atmosphere - the developer blog of Bernard Wong

Google launches a special treat just for developers

2006-10-06T03:21:00Z

Very cool - this looks like it's going to come in very handy for me. Maybe you too? It seems the Google folks have just launched a new Code Search service at www.google.com/codesearch . They have indexed publicly accessible source code from all across the Internet. The new service then helps you find sample code and function definitions. Developers will be able to optionally use regular expressions to narrow down searches as well as further specifying specifying restrictions upon language, license...(read more)

Behind the scenes of selecting session topics for the SoCal .NET Technical Summit II conference

2006-09-07T23:17:00Z

Continuing our look behind the scenes of the SoCal .NET Technical Summit II developer conference, I discuss how some of the session topics to be presented by Rocky Lhotka, Scott Stanfield and Russ Nemhauser came about....(read more)

Behind the scenes of selecting speakers for the SoCal .NET Technical Summit II conference

2006-09-05T06:58:00Z

Ever what goes into the process of selecting speakers for a developer conference? Who are these speakers, what are their qualifications and how do they get chosen?...(read more)

Learn from Rocky Lhotka, Bill Vaughn, Markus Egger and more, in person on September 23rd for only $79

2006-09-02T10:23:00Z

Announcing the SoCal .NET Technical Summit II at the Hilton Irvine on Saturday, September 23rd, featuring Rocky Lhotka, Bill Vaughn, Markus Egger, and more. Early bird registration only until Monday, September 4th for just $79....(read more)

Naughty or Nice - Lump of coal for the Visual Basic 2005 team?

2005-11-30T15:25:00Z

OK, i know my posts have been very intermittent and matter of fact to the point of desiccation recently (ever since i was asked by Windows Vista to expunge one of my posts - it was their IP, intellectual property, watchdogs too). So you know what this means right? Yup, i'm well overdue to stir things up again...

So late Monday afternoon, i was over at one of the Redmond campus buildings to check out some (not overly) impressive demonstrations for the Coding4Fun booth that i'm supposed to be running at the big Anaheim launch event next week (don't worry if you're planning on attending though, i'm now working with my new pal Mark Miller, chief architect of Developer Express' CodeRush and Refactor! products, to come up with some much cooler stuff to show). Afterward, i made a call on my cell phone to arrange some Webcasts in the new year and looking out the window, noticed a whole gaggle of friends from the Visual Basic (and VS Data/LINQ) team walk by on their way to the nearby cafeteria.

When i got there to say hello, it became evident the purpose of the gathering was to get their team photos taken and do the big product box signing ritual. Of course, i was immediately greeted with (libelous) accusations of crashing any party that goes on (patently false by the way - just those worth crashing). Unfortunately (or fortunately as it turns out), i already missed their ship-it (product release) party combined together with their holiday party.

FYI, ship-it parties, in recognition of all the effort and long hours that go into a product development cycle, are typically a BIG DEAL - the SQL Server 2005 team are going up to Whistler soon for theirs, even the red-headed step-child of Developer Division (er, that would be the FoxPro team) would get to jet off to Vegas for the weekend. Holiday parties though not nearly as lavish as past years, are still a biggish deal - e.g., the team that i'm on are jetting off to Vegas next week, yeah!

So what top-rated, favorite American vacation hotspot did the Visual Basic team get to go to for their COMBINED ship-it and holiday party? Yup, you guessed it - that's right, Seattle Center for an all expenses paid buffet dinner! Congratulations on a job well done!

It's not exactly a lump of coal in their stocking but from any angle it looks like the Visual Basic team got the weenies end of the shrimp stick (i'll save the shrimp and weenies story alluded to for another post). They did a darned good job with Visual Basic 2005 like getting that Edit and Continue feature from Visual Basic 6.0 back into the product finally. And when you think about it, they really had their work cut out for them just trying to keep up with all the language innovations that their counterparts got into C# 2.0...

All kidding aside, i think the Visual Basic team deserve more. Maybe we could take donations on their behalf and at least send them to the distant lands of... beautiful, exotic Alki Beach in West Seattle. At least it would really be a proper weenie roast then!

What do you think?

See all the really juicy tid-bits i miss out on (and don't get to report) now that i'm mostly away from Redmond? No, i'm not asking for a write-in campaign to send me back! I like living in SoCal just fine, thank you very much.

New Web site and meeting location for the .NET User Group in Santa Barbara

2005-11-29T17:14:00Z

The still newish .NET user group in Santa Barbara is going strong. Their third meeting is coming up on Tuesday, December 13th, with Microsoft's other SoCal developer evangelist, Gerald Walsh, coming up to present on some of the new features in the .NET Framework 2.0 like type enhancements, generics and more. Note, that they will be moving to a new meeting location in the Santa Barbara Technology Group Building, courtesy of Truston Corp.

Not sure where this is located? Check out the group's nascent Web site at http://www.sbdotnetug.org.

If you're a .NET developer in the Santa Barbara area, get involved in the group now or you'll miss out on some great presentations and other community opportunities coming in the new year.

Kick off meeting for new .NET user group in Santa Barbara, CA - October 12th!

2005-09-28T02:26:00Z

Developers know that user groups are a great way to learn more about .NET, network with your local peers and even reach out to the broader community of developer notables from afar. Now it's time for Santa Barbara to join in the action along with all the other active .NET user groups in Southern California.

The provisional steering committee for the user group has secured an interim meeting place - the Planning Commission hearing room on the first floor of the County of Santa Barbara Administration Building (pictured below), 105 East Anapamu Street, Santa Barbara (at Anacapa).

The user group will kick off its first meeting - October 12th at 6:30pm with a presentation by Microsoft's Bernard Wong on the security, membership and personalization infrastructure that will be provided in the forthcoming ASP.NET 2.0 technologies. Pizza and soda will be provided and there will be a raffle for lots of prizes at the conclusion of the evening. Come and join the fun!

You can find out additional information at the temporary Web site of the group.

Developer Connections conference in Las Vegas, November 7-10 - $100 discount off regular registration

2005-09-26T03:26:00Z

As you have likely heard already, the grand launch for Visual Studio 2005 and SQL Server 2005 will be on November 7th and I can't think of a better opportunity to immerse yourself in education on these two massive product sets than the Developer Connections conferences running that same week at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. This is actually four separate conferences in one (covering Visual Studio, ASP.NET, SQL Server and a special C++ commemorative edition) and a single registration gains you access to any breakout session in any of the individual conferences.

As a special bonus, all attendees will receive Visual Studio 2005 Professional and SQL Server Standard Edition (with one client access license) since this edition of the conference coincides with the launch. The speaker list is absolutely stellar this time around with notable personalities like Charles Petzold, Bjarne Stroustrup, Stan Lippman and more.

I was extremely fortunate again to be asked to organize together the entire Fundamentals track of the Visual Studio Connections conference - a five day agenda (including pre-conference and post-conference workshops) especially arranged for developers who are just getting started with the .NET environment now. A couple of my fellow MSDN Events presenters (namely Geoff Snowman and Joe Stagner) and myself will be delivering several of these sessions.

OK, this is the special exclusive sweetener for those of you who haven't yet registered, if you register using the discount code of B101, you will receive a $100 discount off the regular conference rate.

Download location for the sample code from my x64 programming Webcast

2005-09-06T17:33:00Z

For those of you who attended my Webcast this morning on developing for the Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition from Visual Studio 2005, you can now download the sample code and compiled solution.

There were no slides, just a brief introduction to the x64 platform essentials at the beginning. The Webcast demonstrations were drawn in part from the Hands-on Lab at TechEd 2005 that I put together on x64 programming (which were drawn in turn from the Intel Route 64 roadshow). Visual Studio 2005 beta 2 and a computer running Windows XP Professional x64 Edition are also required.

Have fun with the samples - someone suggested running the x64 specific release on the regular 32-bit Windows XP to see if there would be a sensible exception message... Any bets on this one?

Help start up a .NET user group in Santa Barbara

2005-08-16T01:39:00Z

OK, I've been soliciting for interested parties in the SoCal edition of the MSDN Flash newsletter since almost forever, it's finally time to get things started for Santa Barbara's very own .NET user group now that Visual Studio 2005 and SQL Server 2005 launch are right around the corner.

We're going to hold a planning meeting for the new user group tomorrow night at Chad's restaurant (see address and map below) in downtown Santa Barbara following my MSDN Event free developer seminar (but attendance at my seminar in the afternoon isn't required).

We can all meet up at Chad's restaurant beginning at 6pm. There's no formal agenda; in fact, no formality at all. We'll just get everyone introduced and then see what we can organize together for the user group over appetizers and non-alcoholic beverages (on Microsoft's dime). The food there is pretty darn good judging from what I ate there last time. Of course, if there are other topics that you would like to discuss in public, as I wrote previously, there is no set agenda. See you there!

Free two-day Visual Studio 2005 workshops coming to Phoenix and Las Vegas!

2005-08-07T16:50:00Z

OK, let's see if this blog posting can successfully avoid inciting the guardian watch-dogs of Windows Vista intellectual property... I really still don't know what was so objectionable in my last posting, especially in this new era of supposed transparency. Anyway, here goes!

How would you like to attend a free two-day, instructor-led workshop offering a focused environment within which to learn and experience the new features and capabilities of the forthcoming Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2005?

As loyal readers of this blog, I'm passing on invitations to these workshops intended for experienced, professional software developers who are already skilled in building software using Microsoft Visual Studio .NET, even those employed by independent software vendors or those who work on corporate enterprise development teams. Attendance is strictly limited. Please do not register unless you are sure you can commit the two full days to attend the entire workshop.

The workshops will be held from 9:00am to 5:00pm. In Phoenix, the workshop will be held at the local Microsoft office on August 25th and 26th. Registration is open now at http://www.microsofttraining.com/devonsites - just use 304001 for the class/invitation identifier.

The workshop in Las Vegas on August 30th and 31st looks to be a much better bet (pardon the pun). It will be held at the loverly and talented Venetian Resort Hotel Casino, right on the strip. Of course, I do have to caution you that there might be lots of games of chance conveniently close at hand so be careful you don't get too distracted away from the workshop by all the lights, bells and shouting...

Register for the Las Vegas workshop at the same Web site, http://www.microsofttraining.com/devonsites, but use 304037 for the class/invitation identifier instead.

Bon chance!

This posting deleted at the request of Windows Vista (Longhorn) program management.

2005-07-22T21:41:00Z

So much for transparency... I guess it only applies to whatever is OK for you to know.

PDC 2005 conference hotels - my personal opinions and experiences

2005-07-05T06:46:00Z

The PDC 2005 conference is returning to the Los Angeles Convention Center between September 11th and 16th.

While I've only lived in Los Angeles (county) a short while, I have either stayed at or temporarily visited most of the downtown Los Angeles hotels that have rooms blocked off for conference attendees. I thought I'd jot down some of my impressions of these establishments for you to take into consideration before making your own final selection.

Standard Downton - this is the funky, designer 'party' hotel complete with rooftop bar/pool for the D&G crowd. i expect this will again be where the more reckless of the product teams will be staying/spending their late evenings into the wee hours. at the last PDC, this was also where the models at the coincidental fashion show stayed (or so i was told).
Sheraton Downtown - formerly the Hyatt regency, your typical upscale business hotel
Westin Bonaventure - your typical upscale business hotel - if there's an earthquake in the middle of the night, you may get a good shake in your room...
Wilshire Grand - your typical upscale business hotel but if you are parking a car here, you may find the valet service can take a very long time during peak hours
Figueroa Hotel - this is the ticket if you hate staying at chain hotels. very close to the convention center (the number of blocks listed on the PDC Web site can be misleading - they are very long blocks!), car parking in the back, adds a touch of local flavor and charm
Omni Los Angeles - nice lobby area but i didn't like staying at this hotel much, something about the rooms and their decor really put me off during my stay
Millennium Biltmore - the grand classic belle dame of downtown, very impressive lobby and facilities (for your basic socialite weddings) but the standard rooms are small and musty - you may find that you are sharing it with uninvited guests of the multi-legged kind too...
New Otani Hotel & Garden - it's kind of out of the way but for those on a budget... i've managed to avoid staying here previously. the hotel may be decent inside (i've heard it is) but i've passed by it several times in a conference shuttle bus (and been extremely grateful that the bus didn't break down nearby). if you do stay here, don't even think about taking a short stroll at night (unless you like tempting fate)... footnote for cineastes (and obsessive U2 minutiae devotees), on the bus ride over, you can catch a glimpse of the titular Million Dollar Hotel from the Wim Wenders film!

Of course, the real party hardy crowd will be those spending their after hours over in West Hollywood and staying at the most (in)famous hotels - the Chateau Marmont, Sunset Marquis, Mondrian, Standard, Argyle, (Riot) Hyatt (aka the Rock 'n' Roll Hotel), etc.!

I hope you find these personal observations useful - of course, your mileage (and experiences) may vary...

Download location for the sample code from my Webcasts

2005-06-03T15:33:00Z

For those of you who attended my Webcast yesterday and wanted to download the sample application from it, you can now find this via http://www.msdn.tv/BernardWong. Many thanks to MaximumASP.NET for hosting this site (it's only been a few hours now but everything has been smooth sailing) and the Digital Black Belt guy, Joe Stagner, for arranging this.

In the future, I'll be using this site to distribute the downloads of slides, code samples, etc., from my conference, user group, Webcast and other presentations, unless there already is an established publication vehicle.

If you're wondering why I publish and maintain listings of developer resources for Southern California and the Southwest on www.microsoft.com (what we call MSCOM) but I'm not putting these downloads into the Microsoft Download Center, it's because the publishing application (the thoroughly bewildering Download Management Tool) and the process to do so are altogether too arduous and complex for me and my mythical co-signatories to cope with.

I'm a big believer in utilizing established systems and not re-inventing the wheel. Yes, the Download Center is supposedly searchable, has plenty of bandwidth, uptime in spades and you reliably know where your download is coming from. All of these are admirable qualities but they don't count for much if the downloads don't ever make it there in the first place.

Theoretically, at some point down the line, the sheer number of downloads available on the new site will need to be properly indexed and searchable, the ISP will balk at all the bandwidth we're consuming around the clock, and myriad other scalability issues will arise that need to be dealt with but let's burn those bridges when we reach them. This simple, new site for you to get your downloads will work just fine until then. Happy downloading!

The official manufactured Visual Studio 2005 Beta 2 disk sets

2005-05-05T10:52:00Z

I received my custom advance order of six hundred of these - one for each attendee of the SoCal .NET Technical Summit coming up this Saturday in Long Beach, CA. If you're like me and lack the patience (and phat pipes) to download several Gigabytes of installation files, you can pick up your very own official Beta 2 disk set this Saturday and also catch great .NET sessions presented by some of the industry's finest speakers for just $99! I blogged about this prestigious event previously but didn't mention the Beta 2 disk sets then (I wasn't sure at the time that I would actually be able to get them in time).

So what do you get in the officially manufactured Visual Studio 2005 Beta 2 disk sets?

Everything comes inside of a black colored hard plastic case similar to what DVDs and Playstation 2 games ship in. The printed slip cover is primarily dark blue. On the front are the typical Visual Studio branding imagery, the MS logo and the title "Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Beta 2". On the back are the minimum system requirements (600MHz processor, Windows XP Service Pack 2, Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 or Windows Server 2003 operating system, 256MB RAM, 2 GB available hard-disk space, DVD-ROM, etc.), handy URLs, fine print and the Part No. X11-22003.

Inside, there is a printed insert with a Greetings! notice from Soma and three disks held in place by a dual-clasp plastic mechanism of a kind that I haven't seen previously. The three disks are a DVD-ROM (though it isn't labelled as such) of Visual Studio 2005 Team Suite Beta 2 (3.75 GB, includes Visual Studio 2005), a DVD-ROM (labelled with the DVD-ROM logo) of SQL Server 2005 Developer Editon Community Technology Preview (847MB, labelled 32-bit version only and 03/05 though it's reputedly and dated the April edition) and lastly, a CD-ROM of Visual Studio 2005 Team Foundation Server Beta 2 (273 MB, includes Team Foundation Client).

Now that I've whetted your appetite, don't forget you can walk away with your very own Beta 2 disk set in hand on Saturday. It's not too late to register for just $99! We'll see you there...