J.net : Gulf Coast Community Stuff

Events on New Orleans and Baton Rouge ...

JSawyer — Wed, 10 Aug 2005 20:20:00 GMT

At the end of this month, I will be spending some time in South Louisiana and, in conjunction with Momentum, will be presenting as some free, open-to-all-who-come events in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. What will I be doing? A full day of cool techie stuff ... here's the agenda ...

Guidelines for Writing Secure Code

How does a buffer overrun work? What can I do to protect myself from SQL Injection? How do hackers exploit vulnerabilities? This session seeks to provide answers to these questions, providing guidance on how to identify common secure coding issues … and how to mitigate the risk from these issues. Additionally, there is discussion of overall best practices for writing secure code, identifying and ranking threats and including security into the software development lifecycle. While vulnerabilities discussed in this session are not platform-specific, the mitigation techniques discussed and demonstrated will be specific to the .NET Framework and Visual Studio .NET tools.

Personal Note: This is one of my favorite presentations to deliver. SQL Injection is particularly interesting and, I think, the most common vulnerability in corporate line-of-business development.

Time: 9 AM - 12 AM
Date (click to register!):
Baton Rouge - August 30, 2005
New Orleans - August 31, 2005

Overview of Visual Studio Team System

What is Visual Studio Team System and why should you care about it? This session will take a grand tour through Visual Studio Team System, both the client tools and Team Foundation Server, showing how the VSTS tools will enable better process management for the software development lifecycle as well as better software engineering. We’ll take a look at the process guidance and process customization provide by Team System, the new change management and source control functionality and reporting and management features. Additionally, we’ll look at the tools provided in the client for designing distributed systems, validating deployment, unit testing, web testing, load testing and more. We’ll also explain what you get with each Visual Studio Team Edition and explain how your MSDN Subscription will migrate to Team System.

Personal Note: I have to say, I had my doubts when we first announced Team System. I was pretty unsure about the value of the whole thing, me being Mr. Code Monkey and somewhat leery of process tools. But after working with it and playing with it, I'm totally sold. Not only are the client tools cool, the SDLC tools and project management tools are very well done and non-intrusive to the actual act of development.

Time: 1 PM - 4 PM
Date (click to register!):
Baton Rouge - August 30, 2005
New Orleans - August 31, 2005

ADNUG/CACTUSS Presentation - Feb 15

JSawyer — Tue, 08 Feb 2005 23:10:00 GMT

For their February meetings, the Austin .NET User Group and the Capital Area & Central Texas Users of SQL Server will have a joint meeting at the Microsoft Austin office. This joint meeting will be held on Tuesday, Feb 15 (CACTUSS' regular date). This is probably a good thing since the ADNUG meeting was scheduled for Feb 14 - Valentine's Day. Yes, even geeks have "significant others"!

I will be speaking at this meeting on SQL Server Reporting Services. SQL Reporting Services provides adds awesome reporting capabilities to the SQL Server platform and has gotten quite a bit of interest from the SQL Server and .NET communities. After all, we all need reporting, right? In the presentation, I'll do a broad overview of Reporting Services and basic report creation. If I have time, I'll also show some of the things that can be done with the Web Services interface into Reporting Services (this is very cool stuff) and how the Web Services can allow you to embed reports into applications.

Sound interesting? Hope to see you there!

HAL-PC January Meeting ... Visual Studio Team System

JSawyer — Wed, 12 Jan 2005 02:33:00 GMT

David Waddleton will be at HAL-PC's C# SIG for their January meeting talking about Visual Studio Team System. "What is Team System" you say? Team System takes Visual Studio to the next level. VS has always been an awesome tool for developers, focusing on developer productivity and enabling developers build great applications. But the development process is more than just writing code. The artifacts surrounding projects is (hopefully) more than just the source code of the application. There's project management, infrastructure architecture, systems architecture, testing and deployment that all need to be taken into account. And even in the development process, there's issues of tools to ensure proper unit testing, code profiling, enforcement of development standards and automated nightly builds. This is the Full Lifecycle of the development process. Visual Studio Team System addresses this entire lifecycle with new tools that are built around Visual Studio to enable better team collaboration, better architecture and design, better and more complete testing ... in short, higher predictability in the development process.

Come see a preview of Visual Studio Team System at HAL-PC!

When:
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
7:00 PM

Where:
HAL-PC Headquarters
4543 Post Oak Place
Suite 200
Houston, TX

January HDNUG Meeting - Keeping Secrets in the Real World

JSawyer — Tue, 11 Jan 2005 18:39:00 GMT

Michael Stuart and I will be presenting at the January HDNUG meeting on Keeping Secrets in the Real World. This presentation will be based on our joint MSDN article that was published in November's MSDN Magazine ... with some additional context and information. The CryptoBlock that we will focus on has been well-tested and audited in some very sensitive environments. We will look at some of the key decision points, threats that we dealt with and the risks that were determined to be acceptable.

Abstract:
There have been a lot of presentations on how to use the cryptography API's in .NET, but little on best practices on using cryptography in real world applications to keep secret information secure. This presentation will discuss doing just that, with learnings based on several projects with highly sensitive information. We'll discuss design decisions made, the threats that they deal with and the risks associated with some of these tough decisions. It will also show you how to use an advanced (and tested) Crypto Block to ensure the highest level of security in your application.

Where: Microsoft Houston Office
           2000 W Sam Houston Pkwy S
           Ste. 350
           Houston, TX 77042

When: Thursday January 13, 2004
6:00PM - 8:30PM

HDNUG XMas Party ... OOPS!!

JSawyer — Tue, 07 Dec 2004 22:10:00 GMT

My previous post referring to the HDNUG Christmas party incorrectly stated that it was December 19th. If you come on the 19th, you will be sorely disappointed. The correct date is December 16th.

It should have read:

Also, the HDNUG Christmas party will be on December 16th rather than their usual date, which would be the 9th. The location is the same as always: Microsoft's Houston office.

I've updated this but wanted to make sure I pointed out the change.

Thanks John!!

HAL-PC: SQL Server 2005 & CLR Integration

JSawyer — Tue, 07 Dec 2004 18:23:00 GMT

I will be speaking on SQL Server 2005 CLR Integration at the December meeting of HAL-PC's C# SIG. Needless to say, I will confine myself to using C# ... I think Odis would have me lynched if I used VB!) It'll be a cool overview of the stuff you can do inside the database with the CLR integration.

When: December 8, 2004, 7:00 PM
Where: HAL-PC Headquarters

See http://www.hal-pc.org/~odiswooten/csharp/ for more information, including directions and a (heavily) Photoshopped picture where Odis shows his talent with ASCII art!

HDNUG Christmas Party ...

JSawyer — Tue, 07 Dec 2004 18:16:00 GMT

HDNUG is trying something a little different this year. Instead of having their regular monthly meeting in December, they will be having a Christmas party for HDNUG members. Also, the HDNUG Christmas party will be on December 16th rather than their usual date, which would be the 9th. The location is the same as always: Microsoft's Houston office.

They will provide food and drinks, but members are invited to BYOB if they want some extra holiday cheer. There mayalso be a Halo 2 Tournament (regardless, we will have XBoxen set up for some Halo 2 killing sprees), other games and activities and just general good times with fellow geeks.

Members that plan on attending are asked to RSVP so that an accurate count for catering can be determined. You can RSVP at http://www.hdnug.org/hdnug/RSVP.aspx?pid=0.

Austin Interop Event

JSawyer — Thu, 07 Oct 2004 02:55:00 GMT

Six User Groups in Austin go together to do an event. What to talk about? Interoperabilty of course! It's the Austin Interop Event and it's all about interoperability between J2EE and .NET.

So what's really cool about this? First, great speakers, with such notables as Jon Kern, Bruce Tate, Ted Neward and Roger Sessions. Second, sponsorship ... from Microsoft, BEA and Compuware. I will be there, speaking with Conor Brankin from Crossvale representing BEA. We're planning a pretty cool demo ... so make sure you come check it out!

For more info, check out http://www.austininterop.org.

When:   Tuesday, October 12, 2004
            12:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Where: The Alamo Drafthouse
            4th St. & Colorad

August Houston .NET User Group Meeting

JSawyer — Wed, 11 Aug 2004 21:58:00 GMT

HDNUG will be having their August meeting tomorrow, August 12, 2004, featuring Ken Cottrell, who will be speaking on service oriented architectures. This month's tip & trick will be done by HDNUG's brave leader, Ben Levy, who will discuss "Stupid IDE Tricks". The feature speaker is Ken Cottrell, who will discuss one of the hottest (and least understood) topics in distributed applications: Service-Oriented Architectures. Besides the awesome speakers lined up, a little birdie told me that the grand prize for HDNUG's raffle will be a way-cool Dell Axim X30 PocketPC with built-in 802.11b wireless!

Where: Microsoft Houston Office
           2000 W Sam Houston Pkwy S
           Ste. 350
           Houston, TX 77042

When: Thursday August 12, 2004
6:00PM - 8:30PM

Abstract:
Service-oriented architectures (SOAs) have gained popularity in the past year because of their capacity to allow enterprises to reuse various application components while quickly and effectively responding to ever-changing business needs. Calling SOAs the "most-important theme in modern application development," Gartner, Inc. recently predicted that 85 percent of development houses will be applying SOA design concepts within five years. In this presentation, Ken Cottrell, technical consultant at LogicLibrary, Inc., will discuss SOAs and focus on a crucial element in the success and development of an SOA--effective asset reuse. He will outline for members of the Houston .NET User Group the benefits of asset reuse in an SOA, including the advantages of today's metadata-based reuse as compared to earlier reuse strategies, including component-based engineering. Ken will also speak to some common reuse myths, take attendees through a real-world example of a large insurance company building an SOA and explain how .NET developers and architects can enhance their value to an organization through similar projects.

InstallFest Frequently Asked Questions

JSawyer — Sat, 07 Aug 2004 02:12:00 GMT

We heard a lot of questions over and over and over again at the Houston .NET User Group InstallFest. To try and save time, energy and my voice, I’m going to post some of the most common ones here, as well as links to more information.

Can I install this with previous version of Visual Studio?
Yes, you can.

Will it interfere with previous versions of Visual Studio?
From what I have seen, no. I’ve installed it on several machine images with various combinations of Visual Studio 6.0, Visual Studio .NET 2002, and Visual Studio .NET 2003 without significant issues. Keep in mind, however, that I’ve not extensively tested these configurations, but everything seems to work just fine. It may be worthwhile, however, to review the known issues for more information.

What are these “Express” Editions?
The Express Editions are part of the Visual Studio family and are lightweight, easy-to-use tools geared towards hobbyists, enthusiasts and students that want to build .NET applications. The various Express products support web development, Windows Forms development, class libraries and console applications. The provide full access to the .NET Framework 2.0 and many of the features of the Visual Studio Professional, such as the debugger, many of the editing tools, Intellisense and more. Because the Express products are part of the Visual Studio family, projects created with the Express editions will be compatible with other editions of Visual Studio. You can get more information from our FAQ.

But I’m a professional developer. Why would I be interested in these Express editions?
When Visual Studio 2005 releases, you may be interested in purchasing either Visual Studio 2005 Professional or one of the Team System products. However, Visual Studio 2005 (and the .NET Framework 2.0) are both still in early beta. The Express editions give you the opportunity to create great .NET 2.0 applications in a low-impact way. In fact, you may even find that the Express products fit what you need to do …
Not to mention, we are running a contest specifically to showcase the great applications that you can create with Visual Studio Express. The prize? An XBox and a copy of Halo2 … which promises to be even better than the original! Want more info? Check out the Summer of Express contest on Channel9. And the judges? These are the geeks behind the tools!!!

Why the Express versions for the InstallFest?
Because we don't want to be installing all night! ;-) We really want to get you playing with the tools and doing Hands-On Labs before the night is out. The Express versions are lightweight and install pretty quickly. Visual Studio takes a while, especially if you install all the documentation.

What’s on the CD? Can’t I download this?
The CD has the Visual Studio Express version that you select (VB, C#, J#, C++ and Web Developer), the documentation and SQL Server 2005 Express. Yes, you can download it, but it’s faster to install from the CD and cooler to do it with a bunch of your favorite geeks!

Why do you have that disclaimer on the invitation email?
The disclaimer notes that this is beta software. You’re a developer, right? You know what beta means … that stuff will break. Yes, the VS team has done a great job to bring us a stable beta, but it still early in the development cycle and Visual Studio is a complex product. There will be bugs. Stuff may blow up. You might have to reformat your machine. It is not supported by our Product Support Services (PSS). I, personally, have not had any of these issues (yet). Your mileage may vary. Please keep that in mind. You also do not have a license to deploy this into a production environment.
Microsoft is committed to providing developers with early releases of Visual Studio so you can plan your development as far in advance as possible … and get an idea of where the development platform is going. And I, personally, want to get this into the hands of as many developers in the Gulf Coast community as I can. But we do ask that you understand that this is Beta and that we’re still working on it. We also value your feedback from using these early versions … that feedback helps us deliver an awesome product that makes your development tasks easier.

Austin Whidbey Express InstallFest

JSawyer — Fri, 06 Aug 2004 02:26:00 GMT

The Austin .NET User Group will be hosting a Whidbey InstallFest as a special event on Wednesday, August 18th at the Austin Microsoft Office (where ADNUG usually meets). We will be installing the Express versions of Visual Studio 2005 and SQL Server 2005 on ADNUG member's laptops to play with as well as showcasing new features and helping with any issues (like the install issues that I had!)

David Waddleton will be joining me again for this InstallFest and will be doing demos, answering questions and supporting the Hands-On Labs (yes, we will have labs to do!) If you are in Austin, make sure you drop by!

Details:
Where: Austin Microsoft Office / Technology Center
           Stonebridge Plaza, Building One
           9606 N. Mopac Expressway, Suite 200
           Austin, TX 78759

When: Wednesday, August 18, 2004
6:00 PM until ...

I finally did get CDs in, so it won't be the BurnFest that we had at HDNUG (though HDNUG ROCKED!).

Disclaimer:
We will be installing Beta versions of software! While the product teams have done a great job, there is still a lot of work to be done. Keep that in mind when installing this software ... as it may require a complete reformat of your system to get it off. In other words, don't do this on a critical production machine!!!

GNONUG August Meeting with Joe Healy PT.2

JSawyer — Fri, 06 Aug 2004 02:17:00 GMT

Unfortunately, the Greater New Orleans .NET User Group August meeting will be cancelled. :(

However, there is good news: it's cancelled because Joe Healy, the scheduled speaker and Developer Evangelist from Tampa, had his baby a month early. Well, actually his wife had the baby, not Joe. But, as he's a new dad (again), he will be taking care of mom and his little girl for the next few weeks.

Congratulations Joe!

Austin .NET User's Group August Meeting

JSawyer — Fri, 30 Jul 2004 17:04:00 GMT

The Austin .NET User Group will have noted author and guru Rockford Lhotka down to present on Creation of Distributed Object-Oriented Applications in .NET. This presentation will explore his Component-based Scalable Logical Architecture (CSLA) for .NET, as presented in Expert Visual Basic .NET Business Objects and Expert C# Business Objects books from Apress (www.apress.com). This is a distributed object-oriented architecture, meaning that it uses object-oriented design and programming concepts to define a logical n-tier architecture. An application built following this architecture can be easily configured to run in various physical n-tier configurations.

Where: Microsoft Austin Office
           Stonebridge Plaza, Building One
           9606 N. Mopac
           Ste. 200
           Austin, TX 78759

When: Monday August 9, 2004
5:30PM - 7:30PM

Get more info on ADNUG at their web site www.adnug.org or join the MSN Community at http://groups.msn.com/adnug.

GNONUG August Meeting with Joe Healy

JSawyer — Thu, 29 Jul 2004 17:34:00 GMT

My counterpart DE from Tampa Bay, Joe Healy, will be present Untangling the Knot: VS.NET 2005 Beta 1 (Whidbey) Exploring VS.NET 2005 and the .NET Framework 2.0 Enhancements at the Greater New Orleans .NET User Group (GNONUG) on August 9. Joe's quite a character, so this should be an interesting meeting. If you're in the New Orleans area, make sure to come out and hang with the user group. And ask Joe about “half-kilt stuck pigs” if you get the chance! :-)

Where: McCann Electronics
100 Division Street
Metarie, LA

When: Monday, August 9, 2004
6:15 PM

For directions or more information about GNONUG, check out their website at www.gnonug.org.

HAL-PC C# SIG August Meeting and VS.NET 2003 Raffle!

JSawyer — Thu, 29 Jul 2004 17:23:00 GMT

I will be presenting an Introduction to ASP.NET 2.0 at HAL-PC's C# SIG August meeting on August 11 at 7:00 PM. On threat of lynching, I will make sure that all demos are in C# and that there is no VB to be found anywhere in the building! :-)

Where: HAL-PC
4543 Post Oak Place Drive, Suite 200
Houston, TX 77027-3103

When: Wednesday, August 11, 2004
7:00 PM

HAL-PC will also be raffling off 2 copies of Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Architect at this meeting (note: this is not a “demo” or limited version ... it's the whole kit-n-kaboodle!) Raffle tickets are only $1.00 and all proceeds will go to support the user group.

You can find more info about HAL-PC at their web site: www.hal-pc.org. The site for the C# SIG is http://www.hal-pc.org/~odiswooten/csharp/

Hope to see you there!!