June 2007 - Posts

• Action Movie Night - June 30th

  It's time again for Action Movie Night! This is just a quick reminder regarding the Action Movie Night taking place Saturday evening, June 30, 2007, starting at 6:00pm located at my house so space is limited to those that RSVP.  The movies being shown are:  AND  I was planning on watching Matrix on HD DVD, however, since Shooter was released this Tuesday... it got bumped. In addition to the movies, I’ll also be firing up the grill for a grillin’ session.  This will start around 4:30pm and everyone is invited to bring their own slab of meat and try their hand.  (It’s a guys night, so no one is going to do the cookin’ for ya… besides… didn’t I mention that it’s a guys night… we are all supposed to love to grill, right?)  Some side dishes will be prepared to go along with your charred masterpieces. Due to the nature of the movies being shown (and potentially being shown in the future), this event is limited to guys who are 18 or older.  (It's a guys event... so leave the wives and/or girlfriends at the homestead.) If you'd like to attend, please let me know (via email, Live Messenger or, if you have my number, give me a call) and I'll get you further details. (Oh yeah, and now that commenting is active again, you could just leave a comment here.) Posted Jun 27 2007, 11:32 AM by AddressOf.com Filed under: Action Movie Night

• Technology Avalanche

  I have to admit that lately I've been feeling a little overwhelmed by the amount of new technology that I need to grok in order to stay ahead of the curve.  In a relatively short window of time, we've had Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), Windows Workflow Foundation (WF), Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), Expression Blend, XNA Studio and Windows Vista (with 7,000+ new API's) released and Silverlight, Dynamic Language Runtime, Core-CLR, yet another version of Blend, Windows Home Server and, probably most importantly, "Acropolis" coming within the next six to nine months.  And this is just the items that I have on my personal todo list; the list is actually a pretty small in comparison to the total. Obviously it isn't possible for me to learn all of this at the same exact time.  So I've decided to focus on one of the core technologies behind several of the ones I've mentioned.  XAML.  Since XAML is the basis of WPF, Silverlight, Blend and "Acropolis"... it's something I'm not going to be able to avoid.  Additionally, I'm focusing on the WPF angle.. but learning WPF via "Acropolis" and Blend.  I have a long list of projects that I'd like to utilize WPF, so I'm starting there and seeing if I can rewrite one of the smaller ones utilizing "Acropolis". What is "Acropolis"? "Acropolis" is a "set of components and tools that make it easier for developers to build and manage modular, business focused, client .NET applications".  "Acropolis" "builds on the rich capabilities of Microsoft Windows and the .NET Framework, including Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) by providing tools and pre-built components that help developers quickly assemble applications from loosely-coupled parts and services". Ever heard of CAB?  Ever tried CAB?  If you have and thought, "Man, why does this sort of thing have to be so difficult.", "Acropolis" is poised to help rectify that situation.  Brad Abrams used the word "democratize" to describe the goal of "Acropolis".  As such, you won't have to understand what composite applications, software factories, etc. mean in order to build these sorts of applications.  Using a wizard, you can create a basic infrastructure for a robust application that you can then focus on the business problems at hand instead of all of the plumbing to bring different "parts" together. Since "Acropolis" is focused on delivering this technology leveraging XAML for both the plumbing and display (WPF), it seems like a great technology to focus on to get my feet wet with several pieces of technology.  Also, I really believe that there will be a huge demand for those that understand "Acropolis" in the near future as more people realize the benefits of what a true rich client application can provide. Additionally, I have decided to make it a personal mission (one of many it seems) to do whatever I can to see that VB is a true first class citizen in the "Acropolis" world.  So it seems I have three reasons to spend some serious time in the land of "Acropolis". Posted Jun 21 2007, 09:23 PM by AddressOf.com Filed under: XAML, WPF, Windows, Silverlight, Acropolis, VB, Vista

• Comments are back!

  I know a lot of people that will be happy to know (thus why I'm pointing it out here) that anonymous comments on AddressOf.com have returned.  Based on a recommendation given by Scott Hanselman in regards to what he uses to combat comment spam, AddressOf.com now uses the same service. Yes, I really do like people commenting, so now that comments have returned, speak your mind! Posted Jun 21 2007, 08:04 PM by AddressOf.com

• It's about time!

  I'm a huge fan of the Microsoft Natural Ergonomic keyboard.  It's about time people like me get a wireless option. ;-) Introducing the Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Desktop 7000.  It's supposed to be available sometime in July... so I'll keep my eyes out for them on the shelves and let you know what I think when I get my hands on one. Posted Jun 20 2007, 02:33 PM by AddressOf.com

• GotDotNet, may you rest in peace

  In an effort to preserve some of the contributions I made to GotDotNet, I'm making them available here. Windows Media Player 9 Series Metadata Sample [2/9/2003] This is a port of the WmpML C++ sample included with the Player 9 SDK to VB.NET. Shows how to read/write to media players metadata; not the metadata contained within the individual files, but the "database" used by media player. This is meant more to be a sample of how to access/modify the information; not an actual application. Be sure to read the notes included as comments in the main form for further information. Finally found something to submit :-) Enjoy. [download] Bit Shift Operation Methods for VB.NET (Microsoft Visual Basic .NET 2002) [2/26/2003] This re-usable example shows how to using Reflection.Emit() to embed a function written in IL into a VB.NET class. Also shows examples of Public Shared single instance class. Further, I've modeled this after the code generated by C#->VB.NET conversion tools for converting bit shift operators. So you can use this as a drop in to handle that code. Be sure to let me know if you find any issues by posting feedback. [download] Owner Drawn Button Control using various opacity (transparency) levels. [2/27/2003] This component allows for semi-transparency over the base image and change based on user interaction (mouse over, tab to, etc.) (ala Windows XP Media Center Edition) This sample shows how to owner draw a button, copy the parents image into the control, place a semi-transparent layer over the image, drawing text, handling variations of TextAlign, and adjust RGB levels of a color. It's not 100% complete, so please post feedback and additional ideas for improvement... [download] Some of the projects I created and/or was otherwise involved in appear to have disappeared already.  I'll see if I can dig up some of the code from my own archives and make those available as well. Posted Jun 20 2007, 02:08 PM by AddressOf.com

• "Blocked" by Windows Vista at startup? (Hack)

  So you have an application that is "blocked" at startup by Windows Vista.  Every time you have to restart the computer, you see the bubble displayed in the lower right hand corner of the screen letting you know that you had an application blocked.  You then use the notify icon to interrogate the list of applications and fire them off accordingly.  Of course, you also have to say yes to the UAC prompt as well.  Annoying, isn't it? Well, here's a way that you can modify the startup procedure so that an application will no longer be blocked and doesn't require you to accept the UAC prompt.  Yes, it's somewhat of a hack, but it's not too difficult to pull off.  (It's a hack in the sense we are thinking outside of the box to work around the limitations that are in place due to a software manufacturer not updating their software to work "correctly" with Windows Vista.) To do this, you'll first need to modify the applications configuration so that it will no longer attempt to start with Windows Vista on it's own.  If you are unable to do this, then you may need to use the msconfig utility to remove it from the startup list.  Once this is done, you can then setup an alternate startup method.  This method involves using the Task Scheduler. Open the "Control Panel". Select "Classic View" on the left (if not already done). Double click "Administrative Tools". Double click "Task Scheduler". Accept the UAC prompt accordingly. Click the "Create Basic Task..." link on the right hand side of the Task Scheduler dialog. The "Create Basic Task Wizard" dialog will not be displayed.  Fill in the "Name:" text box with something appropriate such as "Launch WhateverNameOfProgram" and click the "Next" button. Select the "When I log on" for the Trigger and click the "Next" button. The "Start a program" option will already be selected for the Action by default.  Click the "Next" button. In the "Program/script:" text box, enter the full path to the executable you wish to start when you log in.  You can use the "Browse..." button to use the Open dialog.  Once you have found the executable and entered it, click on the "Next" button to continue. The "Summary" screen should now be displayed.  Here you will see the "Open the Properties dialog for this task when I click Finish" checkbox.  Check this box and then click the "Finish" button. We are nearly finished at this point.  Just a few more modifications... On the "General" tab, check the "Run with highest privileges" check box. On the "Conditions" tab, uncheck the "Start the task only if the computer is on AC power" check box (just in case your doing this on your laptop). On the "Settings" tab, uncheck the "Stop the task if it runs longer than:" check box. Click the "OK" button to save the changes. At this point, you should be able to restart your computer and, upon log in, the application configured should start automatically. Enjoy! Posted Jun 17 2007, 11:37 AM by AddressOf.com

• Didn't go to Tech-Ed 2007?

  If you didn't get the opportunity to attend Tech-Ed 2007 (or you somehow missed the keynote), you can watch it here.  If you don't have time to watch the whole thing, at least take the time to watch the first few minutes... you're sure to get a laugh. On a similar note, I'm still catching up from being out at Tech-Ed last week; however, just want to assure you that I have a long list of topics that I'll be sharing over the next couple of weeks... so stay tuned.  (BTW, if there's anything you'd like me to talk about first, be sure to send me a note with your request). Posted Jun 14 2007, 11:46 AM by AddressOf.com