Did you know you can use Amazon’s SimpleDB for free? (Just keep the data and transfer below 1GB per month, and keep the queries limited)

Amazon Web Services Blog - Don't Forget: You Can Use Amazon SimpleDB For Free!

“We polled the attendees at a recent Amazon SimpleDB webinar and found that over half of them didn't know that they could start using the service for free. That's a shame because SimpleDB is easy to use, scales easily to handle high request rates, and is available in our US and EU regions.

You can keep up to 1 gigabyte of data in SimpleDB without paying any storage fees. You can transfer 1 GB of data and use up to 25 Machine Hours to process your queries each month. This should be sufficient to allow you to issue about 2 million PutAttribute or Select calls per month.

We have pages of SimpleDB sample code and libraries, plenty of SimpleDB articles and tutorials, and some really good SimpleDB documentation.

…”

Wow, I don’t think I knew this (lol obviously! ;) I like free. I wonder how I can use this to store personal information and stuff? hum…

Make sure you click though to the samples as there’s a good bit of stuff there.

Amazon SimpleDB - Category: Sample Code & Libraries

Also there’s a few interesting looking SimpleDB related projects on CodePlex (like Linq to SimpleDB, etc)

CodePlex, SimpleDB Search

 

Related Past Post XRef:
“Query Analyzer” for SimpleDB – Visual Studio 2008 Add-in that makes querying SimpleDB almost too easy?
LightSpeed 2.2 Released – SimpleDB, ASP.Net Dynamic Data, Stored Procedure and more added.
Amazon's new SimpleDB Service

VSTS/TFS2010 Beta 2 coming “real soon” and will have a “Go Live” license (i.e. Now’s the time to start getting ready…)

Brian Keller: Technical Evangelist for Team System - Get ready to “go live” with Team Foundation Server 2010 beta 2!

“Beta 2 of Team Foundation Server 2010 is going to be available very soon - unfortunately that’s all that the marketing team will let me tell you right now. :-) But the best news is that beta 2 of Team Foundation Server 2010 will have a “go live” license, meaning that you can use it for your day-to-day application building (unlike beta 1 which was limited to just evaluation, tire kicking, learning the new features, etc.) …

…

But in preparation for beta 2, there are some things that you can be doing now in order to take advantage of the release as soon as it’s available for download. The Team Foundation Server product team has put together some great guidance which can give you a checklist of things to do as you prepare to take advantage of beta 2. This guidance is available as an overview in a PowerPoint deck, or in greater detail in the Word document. I’ve uploaded both of them for you to check out.

…” [GD: Click through for the links]

“Very soon” IMO means a week or two’ish. No, I’ve not heard anything more that what’s in Brian’s post, but based on past “very soon’s” I really think we just a few weeks away (and that it’s been baking since even before B1 was released, yada, yada…). In short, I’m thinking well before PDC09. Which is good, since that means we’ll have a ton of fully baked 2010 B2 sessions, bits, etc there. ;) (cough… and there won’t be the confusion like TechEd09 and 2010 B1…  cough)

Anyway, If you going to upgrade to TFS 2010 (ZOMG, why wouldn’t you?) now is the time to start preparing your infrastructure. You all know how slow that goes, so now’s the time to get that process moving…

BTW, this screenshot is the docx via the Office Web Apps Tech Preview (that’s all web, no addin… looks nice doesn’t it? )

 

Related Past Post XRef:
SourceSafe Still? TFS2010 may be the TFS tipping point for you…
Planning for TFS 2010 (fka Rosario) – A picture says a thousand…

Getting started with Lucene.Net, the DimeCast version

DimeCasts.Net - # 145 - Getting started with Lucene.Net Search Library

“In this episode we are going to start to take a look at the Lucene.Net Search Engine Library. Lucene.Net is a source code, class-per-class, API-per-API and algorithmatic port of the Java Lucene search engine to the C# and .NET platform utilizing Microsoft .NET Framework. In this episode we will learn the basics needed to simply get Lucene.net up and running.

 

…”

I have this off again, off again (no, that’s not a type-o ;) thing with Lucene.Net. Been following it for a billion years, want to use it in a project, but have yet to take the jump. One of these days…!

And when I do, this quick 12 minute video looks like a good warm-up point.

SourceSafe Still? TFS2010 may be the TFS tipping point for you…

bharry's WebLog - TFS 2010 for SourceSafe Users

“…

TFS 2010 represents a huge step forward in making TFS more approachable by smaller teams.  With software development technology continuing to advance and SourceSafe slowly looking older, TFS 2010 is a great opportunity for SourceSafe users to look at updating their toolset.

So what’s different about TFS 2010?

There are 3 main areas that we’ve focused on in 2010 to make TFS attractive to smaller teams:

1. Price – We’re not quite ready to announce the pricing and licensing for 2010 yet but I can tell you that it will be at least as easy and cost effective to get as SourceSafe has been.  Stay tuned for more info on this.
2. Pre-reqs – We’ve eliminated the vast majority of the restrictions TFS has historically had:
   • TFS 2010 can be installed on a domain controller – We understand that many small organizations don’t have spare servers lying around and they need to be able to consolidate their servers.  Now if you just have one server and it’s your domain controller, email server and whatever else you need it for, you can use it for TFS too!
   • TFS 2010 can be installed on client OSes – The TFS server can be installed on Vista and Windows 7 Home Premium and above.  Of course it can also be installed on server OSes (Windows 2K3, Windows 2K8 and Windows 2K8 R2).  If you want to run version control locally on your laptop – you can do that.  In fact, just to prove it out, I bought a Samsung N110 Netbook and installed VS 2010, TFS 2010 and a build server all on the Netbook, running Windows 7 and it works!
   • TFS 2010 supports both 32 & 64 bit – No matter whether you’re running a newer 64-bit OS or an older 32-bit OS, TFS will work on your system.
3. Installation – Installing TFS has been a pain point for years.  Although it’s gotten better, 2010 represents a quantum leap.  The TFS installer now has 3 wizards: Basic, Standard and Advanced.  The big innovation is the new “Basic” install wizard.  It is a Next, Next, Next install experience that allows you to install and configure TFS in about 20 minutes or less (assuming .NET and SQL Express are already on your computer – a little longer if TFS has to install them for you).  Both will already be there if you’ve installed VS 2010.  The Basic wizard will install and configure IIS (if it’s not already there), install and configure SQL Express (if it’s not already there), and install and configure TFS.  The only thing that really pains me is installing .NET 4.0 requires a reboot :(.  Here are screenshots of the entire installation experience:

…”

Did you see that second bullet under Pre-req’s? TFS on Client OS’s (Vista and WIn7)! That’s cool! Oh yeah and the new setup is nice too (ZOMG… Oh heck yeah! Having install TFS2005, TFS2008, this new setup experience looks like it’s going to rock!  ;)

Ventura County, California Jury Duty tips from a recent potential juror…

Since I only get the privilege of being a potential juror every couple years, I always forget the ins and outs of it. So this time I’m going to capture some notes, notes that hopefully will help me the next time…

These are random notes and will not, now or ever, contain trial or trial juror information. They are focused on the “before,” the time period in the Juror Assembly room before or between trials, ie. “potential juror” information, tips, thoughts, etc.

Tips:

• The Jury Assembly Room doors will not be open until they are ready for people. If you get there early and the doors are closed, the Room is not open. On the day I attended, the doors were opened about 15 minutes before 8am.
• If you want power and a laptop friendly table/chair, get there early. Stand next to the doors and be the first in line when they open. There’s only 8 spots! As you walk in, drop off your stuff on a table and THEN turn in your card
• Bring ear hones. Even if you don’t plug them in, they’ll help deaden the chatter
• There IS wireless (jurynet). They give you WEP (yes, WEP, sigh) passkey after the Juror orientation. There’s also free wireless in the cafeteria.
• Note that the wireless is outbound firewalled. Web and like ports are open, but maybe not others. For example, my Cisco VPN wasn’t happy there at all.
• The vending machines take cash and credit cards and there’s a coffee one.
• Orientation does not start at 8am (the time you’re told to report). That’s when the room officially opens and check-in begins
• Bring a pen. The first thing you’ll be asked to do is fill in a simple personal information form (Name, phone numbers, etc). If you don’t have a pen, you’ll have hunt for one (they have some in a basket where you get the form, but those run out quickly)…
• They have a map for eating places in walking distance and for walking paths (which is a nice touch)
• It can be a VERY long day. Bring a book, notebook, Zune, book, knitting, etc

Thoughts:

The people are an interesting mix. Much like at the airport or on a plane, it’s a very random mix of characters. The main difference is that everyone is “local” (to the county at least). <vent> I do wish they would listen to the orientation, especially reference cell phone calls. Listen people, the group of people around you don’t want to hear your darn call! Just as I’m sure you wouldn’t want to listen to mine… Hint, your phone is “portable,” you can go somewhere else, somewhere more private to make your call… sigh… </vent>

As the day wraps up, I want to restate my opening statement, Jury Duty is a privilege, right and obligation. It’s part of being a citizen of the United States. Remember, freedom isn’t free. You enjoy the benefits of being a citizen, you need to step up and do your part. I’ve served my country in uniform and and now serving it by being here. Yeah, it kind of bytes, but suck it up and man-up (or woman-up, whatever the case).

 

BTW, No jury/trial/etc for me today. Maybe next year. ;)

Introduction to Subversion/SVN – What are those Trunk, Tag and Branch things?

Code.Blog - Intro to SVN: Trunk, Tags, and Branches

“Subversion (SVN) is a popular tool used by many development teams as their primary way of versioning their code.  Here are some of the basics to SVN.

Possibly one of SVN's best aspects is the ability to work on a shared code base.  This shared code base is called the Trunk.  This is typically where the full, buildable code resides.  It may depend on your team, but this code may be the code you work on daily and commit to.

This leads into the idea of commits and updates.  To illustrate this…

…

This is a lot of information, and is really basic when talking about SVN, but very helpful when someone asks you, "Are we going to make a Tag of the Branch before Merging into the Trunk?"  Now, go say that to everyone you meet and see if they know their SVN.”

I don’t SVN near enough (cough… like never), so I wanted to capture this for future reference.

Time, the WinForm way - gTimePicker

CodeProject - gTimePicker- Control to Pick a Time Value (VB.NET)

“Stop using the DateTimePicker for time values, this control makes it easy to pick a time, and if you act now, get the matching Nullable gDateTimePicker at no extra cost.

I couldn't put up with the standard time part of the DateTimePicker any longer. I wanted an easy to use date dropdown and a non-existent time dropdown. First, I made the gTimePickerCntrl to pick the time in a couple of clicks using a clock-like interface. Second, I needed a dropdown control to contain it. Third, the developer in me needed the extra design-time support.

After making the gTimePicker, I realized I needed a nullable DateTimePicker to go with it. Now, I have added the gDateTimePicker and added a nullable feature to the gTimePicker.

How to Use the gTimePickerCtrl

Very simple - click a number in the inner ring for the hour. Click a number from the outer ring for minutes in five minute increments. Click the bottom row for minutes in between the five minute increments.

…”

I like that. I’ve also fought the DateTimePicker Time entry battle and like this approach. An analog look is a logical metaphor to use when picking a time. That and I like supporting VB.Net projects… ;)

As you can see from the zip, it’s not a simple or minor project…

Want to try PowerShell? Then “Try PowerShell”

Development in a Blink - Try PowerShell – An Interactive Tutorial

“…

Interactive PowerShell Tutorial

Is an interactive PowerShell  interpreter that runs in WPF which is also written in PowerShell using PowerBoots. The tutorial on the left has PowerShell code that can be run by clicking on the PS > button.

Features

• Click on the PS > button to execute it in the interpreter on the right hand side
• Clicking the PS > types the commands, you can then modify them and experiment
• Type arbitrary PowerShell commands and click run to see the results
• Click the magnifying glass and search inside the tutorial
• Use the slider to resize the text of the tutorial

…”

CodePlex – Try PowerShell

“…

For PowerShell Users

• Easily try out PowerShell commands immediately, no typing
• Use the find to search for particular sections and fire off commands
• Click a PS> button to load an example, then edit it and run it

…

PowerShell Developers/Authors

• Provide a written guide for your scripts and let users run them directly from the documentation
• Great example of PowerShell, PowerBoots and WPF.
  • Using a FlowDocument,
  • Several controls
  • Hyperlinks
  • Executing PowerShell code in a PowerShell app using Invoke-Expression

…”

Okay, that’s pretty cool. I like having an interactive environment where I can learn and play in, especially when I get the source to that environment!  ;)

40 Desert Island (aka Portable) Web Dev Tools

Smashing Magazine - 40+ Desert Island Web Development Tools

“What would you do if you were suddenly stranded on a desert island in the middle of nowhere, with only a USB drive, a dial-up internet connection, and a barebones computer with no software outside the operating system installed? Of course, you’d use the internet connection to call for help first, but what about after that? How would you keep your design business going?

Okay, maybe a scenario that’s a bit more likely would work better. What if your computer crashed, wiping out all of your data and programs, and you have a deadline in two days? Or maybe you want to be able to pick up and leave at a moment’s notice without taking anything more than a change of clothes and a USB drive. If you have the apps below, neither of those scenarios would be much of a problem.

The apps on this list can help you with everything from coding to graphics to running your business and managing your projects, all from a single USB drive. And while USB drives are getting bigger all the time (last I checked a 64GB one wasn’t too badly priced, and that’s 4GB more storage than my current MacBook has), you still need special programs in most instances to have true portability. The apps below are just that: truly portable and small enough to fit on a USB drive (often a very small USB drive).

…”

Dev, audio, graphic, utilities, etc, focused toward web dev’s… A ton of tools, all USB drive happy.

Make sure you also check out the comments as the community has added their own suggestions.

 

Related Past Post XRef:
LiberKey – 264, and counting, portable applications for your thumb drive are just a download away
PortableApps.com Platform v1.5 Released (with v2 coming in a few weeks) – Your App world is just a thumbdrive away…
Your Application Suite To Go - Portable App Suite v1.1 Released
PortableApps Suite
The Portable Freeware Collection

“Getting Started with Windows Presentation Foundation” (WPF) Cheatsheet/Refcard from DZone

DZone Refcardz - Getting Started with Windows Presentation Foundation

“… The intent of this DZone Refcard is to help you understand the basics of WPF.  In this DZone Refcard, the Authors work to bring you a solid foundation of the basics of WPF ranging from XAML to Data Binding.

…

 

Six pages (well 5 1/2) of pages of dense “getting started” WPF information. If you’re “WPF Guy!” already, then this will likely all be old hat to you, but if you’re like me, and just starting to dip your toes into WPF (sigh), then this seems to be a pretty cool resource.

The marketing message is limited to that quarter column on page one you can see below and half page on page 6, which is perfectly acceptable IMHO (As I always seem to say, “What do you want for free, you’re money back?”)

A Feed You Should Read #5 – Team System Rocks

Today’s “A Feed You Should Read” continues with the link blog theme, yet with a minor twist. Quantity is great, yet so is focus. This feed focuses on one general technology, Microsoft’s Visual Studio Team System (VSTS).

Team System Rocks - Team System News

Background:

One tech, is that enough to sustain a link blog over the long haul?

LOL, if you are asking yourself that question, then this really IS a feed you should read. Visual Studio Team System, which encompasses the different Visual Studio Team editions and Team Foundation Server (TFS), is a huge monster and has easily filled Mickey Gousset's link hopper for years. And that monster is going to roar with next year’s release of VS2010.

Team System News has provided constant VSTS links and information since mid-2005 (looks like my first reference was in March 2006).

Why do I like this feed and think you might also?

Why? Because Mickey is one of the VSTS/TFS guys! He speaks on the subject often, co-hosts the Radio TFS podcast, and has a driving and determined interest in all things VSTS.

I hung out with Mickey for a few hours at TechEd09 and watched him as he interacted with people. His eyes would light up and his interest and knowledge about the product was almost palatable. From word one, you knew this guy knew his shit (um… err… DEL DEL DEL… “knew his stuff” …yeah… ;)

The links in his posts show that interest and depth. Also I like how the posts, a couple+ a week at least, are simple, straight forward and easily digestible.

You should read this feed if you are using, or interested in using, Visual Studio and/or Team Foundation Server. Even if you’re using an Express edition, you should check out this feed. Why? Because a number of the “Team” features have moved down the stack toward you… And to help you answer the question, “Why do we need Team Edition XXX…”. You’ll be able to answer with real world solutions and information, curtsy of Team System News, and not be dependant on sales/marketing-ware from Microsoft.

Needless to say, if you are already a Visual Studio Team Edition user, then this feed should be one of your first stops of the day (in your feed reader of course… Please let me you’re using a feed reader… “Daily Favorites” web browser is SO 90’s)

Some (none that I follow, but some) link bloggers do it for the money, some the fame. Mickey/Visual Studio News is for the love of it.

Snap of the latest post:

Blog Information:

Name:	Team System News
URL:	http://teamsystemrocks.com/blogs/team_system_news/default.aspx
Feed:	http://feeds.feedburner.com/TeamSystemNews
Post Types:	Primary – Visual Studio Team System links