise Extensions for Team Foundation Build, including source code, is available free of charge to everyone.

FinalBuilder 6.0 to integrate directly with Team Foundation Build

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:52:57 +0000

Last year I posted a note about how to integrate VSoft Technology FinalBuilder with Team Build. I really like FinalBuilder and think it's easy to use, compared with having to hand-jam the XML of MSBuild.

With the upcoming version 6.0 of FinalBuilder, this integration becomes a snap, even including a Visual Studio add-in for configuring Team Build.

Read this article for more information.

Installing Team Edition(s) on your Team Foundation Build server

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 15:25:57 +0000

It's generally known that if you want to run any tests, code analysis, or database project build/deployment that you need to install one or more Team Edition of VSTS on your build server. What's not so well known are the licensing ramifications around these scenarios.

Fortunately Jeff Beehler, Team System Chief of Staff, has posted on this subject.

To summarize:

If the users creating the builds are licensed users of the edition in question (or Team Suite), that license extends to Team Foundation Build and you don't need to purchase an additional license. One way to think about it is: the people that are using the Team editions need to be properly licensed which in turn ensures the that the build machines are covered as well. Users who merely queue (execute) and review the automated builds are only required to have a Team Foundation Server CAL.

Design for Operations

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 22:38:13 +0000

Have you ever had a production application in the data center act up, and you spend countless hours hunting down the source of the problem? If so, then then you might be interested in a new project on CodePlex called Design for Operations (DFO).

For years now engineers have been designing physical products with ease of manufacturing in mind. Called Design for Manufacturability (DFM), this technique takes fabrication and assembly into consideration early in the design process. DFM has a significant impact by improving the cost and quality of a product. Well, a variant of the technique has finally found its way to the world of software. Called Design for Operations, this technique allows software architects and developers to design their applications with built-in, real-time health monitoring, giving the operations staff much better operational information and improving the quality of service. According to William Loeffler, a Microsoft program manager:

How maintainable is the code in the Enterprise Library?

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 22:41:06 +0000

Since first seeing the Code Metrics feature in the Development Edition of Visual Studio Team System 2008, I've been on a quest for bad (read: unmanageable) code. Rather than face the tool towards my code, I thought I would pick on Microsoft.

... and it looks like the EntLib has a maintainability index between 77 and 89.

Thanks to Ajoy krishnamoorthy for actually doing the hard work on this.

Photos from the Visual Studio 2008, SQL Server 2008, and Windows Server 2008 Launch in LA

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 15:01:06 +0000

Back home now, and I have a moment to get the photos downloaded from my camera and uploaded to my blog. Next time I'll take my SD card reader with me.

As you can see, registration was quite busy. I heard that there were 4000 people there, but didn't count them myself. The long lines delayed the keynote by about an hour:

Accentient to sponsor Boise Code Camp 3.0

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 14:24:19 +0000

It's not much, but we heard that call that there "wouldn't be free coffee" at the Boise Code Camp 3.0 this coming March 8, so we're kicking in, so that we can enjoy free coffee. Ahem.

This way, we don't have to walk around with one of these things on our backs:

Live from the VS/SQL/Windows 2008 launch

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 21:35:26 +0000

In this, my first post of (hopefully) several today, I'm sitting in the keynote session (next to Douglas McDowell), listening to Tom Brokaw warm up the audience. What a nice surprise. It definitely stopped all the geeks in their tracks, to listen to his wise words, gathered from years of experience in all matters mankind.

I loved his opening line "I'm not here to write code, or wire this room". He did, however, wax poetic on the future of technology, the spirit and energy of the types of people who will drive it, and how we must handle it to get their safely."

Team System just made the keynote demo

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 18:54:29 +0000

10:35 AM (Los Angeles)

A fictitious developer, from the fictitious company "Fourth Coffee" is demonstrating the new, agile development features in Visual Studio 2008. She's showing off how to manage team development projects (a.k.a. team projects and work items), giving her tasks to make some changes to her code. Mostly she is showing off the split-screen editor, synchronization of code and designer, integrated design tools, and the new JavaScript debugger.

Boise Code Camp 3.0 in the Idaho Statesman

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 20:27:53 +0000

Thanks to Jim Gasaway and David Starr for getting the information to the Statesman.

The article does a nice job of outlining our 'camp.

Scott Cate Teaches me VB ... and ASP.NET AJAX!

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 22:35:17 +0000

I just got sent this announcement from AppDev . I was about to delete it when I noticed a familiar looking face of my friend (and second-time, new dad) Scott Cate!

Remembering Jim Gray and a Tribute

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Time flies. It has been a year since Dr. Gray, a Microsoft research fellow and Turing Award-winner, went missing while sailing off San Francisco. A year ago, at Boise Code Camp 2.0, I hosted a session on finding Jim Gray, using Amazons Mechanical Turk.

Now, a year after Dr. Gray went missing, the Association of Computing Machinery (the organization that holds the Turing Awards), the IEEE Computer Society and the University of California-Berkeley have joined to announce a tribute to Gray, planned for May 31 at the UC Berkeley campus. Jim Gray attended UC Berkeley from 1961 to 1969 and earned the schools very first Ph.D. in computer science. Fittingly enough, the tribute will also feature technical sessions for registered participants.

Adding TFPT.exe to your PATH

Sun, 10 Feb 2008 21:59:52 +0000

I know. I know. This doesn't sound like a very interesting post, but it saved me time, and hopefully it can save you some too.

When you install Visual Studio 2008, Microsoft creates a "Visual Studio 2008 Command Prompt" shortcut, under that program group.

I like to take this shortcut and drop it on my Quick Launch toolbar:

Separated at birth

Sat, 02 Feb 2008 03:43:39 +0000

One is an award winning anti-virus writer, and the other is an expert in .NET architecture and ALM tools ...

Do you know your geeks?

Are you aware of Aware Server?

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 21:43:32 +0000

Last week I had a chance to meet some of the brains behind gridGISTICS - a .NET development company in Atlanta that gets it. Not only are they up to speed on the latest .NET 3.x technologies, but they have some killer products as well.

The one that struck me as the coolest was their Aware Server product, which is a grid-computing based deployment and management environment. In other words, the missing pieces to Team Foundation Server's build and (ahem) deploy automation. Packaging up applications by system and version into manifests, these binaries can be automatically deployed, registered, launched, and monitored by various Aware Agents installed around a company's environment. From the development side, they provide many Visual Studio 2008 templates and add-ins to help generate Aware-compatible applications very quickly.

What are the differences between SharePoint, SharePoint, and SharePoint?

Mon, 24 Dec 2007 23:36:17 +0000

Now the Team Foundation Server 2008 supports WSS 3.0 as well as MOSS, I'm even more interested in what the differences are - more than just "one is free, and one is not".

I found a couple of good resources. The first one is a page that discusses "which SharePoint technology is right for you?" and the second one, is a condensed Excel download of the comparisons.

So, pop quiz time ...

Transcript from VSTS Panel Discussion at US Tech-Ed 2007

Mon, 24 Dec 2007 22:23:16 +0000

Man, I need to keep a closer eye on the work product over at .NET Rocks. I had meant to link up this transcript last Summer, but I dropped the ball. Apologies.

So, what this was was a VSTS panel discussion at Tech-Ed in Orlando last June, with Mike Azocar, Steven Borg, Doug Seven, Joel Semeniuk, and the hosts Richard Campbell and Carl Franklin.

Here's the panel (with Barry Gervin running the microphone)

December's SharePoint User Group Meeting

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 22:06:04 +0000

This month’s meeting topic is Blogs and Wikis in SharePoint - what’s available out of the box and interesting ways to extend and use Blogs and Wikis presented by Ben Hickman of Microsoft. They will also be having a presentation by Certeon around their S-Series Application Acceleration Appliances, which provides the industry’s only solution with Application Intelligent Networking to deliver application acceleration, security and scalability from the desktop to the data center.

Meeting Date: Wednesday, December 19th, 2007, 11 am – 2 pm

Meeting Place: 250 S. 5th Street, Boise, ID 83702

Meeting Agenda:

11:00 - 11:15 - Arrive at the meeting...visit with other users.

11:15 - 11:20 - Announcements and other group administrative topics by group coordinator

11:20 – 1:45 - Presentation by Ben Hickman and Certeon (Lunch will be ready at about 12:00 so help yourself when it arrives).

Find more meeting information on their web site.

PDC 2008 Announced

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 02:21:13 +0000

Microsoft announced today that PDC 2008 is on!

October 27–30, 2008
Pre-conferences October 26, 2008
Los Angeles, California

PDC is the definitive Microsoft event for software developers and architects focused on the future of the Microsoft platform. Mark your calendars and save the date. More information coming soon.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/pdc2008

PDC 2008 Announced!

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 02:20:38 +0000

Microsoft announced today that PDC 2008 is on!

October 27–30, 2008
Pre-conferences October 26, 2008
Los Angeles, California

PDC is the definitive Microsoft event for software developers and architects focused on the future of the Microsoft platform. Mark your calendars and save the date. More information coming soon.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/pdc2008

Silverlight 2.0

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 17:07:39 +0000

In addition to adding support for the .NET Framework, Microsoft is taking the next version of Silverlight farther by adding a comprehensive control model, powerful skinning and "theming," data binding, and over 20 controls in the box. To better capture the scope of the feature set for the next version of Silverlight, Microsoft will rename Silverlight 1.1 to Silverlight 2.0. Microsoft will also commit to delivering a Silverlight 2.0 Beta with a Go-Live license in Q1 2008.

As for customer evidence, the NBA began engaging with Microsoft to deliver key interactive applications on NBA.com deploying Silverlight. By utilizing Silverlight, the NBA will be able to further broaden the scope of its online experience across video and photos. From a broader Web development perspective, Microsoft will also release a preview of the ASP.NET 3.5 Extensions in early December. Key features of the preview include MVC, Dynamic Data Controls and REST Services. Silverlight and ASP.NET are core technologies enabling better user experiences on the desktop, Web and beyond. Microsoft’s user experience approach is part of the broader Microsoft Application Platform strategy, formed with the goal of helping customers realize the benefits from more dynamic applications.

For more information on Thursday, please check out Scott Guthrie’s blog, Jesse Liberty’s blog, and the Silverlight homepage.

Also, feel free to check out the new Microsoft Download Center Beta, now powered by Microsoft Silverlight.

Upcoming Team System chats

Thu, 22 Nov 2007 19:35:22 +0000

Come chat with the Visual Studio Team System group on Wednesday, December 5th.

Join members of the Visual Studio Team System product group to discuss features available in Team Foundation Server, Team Suite, Architecture Edition, Development Edition, Database Edition, and Test Edition. In addition, discuss what's new for these editions for Visual Studio 2008.

There will be two sessions that day:

10:00am - 11:00am Pacific Time (Add to Calendar)
4:00pm - 5:00pm Pacific Time (Add to Calendar)

Hanging with Phil Katz

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 01:05:21 +0000

Wow, I found this old photo of me at COMDEX in 1990. It was my first such event, and I was completely blown away by the size of it - and who was there. I remember Borland had a giant quiz-show, asking questions and giving away prizes if you got the answers correct. I met Jeff Duntemann, who was the editor of PC Techniques magazine.

I also met Phil Katz (think “PK”) at the event. He had become a hero to the BBS community, because his PKXARC/PKARC software was good at compressing files for transfer over 300 baud modems. After he was sued by SEA, he released an even faster PKZIP and became everyone’s best friend. Most everyone in the world still uses PKZIP, or a derivative today.

SQL Server 2008 November CTP Available

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 18:03:00 +0000

I've been so involved with the VSTS RTM yesterday, that I almost didn't notice this one.

Click here to download the latest SQL Server 2008 Community Technology Preview (CTP) and try out the latest features of SQL Server 2008.

Get it while it's hot

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 18:48:14 +0000

Hmmm … it still has that fresh .ISO smell.

Seems that we’ll have something extra to be thankful for this week. VSTS 2008 Team Suite is available for download today!

I hope you are an MSDN subscriber, so you can access the subscriber downloads.

Get it while it's hot!

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 18:41:32 +0000

Hmmm ... it still has that fresh .ISO smell.

Seems that we'll have something extra to be thankful for this week. VSTS 2008 Team Suite is available for download today!

I hope you are an MSDN subscriber, so you can access the subscriber downloads.

US Tech-Ed 2008 To Be Two Conferences

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 14:36:48 +0000

It seems that the US Tech-Ed is following Europe's lead, by breaking up the one large conference into two: one for developers and one for IT professionals.

June 3-6, 2008 - Developers (developers, solution architects, designers, and testers)
June 10-13, 2008 - IT Professionals

Both events will have a similar format with the past Tech·Eds, but will focus on a single audience instead of a mixed audience, which was the case with the previous Tech·Ed model.

Visit the main Tech-Ed site for more information, including some FAQs.

Creating and Customizing TFS Reports

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 19:09:53 +0000

I just came across this download at Microsoft. It provides an introduction to the concepts and step by step instructions for creating and customizing TFS reports.

The zip file contains instructional PDF documents as well as several sample reports.

Microsoft Positioned in the leader quadrant in Gartner’s latest Magic Quadrant for Data Warehouse DBMS, 2007

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 20:03:36 +0000

Way to go Microsoft, and SQL Server 2005!

For the first time in the report’s history, Microsoft is positioned in the Leader quadrant in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Data Warehouse DBMS. The analysts say that SQL Server 2005 is expected to grow in the data warehouse space and Microsoft’s vision for SQL Server 2008 makes clear the company’s intent to become a major presence in the data warehouse market.

Read more about this great announcement here.

It's not a bug, it's a feature

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 03:00:53 +0000

One of my students forwarded this to me this week. I thought it was hilarious.

It's not a bug, it's a feature!

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 03:00:04 +0000

One of my students forwarded this to me this week. I thought it was hilarious.

TFS Operations Guidance

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 16:46:42 +0000

Thanks to the Team System Rangers (an elite squad of TFS experts inside Microsoft) for putting together this document, which serves as a single point of entry into the world of TFS Operations as well as Microsoft's recommended operational best practices.

So, start learning/mastering TFS operations by clicking here.

Plan now to attend Boise's annual IEEE banquet dinner

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 21:18:02 +0000

The Annual Banquet for the Boise Chapter of the IEEE Computer Society will be held on Wednesday, October 24, 2007 at the 8th Street Winery from 6:30 to 8:30pm.

The presenters this year are Caleb Chung and John Sosoka of Ugobe Systems and they will talk about innovation and the making of Pleo.

VSTS Web Access Power Tool - CTP released

Sat, 22 Sep 2007 16:14:32 +0000

Microsoft has released a new version of VSTS Web Access Power tool. This release is a Community Technology Preview (CTP) of what will ultimately be the 2008 version of the VSTS Web Access Power Tool.

Built against the TFS 2008 object model - In previous versions of Web Access you had to install Team Explorer 2005 on any machine you were installing Web Access on. With this version, you will now be installing Team Explorer 2008 instead. In some future version, Microsoft hopes to remove the requirement to install any version of Team Explorer.
Custom control support - added support for web based work item custom controls and have included a folder of documentation and samples on how to create them.
Build queuing - added UI for the new TFS 2008 feature of build queuing. You can start new queued builds and view the build queue (in addition to the preexisting abilities - like viewing build details).
Localization support - added support for localizing the web interface. Microsoft will also be localizing text for the final 2008 Power Tool release.
Bug fixes & Performance improvements - Microsoft has received a number of reports and done more testing on the current version of the Power Tool, and has fixed everything thus far.

This release (and the final 2008 release) can be used with either a TFS 2005 or a TFS 2008 server. In either case, you will need to install a TFS 2008 Team Explorer on the machine you install Web Access on. Since TFS 2005 did not support build queuing, that functionality will not be available when this and future versions of Web Access are used with a 2005 server.

You can download it here and read more about it at Brian Harry's blog posting.

Code that Writes Code (or TSQL that writes ASP.NET)

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 22:02:47 +0000

Call it a code generator, software factory, or just a clever script. If you can write code that writes code - you win, even if just a small victory for humans in this contest we call software development.

For example, I've been working on an ASP.NET application which contains many data entry screens. You know the kind: very simple, table-format with a label and a textbox of a certain width, that may or may not require some validation. In other words, a whole lot of markup like this:

Microsoft P&P Releases Team Development with Team Foundation Server Guide

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 16:36:03 +0000

Microsoft's Patterns & Practices group recently released the final version of the "Team Development with Team Foundation Server" Guide. This guide has been in beta for the last couple of months.

It shows you how to get the most out of Team Foundation Server to help improve the effectiveness of your team-based software development. Whether you are already using Team Foundation Server or adopting from scratch, you’ll find guidance and insights you can tailor for your specific scenarios. It's a collaborative effort between patterns & practices, Team System team members, and industry experts.

Some quick facts:

496 – Total number of pages
18 – Total number of chapters in this guide
11392 – Total number of downloads of the Beta version of this guide
8 – Number of attempts to get the Adobe build to work to generate the guide in .pdf format
60 – Number of external and MSFT contributors and reviewers

Download the guide from CodePlex.

Microsoft P&P Releases Team Development with Team Foundation Server Guide

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 16:33:42 +0000

Microsoft's Patterns & Practices group recently released the final version of the "Team Development with Team Foundation Server" Guide. This guide has been in beta for the last couple of months.

Some quick facts:

496 – Total number of pages
18 – Total number of chapters in this guide
11392 – Total number of downloads of the Beta version of this guide
8 – Number of attempts to get the Adobe build to work to generate the guide in .pdf format
60 – Number of external and MSFT contributors and reviewers

Download the guide from CodePlex.

TFS Migration & Synchronization Tool For ClearCase Released

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 15:51:30 +0000

Yesterday, Microsoft released a tool to migrate from IBM ClearCase to TFS.

Find more information on TFS migration topics, keep an eye on this blog.

XML Notepad 2007!

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 16:01:54 +0000

My students this week told me about the new version. I remember using the original XML Notepad, and it was great, very simple.

For the longest time, I couldn't find it on Microsoft's site to download, and then a newer version showed up on CodePlex.

MSDN Event in Boise (Oct 4, 2007)

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 19:40:15 +0000

Plant to attend the MSDN event on October 4, 2007 (a Thursday). Products to be discussed: ASP.NET, Office, Visual Studio, and Windows Vista.

times: 1:00 to 5:00 (welcome Time: 12:00 PM)
Theater - Edwards Boise Stadium 21, 7701 Overland Road, Boise Idaho 83709

You can find out more, and register here.

MSDN Events are free, live sessions designed to enhance your coding skills and make your life a little easier. By attending you'll get up-to-the-minute technology delivered by seasoned developers and have lots of time to network and ask questions. Chat with your fellow developers get the latest coding tools and tips and learn how to create rich new applications.

Books required for going back to school

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 15:12:04 +0000

Ah yes, late August, time to go back to school - even for us adult geeks.

Fortunately, David Starr has provided us an exhaustive list of must-read books, organized by developer, tester, project manager, and executives.

... nothing specifically on VSTS however. I'll have to bug him about that.

Team Edition for Software Architect Power Tools - August 2007 CTP

Mon, 20 Aug 2007 19:41:29 +0000

The great news just keeps on coming from Microsoft. After a flurry of Team System announcements and downloads recently, we have yet another set of Power Tools to play with.

These tools are designed specifically for the Visual Studio Team Edition for Software Architects and provide the following capabilities:

View class library projects on the Application Diagram (AD)
View references to class library projects as connections on the Application Diagram
Create class library projects from the Application Diagram
Create references to class library projects from the Application Diagram
Synchronize properties between class library projects and their representative applications on the Application Diagram
Create and use class library applications and references on the System Designer (SD)

Fantastic. We haven't seen much out of the Architect tools, except for the SDM SDK in quite some time. I'm looking forward to it.

Service Release 1 (SR1) update available for Visual Studio Team Edition for Database Professionals

Fri, 10 Aug 2007 15:55:44 +0000

Microsoft has published a detailed KB article about the problems fixed by SR1. The article includes a link to download the update.

Aside from many fixes, there are three major improvements found in this release:

Cross-database references - support is improved so that you can reference objects within different databases by using database project references or by referencing a database metafile (.dbmeta). This support reduces or eliminates the cross-database reference warnings within a database project
Improved file support within SQL Server file groups - you can define files within file groups as database project properties instead of having to create files and file groups within the pre-deployment storage script.
Variables - a Variables page is added to the database properties. This new page enables you to define setvar variables for use in the deployment scripts.

Silverlight + (Game of) Life = SilverLIFE

Thu, 09 Aug 2007 15:32:57 +0000

My friend Jeff Prosise has taken John Conway's mathematically-based Game of Life, automated it and given it a slick UI using Microsoft Silverlight 1.1. I'm sure Jeff had fun writing this, all the while learning the new environment.

You can read more about SilverLIFE at this blog post, and then play with it here. (You will be prompted to download Silverlight 1.1 Alpha Refresh).

Power Tools for DBPro are just around the corner

Wed, 08 Aug 2007 16:39:29 +0000

Gert Drapers, the PM for Database Professionals announced that the first set of Power Tools should be released by the end of this week. With that in mind I wanted to blogging about some of the cool new features. Today's blog is on the new Regular Expression builder.

This allows you to choose your regular expression and and preview the result of the expression! Very cool. Here's a tip to add to the list of regular expressions:

NBusiness on CodePlex feels like a Ruby app

Mon, 06 Aug 2007 16:23:36 +0000

NBusiness is an Entity Definition Language focused on the creation of business entities. Basically, you use a construct called E# to build a code file, which is then ‘compiled’ into C#. Basically, NBusiness acts as a domain specific language for the creation of business entities.

Below is an example of some E# code. It’s still a bit stinted in the structure, but it ‘feels’ like English to me, much like an internal DSL in Ruby. (Even node the TRIVIAL creation of security around roles near the bottom of the example.)

It seems people are really getting into the Domain Specific Language thing… But not the way Microsoft seems to be going. Microsoft seems to be focusing on the big, graphical DSL model. It’ll be nice when they get there, but meanwhile, they'2013-08-28 13:39:53’re being left in the dust by the folks just creating very clean, very fast DSLs for a particular domain.

Nicely done, guys!

family BeerBase.Business
{
    entity Address as EntityBase, EntityBaseCollection, EntityInfo, Scripts
    {
        field auto id int AddressId;
        field string Street1;
        field nullable string Street2;
        field string City;
        field string PostalCode;
        field int RegionId;

        relationship Kegbots with Kegbot on AddressId=AddressId as child;
        relationship Companies with Company on AddressId=AddressId as child;
        relationship Region with Region on RegionId=RegionId as parent;

        validate Street1 required;
        validate City required;
        validate PostalCode required;
        validate RegionId required;

        validate City minlength 2;
        validate Street1 maxlength 50;
        validate Street1 minlength 3;
        validate Street2 maxlength 50;
        validate City maxlength 50;
        validate PostalCode maxlength 16;
        validate PostalCode minlength 5;

        authorize allow * retrieve;
        authorize allow Administrators delete;
        authorize allow Administrators create;
        authorize allow Administrators update;
    }
}

New Open Source Portal App in .NET - Umbraco

Sat, 04 Aug 2007 22:31:08 +0000

Umbraco looks pretty amazing! It may not have the following of Dot Net Nuke, but it looks to be a lot more open to web standards. I’ve tried many times to really like DNN, but it just pains me that I don’t have really clean CSS control over things. I suppose it’s because I haven’t gotten my head around it fully, so I’m sure I’m missing something. But don'2013-08-28 13:39:53’t tell me to use their non-standard (although open source) theming system. That just doesn’t sit right.

Anyway, back to Umbraco. it appears to have support for web standards, full API, and a very extensible platform! I haven’t looked at it in too much detail, but at least its something new! Something outside the standard DNN, Rainbow, Joomla, and Drupal CMS systems.

Once again, I’m no expert at any of these, but I’m always on the lookout!

dasBlog autolink

Sat, 04 Aug 2007 22:21:10 +0000

Hey! This is a neat little easter egg in dasBlog. Whenever you type dasBlog it automatically inserts a hyperlink to the site. I wonder if it works for das Blog and DasBlog, as well.

FamilyShow Not to be missed WPF and Silverlight Demo

Sat, 04 Aug 2007 22:19:17 +0000

Head to Vertigo and run the Family.Show demo of WPF and Silverlight. It’s a trivial download, and shows off some of the power of both technologies. You can find it here. You can also download the source at CodePlex!

SharePoint Features on CodePlex

Sat, 04 Aug 2007 21:34:28 +0000

SharePoint features are an incredibly useful way to deploy chunks of functionality to web sites. Although they can be difficult to grok at first, once you do, they make a lot of sense! Scot Hillier, a very well known SharePoint expert has begun a CodePlex project titled SharePoint Features, which aims to provide some extra functionality to SharePoint. He’s kicked off the project by contributing some really cool stuff, including a Debugging Feature, a Log Viewer Feature, and a Theme Changer feature. He’s also got loads more up there! Have a favorite feature you’ve built? Contribute!

I haven’t checked out what license they are released under, but they’re worth checking out!

The future of Team System: Rosario CTP - Available now

Sat, 04 Aug 2007 20:36:19 +0000

Not only did Microsoft just recently post Beta 2 of Visual Studio 2008 (Orcas) a few days ago, but yesterday Microsoft made a CTP of the next generation of Visual Studio Team System (codename Rosario) available for download. Craziness ... which do I spend my time with? It's like having two mistresses to pick from.

Anyway, here are the details, if you want to start playing with Rosario: (keep in mind that it won't ship until some time months post Visual Studio 2008, so at least 2009):

The future of Team System: Rosario CTP - Available now!

Sat, 04 Aug 2007 20:32:36 +0000

Anyway, here are the details, if you want to start playing with Rosario: (keep in mind that it won't ship until some time months post Visual Studio 2008, so at least 2009):

Speed up your Team Builds

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 19:17:09 +0000

Over the past few years, a few of my clients have deployed Team Foundation Server Proxy to improve the performance of their remote/distributed teams. It boosts network performance by caching copies of source control files in a remote location, local to the developer needing the files but away from the main source control location. In short, the proxy helps each user avoid a costly download of the files to their workspace across the slower connection.

View the latest VSTS customer evidence from Microsoft

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 19:10:42 +0000

Still trying to decide if Team System is right for you and if you can afford it. I would say you can't afford *not* to have it. Check out this list of case studies from other companies and teams who agree with me.

Thanks to Rob Caron, for putting together this consolidated list of the "top" Visual Studio Team System case studies. They support a wide range of propositions by showcasing real customers who have gone through the adoption process and have great stories to tell.

Visual Studio Team System Web Access Power Tool - Available for Download

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 16:06:19 +0000

Microsoft just released their Team System Web Access Power Tool (formerly known as TeamPlain). This is a Web interface to Team Foundation Server.

If you have team members that don't want Visual Studio/Team Explorer installed on their desktop, but they still want to participate with the project lifecycle, this is a great, web-based approach to getting everyone connected quickly/easily. Here are some of the features:

Add new work items or edit existing ones
Work with any type of work item, including custom ones
Add new work item queries or edit existing ones
View, download, upload, check-in and check-out documents on SharePoint team portal
View reports, export as PDF or Excel
Browse source control repositories, download files, view changesets, diffs, histories, and annotated views
View build results, start or stop builds
Search for keywords in work items
Authentication Modes: Integrated Windows Authentication or Forms Based Authentication (Recommended to use with SSL)

Read more about it in Brian Harry's blog posting.

Visual Studio Team System Web Access Power Tool - Available for Download!

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 16:05:47 +0000

Microsoft just released their Team System Web Access Power Tool (formerly known as TeamPlain). This is a Web interface to Team Foundation Server.

Add new work items or edit existing ones
Work with any type of work item, including custom ones
Add new work item queries or edit existing ones
View, download, upload, check-in and check-out documents on SharePoint team portal
View reports, export as PDF or Excel
Browse source control repositories, download files, view changesets, diffs, histories, and annotated views
View build results, start or stop builds
Search for keywords in work items
Authentication Modes: Integrated Windows Authentication or Forms Based Authentication (Recommended to use with SSL)

Read more about it in Brian Harry's blog posting.

Come chat with the Visual Studio Team System product team - today!

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 15:49:58 +0000

Join members of the Visual Studio Team System product group to discuss features available in Visual Studio Team Foundation Server, Architecture Edition, Development Edition, Database Edition, and Test Edition. In addition, discuss what's new in Visual Studio 2008 Beta 2.

Microsoft will be holding two sessions:

Join the chat on Wednesday, August 1^st, 2007 from 10:00am - 11:00am Pacific Time. Add to Calendar
Join the chat on Wednesday, August 1^st, 2007 from 4:00pm - 5:00pm Pacific Time. Add to Calendar

What's new with BizTalk Server?

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 21:48:38 +0000

I just wanted to blog a couple of things here:

The future of BizTalk (read: updated roadmap) is available here
BizTalk Server 2006 R2 will launch in September of this year (read more here)
Microsoft has opened the BizTalk Labs, which allows scientists (such as you) to experiment with various technologies

Visual Studio 2008 Beta 2 - Available for Download

Fri, 27 Jul 2007 15:43:55 +0000

Nice work Microsoft. The download page just came online today. You can download Installation Disc Images, VPC Images, or Express Editions.

There’s even a link to download the .NET Framework 3.5 Beta 2 at the bottom of the page.

Next Ask an Expert Public Chat - August 23rd

Fri, 27 Jul 2007 14:35:19 +0000

The next Ask An Expert Live Chat is scheduled for Thursday, August 23, 2007. Join Microsoft MVPs, ASP Insiders, Regional Directors, and other industry experts - all on hand to answer your tough .NET- and Visual Studio-related questions. This chat is not being hosted by Microsoft and as such questions regarding upcoming products and future product specs may not be answered.

Details: Thursday, August 23, 2007, 5:00 - 6:00 P.M. Pacific Time / 8:00 - 9:00 P.M. Eastern Time / 00:00 - 01:00 GMT

Click here for an ICS file to update your calendar, and click here for more information on Microsoft technical chats.

Visual Studio 2008 Beta 2 - Available for Download!

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 22:53:47 +0000

Nice work Microsoft. The download page just came online today. You can download Installation Disc Images, VPC Images, or Express Editions.

There's even a link to download the .NET Framework 3.5 Beta 2 at the bottom of the page.

See you at Interface '07 in Boise

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 22:41:41 +0000

Next week, August 2nd, hundreds of middle and senior-level IT Managers from SMB, corporate, academic and government organizations as well as line of business managers will be attending the 1-day forum known as Interface. Although it's not a software/developer event, the schedule looks pretty interesting, and so does the impressive hall of vendors.

The Interface forum runs from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM at the Boise Center on the Grove.

Using Project to enter "Resources"

Mon, 23 Jul 2007 23:09:59 +0000

Don’t get me started on Project… OK. Get me started… I hate how MS Project refers to People, your TEAM, as “Resources”. :-( However, I’ll keep my mouth shut, since I want to mention a one thing related to Team System.

First, if you’re entering work items in Project you’ll have to enter the “Resource” name as a string, and you won’t have a drop down to select from (until you have entered the name at least once). This is in contrast to Excel, where you get a drop down of all the available people to assign the task to. It’s frustrating, but there'2013-08-28 13:40:05’s a reason. Project supports assigning multiple “resources” to a task, while TFS supports only one person on the Assigned To line (by default).

Donate your used computers to Computer for Kids (Boise)

Sun, 22 Jul 2007 19:29:17 +0000

Computers for Kids is currently accepting computers (both working and non-working units) for refurbishment and distribution to K-14 in Idaho. Donations are tax deductible.

Computers for Kids is a Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher (MAR) , which means Microsoft provides a good deal on Windows 2000 and sometimes Windows XP operating systems. The Community MAR program was created to increase the number of usable PCs available to non-profits, schools, and low-income families across the globe by reducing the cost of software to refurbishers. The MAR program also benefits the environment by giving new life to a significant number of computers that may otherwise be destined for landfills.

Is there water under your house?

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 22:47:18 +0000

This post is a bit off-topic from the usual techno-geek stuff I blog, but for the last two weeks the fine folks from D&R Residential Drainage Systems have been under our house installing a system that ensures that we won't pool water after a heavy rain, yard watering, etc. More importantly, that it won't lead to a festival of bugs, molds, and mildews!

The Problem

The neighborhood we live in has horrible soil - heavy clay content and quite rocky. We're basically on top of table rock here in Boise. This means that the ground does not absorb water well, especially under the house. This spring, I went down in the crawlspace and saw that there had been water pooling:

Control PowerPoint with your Wii Remote

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 15:15:02 +0000

I can appreciate a fusion of technologies as much as the next guy, but this is a real head-scratcher.

Check out the Wii Key project, which uses a Wii Remote to handle the basic slideshow operations.

Removing pingback, trackback, and comment spam from dasBlog

Tue, 17 Jul 2007 19:50:18 +0000

Ok, I finally got fed up with all of the spam in my historical dasBlog postings. It’s really embarrassing to send a link to a a colleague, only to have them snicker at all of the spam comments and trackbacks.

For those of you who don’t know what a trackback is, it’s basically an acknowledgement that enables authors to keep track of who is linking to, or referring to their articles. When used properly, trackbacks form a communication link between the two blogs, so that new comments on one blog can basically ping the other, allowing readers to easily follow discussions on both. The problem is that spammers have abused this mechanism and bloggers end up with trackbacks and pingbacks to various gambling, herbal medication, and adult sites.

Extracting documents directly from a SharePoint database

Mon, 09 Jul 2007 21:06:55 +0000

Last month at Tech-Ed, I asked many of my SharePoint friends, and a few vendors, how to do this. I got answers ranging from "You can't" to "You'll need to buy our utility". They all told me that I should just add the content database back to my SharePoint instance and then use the WebDav or some other utility (sometimes commercial) to extract the documents in bulk. This wouldn't work, because I had upgraded to WSS 3.0 and this was a WSS 2.0 database. Well, it may have worked, but I was saving it as a final option.

For those who Remote Desktop ...

Thu, 05 Jul 2007 22:30:45 +0000

While enjoying the fireworks yesterday in Oceanside, California with my friend Scott Cate, he let me know about a CodePlex project called Terminals.

Terminals is simply a wrapper, around the Terminal Services ActiveX Client (mstscax.dll) and provides multi-tab interface - which can be very handy when remoted-in to multiple servers at once. Also, it supports screen resolution up to 4096x2048, clipboard, drag & drop into the session, and some other nice features.

Welcome to the VSTS MVP Program - Martin Danner

Fri, 29 Jun 2007 16:51:30 +0000

Yet another Architect MVP has bitten the dust, to join the cooler crowd over here under the Team System MVP banner.

Martin Danner is an experienced developer, project manager, and consultant in the software and information technology field, Danner has an extensive history in the software engineering field. He worked as a senior software engineer at Micron Technology, where he developed applications for the Web and PC, and he managed a group responsible for configuration management and software quality for all corporate software systems. Danner has also worked as a software engineer, developer, and consultant for Northrop Corporation and Price Waterhouse. Danner earned a bachelor's degree in engineering from California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo. He is a Microsoft Solution Architect MVP, a Microsoft Certified Solution Developer for the .NET Framework (MCSD.NET), as well as a PMI Project Management Professional (PMP).

Welcome to the VSTS MVP Program - Martin Danner!

Fri, 29 Jun 2007 16:50:53 +0000

Yet another Architect MVP has bitten the dust, to join the cooler crowd over here under the Team System MVP banner.

When should the next Desert (Phoenix) Code Camp be?

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 16:01:24 +0000

Talk about "community-driven", Lorin Thwaits and the other coordinators of the Desert Code Camp are wanting your input on when 'camp should be held this next year.

You can choose between dates in September and October.

VSTS "How To" videos have gone live

Fri, 22 Jun 2007 04:25:40 +0000

Bookmark this page. For the next several weeks, Scott Golightly (Microsoft Regional Director from Utah) and I will be publishing several instructional videos around Team System.

Currently, there are two videos posted:

How Do I: Customize TeamPlain?
How Do I: Create Custom Work Items in Team Foundation Server?

More coming each week. Stay tuned ...

Plug-in to Get Latest on Check-out

Wed, 20 Jun 2007 16:37:09 +0000

Sela has created a great little plug-in to VS 2005 that will warn you when you're doing a check-out if there are later revisions of any of those files on the TFS server. Download it here.

Cool DBA Automation Jobs

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 22:16:54 +0000

I saw a demo of these at Tech-Ed, and thought I would share with my friends.

Essentially, the Database Operations team at Microsoft uses a suite of jobs on all their servers for performing backups, automated database maintenance, improve performance , and improving disaster recovery. I'm sure every SQL Server expert/consultant out there has his or her own bag of tricks, but Microsoft is finally sharing theirs.

These SQL maintenance jobs provide automated tasks such as database or transaction logs backup, performing database optimization like Index defrag or update statistics, cleaning MSDB backup history and recycling the SQL error log. Each of these jobs runs stored procedures that are installed when the jobs are created.

The following are the jobs get installed with this package.

SQLBackupAll
SQLBackupDiffAll
SQLBackupTranAll
SQLBackupChecker
SQLDBCCAll
SQLIndexDefragAll
SQLUpdateStatistics
SQLCleanupMsdbBackupHistory
SQLCycleErrorLog

Download the automation jobs here, and then refer to the Word document inside.

Project Server 2007 VSTS Connector released

Wed, 13 Jun 2007 20:38:25 +0000

This week Microsoft released the Visual Studio Team Foundation Server – Project Server 2007 connector as a CodePlex project. The project has been up for a few weeks, but is now being broadly advertised.

The TFS-PS2007 connector is designed to integrate the project management capabilities of TFS with Project Server 2007. It's been developed by the Visual Studio Team System Rangers in response to significant customer demand for a connector solution. Future versions of Team System will have native integration with Project Server, in the meantime this Connector solution is the best way to integrate the two Microsoft products. This solution builds on the previous PS2003 VSTS Connector, published on GotDotNet.

Did you attend our "Zero to Team System in Five Days" pre-conference?

Tue, 12 Jun 2007 22:40:36 +0000

I apologize for the delay, but if you attended our PRCN05 pre-conference last week at Tech-Ed, you might be interested in downloading our demo files.

Did you attend our "Zero to Team System in Five Days" pre-conference?

Tue, 12 Jun 2007 22:33:43 +0000

I apologize for the delay, but if you attended our PRCN05 pre-conference last week at Tech-Ed, you might be interested in downloading our demo files.

Orca not Orcas

Tue, 12 Jun 2007 22:08:27 +0000

I just learned about this neat editor for creating and editing Windows Installer packages (.msi files) and merge modules (.msm files). Orca is just one of many cool installer tools by Microsoft. It provides a graphical interface for validation, highlighting the particular entries where validation errors or warnings occur. This KB255905 article explains more.

Orca is part of the platform SDK and locating the correct download was difficult - a lot of redirected pages and dead ends, but I found it as part of the Vista SDK download as well as the Windows Server 2003 SDK download. Once you install the SDK, look for Orca.msi and install it separately.

Tech-Ed 2007 Rocked!

Mon, 11 Jun 2007 17:10:46 +0000

What a great week. I saw many friends ...

attended many parties ...

and learned a few new things ...

One of the technologies I heard about was Windows Live Writer, which provided me the ability to write blog posts offline, such as I'm doing right now!

Process improvement comment by Randy Eppinger

Sun, 03 Jun 2007 04:26:31 +0000

In the process improvement goal setting post a few days back, I stressed the importance of making your goals specific (and thus measurable). Randy Eppinger made a good comment, and I felt to make it a bit more public, I’d copy that comment to a new post.

That's good advice. I find it helpful to do both. We create high-level objectives of the sort you listed like, "Reduce the number of bugs being released", "Assimilate new team members more easily". Then we create a list of milestones related to one or more high-level objectives. One or more team members takes ownership of achieving milestones which are more specific like, "Research and purchase a good book on unit testing techniques", "Create a Continuous Integration build for all code branches", "Create the Visual Studio 2005 section of the coding conventions document".

His comment reveals something that I missed. It's definitely possible to have both types of goal statements! In fact, setting concise, specific milestones is an excellent approach. As long as there is a visible, specific, MOTIVATING goal to move toward, you'll have more success in your process improvement. Thanks, Randy!

Next meeting of the Greater Idaho SharePoint User Group

Thu, 31 May 2007 21:47:55 +0000

Please plan on attending the 14 June meeting of the Greater Idaho SharePoint User Group.

This month’s topic is Workflow in SharePoint. We will be having a presentation by Ben Hickman of Microsoft on the built in WorkFlow functionality and then some presentations by K2 around using K2 Workflow in SharePoint and more specifically about Administrative enhancements in the latest K2 release as it applies to MOSS 2007. They will also be highlighting the administrative aspects of their new product BlackPearl. There will be more in depth developer discussions after the main block for those interested in diving deeper into workflow development concepts, as interest merits.

Microsoft Surface - Coffee table of the future!

Thu, 31 May 2007 14:36:01 +0000

Have you seen this yet? I caught a quick news story this morning on TV about Microsoft Surface.

Here's an article from the July 2007 issue of Popular Mechanics. There's a really cool video of Microsoft Surface on page 1 and on the interface on page 3 of that article.

BTW - I understand that the technology behind Surface is WPF.

Microsoft.WebApplication.targets file - download

Wed, 30 May 2007 23:43:53 +0000

If you’re building web applications using Team Build, you’ll often get an error saying that the Microsoft.WebApplication.targets file is unavailable. In theory, upgrading to Visual Studio 2005 Team Suite SP1 on the build server should install it for you. But I’ve now had two cases where it just didn’t seem to work. finding it online is pain in the rump, and I’m always forced to find a machine that has it to copy it from. Thus, as a service to the community (and my future sanity), here’s a copy for you to download. Enjoy!

Be specific when writing TFS and process improvement goals

Wed, 30 May 2007 23:35:42 +0000

“Reduce rework”, “Hit scheduled release dates”, “Improve developer productivity”…

We see these all the time as we work with companies on their process improvement initiatives. Unfortunately, they all lack specificity and measurability. Thus, they’re both difficult to measure, and make lousy motivators.

Instead, make your goals specific. TFS can help make the measurement of those goals easier or possible. For instance, replace “Reduce rework” to “Reduce time spent on bug fixes to 25% of total effort.”. You could also use something such as “Reduce bug count to 15 per Scenario”. Now, even though some scenarios are larger than others, you have an average target you can hit.

Specific values are also motivating. When you are trying to limit the number of bugs to 15 per scenario, as the number of bugs increases, there is psychological pressure (and motivation) to ensure that further scenario development is conducted more carefully (possibly with the introduction of unit testing).

Microsoft PDC 2007 - Rescheduled

Fri, 25 May 2007 12:00:32 +0000

Microsoft (and others) had announed that its Fall Professional Developer's Conference (PDC) would be October 2-5, in Los Angeles. Yesterday, they canceled the event and are in the process of rescheduling it.

From their site:

We are currently in the process of rescheduling this fall’s Professional Developer Conference. As the PDC is the definitive developer event focused on the future of the Microsoft platform, we try to align it to be in front of major platform milestones. By this fall, however, upcoming platform technologies including Windows Server 2008, SQL Server codenamed "Katmai," Visual Studio codenamed "Orcas" and Silverlight will already be in developers’ hands and approaching launch, which is where we’ll focus our developer engagement in the near term. We will update this site when we have a new date for the PDC that is better timed with the next wave of platform technologies.

Microsoft PDC 2007 - Rescheduled!

Fri, 25 May 2007 11:58:45 +0000

From their site:

Extending Load Testing Browser Support

Thu, 24 May 2007 20:44:13 +0000

The browser support out-of-the-box for Team Edition for Testers is pretty minimal. But, you can extend this support by adding your own browsers (common ones you'll probably want to add are IE7, Firefox and Opera and there are others you can probably think of). The files which provide the configuration for the browser types are stored in the C:Program FilesMicrosoft Visual Studio 8Common7IDETemplatesLoadTestBrowsers. You will several files which end in the extension ".browser". These files simply contain the header information a browser sends with a request. The IE6.browser file looks like the following:

Welcome to Portland Code Camp 3.0

Sat, 19 May 2007 22:11:17 +0000

Welcome to Camp! Portland Code Camp 3.0 (as was 2.0) is being hosted at the gorgeous WSU Vancouver campus.

There are quite a few attendees here. I counted around 90 at this morning's welcome session.

Click the above to zoom-in

As for my SQL Server 2005 Worst Practices talk, if you'd like to download the slides, code, or sample project, please click here.

Google Analytics - better than ever

Fri, 11 May 2007 18:07:07 +0000

Google Analytics has been re-designed to help you learn even more about where your visitors come from and how they interact with your site. The new Google Analytics makes it easy to improve your results online. Best of all, Google Analytics is free to all advertisers, publishers, and site owners.

All you need to do is paste some tracking code (a small snippet of Javascript) into each Web page that you want tracked, and you’re done. You can then track your activity through the built-in reports.

New Team System case studies

Mon, 07 May 2007 20:00:24 +0000

I posted a few case studies and other VSTS business value items in an earlier blog posting. There are a couple of new ones out now:

C# to Javascript Compiler

Sun, 06 May 2007 16:01:24 +0000

Learning a new language isn’t always fun, especially Javascript. Plus, when you’re working in one language, it takes context switching to flip to another, even for a trivial task. Nikhil Kothari, an architect on the Web Platform and Tools team at Microsoft, has created something called Script#, which allows you to program in C# while compiling to Javascript/Ajax.

ZDnet has a good blog post on the importance of this technology, and a brief comparison with the Google version which compiles Java to Javascript.

Compacting your VPCs

Fri, 04 May 2007 04:02:19 +0000

John Paul Cook, a Microsoft MVP for Virtual Machines has an excellent article on VM Central on how to use Acronis to effectively compact your VPCs. (The article also covers other areas of interest to VPC users.)

John is one of the few people in the MS community with a really firm grasp of virtualization technologies. Keep an eye out for future articles!

New Team System Column

Thu, 03 May 2007 21:08:19 +0000

FTP Online has started a new Team System column written by me! I’ll be writing about virtually anything that comes to mind or that you want me to write about! It’s a twice monthly column and I’ll be looking for some good article ideas from process and methodology to the technical nuts and bolts. I only have 800 words or less so they will only be point issues and not overly in-depth (unless I do a continuing series type of thing). You can view the first column on Test Driven Development in Team System today.

Anybody wanna buy a GUID?

Sat, 28 Apr 2007 16:47:14 +0000

GUIDs have always been a passion of mine. I guess it's that they are so ugly, you've got to feel sorry for them.

As some of you remember, I tried to make a quick buck selling a GUID (pic1 & pic2) on ebay a few years ago. That may be a venture I fall back on when I retire. In the meantime, some technologists, using the latest presentation foundation (WPF/E) have built GuidMarket. Check it out.

Transcript from today's VSTS Chat

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 20:59:41 +0000

Today's chats were well attended, with many experts and well over a hundred guests. The quests came fast and furious, with some great answers given by the experts. It seems people are really anticipating Orcas (and Rosario) for those features that didn't make it into v1.

I have captured the entire transcripts (both expert and guest chats) in this PDF document (for the 10am PST chat) and this PDF document (for the 4pm PST chat).

Transcript from today's VSTS Chats

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 20:18:48 +0000

I have captured the entire transcripts (both expert and guest chats) in this PDF document (for the 10am PST chat) and this PDF document (for the 4pm PST chat).

Editing the TFSBuild.proj file without wasting time

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 00:26:50 +0000

When you’re trying to edit an automated Team Build, you can really get stuck waiting long times for the builds to complete. This can be very frustrating while you’re going through a series of running a build, fixing an error, running a built, fixing an error…

You can really speed these steps up by following this guidance by Dave McKinstry.

Welcome to the team, Jeff Levinson

Thu, 26 Apr 2007 22:11:24 +0000

Accentient is pleased to announce the hiring of Jeff Levinson, a fellow Team System MVP!

Jeff joins our team as a senior consultant, having just left The Boeing Company where he worked as a solution design & integration architect. Jeff is an experienced software developer and SDLC practitioner. Jeff holds the following certifications: MCSD, MCSD.NET, MCDBA, SCJP and Security+ and is the author of two books on .NET development. His latest book (co-author) is Pro Visual Studio 2005 Team System (Apress 2006). He has presented at various conferences and user groups, and writes articles on all areas of .NET development.

VS2005 Template for listening to TFS Events

Tue, 24 Apr 2007 20:06:42 +0000

I’ve posted about this before, however, it’s so important I’ll repost. If you’re trying to create a listener web service for TFS events, don’t start from scratch! Use Howard van Rooijen’s VS2005 template. It will create the web services, along with the appropriate signatures, as well as convert the events to an object, so that you can effectively use it.

Portland Code Camp 3.0

Mon, 23 Apr 2007 02:15:20 +0000

Pack up your compilers and IDES, because it's camping time in Portland!

Portland Code Camp 3.0 is back May 19th and 20th!

Location: Washington State University - Vancouver, 14204 NE Salmon Creek Ave, Vancouver, WA 98686

Visit the site for more information.

Visual Studio Team System Chat – This Friday

Sun, 22 Apr 2007 19:43:30 +0000

Join members of the Visual Studio Team System product group to discuss features available in Visual Studio Team Foundation Server, Team Editions for Architects, Developers, Database Pros, and Testers. In addition, discuss what's new in the in the Visual Studio code name "Orcas" Beta 1 releases for Team Suite and Team Foundation Server.

Join the chat on Friday, April 27th, 2007 from 10:00am - 11:00am Pacific Time | Add to Calendar | Additional Time Zones

New, simpler AdventureWorks sample database

Fri, 20 Apr 2007 15:46:15 +0000

Trainers and presenters have been wanting a sample database that is less complex than AdventureWorks, but more interesting than Northwind. Thanks to my friends at SolidQ for letting me know about AdventureWorksLT (Light) ...

(Click to see a larger view)

You can download AdventureWorksLT from CodePlex or Microsoft.

Visual Studio "Orcas" Beta 1 is out

Fri, 20 Apr 2007 10:45:05 +0000

Yesterday, Microsoft's Developer Division (DevDiv) released beta 1 of Visual Studio "Orcas", which corresponds with the Connected Systems Division’s beta 1 release of the .NET Framework 3.5. Soma blogged this yesterday morning. Visual Studio "Orcas" enables developers and development teams to rapidly create Software + Services on the latest platforms, including the Web, Windows Vista, the 2007 Office System, and Windows Server "Longhorn".

As usualy, one of the most common questions about Orcas is, "When will it ship?". Well, here's Microsoft's official/public timeline:

Welcome to "The Region"

Wed, 18 Apr 2007 05:32:31 +0000

Microsoft just launched "The Region", a global hub for the 140 software architects, developers, trainers and other professionals selected as Regional Directors. The site is designed to help RDs circulate insights, information, inspiration and inquiries among each other, and among the broader developer community.

Check out The Region today.

Filing bugs from an ASPX page

Tue, 17 Apr 2007 17:03:01 +0000

If you’d like to file bugs in TFS using a web page, perhaps for users that don’t have VS2005 or the Team Explorer installed, there’s a pretty clean example located here.

Now, I hear everyone crying out about Microsoft’s purchase of TeamPlain and the web access available though that. (The version one of the TeamPlain addin is now freely available for download here.) I’m the first to admit that the TeamPlain solution is likely the best, however, there are times when you need to create your own solution. And the primary reason for that is ‘multiplexing'2013-08-28 13:41:14’, or supporting a large number of users who do not have TFS Client Access Licenses (CALs), by dropping everything into a single database, then having a triage individual, who does have a call, make the final decision to upload to the TFS server. (More on that in a future post…)

WSS3.0 with Team System SP1

Tue, 17 Apr 2007 16:49:12 +0000

Hallelujah! You can now use WSS 3.0 with TFS 1.0 SP1! This is great news!!! For those of you who haven’t seen WSS 3.0 as compared to WSS 2.0, you’re in for a wonderful treat! WSS 2.0 was missing that one critical tool that greatly assists the agile software development process - the wiki. And WSS 3.0 plugs that hole!

Brian Keller, of Microsoft, has the BETA guidance for WSS 3.0 with TFS SP1 for the port on his blog. Don'2013-08-28 13:41:15’t miss it! As for right now, I’d recommending holding off on production server deployment until a few rounds of first adopters work out any possible kinks. But if you want to be on that first round… :-)

Integrating Team Foundation Server with Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) 3.0

Mon, 16 Apr 2007 21:20:25 +0000

Just to catch you up, Microsoft's Team Foundation Server v1.0 (released March 2006) only works with WSS 2.0. WSS 2.0 is the old version. WSS 3.0 is the new version, and launched with Microsoft Office 2007. It's full of great new features, but alas TFS won't integrate with it naturally. Even installing TFS SP1 won't get you there.

Thanks to Brian Keller, a Technical Evangelist for Team System, who has published a document on how to integrate TFS with WSS 3.0. As Brian explains, keep in mind that this is a "release candidate" of guidance that will eventually be posted to MSDN.

Did you sign the VB6 petition?

Sat, 14 Apr 2007 23:29:30 +0000

If you did sign the petition, then you should probably get out more, and check out a cool technology called .NET.

If you did not sign the petition, be proud and show it ...

Productivity Best Practice

Sat, 14 Apr 2007 00:03:28 +0000

One of the best things software development shops can do to improve productivity is to set Outlook to only check email once every hour (or 30 minutes at least). This is because people tend to take quite a bit of time to get back to difficult tasks. Email, and IMs, are difficult to ignore when that little “pellet dispenser” pops up on the lower left hand side of your screen. And once your mind strays it’s hard to get back on task.

A recent research project reported in the New York Times (link - free registration required), bears this out. Here’s the money quote:

Shipping unit tests with your shrinkwrapped software

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 22:35:16 +0000

Last year, at PDC, I sat down with Adam Cogan, of SSW, during an MSDN magazine party. Feeling the guilty pleasure of totally geeking out while a decent party was going on, Adam led a group of geeks through some of his very cool software tools. Somewhere during the discussion, he mentioned that he deploys his unit test, along with a test runner, with his shrinkwrapped application. That got my attention, since I’d never thought of them like that. I called him on it, and he explained. Now, there seems to be a visceral reaction from folks against the idea. Here’s WHY it makes sense to deploy unit tests and a test runner with you application:

PC Repair Fair in Boise - April 14th

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 01:35:42 +0000

What a better way to spend Tax Day eve, than helping the (Boise) public with their variety of computer problems.

Boise State University Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP) will be hosting their fifth PC Repair Fair on April 14, 2007. This is a community service event where we will be fixing computers for the community for free. Oh, and they need volunteers.

Saturday April 14th * 8:45am to 2pm (first shift) Saturday April 14th * 1:00pm to 7pm (second shift).

Burning WMA files in Vista / Windows Media 11

Thu, 05 Apr 2007 18:07:41 +0000

More fun with Vista. I love the OS, and there's so much to recommend it, but I keep running into WEIRD problems! Here's another one... I like to listen to DotNetRocks, Hanselminutes, and other podcasts during my commute to and from client sites. They offer downloads in both WMA and MP3 formats. I've generally used MP3, but thought, "Hey, I should switch to WMA, since that's native to Windows Media. Unfortunately, when I tried to drag any WMA files onto Windows Media 11 in Vista, it won't allow me to drop them onto the 'To Burn List'2013-08-28 13:41:29', or add them any other way I was able to see. However, MP3 files can be dragged onto the burn list easily. Weird. So, I guess it's back to MP3s.

Cool Web 2.0 video

Mon, 02 Apr 2007 21:54:51 +0000

You've probably heard of "Web 2.0", but what is it? According to Wikipedia and O'Reilly, Web 2.0 "refers to a perceived second-generation of Web-based services—such as social networking sites, wikis, communication tools, and folksonomies." I love that last word!

Here's a cool, short video from Michael Wesch, assistant professor of Cultural Anthropology at Kansas State Univerisity, which puts it into terms we can all understand.

Thanks to Joe Healy (Florida DE for Microsoft) for this nugget. Check out his community site DevFish.net.

Any SQL Injectors out there?

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 19:28:35 +0000

SQL Injection attacks are a well know exploit of insecure database systems. If you don’t know about SQL Injection, you can change that by visiting Wikipedia.

If you feel like injecting some SQL into your site, you should visit the SQL Injection Cheat Sheet page for all of the approaches. As the author mentions, only MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, (some) ORACLE, and (some) PostgreSQL are supported and that most of the samples are not correct for every situation.

PEX?

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 12:42:12 +0000

PEX = Program EXploration (a Microsoft Research project). I'm not really sure what this is, but a fellow RD, Barry Gervin, pointed it out to some of us MVPs recently after he visited a Microsoft Research "science fair".

Apparently, PEX automatically generates unit tests, allowing developers to find bugs early. In addition, it suggests to the programmer how to fix the bugs. Sounds too good to be true, but since it will enable "a new development experience" in Visual Studio Team System, I should probably keep an eye on it.

Congratulations to the DBPro team (and Scott Ambler)

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 12:18:24 +0000

I’m a bit late to the party, but I wanted to recognize a couple of cool 2007 Jolt Award winners …

<li>Microsoft and the VSTS/Database Professionals product group for "<em>Database Engines and Data Tools</em>" (read more <a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/camerons/archive/2007/03/22/dbpro-wins-jolt-award.aspx" target="none" rel="noopener">here</a> and <a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/robcaron/archive/2007/03/21/1929057.aspx" target="none" rel="noopener">here</a>)</li>

<li><a href="http://www.ambysoft.com/">Scott Ambler</a> for his awesome book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0321293533" target="none" rel="noopener">Refactoring Databases</a>.</li>

<li><a href="http://www.stpsoft.co.uk/vsts/" target="none" rel="noopener">stpBA</a> Storyboarding for VSTS</li>

In fact, here are all the winners.

A flurry of VSTS announcements

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 11:46:39 +0000

I've been in Orlando this week, speaking at SQL Connections and have been derelict in my blogging duties, especially with regard to VSTS.

Microsoft announced on Monday that they had acquired DevBiz (the company that produces TeamPlain), which has been the leader in browser-based access to Team Foundation Server, further boosting cross-platform access (and adoption). TeamPlain Web Access also enables a peripheral team member to browse project information and manipulate work items, source code, etc. I believe the new, official name will become "Microsoft Visual Studio Team System Web Access" (another mouthful). This acquisition also means that we will get to use TeamPlain for FREE (assuming we have a proper client access license for TFS). Read more about the acquisition on Brian Harry's blog and Microsoft PressPass.
Microsoft published their Visual Studio Team System "Future Releases" roadmap, even beyond Orcas. So now, we can all speak the words "Rosario" in public. Rosario is the codename for the version of VSTS beyond Orcas. The roadmap is very thorough, even listing service packs and power tools, so you know exactly what delivery vehicle your feature or fix will be arriving in.
Gert Drapers (the data dude) announced Service Release (SR) 1 for VSTS Edition for Database Professionals. He says that it's "in the works" and will be published sometime in Q2 of 2007 (let's hope April). He lists a few of the fixes and features that will be in the SR in a recent blog posting.
Yesterday, Microsoft announced that unit testing will become a feature of the Professional edition of Visual Studio Orcas. This has been a passionately-requested feature by everyone in the world not running Dev, Test, or Team Suite editions. Finally, everyone who has Professional edition and up will be able to write and run unit tests. What about code coverage, that's still a question.
The Patterns and Practices team has released updated prescriptive guidance on VSTS. JD Meiers lists many of the improvements on a blog post and you can find the guidance itself on CodePlex.
Speaking of guidance, Microsoft recently published a 40-page branching guidance document which does a very good job of explaing branching and merging strategies for various size teams.

Solution to Vista printing problem

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 03:59:09 +0000

I’ve solved the problem with the printer shared via USB on a Windows XP box! I can now print to it from my Vista box.

I found the solution at TechArena. You can find it here. Basically, you need to install the printer locally first, then fake it out using a Port that points directly to the shared printer. Then, be sure to disable the “Offline Printer” support so that it prints over the network immediately.

UPDATE: And here’s another post, which makes things a bit more clear.

Running .NET on WebSphere J2EE Servers

Sun, 25 Mar 2007 03:10:27 +0000

I’m generally involved in the .NET space, but often work with companies that have both .NET and J2EE running in their enterprise. Because of our focus on Team Foundation Server (TFS) and VSTS (Team System), when we run into Java, it’s usually getting them moved over to TFS using TeamPrise. (See Martin Woodward’s blog for more on this great product, plus some very valuable insights into TFS and software development in general.)

But sometimes the companies we work with have J2EE as their primary servers. I only recently learned of a very interesting product called Visual MainWin for J2EE that allows a company to run their ASP.NET applications without recompilation on WebSphere servers! Now, web developers can get all the productivity, simplicity and maintainability of ASP.NET even before they convince their IT shops to move to a Windows platform! Combine that with TFS and TeamPrise for their Java developers, and we’re talking a real Microsoft foothold in hostile territory. :-)

Side note: Speaking of Java and .NET, here’s a Java Virtual Machine written in .NET! :-) It’s called IKVM.NET!

Outlook 2007 with Vista

Sat, 24 Mar 2007 18:01:23 +0000

During my recent upgrade, I moved to Vista and Outlook 2007. I have to say, I LOVE the Outlook 2007 UI. I’m much more productive, and it introduces some very, very nice features, like overlapping calendars and integrated searching (although I still prefer X1, since it is MUCH faster and has a better UI).

Still, I ran into this problem… I couldn’t use it to connect to my email server hosted on Windows Server 2003. The email downloads were WAY to slow. Retrieving 15 emails with a total of 100 kb took several minutes, and if I had an attachment larger that 1.2 MB I physically couldn’t download it, since it would time out every time (after 30 minutes or so). Yuck.

It was so bad that we gave up hosting our email on our own servers and found a service that would host all our email addresses, giving us POP3, internet access to our email, calendar and many other features free. I looked all over for a solution to the slowness problem, including contacting Microsoft. No one could help. So we moved, and are quite happy with the new service.

Anyway, I’ve found the solution. It wasn’t Outlook 2007, but Vista, and it’s a very common problem (based on Live and Google searches), without a well publicized solution. It'2013-08-28 13:41:42’s the same solution as the last post.

Go to the command line as an Administrator (in your Vista client) and execute the following command:

netsh interface tcp set global autotuninglevel=disable

Works like a champ! Hopefully, this post will help a few people before they end up having to also migrate off of Windows Server 2003 to another solution.

PS. This problem doesn’t affect all Windows Server 2003 (Win2K3) installs, only some. Evidently it is a hardware issue.

UPDATE: More information here: Outlook is slow, RSS Broken from Tim Anderson’s blog. See comments 60-64 for more information and the solution presented here.

Vista talking to our Windows Server 2003 VERY slow

Sat, 24 Mar 2007 17:34:34 +0000

I recently “upgraded” to Vista on my laptop. Immediately, I noticed a few things that were very annoying… Primarily, it was the file transfer speed between my Vista box and our Windows Server 2003 box. What used to take about 3 minutes to download now takes well over 4 hours. In addition, the WSS portal we use takes over 1 minute for the home page to come up, versus less than 1 second. Yuck. So, I have to keep a copy of Windows XP around whenever I need to download stuff from our server. I shut down Vista, swap hard drives (laptop) and boot into XP. Then my speeds are nice and fast again.

Microsoft recommended that I run the following command as an Admin from my Vista command prompt:

netsh interface tcp set global autotuninglevel=disabled

I wish I could report that it increased my performance, but, alas, I’m still stuck.

I love the Vista experience, and there’s so much to like about the OS, but I’ve run into so many “gotchas” that kill my productivity that I have to recommend staying with XP for now. At least until the first Service Pack is released, or they solve the major interoperability issues.

UPDATE: I did a reboot after the netsh command above and NOW I’m moving quickly! It worked! I’ve still got doubts about the wisdom of moving, at this time, to Vista, but my communication problem with the server is no longer one of them!

Next "Ask An Expert" Live chat - April 19, 2007

Thu, 22 Mar 2007 16:47:52 +0000

The next Ask An Expert Live Chat is scheduled for Thursday, April 19, 2007 at 12:00 PM PDT.

Mark your calendars (or click this ICS link). For more information, visit Microsoft Technical Chats.

FORTRAN creator John Backus dies

Tue, 20 Mar 2007 17:35:07 +0000

John Backus, whose development of the Fortran programming language in the 1950s changed how people interacted with computers and paved the way for modern software, has died. He was 82.

SqlSpec from Elsasoft

Sun, 18 Mar 2007 18:21:05 +0000

We all have our favorite database structure generator or schema reporting tool. Maybe we have built one of them in the past. I always tell my clients that it's a great "first application" to build when learning SQL Management Objects (SMO).

I just found out about SqlSpec.

SqlSpec generates documentation in two formats: HTML or CHM. I particularly like the CHM format, especially when you want a single, compact file containing all your documentation about one or more databases. The CHM is indexed so it is easily searchable for any keyword. If you visit their Samples page, you can see what these CHM files look like.

Visual Studio Team System Seminar in Boise

Sun, 18 Mar 2007 17:05:48 +0000

Next week there will be a two-day seminar on Visual Studio Team System (VSTS). Unfortunately, I won't be delivering the event.

If you attend, you can see how VSTS includes an integrated team server and customizable processes to help teams drive predictability, visibility, and control into their software development process. This seminar will provide an overview of features for project managers, business analysts, software architects and developers, database professionals, and software testers.

Another good Google hack!

Thu, 15 Mar 2007 22:29:35 +0000

For some time, I’ve been sharing a neat hack that I came up with for finding files using Google. Here’s how it works:

Assume you are looking for a specific file, such as northwind.mdb.

If you enter "northwind", you'll find 1,666,000 hits.
If you enter "northwind.mdb", you'll find 186,000 hits (mostly articles talking about northwind.mdb)

To find pages that have the file itself, type the following underlined search …

Agile Tool - 3x5 Cards that both shuffle and stick

Wed, 14 Mar 2007 23:40:15 +0000

Here's a great tool for agile development that was mentioned in a blog post below. Go get a stack of these! Shuffle them, pass them around, put your use stories on them, and slap them up on the board when you're ready! Here's one more link.

Post-it® Sortable Cards only stick when you want them to! Now you have the flexibility to visualize and organize when and how you want on many different surfaces. Cards also easily sort, shuffle and stack together so you can use them again, or store them for later.

Team System geek needed for 6 weeks in Lebanon

Mon, 12 Mar 2007 22:11:02 +0000

Recently, Microsoft and IESC Geekcorps have teamed up to send Microsoft developer experts to participate as volunteers in the "Access to International Markets Through Information Technology" (AIM-IT) project in Lebanon. They are currently in search of volunteer experts with expertise in Visual Studio 2005 Team System & Team Foundation Server, as well as MS Solution Framework, and general software development project management.

Those that volunteer with Geekcorps on this project will receive airfare, accommodations, insurance and a living stipend – all paid for by Microsoft. Volunteers’ only out-of-pocket expenses come from any incidentals or personal purchases. Arrangements will be made for you to travel from home to Lebanon (a passport is required) and you will be met at the airport by a program representative. The project’s duration will be approximately 6 weeks.

VSTS MVPs at Basta!

Mon, 12 Mar 2007 18:57:28 +0000

It took me a couple of days to go through my photos, but I found a good one of the various Visual Studio Team System MVPs who attended Basta!

Here's Martin Kulov, me, and Ognjen Bajic. But, where's Neno?

Using the ReportViewer control in .NET 2.0?

Fri, 09 Mar 2007 15:57:18 +0000

One of the coolest controls that Visual Studio 2005 includes is the report design and view functionality of the ReportViewer controls. What used to be a server-only function, .RDL (now .RDLC) files can be rendered client-side by Web or Windows applications with this control. Reports can contain tabular, aggregated, and multidimensional data.

Thanks to Peter Myers for pointing me to this site to answer all of my (and your) questions and help unlock the hidden potential of the ReportViewer control.

Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1 Update for Windows Vista

Thu, 08 Mar 2007 16:34:59 +0000

If you are running Vista and VS 2005, you need to install this SP1 update.

It's referenced by KB929470, and you can download it here.

Presented Team System at Frankfurt .NET User Group

Mon, 05 Mar 2007 10:14:49 +0000

Thank you to my friends at Basta! for recommending me as an alternate speaker for the Frankfurt .NET User Group meeting last week. Thomas "Teddy" Sohnrey was the coordinator (and my interpreter at times).

The topic was Effective SCM using Visual Studio Team System, and I enjoyed sharing my approaches and best practices to the many software developers in the room.

Of course, what I will remember most about the evening is the venue: Microsoft's office in Bad Homburg, and the free beer in the break room!

Microsoft's Sysinternals Utilities

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 14:41:09 +0000

Last summer, Microsoft acquired Sysinternals and Mark Russinovich. They have consolidated all of the cool utilities, for both IT professionals and developers, into one listing. You’ll find utilities to help you manage, troubleshoot and diagnose your Windows systems and applications.

Enjoy.

Laser-fed 3M Post-It Notes

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 09:22:04 +0000

As you know, Visual Studio Team System tracks many different work item types, such as requirements, tasks, and bugs. Many agile teams like to use "sticky notes" to post on the wall to organize their backlog of requirements and tasks and plan their iterations. Even Joel on Software's company is doing this.

Since I have no life when I travel, I wrote 3M yesterday to see if they manufacture Post-It note sheets that can be fed through a laser/inkjet printer ... and they do!

SQL Server 2005 Add-ins for Microsoft Office 2007

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 20:49:35 +0000

Over the weekend Microsoft released some cool add-ins for Excel 2007 and Visio 2007:

Table Analysis Tools for Excel - this add-in provides you with easy-to-use tasks that leverage SQL Server 2005 Data Mining under the covers to perform powerful analytics on your spreadsheet data.
Data Mining Client for Excel - This add-in allows you to go through the full data mining model development lifecycle within Excel 2007 using either your spreadsheet data or external data accessible through your SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services instance.
Data Mining Templates for Visio - This add-in allows you to render and share your mining models as annotatable Visio 2007 drawings.

Download the new add-ins here.

Converting Crystal Reports (.rpt) to Reporting Services reports (.rdl)

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 19:00:16 +0000

There are way too many Crystal Reports out there in the world and I would love to see more of them converted to Reporting Services. Therein lies the problem. I had heard that Crystal (now BusinessObjects) had blocked companies, like Hitachi, from building converters, because they would be reverse engineering (or using the APIs to reverse engineer) the .rpt files, and that would violate the license agreement.

Microsoft only provides migration guidance, but I see that one company, KTL Solutions, has a conversion product available, and another company, Jeff-Net is offering a $25/report conversion service at rpttordl.com.

My next book!?

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 22:18:18 +0000

How's this for my next writing project?

Just kidding. I happened upon this site, and thought I would get creative.

Business value of Team System

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 15:27:28 +0000

Occasionally I'm asked about the business value of VSTS and TFS. I think it's pretty obvious, but I guess others need more convincing than just my word.

I've pulled together some links below that will help with this.

Case studies - contains many ROI as well as technical case studies
Customer evidence - contains some more case studies and testimonials
Business value whitepaper - SDLC pain points and VSTS benefits
Software lifecycles - a collection of scenarios providing evidence of VSTS benefits
TFS Evidence Booklet - a PDF that was handed out at some of the roadshows

Boise Code Camp 2007

Sun, 11 Feb 2007 15:08:29 +0000

Wow, what a great 'camp! We had over 200 attendees (207 was the last number I heard) and many, many great sessions. Thanks to all of you who attended, helped coordinate, and SPOKE at the event!

Rob Anson (BSU) welcomes students to the College of Business and Economics.

Personally, I enjoyed showing off PowerShell and getting some good feedback from fellow developers on how they might use it and what they thought the really cool featuers were. You can download my demo files here. Also, the demo script for my SQL Server 2005 for Developers talk can be found here.

Boise Code Camp - Presenter's Dinner

Sun, 11 Feb 2007 14:45:02 +0000

Friday night's presenter's dinner was a good time, and a good place to relax and prepare for the day ahead. About thirty of the presenters and coordinators of 'camp met at Murphy's on Broadway and enjoyed some good food, and presentation tips and tricks from veteran campers.

Mock Objects in .NET

Sat, 10 Feb 2007 20:48:18 +0000

I'm sitting through a good presentation on mock objects in .NET presented by Tim Shakarian (TSHAK). Tim gave a great overview of why we should care, and how mock objects it can simplify our TDD lives.

He listed the following Mock frameworks:

Microsoft Regonal Director Global-Reach Awards

Fri, 09 Feb 2007 16:09:11 +0000

I was honored to learn that I had achieved the Bronze, Silver, and Gold awards for 2006.

Thanks to all of you who read my blog, attend my classes, and generally listen to me ramble on about Microsoft’s tools and technology. Without you I wouldn’t have these giant coins to carry around!

Visual Studio Team System Chat – Tomorrow

Tue, 06 Feb 2007 17:30:45 +0000

Join the chat on Wednesday, February 7th, 2007 from 10:00am - 11:00am Pacific Time.

Help find Jim Gray

Sun, 04 Feb 2007 22:07:29 +0000

As many of you may know, Dr. Jim Gray (Microsoft Researcher and Turing award recipient) went missing a week ago, on his sailboat Tenacious off the coast of San Francisco. I've had the pleasure, on several occasions, of speaking with Jim and learning more about his research. If we cannot find him, it will be a huge loss.

The search for Tenacious (and Jim) is underway, in a big way. Many news agencies are calling it the largest private search for a missing person ever. This blog is aggregating all of the latest information.

Looking for a few good developers for a noble project

Thu, 01 Feb 2007 20:30:55 +0000

Tired of building boring corporate applications? How about working on an application to accelerate the cure for cancer?

A friend of mine, Steven Forte, is the hiring manager for this effort. Read more about it on his blog posting.

SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services Performance Guide released!

Tue, 30 Jan 2007 23:45:04 +0000

The much anticipated and eagerly awaited Analysis Services 2005 Performance Guide has been released and is available on the Microsoft download site.

Speaking at BASTA.NET

Thu, 25 Jan 2007 13:12:08 +0000

If you've got some extra miles burning a hole in your account, cash them in to get to Frankfurt, Germany at the end of February and attend Basta!

Surprise ... I'll be speaking on Team System at the conference!

Hope to see you there!

Tag, I'm it ...

Wed, 24 Jan 2007 13:31:40 +0000

Ok, Chris Kinsman caught me flat-footed when he tagged me earlier this month. I know I'm a slow learner, and now that I fully understand what's going on, it's time that I sit down and post the "five things you didn't know about me" ...

I fell in love with computers in 1977, when I first saw a Radio Shack TRS-80 Model I. I started programming two years later on a Level II version of the same computer. Turbo Pascal hooked me in 1984 and I've been in/out of compiler-rehab ever since.
I own a Harley Davidson (2003 Fat Boy/100th anniversary) but don't ride it much. My biker friends think I'2013-08-28 18:35:16'm weird. I am.
My favorite TV shows are The Shield and The Office. Oh, and I'll watch those car chase police video shows too. I guess I need help.
I'm a freak about soccer. I love to play it (indoor and outdoor) and love the World Cup and all its fanfare. I'm indifferent to MLS, and especially Beckham coming to the US.
I've only had three jobs in my life that did NOT relate to software development in some way: working at my folks' video arcade Excalibur (Twin Falls, Idaho) in 1983, working at the Elk's Lodge setting up parties in 1983, and working at the new Wendy's cooking burgers in 1984 (6 weeks/never got paid).

Ok, so that's probably TMI at this point, so I'll stop, and pass the baton to Steven Borg, Peter DeBetta, Scott Cate, Peter Kellner, and Jason Mauer.

DB/Pro security whitepaper is out

Tue, 23 Jan 2007 08:33:58 +0000

Richard Waymire has publishes his long-anticipated whitepaper on permissions, security objects, and other security concerns centered around using the Database Professionals edition.

Integrating Team Foundation Build with VSoft Technologies Final Builder

Mon, 22 Jan 2007 21:44:28 +0000

Over the years, we've had a few clients automate their build process by using Final Builder by VSoft Technologies. Much like Team (Foundation) Build, Final Builder is a powerful build & release management tool. Unlike Team Build, Final Builder has a slick UI allowing a build master to quickly design the builds.

Last summer, a new Final Builder version (4.2) was release which included more support for MSBuild and Team Build tasks. With that version, and following the guidance in this article, you can get the two products working together!

SQL Server 2005 Worst Practices

Fri, 19 Jan 2007 15:45:32 +0000

Thanks for attending my talk last night and letting me share my SQL Server 2005 Worst Practices. I hope I didn't embarass anyone too badly by highlighting your practice in my talk!

Here are the slides, script, and sample project from last night's talk.

Also, a small correction: MyGeneration's site is www.mygenerationsoftware.com

Microsoft recognizes Firefox browser in MSDN

Thu, 18 Jan 2007 00:26:58 +0000

Wow! As I was downloading a file from MSDN that requires Genuine Windows, I was prompted to download the required tool. What was interesting was the prompt! They noticed I was using Firefox and even showed me Firefox screenshots for how to install the Genuine Windows tool!

Boise .NET User Group this Week

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 20:12:35 +0000

If you are in the Boise area, be sure to attend Thursday's meeting of the Boise .NET User Group. I'll be delivering a talk on "SQL Server 2005 Worst Practices". If time permits, I'll also be diving into any other SQL Server/Visual Studio topics that are of interest, so bring your questions!

Please note that we will be meeting at the Microsoft building downtown (old ProClarity building).

Version Control Structure - Best Practice

Tue, 16 Jan 2007 01:11:08 +0000

Bottom line up front: Create a ‘root’ branch directly under the source control branch associated with a new Team Project.

I see this all the time… Someone creates a new source control branch in TFS and starts creating solutions underneath the default project branch. In other words, they end up with this:

$/ProjectName
    /SolutionName1
        /ProjectName1
        /ProjectName2
    /SolutionName2
        /ProjectName3
        /ProjectName4

Now, the difficult comes when the shop needs to create a second version of the application. Code branches directly under the root (i.e., $/ProjectName) can only be created when a new Team Project is created. If, in the above example, SolutionName1 and SolutionName2 both belong to the current version of the application, then creating a new version of the application will require either the creation of a new team project (with a branch from the $/ProjectName), or a wildly unweildly structure where each solution is branched, resulting in something like:

$/ProjectName
    /SolutionName1
        /ProjectName1
        /ProjectName2
    /SolutionName2
        /ProjectName3
        /ProjectName4
    /SolutionName1_v2
        /ProjectName1
        /ProjectName2
    /SolutionName2_v2
        /ProjectName3
        /ProjectName4

A MUCH cleaner approach is so simple, yet requires a bit of forethought. Immediately after creating the Team Project, simply go in an create a new directory called ‘root’ (or ’edge’ or whatever you'2013-08-28 13:42:11’d like). You can then create a full branch of the V1 off the application by simply branching ‘root’. This allows This resulting in the following structure, even after creating a v2 of the project.

$/ProjectName
    /root                           <– Create this branch!
        /SolutionName1
          /ProjectName1
            /ProjectName2
        /SolutionName2
          /ProjectName3
            /ProjectName4
    /ProjectName_v2     <– This is the branch of ‘root’
        /SolutionName1
          /ProjectName1
            /ProjectName2
        /SolutionName2
          /ProjectName3
            /ProjectName4

Now, whether you should have your projects under your solution directories… that’s for another post…

Introducing nTierTraining

Fri, 12 Jan 2007 17:02:41 +0000

My friend Ed Lance has started up a new training company: nTierTraining.

They focus mostly on Java software development, and include some really niche classes: Hibernate, AJAX, Spring, Servlets, JSP, STRUTS, JSF, JUNIT, J2EE, OOAD, Use Cases, Design Patterns, Web Services, and SOA.

Drop by his site and tell him hello ...

Walt Ritscher - Wintellectual!

Tue, 09 Jan 2007 05:52:37 +0000

I just heard that Walt has become a Wintellectual, no doubt spreading the WPF and WPFe gospel. Walt is a very sharp developer and great instructor, and I've had the privilege of watching him in action at the Portland and Seattle code camps, as well as a few VSLive! events.

Be sure to check out his blog.

MIX it up in 2007

Sat, 06 Jan 2007 05:29:53 +0000

Registration is now open for MIX '07 in Las Vegas.

This event is geared toward Web developers, designers, online advertising professionals and includes a broad set of partners and customers. Building on last year’s inaugural event, MIX will continue to explore how to build more interactive and responsive experiences that take full advantage of the capabilities of the Web. This is a great opportunity to dive deeper into Microsoft’s Web technology offerings and discover new ways to create more dynamic customer connections.

Remembering my friend and mentor Dr. Dale Stukenholtz

Fri, 05 Jan 2007 22:34:19 +0000

Yesterday, I went to a memorial in Twin Falls, Idaho for Dale "Doc" Stukenholtz. Doc gave me my first computer programming job at Stukenholtz Laboratory in December 1984, working on an IBM AT and writing BASIC programs to lookup soil and plant nutrient values and recommend chemical compositions for various crops and yields.

As Gary Baker said during his Memories of a Life Well Lived: "when we lost Dale, a library burned". Never was a truer statement spoken. Always the teacher (and often the student) Doc maintained a vast knowledge: agronomy, sports, business, science, history, and even a conspiracy theory or two.

TFS Build Scripts - Best Practice

Fri, 05 Jan 2007 17:06:12 +0000

How many build scripts do you need? There seems to be some massive confusion around TFS Build Scripts, namely, how many a single project needs. If your answer is one, you too have a misunderstanding! :-) In my experience, one build script is not nearly enough, in fact, I encourage several. Here’s the why and how.

Why: Visual Studio Team System (VSTS) and Team Foundation Server (TFS) is absolutely brilliant at tracking information related to a series of builds. That information is archived, analyzed and reported in a very useful fashion. BUT, it it reported by the NAME of the build. Thus, if you only have one build type, you can only have one set of reports! And that’s no good! You need more. The primary reason for having more than one build type is to get good, easily understandable, accurate metrics.

Download the latest Team Foundation Server Installation Guide

Thu, 04 Jan 2007 20:21:04 +0000

I just noticed that the new TFS Installation Guide (date: 4 Jan, 2007) is available for download from Microsoft. It contains updated help relating to SP1.

The TFS Administrator's Guide is still the Nov 2006 version however.

My Vista, My Office!

Tue, 02 Jan 2007 23:10:20 +0000

What a better place to run Microsoft Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007 than at the 50 yard line of the Boise State University Broncos.

If you haven't heard, we won the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl championship last night with a series of do-or-die trick moves, including the high-school favorite State of Liberty play!

Go Broncos!

> Update (9 Jan, 2007) ... a photo sent to me by my friend Aaron (arms up) from the game itself ...

Speaking at BASTA! Spring conference

Fri, 29 Dec 2006 01:16:52 +0000

It looks like I'll be speaking at BASTA! in a few weeks.

I'll be delivering two regular sessions:

Team System Best Practices (Mar 1, 8:30AM - 9:30AM)
Customizing and Extending Team Edition for Database Professionals (Mar 1, 3:15PM - 4:15PM)

And one full-day workshop:

From Zero to Team System (In 5 Days) (Mar 2, all day)

Speaking at BASTA Spring conference

Thu, 28 Dec 2006 18:16:52 +0000

It looks like I'll be speaking at BASTA! in a few weeks.

I'll be delivering two regular sessions:

Team System Best Practices (Mar 1, 8:30AM - 9:30AM)
Customizing and Extending Team Edition for Database Professionals (Mar 1, 3:15PM - 4:15PM)

And one full-day workshop:

From Zero to Team System (In 5 Days) (Mar 2, all day)

Deploy RDL files to multiple SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services servers

Tue, 26 Dec 2006 19:59:33 +0000

Updated Jan 2016: Fixed the link to the Reporting Services Scripter utility below.

Last week, while teaching a SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services class, I built this simple C# Windows forms application to help “push” an RDL report to multiple servers. It is a simple application that calls the CreateFolder and CreateReport Web methods on the ReportService2005 Web service. It’s easy enough to customize for your purposes.

According to my students, this is a very common problem they face, as they have nine identical servers, with identical folder structures, and reports. They are generating and running scripts today, but wanted something more automated.

New TFS MSSCCI provider available

Sat, 23 Dec 2006 00:18:30 +0000

Thanks to Brian Harry and team for releasing the latest version of the provider.

The enhancements in this latest release include:

Enable handling branched solutions in Visual Studio 2003
Fixed issues to enable provider to support TOAD for SQL Server 2.0
Enhanced the "Choose Folder in Team Foundation Server" dialog
Fixed bug which prevented Properties Dialog from displaying local path
Work Items Query list in the Checkin Dialog is loaded and saved on the disk
"Get" operation performance improvements
Miscellaneous bug fixes

Download the new provider here, and remember it is for use by anyone who owns a Team Foundation Server Client Access License (CAL).

New TFS MSSCCI provider available!

Sat, 23 Dec 2006 00:18:30 +0000

Thanks to Brian Harry and team for releasing the latest version of the provider.

The enhancements in this latest release include:

Enable handling branched solutions in Visual Studio 2003
Fixed issues to enable provider to support TOAD for SQL Server 2.0
Enhanced the "Choose Folder in Team Foundation Server" dialog
Fixed bug which prevented Properties Dialog from displaying local path
Work Items Query list in the Checkin Dialog is loaded and saved on the disk
"Get" operation performance improvements
Miscellaneous bug fixes

Download the new provider here, and remember it is for use by anyone who owns a Team Foundation Server Client Access License (CAL).

TFS SP1 Gotcha with Workgroup Edition

Tue, 19 Dec 2006 14:32:11 +0000

If you’re upgrading your TFS with SP1 (which you should) and you’re using the Workgroup edition, there’s a gotcha if you already are using all 5 allowed people. Basically, you’ll have to remove on of the users, do the upgrade, then add the user back in. Dave Glover has a good post you’ll want to read before you do the upgrade. You can find his post here. Happy upgrading!

Team Wellmark

Sun, 17 Dec 2006 19:33:18 +0000

Wanted to say thanks again to my friends at Wellmark and New Horizons in Des Moines for a great weak of VSTS enlightenment.

Here's the motley crew in the flesh.

Ready for Launch?

Sun, 17 Dec 2006 19:23:43 +0000

Mark your calendars! Microsoft's Boise launch of Windows Vista, Office 2007, and Exchange 2007 will be on January 30.

The event is broken-down into two, half-day events, one for develpers and one for IT professionals. Here are the registration links: Developer track | IT Pro track.

If you can't make that event, then the one in Seattle on February 26 might be a better choice, because it is the only launch with a keynote by Bill Gates.

Visual Studio 2005 SP1 now available

Sat, 16 Dec 2006 00:47:45 +0000

Some of you have been beta testing it and, thanks in part to your hard work, it's ready for prime-time ... before the holidays!

Click here to learn more, and download SP1 for Visual Studio 2005, Team Foundation Server, and/or the Express editions. In addition, you can download Visual Studio 2005 SP1 Update for Windows Vista Beta.

Spread the word!

Interesting user groups in Portland, Oregon

Sat, 16 Dec 2006 00:36:54 +0000

As I write this, I'm spending some time at Powell's Technical Book Store in downtown Portland. You could call it my "happy place". If only there were a Starbucks and a Fry's Electronics connected to the same building, I'd be truly happy.

Anyway, I'm flipping through the local ComputerChips magazine and, in-between all the Microsoft bashing articles, found a neat list of some interesting user groups. I thought I'd list them for (my) future reference:

Widgets Page Recommendations

Thu, 14 Dec 2006 16:22:05 +0000

We’re about to redo the Team System Widgets page, and are looking for any suggestions on improvements. Some things we’d like to add are comments on each widget, and an icon designating which ones are still ‘works in progress’. Any other ideas? Tags? Let us know!

Microsoft launches Robotics Studio

Thu, 14 Dec 2006 01:46:43 +0000

Microsoft release Robotics Studio this morning. Microsoft Robotics Studio allows robotic applications to be developed using Microsoft Visual Studio, Microsoft Visual Studio Express C# and VB as well as Microsoft IronPython.

Read the Press Release and the PressPass Q&A with Tandy Trower for more information.

PDC 2007 Announced!

Thu, 14 Dec 2006 00:37:01 +0000

Microsoft will be holding the next Professional Developers Conference (PDC) October 2-5, 2007 in Los Angeles, with two days of pre-conference on September 30 and October 1. Save the date!

The PDC is the definitive developer event focused on the future of the Microsoft platform. PDC 2007 attendees will have the opportunity to access new code, learn about the latest Microsoft product offerings and hear from Microsoft executives about the various platform developments.

PDC 2007 Announced

Wed, 13 Dec 2006 17:37:01 +0000

Microsoft will be holding the next Professional Developers Conference (PDC) October 2-5, 2007 in Los Angeles, with two days of pre-conference on September 30 and October 1. Save the date!

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...

Wed, 13 Dec 2006 17:00:40 +0000

Or that’s what they say, anyway! Martin Woodward ran across this site, and shot us an email. Interesting! :-) It’s a direct copy/paste of the html from our widgets page (prior to a recent update). I don’t see any attribution, but it’s in a language that doesn’t display on my computer, so I wouldn’t know for sure. It'2013-08-28 13:42:56’s actually good to see that people are using the site.

By the way, if you haven’t seen Martin’s VSTS blog, it’s time you do! His post on measurement is one of my favorites! You can find it here. He’s a must have on your blog roll!

MSDN Documentation for Database Professional Edition

Mon, 11 Dec 2006 23:49:38 +0000

Bookmark this page. It contains the starting point for the V1 (RTM) version of the DB Professional documentation.

Updated SQL Server 2005 Samples and Sample Databases

Mon, 11 Dec 2006 18:15:11 +0000

I just noticed that there is a December update to the SQL 2005 samples. The December 2006 update is identical to the July 2006 update, except that support for Windows Vista has been added. If you already downloaded the July update and do not run on Windows Vista, then you do not need to download this update.

Installing Visual Studio Team Edition for Database Professionals

Mon, 11 Dec 2006 09:13:48 +0000

This edition became available last Thursday on MSDN. Hazzah!

I've noticed when installing the edition, as well as the CTPs, that it also installs the "ProjectAggregator" ...

A quick search of the forums, finds a post by Robert Merriman (MS) explaining what the ProjectAggregator is ...

"We use the Visual Studio ProjectAggregator to integrate our package into Visual Studio. The ProjectAggregator is from the VSIP SDK and here is some information from the April 2006 readme file for the VSIP SDK:

Visual Studio 2005 / SQL Server 2005 and Vista

Mon, 11 Dec 2006 02:54:40 +0000

I'm getting more and more questions regarding running Visual Studio 2005 on Vista. Here's the summary from Microsoft:

"Visual Studio 2005 is supported on Windows Vista. We recommend that developers install Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1 and the Visual Studio 2005 SP1 Update for Windows Vista as they become available (SP1 end of this year, VS Update for Vista Q1 next year). We also recommend that Visual Studio 2005 be run with elevated administrator privileges. Visual Studio 2003 & 2002 are not supported on Windows Vista. The underlying frameworks (.NET Fx 3.0, 2.0 & 1.1) are supported and applications using them will run on Windows Vista."

Search archived events and Webcasts!

Mon, 11 Dec 2006 02:40:44 +0000

Finally, Microsoft has added an easy, and powerful search tool for searching past events and Webcasts.

Nice meeting new friends in Iowa

Thu, 07 Dec 2006 13:41:50 +0000

Thank you for the good time last night at the Iowa .NET User Group meeting. I enjoyed spending the evening with these easy-going, but tech-savvy folks.

We had a good turnout, great questions, and a fun time afterward at the 801 steak and chop house!

If you are looking for my SQL Server 2005 script of love. You can find it here.

Boise Kickstand holiday celebration

Tue, 05 Dec 2006 16:36:50 +0000

The Kickstand Board of Directors is hosting a holiday celebration at a special location - the Discovery Center of Idaho.

What: Holiday Party & New Member Invitation
When: Thursday, December 14th, 5:30-7:30pm
Where: Discovery Center of Idaho, 131 Myrtle Street, Boise
Why: Networking, fun, entertainment - BSU Robo Wars
Cost: Free to members and guests

Please RSVP if you are wanting to attend.

Tradesports API available

Tue, 05 Dec 2006 14:05:50 +0000

If you know me, you know my fascination with Tradesports.com.

Well, it seems that the parent Company of TradeSports has developed an Application Programmable Interface ("API") that all members of the Exchange are entitled to use subject to satisfying the eligibility criteria. A monthly fee for API access may be charged which may in turn be refunded in full if the member generates sufficient trade volumes.

Visit this page for more information.

List of revision control software

Mon, 04 Dec 2006 22:00:59 +0000

I was recently reading Geoff Koch’s article in Software Test and Performance magazine on SCM: More Than Code Check-In, Check-Out. It was a short, but good article talking about how CM is similar regardless of whether you write articles or software. I would agree. I believe that i just becomes a matter of complexity.

I found a couple of interesting points in his article:

Wikipedia has an exhaustive list of revision control software.
Money magazine lists software engineer as No. 1 in its Best Jobs in America (which I knew), and that release engineers are hailed as having the top-paying jobs (which I didn't know).
Google's Dan Bloch recently stated that they have more than 3,000 users accessing a single Perforce repository running on an HP 4-way Opteron server with 128gb. Wowsers!

Side note: have you checked out Google Code? Apparently, Google will crawl publicly accessible source code, such as (.tar, .gz, .tar, .bz2, and .zip archives) and CVS and Subversion repositories. You can block Google from crawling by using a robots.txt file. Read more here.

Visiting the Iowa .NET User Group this week

Mon, 04 Dec 2006 17:50:06 +0000

I'm honored to be speaking at the Iowa .NET User Group this week. My topic will be on SQL Server 2005 for Developers. If you are in the area, please stop by. Visit their site for more information.

You might have heard, and it was such a tragedy that the group's founder, Eric Jacobs, and another member, Josh Trainor, were killed in a plane crash last Month. My prayers go out to the family and friends of Eric and Josh.

Team Project limits?

Sun, 03 Dec 2006 19:07:38 +0000

Bill Essary, software architect at Microsoft just posted this MSDN article on new team project limit and monitoring recommendations for Visual Studio 2005 Team Foundation Server.

The article includes a downloadable Excel spreadsheet (TeamProjectLimits.xls) containing experimental data which you can use to estimate the maximum number of team projects per server when you use customize work item types.

Upcoming book: The Jet Race and the Second World War

Mon, 27 Nov 2006 07:59:53 +0000

My good friend, Dr. Michael Pavelec, history professor at Hawaii Pacific University has written another book on WWII military aviation ...

"In the 1930s, as nations braced for war, the German military build up caught Britain and the United States off-guard, particularly in aviation technology. The unending quest for speed resulted in the need for radical alternatives to piston engines. In Germany, Dr. Hans von Ohain was the first to complete a flight-worthy turbojet engine for aircraft. It was installed in a Heinkel designed aircraft, and the Germans began the jet age on August 27, 1939. The Germans led the jet race throughout the war and were the first to produce jet aircraft for combat operations. In England, the doggedly determined Frank Whittle also developed a turbojet engine, but without the support enjoyed by his German counterpart. The British came second in the jet race when Whittle's engine powered the Gloster Pioneer on May 15, 1941. The Whittle-Gloster relationship continued and produced the only Allied combat jet aircraft during the war, the Meteor, which was relegated to Home Defense in Britain.

In America, General Electric copied the Whittle designs, and Bell Aircraft contracted to build the first American jet plane. On October 1, 1942, a lackluster performance from the Bell Airacomet, ushered in the American jet age. The Yanks forged ahead, and had numerous engine and airframe programs in development by the end of the war. But, the Germans did it right and did it first, while the Allies lagged throughout the war, only rising to technological prominence on the ashes of the German defeat. Pavelec's analysis of the jet race uncovers all the excitement in the high-stakes race to develop effective jet engines for warfare and transport."

You can pre-order the book at Amazon.com.

Thoughts on extending TFS to validate a methodology

Sun, 26 Nov 2006 17:35:51 +0000

At Accentient, we are always running into clients who need to implement a methodology, and have it checked for ‘correctness’ as time goes along. With TFS, as it stands, correctness checks need to be made in one of three ways:

1) TFS has a built in checking mechanism. This generally occurs INSIDE a work item. For instance, Field A can only be changed by a Project Manager. This is the BEST mechanism, since you can ensure validity prior to committing the work item changes to TFS.

2) Listen to the available events (Work Item Save, for instance), and react to the event. This is possible when we’re doing things like ensuring that every “Requirement” has an associated “Risk” associated with it (mandatory for regulatory compliance in health care research). This is a GOOD mechanism, as the project may go out of compliance, but the violation is noted immediately.

3) Verify the model at periodic intervals, either on demand or scheduled. Here you would simply use automation to query TFS and ensure compliance with the methodology. This is a SO-SO method, since the project goes in an out of compliance throughout the project lifecycle.

Some people may claim that Check-in Policies may be used to ensure client-side compliance. That is true, but only to a limited degree. The check-in policies are run only when something is being checked into TFS, not when a work item is saved.

Another claim may be that we could use VSIP to extend Visual Studio. This is indeed the case, and would provide the greatest amount of validation, however, in most cases not everyone who interacts with TFS is using VS2005 - some use Project, Excel, Word, Outlook, TeamPlain, TeamPrise, etc.

So, what I’d personally like:

1) Events around everything that happens in TFS, including very granular things like a Work Item get. I know this may have performance implications, but a big, hairy warning could be affixed to the VSIP SDK, and we could extend at our own risk. In a vast majority of the cases I work with, the machines used to power TFS are so much in excess of recommended load that I have, literally, gigabytes of memory and maybe 50-75% of the processor to play with.

2) Client side Work Item Check-in Policies. Let me interrupt, on the client-side, a work item save and do validation before I allow it to be committed to the server.

3) An SDK or a prebuild web service, if you will, that I can install that will ‘catch’ the thrown events, and translate them into something intelligible, like a clean object.

Over the course of the next few weeks, I'2013-08-28 13:43:09’ll be posting more about thoughts of validating and enforcing methodologies using TFS.

Microsoft launch day in Boise

Tue, 21 Nov 2006 15:02:19 +0000

Plan now to attend the launch of Windows Vista, Office 2007, and Exchange Server 2007 in Boise on January 30, 2007. There will be two tracks throughout the day: IT Professional and (wait for it) Developer!

Click here to sign-up for the Developer track.

Click here to sign-up for the IT Pro track.

The event will be held at the Boise Centre on the Grove. See you there!

What is Lorem Ipsum?

Tue, 21 Nov 2006 03:21:39 +0000

If you're like me, then you've probably seen a lot of "Lorem Ipsum's" around various Websites, demonstrations, and presentations. Have you ever wondered the origins? I always thought it was what the Monks were chanting in the Monty Python cartoons.

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. It was popularised in the 1960s with the release of Letraset sheets containing Lorem Ipsum passages, and more recently with desktop publishing software like Aldus PageMaker including versions of Lorem Ipsum.

INETA roadshow in California

Tue, 21 Nov 2006 03:09:46 +0000

I had a great time last week representing INETA and presenting Team System topics to the San Gabriel Valley .NET Developers user group and the Bay .NET user group in Califrnia.

I really enjoyed chating with Mike Parker, an MIT grad, Army Reserves officer, sharp software developer, and the owner of this rolling WarDriving mobile-consulting "love van" ...

Download presentations from the 2006 InfraGard conference

Thu, 16 Nov 2006 21:46:04 +0000

InfraGard has posted all of the presentations (as PDFs) from their 2006 conference.

InfraGard is an FBI program that began in 1996 to gain support from the information technology industry and academia for the FBI’s investigative efforts in the cyber arena. InfraGard and the FBI have developed a relationship of trust and credibility in the exchange of information concerning various terrorism, intelligence, criminal, and security matters. Boise is working on getting their own chapter, but until then we are part of Salt Lake's chapter.

Updated TFS Installation and Administrator's guides

Fri, 10 Nov 2006 20:11:34 +0000

I just noticed that both the .CHM files were recently updated, and available for download.

The Installation guide (TFSInstall-v61004.chm) is now version 8.0.61004 (10/6/2006) - 261 kb
The Administrator's guide (TFSAdmin-v61101.chm) is now version 8.0.61101 (11/1/2006) - 2.2 mb

You'll find the updated hyperlinks at the bottom of our Widgets page.

Updated TFS Installation and Administrator's guides

Fri, 10 Nov 2006 20:11:34 +0000

I just noticed that both the .CHM files were recently updated, and available for download.

The Installation guide (TFSInstall-v61004.chm) is now version 8.0.61004 (10/6/2006) - 261 kb
The Administrator's guide (TFSAdmin-v61101.chm) is now version 8.0.61101 (11/1/2006) - 2.2 mb

You'll find the updated hyperlinks at the bottom of our Widgets page.

I got connected at Connections!

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 22:07:27 +0000

I'm back home now, but had a total blast at DevConnections in Las Vegas this week. I saw many friends and colleagues who I hadn't seen for awhile. I was surprised that there were ~4700 attendees at the show, with quite a large exhibiter hall too. It's really become a mini Tech-Ed.

From left to right: Richard Hundhausen, Andrew Kelly, Dino Esposito, Peter DeBetta,
Brian Moran, Stacia Misner, Rushabh Mehta, Jeff Jones, Douglas McDowell.

Visit my personal photo album for more photos (Conferences > Dev Connections 2006 Las Vegas).

Lamps and Orbs not doing the trick?

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 07:22:37 +0000

You may have read my previous post about a company in Phoenix who connected their build process to an orb. Others use lava lamps.

Well, this professional geek used something a little more meaningful - an LCD-TV screen, which actually conveys useful information. Download the source code from his article (TV not included).

Hitchhiker's Guide to Visual Studio and SQL Server

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 17:33:00 +0000

Although I don't have their newest (7th edition) book yet, I plan on picking it up. From what I've read at the site, the Hitchhiker's Guide to Visual Studio and SQL Server (7th Edition) seems to be just what the industry needs for the critical intersection of technologies.

Nice work Bill and Peter!

Thanks for attending Seattle Code Camp 2.0

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 16:23:55 +0000

Although the venue was changed at the last minute (to better digs at DigiPen) and my colleague Steven Borg bailed out to have a kid (that still hasn't come yet), Seattle Code Camp 2.0 was awesome!

If you attended my talks on SQL Server 2005, you can find my demo bits here.

Tech-Ed 2007 back in Orlando (not New Orleans)

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 16:08:12 +0000

Microsoft has made the difficult decision not to hold Tech·Ed 2007 in New Orleans. With this event drawing a large number of attendees from around the world and with the airlines only servicing the city with about half of their pre-Katrina flights, the logistics of moving that large a group into and out of the city is challenging and would likely result in travel and logistical challenges for attendees.

Instead, Tech·Ed 2007 will be held on June 4-8, 2007 in Orlando at the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC).

Borland in Boise on November 15

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 00:09:35 +0000

Join Borland for a free educational breakfast seminar on Wednesday, November 15th, 2006 to learn more about their Software Delivery Optimization (SDO) – A Vision for Software Development. Borland has been slowly evolving into a company that provides Application Lifecycle Management tools, as well as a process consulting.

Specifically, they will be demonstrating

Borland CaliberRM® and DefineIT® for Requirements Definition & Management
Borland SilkCentral® Test Manager™ for Requirements-Based Testing
Borland StarTeam® for Configuration and Change Management

Who should attend? Directors and Managers of: Application Development and Quality Assurance, Program and Project Managers, Architects and Business Analysts

The ultimate guide to SQL Server's datetime datatype

Fri, 27 Oct 2006 21:59:03 +0000

I happened upon this article, which summarizes the datetime datatype and how it works in SQL Server, including common pitfalls and general recommendations.

The site is run by Tibor Karaszi a fellow Solid Quality Learning mentor.

Presentations on .NET 3.0

Fri, 27 Oct 2006 21:36:31 +0000

A PowerPoint deck introducing .NET 3.0 has been uploaded to the presentations area of the .NET Framework 3.0 site.

Although it's still pre-release (release candidate 1 is available for download), the new .NET Framework 3.0 looks very promising as the new managed code programming model for Windows. It will combine the power of the .NET Framework 2.0 with new technologies for building applications that have visually compelling user experiences (WPF), seamless communication across technology boundaries (WCF), and the ability to support a wide range of business processes (WF).

Visual Studio Team System Chat - Wed, Nov 8th

Thu, 26 Oct 2006 23:04:12 +0000

Join the chat on Wednesday, November 8th, 2006 from 10:00am - 11:00am Pacific Time.

See you at 'camp this weekend in Seattle

Thu, 26 Oct 2006 22:42:45 +0000

That's right. Seattle Code Camp 2.0 is upon us, with a late-breaking venue change ...

Camp will be held at Nintendo's DigiPen Univeristy, which is very near the Microsoft Campus.

Consultants from our company will be doing talks on SQL Server, Team System, and Ruby. See you there, this Saturday and Sunday (October 28 and 29).

How many technicians does it take ...

Tue, 24 Oct 2006 23:11:07 +0000

... to make it cooler in our training room.

Ok, here's the formula: Take 2 HVAC technicians ...

A laptop, network cable, one hour of time, and one of these funky things ...

and before you know it, our training room (and less grumpy students) are cool!

John Lam joins Microsoft

Tue, 24 Oct 2006 18:27:57 +0000

That's right, John Lam, a respected developer, and partner of ObjectSharp in Toronto will be joining Microsoft in January 2007. Could it be all of his hard work creating RubyCLR has paid off? He won't say.

Congrats on the "friendly takeover" of Microsoft, John. Good luck, and make cool things!

Read John's announcement here.

Team Foundation Server too bitter?

Tue, 24 Oct 2006 10:45:33 +0000

EBay always makes me laugh. What some people will do to sell their product!

Take this example of an auction for Team Foundation Server ...

Look what the seller is throwing in to "sweeten" the deal ...

"USA Customers get FREE Maple Syrup and Crystallized Honey samples from Vermont. USA Customers get one 1.7 oz. sample of 100% Proof Grade A Maple Syrup from Maple Grove Farms and one 2 oz. sample of Grade A Crystallized Honey from Champlain Valley Apiaries."

Mike Azocar's Blog

Wed, 18 Oct 2006 20:52:34 +0000

During the past couple days I've had the priveledge of working with some of the most knowledgeable and able TFS experts from around the world, and internal at Microsoft. One of those people is Mike Azocar from Software Architects. For some very useful information, check out his blog! It's called, unshockingly, Michael Azocar's Blog!

Check out Belarc Advisor

Mon, 16 Oct 2006 02:09:00 +0000

If you want to run a free diagnostic and inventory report on your system, then check out Belarc Advisor.

The Belarc Advisor builds a detailed profile of your installed software and hardware, missing Microsoft hotfixes, anti-virus status, CIS (Center for Internet Security) benchmarks, and displays the results in your Web browser. All of your PC profile information is kept private on your PC and is not sent to any web server.

PerfectDisk made a believer out of me!

Mon, 09 Oct 2006 23:28:01 +0000

I'll have to admit that it's been a few years since I've studied and compared disk defragmenter software. I've always just right-clicked my drive and let Windows defrag it. I've never really been impressed, however, with the results, even after running it three times.

After the first run:

After the second run:

After the third run:

So then I installed and ran PerfectDisk 8.0 which beats the built-in defragmenter software in many ways.

Anybody read Hungarian?

Mon, 09 Oct 2006 16:41:38 +0000

I just ran across my Visual Studio 2005 Team System book in Hungarian. Very cool!

Check out the Interbook.hu site for more information. I'll see if I can't get a copy.

Programming with the .NET Compact Framework for Mobile Devices

Mon, 09 Oct 2006 16:35:41 +0000

Peter Nowak's book on CF development for mobile devices has just been released. The book is in German.

I met Peter awhile back at Tech-Ed Europe 2005 and he gave me a lot of good feedback on my Team System book.

Nice work Peter!

Cool movie coming out next year: "300"

Sat, 07 Oct 2006 23:38:55 +0000

I just watched the trailer for this movie, and it looks great!

Based on the epic graphic novel by Frank Miller (think: Sin City), 300 is a ferocious retelling of the ancient Battle of Thermopylae in which King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and 300 Spartans fought to the death against Xerxes and his massive Persian army. Facing insurmountable odds, their valor and sacrifice inspire all of Greece to unite against their Persian enemy, drawing a line in the sand for democracy. The film brings Miller’s (Sin City) acclaimed graphic novel to life by combining live action with virtual backgrounds that capture his distinct vision of this ancient historic tale.

Martin Danner is blogging again!

Sat, 07 Oct 2006 23:22:37 +0000

Attaboy Martin! Good looking post on SandCastle, btw. Sandcastle produces accurate, MSDN style, comprehensive documentation by reflecting over the source assemblies and optionally integrating XML Documentation Comments.

Be sure to mark his blog, so you can follow this rambling genius architect.

Talking SQL at the Spokane .NET User Group

Fri, 06 Oct 2006 17:36:32 +0000

I enjoyed traveling to Spokane (I have family there) and presenting to the Spokane .NET User Group (SNUG?) on various SQL Server 2005 T-SQL, engine, and data type enhancement topics. This was my second INETA event, and they just keep getting better.

One of the attendees works for a company called SprayCool, which has a technology for keeping mission-critical servers and data centers cool, and running smoothly. This has to be the "coolest" thing I've heard of in awhile! SprayCool is the process of using liquid evaporation, or phase change, to cool electronics. A fine mist of coolant is sprayed onto electronic hot spots and immediately evaporates. The vapor is then captured and the heat is rejected as it circulates through a heat exchanger. This results in an extremely efficient method of cooling.

Install Script for Team Foundation Server

Thu, 05 Oct 2006 22:15:52 +0000

Here's the install script for TFS, both Dual and Single server install. Thanks to Etienne Tremblay (VSTS MVP) for all his hard work in putting this together, and updating it for SQL Server 2005 SP1.

TFSInstallScripts.zip (39.73 KB)

Interop Forms Toolkit 1.0 Released

Thu, 05 Oct 2006 20:16:30 +0000

I just heard about this new add-in that helps VB6 developers integrate .NET Windows forms into their existing applications.

This is just another example of Microsoft's support for "VB Fusion".

Must have Agile Dev Tool & Web Site

Tue, 03 Oct 2006 15:10:56 +0000

The best tool is the simplest. It shouldn't get in the way of doing things, and it should be incredibly easy. One of my favorite Agile dev tools is the digital camera. Simply snap a quick photo of your whiteboard and you've got a good replacement for a $10,000 whiteboard with print / scan capabilities. Plus, you then have it in digital format! No need for scanning.

The problem is that you have flash reflections, etc, and that makes the image harder to read. You need to do some image manipulation to really make it easy to read and understand. And it should be in TIF or PDF format if you want to do OCR. So, head to www.scanr.com This great little web site takes a digital photo of a white board, and converts it to a very nice PDF document. It eliminates most of the flash, rotates the image if you've taken a photo of the white board from the side, and saves it as a nice, high-quality PDF. Check it out!

MSDN article on TFS Branching and Merginge

Tue, 03 Oct 2006 15:01:35 +0000

Check out Chris Birmele's MSDN article "Branching and Merging Primer" on MSDN.

The article is short and sweet, but states the case well for SCM and even includes a few branching patterns.

MSDN article on TFS Branching and Merging

Tue, 03 Oct 2006 09:01:35 +0000

Check out Chris Birmele's MSDN article "Branching and Merging Primer" on MSDN.

The article is short and sweet, but states the case well for SCM and even includes a few branching patterns.

Protolize - Great Web Development Aggregation Site

Mon, 02 Oct 2006 23:22:30 +0000

I just found Protolize. It's a great resource for web development - everything from Ajax to XHTML. It's basically a collection of pointers (done very nicely) to various web resources. Very nice!

Turn your innovations into a successful business

Sat, 30 Sep 2006 17:35:39 +0000

The Innovators Network, in conjunction with Kickstand and Idaho TechConnect, are bringing their "Turning Your Innovations Into Successful Business" breakfast seminar to Boise on Oct. 3rd. The seminar will be held at the Red Lion Downtowner beginning at 7:30 AM.

For more information, click here.

IEEE Boise Chapter Banquet

Sat, 30 Sep 2006 17:30:01 +0000

If you will be in Boise on Wednesday, October 25, then you should attend this banquet!

The guest speaker is Jerry Saltzer, Professor of Computer Science, Emeritus, Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His presentation is "Risks of Failure: Coping with Complexity", a look at some of the recurring problems with building computer projects and techniques that have proven useful in coping with complexity.

Where: Farnsworth Room (Second floor of the Student Union Building at Boise State University)
When: Doors open at 6pm, dinner at 6:30pm, speaker following dinner. Goes til around 9pm
Cost: $20.00 for the general public, $15.00 for IEEE members, and $5.00 for IEEE Student members. IEEE members may invite up to one guest at the member rate; further guests pay the general public rate.

Make your reservation by October 19. Click here or here for more information.

Team Foundation Server SP1 (Beta) is available

Tue, 26 Sep 2006 16:17:30 +0000

It's been a long time coming, and will address many common problems people have been running into. Get your hands on the beta and start giving feedback today!

Read Brian Hary's post for more details. You can find SP1 at the Microsoft Connect Site. (Remember that it is beta software)

Team Foundation Server SP1 (Beta) is available!

Tue, 26 Sep 2006 16:17:30 +0000

It's been a long time coming, and will address many common problems people have been running into. Get your hands on the beta and start giving feedback today!

Read Brian Hary's post for more details. You can find SP1 at the Microsoft Connect Site. (Remember that it is beta software)

Team Foundation Server SP1 BETA Launched Today

Tue, 26 Sep 2006 16:15:58 +0000

TFS SP1 is out! it takes a while to get on the list, and to start the downloads, but it's worth it! There are lots of improvements in SP1 and I'll be running a few tests against it myself. Remember, it is Beta, so unless you have a very compelling reason, keep it off your production servers. But get in there to play with some of the new features! Especially the ability to host your own WIT controls, so you'll be able to more easily add functionality to the Work Item viewer!

Arbeiten mit dem Visual Studio 2005 Team System

Mon, 25 Sep 2006 19:21:45 +0000

Finally, my German last name on a book in German! :-)

I picked this up when I was in Stuttgart last summer at the World Cup. This one now sits on my shelf next to the Russian version.

Hundhausen = Doghouse

Mon, 25 Sep 2006 14:37:51 +0000

Some people ask me why I named my blog "Tales from the Doghouse", well it's because Hundhausen literally (but not accurately) translates to Doghouse, and "Tales", "Tails", you get the idea. I get a lot of miles out of this when I travel and meet new people. It's great!

Thanks to my friends at SetFocus for creating this poster for my INETA presentation at the Northern New Jersey User Group earlier this month.

Good SharePoint 2003 Sites

Fri, 22 Sep 2006 22:17:57 +0000

Here are a couple of good sites for learning about Sharepoint 2003 customization:

Woo Hoo!!! - Chad (Kudzu) Hower goes independent

Fri, 22 Sep 2006 16:22:29 +0000

I met Chad Z. Hower at Tech-Ed 2006 in Malaysia a few weeks ago, and was very impressed with his knowledge and presentation skills. Mostly, I was impressed with his extensive travel (makes me seem aerophobic), living overseas, and jaw-dropping stories. I just learned that Chad has gone independent, leaving Microsoft recently. If you are looking for an energetic presenter on all topics Microsoft-developer related, check out his professional site and his fun site.

Woo Hoo!!!

Are you nerdy?

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 21:39:04 +0000

Check out Weird Al's latest song and video online, and see how many references you can relate too.

PS - Check your volume first.

JavaScript Lint

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 21:28:25 +0000

If you hate coding JavaScript as much as I do, then you'll appreciate the 'lint tools.

Microsoft doesn't have a good JavaScript (JScript) IDE, and many JavaScript environments do not warn against questionable coding practices. It can be a nightmare when you actually want to write quality, maintainable code. That's where JavaScript Lint comes in. With JavaScript Lint, you can check all your JavaScript source code for common mistakes without actually running the script or opening the web page.

Mark Miller joins the podcasting community

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 21:21:43 +0000

That's right, Mark thinks he's going to be the next Carl Franklin, but those are big shoes to fill. As Mark puts it, his professional career is now over, as he will bear his soul on his weekly podcast Millahseconds. Note: these are not technical podcasts (far from it).

Also, I'll delegate the hat-tip to Scott Hanselman, because Millahseconds is an obvious play on words of (the original) Hanselminutes.

MSDN Events in Boise next week

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 19:23:05 +0000

Next week on Tuesday, September 26, Microsoft will be rolling into town for a day of learning at the Edwards Boise Stadium 21 theaters. The event runs from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM, so be there by 12:30 to get checked-in.

"Get Connected with the .NET Framework 2.0 and Visual Studio® 2005 - These days, it seems like everything’s talking. Smart Client applications are sending emails and uploading and downloading files from the Internet. Browsers are talking to Web servers asynchronously. And enterprise systems are using a myriad of Web Services, .NET Remoting, and other technologies to get the job done. Fortunately, it’s easy to keep the conversations flowing with the Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0, Visual Studio 2005."

Bubba Nosferatu - Yipee! Another Bruce Campbell Movie!

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 15:47:28 +0000

Yippee! Bruce Campbell is making another movie called Bubba Nosferatu, which is the prequel to (the really horrible B-movie) Bubba Ho-tep. I find it interesting that Paul Giamatti (an Academy award winner, btw) is also in the film. Maybe it won't be so bad! Here's the plot outline: this prequel to Bubba Ho-Tep finds Elvis shooting a film in Louisiana when he runs afoul of a coven of she-vampires.

You can find more on Bubba Noserferatu here: http://www.bubbanosferatu.com

Comparison of Wiki's

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 13:31:54 +0000

More and more individuals, companies, and organizations are standing up a wiki. I'm fascinated by their ability to be edited and contributed-to by the community. As such, I'm learning more and more about them.

Thanks to Martin Danner for pointing me towards this site, comparing the various wiki software out there.

Support for Word and Excel reporting from Reporting Services

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 07:52:49 +0000

Reporting in Team System is handled by SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services. As such, team members get to enjoy (and are restricted-by) the built-in report rendering extensions (CSV, Excel, HTML, Image, MHTML, PDF, and XML). What's missing from this list is the Microsoft Word DOC format and a richer Microsoft Excel XLS format.

This is where a product called OfficeWriter comes in. It enables you to use Excel or Word to create templates utilizing data markers and merge fields for databinding sections of the document to the various Team Foundation Server data items. After a quick configuration of Reporting Services, your reports can generate documents/spreadsheets based on these templates without the need for Microsoft Office on the server. There's also an integration with Reporting Services that will let you create these documents without any coding at all. Users will design their RDL reports using Excel or Word, without the need for Visual Studio or SQL Report Builder.

Cleaning out my garage ...

Tue, 19 Sep 2006 16:04:57 +0000

Ok, this sounds like one of those useless blog posts about what I had for breakfast this morning or can you guess what I have stuck to the bottom of my shoe? Well, maybe it will be a post like that, I guess it depends on your perspective.

Going through my garage, organizing my camping gear, I found one of these SimCity "The Card Game" promotional cards we had created from when we owned the Bard's Quest and Bard's Quest Software, back in the mid-1990s. It was the "Historic Depot" card and could actually be used when playing the game.

Connect.Microsoft.com

Mon, 18 Sep 2006 18:31:14 +0000

Microsoft works when they get feedback about their software and services. Their Connect site enables this and allows you to participate in several ways, such as downloading the latest software and written material, taking surveys, exchanging ideas in newsgroup forums, and, most importantly, providing and reviewing feedback about your experiences.

Here are the types of resources you will find at Connect:

Announcements - New information for connection participants
Articles - Articles that are related to the connection
Surveys - Surveys can be used to collect information
Events - Dates for upcoming events that are related to the connection
Links - Web site links that relate to the connection
FAQs - Frequently asked questions about the connection or program
Downloads - Software, whitepapers, and other information
Product Keys - The product keys that you need to run the downloaded software
Newsgroups - Forums for discussing current connection issues

Would the real Nancy Davolio please stand up?

Fri, 15 Sep 2006 00:25:03 +0000

I can always spot the true geeks at the user group meetings and conferences, because not only do they know who Nancy Davolio is, they've seen her photo. My INETA presentation earlier this week for the Northern New Jersey .NET User Group at SetFocus in New Jersey include such wise souls as Al Smith, and together we explored the subject.

It seems that "Nancy's" photo changes with each version of Access (2003 version) ...

A few ins and outs when building TFS extensions

Thu, 07 Sep 2006 20:14:28 +0000

Brian Harry has just posted a great Word doc that gives a few ins and outs when building extensions to Team Foundation Server. It's focused on the Version Control side of the house, but many of the recommendations work for automating Work Item access as well. Head over to the blog post (here), and download the Advice for developing TFS client applications.doc document. If you build TFS extensions, it's definitely required reading! :-)

Browser Compatibility Test Site

Thu, 07 Sep 2006 05:27:22 +0000

If you're building a web site that needs to be viewed in multiple different browsers, it has been difficult in the past to really get a good test. No longer. A site called BrowserShots.org provides a way to view screenshots of a web page as seen from over 30 different types of browsers. They actually run the site in the browser, take a screenshot, and post it. Pretty amazing! Here's a list of the browsers and options you can choose from. Color me impressed!

Want to get to human ... quicker?

Thu, 07 Sep 2006 02:51:46 +0000

I just learned about the gethuman project, which is a consumer movement to improve the quality of phone support in the US. This is a free website, run by volunteers and powered by over one million consumers who demand high quality phone support from the companies that they use. The most popular part of the gethuman website is the gethuman database of secret phone numbers and codes to get to a human when calling a company for customer service.

Scott Chestnut stops by

Wed, 06 Sep 2006 05:57:37 +0000

Last Friday, Scott Chestnut passed through Boise, so Becky (Rosholt) Madron put together an impromptu reunion for the old man. We met at a new pub/eatery in Eagle called Artesian's.

(Can you recognize any of the Twin Falls class of '86)

Thank you for attending my Team Edition for Architects talk

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 18:11:15 +0000

Here are my slides from yesterday's presentation at Tech-Ed 2006 SEA. Thank you to the many delegates who joined me for the session.

Visual Studio Team System Public MSDN Chat

Thu, 31 Aug 2006 17:55:41 +0000

Visual Studio Team System Public MSDN Chat

Come and join members from the Visual Studio Team System product group to discuss features available in Visual Studio Architect, Developer and Tester editions and Team Foundation Server. There will be experts on hand to answer your questions, so we hope to see you there!

Join the chat on Wednesday September 6th, 2006 10:00am - 11:00am Pacific time.

To add this to your calendar, click here.

Good book on NAnt and CruiseControl.NET

Tue, 29 Aug 2006 08:16:44 +0000

Some students told me about this book, and I think I’ll pick it up. Steven Borg just bought a copy as well.

The book is titled “Expert .NET Delivery Using NAnt and CruiseControl.NET (Expert’s Voice in .Net)”, a hardcover by Marc Holmes (APress) and has received good reviews.

Track your activity throughout the day

Mon, 28 Aug 2006 00:04:12 +0000

I heard a cool idea from an attendee of Devscovery last week. He said that his wife is a consultant who switches tasks throughout the day. Like most consultants, we have a hard time remembering what we did (or didn't do) throughout the day.

Their answer is to just run a screen-capture program like Camtasia or something like it, and configure it to shoot a snapshot every 5 minutes or so. This way you can play back at the end of the day and have a semi-recollection of what you've done!

Good article on using the TFS Version Control object model

Sun, 27 Aug 2006 16:42:41 +0000

Thanks to Eugene and his crew over at Attrice, the makers of the Team Build Sidekick and other Team Foundation Sidekick widgets. They have just published a nice article describing how they have used the Team Foundation Server Version Control object model and VS automation to implement their product's functionality.

Check it out.

Search Flickr via FlickrStorm

Wed, 23 Aug 2006 15:19:55 +0000

Thanks to Steven Borg for letting me know about FlickrStorm, which allows you to search by keyword and find photos other people have uploaded. Sweet!

Data Dude presentation for the Redmond .NET User Group

Mon, 21 Aug 2006 19:00:35 +0000

If you are in the Seattle/Redmond area, join me tonight while we look at CTP 5 of the Visual Studio Team Edition for Database Professionals.

I'll be starting at 7:15 pm tonight in building 40 at Microsoft. Click here for more details.

The ultimate in Build Integration

Mon, 21 Aug 2006 15:56:26 +0000

I was recently at a client site in Phoenix, teaching a VSTS/SCM course. They have integrated an Ambient Orb Device into their automated build process. If the build passes, it glows green. If it breaks, it glows red.

The orb is inside the developer manager's office, so the devs can peek inside. My understanding is that they have about 15 minutes after seeing red to fix the build and re-run it, before the manager gets an email message.

Another Good Team Foundation Blog

Thu, 17 Aug 2006 19:21:33 +0000

I just ran into this blog while doing some surfing. It wasn't on my blog roll, but it is now. :-) It's by Eugene Zakhareyev from Attrice. If you remember from our Widgets page, they are the makers of the TFVC Workspace Sidekick and the MSBuild Sidekick. Both of those are tools you should be checking out! But back to the blog. Eugene is blogging many of his own personal observations about TFS, and since he's so intimately involved with TFS, it's definitely worth keeping an eye on his findings and comments! His blog can be found here.

Bit-By-Bit Computer Rentals

Tue, 15 Aug 2006 20:44:15 +0000

We do a lot of training around the US, and often we depend on computers at the company to be trainined. However, in many cases, we need to provide computers. For our training next week at a large government contractor, I decided to look outside our normal channels (which is a training center that has a mobile lab, but is often booked out for their own training) and look for someone new. Although I got bids from several companies, one company really stood out: Bit-by-Bit Compnuter Rentals. The customer service rep who I spoke to was Josh Highland. Not only was he very helpful, he was very capable and knowledgeable. Since they are nationwide, and provide such good service, we'll definitely be working with them in the future. If any of you have a need for computer rentals, I recommend contacting Josh at Bit-by-Bit.

XNA game development platform will be FREE

Mon, 14 Aug 2006 21:52:56 +0000

Microsoft will be releasing an Express version of their XNA development environment free! :-) That means that folks like you and I can create our applications for the XBox 360 (and, simultaneously for Windows) much more easily! That is cool! I expect a development community to spring up with free games, trial games, and all sorts of non-game applications as well. Fun! You can read more about it here.

New MSSCCI Provider Released.

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 01:35:22 +0000

Many of our clients need to access the TFS Version Control system from VS 2002/2003, as well as other development environments including SQL Server Management Studio. They've been able to do this for some time, but the plug-in to support it always felt a bit clunky. So it is with great pleasure that I can report the new MSSCCI plug-in (available here) was released yesterday! In addition to improving the interface, there were several other additions, too. Now, database developers can access their version controlled T-SQL scripts using Enterprise Manager. Plus, developers can now modify work items during the check in process!

VSTS SP1

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 01:25:12 +0000

Team System SP1 is due out... sometime. We still don't have a date from Microsoft (as of 10 Aug 2006), however, Brian Harry has provided us with a short list of some of the features to be released. You can read about it here.

My favorite new feature is WIT Custom Controls. This means we'll finally be able to host a control that will display custom data without having to rebuild the entire Work Item display framework. Very cool. A few already pop to mind: a Grid display, graphical displays (small embedded charts), and maybe even a tiny Wiki.

Intermountain Venture Forum returns to Boise!

Sat, 05 Aug 2006 18:40:53 +0000

Idaho's leading entrepreneurial group is joining forces with Idaho's leading funding groups to host a night of networking on September 26 to connect entrepreneurs with capital sources. Connect with the region's most promising new companies and the West's top investors.

WHEN: Tuesday, September 26 (6-8pm)
WHERE: Lobby Area - Boise Centre on the Grove
WHO: All entrepreneurs, angel investors & venture capitalists
COST: Free

RSVP to www.kickstand.org by September 5

So, what are your SQL Server "Worst Practices"

Sun, 30 Jul 2006 20:46:35 +0000

Peter DeBetta and I are going to have fun putting together a presentation on "worst practices", and by doing so we will be illustrating the "best practices".

Look for us to be onstage together at SQL Connections this Fall at the Mandalay Bay.

So, what are some of your "worst practices" that you'd like to share?

Carl Prothman turns blue!

Fri, 28 Jul 2006 22:53:25 +0000

That's right. My friend, and fellow MVP and INETA guy, Carl Prothman has signed-on to Microsoft as a full time employee (sucker). Carl is the man when it comes to many things, especially the collecting of connection strings. I pitch his site wherever I travel.

He is going to be working in the Community group as a Software Developer Engineer (SDE). Rumor has it that he'll be working for Doug Seven (another community soul who went to the blue-side a few years ago).

Programming AJAX in ASP.NET

Fri, 28 Jul 2006 15:50:38 +0000

Be sure to pick this book up next month. It should be good, and was was written by some friends of mine (Wally and Scott).

Updated SQL Server 2005 Books Online (BOL) and Samples

Sat, 22 Jul 2006 00:50:38 +0000

Thanks to my colleague Kalen Delaney for letting us know that the BOL and Samples have been updated. Download your updates today!

InfraGard public meeting in Boise

Fri, 21 Jul 2006 13:54:32 +0000

The InfraGard (Boise Chapter) is pleased to invite you to a public session in which we will have an in-depth cyber security discussion with national leading experts from the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Critical Infrastructure Protection Center. The event will be held on:

Date: August 1st, 2006 (Tuesday)
Time: 1:30 – 3:00 pm
Location: Idaho State Capitol, Gold Room (4th Floor)

The discussion will focus on cyber security issues for supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) and control systems, current security threat indicators, common vulnerabilities and recommended mitigations. The presenters will help us to focus on activities that can benefit multiple industries in protecting our infrastructure and businesses that support our national and state economy. Even if you do not maintain traditional SCADA systems within your organization, this discussion is definitely still relevant to you as many of the threats, vulnerabilities and countermeasures are applicable to all types of organizations that depend on information technology.

World Cup in Germany!

Sat, 08 Jul 2006 15:00:25 +0000

Yes, sometimes dreams do come true. Although it's not the final match, it is a match with Germany playing Portugal.

I'll be at the Gottlieb Daimler Stadium this evening watching the 3rd place game, and not thinking about Team System!

Huge thanks to my friend Jeff Temple for purchasing the tickets. He and his wife Beate will be there too.

New VSTS articles (including some of the DB Pro edition)

Sun, 02 Jul 2006 18:17:13 +0000

Fawcette (FTPOnline) just published a smattering of new articles on Team System, including my new article on the forethcoming edition for Database Professionals.

Wanna meet my peers?

Sat, 01 Jul 2006 17:18:56 +0000

Yep, these are the RDs and other MVPs that I hang out with on a regular basis.

Caution: Before clicking this link, let me warn you that you are going to see things that you can't un-see!

Hat-tip to Carl Franklin for his camera and assembly skills for this page.

Roll Your Own SQL Server 2005 Database Diagrams

Thu, 29 Jun 2006 23:33:06 +0000

A friend of mine, John Paul Cook, has tricked out SQL Server 2005 database diagrams to show more than just relationships between tables.

Read the DevX article and download the code.

Get Latest on Checkout in Team System

Wed, 28 Jun 2006 21:47:21 +0000

Brian Harry discloses some of the expected features and fixes in TFS SP1 as well as features in the new version of the MSSCCI provider (GetLatest on Checkout being one of them).

GetLatest on Checkout in Team System

Wed, 28 Jun 2006 21:47:21 +0000

Brian Harry discloses some of the expected features and fixes in TFS SP1 as well as features in the new version of the MSSCCI provider (GetLatest on Checkout being one of them).

Team System for Database Professionals - Resources on the Web

Mon, 26 Jun 2006 21:22:43 +0000

Here are some of the useful resources on the Web for the Team System Edition for Database Professionals:

Microsoft Robotics Studio

Mon, 26 Jun 2006 21:01:23 +0000

Oh, my goodness! How cool is this! :-) I just found out about the Microsoft Robotics Studio, and had to blog it... Here's the background, from the site (which you can find here).

The goal of the Microsoft Robotics Studio is to supply a software platform for the robotics community that can be used across a wide variety of hardware, applicable to a wide audience of users, and development of a wide variety of applications.

Some (not so mainstream) Software Development Methodologies

Thu, 22 Jun 2006 12:52:26 +0000

Aside from MSF, Scrum, XP, and RUP, I've been finding some other methodologies and frameworks as I travel and meet with teams. Some might make for interesting Process Templates in Team System. Here are just a few, in no particular order ...

Prince2 - a process-based approach for project management providing an easily tailored and scaleable method for the management of all types of projects. The method is the de-facto standard for project management in the UK and is practiced worldwide.
Six Sigma - a methodology to manage process variations that cause defects, defined as unacceptable deviation from the mean or target; and to systematically work towards managing variation to eliminate those defects
Lean Software Development - a translation of lean manufacturing principles and practices to the software development domain.
Zachman Framework - a framework for Enterprise Architecture which provides a formal and highly structured way of defining an enterprise's systems architecture.
DoDAF - a framework for development of a systems architecture or enterprise architecture (EA).

Added Later ...

My Team System Book in Russian

Thu, 22 Jun 2006 12:28:38 +0000

If nothing else, I now know how to spell my name in Russian!

Here's a link to view the back of the book as well.

Thanks to our friends at AVICode for sending me this copy. We enjoyed co-presenting with them at Tech-Ed in Boston.

OlyMars 1.5 Announced

Wed, 21 Jun 2006 09:16:56 +0000

Pascal Belaud, a .NET evangelist at Microsoft France, has started a beta plan for his popular OlyMars product. Version 1.5 will support .NET 2.0 and SQL Server 2005.

So what exactly is OlyMars?

It is a SQL Server Centric .Net Code Generator and is a both flexible and powerful generator based on database modeling. It allows instant generation of both T-SQL and .Net code providing a complete library of stored procedures, .NET classes and ready-to-use custom web and form controls related to the database modeling, including associated documentation. These elements are illustrated in two default Windows and Web applications and can be used in custom applications. SQL Server centric .Net code generator is fully extensible to use custom templates and extended properties and consequently can be adjusted to generate any custom code respecting a homogeneous implementation scheme.

Winner of the RD Talent Show!

Tue, 20 Jun 2006 04:54:26 +0000

At Tech-Ed in Boston, we ran our first Regional Director Talent Show. John Alexander was courageous enough to warm up the crowd with a series of impressions. He did impressions of famous people such as US Presidents, film stars and…well, other Regional Directors! It was hilarious. Next, Ken Spencer sang and played guitar for the crowd. He performed his version of Margaretaville while everyone cheered and clapped to the beat. Next was Carl Franklin who started by impersonating Bruce Springsteen and then performed a spirited acoustical guitar instrumental. Michele Leroux Bustamante also played guitar and sang her amusing and unforgettable rendition of Smelly Cat which originates from a performance by Phoebe on the TV Show Friends. Each of these RDs did a phenomenal job and the judging was very close.

Another reason to be an ISV!

Sun, 11 Jun 2006 21:33:48 +0000

... or at least obtain the ISV competency as a Microsoft certified partner or Microsoft certified gold partner. The full Team Foundation Server (not just the workgroup edition) will be made available as part of the ISV competency MSPP benefits. It should be in the July MSDN shipment.

Learn more about the ISV program here.

Team System in South Africa

Fri, 09 Jun 2006 10:50:27 +0000

We just finished up a VSTS training class in Johannesburg, South Africa. Thank you to my students and the Netscope training center for making this a fun class.

From left to right: Oliver, Shereen, Robin, Richard, Esendal, and Anton.

Use TradeSports.com to predict World Cup winners

Thu, 08 Jun 2006 09:08:03 +0000

I remember two years ago, Steven Borg, told me about TradeSports, an Irish Website where you can trade "futures" on just about anything, such as election results, sporting events, entertainment, and even when the bird flu will hit the US (no kidding). I believe Steve even made some money on the 2004 presidential election using TradeSports.

Well, naturally, with the largest sporting event in the world starting tomorrow, I checked them out, and they've got exchanges setup by group, by game, overall index, by scorer, and by outright ranking at the end of the tournament. So, if you are looking for extremely accurate predictors, check them out. If you want to trade, be sure to read up on them. You can find more about TradeSports here.

Microsoft Soccer Scoreboard

Wed, 07 Jun 2006 14:28:05 +0000

Follow your favorite teams and players during the FIFA World Cup tournament with Microsoft Soccer Scoreboard. This fun program allows you to access all the latest tournament news and information with the click of a button! Live game data allow you to monitor your favorite teams progress in real-time. Want more? Check out your team’s fixture (schedule), standing, and news as they advance through the tournament. If you are a soccer fan, don’t miss a minute of the action. Download Microsoft Soccer Scoreboard today!

Microsoft announces Office PerformancePoint Server 2007

Wed, 07 Jun 2006 06:45:32 +0000

Microsoft recently announced Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007. I believe this product was a result of the acquisition of Proclarity (Boise, ID) and a combination SQL Server 2005 BI, and Microsoft Excel.

Read the announcement from InfoWorld (Yahoo).

Time that (Work Item) Task

Thu, 01 Jun 2006 20:19:56 +0000

Wow, I'm honored! One of my sharper students at a recent talk in Reston, VA was actually paying attention to my discussion of extensibility and customization and has built a VSTS Check-In Policy to help track time working on team projects.

It looks promising. You can read about it at the VSTS Forums, or go to the GotDotNet site. I'll have it available on the Widgets page soon, too.

Welcome (back) Bill Vaughn to the blogosphere

Thu, 01 Jun 2006 20:11:32 +0000

It's been awhile, but Bill is blogging again. I know he's been busy working on his latest Hitchhiker's Guide to Visual Studio and SQL Server 2005 book and speaking for INETA.

Visual Studio 2005 Team Edition for Database Professionals

Thu, 01 Jun 2006 14:37:14 +0000

The secret is out! I can finally breathe a sigh of relief and not have to look over both shoulders before saying the words "Data Dude" or "K2".

That's right, Database Professionals will soon get a chance to be part of the Team!

Visual Studio Team Edition for Database Professionals delivers a market-shifting database development product designed to manage database change, improve software quality through database testing and bring the benefits of Visual Studio Team System and life cycle development to the database professional.

What am I doing at Tech-Ed?

Wed, 31 May 2006 10:56:40 +0000

Besides giving a couple of talks on Team System and SQL Server 2005, I plan on hitting a few parties and other interesting sessions.

One such session is being hosted by the DataDirect team, who are assembling gathering of ADO.NET, and data connectivity lumaries for an informal gathering during TechEd 2006.This will be an opportunity for everyone who lives and breaths data connectivity, ADO.NET and who is looking to get a first hand feel of everything on the horizon for ADO.NET, LINQ and .NET and meet some of the key players involved.

Case Study - Extending Visual Studio 2005 Team System

Wed, 31 May 2006 04:18:37 +0000

It's a bit of an older case study, but one I haven't seen before. It's a quick read, as it goes through the situation, solution, benefits, and conclusion.

Is MySpace running Cold Fusion or not?

Tue, 30 May 2006 16:35:13 +0000

Last week I mentioned to a group of Team System professionals that I thought MySpace was running Cold Fusion, because of the abundance of .CFM pages.

According to some of the comments from MySpace developers, on Scott Guthrie's article post-Mix, there are CFM files on MySpace.com, but they are not Cold Fusion ...

"To clarify, we wrote a custom configuration section that maps "fuseaction" URL parameters to ASPX extensions so that we'd maintain link integrity. The only place we aren't doing this is 'Browse' and certain other new features. Meanwhile, as Scott said the parts of the site that are running in ColdFusion are essentially doing so in ASP.NET 2.0 (via BlueDragon)."

"Google" for Source Code (a.k.a. Krugle)

Fri, 26 May 2006 16:20:27 +0000

Sorry, but I chose to use the term Google as a verb here, because Krugle has no affiliation with Google. It looks quite promising ...

"Krugle makes it easy for developers to find source code and technical information - fast!"

Their beta has had a few issues with balancing a slick UI with many different browsers and browser versions, but you should check it out nonetheless.

Visit the Krugle site and maybe even check out their blog.

Windows XNA

Tue, 23 May 2006 16:45:24 +0000

No, not Windows DNA, but XNA. Yes, it's an exciting new enhancement to DCOM bringing XML manifests and BizTalk schemas! Kidding ...

Microsoft XNA is a tool and set of technologies which will help game studios manage the growing complexities of their game content builds. Basically, it is designed to help game studios and publishers develop better games, more effectively, on all platforms. Microsoft unveiled the XNA Framework at the Game Developers Conference 2006.

Best yet, XNA Studio is based on Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Team System. XNA Studio will extend and customize Visual Studio 2005 Team System to make it an ideal solution for game studios and publishers.

A Taste of Team System

Sun, 21 May 2006 17:49:40 +0000

My inteview with Scott Swigart is out in the current Dr. Dobbs. You can read it online here.

Had I known that it was going to make the print version, I wouldn't have been so cheesy! :-)

-Rich

War-railing!

Sun, 21 May 2006 17:07:55 +0000

I just got off of a 25 hour train ride from West Palm Beach florida to Washington, DC. I know that some trains on the East coast have WiFi in their cars (if Lufthansa and SAS can do it over the Atlantic, then why can't Amtrak do it on soil?). Alas, no signal was to be found. So, I fired up NetStumbler and ran it for the entire length of the trip.

Updated SQL Server 2005 Samples and Databases

Fri, 19 May 2006 21:32:20 +0000

A bit late, but nevertheless, I wanted to let you know that there's an update you should all be aware of ... the samples and sample databases! :-)

SqlServerSamples.msi -- 19,092 KB
AdventureWorksDB.msi -- 27,992 KB
AdventureWorksDBCI.msi -- 29,116 KB
AdventureWorksBI.msi -- 7,592 KB
AdventureWorksBICI.msi -- 8,814 KB

CodePlex in Beta

Fri, 19 May 2006 20:05:55 +0000

Hat-Tip to Korby Parnell and James Newkirk, and the rest of the CodePlex crew. The beta is online, and you can read about it here and try it here.

What is it, you ask?

CodePlex is an online software development environment for open and shared source developers to create, host and manage projects throughout the project lifecycle. It has been written from the ground up in C# using .NET 2.0 technology with Team Foundation Server on the back end. CodePlex is open to the public free of charge.

New Team System Book by Sam Guckenheimer

Fri, 19 May 2006 19:52:20 +0000

Addison-Wesley has just released Sam Guckenheimer's book "Software Engineering with Microsoft Visual Studio Team System". Sam is a member of the Visual Studio Team System product team. I'm very interested in reading

Given Sam's extensive background in the industry, I'm really looking foward to reading this book!

Congratulations, Sam!

Determining a list of Reasons for a State Transition

Wed, 10 May 2006 12:42:37 +0000

If you are moving from one State to another programmatically, you can only move to certain allowed states. According to this posting, there is no easy way to determine which states are allowed. That's a crying shame! It's especially problematic if you are migrating work items from one system to another.

Team System seminar in Reston, VA for Federal Government

Wed, 03 May 2006 12:10:35 +0000

Microsoft® Visual Studio Team System Training
Brought to you by the Federal Developer Evangelism Team.

TFS Launch Party in Minneapolis this Thursday

Wed, 26 Apr 2006 00:40:46 +0000

Join me in Minneapolis Thursday at the Microsoft Launch event of Team Foundation Server. It should be fun.

Here are the details.

TFS Launch Party in Minneapolis this Thursday!

Wed, 26 Apr 2006 00:40:46 +0000

Join me in Minneapolis Thursday at the Microsoft Launch event of Team Foundation Server. It should be fun.

Here are the details.

DataNOW User Group (DNNUG) Meeting in Las Vegas

Sun, 23 Apr 2006 16:12:09 +0000

My old company (DataNOW, formerly ICS) in Twin Falls is holding its annual gathering in Las Vegas on May 1-4. This conference is for its suite of software packages.

SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 1 available

Sat, 22 Apr 2006 23:59:25 +0000

If you are using SQL Server 2005, then you will want to download this service pack. There are 32 and 64-bit versions available on the page.

Here is a list of bugs fixed and features added to SP1. Here is a link to SQL Server 2005 Express SP1.

Wiki-Based C# Editor

Wed, 05 Apr 2006 14:52:50 +0000

Check out this Wiki-Based C# Editor I just found out about. It features resources, including articles, code snippets, forums, study guides, and tutorials.

http://wiki.csharp-online.net

Plan now to attend Waterfall 2006

Fri, 31 Mar 2006 02:44:20 +0000

And then plan some more, write up some requirements, create some UML diagrams, and then finally visit their site to register http://waterfall2006.com

:-)

Download your copy of the 180-day TFS Trial Edition

Thu, 30 Mar 2006 03:36:39 +0000

Microsoft just put the 180–day Trial Edition of Team Foundation Server (English) up at the Microsoft Downloads site. It used to be on MSDN downloads, but they have made it more accessible for the rest of the world.

Get it here.

Finally, a hotel that gets it!

Sun, 26 Mar 2006 09:55:55 +0000

So, I just checked in to this cool, swank hotel in Athens called Semiramis. Aside from the bright pink glass doors, see-through bathroom walls, and symbol-coded rooms (no room numbers), they really get the WiFi thing. You know how hotels can be ... "yes, we have Internet access." ... "Wired or Wireless?" ... "Wireless" ... "Ok then, please put me in a room that gets a strong signal" ... "sir, it's available in ALL rooms" ... "(sigh)".

New BizTalk Server Team Blog

Thu, 23 Mar 2006 01:35:57 +0000

Looking for BizTalk goodness, straight from the team? Look no further.

Here’s a new blog that’s owned & operated by the product management team themselves. That’s right, Mike Woods, Kris Horrocks, Steve Sloan, and Mark Berman will be contributing quality content every week!

Keep your RSS feeds pointed to it, because it’ll be bringing you great BizTalk Server 2006 information, and beyond!

Did you attend my Code Camp talks yesterday?

Mon, 20 Mar 2006 04:46:33 +0000

If so, then you might be interested in downloading my Team System presentation and/or my SQL Server 2005 script for developers.

Boise Code Camp 2006 was great

Mon, 20 Mar 2006 04:37:57 +0000

Yesterday's 'camp rocked! We had over 130 people attend, and ran several successful sessions throughout the day.

Code Camp Attendees

A few of the presenters (Steven Borg, Cory Isakson, Richard Hundhausen, Jason Mauer)

Boise Code Camp 2006 was great!

Mon, 20 Mar 2006 04:37:57 +0000

Yesterday's 'camp rocked! We had over 130 people attend, and ran several successful sessions throughout the day.

Code Camp Attendees

A few of the presenters (Steven Borg, Cory Isakson, Richard Hundhausen, Jason Mauer)

I'm in a great mood today

Fri, 17 Mar 2006 16:00:50 +0000

Not only is it Saint Patrick's Day.

Not only does Team Foundation Server RTM today, but tomorrow is the Boise Code Code camp:

Boise Code Camp is this Saturday!

Mark your calendars - TDD Workshop in Boise

Mon, 06 Mar 2006 22:42:15 +0000

On April 27th (Thursday) from 8:30am to 5:00pm at the Overland Park Cinema the Boise .NET User Group will be hosting Scott Bellware. Scott will be delivering his Test Driven Development workshop. Here's a link to the syllabus from a previously-run workshop in Houston. This event will be free to the public, but you must register.

Check back to the NETDUG home page for registration details.

A glowing review of my Team System book

Mon, 06 Mar 2006 22:15:42 +0000

Wow, I wish more readers felt like Paul Lockwood. Read his glowing review of my Working with Visual Studio 2005 Team System book here.

Scrum plug-in for RC is available

Mon, 06 Mar 2006 22:12:26 +0000

I just got word that the Scrum for Team System: Beta 3 is now available. This build targets Team Foundation Server (Release Candidate). To download the installer, visit the Announcements section of the forum (by visiting http://scrum-master.com/vsts and clicking on the Forum link once signed in).

Going to Tech-Ed 2006 in Boston? If so, submit a Birds of a Feather (BoF) topic

Tue, 28 Feb 2006 20:34:02 +0000

The BoF sessions submission and voting is now live. Visit their page to submit a hot topic (or vote on one).

Spread the word!

Going to Tech-Ed 2006 in Boston? If so, submit a Birds of a Feather (BoF) topic!

Tue, 28 Feb 2006 20:34:02 +0000

The BoF sessions submission and voting is now live. Visit their page to submit a hot topic (or vote on one).

Spread the word!

Microsoft Vista editions have been announced!

Mon, 27 Feb 2006 18:07:09 +0000

Check out this article on engadget. It looks like there are six editions: Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate.

Good resources for migrating VSS to TFVC

Sun, 26 Feb 2006 03:00:34 +0000

Check out Ashwin Karuhatty's blog for some good resources on migrating to Team Foundation Version Control. You should bookmark his site, because they'll be more good resources to come.

Team Foundation Server RC Known Issues

Tue, 21 Feb 2006 14:23:55 +0000

Microsoft has published this known issues page pertaining to the TFS Release Candidate. It should be read by all who are installing/upgrading.

You can also refer to the readme online as well.

How do Microsoft MVPs get selected?

Mon, 20 Feb 2006 18:48:48 +0000

Check out Jonathan Goodyear's interview with Sean O'Driscoll, where the two discuss the inner workings of the MVP program.

Team System Widgets and Add-Ins

Mon, 20 Feb 2006 04:58:51 +0000

I've spent some time this evening and put together, what I consider to be a fairly comprehensive list of Team System and Team Foundation Server add-ins, utilities, and full-on products.

www.accentient.com/widgets.aspx

Did I miss any? Let me know!

-Rich

Software Configuration Management Patterns

Mon, 20 Feb 2006 01:23:30 +0000

Yep. I had to read the title twice myself, but there appears to be many good papers and even a book on the subject.

Thanks to Ted Neward for the information.

The Greater Idaho SharePoint Users Group

Sun, 19 Feb 2006 21:48:55 +0000

The GISUG had its inaugural meeting last week. From what Pete Hohenhaus tells me, there was a lot of enthusiasm, participation, and interest. Not including the presenters, they had 35 attendees. All in all an excellent beginning for this promising group.

Owen Allen, Jason Mauer, and Chris Barnard presented on Office 2007/SharePoint 2007. Owen and Jason focused many of the new capabilities, as well as the overall look and feel. Chris did an overview of the product release. Pete presented on some perspectives of what SharePoint is, how it can be used, and how best it can assist with collaborative work.

New INETA Speakers

Sun, 19 Feb 2006 00:06:55 +0000

Like my good friends Scott Cate and Wallace B. McClure, I have also been accepted to the INETA speakers' bureau. As a former user group coordinator, I appreciate INETA's mission to help bridge the resource-gap with .NET focused user groups around the country. INETA is a group that I have long supported and I consider it an honor to represent them.

I'm looking forward to a new target audience for my continued evangelism in .NET, SQL Server 2005, and Team System!

New INETA Speakers!

Sun, 19 Feb 2006 00:06:55 +0000

I'm looking forward to a new target audience for my continued evangelism in .NET, SQL Server 2005, and Team System!

Design your own South Park character

Sat, 18 Feb 2006 19:34:48 +0000

Visit this site to make your own custom South Park character!

TeamPlain Web Access for Team System

Sun, 12 Feb 2006 16:59:27 +0000

TeamPlain Web Access is a web interface for Team Foundation Server that allows you to manage work items, documents, reports and source control repositories.

These guys also make a Team System plug-in for Eclipse and Visual Studio 2003.

For the love of Anagrams

Sat, 11 Feb 2006 18:06:46 +0000

I'm in a weird mood today, so I'll challenge you to see if you can rearrange the letters of NEW DOOR to make one word?

VB.NET to C# (and C# to VB.NET) Code Translator - Ajax Style

Fri, 10 Feb 2006 15:34:35 +0000

Hat-tip to Scott Hanselman for pointing out CarlosAg's Ajax-style snippet translator.

Give it a try!

VB.NET to C# (and C# to VB.NET) Code Translator - Ajax Style!

Fri, 10 Feb 2006 15:34:35 +0000

Hat-tip to Scott Hanselman for pointing out CarlosAg's Ajax-style snippet translator.

Give it a try!

Team Foundation Server Release Candidate (RC) bits are downloadable today

Wed, 08 Feb 2006 01:39:05 +0000

MSDN subscription customers can download from the MSDN subscriber download site

Jeff Beehler posted these instructions to upgrade from Beta3/Refresh:

Backup your server and copy the data to a safe location
Download the Team Foundation Server RC
Download the Upgrade Utility
Uninstall Team Foundation Server Beta 3 Refresh
Follow the upgrade instructions, which are included with the Upgrade Utility
Install Team Foundation Server RC
Complete the post install upgrade instructions, which are included with the Upgrade Utility

For a reference to the major changes since Beta3 refresh, please see Jeff's posting.

Team Foundation Server Release Candidate (RC) bits are downloadable today!

Wed, 08 Feb 2006 01:39:05 +0000

MSDN subscription customers can download from the MSDN subscriber download site

Jeff Beehler posted these instructions to upgrade from Beta3/Refresh:

Backup your server and copy the data to a safe location
Download the Team Foundation Server RC
Download the Upgrade Utility
Uninstall Team Foundation Server Beta 3 Refresh
Follow the upgrade instructions, which are included with the Upgrade Utility
Install Team Foundation Server RC
Complete the post install upgrade instructions, which are included with the Upgrade Utility

For a reference to the major changes since Beta3 refresh, please see Jeff's posting.

Working with Visual Studio 2005 Team System Errata

Tue, 07 Feb 2006 18:45:53 +0000

Here is the link to the support site for my Team System book. It contains comments and corrections.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/905038

Also, I just found an error today, thanks to a reader:

"In your book on page 179 you put a reference to a figure 8-1 as the Team Model comparison, but the figure shows the Process Model comparison.
Have you ever seen this error ? Do you have the right figure ?"

Visual Studio 2005 Express Editions won't be free forever

Mon, 06 Feb 2006 15:40:57 +0000

A student pointed this out in class today. The free editions of Visual Studio 2005 Express won't be free forever - only until November 7th, 2006, which is one year from the launch. After that, it's assumed that the Express editions will be $49 each. You can find this information on the FAQ under pricing.

SQL Server 2005 Express edition, however, will remain free, as was promised during the launch events.

Why am I telling you this? So that you'll go download your free copies today! :-)

Visual Studio 2005 Express Editions won't be free forever

Mon, 06 Feb 2006 15:40:57 +0000

SQL Server 2005 Express edition, however, will remain free, as was promised during the launch events.

Why am I telling you this? So that you'll go download your free copies today! :-)

.NET Developers are on the top 5 list of best jobs

Mon, 06 Feb 2006 02:08:02 +0000

Check out this article on CNNMoney. It lists the top 5 jobs in having the biggest demand for employees. .NET Developers made the list!

Here's an excerpt:

Developers who are expert users of Microsoft's software programming language .NET can make between $75,000 and $85,000 a year in major cities when they're starting out. If they pursue a job at a company that seeks someone with a background in a given field (say, a firm looking for a .NET developer experienced in using software related to derivatives) they might snag a salary hike of 15 percent or more when they switch jobs.

Team Foundation Server Release Candidate (Build 50727.127)

Sat, 04 Feb 2006 04:55:37 +0000

Microsoft just announced this a few minutes ago, literally. It appears they are on track for a Calendar Q1 release of TFS!

Team Foundation Server Release Candidate! (Build 50727.127)

Sat, 04 Feb 2006 04:55:37 +0000

Microsoft just announced this a few minutes ago, literally. It appears they are on track for a Calendar Q1 release of TFS!

Tech-Ed 2006 Site is up

Wed, 01 Feb 2006 05:35:30 +0000

What:   Tech-Ed 2006
Where: Boston, MA
When:   June 11-16, 2006
Why:     Dude, it's Tech-Ed!!!

Be sure to visit the site and get registered!

And, if you can make it, be sure to attend an awesome pre-conference seminar on customizing Team System.

Tech-Ed 2006 Site is up!

Wed, 01 Feb 2006 05:35:30 +0000

What:   Tech-Ed 2006
Where: Boston, MA
When:   June 11-16, 2006
Why:     Dude, it's Tech-Ed!!!

Be sure to visit the site and get registered!

And, if you can make it, be sure to attend an awesome pre-conference seminar on customizing Team System.

Bend to Evil

Mon, 30 Jan 2006 16:13:22 +0000

"Bend to Evil" is an anagram of Google's "Don't be Evil" byline. I generally hold Google in high regard for its strong vision of an interconnected world where information is free, open and shared. But I also understand their need to make money. Still, I'm disheartened by their decision to actively censor search results on their newly installed Chinese servers. The Chinese government believes concepts like freedom and democracy are not in the best interests of their subjects, and like any good nanny state, is trying to protect their people from these dangerous thoughts. Enter Google. Google, who proudly proclaimed that it did not censor search results, has decided that to best serve the Chinese market, they'll take direction from the Chinese government as to what people should be able to see. Now, i believe Google has good motives; you can read their defense here. However, I'm still dismayed for a few reasons:

VSTS / Project Server integration

Mon, 30 Jan 2006 15:50:47 +0000

One of the main sticking points with many people is the lack of integration between Visual Studio Team System (VSTS) and Microsoft Project Server. Sure, you can indirectly connect the two through a MS Project file, and there's some light integration there. But most people want to use VSTS as part of a complete lifecycle management too... and that means tracking resources across multiple projects, and many across several organizational stovepipes. That's where MS Project Server comes in.

Yahoo! Answers

Fri, 27 Jan 2006 04:15:43 +0000

I just received an email from Yahoo, letting me know about their Yahoo! Answers service. Sounds a lot like Google Answers.

So, why not ask it How much wood could a woodchuck chuck? or, as Dennis The Menace puts it … How much ground could a groundhog grind?

Tech-Ed 2006 Europe

Wed, 25 Jan 2006 18:46:57 +0000

Some changes this year from Microsoft. It seems that they are merging the usually separate and distinct Tech-Ed Europe (traditional audience of 50% devs/50% IT pros) and Microsoft IT Forum (100% IT pros) into just "Tech Ed Europe". They will be run in two consecutive weeks in November:

Tech Ed: Developers (week November 6th, CCIB Barcelona, Spain)
Tech Ed: IT Forum (week November 13th, CCIB Barcelona, Spain)

For more information, check out the Tech-Ed Europe site.

Software Reliability Research

Tue, 24 Jan 2006 16:09:00 +0000

Bookmark this site if you are interested in what Microsoft Research is doing to improve the quality of software through analysis, program verification and software measurement techniques. I wonder how many of these tools might make it into VSTS in the future? MUTT might be interesting.

Here are a couple of interesting articles:

Ding Dong Windows98/ME is dead!

Tue, 24 Jan 2006 02:49:50 +0000

Open the champagne, because on June 30, 2006 Microsoft will bring a close to Extended Support for Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, and Windows Me as part of the Microsoft Lifecycle Policy. Microsoft will retire public and technical support, including security updates, by this date.

Team Foundation Server for Delphi users

Mon, 23 Jan 2006 19:54:36 +0000

This question was recently asked on the VSTS forums.

As Rob Caron explains, the integration depends solely on Borland's ability to integrate TFS into Delphi's IDE. Until then options include using the standalone Team Explorer, command-line utilities, or possibly the newly available MSSCII Provider for Team Foundation Server.

Team Foundation Server Release Candidate

Fri, 20 Jan 2006 15:40:52 +0000

According to Jeff Beehler's recent blog posting, we should see an RC by the end of February. We're getting closer folks!

Upgraded to dasBlog 1.8

Fri, 20 Jan 2006 02:05:50 +0000

You may have noticed a bit different look (and feel). I decided to get current on dasBlog, so I downloaded the latest from SourceForge.

ReplaceEm - Great Tool for Global Search and Replace at the File System Level

Wed, 18 Jan 2006 20:25:00 +0000

Every now and then I REALLY need to replace some text with some other text in a whole series of directories. This is especially true when working with MOC course, with LOTS of references to a server name in all sorts of solutions.

There's a GREAT tool that does simple search and replace, through any number or type of files, regardless of directory depth called ReplaceEm. And, it's FREE! The developer just wants you think of FitSoftware when you need some software development done. Download it here.

Team System MSDN Public Chat

Wed, 18 Jan 2006 04:08:58 +0000

Don't miss these chats! They're great for finding out what the latest info is, and how to solve some of your knotties problems!

Team System MSDN Public Chat

Visual Studio Team Edition for Software Developer &
Visual Studio Team Edition for Software Testers

Jury Duty

Thu, 12 Jan 2006 03:54:38 +0000

Yep, I've got it this week. Had to go in on Monday, sit in a room with 300 other citizens and then get told that the prosecuting attorney was ill. All the time I was envisioning how a Web service or well-placed smart-client application could have eased our boredom.

I was outta there by mid-morning; but, it looks like tomorrow my number came up again.

The pay? 9$ per day for the first 3 days and $25 per day thereafter. "While people should not profit from jury duty, people should not suffer economic loss for fulfilling civic duty."

Fun Google wrapper

Tue, 10 Jan 2006 21:30:11 +0000

One of my students from Israel sent me this link. It seems someone has built a clever facade that sits over the Google search engine. Funny.

Member and Role Management articles at MSDN

Thu, 05 Jan 2006 19:10:30 +0000

Don't miss the latest articles on MSDN covering one of the coolest new ASP.NET 2.0 features: Member and Role Management.

Peter Kellner, a friend of Rich and myself, from California wrote them. They're chock-full of expert goodness!

If you're working with ASP.NET 2.0 role-based security, give them a read!

Teamlook Beta 2 released

Thu, 05 Jan 2006 17:52:28 +0000

Teamlook brings together the ad-hoc communications domain, specifically messaging, and the structured software engineering team domain by integrating Microsoft Outlook 2003 with Microsoft Visual Studio Team System.

Visit Personify Design's site to download Teamlook and check it out.

Also, check out their TFS Outlook Starter Kit.

ASP.NET 2.0 Member/Role Management with IIS articles online

Thu, 05 Jan 2006 17:06:05 +0000

A friend of mine, Peter Kellner, has a couple of articles online:

If you're working with ASP.NET 2.0 role-based security, give them a read!

5-Day Team System Course - Feb 27 - Mar 3, 2006 at Netdesk in Seattle

Wed, 04 Jan 2006 04:54:47 +0000

Netdesk, a Microsoft Gold-certified training center, has partnered with us to deliver a 5-day end-to-end Visual Studio Team System course from February 27 - March 3, 2006. They'll have it up on their web site soon, but I wanted to let everyone out there know what's coming! I'll be sure to link to the course registration when it's up. But you can contact them now for pricing and more information.

Boise Code Camp - March 2006

Wed, 28 Dec 2005 21:48:22 +0000

If you are wanting to play an active (or passive) role in the Boise Code Camp, please visit www.boisecodecamp.org to stay in tune with the happenings.

At this point, we have a location (University of Phoenix in Meridian), but not yet a date. We're choosing between the weekends of March 4th, 11th, and 18th.

I'll continue to blog more information as it becomes available.

I got renewed as a Regional Director

Tue, 27 Dec 2005 21:20:04 +0000

I just received my letter from Microsoft welcoming me back to the Microsoft Regional Director program for the 2006-2007 period. Thought I’d share.

Northwest Connected Systems

Fri, 23 Dec 2005 03:12:36 +0000

If your domain includes working with Microsoft connected systems (BizTalk, Windows Workflow Foundation, Windows Communication Foundation, SQL Server, Visual Studio, etc.) then you should be aware of this user group.

The UG covers the greater Seattle area, but you can stay engaged through their Website.

Another RD bites the dust

Thu, 22 Dec 2005 15:34:16 +0000

Yep, it's true.

Clemens Vasters, the .NET architect guru and co-founder of newtelligence AG from Germany is joining Microsoft.

Working with Visual Studio 2005 Team System - Errata

Tue, 20 Dec 2005 16:10:09 +0000

Microsoft has published a Web page (actually a KB article) for any comments, corrections, or errata on my book. Nothing there yet!

Con artist Design Patterns from the Gang of Twelve

Fri, 16 Dec 2005 18:11:16 +0000

I've been meaning to post this for some time. I was watching Ocean's Twelve awhile back, and really enjoyed the scene towards the end where Linus Caldwell (Matt Damon), Basher Tarr (Don Cheadle), and Turk Malloy (Scott Caan) are going over ideas on how to steal the Faberge egg in Rome. This is just after most of the twelve got arrested or detained while trying their primary plan.

The ideas and names they came up with are like Design Patterns for thieves or con artists. You can check out the script yourself, but here's a list of the design patterns (and their responses) from the original Gang of Twelve! (GOT) ...

Team System Training in NYC

Fri, 16 Dec 2005 17:45:13 +0000

Rich just conducted a 3 day Team System training course for CBS in New York City. Congratulations!

Microsoft's site comparing J2EE to .NET

Fri, 16 Dec 2005 17:20:44 +0000

Both sides have had sites like this over the years, but Microsoft finally put together a comprehensive site with research, case studies, code samples, and other resources.

Microsoft's site comparing J2EE to .NET

Fri, 16 Dec 2005 17:20:44 +0000

Both sides have had sites like this over the years, but Microsoft finally put together a comprehensive site with research, case studies, code samples, and other resources.

People Trump Process - A Huge Benefit of Team System

Fri, 16 Dec 2005 15:53:14 +0000

While driving yesterday, I was listening to a Podcast by Alistair Cockburn (pronounced, I learned, like Coburn, not like an uncomfortable genital condition). He was discussing Agile development, something I'm very interested in. One of the things he's learned over the years is that "People trump process". Basically, if a process is too confining, restrictive or proscriptive, people will always find a way around the process. In addition, if the process is too chaotic, people will spontaneously create something to add a light structure to their development process.

November 2005 CTP of DSL Tools available

Mon, 05 Dec 2005 22:57:23 +0000

As reported on Jochen Seemann’s blog, these tools are now available for download. Now the world can get started creating Domain Specific Language Widgets!

November 2005 CTP of DSL Tools available!

Mon, 05 Dec 2005 22:57:22 +0000

As reported on Jochen Seemann’s blog, these tools are now available for download. Now the world can get started creating Domain Specific Language Widgets!

Steve and Rich's article in Idaho IQ magazine

Sat, 03 Dec 2005 20:45:10 +0000

Check out our article on Data Mining in the October issue of Business IQ Magazine. You’ll need to download the October issue and read it for yourself! It’s about 5mb.

Steve and Rich's article in Idaho IQ magazine

Thu, 01 Dec 2005 23:42:14 +0000

Check out our article on Data Mining in the October issue of Business IQ Magazine. You’ll need to download the October issue and read it for yourself! It’s about 5mb.

VS2005/SQL2005/BizTalk2006 - Seattle Launch

Thu, 01 Dec 2005 05:24:25 +0000

Rich Hundhausen and myself just spoke to crowds of over 1,200 people at the Dev breakouts at the Seattle Visual Studio 2005 launch. I provided a Team System End-to-End, while Rich made sure everyone knew how to create enterprise applications using the Architect features of Team System, SQL Server 2005 and some of the cooler features of BizTalk Server 2006.

A huge adrenalin rush! No matter how many times you speak in front of large audiences, it's still a rush!

Tools Affected by Team System

Thu, 01 Dec 2005 05:16:45 +0000

My good friend, business partner and coblogger, Rich Hundhausen posted this a while back. I just had a need for it, and LOVE the work that Christopher Bowen did putting this list together. It's a list of all the tools, both open source and not, that are impacted (positively or negatively) by the release of Visual Studio 2005 Team System. You can find the link here.

Where are my sample databases and projects?

Sun, 27 Nov 2005 10:29:19 +0000

I was asked this again last week, so it's time to blog!

When installing SQL Server 2005, you need to click the Advanced button to get to the screen below so that you can include the sample databases and project code. If you just check the boxes for the various database services, these won't get installed by default.

Seen the "Big Ad" from Carlton Draught (beer)?

Fri, 25 Nov 2005 19:21:11 +0000

Since it's a holiday and I'm posting fun links today ...

Take a moment and watch this beer commercial. It's hilarious.

Microsoft Feels Your Pain!

Fri, 25 Nov 2005 18:30:23 +0000

This is a pretty funny video. Enjoy!

(The servers have been pretty busy lately. Hopefully you can get through)

Thank you for attending the Dubai SQL Server 2005 launch!

Wed, 23 Nov 2005 10:04:45 +0000

I enjoyed very much visiting your country, meeting you, and presenting my favorite developer topics on SQL Server 2005.

Feel free to download the demos here and the slides here.

Also, please send me any questions you might have to the email that I provided you during the conference, or post them here (as a comment).

Cool gift from S. "Soma" Somasegar

Wed, 23 Nov 2005 09:58:45 +0000

I'm proud to be one of the folks acknowledged for making Visual Studio 2005 the thing of beauty that it is.

Congratulations to all recipients!

ClickOnce troubleshooting guide

Wed, 23 Nov 2005 09:53:55 +0000

Here's a good resource on MSDN for troubleshooting ClickOnce deployments.

I've been hearing that there's been some issues with ClickOnce and RTM.

XBOX 360 shortage?

Wed, 23 Nov 2005 09:52:06 +0000

Say it isn't so! According to this article in the Seattle Post Intelligencer, stock might be slim and lines might be long.

Ironically, one of the first questions I was asked in Dubai at the SQL Server 2005 launch event was "What day will the XBOX 360 launch in Dubai?".

Update 25 Nov - If the hyperlink above isn't working, try http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10092388

Visual Studio licensing for certified and gold certified partners

Mon, 21 Nov 2005 13:24:05 +0000

We've been getting some questions lately on this, and here are the answers:

Partners at the Certified Partner level will receive the new Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Professional Edition with MSDN Premium Subscription. As before, this will include 5 MSDN licenses.
Partners at the Gold Certified Partner level will receive the enhanced version of Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Team Edition for Software Developers with MSDN Premium Subscription. As before, this will include 10 MSDN licenses.

Sample code from my SQL Week (Tel-Aviv) presentations

Mon, 21 Nov 2005 11:45:38 +0000

My apologies for being late on uploading these, but I had to spend an incredible weekend touring Jerusalem and Bethlahem. Then, I jumped on a flight to Dubai, and am currently in a hotel in downtown, preparing for the SQL Server Magazine Roadshow tomorrow.

My sample code from my Keynote, Asynchronicity, Security, SMO, and Mobile presentations, as well as the afternoon of the SQLCLR seminar is in the process of being uploaded. I should have a link in a day or two. Please email me if you need something before then!

Team System to pick up Rational Unified Process (RUP) support?

Mon, 21 Nov 2005 10:55:32 +0000

In two recent articles, in eWeek and SearchVB.com, it seems that Ivar Jacobson (one of the fathers of UML and RUP) has recently joined the Microsoft VSIP program. He is working on the Essential Unified Process (Essential UP) that is going to be integrated into Visual Studio 2005. Essential UP will be a more agile and lightweight development process based on good practices and principles of both MSF and RUP.

Visualizing associations with generics on a class diagram

Mon, 21 Nov 2005 08:20:53 +0000

Thanks to a student, Jim Munn, for originally asking the question "When adding a property to an object that uses System.Collections.Generic.List<> the designer doesn't show a relation to the class that the generic collection is typed to. Why not?"

So, let's assume you have two classes: Customer and Order

Notice how, by default, the association is not displayed between the Customer and Order class. By right-clicking either the mOrders field or Orders property and selecting Show as Collection Association, the association will be visualized:

Database concordance generator - CodeSmith Style!

Mon, 21 Nov 2005 07:10:06 +0000

Thanks to one of my favorite attendees, Oren Ellenbogen, who is a CodeSmith guru, for providing a CodeSmith solution to my SQL Server concordance generator that I demonstrated at SQL Week in Israel.

A "concordance generator" is something I came up with, which scans through all of the columns, in all of the tables, in a database, and looks for anomalies, such as two columns with the same name, but with different data types, sizes, nullability, etc. It's good for people who like their database structures just so -- like Monk!

Scam of the week!

Thu, 17 Nov 2005 01:09:56 +0000

Check out this guy's page. For a small fee, he'll "sell" you the information on how to get all of those benefits. What people don't realize is that this is just the ISV Empower program, and you can go directly to Microsoft for this, if you qualify.

For an additionaly laugh, check out his feedback comments - some suckers and some informed folks.

Hope I saved you the finder's fee!

ASP.NET Podcasting!

Thu, 17 Nov 2005 00:50:37 +0000

Check out the ASP.NET Podcast site. This is a podcast geared towards the Microsoft .NET Framework and ASP.NET development. The blog is setup for new content and includes an image gallery which lists photos of the listeners.

Questions from SQL Week (Israel)

Tue, 15 Nov 2005 14:37:44 +0000

Thank you everyone for attending my talks. I'm going to start answering the questions I've been asked here. Feel free to email me if you have additional questions, or if my answer(s) aren't clear.

Q. Can I convert .RDLC (ReportViewer control) files to .RDL (Reporting Services) files?
A. You bet. Check out this page for more information.

Q. How can I clear out all the connection pools from my middle-tier
A. ADO.NET 2.0 has the new SqlConnection.ClearAllPools() static method.

Good ADO.NET 2.0 Book

Mon, 14 Nov 2005 14:10:03 +0000

My friend, Wallace McClure’s book will be out soon (end of November). If you will be doing any ADO.NET 2.0 development, against SQL Server, Oracle, or MySQL, then I recommend you check out his book. Here’s the page on Amazon.

Team System posters

Mon, 14 Nov 2005 14:02:55 +0000

My fellow Team System MVP, Willy-Peter Schaub from South Africa has been putting together many cool VSTS posters. These are print-ready JPG drawings, covering things like installation, security, and source control.

If you missed the launch in San Francisco

Mon, 14 Nov 2005 09:04:54 +0000

You can watch Steve Ballmer's keynote here. I've also uploaded a few photos from the event. My personal favorite was meeting Paul senior from Orange County Choppers (American Chopper).

Tip: To view my photos, select Conferences and Launch 2005 - San Francisco.

DotNetNuke (DNN) module for Knowledge Base suppport

Thu, 10 Nov 2005 22:31:07 +0000

I you have a DNN site, and are wanting to run a knowledge base for you company or product, then look no further. The KBDnn module was built by the best guys in the business, and for the cheap price, you can’t go wrong.

VSTS FAQ

Mon, 07 Nov 2005 01:39:17 +0000

Now that VS/SQL/VSTS are available for download, I've been getting a lot of licensing questions, especially about MSDN/U subscriptions and the elusive Team Suite. Ajay Sudan put together a nice, consise FAQ at the VSTS forum.

Visual Studio 2005 and SQL Server 2005 Available

Thu, 27 Oct 2005 19:53:32 +0000

Today is the day. Visual Studio 2005 (including all VSTS editions) and SQL Server 2005 are available to the public for download from MSDN.

Visual Studio 2005 and SQL Server 2005 Available!

Thu, 27 Oct 2005 19:53:32 +0000

Today is the day. Visual Studio 2005 (including all VSTS editions) and SQL Server 2005 are available to the public for download from MSDN.

Seattle Code Camp - SQL Presentation

Sat, 22 Oct 2005 20:59:03 +0000

Thank you for attending my talk this morning. Here is a text file with my sample code. Enjoy!

Want to share your Team Foundation Server setup experience?

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 20:29:47 +0000

The Team Foundation Server setup experience has been evolving for over a year now in response to feedback Microsoft has received. While they’ve made significant progress since the first release last year as Visual Studio 2005 Beta 1 Refresh with Visual Studio 2005 Team Foundation Server, there’s still more that can be done. Microsoft has created a survey to ask some specific questions based on your experience with Team Foundation Server Beta 3. If you have attempted (successfully or otherwise) to install Team Foundation Server Beta 3, Microsoft invites you to participate in this brief online survey.

Visual Studio Team System MVPs

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 16:34:06 +0000

Microsoft has listed the VSTS MVPs on their site. You can view their profiles here.

What is an MVP?
The MVP award is a one-year renewable reward given to just under 3,000 customers worldwide who are community leaders for their past year's accomplishments in a specific competency (ex: ASP.NET, C#, VSTS). A non-Microsoft employee is nominated by an employee or other MVP, their contributions to the community are evaluated, and they are voted on by an MVP Lead and PG Lead. Contributions can include answering MSDN Forum questions, writing articles & books, having an active & popular blog, working with the product teams, running a local user group, giving presentations, etc. A quick intro to what an MVP is can be found on the MVP Website.

Be sure to attend the upcoming Team System public chat on MSDN

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 16:23:37 +0000

Team System MSDN Public Chat

Visual Studio Team System for Software Developer & Visual Studio Team System for Software Testers

When: Wednesday 10/19/05 @ 10am PST

What: The Profiler, Test Tools (Unit, Generic, Manual), Web & Load Testing, and Code Analysis (FxCop & PREFast). We have questions for you, will answer questions from you, and will chat about the exciting new technology.

Upcoming MSDN Chat - Developer and Tester Tools

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 00:01:33 +0000

Don't miss the upcoming MSDN chat, this Wednesday at 10am (PST) on Developer & Tester Tools in Visual Studio 2005. If you haven't attended one of the MSDN chats, I strongly encourage it! Not only do they provide a bunch of solid information, there will be an entire series of Visual Studio and Team System experts on hand to answer any specific questions you have. I attended one of these recently, and got to ask some hard questions that ended up revealing bugs in the latest release of Team System. The folks there not only thanked me for my support, they worked overtime to get a workaround to me ASAP! I can't recommend the chats enough! Be there!

Two new Visual Studio Team System MVPs

Sat, 15 Oct 2005 15:02:55 +0000

A bit belated in this posting, but Steven Borg and I are both Microsoft MVPs now! I attended the MVP summit a few weeks ago as an RD, and I’ve got to say that I am in some good company, and am really impressed at the level of support Microsoft gives to this program.

Two new Visual Studio Team System MVPs!

Sat, 15 Oct 2005 15:02:54 +0000

Who's heading to camp next weekend?

Thu, 13 Oct 2005 13:55:30 +0000

Seattle Code Camp is just around the corner - about 10 days away. Steven Borg and I are going to be presenting a couple of Team System and SQL Server 2005 topics at camp and we hope to see you there!

Who's heading to camp next weekend?

Thu, 13 Oct 2005 13:55:30 +0000

Seattle Code Camp is just around the corner - about 10 days away. Steven Borg and I are going to be presenting a couple of Team System and SQL Server 2005 topics at camp and we hope to see you there!

Visual Studio 2003/2005 shortcuts

Tue, 11 Oct 2005 14:20:24 +0000

A friend of mine sent me this link. It’s a pretty good reference page on the core keyboard shortcuts.

PDF Support in Office 12?

Sat, 08 Oct 2005 13:42:36 +0000

Microsoft’s senior vice president, Steven Sinofsky, discusses support for the PDF Format in Office 12. It appears it will be as simple as "Save-as".

Read the Q&A here.

Code Camp is coming to Seattle

Wed, 05 Oct 2005 21:14:59 +0000

Code camp is this month! It comes to the DeVry campus on October 22nd and 23rd. Yep! That's a weekend, and that means you don't have to ask for time off work to attend.

If you missed the Code Camp in Portland, this is your chance. I attended and spoke there, and it was the best conference I've ever attended, including PDC 2005 and TechEd 2005! It's a great idea. Just coders talking to coders! Every presentation includes CODE, and there's no marketing... And the presenters are all coders.

Remembering the good old Internet days

Wed, 05 Oct 2005 19:59:31 +0000

I had a student just show me the Wayback Machine, which is a Web site that caches other sites all the way back to 1998. So, if you want to see how the old Microsoft or Google site looked a few years ago, you can! And, yes Google’s site did look different in 1999.

SharePoint Training event in Seattle / Portland, and around US

Fri, 30 Sep 2005 17:30:17 +0000

Microsoft is running a SharePoint training tour around the country. It covers, from both business and technical perspectives, how to effectively implement, configure, manage and extend Windows SharePoint Services and SharePoint Portal Server. In addition to the normal goodies Microsoft normally hands out at these events (software, etc), attendees will get an actual 5 user permanent license for BrightWork's IT Work Manager application, a SharePoint application that assists in Project Management.

Building Team System Demos

Thu, 29 Sep 2005 23:39:40 +0000

I've been frantically working for the past few days on an important Team System demo using the latest bits.

Folks, we've come a LONG way from Beta 1! And we still have a ways to go! The UI is much smoother, and more accessible, however, some things still aren't working efficiently. Web tests aren't consistently reliable. Or maybe it's just that the built-in web server isn't reliable. But it'2013-08-28 13:48:43's been a MAJOR frustration! The workaround is to deploy the web site to IIS to do ALL your tests! This is a best practice anyway, but once you have it out on IIS, it becomes very difficult (impossible?) to run code coverage analysis on your web code!

AJAX on the high sees

Thu, 29 Sep 2005 18:00:01 +0000

Channel 9 has picked up the Scott Cate’s AJAX video. Yes, that’s me chillin in the background!

An alliance you'd never thought you'd see

Mon, 26 Sep 2005 19:18:57 +0000

Microsoft and Plam announced today that an upcoming model of the Treo (early 2006) will run Windows Mobile 5.0. Verizon will provide the high-speed network.

(Belated) congratulations to Dave Bost

Sat, 24 Sep 2005 19:12:12 +0000

I’ve been heads-down all week building content for the big launch on November 7, but I wanted to blog about Dave Bost being hired on by Microsoft. He’ll be assuming the role of Developer Evangelist for the midwest district, and he’s joining at a great time, what with Team System, Visual Studio, SQL Server, and BizTalk Server all launching soon!

Steven Wilssens on Team System

Fri, 23 Sep 2005 14:11:35 +0000

Steven Wilssens attended the preconference on Team System that Rich and I presented at PDC this year. He's blogged it. But the best is his incredible summary! He manages in just a few paragraphs to effectively summarize the content of the full day pre-con. I whole heartedly recommend his post!

In addition, he's got several other great posts. I especially like his post on the testing "V model". It explains how the various classes of tests (unit, integration, acceptance, etc) relate to the software development lifecycle. You can find that post here.

Google and the Wisdom of Crowds

Fri, 23 Sep 2005 13:41:41 +0000

Those of you who know me well, likely know I'm a big fan of TradeSports, a marketplace where you can trade options in things like political races, supreme court nominees and European metric football (soccer) matches. (They had the 2004 election nailed prior to the polls closing, unlike the pollsters who were still confused two days later.) So when Google announced on their blog that they were using an internal options exchange to predict their launch dates, when managers would quit and other important internal pieces of information, I was excited. Even more exciting is they've totally geeked out, even showing graphs like entropy of their decision prices over time. But the most exciting thing... IT WORKS! Google is able to predict their launch dates with a remarkable degree of accuracy! Microsoft, can we have some predictive markets for your launch dates? Pretty please?

Want to talk to a human?

Thu, 22 Sep 2005 22:53:58 +0000

Ever get tired of pushing numbers on your phone repeatedly just to get through to an operator or helpdesk employee, when you KNOW that your answer can't be handled by the automated system. Sometimes there's a workaround, a fast way to get to a human. And the wonderful folks at Intuit Quickbase have a list of many commonly called companies, along with the secret handshake to get to a human fast! They call it their Find-A-Human -- IVR Phone System Shortcuts list. Find it here.

Martin Danner passed the PMP Exam

Wed, 21 Sep 2005 23:04:43 +0000

I just found out that Martin Danner of Arrowrock (one of the professionals that Accentient has proudly worked with several times) has just passed the Project Management Professional certification exam. It's a 4 hour exam, and that was the last step in Martin's Project Management certification! Even before his certification, Martin has excelled at Project Management. He's managed several of our projects here at Accentient, and I'm proud to say that the one's he's managed have been some of our most successful! Congratulations, Martin!

GssUtil.exe replaced by TfsSecurity.exe

Wed, 21 Sep 2005 14:57:13 +0000

If you've been trying to find GssUtil.exe so you can script the new Beta 3 release of TFS, you won't be able to! Instead, you'll use the new TfsSecurity. Luckily, adding groups and individual users uses the same command line (except of course, the name of the EXE), so it's a simple search and replace! So, in short, there's been a name change, GssUtil.exe is now TfsSecurity.exe (at least for the purposes of roles and logins).

BSU Offers Free Identity Theft/Anti-Fraud Conference Next Week

Sat, 17 Sep 2005 02:16:47 +0000

Next Thursday, September 22, Boise State University will present a free conference designed to help consumers and business people alike gain the knowledge they need to protect against and recover from identity theft crimes. The conference will run from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. in the Student Union building.

0755 - 0800 Welcome
0800 - 0915 Rick Estberg, IOSS.GOV; ID Theft
0915 - 1000 IRA WINKLER, Internet Security Advisors Group (ISAG); Corporate Espionage
1000 - 1045 Nora Carpenter, BBB; Scam Alerts
1045 - 1100 Senator Larry E. Craig, R-ID; Eldercare and Protecting Seniors from Fraud
1100 - 1145 Debra Schriner & Kris Inskeep, INL.GOV; Talking Trash
1145 - 1230 C. Honts Ph.D., Boise State University; Psychology of Deception
1230 - 1315 Det. Quilter & Jill Langhurst Esq., City of Boise & Ada County; White Collar Crime & Det. Curt Crum, Retail Fraud Schemes
1315 - 1400 Detective Ed Hewitt, Ret., City of Vancouver; ID Theft & Meth
1400 - 1430 Special Agent Jim Hatch, USSS; Electronic Fraud Schemes
1430 – 1500 Brice Sloan, Sloan Fencing; Interviewing Employees for the Prevention of Occupational Fraud
1500 - 1530 Mark Albrecht, Hewlett Packard Privacy Manager; What Companies Do With You Information
1530 - 1600 Gar Hackney, Esq., Defending the Accused
1600 - 1630 Expert Panel: Questions &Answers OR Cory Schou, Ph.D., Idaho State University, Information Assurance

Please visit this page at BSU for more information.

Another RD "drinks the kool-aid"

Fri, 16 Sep 2005 17:42:23 +0000

In other words, he joined Microsoft. Yes, my fellow RD to the (great white) North, John Bristowe just hired-on as a new Developer Evangelist (DE) for the area.

Good luck John!

Introducing Visual Studio Team System - on Amazon

Fri, 16 Sep 2005 01:57:35 +0000

I just found the URL to my forthcoming Team System book on Amazon. This is the revised edition that I just finished last month! Too bad there's no graphic, and the date is wrong. I was told it'll be up there the first of October.

Thanks again for all your support on this!

Update: A friend, Peter Nowak, from Germany pointed me towards the listing on Amazon.de! He also mentioned it in a recent blog posting.

Introducing Visual Studio Team System - on Amazon!

Fri, 16 Sep 2005 01:57:35 +0000

Thanks again for all your support on this!

Update: A friend, Peter Nowak, from Germany pointed me towards the listing on Amazon.de! He also mentioned it in a recent blog posting.

Presented a virtual session on Team System to the Application Lifecycle Management online Conference

Thu, 15 Sep 2005 16:34:44 +0000

This was a last minute thing that came up, but yesterday morning I presented a 1-hour session on Team System to this virtual conference. I understand that they had 4500+ attendees signed-up. I know that my session had 100 people in it, which is great for a conference that was devoid of any specific tools (most topics were on management, theory, and best practice).

(Click to expand)

Scott Cate sailing and discussing Ajax!

Thu, 15 Sep 2005 16:07:27 +0000

People ask why we arrived at the PDC on Friday, several days ahead of the first day. Well, it was so we could present Team System at the pre-conference, as well as go sailing all day Saturday. Here is a video (scroll down) that Lorin Thwaits and Scott Cate created to show at the PDC, and show-off Ajax and myKB.

Google launches blog search

Thu, 15 Sep 2005 15:57:31 +0000

I seem to remember suggesting this to a few of the Google guys at their room party at PDC 2003. Well, it took them two years to do it, but it looks promising.

Read the CNET article here, Google’s FAQ here, or try it!

Pondering Visual Basic 9.0

Thu, 15 Sep 2005 15:52:31 +0000

My friend Scott Swigart got a chance to sit down with several Microsoft employees and chat about the planned features and changes. This is great, considering Visual Basic 8.0 isn't even out yet. One of the most anticipated features is Language INtegrated Query (LINQ).

Check out Scott's article on Dr. Dobb's.

PDC Underground!

Mon, 12 Sep 2005 23:29:22 +0000

Just down the road from the convention center is where you can find the coolest event going. PDC Underground! It's where we will have some food and drinks and hear from the best speakers in town for the PDC, all in one evening!

When: Tuesday September 13th 6:00pm to 9:00pm
Location: The Westin Bonaventure Hotel in the Catalina Ballroom

Food and drinks then at 6:30pm 2 hours of non stop geeky fun with all new GROK Talks and they will be LIVE! Presented by Regional Directors from around the world.

Oracle buys Siebel

Mon, 12 Sep 2005 21:35:04 +0000

Oracle announced publicly today that it will buy Siebel Software for 5.85 million. Here’s a news article.

Blackout at the PDC!

Mon, 12 Sep 2005 21:33:01 +0000

Literraly, LA suffered a major blackout a few minutes ago. All pre-conference presentations and meetings were halted and people were just milling about. Power came back on the the convention center a few minutes ago.

Sample chapter posted to The Beta Experience (EMEA)

Wed, 07 Sep 2005 18:19:06 +0000

I was just informed today that Microsoft has posted my revised chapter 3 (Team System Client Applications) on their Beta Experience Website.

Consuming ASP.NET Web Services from SQLCLR

Tue, 06 Sep 2005 15:30:01 +0000

I've done a lot of things from the SQLCLR thus far, except for consuming an ASP.NET Web Service. This morning, I ran into some difficulties. Here are some key points to remember:

Remove any app.config from your SQLCLR project so that VS 2005 can properly deploy
Refer to this posting if you get the "Cannot load dynamically generated serialization assembly ..." error message
Refer to this posting on how to automate the fix above from within Visual Studio 2005

Many thanks to Vineet Rao (Microsoft) for these tips.

Got Code Snippets?

Mon, 05 Sep 2005 18:15:05 +0000

If you haven't played with the new Code Snippets features in Visual Studio 2005, you're missing out! It makes it easy to keep an entire library of useful code snippets within Visual Studio 2005, and at the ready to help with any programming assignment. Integrated Intellisense invokes them automatically.

In anticipation of this feature, my fellow RD J. Michael Palermo IV has created www.gotcodesnippets.net which will become the uber repository of such snippets. It will launch officially at PDC.

Show-Off night at PDC

Mon, 05 Sep 2005 17:59:46 +0000

Why demo your cool application to a few friends, when you can show it off to thousands of your peers at the PDC? This year's PDC will be the first-ever Show Off event, which is an evening event held at the PDC where you can show off your application, tip, tool, technique, animation, or anything cool that can help or inspire other developers.

Read more about it at Channel 9 or Michael Swanson's blog post.

Business Process Integration & Workflow Conference - October 4-7, 2005 (Redmond, WA)

Mon, 05 Sep 2005 17:55:13 +0000

Plan now to attend this four day workshop covering Microsoft’s Business Process, Integration and Workflow to get up to speed on new and updated solutions for Business Process Automation, Integration Services and Workflow, including BizTalk Server 2006.

Click here for more information.

Great quotations from the world of Programming ...

Sat, 03 Sep 2005 17:12:46 +0000

A friend of mine from Iceland emailed recently. His tagline listed a fun Website that he runs.

Here are a couple of my favorites:

When debugging, novices insert corrective code; experts remove defective code. - R. Pattis
Programming is like sex: one mistake and you have to support it for the rest of your life. - Michael Sinz
I'd rather write programs to write programs than write programs. - D. Sites
It's hard to read through a book on the principles of magic without glancing at the cover periodically to make sure it isn't a book on software design. - Bruce Tognazzini
From a programmer's point of view, the user is a peripheral that types when you issue a read request. - P. Williams

Oh, and they have an RSS Feed too!

Visual Studio 2005 Beta Experience

Fri, 02 Sep 2005 22:13:39 +0000

Focused primarily on the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) developer communities, the beta experience contains the latest news, free resources, training, and a free newsletter. Note: You won't find United States in the dropdown list, so try United Kingdom.

Visual Studio 2005/SQL Server 2005 launches in the West

Thu, 01 Sep 2005 20:48:07 +0000

Besides the main launch event in San Francisco, on November 7, there are a few others in the West. Please feel free to register using code: LaunchTour2005.

Tuesday, December 6
Colorado Convention Center
700 14th Street
Denver, CO. 80202
303-228-8000

Tuesday, December 6
Anaheim Convention Center
800 W. Katella Ave.
Anaheim, CA. 90802
714-765-8950

Rich Hundhausen at Devscovery

Tue, 30 Aug 2005 23:22:08 +0000

Rich, my business partner and coblogger (his personal blog is here), is presenting a full day on Visual Studio Team System at the Wintellect Devscovery seminar at Microsoft. Great presentation that follows a development lifecycle all the way from Project Manager creation, to Architecture design, to Development and Testing. All the major roles and technologies are covered. Fun stuff!

Jeffrey Richter at Devscovery

Tue, 30 Aug 2005 23:16:48 +0000

Listening to Jeff Richter talk about Application Domain and Remoting. He's a good presenter, and very fun to listen to! Lot's of energy, but more importantly, very knowledgeable! I have a weakness for low level computer details (compiler details, behind the scenes optimizations, etc), and Jeff has tons of great nuggets! For instance, the ThreadAbortException is rethrown by the runtime, even if it is caught! In order to stop this, you need to call the ResetAbort() method, which requires certain permissions. Great use! This allows us to load possibly malicious code into an app domain with restricted permission, then any malicious code can't swallow an aborted thread, and continue to consume resources. Cool. See? Neat stuff! If you haven't seen Richter speak, or read one of his books, I recommend it!

20 Developer Lines of Code per Day - Good?

Tue, 30 Aug 2005 18:50:34 +0000

Up front: I believe that Lines of Code is a USELESS metric. However, people are often shocked by the raw number of lines of code that are written each day by a developer. What's your guess? 1,000? 200? Try just under 20. This is basically the number of lines of code in a released project divided by the number of programmer days, so, just because you can write 1,000 buggy lines of code per day, that doesn't make you productive! :-) It's the post bug-fix, post integration testing, post-everything lines that count. (You can find some background here and here.)

Code Churn - Predicting code failure with an accuracy of 89%

Tue, 30 Aug 2005 18:24:15 +0000

Every time I show the show off the wonderful reports that are automatically generated by Team Foundation Server, I usually get asked about the Code Churn report, and what Code Churn is. After months of giving a good, but unofficial definition, Dave Bost, on his blog, did the hard work and discovered a wonderful (but academic) whitepaper on the Code Churn technology used by Microsoft in VSTS. The PDF can be found at Microsoft Research. It's called Use of Relative Code Churn Measures to Predict System Defect Density, by Nachiappan Nagappan; Thomas Ball. Here's the abstract:

The Circumference of Google (divided by the Diameter of Google minus 3)

Tue, 30 Aug 2005 17:59:55 +0000

It's my math background... But I just have to post this!

Google is offering 14,159,265 shares of stock. That's the first 8 digits of the decimal expansion of Pi. Cool.

Visual Studio 2005 update

Mon, 22 Aug 2005 18:54:32 +0000

Here are some of the points from Soma's blog entry this morning ...

We're 77 days out from launch
In September, there will be a Release Candidate (RC1) of Visual Studio 2005
This RC will be available to MSDN subscribers, early adopters, and beta customers
Beta 3 of Team Foundation Server (TFS) will be released at the same time as the RC1
TFS Beta 3 will including a "Go Live" license with technical support for Premier customers
TFS Beta 3 will carry us through the launch of Visual Studio 2005
TFS RTM will be in the first quarter of 2006

Please re-read that bottom bullet!

Attend free Visual Studio 2005 Team System training in Boise - 8 September, 2005

Sun, 21 Aug 2005 20:30:56 +0000

When 09/08/2005 (8:30 AM - 5:00 PM)

Where Microsoft Boise, CW Moore Bldg, Basement Conference Room A, 250 S. 5th Street, Boise, ID 83702 Click here for directions

Registration Registration is free; however, seating is limited. Click here to register and use code # 304061

Agenda and Session Details

Microsoft is entering into the software lifecycle tools market with the release of the new Visual Studio Team System product. Visual Studio Team System (VSTS) expands significantly on Microsoft’s demonstrated successes in delivering highly productive tools, by offering businesses tightly integrated and extensible lifecycle tools to increase the predictability of their software development process. VSTS offers developers, architects, testers and project managers a seamless way to communicate and increase the effectiveness of software development and the successes of projects.

SQL Server 2005 RoadShow - Minneapolis!

Tue, 16 Aug 2005 23:37:38 +0000

Thank you for attending the Get Ready for SQL Server 2005 event in Minneapolis. I hope you liked my presentation of the new developer-related features. As promised, here are links to the slides and demos from today’s presentation.

Does there exist an XSD schema for web.config or app.config?

Sat, 13 Aug 2005 16:20:11 +0000

It was a simple enough question that Ethan, my .NET remoting student, asked me yesterday. I did some research, and couldn’t find anything official from Microsoft, just their human readable schema on MSDN. Then I found radsoftware’s page, which offers a product providing Intellisense to your VS.NET 1.X config file editor. About half way down the page is a ZIP file containing an XSD schema that they built. It looks pretty thorough, but I sent off an email just to make sure.

I'm the database geek of the week?

Fri, 12 Aug 2005 16:41:36 +0000

Just "of the week"? I'm hurt. :-)

My interview with Simple Talk is online now.

VS.NET Command Prompt here!

Thu, 11 Aug 2005 22:22:01 +0000

Thanks to Mike Gunderloy for creating this cool INF file. Even though it’s been around for a couple of years, I just found out about it!

Team System Webcast & Chat - MSF for CMMI Process Improvement

Wed, 10 Aug 2005 22:49:49 +0000

David Anderson of Microsoft will be hosting a Webcast and Chat on August 18th. The Webcast will run from 11 AM to 12 PM Pacific Time (GMT -8), with the chat starting at 12 PM and running to 1 PM Pacific Time. Bring your MSF/CMMI questions and be there.

Thanks to Rob Caron for the original posting ...

Fiddler

Wed, 10 Aug 2005 22:31:54 +0000

A few weeks ago a student told me about Fiddler, which is a cool HTTP Debugging Proxy. It logs all HTTP traffic between your computer and an endpoint. It event includes a JScript.NET event-based scripting subsystem.

The Regulator

Tue, 09 Aug 2005 15:35:50 +0000

RegEx can be a pain. I regularly check out regexlib.com and regexadvice.com, but Clemens Vasters just pointed out this cool, free tool for learning and testing regex. It allows you to build and verify a regular expression against any text input, file or web, and displays matching, splitting or replacement results within an easy to understand, hierarchical tree.

Microsoft codenames become product/technology names

Sun, 07 Aug 2005 17:56:04 +0000

A week ago, I mentioned that Longhorn is now officially known as Windows Vista. Well, Indigo has also been renamed to Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) and Avalon renamed to Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF).

Here's an eWeek article discussing it.

Installing July CTP of Team System

Sun, 07 Aug 2005 00:39:11 +0000

Since I have nothing else going on in my life (ya - right), I thought I would start installing the July CTP of TFS and VSTS. This CTP requires a dual-installation, because you have to use the June CTP of SQL Server 2005 which uses a different build of the .NET Framework than VSTS July CTP. Anyway, I've run into some problems, which I will share with you ...

You can install SQL 2005 June CTP on the same VPC as the DC, because of this problem.
So, I had to create a separate VPC for the DC (at least it runs with < 200mb of memory allocated).

More to come, I'm sure ...

PDC Pre-Conference on Team System

Fri, 05 Aug 2005 16:51:09 +0000

If anyone is planning on attending the PDC, be sure to come a day early and check out the great pre-conferences. I'll be presenting a full day on Team System development, Sunday the 11th.

See you in LA!

Sybase looking to purchase Extended Systems

Thu, 04 Aug 2005 02:00:48 +0000

I just read this article in the Idaho Statesman. Extended Systems is a Boise-based company that makes, among other things, the Advantage Database Server product. They employee 180 people and as many as 20 would get cut if the acquisition were to take place.

Visual Studio 2005 For Dummies

Tue, 02 Aug 2005 17:26:16 +0000

Congratulations to my friends John Alexander (Microsoft RD from Kansas City) and Jeff Julian on their forthcoming book. I just saw it advertised on Amazon.

Microsoft Forms New Connected Systems Division

Tue, 02 Aug 2005 00:49:49 +0000

This new division will unify the Distributed Systems Group (DSG) and the Business Process/Integration Division (BPID), bringing these technologies together:

Windows Communication Foundation ("Indigo")
Web Services Enhancements (WSE)
InfoCard
MSMQ
Active Directory
Microsoft Identity Integration Server (MIIS)
BizTalk Server
Host Integration Server
Commerce Server
RFID
Industry Standard Accelerators
Windows Workflow Services ("Windows OE").

Read the announcement here.

Americans are bigger than Europeans!

Mon, 01 Aug 2005 18:07:26 +0000

A few weeks ago I blogged the shirt sizing chart of Tech-Ed/Europe. The sizes only went up to 5X. Well, at this fall’s MVP summit, the 6X folks are finally given a conference to attend …

Well, he did it!

Mon, 01 Aug 2005 18:03:37 +0000

I want to wish my long-time business partner and friend Steven Borg a long and happy marriage to Lori Larsen, er. Lori Borg!

SQL Server 2005 Upgrade Advisor upgraded

Sat, 30 Jul 2005 16:44:51 +0000

This tool analyzes your SQL 2000 applications for potential upgrade issues when migrating to SQL Server 2005. This new version is based on the June CTP and contains additional rules, support for scanning batch files, command line support and usability improvements.

The Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Upgrade Advisor is a tool used by Database developers and administrators to analyze SQL Server 7.0 and SQL Server 2000 database servers in preparation for upgrading to SQL Server 2005. The Upgrade Advisor will allow users to analyze the configuration of their existing database services and database applications. As a result of this analysis, Upgrade Advisor will provide reports that identify deprecated features and necessary configuration changes that will impact their Database upgrade process. Upgrade Advisor will also provide links to documentation that describe these changes and necessary steps to complete the process.

Download it here.

Earth and Moon - via Google!

Thu, 28 Jul 2005 22:46:43 +0000

You’ve no doubt heard about earth.google.com by now. Well, it was only a matter of time before we got moon.google.com as well.

“In honor of the first manned Moon landing, which took place on July 20, 1969, we’ve added some NASA imagery to the Google Maps interface to help you pay your own visit to our celestial neighbor. Happy lunar surfing."

Tip: Be sure to zoom all the way in on the moon!

How to ask a question ...

Mon, 25 Jul 2005 20:25:08 +0000

Yes, Microsoft and a certain MVP have gone to great lengths to provide you with this simple how-to.

Portland Code Camp 1.0 Presentations

Mon, 25 Jul 2005 17:07:17 +0000

Thanks for attending Steve and/or my talks (if you did). Here are links to the presentations on SQL Server 2005 and Team System.

Introducing Visual Studio 2005 Team System
SQL Server 2005 Business Intelligence (BI)
SQL Server 2005 for Developers

SQL 2005 Class Canceled Today - Bomb Threat!

Mon, 25 Jul 2005 16:56:46 +0000

Yep, my session in Austin was canceled today, because someone left some suspicious backpacks downstairs at the Hyatt Regency in Austin, and they cleared the building for 3.5 hours. Methinks Oracle was behind it! :-)

Read the article from News 8 Austin

(Update) Here's the letter from the hotel.

Windows Longhorn renamed to Windows Vista

Fri, 22 Jul 2005 16:45:08 +0000

Microsoft announced the new, official name of the next version of Windows today. Beta 1 will launch on 3 August, too.

Great Taste or Less Filling?

Wed, 20 Jul 2005 02:36:20 +0000

I decided to let Google Fight make the final decision in this age-old beer debate …

Flying cars in Norway

Tue, 19 Jul 2005 14:04:50 +0000

Seems Microsoft MapPoint thinks the shortest route between two Norwegian cities requires a flying car!

Thanks Ken, this made me laugh.

Portland Code Camp

Sun, 17 Jul 2005 18:57:40 +0000

Many of you are already aware of this, but July 23 and 24 will be the first "Code Camp" in the Pacific Northwest. These are very popular events back east, but are only now showing up out west. It's totally free, over the weekend, and it's all about developers connecting with developers.

Read more about it here and I hope to see you there!

Timeline Sues ProClarity for Patent Infringement

Sun, 17 Jul 2005 18:23:25 +0000

BELLEVUE, Wash., June 29, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Timeline Inc. (OTCBB:TMLN) announced it has filed a patent infringement action against ProClarity Corporation, a private company headquartered in Boise, Idaho. This action, filed in the Federal District Court for Western Washington, seeks substantial damages and to enjoin ProClarity from any further licensing of certain ProClarity software modules in the United States. ProClarity is a provider of reporting and data visualization products with an emphasis on analytic solutions based on Microsoft's Analysis Services module; a part of Microsoft's SQL Server data base management system.

Microsoft to announce new MCP details in September

Sun, 17 Jul 2005 17:53:14 +0000

Looks like some changes are coming to the certification program, especially for SQL Server and Visual Studio. Read this article for all the details, but essentially they are planning three tiers:

Tier 1: Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist will require simply passing one to three exams based on a Microsoft technology. As products meet the end of the support lifecycle, its related exam will be retired.
Tier 2: Microsoft Certified IT Professional or Professional Developer require a Technology Specialist certification, plus one to three more exams, based on the requirement for a particular path. This tier is tied to job role at an organization, such as Database Developer or Business Intelligence. Recertification will be required to maintain status at this level.
Tier 3: Microsoft Certified Architect is a rigorous, board-level certification that requires recertification. Achieving Technology Specialist or IT Professional or Professional Developer certification not a prerequisite to attaining this level of certification.

An amazing display of the power of 10

Sun, 17 Jul 2005 17:44:42 +0000

Sent from a friend of mine, this Java applet starts with a view of the Milky Way at 10 million light years from the Earth and then moves through space towards the Earth in successive orders of magnitude until you reach a tall oak tree just outside the buildings of the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Tallahassee, Florida. After that, you begin to move from the actual size of a leaf into a microscopic world that reveals leaf cell walls, the cell nucleus, chromatin, DNA and finally, into the subatomic universe of electrons and protons.

My Report Builder "GrokTalk" is available online

Sun, 17 Jul 2005 07:50:42 +0000

This was a short, 10-minute presentation that I recorded while at Tech-Ed in Orlando. Many of the Regional Directors gave a GrokTalk.

ScreenSaverGracePeriod Registry Entry

Wed, 13 Jul 2005 19:46:22 +0000

The registry really is an undiscovered country. I learned from Dave Herron that there is a specific registry entry that you can set that determines the delay between the appearance of a password-protected screen saver and the enforcement of the password requirement.

Learn more here.

My eBay GUID auction has ended!

Tue, 12 Jul 2005 21:13:25 +0000

Well, the auction actually ended a few days ago, but I wanted to include a couple of screenshots, to show you how successful it was. I had 20 bidders and over 14,700 views. The final price was $ 4.78. Now I just have to ship it!

SQL Server 2005 Features for Developers (Web Seminar)

Tue, 12 Jul 2005 21:06:10 +0000

Be sure to check out my live event on July 19 for SQL Server magazine. Here's where to register and here's an abstract:

SQL Server 2005 offers great features for every role: DBAs, Business Intelligence (BI) analysts, and developers. For developers, there are numerous features and productivity enhancements over SQL Server 2000. In this Web seminar, we will take a wide look at many of these interesting features. We will begin at the SQL Server engine, focusing on the new data types (XML and MAX keyword), PIVOT and UNPIVOT commands, Common Table Expressions (CTEs), ranking and partitioning options, exception handling, automatic output, and DDL triggers. Next, we'll drill down into the XML data type, and look at the new XML support, FOR XML improvements, and some XQUERY examples. Since developers should always be concerned with security, I’ll show a few options for encrypting and decrypting data, using T-SQL commands. Saving the best for last, we’ll finish up with SQL Server 2005’s hosting of .NET components. After a brief discussion of the architecture and process of building, deploying, securing, and executing SQLCLR components, we will look at the sample code for a user defined function, stored procedure, and user defined type – all built using Visual Studio 2005.

Tech-Ed 2005 / Europe presentations

Sat, 09 Jul 2005 07:47:11 +0000

Thank you for attending my talks in Amsterdam this week. As promised, here are the presentation materials and sample code from my talks:

I hope you enjoyed the talks. I know I did. Please email me with any questions!

Congratulations Christian!

Fri, 08 Jul 2005 07:58:31 +0000

A friend of mine, Christian Wenz, won himself a new Windows/Mobile phone. These were given away randomly to people who submitted feedback for sessions. Christian was submitting feedback for my session, so that's cool!

Great Zig Ziglar quote ...

Fri, 08 Jul 2005 07:50:19 +0000

From Zig Ziglar (via Jim McKeeth) … “The only thing worse than training good employees and losing them is NOT training your employees and keeping them.”

I haven't met any XXXXXL speakers in Amsterdam yet

Fri, 08 Jul 2005 07:44:35 +0000

But, I was told that there was at least one Tech-Ed/Europe speaker who ordered one. I should have selected it, just to see how large a 5X shirt would be!

It's alive

Fri, 08 Jul 2005 07:41:28 +0000

Server was down for a few days, due to a freak power outage (human error) at our hosting company. Long story short, the server was waiting patiently for several days for someone to press the F1 key … I hate hardware!

It's alive!

Fri, 08 Jul 2005 07:41:28 +0000

TechEd 2005 - Security Presentations

Tue, 28 Jun 2005 20:26:45 +0000

A bit later than I’d hoped! Here’s are the presentation for Security Summit at TechEd 2005!

Enjoy!

Security For Developers - TechEd 2005 - Threat Modeling.ppt (1.15 MB)

Security For Developers - TechEd 2005 - Web Applications.ppt (767.5 KB)

Security For Developers - TechEd 2005 - Protecting Data.ppt (621.5 KB)

Learning Visual Studio Team System - Chat Transcript

Sun, 26 Jun 2005 13:43:21 +0000

For those who missed last week’s “Learning Visual Studio Team System” chat, and can’t wait for Microsoft to publish the transcript. Here it is, in its full and unedited form.

Like to mess with your colleagues?

Sun, 26 Jun 2005 13:29:07 +0000

Had somebody show me this the other day. It's a collection of brilliant Windows backgrounds that look like "transparent screens". Here's an example ...

Why I love working onsite at Microsoft

Sun, 26 Jun 2005 13:24:42 +0000

A few weeks ago I was working 18 hour days on a project in building 18 and, besides the free drinks, was enjoying the incredible bandwidth. Want to download something from MSDN subscribtion downloads?

Cool tricks in Word

Sun, 26 Jun 2005 13:21:59 +0000

If you are like me, then you are constantly copying and pasting from other documents, slides, or Web pages that you've created into Word 2003. It's a great repository for various content. The only problem is the formatting. Have you tried to paste HTML into Word lately? It will end up being pages and pages long. Try this.

To remove all the formatting and related stuff like text boxes, select the text and hit Ctrl + Shift + N to remove all but the font formatting.
To wipe out all formatting, select the text and hit Ctrl + Space.

I can't remember who told me about these shortcuts, but I'm much appreciative. I'm sure there's more in Word as well.

SQL Server 2005 Touchdown Training in Paris!

Fri, 24 Jun 2005 10:31:46 +0000

Our Train-The-Trainer (TTT) event has come to a close, and what a great class it was! We had 26 students, from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kuwait, Denmark, Italy, the Russian Federation, Finland, Belgium, Macedonia, Greece, Poland, Lithuania, and France.

Finally, WiFi access in the Boise Airport ... and it's free!

Tue, 21 Jun 2005 11:06:08 +0000

A buddy of mine claimed it was true, and even sent me an email from BOI to prove it. Then, I found this article on Yahoo.

Yahoo!

Free Whidbey book online!

Tue, 21 Jun 2005 11:00:14 +0000

Looks like 3 Leaf's Introducing Visual Basic 2005 for Developers is online, with chapters that can be downloaded.

I call it 3 Leaf's book, because of who contributed: Kris Horrocks, Sean Campbell, Derek Hatchard, Peter Bernhardt, Scott Swigart.

(Some) Tech-Ed 2005 GrokTalks are online!

Mon, 20 Jun 2005 15:02:03 +0000

A few of the GrokTalks filmed in Orlando are online, ready to watch or download.

So, what is a GrokTalk?

The deal is this: We've all sat through some pretty lousy technical sessions at conferences. For the most part, sessions at TechEd are filled with good information, but every once in a while you sit through 75 minutes in order to "grok" something that could have been explained in 10 minutes. We thought it'd be interesting if we put together three days of presentations that were only 10 minutes long!

Downloads available for book "Microsoft BizTalk Server 2004 Unleashed"

Fri, 17 Jun 2005 14:25:20 +0000

I was just informed that the extra appendix, the samples for the extra appendix and all the rest of the sample/exercise files for the Unleashed are now available for download on the SAMS site. When you get to the page, click on the Download link in the More Information section. Appendix C is cool because it covers most of the adapters.

Also, if you are searching for a good book on InfoPath, check out Thomas Robbins’ book. Oh, and if you want to preview a cool technology, check out a few pages of this book using the Google/Print Beta.

Slides and demos from SQL Server 2005 Developer presentation in Iceland

Wed, 15 Jun 2005 19:10:00 +0000

I hope you enjoyed the presentation today. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. Here are the files from today.

Own your very own 128-bit Identifier

Wed, 15 Jun 2005 15:02:35 +0000

Yep, I need to pay some bills, so it's time to have an ebay sale.

Googlefight!

Tue, 14 Jun 2005 23:29:29 +0000

Wanna have some fun? Visit Googlefight and put in any two phrases (quots work best) and let the fight begin. Try C# and Java or Delphi and FoxPro.

MSN Toolbar turns IE into a tabbed browser

Tue, 14 Jun 2005 23:25:49 +0000

Download it now and check it out!

Introducing Visual Studio 2005 Team System - at Tech-Ed 2005

Tue, 14 Jun 2005 23:12:54 +0000

Wanted to post a few photos of the book and my buddies.

Introducing Visual Studio 2005 Team System - at Tech-Ed 2005!

Tue, 14 Jun 2005 22:34:19 +0000

Wanted to post a few photos of the book and my buddies.

The Tech*Ed Charity Auction for Aceh Recovery at IDEP

Tue, 14 Jun 2005 22:01:42 +0000

Want to hire Don Box for an hour? He and a number of other developer rockstars are up for auction (or at least one hour of their time is).

Microchips in World Cup balls?

Tue, 14 Jun 2005 16:07:13 +0000

In this article, it looks like FIFA will consider using an electronic microchip inside soccer balls at the 2006 World Cup finals to help with goal-line calls.

UML case tool for the mono framework?

Tue, 14 Jun 2005 15:48:48 +0000

My friend Darrel Carver just turned me onto MonoUML - CASE Tool, codename monalisa. You can dwnload it here.

Microsoft SQL Server TechCenter

Tue, 14 Jun 2005 15:40:44 +0000

If you are looking for a good resource for both SQL Server 2000 and 2005 resources, TechCenter is the place to visit.

Listing of Podcasts from Tech-Ed 2005

Tue, 14 Jun 2005 15:25:48 +0000

Here’s the link.

The Viking of Beers

Tue, 14 Jun 2005 15:02:01 +0000

I had a can of Viking Beer on my flight from JFK to Reykjavik last night, while I munched on smoked reindeer and sat next to the president of Iceland … no really. What am I doing in Iceland you ask? I’m speaking at the SQL Server 2005 Roadshow tomorrow for SQL Server Magazine.

Tech*Ed Charity Auction for Aceh Recovery at IDEP

Tue, 07 Jun 2005 13:44:48 +0000

Give a little to charity, and help your career or project too! Twenty-three of the top Tech*Ed 2005 speakers, including Microsoft employees, will get together to help raise money for an organization that is doing amazing and heroic disaster relief and recovery in Aceh Province, Sumatra, the hardest hit area of the Dec 26th Tsunamis.

Go Bid!

TechEd - OpenHack 2002

Sat, 04 Jun 2005 20:11:59 +0000

For those of you interested in OpenHack 2002, as I talked about in my presentation, take a look at this MSDN article. You can also download the source code for both Microsoft and Oracle here.

TechEd - Security Notes

Sat, 04 Jun 2005 18:03:46 +0000

For those of you interested in using Aspnet_setreg for securely changing the identity of the ASP.NET process (in machine.config), here’s a good KB article from Microsoft. It explains everything you need to do, as well as providing a download link.

TechEd 2005

Sat, 04 Jun 2005 18:01:34 +0000

I've just arrived in Orlando, Florida for TechEd 2005. I'll be giving a full day presentation on Security (Level 300-400) at the Peabody Hotel on Sunday, June 4. Drop by if you'd like!

SQL Server 2005 ISV Training for Developers

Thu, 02 Jun 2005 22:10:00 +0000

Thank you to those whoe attended class. I enjoyed the opportunity to show off SQL Server 2005. Here are the files from class.

SQL Server 2005 Database Mirroring

Thu, 02 Jun 2005 11:57:05 +0000

My friend Ron Talmage's article was just published on Technet.

SQL Server/Visual Studio/BizTalk Connected Systems Developer Competition

Sat, 28 May 2005 11:15:53 +0000

The Connected Systems 2005 Developer Competition, sponsored by Microsoft Corporation and MSDN Magazine is a skill based competition for professional developers intended to highlight and reward creativity and programming excellence using SQL Server 2005, Visual Studio 2005 and BizTalk 2004/2006. The competition is open to anyone who practices in the field of technology development, either individuals or organizations. Some eligibility restrictions apply; see Official Competition Rules for details.

Entries will be judged on creativity, innovation, design and technical excellence, usefulness, usability and value by a panel of industry experts selected from the Microsoft Regional Director program. All competition entrants must be registered and have submitted a description of the application they are entering into the competition by August 30, 2005. The official closing date for final competition entries is September 15, 2005.

BizTalk Server 2004 Resources

Wed, 25 May 2005 03:42:31 +0000

Got this comprehensive list from Michael Woods at Microsoft:

BizTalk Server website on Microsoft.com:
http://www.microsoft.com/biztalk/default.mspx

Business Process and Integration developer center on MSDN:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/biztalk/default.aspx

BizTalk Server hands-on, online Virtual Lab:
http://msdn.demoservers.com/login.aspx?group=biztalk

BizTalk Server 2004 Service Pack 1
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=f4a5ab9e-d599-4cc8-abdf-ae6ae68bac3d

Latest updated documentation online:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/biztalk/default.aspx?pull=/library/en-us/def/htm/ebiz_def_portal_page.asp

Latest updated documentation download:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=CDD47461-F4E2-4BC6-B5C2-2018AFF2823D

Software Developer Kit Refresh:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=8A1CA3AF-790C-4261-838A-9F0661C72887

Updated Tutorials (The labs from the QuickStart are based on these tutorials):
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=8A1CA3AF-790C-4261-838A-9F0661C72887

Integration Patterns
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnpag/html/intpatt.asp

Deployment Guide for Secure Deployment
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/BTS_2004WP/html/ace6e1b9-ca24-4d14-9203-099276b50a73.asp?frame=true

Codename: Eiger

Sun, 22 May 2005 14:52:18 +0000

Microsoft is working on a new Windows-based operating system designed to help companies make older machines run better. The software will look and feel like much like Windows XP and will be equipped with Service Pack 2. The idea behind Eiger came from businesses and school systems that said they couldn’t afford to replace an old fleet of computers but wanted machines running Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows NT to be more secure and easier to manage.

Read the entire article here.

MOC 2631 Beta is over

Fri, 20 May 2005 01:21:01 +0000

The MOC 2631 Beta is over. Whew! What an experience! Lots of excellent lessons learned.

Boeing and Safeco (our guinea pig companies) have some great employees! Some good developers, architects, testers and project managers.
Many of the students really GOT Team System. They saw how it could work in the team. But almost everyone wanted to see more. Both deeper content in their roles, and also more about how the other roles were using Team System.
Beta attendees had some really strong feelings on how VSTS should be taught. There are two schools of thought (roughly): Some attendees wanted to work with all of the roles, so they wanted to walk though an entire dev project acting as each role in turn. Others wanted to stay in a single role, and work as part of an overall team. This course was designed for the second group of folks, since we work with a team with many roles, each one working as part of the dev lifecycle, until a final project is built and deployed.
People are VERY patient with Beta software and beta courseware. We had several problems, some of our causing (the courseware) and some not. Everyone was very patient, very helpful, and full of good suggestions. My faith in humanity is restored!
Microsoft needs to spend some serious time explaining the difference between a MOC course and a MOC workshop. In a course, the instructor teaches about 50% of the time, and labs reinforce the learning. In a workshop, there is very little teaching. Only the bare minimum is explained and attendees are expected to learn through self-discovery. This throws people, both attendees and instructors, to no end. Very few people 'get' it before having lived it at least once. Most hard-core folks love it after a couple days, but some people prefer passive learning. It's tough to build a course for everyone, and workshops are an extreme example of this.
Unless you're doing a demo, try not to run TFS inside a VPC. It has issues. Our TFS had trouble holding up to the 11 student load and crashed at least once a day when load was high. (It appears that having more than one or two people creating projects at the same time was enough to bring it down.) Now, don't get panicked. We were running in a VPC. Specifics: Host was a 2.8 GHz processor with 3 Gig of RAM. We gave the VPC client 2.3 Gig of RAM. We thought that might be enough to host 11 heavy users, but it couldn't quite hold up. Now, MS dogfoods Team System with thousands of users, so I'2013-08-28 13:50:17'm confident this is a configuration or VPC issue. Still, we've followed all the set-up guides and tips and tricks we could find. (And, yes, if we put VS2005 directly on the image and run it as an all-in-one VPC, everything works fine... with a load of 1 person...)
Still several user interface bugs in VS2005. We've run into a reproducible error that drives us batty. We have a web service project open that was checked out from source control. We create a test by right clicking a method in the Web service. Test creation fails. If we close VS2005, and reopen it and reload the project (with the project already checked out from source control), it will create the test just fine. This is just one of them. We've run into lots! (See the blog.)
We love Team System. Despite its bugs, performance issues in a VPC and a tendency to be a bit counterintuitive in the UI, both Rich and I love Team System. Once the issues start getting solved and bugs fixed, this is going to be one very useful tool -- one that I won't want to be without!

Visual Studio Beta 2 Reporting Services RDLC files

Wed, 18 May 2005 22:43:49 +0000

As we all know, SQL Server Reporting Services reports are saved as .RDL files. The files saved and consumed by the VS/Beta 2 Web-based report designer and viewer control, however, are .RDLC files. So, what are the differences?

Thanks to Scott Allen, a fellow VSLive! presenter for providing these valuable links to RDLC files.

Welcome MOC2631 Beta Victims

Tue, 17 May 2005 20:53:47 +0000

Welcome all attendees of the MOC 2631 class! We're glad you're here, feel free to poke around and look at some of the problems we've discovered with Team System, and some of the fixes we've found. You'll see we've had quite an adventure!

Glad you could make it to the Beta. Feel free to ask us any questions, even if class is over.

Is your test project missing its "test run configuration"?

Mon, 16 May 2005 21:02:46 +0000

This has happened to us a few times, so I'm sure we're not alone ...

You go to configure your Unit Test project for Code Coverage, but your test run configuration is missing. In other words, you click Test - Edit Test Run Configurations - and see "No Test Run Configurations Available".

Solution: Add a new item at the solution level (not to the test project!) and select a Test Run Configuration as the template

More adventures with DeleteTeamProject.exe

Mon, 16 May 2005 06:33:50 +0000

Still trying to kill a site... Pretty much the answer is that you can clean up most of the database stuff, but you'll always see it in the VS2005 Team Explorer. But, here's how to get the most from DeleteTeamProject.

Log in as TFSSetup (I'm coming in from a client), since that Login has god-like powers. But before you can run DeleteTeamProject.exe, you first must open VS2005 and connect to the TFS (or use the command line).

VSTS Archived Webcasts

Mon, 16 May 2005 06:20:49 +0000

The VSTS team is finishing up its first series of webcasts. These provide both a wide overview of the product and a number of deep drill downs on specific technologies within the product.

You can find them here.

Rob Caron - Team System "Blogfather"

Sun, 15 May 2005 15:09:17 +0000

To those of you who have worked with Team System for a while, this post is redundant -- EVERYONE knows Rob Caron's blog. But if you're new to Team System, you need to go to Rob Caron's blog, right away! There's likely not one person who's gone through working with any of the Team System Betas or builds that has not relied on his blog for either a direct answer or a link to another blog. Rob knows the Team System ecosystem better than anyone, and is up to date, not just on the product itself, but on the work other, non-MS, people are doing. If someone has a clear solution to a VSTS problem, you can be assured there's a link from Rob'2013-08-28 13:51:18's blog to it. So, without further ado, if you haven't been there or haven't added it to your RSS aggregator, do so now! Here's the link.

DeleteTeamProject.exe

Sun, 15 May 2005 02:21:37 +0000

There's a nice little utility out there for Team System. It allows you to delete a team project. You know, those Foo1 and MyTest projects you create right away? Right! Well, there's no way in VSTS to delete those, so someone at MS gave us a wonderful little utility, DeleteTeamProject.exe. UPDATE: Except I can't get it to work. It deletes everything useful, but you can't get rid of it from the Team Explorer. :-(

Visual Studio 2005 Team System - Bugs and Annoyances (V) (with some fixes)

Sat, 14 May 2005 22:38:40 +0000

And the start of another list.

Enabling code coverage for a web service doesn't use the new name of Code Analysis, it still says "Enable FxCop" (but when doing anything but web services, the checkbox is "Enable Code Analysis"
When you run FxCop (Code Analysis), you get a list of errors and warnings in the Error List. If you right-click -> Show Error Help, an error pops up that says "The operation could not be completed. Not implemented". Fix: Use Google or MSN Search. :-)
When using FxCop for a web service, I couldn't find a way to change the rules from warnings to errors, even though that process is trivial for DLLs and windows apps.

Thanks to Ognjen Bajic

Fri, 13 May 2005 15:53:58 +0000

Ognjen had the same problem with very sluggish performance in his TFS. He had the presence of mind to post his question to the MSDN newsgroups, and get the answer from Mike Attili, who redircted him to Buck Hodges blog post (see post below).

Ognjen, thanks for leaving us the comment! We eventually found it on Google, but had we read your comment earlier it would have saved us lots of grief. We owe you a beer next time your in Seattle! Thanks again!

Team Foundation Server - Performance Fix

Thu, 12 May 2005 00:00:17 +0000

You've gotta see this post by Buck Hodges! There is VERY heavy load on TFS, and it's because in Beta 2 the refresh rate for Analysis Services was set to 2 minutes instead of the normal 60 minutes! It's a major Team Foundation Server performance problem when it's installed directly out of the box. Here's a cut from the Buck's blog entry.

Did you install your beta data tier in Virtual PC or Virtual Server and see a high CPU load while its running? Even on real hardware, you may notice some load when nothing would appear to be going on. Someone mentioned on an internal mailing list that the data tier CPU load for a combined app and data tier installed in Virtual Server was quite high, averaging about 50-70% with most of that time being used by SQL analysis services (msmdsrv.exe).

Visual Studio 2005 Team System - Bugs and Annoyances (IV)

Wed, 11 May 2005 05:49:36 +0000

And a few more bugs and annoyances.

1) When you implement an application (i.e. Web Service) from the Application Diagram, you are not prompted to check the resulting project to source control. Workaround: Add it yourself manually from solution explorer. Nothing too difficult to do, just would be a bit more consistent with the rest of the 'new project' functionality in VS2005.

2) When you implement a Web service from an Application Diagram, the resulting code doesn't contain a reference to System.Xml. I know that this isn't a bug... But it seems wierd, since you so often use Xmk in XML Web services.

VSLive Keynote by Prashant Sridharan "Building a Customer-Focused Visual Studio"

Tue, 10 May 2005 23:26:00 +0000

Visual Studio 2005 will be the most customer-focused suite of development tools ever released by Microsoft. This was the message delivered this morning by Prashant Sridharan, senior product manager of Visual Studio 2005. Prashant has been doing a lot of traveling and speaking lately. His schedule has taken him all over the world, including many stops recently in Europe, where he regularly delivered the message of Visual Studio 2005 and Team System to groups of 1500 or more people. We were glad he could stop by VSLive! Las Vegas to update us on Visual Studio 2005’s progress and features.

Visual Studio Team System OPML File

Mon, 09 May 2005 23:55:15 +0000

By no means complete, but several people have asked for my RSS “master list” of Team System folk. Here it is</a

Mouse quits working in Virtual PC when hibernating

Mon, 09 May 2005 23:50:26 +0000

Any of you who caught my presentation know what I'm talking about. It's the reason I started 3 minutes late. Thanks to an anonymous attendeed (thanks dude) who directed me to the Virtual PC newsgroups and looking for a thread about Hibernation. I found the discussion, and I guess that this is a new problem, that came with VPC SP1, as the inital VPC 2004 release did not have these problems. Colin Barnhorst posted the KB article link on 8 March 2005.

Experience the Synergy: ASP.NET 2.0 and ADO.NET 2.0

Mon, 09 May 2005 23:39:35 +0000

Thanks for attending my session. Apologies for not getting through all of the slides, but here they are if you want them. Also, my demo script, if you’d like.

A lot of my cool information can be found at the Beta ASP.NET site including the TreeView control and how to populate it without a postback.

VSLive! Keynote by Prashant Sridharan "Building a Customer-Focused Visual Studio"

Mon, 09 May 2005 23:29:12 +0000

VSLive 2005 - ASP.NET 2.0 Master Pages and Themes - Doug Seven

Mon, 09 May 2005 22:34:31 +0000

I'm currently attending Doug Seven's presentation on ASP.NET 2.0 Master Pages and Themes. He's covering some of the cool new features of ASP.NET 2.0 that makes development of a UI much simpler. I've been using ASP.NET 2.0 for quite a while now, but mostly for developing courseware and demos. It's good to see a web developer with professional experience talking about the benefits and issues.

VSLive 2005 - ADO.NET in ASP.NET - Presentation by Rich Hundhausen

Mon, 09 May 2005 22:22:20 +0000

I just attended the presentation by Richard Hundhausen, covering ADO.NET in ASP.NET 2.0. Packed room. I brought in a few more chairs, but it was a losing battle as more people trickled in throughout the presentation. To download the demo code and presentation, visit his blog.

Downloads for VSLive 2005 Las Vegas Attendees

Mon, 09 May 2005 22:01:24 +0000

Thanks for attending the ADO.NET Features for Smart Client presentation. It was fun to present and I hope you learned something.

Here are the downloads I promised, both the demo code (zip) and the presentation (ppt): Demo Files and Presentation.

Thanks again for coming! Add a comment if you have a question, and I'll try to answer them over the next few days. :)

Forgot to install AdventureWorks?

Mon, 09 May 2005 01:06:47 +0000

You can find the .msi here to run.

VSLive 2005 - Las Vegas

Sun, 08 May 2005 23:48:42 +0000

Rich Hundhausen and I just arrived in Las Vegas for VSLive. This one has two tracks, ASP.NET 2.0 and Smart Clients. Rich is going to present on the ASP.NET 2.0 track (at 2:00 pm), and I'll be presenting on the Smart Client track (at 11:45 am). Both our presentations will focus on ADO.NET 2.0 integration. Not much time for the tables, though. We're slammed with the final work on the Team System course we're writing for Microsoft. Only one more week until the Beta course runs!

SQL Server 2000 SP4 available

Sun, 08 May 2005 04:24:21 +0000

Improve the performance, serviceability, and enhance the security of your customers’ SQL Server 2000 installations with SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 4. Download it here.

ASP.NET 2.0 SecurityException

Sun, 08 May 2005 00:10:24 +0000

Today I built the most trivial of ASP.NET 2.0 Web applications that called the most trivial of ASP.NET 2.0 Web services. I deployed both to IIS 6.0, and the one wouldn’t call the other. I was getting these, over and over:

Security Exception

Description: The application attempted to perform an operation not allowed by the security policy. To grant this application the required permission please contact your system administrator or change the application’s trust level in the configuration file.

Exception Details: System.Security.SecurityException: Request for the permission of type ‘System.Net.WebPermission, System, Version=2.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089’ failed.

Visual Studio Team System Course and Courseware

Sat, 07 May 2005 22:28:43 +0000

Keep your eyes open for Microsoft Learning workshop #2631, titled “Optimizing the Software Development Life Cycle with Microsoft Visual Studio Team System“.

It's a great course, if I don't say so myself.

I see that some education centers in Sweden and another in the UK are already advertising it.

Visual Studio 2005 Beta 2 Team System Bugs (Part 3)

Sat, 07 May 2005 19:40:17 +0000

Here's the latest round of bugs and annoyances on our weekend of discovery:

When you copy/paste an application prototype, or drag and drop a saved to toolbox prototype, it overwrites your Class Namespace with the name of the new application
Speaking of copy/paste in the application designers, you can't use the keyboard - Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V, you have to use the mouse.
Can we hide the labels of our Web app and Web service endpoints by default?
When you rename the DefaultSystem1.dd (deployment diagram) to a better name, such as MyDeployment.dd, it doesn't seem to take right away. It seems like you have to save/reopen the document.
Semi-related to the above, the deployment report always seems to read "Default", no matter what I name the AD, LDD, or DD.
When the validation of a deployment diagram finds "warnings", these then become "errors" in the deployment report.
It seems that Visual Studio is applying my "Clean Build" source control policy when checking in Distributed System Designer solutions, which don't have any code to "build". You can always override the policy constraint; but, this is a pain.

VS2005 Beta 2 - Team System Bugs and Annoyances (Updated II)

Fri, 06 May 2005 21:55:54 +0000

Just a small list of some bugs I've run across, and fixes where applicable. (Right now all of the fixes seem to involve shutting down and restarting VS2005 -- Clicking Refresh anywhere doesn't seem to work.) Rob Carron has responded to a few of these in the comments. I've copied them here in red.

1) Newly created Iterations are not available to use in new Work Items until VS2005 is shut down and restarted.

Google Web Accelerator

Fri, 06 May 2005 20:43:36 +0000

Google Web Accelerator is an application that uses the power of Google's global computer network to make web pages load faster. Google Web Accelerator is easy to use; all you have to do is download and install it, and from then on many web pages will automatically load faster than before.

Give the beta a try.

VS2005 Beta 2 - Team System Tips and Tricks

Fri, 06 May 2005 16:59:22 +0000

Tips:

1) In the Distributed System Designers, when connection applications or logical servers, and your lines look messy, right-click any of the connections, and choose "Redraw Connection". This works GREAT for beautifying your connections.

2) When starting VS2005, you can use the Right-Click -> Run As... command to log in as a different user. You then interact with TFS as the "run as" identity. This can be useful if you're giving Team System demos on VPC and don't want to continually log in and out of the VPC. Hint: you can even have two copies of VS2005 running, each under a different identity!

VS2005 Beta 2 - Team System Bugs (Updated)

Thu, 05 May 2005 19:20:16 +0000

1) Newly created Iterations are not available to use in new Work Items until VS2005 is shut down and restarted.

Travelling a lot? Try Microsoft Time Zone download

Thu, 05 May 2005 15:20:17 +0000

Some friends passed this along to me, and it’s a pretty cool download. It runs in the system tray and allows you to easily view the date and time in various locations around the world. You can also quickly and easily add your own personal locations to customize Microsoft Time Zone the way you want.

Visual Studio 2005 Team System - Preliminary Documentation available online

Sat, 30 Apr 2005 22:40:49 +0000

I happened upon this today. Enjoy!

Microsoft hints at Visual Studio Team System certifications

Sat, 30 Apr 2005 04:07:09 +0000

In a recent posting on the Team System forums, Microsoft suggested that we will be really pleased when we see the new certifications for both VSTS and VS2005. These will get announced at Tech-Ed.

Foreign Workers Coming to a Cruise Ship Near You

Fri, 29 Apr 2005 22:01:48 +0000

“Outsourcing”, which has become synonymous with sending American jobs to India or China, could soon mean foreign workers sleeping in ships just a few miles off America’s coast. Read the story here

Proclarity "Yellowstone" to support SQL Server 2005 BI

Mon, 25 Apr 2005 18:25:07 +0000

Read more about the product here, and even sign-up to receive an evaluation of it here.

Speaking on Team System at Devscovery

Mon, 18 Apr 2005 16:50:58 +0000

Looks like I'll be presenting three sessions on Team System at Wintellect's Devscovery event in DC next month.

More SQL Server 2005 FAQs

Mon, 18 Apr 2005 15:00:12 +0000

I found a few more answers to some questions that came up during the ISV Community Days Tour.

Q. Will there be an XML data type in SQL Mobile?
A. No. In Beta 2 there is not an XML data type. If you replicate a SQL Server table with a XML datatype it converts it to ntext in the SQL Mobile database. You can see more information at the end of this article.

Q. Can you index a managed UDT column? If so, does it index on what the implemented ToString() provides?
A. Yes; we can define constraints on UDTs (PKs, FKs): constraints are implemented with indexes; the “key” is created with the serialized value; when you create the UDT, you must define how the value is going to be serialized: Format.Native or Format.UserDefined. If you select UserDefined format, you must implement the Sql.IBinarySerialize interface coding the methods Read and Write to serializate and deserializate the value. You can create an index on the column, as long as SQL knows which value to index, and this is what you decide when you select how to serialize the UDT.

Q. I’ve heard that Intellisense is gone, will we see it back in any form? Maybe for just T-SQL or system sprocs?
A. It was dropped when Beta2 came; I think we will not have it in any form.

Q. I’ve been hearing scary things about the scalability of managed UDTs – anything public on this yet? Some students are thinking that since Microsoft dropped ObjectSpaces, this is an alternative.
A. We must think about UDT as an extension of scalar types (date, time, points and so); we should not think of UDT as extension of business objects (Employee, Address, Contact,…). For this release, CLR UDTs are meant to be a mechanism to create new scalar data types, not complex objects, so it is NOT a replacement for ObjectSpaces. Balaji published a white paper which talks about this.

MSDN Subscriber Downloads - Beta 2 is here!

Sat, 16 Apr 2005 16:24:43 +0000

Must've happend overnight. If you're a subscriber, check it out ... but give me about a 4 hour headstart! :-)

Funny typo in the Idaho Statesman

Wed, 13 Apr 2005 07:06:31 +0000

Martin Danner sent this to me tonight. He scanned this advertisement out of the Idaho Statesman. I'm not really sure who dropped the ball, but see if you can spot the bug ...

Chippewa Valley .NET User Group

Wed, 13 Apr 2005 04:38:46 +0000

Wanted to say a quick hello to my friends in Chippewa Falls in Wisconsin. I met Doug Rhoten, who is the president of this INETA group at a SQL Server 2005 Business Inteligence event in Minneapolis a few weeks ago. If you get a chance, drop by their Website and say hello.

3rd Annual InfoSec Conference (Boise)

Tue, 12 Apr 2005 18:36:49 +0000

When: May 4-5, 2005 (Wed-Thu)
Where: MK Plaza, downtown Boise, ID
Cost: FREE to InfoSec professionals
Extras: FREE audience gifts to participants and CDs for registered participant

Click here for more information.

XP Pair Programming - in Comfort!

Tue, 12 Apr 2005 05:32:08 +0000

Looks to be a great chair for you and your programming buddy. Unfortunately, orders are only taken on April 1st.

Introducing System.Transactions (.NET Framework 2.0)

Sun, 10 Apr 2005 04:46:14 +0000

Microsoft just published a whitepaper on how System.Transactions can be used for transactional applications in the .NET Framework version 2.0.

802.11B (B = Brotherly Love)

Fri, 08 Apr 2005 13:56:56 +0000

The city of Philadelphia will become the largest U.S. Internet “hot spot” next year under a plan to offer wireless access at about half the cost charged by commercial operators, city officials said Thursday.

Read the CNN/Money article.

Napolean Dynamite fans?

Thu, 07 Apr 2005 17:53:13 +0000

This weird but popular movie was actually filmed in Preston, Idaho. It seems that our law makers have proposed House Resolution 29 which commends Jared and Jerusha Hess as the film makers.

Google Maps has Satellite imagery

Thu, 07 Apr 2005 17:42:51 +0000

Google maps is a cool way to find maps for pretty much any location. They also have satellite imagery in various levels of detail available for some maps (click the Satellite link in the upper right). Have fun lookup up addresses.

Oh, and if you want to have fun, there's a couple of Easter Eggs in there too. See if you can spot something weird in the center of this photo and this photo (zoom in to the maximum level).

I'll keep looking for more ...

Any other HP 6315 (T-Mobile) users out there?

Thu, 07 Apr 2005 16:16:53 +0000

T-Mobile and HP just made available a download which promises more stability (wee), better Bluetooth performance (yay), and some other features.

Wish me luck. I'm going in!

Welcome Business Intelligence Deep Dive Attendees

Thu, 07 Apr 2005 15:26:43 +0000

Rich Hundhausen, my copresenter, has put together some great tidbits of information and downloads. They are available at his blog.

It was great meeting many of you. If you have any additional questions, feel free to fire them off my way!

Microsoft Certified Architect

Tue, 05 Apr 2005 21:13:16 +0000

Yesterday, at the TechMentor conference in Orlando, Al Valvano, Lead Product Manager with Microsoft Learning, unveiled the Microsoft Certified Architect Program, a board-level certification on a scale the company has never attempted before.

Read all the details from his keynote here.

Ada County's Advanced Transportation Information System

Sun, 03 Apr 2005 21:46:49 +0000

Boise and Ada County have finally joined the ranks of other high-tech cities that offer real-time camera-based traffic information. Visit the ATIS site to see for yourself.

Are you a .NET Rockstar?

Sun, 03 Apr 2005 20:21:30 +0000

If so, then you certainly don't want to stop and take time to explain yourself to the masses. You want to keep on coding, and generating your .NET masterpiece! If this sounds like you, then you may need the The Commentator:

“The Commentator uses revolutionary real-time language processing to actually grok your code and add the necessary comments on the fly. No more doco to slow you down. Just install The Commentator and watch as your coding elegance is eloquently decorated with insightful, nuanced commentary ...as you type. What's more, The Commentator's powerful Personality Controls allow you to tweak it's output so completely that it's as if The Commentator is speaking for you. In your voice. Explaining to those that need it, so that you can get on and get busy.” :-)

Joe Celko speak their mind on .NET in the database

Sun, 03 Apr 2005 20:09:58 +0000

As you can imagine, the debate has been lively, as to whether hosting CLR sprocs, triggers, etc. in a SQL Server 2005 should be a best practice for an organization. You all know my feeling on the subject - go for it, in moderation!

Joe Celko disagrees. First, check out his analysis from last fall, and then his follow-up article more recently.

Personally, I like the comment posted on April 1st at the bottom of the follow-up article:

SQL Server 2005 Questions from the Tour

Sat, 02 Apr 2005 18:09:44 +0000

From various student questions over the last few weeks. More to come ...

Q. I had heard that SQL 2005 was going to have an UPSERT (try UPDATE, if it fails, do an INSERT) capability. What's the status?
A. UPSERTs have been requested for many years and always wind up on the request list for features. It does not exist in SQL Server 2005 and isn't going to be added. There was, however, mention of an Insert With Merge ("Upsert") in some early Yukon documentation and books, but nothing there now.

Q. When I upload an RDL file in SQL 2005, is that RDL stored in an XML data type column somewhere? If so, which table?
A. Not in XML. I believe it is stored in the Catalog.Content column which is a blob.

Q. Will SQL/Express have DTSRun capability? I know it won’t have the designer.
A. No. unless something changes

Q. Will the Office Business Scorecards Accelerator be the “Microsoft way” of viewing KPIs, besides from BI Dev. Studio?
A. Not sure where they are with MOBSA and updating it 2005, and as you know, the KPIs that are in MOBSA are not exactly the same since they simply point to an AS2000 measure and have the ability to also handle metadata and weighted rollups.

Q. Is the XML support in SQL 2005 provided by .NET or MSXML? I’m guessing MSXML, because that’s what’s listed during install.
A. I believe this is correct. This is why the MSXML6 Parser and SDK get installed

Q. The Website www.sqlserverdatamining.com has some sample code on how to host the DM viewers in your Windows apps. What about licensing?
A. This is still an open question with marketing, they have not nailed down that specific issue but should by Beta3 timeframe as a number of questions have come up on that.

Q. Any late breaking news on SQL 2000 DTS packages being able to be opened, edited, migrated, etc. into SIS packages?
A. There is a migration tool that will perform some upgrades to DTS packages, but there are certain things that need rework, such as scripting, Data pump transforms, and dynamic properties. A good Whitepaper was just published on this coming out of the Project REAL work it outlines most of the details. However, I hear that there is more work being dome on the upgrade process so stay tuned. Also, when installing SSIS, there is an advanced option to install the DTS runtime components which will allow DTS packages to run with SSIS packages.

Q. Any other ways to persist SIS packages besides as an XML file?
A. Packages can be saved as external files or in SQL Server tables, but both are stored as XML. I've asked about a way to encrypt the XML, but this is not an option unfortunately unless Windows file level encryption is used, but an administrator can always take control of the files.

Q. I thought I had heard that SIS packages get compiled to an assembly and run as .NET code, like BizTalk maps and orchestrations? Not true? What gets “deployed” then?
A.The deployment utility has some nice features in that it can package up the runtime DLLs for SSIS packages to run on other servers, it also will include any compiled custom components, adapters and tasks. The SSIS packages are just XML and nothing changes there when deploying them. There is a SSIS service, however, that can run on the server and it helps performance by allowing the built-in components to remain in memory for quick use when a package is executed.

Q. Is there a way to put a breakpoint on a particular SIS task and the execute the package, stopping at that breakpoint? If not, how else to “debug”?
A. Yep, full breakpoint support and its very cool for development... with all the standard VS options of watches, stepping through code, etc There's also something called a data viewer that can show sample/full data at different transformations in the form of a grid or even graphs. It halts the data flow while the data is reviewed and then the designer can continue on with the dataflow.

The Straight Dope

Sat, 02 Apr 2005 17:58:50 +0000

Interesting Web site for the answers to all things trivial and more. This site is the home of Cecil Adams, claimed to be the World's Smartest Human Being, and his famous syndicated column The Straight Dope. Here you will find all manner of things relating to the column and the vast Straight Dope media empire.

And, while we're on this subject, how about BuzzWhack.com? They are dedicated to de-mystifying buzzwords.

Some good April Fools Jokes yesterday

Sat, 02 Apr 2005 16:06:48 +0000

In addition to the Google Gulp (a few posts down). There was also a good ThinkGeek joke as well as a SQL Server 2005 joke pulled on us poor technical folk yesterday.

Here's a list of the Top 100 April Fools Jokes of all time. Any other favorites?

KickStart event next week in Boise

Fri, 01 Apr 2005 18:26:40 +0000

This event will be held at the BSU campus next week (April 4th-6th) and wil bring together Idaho’s entrepreneurial resources in one place. The 16 individual workshops will consist of 4 tracks: Creation, Implementation, Execution, and Resources. Seminar topics include: Assessing my opportunity, Intellectual property, Marketing my business, University and Idaho National Lab resources, Presenting to Investors and many others.

Guy Kawasaki will be the keynote speaker on April 5th and there will be a full day of seminars on April 6th.

Quench your thirst for knowledge!

Fri, 01 Apr 2005 18:12:48 +0000

Enjoy Google Gulp today!

Microsoft Business Intelligence (BI) Community

Wed, 30 Mar 2005 21:58:16 +0000

Wanted to let you know about MSBIC, which is a North Texas based non-profit organization created to build an interactive forum focused on solving business problems by leveraging Microsoft Business Intelligence technologies, as well as promoting the discipline of Business Intelligence (BI) as a whole.

To learn more about them, visit their Web site.

What is the Office Business Scorecards Accelerator?

Sat, 26 Mar 2005 17:34:54 +0000

This has come up at a couple of my SQL Server 2005 BI events, so let me summarize:

“The Microsoft Office Business Scorecards Accelerator is a Web-based solution that enables employees at all levels of the enterprise to simplify the measurement of key performance indicators (KPIs) and visualization of business strategies.“

It doesn't, however, support SQL Server 2005. Microsoft is supposed to be updating Office so that it will consume KPI data from

Where to download the Office Excel Add-in for SQL Server Analysis Services

Sat, 26 Mar 2005 17:23:48 +0000

For those of you attending my seminars, I've been showing a cool add-in for Excel, which allows you to access and analyze multidimensional data and create interactive structured and free-form reports in Microsoft Office Excel.

You can find out more about it, and download it here.

AJAX/OOB (Out of Band) controls for ASP.NET

Sat, 26 Mar 2005 17:07:59 +0000

These controls use DHTML to make requests to the server and refreshes back to the browser without refreshing the page. This can make for a better, cleaner, flicker-free experience for the users, but adds some more complexity to manage.

Check out the ASP.NET replacement controls from Dart.

Borland's Team System?

Fri, 25 Mar 2005 07:10:43 +0000

Borland just announced its core Software Delivery Platform (SDP), which sounds a lot like Team System.

“... Borland Core SDP offers the first customizable and integrated process and roles-centric platform for application lifecycle management.”

Looks like somebody could have used Team System

Fri, 25 Mar 2005 07:01:39 +0000

... or at least a decent methodology! Read the FoxNews story.

"BroadCatching" - using RSS + BitTorrent to automatically download content

Tue, 22 Mar 2005 05:25:38 +0000

On the topic of RSS, one of my ISV attendees at the Houston SQL Server 2005 event pointed out this article to me, which explains how you can use RSS and BitTorrent to find and download content, using free software

Ajax: A New Approach to Web Applications

Sat, 19 Mar 2005 23:55:38 +0000

Google Suggest and Google Maps are two examples of a new approach to web applications that have been referred to as Ajax. The name is shorthand for Asynchronous JavaScript + XML, and it represents a fundamental shift in what’s possible on the Web.

Introducing Team System book on Amazon

Wed, 16 Mar 2005 20:31:54 +0000

I was just out at Amazon, and I see they have my book listed there. Cool! It shows a June publish date. Maybe they know something I don't.

Is 2005 the year of RSS?

Wed, 16 Mar 2005 20:24:45 +0000

If 2004 was the year of the blog, then could 2005 be the year of RSS? I’ve been hearing more and more interesting uses of RSS, so I can believe it. In fact, Cory Isakson, even suggests that RSS might replace email altogether. That may be a stretch, but I can see his point.

SQL Server 2005 Datamining!

Mon, 14 Mar 2005 01:16:55 +0000

Check out the site created by the actual datamining team. It contains many resources, including the MoviePick example site, and even an area for SQL 2000 datamining.

Tech·Ed Bloggers

Sun, 13 Mar 2005 01:18:39 +0000

If you'll be attending and blogging, go and register now. If not, then bookmark the site and let the aggregation begin!

http://techedbloggers.net

Dot Net Rocks!

Tue, 08 Mar 2005 04:56:56 +0000

Wanted to blog about a recent student of mine, Roy Ogborn, who showed up to my SQL Server 2005 ISV presentation wearing this shirt. I guess there's a story to it.

Links from Raleigh's SQL BI Presentation

Mon, 07 Mar 2005 22:28:49 +0000

Thanks to all of you of you who attended today's presentation in Raleigh.

"Birds of a Feather" sessions for Tech·Ed 2005

Sun, 06 Mar 2005 05:54:39 +0000

I'm helping my buddy Stuart Celarier spread the word on this.

A Birds of a Feather session is a one-hour, moderated open discussion on any topic of great interest to conference attendees. It's not a presentation, there is no speaker or panel, there are no PowerPoint slides. Building on past successes, this year's Birds of a Feather sessions will be higher profile, taking place in the fabulous Tech·Ed Cabanas.

Anyone attending Tech·Ed 2005 can propose a Birds of a Feather session and everyone attending Tech·Ed 2005 is encouraged to vote for the sessions you would to see happen.

Great SQL Server BI Blog

Sun, 06 Mar 2005 05:48:04 +0000

Many of you OLAPsters out there already know and ready Mosha's blog.

Reporting Services Scripter

Sun, 06 Mar 2005 05:19:35 +0000

Reporting Services Scripter is a .NET Windows Forms application that enables scripting of all Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services catalog items to aid in transferring them from one server to another. It can also be used to easily move items on mass from one Reporting Services folder to another on the same server. Depending on the scripting options chosen, Reporting Services Scripter can also transfer all catalog item properties such as Descriptions, History options, Execution options (including report specific and shared schedules) and server side report parameters.

SQL Server Log Reader

Sat, 05 Mar 2005 07:11:06 +0000

An ISV asked me today about reading the SQL Server log for troubleshooting transactions. When I got back to my inbox, I saw this announcement from Red Gate.

“We are pleased to announce the second alpha of SQL Log Rescue - Undelete for SQL Server. SQL Log Rescue lets you View SQL Server transaction logs, Group and sort information in a high performance grid, View and recover deleted and modified data, Recover table drops, View large objects (e.g. ntext and binary columns), Search transactions, and View row history"

Winzip companion for Outlook 1.0

Thu, 03 Mar 2005 21:06:47 +0000

I use both products, so naturally I'm interested. The add-in claims to make it easy for users of Outlook to zip and encrypt attachments to outgoing e-mail messages. It works with Outlook 200x, but not Outlook Express.

Visit Winzip's page for more information.

SQL Server 2005 - AW, Northwind, and Pubs Databases

Thu, 03 Mar 2005 15:21:35 +0000

In case you are running a beta that is missing one or more of these sample database. Here's a link to find them. The AW database .msi file is found at the bottom of the page. Northwind and Pubs links are found to the right side of the page.

STA console apps may not garbage collect correctly

Thu, 03 Mar 2005 14:49:37 +0000

This is an older KB article (# 828988), but it recently came up during one of the ISV Community Days events, so I wanted to blog it.

Speaking at Tech-Ed 2005 in Orlando!

Wed, 02 Mar 2005 03:37:05 +0000

Looks like I’ll be giving a presentation at Tech-Ed 2005 in Orlando on Web-based security best practices for developers. Much like Cory did at VSLive in San Francisco a few weeks ago.

I wish I were speaking about Team System, but at least I'll be there.

Don't forget about the Team System newsgroups ...

Tue, 01 Mar 2005 20:24:52 +0000

Been doing some much blog reading lately (using FeedDemon, by the way) that I’ve forgotten about the “other news feed“, public newsgroups. Here are those newsgroups for VSTS.

The Rule of Threes

Mon, 28 Feb 2005 02:24:21 +0000

Flying to Dallas today on America West, I read an interesting analysis by David Heath in the SmartBusiness section of the airline's magazine. Google found the article here.

A bug in Solitaire?

Sun, 27 Feb 2005 02:32:53 +0000

So my dad sends me this photo of his solitaire game last night. Do you see the bug?

A list of Team System third party products

Fri, 25 Feb 2005 21:51:17 +0000

I happened upon this site. There's only three items on it right now. Let's hope he keeps it updated!

GUID of the Day!

Thu, 24 Feb 2005 20:20:15 +0000

It's amazing what you can do with the results of SQL Server's SELECT NewID() ...

I'm just feeling “Globally Unique” today, I guess.

Updated schedule online

Thu, 24 Feb 2005 18:15:19 +0000

In case you care where I'll be for the next 3 months, here's my schedule.

Speaking at VSLive Las Vegas!

Thu, 24 Feb 2005 17:05:05 +0000

The agenda was just announced, and I'll be speaking on the Synergy of ASP.NET 2.0 and ADO.NET 2.0.

So I hope to see you all at VSLive in Las Vegas

MSF Formal to become "MSF for CMMI Process Improvement"

Thu, 24 Feb 2005 02:06:54 +0000

I just found out about this change. Unfortunately, it won't be in Beta 2, but maybe by TechEd 2005.

MSDN: Installing the December CTP Release of Visual Studio Team System

Wed, 23 Feb 2005 23:45:37 +0000

Dave Bost's informative article has been posted online. Use his step-by-step guide to install and configure the latest release (December CTP) of Team System in a virtual environment using Virtual PC 2004.

Modularis - Accelerating .NET

Wed, 23 Feb 2005 18:16:00 +0000

Last week in Chicago, I was fortunate to catch a one hour presentation by A.J. Singh, of Modularis who demonstrated his company's product Accelerator. In a matter of minutes, he was able to go from simple diagrams to database structures and SOA-ready middle-tier (.NET) code, with minimal effort. Refactoring was even easier.

BizTalk Server 2004 - Deep Dive Training

Wed, 23 Feb 2005 18:02:23 +0000

My friends at QuickLearn in Washington state have put this training together, and I've heard good things about it from my friends at Microsoft. So, if you are looking for a deeper dive into BTS2004 development, check it out.

http://www.quicklearn.com/deepdive.htm

O/R Mappers and Code Generators

Tue, 22 Feb 2005 19:24:18 +0000

Trying to put together a comprehensive list of all .NET-based O/R mappers, because I get asked all the time. Sorry, but I'm not going to include any comparisons or analysis -- you're on your own.

Did I miss any?

ISV Community Days (Resources)

Sun, 20 Feb 2005 01:52:26 +0000

Welcome to the all of the ISVs who are attending this quarter’s ISV Community Days Events! Here’s a link to download some additional materials. This covers the presentations, demos and scripts. Be sure to email me if you need anything additional.

Welcome ISVs - Here's a link for you

Fri, 18 Feb 2005 18:00:12 +0000

Welcome to the ISVs who are attending this quarter's ISV Community Days Events! Here's a link to download some additional materials. This covers the presenations, demos and scripts so you can run through them yourselves!

http://go.netdesk.com/communitydays/events/resources.aspx

Happy coding!

Windows Server Division WebLog!

Thu, 17 Feb 2005 06:32:56 +0000

If you are at all interested in Windows 2003 64-bit, then be sure to add this blog to your aggregator. Please spread the word to any ISVs you know or meet that this blog will quickly become a way to announce new ISV applications that support the x64 operating system.

http://blogs.msdn.com/windowsserver

Oracle announces Dev Tools for VS.NET

Tue, 15 Feb 2005 15:23:09 +0000

Not that I’m an Oracle developer, it’s just a very well-written article

SQL Server 2005 and Visual Studio 2005 ISV Community Tour begins!

Mon, 14 Feb 2005 04:46:39 +0000

Well, I'm off again, touring the country, and delivering the message to folks in a number of cities over the next two months.

If you would like to download the slides, demos, or scripts, then go to my public download site.

Going through my VSLive photos ...

Sat, 12 Feb 2005 17:29:26 +0000

Between all my buddies taking photos, I've got some good ones. Including this (cropped) shot of Bill Vaughn talking to someone in the foreground, and Doug Purdy busy doing something with his thumb in the background.

No, it wasn't staged! :-)

SQL Server Management Objects (SMO) Presentation

Wed, 09 Feb 2005 02:23:52 +0000

Thanks everyone who attended. If you have any questions, please ping me at delphi@delphi.org or v-richh@microsoft.com

Here's the slides, code, and output from my presentation.

VSLive2005 - Richard Hundhausen - SQL Management Objects (SMO)

Wed, 09 Feb 2005 00:51:05 +0000

Richard Hundhausen is talking about SQL Management Objects (SMO). Started on a high note. Good jokes. Got the audience interested.

High points:

You can capture your clicks, and turn them into a script that can be edited.

SMO is backward compatible with SQL Server 2000 and 7.0!

Over 500 classes in SMO, with over 19,000 methods, properties, constructors, fields and events

Can use What-If to see what would happen if you ran something. You get the SQL but don't HAVE to get the results of running it.

VSLive2005 - Cory Isakson - Internet Security Best Practices

Tue, 08 Feb 2005 23:12:39 +0000

Cory Isakson is giving a presention on security on the internet. Looking specifically at extranet solutions (and some good ideas in internet solutions as well). About 80 people in attendence.

Threats:

Man in the middle
Session reply
Query string manipulation
HTTP header manipulation
Cookie manipulation
Form field manipulation
Luring attacks

Recommendations:

Authorization:
- Access Control Lists
- Authorization Manager - ties in with Active Directory credentials
- ASP.NET 2.0 Permission Manager - not MS, but ties in directly to the Provider model. This looks exciting! Cory really covered this well, even giving some real code. Plus, his business logic for why this is important is very compelling. Check this out at Google. Or (I did it for you) here.

Good presentation. Enough code to keep us interested, with enough tips from experience to make us feel like we've had some good experienced-based tricks we can take back to us.

Cory Isakson onstage!

Tue, 08 Feb 2005 21:59:47 +0000

Sitting through Cory's talk on Practical internet security development.

A quick head count: 80 attendees. Great job Cory!

Oh, and I like the slip “VSLice”

VSLive - Eric Rudder's Keynote and Ari Bixhorn's Demo

Tue, 08 Feb 2005 17:58:22 +0000

Eric's speaking on lots of overview stuff, with just enough technical info to keep it interesting and enough business information to get my juices flowing.

Indigo Day Theme - What should you do today, to prepare for Web Services in the future?

Notes:

W3C recommendations are improving, including MTOM and WS-AtomicTransactions.
Indigo's 3 areas: Productivity (attribute based, VS integration), Interoperability (WS-* specs), and Service-Oriented Development (loosely coupled, config based communication)
Lots of focus on the Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) support in Indigo.
Indigo services will be built using VS 2005. Indigo is an extension of the .NET Framework.

Ari Bixhorn's up for a demo. Got a big ol' bandage on his head. The demo's focused on a hospital experience. (Whoops, it's not a bandage, it'2013-08-28 13:52:37's the heart rate monitor.)

(VSLive) Eric Rudder'2013-08-28 18:38:03's - Migrating to Indigo

Tue, 08 Feb 2005 17:54:58 +0000

ASMX to Indigo

Good news is that your old ASMX code will continue to work. Same with MSMQ. No imperative that you must move to Indigo. Save code, run faster, smoother, better management tools - great reasons to change, however.

“First generation Web services are legacy“ - sounds weird, doesn't it?

using System.ServiceModel;

Enterprise Services to Indigo

Enhanced the transaction support, setting Tx and security semantics on a per method basis.

(VSLive) Eric Rudder and Air Bixhorn's keynote "Investigating Indigo"

Tue, 08 Feb 2005 17:39:27 +0000

Focus is on a walk through Web services, from ASMX to WSE to Indigo, and how Indigo will plug and play into Visual Studio.

Ari just came onstage wearing a heartrate monitor on his head. This should be interesting.

His hospital system, demonstrated inside whitehorse, shows the connection to a BEA Web service. The demo starts, tracing Air's heartrate and brainwave activity! Then a call is made to the Web service, from within the client applicaiton.

From the "Would you rather be Rich or Stupid?" category.

Tue, 08 Feb 2005 15:42:58 +0000

A newspaper from New Zealand has this whopper about married couples:

"Most people say they still find their partners sexually attractive, and still have enjoyable sex lives. But faced with a choice of going without sex or losing weight, a whopping 93% would chose shedding some kilos."

So, what's up with the other 7%?

VSLive2005 - Eric Lee - VSTS: Enterprise Development and Testing Tools

Tue, 08 Feb 2005 02:00:39 +0000

Eric Lee gives a presentation on Enterprise Dev and Testing Tools in VS2005 Team System.

A great talk about the WHY of team development. Why is team development important? How can Team System help?

Eric is a great presenter. The audience is hooked, and he's on a roll! :-)

Cool points:

Everything in VS Team Foundation Server (TFS) is exposed as a web service, so you can develop any kind of client that you like. Don't like the built-in support for Excel and Project? Build a new one!
You can plug into the event system! You can create a Web Service, and then TFS will call YOU! Almost a SOAP call-back! You can already set up email notifications when it changes.
TFS can handle all of your administrative UI stuff.
Team Build - coming soon - you'll be able to do a scheduled build, run the unit tests, coverage tests, etc, and will generate a build report! Oh, way cool!
Code Analyzer (was FxCop) - rules engine that is fully extensible and configurable. You can catch the errors that are well known. "This will allow you to focus on making new errors." (got a good laugh)
Code Profiler - It's been used for many years at Microsoft. Makes testing your code for performance much easier!
Unit Tests - I'm very excited about this! Programmers NEED to use Unit Tests, and they just don't, since it'2013-08-28 13:52:38's an initial hurdle. But once you've done it, you're sold!
Unit Tests can use data binding to expand the unit testing to be very powerful!
Unit Tests can run against web applications.
Testing infrastructure is robust enough to handle MS internal tests, which can number in the 10s of thousands of tests. Cool!
Team Testing is extensible - "More time spent being sure testing was extensible than in building tests."
Reports include quality measurements at the development level and deployment level.

Time for a demo! Cool stuff from the demo:

VSLive2005 - Ajay Sudan - Managing the Software Lifecycle with Visual Studio 2005 Team System

Tue, 08 Feb 2005 00:55:46 +0000

Ajay Sudan is presenting an overview of Team System at VSLive2005. He's giving an excellent overview of the entire topic. To be cleaned up later...

Cool Info:

Team foundation will support up to 500 developers out of the box. For more developers, TFS installs can be 'chained'.
You can create a new project by BRANCHING from an existing project!!
Can install your companies data center as a 'drag and drop' control from the toolbox.
Code Coverage is easy! You can show how much of your code is covered by your unit tests with a few clicks!

(VSLive) - Managing the Software Lifecycle with Visual STudio 2005 Team System

Mon, 07 Feb 2005 23:51:38 +0000

Sorry I didn't post them here, but please download my notes.

Notes.doc

Greetings from VSLive (San Francisco)

Mon, 07 Feb 2005 23:50:31 +0000

Been here a couple of days now, but the conference really gets started today.

Yesterday, Sunday, was a pre-conference day, where a few legends were doing 1/2 day seminars on C# best practices, code reuse in Visual Studio, and frameworks. I checked in, got my badge, and got oriented.

Today's keynote was on Smart Clients, by Soma. I heard they even included a quick Team System demo/mention. :-)

I've pretty much hid-out in the speaker room, tuning my demo, and working on Team System. Good time - met all kinds of cool folks there today. Here's a quick list of who rotated into and out-of the room today.

VSLive2005 - Day 0

Mon, 07 Feb 2005 02:08:49 +0000

There were a few good lectures today. Most of them all day affairs. Deborah Kurata spoke on tips for code reuse and using VS.NET efficiently. Of course, Paul Sheriff & Ken Getz were doing the Build a VB.NET Application in 1 Day (I don't think I've heard of a conference of consequence that doesn't begin Day 0 with that show. That's got to be wonderful for AppDev.) Richard Hale Shaw, from the unexpectedly named Richard Hale Shaw Group, spoke on best and worst patterns and practices for C#. Overall, it sounded like a pretty good day, especially for some of the introductory stuff. Unfortunately, Rich and I had a bunch of work to do, so we don't have much info or tips and tricks to blog. :-(

VSLive 2005 - Arrival in San Francisco

Sun, 06 Feb 2005 04:14:03 +0000

Rich Hundhausen, Cory Isakson and myself (Steven Borg) just arrived in San Francisco for the VSLive 2005 conference. We'll all be speaking on various topics.

VSTS Chat Transcript (Experts) - Team Architect - February 2, 2005

Sun, 06 Feb 2005 04:08:30 +0000

Ed_H_MS (Moderator): Welcome to today’s chat with Team Architect. We'll be answering questions and discussing our suite of designers for designing service oriented systems as well as logical datacenters, deployment, and extensibility.

DavidHo_ms (Expert): Hi - I am the Test Manager for the team.

NHibernate

Fri, 28 Jan 2005 18:52:37 +0000

NHibernate is a .NET based object persistence library for relational databases, which is a port of the Java Hibernate relational persistence tool.

http://nhibernate.sourceforge.net

VSTS Chat Transcript (Group Chat) - Team Foundation Server - January 26, 2005

Thu, 27 Jan 2005 02:36:53 +0000

Welcome to the MSDN Chat Room. This chat room will be used for both event, as well as, peer-to-peer chats. Please abide by the Chat Code of Conduct, located in the Help file. To view a list of our upcoming event chats, please visit http://msdn.microsoft.com/chats/.

Chat Topic: Chat with the VSTF (Team Foundation) team

Chat Room Status: Scheduled Chat in Progress

Paul_D_Murphy: shhh. I'm trying to watch TV...

hartmannp: oh goodie

kyong: anyone have a guess to the release date?

hartmannp: I'm more interested in the cost...

Steven Borg: how about release date to Beta2

hartmannp: Is it going to be affordable for smaller size companies...?

Gauche: September I think

kyong: is sept. for beta2 or full release?

Jonesie: Get MSDN before the final release.

Gauche: beta2 last i heard

Gauche: been pushed back

hartmannp: Anyone have any clue as to the cost? From my understanding MSDN won't cover the license fees

kyong: yeah read something on theserverside

Steven Borg: Ack! I'm looking forward to Beta2...

Steven Borg asked the experts: What Windows/AD permissions does an AD User need to connect to TFS?

Jonesie: Currently you have to have a domain account and the TFS admin has to add you to the approprate roles.

Montaque asked the experts: Is Sql server 2005 is necessary for tfs in the final release?

Steven Borg: The TFS groups Global Namespace Admins, Global TFS Everyone, Global Service Accounts, Project Administrators, Project Contributor, Project Reader are built-in. Are these groups stored in ADAM or SQL?

hartmannp asked the experts: Will MSDN Cover the licensing for TFS, or how will that work? Is it a solution thats viable for a smaller team (10-15 developers) without a large budget?

joelercoaster: anyway to make the names of Experts and Guests appear in diff colors?

Paul_D_Murphy: MSDN Universal subscribers will get thies choice of one SKU of team system.

Steven Borg asked the experts: The TFS groups Global Namespace Admins, Global TFS Everyone, Global Service Accounts, Project Administrators, Project Contributor, Project Reader are built-in. Are these groups stored in ADAM or SQL? (repost to 'Submit a Question')

Paul_D_Murphy: The whole Team Suite will be available for an upgrade price

Steven Borg: Woo hoo!!! How much is the upgrade price? ;-)

hartmannp: Paul_D: What's the pricing scheme look like?

Paul_D_Murphy: don't know.

hartmannp: Paul: and what do you mean, one SKU of team system?

RHundhausen asked the experts: Akashm - what platforms will you be building migration tools?

Paul_D_Murphy: check the newsgroups, I'll find the thread. Buck hodges made a post

hartmannp: Paul: aight, appreciate it

Bruce Lee: Hello, all.

Chris Menegay asked the experts: Can you categorize projects? If I have a large enterprise, I might want one huge scaled TFS with all projects. If so, how would I organize them?

Chris Menegay: wonder how Ed gets assigned all of these?

Chris Menegay asked the experts: Can you limit the resource list in MS Project when working with work items. It seems to pull from AD?

Chris Menegay asked the experts: Does source control store each version of the file, or only differences?

Paul_D_Murphy: hart: sorry it wasn't Buck who made that post. It's in teamsystem.general and the thread is titled 'What MSDN Subscription Level?'

Chris Menegay asked the experts: When creating a new team project and branching, can you move over work items?

kyong asked the experts: is team system an overkill for a group of 10 - 15 ?

Ed_H_MS (Moderator): Heya Chris - can't keep from volunteering, you know!

RHundhausen asked the experts: Still the constraint that VSTS is the only app on the SQL2005 box? How about just an instance?

Chris Menegay: cool Ed, if you didn't work for MS - you'd be an MVP!

Paul_D_Murphy asked the experts: Will Team System be licensed to service providers to provide the platform to people not able to maintain thier own infrastructure?

Ed_H_MS (Moderator): Hehehe - I wish!

RHundhausen asked the experts: When do you plan to rename the databases and Web services? They are still codenames!

Montaque asked the experts: A question about the team test, does the test suite will cover Functional and Process testing? It seems that the current build include unit test, loading test and limited features.

Dan asked the experts: Any converter for StarTeam?

hartmannp asked the experts: Will the version control in TFS support true branching and merging unlike the control we have with VSS?

Chris Menegay asked the experts: Can TFS be load balanced (Scale-out)? It's just ASP.NET, right?

Bruce Lee asked the experts: How about the extensibility of Team Foundation? I mean can we use it with some other dev system, like a Java dev system?

Joy Wang: Can I run unit test without install TFS?

Silent Jay asked the experts: Along the lines of Dan's question, any converter for Perforce?

Paul_D_Murphy: yes joy you can.

Chris Menegay asked the experts: Back on work items, can I copy ALL of them. let's say V1 is done and I want V2 of my project to a new "Team Project", can I branch source code and copy all the work items when creating the new team project?

kyong: I'd like to start using team system as soon as possible and wanted to know if the code versioning and bug tracking sections were stable enough for production

RHundhausen asked the experts: Since all/most settings are persisted in the SQL 2005 database, what would be the pros/cons of having the application tier (Web Services) on each developer's workstation, vice having the application tier on the SQL box?

Joy Wang: To Paul_D_Murphy: but in DEC CTP, I cannot do it.

kyong asked the experts: I'd like to start using team system as soon as possible and wanted to know if the code versioning and bug tracking sections were stable enough for production

hartmannp asked the experts: Along the lines of a converter for ClearCase, what about CVS which seems to be very dominate of the market today?

els asked the experts: You will have conversion from VSS and CC; what about for bug tracking tools?

Jonesie asked the experts: Can I tell TFS to use an existing Sharepoint or Reporting site rather than have it create new ones?

Paul_D_Murphy: joy: drop it on the newsgroups, it should work. Maybe we can figure it out.

RHundhausen asked the experts: (Follow-up) so, it's ok to have other instances on the SQL 2005 box? How about other databases on that instance?

Ed_H_MS (Moderator): Joy - please use the "Submit a Question" radio button, that will get the question into the queue and on the transcript.

Montaque asked the experts: will TFS have an integration with pwa ?

Joy Wang asked the experts: Can I run unit test without install TFS? I know I can edit a unit test for some methods, but we can excute the selected unit test, it cannot run.

RHundhausen asked the experts: Shelving stores local or remotely? do you have a choice?

rz asked the experts: How does TFS support development teams located in different countries in the world? distributed architecture?

Joy Wang: Thank you very much

joelercoaster: we we get a transcript of this chat later?

RHundhausen asked the experts: Is ADAM required on both the AT and DT? Will the need for ADAM be dropped eventually?

Brian Randell: You mention that the AT uses in-memory session state. Couldn't I just change the session state to SQL Server or the TCP State Server and then LB the severs?

RHundhausen asked the experts: Any plans to plug Hatteras into SQL Server 2005's management studio interface as a VCC choice?

kyong: is there a doc describing the different flavors of teamsystem? I just saw a diagram with arch. test. etc.

Brent asked the experts: I looked at ClearCase, which has explorer integration - Can TS source control use explorer - would it look something similar to the way that ClearCase works?

RHundhausen asked the experts: What check-in policiess will be supported in V1? Pass unit tests? Code coverage? Others? Build my own?

Joy Wang: Will we provide a view to show the relationship of the work items. for example, some work items are root of another work items.

Joy Wang asked the experts: Will we provide a view to show the relationship of the work items. for example, some work items are root of another work items.

Brian Randell: With VSS the SSC interfaces for intergrating VSS were, let's just say under documented. Are you documenting how a host can integrated with Hatteras? (such as a custom document tool)

RHundhausen: Hey Brian, good question -- ask the experts, would you?

JHealy: will the source control system provide alerts/email notification?

JHealy asked the experts: will the source control system provide alerts/email notification?

jeffmir: will vsts support development processes directly eg RUP ?

Paul_D_Murphy: brian: check this out http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/4/6/5466ad0d-dd6d-4b2e-9402-63352bda1798/VSTF%201204%20CTP%20Extensibility%20Kit.msi

Brian Randell: Sorry, I'm a putz.

hartmannp asked the experts: BhavikS_MS: When I merge back in from the branch, I expect that to be kept in a record and hopefulyl viewable (as in CVS/Perforce/BitKeeper/SVN), as well file additions/removals to be automated.

RHundhausen: :-)

Brian Randell asked the experts: You mention that the AT uses in-memory session state. Couldn't I just change the session state to SQL Server or the TCP State Server and then LB the severs?

Chris Menegay asked the experts: I'm not asking this work item question well. How do i copy work items when creating a new project? Is it automatic when I branch? or is it manual?

Mike: hi

Brian Randell: Thanks Paul, I will.

JHealy: Does the source control system provide the ability to obsolete/archive versions, files, branches, releases.

joelercoaster: this is Joel Reyes I am with Microsoft

Bruce Lee asked the experts: Please make a quick comparison of TFS and CVS?

Paul_D_Murphy asked the experts: laby_ms: the question was will you provide a graphical view, not does it link.

JHealy asked the experts: Does the source control system provide the ability to obsolete/archive versions, files, branches, releases.

Ed_H_MS (Moderator): jeffmir can you use the "Submit a Question" radio button to get the question in our queue please?

RHundhausen: Off topic, but is Whitehorse called the "SOA designers" or the "Distributed Application Designers"? anyone heard the latest?

Brent: We've invested a lot in the VSS API, how easy will it be to migrate our processes to VSTS / is there a similar API?

jeffmir asked the experts: will vsts support development processes directly eg RUP ?

Montaque asked the experts: TFS will conver every aspect of MSF, am I right. Say, DailyBuild, Risk Asserting and so on...

Ed_H_MS (Moderator): Brent - can you use the "Submit a Question" radio button to get the question in our queue please?

Ed_H_MS (Moderator): Thanksm Jeffmir

Brent asked the experts: We've invested a lot in the VSS API, how easy will it be to migrate our processes to VSTS / is there a similar API?

JHealy: any shot there will be a facility for unix / *nix type clients to use the source control facility

kyong asked the experts: from the sound of it, tfs will be on one server utilizing session state, what happens in case of errors which require a restart? will changes be lost or will there be a restoreable log?

JHealy asked the experts: any shot there will be a facility for unix / *nix type clients to use the source control facility

Sita asked the experts: I am not able to create a team project the message referencing Rosetta. In the general newsgroup I was asked to verify if the reports server was working. When I get to the server, I get a message "Server installation was not initialized". Need help.

RHundhausen asked the experts: Currently, I can configure a Project Model Hierarchy and Iterations with plenty of flexibility; other than just great record keeping when I create work items, how does TFS use these hierarchies?

hartmannp: To re-iterate earlier question, when merging from a branch, will history be retained in a tree like manner as (CVS/Perforce/BitKeeper/...) , and will new files, renames, and deletes be handled properly (VSS does not handle any of those cases cleanly)

Montaque asked the experts: the final release of tfs will work together with wss , so could it work well with sps next version? sps 2005?

Brian Randell asked the experts: Follow to "How does TFS support development teams located in different countries in the world? distributed architecture? " What about clock sync--is everything stored in UTC and the offset based upon the clients time zone.

Dan asked the experts: Does TFS support cross-domain and workstation users, or only users in one domain? Is this working in Dec CTP?

Ed_H_MS (Moderator): hartmannp - can you use the "Submit a Question" radio button to get the question in our queue please?

JHealy asked the experts: will the source control use ITIL compliant terminology and structures

hartmannp asked the experts: To re-iterate earlier question, when merging from a branch, will history be retained in a tree like manner as (CVS/Perforce/BitKeeper/...) , and will new files, renames, and deletes be handled properly (VSS does not handle any of those cases cleanly)

RHundhausen asked the experts: Since both Excel and Project documents have the ability to Load Work Items, Make Changes, and then Publish/Synch -- do we need to keep the .XLS or .MPP files around in the mean-time? best practice?

Brent asked the experts: Regarding ClearCase - Explorer integration, VSS does not host projects as folders in Explorer - that's what I mean - why have two explorers, which behave pretty much the same - does VSTS have this facility?

hartmannp: Ed: sorry thanks, missed that I didn't do that

Paul_D_Murphy: adamsi_MS: about deleting items from source control. Is there an option to hide the deleted entries? I created one project and screwed it up while playing around and I'd like to recreate it now that I know what I'm doing.

Paul_D_Murphy asked the experts: adamsi_MS: about deleting items from source control. Is there an option to hide the deleted entries? I created one project and screwed it up while playing around and I'd like to recreate it now that I know what I'm doing.

Ed_H_MS (Moderator): No worries, hartmannp - it happens at least 10 times per chat ;-)

kyong asked the experts: a followup question: if items that are deleted from the available list but not from the database, when can files be removed from the db?

jeffmir asked the experts: will there be a tool for planning projects perhaps integrating project objectives/milestones and ms project data

kyong asked the experts: does it hold build version info for files? so I can revert to all the source from build x then revert back to build y ( more recent ) code?

RHundhausen asked the experts: Will we see any more work item types, besides QoS Requirement, Task, Bug, and Scenario? Or does this depend on how baked MSF/Agile is?

Sita: If the December CTP does not support reporting. It will be supported by Beta2 if not early...does that mean I cannot create a team project until then?

ThomasG HP:

for(i

Montaque asked the experts: I did not find any features about team architect in the CTP DEC Build, exceptit for a distributed system diagrams

Ed_H_MS (Moderator): Sita - can you use the "Submit a Question" radio button to get the question in our queue please?

RHundhausen asked the experts: Does anyone at Microsoft have a solid, step-by-step build guide for creating Virtual PC VHDs? Anything to get started.

hartmannp asked the experts: If currently stuck with VSS and having to do large branches/merges and finding doing this a very painful process, I have suggested a move to CVS for the company, with a very tight budget and about 10 people, would it be worth dealing with VSS till TSF?

Jonesie asked the experts: The current work items in a new project have no details. Presumably they will in B2 or later?

Montaque asked the experts: V1 of TFS requires WSS and will not run with SPS. so i can not get the document for the portal search results, Right?

Sita asked the experts: The December CTP does not support reporting. It will be supported by Beta2 if not early. ...does that mean I cannot create a team project until beta2?

Ed_H_MS (Moderator): Thanks, Sita - just want to make sure you get your question answered

Paul_D_Murphy asked the experts: adam: about delete. I think you misunderstood. Currently the UI shows deleted items as greyed out files. Is there any way to hide these?

ThomasG HP asked the experts: does VSS 2005 use utilize Windows Integrated security as well as Domain in Active Directory?

Sita: Thanks

Dan: What permissions and procedures have to be done for a user to be able to checkout and make changes to the sources that he didn't create originally? Is this working in the Dec CTP?

RHundhausen asked the experts: I haven't checked, but are the Excel and Project Work Item toolbars and functionality based on Whidbey/VSTO bits? or something else (VBA)?

Ed_H_MS (Moderator): Dan - can you use the "Submit a Question" radio button to get the question in our queue please?

Dan asked the experts: What permissions and procedures have to be done for a user to be able to checkout and make changes to the sources that he didn't create originally? Is this working in the Dec CTP?

Chris Menegay asked the experts: I haven't looked closely, does WIT support start date (so a dev knows what is first of his 10 work items)?

Montaque asked the experts: does the tfs will conver the full features of UML, or just a limited implementation instead?

ThomasG HP asked the experts: Will developers be able to use existing Sharepoint team sites with team system or will we be required to update sharepoint team services in order to leverage the integration?

Jonesie asked the experts: Is GotDotNet the source for MSF Agile or MSDN (cause GDN is soooo unreliable).

Dan asked the experts: Can VS 2003 coexist with TFS on the same machine?

jeffmir: i wonder if itll facilitate collecting statistics, for instane team member check-in frequency etc

jeffmir: and a nice generated report on demand

Ed_H_MS (Moderator): jeffmir - can you use the "Submit a Question" radio button to get the question in our queue please?

ThomasG HP asked the experts: Are there any plans to integrate ORM into the VSS Team architect tool?

Chris Menegay asked the experts: create date is different than start date - the PM is going to be rearranging work on the project plan, regardless of when the work item was created. So there needs to be a start date, not a create date?

Salferrer: Would anyone happen to know how to access shared folder on a network

Paul_D_Murphy asked the experts: Brain, I feel like that answer regarding UML is misleading. So far as i can tell the Team Architect stuff is simliar to UML but is not UML at all. Am I wrong?

ThomasG HP asked the experts: Will Team System be able to install on an Oracle 10g database?

Chris Menegay: I haven't seen any UML in Team Arch

RHundhausen asked the experts: (Wishlist) When I created a new document library folder in Team Explorer it creates a document library in WSS - cool. Could I have a property or check-box or default behavior to create it as a Quick Launch item to the left side of my WSS site?

Paul_D_Murphy: me neither

JHealy: subset of uml = orm class designer?

ThomasG HP asked the experts: ORM > UML

Salferrer: help?

RHundhausen: Object Relational Mapping or Object Role Modeling? I hate overloaded acronyms!

Chris Menegay: bad timing Salferrer

Sita asked the experts: We actually did what you suggest above. (this above the Rosseta plugin and report server not initializing message)

Ed_H_MS (Moderator): Salferrer - are you asking about VSTS?

AnthonyB asked the experts: Is a TFS SCC plugin planned for VS2003 so it can support existing apps that won't be updated?

Sita asked the experts: We actually did what you suggest above. (this above the Rosseta plugin and report server not initializing message)

ThomasG HP: Object Role Modeling...

RHundhausen: very cool! Long live Fact Types

Paul_D_Murphy: in fact Booch and a bunch of MS people are having a blog war over which is better.

Salferrer: No! simple file sharing

ThomasG HP: Akashm: You can use VSS6 with Team Server

Chris Menegay: Salferrer : machinenamesharename

RHundhausen: There's a cool professor in Salt Lake at a certain high-tech university that can settle that blog war

Ed_H_MS (Moderator): Thanks Chris, beat me to it...

JHealy asked the experts: will the source control use ITIL compliant terminology and structures

ThomasG HP: blog war?

hartmannp asked the experts: If we have a scheme, where before anyone is allowed to checkin, the code must be reviewed, will TFS allow for such a scheme to enforced?

Paul_D_Murphy: greenfield -vs- booch http://weblogs.asp.net/JackGr/archive/2004/12/20/327726.aspx

ThomasG HP: wha blog war?

Salferrer: type that where

Brent asked the experts: We've an extensive deployment setup, tracking built versions of files through development, QA and deployment installations, where we can see what tasks are outstanding deployment from one area to the next. Does VSTS cover anything like this?

JHealy asked the experts: can you comment on sarbanes oxley compliance in the reporting aspect of source control

RHundhausen asked the experts: I hate to ask, but how solid is your Web Service API at this point? Database structure?

Salferrer: sorry of the ignorance

Dan asked the experts: Is there a Team Foundation Client outside of Visual Studio? When will it be available if it's not in Dec CTP?

jeffmir asked the experts: will vsts facilitate statistics collection eg frequency of checkin by team members and be able to generate a nice project activity report on demand

ThomasG HP: Bhavik: that's not ture

Ed_H_MS (Moderator): Salferrer - Start/Run machinenamesharename

Chris Menegay: Salferrer: Start Menu -> Run

Silent Jay asked the experts: Need to go, so just a comment - I've tried several times now to install TFS and have not yet succeeded. I hope that you continue to simplify the installation with each CTP so that us not-so-smart folks get an early chance to explore this technology. thx!

Brian Randell asked the experts: How are we for feature cuts at this point? Are features solid? (This seriouly affects books, courses, training materials, etc.)

RHundhausen asked the experts: Are you using any managed pieces in the SQL 2005 backend? leveraging any of the new features? XML data types, SOAP end-points, varchar(MAX), etc?

Robert M asked the experts: Will there be any problems/issues with VSTS with SQL 2005 and Oracle 10g installed on the same server

RHundhausen: Brian, you read my mind!

els asked the experts: Any extimates/guesses/stats on the sort of startup effort and ongoing effort required to manage TFS? We have a dev team of about 30 people; should I expect to dedicate 1 FTE? 1/2 FTE? 5 FTE? to managing TFS?

ThomasG HP: You can register the VSS6 client with the VSS 2005 SCC libraries.

Joy Wang asked the experts: How to add or remove memebers from organizational unit? and how to build a organizational unit? In create a team project wizard, we should select a organizational unit first.

ThomasG HP asked the experts: What's the target RTM date for TFS?

RHundhausen: My understanding is that any UML capability will continue to come through Visio, and not VS?

Paul_D_Murphy asked the experts: I don't want to get into a debate, but UML is not about designing classes. Class design is a steotype implementation for coding, that's all.

Chris Menegay asked the experts: Ok, the TFS session data is making me worry. If I lose power to my server, or hard-crash. What an I losing? It doesn't sound like you guys are utilizing ASP.NET best practices...

ThomasG HP: hehe

ThomasG HP: Paul... UML is for logical design, yeah?

Paul_D_Murphy: you can model factory workflow with UML

Paul_D_Murphy: it's an abstract modeling language, that's all. Has nothing to do with code specifically. It's commonly used for that, but it's much more abstract.

RHundhausen: you go Paul!

Paul_D_Murphy: sry, I love that stuf..

ThomasG HP: I have to agree, class diagrams are more physical design. But then again... Visio allows you to generate C# code from UML diagrams, no?

Paul_D_Murphy: even the UML in Visio isn't 'real' UML. If you want 'real' UML you need Rose.

ThomasG HP: oh... it's not 'real'

ThomasG HP: UML is much more basic, right?

Paul_D_Murphy: /me wonders why he always seems to get into spats.... I would say abstract not basic.

ThomasG HP: lol

ThomasG HP: -use

Gauche: Paul, what resources do you suggest for best learning the full details of UML. Not just from a development viewpoint but the whole shebang.

Paul_D_Murphy: it would be hard to model a business process with the UML tools in visio, it would be easy in Rose.

rz asked the experts: For globally distributed teams, do you have to use just one central SQL database? What if teams in other countries lose internet connection to the central database?

JHealy asked the experts: where's this chat going to be archived and when should we be able to download it...

jeffmir: the omg has the full uml specifications online

jeffmir: there are a number of "good" uml books

Gauche: such as?

ThomasG HP: Gauche: don't you know that books don't teach you anything

RHundhausen: UML Distilled is a personal favorite

jeffmir: aw uml distiled

Gauche: Thanks. I'll look into it.

Steven Borg asked the experts: When will the reporting be available? Beta2? What types of reports are going to be available? I see 5 on the VSTS MSDN sites.

Sankar: Is vsts integrated/going to be integrated into VS 2005 better than VSS6?

Brian Randell asked the experts: Another issue with teams in different areas: any chance of using SQL Replication?

Paul_D_Murphy: http://www-306.ibm.com/software/rational/uml/ now that said, where Microsoft is going with doman specific languages and thier take on modeling is better IYAM.

Paul_D_Murphy: but UML and what Microsoft are doing are cousins not twins.

Dan asked the experts: Where are the team project files located? Is project deletion working in Dec CTP?

Robert M asked the experts: Q: The December CTP does not support reporting. It will be supported by Beta2 if not early. ...does that mean I cannot create a team project until beta2?

Sankar asked the experts: Is vsts integrated/going to be integrated into VS 2005 better than VSS6?

els asked the experts: I keep seeing talk of Beta 2. Has there been a B1 already? is it the same as the Dec CTP? when should I expect B1? B2?

ThomasG HP: too bad rational tools do not work with .NET

RHundhausen: Rational XDE? or you mean Rose?

ThomasG HP: Rational Software Architect

Jonesie asked the experts: You guys have been busy. It's an impressive product so far. How many lines of code in TFS and/or VS ?

jeffmir: more importantly too bad rational products cost an arm and a leg

Paul_D_Murphy: Rose, XDE is crap.

Robert M asked the experts: There was a question eariler regarding the installation of SQL2005 and IIS from Sita. What would the proper un-install procedure and re-install procedure with Oracle 10g on the same server?

Sankar asked the experts: Are there videos/screenshots/presentation that show the integration for people like me that don't have this system setup?

Paul_D_Murphy: if you do software, check out the Microsoft stuff it's better for software. Team Architect rocks for software.

Steven Borg: THANKS for the list of reports!!!

RHundhausen asked the experts: Maybe this was answered earlier, but asked a different way - with the bits available today, is it possible to have two VS or AT boxes working with a single DT back-end? So we can simulate an actual team? or is it Cowboy architecture for a while?

Joy Wang asked the experts: Does Source control use SQL Server 2005 database to store project items?

ThomasG HP asked the experts: When is Microsoft planning to update the Microsoft Solutions Framework to include team foundation specific features? Will we be seeing a guide on how to map the phases of the MSF into the TF itself?

Gauche asked the experts: Are there plans to support databases other than SQL Server? Is there the ability for developers to provide their own persistence layer to store data where and how they like?

Chris Menegay asked the experts: Back on my session state and VSTF question. Earlier it was stated (by BrianW), that you didn't support load balancing because of data stored in memory. I'm trying to figure out what is stored there in case of server crash.

RHundhausen asked the experts: Philosophical: are you buidling Team System to fit MSF/Agile, or MSF/Agile to fit Team System? I know you can plug-in any methodology you want, but how tightly coupled (0-100 is MSF/A with Team System the tool?

ThomasG HP: Gauche: great question. I thought that was microsofts whole initiative around nTier architecture and having the data tier, so you could swap out the server.

jeffmir asked the experts: is there a developers notebook, non formal documentation management eg annotated quick notes to other developers about a piece of the project

Robert M asked the experts: According to your response that maybe some of the SQL option were missed during Install or SQL2005 was installed before IIS. I Have Oracle 10g installed on the server too. I know the instances are different,

Montaque asked the experts: Improved WIT Experience, what does the WIT Experience mean here?

RHundhausen: Robert - that's why I was asking if SQL2005 was using any of the new, specific features

Sita asked the experts: Is there a way to forward more information, I have pasted the error reports in the general newsgroups

RHundhausen asked the experts: What's the Permissions button for on the Project and Iteration tab inside Team Explorer?

Paul_D_Murphy asked the experts: Will 'Test' be a first class citizen in guidance packages like 'scenario' or 'bug'?

RHundhausen asked the experts: When will the December CTP bits expire? Will they?

RHundhausen: Thanks Ling!

Montaque asked the experts: thanks u ,Ling_bao

Bruce Lee: Thanks.

Montaque asked the experts: About the web reporting, CR.net and Reporting service, which one is more powerful?

Brian Randell asked the experts: Thanks Team for taking the time for the chat!

Ed_H_MS (Moderator): Wow, thanks all - busy chat! We'll see you all in the morning for session 2, right?

RHundhausen: BrianW - good enough answer for me

Montaque asked the experts: or what's the future of reporting service with vs.net , will it replace cr.net in web reporting?

ThomasG HP: man this chat app p0wnz

Sankar asked the experts: does anyone know approximately when beta2 is going to be out?

Montaque: thank u all

ThomasG HP: uh huh

Ed_H_MS (Moderator): Thanks, ThomasG HP - a lot better than the old one for sure!

Paul_D_Murphy: chao

ThomasG HP: This code paster is just sick

Paul_D_Murphy: karate explosion

ThomasG HP: haha

Robert M asked the experts: If I have questions with the Install is there someone I can contact via email or by phone......I have tried the BLOGS....not fast enough

Ed_H_MS (Moderator): Code paster - you mean Visual Notepad? :-)

VSTS Chat Transcript (Experts) - Team Foundation Server - January 26, 2005

Thu, 27 Jan 2005 02:33:24 +0000

Current chat room activity:

Ed_H_MS (Moderator): Hello folks, we'll get started with the VSTS Team Foundation chat in about 20 minutes...

Ed_H_MS (Moderator): Welcome to today’s chat with the VSTF (Team Foundation) team. We have members of the team here today to chat with you. We'll be answering questions and discussing our suite of source control, work item tracking, Excel and Project integration, reporting, WSS integration, and build automation tools.

I will ask the hosts to introduce themselves.

Akashm_MS (Expert): Hello my name is Akash Maheshwari, I am program manager of team developing converter tools for Team Foundation Version Control;;

aliakb_ms (Expert): Hi, I'm AlexBaturytski; I am a developer working on the object model.

BhavikS_MS (Expert): Hi, I work as Tester on Version Control team.

BillE_MS (Expert): Hello, my name is Bill Essary. I am a development manager in the VSTF group working on Project Management tools.

BrianW_MS (Expert): Hi, I'm Brian White, I'm responsible for Team Foundation Server Administration and Operations
as well as Team System wide Deployment. Blogging at http://blogs.msdn.com/brianwh.

dander_MS (Expert): Hi, I'm David J. Anderson, a PM from the MSF team. I'm the process authority for our forthcoming MSF for CMMI Level 3 process (a.k.a MSF Formal)

HarryS_MS (Expert): Hi, this is HarryS, am a Setup Program Manager for Visual Studio Team System.

laby_MS (Expert): Hi, my name is Larry Bynum. I'm a tester on VSTF workItemTracking Object Model.

LING_BAO_MS (Expert): Hi, I'm Ling Bao. I'm a Program Manager on Team Foundation infrastructure and work item tracking.

rameshpa_ms (Expert): Hi I am Ramesh Pabbati part of team build.

SBhatia_MS (Expert): Hi, I'm Siddharth Bhatia and I'm the program manager for the Office integration features of Team System. I'm here with Madhan, who is the dev lead and Sridhar who is a dev on these features.

Ed_H_MS (Moderator): And I am Ed Hickey, Visual Basic MVP Lead. Glad you all could make it today!

BrianW_MS (Expert):

Q: What Windows/AD permissions does an AD User need to connect to TFS?

A: You need to be granted access to connect to the TFS. You'll need a domain account in an AD enviornment or a local account in a workgroup environment. Authentication is handled via Windows integrated authentication. Authorization is handled by TFS.

Ed_H_MS (Moderator): As you can probably tell, this is a new chat client. To submit a question for our hosts to answer, please use the "Submit a Question" radio button in the bottom room, then click "Send", this way we can get them in the queue to answer. If you just want to add a comment to the chat window, use the "Guest Chat" radio button.

Let's get started! Fire away with your questions for our hosts.

BrianW_MS (Expert):

Q: Will MSDN Cover the licensing for TFS, or how will that work? Is it a solution thats viable for a smaller team (10-15 developers) without a large budget?

A: No, you will have to purchase TFS separately. Pricing is not yet established, but it will be viable for a 10-15 developer team.

BillE_MS (Expert):

Q: Is Sql server 2005 is necessary for tfs in the final release?

A: Yes. SQL Server 2005 is used now and will be part of the V1 solution.

aliakb_ms (Expert):

Q: The TFS groups Global Namespace Admins, Global TFS Everyone, Global Service Accounts, Project Administrators, Project Contributor, Project Reader are built-in. Are these groups stored in ADAM or SQL? (repost to 'Submit a Question')

A: They're stored in ADAM - and synced down to SQL databases.

Akashm_MS (Expert):

Q: Akashm - what platforms will you be building migration tools?

A: We are developing converter tools for Visual Source Safe and Clearcase to Team Foundation Version Control.

LING_BAO_MS (Expert):

Q: Can you categorize projects? If I have a large enterprise, I might want one huge scaled TFS with all projects. If so, how would I organize them?

A: Not in V1. All your team projects will show up in alphabetical order in the team explorer.

BrianW_MS (Expert):

Q: is team system an overkill for a group of 10 - 15 ?

A: No. <5 would be overkill

BrianW_MS (Expert):

Q: When creating a new team project and branching, can you move over work items?

A: It will be possible to copy a work item from one project to another, but move did not make V1.

adamsi_MS (Expert): Hi, I'm Adam Singer. I'm a tester on Team Foundation's Version Control in North Carolina.

LING_BAO_MS (Expert):

Q: When do you plan to rename the databases and Web services? They are still codenames!

A: We will scrub the codenames after Beta 2.

BrianW_MS (Expert):

Q: Any converter for StarTeam?

A: We'll have ClearCase and VSS for sure. Others will come over time as demand requires. It is of course possible to get the latest out to the file system and move into TFS.

HarryS_MS (Expert):

Q: Still the constraint that VSTS is the only app on the SQL2005 box? How about just an instance?

A: VSTF uses the default instance of SQL.

BhavikS_MS (Expert):

Q: Does source control store each version of the file, or only differences?

A: Version control store the differences in the database for each version getting checked in for that file.

Akashm_MS (Expert):

Q: Any converter for StarTeam?

A: We do not have plans for converter from starteam yet;;

BillE_MS (Expert):

Q: Can you limit the resource list in MS Project when working with work items. It seems to pull from AD?

A: Yes. The list of users is not pulled directly from AD even though that may appear to be the case in the current tech preview releases. The list is actually drawn indirectly from TFS Groups. The set of all users in all TFS Groups is the default list of users available in MS Proj. This list can be constrained by adding additional rules to the Work Item definition to further scope the set of users that are available.

LING_BAO_MS (Expert):

Q: How about the extensibility of Team Foundation? I mean can we use it with some other dev system, like a Java dev system?

A: Team Foundation has a set of extensbility APIs for other tools to plug into. The APIs are rich but have a .NET dependency.

BrianW_MS (Expert):

Q: Can TFS be load balanced (Scale-out)? It's just ASP.NET, right?

A: There is both application tier and data tier components to TFS. On the AT it is primarily web services. We will not be supporting NLB clusters for the AT as we store session state in memory. For the data tier we'll be 100% SQL backed by the time we ship. We looking at what if anything additional we would need to do to support failover scenarios.

LING_BAO_MS (Expert):

Q: I'd like to start using team system as soon as possible and wanted to know if the code versioning and bug tracking sections were stable enough for production

A: In general , we do not recommend use of these features in production for Beta 2.

BrianW_MS (Expert):

Q: I'd like to start using team system as soon as possible and wanted to know if the code versioning and bug tracking sections were stable enough for production

A: We're dogfooding this in-house today with about 80+ developers in 3 locations. We're planning to have a small set of customers come up on Beta2. I would not go production alone at this point.

BrianW_MS (Expert):

Q: Along the lines of Dan's question, any converter for Perforce?

A: No. ClearCase/VSS are first up.

adamsi_MS (Expert):

Q: Shelving stores local or remotely? do you have a choice?

A: Shelves are stored on the server, and then become available for other users of the system to "unshselve". This is a useful way to pass changes to another developer or tester for a buddy build.

laby_MS (Expert):

Q: Back on work items, can I copy ALL of them. let's say V1 is done and I want V2 of my project to a new "Team Project", can I branch source code and copy all the work items when creating the new team project?

A: Yes. As far as limits on the number of workitems we support with one copy, we haven't set that yet.

LING_BAO_MS (Expert):

Q: Will Team System be licensed to service providers to provide the platform to people not able to maintain thier own infrastructure?

A: The licensing for Team System has not yet been finalized. This information will be announced with Beta 2.

BrianW_MS (Expert):

Q: Can I tell TFS to use an existing Sharepoint or Reporting site rather than have it create new ones?

A: We are considering this, but plan of record is no.

HarryS_MS (Expert):

Q: (Follow-up) so, it's ok to have other instances on the SQL 2005 box? How about other databases on that instance?

A: A qualified yes. As VSTF uses the default instance, there is nothing prohibiting the use of the other instances in SQL, but as with all betas, we do recommend that you do not necessarily use a beta product in combination with others.

BrianW_MS (Expert):

Q: Since all/most settings are persisted in the SQL 2005 database, what would be the pros/cons of having the application tier (Web Services) on each developer's workstation, vice having the application tier on the SQL box?

A: We will only be supporting one AT pointing to on DT for V1, so if I get this question right the answer is you can't do it. Note, you will be able to install on one server by the time we ship.

Akashm_MS (Expert):

Q: You will have conversion from VSS and CC; what about for bug tracking tools?

A: Yes we have migration tool from Clearquest; We have also developing tool to import bugs/workitems from a CSV/XML files;;Most of bug tracking system provide a method to export bugs to CSV/XML format;;

LING_BAO_MS (Expert):

Q: A question about the team test, does the test suite will cover Functional and Process testing? It seems that the current build include unit test, loading test and limited features.

A: Unfortunately, we do not have experts from the Team Test group to answer this question today. Feel free to post this question on http://blogs.msdn.com/askburton

BhavikS_MS (Expert):

Q: Will the version control in TFS support true branching and merging unlike the control we have with VSS?

A: It does support branching and merging. Could you please elaborate on what you mean by "true"?

BillE_MS (Expert):

Q: Is ADAM required on both the AT and DT? Will the need for ADAM be dropped eventually?

A: ADAM will just be on the DT for Beta2. We are planning to drop the dependency upon ADAM before we ship.

SBhatia_MS (Expert):

Q: will TFS have an integration with pwa ?

A: We don't have plans to integration with Project Server in V1 of the Team System. We're thinking about it for the future.

LING_BAO_MS (Expert):

Q: Can I run unit test without install TFS? I know I can edit a unit test for some methods, but we can excute the selected unit test, it cannot run.

A: Yes, the Team Test features can be used independently of TFS.

BrianW_MS (Expert):

Q: Along the lines of a converter for ClearCase, what about CVS which seems to be very dominate of the market today?

A: CVS is pretty widely used since it is open source. Would be a good open source project to build a CVS converter

adamsi_MS (Expert):

Q: Shelving stores local or remotely? do you have a choice?

A: To answer the second part of the question, there is not an option to store only locally.

laby_MS (Expert):

Q: Will we provide a view to show the relationship of the work items. for example, some work items are root of another work items.

A: Yes. We have the ability to link workitems together 1...n.

LING_BAO_MS (Expert):

Q: will the source control system provide alerts/email notification?

A: Yes, it will provide email notifications for check-ins.

BrianW_MS (Expert):

Q: How does TFS support development teams located in different countries in the world? distributed architecture?

A: We are architected to work over the internet. All client/server communications are soap over HTTP. We will be testing over high latency/low-bandwidth networks to support this scenario.

laby_MS (Expert):

Q: I'm not asking this work item question well. How do i copy work items when creating a new project? Is it automatic when I branch? or is it manual?

A: it won't be done automatically. You'll have to do it manually. it was one of the things that we had to cut.

Akashm_MS (Expert):

Q: Along the lines of a converter for ClearCase, what about CVS which seems to be very dominate of the market today?

A: As of now we are developing converters only for VSS and Clearcase. As we move forward we expect other ISVs to provide converter from other Source Control Tools;;

BhavikS_MS (Expert):

Q: Any plans to plug Hatteras into SQL Server 2005's management studio interface as a VCC choice?

A: I haven't heard anything about this. If you could send me email (remove _MS from my email ID) @microsoft.com. I would follow up on this.

BrianW_MS (Expert):

Q: Please make a quick comparison of TFS and CVS?

A: Biggest differences are likely to be: integrated fully with the rest of the lifecycle, deeper VS GUI integration, backed by a database, shelving (a really cool feature allowing you save the state of your workspace and retrieve it later)

LING_BAO_MS (Expert):

Q: I looked at ClearCase, which has explorer integration - Can TS source control use explorer - would it look something similar to the way that ClearCase works?

A: The Source Explorer offers this functionality

BrianW_MS (Expert):

Q: We've invested a lot in the VSS API, how easy will it be to migrate our processes to VSTS / is there a similar API?

A: There is a managed API for TFS source control. It is different than the VSS API.

laby_MS (Expert):

Q: laby_ms: the question was will you provide a graphical view, not does it link.

A: No graphical view will be presented. It's just a flat list in the Form.

BrianW_MS (Expert):

Q: any shot there will be a facility for unix / *nix type clients to use the source control facility

A: Take a look at my blog, there is a link to a company building unix, mac, and eclipse clients to TFS.

adamsi_MS (Expert):

Q: Does the source control system provide the ability to obsolete/archive versions, files, branches, releases.

A: In short, no. However, if files are no longer needed by anyone on the team, they can be deleted. This does not remove them from the database, it simply removes them from the items that are available to be changed. If individual users do not wish to download files or branches, they can cloak the appropriate folders to prevent download.

dander_MS (Expert):

Q: will vsts support development processes directly eg RUP ?

A: VSTS suppots MSF v4.0 which is a process framework with a SPEM-like meta-model. The product will ship with two process instances MSF Agile and MSF for CMMI Level 3.

Other partners will develop other process instances. We know that one UK partner has a Scrum instance and there will almost certainly be an Extreme Programming instance.

You would need to ask IBM whether or not they intend to provide a RUP instance for VSTS. It's technically possible!

BhavikS_MS (Expert):

Q: What check-in policiess will be supported in V1? Pass unit tests? Code coverage? Others? Build my own?

A: You certainly would be able to build your own policies as required. The default policies would be decided by the Methodology template you would select for the Team project.

BrianW_MS (Expert):

Q: I am not able to create a team project the message referencing Rosetta. In the general newsgroup I was asked to verify if the reports server was working. When I get to the server, I get a message "Server installation was not initialized". Need help.

A: The December CTP does not support reporting. It will be supported by Beta2 if not early.

LING_BAO_MS (Expert):

Q: I'm not asking this work item question well. How do i copy work items when creating a new project? Is it automatic when I branch? or is it manual?

A: There is no automatic way to copy work items from an existing project to a new team project. Users can manually do this by using the Copy Work Item... command to copy selected work items across team projects.

BhavikS_MS (Expert):

Q: BhavikS_MS: When I merge back in from the branch, I expect that to be kept in a record and hopefulyl viewable (as in CVS/Perforce/BitKeeper/SVN), as well file additions/removals to be automated.

A: It absolutely would be that way.

dander_MS (Expert):

Q: TFS will conver every aspect of MSF, am I right. Say, DailyBuild, Risk Asserting and so on...

A: Yes! Is the short answer. The longer asnwer is that it depends on the process instance. If the instance doesn't have daily build then it won't be there.

laby_MS (Expert):

Q: Currently, I can configure a Project Model Hierarchy and Iterations with plenty of flexibility; other than just great record keeping when I create work items, how does TFS use these hierarchies?

A: Yes, you will be able to set rules against these hiearchies like Read/Write permissions, etc.

BrianW_MS (Expert):

Q: Regarding ClearCase - Explorer integration, VSS does not host projects as folders in Explorer - that's what I mean - why have two explorers, which behave pretty much the same - does VSTS have this facility?

A: There is a source repository explorer that is hosted in Visual Studio. I don't know of any plans around the Windows Explorer.

BrianW_MS (Expert):

Q: will there be a tool for planning projects perhaps integrating project objectives/milestones and ms project data

A: This is done via the work item tracking component. For example, the MSF AGile methodology will have a work item type called Scenario that can be used during the planning/prioritization process. The integration with MS Excel adn MS Project helps here as well.

BhavikS_MS (Expert):

Q: a followup question: if items that are deleted from the available list but not from the database, when can files be removed from the db?

A: We had destroy command that would really destroy the item from the database but we have dropped that feature for V1.

BrianW_MS (Expert):

Q: Will we see any more work item types, besides QoS Requirement, Task, Bug, and Scenario? Or does this depend on how baked MSF/Agile is?

A: These are the work item types in MSF Agile. There will be a different set in MSF Formal. We expect many companies and partners to build process templates with other work item types.

HarryS_MS (Expert):

Q: the final release of tfs will work together with wss , so could it work well with sps next version? sps 2005?

A: V1 of TFS requires WSS and will not run with SPS.

LING_BAO_MS (Expert):

Q: Follow to "How does TFS support development teams located in different countries in the world? distributed architecture? " What about clock sync--is everything stored in UTC and the offset based upon the clients time zone.

A: Currently, reporting aggregates based on server local time. Other parts of the TFS store date/times in GMT/UTC and offset to local time zones on the client. We are investigating aggregating reporting data based on client side time zones after Beta 2.

aliakb_ms (Expert):

Q: Will we see any more work item types, besides QoS Requirement, Task, Bug, and Scenario? Or does this depend on how baked MSF/Agile is?

A: By the way, you will be able to define your own types and customize existing ones.

adamsi_MS (Expert):

Q: adamsi_MS: about deleting items from source control. Is there an option to hide the deleted entries? I created one project and screwed it up while playing around and I'd like to recreate it now that I know what I'm doing.

A: Deleted items still exist, in a sense, but other items can be created with the same names in their place. Since version control tracks items based on their item ID rather than the name, you should be able to add new items without a problem. If, however, you'd like to roll back to an earlier version of the code, you can run a get with the /version option to return to a stable setup. (e.g. "h get /version:c23 MyProject" if you'd like the version at changeset 23.)

BrianW_MS (Expert):

Q: I did not find any features about team architect in the CTP DEC Build, exceptit for a distributed system diagrams

A: The team architect features are known to be less stable in this December CTP.

SBhatia_MS (Expert):

Q: Since both Excel and Project documents have the ability to Load Work Items, Make Changes, and then Publish/Synch -- do we need to keep the .XLS or .MPP files around in the mean-time? best practice?

A: It depends on the scenario you're going after. If you're doing one-time operations such as a 'bulk edit' in Excel, then it is safe to not save the file. However, if you're doing 'charting' in Excel you'll want to keep the list object around to maintain relationships with pivot tables etc. In Project, we only round-trip a few important fields from the project plan to the work item database, so you'll definitely want to save the file to record all the other information (e.g. task hierarchies, predecessors, etc.).

BrianW_MS (Expert):

Q: Does TFS support cross-domain and workstation users, or only users in one domain? Is this working in Dec CTP?

A: It should work cross domain, but I'm not sure we have tested this scenario yet intermally. For December CTP, you need a Win2k3 DC environment.

dander_MS (Expert):

Q: Will we see any more work item types, besides QoS Requirement, Task, Bug, and Scenario? Or does this depend on how baked MSF/Agile is?

A: MSF for CMMI Level 3 includes risk, issue, change request and functional requirement in addition to all of those you already saw in MSF Agile.

BillE_MS (Expert):

Q: You mention that the AT uses in-memory session state. Couldn't I just change the session state to SQL Server or the TCP State Server and then LB the severs?

A: No. The MT server state is not limited to session state. We limited the deployment options in V1 to reduce complexity. We are planning to support scale-out in a future version.

Akashm_MS (Expert):

Q: To re-iterate earlier question, when merging from a branch, will history be retained in a tree like manner as (CVS/Perforce/BitKeeper/...) , and will new files, renames, and deletes be handled properly (VSS does not handle any of those cases cleanly)

A: Yes, Team Foundation Version Control keeps track of merge history. New files, rename, deletes etc are handled properly during branch/merge etc;

BrianW_MS (Expert):

Q: The December CTP does not support reporting. It will be supported by Beta2 if not early. ...does that mean I cannot create a team project until beta2?

A: No, you should be able to create a team project. A couple things to check. You need to enable IIS on the DT before installing SQL. You need to install all SQL options during SQL install.

adamsi_MS (Expert):

Q: adam: about delete. I think you misunderstood. Currently the UI shows deleted items as greyed out files. Is there any way to hide these?

A: Ah, my apologies. In the December CTP, there is not a method for hiding deleted items in Source Control Explorer. The same is true of cloaked items, which also show up as greyed folders or files.

dander_MS (Expert):

Q: The current work items in a new project have no details. Presumably they will in B2 or later?

A: Beta 2 ships with a heavily updated set of guidance for MSF Agile. So, yes, there are more details. We will drop an update to MSF Agile to MSDN when Beta 2 ships. There should be a page of guidance showing the full state transitions for each work item.

LING_BAO_MS (Expert):

Q: I haven't looked closely, does WIT support start date (so a dev knows what is first of his 10 work items)?

A: Yes, there is a Created Date field that tracks the date and time the work item was created.

BrianW_MS (Expert):

Q: V1 of TFS requires WSS and will not run with SPS. so i can not get the document for the portal search results, Right?

A: Yes, this is an SPS feature.

HarryS_MS (Expert):

Q: V1 of TFS requires WSS and will not run with SPS. so i can not get the document for the portal search results, Right?

A: Can you clarify your question a bit? I'm trying to understand what you asking for on the portal search results.

BrianW_MS (Expert):

Q: does the tfs will conver the full features of UML, or just a limited implementation instead?

A: TFS does not provide any UML implementation, but the team architect product does. It will be a subset.

Akashm_MS (Expert):

Q: If currently stuck with VSS and having to do large branches/merges and finding doing this a very painful process, I have suggested a move to CVS for the company, with a very tight budget and about 10 people, would it be worth dealing with VSS till TSF?

A: Team Foundation Version Control will handle large branches/mergers elegantly;;

dander_MS (Expert):

Q: Is GotDotNet the source for MSF Agile or MSDN (cause GDN is soooo unreliable).

A: In future we will be using MSDN.

SBhatia_MS (Expert):

Q: I haven't checked, but are the Excel and Project Work Item toolbars and functionality based on Whidbey/VSTO bits? or something else (VBA)?

A: The current Excel and Project toolbars are created by an add-in based on the Whidbey bits. It is a managed add-in.

BrianW_MS (Expert):

Q: Will developers be able to use existing Sharepoint team sites with team system or will we be required to update sharepoint team services in order to leverage the integration?

A: Yes, each team project has its own site and the site heirarchy and documents are surfaced in VS or in IE. The implementation is based on WSS though, not SPS.

rameshpa_ms (Expert):

Q: The December CTP does not support reporting. It will be supported by Beta2 if not early. ...does that mean I cannot create a team project until beta2?

A: Team Build is a feature that uses the build technologies in Visual Studio, namely MSBuild and VC Build, to provide repeatable automatable builds for distribution and maintenance

Akashm_MS (Expert):

Q: Can VS 2003 coexist with TFS on the same machine?

A: Yes, VS2003 can coexists with Team Foundation Client; However, we do not have SCC plugin for VS 2003, hence you have to use command line interface of Team Foundation Version Control;

LING_BAO_MS (Expert):

Q: Are there any plans to integrate ORM into the VSS Team architect tool?

A: We do not have experts on Team Architect in this chat. Feel free to post your question on http://blogs.msdn.com/askburton or wait for the next Team Architect chat.

SBhatia_MS (Expert):

Q: create date is different than start date - the PM is going to be rearranging work on the project plan, regardless of when the work item was created. So there needs to be a start date, not a create date?

A: We do need a create date in order to track the work item. For project plans built in MS Project, Project will calculate the start date when you give it the start date of the project plan, the duration/work and resources associated with each task.

BhavikS_MS (Expert):

Q: does it hold build version info for files? so I can revert to all the source from build x then revert back to build y ( more recent ) code?

A: I am not sure if this question is continuation of any other question. However, with version control you would be able to label each build and that would allow you to revert back to the specific build very easily. LEt me know if this answers your question.

LING_BAO_MS (Expert):

Q: Will Team System be able to install on an Oracle 10g database?

A: No. Team Foundation Server will use Microsoft SQL.

BillE_MS (Expert):

Q: from the sound of it, tfs will be on one server utilizing session state, what happens in case of errors which require a restart? will changes be lost or will there be a restoreable log?

A: TFS can be deployed on a single machine hosting IIS and SQL or in a two-machine configuration with a separate middle tier and data tier. We do not maintain a log to play back all changes on the client in the case of an error. What we strive to do is to manage common errors like communication problems with the server in a manner that allows you to recover without data loss.

BhavikS_MS (Expert):

Q: Is a TFS SCC plugin planned for VS2003 so it can support existing apps that won't be updated?

A: Currently, there isn't any plan for such plug-in.

Akashm_MS (Expert):

Q: Will Team System be able to install on an Oracle 10g database?

A: No, Team System can not be installed on an Oracle database;

dander_MS (Expert):

Q: will the source control use ITIL compliant terminology and structures

A: Our Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF) http://www.microsoft.com/technet/itsolutions/cits/mo/mof/default.mspx
is an ITIL compliant framework.

We're working with the MOF people to integrate future versions of MOF and the Microsoft Operations Manager product with MSF and VSTS.

However, we're not sure whether the v1.0 source control is ITIL compliant at this time.

LING_BAO_MS (Expert):

Q: I hate to ask, but how solid is your Web Service API at this point? Database structure?

A: It is solid enough for us to dogfood against with over 100 team members in 3 geographic locations.

BhavikS_MS (Expert):

Q: If we have a scheme, where before anyone is allowed to checkin, the code must be reviewed, will TFS allow for such a scheme to enforced?

A: Yes, we TFS Version Control has Checkin Notes for checkin. You could create a methodology template that would force developer to put code reviewr checkin field value and that would force what exactly you are trying to accomplish.

aliakb_ms (Expert):

Q: Is there a Team Foundation Client outside of Visual Studio? When will it be available if it's not in Dec CTP?

A: No, there isn't. However, we expose a public API for TF tasks.

LING_BAO_MS (Expert):

Q: Brain, I feel like that answer regarding UML is misleading. So far as i can tell the Team Architect stuff is simliar to UML but is not UML at all. Am I wrong?

A: Brian got kicked off wireless. But this is true it is UML like. Anyone who knows UML will recognize the class designer though.

laby_MS (Expert):

Q: How to add or remove memebers from organizational unit? and how to build a organizational unit? In create a team project wizard, we should select a organizational unit first.

A: After you have created a project via the Project Creation Wizard, you will have the ability to right click on the project and easily add Domain users/groups or TFS users/groups.

dander_MS (Expert):

Q: can you comment on sarbanes oxley compliance in the reporting aspect of source control

A: We're currently looking at SOX compliance for MSF. However, we're seeing mixed market reactions from the market. Do you want your MSF process instance in a VSTS project to be SOX compliant?

LING_BAO_MS (Expert):

Q: How are we for feature cuts at this point? Are features solid? (This seriouly affects books, courses, training materials, etc.)

A: Team Foundation is feature complete and there are no major planned feature cuts at this point.

dander_MS (Expert):

Q: will the source control use ITIL compliant terminology and structures

BillE_MS (Expert):

Q: (Wishlist) When I created a new document library folder in Team Explorer it creates a document library in WSS - cool. Could I have a property or check-box or default behavior to create it as a Quick Launch item to the left side of my WSS site?

A: Thanks for the suggestion. We do not plan to add this feature for V1, but we will consider it for a future release.

HarryS_MS (Expert):

Q: Will there be any problems/issues with VSTS with SQL 2005 and Oracle 10g installed on the same server

A: We are not aware of any specific issues with this combination, but we are not testing this scenario.

LING_BAO_MS (Expert):

Q: What's the target RTM date for TFS?

A: TFS is planned to release with Whidbey this summer.

adamsi_MS (Expert):

Q: What permissions and procedures have to be done for a user to be able to checkout and make changes to the sources that he didn't create originally? Is this working in the Dec CTP?

A: Users should be able to checkout and make changes to source they did not create in the December CTP. In order to do so, they must either be a part of one of the project groups created with a Team Project or be given permission directly. The specific permissions they would need are "Read" and "PendChange". From within VS, you should be able to add domain users to an existing group.

laby_MS (Expert):

Q: Any extimates/guesses/stats on the sort of startup effort and ongoing effort required to manage TFS? We have a dev team of about 30 people; should I expect to dedicate 1 FTE? 1/2 FTE? 5 FTE? to managing TFS?

A: We don't have any official estimates, but we are trying to make administration less than 1 FTE for all supported size groups.

dander_MS (Expert):

Q: We've an extensive deployment setup, tracking built versions of files through development, QA and deployment installations, where we can see what tasks are outstanding deployment from one area to the next. Does VSTS cover anything like this?

A: Are you looking for something to report on readiness for deployment i.e. the state of all development tasks, test tasks etc.? If so then "YES!", VSTS does this so long as you install an MSF 4.0 process instance e.g. MSF Agile. If you want a deployment manager product then I don't think we're there in V1.0

BillE_MS (Expert):

Q: Ok, the TFS session data is making me worry. If I lose power to my server, or hard-crash. What an I losing? It doesn't sound like you guys are utilizing ASP.NET best practices...

A: I am not certain that this comment holds for all of VSTF, but as far as I know we do not rely upon session state for TFS. The one exception I am aware of is that session state is needed to get SharePoint and Rosetta to share port 80 in a single server configuration.

LING_BAO_MS (Expert):

Q: Does anyone at Microsoft have a solid, step-by-step build guide for creating Virtual PC VHDs? Anything to get started.

A: There are no current plans for Beta. We're investigating this for the final release.

Akashm_MS (Expert):

Q: does VSS 2005 use utilize Windows Integrated security as well as Domain in Active Directory?

A: No, VSS 2005 use same methods of authentication as version editions;;

BillE_MS (Expert):

Q: will vsts facilitate statistics collection eg frequency of checkin by team members and be able to generate a nice project activity report on demand

A: Yes. There is a rich project metric collection and reporting solution built into VSTF.

BrianW_MS (Expert):

Q: For globally distributed teams, do you have to use just one central SQL database? What if teams in other countries lose internet connection to the central database?

A: You can still work on code that is in your workspace. Off-line support for work items can be done by exporting a query to Excel, then syncing up when you come back online.

LING_BAO_MS (Expert):

Q: where's this chat going to be archived and when should we be able to download it...

A: The chats will be archived on http://msdn.microsoft.com/chats/recent within the new few weeks

BrianW_MS (Expert):

Q: Another issue with teams in different areas: any chance of using SQL Replication?

A: Not planned for V1

BrianW_MS (Expert):

Q: Is vsts integrated/going to be integrated into VS 2005 better than VSS6?

A: Yes, the interation is much deeper. Developers should not have to leave VS.

LING_BAO_MS (Expert):

Q: Where are the team project files located? Is project deletion working in Dec CTP?

A: Team projects are stored on the server. Project deletion works in Dec CTP with a few exceptions.

BillE_MS (Expert):

Q: Are you using any managed pieces in the SQL 2005 backend? leveraging any of the new features? XML data types, SOAP end-points, varchar(MAX), etc?

A: Yes, we are using new SQL 2005 features.

BrianW_MS (Expert):

Q: I keep seeing talk of Beta 2. Has there been a B1 already? is it the same as the Dec CTP? when should I expect B1? B2?

A: Beta 1 was out in August. December CTP is the lastest public release. CTPs tend to have less testing and are intended to give early access to new features. Beta2 I believe is April timeframe.

LING_BAO_MS (Expert):

Q: Q: The December CTP does not support reporting. It will be supported by Beta2 if not early. ...does that mean I cannot create a team project until beta2?

A: You can still create a project in DEC CTP. The reporting functionalities will just be disabled.

BillE_MS (Expert):

Q: You guys have been busy. It's an impressive product so far. How many lines of code in TFS and/or VS ?

A: Lots

dander_MS (Expert):

Q: When will the reporting be available? Beta2? What types of reports are going to be available? I see 5 on the VSTS MSDN sites.

A: Here's the definitive list that made it into beta 2...

Code Coverage Details
Test Results Details
Bug List
Exit Criteria Status
My Bugs
Work Item List
DEV/QA Work
Issues

included but with known bugs

Quality Indicators
Quality to Velocity Relationship
Remaining Work (cumulative flow)
Bug Rates

All of these reports are explained in the MSF Agile guidance shipped with Beta 2 and updated on MSDN.

LING_BAO_MS (Expert):

Q: Does Source control use SQL Server 2005 database to store project items?

A: Yes

BrianW_MS (Expert):

Q: There was a question eariler regarding the installation of SQL2005 and IIS from Sita. What would the proper un-install procedure and re-install procedure with Oracle 10g on the same server?

A: Could you clarify?

BrianW_MS (Expert):

Q: Are there videos/screenshots/presentation that show the integration for people like me that don't have this system setup?

A: Main source of non-bit information is http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/teamsystem Also look for the January issue of .NET Developer Journal. It is fully dedicated to Team System with many articles and screen shots.

HarryS_MS (Expert):

Q: There was a question eariler regarding the installation of SQL2005 and IIS from Sita. What would the proper un-install procedure and re-install procedure with Oracle 10g on the same server?

A: Unfortunately this is a scenario that is not tested, so we cannot give any advice on how to do this configuration.

BrianW_MS (Expert):

Q: Are there plans to support databases other than SQL Server? Is there the ability for developers to provide their own persistence layer to store data where and how they like?

A: SQL Server 2005 will be a requirement for V1. It is possible to integrate an external tool into the team foundation server and it could use any database you like. The basic idea is to register the tool, and then you can surface information in a new node in the team explorer under a team project.

BillE_MS (Expert):

Q: Maybe this was answered earlier, but asked a different way - with the bits available today, is it possible to have two VS or AT boxes working with a single DT back-end? So we can simulate an actual team? or is it Cowboy architecture for a while?

A: You can have many VS clients working against an AT/DT pair with the bits available in the Dec. CTP.

dander_MS (Expert):

Q: ORM > UML

A: We don't have the right people in the room this evening to discuss the UML questions. However, I'd encourage you to take it up with Jack Greenfield form our Whitehorse team, over at his blog, http://blogs.msdn.com/jackgr

rterala_MS (Expert):

Q: We actually did what you suggest above. (this above the Rosseta plugin and report server not initializing message)

A: Sita, I just jumped in. Can I get the context so I could help you better with fixing your issue with Rosetta plugin?

Ed_H_MS (Moderator): We have about 3 minutes left, so I will ask that we wrap up the questions now. We will be here again tomorrow morning at 8AM PST

BrianW_MS (Expert):

Q: is there a developers notebook, non formal documentation management eg annotated quick notes to other developers about a piece of the project

A: This could be done via the team project site

BillE_MS (Expert):

Q: Back on my session state and VSTF question. Earlier it was stated (by BrianW), that you didn't support load balancing because of data stored in memory. I'm trying to figure out what is stored there in case of server crash.

A: There is some cached information that is stored in memory to improve performance. There is nothing there that cannot be replaced.

dander_MS (Expert):

Q: Philosophical: are you buidling Team System to fit MSF/Agile, or MSF/Agile to fit Team System? I know you can plug-in any methodology you want, but how tightly coupled (0-100%) is MSF/A with Team System the tool?

A: A bit of both. The key was to get the right meta model and I'm confident that we have that. We have some SPEM expertise in the Burton (VSTS) team e.g. Steve Cook.

LING_BAO_MS (Expert):

Q: Improved WIT Experience, what does the WIT Experience mean here?

A: The WIT Experience refers to work item tracking functionality

BrianW_MS (Expert):

Q: According to your response that maybe some of the SQL option were missed during Install or SQL2005 was installed before IIS. I Have Oracle 10g installed on the server too. I know the instances are different,

A: Well I can say for sure we have not tested this configuration :-)

dander_MS (Expert):

Q: When is Microsoft planning to update the Microsoft Solutions Framework to include team foundation specific features? Will we be seeing a guide on how to map the phases of the MSF into the TF itself?

A: Look for the Beta 2 and then almost immediately an update on MSDN. It will be well publicized when it happens.

LING_BAO_MS (Expert):

Q: What's the Permissions button for on the Project and Iteration tab inside Team Explorer?

A: This configures permission on the classification nodes. For instance, denying a user from a node will prevent that user from viewing work items under that node.

Ed_H_MS (Moderator): This has been a great chat. Thank you to everyone for contributing. Unfortunately, it is time to go. Thanks for participating, and we'll see you next time!

The transcript from today's chat will be posted on http://www.msdn.microsoft.com/chats/recent.asp after tomorrow's chat

Introducing Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2005 Team System Beta Edition

Tue, 25 Jan 2005 16:57:10 +0000

Microsoft Press has my book on their New and Upcoming titles page.

Well, now I know what to get my wife for our anniversary on the 27th of May!

The .NET Celebrity Auction on Ebay

Sun, 23 Jan 2005 16:54:41 +0000

The .NET Celebrity Auction for Aceh Aid at IDEP

Thirty of the top consultants and trainers in the worldwide .NET community have come together to help raise money for an organization that is doing amazing and heroic disaster relief in Aceh Province, Sumatra, the hardest hit area of the Dec 26th Tsunamis.

Here is the auction

Welcome to Martin Danner

Sun, 23 Jan 2005 00:38:12 +0000

Martin Danner (web site) of Arrowrock has agreed to assist us in developing Microsoft Official Curriculum (MOC) for Visual Studio Team System (VSTS). He's an expert in process methodologies, UML and project management -- all critical experiences for us right now! Plus he's a smart developer with solid business experience, and an overall great guy.

Looks like he'll also be writing some VSTS Whitepapers for MSDN, and also becoming a general VSTS expert. Welcome aboard, Martin!

Lightning was the codename for the CLR

Sun, 23 Jan 2005 00:11:54 +0000

Rich Hundhausen (blog) showed me a great site today. It's http://bink.nu/CodeNames.bink. It's got all (or nearly all) of the MS codenames for their various products. Fun site to browse.

Paint.NET version 2.1

Thu, 20 Jan 2005 04:43:56 +0000

Paint.NET is image and photo manipulation software designed to be used on computers that run Windows XP or 2000. Paint.NET is jointly developed at Washington State University with additional help from Microsoft, and is meant to be a free replacement for the MS Paint software that comes with all Windows operating systems. The programming language used to create Paint.NET is C#, with GDI+ extensions.

Check it out and download it here.

Long Tail Blog

Wed, 19 Jan 2005 06:48:26 +0000

I noted the concept of the "Long Tail" in a recent post. Looks like the author of the piece in Wired has an extensive blog that covers many, many instances. It can be found at http://longtail.typepad.com/. Check it out! It's a great read!

SQL2000 SP4 & Reporting Services SP2 Betas

Wed, 19 Jan 2005 04:09:01 +0000

If you are interested in assisting with either of these betas, check out this site.

The Long Tail

Sat, 15 Jan 2005 23:23:35 +0000

Total sales of unpopular items often exceed total sales of popular items. Consider some stats from a recent article in Wired magazine.

The average Barnes & Noble carries 130,000 titles. Yet more than half of Amazon's book sales come from outside its top 130,000 titles. Consider the implication: If the Amazon statistics are any guide, the market for books that are not even sold in the average bookstore is larger than the market for those that are... Venture capitalist and former music industry consultant Kevin Laws puts it this way: "The biggest money is in the smallest sales."

Oracle launches .NET Developer Center

Sat, 15 Jan 2005 14:36:22 +0000

The Oracle Technology Network (OTN) has launched a new developer center to help programmers build .NET applications for Oracle. This site contains .NET code samples, articles, and news that will help developers build database applications more productively.

http://www.oracle.com/technology/tech/dotnet

Also, Oracle will soon introduce new developer tools integrated directly into Visual Studio .NET that will improve developer productivity. These tools allow you to browse your Oracle schema, launch designers and wizards to create and alter schema objects, and drag and drop schema objects onto your form to automatically generate code. Additionally, the tools contain a PL/SQL editor and integrated context sensitive online help, including the Oracle SQL and PL/SQL Users Guides. And with the Oracle Data Window you won't have to leave the Visual Studio environment for routine database tasks like inserting and updating Oracle data or testing stored procedures!

Innumeracy

Sat, 15 Jan 2005 03:00:07 +0000

<mathGeek> The Associated Press (AP) quotes (evidently without analysis) numbers from National Coalition of the Homeless. They claim that there are 3.5 million homeless in the US. Now, I don't know how many there are, and it has little to do with innumeracy. But they then claim that their are 3,000 deaths of homeless people every year. The focus of the article was on the tragedy of homeless deaths. To me, even one homeless person having to die alone, and on the street is too many. But here's where the math comes in... 3,000 deaths from 3.5 million homeless gives a death rate of 0.0857%. That seemed suspiciously low. A quick check of the CIA World Fact Book states that the death rate for the entire US is 8.34 deaths per thousand, or a rate of 0.834%. So, if the numbers are correct, you are 10 times LESS likely to die if you are homeless.

We hired our first 1099 employee

Fri, 14 Jan 2005 18:21:51 +0000

Well, we did it! After much hand wringing and deep conversations, we decided to hire our first 1099 employee. Gary Gumbiner has agreed to work for the next few months on a project for Microsoft and Lionbridge. He'll be working on designing (and possible developing) a course in IIS6 for general system administrators. We're not making squat monetarily on the deal, however, it is allowing us more depth and capacity as a company. That's something we're very concerned with since we've been having to turn down a great deal of work lately.

Gmail Bug Exposes E-mails to Hackers

Fri, 14 Jan 2005 17:08:11 +0000

Whoops! I've got a Gmail account! Interesting problem. Google was inadvertantly placing random emails into the “Reply To” field of emails. That's right. Whole emails were accidentally being dropped into the “Reply To” field of someone else's email. The good folks at Google have it fixed now. You can read all about it at BetaNews.

Microsoft course #2526 - Developing Distributed Applications with Microsoft .NET Remoting

Thu, 13 Jan 2005 16:21:50 +0000

Looks like this released in November. I've flipped through the book and it looks like a good 2-day class.

Here's the syllbabus.

World Beard and Moustache Championships

Fri, 07 Jan 2005 23:06:54 +0000

The 2005 championships will be held in Berlin, on October 1 2005. So stop trimming, and start planning, because the competition looks stiff!

Apologies to my techie friends, but I had to blog this!

MSDN event in Twin Falls, Idaho

Fri, 07 Jan 2005 18:38:34 +0000

Just heard that Microsoft will be in Twin Falls, Idaho on March 1, 2005 presenting on WinForms, ASP.NET, and Visual Studio Team System.

More details can be found here.

Compuware DevPartner SecurityChecker 1.0

Fri, 07 Jan 2005 18:28:37 +0000

“DevPartner SecurityChecker is a powerful security analysis tool that helps quickly scan, locate and fix known and potential security vulnerabilities in ASP.NET applications written in either C# or Visual Basic .NET.“

This could be exactly what our planet needs. Read more about it here.

Congratulations to Martin Danner (MCSD)

Tue, 04 Jan 2005 21:41:08 +0000

Please drop Martin a quick note, welcoming him as Microsoft's newest Certified Solution Developer (MCSD).

Installing the new December CTP release of Visual Studio 2005 with Team System

Tue, 28 Dec 2004 03:22:47 +0000

OK. I've mentioned before... Don't even begin to install any of the Team System components without reading the Installation Guide. Of course, if you're not an MCSE type (I know I'm not), there are certain unfortunate assumptions made. "Set up a domain controller with all the appropriate settings." Uh... OK... And how do I do that. Luckily, Paul Murphy (a brilliant MS employee, who also happens to be a great sailor) has a post to help us out! Check out http://blogs.aspadvice.com/pmurphy/archive/2004/12/23/2035.aspx for all the details! Oh, and check out his blog, too!

Virtual PC FAQ

Fri, 24 Dec 2004 01:37:00 +0000

Testing Team System really puts Virtual PC to the test and, naturally, I've had some performance questions come up.

Thankfully, Robert Moir, has created a concise Virtual PC FAQ to help out geeks like me.

Visual Studio 2005 December CTP with Team System is Available

Thu, 23 Dec 2004 12:05:06 +0000

The newest CTP supporting VSTS is here! It's now available for download for those with MSDN subscriptions. I'd highly recommend you read the installation guide BEFORE attempting to even begin the install (especially if the older CTP was any indication of the difficulty of installation for this CTP). And, as always, go to Rob Caron's blog for the latest install news. (Yes, he ALREADY has a post discussing the new installation script for the Dec CTP! It's at http://blogs.msdn.com/robcaron/archive/2004/12/22/330396.aspx)

VSTS Chat - Guest Chat

Thu, 23 Dec 2004 11:52:35 +0000

Welcome to the India MSDN Chat Room. The chat room will be used for both peer-to-peer, as well as, event chats. Please abide by the Chat Code of Conduct, located in the Help file. If you would like to volunteer to be a chat expert, please register here: http://www.microsoft.com/india/communities/chat/register.aspx. To view a list of our upcoming chats, please visit: http://www.microsoft.com/india/msdn/chat/

Chat Topic: Visual Studio Team System

Chat Room Status: Scheduled Chat in Progress

abhay: any one knows advance configuration inIIS

Amit: Hi Gaurav...

Amit: Amit Bansal from Kolkata

Ashu: Hi, i am Ashutosh Developer in Smartqube Ltd. Bangalore

JitenCimcon: Hi, this is Jitendra from CIMCON Software Ahmedabad

Balaji: Hi i am Balaji from chennai can i post my questions

AniTLY: Hi I am Soorjith from Skelta Softwares, Bangalore

M_Rajesh: Hi I am Rajesh from ICICI Infotech and a MVP

SanjayVyas: Hi, I am Sanjay Vyas from Synergeics, Mumbai

Balaji asked the experts: we always felt that the multiple checkout of vss problem in our environment is there anything done for inproving that

Emptyness: Please gives us an overview

Steven Borg asked the experts: Where can I find a list of changes from the previous CTP to the Dec CTP? (i.e. implemented feature changes, reports, etc)

Emptyness: is this teamsystem a fullcycle tool? for instance like Rational suite?

Steven Borg: Is reporting working in the Dec CTP?

Balaji: vss even allowes that is there any improvements to that

M_Rajesh asked the experts: Is there any guidelines to start working with Team System on an experimental basis so that non developers like Project Managers, Analysts and Testers get to have a feel of working of Team System.

Keith_Rowe_MS: Steven, reporting did not make it into the December CTP

Keith_Rowe_MS: Hello everyone!

M_Rajesh: Hi Keith, I remember seeing you at Tech Ed in Chennai and seeing your presentation on Team System.

Steven Borg asked the experts: Will PMs be able to create a new VSTS project, add team members and basically control the dev cycles solely from within MS Project? Or will they need to install / use Visual Studio? (in both the Dec CTP and Beta 2 releases)

Steven Borg asked the experts: Is reporting slated to make it in the Beta 2 release? Is the Beta 2 release in the February / March time frame?

Balaji: what are the project management tools available in the team system. can this be help full in increasing the production speed.

Rajesh asked the experts: Does the scope include integration with Project Server for component development as tasks

Keith_Rowe_MS: M_Rajesh, thanks. I really enjoyed Chennai. As for your question, I'd suggest setting up some sample projects to play with. Roundtrip navigation from Team System to Excel and Project both work in the CTP and will give the project managers lots to do.

Steven Borg asked the experts: Will we be able to use either the sampling or instrumentation profile methods from within a VPC in Dec CTP? Beta 2? Gold Bits?

Keith_Rowe_MS: We're using those features internally as we "eat our own dogfood" - using the release to build the tools.

Keith_Rowe_MS: Steven, yes reporting will make the Beta 2 release. It was very close to making the CTP and we have it working internally now.

Steven Borg: Sad to hear about reporting this round, but looking forward to seeing it in Beta 2! Thanks for the answer!

Emptyness: Does it have like a RUP process behind or a configured one done by Microsoft?

Keith_Rowe_MS: Steven, Sampling within a VPC doesn't work in the Dec CTP. We are considering a Design Change Request (DCR) to get that to work after Beta 2. Is it important to you?

Emptyness asked the experts: does it support Analysis and Design? any discipline not suportted?

Steven Borg asked the experts: Sorry to harp on the same question... Is there a list of capabilities / features in the MS Project integration with Team System? I'm concerned that a PM won't be able to do much except create work items for an existing project, and maybe attach documents

Rajesh asked the experts: Per Khusboo - Team system is a full cycle tool and integrates with various tools - so will that mean a single point of entry for a particular data like efforts, defects etc.

Steven Borg: On profiling... It is from an educational standpooint... :-( I'm designing courseware to be used to teach VSTS, and VPCs are the preferred choice for delivery!! Especially for a setup as complicated as Team System can be.

Keith_Rowe_MS: Emptyness, VSTS allows users to define a process they want to follow. A process template configures the way all the other tools behave so the whole team can follow the process. We have our own methodology - the Microsoft Solution Framework.

Mohangandhi: I'm having .Net Framework 1.1. Is it possible to install and work on Framework 2.0 without affecting the existing projects?

Keith_Rowe_MS: Emptyness, we include two flavors in the VSTS box - MSF Agile for small teams and MSF Formal that will support teams using a more rigorous methodology

Keith_Rowe_MS: Steven, the best list of all the features is on the website at http://www.msdn.com/vstudio/teamsystem.

M_Rajesh asked the experts: Hi, Can you explain some of the core automated testing features that will help to test the application rigourously.

Keith_Rowe_MS: Steven, there will be also be a version of the VSTS IDE for project managers and other non-coders. This will let them manage the team features of VSTS; create and run reports; examine the source code and other checked in artifacts; etc.

Keith_Rowe_MS: Steven, on VPCs. That's an interesting scenario. The team is eager to support VPCs, but it is tricky.

Steven Borg: Thanks, Keith! I love that site! Lots of great information. My question was a bit vague. I really meant specific lists of implemented features for the new CTP vs the planned features in the gold bits. :-)

Keith_Rowe_MS: Steven, the new CTP is almost feature complete. The two areas that will be missing are reporting and automated build. Everything else is there, but it may not all be quite working :-)

Steven Borg: Keith: Yeah, I can understand the VPC issues. I've been watching Angry Richard's blog and keeping up with his VPC posts.

Steven Borg: Keith: Great news about being nearly feature complete! I'm looking forward to installing it (but likely AFTER Christmas)

Steven Borg asked the experts: What is the difference between BigBuild and MSBuild? (Sorry for the newbie question, but I haven't used any of the integrated build functionality yet.)

Keith_Rowe_MS: Gkhanna, sure - the best one stop source is http://www.msdn.com/vstudio/teamsystem. That site includes pointers to newsgroups and blogs. Rob Caron's blog is one of the most active and a good one to follow.

Steven Borg: Keith: great newsgroups can be found at http://communities.microsoft.com/newsgroups/default.asp?icp=whidbey&slcid=us (thats the MS newsgroups via HTML viewer)

Steven Borg: Keith: I track around 40 blogs dedicated (more or less) to VSTS. I can upload the .opml file (list of blogs that most RSS readers can understand) or email to anyone who asks.

Keith_Rowe_MS: Steven, that would be great. Rob Caron manages our team blogs and would love to see the list. You can send it to me at keithro@microsoft.com.

Steven Borg asked the experts: Khushboo: Thanks for the GREAT answer! Now that is functionality I just cannot wait to see! :-) Will BigBuild be the way that check-in policies are implemented?

Steven Borg: Keith: Will do! And Rob Caron will certainly see his blog on the list! :-)

Keith_Rowe_MS: Steven, check-in policy is managed directly by the source control tools.

Amit_MS (Expert): Let me give some general background on VSTS. Visual Studio Team systems is a complete integrated suite of software development life cycle tools. We hope that VSTS will be useful to every team member like developers, managers and testers. VSTS will have a product targeted towards architects which will have features of interest to architects such as application design, visual modeling of connected web services, designing the logical view of the data center, mapping those services to physical data center, validating the service requirements with the constraints of the actaul data center. So for example an architect can design something and then validate it early in the design cycle so that the finished product can be actually deployed in the data center.

Steven Borg asked the experts: Policies: I was wondering about Big Build, since I'd like to be able to create a check-in policy that forces code to pass static analysis before being checked in. Plus all check-in code will need (in my world) to pass the entire unit test harness.

Mrinal: Can you please throw some light on how does SOA fits in the whole picture of VSTS ?

abhiK asked the experts: What is the recommended resource requirements for TFS?

M_Rajesh asked the experts: What will be the requirements for Team Foundation Server in terms of hardware and can it be used along with any existing server that runs for eg SQL Server or webserver.

Keith_Rowe_MS: Steven, you can set check-in policies like that. The source control policy enforcer can require that you've done static analysis or run the unit-test suite successfully before a check-in is allowed.

Keith_Rowe_MS: abhiK, we haven't got a final minimal and recommended resource requirement for Team Foundation Server yet. We are installing it today on server class machines with 1-2 Gig of RAM. I don't know what the final numbers will be.

Steven Borg asked the experts: Keith: Thanks! So the dev will run the test locally, and that will be noted at check-in. :-) Great news! Then I can use BigBuild for my nightlies!

abhiK: thanks

Mrinal asked the experts: Can you please throw some light on SOA integration with VSTS ?

Keith_Rowe_MS: M_Rajesh, we require that you be running Windows Server 2003. We will support Sharepoint on that server for team sites. We don't recommend using the same server for separate instances of SQL Server.

Keith_Rowe_MS: Mrinal, we support Service Oriented Architectures with our new line of architect designer tools. Tools like the System Designer, Deployment Designer and Logical Infrastructure designer all let you model SOA designs.

Keith_Rowe_MS: Mrinal, we also support profiling and load testing for SOAs.

Steven Borg: Keith: OPML blogroll should be in your inbox now. (Yep, your blog is there, too!)

Keith_Rowe_MS: Steven, thanks. Mine is a little dusty, but we'll be doing some new work on MSF in January that will make it more interesting

Steven Borg: Shelving is a great idea! Thanks for including it in VSTS and making my life as a developer better!

Steven Borg: Slightly off topic question: Does Randy Miller (one of the key folks on the MSF Agile team) have a blog?

Keith_Rowe_MS: Steven, Randy works for me. I'll be encouraging him to start a blog once he gets the next version of MSF Agile finished (real soon now).

Mrinal: thanks for the reply

Steven Borg asked the experts: How tightly has the MSF 4.0 Agile methodology been implemented in this CTP? If I select MSF Agile as my methodology, will the templates and documents closely approximate the 'final' MSF Agile, or is that still a work in progress?

gavi asked the experts: Thank to the VSTS Product Team

Keith_Rowe_MS: Steven, the December CTP will have minimal support for MSF Agile. We plan tol post a separate copy of the MSF Agile process template in late January that will install into the Dec CTP.

M_Rajesh: Thanks to you Mr. Keith Rowe for taking your time early in the morning to discuss with us and answer the questions.

Steven Borg: Keith: I contacted Randy via email a while back, and chatted a bit on the phone He was VERY helpful and extremely knowledgeable! A great guy! I still haven't met him face to face, but that's been through my schedule. He's quite an asset to your team!

Keith_Rowe_MS: It will be close to final...

Keith_Rowe_MS: My pleasure all.

Steven Borg: Thanks everyone for the wonderful answers!!!

M_Rajesh: And thanks to all of you to answer the questions about Team System, We will be awaiting the December CTP.

Steven Borg: Khushboo, I'd love to provide feedback! :-) Should I post it to the newsgroups?

Steven Borg: Or email directly.

Steven Borg: RobCaron: Thanks for the great posts on installing Team System! Without your guidance, I would have had MUCH more pain!!!!

Steven Borg: Once again, these chats are great! Thanks for all your answers! And thanks to the Redmond folks for being up so late, too!

Steven Borg: Good night!

RobCaron_MS (Expert): Thanks, Steven. Fortunately, I have a great team with an interesting product to talk about.

Keith_Rowe_MS: Good night all.

RobCaron_MS (Expert): Good night/day!

VSTS Chat - Expert Answers

Thu, 23 Dec 2004 11:50:15 +0000

Gkhanna_MS (Moderator): Welcome to all - the Visual Studio Team System chat will be starting @ 4pm IST.

Gkhanna_MS (Moderator): Good afternoon everyone

Gkhanna_MS (Moderator): Welcome to the MSDN Expert Chat on Visual Studio Team System

Gkhanna_MS (Moderator): Today, we have with us the Product Team members of VSTS

Gkhanna_MS (Moderator): to discuss with you the various aspects our Microsoft's life cycle tools.

Gkhanna_MS (Moderator): Please welcome - Amit, Akash, Khushboo and Rob

Gkhanna_MS (Moderator): Team - please introduce yourself

Amit_MS (Expert): Hi, I am Amit, Program Manager in DevTools division working on team build, VSTS work item tracking converters and VSTS source control converters.

Khushboo_MS (Expert): Hi, I am Khushboo Sharan, Program Manager in the VSTS team and my focus area is the Build server in VSTS called Team Build

Akash_MS (Expert): Hello My name is Akash Maheshwari, I am Program Manager for converter tools for Visual Studio Team System Source Control;;

Gkhanna_MS (Moderator): Well - Rob seems to be a bit busy

Gkhanna_MS (Moderator): Lets get started

Gkhanna_MS (Moderator): So, we have experts to discuss with you the source control, build system and work item tracking in VSTS

Amit_MS (Expert): As I hope you’re already aware, Visual Studio Team System is an extensible life-cycle tools platform that significantly expands the Visual Studio product line and helps software teams collaborate to reduce the complexity of delivering modern service-oriented solutions. Team System includes a comprehensive set of proven process frameworks, best practices, prescriptive architecture guidance, and integrated life-cycle tools that enable IT organizations to successfully deliver custom solutions on the Windows platform. The Team System website is located at http://lab.msdn.microsoft.com/vs2005/teamsystem

Gkhanna_MS (Moderator): So go ahead - and post your questions.

Gkhanna_MS (Moderator): Amit - while questions come, why dont you give an overview of what you work on in the team ?

Amit_MS (Expert): Balaji, you had a question

Gkhanna_MS (Moderator): Akash/Amit - would u take up Balaji's question ?

Amit_MS (Expert): Please refer to my earlier brief description and I would recommend that you go through the mentioned site to get a better idea about VSTS in general.

Akash_MS (Expert): Yes VSTS Source Control allows user to do multiple Check out;;

Akash_MS (Expert):

Q: we always felt that the multiple checkout of vss problem in our environment is there anything done for inproving that

A: Yes VSTS Source Control allows user to do multiple Check out;;

Amit_MS (Expert):

Q: Where can I find a list of changes from the previous CTP to the Dec CTP? (i.e. implemented feature changes, reports, etc)

A: Every CTP release has documentation that details out the features present in the release and what is working/not working. CTP is just a point release. At Beta time we would have a document that would detail the differences with previous Beta. Is there a particular feature you want to know about?

Gkhanna_MS (Moderator): Let me introduce Keith - he is the Product Unit Manager in the VSTS team

Gkhanna_MS (Moderator): and is joining is from Redmon, just like Rob. Thanks Keith for joining in as well

Khushboo_MS (Expert): Yes Team System is a full cycle tool. It includes tools for source control, work item tracking, build, testing frameworks and provides a tight integration among the various tools

Amit_MS (Expert):

Q: Is there any guidelines to start working with Team System on an experimental basis so that non developers like Project Managers, Analysts and Testers get to have a feel of working of Team System.

A: We have different SKUs for people considered non developers. We have a SKU specifically for architects, project managers and QA. ELead team has a suite of features targeted towards project managers. We come out with CTP and Beta releases that are generally available for public download. You can start with those releases.

Akash_MS (Expert):

Q: Will PMs be able to create a new VSTS project, add team members and basically control the dev cycles solely from within MS Project? Or will they need to install / use Visual Studio? (in both the Dec CTP and Beta 2 releases)

A: No you cannot add team members from MS Project;; You need to install and use Visual Studio.

Khushboo_MS (Expert):

Q: Is reporting slated to make it in the Beta 2 release? Is the Beta 2 release in the February / March time frame?

A: Yes reporting will be there in beta 2. However it is not in the Dec CTP

Akash_MS (Expert):

Q: Does the scope include integration with Project Server for component development as tasks

A: In V1 of VSTS we are integrateing it with Project Server;;

Akash_MS (Expert):

Q: Does the scope include integration with Project Server for component development as tasks

A: I am sorry in V1 of VSTS we are not integrating with Project Server;;

Khushboo_MS (Expert):

Q: Will we be able to use either the sampling or instrumentation profile methods from within a VPC in Dec CTP? Beta 2? Gold Bits?

A: Some features of VSTS (code profiling) will never work inside a VPC.

Khushboo_MS (Expert):

Q: does it support Analysis and Design? any discipline not suportted?

A: Yes we will be supporting requirement analysis and design. We have Team Architect SKU which will have Class Designers, Logical Data Center Deisgner, System Designer, Application designer

Akash_MS (Expert):

Q: Sorry to harp on the same question... Is there a list of capabilities / features in the MS Project integration with Team System? I'm concerned that a PM won't be able to do much except create work items for an existing project, and maybe attach documents

A: Using Micorosft Project Plan the project manager can create/edit/see the workitems in it;;

Gkhanna_MS (Moderator): While we are discussing this, Khushboo - could you discuss the enhancements in the new build system, BigBuild ?

Khushboo_MS (Expert):

Q: Per Khusboo - Team system is a full cycle tool and integrates with various tools - so will that mean a single point of entry for a particular data like efforts, defects etc.

A: Rajesh, data like defects task etc will be stored in a single work item database which can be accessed through Excel, MSProject, VS. So primarily any of this can be your entry point. The Work Item tool in VSTS integrates with Excel and MSProject

Gkhanna_MS (Moderator): People - please post your questions by selecting the "Submit a question" radio button and then clicking the "Send" button.

Amit_MS (Expert):

Q: Hi, Can you explain some of the core automated testing features that will help to test the application rigourously.

A: Our unit testing features provide the ability to test pieces of your code much as NUnit and other unit test frameworks do. In addition, we provide great IDE integration, integrated debugging support, and support for additional types of tests through the Team Test and Team Suite SKUs. The test SKU will have lot of test types such as unit testing, load testing, static analysis, profiling, code coverage. We are also working on data bound testing. The testing is fully integrated within VSTS IDE and testers will be able to create/run selected tests from within IDE.

Khushboo_MS (Expert): Team Build (code name BigBuild) provides an easy and flexible Build System which integrates with other tools of VSTS like Source Control, Testing tools, Work Item tracking tool, Reporting etc.

Gkhanna_MS (Moderator): Khushboo - could you discuss the enhancements in BigBuild with our attendees? Its one of the frequently asked queries...

Amit_MS (Expert): Steven, there would be a document with CTP, online or within the DVD, which will detail what all features we currently have planned for release and the staus of those features in CTP. Status such as working/not working/semi working.

Khushboo_MS (Expert): It provides an easy way to configure the build and also provides rich reports about the health of the build

Gkhanna_MS (Moderator): And what converters are we planning for VSTS, Amit/Akash ?

Gkhanna_MS (Moderator): Keith - can you point the attendees to some resources on VSTS - newsgroups, blogs, webs, that can help them know more about the product ?

Akash_MS (Expert): We are implementing converters from Visual Source Safe , Clearcase to VSTS Source Control and converters from Clearquest and XML/CSV to VSTS Workitem tracking tooll

Khushboo_MS (Expert):

Q: What is the difference between BigBuild and MSBuild? (Sorry for the newbie question, but I haven't used any of the integrated build functionality yet.)

A: Team Build (code name Big Build) uses MSBuild as the underlying build engine. It integrates your entire build process starting from syncing sources to the build machine, running tests, static analysis, automates email generation on build completion, automatic filing of bugs etc. Hence an integrated build lab out of the box. You can use the underlying MSBuild scripts to customise these build steps to suit your needs

Khushboo_MS (Expert): Steven if there are some other things that you would like to see in your build system, we would love to hear about it

Akash_MS (Expert): What other Source COntrol tools you are using?;

Akash_MS (Expert): What other Workitem tracking tools you are using for which you may require converter tools?;

Khushboo_MS (Expert):

Q: Khushboo: Thanks for the GREAT answer! Now that is functionality I just cannot wait to see! :-) Will BigBuild be the way that check-in policies are implemented?

A: Hey Thanks Steven . Typically checkin policies will be defined in the source control. Is that what you are asking for? BigBuild will have reports which talk about the general health of the build which includes the associated changesets and work items which went into the checkin included in this build

Amit_MS (Expert): The SKU for developers has some exciting new features such as class designer, code coverage, static analysis, profiling. The SKU for testers will have testing features such as test authroring, test execution, test result publication, but creation etc.

Amit_MS (Expert): We also have a server component with VSTS, team foundation server. Team foundation server provides services to integrate software life cycle tools such as work item tracking, source control, reporting, project share point, team build.

Amit_MS (Expert): We hope with VSTS people will have one stop solution for all the tools and the advantage would be that all the data would be integrated in one tool. People can still use tools such as Excel and Microsoft Project to manage parts of the project, but all that data can be pushed to VSTS system and available for everyone through VSTS

Khushboo_MS (Expert):

Q: Policies: I was wondering about Big Build, since I'd like to be able to create a check-in policy that forces code to pass static analysis before being checked in. Plus all check-in code will need (in my world) to pass the entire unit test harness.

A: checkin policies can be defined at the methodology and source control level.Big Build as of now comes into the picture once the check in is already done. The flow starts when BigBuild syncs the sources from the source control and pulls it down to the build machine. The tests and static analysis tools are run after the build and results reported. A 'successful build' in team Build is defined as you have suggested only when the tests also pass successfully.

Amit_MS (Expert):

Q: What will be the requirements for Team Foundation Server in terms of hardware and can it be used along with any existing server that runs for eg SQL Server or webserver.

A: As of now we require 2 machine to run TFS, one hosting the data tier and the other one middle tier. There could be any number of clients connected to middle tier. At the time of release, the goal is that TFS will install on single machine. As of now TFS requires its own install of SQL server, the new version code named Yukon. This SQL server will be included with TFS.

Amit_MS (Expert):

Q: What is the recommended resource requirements for TFS?

A: see my earlier reply

Akash_MS (Expert): One cool feature in VSTS Source Control is 'Shelving'; This feature helps developer who is middle of a bug/feature and he/she gets another high priority bug. The user can 'shelve' the changes in her/his workspace and the changes are stored on the Team Foundation server. Now the workspace is restored to a known state on which user can work on the high priority bug; After fixing the bug the user checks in the bug fix;; Now when user can unshelve to start working on previous workitem;;

Khushboo_MS (Expert):

Q: Keith: Thanks! So the dev will run the test locally, and that will be noted at check-in. :-) Great news! Then I can use BigBuild for my nightlies!

A: Yes Steven. You can configure Team Build for your nightlies. You can also kick off builds on demand

Gkhanna_MS (Moderator): Well - we have time for one more question

Gkhanna_MS (Moderator): before we sign off for the day

Gkhanna_MS (Moderator): Experts - do you have any URIs and resources to share with the attendees ?

Amit_MS (Expert): Also we will have designs such as logical data center design using which one can actually show where the applications would be deployed in the data center. One can also actually validate the design against the constraints of the physical servers of data center. We call this design keeping deployment in mind, so the one does not falls into the trap of designing something that cannot be deployed in the data center

RobCaron_MS (Expert):

Q: Can you please throw some light on SOA integration with VSTS ?

A: The prime purpose of Team Architect Edition is the distributed system designers, which are a set of design tools developing and deploying service-oriented applications.

Akash_MS (Expert): Newsgroups: http://communities.microsoft.com/newsgroups/default.asp?icp=whidbey&slcid=us&NewsGroup=microsoft.private.whidbey.teamsystem.general

Amit_MS (Expert): the main link is http://lab.msdn.microsoft.com/vs2005/teamsystem, you can find links to VSTS related sites from there

Gkhanna_MS (Moderator): Very well.

Gkhanna_MS (Moderator): We have to come to the end of this interesting chat - hopefully each of you had a take away from it

Akash_MS (Expert): http://lab.msdn.microsoft.com/vs2005/teamsystem/blogs/default.aspx

Khushboo_MS (Expert): We do not have any published information on Team Build as of now. However keep watching the Team Foundation blogs <http://blogs.msdn.com/team_foundation>!> for more information.

Gkhanna_MS (Moderator): Thanks to the product team based out of Redmond and Hyderabad for participating in - its quite late in night in Redmond

Gkhanna_MS (Moderator): Thanks for attending - do join us on 6th Jan when we discuss ADO.NET Whidbey with Deepak Gulati

Akash_MS (Expert): Thanks folks for attending chat on VSTS

Khushboo_MS (Expert): Hey Thanks alot for paticipating and showing your interest. As usual we would love to hear from you in case you have any feedback

Gkhanna_MS (Moderator): Have a nice evening and morning

RobCaron_MS (Expert): For those who might not have heard, the December CTP went live on MSDN Subscriber Downloads this evening (Wednesday evening in Redmond).

Amit_MS (Expert):

Q: How tightly has the MSF 4.0 Agile methodology been implemented in this CTP? If I select MSF Agile as my methodology, will the templates and documents closely approximate the 'final' MSF Agile, or is that still a work in progress?

A: My understanding is that MSF 4.0 is well integrated in this CTP release. Process guidance document, group policies such as checkin permissions, work item templates is all there.

Khushboo_MS (Expert): both would be great Steven. Though an email directly will be best! Thanks

RobCaron_MS (Expert): In addition, you can obtain a copy of the Team Foundation Installation Guide from here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=E54BF6FF-026B-43A4-ADE4-A690388F310E&displaylang=en.

Amit_MS (Expert): Thank you all for the chat. We really appreciate your questions and feedback.

VSTS Chat - 23 Dec 2004

Thu, 23 Dec 2004 11:47:53 +0000

Once again, Microsoft shows they "Get it" when it comes to developers! About 30 developers and other interested participants were treated to specific answers to specific questions from the VSTS team at Micrsosoft.

MSDN India hosted the chat on VSTS at the programmer-friendly 2:30 AM PST (my time here in Seattle, so it was easy to catch before heading off to bed). I didn't recognize all the names of the experts, but their screen names were Amit, Akash, Khushboo, Rob Caron, Keith_Rowe. Every one of them had spot-on answers to the hard questions. I have to admit to hogging question time, but the experts were all very gracious about it.

Hard Drive access is SLOW But I had no idea it was this slow

Thu, 23 Dec 2004 06:37:29 +0000

Simon Meacham has a wonderful post on performance implications, and profiling applications. When I talk about the importance of caching I often talk about how slow hard drive access is. But this quote really drives it home!

Now 2GHz is a difficult thing to imagine for a human. Put simply that is 2 billion (Dr Evil pose) instructions per second at maximum throughput. So lets put this on our terms. Let's say once processor "clock cycle" is not 1/2,000,000,000 of a second but rather 1 second. On that scale accessing the nearby L1 on-chip cache takes 6 seconds, the off chip (L2) cache 2-3 minutes, and accessing main memory takes 3-4 weeks. Accessing the disk (just one disk access) by comparison takes a whopping 1 year on this timescale.

Recognition

Thu, 23 Dec 2004 06:14:25 +0000

Scott Duffy sometimes writes a bit about VSTS. Not often, but enough for me to keep checking back to his blog often. His last post had something that just struck me. He puts it like this:

* A word about recognition: to me, recognition is simply that someone accurately understands how difficult a problem was to solve.

This rings true to me. Which is sometimes where management makes mistakes. Yes, it's good to congratulate someone on a job well done. But it means so much less coming from someone who doesn't understand the job. A "Wow!" under the breath of a fellow programmer, is far more recognition that a plaque handed out at the company Christmas party by someone unaware of what you really, really do.

Team System Newsgroups

Thu, 23 Dec 2004 05:49:46 +0000

Thanks to Christopher Bowen for reminding me to use the Visual Studio 2005 newgroups! There's finally a reasonable amount of traffic there, and its a great place to get your questions answered! If a Google search doesn't get you a satisfying answer, the newsgroups should! Plus, it's a great place for Microsoft to get feedback to improve the product.

There are 12 different newsgroups, just in the VSTS section! Plus you can get info on SQL CLR, C#, MSBuild and tons of other technologies! You can check out the newsgroups via web at http://communities.microsoft.com/newsgroups/default.asp?icp=whidbey&slcid=us or you can use your NNTP reader.

New Microsoft Patch Blocks Firefox Downloads

Thu, 23 Dec 2004 01:57:15 +0000

"Microsoft Corp. today released a new security patch for its Internet Explorer (IE) web browser which prevents users from accidentally or intentionally downloading the new free, open-source Firefox browser from The Mozilla Foundation."

No, it's not true. Nor is it an urban legend. Just a very humorous, and very short, article by Scott Ott at ScrappleFace. Regardless of your stand on the browser wars (I'm an IE6 user), it's very funny! You can read the whole article at http://www.scrappleface.com/MT/archives/001990.html

Don't miss the next VSTS chat

Thu, 23 Dec 2004 00:55:32 +0000

Coming up tomorrow morning at 2:30 am (December 23rd). Yes, that's 2:30 AM. Finally, Microsoft is scheduling chats during standard developer hours! Now we won't have to drag our butts out of bed at some ungodly pre-noon hour!

There's more chats in January, too. Don't miss them! I wasn't able to attend the last two, but Rich Hundhausen (also from Accentient, Inc) was. And he got a good chunk of his questions answered right then and there! Check them out at http://msdn.microsoft.com/chats.

Visual Studio Team System

Thu, 23 Dec 2004 00:48:05 +0000

Accentient has been contracted by Microsoft to design the first Microsoft Official Curriculum (MOC) course for Visual Studio Team System (VSTS). VSTS is one of the most compelling new technologies to come out of Microsoft since .NET. It allows developers, testers, architects and even program managers to work together to build software. Now, these types of systems are nothing new. What IS new is the fantastic integration with Visual Studio, and the was development metrics are collected and reported. One of the reasons developers tend to hate team tools, is that they have to open up a different application and enter things like “I'm XX% done”. That tends to be both a hassle for the developers and a source of errors (developers seem to spend over half of any given development project at an internal estimate that they are 80% complete). VSTS does most of this tracking automatically. VSTS isn't just a reporting tool though; it has other wonderful features! It brings Test Driven Development into the mainstream. Many developers have learned the wonders of NUnit for unit testing. VSTS now brings unit testing into the development environment. Plus, it's extensible, so you can still use many of the unit testing tools you've gotten used to. I'm not going to enumerate all the wonders of VSTS now, but I'll create a searchable category on this blog for “Team System”. Come back for more posts!

Yahoo giving away X1

Tue, 21 Dec 2004 04:45:25 +0000

Great news! Yahoo! has licensed the X1 desktop search engine for free download. I've used the Google Desktop, Lookout (free from Microsoft), and X1, which used to cost $99 for a personal license. X1 was by far the best. It's search was blazingly fast, the index was small and the UI was the simplest. Plus, it doesn't have the security issues of Google Desktop or the Outlook start-up time impact of Lookout.

Next Team System Chat ... better brew some coffee!

Tue, 21 Dec 2004 00:34:16 +0000

The next VSTS chat is scheduled for December 23, 2004 at 2:30 AM ... yep, you read it correctly!

Also, there's a few more VSTS chats in mid-January ... http://msdn.microsoft.com/chats

America West Platinum

Mon, 20 Dec 2004 05:39:36 +0000

Not sure if I should be proud or be ashamed of this:

MS Help 2.0 Hack!

Tue, 14 Dec 2004 01:55:16 +0000

Maybe this has been blogged before, but I couldn't find it.

If you're like me, you miss the simplicity of .HLP and .CHM files, where a simple double-click opens the help file. As you know, Microsoft has been deploying any help that relates to Visual Studio .NET in the MS Help 2.0 format, which is not so friendly.

Ok, so here's my problem, if you obtain help files, like from the Visual Studio Team System prerelease documentation, and you want to just read through it, you can't just double-click on any of the files:

Google Suggest

Sun, 12 Dec 2004 05:38:03 +0000

Google debuted their Google Suggest service this week. It’s still in beta, and represents the latest Google Labs accomplishment. When you start typing a request into the search box, a drop-down menu appears with suggestions as to what you might be looking for.

Careers of the Year

Fri, 10 Dec 2004 02:58:16 +0000

Flipping through Minneapolis' ComputerUse Newszine when I was back there Tuesday, I came to their November 2004 feature article on IT careers.

What's Up: Security (big and small), IT auditing, VoIP, and .NET programming
What's Down: Mainframe development, Java development, Network engineering, and general programming jobs.

Read the full article here.

PDC 2005 announced!

Wed, 08 Dec 2004 23:46:15 +0000

Ok, it appears to be more than a mirage. Not only is it announced on Microsoft's Events Web site, but also on the LA Convention Center's September 2005 calendar:

September 7-17
Microsoft PDC 2005 Convention
All Areas
Microsoft Corporation
Redmond, WA

Rebate Honesty Portal!

Wed, 08 Dec 2004 23:35:40 +0000

How many times have you filled-out those $10, $15, and $20 rebate forms at CompUSA and never heard from them again? Well, I got a suprising email from SanDisk to log-on and check out my rebate's status online, and there it was -- with all the efficiency of a UPS/FedEx tracking query!

Is it a mirage, or is that PDC '05 ahead?

Tue, 07 Dec 2004 21:31:57 +0000

http://msdn.microsoft.com/events/pdc/

Yukon just keeps getting better and better

Mon, 06 Dec 2004 18:48:44 +0000

I downloaded and installed (into VPC naturally) the December Community Technical Preview (CTP) for SQL Server 2005 today. Let me tell you that it looks good, and appears quite stable. Of course, I have not run through an exhaustive set of activities. I'll be sure to blog and big changes or gripes as I run into them.

Intellectual Property Seminar - Thursday, December 9th (Southern Idaho)

Sat, 04 Dec 2004 16:54:54 +0000

The Intellectual Property Seminar will be on Thursday December 9th at 3:30pm in the conference room at the TECenter on BSU West Campus in Nampa. See the outline below for information on what will be discussed. Please RSVP to Mark Zuziak at markzuziak@boisestate.edu. Matthew Whipple & Peter Midgley from Holland and Midgley Intellectual Property Law will be the speakers.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ESSENTIALS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

  I. WHY IS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IMPORTANT TO THE SMALL BUSINESS OWNER?
II. FORMS OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
   A. Brief discussion of distinctions between patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets
III. PATENTS
     A.   Brief overview of the patenting process
     B. Some pertinent patent law
     1. The meaning of invention
     2. Who owns your invention?
     3. What is prior art?
    C. Avoiding potential pitfalls
     1.   How to keep lab notebooks correctly
       2. How to avoid losing the right to patent your invention by creating potential prior art in the U.S. and abroad
       3. How not to give away ownership rights to your patent
IV. TRADEMARKS AND COPYRIGHTS
     A. Ownership issues
V. TRADE SECRETS
    A. When to use trade secrets
    B. Benefits and risks of keeping a trade secret
VI. AVOIDING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY INFINGEMENT AND LITIGATION
    A. Clearance searches
    B. Opinions
VII. DEVELOPING AN OVERALL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY STRATEGY AND THE I.P. AUDIT

Community Days 2005 Tour announced

Fri, 03 Dec 2004 20:16:37 +0000

Microsoft and Netdesk just announced the content and tour stops and dates for Q3 (Feb-Mar 2005).

The topic is Visual Studio 2005 on SQL Server 2005. Should be awesome!

Codename Atlantic

Fri, 03 Dec 2004 16:20:47 +0000

I recently heard a new codename, and it's not Microsoft's. Announced this past summer, Atlantic is IBM's expansion of its ranks of Java developers to compete with Microsoft's Visual Studio tools in the enterprise space. All this at a time when Team System is expanding the ranks of .NET developers to compete with IBM's Rational suite ... should be interesting.

How Does Sarbanes-Oxley Affect Your Business?

Fri, 03 Dec 2004 15:53:38 +0000

Found a great summary on the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX or SOA) this morning. It covers, at a high level, the three areas where compliance is required: legal/regulatory, accounting, and internal operations/management.

Visit the Blue Sage group's page for more information.

Visio 2003 UML to export to XMI standard documents

Thu, 02 Dec 2004 16:41:38 +0000

Download this Visio 2003 add-in here. From www.omg.org, XMI:

XMI is a model driven XML Integration framework for defining, interchanging, manipulating and integrating XML data and objects. XMI-based standards are in use for integrating tools, repositories, applications and data warehouses. Provides rules by which a schema can be generated for any valid XMI-transmissible MOF-based metamodel.

Visio stencils for UML 2.0

Thu, 02 Dec 2004 16:30:08 +0000

Came across this Web site today. Looks to be a good resource for anyone doing UML 2.0 w/ Visio (any version).

Another brave VSTS'er blogs his journey ...

Thu, 02 Dec 2004 03:29:13 +0000

*Met* Dave Bost tonight on a Microsoft chat. He's blogging his relationship with VSTS as well.

Here's his blog and here's a good report on DevConnections from a few weeks ago.

Let the race to provide online TFS hosting begin!

Thu, 02 Dec 2004 01:31:26 +0000

Looks like one company is already on its way to hosting VSTS services ...

Welcome to VSTeamSystem.com
Providing hosting of Microsoft Team Foundation Server

Enterprise Source Code Control
Bug Tracking
Project Management
Reporting

Coming Soon...

Domain Specific Language (DSL) Tools - MSDN Lab site established

Mon, 29 Nov 2004 19:36:04 +0000

Microsoft is releasing a suite of tools, and related support, to make it easy to construct graphical, domain-specific language designers hosted in Visual Studio 2005 for editing domain specific languages (DSL).

Excerpted from Microsoft:

“Developers who are using UML, data modeling or business process modeling tools are often faced with the need to personalize or customize these tools. They turn them into domain-specific, company-specific and even project-specific modeling tools. They modify what a diagram shows and what it means, and they add code generators, report generators, and functionality to do useful things with their models. Often they will write custom code to import and export their models. In some cases, they even devise their own interpretation of standard languages like UML. But in other cases, a developer may simply be reusing a pattern of code with a template language or XML schema for which he writes a code generator for specific projects. Developers who are interested in using models and generators like this are indulging in model-driven development as a way to achieve higher productivity.”

http://lab.msdn.microsoft.com/vs2005/teamsystem/workshop/dsltools

Compuware VSTS integration

Mon, 29 Nov 2004 18:15:31 +0000

It seems that compuware is providing test automation integration of Compuware TestPartner with Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Team System. Integrating with Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Team System allows developers to functionally test their application using Compuware TestPartner directly within the IDE.

Not much more out about it, other than this release on their site.

IRISMSF

Mon, 29 Nov 2004 16:00:56 +0000

I happened upon possibly the first third-party product to support Team System, or at least the first that I've found.

IRISMSF will include native support for Team System. IRISMSF can be used to develop customized MSF-based process templates that can be deployed using Visual Studio 2005 Team System.

Which RSS aggregator to choose ...

Sun, 28 Nov 2004 23:26:43 +0000

SharpReader, RSSBandit, FeedDemon, NewsGator, or NewzCrawler.
Here are a couple of reviews: Josh Evitt, Ryan Farley, and Windows Dev Center.

Choices, choices.

Various Team System Inteviews, Webcasts, and Videos

Sun, 28 Nov 2004 23:04:07 +0000

Thanks to Christopher Bowen for listing these in one place.

(29 Nov) Oh, and I also found Microsoft's treasure trove here:

MSDN Code Camp III

Sun, 28 Nov 2004 22:57:48 +0000

I've heard wonderful things about these Code Camps. It's a long weekend, full of great speakers, code and the price is free. Too bad they're back east.

If you're interested, keep checking www.msdncodecamp.com for information about their 2005 gathering.

Domain-Specific Designers for Visual Studio 2005 Team System

Sun, 28 Nov 2004 22:56:09 +0000

Microsoft recently announced a new framework and tool for building custom visual designers based on the modeling technology in Visual Studio 2005.

Source Code Control Systems

Sat, 27 Nov 2004 03:07:08 +0000

In brushing up on my SCC metadata, I came across this site, which compares many features of the various (mostly open source) systems out there: CVS, Aegis, Arch, BitKeeper, CMSynergy, Co-Op, Darcs, Monotone, OpenCM, Perforce, Subversion, Superversion, syk, Vesta, and Visual Sourcesafe.

I don't see SourceGear Vault or (obviously) Team System listed.

Team System codenames

Sat, 27 Nov 2004 00:57:11 +0000

Three of the main codenames for Team System: Hatteras (version control), Currituck (work item tracking), and Ocracoke (web testing), are actually lighthouses off the coast North Carolina. Remember that Team System development was begun at the Microsoft campus in North Carolina.

VS 2005 Team System presentations from VS Connections available

Wed, 17 Nov 2004 22:51:36 +0000

Microsoft has posted the five presentations they gave last week at Visual Studio Connections last week in Vegas.

Download the decks here.

Intel Processors Combat Buffer Overflow attacks ... at the CPU level

Sat, 13 Nov 2004 18:33:41 +0000

Certain Intel processors implement the Execute Disable Bit functionality, thus preventing certain classes of malicious “buffer overflow“ attacks -- when combined with a supported operating system. Although not a new technology, Intel is aggresively providing end-to-end workstations and servers this year.

Execute Disable Bit currently requires one of the following operating systems to support it:

Microsoft Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1
Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 2

Read Intel's article here.

Another good quote ...

Sat, 13 Nov 2004 18:27:38 +0000

”One throat to choke” - Albert Ho, California

Meaning a consultant or company who takes on all tasks of a project!

Microsoft codenames

Tue, 02 Nov 2004 17:42:21 +0000

Recently, I've been seeing my students' eyes glazing over as I mention: Whidbey, Yukon, Orcas, Longhorn, and Blackcomb in one breath of air. Here's a good Web site that consolidates all of these codenames.

Check your HTTP traffic with Fiddler

Sun, 31 Oct 2004 19:00:40 +0000

Fiddler is a HTTP Debugging Proxy which logs all HTTP traffic between your computer and the Internet. Fiddler allows you to inspect all HTTP Traffic, set breakpoints, and "fiddle" with incoming or outgoing data. Fiddler is designed to be much simpler than using NetMon or Achilles, and includes a simple but powerful JScript.NET event-based scripting subsystem.

http://www.fiddlertool.com/fiddler

Sharepoint Web Part for hosting ASP.NET user controls

Sun, 31 Oct 2004 18:47:34 +0000

I've been doing more and more Sharepoint these days, and I'm on a quest to find all the cool parts that I can find. One thing struct me right away was that you had to use Sharepoints framework, and override its methods, leaving your own custom controls lacking. Here's a use control that gimmicks up the framework to allow you to host your .ASCX controls.

Thanks to Mitch Ruebush for pointing out Jan Tielen's blog entry about SmartPart

Largest WiFi hotspot in the world -- Hermiston, Oregon

Wed, 27 Oct 2004 10:48:46 +0000

Read this in Mobile PC magazine, then did my own research. Turns out that Hermiston County, Oregon, recently installed 75 towers to transmit signals over a 600-square-mile area. This is even more amazing, if you've ever driving by or through there. I guess the horse and coyote mounted laptops will enjoy this new access!

There are a number of articles on this. I just found it interesting.

Big news while I was in Florida

Tue, 26 Oct 2004 17:26:57 +0000

Ok, a rare non-technical blog entry here, but this was just hilarious. As I was leaving Tampa this morning, this was on the news programs. I guess they are lacking for a big story down there.

Naked man chased from church pumpkin patch

Edit and Continue debugging in C#

Sat, 16 Oct 2004 18:59:12 +0000

Looks like this feature is back on, and will be a part of the product. Look for it in the next Community Technology Preview for Visual Studio 2005 next week.

Meatware

Fri, 15 Oct 2004 20:08:28 +0000

You've heard of hardware, software, and firmware. A student last week introduced me to Meatware, which is a less common synonym for Wetware.

Thanks to Michael Diamant of Maximus for this.

New Programming Language: EPL

Mon, 11 Oct 2004 23:54:01 +0000

A Cal-Tech spinoff company, iSpheres, plans to publish an early version of the EPL software, short for Event Programming Language, by month's end. It will be royalty free to end users. They plan to make their money selling thier event server. There's even been some suggestion that EPL will compliment BPEL (Business Process Engineering Language).

Their claims of EPL are pretty steep:

“In much the same way that SQL eased the development of database applications, EPL simplifies event-based computing.”

Microsoft releases BizTalk Server 2004 Courseware

Mon, 11 Oct 2004 23:00:45 +0000

Microsoft Learning has finally released BizTalk Server 2004 courseware. I'm looking forward to prepping and delivering course 2157 (Developing) and 2158 (Deploying and Managing).

Microsoft Solutions Framework (MSF) Certification Exams

Mon, 11 Oct 2004 22:37:55 +0000

Microsoft certification exam # 074-100 (MSF Practitioner Exam) is retiring, July 28th and is being replaced by exam # 070-301.

For those MCTs who want to continue to deliver MSF courses, such as Course 1846A, after December 31, 2004, they will be required to pass 070-301 in addition to becoming an MCT with MSF Competency.

As a side note, Microsoft has said that MSF 4.0 exam plans will be announced in the Visual Studio 2005 release timeframe, mid 2005.

Smart Personal Object Technology (SPOT)

Fri, 08 Oct 2004 16:01:27 +0000

Here's a good introductory article on SPOT, written by the product team.

As a reminder, Smart Personal Objects are everyday objects, such as clocks, pens, key-chains, billfolds, and wristwatches that are made smarter, more personalized and more useful through the use of special software.

Visual Studio Team System Weblogs

Thu, 07 Oct 2004 19:58:14 +0000

I'm glad that some of my Regional Director brethren have hung in there and seen the Visual Studio Team System installation through to fruition. Here's a good blog that lists some steps and resources for pulling it off using Virtual PC

http://weblogs.asp.net/cmenegay

Reported Vulnerability in Microsoft ASP.NET

Thu, 07 Oct 2004 19:33:39 +0000

Microsoft is currently investigating a reported vulnerability in Microsoft ASP.NET. An attacker can send specially crafted requests to the server and view secured content without providing the proper credentials. This reported vulnerability exists in ASP.NET and does not affect ASP.

Read about the vulernability here and about the underlying issue here (KB 887459).

Follow-Up: The ASP.NET Team has confirmed that all versions of ASP.NET on all operating systems may be susceptible to this potential exploit. They strongly recommend you apply the following code to the Global.asax for each of your applications.

Borland's codename Diamondback

Wed, 06 Oct 2004 15:33:21 +0000

Otherwise known as the next version of Delphi. It'll do Delphi Win32, Delphi .NET, and C# projects all under one IDE. There's support for refactoring and ASP.NET as well. Here's a quick screenshot:

Real estate goes high-tech

Wed, 06 Oct 2004 15:31:04 +0000

One industry that stays cutting-edge on technology is the Real Estate industry. They were one of the first to introduce networked computing and then Web based solutions to allow realtors to submit and search for properties. The Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is essentially a giant pay-to-play database of all the properties for sale in the US. MLS then took it to the next level by offering their search via a Web service, so that other companies could provide the search and display functionality.

Pricing software products

Mon, 04 Oct 2004 20:06:10 +0000

As a software developer, I've often wrestled with the decision of how much to price my creation. I remember watching my grandfather create a large, beautiful watercolor painting and then stick a price tag of $10,000 on it. When asked how he could justify $10k in 3 hours his answer was it took him 40 years + 3 hours. That makes sense.

It would be nice if this would apply to software development, because I'd be at 20 years mark!. Since it doesn't work that way, try reading this article on how to compute a price, all the time keeping your revenue in mind.

Intermountain Venture Forum in Boise

Mon, 04 Oct 2004 19:26:27 +0000

The Intermountain Venture Forum will be held on October 6th & 7th in Boise Idaho. Fifteen companies will present in front of the top institutional investors in the West. In addition, there will be several panels from leading experts in venture funding, angel investment, and how to sell to the government.

Here is the Web site and agenda.

Test Driven Development Resources

Mon, 04 Oct 2004 04:07:06 +0000

Been doing some coding this weekend and, in keeping with good TDD practice, I've been writing my tests, albeit paper-based exercises for the users, as I'm writing the code.

I found this good resource: www.testdriven.com -- check out their list of TDD Tools

Google Conforms to Chinese Censorship

Mon, 27 Sep 2004 04:19:35 +0000

It seems that Google is breaking one of Philisophical tenants. It seems that Google/China is omitting sites from the Chinese government banned sites. This article exposes the tests and possible reasons.

Newsmap displays Google News visually

Tue, 21 Sep 2004 18:50:12 +0000

Had a student point this out last week. Newsmap is an application that visually reflects the constantly changing landscape of the Google News aggregator. Personally, I think it's a bit busy but interesting.

Vulnerability with das Blog

Tue, 21 Sep 2004 18:39:44 +0000

Ok, I'm a couple of days late on this one, but since I recommend it to all of my friends, clients, and students, I thought I should post this advisory and patch.

Microsoft Windows 64-bit Resources

Sat, 18 Sep 2004 00:19:01 +0000

Just wanted to list a few resources here:

Compaq R3000Z (64bit laptop) - Only $824 for a base unit!
www.route64.net - even though it's over, looks like a good site

.NET Framework 1.1 SP1 controversies

Tue, 14 Sep 2004 21:06:19 +0000

As you may know, .NET Framework 1.1 has a service pack out now.

I've been reading a few notes about installing it.

I've heard that it breaks SourceGear Vault
But then I've heard that it doesn't

Also, there appears to be a problem w/ the client-side JAVASCRIPT file. If you've upgraded to .NET FW 1.1 SP1, you'll need to copy the old "WebUIValidation.js" into your IIS aspnet_clientsystem_web1_1_4322 folder. This is the old file before the SP1 update and your web app should work as usual now. Here is the thread that mentioned about the workaround.

Microsoft ISV Community Days

Thu, 09 Sep 2004 16:22:31 +0000

Microsoft and Netdesk have partnered to run several ISV tours throughout the US over the next couple of months.

I'll be personally delivering the W2003 tour. Hope to see you on the trail!

Use your Google GMail account as a file system (GmailFS)

Thu, 09 Sep 2004 15:38:20 +0000

Wow, you really can do everything with Google. Here's a blog entry from a guy who wrote an API in Linux to turn your Google GMail account into a mountable file system.

Setting up Team Foundation Services

Mon, 06 Sep 2004 04:51:08 +0000

Wish me luck -- I'm off to install the Client/App/Data components to VSTS TFS in *one* VHD image.

My first snag, was seeing a weird !"ValueType mismatch" error that I couldn't explain, so I did some research. Well, now that IIS 6.0 now has 1.1 and 2.0 versions of the framework, and Sharepoint doesn't work, until you set both of the sites back to version 1.1. Do a restart of the server too, for good measure.

Overloaded Terms

Mon, 06 Sep 2004 04:44:24 +0000

I was commenting the other day that many TLAs at Microsoft are getting way too many meanings. Case in point, WSS, which can mean one of many things in this world, even with Microsoft technologies.

At least they honestly acknowledge this.

Missing the Office Photo Editor!!?

Mon, 06 Sep 2004 04:20:02 +0000

I love everything about Office 2003, except for the fact that Photo Editor is gone and the (ahem) replacement, is far from what I need. The good news is that you can just re-install the old editor from your Office XP media.

Microsoft's official explanation is here and there's an independent analysis here.

NET Framework Version 2.0 Redistributable Package Beta 1 (x86)

Mon, 23 Aug 2004 20:45:48 +0000

If you want to download the latest .NET Framework 2.0 Beta 1, then click here:

Beware of other versions of the .NET Framework 2.0 Beta 1's out there. The one above is dated late July, not June.

www.pinvoke.net WIKI

Mon, 23 Aug 2004 20:32:45 +0000

A student of mine pointed this out today. Leave it to a C++ programmer to know all the platform tips and tricks.

PINVOKE.NET addresses the difficulty of calling Win32 or other unmanaged APIs in managed code (languages such as C# and VB .NET). It even includes the complex structure definitions, where applicable.

www.pinvoke.net

Recompiling in SQL Server 2005

Thu, 19 Aug 2004 16:24:25 +0000

Thanks to Bob Beauchemin for pointing out this great paper on Batch Compilation, Recompilation, and Plan Caching Issues in SQL Server 2005.

SQL Server 2005 Beta 2 Resource DVD

Sun, 08 Aug 2004 20:35:04 +0000

The SQL Server 2005 Beta 2 Resource DVD is your guide to SQL Server 2005. This DVD contains valuable materials and technical resources to help you understand and utilize the many new and enhanced capabilities of SQL Server 2005 including:

Product Overviews
Whitepapers
Sample Code
Migration and Upgrade Tools
Video Case Studies
Detailed Webcasts on SQL Server 2005 Features

It's available from MSDN subscription downloads

Feeling lazy? Let SqlCommandBuilder map your SProc's parameters

Fri, 06 Aug 2004 03:16:56 +0000

You may know my feeling on SqlCommandBuilder, but on those days you're feeling lazy ...

Dim cmdNW As New SqlCommand
cmdNW.Connection = conNW
cmdNW.CommandType = CommandType.StoredProcedure
cmdNW.CommandText = "Employee Sales by Country"
SqlCommandBuilder.DeriveParameters(cmdNW)

USB Gadgets

Wed, 04 Aug 2004 17:20:06 +0000

Ok, so you're aware of the standard kinds of items that you can plug into your USB drive, such as:

USB hard drives, floppy drives, etc.
Flash memory drives
Phone chargers
Mice

But, here's a list of some rather interesting things that I've come across lately:

And if those weren't strange enough:

Database Saying of the Day

Tue, 03 Aug 2004 18:34:30 +0000

”Keep one of two things backed up -- your data or your resume.”

- Richard Hundhausen, MCDBA

Features not implemented in SQL Server 2005 Beta 2

Sat, 31 Jul 2004 20:32:22 +0000

I'll be adding to this list throughout my journey with the Beta 2

XQuery Designer
IntelliSense is not implemented for T-SQL Editors
Database Diagrams / Visual DB Tools
Date, Time, and UTCDateTime data types
Service Manager icon in the System Tray

Dropped altogether

ObjectSpaces (until Longhorn timeframe)

Any others you want to mention?

What's happened to all those CORBA applications?

Fri, 30 Jul 2004 20:29:19 +0000

Now I know that XML Web Services have had a profound effect on other distributed programming models ...

(I snapped this photo last year, while teaching a Commerce Server class in Carnegie, PA.)

UI Hall of Shame

Wed, 28 Jul 2004 12:52:18 +0000

Think you've run across some funny, odd, and confusing user interfaces? Check these out.

Here's an example:

64-Bit Laptop Available

Mon, 26 Jul 2004 16:46:10 +0000

1 Beyond has just released a 64-bit laptop. So, for those of us who travel and present on the latest technology, such as 64-bit Windows-XP, 64-bit SQL Server, and 64-bit Whidbey, it makes it possible!

The Deck Daemon

Fri, 23 Jul 2004 17:35:50 +0000

Yes, this was software that I wrote in 1993 - DOS-based, written in Clipper, to help players and collectors of Magic: The Gathering card game organize their collections, trade cards, and track their decks. It was a fun utility to build, and an eye-opening experience as far as how not to run a business.

Here is the splash screen for the DOS version …

And the awesome UI of the DOS version …

Free TextBox

Thu, 22 Jul 2004 22:15:39 +0000

Always wondered where dasBlog got their textbox control.

www.freetextbox.com

Craigslist coming to Boise!

Thu, 22 Jul 2004 19:37:49 +0000

Craigslist will launch its Boise site before the end of the year, according to San Francisco-based founder Craig Newmark. The site offers jobs, classifieds, personals, services, and (most interestingly) bartering!

Started in San Francisco in 1995, Craigslist now has Web site pages for numerous U.S. cities, plus London and several cities in Canada. Newmark, a self-proclaimed nerd, said the site initially was a way for him to find out about social events, and then share the information with others.

Selecting from the first sheet in an XLS file

Wed, 21 Jul 2004 20:54:26 +0000

Using the OLEDB .NET Data Provider and Jet, I am able to select from the various worksheets inside an Excel spreadsheet. This is great, and has saved me from automating Excel many times. The catch is that you have to know the name of the first sheet in the XLS file, or use automation or DAO (yuck) to determine it. I found a posting on DonXML's blog that shows how to do this, using the OleDbConnection and it's GetSchemaTable method. Here's the goods:

Welcome to the MSDN Lab!

Wed, 21 Jul 2004 01:36:41 +0000

The last few links I've received from Microsoft have pointed back to this new Website, so I investigated further and found many interesting lab “projects” here.

This seems to be where Microsoft parks experimental projects and beta code for downloading, to garner feedback from developers. It looks like successful projects will be called up to the big league of MSDN proper.

http://lab.msdn.microsoft.com

Boise Angel Alliance

Tue, 20 Jul 2004 05:48:06 +0000

Accredited investors in Boise Idaho have recently formed an organization to provide a forum for entreprenuers and emerging companies to present investment opportunites. By presenting to the Boise Angel Alliance, entrepernuers and emerging companies may get connected with both money and potential mentors with business expertise.

Visit www.boiseangelalliance.com for more information.

The Bourne Supremacy

Tue, 20 Jul 2004 04:55:27 +0000

Kristen and I got a rare treat Saturday night. We were able to snag two tickets to the premier of The Bourne Supremacy -- a full week before it's regular release. In addition to that, Frank Marshall and Matt Damon were both in Boise to kick it off!

Flying coach and trying to use your laptop?

Fri, 16 Jul 2004 00:24:51 +0000

For tall people, laptop users, or anyone wanting to maintain their space! I saw this for sale in FHM magazine. I've already got a set on order. I love these guys. As an added bonus, here's a couirtesy card you can print out and give to the person sitting in front of you:

www.kneedefender.com

No Crystal Reports to RDL conversion tool from Hitachi Consulting

Thu, 15 Jul 2004 21:41:47 +0000

Many of us has heard rumors about such a tool. Reading their business card on the SQL Reporting Services partners page, you'd think that their RDL Generator would be a hit; but, according to company representatives, they will only offer this as a service -- something about licensing issues with Business Objects. Hopefully, we'll see one pop up as open source or shareware.

I was here when it happened!

Tue, 13 Jul 2004 22:19:02 +0000

Inacom in Madison, Wisconsin was just selected Microsoft's Certified Partner for Learning Solutions (CPLS) Partner of the year!

Congratulations to my friends Charley Eaton, Bryan Bechtoldt, John Cook, Dani Poppe, Bill Roddewald, Lauri Meixelsperger, Andi Rainey, and Sharon Rugge and everyone else at Team Inacom.

Funny Microsoft KB Articles

Mon, 12 Jul 2004 12:53:01 +0000

Sorry all. I took a week off and didn't think about technology ... only shelves. My garage is now defragged and all vehicles fit inside it!

Here's something light to get your started this week. Most of the articles found on this site are actual, only one or two paradies.

US considers IE too vulnerable to use

Fri, 02 Jul 2004 18:50:11 +0000

According to the Department of Homeland Security, IE and IIS together are too vulnerable to use. Read the story at Yahoo.

Visual Studio Express Editions

Tue, 29 Jun 2004 20:55:54 +0000

As of today, we are allowed to finally talk about the Visual Studio Express Editions.

These are lightweight, easy-to-use and learn tools for hobbyists, enthusiasts, and novices.

Visual Basic 2005 Express
Visual C# 2005 Express
Visual C++ 2005 Express
Visual J# 2005 Express
Visual Web Developer Express
SQL Server 2005 Express

Minneapolis/St. Paul Delphi Users Group

Sun, 27 Jun 2004 02:19:35 +0000

I had the privilege of visiting the Delphi user group of Minneapolis, hosted by Lemanix. The group is skippered by Nick Hodges and Mark Theiste -- both well-known Delphi pros.

This is a small, but serious group. Everyone seems to be a Delphi coder, which is refreshing. The evening progressed as we watched demonstrations by a couple of the members showing off their coding techniques and styles, using Delphi 8.

We then had a discussion of Delphi 8 and it's support for .NET -- which grabbed my attention. Somehow we digressed completely into .NET and I ended up showing a short demonstration of Yukon's deep support of the CLR.

Euro 2004 Tournament Schedule Web Service

Thu, 24 Jun 2004 13:38:37 +0000

My first Web Service published on XMethods.com.

It's a screen-scraper application, but isn't as elegant as RegEx or HTML DOM but it works. Let me know if you want the source.

SQL Server Reporting Services SP1 Released

Wed, 23 Jun 2004 13:23:49 +0000

SP1 includes a variety of improvements to the inital release!

For a list of what's fixed and instructions read KB 839796, KB 842857, and KB 843369. To download SP1, visit this page.

SQL Packager from Red Gate Software

Tue, 22 Jun 2004 16:36:00 +0000

Red Gate just announced their SQL Packager product, which makes packing up and deploying databases a snap. You can package structure, data, or both. It creates a .NET executable which you can walk over to your target machine and double-click. Wizards and templates ensure it appeals to the broad range of SQL professionals.

... just another wonderful product from the company that brought us SQL Compare and ANTS.

SOAP Tracing Tools

Sat, 19 Jun 2004 15:26:49 +0000

If you are doing any serious Web Service development, you'll need a good tracing tool -- something that watches HTTP traffic and logs the requests and resonses, so you can see what SOAP headers and elements are being transfered. Most of these tracing tools work by interception. The tool registers as a port 8080 (for example) listener, collects all inbound and outbound traffic, and then forwards the requests on to port 80 (for example). It can cause a few problems, but they work well for the most part.

Code Complete (2nd Edition)

Sat, 19 Jun 2004 10:27:24 +0000

Steve McConnell's must-own book gets a service pack and hits the street this month.

Read more about it at the official Website, Microsoft Press, and Amazon.com.

How to see your GAC'd assemblies in the "add reference" dialog

Thu, 17 Jun 2004 08:49:26 +0000

I get asked this so often that I'm just going to blog about it. It's not a new trick, but it's not very obvious either. Unfortunately, you have to use the registry to pull this off.

Microsoft has an article (KB 306149) that steps you through it.

Portals for Mere Mortals

Thu, 17 Jun 2004 08:26:44 +0000

Was thinking today of all of the portal options avaiable and decided that there were too many to remember (rule of 7), so I thought I'd enumerate them, with hyperlinks, for future recall.

Did I miss any?

MSI Installs without registering with Add/Remove Programs (ARP)

Wed, 16 Jun 2004 12:32:33 +0000

I had a student ask how to do this, because they have problems with their users dabbling with Control Panel's ARP applet. I suggested a tighter group policy, but went on to research the MSI documentation anyway.

Turns out that there are a number of properties you can set as command line switches during installation. The simplest one that caught my attention was setting ARPSYSTEMCOMPONENT = "1", which treats the install as a system component, rather than a standard desktop application.

Google Email (GMail) having an effect on Yahoo

Tue, 15 Jun 2004 09:21:59 +0000

Looks like Yahoo is supersizing their free email capabilities to 100mb and freeing up many previously inactive addresses in a preemptive strike.

Ain't competition great?

BTW - It looks like 100s, if not 1000s of GMail invites are available on Ebay for upwards of $60 or more. And I've been giving mine away to friends! :-)

The "Unit of Work" Pattern

Tue, 15 Jun 2004 08:53:47 +0000

Had a student ask me about this one today, so I investigated further. It seems that this is the design pattern which keeps a list of objects (or records) affected by a business transaction and coordinates the writing of the changes and the reporting of concurrency problems.

Sounds like a DataSet to me. Here's Fowler's article.

No-Touch deployment in .NET

Mon, 14 Jun 2004 20:45:50 +0000

Wanted to list a few good resources here for this technology:

Chris Sells' article on command line arguments
Launching No-Touch Deployment Applications with Command Line Arguments

Chris Sell's original article is still the best
Security and Versioning Models in the Windows Forms Engine Help You Create and Deploy Smart Clients

Not exactly No-Touch in definition, but in spirit
Updater Application Block for .NET

Delayed Signing of an Assembly

Mon, 14 Jun 2004 20:32:25 +0000

I've known that this process exists, and why to use it, but this article by Craig Wills walks you through it in a very straightforward manor.

Dialpad.com rocks!

Mon, 14 Jun 2004 18:08:29 +0000

So as some of you know, I'm traveling overseas -- in Serbia right now, teaching a .NET architecture class for Microsoft.

So I wanted to call home, and didn't want to pay the 403 Yugoslavia Dinars/1st minute and 553 Dinars/extra minutes because this works out to be $7 and $9.5/minute respectively. I remembered using Dialpad.com (which was free at the time) when I lived in Germany. The quality was so-so, but it was nice to be able to call home for free. Now they are charging for the usage - $ 0.039/minute to call the states, which I'm more than happy to pay and the quality is excellent. Don't believe me? Let me give you call sometime - just email me.

Bletchley Park open to the public

Mon, 14 Jun 2004 16:57:35 +0000

Once the most secret place in Britain, Bletchley Park is now giving the public a first look into the hut where math genius Alan Turing worked on cracking the Nazi's Enigma codes. I would love to visit this, and it turns out that my friend Peter Blackburn lives only about 40 miles from there. Looks like I'll be heading over for a visit soon!

I read in another article that Colossus and its upgrade (Colossus MK2) are also on display.

Microsoft Internet Explorer does not properly validate source of redirected frame

Sun, 13 Jun 2004 22:03:16 +0000

Just heard about this latest exploit from US-Cert

This caught my attention, because I sometimes use frames and redirection. Yikes!

ADO.NET changes in Whidbey (May 2004 CTP)

Sat, 05 Jun 2004 21:13:37 +0000

Dan Fox of Quilogy presented this topic

First, What's not going to be in ADO.NET 2.0 :-(

ObjectSpaces moved to the Longhorn wave
Data Paging - (DbCommand.ExecutePageReader method)
Stand-alone table objects (DbTable and its descendants)
Server cursors - SqlResultSet
Asynchronous connection objects

ObjectSpaces are out (too bad)

Microsoft is building the Microsoft Business Framework (MBF) for Longhorn, using WinFS so it's off until then
Dan is going to demo the ObjectSpaces and the Entitity-to-Database Mapper
OPath is similar to XPath, but is an object way of retrieving subsets of objects
Demo ObjectSpaces and mapper - too bad it's out! :-(

New: XmlAdapter

Unit Testing in Visual FoxPro

Sat, 05 Jun 2004 19:55:04 +0000

FoxUnit is for Visual FoxPro developers interested in test-driven development and agile practices. FoxUnit is being debuted today, here at www.devessentials.com. Their site is www.foxunit.org and you can download the bits!

Extensibility of VFP 9.0

Sat, 05 Jun 2004 19:52:02 +0000

Sitting through Ken Levy's session and he's going over some new, cool features of 9.0 (Beta)

Copying and pasting VFP 9.0 code into some other app (IE, Word) - it keeps the formatting (colors)
New BLOB type in the table and then code REPLACE imagecolumn WITH FILETOSTR(“foxrox.bmp“)
Want to reference a public variable from command window, type M. and intellisense pops up
To show the graphic in a picturebox M.Photoform.Image1.PictureVal = ImageColumn (best to do this through code)
Still a limit of 2gbs for BLOB and Memo fields
VFP 9.0 development on Windows 98 isn't supported, but you should be able to deploy the runtime and app just fine
Tip: to select a control in a container, maybe within another container - hold CTRL + SHIFT and then click on it, rather than Edit.
Anchoring to the edges (like in WinForms) works, but it's a binary number :-(
The good news is that you can extend, and create your own property builder hooks
Member data editor is driven from an XML file, so that you can specify which members have what properties and editors
Foxcode allows a dev to hook any Fox IDE and substitute their own code or forms
BindEvent allows you to bind a VFP IDE event to your own object to run whatever code you need - this may change
Objects can be returned from Valid() events now (rather than just .T., .F., or 0) - so you can do a set focus to another control

More information can be found on the VS Data Team's Weblog

Whidbey (May 2004 CTP) Documentation Bug

Sat, 05 Jun 2004 19:13:23 +0000

Thanks to Fredrik Normen for posting the fix!

The MSDN Library that shipped with the Visual Studio 2005 CTP for May, will not display any documents. It just searches and searches for the content. This can be fixed by doing the following tasks:

Go to C:Program FilesCommon FilesMicrosoft Sharedhelp whidbey
Open the file dexplore.exe.config
Change the following lines:

to:

To make the search function to work, do the following steps:

Continuing with a tradition: The Geek Lunch

Sat, 05 Jun 2004 18:42:55 +0000

Some of my evangelist friends at Microsoft sponser geek dinners, nerd dinners, or pub-clubs, but in Boise, we have the Geek Lunch. We've been meeting sporadically, about once a month at our favorite Chinese restaurant downtown - The Oriental Express (a.k.a. Jimmy's).

Here's a photo of Thursday's meeting. Seated from left to right (clockwise) is: Cory Isakson, Paul Jenkins, Mike Hronek, (Me) Richard Hundhausen, Tim Schaaf, and Ed Lance. Kelly is taking the photo.

Maximizing VPC2004 Performance

Sat, 05 Jun 2004 18:30:53 +0000

Been playing with a lot of beta software lately, so you know what that means - learning all the ins/outs of Virtual PC 2004. I picked up a few cool tricks at Tech-Ed last week, too.

As far as performance tuning, I've got to say, that balancing the memory between the host and guest is important, but as soon as I checked these two boxes (unders Files - Options - Performance from the Virtual PC Console), performance really picked up:

Refactoring To Patterns

Sat, 05 Jun 2004 03:14:48 +0000

Scott Ambler (see earlier posting) recommended this soon-to-be-published book by Addison-Wesley.

Joshua Kerievsky bridges the gap between the practice of refactoring and the art of designing with patterns. The heart of the book is a catalog of 27 refactorings that covers such areas as creation, generalization, simplification, protection and accumulation. The real-world examples in this book illustrate when it makes sense to refactor to a pattern and how low-level refactorings are combined to implement patterns.

Misconceptions about Agile

Sat, 05 Jun 2004 02:19:10 +0000

Scott Ambler (see below) presented this list of agile falsehoods. It's good:

agile = "code and fix"
agile = XP
agilists don't document
agilists don't model
agile results in low quality
agile doesn't scale
agilists ignore enterprise concerns

C# to Delphi converter

Sat, 05 Jun 2004 02:14:09 +0000

BabelCode is a C# to Delphi for .NET code conversion utility. It is extremely experimental and you shoul use it at your own risk.

For example, copy the following code to your clipboard and then try the BabelCode ASP.NET client.

public class Foo
{
string s;

public void Bar()
{
s = s.Trim();
}
}

Microsoft Solutions Framework (MSF) 4.0 Overview

Sat, 05 Jun 2004 02:04:06 +0000

Microsoft announced Visual Studio 2005 Team System last week and part of that system will be a newer, more agile MSF (version 4.0).

Currently, there is only one article on MSF 4.0. I'm sure more will be on the way over the next few months.

Agile Methodology: Enterprise Agile

Sat, 05 Jun 2004 01:48:33 +0000

Thoughtworks is considered to be the leader on Agile methodology on large-scale, enterprise development efforts. Here is a thumbnail (taken from their Website)

These methodologies are most effective in situations where the customer's business and technical requirements will remain fairly static. On an increasing number of strategic software projects, however, prescriptive methods provide neither the flexibility nor the speed-to-market that the enterprise requires. Too often, the end result is not high-value software, but a huge set of analysis artifacts that collect dust on a manager's shelf. That's a far cry from what actually happens at the whiteboards and keyboards... or what the business really needs.

Agile Methodology: Lean Programming

Sat, 05 Jun 2004 01:28:48 +0000

Scott Ambler (see below) mentioned a new methodology that I hadn't heard before - “Lean Programming”. Here are the basic principles:

1. Eliminate Waste
2. Amplify Learning
3. Decide as Late as Possible
4. Deliver as Fast as Possible
5. Empower the Team
6. Build Integrity In
7. See the Whole

Turns out that it's the brainchild of Mary Poppendieck, who has leveraged her vast process experience and written a book.

Visual FoxPro 9.0 Beta released!

Sat, 05 Jun 2004 01:07:47 +0000

Microsoft released VFP 9.0 Beta yesterday. If you are interested, I would recommend first reading the overview, themes, and feature summary and then downloading the VFP 9.0 Beta.

Greetings from DevEssentials

Sat, 05 Jun 2004 01:02:28 +0000

This years conference looks to be really good. This is the 3rd year, and there are many Fox, .NET, and SQL folks here at the Westin Crown Plaza in Kansas City, MO.

Here are some other bloggers at the event: Bill Sempf, Craig Bernston, Jeff Julian, and Dan Fox.

Scott Ambler is just now giving the DevEssentials keynote. He's a methodologist with Ronin International and is going to give us his no-bull, blatant explanations of agile, dispelling some nyths, and listing the more popular methodologies out there.

Microsoft Solution for Internet Business 2.5

Thu, 03 Jun 2004 07:32:36 +0000

It's been on the download site for just over a month, and I haven't blogged about it yet. This is a must have collection of components, documentation, and PAG for anyone trying to wire together Microsoft's current E-Business suite of servers (i.e. BizTalk Server 2004)

Read more about MSIB 2.5 here and then download it here.

Heard a good quote at Tech-Ed

Thu, 03 Jun 2004 00:47:04 +0000

Took me a few days to find the notepad it was written on, as it was at the bottom of my stack of bringhomeables ...

“A ship in the harbor is safe, but that's not what ships are built for.”

Computer Forensics play a big part in a local case

Wed, 02 Jun 2004 07:04:25 +0000

Here in Boise, we've been watching the case of a Saudi Arabian graduate student, Sami Omar Al-Hussayen, accused of using his Internet expertise to rally support for terrorism. The case went to the Jury today. There's a few good articles in the Idaho Statesmen.

What caught my attention was the expert testimony of Curtis Rose, Director of Investigations & Forensics at Sytex. Curtis was hired by the prosecution to study and identify log files and activity on the hard drive of the suspect's computer.

Are you a prostitute or are you a consultant?

Tue, 01 Jun 2004 17:59:35 +0000

Not sure where this list came from, but a few of them hit close to home:

You work very odd hours.
You are paid a lot of money to keep your client happy.
You are paid well but your pimp gets most of the money.
You spend a majority of your time in a hotel room.
You charge by the hour but your time can be extended.
Creating fantasies for your clients is rewarded.
It's difficult to have a family.
If a client beats you up, the pimp just sends you to another client.
People ask you, "What do you do?" and you can't explain it.
Your client pays for your hotel room plus your hourly rate.
Your client always wants to know how much you charge and what they get for the money.
You know the pimp is charging more than you are worth but if the client is foolish enough to pay it's not your problem.
You are rated on your "performance" in an excruciating ordeal.
The client always thinks your "cut" of your billing rate is higher than it actually is, and in turn, expects miracles from you.
When you deduct your "take" from your billing rate, you constantly wonder if you could get a better deal with another pimp.

Don't be "Not most specific"

Tue, 01 Jun 2004 16:51:23 +0000

While teaching C# the other day, it occurred to me that in C#, you can create differing method signatures by playing with the parameter types as well as modifiers (ref or out). This works in C#, because when you call the method using the argument modifiers (ref or out) it selects the appropriate signature; but what about when you call this from Visual Basic .NET?

namespace Hundhausen
{
public class Foo
{
public void Bar(ref string s) {}
public void Bar(string s) {}
}
}

FrameworkInsider.com

Tue, 01 Jun 2004 16:38:59 +0000

Keep your eye on this site. Ken Spencer, a fellow Regional Director, and Richard Weeks - my friends from North Carolina are setting up the site to give us the inside skinny on the .NET Framework.

Many top authors will be submitting articles, notes, and best practices here.

www.frameworkinsider.com

ADOMD.NET Released

Wed, 26 May 2004 18:26:02 +0000

Microsoft released their managed code XML for Analysis compliant data provider last week. I was able to catch part of Carl's presentation at Tech-Ed, where it was mentioned. I am always interested in new managed data providers, as this just increases and validates .NET's capabilities.

I heard about it from Carl Rabeler, Business Intelligence guru at Solid Quality Learning.

WSE 2.0 Released

Wed, 26 May 2004 18:16:54 +0000

Microsoft released WSE 2.0 on Monday. I heard about it at Tech-Ed from fellow Candian Regional Director John Bristowe.

Go and download the Web Services Enhancements (WSE) 2.0 for Microsoft .NET and start using WS-Security (OASIS 2004 standard), WS-Policy, WS-SecurityPolicy, WS-Trust, WS-SecureConversation and WS-Addressing.

This has to be a first with MSN IM

Sun, 23 May 2004 21:31:40 +0000

Ok, here's the situation. I'm currently sitting in the main Tech-Ed building, room 12 of the San Diego Convention center, learning about the RD2005 program and chatting with two friends of mine, Cory Isakson and Scott Cate, who are both at the Westin hotel. They just happen to be sitting at the same table, so I was able to introduce them to each other ... from 6 blocks away!

CodeRush for Visual Studio .NET

Sun, 23 May 2004 17:47:14 +0000

It's only Sunday morning, and already Scott Hanselmann has shown me the coolest of cool VS.NET IDE Add-Ins ... CodeRush!

Forget QuickCode and the (coming) refactoring tools in Whidbey. CodeRush automates coding like no other tool I've seen. Words don't do it justice. Check it out for yourself.

http://www.devexpress.com

June 4 Follow-Up: I just found this photo of Mark Miller, designer of CodeRush, trying to get to Tech-Ed:

Microsoft Certified Trainer - Changes for 2005

Sat, 22 May 2004 23:58:53 +0000

This morning, Ken Rosen, MCT Worldwide Program Manager, showed how Microsoft is raising the bar for 2005. Keeping in mind that the 2005 MCT program guide hasn't been finalized, he delivered to us the following bits of good news:

#1 - Trainer Certification at the Competency Level

Trainers will be identified by their areas of expertise (MCAD, MCSD/VB6, MCSD/.NET, MCSA, MCSE, MCDBA, MCDST, MSF, MOF, etc.) and this will determine which courses may be delivered; some courses may be delivered by trainers from different competencies; some courses may require more than one competency; the final list will be published in the months ahead
Mandatory certification upgrades are gone; for example, MCSD/VB6 will only be allowed to teach those relevant courses; this a way of rewarding early adopters
Here is a list of the competencies:

#2 - Stronger Trainer Quality

So how many PCs are running .NET?

Thu, 20 May 2004 04:22:07 +0000

According to an interview with S. "Soma" Somasegar, VP Developer Division at Microsoft, there are 80,000,000 or more desktops that now have the .NET Framework installed with some 50,000,000 downloads from Windows Update.

Many other interesting metrics and tidbits can be found in the .NET Developer's journal article.

Looks like it's ok to cheat Microsoft in Texas

Wed, 19 May 2004 14:48:50 +0000

Almost two years ago, San Antonio police seized the business and personal assets of former TestKiller.com and TroyTec.com owner Garry Neale during a criminal investigation of a complaint made by Microsoft alleging that he sold Microsoft certification exam questions, in violation of Texas theft of trade secret statutes.

Guess what. The Texas D.A. won't prosecute the alleged braindumper.

Read the whole (ridiculous) story here at CertCities.com

COBOL

Tue, 11 May 2004 18:08:20 +0000

It's been on my mind this week, since I'm teaching C# to the City of Spokane. You see, they are learning ASP.NET so they can migrate away from a COBOL system running on their HP3000, as HP has announced end-of-life for that platform to occur in 2006.

To make a long story short, Spokane's utility billing software on the HP3000 was written by Idaho Computer Service (since renamed to DataNOW). I worked at ICS in the late 80s, and helped with that system. Small world.

Who says Idaho doesn't innovate?

Tue, 11 May 2004 15:19:21 +0000

Sure, we have potatoes, but there are also a few inventors in our state, such as the fine lads at Leavitt & Associates Engineers of Nampa, who have just created a butt-kicking machine ... no, seriously.

Idaho Statesman article

California NBC station article (w/ image slideshow)

Zero sealed classes in Delphi 8

Sun, 09 May 2004 01:30:02 +0000

Listen up Microsoft. Borland has “outbid” you on the openess of their class library.

With the exception of TGCHandleList class, which is only internally availabile to the unit, they don't have any classes which are sealed. As far as final methods, there were zero of those!

Thanks to Jim McKeeth of BSDG for this research on Delphi 8's shared source.

At the movies with ... 3 Leaf!?!

Fri, 07 May 2004 05:00:05 +0000

Cory Isakson sent me this link. Looks like my friends Scott and Sean are now movie producers! :-)

BTW - If you watch five of the flicks and rate them, then you're eligible for Visual Basic .NET 2003 Standard Edition. Check the footnote for details.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/vbasic/atthemovies

BizTalk Server 2004 Developer Competition

Fri, 07 May 2004 03:51:52 +0000

So, you think you know BizTalk Server 2004? Here's your chance to provie it ...

From the site: The purpose of the BizTalk Server 2004 developer competition is to highlight and reward programming excellence using BizTalk Server 2004 and Visual Studio .NET. This is a skill based competition but also includes special prize categories for developers new to BizTalk Server 2004 and Visual Studio .NET.

Click here for more details. Hurry, because all entries must be received by 02:00 AM PT on August 31^st

Took the .NET Security beta exam (C#) last night

Wed, 28 Apr 2004 18:15:14 +0000

Can't say anything specific about exam 71-340, but I would like to offer kudos to Microsoft for actually coming out with such an exam. It's been long overdue and, if more people start following this advice, less apps will make IIS look bad! :-)

The exam, just as the study guide suggested, covered all aspects of a well planned, secure application -- from the planning stages to deploying.

Having just delivered the beta of course 2840 for Microsoft, I figured I was better prepared than anyone on the planet to take the exam. I write the VB.NET version (71-330) tonight.

Free College for Troy McClain

Thu, 22 Apr 2004 16:21:49 +0000

Driving through Redmond, WA Wednesday night and listening to XM Radio, I caught part of Larry King's show on CNN. They had Donald Trump and apprentices doing a post-mortem discussion of the show's first run. I was stunned at the offer that Trump made fellow Boisean Troy McClain. Here's an excerpt from the full transcript, courtesy of CNN.COM.

TRUMP: Well, Larry, you know, speaking to Troy, and I will only do this if I have the unanimous support of all of the other contestants up there, because they were terrific. But I read somewhere where Troy wanted to go back to college. And the problem is, he's got a family. You know, it's hard to afford college. College is expensive. And I will make the offer, only Troy, if everybody else totally accepts this, but I'd like to make the offer to Troy. He'2013-08-28 18:38:23's an unbelievable guy.

KING: What's the offer?

TRUMP: As smart as you can be. The offer is that I will pay for his college education if he wants to go back.

(... snip ...)

TRUMP: ... college education if he were to go back. This guy has amazing potential. And you know, education is a great thing.

(... snip ...)

TRUMP: Congratulations. You better pick a nice, good, expensive college.

(... snip ...)

MCCLAIN: Oh, my God.

Great resource for Regular Expressions (RegEx)

Tue, 20 Apr 2004 23:16:07 +0000

I had a student point out this resource to me. RegExLib.com is the Internet's first Regular Expression Library. They have over 600 expressions from contributors around the world. Check them out.

www.regexlib.com

Why such a kerfuffle over Gmail?

Tue, 20 Apr 2004 23:08:25 +0000

As a Gmail user, I still can't see what the commotion is all about. If you don't like it, don't use it. Simple. Here's a good rant by Tim O'Reilly on the subject.

The Fuss About Gmail and Privacy: Nine Reasons Why It's Bogus

Screenshot of Gmail with email from including the targeted advertisement

Spell Checking on the web - the Easy Way

Tue, 20 Apr 2004 23:05:46 +0000

There are way too many spell checking options out there for the Web. I've seen complex server-side components and I've seen complex client-side components. Some require Microsoft Office to be installed (for the dictionary) and some require an ActiveX control to be downloaded. All of them share one trait -- they require effort on part of the developer ... except for one product ... IESpell.

Check it out. It's free for personal use and can be downloaded and installed by the user. It includes its own dictionary and fires up with a right-click - Spell Check when your mouse is over a Textbox or Textarea. Enjoy.

Star Wars Movie (ASCIIMATION version)

Tue, 20 Apr 2004 22:58:54 +0000

Lately, I've had trouble reaching the original site telnet://towel.blinkenlights.nl -- maybe it shut down, who knows. This week a student of mine, Raine Lightner, located a Web version of this timeless classic and, this time, it looks like it's here to stay, as it's showcased in a nice Web page http://www.asciimation.co.nz/

WS-Security spec finally approved!

Fri, 09 Apr 2004 20:42:58 +0000

The OASIS Web Services Security (WS-Security) technical committee announced that several of its specifications have become OASIS standards.

http://informationweek.securitypipeline.com/news/18900763

WiFi at Carl's Jr.

Thu, 08 Apr 2004 15:28:39 +0000

Ok, so I had lunch at Carl's Jr. the other day. It was across the street from our local Gateway store and, as you may know, they are all closing their doors tomorrow, so I thought I'd find some good deals on PCs, monitors, or (hopefully) plasma televisions -- no such luck. A couple of cables were marked down - that was it.

Anyway, at Carl's Jr. on the door is a sign reading “Free Wireless Internet Access” password: Carls ... can anyone say MCSE + F?

Teoma Search Engine

Tue, 06 Apr 2004 19:03:12 +0000

I’ve been playing with this search engine a bit lately. Although it’s owned by AskJeeves.com, it works pretty good for technical (read: .NET development) searches, as it ranks results based on the popular community sites. I borrowed their explanation of their technology:

“Instead of ranking results based upon the sites with the most links leading to them, Teoma analyzes the Web as it is organically organized—in naturally-occurring communities that are about or related to the same subject—to determine which sites are most relevant. Teoma is the only search technology that can locate communities on the Web within their specific subject areas, as they actually exist. And this allows us to finely tune our search process, providing more precise results."

Cool animated GIF

Tue, 06 Apr 2004 01:12:28 +0000

This has been going around the 'Net and I thought it was pretty unique.

Motorcycle trip through Chernobyl

Sun, 04 Apr 2004 15:59:05 +0000

I remember watching a Nova documentary several years ago titled “Suicide Mission to Chernobyl” in which a Nova film crew revisits Chernobyl and the result is the most bizarre and chilling of all nuclear documentaries. Since robots could not work inside the damaged plant, ordinary Russian soldiers, nicknamed “Bio-Robots”, were sent inside. Current estimates put the death toll at 300,000 people.

Here is a short journal of a Russian girl named Elena who got permission to ride her bike through the Chernobyl “dead zone”, snapping photographs, taking notes, and being careful to use her Dosimeter to ensure that she doesn’t start to glow at certain points along her journey.

Ok, I fell for a good April Fool's joke

Sat, 03 Apr 2004 19:03:13 +0000

While teaching an ASP to ASP.NET migration class this week in New Jersey, I put up my buddy’s Web site, to show an example of a large migration project. Kris Bloom migrated nearly 1500 .ASP pages to .ASPX pages on his site Street Source Magazine.

Anyway, when I brought up his site for my students, I found this page instead. What made it worse, is that my server (the one hosting this blog) is about 1 meter away from Kris’ servers. Needless to say, I turned white on the spot and had to stop my lecture and call Kris on the phone.

Troy got Fired?!?

Sat, 03 Apr 2004 18:59:21 +0000

While in New Jersey this week, I happened to turn on NBC Thursday night just as the Donald pointed his stinky finger at Troy McClain. His logic didn’t make sense, if he is in fact looking for a leader. I won’t get into a rant here, but let’s not forget what day Thursday was (1 April) and maybe this was just a kind of joke.

A small "Windows XP Box"

Sat, 03 Apr 2004 18:55:58 +0000

If you ever find yourself in need of a small footprint, Windows XP machine, you might replicate what this guy has done. http://www.mini-itx.com/projects/windowsxpbox

Borland's C# Builder wins "Best Development Tool"

Sun, 28 Mar 2004 17:54:47 +0000

At the Visual Studio Magazine Readers Choice Awards last week at VS Live, Borland’s C# Builder won the category of “Best Development Tool”. Congratulations to the Borland .NET team!

The whole list of winners can be found at http://www.fawcette.com/reports/vslivesf/2004/awards

Corporate Bingo

Sat, 27 Mar 2004 19:48:57 +0000

Been on the road and haven't been blogging lately -- my apologies.

Had a student show me this site and this game. It's called Corporate Bingo, and you print out these cards, and when you attend those boring staff meetings or conference calls, you wait until the buzz words are spoken, mark the word off, and the first to win (standard Bingo rules) give out a hollar!

http://www.corporatebingo.org

Anybody want to refactor for a geek version?

Programmer Quote of the Day

Fri, 12 Mar 2004 17:19:43 +0000

“What all software developers really want is a rigorous, iron-clad, hide-bound, concrete, universal, absolute, total, definitive, and complete set of process rules that they can break.“

- Philip G. Armour (provided by Dave “Turbo“ Armga)

He'2013-08-28 18:38:26's not fired!

Fri, 12 Mar 2004 16:28:13 +0000

Don't know how many of you watch The Apprentice on NBC, but I had the privilege of watching it at a private party with Troy McClain of Boise.

That's right, he's a guy from Boise, and he's doing very well. Last night, Donald Trump's axe just missed him, and came down on his colleague, Heidi instead. You could hear a pin drop in the room of 40 or so when the Donald made his decision.

Fonts for coding

Wed, 10 Mar 2004 22:00:11 +0000

Jim McKeeth, of the Boise Software Developer's Group, recently wrote about some cool fonts designed specifically for coding. For example, they emphasize the difference between the curley brackets "{}" and regular parenthesis "()".

The font is called ProFont, and is specifically designed for programmers with the following attributes: looks good small, monospaced, and has highly distinguishable characters and symbols. Sheldon is another similar font.

Read the original article here and download the fonts here.

Why "Longhorn"?

Sat, 06 Mar 2004 15:44:08 +0000

I just read an article in the March 2004 issue of PC World magazine. Yes, I know, it was a slow day in the airport and I wasn't reading a .NET magazine.

Windows XP was code-named Whistler (a British Columbia ski resort)
Windows (far future) is code-named Blackcomb (also a British Columbia ski resort)
Windows (near future) is named Longhorn, after the Longhorn Saloon and Grill, situated between the two resorts. Give them a call at (604) 932-5999 and be sure to order the Avalon platter with a side of XAML fries!

DevEssentials 2004

Tue, 02 Mar 2004 22:19:36 +0000

Looks like my abstracts were approved for DevEssentials. I'll see you all in Kansas City this June.

www.devessentials.com

What was I doing last week?

Tue, 02 Mar 2004 20:31:34 +0000

Many of you have asked, so I've decided to blog about it. Last week, I flew to Tampa to record some computer training videos on C# as well as an intro to .NET, Visual Studio.NET, and the MCSD certification program. I worked 8 days straight, breaking my own rule of no Sunday work, but the end product is going to look good. Presenting technical concepts to a couple of cameras can be tough, but by mid-week I got the hang of it. To make up for having zero (0) students last week, I have 21 students this week in my ADO.NET class (woof!)

Study: Very few bloggers on NET

Mon, 01 Mar 2004 23:29:05 +0000

Damn, I thought there were a lot of us out there, but I guess not. The CNN article quotes a source, saying only 2-7% of us adult web users maintain a blog.

CNN Article

Happy Leap Year

Sun, 29 Feb 2004 13:54:49 +0000

In case you didn't catch Google's banner today ...

New .NET Security Exams

Sat, 28 Feb 2004 13:52:18 +0000

I was just emailed an invite to take the beta exams 71-330 and 71-340, Implementing Security for Applications with Visual Basic .NET and Visual C# .NET, respectively. Update: The exams do not open for Beta until April 24th thru May 4th.

These exam will count as elective credit towards the MCSD or MCAD certification. These are beta exams, so although the are free, each exam takes about 4 hours, because you're seeing all the questions that would go into the pool. Some questions will get tossed out before the exam goes live. Microsoft is planning on producing some associated learning products, namely a course, #2840, Developing Secure Applications and a Microsoft Press Training Kit.

Jupiter RTMs!

Fri, 27 Feb 2004 16:42:07 +0000

Heard through the back-channel that BizTalk Server 2004 RTM'd earlier this week, which is good considering that it launches next Tuesday in Mountain View, California! I wish I could be there, but I'll be sermonizing ADO.NET in Phoenix.

Here's the link, although I'm not sure how long it will be good - http://metrofx.com/svspeakerseries

TEPMIS wins ComputerWorld honors

Thu, 26 Feb 2004 02:41:11 +0000

I've been meaning to post this for some time. Last year, the Windows DNA software project that I helped architect and design while I lived in Germany was recognized and won a couple of awards!

You can download TEPMIS' case study in PDF form or view it online. The short explanaition is that it is a “Worldwide consolidation of information about current events in Europe and Africa, gathered from multiple sources including all branches of the military, supports automated production of briefing books and slide presentations that assure the commanders know what the current situation is.“

Sun's "Project Looking Glass"

Thu, 26 Feb 2004 02:30:33 +0000

Can anyone say Longhorn? It appears that Sun's Looking Glass project will run on Java, and support a 3d desktop and API. Sun will support Linux and Solaris, but not Windows. Here's their pitch:

“What if windows were translucent so that you could see the multiple windows you're working on at the same time? What if you could tack a note to yourself right on the Web page you're viewing? What if your CD or movie database became a 3D jukebox, where titles were joined with images to make finding what you want easier than ever?

Sun Microsystems' latest innovations by its Advanced Software Technology Team will make these "what-ifs" a reality for the desktop of the near future. Code-named Project Looking Glass, these Java technology-based developments will bring 3D windowing capabilities to the desktop to offer a far richer user experience for work and play. But, it's not only about looks, it'2013-08-28 18:38:27's about creating an engaging user experience, one that can make communications and collaboration even easier.“

Watch Jonathan Schwartz, Executive Vice President, Software of Sun Microsystems, Inc. demonstrate Project Looking Glass at Sun Network San Francisco 2003. You can download and watch the demo here.

ActiveTraining.de

Thu, 26 Feb 2004 02:19:44 +0000

My Visual Basic author friend Peter Monadjemi has a Web site! He sent me the link the other day, and I've been meaning to post it. Peter has written nearly 30 books, mostly on Visual Basic. That, and he's a really cool guy to boot. He lives in Munich -- just a few minutes from my favorite brewery on the planet (www.andechs.de)

House of Borg

Wed, 25 Feb 2004 14:48:16 +0000

I had the privilege of seeing where Mr. Borg keeps his belongings. To say that he lives there would be going a bit far, as the man travels more than I do. Next time I'm in Seattle, I'm definitely taking him up on his offer to stay there -- especially now that I know where he hides the key.

Exhaustive List of .NET Languages

Mon, 23 Feb 2004 02:17:31 +0000

From time to time, you'll hear me quote that the .NET Framework runs the 5 Microsoft Languages (C#, VB.NET, J#, C++, and JScript.NET) plus around 25-30 other, 3rd party languages. Well, I decided to search for an actual list of languages, and found Brian Ritchie's exhaustive list:

http://www12.brinkster.com/brianr/languages.aspx

Cool thing is that most of the above links work and he quotes his sources at the bottom.

Boise .NET User Group Meeting

Fri, 20 Feb 2004 21:40:15 +0000

Last night's meeting was the best yet. Cory makes a great president. We had 18 people, which is quite a large group for Boise.

Could it be that everyone came to see my presentation on Whidbey/Yukon, or was it that it was at a new, high-tech facility west of Boise, near Nampa? Probably both.

www.netdug.com

Scalable Development Inc.

Thu, 19 Feb 2004 16:43:28 +0000

I just wanted to throw out a quick plug for my buddy Wally McClure and his company. I've known Wally for a couple of years now and respect him as an author, .NET/SQL wonk, and a consultant with that entrepeneur spirit.

Wally presents at user groups around the country, just like me. He's slated to give a presentation on Yukon tonight at East Tennessee .NET Users Group (in Knoxville).

BTW - Here is his book

T-Mobile to open a call center in Boise

Fri, 13 Feb 2004 04:35:18 +0000

Not only will this help Boise's economy by brining 600 more jobs and some tech to the area, but I'll be able to drive across town and ring someone's neck when my service falters -- much more satisfying!

Here's the press release.

Whidbey Enterprise Tools - Technical Preview

Wed, 11 Feb 2004 00:05:38 +0000

I'm wrapping up a two day technical preview of Whidbey Enterprise Tools. Early Adopters and a few authors were invited. I noticed Rocky Lhotka, Brian Randell. My buddy Dave Nielson from PayPal was there tool.

Whidbey's Enterprise Tools encompasses many, many new designers -- of which Whitehorse is only a small piece.

I'd love to tell you more, but you'll have to wait until the TechEd timeframe.

.NET Developers Association - General Meeting at Microsoft

Tue, 10 Feb 2004 23:54:52 +0000

Last night I attended the general meeting of the .NET Developer's Association. There were two fantastic presentations.

The first presnetation was on RSS and syndication of blogs. It was given by Microsoft's most prolific blogger, Robert Scoble, and the guy who designed the RSS spec, Dave Winer -- a fellow at the at Berkman Center for the Internet & Society at Harvard Law School . I can safely say that I know a lot more about RSS and syndication now, although I'm still a bit fuzzy on how a specification based on XML can get away with not having a schema.

Will Google ever IPO?

Sun, 08 Feb 2004 02:31:33 +0000

I had hoped it was to be this Spring, but looks like it'll be a bit later than that. This article speculates that if/when it happens, Google will be valued at $20b ;-)

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,9075-981726,00.html

Remembering Phil Katz

Wed, 04 Feb 2004 20:04:57 +0000

While teaching my C# students about passing command-line parameters to console applications, I remember a favorite command line utility of mine from days gone past. More importantly, I remember meeting the man who invented this popular compression utility. His name was Phil Katz and I had the opportunity to meet this cultural icon at ComDex in 1991.

Sadly though, he died at a young age of 37. You can read the story here.

Arizona .NET User Group Presentation

Wed, 04 Feb 2004 16:39:43 +0000

Last night I presented a few topics on ADO.NET 2.0 and the SQLCLR to the Arizona .NET User Group (www.azdnug.com).

It was a fun evening with about 30+ folks in attendance, and all eager to see Whidbey and Yukon in action. I began by explaining what VirtualPC is, and why it's important for running alpha and beta software on a production laptop!

I demonstrated 3 areas - (1) drag/drop data-binding, showing the new DbTable, Form DataSources, and DataSet editor, (2) SqlNotification object, allowing a form to be notified when a change to the data has been made on the back-end, and (3) how to create and host a User Defined Function (UDF) in Yukon -- one that was written in VB.NET.

Borland Brain Drain Continues

Wed, 04 Feb 2004 15:41:29 +0000

Being an ex-Borland afficionado, (remember, my email is delphi@delphi.org), this story on eWeek caught my attention. I have mix feelings about it.

It seems that two of Borland's top engineers, Blake Stone and Chuck Jazdzewski are heading to Microsoft. Chuck attended college in the Boise area, and still visits our user group from time to time. According to the article, he'll be joining the Avalon team on Longhorn (next version of Windows).

Remember that it wasn't too many years ago that Microsoft made Anders Hejlsberg an “offer he couldn't refuse“. This lead to the defection of Anders and a couple dozen other Borland employees to Microsoft. Today, we have him to thank for C#.

Using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) for SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services

Tue, 03 Feb 2004 21:39:45 +0000

MSDN just posted a new article online. It was written by my friends Peter Blackburn (Boost Data Ltd.) and Bill Vaughn
(Beta V Corporation) and explains what SSL security is, why it's important to SQL Reporting Services and, most importantly, how to install and configure a certificate to secure your connections to your Reporting Services server.

Rumor has it that they are working on a Reporting Services book that should be quite good reading.

TechFusion 2004

Tue, 03 Feb 2004 00:36:13 +0000

Found out today that my friends at TechSages, Inc. are putting on two TechFusion events this year. These are great events -- very developer focused. It looks like one of these events will be in Atlanta, GA in May and Raleigh-Durham, NC in June.

Content Management Server 2002

Mon, 02 Feb 2004 06:14:12 +0000

It seems that Microsoft is blitzing the market with SharePoint Portal Server 2003, BizTalk Server 2004, and Content Management Server 2002 training. Can anyone say Jupiter? I figured I needed to brush up on my CMS knowledge, so I'm reading Microsoft Content Management Server 2002: A Complete Guide. It turns out that I know Olga Londer. She is a co-author of this book, and I have met and talked with her at the last Author's Summit as well as the PDC.

Installed Das Blog

Sun, 01 Feb 2004 17:43:39 +0000

That's right, I've joined the growing ranks of bloggers out there.

Today, after much convincing from my friends Cory Isakson and Jorg Freiburger, I am keeping a journal online.

This *may* have something to do with my recent appointment by Microsoft as a Regional Director and a certain bookkeeping requirement, but you'll have to guess that on your own.