Microsoft

List of influential VB’ers on Twitter

Stacy Vicknair — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:04:45 GMT

Antonio Chagoury, VB MVP, has constructed a list of Twitter accounts for VB MVPs, VB Team members, and others who are influential in the VB.NET community on his personal blog, CTO v2.0. This list has many great people who are not only talented in VB, but also who have great talents in many aspects of the .NET framework.

I’m listed as a VB MVP, but if you don’t want the full list you can still check me out at http://twitter.com/svickn. However, I’d recommend checking out the rest of these guys too, you might find someone you would never have thought to follow that you mesh with. Besides, it’s never a bad thing when .NET help is just a tweet away ;)

http://www.cto20.com/post/Tweeps-List-Microsoft-Visual-Basic-MVPe28099s-and-Influencers.aspx

Technorati Tags: VB.NET,Twitter,.NET

What are you looking forward to from E3?

Stacy Vicknair — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:20:50 GMT

So E3 has come upon us and is about to make its way out again. Anything that peaked your interests? I have to say by far I was happiest with what I can get for my XBox360 over anything coming out for the Wii (I’ve got no PS3).

The games that I’m really looking forward that were shown off this year at E3 are Crackdown 2, Assassin’s Creed 2 and Forza Motorsports 3. I’ve spent many hours playing all three of those titles, and I’m happily awaiting their releases. AC2 and FM3 are both slated later this year, and I haven’t really seen anything about when Crackdown 2 is coming out. Either way, I’m happy to have a couple titles coming my way that’ll undoubtedly rock.

Now, there were a couple new controller / controller addons announced. Although new peripherals are cool, I guess I’m more into the games. I don’t need a sensor reading my thumb and telling me how soon I’ll have a heart attack nor am I really interested in talking to creepy child-like virtual buddies.

So what are you guys looking forward to? If I had to pick a favorite, it would be Assassin’s Creed 2.

Technorati Tags: E3,E32009,Microsoft

MSDN Events: Azure, Debugging and Mobility Review

Stacy Vicknair — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 18:21:38 GMT

Last Thursday I had the pleasure of going down to a local theatre to watch through the MSDN event for Azure, debugging, and mobility. The event itself was refreshing, and I always enjoy hearing Zain speak. We have similar passions, and also similar personalities.

The event started off with a brief look at Azure, which is Microsoft’s very beta cloud computing platform. The technology itself seems straightforward and easy to use, although Zain warned about a tedious process of getting the tokens necessary to get started. Altogether, the session was informative, and exposed resources that ought to be taken into consideration when computing from the cloud.

Afterwards, Zain went over some debugging hints that were completely new to me. The debugging session was the one I was attending for specifically, and it didn’t disappoint. Her talked about advanced debugging, and conditional debugging and watches. I didn’t know what to expect from the session, and it wasn’t exactly what I thought it would be about, but I can say that I definitely learned more about the debugging process from it.

The final session was on programming for mobile devices. There are many helpful downloads necessary for getting started, and the testing can be painfully slow, but otherwise the process seemed a lot simpler to what I remember about doing the same for Blackberry devices through Java.

All in all, I enjoyed the event and am glad I attended. I’ve been busy lately and haven’t been posting often, but I promise you that I’ll have something good for the beginning of February.

To see about attending this event near you, check out the MSDN Events website. Also, MSDN Dev Con is still going on, I’m sad I missed it, but you don’t have to be sad as well!

http://www.msdnevents.com/

Technorati Tags: MSDN Events,Azure Debugging and Mobility,DevCon

Passing the 070-536 Revisited

Stacy Vicknair — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:27:39 GMT

So, yesterday I passed the 070-536, and I wanted to revisit my list of helpful insights. I wanted to add a couple new insights to the mix in particular. Here are the additional insights, and these will probably remain steadfast for all .NET exams:

Go in with a deep understanding of core operations. If something is often used or is referenced in the training kit, get a really good grip on it.
Isolate the differences in each answer. Look at what could be wrong, and use your best judgment.
Finally, remember that .NET is meant to help tasks be easy to code! Sometimes the easiest solution really is the right solution.

I hope that these vague tips can help you, because they touch on the core knowledge when it comes to testing. Be good at .NET and know the subject, but also don’t panic and be a good tester.

The old blog was posted at this link:

Click To View Entry

Technorati Tags: 070-536,Microsoft Certification

Hot-To: Model a Work Breakdown Structure with Project 2007 and Visio 2007

Stacy Vicknair — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 18:05:25 GMT

If you’re trying to make a WBS from your suite of 2007 applications, Microsoft Download Center has a Visio add-on that might save you some time.

To get a WBS pumped out quickly, just do the following:

Download and install Microsoft Office Visio 2007 WBS Modeler.
Open Visio, and start from the new WBS Modeler.
Open Project and open the project you want to make a WBS for.
In Visio, click WBS Modeler, then Import From Microsoft Office Project…

Click through a couple more settings and here you have it. An easy WBS, and best of all it is free! When I was looking around the best alternative looks like it will run you around $200.

Technorati Tags: Project,Visio,WBS

Windows 7 Beta download available tomorrow! Available now for MSDN Subscribers!

Stacy Vicknair — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:55:52 GMT

If you don’t read Chris Koenig’s blog (shame on you :|) or haven’t seen Ballmer’s Keynote at CES, you might not be aware. However, Windows 7 Beta will be available for download tomorrow, first come first served to the first 2.5 million people.

Get the cool details from Chris (and while you’re their maybe a new RSS feed):

http://blogs.msdn.com/chkoenig/archive/2009/01/07/windows-7-beta-available-this-week.aspx

Get the official news from the Windows 7 team:

http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/windows7/archive/2009/01/07/information-on-downloading-and-installing-windows-7-beta.aspx

Or, if you’ve got an MSDN subscription, just go get it now from your downloads!

Technorati Tags: Windows 7 Beta

MSDN Events coming to Baton Rouge, LA on 01/22/2009!

Stacy Vicknair — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 18:01:02 GMT

Honestly, my eyes lit up like it was Christmas all over again when I read the updated MSDN Events RSS on my google reader. Some Louisiana love is finally on its way this month, here is the low down:

MSDN EVENTS - AZURE, DEBUGGING AND MOBILITY

SESSIONS INCLUDE

- Demystifying Azure: An Overview of the Azure Services Platform for Developers
- Deepen your Debugging: Tips and Tricks for the Visual Studio 2008 Debugger
- Developing for Windows Mobile Devices

FREE ADMITTANCE

Enhance your coding capabilities with new tools, tips and inside secrets from MSDN Events. We’ll start with an overview of the Azure Services Platform and show you how to take full advantage of the Visual Studio debugger – including fresh techniques to ramp up your problem solving abilities. You’ll also see how developing for a Windows Mobile phone leverages your current coding skills and can make it simple to build, deploy and debug cool new devices. Don’t miss these free, interactive sessions in your local area. Register today!

If you haven’t yet registered or for up-to-date event information, please visit: http://www.msdnevents.com

Venue:
Baton Rouge, LA
TBD

Go to the following link for more info:
http://msevents.microsoft.com/cui/EventDetail.aspx?culture=en-US&EventID=1032399068

Technorati Tags: MSDN Events,Baton Rouge,Azure,Debugging,Mobility

25% off plus free second shot on 070-536

Stacy Vicknair — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 21:28:14 GMT

Looking for a good deal on your first exam towards a handful of MCTS's? Give the MSDN's Ramp Up program a shot. After completing any of the tracks you will get the following great discounts.

25% off exam plus one free retake if you don't pass the first time for Exam 70-536 only: TS: Microsoft .NET Framework Application Development Foundation, the first of the MCTS Certification exams
50% off on select E-Learning collections:
- Collection 5160: Core Development with the Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Foundation
- Collection 5161: Advanced Development with the Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Foundation
30% off on MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-536): Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Application Development Foundation

Well worth the investment, imho. And considerind that I'll be giving this exam a retake (more details on why later), I'll be considering this discount.

Give the programs a look over here:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/rampup/bb428416.aspx

Technorati Tags: Microsoft Certification,070-536,discounts

A quick look at VB10

Stacy Vicknair — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 20:41:31 GMT

As you may have noticed (perhaps on the Visual Studio Start Page), there’s a section of the MSDN reserved for the future of VB. The page is fairly bland at first glance, but there is a great reference to the new features of Visual Basic 10 available in the downloads that I dare say you should investigate.

Of the upcoming news, some that stand out are multiline lambda expressions, “implicit line continuation” (AKA goodbye to the underscore, mostly), Auto-implemented properties (one line of code for a complete property for simple implementations), and array type inference.

I had to stop myself there because I was starting just to read off every change in place! I really appreciate the changes and I look forward to the opportunity to use them in production.

My only question is if Beth Massi will use the new properties. From the Linq How-To videos it seems she prefers to name her private variables m_var to indicate the variable is a member of the class.

Technorati Tags: VB.NET,Visual Basic 10

The Visual Studio 2010 CTP: Floating Document and Tool Windows Outside the IDE

Stacy Vicknair — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 20:09:47 GMT

I’ve been digging through the CTP for VS2010, and I have to say that if you haven’t started trying it out, start. Keep in mind, the CTP will hog as much as 40 gigs of space (between the twelve 700 meg parts and the final 25 gig Virtual PC image), but getting to play around with the new features is great.

Maybe you’re telling yourself, “I’m not advanced enough to know what to play around with to enjoy the new stuff…” There are walkthroughs. If you use Visual Studio on any semblance of a regular basis, the walkthroughs will show you what you can do.

With that out of the way, let’s talk about the new floating capabilities of the IDE. For real, I cannot wait for this simple and powerful feature. If you’ve ever used Gimp or any other program that has separated windows for the UI, that’s sort of how the new VS works, but better.

With the new Visual Studio shell (based on WPF) you can have Visual Studio however you like, and have it with simple clicks. Here are a couple screenshots to illustrate what I’m talking about:

This is Visual Studio when we first start it. If I start dragging stuff around I get handles similar to what we already have.

So meh, not exciting. Let's get to something worthwhile. Here's what a regular work environment for a winforms app might look like...

Let me start dragging things around...

Now I've got floating tabs! (Pardon me while I try and make this more exciting than it looks) The tabs themselves aren't that spectacular, but what this really allows for you to do is consume one window with the form design and another with the code. Sure, you can currently split the panes and look at both, but who wants to code in that much of a fraction? Such simple feature implementations that provide such great potential is why I consistently look forward to the future of Visual Studio and .NET

For a final note, again I stress that if you want to try out the new Visual Studio CTP, get it soon. The CTP expires January 1st, 2009. There are great walkthroughs to put you ahead of the game, and they go over a variety of cool things you can start looking forward to for the near future.

Technorati Tags: Visual Studio 2010 CTP,floating documents