June 2013 ~ Coolthing Of Theday

Sunday, 30 June 2013

300 for 320 - 320 Windows 8.1. app and code samples, C++, C#, JavaScript, in a 300MB download... (Or get language level download or pick and choose singles)

Posted on 14:21 by Unknown

Windows Dev Center - Windows 8.1 app samples

Windows 8.1 Preview Code Samples

This sample pack includes all the app code examples developed and updated for Windows 8.1 Preview. The sample pack provides a convenient way to download all the samples at once. The samples in this sample pack are available in C#, C++, VB.NET, and JavaScript.The Windows Samples Gallery contains a variety of code samples that exercise the various new programming models, platforms, features, and components available in Windows 8.1 Preview and/or Windows Server 2012 R2 Preview. These downloadable samples are provided as compressed ZIP files that contain a Visual Studio solution (SLN) file for the sample, along with the source files, assets, resources, and metadata necessary to successfully compile and run the sample. For more information about the programming models, platforms, languages, and APIs demonstrated in this sample, please refer to the guidance, tutorials, and reference topics provided in the Windows 8.1 Preview documentation available in the Windows Developer Center. This sample is provided as-is in order to indicate or demonstrate the functionality of the programming models and feature APIs for Windows 8.1 Preview and/or Windows Server 2012 R2 Preview.

This pack may be very large and take some time to download.

That should be enough to keep you busy over the upcoming July 4th weekend? Maybe?

Posted in .Net, Development, HTML5, Javascript, Windows8.1, XAML | No comments

"Utilizing SysInternals Tools for Windows Client" - The Seven Part Series..

Posted on 13:13 by Unknown

Channel 9 - Utilizing SysInternals Tools for Windows Client

Microsoft Premier Field Engineers the step through a technical deep dive on utilizing SysInternals Toolsets. This course focuses on key administrative and diagnostic utilities, and addresses key insights, and best practices.

Utilizing SysInternals Tools for Windows Client - Utilizing SysInternals Tools for Windows Client: (01) Introduction

In this module you will be introduced to the key utilities and tools that IT Pros can leverage from the SysInternals toolset.

Full course outline:

Mod 01: Introduction

Mod 02: Windows Internals

Mod 03: ProcessExplorer

Mod 04: ProcessMonitor

Mod 05: PsTools

Mod 06: AutoRuns

Mod 07: Other Tools

I know you've all got about 1.97 million TechEd and Build sessions queued for viewing, but this is Sysinternals, baby! :)

It's a sweet suite! Windows Sysinternals Suite gets a summer refresh [August 3, 2012]...
Sysinternals Suite 2010 Refreshed - All the latest versions, one 12.4MB zip…
Sysinternals Suite Refreshed – All the latest Sysinternals Utilities, one tiny zip (well 10MB zip…)
Sysinternals Suite (8MB of Complete Sysinternals Goodness)

Mesh'ing Live.Sysinternals.com, using Vista Scheduling and Robocopy|
A handy PowerShell script to keep your Sysinternals Suite up to date
The latest Sysinternals utilities are just a URL away, Live.Sysinternals.com

Use the Sysinternals Utilities? The EULA bug dialog you? Then try this…

The “Windows Sysinternals Primer: Process Explorer, Process Monitor, and More” from TechEd 2010 North America
Sysinternals 101 – “Notes from the field,” a quick intro to a few Sysinternals utilities (Process Explorer, TCPView, Process Monitor, VMMap)
Hands On Learning How to Use the Sysinternals Process Monitor Utility

Posted in SystemAdministration, Utility, Windows | No comments

Google .Net API's go portable... The v1.4.0 Google APIs .NET library is now a Portable Class Library (PCL) And now uses TPL and the new HttpClient lib too

Posted on 12:28 by Unknown

google-api-dotnet-client Announcements - Announcing the release of 1.4.0-beta

We are excited to announce the Google APIs .NET library 1.4.0-beta release.

There are amazing new features in this release, the library was upgraded to support .NET 4.0, and the core Google.Apis assembly is now a Portable Class Library (PCL, see below). We support now HttpClient as our transport layer and TPL for asynchronous tasks. Resumable upload was also improved and media download support was added to the library.

For users who run on .NET 3.5 or earlier versions of .NET framework, release 1.3.0 is still available for you to download from: https://google-api-client-libraries.appspot.com/download/library/[API_NAME]/[API_VERSION]/csharp?lv=1.3.0-beta.

For example to download the Blogger API library that works with 1.3.0-beta, use the following link - https://google-api-client-libraries.appspot.com/download/library/blogger/v2/csharp?lv=1.3.0-beta
All the new generated APIs can be downloaded from: http://code.google.com/p/google-api-dotnet-client/wiki/APIs

The release highlights:

Portable Class Library (PCL)

From this release, the Google.Apis core assembly is a PCL.

Portable Class Libraries support cross-platform development of .NET Framework apps. Use PCL to write and build portable assemblies that work without modification on multiple platforms, such as Windows 7, Windows 8, Silverlight, Windows Phone, and Xbox 360. ...

HttpClient

HttpClient provides developers an extremely simple programming interface to connect to services across the internet including REST-based services. It is part of .NET framework 4.5, but we use a .NET 4.0 PCL version using NuGet (which is available here).

In addition HttpClient exposes the new Task based asynchronous methods, which makes writing responsive and performant UI applications across all platforms a lot simpler....

...

Breaking changes in ClientServiceRequest...

Media Upload and Download...

Service names...

...

NuGet

From this release, we support NuGet for managing our 3rd party dependencies. You can also use the assemblies in the bundle (for .NET 4.0 full profile only), although our recommendation it to use NuGet.

Follow our Build wiki page for more details regarding building your project with or without NuGet.
* Notice that the Google packages are NOT served by NuGet, but it is scheduled to be in the future.

While I'm not really a happy google camper this second, this IS a great move by them. I'm really happy to see them continue in this investment and how they've moved to PCL. This should REALLY help in making Google reading/consuming/producing app's for most of the Windows platforms MUCH easier.

(via Bnaya Eshet - Google API)

Posted in .Net, Development, Google, portable, Web X.X | No comments

Goodbye Google Reader... Need an alternate app? Here's an ultimate alternate list, by AlternativeTo (GReader)

Posted on 12:14 by Unknown

AlternativeTo - Google Reader shuts down, but we have the alternatives!

Since you visit the AlternativeTo blog the chances are great that you’re one of the many people around the world that use an RSS-client powered by Google Reader to follow news, blogs and other types of web content. You probably already know that Google Reader is shutting down in just a few days. July 1 is getting closer very fast and it’s time to move on.

On AlternativeTo you can find loads of great alternatives and even though we all have different needs and taste there should be something there to make everyone happy. The most popular service right now according to our users is Feedly but a good idea is to have a look at the full list of alternatives and make up your own mind. Remember to click the like button on the alternative you like the most!

...

AlternativeTo - Google Reader (GReader)

I've been using NewsBlur (Premium) for the last month and am pretty happy with it. It's a one man show, but a pretty good show at that... even with big names now in the game, Digg, AOL, I still expect both a continued explosion of alternates and a later die-off and consolidation.

How to track all these alternates? AlternativeTo of course!

LifeHacker step by step guide to get going with your own hosted Tiny Tiny RSS

Using Google Docs to find a Google Reader replacement - the community project
Web Feed Reader Wish List - My Must Have/Should Have/Would Be Nice Feature List
And so dies my desktop feedreader of choice too, Google Reader's shutdown also kills FeedDemon
Google Reader Bytes the Dust - Google Reader is being turned out to pasture on July 1, 2013

Posted in Google, WebFeed | No comments

Tuesday, 25 June 2013

Scott (not that Scott) helps make your Live dev easier with the LiveSDKHelper

Posted on 10:30 by Unknown

Metro Nuggets - Belatedly Introducing LiveSDKHelper

while back I was working on a project that allowed me to actually look at, and use, the Live SDK in order to access information on SkyDrive. I was surprised to find just how hard it was to use the Live SDK, so as part of building the main project, I also built a little helper for using the Live SDK.

The Solution

So what is the LiveSDKHelper? Well basically, it’s a collection of classes, enums and strings that just take the chore out of using the Live SDK. It’s a portable class library that works with both Windows Phone (7.5 and 8) and Windows 8. But you probably assumed that, right!

Onto some code! In Windows Phone, as part of the Live SDK, we are given a signin button control that we can use to enable our end users to sign into their Microsoft Account. This button requires you to give it some scopes so the user knows exactly what information your app wants to access. This is the first part of the helper:

...

Again, this just makes it so much easier to deal with. And there’s plenty more to explore. At the moment, the library covers SkyDrive, Calenders and contacts.

If you want to give it a go, it’s installable from nuget.

The source for it is all on GitHub, and if you want to see an app using it, check out Store Card Buddy.

Been a while since I've highlighted Scott Lovegrove's dev work and I thought this pretty cool (and something I'm going to want to use in the near future)

Posted in .Net, Development, portable, Windows8, WindowsPhone | No comments

SSDT (SQL Server Data Tools) June 2013 Released

Posted on 08:49 by Unknown

SQL Server Data Tools Team Blog - Announcing SQL Server Data Tools - June 2013

We are pleased to announce that SQL Server Data Tools - June 2013 is now available for download. This release introduces several new features that we have consistently received requests for via MSDN forums and Connect. From the SSDT team, thank you for your valuable feedback and suggestions!

Get it here

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/data/hh297027

What's new

Data Compare

We received significant feedback that Data Compare is a critical feature for SSDT customers, so this release of SSDT enables the visual data comparison between a customizable list of tables/views in two databases. ...

Extensibility

This release brings with it a significant payload of updates and additions to the extensibility scenarios supported in SSDT and DACFx. ...

Build & Deployment contributors

This extensibility point allows hooking custom code up to the existing DACFx build or deployment pipeline. Similar to previous database project extensibility, this enables advanced build and deployment scenarios like auto-generating documentation, custom difference reports, or injecting custom data motion logic into the deployment plan. The three supported contributor types are:...

Schema Model Navigation and Extensibility API

Another addition to this release is the exposure of an API allowing navigation of the schema model contained in a DACPAC or BACPAC. ...

Updated Data-Tier Application Framework

...

Given all the release news today, I didn't want this to get lost in the noise...

Posted in DBA, SQLServer, VisualStudio | No comments

Monday, 24 June 2013

RSAT (Remote Server Administration Tools) for Windows 8.1 already available...

Posted on 15:29 by Unknown

Microsoft Downloads - Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 8.1 Preview

Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 8.1 Preview enables IT administrators to manage roles and features that are installed on computers that are running Windows Server 2012 or Windows Server 2012 R2 Preview from a remote computer that is running Windows 8.1 Preview.

Note: There are multiple files available for this download. Once you click on the “Download” button, you will be prompted to select the files you need.

Version: 8.1 Preview

Date Published: 6/24/2013

Windows8-RT-KB2693643-x64.msu, 66.4 MB

Windows8-RT-KB2693643-x86.msu, 59.0 MB

Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 8.1 Preview includes Server Manager, Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-ins, consoles, Windows PowerShell cmdlets and providers, and command-line tools for managing roles and features that run on Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2 Preview. In limited cases, the tools can be used to manage roles and features that are running on Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows Server 2008. Some of the tools work for managing roles and features on Windows Server 2003.

The following tools can be used to manage roles and features that are running on Windows Server 2012 R2 Preview, but are not supported for managing roles and features on Windows Server 2012.

IP Address Management console

Hyper-V tools: Although you are not blocked from using Hyper-V cmdlets for Windows PowerShell in this release of Remote Server Administration Tools to manage Hyper-V running on Windows Server 2012, this scenario is not officially supported. Managing Hyper-V on Windows Server 2012 by using GUI-based tools in this download is supported.

I found it funny (and kind of cool) that this was out already (given we won't get Windows 8.1 until Wednesday, 2 days'ish, from now). Still I'd MUCH rather have this early than late. Interesting sign that this was released already...

Posted in SystemAdministration, Utility, Windows8 | No comments

Getting a picture of the "Blue" Wave...

Posted on 14:45 by Unknown

Redmond Recap - Approaching Build: What is the “Blue” wave?

This week will be quite a barrage of Microsoft-related information. TechEd Europe kicks off tomorrow in Madrid, and the Build conference will get rolling on Wednesday in San Fransisco. This blog post will put some of the agenda items in temporal perspective.

“Blue” was originally the rumored code name for the next update of Windows 8, later announced as Windows 8.1. But during the winter, the news broke that Blue will encompass a larger platform update spread over a period of time. With TechEd North America now behind us, we already know quite a few pieces of the puzzle, but is that all?

I don’t usually take part in speculation, but this post almost wrote itself as I oriented myself in preparation for all the information that will be released in Build. I hope the information contained herein will help the readers understand the conferences’ offerings in a broader perspective.

The following graphic shows what I hold important.

The “Services updates” is somewhat murky, but refers to alleged updates to services such as Skydrive, Outlook.com and others. It is fuzzy, but serves to remind that this is more than a set of service packs released in tandem.

..."

This is a great pic of the coming "Blue" release cycle...

Posted in BUILD, SQLServer, Windows, Windows8, WindowsServer | No comments

Need some help up the WPF learning curve? "WPF Succinctly" from Syncfusion is now available (and free :)

Posted on 11:44 by Unknown

Syncfusion - WPF Succinctly

WPF Succinctly is for software developers with an understanding of the .NET Framework who have yet to dive into WPF. Author Buddy James approaches the platform at its simplest point—single-window applications that contain a single control—and gradually adds more complex controls and back-end features. By the end of the book, you'll be able to manage data flow between application elements, use WPF commands to maximize your application's functionality while adding minimal code, and confidently redesign controls to give your application a unique look and feel that other applications can't compete with.

Table of Contents

WPF Origins

Inside WPF

WPF Controls Overview

WPF Applications

WPF and MVVM

WPF Commands

Advanced WPF Concepts

WPF Control Styles and Templates

WPF Tools and Frameworks

Most of you won't need this, but maybe you have a "friend" who does... :P

Here's some snaps of the PDF:

Posted in Development, ebook, WPF, XAML | No comments

Sunday, 23 June 2013

A Sweet Summer Sysinternals Suite Refresh

Posted on 14:12 by Unknown

Windows Sysinternals - Sysinternals Suite 2013.06.20

Updated: June 20, 2013

Introduction

The Sysinternals Troubleshooting Utilities have been rolled up into a single Suite of tools. This file contains the individual troubleshooting tools and help files. It does not contain non-troubleshooting tools like the BSOD Screen Saver or NotMyFault.

The Suite is a bundling of the following selected Sysinternals Utilities:

AccessChk

AccessEnum

AdExplorer

AdInsight

AdRestore

Autologon

Autoruns

BgInfo

CacheSet

ClockRes

Contig

Coreinfo

Ctrl2Cap

DebugView

Desktops

Disk2vhd

DiskExt

DiskMon

DiskView

Disk Usage (DU)

EFSDump

FindLinks

Handle

Hex2dec

Junction

LDMDump

ListDLLs

LiveKd

LoadOrder

LogonSessions

MoveFile

NTFSInfo

PageDefrag

PendMoves

PipeList

PortMon

ProcDump

Process Explorer

Process Monitor

PsExec

PsFile

PsGetSid

PsInfo

PsPing

PsKill

PsList

PsLoggedOn

PsLogList

PsPasswd

PsService

PsShutdown

PsSuspend

RAMMap

RegDelNull

Registry Usage (RU)

RegJump

RootkitRevealer

SDelete

ShareEnum

ShellRunas

SigCheck

Streams

Strings

Sync

TCPView

VMMap

VolumeID

WhoIs

WinObj

ZoomIt

This is one of the best ways to get all the latest Sysinternals Tools...

(via Download Crew - Sysinternals Suite 2013.06.20)

Use the Sysinternals Utilities? The EULA bug dialog you? Then try this…

Posted in SystemAdministration, Utility, Windows | No comments

Robin's "So you're in San Francisco for Build? Stuff to do guide..."

Posted on 13:50 by Unknown

RobinDotNet's Blog - Fun stuff to do if you’re in San Francisco for the BUILD conference

Is there any tourist-y stuff to do in San Francisco?

...

Any tech events going on around \\build?

...

How do I find the Microsoft office in San Francisco?

...

Is Rice-a-Roni really the San Francisco Treat they claim it is?

...

Nice guide for this coming week if you are going to Build...

Posted in BUILD | No comments

TypeScript Succinctly - Free [Name/email-ware] eBook

Posted on 13:44 by Unknown

Syncfusion - TypeScript Succinctly

The extensive adoption of JavaScript for application development, and the ability to use HTML and JavaScript to create Windows Store apps, led Microsoft to develop TypeScript, a superset of JavaScript. Though the messiness of JavaScript causes many .NET developers to avoid the language, Microsoft's additions extend many familiar features of .NET programming to JavaScript. With TypeScript Succinctly by Steve Fenton, you will learn how TypeScript provides optional static typing and classes to JavaScript development, how to create and load modules, and how to work with existing JavaScript libraries through ambient declarations. TypeScript is even significantly integrated with Visual Studio to provide the autocompletion and type checking you are most comfortable with.

Table of Contents

Concepts in TypeScript

Visual Studio

Type Safety

Creating New Modules

Loading Modules

Working with Existing JavaScript

Unit Testing with TypeScript

Summary

Appendix A: Alternative Development Tools

Appendix B: TypeScript Command Line

Appendix C: External Resources

Here's a snip from the PDF;

Whenever the word JavaScript is mentioned to a room full of .NET developers, there are visible shudders and uncomfortable fidgeting at the prospect of writing anything in such a sloppy language. I actually love JavaScript, partly because it was the first curly-braced language that I used, but also because I have learned to use it an appropriate way. However, I can understand the reasons for its lack of popularity amongst the .NET community. If you spend most of your time writing code in C#, VB.NET, or F#, the prospect of using a language that lacks sensible autocompletion, type checking, and object-orientation is not a pleasant one—and this is where TypeScript fits perfectly into the tool belt of a .NET programmer.

Is TypeScript the Answer?
There are no golden bullets in the world of software development. What is certain is that JavaScript is one of the most widely adopted languages on Earth, and it isn’t likely to be disappearing any time soon, especially given its recent emergence as a high-volume web-server language under the Node.js moniker.

TypeScript eases the pain of JavaScript development by adding some of the features that .NET developers take for granted. It is already smoothly integrated into Visual Studio, which makes it easy to use without switching development tools.

I envisage a future where developers don’t need to write boilerplate JavaScript, not because they are using a framework that includes everything they might need to use, but because they can compose a number of small and reusable modules that take care of specific areas, like AJAX, SVG, and Canvas.

Who is This Book For?
I have written this book primarily for professional .NET developers. TypeScript isn’t exclusively for the .NET domain, as Microsoft has released the language under an open source license and there are plug-ins for Sublime Text, Vim, Emacs, and WebStorm, as well as Visual Studio, which has a fully featured extension. You don’t have to be a JavaScript expert to read this book, but if you would like to learn more about it, you can download

(via Tatworth - Free E-Book - TypeScript Succinctly)

Posted in Development, ebook, Javascript, TypeScript | No comments

Friday, 21 June 2013

Friday Humor: Cell Reception - Can you hear me...oh oh...

Posted on 09:27 by Unknown

Buni

Gave me a good chuckle this morning...

(via Global Nerdy - A Little Cellular Reception Humour)

Posted in Humor | No comments

Thursday, 20 June 2013

Mark TechEd's you... See all four of Mark Russinovich's recent TechEd North America sessions

Posted on 18:11 by Unknown

Sysinternals Site Discussion - Updates: Mark's TechEd Sessions, Autoruns v11.61, Strings v2.52, ZoomIt v4.5

"Mark’s TechEd Sessions Available On-Demand: Mark delivered four top-rated sessions at Microsoft’s TechEd US conference two weeks ago, and the recordings are available now for on-demand viewing. In Windows Azure Infrastructure Services, he gives an overview of the deployment and operation of Virtual Machines and Virtual Networks; in Windows Azure Internals Mark goes under the hood of Windows Azure to show its physical and logical datacenter architecture and operation; in Case of the Unexplained you’ll see how to use the Sysinternals tools to solve impossible problems; and in Malware Hunting with the Sysinternals Tools you’ll learn how to use Sysinternals tools to identify and clean malware infestations.

Autoruns v11.61: ... This update adds more autostart locations, fixes a bug that could cause a crash when Autorunsc is directed to calculate file hashes, and fixes a bug in Autoruns’ jump-to-image functionality on 64-bit Windows.

Strings v2.52: This release fixes a bug that prevented the previous one from running on Windows XP.

Zoomit v4.5: ... This release introduces better support for zooming in on Windows 8 Windows Store applications.

..."

If you've never seen Mark speak, you are missing out. I've seen him a few times and every time I've enjoyed it and, best of all, learning something that I was able to put right to use...

Posted in Presentation, SystemAdministration, TechEd | No comments

Fighting bugs in your LOB apps? Hearing about crashes after the fact? You need CALM (Common Application Lightweight Monitor)...

Posted on 18:02 by Unknown

CALM - Common Application Lightweight Monitor

What’s CALM in a nutshell?

CALM (Complete Application Layer Monitoring) is an Application Status Monitoring System that monitors, logs, and reports exceptions and application failures for custom applications built using .NET. CALM’s feature set is designed for small to mid-sized businesses, to larger organizations needing a feature rich, affordable, and scalable custom application monitoring system.

...

This note from the author, Steven Lowe, is what caught my eye;

"...

After 30 years of creating awesome projects for others, I just last year released a software product from my company Innovator LLC. It's an application status monitoring program that monitors custom .NET Apps called CALM. It's a simple but functional utility that does one thing and does it well. In my research, I haven't found another product just like it.

..."

But what kept it?

The fact that this isn't some cloud thing, that it's meant to be run inside my firewall
That it's really pretty simple, SQL Server back-end with a number of Windows Services (and web front end of course)
That this really felt like something I'd have written, or that many LOB dev's have written.

Here's a snip from the CHM;

CALM is the Common Application Lightweight Monitor for .NET applications

CALM is intended to be as simple as possible to use while still being a complete solution. While it is relatively easy to trap unhandled exceptions and, for example, log them to a file, it is not so easy to make sure that someone reads the log file! Since bugs that no one reports rarely get fixed, CALM closes the reporting loop by logging unhandled exceptions to a database and notifying developers via email when they occur. To complete the picture and provide additional "peace of mind", calm monitors application sessions for abnormal termination, periodically tests critical hardware and services like databases and web sites, and supports desktop and web applications.

CALM Automatically Traps Unhandled Exceptions

Unhandled exceptions are automatically trapped and reported to the CALM database. The CALM Notification Service can then email the designated developer(s) to make them aware of the problem.

CALM Suppresses the Send-a-Debug-Report-to-Microsoft Dialog

CALM suppresses the send-a-debug-report-to-Microsoft dialog, and writes the exception information to the CALM database instead. This helps ensure that users are not confused and/or frustrated by a dialog that they most likely do not understand. It also helps ensure that when your application has an unhandled exception, this information is not lost!

CALM Continuously Monitors Applications

Every CALM application maintains a Session record in the CALM database, recording Start and Stop events, along with any Exception events that may occur. All applications, machines, tests, and sessions may be viewed through the CALM Web Monitor at any time. The CALM Web Monitor provides a "Big Board" overview of the status of your systems at a glance.

CALM Tests Critical Machines and Services

CALM provides a Testing service that periodically tests designated machines, database servers, and web sites to make sure that they are still functioning properly. Any test failure is reported to the designated developer(s) via email, and appears on the CALM Web Monitor.

CALM Notifies Developers via Email

The CALM Notification service periodically polls the CALM database (about once per minute by default) and notifies the developer(s) designated as responsible for each Application or Test via email.

CALM Flex-Points(tm) Can Be Easily and Safely Customized

CALM provides drag-and-drop components for additional notifications on a per- application basis (e.g. EMail, Event Log, Log File, Web Service, et al), and includes a base class so you can develop your own custom notifications if desired. A database-access class (CalmDbLayer) is provided for customized CALM database interactions. In addition, the CALM database provides pre- and post-operation stored procedures that are intended to be edited by developers that need additional processing. These procedures should survive future CALM upgrades intact, allowing your customizations (such as making an entry in your bug database, for example) to keep working even when new versions of CALM are installed.

CALM Provides a "Big Board" Web Interface

CALM provides a web-based monitor and administration site with a "Big Board" overview for machines, applications, tests, and sessions. This allows you to easily see at a glance the overall status of your software systems, with drill-down for details.

CALM Is Not Just for .NET Applications

Non-.NET applications can interface with the CALM database, creating Sessions and issuing Events

Price? Well you can buy it, but Steven's currently offering, for a limited time for early adopters, a free version too!

Download CALM for Free

Want to see CALM in action with no financial obligation?

No Problem. For a limited time, download CALM for free.

Your free download of CALM:

Has full functionality.

Provides continuous, real-time monitoring of custom .Net applications.

Is monitoring your custom .NET Apps within minutes.

Has no expiration date.

Comes with 1 developer license.

Take advantage of this no-risk opportunity to ensure the longevity of your custom .NET Apps.

P.S. We’re only allowed 100 free downloads a day, so get CALM while you can!

This is a limited time offer for early adopters.

Did I grab a copy? Yep!

Did I install it? Yep!

Have I put it into an app at work yet? Nope, not yet. But when I get back from Build, I very likely will as I think this will help me respond to my user's app issues faster, easier and without worrying since it's all inside my Net.

(And doesn't love a TPS reference? ;)

Posted in .Net, Development, devops, SystemAdministration | No comments

Greg's //build bets - My total and complete WAG's about next week's //build event

Posted on 08:51 by Unknown

These are my complete and total WAG's (Wild Ass Guesses) about what we might get, see and hear about at next week's //build (which I will be attending... ;)

First off the most important thing, //build swag:

XBox One (or certificate for one)

WAG Factor: 99%

Reasons:

I'm thinking that since I think this is the first time I've seen the Xbox mentioned on a //build or PDC announcement
That this is a new platform
That it's not backward compatible
The need for "apps" (not games, as the story there seems kind of anti-indie) and
It's x86 based
Parts of it are Win8 based

That they need to jump start Xbox Dev and since E3 is over, this is the place for that?

Windows 8 Phone (Maybe with choice of 920 or 928)

WAG Factor: 98%

Reasons:

They gave out a 920 last year, so giving another out would be kind of weird
No real excitement about Windows Phone 8 at this point

7" Surface RT (with Windows 8.1 on it)

WAG Factor: 90%

Reasons:

Get Windows 8.1 into the hands of dev's quickly and easily
Give them a new, fresh form factor to start dev's on
Because it would be an exciting announce at the keynote
Because I'd love to get one... ;)

11" Surface RT Pro (With Windows 8.1 and VS 2013)

WAG Factor: 50%

Reason:

Get Windows 8.1 into the hands of Devs without them having to worry about installing it
Get VS2013 into Dev hands asap
Give's dev's everything they need to start building Win 8.1 apps on conference day 1
At the discount price offered at TechEd, seems like it would be viable for a //build giveaway
Would be a very exciting keynote announcement

In the end, I'm betting on this one...

Announcements

Here's a laundry list of things I'm think we might hear about (or at least I would like to hear about)

Windows 8.1 (duh)
VS 2013 (duh)
Azure (duh)
Windows Phone 8.1
.Net 5.0 / C# 6 / VB 13
If not .Net 5, then a group or set of aux libraries. Kind of like .Net 3.0 was. Where the base is 4.5, but not assemblies are made available. (But I REALLY hope there's word about the future of the .Net Framework)
Something about WPF lives (Don't I wish)

The thing to remember is that this is a conference by the Windows business unit, not DevDiv. So I'm thinking to not expect TOO much about "dev" stuff. Lot's a Windows, platform, etc, etc...

In the end, I actually think this is going to be a very exciting and announcement filled //build. I think we're going to hear and see some cool stuff... (or so I hope anyway)

Enough for now... Sessions will be announced on Day 0. I'll try to do a "Greg's //build Picks" post then...

Posted in BUILD | No comments

Wednesday, 19 June 2013

Excel as a digital art drawing platform? Yep! Beautiful digital art done completely in Excel...

Posted on 15:34 by Unknown

Twisted Sifter - Digital Art Made with Excel Spreadsheets

Believe it or not, the artwork above was made entirely in Microsoft Excel. In fact, you can actually play with the actual Excel documents in this attached zip file. The digital paintings are the work of Tatsuo Horiuchi, a 73-year-old Japanese artist who began experimenting with Excel’s artistic capabilities 13 years ago.

According to Japanese art and design blog Spoon & Tamago, Horiuchi said:

“Graphics software is expensive but Excel comes pre-installed on most computers. And it has more functions and is easier to use than [Microsoft] Paint.”

Horiuchi first gained attention when he won an Excel Autoshape Art Contest in 2006..."

No lie. It really is Excel and it's really done using the native Excel drawing tools...

If seen some creative uses of Excel, this? Wow...

(via Keith Combs' Blahg - Art with Excel - Who Knew)

Posted in Image, MicrosoftOffice | No comments

Want the world's best Science Fiction And Fantasy Library? Come to LA... The Eaton Collection @ UC Riverside

Posted on 08:12 by Unknown

CBS Los Angeles - The Eaton Collection: The Best Science Fiction And Fantasy Library

Science fiction and fantasy fans rejoice and take some time to visit the Eaton Collection of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Yes, this impressive collection is the world’s largest collection of science fiction, fantasy, horror and utopian literature. Housed in the UC Riverside Library’s Special Collection and Archives, it is publicly accessible and a wonderful destination for any literature fan.

Just what will you find here? More than 100,000 hardcover and paperback books as well as almost 100,000 fanzines. You’ll find full runs of a lot of pulp magazines and more than 500 shoot scripts from many science fiction films. Add to all of that a huge collection of comic books, manga and anime as well as trading cards, posters, action figures and pins – and you’ve got one of the most exciting collections for any fan of pop culture and science fiction.

...

The Eaton Collection of Science Fiction & Fantasy

The Eaton Collection of Science Fiction & Fantasy is the largest publicly-accessible collection of science fiction, fantasy, horror and utopian literature in the world. It is housed in the UC Riverside Libraries' Special Collections & Archives in the Tomás Rivera Library.

About the collection and how to use it

History of the Eaton Collection

Contributing to the Eaton Collection

The collection is a major resource for research and is visited by scholars from around the world for both its American and international holdings. It features over 300,000 holdings including:

Over 100,000 hardback and paperback books.

Full runs of many pulp magazines.

Nearly 100,000 fanzines.

Film and visual material, including 500 shooting scripts from science fiction films.

Comic books, anime and manga.

Collectible ephemera and realia, including cards, posters, pins and action figures.

COLLECTIONS OF Authors' archives

The Eaton Collection is made up of a variety of smaller collections, including the archives (manuscripts and papers) of a variety of SF writers.

The collection is constantly growing with new items donated regularly. Here is a list of selected collections. Clicking on the link will take you to the main library website which features specific details on the collection.

To see the complete collection of all Special Collections holdings, please visit our Special Collections Archive Index page.

Lived in the greater Los Angeles area all my life and reading Science Fiction most of it too and never heard about this. Must plan a trip to see this...

Posted in Education, LosAngeles, ScienceFiction | No comments

Eric triple downs on his Free Microsoft eBook List... (Windows, Visual Studio, SQL Server, Office, Azure and More)

Posted on 08:01 by Unknown

Microsoft Sales Excellence Program Manager - Eric Ligman - Huge collection of Free Microsoft eBooks for you, including: Office, Office 365, SharePoint, SQL Server, System Center, Visual Studio, Web Development, Windows, Windows Azure, and Windows Server

Last summer I put up a post that offered a collection of free Microsoft eBooks across a variety of topics and the response was incredible. Because of the phenomenal response, I followed it up with a second post that contained another set of free eBooks for people to download. After these posts went live, over 1,000,000 free eBooks were downloaded by people around the world!

Well, I thought I would once again put together another new collection of absolutely FREE Microsoft eBooks for all of you to access and download to use in your quest for information, resources, knowledge, etc. As with the past collections, these eBooks are completely FREE, they are not time-bombed, there is no catch, and yes, please let your friends, family, colleagues, or anyone else that you think would benefit from these know that they are available here and to come download the ones they are interested in. I’d love to give away another 1,000,000 free eBooks again this round, so spread the word and please enjoy these resources from Microsoft to you.

Office & Office 365

SharePoint

SQL Server

System Center

Visual Studio

Web Development

Windows

Windows Azure

Windows Server

Should be enough to keep you busy as you lay on the beach this summer?

Posted in Azure, Development, ebook, MicrosoftOffice, SharePoint, SQLServer, VisualStudio | No comments

Monday, 17 June 2013

Log Parser Studio 2.0 now out (Log Parser GUI++)

Posted on 18:31 by Unknown

Exchange Team Blog - Log Parser Studio 2.0 is now available

Since the initial release of Log Parser Studio (LPS) there have been over 30,000 downloads and thousands of customers use the tool on a daily basis. In Exchange support many of our engineers use the tool to solve real world issues every day and in turn share with our customers, empowering them to solve the same issues themselves moving forward. LPS is still an active work in progress; based on both engineer and customer feedback many improvements have been made with multiple features added during the last year. Below is a short list of new features:

Improved import/export functionality

Search Query Results

Input/Output Format Support

Exchange Extensible Logging Support

Query Logging

Queries

PowerShell Export

Query Cancellation

Keyboard Shortcuts

...

There are literally hundreds of improvements and features; far too many to list here so be sure and check out our blog series with existing and upcoming tutorials, deep dives and more. If you are installing LPS for the first time you'll surely want to review the getting started series:

Getting started with Log Parser Studio

Getting started with Log Parser Studio, part 2

Getting started with Log Parser Studio, part 3

If you are already familiar with LPS and are installing this latest version, you'll want to check out the upgrade blog post here:

Log Parser Studio: upgrading from v1 to v2

..."

Log Parser Studio

Log Parser Studio is a utility that allows you to search through and create reports from your IIS, Event, EXADB and others types of logs. It builds on top of Log Parser 2.2 and has a full user interface for easy creation and management of related SQL queries.

...

Anyone who regularly uses Log Parser 2.2 knows just how useful and powerful it can be for obtaining valuable information from IIS (Internet Information Server) and other logs. In addition, adding the power of SQL allows explicit searching of gigabytes of logs returning only the data that is needed while filtering out the noise. The only thing missing is a great graphical user interface (GUI) to function as a front-end to Log Parser and a ‘Query Library’ in order to manage all those great queries and scripts that one builds up over time.

Log Parser Studio was created to fulfill this need; by allowing those who use Log Parser 2.2 (and even those who don’t due to lack of an interface) to work faster and more efficiently to get to the data they need with less “fiddling” with scripts and folders full of queries.

With Log Parser Studio (LPS for short) we can house all of our queries in a central location. We can edit and create new queries in the ‘Query Editor’ and save them for later. We can search for queries using free text search as well as export and import both libraries and queries in different formats allowing for easy collaboration as well as storing multiple types of separate libraries for different protocols.

If the Command Line Log Parser hurts your brain, then this is the tool for you...

Here's a look at the Microsoft Log Parser from a different point of view, from the Computer Forensics' side of the house OR Check out a 'Query Analyzer/SSMS' for Log Parser called Log Parser Lizard

Log Parser Ping Graph Fun (aka “Using Log Parser to parse command line output”)
SELECT * FROM Log... with the cool tool that’s been around for years, Log Parser!

Download details: Log Parser 2.2

The Unofficial Log Parser Support Site
IIS Diagnostics Toolkit (January 2006)
SQL Server 2000 Report Pack for IIS Logs

Posted in SystemAdministration, Utility, Windows | No comments

//build Windows Store App available

Posted on 18:14 by Unknown

XAMLGeek - BUILD app for Windows Store

In Bluefragments we love to do fun stuff. For the last couple of weeks we have been working on a BUILD app for Windows Store.

We wanted to build an app that is great to navigate through the content of the BUILD 13 conference. At the same time it should work as an archive over the previous BUILD conferences allowing the user to watch recorded sessions and published slides and demos. Last week we published first version [GD: The link is currently borked... Just search the Windows Store for build and you'll see it...]. We have got a lot of great feedback and the next version in certification at the moment. We expect it to be public within a few days.

We’re working hard to finish our BUILD app for Windows Phone as well. First version will include the BUILD 13 program. Stay tuned!

...

While //build 2013 is still empty (since no sessions have been announced) you can still use this app to view 2011 and 2012 //build sessions...

Posted in BUILD, Windows8 | No comments

Booting Minecraft (or maybe Assembling Minecraft) - MineAssemble is a bootable Minecraft clone, written in mostly x86 assembly

Posted on 18:00 by Unknown

OS News - Bootable Minecraft clone written party in x86 assembly

"MineAssemble is a tiny bootable Minecraft clone written partly in x86 assembly. I made it first and foremost because a university assignment required me to implement a game in assembly for a computer systems course. Because I had never implemented anything more complex than a 'Hello World' bootloader before, I decided I wanted to learn about writing my own kernel code at the same time...."

Overv / MineAssemble

MineAssemble is a tiny bootable Minecraft clone written partly in x86 assembly. I made it first and foremost because a university assignment required me to implement a game in assembly for a computer systems course. Because I had never implemented anything more complex than a "Hello World" bootloader before, I decided I wanted to learn about writing my own kernel code at the same time.

Note that the goal of this project was not to write highly efficient hand-optimized assembly code, but rather to have fun and write code that balances readability and speed. This is primarily accomplished by proper commenting and consistent code structuring.

Starting in assembly right away would be a bit too insane, so I first wrote a reference implementation in C using the SDL library, which can be found in the reference directory. I started writing it with the idea that if it was longer than 150 statements excluding boilerplate, it wouldn't be worth doing it in assembly. Like all estimates in the world of programming, this limit turned out to be a gross underestimate, reaching about 134 lines before adding the texture or even the input code.

After completing the reference code, I wrote the kernel boilerplate code (setting up VGA, interrupts, etc.) and changed the reference C code to work with this. Then I began slowly porting everything to handwritten assembly.

Unfortunately this turned out to be a lot more work than I expected, so currently a large fraction of the codebase is still in C. Slowly porting everything to assembly is an ongoing process. The code also isn't fully compatible with all systems yet. It seems to cause floating point exceptions on some setups.

How to play

QEMU

To run the game with QEMU, simply run make test This is a quick and easy way to play around with it.

Virtual machine

If you want to use virtualization software like VirtualBox, you can produce an .iso image with make iso and mount it. The virtual machine doesn't need a hard drive and requires no more than 4 MB of RAM.

You can also burn this image to a CD or DVD, but that is rather wasteful. Use the USB stick method to try it on real hardware unless it really isn't an option for some reason.

USB stick

Booting from an USB stick is an excellent way to try it on real hardware, but does involve a little bit more work. Note that this process will remove all data currently on the USB stick. Also, make sure to get the drive name right or you might accidentally wipe your hard drive!

Format your USB stick to FAT32 with 1 MB free space preceding.

Mount it using mount /dev/sdx1 /mnt where sdx is the drive name.

Turn it into a GRUB rescue disk with grub-install --no-floppy --root-directory=/mnt /dev/sdx.

Run make iso and copy the contents of the iso directory to the USB stick.

Unmount with umount -l /dev/sdx1.

Now reboot your PC and boot from USB.

...

..."

That's officially cool. Got to love he released the source too...

Posted in Game, VirtualMachine | No comments

Friday, 14 June 2013

POP goes the code review... Prince Of Persia Apple II Code Review Series

Posted on 17:55 by Unknown

Fabien Sanglard's Website - Prince Of Persia Code Review: Part 1 (Introduction)

Even though it is the Apple II version written in 6502 assembly language, it was a pleasant experience to dive in the code of that mythical game: As usual there were many fascinating software wizardries to discover.

The Apple II apparent poor environment for game programming was actually ground to unmatched innovation and creativity : From self-modifying code, in-house bootloader, clever floppy disc format to skewing lookup tables: Prince Of Persia features engineering treasures in every modules.

Reading the source allowed me not only to learn about the game development process of the 80s but it also renewed my appreciation for things that we take for granted today.

As usual I took numerous notes that I have cleaned up on this page. I hope it will inspire others to read more source code and become better engineers.

Acknowledgment : I would like to thank Miles.J from 6502.org and Roland Gustafsson (author of RWTS18) for patiently sharing their knowledge with me.

Part I : Introduction
Part II : Bootloader
Part III : Code explained

Where to start ?

The source code is available in a GitHub repository and can be downloaded with one command:

...

..."

If you have any interest at all in looking back in time and seeing how far we've come, you've got to read this series...

Follow along and see the magic behind the Prince of Persia for C64 via its Development blog
Price of Persia... for the Commodore 64 (really)

Posted in Development, Game | No comments

So you want to be a dev at Microsoft? Here's two views from the inside...

Posted on 17:45 by Unknown

DamienG - Working at Microsoft

Ahmet Alp Balkan on the Microsoft Azure team reflected on his experiences at Microsoft. His experiences do not exactly match mine (initially on LINQ to SQL, then Entity Framework and finally xbox.com) but I recognize some of his points.

Here is some further discussion along with some other thoughts that have come up over the years. A lot of these don’t apply just to Microsoft and some are useful for people new to the industry to think about.

Firstly

People think of Microsoft as a single entity with a sole focus and one opinion.

That’s about the worst mistake you can make.

Microsoft is like hundreds of small companies that often work together but sometimes against each other. They have different processes, dynamics, attitudes and goals not only within the same division but also within the same building or floor.

Thinking your experience with one team is a reflection of the whole company is short sighted. Microsoft employs almost 100,000 people including over 40,000 in the Redmond area alone.

It’s like a small country.

...

..."

Ahmet Alp Balkan - 8 months in Microsoft, I learned these

Two years ago today, I started Microsoft Windows Azure as an intern, in the very same team I joined right after college and I am working for last 8 months.

I decided to summarize a few points I learned so far in this job during last 8 months. This may sound like the way things work are crappy, it is not. I learned that one will see this sort of problems in all large scale companies. Most of them are not specific to Microsoft at all. Every company has its own problems. I am not saying that I am unhappy and not complaining. These are purely a few lessons I was not aware of in the college (expectations vs reality sort of article). Read on:

...

..."

One day when I grow up I want to...

Wait, people I work with read my blog (sometimes)... um... err... um...

Well anyway, these two inside views seem to jive with other accounts I've heard and read. But they also jive with working at almost any monster sized company (or even some non-monster sized companies). A number of the points had me nodding, "Been there, done that and I wasn't even a Blue Badge!"(i.e. a Microsoftie).

One thing to consider is that I know a number of people on the inside and they really love it there. Perfect? No. Work is a four letter word for a reason, but sounds like there are much much worse places to be at ("Been there, done..." err... um... cough... DEL DEL DEL... )

Posted in Career | No comments

"The Essential HTML5 Mobile" DZone Refcardz Cheat Sheet (reg-ware)

Posted on 17:26 by Unknown

DZone - Refcardz - 186: HTML5 Mobile Development

The Essential HTML5 Mobile Cheat Sheet

This Refcard is intended to bring you up to speed, and help you jump head-first into mobile HTML5 development. The card first covers the most important HTML5 mobile technologies, including key variations by platform and device, then offers a cream-of-the-crop selection from the vast ecosystem of tools, frameworks, and communities that have sprung up to support mobile HTML5 development. The card assumes basic knowledge of core web development technologies (JavaScript, HTML, CSS).

I still think this whole web thing is a fad, let alone mobile web... Oh wait, it's the whole native phone app thing that's a fad, yeah, that's it! (We can only hope ;) If you think this too, then this checsheet might come in handy for you...

Posted in cheatsheet, Development, HTML5 | No comments