Visual ActiveKent Sharkey .NET SE 3.11

This blog moved

KSharkey — Tue, 23 Aug 2005 07:06:00 GMT

Trying to let everyone know again. I've shut down this blog, and it's only here on my complaint. Please see my new home if you're at all interested.

Part 2 of the test

KSharkey — Mon, 22 Aug 2005 21:55:00 GMT

I've now posted the API by API changes documents for ASP.NET 2.0 as a download. (Note this is a bunch of Excel files)

NOTE If you're reading this hear, you shouldn't -- I haven't updated this blog for at least 5 months, and am only posting this hear to get your attention. My blog has moved to here. Please update yourself.

Moving this blog -- need opinions

KSharkey — Fri, 25 Mar 2005 03:23:00 GMT

To move the comments, or not to move the comments?
Whether tis nobler to leave every URL intact
or by moving them break them?

I'm pretty certain I can move all the posts without egregious problems, but the comments may be another matter. Would anyone care if they stayed here? Would anyone care and/or notice if I did nothing and just started blogging in "the new place"? As is often the case, I need your opinions to help my brain decide.

Browser Security Test

KSharkey — Thu, 24 Mar 2005 03:41:00 GMT

Run 37 tests to make certain your browser isn't letting anything in you don't want. [via ACMEbinary]

SQL Web Administrator

KSharkey — Tue, 22 Mar 2005 03:54:00 GMT

Even with all of the many powerful resources at my demand to install, I still tend to install SQL Server Developer Edition. I guess it's just that I'm so used to just having that around for testing (and not wasting valuable CALs for testing purposes) that I just don't feel like installing Enterprise on my dev box. (I do install it for dev that needs big box features, of course -- what am I an idiot? Oh, right, I am)

Installing Dev Edition does mean that I'm usually left with osql for my database work. I know, a lot of you will say, "Hey, Moron (people are usually polite enough to use a capital 'M' on that). Download SQL Web Data Administrator. It r0xx0rs!" Of course I downloaded it, but I had a problem with the download -- I would try to login, and the hourglass would spin, and spin and nothing would happen. No SQL joy in my heart, so I'd go back to osql while waiting for something exciting to happen. Same with IIS and Cassini. Finally, I did a bit of searching, and we come to the reason for this post. If rather than run the binaries they gave you, you run the solution, it works! Apparently some code was changed to fix the login, but this wasn't reflected in the shipped binary. Build it yourself, or get a friend with VS .NET 2003 to build it, and you will have a lovely, web-based administrative package and enough joy, you'll forget you ever wrote sp_dropdevice main.

Meet the new boss, (not the) same as the old boss...

KSharkey — Mon, 21 Mar 2005 18:26:00 GMT

In an attempt at our ongoing efforts to ~~confuse everyone coming to MSDN~~ balance the knowledge and workload at MSDN, we have shuffled a few of the Developer Centers around. While I will still be working on the ASP.NET Developer Center, I am reliquishing my duties on the Visual Studio Developer Center. The good news for all of you is that this means that Brian Johnson, one of the authors of "Inside Visual Studio" will be moving in. As you can probably guess, he knows far more about Visual Studio than I ever will, and I'm certain he will take excellent care of you.

Already he has made the announcement public that current MSDN subscribers will get VS Team System:

"MSDN Universal and MSDN Enterprise subscribers with valid subscriptions will be upgraded, at no additional cost, to one of the higher value MSDN Premium Subscriptions for the Visual Studio Team System. "

A modest proposal: Date/Time considered evil

KSharkey — Thu, 17 Mar 2005 23:38:00 GMT

After documenting some of the problems I had with Date/Time when creating my RSS Aggregator, and reading a Google presentation at ETech, I came up with a noble idea. We all use the same date and time. Whereever we are in the world, whatever time of day. So, timezones, Daylight Savings Time, Julian/Gregorian/etc. calendars, RFC 822, RFC 1123 and everything else goes away. Think of how easy life would be -- "I'll you at 5". 5:00 PST? 5:00 EST? 5:00 Arizona whacky Time? GMT? 5:30 in Newfoundland? (Canadians only will likely get that one). As was asked in the Google PPT, "What day is 2005-03-09T00:00:00Z"? (Depends on where you are in the world)

OK, now that we've decided that dates and times are evil, how can we pick one? Who gets elevated to the new GMT? Well, I propose we take a page from Zoology, where extinct languages such as Latin and Old Greek are used. More than a little Western Centric, but there you go. I suggest we use an ancient, extinct calendar, such as from the Mayans and define a day using Toronto (known center of the universe) as hour 0. Feel free to burn your calendars and start the migration of your apps now. Note that this decision could lead to a Y2K problem of Biblical proportions on 23 Dec, 2012. However, I think that the savings in confusion on my part and the luxury of demand for programmers leading up to this more than outweigh these minor problems.

TTFN - Kent
PS: For those who can't parse my "sense of humour", yes, this was a joke.
PPS: But dates still bum me out, I can't figure out timezones to save my life, and I wish that RSS defined RSS 1123, not 822 for its date format.

Ambient dashboard

KSharkey — Thu, 17 Mar 2005 21:17:00 GMT

Pretty cool -- I used to want an Ambient Orb, but I like the retro/analog feel of these gauges better. I just hope they will also allow your own data channels.

TechEd, will I be there?

KSharkey — Wed, 16 Mar 2005 23:16:00 GMT

I haven't a clue. Last I heard I'd be able to go if I ride my bike there.

Still, Scott & Rory will be there (along with a lot of other Really Smart Folk), and you'll even be able to get them to explain this in person...

aspnetPRO Readers' Choice Awards

KSharkey — Fri, 11 Mar 2005 05:11:00 GMT

aspnetPRO magazine is now accepting votes for the products of the year in a number of categories. While I'm a little saddened that the ASP.NET Developer Center wasn't nominated as an Online Resource, I'll move on.

Remember, if you don't vote, they win.