DevBlog

It was Monday night after the conference. I was driving north from Tempe to Flagstaff and was getting late. I think it was around 10:30. The speed limit on I-17 in that area is 75 and I was doing about 81 when I passed a car with all its lights off, parked just off the freeway, that I recognized as Arizona Highway Patrol. I then watched him turn on his headlights and get underway.

I couldn't believe he was after me for going six miles over the speed limit. He pulled up behind me and turned on his reds and blues. Of course, I pulled over.

The officer identified himself and said that he stopped me because I didn't have a light on the rear license plate. He asked me to step out of the car and stand near his. He did the normal business stuff...called in my name and license number...and began writing up paperwork. Two more patrol cars arrived.

He then gave me a "fix order", meaning I had five days to repair the light, then mail in the paperwork. However, he told me he wouldn't come up to Utah to get me if I didn't send it in. He handed me back my license, registration, etc, then said, "We get lots of drug traffic through here. Do you mind if we search your car."

Now, it's quite cold and I'm standing there in a short sleeve shirt...and freezing. It's within my rights to say, "No", but in this case I was cold and tired...it was getting late...and I had nothing to hide. Two of the officers began the search with the other stood near me. They opened the trunk, checked my coat and handed it to me so I could stay warm. After the search, I was on my way.

As I was standing there during the search, I thought about news stories we frequently hear on the news here in Utah. Someone is stopped for a minor traffic violation (for example, a burned out license plate light) and a stash of drugs is found in the car. I guess I fit the profile. No harm done...and about an hour later, I was in bed in my hotel in Flagstaff.

Yes, I know it's been a few days since Southwest Fox ended. More on my delays coming in subsequent posts.

The conference was a fabulous success. I think all the speakers want to return next year. Attendees got a great gift for turning in their evals, a 32 MB USB RAM drive. Mondo cool.

Plans are already underway for next year's event. Dates are set and posted. You should start planning now to attend.

It's almost noon on the second day of Southwest Fox. This conference is a bit different than others have been as it's not held at a hotel. We're on the campus of Arizona State University. The hotel is a five minute walk away...certainly closer than some rooms I've had in conference hotels. Breakfast has been at the IHOP next to the hotel.

Last night was the speaker dinner. We loaded a bus and driven a short distance away to the Improv. Pauly Shore was the headliner for the standup comedians that performed. Dinner was good. The show received mixed reviews from the speakers. The material was material that can be found on HBO, but definately not on broadcast networks.

This morning I started off at 8:00 with my "Using Windows Event Log" session. It was better attended than it was yesterday. I keep hearing good things from attendees about it...which I'm glad to hear. Dave Bernard reviewed it for his Universal Thread conference report. You can read it here.

Lunch is soon approaching. The speakers will be congretating in front of the fountain outside for a group picture, then lunch and a keynote from Drew Speedie.

For a first time conference, Southwest Fox has been a huge success. Jeff and Bob have done a wonderful job of organizing the event...and plans are already underway for next year. If you didn't make it to Tempe this weekend, make your plans to be here next year. You'll learn alot...more more importantly, you'll have a great time!

Did that get your attention? Make you go EEWWWWW?

I'm here at Southwest Fox conference in Tempe. The conference ROCKS! The organizers have done a fantastic job for their first conference.

Last night was a Meet the Speakers welcome reception. That ran until about 8:00. Then, several of us walked down the street and got dinner at Uno.

Key Levy gave the keynote address at lunch today. He had a list of things that we would not see in his keynote. One was "Craig Berntson blogging in his underwear", hence the title for this entry.

I'm done giving my sessions today. I really enjoyed the "Introduciton to Object Oriented Programming" session. It's great to see the light go on as people grasp the subject. The "Using the Windows Event Log from VFP" session is a killer. It's all API calls and attempts to make a very complicated topic easy to understand. A couple of high profile, well known VFP gurus were there and said that it was a good session and I made it understandable. I appreciate that feedback. I also appreciate hearing that a session sucks...knowing that is the only way I can improve the session.

Tonight is the speaker dinner. More tomorrow.

According to ComputerWeekly, Microsoft has delayed SQL Server 2005. It was scheduled to be released in the first half of next year, but that's now been pushed back. The article doesn't state how long the delay will be. It also doesn't state if the delay in SQL Server is due to problems with SQL Server itself or with Visual Studio 2005, which is supposed to be released at the same time. While the delay could push the released into late 2005, don't expect it to slip into 2006. After all, the product name has been set with a 2005 moniker.

I'm starting to experiment a bit with SQL Server 2005, Beta 2. The new SQL Server Management Studio (replaces Enterprise Manager and Query Analyzer) is a great step forward. I haven't seen anything that seems like a major, but then I'm not pushing it...yet. If you want to start playing with SQL Server 2005, you can get SQL Server Express beta (the replacement for MSDE) here for free.

One feature in many shareware products is the nag screen. The dialog that pops up and tells you that your eval time has expired and you need to buy the product. With Windows XP, Service Pack 2, Microsoft introduced a worse nag screen in the updated Windows Update.

Yesterday, I downloaded and installed the latest security patches from Microsoft. This time, they required a reboot and I as asked if I wanted to reboot then or wait until later. Well, I was in the middle of some work that I wanted to finish so I selected later. Apparently, later means 15 minutes because every 15 minutes, the dialog popped up again...nagging that the computer needed to reboot to finish installing the security patches.

I didn't count how many times I clicked, "Reboot later", but it was far too many. The first time should have been enough. If I don't reboot in say, two or three hours, then remind me again...but don't nag me every 15 minutes. After all, Windows is not shareware.

Yesterday was the second Tuesday of the month...the day that Microsoft releases more security patches. There were 22 new flaws announced in 10 advisories, some rated so critical, that Microsoft is urging corporate customers to patch immediately. You should patch now too at the Windows Update site or run the Windows Update program on your PC. [CNet]

It was 10 years ago that Netscape released it's first browser. At one time, it dominated the browser market. Today, it's difficult to find it at all with Internet Explorer's dominance and many people turning to Firefox. But, according to a CNet report, there's a new netscape browser being prepared for a huge launch about the first of the year.

It's now ten days to the Southwest Fox Conference in Tempe, AZ. This looks to be a great opportunity for learning more about Fox. I was just checking out the schedule, mainly to find out when my presentations are scheduled, but also to mark out the sessions I want to attend.

The Southwest Fox web site has links to a number of site. It was exciting to see FoxBlog listed first...and the only blog listed.

If you're not already scheduled to be there, check out the conference information. There's sure to be material that you can use in your development. Hope to see you in Tempe!

According to an article on iWon, Kodak and Sun have settled a patent case in which Kodak claimed Sun improperly used technology patents it got when it bought Wang. A jury in the case decided in favor of Kodak, but now that the two sides have settled, Java will continue to exist as a Sun product.

October is generally the month when the new Microsoft MVPs are awarded. I'm pleased that I have again been named a Visual FoxPro MVP.

I'm sitting here in the lobby area of the conference center where DevCon is being held. I've heard that attendance is about 325, give or take. The overall technical level of the sessions is quite high, with the VFP Report Writer getting the most attention.

Last night I had the privledge of meeting Mike King, the publisher of Foxtalk 2.0. It was great to see him here. With the exception of Whil Hentzen, I can't remember the last time someone from Pinnacle Publishing attended a conference. I think Mike's attendance sends a good signal to the Fox community that Regan Communications is fully behind the magazine. I hope it continues a long and healthy life.