All posts by Julie

Red-Gate SQL Bundle Version 5 released

Tools

I seem to have found myself answering "check Red Gate" to a number of questions lately, so I thought I would share this recent email from them:

I wanted to let you know that we have just released version 5 of the SQL Bundle. This is a major new version and includes:

 §         SQL Compare Standard (with completely re-designed UI, ability to see object dependencies and numerous other enhancements)

§         SQL Data Compare Standard (with improved side-by-side comparison of column values, added support, etc)

§         DTS Package Compare

More information on specific changes to each of the products can be found at: http://www.red-gate.com/support/versions/index.htm

In parallel, we have also released SQL Bundle Pro 5, which comprises of:

§         SQL Compare Pro

§         SQL Data Compare Pro

§         SQL Packager Pro

§         SQL Toolkit (removed command-line interface)

§         DTS Package Compare

The Pro editions of the Bundle tools come with a command-line interface for easier scheduling and tasks automation.

For more information on our Bundles, please visit http://www.red-gate.com/products/sql_bundles/index.htm

Don’t Forget: www.acehaid.org

Win a Mobile PC (or is that a Tablet PC?) at DevConnections

Tablet

Two years ago, I blogged about the “Mobile PC” division at Microsoft which encompasses all of the mobility technology – Tablet PCs, handhelds etc. Today, for the first time, I noticed that this is finally catching on. There are lots of people walking around with bright orange hats. When I commented on one in the elevator to an attendee, he said “yeah, the Mobile PC team is giving them out and they are giving out a Mobile PC every day during the conference.” So it sounds like people are getting it now. A mobile pc has a lot of features that enable mobility and ink is only one of those features.

Posted from BLInk!

New MVPs in Poland

Community Cheerleading

My i.m. pal Michal Chaniewski has just (finally) become an MVP. Michal is one of the most connected guys in the .NET community in Poland. I’m so happy to see him get recognized. I met Michal when I noticed in his blog that he was from Poland and learned that he had lived in the small city that part of my family (generations past) came from. The town was called Langhfur but the name was changed to something wtih lots of w’s, r’s, s’s and z’s and maybe a vowel thrown in for fun that I couldn’t pronounce for the life of me! Something like a great chocolate torte that is all eggs, sugar and chocolate with a teaspoon of flour added.

He also told me that Maja Ciemienga has become the first female MVP in Poland! Yay. Maja is the INETA lead for Poland. Here is Maja’s blog – if you can read Polish!



Posted from BLInk!

On my way to Orlando for DevConnections

Connections

Though it was 70 degrees on Friday, it is back to the 30’s here in Vermont so the warm weather is just one more thing I am looking forward to as I take off for Florida shortly (shortly as in I should be putting my bags in the car, not sitting in front of the computer.)

This will be my 4th time speaking at DevConnections. Paul Litwin teased me last year because I was sad that I was missing all of the awesome sessions – since I was spending most of my time preparing my sessions. The pre-con sessions are running today. Tomorrow (Monday) is Microsoft Day and I could very happily sit in sessions all day long. We’ll see how that goes. Tuesday and Wednesday are the “third party” speakers.

I just love DevConnections as a speaker and as an attendee (I was that at one time) and yes, it would be great if I could somehow make copies of myself so that I could be in many rooms at once attending every talk and at the same time focus on my own sessions so that I can do the best job presenting that I can.

Don’t Forget: www.acehaid.org

Vermont IT Jobs: 4 .NET and 3 SQL Devs for6 month .NET contract in Burlington with free housing

Jobs

Knowledge Infotech is a software development and technology consulting company delivering strategy, applications development, software testing, and infrastructure services to support the needs of the global enterprise. We have expertise in the pharmaceutical, finance and insurance industries. Since our inception in 1999, Knowledge Infotech has sustained significant growth in the number of employees and client base having delivered on hundreds of successful engagements.

Our client has an immediate need for a team of four (4) skilled C#, .NET, ASP.NET Developers with WinForms experience and three (3) MS SQL Developers for a 6+ month project in beautiful Burlington, VT!  This is a fantastic opportunity to travel to and visit Vermont, while enjoying free housing and one round-trip travel expense while on the project!  You can be hired full time or work as an hourly consultant and still receive the free housing in http://www.travel-vermont.com/region04/index.asp

KI will sponsor or transfer H1-B visas for these needs

Phone interviews can be done immediately

Must have at least 3 years C#, .NET, ASP.NET and WinForms experience to be considered for the .NET team

Must have at least 3 years MS SQL development experience to be considered for the MS SQL Developer team

Please respond to LOsborne@knowledgeinfotech.com

Don’t Forget: www.acehaid.org

VPC Multiple Files

Tools

I had to back up one of my VPC’s to DVD – a just in case measure as I head down to Florida or DevConnections with a VPC dependent demo. In my folder was the VPC drive file and an extra file, I thought a backup. The main file was about 4GB and the second about 3GB. So I backed up the main file and the vpc settings file and then went to test the backup which gave me hard drive errors – I couldn’t boot up. Out ofcuriousity, I made a copy of the VPC file on my hard drive.Same problem. Then I dropped that "backup" (V01 extension) file in there and it worked.

A little googling tought me that the drive capacity for a VPC is 4 GB nnd my 7GB file was split into two drives. Aha! Here is a good explanation from JoeN at Microsoft who had learned the hard way, too.

So, I had already made he back up of the first part of the VPC at 7:12 pm. Now the timestamp of the two files that are in use are past that. Whichmight have meant having to reburn both files so that I had a matching pair. I did a little experimenting with mismatched files (that had no changes, just had been opened up) and the VPC disk went through a big repair but then booted up  just fine. I still may just toss that frst DVD and have a matched backup. Just in case.

Don’t Forget: www.acehaid.org

“Outsourcing Arguments Pro & Con” Panel at Middlebury May 3rd

dotNET

D.K. Smith Forum presents:

“Outsourcing:  Opportunity or Threat?”

Wednesday, May 3, 2006, 4:30-6:00 P.M.

216 McCardell Bicentennial Hall, Middlebury College

A reception will follow in the Tormondsen Great Hall

Moderator

Pieter J. Schiller ’60, Partner(retired), Advanced Technology Ventures, Waltham, MA

Panelists

Nick Laird ’88, Chief Executive Officer, Global Realty Outsourcing.  GRO is one of the leading providers of business process outsourcing solutions to the real estate and financial services industries.
Michael E. Zeliger, Partner, Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, Nicholson, Graham, LLP.
  Mr. Zeliger focuses his practice on complex civil litigation, with particular emphasis on patent and other intellectual property litigation.
Scott Hardy, Founder and President, NEOS Overshoes.  New England Overshoes is a Vermont firm designing and selling “performance overshoes” for personal, recreational and professional use.

In The World is Flat, Tom Friedman contends that software, the global fiber-optic network and ubiquitous Internet access is fundamentally altering virtually every aspect of our lives. For one, it is empowering individuals, groups and countries to collaborate and compete globally:

   We are all becoming neighbors.

   People can now go global seamlessly.

   Outsourcing is a direct consequence of a flat world, and is here to stay.

   Distance no longer insulates us from competition or impedes seizing global opportunities.

   We can now run global businesses, collaborate with (outsource to) partners and feel competition from around the globe without ever leaving home.

   Globalization is fundamentally altering how:

        People

            Are educated and prepare themselves for careers;

            Communicate and establish, build and maintain relationships;

            Work and play; and

        Companies

            Conceive, launch and grow entrepreneurial enterprises;

            Develop and secure intellectual property;

            Operate within increasingly transparent, global supply chains; and

            Compete and collaborate for markets and customers.

Questions and Issues

Does outsourcing jobs really mean we are outsourcing America? Or does outsourcing create more jobs than it moves offshore?

Does outsourcing mean that America will not be able to compete in anything, and that eventually there will be no jobs here?

If so, how do we explain the fact that, because outsourcing is making it so much more efficient and competitive, U.S. manufacturing is increasingly healthy, growing, and vibrant?

What are the implications of a “flat world” for intellectual property?

   Can companies secure world-wide protection? What are the critical factors and costs?

   What are the distinctions between “hard” products like shoes and machinery, and “soft” products like business processes, software and services?

   How do we deal with the reality that some countries do not recognize IP?

   How are courts looking at IP in this new environment?

A special thanks to the late Edward Schaefer ’56, Laura Schaefer Buckley ’79 and Edward Schaefer III ’84 for their generosity in establishing the Professor David K. Smith Visiting Economic Lecture Series in honor of David K. Smith’s work as a teacher and mentor at Middlebury College.

This event is free and open to the public.

Questions?

E-mail mosborne@middlebury.edu

Don’t Forget: www.acehaid.org

WSE3 with WCF February CTP

Indigo

Everything I thought I knew about how to interop messages between WCF and WSE3.0 went down the toilet with the newest bits of WCF.

Thanks to some serious counseling from William Tay this morning (who has been diving deep with WCF for a long time and has also kept up with the changes that affect all forms of interop, even WSE3.0) and then lots of hours of just trying, failing, thinking, adjusting (rinse and repeat) I finally got a WCF client app to talk to a WSE3.0 secured web service using a UsernameforCertificate binding/policy.

And yes, it’s all secured on the wire. I had every problem. Wrong X509 certificates installed, wrong encryption algorithms, hitting a few WCF bugs and more. Luckily, all of the work I have done with WSE3.0 has helped me prepare for troubleshooting this stuff. To me, that is one of the most important lessons!

Here are a few of the things I can share.

I was doing what Willie tells me is the hardest thing with interop – UsernameOverCertificate. But being bullheaded I had to go forward with it.

I tried writing my own, but didn’t understand well enough (though now I think I could tackle that) and instead used WSEHttpBinding that is a custom binding in one of the WCF samples.

That binding uses the Aes128 algorithm for it’s default security binding and secure conversation. I kept getting a message that the algorithm was insufficient to encrypt and key wrap. Changing them both to Aes256 fixed that. It took me a while to realize there were two spots to change, but I had the right idea! Uggh.

At one point, I was still getting an error, but looking at the web service’s trace, I could see that everything on that end had finally happened correctly. Therefore the problem was on the client side. Google gave me ONE response, and naturally it was from a blog post of Willie’s! He had seen a similar problem in the Sept. CTP, but it was enough to fix my problem (Feb CTP).

Since this stuff is still in flux, I think I will wait for WCF beta2 to be released before I attempt to update my article on preparing WSE3 web services for WCF. Truly the hard part (until the new bits are all sorted out) is writing the WCF client. I didn’t have to do anything to my web service to get this to work.

Willie’s got a pair of great articles on WCF on The Server Side (first, second) and I hear there’s a WSE3/WCF interop article coming soon from him as well. Lucky or the rest of us!

I will never have the deep knowledge of this stuff hat Willie and his compadres (Michele Butamante, Christian Weyer, Juval Lowy, etc.) have, but as long as I am willing to battle this stuff out so that I can share it with other programmers who are floating on the surface, I’ll keep at it.

I’ll be looking at more of this stuff in my WSE3 for WCF session at DevConnections next week. My focus is on making sure the WSE3 services are written correctly so that you can talk to them in the future from WCF. I won’t be teaching WCF. You can go across the hall to see Michele for that.



Don’t Forget: www.acehaid.org