Like Windows Vista, you also test drive Microsoft Office for free for 60 days and if you like it, you can buy your copy, else... you know what to do.

I bet you'll like the new Office 2007. I'm using this for almost 60 days and Office 2003 seems like an ancient tool for me now :)

Check this link for more information

Windows Vista... you like it? you hate it? you love it? what ever it is... you can now decide on your own.

Microsoft is giving free access to the Windows Vista OS from one of their lab machines for people to access before buying.

If you've taken any lab sessions before in Windows 2003, it is the same. Just that you can look into the features before spending the money.

Windows Test Drive is the site :)

Visual Studio is all about *productivity*. Keyboard shortcuts are the best way to be productivity. Visual Studio products team have built the keyboard shortcuts into the rpoduct for most of the functionality that is normally found through the UI.

Following are the links to the keyboard shortcut posters that you can print and stick in your cubicles. I bet you'll be more productive with these shortcuts the next time you use Visual Studio :)

• Visual C# 2005
• Visual Basic 205
• Visual C++ 2005

Enjoy!!!

Good news is that... somebody out there installed Windows Vista on his Mac box and believes it to be cool. If you want to do the same... this link will help

All those mortals who believed that Apple invented the click wheel (iPod wheel navigation) will be enlightened... once and for all...

I was all this time screaming that its not Apple's invention... Steve Jobs got that wrong in his speech... and nobody were interested. Now the REAL inventors of this technology sued Apple for using their technology.

This was a calm affair all this time, until this news item came up. Believe it or not

How will imperative programming languages evolve to suit the needs of developers in the age of Concurrency and Composability? What role can programming languages play in enabling true composability? What are the implications of LINQ on the furture of managed (CLS-based) and unmanaged(C++) languages? How will our imperative languages (static) become more functional (dynamic) in nature while preserving their static "experience" for developers? 

Answers to these questions and much more are to be found in this interview with some of Microsoft's leading language designers and programming thought leaders: Anders Hejlsberg, Technical Fellow and Chief Architect of C#, Herb Sutter, Architect in the C++ language design group, Erik Meijer, Architect in both VB.Net and C# language design and programming language guru, and Brian Beckman, physicist and programming language architect working on VB.Net.

This is a great conversation with some of the industry's most influential programming language designers. Tune in. You may be surprised by what you learn...

Watch the video here

Spiderman exists for real. Dont believe me? Your wish. But I saw him in my garden today. He is not wearing red Spidy dress. He infact wears no dress :p

All he wears is a mask. Amazing??? really I had a shock of my life.

Now, some serious stuff...

My brother was doing some clean up in the garden today, when he observed a big cobweb and a spider in the center. He then came into the house running to grab the digital camera to take the picture. I was wondering what happened to him... taking a snap of a spider. He then called me to show it live... I was reluctant in the beginning, but then obliged to see afterall, what it is.

This one is not a normal spider, it is colorful. It has some appealing characteristics. Its face is so similar to that of a human that i gave it the name "Spiderman". We did not want to captivate him and seize its freedom and just took some snaps, which i am sharing.

These are real images and not morphed!!!

If you haven't tried it yet... do it NOW. You'll be surprised to see the features!!!

 

Executive Summary:

Great news! Visual Studio Code Name “Orcas” January 2007 CTP is now available publicly to all customers!! This CTP includes the work completed by the Division at the end of M3.1 and is being released as a Virtual PC (VPC) image as well as Installable Bits.

 

Details:

This CTP is available as a Virtual PC image or as a self-extracting install. If you wish to use the Virtual PC image you will need Virtual PC or Virtual Server to run this image. If you wish to use the self extracting install, we advise that you do not install this on a production machine. Depending on your hardware the download files make take between 30-60 minutes to decompress. 

 

 The highlights of this CTP include:

• Extended, more powerful data APIs with the ADO.NET Entity Framework and LINQ to ADO.NET
• With the ADO.NET Entity Framework developers will be able to model the view of the data that is appropriate for each one of the applications they are building, independently of the structure of the data in the underlying database. The use of the Entity Data Model (EDM) enables developers to design models that follow the concepts built into the application, instead of having to map them to constructs available in relational stores. Once the model is in place, the powerful ADO.NET Entity Framework API is used to access and manipulate the data as .NET classes or as rows and columns, whatever is appropriate for each application.
• ADO.NET is fully integrated with LINQ and offers many options for using LINQ in various scenarios: LINQ to SQL provides direct access to database tables from the programming environment, LINQ to Entities enables developers to use LINQ over EDM models, and LINQ to DataSet allows the full expressivity of LINQ to be used over DataSets.

• C# 3.0 Language Support: This CTP implements all of the C#3.0 language features from the May LINQ CTP including:
• Query Expressions
• Object and Collection Initializers
• Extension Methods
• Local Variable Type Inference and Anonymous Types
• Lambdas bound to Delegates and Expression trees

• LINQ to Objects API
• The LINQ to Objects API supports queries over any .NET collection, such as arrays and Generic Lists. This API is defined in the System.Linq namespaces inside System.Core.dll. Click here for more details about LINQ.

• ClickOnce improvements
• This CTP delivers ClickOnce improvements for the deployment of Windows Presentation Foundation applications, alternative browser support and ISV rebranding.

• Managed classes for Elliptic Curve Diffie Hellman and Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm cryptographic functionality
• With the addition of these classes, cryptographic developers now have managed classes for Elliptic Curve Diffie Hellman secret agreement and Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm signing. These classes are built on the new CNG cryptographic libraries in Windows Vista, but still follow the familiar patterns of the cryptographic classes in .NET Framework 2.0.

• Runtime and design-time support for Office 2007 (including Outlook 2007)
• Customers can build managed code add-ins with a consistent development experience, regardless of which version of Office they target, which Office application(s) they target, and which programming language they choose. Managed code add-ins enable developers to use strongly-typed class members, with the help of modern development tools, including intellisense and auto-complete. Additionally add-ins can potentially run in multiple versions of Office, enabled by abstracting version-specific code and supported by a version-resilient infrastructure.

• Support for advanced lifetime management of add-ins and their AppDomains
• We’ve added the helper classes that manage the lifetime of add-ins, the objects passed between the host and add-ins, and even of the AppDomains the add-ins live in. By using the ContractBase and LifetimeToken handle, pipeline developer can let the hosts and add-ins act as if everything, including the AppDomain the add-in was activated in, was controlled by the garbage collector even though .Net Remoting would normally make that impossible.

• Client service support for Login/Logout, Role management and Profiles
• ASP.NET 2.0 shipped with new application services for authentication, authorization and personalization. Most of these services are not tied to ASP.NET and can work in non-web applications. This CTP enables the use of these services in smart client applications for Logon/Logoff, Role management and profiles.

• A trace listener that logs event to ETW, event tracing for Windows in Vista
• Event tracing for windows is greatly improved in Vista and the most performant loggings facility available in Windows. The System.Diagnostics.EventProviderTraceListener allows managed tracing to provide events to the Vista’s ETW infrastructure. This is a highly performant, thread-safe listener.

• Jscript Intellisense support
• Jscript code formatting and Intellisense support provide developers with a richer editing experience. These improvements enable the IDE to provide statement completion, color syntax highlighting and in-place documentation to Jscript and associated script models such as ASP.NET AJAX.

• A new numeric type that provides support for very large numbers (Beyond the range of In64)
• All existing numeric types in the Framework have a limited range. This is the first type that supports arbitrary range and will extend to accommodate any large number as needed. This type lives in the new System.Numeric namespace where all new numeric and arithmetic features are going to reside. It supports all the basic arithmetic operations including things like Pow, DivRem and GreatestCommonDivisor. It implements the following interfaces: IFormattable, IComparable, IComparable<BigInteger> and IEquatable<BigInteger>. It is serliazable and immutable. It has implicit casts from all basic integral types and explicit casts to/from all numeric type. To learn more about this type – please visit the BCL team blog.

• LINQ over XML (XLinq)
• Enable further LINQ over XML feature support (in addition to the functionality available in the Oct 2006 CTP) such as the ability to apply XLST to transform into and out of XLinq trees, support for System.XML reader/writer interfaces for improved XML sharing with DOM applications and System.XML schema validation for XLinq nodes.

• SQL Server Compact Edition (SSCE)
• SQL Server Compact Edition (SSCE) provides a local relational data store for occasionally connected client applications from desktops to devices. SSCE is light weight, embeddable and is easy to deploy with your client applications without requiring complex administration work from users. Timestamp (row version id) data type, improved table designer, Query processor enhancements and support for local transaction scope are some of the new features you find in this version of SSCE.

Where can I get the bits?

Use the following links for step-by-step instructions on installing and using the VPC image or installable bits, links to the Readme and provide feedback. See Readme document for important notices and information about the CTP.

When is the next CTP?

We expect to release our next Orcas CTP in February or early March at the end of the M3.2 iteration. Please visit the Orcas CTP site for updates or email mbohm. The Beta 1 planning and which SKUs, number of languages, when and how it is being released are being reviewed. I will let you know when we have the final documentation ready for distribution.

 

 

About the Deliverable

With the Web Client Software Factory – January 2007 release, architects and developers can quickly incorporate many of the proven practices and patterns found while building enterprise, custom developed line of business web applications using ASP.NET 2.0.

These applications have one or more of the following characteristics:

·         They have complex page flows and workflows

·         They are developed by multiple collaborating development teams

·         They are composite applications which present information from multiple sources through an integrated user interface.

·         They can benefit from simpler deployment techniques (XCopy deployment)

·         They are composed of loosely coupled modules that can be independently deployed

·         They support online business transaction processing web sites

The factory contains a collection of reusable components and libraries, Visual Studio 2005 solution templates, wizards and extensions, How-to topics, automated tests, extensive architecture documentation, patterns, and a reference implementation. The factory makes use of the ASP.NET platform, Workflow Foundation, and Enterprise Library January 2006.

 

In This Release 

The Web Client Software Factory is an integrated collection of tailored software assets that support composite web application development. The collection includes:

·         Application Blocks and Libraries. The Composite Web Application Block, Page Flow Application Block and Object Container Data Source Control are included in the factory. The factory also uses Enterprise Library application blocks for security, exception management, logging, and data access.

·         Recipes. The software factory includes the Add View (with presenter) recipe and Add Page Flow recipe. Recipes automate procedures in How-to topics, either entirely or selected steps. They help developers complete routine tasks with minimal input.

·         Templates. The software factory includes the Solution template, Business Module template, Foundational Module template, and Page Flow template. Templates are skeletal application projects that are customized for each application. They can be used for many purposes, including creating initial solution structures and creating individual solution artifacts, such as project items.

·         Designers. The factory designers include page flow designer based on Workflow Foundation.

·         Reference implementation. A reference implementation provides an example of a realistic, finished product that the software factory helps developers build.

·         Architecture guidance and patterns. Architecture guidance and patterns help explain application design choices and the motivation for those choices.

·         How-to topics. These are documented step-by-step instructions that describe how to implement recommended practices in a given domain.  

Roadmap
A new release of the Web Client Software Factory is planned for mid-2007. The Client team at patterns & practices will start collecting customer feedback on the January 2007 release. This feedback will be incorporated into our product planning process and will be broadly communicated in our community site.

 

Community

The Web Client Software Factory, like other patterns & practices deliverables, is associated with a community site. On this community site, Customers can post questions, provide feedback, or connect with other users for sharing ideas. Community members can also help Microsoft plan and test future offerings and download additional content such as extensions and training material.

 

 

woo hoo... world is crazy.. not just crazy, but freakin crazy.

Today happens to be the day of most surprises of this year. LG announced a phone called Prada that looks and works very much like Apple iPhone. ROFL... LG is giving more than what Apple has to offer. Now this is interesting to me... they chose Prada as the name... very interesting.

Waiting for more entrants before Apple iPhone hits the shelves ;)

More news here

Your results:
You are Dr. Doom

Dr. Doom 69% Lex Luthor 66% Apocalypse 65% Juggernaut 64% Mr. Freeze 61% The Joker 59% Magneto 56% Dark Phoenix 52% Riddler 50% Catwoman 48% Poison Ivy 47% Green Goblin 44% Mystique 40% Kingpin 37% Venom 27% Two-Face 24%

Blessed with smarts and power but burdened by vanity.

Click here to take the Super Villain Personality Test

Your results:
You are The Flash

The Flash 80% Superman 70% Catwoman 70% Iron Man 65% Spider-Man 60% Green Lantern 55% Supergirl 50% Wonder Woman 45% Robin 45% Hulk 45% Batman 20%

Fast, athletic and flirtatious.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test

No.. its not gonna hit you with a baseball bat. It will not call your customers on its own. It will not.. it will not allow you to do anything. And that is the biggest problem for developers.

According to Apple, iPhone will not allow anybody to do anything. All control is with Apple. I dont see any problem with this. Its their property and they can do whatever they want to and who the hell am I to stop them. Just some friendly advice (I'm not losing anything by giving this...) from me is "Steve... don't you want to make it successful... come on expose the API so that people make it usable"

Apple was able to convince the world that they innovated this new product... though I'm not totally convinced that it is a true innovation as mentioned by Steve Jobs in his keynote.

Some facts: Mouse - not invented by Apple, Spin Wheel - not invented by Apple, Multi touch screen - again not by Apple, Phone - Apple?, Wireless - Apple? - leave this.

I'm not going to develop any tools over iPhone, hell why do I bother? This is my source of base information

Well... I'm not asking this question to anyone.

I came across this Question in Yahoo! Answers and supposedly posted by President of India Mr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. And the answers were from some of the personalities like Kiran Bedi, Leander Paes and Sri Sri Ravi Shakar...

I found that to be something fishy and probed further to see the profile of Mr. President and the thing I noticed is the "about me" written as somebody is describing the president instead of self introduction.

This is very unreal. If I've to write my introduction, I'd write it like... "I'm Sidhartha, I'm so and so" instead of "Sidhartha is so and so". Got my point?

I'm not confirming or denying the authenticity of this. It is upto you to decide. Check the real stuff here

Google... we would have forgotten that name by now had Yahoo's plans were successful.

Its the year 2002. Some room in Yahoo head quarters... Top bosses were discussing strategy on expanding Yahoo. One idea that came up was to buy a minnow called Google. The board was happy to come to this conclusion. They set the budget of $3bn for this and went shopping. But the shop keeper was not interested. He rather insisted on $5bn.

At this point the top guns were really frustated. No way they would spend $5bn for a minnow with a turnover of about $240mn. It was like selling the entire property to buy a new marriage suit for Yahoo. It was like a merger. They said NO. Time stopped, world stopped... but only for Yahoo. For Google, it was the luckiest moment. Had they agreed to $3bn or had Yahoo paid $5bn, the revolution called Google would have ended there. But, Yahoo was so (over) confident that they did not recognize the potential.

Times have changed, now Google can buy Yahoo. But they will not, for once they were humiliated by the folks there.

Check this lengthy article for the complete picture. Interesting read for sure.

For all those who feel sorry for Apple... here goes the fact.

Infogear Technology was the company that owned the name iPhone and they did it in the year 2000.. yes, you read it right.. year 2000.

Cisco bought Infogear and hence they own the name iPhone. Now if somebody takes it away from them, they felt uncomfortable.

Pretty fair deal.. Cisco, I'm with you.. go sue them and give me an Apple iPhone in return to my support ;)

Here goes the news item

This certainly has to be the most laziest month of all for me. Not with respect to anything apart from community activities...

I'm transitioning out from whatever I've been doing so far and this involved so much of knowledge transfer these days.. hence a delay in blogging and community activities.

Now that I'm getting out of this mode... you'll read my crappy stories more often.

I'm really lazy this time in blogging about my prize. But neverthless, here goes the brag :D

Hello Sidhartha,
    Congratulations. You won 2nd Prize in the December 2006 Contest. As you may know, a lot of people competed, but only a few won. Nicely done! Please also keep in mind that your prize is not just a stupid, geeky gift, but it's also a symbol to represent your contributions to the development community. When folks ask you how you won, you can tell them that it was by helping out other geeks. Be proud and brag.
Below you will find the details of your prize.

Flying Alarm Clock

You'll have to get up when this little baby starts, because it takes off and flies round the room, making a really annoying noise like a mosquito,

so you'll have to find it first, before you can turn it off. Even if you hit the snooze button, it will take off again, so it will undoubtedly get you out of bed, though of course it might smash the place up a bit before you catch it, and if you sleep with the windows open you might find yourself running round the garden in your jimjams (no way to wake up) and may frighten the neighbourhood dogs.

There's also a slight danger that if you are a really heavy sleeper, and the things flies around the room without waking you up, eventually it will run out of juice, so it could wake you up by dropping on an exposed body part, such as the head, though I suppose you'd at least be awake. Or unconscious, possibly!

However it's a terrific fun item, and has already won a technology design award for its innovation and flair and makes a neat gift for anyone who has trouble getting out of the old pit in the mornings.

Though I wake up early in the mornings, this will still help me wake up on those laziest days. And I too hate mosquitos... Really excited to get this.

Well, well, well... I checked Community Credit today to see my name in the Top 15 all time contributors list. I'm way down at 12, and the top rank is held by Lorenzo Barbieri with just 1225350 points and is just 4 times (approx) more than me. I'm every close with 313275 points :p

2007 knocked at me with great hope and need to work really smart to grab each and every byte. So, in short... my contribution in 2007 will be less compared to 2006, but will stretch to do my bit.

And finally, the snap that shows the list (who knows tomorrow I'm out of that list ;)

It is wierd to have bugs. It is more wierd when this bug is stupid.

This time around it was with my LAN. I came to office early morning and connected to the corporate network using the wireless LAN, then somehow felt that it was slow and connected to the LAN using the CAT 5 cable. Everything was fine and asusual. I did not know it was the silence before the thunderstorm. I had to rush to a meeting and unplugged my LAN cable (remember... it is still connected through Wireless), normally when we do this the connection through the LAN cable gets disconnected.

This time was a different issue... though there is no cable (atleast I cannot see any) plugged in for LAN, my network connection says I'm connected through a cable... thats what I called wierd.

This is the snapshot of the status... though you cannot make if from the picture if my laptop is connected indeed or not, you've to believe me :)