MySoftwareStartup

Catching people up

Randy Walker — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 04:38:26 GMT

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged. I suppose sometimes when one’s personal life gets busy, there are some things that fall by the wayside. So what all has happened since I last blogged?

Business has been good with lots of lessons learned. I had hoped I would have had an important announcement several months ago concerning the business I own, but that simply hasn’t materialized yet. Will keep everyone posted. Ensuring your business has a good sales pipeline and stays ahead in the technology curve is extremely important.

I eventually resigned my INETA Board of Directors position. Never one to mince words, frankly I had several issues with how things are run at INETA. Mostly centered around some ethical issues compounded by higher expectations and what I felt was a lack of support. I had put my hat into the ring in order to help change things, but eventually I didn’t really see change a possibility, and so all things must come to an end.

I have started writing up a new business plan for a new startup, details to be forthcoming. It’s new name will be Linker CRM. I have some aggressive game changing plans ahead for it. Ping me if you’re interested in finding out more information and don’t mind signing a non-compete and confidentiality agreement. ;)

My personal life, has been hectic. A 4 year old will do that to you. As well as being divorced and the headaches associated with that. If you’ve been divorced, I feel your pain, if you haven’t been, I would never wish the emotional roller coaster ride on anyone. Dating has been interesting. It’s a lot different at age 35 than your early 20s and relationships are far more complicated.

Ethan is an absolutely fantastic adorable charmer of a kid. He’s definitely going to be a heartbreaker. His personality is really shining through and he’s taken onto my appreciation of music (and yes I’ll admit dance too). We watched America’s Best Dance Crew (ABDC) together for the first time, he really loved it and I think he’ll probably start his own break dancing crew eventually. I’ve posted a few videos on Facebook for those interested. I’m extremely proud of him, but please say a little prayer for us as we try and continue to curb some behavior issues, as well as his mother and I try to settle some differences.

This year’s travel plans have already included Dallas, Seattle, and a trip to Vancouver for the 2010 Olympics (a huge thanks to the Washington State Police for the nice souvenir they gave me). Future travel plans include a trip to Korea in the 2nd half of May, Nashville again in the summer, and hopefully New Orleans for the Microsoft TechEd 2010 Conference.

Look for some new blog posts soon …

One year anniversary of my trip to Korea

Randy Walker — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:22:55 GMT

It’s nearing the 1 year anniversary of my trip to Korea (Dec 8th) and it’s been a whirlwind of a year. One of my best friend’s wife recently asked to interview me for a paper she was writing. It’s because of this that I am beginning to write more of my story. Perhaps one day I will expand on this and write my memoirs. Please take great care in your comments, this is extremely sensitive for me and I have shared very few of these details with anyone, including my family and closest friends. This post is meant more as a healing element than a conversation piece. This is entirely written from my perspective, right or wrong, this is what I know and grew up knowing.

One year ago I was finally able to start the journey of letting go of the past, all 34 years. I think back at what got me started on the journey to Korea, something that only God could have orchestrated. It was a free trip to Korea, organized by the wonderful people at G.O.A.L., and fostered by the Korean adoptee community. I will be forever grateful to Dae-won and his colleagues.

A year ago, little was known of my birth family. I only knew that my mother had died not long after giving birth to me, and my father was sick and unable to care for me. My understanding was that I was given up for adoption by my father, and I have always thought he truly abandoned me. Growing up thinking that he didn’t want me, and with the pain too much to bear, I never cared to look for him or seek him out.

I was adopted by a pastor, Raymond Batema, who was visiting Korea. Raymond and a Korean missionary brought him to the Livingstone Adoption Agency. I was told that for the first time in the adoption agency, I calmly came in and sat in their lap. Something I had never done before.

My narrative case history …

Jae Chul is a pure Korean little boy who has black hair, black eyes and fair skin. He has no distinguishable features or marks who is growing normally in all respects. He eats cooked rice at every mealtime. Also, he is given milk, sponge cake, soft-boiled egg and grapes between meals. He has good appetite and likes to eat anything. He is much choosey. He sleeps well from 10:00pm to 6:00am and takes nap for 2 hours a day. He uses his chamber pot. He is able to use his spoon and eat by himself. He is able to say “Umma” (mother) and makes out what adults say. He is able to walk freely and is a bit stubborn. He is active and cute. He has good looking face and healthy.

Orphan

While waiting for the adoption process, I clearly recall staying with my foster parents, the Patricks. I remember planting corn in pots, and I still have the Korean children's books that were written in English.

Eventually I went to live in California with Beverly Batema and Raymond Batema. I’m not sure of my age, somewhere between the age of 3 and 4. While living there I do not remember much, except the bad parts. I remember having lots of sisters, and a brother who wasn’t nice to me. I remember a mother who beat me, abused me both physically and emotionally. I remember being beat night after night for wetting the bed, all while asking for a night light. I remember a being forced to ride on the back of horse, holding on for dear life.

My parents tell me that eventually they convinced the Batemas to let them care for me. That Beverly was angry with Ray and took it out on me. So years later, on October 4th, 1984, I officially received my 3rd and final name, Randy Walker (Jae Chul Yoo, Jae Chul Yoo Batema). I remember being in my pajamas, sick as I recall, traveling in a car with the Batemas, meeting Kenneth and Barbara Walker (the missionaries that helped find me), and being handed over. I remember arriving at their home and they had a tv with a remote with huge push buttons, and I got to pick what to watch.

Over the past 35 years, I’ve lived in over 40+ homes (I stopped counting at some point), 2 countries, 3 states, and 9+ metropolitan areas.

So that brings me to 2008. My recent ex-wife had tried to blame our problems on my adoption, which was far from the truth. But it set the seed. In a random set of events, I found out about a free trip to Korea and rushed my application in, trying to avoid talking to my parents about it, but eventually having to ask them for my adoption papers. Little did I know the reason I was selected …

A few weeks after being selected, I received an email

Dear Mr. Randy Walker

Hello!

      I found your birth sister and told her that you will be in Korea next month. She was very happy and excited to hear that. Actually, she ever asked to our agency to locate you in 2004, but we could not find you at that time. Would you write a letter for the birth sister and send it to our agency? Your birth mother died before you were adopted and the birth father passed away by lung cancer last year.

    You said in the Essay that your original adoptive mother physically abused you, the people who originally found me, the Walkers, adopted you. Please explaine us more precisely what happened to you.

    Will you visit to your birth place while you are in Korea?

Thank you

I can vaguely remember my thoughts. I remember pacing a lot, even cursing a little, and praying a lot. I never told anyone, no one knew the journey I was to embark on. No one knew that I was to meet my birth family. Heh, I even recall my parents talking to me about possibly finding my family, a subject I quickly avoided.

My trip was amazing. I met 42 brothers and sisters on the same journey as I. We laughed together, we cried together. All of us on the same journey to Korea. Many of us taking different paths. Some of us meeting birth family, other not. I saw lives transformed, touched. People were able to move on with their lives, for better or worse.

For me personally it clarified many of the issues of abandonment I grew up with. I was able to walk away knowing that I had worth and value. I was able to walk away with dear friends, lifelong dear friends. I was able to walk away with the self identity and pride of being a Korean American in a southern society which doesn’t always accept me. I was able to walk away with a loving relationship with an amazing and beautiful (inside and out) Korean adoptee, to whom I will be forever grateful. I was able to walk away with the confidence of ensuring my son has a father who is always there. I was able to walk away with a future …

INETA Speakers Bureau Update

Randy Walker — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 05:40:43 GMT

As most of you know, I serve on the INETA (International .Net Association) Board of Directors, being in charge of the Speakers Bureau and other Speaker programs. There have been several rumors floating around with a lot of misconceptions and I wanted to clarify a few things.

The budget numbers have come in, and the U.S. National Speakers Bureau budget is less than half of what it was last year. I can personally guarantee that User Groups will continue to have speakers funded by INETA. However, we will be finding a way to stay within budget, and that means change will come.

Until we iron out all of the details of the new budget, we are Temporarily placing a hold on new speaker requests. I strongly encourage you to make use of the new Regional Speaker Program until such time that it can be restored.

A proud Influencer (I’m giving a $10k+ Prize Giveaway)

Randy Walker — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 18:47:01 GMT

Fair warning, I’m combining several blog posts into one.

As a father, there’s nothing that makes you more proud than to see your son take his first steps, say daddy for the first time, or catch his first ball. In my professional career I’m extremely proud of the accomplishments my peers have been making. These are the people I’ve been working with and helping their professional community efforts, and while I like to think I helped them in some way, truth be told, they entirely did the work on their own and wholeheartedly earned their award.

Most recently, the following people have been recognized for their efforts:

Julie Yack – Microsoft MVP Award & INETA Community Champions Award

Becky Isserman – INETA Community Champions Award

Tim Tyrrell – INETA Community Champions Award

Brandon King – INETA Community Champions Award

This weekend, April 25th 2009, will be the first Northwest Arkansas Code Camp, organized by Jason Vogel and the NWA .Net User Group. If I haven’t met you, please come by and say hi. I’ll be manning the registration desk all day and I will be giving away a Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) software package valued at over $10,000, which includes almost all of Microsoft’s software. Be sure and get there early, I hear the iPhone session will be well attended. More information can be found at http://codecamp.nwadnug.org/

INETA Board of Directors Conference Call

Randy Walker — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 15:12:16 GMT

I’m currently on my first INETA Board of Directors Conference Call and I thought I’d keep people updated on what’s going on, as there’s some really good stuff being discussed. I know one of the perception problems, is that INETA is a black hole, which is on the top of my list to help change, and hopefully by doing this, that perception will change.

If you’d like to write content for the various code magazines, there are opportunities for you!

Community Night (aka Birds of a Feather) at TechEd is going to be a huge component of the event, with lots of free food and drink. Supposedly it might replace the Attendee Party. We’ll be looking for hosts (to help out with the logistics), and who knows, you may get a few perks for being a host. TechEd attendance numbers are down, which is to be expected in this economy.

There is a Board of Director’s meeting in Raleigh Durham, NC (we’ll be on campus during tournament time, which is where our hotel is). Please be sure to post / e-mail the topics that you’d like covered.

Overall, the call went well and the only concerns I had is with some legal documents, which will be discussed during the Board meeting.

Technorati Tags: INETA

New FedEx SSL Cert is bound to cause problems

Randy Walker — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 07:03:59 GMT

Having done some thorough research with code signing certifications and SSL certs, am I wrong in thinking that FedEx has royally screwed up? I had to double and triple check that the link provided wasn’t a phishing attack of some sort, and it all looks valid. Forcing your customers to install a cert that doesn’t have a root already installed in Windows is major trouble! Why would VeriSign sell FedEx such a crappy product?

I have a cheap Comodo SSL cert for my Exchange server, and it wreaks all sorts of havok when connecting my Windows Mobile device to it. Someone has made a very poor decision, or perhaps I’m missing something.

Dear Valued FedEx Customer:

Please ensure that your appropriate team members (e.g., Application Server Administrators) are aware of the following FedEx planned update:

Chained Secure Socket Layer (SSL) Test Certificate Update

In order to maintain customer confidence in our Web connections, FedEx is renewing our SSL certificate with VeriSign, a trusted certificate holding authority. FedEx moved to a chained SSL certificate type for our test environment on Mar. 19, 2009, and will move for our production environment on Aug. 1, 2009. This transition is due to the FedEx certificate holding authority transitioning from non-chained to chained Web server SSL certificates.

Customers using custom interfacing applications will need to verify that their systems support chained certificates. For web servers that do not support chained certificates, administrators should contact their server software provider for technical assistance. If you are unsure whether your application works with chained certificates, it is recommended that you test your application in the FedEx test environment. Applications should be redirected to gatewaybeta.fedex.com for testing.

Customers needing a local copy of the FedEx test certificate installed on their system can download the updated certificate here or by typing the link http://fedex.com/us/developer/downloads/dev_cert.zip into your browser. A separate certificate will need to be installed for production. We will notify you when the production certificate is available for download. FedEx supplied API clients (e.g., ATOM) are not affected by these changes.

If you have any questions or need technical assistance, please contact the FedEx Help Desk at 1.877.339.2774 or send an e-mail to websupport@fedex.com.

Thank you for choosing FedEx.

The FedEx Web Integration Solutions Team

INETA Board of Directors Appointment

Randy Walker — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 06:48:02 GMT

INETA has a great gimmick. Give someone a award and then recruit them to do volunteer work! While I am completely joking, I was recently appointed to INETA’s Board of Directors. Congratulations go out to my fellow Board Members.

Rob Zelt, President
Mike Vincent, Vice President
Scott Spradlin, Secretary
Morgan Baker, Treasurer
Steve Andrews, Director
Lori McKinney, Director
Randy Walker, Director
Shawn Weisfeld, Director
Chris Williams, Director

Our first order of business will be a Board Meeting in Raleigh, North Carolina from April 3rd to April 5th. I have long recognized many of the problems INETA has had, and I hope to participate and help resolve them. A majority of the issue revolves around the perception INETA has. Things such as speaker requests becoming a black hole, requests come in, but no one knows what’s going on. Many of the older established user groups don’t recognize value in INETA, something which I hope to help remedy. Lastly, one of my goals is to provide more value to the user groups, such as a free website portal for all user groups. If we can provide a free website portal/template with hosting and email, I think this will bring tremendous value to all user groups.

If you have ideas on how INETA can be improved, please shoot me an email or leave feedback. We all want to see INETA improve, and that can only happen with your participation.

Ozarks .Net User Group – Claudio Lassala (Laptop giveaway)

Randy Walker — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 02:42:28 GMT

I wanted to make sure and draw attention to the effort that Brandon King in Harrison, Arkansas has given towards promoting this event. There are some major giveaways, and we will be arranging a carpool from Springdale to drive the 1:30 to give a good showing from the NWA DNUG crew.

Details:

Who:                CLAUDIO LASSALA
What:               Details at http://odnug.org
When:              April 2^nd 5:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Where:             North Arkansas College (Center Campus - Durand Center - Old Regions Bank Building), Harrison, AR

Grand Prize

Inspiron 15 (1545) Laptop

Intel Pentium Dual Core T3400

(2.16GHz/667Mhz FSB/1MB cache)

Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium

160 GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)

3 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (2 DIMMs)

Software Prizes

Infragistics NetAdvantage

NetAdvantage® for .NET is a comprehensive suite of ASP.NET, Windows Forms, WPF and Silverlight controls, components, and tools for the .NET platform. NetAdvantage for .NET has what you need to add no-touch AJAX to your Web site, awesome power and performance to your Windows Forms application, compelling user experiences leveraging Windows Presentation Foundation, and professionally polished user interfaces (UI).

Nevron Chart for .NET Lite

Nevron Chart for .NET has been designed from the ground up to be extensible, efficient and feature rich. This allows it to wrap a vast amount of features in an intuitive and straightforward programming model. The component can display virtually any 2D or 3D chart including: Bar, Line, Step Line, Area, Pie, Point, Bubble, Stock, Floating Bar, Radar, Polar, High Low, Mesh Surface, Grid Surface, Shape, Smooth Line, Float Bar, Venn and Error with many variations (like Scatter XY and XYZ Line, Stacked Bars etc.).

ReSharper 4.1 Personal License

JetBrains ReSharper for Visual Studio redefines the notions of developer productivity and code editing usability as applied to .NET. It provides efficient navigation and search features, industry-leading refactorings, smart code completion, and much more. With customizable live templates and extensive support for ASP.NET, unit tests and build script files, ReSharper maximizes your coding convenience.

dotTrace 3.1 Personal License

A complete profiling solution for profiling the performance and memory use of your .NET applications.

CodeSmith Standard Edition

CodeSmith is a software development tool to help you get your job done faster. Technically speaking it is a template driven source code generator that automates the creation of common application source code for any language (C#, Java, VB, PHP, ASP.NET, SQL, etc.).

Book Prizes

O’Reilly Books

· Programming ASP.NET 3.5
· Ajax: The Definitive Guide
· Building a Web 2.0 Portal with ASP.NET 3.5
· Programming WCF Services
· Data-Driven Services with Silverlight 2
· RESTful .NET
· iPhone Open Application Development
· Learning C# 3.0
· Head First C#
· Head First Ajax
· Head First Design Patterns
· Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML
· Head First Object-Oriented Analysis & Design

Manning Books

WPF in Action with Visual Studio 2008

Silverlight 2 in Action

LINQ in Action

ASP.NET AJAX in Action

NHibernate in Action

C# in Depth

Murach Books

Murach's C# 2008

Murach's ASP.NET 3.5 Web Programming with C# 2008

Murach's SQL Server 2008 for Developers

Northwest Arkansas Technology Council Inaugural Meeting 2009-03-10

Randy Walker — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 18:14:36 GMT

This is an open invitation to join us in helping form the Northwest Arkansas Technology Council. The discussion for the inaugural meeting will center on who and what we are and the beginning phases of our purpose. If you feel you have something to contribute to our pioneering efforts, or know of someone who can, please consider joining us, or forward the following information on.

Thanks,
Randy Walker

You are invited to participate in the formation meeting of the Northwest Arkansas Technology Council (NWA Tech Council), set for March 10th, 2009 from 6-8pm at the Arkansas World Trade Center (3300 Market Street, Suite 400, Rogers Arkansas 72758). The NWA Tech Council’s purpose is to encourage business growth of the technology sector in Northwest Arkansas.

Originally several of us set out to put on an event called the Northwest Arkansas Technology Summit, a broad based event connecting all aspects of technology that appeal to the larger firms in this area including Wal-Mart, JB Hunt, Tyson, small and medium businesses, and vendor communities. The event was originally scheduled for June 2009 at the John Q. Hammons Center. After further review, it was decided that in order to put on an event of the quality and magnitude that was envisioned, more time and planning would be needed.

The vision for the Northwest Arkansas Information Technology Summit includes the following aspects:
•    To be a nationally recognized event that pulls not only a regional, but national attendance. Goal: 1400+ attendees
•    To be sponsored by national recognized manufacturers (i.e. HP, Oracle, SAP, Microsoft, Dell, etc.)
•    To focus on new technologies and trends within the IT Community (i.e. Virtualization, Sustainability, etc.) and encourage vendors/manufacturers to showcase their latest and greatest
•    To have breakout sessions with 12 unique tracks. Some of the suggested tracks include: Retail Link, Project Management, Database Management, Software Development, Web Development, Infrastructure, Small Business, Digital Graphics, and Marketing
•    To have keynote speakers that can speak to how technology not only effects but empowers all business, from local small business to large worldwide enterprises

There is an open invitation for the first NWA Tech Council’s meeting March 10th, 2009 from 6-8pm. The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss the overall scope of the Technology Summit and start the process for creating a steering committee. As you consider coming and joining the Council, please think about how you can help achieve the Council’s goals. Below are areas of experience we are looking for in Council members. Please send a confirmation email to nwatechcouncil@gmail.com where we can send you details of the meeting.

Chamber of Commerce
Executive Level Leadership
Civic Committees & Organizations
Convention and Event Planning
Marketing & Advertising
Technology Consulting
Corporate Technology Leadership
Accounting
Leaders within Walmart, Tyson, & JBHunt
Technology Based Businesses
Small Business Leaders

Congratulations & Thanks to Scott Spradlin

Randy Walker — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 06:08:26 GMT

Scott Spradlin, one of most influential people I know in the world of Microsoft programming, has gone way too long without being recognized. I remember having talked with Scott on many occasions about user groups and Ineta. He’s been one of those long time influentials, mostly behind the scenes, serving in various roles with INETA and being the glue that helped connect St. Louis developers together. Scott served as the Regional Mentor for INETA for many years, helping several user groups get started.

It’s with my heartfelt thanks to Scott Spradlin that I award him with an MSDN subscription, in recognition of his contributions to the Microsoft Developer Community.

Scott Spradlin Facebook
Scott Spradlin LinkedIn
Scott Spradlin Twitter

INETA Community Champion Awardee

Randy Walker — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 05:12:18 GMT

I was a bit shocked when I received the email announcing that I am one of ten Community Champions awarded. A huge thank you to those that nominated me. It’s always a good feeling of accomplishment when you’re recognized for your efforts.

While they haven’t posted the announcement on the website yet, you can read more about the award at http://www.ineta.org/Champions/CommunityChampionInfo.aspx

Below is the Newsletter announcement.

Community Champions Winners Announced

INETA Community Champion Award Winners

Please join us in congratulating the recipients of the Q4 2008 INETA Community Champion Award!

Adam Machanic - New England SQL Server Users Group
Chris Eargle - Columbia Enterprise Developers Guild
Teresa Hennig - Pacific Northwest Access Developer Group and Seattle Access Group
Supriyo 'SB' Chatterjee - Connecticut .NET Developers Group
Chris Hammond - St. Louis DNN User Group
Scott Cate - Arizona .NET User Group
Greg Pugh - TRINUG (Triangle Net User Group)
Randy Walker - Northwest Arkansas .NET User Group (NWADNUG)
Art Villa - LA C# Developer's Group and Southern California .Net Developers Group
Toi Wright - Dallas ASP.NET User Group

The purpose of the INETA Community Champion Award program is to recognize individuals with the highest levels of contributions. Those exceptional leaders and volunteers who devote innumerable hours towards hosting user group meetings, organizing Code Camps and special events, mentoring and supporting their members, publishing newsletters, updating web sites, and the list goes on and on. The Community Champion program provides INETA with an opportunity to showcase the efforts of our user group communities as a whole as well as provide individual recognition. Recognition that we hope will open doors to networking opportunities, potential sponsors, future employers or partnerships.

Special thanks to everyone who took the time and energy to participate in this program. Keep contributing to your local developer community and submit your activities through the Champs program. This is your chance to show the world what community leadership is all about and to gain some of the recognition that you deserve! For additional information and to view past winners, please go to Community Champions Award section of the INETA web site.

INETA Community Champion Participant of the Month Spotlight

Here at INETA, we also realize that it is the small contributions that make a difference. Most groups have additional volunteers who assist with updating the web site, greeting new members, picking up pizza, etc. No matter how small or great the effort, it's important to us to recognize those who participate in the Community Champions program. Each month we pick a contributor at random to win a $50 gift certificate. The December 2008 Champs Participant of the Month goes to Michael Stokesbary. Michael has been actively involved with Mark Michaelis in running the Spokane .NET USer Group. Congratulations Michael and thanks for supporting the developers in your community!

INETA Community Excellence Award Nominations

The Community Excellence Awards are given to those who have made a significant and prolonged impact within the developer community. These lifetime awards are presented semi-annually and use a nomination process to select the key individuals who represent the true spirit of community leadership and vision that INETA strives to represent and support. The selection community is in the final process of reviewing the nominations for the second 2008 Community Excellence Award. Log in to view past recipients and learn more by going to the Community Excellence Award section of the INETA web site.

Please contact us with any comments and feedback.
INETA Community Champions Team
noram.champs@ineta.org

Morgan Baker | morgan.baker@ineta.org | 561.893.2498 INETA North America, Vice President | www.ineta.org

Upcoming Developer Events

Randy Walker — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 08:18:07 GMT

Jan 29 – Holiday Party @ Fast Lanes, Lowell, Arkansas
Northwest Arkansas .Net User Group

Feb 7 – Kansas City Office Geeks (SharePoint Saturday)
Daniel Larson

Feb 12 – Little Rock .Net Users Group
Keith Elder of Deep Fried Bytes

Mar 1-4 – Microsoft MVP Summit

Mar 18-20 – Mix ‘09

April 2 – Ozarks .Net User Group
Claudio Lassala

May 11-15 – TechEd 2009

Korean Documentary released about our “First Trip Home” Journey

Randy Walker — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 09:04:14 GMT

I have yet to take the time to blog about my trip to Korea. Hopefully within the next few weeks I’ll share some of the events of what occurred, but I’m only just beginning to be able to talk about some of the most private pieces of my life.

KBS (Korean Broadcast Station) is the largest TV network in Korea and is broadcast all over the world. KBS followed all 42 participants with 11 different camera crews to film a documentary about our journey. The documentary is broken up into 6 pieces and while the narrator is speaking in Korean, you can hear all of the adoptees in English.

While viewing the video, be sure to watch it in high quality by clicking the link below the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0F2T-AerNI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whVb8sP9xLM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PygiwCTR7Ew
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AszthKQ1t-I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdHj1-gvEsc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-bMZ3ja9LY

A big thanks to the producer Mr. Lee and my cameragirl “Ariel” for being a part of my journey back home.

Microsoft no longer marketing Windows Live OneCare

Randy Walker — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 03:48:42 GMT

Just received an e-mail that as of Nov 23, 2008 (below), Microsoft will no longer be marketing Windows Live OneCare. It’s unknown what that means, other than them closing the affiliate program (where marketers get paid if you install it). It is unreasonable that they will discontinue the product, since they have just launched Small Business Server 2008 and Windows Live OneCare Server. I’m wondering if the marketing department that was contracted, was fired.

Windows Live OneCare to Close November 23, 2008

Thank you for your participation in the Windows Live OneCare affiliate program. Unfortunately, Microsoft will no longer be marketing the Windows Live OneCare product, and therefore must close this offer as of November 23, 2008.

Any banner or text ads that you currently have in place and receiving traffic will still be eligible for payout through 12:00am EST November 23, 2008. However, any traffic after this date will no longer be eligible for the coupon or commission payout.
Final commission payout for all approved activity through the end of day tomorrow, November 22, 2008, will be processed and paid in the month of December. This payment will also include any delayed October payment you are expecting. Be sure to turn in your W8 or W9 tax forms before November 23 to receive payment, as you will no be eligible for payment if it is not in hand at that time.
Please be sure to remove all marketing materials associated with this offer from placement as of November 23, as you will no longer receive credit for this activity.

We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. Thank you for your participation in the Microsoft Affiliate Network.

Melissa Witt
Affiliate Manager
Microsoft Affiliate Network

Microsoft BizSpark for technology startups

Randy Walker — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 01:37:01 GMT

I love it when someone else writes up my blog postings for me!

Microsoft BizSpark is a global program designed to help accelerate the success of early stage startups.

By joining BizSpark, Startups get:

o Software: fast and easy access to Microsoft’s current full-featured development tools, platform technologies, and production licenses of server products for immediate use in developing and bringing to market innovative and interoperable solutions with no upfront costs and minimal requirements. Startups will also get access to the community technology preview (CTP) of the Microsoft Azure Services Platform.

o Support: professional technical support from Microsoft (MSDN) and community support from BizSpark Network Partners around the world who provide a wide range of support resources for software startups. Network Partners are incubators, investors, advisors, government agencies and hosters who are vested in software-fueled innovation and entrepreneurship.

o Visibility: global visibility to an audience of potential investors, clients and partners. Startups will have the opportunity to complete a profile in the online Startup directory, BizSparkDB, on the Microsoft Startup Zone which highlights promising companies from around the world, including “BizSpark Startup of the Day”.

Startups get access to BizSpark either through a Network Partner (e.g. TiE, NVCA, select Venture Capitalists, and over 300+ entrepreneurial-focused organizations) or through Microsoft BizSpark Program Leads (called “BizSpark Champs”). Startups can find both at Microsoft.com/bizspark.

Call to Action

· Please visit www.microsoftstartupzone.com/bizspark for detailed program information

· Visit www.microsoftstartupzone/bizsparkdb daily to see who is the “BizSpark Startup of the Day”

· Join the BizSpark Facebook Fan Page

· Follow BizSpark on Twitter at http://twitter.com/bizspark

Selected for Trip to Korea

Randy Walker — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 05:22:50 GMT

Having only told a handful of people, I applied to the OKF (Overseas Korean Foundation) for the “First Trip Home” program the week of the deadline in late October. I found out about the program late and rushed to get my application in, which included gathering documents and writing an essay. It’s been over 36 hours since I found out I was selected to participate, and I’m still a bit shell shocked. Please note that this event in my life is extremely personal and something I have not fully explored.

OKF and the First Trip Home program was designed for “… inviting Korean adoptees to their motherland to experience and learn Korean culture by creating an outlet for their desire for searching for their identity, assistance with searching for their biological family …” http://www.okf.or.kr/

I’m very fortunate to have been one of the 44 selected. Both the flight and hotel accommodations are being paid through the Foundation which was setup by the Korean government. I’m still waiting on the itinerary, as they are scheduling several events for us. Tentatively the dates I’ll be in Korea is from Dec 8th – Dec 14th, which will require a day of travel to arrive and a day to return. It’ll be a long and difficult journey, one of some self exploration and discovery. Please pray for me.

I’ll be posting more about this journey on my personal site and Facebook, however will be exclude the geekswithblogs.net community. Feel free to keep track of the postings on http://mysoftwarestartup.com

Wishing you were at PDC? We saved the Jacksons & still get the content!

Randy Walker — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 04:21:27 GMT

Yes, I too wish I were in L.A. with all our geek friends. But thanks to fellow VB MVP, Julia Lerman, she has helped point out how we can view all the content at PDC without spending the thousands of dollars and travel time.

http://blogs.eweek.com/devlife/content/net_general/not_at_pdc_live_meetings_just_for_you_and_recorded_pdc_content.html

Letting Go

Randy Walker — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 03:35:14 GMT

Being the Type A personality I am, one of the hardest things for me to do is to “Let Go”. Why is letting go such an important thing?

For the small business owner, if you don’t let go, you’ll never grow your business. For the parent, if you don’t let go, your child will never learn, grow, mature, or be independent. For the software developer, if you don’t let go, you’ll never finish your product. But most importantly, if you don’t let go, you’ll never move on, stuck in the same spot.

The following quote was written by an unknown author and was given to me by a friend. I think it’s an extremely important lesson and I hope it helps you in your life.

Let Go and Let God
To "let go" does not mean to stop caring, it means I can't do it for someone else.
To "let go" is not to cut myself off, it's the realization I can't control another.
To "let go" is not to enable, but to allow learning from natural consequences.
To "let go" is to admit powerlessness, which means the outcome is not in my hands.
To "let go" is not to try to change or blame another; it's to make the most of myself.
To "let go" is not to care for, but to care about.

To "let go" is not to fix, but to be supportive.
To "let go" is not to judge, but to allow another to be a human being.
To "let go" is not to be in the middle arranging the outcomes but to allow others to affect their own destinies.
To "let go" is not to be protective; it's to permit another to face reality.
To "let go" is not to deny, but to accept.
To "let go" it not to nag, scold or argue, but instead to search out my own shortcomings, and correct them.
To "let go" is not to adjust everything to my desires but to take each day as it comes, and cherish myself in it.
To "let go" is not to criticize and regulate anybody but to try to become what I dream I can be.
To "let go" is not to regret the past, but to grow and live for the future.
To "let go" is to fear less, and love more.

Letter from Steve Ballmer, CEO Microsoft

Randy Walker — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 00:03:57 GMT

I occasionally receive letters sent out to the Industry Executives from the top dogs at Microsoft. Here’s the one I just received outlining their newest initiative called Windows Azure, which was just announced at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference.

During the past decade, a dramatic transformation in the world of information technology has been taking shape. It's a transformation that will change the way we experience the world and share our experiences with others. It's a transformation in which the barriers between technologies will fall away so we can connect to people and information no matter where we are. It's a transformation where new innovations will shorten the path from inspiration to accomplishment.

Many of the components of this transformation are already in place. Some have received a great deal of attention. "Cloud computing" that connects people to vast amounts of storage and computing power in massive datacenters is one example. Social networking sites that have changed the way people connect with family and friends is another.

Other components are so much a part of the inevitable march of progress that we take them for granted as soon as we start to use them: cell phones that double as digital cameras, large flat-screen PC monitors and HD TV screens, and hands-free digital car entertainment and navigation systems, to name just a few.

What's missing is the ability to connect these components in a seamless continuum of information, communication, and computing that isn't bounded by device or location. Today, some things that our intuition says should be simple still remain difficult, if not impossible. Why can't we easily access the documents we create at work on our home PCs? Why isn't all of the information that customers share with us available instantly in a single application? Why can't we create calendars that automatically merge our schedules at work and home?

This week at the Professional Developers Conference (PDC) in Los Angeles, we shared news with software developers about a new set of platform technologies that will help transcend these limits. Because you are a subscriber to Executive Emails from Microsoft, I wanted to share my thoughts about the impact that these technologies will have as developers begin to use them to create a new generation of experiences that extend uninterrupted from the desktop to the mobile phone, media player, car, and beyond-to places where we never thought information and communications would be available to us.

A New Platform for Cloud Computing

At PDC, we announced the availability of an early preview release of a new technology called Windows Azure. Windows Azure will enable developers to build applications that extend from the cloud to the enterprise datacenter and span the PC, the Web, and the mobile phone. For the first time, we shared pre-beta code for Windows 7 and for Windows Server 2008 R2. Windows 7, which is the next version of the Windows desktop operating system, will take advantage of software and hardware advances to help eliminate the boundaries between information, people, and devices.

We also previewed Office Web applications, which are light-weight versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote that are designed to be accessed through a browser. Office Web applications will be part of the next version of Office and will enable people to view, edit, and share information and collaborate on documents on the desktop, the phone, and in a Web browser in a way that is consistent and familiar.

Windows Azure is part of the Azure Services Platform, a comprehensive set of storage, computing, and networking infrastructure services that reside in Microsoft's network of datacenters. Using the Azure Services Platform, developers will be able to build applications that run in the cloud and extend existing applications to take advantage of cloud-based capabilities. The Azure Services Platform provides the foundation for business and consumer applications that deliver a consistent way for people to store and share information easily and securely in the cloud, and access it on any device from any location.

Windows Azure is not software that companies will run on their own servers. It's something new: a service that runs in Microsoft's growing network of datacenters and provides the platform that helps companies respond to the realities of today's business environment, and tomorrow's. Windows Azure technologies are already finding their way into products such as Windows Server 2008 and System Center Virtual Machine Manager, enabling organizations and Microsoft partners to create their own cloud infrastructure.

Windows Azure will enable organizations to respond to realities such as the need to use the Web to provide customers with comprehensive information and to interact with an audience that has the potential to expand exponentially overnight; to integrate operations with partners-and sometimes even competitors-to meet customer needs; to add new capabilities quickly to respond to new opportunities; and to enable employees to work efficiently and effectively no matter where they are. These realities apply not just to businesses, but to organizations of all kinds: schools, governments, community groups, and more.

Traditional approaches to building technology infrastructure and delivering computing capabilities make it difficult and expensive to adjust to these realities. You need systems with enough capacity to meet the highest possible demand-capacity that includes servers and buildings to house them, the power to run them, and the people to manage them. You have to spread that capacity across locations so there's a backup if one part fails. You have to solve issues like access for different types of users and compliance with tax regulations in all countries where your customers reside.

Designed specifically to meet the global scale that today's organizations require, the Azure Services Platform will provide fundamentally new ways to deploy services and capabilities. It gives businesses the option to take advantage of the capacity available in the cloud as it is needed, reducing the need to make large upfront investments in infrastructure simply to be ready when demand spikes. It will enable developers to create applications that run in the cloud and provide the features, information, and interactivity that employees, partners, and customers expect-no matter how many of them there are, where they are in the world, or what device they have at hand.

Software Plus Services and the Power of Choice

The Azure Services Platform reflects our belief that choice is critical for developers, companies, and consumers. It is also based on our belief that the key to delivering value today and in the future lies in combining the best aspects of software running on PCs, servers, and devices with the best aspects of services running on the Web-an approach we call "software plus services."

Our software plus services approach lets people take full advantage of the incredible power of today's devices. While there are undeniable benefits to being able to tap into the wealth of information and services that can be accessed over the Web through a browser, the interactive experiences that people expect on their PC, mobile phone, and media player depend on sophisticated software running on powerful processors.

The richness of these experiences will only increase as multicore processors expand the computing capabilities of our devices and new programming languages open the door to a new generation of applications that let us use more natural ways to interact with digital technology such as voice, touch, and gestures.

Software plus services also recognizes that for most companies, the ideal way to build IT infrastructure is to find the right balance of applications that are run and managed within the organization and applications that are run and managed in the cloud.

This balance varies by company. A financial services company may choose to maintain customer records within its own datacenter to provide the extra layers of protection that it feels are needed to safeguard the privacy of personal information. It may outsource IT systems that provide basic capabilities such as email.

This balance will change over time within an organization, as well. A company may run its own online transaction system most of the year, but outsource for added capacity to meet extra demand during the holiday season. With software plus services, an organization can move applications back and forth between its own servers and the cloud quickly and smoothly.

Today, companies around the world are implementing Microsoft technologies to take advantage of the best combination of on-premise software and cloud-based services. Using Microsoft Online Services, businesses including Coca-Cola Enterprises, Blockbuster, and Energizer access and manage Microsoft Exchange, SharePoint, Office Communications Server, and Live Meeting over the Web through a single, secure infrastructure. In addition, 1 million people rely on Office Live Workspace for sharing and collaborating with friends, family, and colleagues.

Expanding the Definition of Personal Computing

Ultimately, the reason to create a cloud services platform is to continue to enhance the value that computing delivers, whether it's by improving productivity, making it easier to communicate with colleagues, or simplifying the way we access information and respond to changing business conditions.

In the world of software plus services and cloud computing, this means extending the definition of personal computing beyond the PC to include the Web and an ever-growing array of devices. Our goal is to make the combination of PCs, mobile devices, and the Web something that is significantly than more the sum of its parts.

The starting point is to recognize the unique value of each part. The value of the PC lies in its computing power, its storage capacity, and its ability to help us be more productive and create and consume rich and complex documents and content.

For the Web, it's the ability to bring together people, information, and services so we can connect, communicate, share, and transact with anyone, anywhere, at any time.

With the mobile phone and other devices, it's the ability to take action spontaneously-to make a call, take a picture, or send a text message in the flow of our activities.

Through Live Mesh-a service from Microsoft that we announced earlier this year and about which we shared new information week-we're beginning to bridge the PC, phone, and Web and create this next generation of connected experiences. Built on the Azure Services Platform, Live Mesh enables you to use programs and information stored on your work computer from your home PC, and vice versa. With Live Mesh, you can share folders and ensure that the information is automatically synchronized across your devices.

Live Mesh hints at how our lives will be transformed as the barriers between devices disappear and the option to connect instantly to people, devices, programs, and information becomes a reality.

We're not quite there yet. Today, the Azure Services Platform is available only as a limited technology preview release. But as developers begin to combine the capabilities of this new platform with the amazing ongoing hardware and software innovations that we are seeing from companies across the industry, it will bring us significantly closer to the time when information, communication, and computing flows along with us seamlessly as we move through our day-to-day activities.

You can learn more about these technologies and the progress we are making by visiting the Microsoft Software + Services Web site.

I look forward to sharing more information with you about these new technologies in the near future.

Steve Ballmer

Technorati Tags: Microsoft,Azure

Inaugural Harrison .Net User Group meeting Oct 21st 2008

Randy Walker — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 01:17:36 GMT

I’m happy to announce that Brandon King has organized the first Harrison .Net User Group meeting for Oct 21st, 2008. The meeting will be held at Roosters BBQ, Google Map.

AGENDA
5:30 PM – 6:00 PM Food and get to know each other
6:00 PM – 7:30 PM Discuss forming the DNUG, including officers, meeting times and topics of interest for guest speakers

Come catch me at Tulsa TechFest 2008, Oct 9-10th

Randy Walker — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 19:52:54 GMT

Please join me in Tulsa on October 9th & 10th for the annual Tulsa TechFest event! I’ve had several people ask me about when I’ll be doing my Small Business talk again, which will be on Oct 9th at 1pm. If you are interested in starting your own software business, you won’t want to miss this!

Here’s a brief synopsis:

Join Randy Walker, owner of an ISV, as he leads an interactive discussion on his successes and failures of running a software business. We will discuss what’s needed to start a software business including – marketing, tax issues, sales cycles, employees, networking, competition, licensing, legal issues, intellectual property, ways to keep the largest profit margin and the Microsoft Partner Program.

Jonesboro & Harrison are getting .Net User Groups

Randy Walker — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 04:34:19 GMT

For those living in the Northeast Arkansas / Jonesboro and Harrison areas, there will be two new .Net User Groups. Details are still pending, but if you’re interested in helping form or attend the meetings, be sure to contact me. Helping lead user groups is a fantastic resume builder, and as anyone can attest, the social networking aspects is the number 1 reason to get involved.

Memphis .Net User Group visit Sept 25th

Randy Walker — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 04:26:57 GMT

For those in East Arkansas and West Tennessee, I’ll be visiting the Memphis .Net User Group on September 25th 2008. David Mohundro, the co-founder of the Fort Smith .Net User Group, will be presenting on PowerShell. You won’t want to miss this presentation, as there is some terrific tie-ins with Visual Studio.

My main purpose will be to meet with the guys starting up a Northeast Arkansas .Net User Group in Jonesboro, Arkansas. If you’re interested, in helping out or attending the new NEADNUG group, be sure to contact me.

David and I will be traveling together and staying with Colin Neller, who has graciously/foolishly opened his home to us. A big shoutout of thanks to Colin and his family.

Hope to see you in Memphis!

Child Labor, India, Soccer Balls & Walmart

Randy Walker — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 03:21:23 GMT

As I sit here watching Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, I'm saddened to watch Indian children making soccer balls. I realize that the show is obviously over dramatized, but the reality is, there are children making soccer balls in India. So, how can any retail store, like Walmart, or the manufacturer, Mitre allow this to happen?

The U.S. Dept of Labor International Affairs is specifically tasked with preventing this from happening. Walmart has rules and regulations forbidding the use of child labor. I'm doubtful even Mitre fully understands how this is happening. So who's to blame? Probably all of them, with a majority of it being Mitre, and we, the consumer, bearing the entire weight of it.

More than likely Mitre has not it's due diligence in examining the contracted company that produces the soccer balls. Unless a manufacturer owns the entire process of/in manufacturing a product, it's easy to not know details. After all, that's part of what you're paying for.

So where does Walmart's blame figure in? I know for a fact, that Walmart examines it's vendor's manufacturing processes. But it's impossible to examine all 500,000+ products' manufacturing process. Each CPG company (Consumer Package Goods, manufacturer, vendor) is required to sign an agreement which includes restricting the use of child labor.

Essentially, as a retailer, Walmart holds no fault. However, the overall mission of Walmart, and ultimately the consumer IS to blame. Walmart constantly strives to negotiate the lowest possible price with each manufacturer. But who drives that goal? Us, the consumer and our desire to have cheap products, and more of them.

(Randy Walker, this blog writer, sells software to manufacturers who sell their products at Walmart. This post represents Randy's opinion and is not representative of Mitre, Walmart, or the company he is employed by.)

Technorati Tags: Child Labor,India,Soccer,Walmart

Nashville devLink Recap

Randy Walker — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 02:20:43 GMT

One of the most interesting things about being a software developer is to see the entire undercurrent and subculture of the industry. It really makes it more visible at the local geek gatherings, regional and national conferences. This year I felt extremely fortunate to have been offered an opportunity to speak and help at the Nashville / Murfreesboro devLink conference. I honestly hadn't intended on going due to the 9 hour travel required, but when my good friend John Kellar reached out, how could I refuse? So David Mohundro, Michael Johnson and myself made the long trek. (David and Michael belong to the Fort Smith .Net User Group)

I may not ever be a rock star, but I definitely was treated as one! Thursday night started out with the VIP dinner for speakers, volunteers, and contest winners. The food was terrific, the conversation entertaining, and the activities a blast!

Free stuff is always cool, and the picture to the left shows just a few things we were given as speakers. A huge plaque made of pure chocolate that bore the conference name "devLink", a thank you card, a Barnes & Noble gift card, and a Speaker Badge. I was given a very cool football jersey for helping direct traffic, which also bore the conference name.

Opening festivities, were finished off by a Microsoft sponsored poker tournament, hosted by the Heartland region developer evangelist Jeff Blankenburg. I finished 3rd and won a cool laptop backpack. Fellow South Central region influences & MVP, Tim Rayburn, finished 4th. I am happy to say I did avoid hotel room 112! Although I heard it was a blast from those that went, with guitar hero, real guitars, cigars and plenty to drink being key points of interest.

Other highlights ...
I got thrown out of the speaker room for making too much noise by the Deep Fried Bytes crew, they were recording for their podcast (not completely accurate, but hey, it makes for a good story).
John Kellar and the rest of the devLink crew, puts on a darn good event!
I participated in the recording for DotNetRocks during the Saturday night after party!
Open Spaces was a huge hit, lead by Alan Stevens
Had a terrific time meeting and talking with Billy Hollis
The Heartland Microsoft Developer Evangelist crew is an awesome bunch!
I graduated from the same high school that the devLink Secretary Leanna Baker did, small world eh?
My session that I spoke at was in the main hall (picture right), fortunately I didn't have that entire crowd

Pictures and other Postings about devLink 2008!

My Pictures - http://www.flickr.com/photos/vonlar/sets/72157606987908831/

http://picasaweb.google.com/DotNetJesus/DevLink2008

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sadukie/tags/devlink/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29955965@N06/sets/72157607063383359/

http://telerikwatch.com/2008/08/devlink-2008-wrap-up.html

http://www.misfitgeek.com/The+Importance+Of+Community+Driven+Events+DevLink+OH+WOW.aspx

http://www.jeffblankenburg.com/2008/06/bus-to-devlink.html

Technorati Tags: devLink