(TFS) Build Tweeter – Now your Team Foundation Server/TeamBuild can tweet too

CodePlex - Twitter Build Publisher

“Project Description
A windows service that monitors build results from Team Build and posts updates to Twitter. It also monitors build Quality Change events and posts these to Twitter as well.

This project was originally written to support the DevGarten community project run during Microsoft Tech.Ed Australia 2008 and is now available for people to play with and have fun with, so enjoy!

…

Acknowledgements
This project utilises the hard work of TwitterN library and borrows the Readify TFS helper library used by the TFS Deployer project.”

The very cool TFS subscription services is something that has interested me since TFS came out. There’s some pretty cool stuff you can do with it, as this project demonstrates.

So why would you want to use this project? Well lets just say there’s a turf battle going on that is blocking the implementation of email alerts being sent by your TFS server. Someone doesn’t want to open the port, configure the email settings, allow forwarding, it’s taking weeks and weeks to get email alerts working, etc, etc (not that I’m speaking from personal experience or anything… :|  ). BUT you really need to know the status of your builds, as they are built. That’s where a utility like this can come in handy.

How do you turn on Logging/Log Files when installing an MSI? Oh yeah, /L or via the Registry…

Microsoft Deployment Technology - Windows Installer Engine

“…

Diagnostic logging

Windows Installer supports logging can be enabled in the following ways:

• Command-line: If installing an MSI package from the command-line, the /L switch can be used to enable logging. For example, the following command installs Package.msi and outputs verbose logging to c:\Package.log:

msiexec /i Package.msi /l*v c:\Package.log

• Windows Registry: The following registry value can be used to enable verbose logging:

Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer

Value Name: Logging

Type: REG_SZ

Data: voicewarmup

The resulting log is named MSI###.log (where "###" is a unique random identifier) and is placed in the user's Temp directory (the 'temp' directory location is per-user, and is pointed to by the environment variable %temp%).”

Logging of an MSI installing is one of those things I just don’t do enough to remember how to do it when I need too. I figure if I capture it here, there’s a higher chance that I’ll be able to find it in the future… ;)

One thing that was news to me was that you could turn on logging via the Registry (“voicewarmup”? lol). That seems like a useful hack for when installing MSI’s via double-clicking, etc.

Free as in eBook - “The Definitive Guide to Building a Windows Server 2008 Infrastructure” (Reg-ware)

Realtime Nexus - The Definitive Guide to Building a Windows Server 2008 Infrastructure

“…You’ll learn about the features of Server 2008 that should be implemented as soon as possible.  At the same time, you’ll come away with an understanding of those where you might want to steer clear, or merely put on the back-burner for a little while.  

Whether you are interested in Server Manager, Active Directory, Storage Management, Server Core, Group Policy, Terminal Services, Security, or High Availability and Clustering, The Definitive Guide to Building Windows Server 2008 Infrastructure is your resource for understanding the value of Server 2008 and getting it implemented into your infrastructure in the best way possible.  This guide uses plain English and plenty of real-world examples to show you the steps necessary to get it up and running as well as the best ways to manage it over the long term.

Access to this expert publication is offered at no charge to readers. Available chapters may be downloaded in PDF format.”

Chapters 1-7 (of 9) are currently available, either as single chapter PDF’s or in one combined PDF (184 pages)

(via Yet Another Blog - by Jean-Hubert TALY - Free Windows Server 2008 eBook! [French / English])

If that email is supposed to be private, then really make it private, encrypt it! And Comodo is offering free Personal Certificates to help you do just that…

Huddled Masses - Be a responsible geek - encrypt your email (free)

“…

Anyway. The point of this email is to point out that Comodo (one of the biggest SSL Certificate vendors, and one who’s trust certificates are pre-installed on Windows) is giving away free secure email certificates which you can use in Outlook, Thunderbird, or whatever your favorite email client is. They’re actually on the recommendation list from Microsoft, but inexplicably listed under “other” office versions (they work fine in Outlook 2007, just to be clear).

All you need to do now is run off and sign up and then tell all your friends and family to do the same thing.”

Once you run through it once (which Comodo helps you with), setting up and using encrypted emails is not hard at all, at least in my email client of choice, Outlook. It takes a little coordination with friends and family, but again, once past the initial setup phase (i.e. their getting their own certs, adding your public key to their Contact list, etc) using it is easy as pie (why is pie easy?)

And let me tell you, encrypted emails are a pain if you’re on the outside trying to peek into them. Professionally I’ve had to deal with encrypted emails, and if you don’t have a certificate to decrypt the email, then you are pretty much out of luck (unless you have the NSA behind you, etc). Once you encrypt an email, ONLY the person with the right key can decrypt it.

It works by using Public/Private key encryption. You use someone’s Public key to encrypt an email and then the only way to decrypt it is via that person’s Private key (which is something they keep very secure and secret)

It’s this Public key exchange that is the initial hard part.

The way I’ve found it easiest, is to send them a Digitally Signed email. This email will contain your Public key (which can then be used to verify that email has not been tampered with in transmission). Once they get that message, in Outlook, I have them right click on my name and “Add to Contacts”. This will take my Public key and add it to their Contacts record of me/my email address (or update their record of me, adding my Public key to it).

From then on, Outlook will be smart and when they send me (i.e. that same email address) an encrypted message, Outlook will look up my Public key in their Contacts list and use that. All auto-magically and with no fuss or muss…

While it’s not super easy, it’s really not all that hard either and the security you gain is hard to beat.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Don’t loose your Certificates (your Private key)! Without that you WILL NOT be able to open those encrypted emails that were sent to you…

If no one is there, is it really a user group meeting? Yep! If it’s virtual at least…

Team System User Group – Virtual Edition (TSUG-VE)

“The Team System Users Group (TSUG) Virtual Edition (VE) is dedicated to creating a community for Microsoft’s Visual Studio Team System users and enthusiasts wherever they may be. The group will provide a social forum, education opportunities at all levels, and the ability to share our Team System successes and stories with each other

There are other Visual Studio Team System User Groups around… Why is TSUG-VE different? The answer is simple - by going virtual now all people can participate regardless of where they live.

…

TSUG VE for Second Life will meet online every month. We will target the third Thursday of each month at 6PM SLT but times and dates may vary based on holidays and speaker availability. Sign up and we will send you a monthly email reminding you of the time, the topics and speakers, and the SLURL to join the meeting.

…”

I just got “back” from my first virtual user group meeting and I have to say it was pretty interesting. Why? Well the venue was cool (i.e. Second Life), but it was the out of band discussions and interactivity that really made it sing.

Yeah, yeah, we’ve heard that before. Everyone who blogs or casts about virtual user group meetings seem to say that, but until you experience it, you might not get the real feel of it. Think real life (RL) meeting, but where instead of that person who is banging away on their notebook is being rude, that’s the expected behavior! Instead of having to change your focus from person to person in the meeting, from screen to whiteboard to paper to notebook, it’s all there in one place, right there on your PC. And also no one can see when you have to leave to get another drink (err… of…um… soda… yeah… )

Is it perfect? Oh no. But then again, when are RL meetings perfect? Both seem to have there people and PC problems, it’s just that in virtual meetings they might be magnified a little (i.e. one bad mic can really test you… yes, CSharp, I’m looking at you… lol…  ;)

Still given the convenience and coolness of it, I’m pretty much hooked.

If you’re looking for Team System and/or Team Foundation Server information, TSUG-VE is a resource you should check out…

Blacklight – The Silverlight UX code sharing project (aka “Mass hysteria, Developers and Designers living (in the UX) together…”)

CodePlex – Blacklight

“What is Blacklight?

Blacklight is a UX focused code sharing project. Microsoft has released a bunch of technologies that allow designers and developers to work closely together to make beautiful software. This project is a collection of controls, samples, visual assets and ideas that has been put together by User Experience designers and developers to both show you what the technology is capable of (from a UX point of view), and give you code and samples that you can use in your own projects, completely free of charge (see the License tab above). Check out the showcase to see what is currently available...

…

What technologies are currently supported by Blacklight?

Currently, our controls, samples and showcase are built in Silverlight 2 Beta 2. Over time we will add more stuff for WPF, ASP.NET AJAX, XNA, Windows Mobile, Surface etc.

Who should use Blacklight?

Blacklight is intended for designers and developers using Microsoft's rich UI technologies. Whether you are after a specific control or visual asset or are interested in how we put something together, just grab the latest release and use as you wish!

…”

Blacklight - v0.1 (Launch release)

“…

Release Notes

This is the launch release of Blacklight.Silverlight. This release works for Silverlight 2 Beta 2 and includes 3 projects...
- Blacklight.Silverlight.Controls: The main silverlight controls project.
- Blacklight.Silverlight.Demo: The showcase application.
- Blacklight.Sivlerlight.Web: The web project for hosting the demo application.
See the showcase here: http://mightymeaty.members.winisp.net/blacklight.silverlight/

CONTROLS AVAILABLE IN THIS RELEASE:

- AnimatedContentControl: a base class for content controls whos size and position can be animated using some helper methods. (http://blogs.msdn.com/mgrayson/archive/2008/06/23/silverlight-2-samples-animating-controls.aspx)
- MediaPlayer: a simple media player I built for use on my blog. http://blogs.msdn.com/mgrayson/archive/2008/08/20/my-new-silverlight-media-player-for-my-blog.aspx)
- DragDockPanel / DragDockPanelHost: panel controls for creating a dashboard style layout. (http://blogs.msdn.com/mgrayson/archive/2008/08/29/silverlight-2-samples-dragging-docking-expanding-panels-part-3.aspx)
- OuterGlowBorder: A border style control that draws an outer glow around the outside with properties to change the appearance.
- WebLink: A text block style control that underlines on hover, and navigates to a web Url.

…”

blacklight showcase

I am all about leveraging the skills of others to make my stuff look good… Look, why reinvent the wheel when you can just steal someone else's? (err… um… I mean… um… yeah… ;)

(via Martin Grayson: Adventures of a 'Devigner' - Introducing Blacklight - our new (Silverlight) CodePlex project)

SlickEdit Tools 2.0.3 Released (aka the SVN goodness release)

SlickEdit -SlickEdit Tools 2.0.3 is now available

“Enhancements in SlickEdit Tools v2.0.3

* Subversion libraries have been updated to version 1.5.0.
* Added SSL support to SVN client for accessing repositories under https:// protocol.
* Added a directory filter to DIFFzilla for performing directory comparisons,  which allows you to exclude source control admin directories. Defaults are  .svn and CVS.
* Fixes to Visualizations and File History in the Versioning Toolbox.
* Improvements to support sharing Code Annotations between SlickEdit 2008 and SlickEdit Tools Editing Toolbox.” [Post leached in full]

Some nice tweaks if your using the SVN functionality (like say with CodePlex SVN…  ;)

 

Related Past Post XRef:
SlickEdit Tools 2.0.2 Released
SlickEdit Releases two new Toolboxes, the Editing and Versioning Toolboxes

 

Free (as in Beer) Introducing SQL Server 2008 eBook (Reg-ware)

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 – Learning Portal - Introducing Microsoft SQL Server 2008

Learn about major new features in SQL Server 2008 including security, administration, and performance.

Introducing Microsoft SQL Server 2008:
Chapter 1: Security and Administration
Chapter 2: Performance
Chapter 3: Type System
Chapter 4: Programmability
Chapter 5: Storage
Chapter 6: Enhancements for High Availability
Chapter 7: Business Intelligence Enhancements

…”

Once you sign up, you’ll eventually get to their pdf_loader.CFM page, which I guess is their kind of weird, DRM related PDF wrapper thing. Personally I just hit CTRL-F to display the toolbar and then saved the PDF to another location on my HD (so I could easily refer back to it in the future, etc, etc)

If you’re new to SQL Server 2008, this looks like a resource that’s hard to beat.

(via mike dopp – tweet)

Windows Live Photo Gallery Flickr Plug-in (C# Soup to Nuts sample)

Microsoft Downloads - Sample Flickr Plug-in for Windows Live Photo Gallery

“Sample Flickr Plug-in for Windows Live Photo Gallery
This plug-in supplements the Windows Live Photo Gallery SDK documentation.

Version:	5027.0908
Date Published:	9/17/2008
Language:	English
Download Size:	1.2 MB - 2.5 MB*

To supplement the Windows Live Photo Gallery Publish SDK documentation, this fully functional publishing plug-in sample is available for download. This sample demonstrates end-to-end publishing plug-in functionality, illustrates plug-in best practices, and provides a set of reusable code that can be adapted to a variety of plug-in projects. The sample is implemented in C#, and is provided as a complete Visual Studio 2008 project. The "PluginSample.msi" download is the compiled version of the sample. The “PluginSampleSource.MSI” download is the working project for the sample and is intended only as a supplement to Microsoft Development Tools and/or on-line documentation.

Important notes:
This sample plug-in uses the Flickr API but is not endorsed or certified by Flickr.
The graphics included in this sample are provided as examples only, and may not be re-used or redistributed.

…”

One of the coolest things about many of the Live tools (like my fav Windows Live Writer) is their extensibility. Being able to plug in new functionality adds an entirely new dimension to the tools, turning them from static “it is what it is” utilities into dynamic works in progress. (Wow… maybe I should get a job in marketing!  LOL… Okay, maybe not… ;)

I’m a little behind in the Live Wave 3 beta news (which officially started this morning), but this was the first I heard that the Live Photo Gallery had an SDK and a publish plug-in capability. That’s pretty cool…

BTW here’s the Windows Live Photo Gallery SDKs, brought to you via the new Photo  Gallery Dev site and Windows Live Photo & Video Blog - Next version of Windows Live.

Adding some Silverlight to your Chrome (aka Living on the bleeding Chrome edge)

Jon Galloway - Running Silverlight 2 on Google Chrome using the Chrome Dev Channel

“When Google Chrome first came out and I read that it used Webkit, the same rendering engine that powers Safari, I tried browsing a few Silverlight 2 sites. It kind of worked, as long as the sites didn’t exclude browsers that weren’t on Microsoft’s official Silverlight support list. The controls loaded, but didn’t animate or update smoothly. While Microsoft still isn’t officially supporting Silverlight on Chrome, Chrome’s latest Dev Build (0.2.151.2) includes some specific fixes to support Silverlight 2 Beta 2. The information about the updates is in the release notes, specifically revision 1735:

The basic issue here was that the plugin would not paint correctly. The URLs mentioned in this bug load windowed silverlight plugin instances, which invoke the NPN_InvalidateRect API to paint. We send over the rects to the renderer, however these don't generate paints as the plugin is windowed. A peek at Safari's webkit implementation revealed that they merely invoke the InvalidateRect windows API in this context.

I followed the link in Jonas Follesø’s post over to the Chromium Developer instructions for running the Chrome developer build, which are really simple:

…”

Jon, in his usual outstanding style, provides tips and screenshots on how to switch your Chrome on to the “Dev Channel”. Meaning instead of beta version you’ll auto-update to the Dev/Alpha/Bleeding Edge versions, where Silverlight is working (better).

Run to Run As Radio for a great SQL Server 2008 FILESTREAM show

Run As Radio - Paul Randal Talks File Streams in SQL Server 2008!

“Richard and Greg talk to Paul Randal about the new file stream technology in SQL Server 2008. File streams provide a solution to very large files being connected with SQL Server transactionally while still storing the files themselves in the file system, rather than the database. Check out Paul's blog at http://www.sqlskills.com/blogs/paul

…”

I just caught this cast and consider it a “must listen” if you’re thinking about, looking into, working on, etc the new FILESTREAM attribute in SQL Server 2008.

Paul talks about the DBA/IT side of FILESTREAM, things you might never think about (like turning off 8.3 file name creation, etc) as well as other like subjects. From drive spec’s to installing it (it’s a two part job), to when you should/shouldn’t use it to actually using it in your tables. Lots of great info crammed into 35 minutes.

Related Past Post XRef:
SQL Server 2008 FILESTREAM Attribute from Start to C#
SQL Server 2008, the FILESTREAM Attribute and Partitioning - Apparently not as easy as it looks (yet at least)...
A future world without the SQL Server Image/Text/NText data types. Now's the time to start planning for that future...
SQL Server 2008 FILESTREAM - Writing a file to a FILESTREAM column
More SQL Server 2008 FileStream Fun
Playing with the SQL Server 2008 FileStream Attribute

Microsoft Pro Photo Tools v2 Released (actually 2.2) – Geo-locate your pictures the draggy-droppy way

Microsoft Downloads - Microsoft Pro Photo Tools version 2

“Tools for editing metadata in photographs including latitude, longitude, and other location details.

Version:	2.2
Date Published:	9/15/2008
Language:	English
Download Size:	39 KB - 5.0 MB*

The Pro Photo Tools allow you to add, change, and delete common metadata properties for digital photographs. You can place photos on the Live Earth map and then drag them to the right location. The GPS information will be stored back into the photos. If you have a GPS device, you can load track route files from the most popular formats (NMEA, GPX, and KML) and see them on the map. Then you can place your photos on the track route. Again, the GPS info will be stored into your file. When you have the right GPS location for your photos, you can automatically generate location info like country, state, city and even street names. Or if you know the location where a picture was taken, you can type it in and get the GPS location information automatically.

…”

As I take more and more digital pictures (and as Santa is mostly going bring us a new camera this Christmas) and hike/walk more I am getting more interested in geo-tagging. I dig the thought that simple location metadata in the images could be used in so many ways…

For instance, I would really like to see a way that Photosynth could reach out and grab other pictures from the same location to flesh out a Synth. And that’s one example… Just think of the coolness that could be created by combining the “worlds” images of a given location. And geo-tagging/geo-locating the images is just the first step in this.

 

Related Past Post XRef:
Easily Geo-locate your photo's with the free Microsoft Pro Photo Tools 1.0 utility

Clarius T4 Editor 1.0 RTMs

GarethJ's WebLog - Clarius' T4 Editor ships V1.0

“Victor pinged me to say that Clarius had launched their eagerly-awaited T4 editor for Visual Studio.

That's pretty exciting news for all those of use who edit T4 templates on a daily basis - that's almost everyone these days, right? ;-)

…”

 

The Community Edition is still free, with the Professional version available for $99.

 

I have a number of T4 related posts queued up to reblog about, as I think this is a hidden gem within Visual Studio, one that not enough people know about let alone take advantage of…

 

Related Past Post XRef:
Interested in template based code generation? Own Visual Studio 2008? Then guess what? You already have one... Say hello to the Text Template Transformation Toolkit (T4)

CodePlex via SVN (For real, no local client bridge/proxy is required anymore…)

CodePlex Weblog - CodePlex launches support for TortoiseSVN

“CodePlex is now offering server support for SvnBridge, the tool that enables TortoiseSVN to talk to Team Foundation Server. Support for Subversion has been our number one requested feature, and by hosting SvnBridge, our users can now use their favorite Subversion client with any project.

…

Our first versions of SvnBridge have required client-side installations, meaning that TortoiseSVN users first had to install and run SvnBridge prior to interacting with the CodePlex source code repository. Having to start the SvnBridge software prior to every session has been the primary cause of dissatisfaction with our TortoiseSVN support.

Starting today, TortoiseSVN will just work as illustrated below, no extra software is necessary to work with CodePlex.

Setting up TortoiseSVN to use CodePlex

For users experienced with using TortoiseSVN, it is as simple as knowing the URL to use.

https://<projectname>.svn.codeplex.com/svn

…”

Okay, that’s just cool. The CodePlex team just keeps the hits rolling.

I use CodePlex because it’s really just drop dead easy to use it from within Visual Studio. I mean why not use it? This update will broaden CodePlex’s appeal, opening it to a wider development audience while lowering the barrier to entry.

Thanks to Scott for the heads up on this. I had thought this was related to the older SVN stuff from CodePlex and didn’t realize this was a new server only, no-local install/proxy/bridge implementation until he brought it up and made me take a closer look at it.

(also via DotNetKicks - CodePlex launches support for TortoiseSVN)

StackOverflow now in open public beta – Go forth and Q&A

StackOverflow - Then a Miracle Occurs - Public Beta

“stackoverflow.com is now live and open to the public, as a public beta.

…”

Yep, that’s right the cool development/programmer Question and Answer site from Jeff Atwood and Joel Spolsky, that you’ve been hearing about on the StackOverflow podcast, is now open to the world.

Get started on the badges boys and girls… ;)

(via Alvin Ashcraft’s Morning Dew - Dew Drop - September 15, 2008)