Caffeinated Geek

New Vista Ultimate Extras... WTF?

Aaron Kowall — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 03:01:21 GMT

I noticed on Windows update that there were new Windows Ultimate Extras. I got excited for about 1/10th of a second. Then I notice that it is Sound Schemes. Huh? After like a year between releasing anything it's sound schemes? I think MS should finally admit that Ultimate Extras aren't a value add. There has been nothing so far that couldn't have been delivered as freeware. Nothing so far has had any significant value to warrant being exclusive for Ultimate.

It was a neat idea, but maybe it's time to drop the charade.

Technorati Tags: Vista,Ultimate Extras

New VS Team Suite / TFS 2008 Demo VPC available

Aaron Kowall — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 17:51:23 GMT

Brian Randell just posted about the new Demo VPC being available for download.

This version will expire December 31, 2008.

This virtual machine is running Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition, SP2. It contains a full installation of Team Foundation Server 2008, Team Build 2008, Team Explorer 2008, Visual Studio Team System 2008 Team Suite and all necessary prerequisites. In addition, it has been updated with Office 2007 SP1, current Windows Updates as of March 25, 2008, and the December Release of the TFS Power Tools. Team Foundation Server is installed in workgroup authentication mode and thus does not require a domain controller.

This release also contains 38 hands-on labs and sample data. Please examine C:\MSLabs inside the VPC image.

The IT Governance lab has sample data to run reports and use Excel against!!! Awesome.

Technorati Tags: VS2008,TFS

Earth Hour 2008. Did you turn out the lights?

Aaron Kowall — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 22:32:46 GMT

I wonder if 'Earth Hour' actually changed anyone's behavior for more than an hour? My family turned out the lights (Computer, TV, stereo, etc.) and played a board game by candle light. We discussed the issue of energy consumption and how it contributes to global warming. However, living in Winnipeg, our furnace was still burning natural gas the whole while. And we used our van today to run out to the store as usual.

We try to be conscious of our energy consumption. We turn lights out in rooms we aren't in (usually) and switched to a high efficiency furnace. Almost all of our lights have been converted to compact fluorescent (they don't work well here outside). We usually take the bus to work (even though there would be 2 of us in the van) and when it isn't -40 outside we generally walk to the store instead of driving.

But, it clearly isn't enough. When you look closely, we have done all the things that we can without changing our lifestyle or making significant financial investment. What's the next step? Do we sell our car and only use public transportation? This isn't very practical in Winnipeg where the public transit system is actually worse than the weather. Bicycle is only practical for about 5 months of the year here. Do we invest in solar panels to augment our electricity consumption from the grid? Again, although we get a reasonable amount of sunshine, it is not intense during winter and there is the issue of keeping panels free from snow. We do get a fair amount of wind but I'm not sure how practical a turbine in the backyard would be.

The other way to make a difference is to buy products manufactured and sourced from closer to home reducing transportation and thereby energy expended for transportation. Consuming local produce limits variety as we don't have a favourable climate for many fruits or vegetables (especially all winter). Many other household items are manufactured in China, India, Japan, etc. All places that couldn't be much further away.

How does a gadget geek rationalize the 'habit' when almost every gadget has a very negative environmental impact? I'm trying to be more selective in my purchases. Do I really 'need' that gadget? Could I get one from closer to home? Does the supplier make any attempt to offset the impact of production/transportation?

The internal conflict will continue. When I think about it, it's not me who will suffer from my poor decisions. It will be my children or grandchildren. I just hope they are smarter than we are and find a better balance between human desire for consumption and living sustainably.

Technorati Tags: Environment

Winnipeg Code Camp

Aaron Kowall — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 21:52:05 GMT

Anyone in Winnipeg looking for a reason to brave the cold and get out of the house for the day should sign up for the Winnipeg Code Camp on Saturday Feb 16th. Looks like a good slate of speakers (present company excluded) and a great set of topics.

Info and registration here. Please remember to check out the sponsors as well as these events couldn't happen without them.

Technorati Tags: Code Camp

Sun to buy MySql - Is this good news?

Aaron Kowall — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 15:28:48 GMT

http://www.mysql.com/news-and-events/sun-to-acquire-mysql.html

I'm not much of a MySql user but I certainly appreciate the popularity of the lightweight open source database.

Will Sun acquiring it kill it? Will Sun acquiring it help? How?

Technorati Tags: Sun,MySql

Visual Studio 2008 Launch Event Registration (Canada)

Aaron Kowall — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 20:02:03 GMT

AJ pointed out that registration was open for the Visual Studio 2008 / Windows Server 2008 launch event.

Here is the registration site for Canada launch events.

http://www.microsoft.com/canada/heroeshappenhere/register/default.mspx

The theme for the launch is 'heroes happen {here}.'

I'd like to point out the clever use of 'squiggly brackets' to my friend ET who as a VB developer despises them :)

Technorati Tags: VS2008,launch event,squiggly brackets

The end of the plastic bag?

Aaron Kowall — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 19:59:53 GMT

China has announced a ban on plastic shopping bags.

http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2008/01/08/china-bags.html

The interesting bit here is:

"China's State Council said the ban will start June 1. Firms that continue to sell, make and distribute bags thicker than 0.025 mm thick will be given fines and authorities may seize goods and profits, the State Council said."

I suspect that many of the plastic bags we get from stores here in North America are manufactured in China. Will this move be the trigger for stores to stop offering plastic bags?

Technorati Tags: Stuff,Environment

Team System Web Access 2008 is live

Aaron Kowall — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 23:40:09 GMT

Brian Harry recently announced the availability of Team System Web Access 2008. This is great news as TSWA is a great tool for those non-developers in your project that need to access workitems or look at files stored in version control.

Technorati Tags: VS2008,TSWA,TFS

MSDN Kudos - "How Do I?" videos

Aaron Kowall — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 00:46:36 GMT

I'm pretty excited about the "How Do I?" video series within MSDN. Some of this material has been available through other sources and sites. However, the aggregation of them into a single place across technologies is great. Also, it is much easier for busy people to consume the 10-15 minute video than grabbing a snippet out of a 60 minute Webcast.

I often take MSDN for granted. But this was valuable enough that I thought I'd call out the good work.

Technorati Tags: MSDN,kudos

Big Zune Anti-Climax

Aaron Kowall — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 02:37:37 GMT

I had talked myself into buying one of the new Microsoft Zune 80 media players.

It just so happens I'm in the Detroit area this week and figured I'd try to find one since they were launching during my trip. Well, nobody has them. I've seen the 4 and 8GB models, but not the 80. I tried a few stores like Best Buy and Circuit City. At Best Buy they told me you had to order it online, they didn't get them in the store. The online store says they are backordered. The folks at Circuit City were even less clued in. They seemed puzzled by what I was asking for, looked around for awhile, then confirmed that they didn't have them. Both locations had the 4GB Zune and Best Buy even had the 8GB model.

My question is this... why launch a product that you don't even have enough supply of to generate a buzz. I can understand the marketing ploy of generating demand by having 'limited' supply. But having 'no' supply just pisses people off. The whole new Zune launch seems to have been a big anti-climax as the only folks that seem to have gotten their hands on them are the gadget reviewers and even most of them didn't get them until launch time.

I'm really trying hard to like Microsoft's foray into the PMP market, but bonehead moves like this aren't going to help them knock Apple down from their mountain.

FUQ: Frequently Unanswered Questions

Aaron Kowall — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 18:51:11 GMT

Our friends at NWCadence have started a blog for 'Frequently Unanswered Questions' for TFS, Sharepoint and other collaborative technologies. If there has been something nagging at you and you can't find the answer easily please check it out here.

Web Service Software Factory - Modeling Edition Live

Aaron Kowall — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 19:09:19 GMT

The Service Factory Model Edition has gone live as of this morning. I know what Gizmo will be doing today :)

Overload

Aaron Kowall — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 17:57:39 GMT

While attending the MS Patterns & Practices Summit this week I have come to realize that as much time as I've been investing in staying on top of new things coming out of Redmond it's nowhere near enough.

I used to be of the opinion that you could make a breadth vs. depth decision on technology. I'm no longer sure that's appropriate. The fact is that the interconnectedness of the technologies coming out of MS (and elsewhere) require a certain amount of depth in order to understand anything. At the same time, the breadth has become too broad. With presentation technologies, data access technologies, messaging, tooling, tooling extensibility, AAAAH!! The reality is that the breadth and pace of change necessitates another approach.

At one level it's enough to know 'about' the existence of something so that you can dig deeper if you think you have a usage scenario. When that potential opportunity is identified, then you dig into learning it deeper. This usually means learning about it and all its related technologies but that's the 'cover charge'. I'm still not sure sanity is preserved, but at least it's a conscious approach. And by all means when someone asks you to advise them on something you don't know (or don't really have a reason to) say SORRY, I HAVE NO IDEA!!

How can prices be so different in a global economy?

Aaron Kowall — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 18:31:32 GMT

I can somewhat understand that countries with drastically different economies might have dramatically different prices for goods. However, it boggles my mind that the price of things between Canada and the United States continues to be such a gap. Some of this can be justified by the usual arguments: higher tax in Canada, higher transport costs across Canada. However, some of these break down when the items are imported to both companies. And, they don't explain the dramatic differences in price.

Yesterday I picked up a newer digital camera at Best Buy. It's a middle of the road point and shoot but an upgrade of my 3 year old digital. In Canada (at Best Buy Canada) the camera is $299. At Best Buy in the US, the same camera is $160. WOW. When you take into account that right now the $CDN is trading at $1.10 to the $USD then the price in Canada is 2X the US price. I find that hard to justify. So, in the meantime I'll be buying gadgets in the US when on travel.

Don't get me wrong. I'd like to be supporting Canadian retailers (and mostly do) but they really do need to move closer to price parity.

Observations from MS Patterns & Practices Summit

Aaron Kowall — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 17:35:54 GMT

Observation 1: IT is still a VERY male dominated field. There are probably 300 people here and definitely less than 10 women. I won't speculate as to the social, cultural or genetic reasons for this but I continue to be surprised by this. I know many women that are awesome developers and architects.

Observation 2: Presenters like Macbooks. I'd say that 1/2 the presenters at this Microsoft event have been using Macbooks to do their presentations. It's not because of OSX's superiority since they are obviously running Windows in some form. John Lam had a reason at least since he was showing IronRuby running on mono on his Mac.

Observation 3: The largest value proposition of conferences and summits is the conversations with other attendees. One thing that is often a challenge when justifying attendance at events is that the 'materials' can be shared/obtained after the event thereby making it virtually possible to be there. Well, no. The presentations are valuable, no doubt about it, but the conversations and dialogue with the presenters and other attendees is far more valuable. You learn what others are doing, what challenges they are trying to overcome. I am continually amazed both at how similar we are in some ways and how different we are in others.

Observation #4: I really do need to find the time at some point to invest in some dynamic language learning time. John Lam's IronRuby session was just so foreign to me that to me that I had a hart time appreciating what they have (or haven't) done.

OK, break time. Gotta go find some coffee and someone to chat with :)