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Darrell Norton's Blog [MVP]

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Disable TFS 2008 AutoConnect

I'm not a big fan of having Visual Studio 2008 automatically trying to connect to my TFS server. Sometimes you just want to open VS and bang out some code!

I've found the registry hack for TFS 2008 is a bit different than 2005. It's simple enough, though.

In the registry editor, navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\VisualStudio\9.0\TeamFoundation\Servers\<TFS SERVER NAME HERE>
Open the AutoReconnect DWORD
Change the value to 0 (zero) decimal

Let me know if you've found a different or better way to do this!

Posted Jul 18 2008, 09:00 AM by darrell with no comments

Richmond .NET UG: July 10, 2008 Meeting

Kevin Hazzard
presents Accessing Web Services from Silverlight 2 Beta 2

Thursday, July 10, 2008, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Social Time starts at 6:00!
Location: Markel Plaza
4600 Cox Road
Glen Allen, VA 23060 [map]

Registration is not required, but please take a moment to register so we'll know how many people to expect. Thanks!

July's Presentation: Accessing Web Services from Silverlight 2 Beta 2
by Kevin Hazzard

Abstract

Silverlight is a client-side technology. So it’s not really a part of your SOA strategy, right? You may want to think twice about that. SOAP and WSDL support are coming to the web desktop via Silverlight. And Silverlight has good client support for REST+ JSON/POX and RSS/ATOM-based web services, too. During this discussion, we’ll dive into data serialization, security and cross-domain access policy capabilities inside Silverlight 2 Beta 2. We also talk about the nuances and pitfalls of provisioning your web services for an Internet audience. This presentation will be heavy on coding, demonstration and interactive discussion.

About Kevin Hazzard

Kevin is currently the Software Architect for SnagAJob.com in Richmond, Virginia. He has served on the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and as an advisor to Virginia’s Joint Commission on Technology and Science (JCOTS). While serving as a Senior Engineer in the Intel Architecture Lab, Kevin successfully authored patents and designed ciphers, protocols and peer-to-peer networking components used by millions of users worldwide. Kevin has been writing software for 25 years and loves the art and science of his job as much today as he did in the very beginning. Kevin is a father to five, a husband to one and a servant to many others. He speaks a bit of Portuguese and enjoys doing missionary work in South America. He also enjoys motorcycling, welding, hiking, etymology, bird-watching and friendly discussions about world politics and history.

Posted Jul 06 2008, 11:06 PM by darrell with 1 comment(s)

iPhone theme for BlackBerry

I found a cool iPhone-like theme for my BlackBerry 8830 called bPhone for BlackBerry. Please do NOT leave comments saying that the iPhone is better. Work pays for my BlackBerry - FREE is better than iPhone. Thank you. :)

Posted Jul 06 2008, 11:00 PM by darrell with no comments

.NET P2P web search

Faroo is P2P web search built with .NET. They only require .NET 2.0 so it wasn't built using WCF PeerChannel. They have add-ins for IE and Firefox.

Very interesting. I wonder if peer-to-peer searching will work.

Posted Jun 30 2008, 11:16 AM by darrell with no comments

Check out WeeWar.com

A few people have found out about WeeWar.com from my blog. I can tell since I see how many people have joined from my referral link.**

Weewar is an addictive turn-based strategy game. The cool part - the entire game is an AJAX app that you can play from any standard browser. Units include ground, air, and naval types and games include from 2 to 6 people. There are bonuses and penalties for terrain, artillery, multiple attacks and direction of attacks, unit types versus other unit types (mechanized units do well against infantry, etc.), and more. Turns can last from 5 minutes to 3 days, so you can fit it into your busy schedule.

And if you have a Pro account ($24 per year) you can create new maps. And the map editor is completely AJAX as well. You have to see it to believe it.

To learn more, take the tour. Or register for your FREE account using my referral link.

** Weewar does not pay referral fees, however every 5 people I refer extends my Pro account by 2 weeks. That works out to the equivalent of 18.5 US cents per referral at no cost to you.

Posted Jun 27 2008, 11:57 AM by darrell with no comments

Old Executives Never Get Fired

Mark Griffin, chief investment officer will leave the company to “pursue other career interests.” Dan Sheehan, senior VP of portfolio management, will replace him on an interim basis.

Like Douglas MacArthur's quote about old soldiers, corporate executives never get fired, they just "pursue other career interests."

Posted Jun 20 2008, 08:12 AM by darrell with 2 comment(s)

Is there going to be a surcharge on everything?

From Holly Springs, GA:

The surging price of gasoline has come to this: a "fuel surcharge" on your next speeding ticket.

Drivers caught speeding in this north Atlanta suburb soon will have to pay an extra $12 — to cover $4-a-gallon gas costs for the police officers who stop them.

According to the article, the increase in gas had eaten up 60% of the gas budget already. This is just another example of poor management blaming their inability to manage on "unforeseen" circumstances. Like nobody could tell that gas prices were continuing to rise last year.

Of course, surcharges and fees can backfire. Consider the case of hotel phone surcharges in the current age of the cell phone:

To compensate for the loss of revenue caused by widespread cell phone use, some hotels are adding a "phone use fee" to guest room bills. That fee is applied automatically whenever a room phone is activated -- even if it is never used or used only to call the front desk.

And the lengths to which customers (this would include me) go to avoid using the phone:

Clever guests can often find a way to circumvent such charges. Bringing a laptop to a lounge or lobby, or connecting to a wireless router from a nearby source (such as a neighboring hotel).... Although cell phone reception is often spotty in high-rise hotels, it is relatively simple to find a nearby location -- such as a pool deck or open-air patio -- with better service.

I wonder how long until a lawyer gets his client off by challenging the surcharge.

Posted Jun 19 2008, 03:07 PM by darrell with no comments

vOptimizer reduces VMs to smallest size

Just found this cool little program, vOptimizer. It compresses virtual machines to their smallest size with one click.

vOptimizer is an advanced optimization solution that quickly and easily reduces a virtual machine’s virtual hard drive to the smallest size possible while optimizing Windows guest operating systems for speed and performance. vOptimizer offers many new functions for enterprise level customers while improving the interface and ease of operation for smaller, desktop oriented users.

vOptimizer is available in Desktop Edition oriented for optimization of local VMs, and an enterprise ready Network Edition for optimization of VMs located anywhere on the network.

Posted Jun 17 2008, 12:53 PM by darrell with 1 comment(s)

The World Isn't Flat

A recent consumer research report by BBMG notes:

"While price (58% very important) and quality (66% very important) are paramount, convenience (34% very important) has been edged out by more socially relevant attributes: where a product is made (44% very important), how energy efficient it is (41% very important) and its health benefits (36% very important) are all integral to consumers’ purchasing decisions."

Where a product is made is now third on the list. Although this was written with a green perspective in mind, this is almost a nod back toward Nationalism, which was supposed to be over and done with according to The World is Flat.

Posted Jun 13 2008, 03:33 PM by darrell with no comments

Richmond .NET User Group Meeting June 5, 2008

Justin Etheridge presents Functional Programming Features in C# 3.0

Thursday 5 June 2008, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Social Time starts at 6:00!
Location: Markel Plaza
4600 Cox Road
Glen Allen, VA 23060 [map]

LTL Consulting is bringing Magianno's Little Italy and will be giving away one copy of Resharper and a $75 gas card!! Thanks LTL!

About Functional Programming Features in C# 3.0

Functional programming is a completely different paradigm in programming that focuses on functions and the results of functions rather than on variables and state. C# 3.0 has introduced a few new features that borrow from this world of functional programming and we are going to take a look at them, and show you why this new way of thinking can help improve your code.

About Justin Etheridge

Justin is a local Richmond developer who has been on the front lines for over 8 years. He is currently a consultant for CarMax working with their web team. In a previous life he was a Delphi developer who is now happy to be working with C#. He also operates a blog at www.codethinked.com where he pretends to share useful information.

Posted Jun 05 2008, 04:05 PM by darrell with no comments

Posted Jun 03 2008, 05:35 PM by darrell with no comments

Managerial Things Not to Do

Apparently GE is considering selling its century-old appliances business.

General Electric CO said on Friday it may sell or spin off its century-old appliances unit in a bid to lower its exposure to the slumping U.S. housing market.

Let me get this straight. Right now the housing market in the U.S. is in a slump. So they are going to try to unload a business that is directly affected by this slump at the bottom of the market.

I always thought you were supposed to buy low and sell high, but I guess that's why I'm not in executive management. And these corporate executives get paid a lot more than you do. I guess all that money pushes out the common sense.