Friday, March 02, 2007

IM Your Way to A Better World

Windows Live Spaces - The i'm Initiative and new secret emoticon

"The i'm Initiative is the most exciting piece of news I have had to share with Messenger users since I started working on Messenger over 3 years ago and there has been tons of exciting news over the last 3 years. Now if you are like me and are a Lost fan if you hear The <anything> Initiative your mind immediately jumps to the DHARMA Initiative and you assume it must be bad and very mysterious. The i'm Initiative is completely the opposite, it is very good and all the previous mystery around the secret emoticon in Messenger 8.1 will be revealed below.

...

Wonderful! How does it work?

  1. Use Messenger 8.1
  2. Add the i'm emoticon to your display name by entering the code of the cause you would like to support (hint: I suggest adding it at the end of your name so you still appear in the correct alphabetic order in your contacts list)
  3. Send and receive IMs
  4. A portion of the advertising revenue generated by your usage of Messenger will be donated to your cause. So the more IMs you send and receive the more money will be donated to your cause.

note: currently the donation only applies to Windows Live Messenger users in the United States. If you are in the US and you are IMing with a contact in another country your IM activity will be counted towards the donation.

...

What are the i'm emoticon  codes and causes?

...

This sounds too good to be true - sort of like that e-mail I got about Bill Gates sending me a Million dollars if I forward the email onto 10 friends and they send it on to 10 friends, etc. How do I know this is really true?

You can check out the official i'm Initiative website -- http://im.live.com -- and the causes will have information on their websites as well.

..."

I know... I thought it was a hoax thing too, but it looks legit.

Now every IM I send, the American Red Cross gets a live money love from Microsoft... ;)

(via Scott ElkinDonate To Charity Using MSN Messenger 8.1)

Thursday, March 01, 2007

Vista/Office 2007 Preview Handler Pack - Preview Handlers for *.CS, *.ASPX, *.SQL

Enter the Tatrix - Vista and Office 2007 Preview Handler Pack released

"I’m in love with the new preview functionality in Vista and Office 2007, however its usefulness is limited by the small number of file types it will actually preview. Over the weekend, I set out to start fixing this by implementing preview handlers for the files I use every day - like .cs and .aspx.

..."

This Preview Handler Pack, while released in December 2006, is still pretty darn cool sounding...

(via Danie Bruwer - Vista and Office 2007 Preview Handler Pack released)

Related Past Post XRef:
Preview Handler Framework

Visual Studio 2005 SDK version 4.0 Released

Microsoft Downloads - Visual Studio 2005 SDK version 4.0

"...

This is the official Visual Studio 2005 software development kit that allows developers to integrate tools, editors, designers, languages, and much more inside Visual Studio 2005. It adds the following features: VS SDK Browser, Package Load Analyzer, Toolbox Control Installer together with a toolbox control installation sample, a redistributable package for Toolbox component vendors that simplifies deployment, a new tool for generating managed class library documentation (Sandcastle), an updated Setup experience, a new toolbar combo box sample, new integration tests for the EditorWithToolbox sample that use the VsIdeHostAdapter and much more.

..."

Interesting to see Sandcastle is included...

Related Past Post XRef:
Visual Studio 2005 SDK V3 (September 2006) Released
Visual Studio SDK V2 RTM
"V2 of the VS SDK almost ready to ship"

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Orcas March 2007 CTP VPC Released

Microsoft Downloads - Microsoft Pre-release Software Visual Studio Code Name "Orcas" - March 2007 Community Technology Preview (CTP)

"...

This download is the March 2007 Community Technology Preview of Microsoft Visual Studio Code-Named “Orcas”. This CTP is available in English only.

..."

The updates in this CTP are just too numerous to post here... Many of the cool VB9 features are now implemented (XML Literals, etc).

I still expect Orcas/VS2007(or will it be VS2008? I'll bet on VS2007... To keep within the two year cycle...) to be released (or at least its released will  announced and the code will be gold) at this year's PDC. I

It just makes sense (to me at least) to release the next VS at PDC, doesn't it? (Wouldn't it be cool to get a new VS at each PDC, i.e. once every two years?)

Related Past Post XRef:
Orcas Jan 2007 CTP VPC
Missing Base VHD (Base01.VHD) from Orcas September CTP VPC... (Make sure you ALSO download the VSCTPBase.exe)
Visual Studio "Orcas" September CTP Virtual PC Download

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Determine if an Outlook Appointment/Calendar Item has been DST Rebased.

The CDOs and CDONTS of Messaging Development - OUTBOX: How to tell if the DST Rebasing Tool has been run on a mailbox?

"The rebasing tool adds time zone information to appointments that it touches.  This time zone information is the same that Outlook 2007 (and patched versions of CDO 1.21) puts on appointments when it creates them.  These time zone structures are described here...

http://blogs.msdn.com/stephen_griffin/archive/2006/12/06/outlook-2007-timezone-structures.aspx

What that means is that we cannot discern between appointments that were touched by the rebasing tool and ones that were created or modified by “new” clients (Outlook 2007 or DST patched versions of CDO 1.21).  There isn’t any marking on the mailbox itself so what you would have to do is iterate through items in the calendar folder and look for these properties on calendar items.  If they exist on any appointment in the calendar then you know that the rebasing tool and/or “new” clients have been there.

..."

Oh yeah, I'm going to need this code snip in the near future...

Team Foundation Server Workspaces 101

Martin Woodward - Workspace 101: An introduction to TFS Workspaces

"One of the concepts that people need to understand when they begin to work with Team Foundation Server Version Control is that of the Team Foundation Server (TFS) Workspace. So I thought I would write a series of blog-posts covering the basics of TFS workspaces, with this post being the first. This information may be a little basic to many of the people who read my blog (especially this first post) and it is just a write up of how I think about workspaces and how I explain the concept to others. If you have any additional information to add or comments to make then please do.  Also, if you are new to TFS then you probably want to take a read of the help documentation over at MSDN and in the Teamprise User Guide as there is some great information there on this topic.

..."

As a previous (well current, for some projects... sigh) SourceSafe user, TFS Workspaces was one of those things I had (am still) wrapping my head around.

This post provides some great info on workspaces and how they work. I'm looking forward to the rest in the series...

Free XNA Book

LearnXNAXNA Book All Chapters

"XNA Book
By Mike Fleischauer

Chapter one is about XNA in general, what you need to get started and explains what the initial templates give you.  Finally, I explain what pieces you need to get started on your way towards game programming.

Chapter two is about basic 2D graphics.  I walk through how to draw graphics to the screen, the basics behind 2D graphics and finally how to create transparent sprites.

Chapter three we are going to learn the basics of controlling our games. We cover simple keyboard, mouse and gamepad interaction. This is also where you are going to have to make your first hard decision about how your game is going to play.

Chapter four, we are going to learn the basic of music and sound effects. We cover the use of the Microsoft Cross-Platform Audio Creation Tool (wow, that’s a mouth full). Then we learn how to take the files generated by this tool to play sounds and music in our game programmatically." [Description leached in full]

Even though it's a ways away we've already assigned my son his Summer Project, design and build a simple XNA game for both a PC and our XBox.

His first step is to learn to program in C# and mine is to learn XNA (with a side helping of C# learning)...

The above XNA book from LearnXNA looks like a good starting point for me. In total it's 76 pages, with just enough pictures to make the given point and focused code snips (i.e. no/little generated code). It's well written, in a conversational style, the PDF's are printable and the price is perfect...

(via Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information from Alfred Thompson - XNA Links)

Gilma - GUI for ILMerge Branched for .Net 2.0

Code Project - Gilma - Gui for the ILMerge Application revised for .Net 2.0

"

I have seen the beatiful interface made from Tomer Shalev in the SourcForce web site and thought I could revrite it in a self contained way. The original Tomer Shalev's Gilma is a front-end application to ILMerge: Microsoft's command-line utility that can be used to merge multiple .NET assemblies into a single assembly. ILMerge is freely available from Microsoft's web site.

ILMerge's license does allow commercial usage.

In my Implementation whose snapshot you can see in the picture I have referenced the ILMerge executable directly in visual Studio 2005.

..."

I keep meaning to play with ILMerge... I tried it once when creating my WLW plugins but ran into issues (like WLW wouldn't recognize my ILMerged plugin). I'm sure it was probably some stupid I was doing, but I didn't have the time to troubleshoot it.

Still I really like the idea of providing a single file that includes all my related/child/dependant/etc assembles...

Related Past Post XRef:
VS2005 Power Toys Pack Installer
MSBuild and ILMerge
"Gilma - GUI for ILMerge Application"
ILMerge Updated
The Code Project - Merging .NET assemblies using ILMerge - .NET

Monday, February 26, 2007

Universal Data Type Conversion Checker Function

.Net Slave - Universal data type checker

"In many different scenarios we need to check if a string can be converted into an integer e.g. This could be when we work with query strings and need to check if they match a certain data type. In VB.NET you can use the IsNumeric and IsDate functions, but that's about it. You are left to your own data type checking logic the rest of the time. It would be cool if we could have a method that could check all data types that is represented by strings such as integers, guids, booleans etc.

Here is a method that does just that. It can check all the string based types and also enums.

...

Let's try some different examples

CanConvert("12", typeof(int)); // returns true

CanConvert("f637a876-9d58-4229-9559-a5e42a95fdac ", typeof(Guid)); // returns true

CanConvert("Backspace", typeof(System.ConsoleKey)); // returns true

CanConvert("10px", typeof(System.Web.UI.WebControls.Unit)); // returns true

CanConvert("red", typeof(System.Drawing.Color)); // returns true"

You've got to love a cool hack...

This C# function (easily translatable into VB.Net) provides a simple, yet universal, type conversion checker function. Sort of like TryParse, but instead using System.ComponentModel.TypeConverter. Check the post out for the code...

(via Onion PeelsLinks 2007-02-25)

Sunday, February 25, 2007

Website Thumbnail Windows Live Writer Plugin

DDITWeb - Windows Live Writer Plugins & Dirty Diapers!

"I've been playing around with Windows Live Writer for a little while now (since it first came out in beta!) and the more I use it, the better it seems to get (in case you haven't used it, I encourage you to check it out).

...

So what's the plugin called and where can I get it?

It's called "Insert Website Image" and you can download it from here!

All source code can also be downloaded from here!

..."

This is a pretty cool WLW Plugin...

My only issue is that my blog host doesn't support image uploading with WLW. Sounds like an opportunity to use my FlickrNet/Picture Post plugin experience doesn't it!  ;)

(via Steve Clayton: Geek In Disguise - Windows Live Writer Plugin - website thumbnail)

Free Yahoo UI JavaScript Hosting

Niall Kennedy's WeblogYahoo! centralizes its JavaScript network with free hosting

"Yahoo! is opening up the JavaScript powering its websites a bit more tonight, encouraging developers to directly reference libraries on its servers from within their webpages. Yahoo! User Interface Hosting opens up versioned access to the popular YUI Library, creating faster load times for sites across the web using Yahoo's optimized, geo-distributed, and reliable data centers.

Yahoo! UI hosting sample code

..."

That's a cool move by Yahoo and opens up some interesting opportunities for people who cannot host their own JS libraries (like many bloggers, myself included).

Hum...

Update:
More information from the horse's mouth,  Free Hosting of YUI Files from Yahoo!

Related Past Post XRef:
Yahoo! UI Library Released as OSS

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Sending Files via Default Email Client in .Net

Jon Galloway - Sending files via the default e-mail client

"I recently released a "Send To Email" plugin for Cropper, which makes it easy to grab a portion of your screen and send it as an e-mail attachment. It's easy enough to directly send an e-mail in .NET using System.Net.Mail, but there's no provision for sending a mail using the default client.

..."

This is a cool post from Jon where he discusses three different methods of sending an email with an attachment from .Net via the currently configured email client. It's short, sweet and to the point.

If you're thinking about some sort of "Send this file via email" feature (which I am for a project at work), you should check this out...

Network Monitor 3 Now Available on Microsoft Downloads

Microsoft Downloads - Microsoft Network Monitor 3

"...

Network Monitor 3.0 is a protocol analyzer. It allows you to capture network traffic, view and analyze it. This version is a complete overhaul of the previous Network Monitor 2.x version.

..."

NM3 (Network Monitor 3, NetMon 3, etc) is now available from Microsoft Downloads, which is can be easier to access than its connect.microsoft.com location (i.e. no Windows Live ID/sign-in required) .

Related Past Post XRef:
Network Monitor 3 (aka NetMon 3, aka NM3) Re-released for Vista
NetMon 3.0 RTW

"Build a Photo Viewer Using the New FTP Classes in .NET 2.0" (with VB.Net)

DevX.comBuild a Photo Viewer Using the New FTP Classes in .NET 2.0

"Yet another highly useful but underappreciated feature of .NET 2.0? How about the FTPWebRequest and FtpWebResponse classes? These nifty classes let you built FTP file access right into your applications. See how it's done with this handy photo viewer example. 

One of the features released with the 2.0 version of .NET was support for FTP. In .NET 2.0, you can now programmatically access FTP servers using the FtpWebRequest and FtpWebResponse managed classes (both derived from the WebRequest and WebResponse classes).

To illustrate the usefulness of using FTP in your .NET applications, I will build a Photo Viewer Windows application that accesses an FTP server. Using this application, users can upload photos to an FTP server and at the same time view images stored on the FTP server. This application is useful to companies who may need to access images uploaded by its partners. A good example is insurance companies, who may need to view photographs of car damages taken by workshop mechanics in order to estimate the cost of repair. Rather than build a complex Web application, the workshop and insurance companies can simply use this application to quickly upload and view photos.

..."

In a past life I've written FTP utilities in VB6 and this article makes me shake my head in wonder in how easy .Net 2 can make some things.

This is a cool, complete, magazine quality VB.Net article. The next time I have to play in FTP land, this article may come in handy...

Reflector 5 Released

Scott Hanselman's Computer Zen - Reflector 5 Released - World Domination Assured

"Reflector 5 is out, and it is good. Go get it immediately, or just run your current version and go Help | Check for Updates.

What's the coolest new feature? Why, a custom "protocol handler" that will soon sweep the (.NET) blogosphere. Select any item in Reflector and press Ctrl-Alt-C to copy the code:// URI for that item. Like this:

Click here if you have Reflector 5 to navigate to this method: code://System.Xml/System.Xml.XmlNameTable/Add

..."

One of the must have .Net development tools, Reflector, has just had a huge release...

This utility has helped me time and time again and is one of the first things I always install on every machine I develop on...

(via .Net Adventures  - Reflector 5 is available for download)

Related Past Post XRef:
Reflector 4.2 Released...
.NET Reflector Add-Ins 4.0.3.0
Reflector for .NET 4.0.0.0
Reflector for .NET - Lutz Roeder's Programming.NET C# .NET VB .NET CLR

Virtual PC 2007 RTM

Microsoft Downloads - Virtual PC 2007

Virtual PC 2007 has RTM'ed (well RTW'ed) and is available free for the downloading...

Related Past Post XRef:
Virtual PC 2007 RC Released
Virtual PC 2007 Beta Download

Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Team Foundation Server Power Tool (formerly known as Power Toys) - V1.2, February 2007

Microsoft Downloads - Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Team Foundation Server Power Tool

"February 2007 - v1.2
The Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Team Foundation Server Power Tool (formerly known as Power Toys) is a set of enhancements, tools and command line utilities that improve the Team Foundation Server experience

...

The Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Team Foundation Server Power Tool (formerly known as Power Toys) is a set of enhancements, tools and command line utilities that improve the Team Foundation Server user experience. This release includes two new command-line tools for the developer and three non-command line tools: a set of custom check-in policies, a build test task, and a process template editor. This version (1.2) includes some bug fixes to the Team Foundation Power Tool and adds the following functionality:

  • Workspace Command (tfpt.exe) - Use the workspace command for additional workspace operations not supported in the currently shipping Team Foundation Server command line (tf.exe).
  • Treeclean Command (tfpt.exe) - Use the treeclean command to see and optionally delete files in the current directory and all subdirectories that are not under version control.
  • Team System Process Editor - A tool integrated with Visual Studio that provides a convenient method of viewing and customizing process templates. When connected to Team Foundation Server, you can use this tool to customize work item type definitions and global lists on an active project.
  • Check-in Policy Pack - A set of handy check-in policies to address needs customers have expressed.
  • Build Test Tools Task - A tool that allows running unit tests by simply specifying the DLLs, or by specifying a file name pattern in TfsBuild.proj, instead of using .vsmdi files to specify tests to run.

" [Leached almost in full]

The name change, from Power Toys to Power Tool, is kind of confusing to me. I know and understand Power Toys (non-supported tools, utilities and addin's for a given product). What does the name change to Power Tool add? Especially since it's still a collection of tools, utilities, and such? Maybe Power Tools, but singular? :\

In any case, there are a number of very cool toys/tools/what-ever in this release. For me, the most interesting may be the Process Editor...

Windows Movie Maker and Windows DVD Maker SDK

Microsoft Downloads - Windows Movie Maker and Windows DVD Maker SDK

"...

This SDK is helps you create and add your own custom special effects and transitions to Windows Movie Maker in Windows Vista, and your own custom transitions, buttons, and menu styles to Windows DVD Maker in Windows Vista.

..."

Okay, that's kind of cool.

Many years ago I was a wannabe video boy (I so wanted a Video Toaster for my Amiga :) and have had soft part in my heart for it ever since.

I think it would be cool to build my own menus and such for a DVD. I doubt I ever will, but it's cool to know that I could...

Outlook 2007 Sample: Visual Studio 2005 Templates

Microsoft Downloads - Outlook 2007 Sample: Visual Studio 2005 Templates

"...

The Outlook 2007 Add-in Templates provide a basic template for developing Outlook 2007 add-ins using Visual Studio 2005. The templates are available in both Visual Basic and Visual C# languages. Each template includes the OutlookItem class, which enables developers to work with generic Outlook items through late-binding, without determining the item type first.

The templates also include wrapper classes that enable you to track multiple Outlook Inspector or Explorer windows. The templates provide an alternative to the Outlook add-in templates available with Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Tools for the 2007 Office system (VSTO 2005 Second Edition). VSTO 2005 SE is the preferred tool for developing add-ins for Outlook 2007. If you choose to build your add-in by using the Outlook 2007 Add-In Templates, you must add a COM Shim project and a Setup project to your add-in solution.

..."

I've been thinking about writing a couple Outlook 2k7 addin's so this might come in handy...

Catching Up...

So there I was. Last weekend, bending over to pick up our FAC (Fat Attack Cat) and throwing out my back in the process... sigh

Since I was in the National Guard I've had occasional back problems and know all the "lift with your legs" things, but this was just a CAT (well kind of a dog sized cat, but still...). I'm laying on the ground, pain shooting up and down my back and legs, barely able to move and the damn cat just sat there and gave me that, "Stupid human..." look. Stupid cat... :/

Needless to say I've been pretty much bedridden this past week, just able to hobble to the computer to put in some work hours toward in the last couple days.

I'm getting better, even though I am a DAM (Dumb Ass Male) and didn't go to the Doctor this time (I had drugs left over from previous times which had not expired, so why go to someone who's going to tell me what I already know; that I'm fat, getting older, to lift with my legs, do back exercises, get into better shape, etc, etc?)

IN ANY CASE, I'm now catching up with my feed reading (only about 7K+ posts to read  ;) and see it's been an interesting week. Looks like a bunch of cool stuff has been happened, so please don't be surprised at the number of posts today and tomorrow...

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Cropper Plugins CodePlex Project

CodePlexCropper Plugins

Jon Galloway has opened up a new CodePlex project for Cropper Plugins. It's bare bones right now, but the important stuff (i.e. the source code ;) is already there...

Brian Scott is working on the Doc's, which will be available soon too (and he's committed to releasing the source for Cropper 1.9.1 too, which is way cool ).

Currently available in the latest pack are these plugins:
Cropper.AnimatedGif
Cropper.AviFormat
Cropper.CountdownPng
Cropper.SendToEmail

Nice work guys...

Monitoring project for future releases... ;)

(via Brian Scott - Cropper Plug-ins on CodePlex)

Related Past Post XRef:
Cropper 1.9.1 Released (Includes Vista Compatibility)

Resource Refactoring Tool v1.0 Released

CodePlex - Resource Refactoring Tool 

"...

02/13/2007 We just released Resource Refactoring Tool 1.0. You can download it from releases section.

..."

The Resource Refactoring PowerToy has reached v1.0...

(via John D'Addamio's blog - Extracting string literals into resource files)

Related Past Post XRef:
Resource Refactoring Tool Powertoy for VS2005 (Refactor Strings into a String Resource)

Pipe PowerShell Output OneNote Tip

The Unknown OneNote Guy's Blog PowerNote Send To OneNote 2007

"...

Whenever you select the Send To OneNote 2007 printer the output will create a new OneNote page located in the Unfiled Notes section of your OneNote 2007. Any application that can output to a printer can "Send to OneNote".

Armed with this we can now send the output of our Get-Process example to OneNote 2007 with no custom coding. To do this simply pipe the Get-Process output to the Out-Printer cmdlet with the -name argument of "Send To OneNote 2007" as shown below.

..."

Nice! So simple, yet so cool...

(via OneNote Extensibility & More.. - OneNote and PowerShell)

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Development and Windows Vista Activation Planning Document

Microsoft Downloads - Microsoft's Software Protection Platform: Planning Activation in Software Development Environments for Windows Vista

"During the software development process, the developer often goes through multiple installations, rebuild and reimaging of their systems oth natively and virutally. For images that include Windows Vista, the genuine software initiative requires few planning and deployment considerations. This document outlines those essential planning and deployment elements in a summary form."

This is a seven page Doc, with the content actually starting on page four... Still there are some good tips on resetting the activation timer (which you can do 3 times) or manually installing a key, etc.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

I think I want this for Valentine's Day...

Ultimate Collector's Millennium Falcon™

"This is it - the biggest, most spectacular LEGO® Star Wars model ever! Straight out of the classic Star Wars movies comes the Ultimate Collector's Millennium Falcon, Han Solo's famous smuggling starship. Every detail of the modified Corellian Engineering Corporation YT-1300 freighter is here, all constructed to scale with LEGO minifigures. At almost 3 feet (90cm) long, it's the ultimate centerpiece to any Star Wars collection!
This Exclusive First Edition set includes an individually numbered Certificate of Authenticity, sealed within the product box, available only until the first production quantity is gone! Don't miss out, pre-order yours today!*

  • With over 5,000 pieces, this is the biggest LEGO set ever made!
  • Model is built completely to minifigure scale - minifigures can sit inside and man the controls!
  • ...

..."

Wait do you think I could get away with getting this for my wife for Valentine's day? "But honey, we could build it together!" hummmm.... And it's only $499.99!

(LMAO. OMG, She would be HURT me so bad... But it might be worth it... It's a First Edition! LOL  ;)

(via GizmodoThe Biggest Lego Set Ever Made - Star Wars Millennium Falcon - Does Point Five Past Lightspeed)

Monday, February 12, 2007

32Feet.Net v2.1 Released

32feet.NET - v2.1 Released

"Version 2.1 of the library is now released and available in the Files section of this website. Thanks to all who have provided feedback on the v2.0 release and help to improve the performance, reliability and compatibility of v2.1. ..."

32feet.NET v2.1 (Download)

"The v2.1 release contains numerous bug fixes and code improvements. This release supports Windows Mobile 5.0 AKU 3 devices. Also adds additional sample code and improved documentation. ..."

I still want to check this out...

But since Santa didn't bring me a SmartPhone or such, I've lowered the priority on my mobile thread (he said that since Crossbow/WM6 was coming out I should wait for one of those devices... sigh...  ;)

Related Past Post XRef:
32Feet.NET - Bluetooth, Infrared (IrDA) and more from .NET...

OpenXML Writer (Simple OSS OpenXML/DocX with XAML/WPF UI Word Processor)

OpenXML.bizOpenXML Writer

"OpenXML Writer is an opensource text editor for creating OpenXML Wordprocessing files (.docx). The generated files can be opened and edited in Microsoft(TM) Word 2007 and other softwares that support the OpenXML format.

Among the features supported are text formatting options like bold, italic, underline, font color, font name , font size,  paragraph justification and text indentation.  Basic editing functions like cutting, copying,  pasting and spell check are also provided.

..."

This is an interesting OpenXML/DocX word processing project, with C# source and UI implemented in WPF.

It's very bare bones (think WordPad feature set), but is an interesting implementation. Seeing that the UI is all XAML based was a surprise and now is a big draw for me...

(via Signs on the Sand - OpenXmlWriter - open source OpenXml text editor)

Lord of the Rings Online NDA Lifted

The Lord of the Rings Online NDA has been lifted and I can now talk about my current MMO addition... Yeah!

Beta testing this game has been consuming all my free time for the last 3 months... Stupid game!  ;)

Why?

First of all, it's cool because it's built in part (the launcher at least.), on .Net 1.1.

Second, it's a Turbine game (my first introduction to MMO's was beta testing Asheron's Call and so Turbine MMO's  have a special place in my heart. ;)

Third, it's Lord of the Rings.. How can you not be excited about that?

Fourth, the game play is easy to pick up and very engaging... It has a great, "just one more quest..." feeling to it. It's just hard to stop playing. Early levels are easy to get, there's little/no grinding (it's a quest driven MMO), and it's playable solo.

Firth, they are supposed to publish an API to access character info (so I can create a blog widget to show off how uber "Dunc" on Meneldor is  :)

Well that's enough for now, but I'll post on it more later...

Friday, February 09, 2007

Windows 2000 DST Patch Utility

IntelliAdmin - Unofficial Windows 2000 Daylight Saving Time Patch

"...

Well, here we are. It is 2007, and Microsoft has published updates for XP, and 2003. But...No update for 2000 Workstation, or any of the server editions.

This is a huge problem for many organizations. I know some companies that have hundreds of Windows 2000 boxes....

The workaround that Microsoft provides is not easy to follow. Check out the KB article at Microsoft.

We have created a utility that will update any machine to the new daylight saving format (XP, NT, 2000, 2003, Vista). Obviously you only need it for 2000, or NT since those operating systems have dropped off support.

It updates Daylight Saving Time (Yes it is Saving, not Savings) in these time zones:
-Alaska Standard Time Zone
-Central Standard Time Zone
-Eastern Standard Time Zone
-Mountain Standard Time Zone
-Pacific Standard Time Zone
-Atlantic Standard Time Zone (Canada)
-Newfoundland Standard Time Zone (Canada)

..."

This is something that might come in handy in the coming month...

This is a GUI & command line utility to help automate the coming North American DST changes/updates for Win2k (works on newer Win OS's too). The source is also available (Object Pascal for Delphi).

(via E-Bitz - SBS MVP the Official Blog of the SBS "Diva" - More DST patches and tools)

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Outlook To OneNote AddIn Code Project

Code Project - Outlook To OneNote

"This Addin is designed to solve a problem some users of OneNote face. Once people start using OneNote, many of them tend to move all their data into it. They then experience the problem of being away from OneNote and having information they want to add to it. Their only access may be to email, such as with a mobile phone or airport kiosk. They could rely on new functionality in Outlook 2007 which gives a ribbon button to send the contents of email to OneNote. There is a step or two here which can be eliminated with this addin.

This addin adds the capability of sending yourself email with a certain keyword in the subject and having Outlook automatically create a new page in OneNote's Unfiled Notes section when that mail item arrives. Outlook then deletes the email. It also allows power users to set the filter used for incoming mail items to trigger the code. It provides no UI for the user: "it just works."

I also included the setup project since it is needed to create the registry key when executed. If you just want to install and use the addin, the Setup zip file is all you need. Exit all office apps and run setup.exe.

..."

 This is an interesting sounding addin...

(via OneNote Extensibility & More.. - PowerToy: Outlook To OneNote AddIn)

Related Past Post XRef:
OneSnap - A Cool OneNote PowerToy that Snap's an IE Page Into OneNote with One Click

WCF Coding Standard from IDesign

Because I'm just a sucker for coding standards & guidelines... ;)

IDesignIDesign WCF Coding Standard 

This is a short, 13 page PDF with very detailed and concise WCF coding standards and guidelines.

While you're there, make sure you check out their very cool list of WCF and .Net downloads and their IDesign C# Coding Standard.

(via Graham Elliott - A Must Have: IDesign WCF Coding Standard)

Related Past Post XRef:
C#/VB.Net Coding Guidelines
CORK - ClickOnce community Resource Kit
IDesign: .NET Design and Process Solutions
SSW Rules to Better ...

Monday, February 05, 2007

US Government Budget for FY 2008

Budget of the United States Government: Fiscal Year 2008

"Issued by the Office of Management and Budget, the Budget of the United States Government is a collection of documents that contains the budget message of the President, information about the President's budget proposals for a given fiscal year, and other budgetary publications that have been issued throughout the fiscal year. Other related and supporting budget publications, such as the Economic Report of the President, are included, which may vary from year to year.

..."

Want to see what your (assuming you are a US citizen) government is spending our tax dollars on? This is one place to start...

Visual Studio Power Toy Pack Installer Beta 2 Released

CodePlexPower Toys Pack Installer

I had missed this...

The cool VS Pack Installer has been recently updated to beta 2 and is looking pretty cool.

(via Arno Nel 2.0 - the Information Worker - Power Toys for Visual Studio - Installer)

Related Past Post XRef:
VS2005 Power Toys Pack Installer

CodePlex Update Released (1/30/2007)

CodePlex Weblog - New CodePlex Version!

"I know this is a few days late, but as of Jan 30th we are running a new version of CodePlex!

Some of the highlight features are:

  • Source code browsing on the website
  • Lots of improvements to discussions
  • More granular RSS feeds for projects

..."

I saw that CodePlex was doing an upgrade, but wasn't sure what was IN the upgrade... The online source code browsing and specific project RSS feeds are very cool.

If you already have subscribed to a CodePlex feed it looks like it should continue to work and remain be a Project scoped feed. This is a big add for me... Some projects I want to see everything, some I just want to know if there's a new release. Thank you CodePlex team for listening...

To get at the new feeds, go to the new RSS Feeds tab for a given project.

Here's an example of the new feeds for my Text Template For Windows Live Writer Plugin project;

RSS Feed wlwTextTemplate

Includes all project updates: wiki, releases, work items, source code check-ins, and discussions

RSS Feed Wiki

Changes to the home page and other wiki pages

RSS Feed Releases

New and updated releases

RSS Feed Issue Tracker

New work items and updates to (including closing) existing work items

RSS Feed Source Code

New check-ins of change sets

RSS Feed Discussions

New check-ins of change sets

Flickr4Office (Flickr Add-ins for Word 2007 & Outlook 2007)

The Road to Know Where - New Microsoft Office 2007 Flickr Add-ins

"Microsoft's Codeplex project has released two Office 2007 Add-insa Windows Vista Flickr Uploader tool for uploading pictures to Flickr, specifically to be used in Windows Vista. Vista is capable of managing metadata (such as title, description and tags) inside picture files by storing it in an XMP section.

..."

Flickr4Word

Flickr4Outlook

These two plugin let you upload, search and browse images on Flickr and easily add them to your respective Word/Outlook document/email. 

Both were written by Tim Heuer, who is behind the cool Flickr4Writer and both use the very cool FlickrNet library. And being on Codeplex, the source (C# for both) is easily downloadable.

Friday, February 02, 2007

ODF Translator (ODF for Word Addin) 1.0 Released

Craig Kitterman's Interoperability Community Blog - Open XML translator downloads hit 10,000 in 6 hours!

"Today version 1.0 of the translator between ODF and Open XML has been made available on Source Forge and has already been downloaded over 10,000 times! The Microsoft press release can be found here.

This release represents a ton of work, all done in the open source community and rigorous testing against real world documents and scenarios. The result will be flexibility and choice for Microsoft Office customers, allowing them to leverage the XML file format that most suits their needs. This is a Source Forge project so it will presumably continue to evolve and improve over time.

..."

Now you can Open and Save as ODF in Word 2007, 2003 & XP.

BTW, in taking a quick glance at the easily downloaded source code, it looks like most was done in C#...

It installed and seems to work just fine for me (Word 2007).

Thursday, February 01, 2007

Security Exploits are not funny, but this still made me kind of laugh - Using Vista's Speech as a Remote Exploit

I know the answer (it's 42) - Vista speech command remote exploit

"...

However, today some one posted about using speech for remote exploit. The basic idea here is to make someone browse to a web-page which plays sounds which are actually commands to make the comp due interesting stuff. However, I think this is a very remote threat, but interesting nevertheless."

Last week I trained my notebook to better recognize my speech so I could better control my music player... ;)  So now I pretty much leave voice running... And as I've posted before, I think Vista's speech rocks and is very cool!

Still once I read the above post I starting thinking about this kind of exploit.

A TV program or commercial could be used to remote "do stuff" to all the Vista computers with speech on (think a 24 episode, "Start Listening"... "Start Windows Explorer"..."1"... "ok"... "Delete"... "Yes" and poof your Documents folder is gone) ? Or a radio show/commercial? Or someone speaking on a speaker phone? Standing next to your cube? You

While not likely I believe this IS possible. I'm thinking, about as possible as your cat walking over your keyboard and inadvertently doing something bad (been there, done that). And I kind of think the first we'll hear of this is when it happens accidentally ("We were having dinner, talking about work... and my computer started doing ...")

Just to be safe, I think I'm going to turn off Voice (Windows Speech Recognition) and only turn it on when I actually plan on using it (and turn if off when I'm done). No leaving it running all the time... Never hurts to be safe.

Still, as recognition gets better, I think this will need to be addressed (like instead of "Start Listening" to wake it up, a personalized verbal passpharse. And a timeout to make it go to sleep if it hasn't heard anything for XX minutes... etc)

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Preview Handler Framework

The Moth - More Preview Handlers

"Remember the awesome Managed Preview Handler Framework for Vista and Outlook? Visit the author’s blog to download a Preview Handler Association editor.

I also found a preview handler, written with the framework, which is for code file extensions such as .cs, .vb, .js and .sql (link to download here).

Given that the visual effect is best described with a video, I’ve recorded a screencast on the topic.

After recording the video I came up with a slightly more useful preview handler than the one I showed there. How many times have you wanted to quickly extract the FullName or specifically the PublicKeyToken from a strong-named assembly?..."

I haven't been paying any attention to Vista Preview Handlers. As a matter of fact until now, I've not even had my Preview Pane visible, thinking "preview" as something "preview" bitmaps from the past. Boy was I wrong.... I now see I may have been missing something kind of cool.

And given how easy Daniel makes it look to write one in .Net... Well I can see a number of ways these could be very useful.

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

PowerShell for Vista Downloads/Installs

Windows PowerShell 1.0 Installation Package for Windows Vista (KB928439)

Windows PowerShell 1.0 Installation Package for Windows Vista x64 Edition (KB928439)

More Vista release day coolness... :)

Developing a Weather Vista Sidebar Gadget (C#)

Code Project - A Vista sidebar gadget to provide weather information

"I’ve been a developer for over 10 years and recently entered the world of widgets/gadgets thanks to my employer, AccuWeather.com. My first real widget was for the Google home page. I also released a toolbar for Internet Explorer that provides a current weather forecast. My attention then turned to developing a gadget for Vista that provided similar information. The data comes directly from AccuWeather.com via an XML feed that has been customized for the Vista gadgets being developed for AccuWeather.com.

This article will detail exactly how I built the Vista AccuWeather forecast gadget, the obstacles I overcame, and how I used the functionality provided by the Vista Sidebar api.

..."

This is a cool and well written article on writing a Windows Sidebar gadget that does all the things we'll be looking for in gadgets, flyouts, docking, web feed consuming, etc...

Related Past Post XRef:
Windows Sidebar Gadget Development Tutorial
Vista Sidebar Gadgets - Beyond the toy zone...

Lucene.Net 2.0 Final Released

DotLucene News BlogLucene.Net 2.0 final (build 3) released

"Lucene.Net 2.0 final (build 3) was released on 27 December 2006 (release notes). In addition to the 2.0 final release, George Aroush ported some Lucene add-ons to .NET:

  • Snowball.Net 2.0.0.1
  • Highlighter.Net 2.0.0.1
  • SpellChecker.Net 2.0.0.1

The links in downloads section on dotlucene.net are updated. " [Post leached in full]

It's great to see Lucene.net is alive and breathing...

My Name is Greg and I'm a SourceSafe User... (well, sometimes) -- "Visual SourceSafe daylight saving time issues in 2007"

Visual SourceSafe daylight saving time issues in 2007

"Daylight saving time changes

Because of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the start date and the end date for daylight saving time (DST) in the United States will change in 2007. DST in the United States will start three weeks earlier and will end one week later than in previous years. DST will start at 2:00 A.M. on the second Sunday in March and will end at 2:00 A.M. on the first Sunday in November.

Microsoft Visual SourceSafe uses the operating system for time stamping. Therefore, Visual SourceSafe users will be affected by this change. How you are affected depends on the following:

• The version of Visual SourceSafe that you are using

• Which services you have enabled

All servers and client computers should be updated

All servers and client computers that run Visual SourceSafe 2005 should be updated by using the operating system updates that Microsoft has released to address the DST issue...

If you do not update the servers and client computers, you may lose check-in information

..."

Okay, that last point got my attention.

Yes, for some legacy projects I'm still using SourceSafe. And while I keep my dev machines up to date, I don't control the server...

Time to email someone I guess.

(via ISerializable - Roy Osherove's Blog - Prepare sourcesafe for the daylight time change in the U.S)

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Application Template Day

Microsoft has released a big batch (20'ish by my count) of free WSS 3.0 Application Templates.

Here are the links and descriptions. (Leached from MS Downloads search on "Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Application Template")

 

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Application Templates: All Site Admin Templates

This download package includes all twenty site admininstration Application Templates for Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0.

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Application Template: GroupBoard Workspace 2007 [GD: Previously released...]

The GroupBoard Workspace template for Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 creates a space for a group or team to connect and share information in a collaborative environment, improving team efficiency and productivity

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Application Template: Employee Activities Site

The Employee Activities Site application template for Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 helps manage the creation and attendance of events for employees.

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Application Template: Discussion Database

The Discussion Database application template for Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 provides a location where team members can create and reply to discussion topics.

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Application Template: Team Work Site

The Team Work Site application template for Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 provides a place where project teams can upload background documents, track scheduled calendar events and submit action items that result from team meetings.

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Application Template: Employee Training Scheduling And Materials

The Employee Training Scheduling and Materials application template for Microsoft Office SharePoint Services 3.0 helps instructors and employees manage courses and related materials.

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Application Template: New Store Opening

The New Store Opening application template for Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 helps a team manage the opening of new store locations or remodeling of existing store location.

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Application Template: Employee Self-Service Benefits

The Employee Self-Service Benefits application template for Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 provides tools for an organization to inform employees about available benefits as well as enabling them to enroll for each benefit.

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Application Template: Timecard Management

The Timecard Management application template for Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 helps teams track hours spent working on various projects.

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Application Template: Equity Research

The Equity Research application template for Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 helps teams collaborate on researching stocks and other equities.

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Application Template: Case Management for Government Agencies

The Case Management for Government Agencies application template for Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 helps case managers track the status and tasks required to complete their work.

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Application Template: Request for Proposal

The Request for Proposal application template for Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 helps manage the process of creating and releasing an initial RFP, collecting submissions of proposals and formally accepting the selected proposal from amongst those submitted.

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Application Template: Disputed Invoice Management

The Disputed Invoice Management application template for Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 helps accounts payable departments track open invoices including the potential savings associated with paying the invoice early.

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Application Template: Competitive Analysis Site

The Competitive Analysis Site application template for Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 helps teams organize information about competitors and their products.

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Application Template: Integrated Marketing Campaign Tracking

The Integrated Marketing Campaign Tracking application template for Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 helps marketing managers track the implementation and success of outbound marketing activities.

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Application Template: Board of Directors

The Board of Directors application template for Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 provides a single location for an external group of members to store and locate common documents such as quarterly reviews, shareholder meeting notes and annual strategy documents.

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Application Template: Clinical Trial Initiation and Management

The Clinical Trial Initiation and Management application template for Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 helps teams manage the process of tracking clinical trial protocols, objective setting, subject selection and budget activities.

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Application Template: Sports League

The Sports League application template for Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 helps an intra-company league administrator manage a baseball league.

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Application Template: Product and Marketing Requirements Planning

The Product and Marketing Requirements Planning application template for Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 enables teams to manage the process of collecting and documenting requirements for new products.

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Application Template: Product and Marketing Requirements Planning

The Product and Marketing Requirements Planning application template for Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 enables teams to manage the process of collecting and documenting requirements for new products.

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Application Template: Business Performance Reporting

The Business Performance Reporting application template for Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 helps organization managers track the satisfaction of customers through a combination of surveys and discussions.

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Application Template: Manufacturing Process Management

The Manufacturing Process Management application template for Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 helps teams to model and track manufacturing processes as well as tasks and issues that arise in the upkeep of these processes.

Monday, January 29, 2007

Cropper 1.9.1 Released (Includes Vista Compatibility)

Brian Scott - Cropper 1.9 Released

"After a long break I’m back working on Cropper. I’ve been a bit under the weather lately so I used my free time to get a little work done on it.

Thanks to Jon Galloway for some suggestions and testing the new plug-in functionality. Also to Scott Isaacs for the predefined sizes suggestion and testing.\

...

>>More info and download

1) .Net Framework 2.0....

2) Vista Compatibility....

3) Predefined Sizes....

4) Alt+PrintScreen Captures Stay on Clipbaord....

5) Configurable Plug-In Support....

6) Promt File Name Template Bug Fixed...

"

Cropper rocks. 'nuff said.

Windows Live SDK Released

Nick Mayhew - Reaching out to partners in Australia - Windows Live SDK published

"Windows Live SDK

The Windows Live™ Platform puts a deeper level of control into developers' hands by offering access to the core services and data through open, easily accessible APIs. Now you can build applications and mashups that combine your innovation with the power of Windows Live services and social relationships.

Visit
http://dev.live.com to learn more about other services and developer offerings from Windows Live.

Windows Live Services

The following software development kits and application programming interfaces are available to Windows Live developers:
...

Windows Live™ Search Web Service API - The Windows Live™ Search Web Service is an Extensible Markup Language (XML) Web service with a SOAP API. The Search Web Service enables you to submit queries to and return results from the Windows Live Search Engine....

..."

I've been thinking of tweaking my WLW Related Post Plug to also allow the searching of the given blog for posts that have rotated off their feed.

Since Google's SOAP search is effectively dead, I'm now going to be looking to Live and/or Yahoo...

VS 2005 IDE Tip - Solution Specific Code Formatting/Settings Macro

vs.Eco - Another Visual Studio IDE Tip

"...

Many of us work on multiple projects at the same time, and some of those have different coding conventions. For example, you might be involved in a work-related project that uses company-defined conventions, but also participate on open source projects with their own coding styles. However, currently visual studio settings for Code Formatting are global and cannot be easily overridden.

Here’s what Paul came up with:

For each solution, create a .vssettings file containing the editor options you want to modify and add it to the solution. Then create a macro hooked up to the “Solution Opened” event to import the .vssettings file automatically.

The macro is really simple (add it to the EnvironmentEvents module): ..."

Very nice. This technique provides for Solution specific .vssettings files. Simple and yet pretty darn cool idea.

See the original post for the macro code (I didn't want to be a TOTAL leach... this time... ;)

PDF 1.7 Released to ISO for Standardization

Adobe to Release PDF for Industry Standardization

"SAN JOSE, Calif. — Jan. 29, 2007 — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced that it intends to release the full Portable Document Format (PDF) 1.7 specification to AIIM, the Enterprise Content Management Association, for the purpose of publication by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

...

Adobe will release the full PDF 1.7 specification as defined in the PDF Reference Manual available at www.adobe.com/devnet/pdf/pdf_reference.html to AIIM for the purpose of submission to ISO. The joint committee formed under AIIM will identify issues to be addressed, as well as proposed solutions, and will develop a draft document that will then be presented to a Joint Working Group of ISO for development and approval as an International Standard. ..."

Seems logical to back PDF's with an "official" standard, doesn't it? I wonder if released to the ISO sooner, if there'd still have been the Office 2007 Save As PDF issue?

In any case, I think it's a great move...

(via Scobleizer - Breaking news: Adobe to release PDF to ISO)

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Paint.Net 3.0 RTM

Rick Brewster's blog - Paint.NET 3.0 -- Final Release now available!

"It's done! Thanks to everyone who's given feedback and submitted bugs and suggestions, they have really helped improved the quality and stability of the program.

Links:

...

Here's what's new since version 2.72:

  • Simple and intuitive tab-based multi-document user interface
  • Now available in 8 languages: English, Chinese (Simplified), French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), and Spanish
  • Interactive Gradient Tool that makes it very easy to draw and then fine-tune placement and coloring of a gradient.
  • User-definable color palette (as opposed to just the color wheel)
  • New effects: Clouds, Median, Unfocus, Outline, and an improved Sharpen
  • More intuitive and more powerful toolbar
  • Generally improved and cleaner user interface 
  • History files are now compressed to save disk space, reduce disk activity, and improve performance. 
  • "Merge Down" layer command

..." [Post leached nearly in full]

Very Cool.

Paint.Net is my favorite graphic package... The fact it's written in .Net (with source code available) is also a huge draw for me.

(via The Road to Know Where - Microsoft's Rick Brewster Releases Paint.NET 3.0)

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Free Xceed DataGrid for WPF Now Available for Download

Xceed - Xceed DataGrid for WPF

"Xceed DataGrid for WPF is licensed for free, with an unlimited number of licenses per company, as long as each developer registers with their real name and valid email address at work. The free license is a perpetual license and includes royalty-free distribution, bugfixes, and new features, so your company can use it with full confidence. Support is provided on a community-support basis in the product's forum.

..."

What's New

"First commercial release, January 25, 2007. The first known commercial WPF component released to the public. Over 11,000 hours of work was put into this initial version."

Just released today, it's available for free download (downloading now, 61MB+ download), as long as you register...

Related Past Post XRef:
Free WPF DataGrid from XCEED (Coming Soon)

WFetch 1.4 - GUI Utility for Browser to IIS Debugging

Microsoft Downloads - WFetch 1.4

"...

WFetch is a graphical user-interface aimed at helping customers resolve problems related to the browser interaction with Microsoft's IIS webserver. WFetch allows a client to reproduce a problem with a light-weigth, very HTTP friendly test environment. It allows for very granuluar testing down to the authentication, authorization, custom headers, and much more.

..."

Added to my "I know I'm going to need this one day" utility belt.

FixVsItemSortOrder - Visual Studio Add Item Dialog Sort 'Em Alphabetically Utility

William.Home()FixVsItemSortOrder

"What is FixVsItemSortOrder?

By default Visual Studio's add dialog is sorted arbitrarily by the creators of the item templates and this can make it hard to find items to add. The FixVsItemSortOrder utility changes the sort order of all the item templates so the add dialog is sorted alphabetically.

..."

This cool GPL (but with no source code that I can find) VS 2005 command line utility touches all the Item Templates, i.e. all the in the zips in the %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\Common7\IDE\ItemTemplates\ folder and subfolders, and adjusts their *.vstemplate Sort Order values so the items sort alphabetically.

I just ran it and it worked fine for me (but for sanity sake and like the site recommends, make sure you backup the ItemTemplates folder...)

(via Larkware News - The Daily Grind 1061)

Sunday, January 21, 2007

9,000+ Free Fonts

Geek Fonts

"Welcome to Geek Fonts, one of the largest free fonts archive on the web! We have 9348 fonts (yes nine thousand three hundred and forty-eight) all with large previews, character maps and customizable previews.

To begin, browse by category or alphabetically or use the search function to find a sepecific free font. Click any of the links on the main navigation above to begin.

..."

More free fonts than you may ever need, categorized, searchable and with previews (the ones I've looked at are True Type Fonts [TTF] so easily usable on Windows)...

(via TheMadAdmin - Need Fonts?)

"Instant Viewer" Mouse Wheel Replaces Alt-Tab Switching in new Microsoft IntelliPoint 6.1 Mouse Driver

The Road to Know Where - Microsoft's "Instant Viewer" Mouse Feature Replaces Alt-Tab Switching

"...

While not quite as cool as Windows Vista's Flip 3D, Instant Viewer is an Alt-Tab replacement for switching between programs. Click the Scroll Wheel to instantly display, browse and select the open program/window.

--> VIEW Instant Viewer DEMO <--

--> Download IntelliPoint 6.1 for Windows XP & Windows Vista <--

--> Download IntelliPoint 6.1 for Windows XP 64 & Windows Vista 64 <--"

I just downloaded and installed this and it's pretty cool... See the demo above to see it in action.

I really like that it's active all the time. Meaning to switch to another app, all I need to do is click the mouse wheel to bring up the window list (with thumbnail previews) and click on the app I want. It's just two clicks to to switch to any of the running apps...Quick, simple and easy.

And heck, I didn't even need to reboot when I installed it (but your mileage may vary).

Friday, January 19, 2007

Windows SideShow API

Wintellect - Windows SideShow .NET Framework Components 1.0 (Beta)

"Well, I'm very pleased to announce that the "Windows SideShow .NET Framework Components 1.0 (Beta)" is avialable as of today (January 18, 2007).

You can download it from here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=06FA2ACE-A42D-4117-821C-BCE80786F1C4&displaylang=en

This is the managed API that I personally implemented for Microsoft to make it easy for managed developers to write SideShow gadget applications for Windows Vista. 

I wrote about SideShow and this API in the January 2007 issue of MSDN Magazine..."

I have to admit that I just didn't get Windows SideShow. I didn't see the value add or feel any draw. I thought it a little silly and weird.

Now after CES and its SideShow stuff (see Jeff's above post for a few SideShow enabled Media Center remotes) and seeing that Jeff Richter was so deeply involved in it has forced me to re-evaluate my feelings. I think I'm beginning to see the light...

Yeah, okay, it just might be officially cool. ;)

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Turn Your .Net Treeview into a Vista Treeview

The Moth - TreeViewVista

"In an older post I highlighted one of the changes in the TreeView control in Vista’s explorer:

"...the treeview has no horizontal scrollbar at the bottom and scrolling happens for you automatically as you select nodes that are not fully visible and as you mouse over around..."

I then offered some code that makes the System.Windows.Forms.TreeView control behave the same way.

...

If you take a further look at the explorer TreeView you’ll notice that in addition to the autoscroll functionality previously described, there are also some aesthetic changes.

...

So I was looking at how I can make my managed TreeView have the same feel and look.

...

I have updated the two code files, which I posted last time, to incorporate these additions ..."

Daniel provides cool tips and code (C#) to help you make the default/in-the-box .Net Treeview look much more "Vista like" (when running on Vista)...

Using my now officially favorite code converter (C# 2 to VB.Net / Boo or VB.Net to C# / Boo), code converter by SharpDevelop, I was able to take Daniel's code, convert it and get it running in a VB.Net app in minutes.

Here's the Before and After at design time...

..and runtime

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

WinFUSE - Usermode File System

WinFUSE - Filesystems with .NET

"WinFUSE - Filesystem in Userspace
With WinFUSE it is possible to implement a fully functional filesystem in .NET running in Userspace mode.

Modern operating systems like WINDOWS and LINUX can mount different filesystems. Writing a filesystem is very hard, it has to be developed in kernel modus. To overcome this drawback developers have created different solutions to write usermode filesystems, especially in the LINUX world there is the famous FUSE project.

In the WINDOWS world the only comparable thing are namespace extensions , but they have a lot of limitations compared to filesystems.
...

WinFUSE is written in C# based on the .NET framework and fully running in usermode as a Windows service. It handles all the network stuff and can call different filesystem implementations via a microkernel.

So, to implement a new filesystem you just have to write a C# class that implements the IFilesystem Interface and make an entry in the configuration file of the Microkernel. It was never easier to implement filesystems!

..."

The first thing that came to my mind when reading about this is that it would be officially cool to build a SQL back-end FS implementation with this... Our own WinFS like file system.   ;)

(via del.icio.us/tag/.NET - del.icio.us/ncadell/.net/)

bLaugh for the day...

 At a Loss for Words

Been a while since I ran my bLaugh WLW Plugin...

Looks like it still works.   ;)

csEXWB - Complete C# Webbrowser Wrapper Control

Code Project - The most complete C# Webbrowser wrapper control

"csEXWB is a C# (.NET 2.0) control which creates, hosts, and sinks the events of the original Webbrowser control (Not .NET or any other wrapper). Advanced customization and almost total control over Webbrowser control are achieved via implementation of a number of interfaces along with addition of many methods, properties and events. The control has no dependencies on MSHTML interop or any other third party library, all the interfaces, enums, and structs are defined within the project. Here are some of the features of this control

  • Can easily be extended by adding other interfaces and methods, unlike .NET or any other Webbrowser wrapper.
  • All the basics expected from a Webbrowser wrapper are implemented. Setting/getting UI, and DL control flags. Handling of context menus, keyboard, registry, securitymanager, script errors, popups, Authentication, Security problems, Font size, messageboxes.
  • Build in HTMLDocument and HTMLWindow events.
  • Frameset aware. All the relevant routines check for frames.
  • Full internal drag drop support.
  • Refresh begin, and end events!
  • Create and resolve Internet shortcuts using IShellLink interface.
  • Load HTML content specifying BaseURL.
  • Added functionality to use the control as an MSHTML editor.
  • MSHTML as a UI-less HTML parser helper class.
  • Comes with a comprehensive demo which shows how to use most of the functionality included in the control.

..."

This is an interesting project... Sometimes the .Net 2 WebBrowser control does the job, but sometimes you need to get closer to the metal. That's where this project looks like it could come in handy.

Being packaged as a control it should easily be usable from any other .Net language. For example, I was able to build an uber-simple browser app in VB with it in just seconds. Just as easy as with the .Net 2 WebBrowser control, but with much more power...

Free WPF DataGrid from XCEED (Coming Soon)

XCEED

"The Missing WPF Datagrid:
  - 100% stylable
  - Rich in-place editing
  - Professional quality
  - Totally free!"

I've signed up to be notified when it's released (so you don't have to). I'll let you know when I hear more...

(via Michael Swanson's Blog - WPF Wizards, a Free DataGrid (!?), Improved Illustrator Export, and WPF/E Training)

Because I was cleaning my office and found boxes and boxes of them - How to Make a Starship Enterprise Out of a Floppy Disk

wikiHow - How to Make a Starship Enterprise Out of a Floppy Disk

"Floppy disks are a thing of the past. However, that doesn't mean you have to toss them in a garbage can. Pay a tribute to another thing of the past (or, the future?)--The Starship Enterprise--and you can reminisce and recycle at the same time!

..."

I have to have hundreds, if not more, 3 1/2 floppies filling some Iron Mountain boxes. Floppies that I won't just throw away without destroying first as I don't know what data is on them...

Maybe instead of destroying them I can repurpose them as my own starship fleet.  ;)

(via Marc's 2nd Blog - How to Make a Starship Enterprise Out of a Floppy Disk)

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

"Xbox.com Prima Guides" - Some Free XBox 360 Game Guides

Microsoft Downloads - Xbox.com Prima Guides

"...Lost in a particularly difficult level? Can't figure out how to beat that one boss? Wish you knew how to unlock that last character? Prima has you covered with guides for all your favorite Xbox® titles. The world's leading publisher of official game guides and the exclusive guide publisher for Microsoft®, Prima continues to dominate the field it created in 1990 by providing the highest quality game guides available. Get the best tips, maps, hints, and strategies from Prima's experts, and take your gaming further than you ever thought possible.

Eragon_Combat_Essentials.pdf
Eragon_Ruins_of_Orthaid.pdf
FEAR_Basic_Training.pdf
FEAR_Infiltration.pdf
Fight_Night_Round3_Advanced_Punch_Combos.pdf
Fight_Night_Round3_Career_Mode.pdf
MortalKombat_Armageddon_Character_Guide.pdf
MortalKombat_Armageddon_Stage_Trategies.pdf
NeedforSpeed_Carbon_Career_Basics.pdf
NeedforSpeed_Carbon_Racing_Theory_101.pdf
Rainbow_Six_Vegas_Calypso_Casino.pdf
Rainbow_Six_Vegas_Weapons_Basics.pdf
Scarface_Game_Basics.pdf
Scarface_Missions_5and6.pdf
Sonic_Hedgehog_Enemy_Gallery.pdf
Sonic_Hedgehog_The_Blue_Blur.pdf
SplinterCell_DoubleAgent_Game_Basics.pdf
SplinterCell_DoubleAgent_Mission_RSS_Rublev.pdf
Spyro_NewBeginning_Game_Basics.pdf
Spyro_NewBeginning_Tall_Plains.pdf
Tiger_Woods_07_Firestone_Country_Club.pdf
Tiger_Woods_07_Golf_Basics.pdf"

A little free help to get your 360 game on...

Monday, January 15, 2007

"Fundamental Computer Investigation Guide For Windows"

Fundamental Computer Investigation Guide For Windows

"Internet connectivity and technological advances expose computers and computer networks to criminal activities such as unauthorized intrusion, financial fraud, and identity and intellectual property theft. Computers can be used to launch attacks against computer networks and destroy data. E-mail can be used to harass people, transmit sexually explicit images, and conduct other malicious activities. Such activities expose organizations to ethical, legal, and financial risks and often require them to conduct internal computer investigations.

This guide discusses processes and tools for use in internal computer investigations. It introduces a multi-phase model that is based on well-accepted procedures in the computer investigation community. It also presents an applied scenario example of an internal investigation in an environment that includes Microsoft® Windows®–based computers. The investigation uses Windows Sysinternals tools (advanced utilities that can be used to examine Windows–based computers) as well commonly available Windows commands and tools.

..."

This is a high level, 60 page document to get you started...

For internal IT, or if you've had no exposure to computer forensics, this could be a good starting point. It's somewhat general, but does cover some very important concepts (like how important chain of custody is, avoiding spoliation, etc, etc).

I think Chapter 5, Applied Scenario Example, is one of the better parts of the document as it's fairly real-world and mid-level technical (i.e. registry spelunking, actual examples if using Sysinternals tools to gather data, yada).

(via Jeff Alexander's Weblog - The Fundamental Computer Investigation Guide..)