Shake to Develop

Several years ago, Microsoft introduced ClearType . I've generally been a big fan of ClearType since it's introduction. However, if you are visually impaired, have high color sensitivity, are not using an LCD monitor, or just don't like the 'feel' of...

One of the features of a Visual Studio web test (in the Tester edition or in Team Suite) is to specify the outbound proxy server. You may have even successfully used this feature in VS2005. If you upgraded to VS2008, you may have found that these tests...

Have you attempted to use Visual Studio 2008 Beta 2 and Expression Blend 2 August Preview together to create a Silverlight 1.1a .NET application and not gotten very far due to various errors? I sure did... Well, the issue has been resolved with a refresh...

Nothing like a good 'ol vacation to get in the way of posting for a blog series. So, where were we? Ah, yes -- time to install SQL Server. Technically, we've got two choices: some flavor of SQL Server 2005 or some flavor of SQL Server 2008. Now, some...

Okay, you've got Team Foundation Server. Now what? Well, you could prove your ability to install, configure, administer TFS in a secure way by earning your Microsoft Certified Technical Specialist (MCTS) Visual Studio Team Foundation Server certification...

We indicated earlier this year that our intent was to have more regular releases of the TFS Power Tools. With the latest release, so far, so good! Lots of cool new features this time around, especially an all new backup/restore wizard in the admin console...

If you are not familiar with Sandcastle , it is a tool which takes your source code XML comments and produces beautiful MSDN-style documentation.  Not so long ago, Sandcastle was pulled off of Codeplex because it was in violation of the Codeplex...

My good friend and trusted colleague Sajee Mathew will be hosting an Introduction to TFS webcast on Friday, July 11th at 1pm (ET).  From the event description: “Visual Studio Team System 2008 Team Foundation Server is an integrated collaboration...

I promised those who attended my webcast today to supply a link to the Project Server Connector download. It's located here: http://www.avanadeadvisor.com/TFS-ProjectServerConnector.zip . I got some great questions, both during the presentation and via...

You've likely heard the new by now -- as Soma has said in his blog , Visual Studio 2008, and the corresponding .NET Framework 3.5, will ship this month (November). You remembered to add Software Assurance to all of your Visual Studio 2005 purchases, right...

David Scruggs will be presenting a fantastic webcast on integrating TFS and EPM.  From the session abstract: Project Managers and Development teams may be the “Odd Couple” of the 21st century, working together but having different approaches and...

In case you missed it, there is a potential issue when you perform an upgrade from a prior version of TFS to TFS 2010: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/bharry/archive/2010/06/25/tfs-2010-upgrade-issue.aspx . Please read Brian’s blog posting and follow the instructions...

I've been a huge fan of the Enterprise Library since its start as the Application Blocks. And now version 3.0 is released and ready for downloading. Congrats to the patterns & practices team, a group of individuals I hold in high regard. Tom Hollander...

The days are starting to become noticeably shorter, the first hint that summer will not last forever. As summer gives way to autumn, the weather cools, the leaves start to change and, as always, Code Camp returns. And what could be better than the New...

Have you been following the evolution of the technology that was previewed under the codename 'WPF/E'? Well, it now has an official name, and that name is Silverlight . Silverlight is a cross-platform, cross-browser solution for delivering rich, interactive...

As I travel about, talking to you good people about software engineering practices and how to realize your development methodologies through Team System,  I often find occasion to demonstrate the product. My demonstration environment is volatile...

First, we'll need to identify or add some accounts to act as the installation account, the services account, etc. The TFS Installation Guide has always referenced these account with placeholder names such as TFSSETUP and TFSSERVICE. I've found over the...

I know some of you were upset that you missed the WP7 Firestarter event in Waltham a few weeks ago (although there is a repeat in Farmington on Sept 30 ). Well, never fear, for we’ve got an even larger WP7 Developer Launch event coming to Cambridge, MA...

I know a lot of you are interested in SharePoint development, especially with respect to Visual Studio.  I'm happy to tell you that there's a new team blog in town, right from the Visual Studio Business Applications SharePoint Tools QA team (wow...

Interested in learning more about Microsoft’s new software testing tools? And I’m not just talkin’ about a little bit of testing, I’m talkin’ about the entire testing lifecycle – the full testing experience . Well Microsoft has teamed up with out good...

I have some cutting edge (and bleeding edge) customers. They don't necessarily enjoy playing the unsynchronized-product-release-cycle dance. When we release a product, we make it work with what is shipping at the time. So, for example,when TFS shipped...

In case you missed it, Gert sent word last week that the newest version of the Visual Studio Database Edition has been released.  I’ve been talking to you a lot about this release and you’ve been patiently waiting for it to be delivered.  Wait...

Sorry for the off-topic post, but us Johns Hopkins grads don't often get a chance to celebrate NCAA Division I championships. In an exciting, nail-biting game, Hopkins defeated Duke 12-to-11 to reclaim the lacrosse crown. After 3 consecutive losses mid...

Showing a little love to our friends in Connecticut – Tallan is holding a complimentary full-day workshop entitled “Adopting ALM with Visual Studio Team System and Team Foundation Server” on February 26th at Microsoft’s Farmington office.  Tallan...

One of the most common questions I hear when talking about the Database Professional edition is "does it support anything other than SQL Server?" And my standard response was always "not at this time" -- which was not a real 'no' but more of a 'not yet...