DevBlog

I have two upcoming speaking gigs scheduled. The first is Saturday, Feb. 21 in Denver at the Rocky Mountain Tech Trifecta. My topic is Continuous Integtration in .NET.

The second is Saturday, March 28 at the Boise Code Camp and Techfest. I have two topics scheduled, Windows Azure and Microsoft Entity Framework.

Express - adjective
- clearly indicated; distinctly stated; definite; explicit; plain: He defied my express command.
- special; definite: We have an express purpose in being here.
- direct or fast, esp. making few or no intermediate stops: an express train; an express elevator.
- used for direct or high-speed travel: an express highway.
- duly or exactly formed or represented: an express image.

That's the definition of express from dictionary.com. But there is nothing express about SQL Server Express. I have been attempting to install it on a VPC image of Vista Ulitimate, SP1. Here's what I went through:

• Download the install package. I'll accept this one. I can't install without having it.
• Launch installation package.
• Install FAIL. I need to download and install a Windows Installer 4.5 Why does every Microsoft product need a different version of the installer? And why can't it be included in the product's installation package?
• Download Windows Installer 4.5
• Forced reboot. An installer is an APPLICATION, not part of the OS and should not require an OS reboot.
• Launch installation package.
• Install FAIL. I walked through several screens only to be told that installation couldn't continue because PowerShell was not installed. Why is PowerShell even required? And if it is, I should at least be told at the beginning of the install process that it's not installed. Don't tell me half way through several dialogs.
• Download and install PowerShell.
• Launch SQL Server Express installer.
• But wait, there's more. I walked through 16!!! different screens and had over 30 clicks!!! in addition to selecting the account to run SQL Server, entering an administrator password (twice). I didn't even select all features or look at all the options. Many of the dialogs (Setup support rules, Setup support files) weren't needed. Others (license terms, product key) could be combined into a single dialog.

Express is supposed to lite weight and easy to setup and use. Nothing about this was easy to setup. Install process FAIL. In the end, the install was successful.

Labels: SQL Server

Yesterday I finished downloading Windows 7 Beta. It took over 14 hours. The best speed I could get was less than 50KB/sec. Apparently the Microsoft servers were hammered. After debating if I should install on a virtual machine or install it over the Vista install on my laptop, I went for the direct approach and installed over Vista. I finally chose the latter option. Here's what I did:

1. Backup Vista hard drive.
2. Launch Windows 7 install.
3. Select to get updates. 862K was downloaded.
4. Chose Custom install. This created a Windows.old folder on the drive that contained the old Vista Windows folder, Perflogs, Users, Program Files, etc. Other folders that I had created were untouched.
5. Setup then copied files and began to expand them.
6. Setup rebooted the PC.
7. After startup, setup continued to expand the files.
8. Another reboot.
9. Setup continued, updating the registry and started services. New Windows files were installed.
10. I was prompted for international settings, country, time zone, etc, for computer name, username, and password. The password hint was required. Why was this required? IMO, it shouldn't be.
11. I then entered the product key. This step is far too late in the process. Windows should ask me for this before I select any of the previous options.
12. I then had the option to set the time, which was already correct.
13. Setup detected the wireless networks available and I selected mine. I was then asked if I wanted to create a Home Group. I chose not to do so.
14. Setup completed soon after. Total time after I did backup was less than an hour.

Overall, the setup process was very clean and easy. Here are my first impressions:

• Taskbar: I'm realy used to the old taskbar and like how it works. I set it up so that running programs appear on top and shortcuts are below. I organize my shortcuts in the order I want so they are easy to find. At first, I didn't like the combined short cuts/running programs on the task bar. I had it set to display the names of the running programs, which moved the icons to the right. After changing the settings to show only the icon, things are much better. It's easy to tell which programs are running. However, when you click a running Internet Explorer, you are prompted to select the tab to activate rather than just activating IE.
• Paint, WordPad, NotePad. Paint and WordPad now use the Ribbon in the UI. NotePad does not and it really looks dated because of that.
• My: The return of My is not welcome by me. When Vista was released, I blogged that I was happy My had been removed, but it's back again in My Documents, My Music, My Photos, and My Videos.
• Media Player: A new UI that looks dated.
• IE 8: Overall, I like IE. In fact, I use it as my primary browser. It does everything I need, so I don't see a reason to change to something else. I found a couple of web sites that had minor problems in IE 8. The biggest issue is that when I tried to log into my bank, I was told the browser wasn't supported and I could not log in. Good thing I still have an XP machine.
• Reboot: I installed updated (beta) drivers for my video card. Windows asked to reboot after. I was very impressed with the speed of the process.
• Aero Glass: I don't see the Aero Glass effects on windows. The window borders are not transparent. I'm not sure if it's the video drivers or a change in Windows.

Overall, Windows 7 seems to be faster and snappier than Vista and I'm happy with it so far. I'm still installing software, so that may change. If you've been debating/waiting to go to Vista, I say wait for Windows 7.

Labels: Windows 7

Microsoft is offering an MSDN Unleashed event in Salt Lake City next week, Thursday, January 15. Rob Bagby will be presenting "The Best of the PDC". There will be two sessions. The same material will be presented at each one, so you only need to sign up for one session.

Morning: 8:00 - 12:30 Register at http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032399782&culture=en-US

Afternoon: 1:00 - 5:30 Register at http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032399784&culture=en-US

Both sessions will be at the Microsoft offices in the International Center.