September 2007 - Posts

• I take offense ...

  to the portrayal of Jimmy Kimmel's comment about I.T. employees all over the world calling in sick because of the Halo 3 release.  However true it may be. (Sad isn't it?) Posted Sep 27 2007, 12:23 AM by Randy Walker with no comments Filed under: Gaming

• Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD helps fuel Java vs Microsoft battle?

  Consumers are either deciding on a format or waiting until a decisive winner is declared in the ongoing HD media battle.  Most people think the battle is Sony vs Toshiba, but I beg to differ!  The other half of the debate is Java versus Microsoft. Now wouldn't it be lovely if HD-DVD used .Net for authoring content?  Well of course, it's not that simple.  From my brief research, both can allow you to use JScript, but Blu-Ray allows you to also use J2ME.  Blu-Ray is by far the superior platform technologically.  But as we all know, more complex will always lose out to easy and simple, where the consumer is concerned. As of this weekend, I now have both formats thanks to a PS3 and Xbox 360 + HDDVD add-on.  I'll be posting soon on how I came about doing this and why. An article about how to program HD-DVD content from Microsoft: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa468611.aspx An article about why Blu-Ray is better to create content for: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/49194/next_generation_dvd_authoring_why_bluray.html?page=2 Posted Sep 25 2007, 12:46 AM by Randy Walker with no comments Filed under: Gadgets, Programming, Microsoft, Gaming

• I had my first sighting!

  It definately was not a UFO.  It was the United States Air Force's B-2 Bomber (commonly referred to as the Steath Bomber).  Supposedly it was 1 out of the 21 total B-2 bombers the Air Force purchased. That plane is just plain "sick"!  So friggin cool!  Engines were enormously loud and it's silouette unmistakable.  It happened to be the fly-by for the University of Arkansas vs Kentucky football game.  It is such a terrifying piece of machinery that my 2 year old son got quite scared. It is amazingly impressive that there are no verticle pieces of the plane.  From my understanding, because it defies normal flight design, the only way that they can keep it from crashing into the ground is through gyroscopes.  It's modern living proof of an engineering masterpiece. Posted Sep 22 2007, 10:44 PM by Randy Walker with no comments Filed under: Misc, Gadgets

• Come see my presentation @ the Northwest Arkansas .Net User Group (NWA DNUG)

  On October the 2nd, I will be presenting on either CodeSmith or SQL Server Reporting Services.  To find out more information (like location and time) please visit the NWA DNUG website. I'm excited about presenting, since the last time I presented, it was at TechEd 2007.  Hope you all come and give a big showing! Posted Sep 21 2007, 01:33 AM by Randy Walker with no comments Filed under: Presentations, .Net, Northwest Arkansas, Local Events, Accomplishments, CodeSmith, SQL Server

• Halo 3 competition and .Net event by the University of Arkansas .Net User Group (UofA DNUG)

  I received the following e-mail about a terrific event the UofA DNUG is hosting (note that the schedule is all tentative).  Basically they are helping kick off the Halo 3 debut as well as giving a mini Code Camp.  It sounds like a blast, and I'll definately be attending and helping out.  Hoping to see some of our fellow NWA DNUG members out there support the event! The student leaders of the .NET Group @ UA and I have been working on planning a huge back to school blowout event with the help of Microsoft, NWA .NET User Group, GSB, ISYS, and others. This event is scheduled to take place on September 28th, 2007 from 4:45 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.  We have reserved Walker Hall Auditorium and the seminar room on the second floor along with the project/meeting rooms on the fourth floor (431, 432, 433, 434 - Preferred and 411, 412, 413, 414, 415, 416). This event is free to all students on campus and we will be advertising this event all over campus.  We plan to use the tables in the red lounge area right behind the auditorium as the registration area and give students a chance to visit with representatives from GSB, ISYS, and others before the meeting and presentation starts. The .NET Group @ UA and Microsoft along with the Microsoft Student Partners Program will be giving out free prizes throughout the night.  We will have presentations on various topics related to the .NET platform in the seminar room each hour.  At the end of the main event meeting, we will start the Halo 3 competition. The following schedule is in rough draft format... 4:45 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Registration 5:30 p.m. - 6:15 p.m. Start Main .NET Group @ UA meeting Topic:  XNA 6:15 p.m. - 6:45 p.m. XNA Robotic Demonstration 6:45 p.m. - 7:15 p.m. Pizza and Drinks Halo 3 Competition Starts 7:00 p.m. - 7:20 p.m. Project/Meeting Room 7:25 p.m. - 7:45 p.m. Project/Meeting Room 7:50 p.m. - 8:10 p.m. Project/Meeting Room 8:15 p.m. - 8:40 p.m. Project/Meeting Room ... This allows five minutes between each play period. 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Seminar Room .NET Talk Topic:  ??? 8:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Seminar Room .NET Talk Topic:  ??? 9:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. Seminar Room .NET Talk Topic:  ??? 11:00 p.m. - 12:00 p.m. Closing Meeting (Grand Prize Drawing)...Clean Up...Clear Building... We will need volunteers and support for this event. Posted Sep 19 2007, 12:52 AM by Randy Walker with no comments Filed under: .Net, Northwest Arkansas, Microsoft, Local Events, Gaming

• Halo 3, NFL & Silverlight

  Of all the odd things to see, several Halo 3 commercials during an NFL football game.  Looks like it's a full on assault to push Halo 3.  And for those that haven't noticed, Microsoft has put it's full juggernaut marketing team behind it, and it seems to be paying off.  Their $120 version that includes a carbon fiber helmet is sold out at my local best buy.  I even considered buying it, if it would have fit my son's head.  But I was told it would only fit on a cat or small dog's head. I had received an e-mail the other day advertising Halo 3 and low and behold they were using the new Silverlight to serve up all their video.  Nice, very nice. Posted Sep 16 2007, 04:30 PM by Randy Walker with no comments Filed under: .Net, Misc, Gadgets, Gaming

• Planning on an MSDN mini event

  It's been a while since we've had the honor of hosting an MSDN event here in NW Arkansas.  Fortunately, Zain and Jeremy Sharp helped put on a small Code Camp for our area as our first event.  I am currently trying to organize an MSDN mini event to be held here.  IWe tentatively have it scheduled for November 30th.  The hopes is to have several topics covered by Zain Naboulsi and a guest speaker.  I really want a good turnout for this.  The larger the turnout, the better chance of having future events held here. One of the main reasons I've never tried to organize a full blown Code Camp or other event is that I'm afraid of a low turnout.  The last MSDN event had around 40-50 developers show up.  But I'd really like to see upwards of 80-100 show up. Posted Sep 14 2007, 11:03 PM by Randy Walker with no comments Filed under: Presentations, Training, .Net, Programming, Local Events, MSDN, Accomplishments

• New MSDN Developer Evengelist, Zain Naboulsi (better late than never)

  First off my thanks go out to Ron Cundiff.  Ron (while still at the same job) formerly used to handle or regional MSDN events.  I thoroughly enjoyed everytime Ron and I met with each other, and maybee one day he'll be in the area so we can hit up Osegura's mexican restraunt.  (I had tried to take him there one day, but it was closed that day) We now have a new MSDN Developer Evangelist, Zain Naboulsi.  I have been horribly bad by not welcoming him to the area, even though he's been on the job for a while.  I'm looking forward to having him in the area and working with him in the future. And for those that didn't already know, he's already made a major impact here in the NW Arkansas area, and has some terrific ideas on bringing Microsoft into the area. Posted Sep 14 2007, 10:51 PM by Randy Walker with no comments Filed under: Presentations, Training, .Net, Programming, Northwest Arkansas, Microsoft

• Write your own Outlook 2007 Previewer

  One of the terrific new features in Outlook 2007 is the ability to preview e-mail attachments without having to open them up in their corresponding application.  (For those of us old school guys, we've always been able to program this feature using OLE.)  Unfortunately when you look for some to add to Outlook, low and behold, there's none of them out there. So, I guess it's up to use developers to do the dirty work and create some. Here's a great tutorial on how to do this. http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/07/01/PreviewHandlers/default.aspx Posted Sep 14 2007, 10:47 PM by Randy Walker with no comments Filed under: Productivity, Vista, Programming, MS Office, Code Examples

• Price Gouging by Barnes & Nobles

  I thought I would share my complaint of how I got price gouged by Barnes & Nobles.  I was trying to buy an MCSE training kit and found the following prices. $119.99 at Amazon.com $159.99 at Barnes & Nobles Website Price paid at the store counter?  $199.99 Posted Sep 14 2007, 04:24 AM by Randy Walker with no comments Filed under: Complaints, Books

• Logitech Remote

  As with most wives, mine has always complained about the number of remotes I have.  So I decided to try out one of Logitech's remotes.  All I can say is "WOW".  Although it was a bit complicated to setup, the ease of use was phenominal.  It will naturally take some getting used to, but I already love it.  After all, who wouldn't love to turn on 3 devices and have them all set properly with one button push? Even the help feature works really really well and asks you several questions to help get the remote synch'd with your devices.  So if the tv is off, but everything else turned on fine, just click the help button and it'll ask you a series of questions so it can turn the tv on. I give it 4 stars out of 5.  It doesn't get the last star because of the difficulty of setting it up. Although it would be difficult to make it easier, simply because of all the complex things the remote does. Posted Sep 14 2007, 03:55 AM by Randy Walker with no comments Filed under: Gadgets, Reviews

• New Remote Desktop Connection in Vista

  I came across the following information and thought I would share it concerning the new RDC in Vista, which is also available to download and use in XP and Server 2003. Network Level Authentication - Network Level Authentication is a new authentication method that finishes user authentication before you establish a full Remote Desktop Connection and the logon screen appears. Server authentication - Server authentication verifies that you are connecting to the correct remote computer or server. This security measure helps prevent you from connecting to a different computer or server than you intend. This also prevents you from unintentionally exposing confidential information. Resource redirection - The Remote Desktop Connection 6.0 client update helps you redirect Plug and Play devices that support redirection. Terminal Services Gateway (TS Gateway) servers - A Terminal Services Gateway (TS Gateway) server is a type of gateway that enables authorized users to connect to remote computers on a corporate network. These authorized users can connect from any computer by using an Internet connection. TS Gateway uses the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) together with the HTTPS protocol to help create a more secure, encrypted connection. TS Remote Programs - TS Remote Programs is a feature of Windows Server Terminal Services that lets client computers connect to a remote computer and use programs that are installed on it. Monitor spanning - Remote Desktop Connection supports high-resolution displays that can be spanned across multiple monitors. However, the total resolution on all monitors must be under 4,096 x 2,048. Visual improvements - Remote Desktop Connection now supports 32-bit color and font smoothing. You can find the downloads here: Remote Desktop Connection (Terminal Services Client 6.0) for Windows XP Remote Desktop Connection (Terminal Services Client 6.0) for Windows XP x64 Edition Remote Desktop Connection (Terminal Services Client 6.0) for Windows Server 2003 Remote Desktop Connection (Terminal Services Client 6.0) for Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition Posted Sep 12 2007, 02:01 AM by Randy Walker with no comments Filed under: Infrastructure

• Internet Tax Free - Help keep it that way

  I've been a real fan of easy to use websites.  mywireless.org has been a great site, that when I have agreed to their political views on the wireless industry, all I have to do is fill out a little information and they send my Senators and Representative a letter for me. While I have agreed with almost everything they have tried to push, I did notice on one occasion that they were misleading their participants on one referendum.  It's been too long and I don't recall what it was about, but always make sure and thoroughly read and agree with what they are pushing. I'm not exactly sure if they are saying the Internet tax free law is expiring, or that they are wanting to keep internet access from cell phones tax free, but in either case I would recommend supporting their latest agenda. http://www.mywireless.org/internettaxmoratorium/ Posted Sep 11 2007, 09:36 PM by Randy Walker with no comments Filed under: Internet

• Personal Blog moving to this site & Website upgrade

  In an effort to blog more and make it more convenient, I am making this website my main blog site.  For those that didn't know, http://www.vonlar.com has been my personal blog site, while I focused this site with my Entrepreneurial efforts.  Hopefully I'll get around to moving the blog postings.  You should see a lot more blog postings though. The great people from Community Server gave me a nice license since I won it at the Dallas Code Camp, so I'll be upgrading this website soon!  Woohoo. Posted Sep 11 2007, 02:48 AM by Randy Walker with no comments Filed under: Dallas Code Camp, Website

• Bad News - Rejected!

  Well the sad sad news finally came to me.  :( Rejection ... such a hard thing! No MVP for me this quarter ... *sigh*.  I mean, so what if I had a few too many and threw up a few times at TechEd this year.  It's not as if corn and peas don't wipe off of the MVP coordinator's shoes.  Ok ok, maybee I shouldn't have said Bill Gates needed to add a few gray hairs to his toupee to make it believable.  ;) Ok, this quarter, I'll try really really hard not to insult all the Microsoft Evangelists in my area!  ;) o O   . \__/ Posted Sep 10 2007, 12:40 AM by Randy Walker with no comments Filed under: Misc