After the update from Windows 7 RC to RTM I noticed Daemon Tools was gone. I tried to reinstall it but it was impossible. Daemon Tools relies on SPTD (a SCSI pass through driver) to do it’s magic and it checks whether it is installed. It seems that it couldn’t detect it on my system so it launched the SPTD setup, asked to restart the computer and then again and again. I downloaded a new version of SPTD (1.60) from the product page but I had the same problem, SPTD installed, asked me to restart and...
Programming is easy, the hard part is not mastering a programming language or a set of tools or frameworks. In fact those are probably the easiest parts. If that is the case then why software development is a very complex and demanding process? Managing Complexity The problem is not writing code or mastering tools, the problem is managing complexity. Programming is easy as long as the application you are working on is simple enough to fit inside your head in its entirety. The reality of the world...
The LiveMeeting Q&A session with ScottGu was, as usual, very exciting. As promised, here are some of the highlights from his answers. Microsoft’s Development Process In terms of the development process at Microsoft, Scott said that more projects will be developed with openness, transparency, more frequent releases, relying on customers’ feedback and with OSI open source licenses as in the case of ASP.NET MVC. Silverlight In regards to Silverlight 3 release date, it might be around the July 10th....
I will be attending a private LiveMeeting session tomorrow with Scott Guthrie, Corporate VP at Microsoft. Scott will probably discuss the new features in ASP.NET 4.0 and the future of ASP.NET Ajax. I am really excited and looking forward to this. ScottGu’s talks are always intriguing and interesting. I will try to blog about this session and what Scott discussed during the next few days. Meanwhile, do you have any interesting questions you want to ask him? No promises, but I will try my best to get...
I am fortunate to live on a vast network of trails that start literally in my backyard… there is a trailhead two feet from the end of my driveway. These asphalt trails are plowed in the winter and wind through the backyards and parks, around the lakes, and along the streams of my suburban neighborhood. There are 20+ miles of trails available without ever stepping foot onto a roadway. As I was finishing a run a little over a year ago, it occurred to me to wonder why I was running on the street instead...
Does your software or database run like a dog? Running out of space? Or doesn't recover well in a disaster? ... then your storage configuration may be one of the reasons. This is a short little post just to give you a heads-up on the basics. You may know bits of it already, hence why I have broken it up into a Q&A format so you can skip what you already now. The Hard-Disk Well we've all seen a hard-disk but the likelihood is that it was in a desktop and you're the only person that uses it at...
Hardware and Software are very much the modern day Yin and Yang, one serves little purpose without the other. I have noticed that on the whole many developers know little about the environments that the software they are writing is going to work in falsely believing they are truly abstracted from it . Come 'Go Live' there are blank faces when for some 'inexplicably reason' the software doesn't work and the remark, 'it worked fine in test' is often heard. Another common frustration is software that...
Found a great resource today in SpringWidgets.com. The website allows you to pretty easily create, distribute, and track your own countdown and feed banners. Take a look at the widgets I created in about 20 minutes here. While there are many other banner automation wizards on the web, SprngWidgets does an exemplary job at making the distribution process a breeze. Whether you want the widgets integrated into Facebook, MySpace, Blogger, Mac Dashboard, or you just want the HTML or Javascript code to...
Have a BlackBerry? Who are we kidding, who doesn't right? Anyway, do you Twitter more than you would admit in public? If you answered "Yes" to both questions, QSMS is a new piece of software (free I might add) that allows you apply a shortcut to the letter "Q" to send a text message similar to how "C" is a shortcut for composing an email message. You can download the software here. As with the compose shortcut (and any shortcut for that matter), the "Dial from home screen" option must be disabled...
Yes indeed! If you are a member of the Computer Science Teachers Association your school can get this offer. We invite you to try Microsoft® Expression® Web, the next generation of Web development software – at no charge. We’ll also give you a tutorial and curriculum unit - that were designed by a CSTA member - and tested by teachers and students in 10 schools this fall. Microsoft will provide FREE Expression Web software for your entire school to the first 150 US high school teachers who respond...
Grisoft has release version 8.0 of it's anti-virus software. We run the paid network edition which released yesterday on the 28th. It doesn't look like the free version has been updated yet, so home users and cheap skates will have to wait. I've been running this anti-virus program for years now and have had very few problems with it. Far fewer than McAfee or Norton. It does the two things an anti-virus package should do: Stop viruses and not slow down the system. Version 8.0's biggest feature to...
Ever need a minute away from the craziness of school, home or even work? However you can't leave your office due to way to much on your plate? Well here is two ways of getting that stress out and making your Windows desktop take the punishment. Desktop Games and Chicken destroy. Basically when you launch this software it takes a screen shot of your current desktop and allows you to put various tools of destruction on or act upon your Desktop(screen shot). Works in all versions of windows as far as...
So long ago and many many times infinity(2nd grade reference there). I downloaded the Internet. Any cool app I found. Some I wish I had kept. I then found myself in a pickle when the downloaded software had been updated or duplicated in another folder so I had multiple copies of different versions (good or bad) and no way to keep track of any of them. So I found Dupelocater.exe. Drag folders from Windows Explorer into the DupeLocater.exe window and press Search. When finished, drag the report duplicates...
I was going through all my old backups and laughing at some of the old software I thought was important. I noticed allot of cool stuff I had long past forgotten. So to define Retro would be "its old to me" so that makes it retro. I hope you guys enjoy this I will make a feed of it and post hopefully every Wednesday. Some of this software may or may not work on your pc. I hardly remember the system requirements but I will do my best to give detailed info on how to run it. Enjoy! This Week we start...
I hate that I need to adjust my speaker volume every single time I watch a web video or switch back and forth to music. Every embedded video seems to have it's own volume control that doesn't come close to comparing to anyone else's, if it even works. Does anyone know of a way to get Windows to auto volume level all sources so I can stop messing with the volume? Or am I just missing something obvious here? Technorati Tags: windows,audio,software...
Do you recognize the picture below as your mp3 music library? Then read on and download for free! (picture 1. Before) I've made a small tool that can help you organise your mp3 files just like you want. MapMP3 creates a folder tree like artist - album -title.mp3 for every mp3 file in the folder where it is executing. In first case the tool reads the required information from the ID3 TAG's in your files, but if there was no ID3 TAG found on a file, or it was simply not providing all the required information,...
Ok, so if you didn't already know it I am a shutter bug. Everyone who is into photography knows that the big dog on the block is Photoshop CS3. Unfortunately if you don't get paid for your photography or get the "CEO's" approval for such an expenditure it is just way too expensive. So lately I have been looking at alternatives. This post will describe some of the plusses and minuses of a couple of editing packages. So which applications did I look at: Paint.NET, Nikon Capture NX, Paint Shop Pro Photo...
You ever dealt with some ass, where you just felt like applying a title? Well, I sure as hell do. So I have a point of reference, here are some terms you'll see me using occasionally. Software Arsonist: Someone who pushes software out the door so fast that it's bug ridden and prone to fire (see Dry Software). Once the software is under intense fire fighting, the Software Arsonist will delegate others to put the fires out, while they send out massive amounts of email showing how much value they are...