Cristi Potlog's Weblog

Photoblog?

2009-05-29T12:22:00.020+03:00

Everybody I know is starting photoblogs:

Maybe this is the winning trend. Maybe is something I should consider for myself.

Here are some shots I took with my mobile phone:

What do you think? Am I worthy?

UPDATE: after some consideration and a long weekend I decided to start a photoblog.

Glimmer: New Tool from Microsoft Labs

2009-04-30T14:35:00.009+03:00

Microsoft has released Glimmer, a tool that allows you to easily create interactive elements on your web pages by harnessing the power of the jQuery JavaScript library.

Without having to hand-craft your JavaScript code, you can use Glimmer’s wizards to generate jQuery scripts for common interactive scenarios. Glimmer also has an advanced mode, providing a design surface for creating jQuery effects based on your existing HTML and CSS.

You cand download it for free (as in open source) here.

If you like to see what the tool is capable of, please review the samples:

Internet Explorer 8

2009-03-19T20:12:00.002+02:00

Here it is: http://microsoft.com/ie

Microsoft has released ASP.NET MVC 1.0

2009-03-19T12:22:00.002+02:00

ASP.NET MVC 1.0 has been released today at MIX09!

Here's the download link.

Phil Haack explains on Channel 9 what makes this version 1.0 of the MVC Framework for ASP.NET and spends a little time explaining the MVC pattern. Phil then demos the scaffolding functionality which allows you to quickly build a functional website based on your existing data services.

Free ASP.NET MVC eBook

2009-03-11T10:51:00.002+02:00

After the second release candidate of ASP.NET MVC, Scott Guthrie is publishing a step-by-step tutorial on the theory and approach for using this new technology that enables you to build Model View Controller (MVC) applications by using the ASP.NET framework.

Well, actually, the free eBook is a single chapter of 185 pages, filled with screen-shots from NerdDinner.com a complete ASP.NET MVC reference application. It begins by using the File->New Project menu command within Visual Studio to create a new ASP.NET MVC Application. And then incrementally adds functionality and features. Along the way it covers how to create a database, build a model layer with business rule validations, implement listing/details data browsing, provide CRUD (Create, Update, Delete) data form entry support, implement efficient data paging, reuse UI using master pages and partials, secure the application using authentication and authorization, use AJAX to deliver dynamic updates and interactive map support, and implement automated unit testing.

This is an unedited draft, the rest of the book being still in production. The free chapter is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution No Derivatives 3.0 license.

You can download a copy from http://tinyurl.com/aspnetmvc, or you can use this direct link.

You can also download NerdDinner.com application from CodePlex.

Social Software Patterns

2009-03-06T11:33:00.002+02:00

Here's a great talk about Social Software, the many-to-many two-way communication pattern and group psychology.

I'm an MCP Now

2009-01-30T20:57:00.002+02:00

In case anybody cares, I just passed my first Microsoft Certification Exam today. I hope it will not be the last, as I plan to gain a full MCPD Certification (Microsoft Certified Professional Developer), hopefully by the end of this year.

Microsoft launches open-source CMS

2008-12-09T10:13:00.004+02:00

Microsoft has developed and released via CodePlex an alpha version of a new open-source content-management system, codenamed “Oxite.”

This is a simple blog engine written using ASP.NET MVC, and is designed with two main goals:

To provide a sample of “core blog functionality” in a reusable fashion. Blogs are simple and well understood by many developers, but the set of basic functions that a blog needs to implement (trackbacks, rss, comments, etc.) are fairly complex.
To provide a real-world sample written using ASP.NET MVC.

The Oxite content-management platform is built to take full advantage of ASP.NET MVC but broken into assemblies so that even ASP.NET WebForm developers can use the data backend and utility code, supports use of Visual Studio Team Suite (DB Pro, Test, etc.), and Background Services Architecture (sending trackbacks, emails, etc. all done as a background process to prevent delays on the web site itself).

I should give it a try and come back with more details in the following days.

Microsoft's MIX Online site is run on Oxite. This is the first real-life implementation of the CMS system.

Lean Software. What it is?

2008-12-04T14:51:00.006+02:00

I've just read an article in eWeek about lean software development, which is an approach to building software that promotes simplicity and minimizes resource usage.

In fact the term is a translation of lean manufacturing principles and practices to the software development domain. Adapted from the Toyota Production System, a pro-lean subculture is emerging from within the Agile community.

The term Lean Software Development originated in a book by the same name, written by Mary and Tom Poppendieck The book presents the traditional Lean principles in a modified form, as well as a set of 22 tools and compares the tools to agile practices.

But what's most interesting from this article is Rymer's predictions. First prediction was, "Lean software specialists will thrive." The second was, "SAP's platform influence will shrink." Third was, "Microsoft will beat IBM and Oracle to PAAS ... I think Microsoft is being much more aggressive in developing this new cloud-based model than IBM and Oracle." What about that?!

jQuery IntelliSense in Visual Studio

2008-11-26T14:35:00.003+02:00

Just two months after announcing its intent in supporting open-source JavaScript library jQuery, Microsoft's Scott Guthrie, corporate v.p. in the Microsoft Developer Division, published a blog post stating: "Over the last few weeks we've been working with the jQuery team to add great jQuery intellisense support within Visual Studio 2008 and Visual Web Developer 2008 Express (which is free)."

The jQuery IntelliSense annotation support will be available as a free Web download. He also posted some installation instruction for this plugin in the same post.

Microsoft's Application Architecture Guide 2.0 - Beta 1 released

2008-10-30T11:06:00.003+02:00

Microsoft's Application Architecture Guide 2.0 (Beta 1) has been released on codeplex. This is a guide to help solution architects and developers make the most of the Microsoft platform.

Welcome to the Windows 7 desktop

2008-10-29T11:17:00.007+02:00

Microsoft showed off publicly for the first time Windows 7 at the Professional Developers Conference (PDC08) on October 28.

You can see some screen-shots from the presentation on flickr.

An here's a list of new features of Windows 7, including:

The New Windows Taskbar
Jump Lists
New Moves on Aero
Unified Search
Fewer Annoying Pop-ups
Device Stage

UPDATE: Here's a great overview of new desktop features on Gizmodo.

Microsoft Announces Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4.0

2008-10-24T17:16:00.010+03:00

Old news for some, but I need to mention this announcement from Microsoft a month ago (just for the record :-).

Microsoft described the next release through the following five focus areas:

riding the next-generation platform wave,
inspiring developer delight,
powering breakthrough departmental applications,
enabling emerging technology trends such as cloud computing,
democratizing ALM (application life-cycle management).

S. “Soma” Somasegar, senior vice president of the Developer Division at Microsoft, stated that:

“With Visual Studio 2010 and the .NET Framework 4.0, we are focused on the core pillars of developer experience, support for the latest platforms spanning client, server, services and devices, targeted experiences for specific application types, and core architecture improvements. These pillars are designed specifically to meet the needs of developers, the teams that drive the application life cycle from idea to delivery, and the customers that demand the highest quality applications across multiple platforms. You can expect to hear a lot more about Visual Studio 2010 and the .NET Framework 4.0 in the coming months.”

The new version will feature modeling tools through Architecture Edition, enabling both technical and non-technical users to create and use models to collaborate and to define business and system functionality graphically. The new version supports both UML (Unified Modeling Language) and DSL (Domain Specific Language), so development organizations will have the right tool for the right job. Microsoft has already developed support for five types of UML diagrams, previous versions having only one type of diagram (Class Diagram).

UPDATE: The Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4.0 CTP has been released after PDC08.

Next version of Windows will be known as "Windows 7"

2008-10-14T19:42:00.005+03:00

I'm blogging from Paris airport in France, on my way to Tunis in Africa.

I just stumbled on this post on webmonkey. It's news worth notice, if proves to be true, as the first time since Windows 3.1, that actual version number has been part of the name.

It could be a cool new trend for Windows, as many don't have a clue what "XP" or "Vista" are really meaning.

Back in (the monkey) business

2008-09-23T16:10:00.003+03:00

I've been offline for a while, busy programming.

Now I'm updating user manuals... Tough job, but somebody has to do it. Seems that the interesting part of the project has passed away.

I hope to be more active online in the near future.

This blog is not dead! (Yet)

Top 25 Free Icon Resources for Web Designers

2008-04-07T17:01:00.000+03:00

I just stumbled upon this gem: Top 25 Free Icon Resources for Web Designers.

If you are in despair for some free graphics those may come in handy.

Ballmer's Letter To Yahoo!: Nothing but FUD

2008-04-07T12:36:00.003+03:00

Joe Wilcox, posted two news commentaries on his Microsoft Watch Blog, here and here.

Basically, he states that Ballmers' letter is one of the nastiest pieces of FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) communications of the high-tech era.

"Microsoft seeks to set Yahoo shareholders against the 10-member board of directors. The letter, while written for the board, is really for shareholders. Microsoft's publication of the letter is evidence enough of the audience."

Joe Wilcox further analyzes the letter, paragraph by paragraph, revealing the real meaning of Ballmer's words: fear that Yahoo shares will further decline and during a period of huge economic uncertainty, the "large premium" is overstated.

"Microsoft will take the company or take it out. This isn't even an implicit threat. It's direct and deliberate."

Blogging is not sustainable as a business

2008-04-06T19:52:00.002+03:00

A friend on mine pointed me at a recent article about blogging from New York Times , which raises a difficult question after enumerating some tragic deaths of some bloggers, hearth disease related.

"Two weeks ago in North Lauderdale, Fla., funeral services were held for Russell Shaw, a prolific blogger on technology subjects who died at 60 of a heart attack. In December, another tech blogger, Marc Orchant, died at 50 of a massive coronary. A third, Om Malik, 41, survived a heart attack in December."

Blogging is a lucrative business, many bloggers being well-compensated for their efforts to keep the rest of us up to date with breaking news and the latest gossip. It is unclear how many people blog as a job, but surely there are several thousand out there.

There is a growing number of online writers, reporting and even reflecting about sports, politics, business, technology, celebrities and every other conceivable niche. Some write for fun, but thousands write for publishers, or have started their own online media outlets with profit in mind. One of the most competitive categories is blogs about technology developments and news.

Michael Arrington, the founder and co-editor of TechCrunch, said “I haven’t died yet”, but “this is not sustainable”, as he has gained 30 pounds in the last three years, developed a severe sleeping disorder and turned his home into an office for him and four employees. “There’s no time ever — including when you’re sleeping — when you’re not worried about missing a story,” Mr. Arrington said.

Microsoft Sends Letter to Yahoo! Board of Directors

2008-04-06T19:25:00.002+03:00

Microsoft press officials released the text of Ballmer’s letter to the media one day after unnamed sources close to Microsoft told some reporters that Microsoft was losing patience with Yahoo’s reticence to take up Microsoft on its January 31 offer to buy Yahoo.

Microsoft says Yahoo has three weeks to negotiate a decent deal, after which time Microsoft is going to take his case directly to Yahoo! shareholders, including the initiation of a proxy bidding to elect an alternative slate of directors for the Yahoo! board.

I don’t believe that Microsoft has any real intention of walking away from this deal. I feel there’s so much overlap between Microsoft and Yahoo that this merger seems feasible, but a hostile proxy battle is the surest path to mutually assured destruction. Microsoft shares have already fallen more than 10 percent since the company first sprang its unsolicited bid on Yahoo, and market research has shown that it can take years before companies recover from a hostile takeover.

However, even thou Microsoft implies that Yahoo! has not answered their offer, Yahoo! has released to the press a statement on February 11, concluding that the proposal is not in the best interests of Yahoo! and our stockholders.

ThinkPad X300, Thin as Air

2008-03-20T23:50:00.006+02:00

Lenovo has launched a new ultra-mobile laptop, the X300, weighting just 1.4 kg.

The X300 offers SSD storage, wireless connectivity options including integrated Wireless WAN and W-LAN, as well as Ethernet. Just about what MacBook Air is missing, as you can see in this fact sheet:

	Thinkpad X300	MacBook Air
Display	13.3”	13.3”
Weight	1.4 kg	1.36 kg
Thickness	18.6 mm	19 mm
Processor	1.2 GHz	1.6/1.8 GHz
Memory	2 GB	2 GB
USB Ports	3	1
Ethernet	Yes	No
Wireless	Yes	Yes
Bluetooth	Yes	Yes
DVD - RW	Yes	No

I can only hope for a faster processor.

Check out this aggressive web ad from Lenovo. Big words: “The art of thin”, “No-compromise” and “Everything else is just hot air?”. Is this the sound of war?

Maybe it isn’t as sexy or inexpensive as the MacBook Air, but it has a lot of features the Apple lacks, especially a wide array of ports and connectivity options, a built-in DVD-RW drive and a removable battery.

Apple and Lenovo have reset the bar for the next generation of incredibly thin notebooks. The next “Big Thing” is probably going to have two drives (one small capacity flash drive where you put your OS and applications, and a larger capacity magnetic drive data, so you can get fast load times), a longer battery life , in order to keep the cost of the product down to something the market can afford.

See a full review at geek.com

Arthur C. Clarke dies aged 90

2008-03-19T15:20:00.000+02:00

Sad news today: Sir Arthur C. Clarke, the famed science fiction writer and visionary died early Wednesday morning at a hospital near his home in Sri Lanka, at the age of 90, as The Times reports.

Most famous for expanding his short story "The Sentinel" into a novel and screenplay that served as the basis for Stanley's Kubrick's 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, the British-born Clarke authored more than 100 books involving space, science, and science fiction, and he's often credited with inventing the concept of satellite communications. Clarke was the last surviving member of what was sometimes known as the "Big Three" of science fiction, alongside Robert A. Heinlein and Isaac Asimov.

In recent years, he has been largely confined to a wheelchair due to post-polio syndrome, but his output as a writer continued undiminished.

Marking his “90th orbit of the Sun” in December, the author said that he did not feel "a day over 89" and made three birthday wishes: for ET to call, for man to kick his oil habit and for peace in Sri Lanka.

Microsoft Makes Strategic Changes Regarding Open-Source

2008-02-23T18:57:00.000+02:00

After years of living in denial, Microsoft has finally decided to stop trying to fight open-source software, by releasing 30,000 pages of documentation for Windows (both desktop and server products) that were previously available to partners only through trade secret licenses. Redmond is making also available new licenses to a large number of its software patents “on reasonable and non-discriminatory terms, at low royalty rates.”

In a series of recent moves including the launch of http://www.opensourcehero.com/ site, that will launch February 28, the same day as Windows Server 2008, Microsoft has released to the press “New interoperability principles.”

The four principles it is declaring are:

(1) ensuring open connections
(2) promoting data portability
(3) enhancing support for industry standards
(4) fostering more open engagement with customers and the industry, including open source communities.

In order to improve visibility for following acts, the company has setup a new site, that will allow access to latest developments in Microsoft's products.

W3C has published first HTML 5 working draft

2008-01-23T18:02:00.000+02:00

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) HTML Working Group has published a draft of the HTML 5 specification, the first major update to HTML in 10 years, factoring in changing tastes around rich-media applications and online collaboration.

Much has changed since the early dot-com days of December 1997 when HTML 4 was published. Now developers, designers and users have unlocked the Web's potential. Sites have moved from being a collection of static pages to media-rich communities leveraging participation.

HTML 5 is defined in a way that it is backwards compatible with the way web browsers handle deployed content. Some of the new elements in HTML 5 relate to structure and presentation. The new section and article tags, for instance, should be familiar to those of you who have worked with docbook. There are also new elements for navigation, headers, footers, figures, and dialog. Media support gets a boost, with the canvas drawing system as well as new audio and video tags. Improvements to HTML forms include support for date and time input elements and a new datagrid that will support interactive tables and trees. HTML 5 also gets basic templating functionality and support for repeating elements.

A full list of changes from the previous version can be found here.

UPDATE: Here's some more in-depth The HTML 5 Draft Hints at a Brave New Web

Upgrading VS 2005 Packages to VS 2008

2008-01-22T22:03:00.000+02:00

James Lau has A basic guide on upgrading Visual Studio 2005 SDK packages to build in the Visual Studio 2008 SDK.

There are several things you need to be aware of when you are porting a VS 2005 package to VS 2008. This blog post will guide you through the process, step-by-step.

There is SUN in the LAMP

2008-01-20T15:05:00.000+02:00

Sun Microsystems announced an agreement to acquire MySQL AB, the company behind MySQL database, one of the world's fastest growing open source databases. MySQL database is regarded as one of the core components of open source server infrastructure, the so-called Linux/Apache/MySQL/PHP (LAMP) stack.

In a blog post where MySQL published its official announcement of the acquisition, the company expressed strong affinity for the Solaris operating system. MySQL community vice president Kaj Arno wrote:

"Solaris has a special position in the heart of MySQL, as it was the first platform under which MySQL was developed. Linux came second. Internally, code coverage tests were long performed just on Sun. And with the DTrace probes planned as part of 6.0, some types of optimization of MySQL applications are the easiest on Solaris."

"The combination of MySQL and Sun represents an enormous opportunity for users and organizations of all sizes seeking innovation, growth and choice," said Marten Mickos, CEO, MySQL. "Sun's culture and business model complements MySQL's own by sharing the same ideals that we have had since our foundation -- software freedom, online innovation and community and partner participation. We are tremendously excited to work with Sun and the millions of members of the MySQL open source ecosystem to continue to deliver the best database for powering the modern Web economy." (from Sun Press Releasses)

This has not come as a complete surprise. MySQL has previously turned down Oracle’s offer.

Sun's acquisition of MySQL broadly validates open-source database solutions as viable alternatives to proprietary commercial database products like those from Oracle and IBM.