Friday, October 31, 2003
Let it Snow!!
Finally! Snow! The Canyons, where I ski got 8 inches of new snow and it's still falling. I can hardly wait for opening day.
Longhorn Adoption
With the first public showing and release code of Longhorn this week at the PDC, there's been lots of speculation about how long it will take for users to adopt Longhorn. With the OS not expected until 2006 at the earliest, many suspect it will be 2010 before people really start to adopt it. I suspect it will be much earlier. Why? One word: security. The current Windows code base will be very difficult to secure people's PCs. Why? It was created at a time when outside intrusion to the PC was not a big issue and it will be impossible to fix. A new codebase will be required. That's Longhorn. People will want their PCs to be secure. To do that, they will have to install Longhorn.
Office Lunch
Yup, we got lunch yesterday at the Office launch. I had a roast beef sandwich, potato salad, cookie, apple, and a chocolate mint. Beverages at the Marriott were Pepsi products (which I prefer over Coke), but there was no Mountain Dew, so I took a Sierra Mist. I made the comment about hotel people not understanding computer people. Mountain Dew was required. A hotel employee heard me and by the next break they had Mountain Dew. Kudos to the Marriott staff.
As for launch itself, it was rather ho-hum. Nothing like the Tiki torches and Survivor theme of the Windows 2003 launch. I attended the developer track and while yeah, the technology is cool, they really pushed big, enterprise solutions that sell lots of copies of Office and lots of servers. They barely mentioned the fact that you can now create a Word or Excel document with XML from your applications instead of having to do COM automation to the actual Office product. Now that's what is really cool.
We were given the normal plastic bag filled with Microsoft propaganda ... errr... marketing materials, the timed Office demo disks, etc. However, what was WAY COOL was that every attendee got a voucher for a full blown copy of Office Professional and One Note.
As for launch itself, it was rather ho-hum. Nothing like the Tiki torches and Survivor theme of the Windows 2003 launch. I attended the developer track and while yeah, the technology is cool, they really pushed big, enterprise solutions that sell lots of copies of Office and lots of servers. They barely mentioned the fact that you can now create a Word or Excel document with XML from your applications instead of having to do COM automation to the actual Office product. Now that's what is really cool.
We were given the normal plastic bag filled with Microsoft propaganda ... errr... marketing materials, the timed Office demo disks, etc. However, what was WAY COOL was that every attendee got a voucher for a full blown copy of Office Professional and One Note.
Thursday, October 30, 2003
Office Launch
I'll be at the Office 2003 launch here in SLC today.
Spinning Out in Yellowstone
From the Salt Lake Tribune. Just how stupid do you have to be?
Wednesday, October 29, 2003
How Microsoft Does IT
Ever wonder how Microsoft IT does things? (Thanks, Kase)
Monday, October 27, 2003
SoCal Fires
From Scobleizer: Somke plumes of the SoCal fires from space. Cool pic, but scary things going on there. For a time this past weekend all the SoCal airports were closed. PDC attendees had a hard time getting there. Some may still be stuck at airports.
PDC Starts Today
The computing world is supposed to change in a BIG way today when Microsoft publically unveils Longhorn, Yukon, and Whidbey beginning today at the PDC. I wish I was there.
The Anatomy of a Bug
If you've ever wondered why software ships with bugs, now you know. Joe Bork, a tester at Microsoft explains why. Even if you are in the software industry, you should read what Joe has to say.
Friday, October 24, 2003
RSS in Government
Utah has long been recognized as one of the most Internet savvy state govenments. Now I find it is also providing several RSS feeds. A big thumbs up to Gov. Levitt for pushing the state to be a technology leader. The same page is also a great tutorial for RSS.
Wednesday, October 22, 2003
MVPs to Get Access to Windows Source
Microsoft announced today that they are expanding the number of MVPs who can gain access to the Windows source code. This should help MVPs better support Microsoft customers. While it appears I may be eligible for the access, I wouldn't know what to do with it nor understand what's happening. However, the idea that I could see it is pretty exciting!
Update: Official Press Release
Update: Official Press Release
Monday, October 20, 2003
Hentzenwerke Bonanza
Hentzenwerke Publishing announced several new books earlier this month at GLGDW. They're not yet on the web site, but watch for them soon.
- FoxTales by Kerry Nietz
- Painless Legacy FoxPro Applications on Modern Networks by Alan Bourke
- LT-Network by Michael Jang
- Deploying Visual FoxPro Solutions by Rick Schummer, Rick Borup, and Jacci Adams
- Build Your Own Framework with Visual FoxPro by Ken Chazzotte
- FoxTales by Kerry Nietz
- Painless Legacy FoxPro Applications on Modern Networks by Alan Bourke
- LT-Network by Michael Jang
- Deploying Visual FoxPro Solutions by Rick Schummer, Rick Borup, and Jacci Adams
- Build Your Own Framework with Visual FoxPro by Ken Chazzotte
3M Profits Up
3M today announced profits were up 22% over the third quarter a year ago.
And now for my next trick
I've completed moving my blog to ASP pages so that a count of comments is displayed. Next, I'll save a cookie to your computer when you enter a comment so that next time you won't have to enter the information again. Watch for those changes, coming soon to a blog near you.
Thursday, October 16, 2003
Changes Coming
I'll be changing the URL where you can find my blogs in the next few days. I'm doing this so that a comment count will display next to each entry. The new URL will be http://www.craigberntson.com/blog/blogger.asp
RTFM
I spend lots of time everyday on newsgroups, the Universal Thread and other support forums so I should be used to questions that the answer is simple to find. For example, VFP8 changed the way is aggregates data in a SQL GROUP BY clause to be more standards compliant. This is well documented and easy to find in the What's New section of the help file. There's even the SET ENGINE BEHAVIOR command to get the old behavior. Yet, people would rather post and complain about a "bug" rather than Read The F***** Manual.
There's another type of post that should never be made. This is the "Can function x do y?" question. These are typically things that would take no more than five minutes of experimentation to discover. What the hell do you think the Command Window is for? Much of the time this is documented in the help file too.
So, to help you out, here are some things you should do before making a post:
1. When you get a new version of the software read the entire "What's New" section of the help file AND the Readme file.
2. When you install a new service pack, make sure you actually read the Readme.
3. Learn how to use the F1 key. The help files don't contain everthing, but there's lots of information there.
4. Instead of asking "Can X do Y?", try a bit of experimentation. You'll learn alot more about the language, testing, debugging, and development than just posting the question. Many times when you experiment, you'll then see other things and start to ask, "Can X do Z?". It will also take less time than posting the question and then waiting around for someone to answer it.
There's another type of post that should never be made. This is the "Can function x do y?" question. These are typically things that would take no more than five minutes of experimentation to discover. What the hell do you think the Command Window is for? Much of the time this is documented in the help file too.
So, to help you out, here are some things you should do before making a post:
1. When you get a new version of the software read the entire "What's New" section of the help file AND the Readme file.
2. When you install a new service pack, make sure you actually read the Readme.
3. Learn how to use the F1 key. The help files don't contain everthing, but there's lots of information there.
4. Instead of asking "Can X do Y?", try a bit of experimentation. You'll learn alot more about the language, testing, debugging, and development than just posting the question. Many times when you experiment, you'll then see other things and start to ask, "Can X do Z?". It will also take less time than posting the question and then waiting around for someone to answer it.
Longhorn XP?
Longhorn is still a long ways out. Until then, XP will keep you running. Have you ever wondered why Service Pack 2 for XP is taking so long? Paul Thurrott explains why.
Tuesday, October 14, 2003
What's In A Title?
I found out how to add titles to my posts. Before, I was just bolding the first line. I wonder if this will look different.
Update: It did look different. I had to add bold tags around the title metadata tag in the template. Now it looks the same as always.
Update: It did look different. I had to add bold tags around the title metadata tag in the template. Now it looks the same as always.
WinFS
Microsoft has revealed more information about it's next generation file system called WinFS. It will debut in Longhorn. Basically, WinFS is a SQL Server database running on NTFS that provides additional information about the file. You're supposed to be able to do a search for say, "blog", and all the documents that discuss it will quickly be listed.
More about WinFS and other Longhorn technologies will be revealed later this month at the PDC. You can expect to hear about Indigo, which is a new web services initiative and Avalon, a new graphics and presentation system.
Don Box says Avalon and Indigo are easy to use and integrate.
Microsoft has revealed more information about it's next generation file system called WinFS. It will debut in Longhorn. Basically, WinFS is a SQL Server database running on NTFS that provides additional information about the file. You're supposed to be able to do a search for say, "blog", and all the documents that discuss it will quickly be listed.
More about WinFS and other Longhorn technologies will be revealed later this month at the PDC. You can expect to hear about Indigo, which is a new web services initiative and Avalon, a new graphics and presentation system.
Don Box says Avalon and Indigo are easy to use and integrate.
More NewsGator
I just discovered a really neat feature in NewsGator. If I go to a new blog and want to subscribe to it's RSS feed, I only have to right-click in IE and select "Subscribe in NewsGator" from the context menu. Way cool!
I just discovered a really neat feature in NewsGator. If I go to a new blog and want to subscribe to it's RSS feed, I only have to right-click in IE and select "Subscribe in NewsGator" from the context menu. Way cool!
Fox Tales
The VFP report writer has been mainly unchanged in forever. What we have today is basically the same as what was originally in FoxPro over 10 years ago. (In case you've been living in a cave, Microsoft has announced that the report writer will have major changes in VFP9.) The guy that originally wrote the report writer code, Kerry Nietz, has now written a book, Fox Tales, about his days at Fox Software. The book will be available soon from Hentzenwerke Publishing.
The VFP report writer has been mainly unchanged in forever. What we have today is basically the same as what was originally in FoxPro over 10 years ago. (In case you've been living in a cave, Microsoft has announced that the report writer will have major changes in VFP9.) The guy that originally wrote the report writer code, Kerry Nietz, has now written a book, Fox Tales, about his days at Fox Software. The book will be available soon from Hentzenwerke Publishing.
Sweet Revenge
Last year at GLGDW, all the speakers were required to sing a line for a music video that was then shown to attendees. "Fox Is Magic", sung to "Do You Believe in Magic" was a roaring success, much to the embarassment of the speakers. We all vowed to take revenge this year. Unfortunately, I'm not there to participate, but revenge is happening. About three years ago, Whil posted a web site for his high school reunion. He then wrote about it in FoxTalk, but didn't give the URL. Some faithful reader did a web search, found the site, and posted the URL. I went up and snatched Whil's high school picture from the site, knowing I'd could use at some point. This past summer, I emailed the picture to Cathy Pountney. She used it in her GLGDW session this year. You can see a picture of it at the GLGDW coverage site on the Universal Thread.
Last year at GLGDW, all the speakers were required to sing a line for a music video that was then shown to attendees. "Fox Is Magic", sung to "Do You Believe in Magic" was a roaring success, much to the embarassment of the speakers. We all vowed to take revenge this year. Unfortunately, I'm not there to participate, but revenge is happening. About three years ago, Whil posted a web site for his high school reunion. He then wrote about it in FoxTalk, but didn't give the URL. Some faithful reader did a web search, found the site, and posted the URL. I went up and snatched Whil's high school picture from the site, knowing I'd could use at some point. This past summer, I emailed the picture to Cathy Pountney. She used it in her GLGDW session this year. You can see a picture of it at the GLGDW coverage site on the Universal Thread.
Monday, October 13, 2003
GLGDW
The annual Great Lakes Great Database Workshop, nicknamed Whilfest, is underway in Milwaukee. I was one of the speakers the past three years, but couldn't make it this time around. Coverage is on the Universal Thread.
The annual Great Lakes Great Database Workshop, nicknamed Whilfest, is underway in Milwaukee. I was one of the speakers the past three years, but couldn't make it this time around. Coverage is on the Universal Thread.
Away with you, vile program
No more Lotus Notes! (almost) I installed the released version of Outlook 2003 and set it up to use my Lotus Notes account at the office. I can now use Outlook for email and to view my calendar. Alas, I still have to use Lotus Notes (or as we affectionally call it, "Bloated Goats") for scheduling meetings and accessing Notes databases, but 99% of what I do is just email.
No more Lotus Notes! (almost) I installed the released version of Outlook 2003 and set it up to use my Lotus Notes account at the office. I can now use Outlook for email and to view my calendar. Alas, I still have to use Lotus Notes (or as we affectionally call it, "Bloated Goats") for scheduling meetings and accessing Notes databases, but 99% of what I do is just email.
Unicode 101
Have you ever wondered what Unicode is? How does it differ from DBCS (which is the encoding used by VFP)? Needed to write International applications or web pages? Joel Spolsky gives you The Absolute Minimum Every Software Developer Abosutely, Positively Must Know About Unicode and Character Sets (No Excuses!)
Have you ever wondered what Unicode is? How does it differ from DBCS (which is the encoding used by VFP)? Needed to write International applications or web pages? Joel Spolsky gives you The Absolute Minimum Every Software Developer Abosutely, Positively Must Know About Unicode and Character Sets (No Excuses!)
NewsGator
I've just installed NewsGator into Outlook 2003 and am using it as my new aggregator. So far, it works great for reading news and staying up to date. This is the first post that I've attempted. It will be interesting to see how it works.
Update: I wasn't pleased with the results from posting inside NewsGator and edited the post on the Blogger website.
I've just installed NewsGator into Outlook 2003 and am using it as my new aggregator. So far, it works great for reading news and staying up to date. This is the first post that I've attempted. It will be interesting to see how it works.
Update: I wasn't pleased with the results from posting inside NewsGator and edited the post on the Blogger website.
Thursday, October 09, 2003
Service Pack 2 for Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Decisions has released Service Pack 2 for Crystal Reports 9, along with service packs for several other CD products.
Crystal Decisions has released Service Pack 2 for Crystal Reports 9, along with service packs for several other CD products.
Getting caught in a .NET?
If you're developing Windows applications not looking at or already using .NET, you should be. In response to a question on the Universal Thread, I made the following observation:
If you do a bit of research, you'll find that .NET will get into everything MS. Examples:
- Developer tool division pushing Visual Studio .NET and VB.NET and C#
- Yukon, the next version of SQL Server will support some type of .NET coding for stored procedures
- Office 2003 supports .NET and VBA
- Win32 APIs will go into maintenance mode in the next version of Windows, code named Longhorn. These APIs will be replaced/superceeded with .NET assemblies
- Some new features of Longhorn will require the use of .NET. There is some question as to if VFP and other COM/API based languages/tools will be able to support these new features.
If you're developing Windows applications not looking at or already using .NET, you should be. In response to a question on the Universal Thread, I made the following observation:
If you do a bit of research, you'll find that .NET will get into everything MS. Examples:
- Developer tool division pushing Visual Studio .NET and VB.NET and C#
- Yukon, the next version of SQL Server will support some type of .NET coding for stored procedures
- Office 2003 supports .NET and VBA
- Win32 APIs will go into maintenance mode in the next version of Windows, code named Longhorn. These APIs will be replaced/superceeded with .NET assemblies
- Some new features of Longhorn will require the use of .NET. There is some question as to if VFP and other COM/API based languages/tools will be able to support these new features.
It's a 20
New, colorful $20 bills coming. A friend of mine that works at the Federal Reserve bank here in SLC was telling me about these months ago.
New, colorful $20 bills coming. A friend of mine that works at the Federal Reserve bank here in SLC was telling me about these months ago.
Database fLaw
Yes, I did type that correctly. Congress is contemplating a new law that could put sweeping restrictions on publishing compiled database information on a web site or elsewhere. I haven't read the bill, but at first glance, it seems to be a very bad idea. Read the Fox News story.
Yes, I did type that correctly. Congress is contemplating a new law that could put sweeping restrictions on publishing compiled database information on a web site or elsewhere. I haven't read the bill, but at first glance, it seems to be a very bad idea. Read the Fox News story.
Wednesday, October 08, 2003
Evangelizing
For several years, FoxPro developers have been tooting the horn for VFP. Even the Fox team says that we, as customers, can do much to promote FoxPro. John Porcaro talks about customers as "evangelists".
For several years, FoxPro developers have been tooting the horn for VFP. Even the Fox team says that we, as customers, can do much to promote FoxPro. John Porcaro talks about customers as "evangelists".
VFP Survey
The Fox team at Microsoft is conducting a survey of VFP developers. Take the survey before November 2 and you could win a pass to DevCon.
The Fox team at Microsoft is conducting a survey of VFP developers. Take the survey before November 2 and you could win a pass to DevCon.
VFP 8, SP 1
Service Pack 1 for Visual FoxPro 8 is now available. Loads of bug fixes and it makes VFP even more stable.
Service Pack 1 for Visual FoxPro 8 is now available. Loads of bug fixes and it makes VFP even more stable.
Monday, October 06, 2003
Geeks on the Loose
Last Friday our Dev team took the afternoon off for an outing. There were 12 of us (Cole was sick and couldn't make it). We started off with lunch at McGrath's Fish House, then headed for the new Clark Planetarium here in SLC. What a huge improvement from the old Hansen Planetarium. Much more space for displays, a much improved, computer controlled star theater, and a true Imax 3D theater. We decided to see two Imax movies. The first, called Bugs is about the life of bugs in the rain forest. It was a bit creepy watching the Praying Mantis eat a fly, but I enjoyed the movie. We then roamed around and looked at some of the exhibits before the second show, Space Station. This was about the construction and life aboard the International Space Station. Really fascinating stuff. We then finished looking at the exhibits then got to go home early.
Last Friday our Dev team took the afternoon off for an outing. There were 12 of us (Cole was sick and couldn't make it). We started off with lunch at McGrath's Fish House, then headed for the new Clark Planetarium here in SLC. What a huge improvement from the old Hansen Planetarium. Much more space for displays, a much improved, computer controlled star theater, and a true Imax 3D theater. We decided to see two Imax movies. The first, called Bugs is about the life of bugs in the rain forest. It was a bit creepy watching the Praying Mantis eat a fly, but I enjoyed the movie. We then roamed around and looked at some of the exhibits before the second show, Space Station. This was about the construction and life aboard the International Space Station. Really fascinating stuff. We then finished looking at the exhibits then got to go home early.
Friday, October 03, 2003
FoxCentral does RSS
FoxCentral.Net is now providing RSS feeds. Thanks, Rick for providing this great service.
FoxCentral.Net is now providing RSS feeds. Thanks, Rick for providing this great service.
Thursday, October 02, 2003
Essential Fox 2004
It's been announced. Start planning now for June 4-7. As usual, it will be in Kansas City. It will be at the same hotel as this year's conference.
It's been announced. Start planning now for June 4-7. As usual, it will be in Kansas City. It will be at the same hotel as this year's conference.
Microsof Most Valuable Professionals Announced
I'm proud to say that I'm again numbered among them. The Fox MVP list can be found on the Wiki.
I'm proud to say that I'm again numbered among them. The Fox MVP list can be found on the Wiki.
Wednesday, October 01, 2003
Free Crystal Enterprise
If you own a copy of Crystal Reports 9, Professional, Standard, or Advanced, you may be eligible for a free copy of Crystal Enterprise.
If you own a copy of Crystal Reports 9, Professional, Standard, or Advanced, you may be eligible for a free copy of Crystal Enterprise.
Rotating Text
Every wonder why text is not rotated vertically in Windows (OK..for the most part)? Here's the answer.
Every wonder why text is not rotated vertically in Windows (OK..for the most part)? Here's the answer.
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