Monthly Archives: March 2005

Pre-Con Drive

Just Rambling

I’m heads down doing my ado.net 2.0 demos. I added a little extra pressure by loading the Feb CTP on my test box yesterday. So much for my demo that returns a DataTable from a Web Service and then does a DataTable.Merge with cached data on a web page. (Hopefully the DataTable’s iXMLSerializable functions are only temporarily broken – or maybe I’m just being really dumb. Or maybe Scott Hanselman put a hex on that demo because I was returning a DataTable from a Web Service…how know.)

Luckily Rich is around. He finally walked the dogs, took care of the screaming cat (“where’s my dinner?”), is now feeding the dogs and if I’m lucky making dinner, too!

http://www.AcehAid.org

TechEd BOFs – Discussions, not presentations

Ineta

Just a reminder!

Birds of a Feather sessions are not presentations or panel discussions. There are no speakers and no slides. A microphone and whiteboard will be available, but there will be no projection equipment.

By proposing a session you agree to host it and moderate the discussion at the conference. You do not have to be a subject matter expert in order to host a session. You have to have a genuine interest in the topic. You may propose more than one session, however preference may be given to allow more people the opportunity to lead.

Submit proposals here
Vote here

http://www.AcehAid.org

Ahh the bleeding edge

Just Rambling

Can someone explain to me what drove me to uninstall the November VS2005 and SQL Server 2005 bits that were running all of my ADO.NET 2.0 demos perfectly well, and replace them with Feb CTP bits? Two days before I have to do a presentation that requires those demos? I’m not the bungee jumping type…really!

update: just to test my nerves a little, the new sql server bits wouldn’t install. Said I didn’t have the minimum config. I finally discovered that somehow it forgot about some of it’s RAM. I thought maybe the virtual DVD ROM was responsible but even disabling all of the drives didn’t help.

Finally I took the box apart and pulled the ram chips out and put them back in and started up. Now I was down to 256. I moved them around and got the beep beep beep (you know – moved them into bad spots) so I put them back in the original positions , restarted and my memory was back and my install went fine.

Over now to my compaq evo laptop which I use to demo whidbey stuff since I have to start updating that now, too. I haven’t used it in november. I couldn’t remember the password! Finally I got in as admin and changed the user password so that it matches my other computers. Oh lordy lord. What a fun night. 🙂



http://www.AcehAid.org

Consolidating Mike G

Community Cheerleading

Mike Gunderloy, one of the most prolific technical writers on the planet, has been doing reviews and columns for ADT for quite a long time. Mike is now going to do the reviews on his own larkware blog and you have probably already seen them. He has also done something that I think he totally deserves to be able to do and I have waited a few weeks to see what I thought of it. And I think it’s totally fine. He has sponsors on his Daily Grind blog posts. This is not the gross sponsorshop that a number of “a-list” bloggers recently did by contracting to find something to say about one particular totally unknown company in their posts periodically. I really did not like that one bit.

But having totally relevant companies subtly added at the end of the Daily Grind’s works for me. Mike works pretty hard on that feed and it is full of relevant and interesting information every single day. I also much prefer having the reviews come to me. I’m not one to go looking on a website every day to see what’s new.

How he finds time to explore so much software and so many books to do these reviews is beyond me.

I do look forward to Mike airing more of his opinion[ated :-)] pieces on the blog. I think he does a great job of keeping many of us in line!

http://www.AcehAid.org

User Group Leaders – PLEASE steal this idea

Ineta

I got this idea from attending and speaking at GUVSM meetings in Montreal and have been doing it at Vermont.NET since October of last year. I prepare a powerpoint deck of what’s going on in the area, upcoming events. other things people should know (eg. Microsoft’s 2nd chance certification which I will put in my march deck). I run the deck as a slideshow when people are arriving and getting settled. THen at the start of the meeting, I use the deck as talking points to let everyone know what’s going on so I don’t forget anything. Any links, etc that are in the deck, are also on my user group website so people don’t have to take notes from it.

Here is the deck from our March meeting. http://vtdotnet.org/docs/vtdotnet_mar_05.ppt

Feel free to steal this idea!

http://www.AcehAid.org

Powder day, but…

Vermont

hmmm – about a foot of brand new snow, blue sky, beautiful sunny morning but it is only FOUR degrees out! Aaargh. I am just finally getting over 3 weeks of cold/flu/bug thing and can’t afford to get sick again with upcoming travel…. Maybe it will warm up later. I don’t need to get the virgin pow that badly. There’s always untouched stuff to find off the beaten path anyway….

http://www.AcehAid.org