Paul Laudeman

May 2004 - Posts

• New Smart Client Developer Center on MSDN

  Microsoft has created a new Smart Client Developer Center (RSS) on MSDN (via Chris Sells). It's a long time coming, but very welcome! Be sure to check it out to get the latest news on smart client technologies, as well as prescriptive architectural guidance for the building them. Posted May 29 2004, 06:30 AM by paul.laudeman with 2 comment(s) Filed under: Windows Forms

• Running with Non-Administrative Privileges and Launching Windows Explorer

  In the May, 2004, issue of MCP Magazine, a reader posted a question asking how to get Windows Explorer with administrator-level privileges with a regular user account. The editor replied that they were unaware of any such technique to use to get Windows Explorer to run in such a scenario, but I do have a solution, albeit a bit awkward, for anyone who may be interested. You can launch a new command shell window, specify that it launch with administrator privileges, navigate to the Internet Explorer directory under Program Files, and then launch “iexplore.exe”. Once Internet Explorer is started, you can customize your toolbar view to include the “Folders” button, and by clicking that you will transform IE into Windows Explorer shell mode, or you can enter a local drive path in the Address Bar. While this workaround is a bit awkward to execute, you can set ultimately launch Windows Explorer with administrator privileges without resorting to a third party Windows Explorer replacement, or relying exclusively on the command prompt to get you around. For more information on why you should consider developing and in general using Windows with non-administrative privileges, be sure to check out Developing Software in Visual Studio .NET with Non-Administrative Privileges on MSDN. For a more comprehensive study in developing secure software, I highly recommend Writing Secure Code, 2nd Edition, by Michael Howard. Posted May 27 2004, 08:24 PM by paul.laudeman with no comments

• Introducing Microsoft Office Information Bridge Framework

  Mark Harrison posted about the new Microsoft Office Information Bridge Framework that utilizes .NET technologies to connect Office applications with enterprise data sources. Mark posted several links to get help get you started, and I really recommend watching the video with Architect Vijay Mital for the high-level overview. If you're pressed for time, there is also some brief Flash demos to introduce the product. Finally, if you're interested in getting your hands dirty, there is a beta download available along with several other materials to get you started. Who is the target audience for IBF solutions? Microsoft is targeting the “Swivel Chair“ information worker who needs to access data from a variety of sources, who regularly use Office applications, and who need to manipulate data from multiple different sources. It is not targetd for traditional line of business data intensive entry applications. I'd like to compare it to information at your fingertips, that you can modify within your Office application, without having to go to several different systems to retrieve and manage data. The IBF is an evolutionary step in truly integrating .NET into the enterprise. Microsoft is doing a tremendous job of providing the development community with all the tools and training necessary to expand the common vision of stand-alone information applications to embedded .NET connected solutions using the familiar tools and environment of the Office System. Posted May 24 2004, 04:26 PM by paul.laudeman with 4 comment(s)

• VB At The Movies! Remaining Categories Now Live

  The remaining categories for MSDN's VB At The Movies have been added: Development Environment - learn to navigate your way around the IDE like a pro! Language and the .NET Framework - quite a collection of topics ranging from delegates and events to message queues! Web Development - learn more about the ASP.NET starter kits and other ASP.NET tips and tricks! Other categories include: Controls - get a quick overview of some of the more popular Windows Forms controls, learn validation techniques, and add Help to your application Data and XML - more great Windows Forms tutorials covering data binding and readin' and writin' in XML Deployment - Learn about your various deployment options ranging from "No-Touch" to XCopy to traditional Setup projects How-To - Want to know how to access the Registry? How about receiving notifications when files change on your hard drive? Check out this category for common development tasks and guidance. Each of of the segments are approximately 10-15 minutes in length and cover a specific topic in a video presentation demonstrating key concepts and a real-world implementation. Let's hope Microsoft decides to publish more of these videos and provide links to download the movies so we can watch them offline. Speaking of videos and Microsoft entertainment, has anyone heard about the future of VBTV? Those flicks were hilarious! Posted May 18 2004, 03:27 PM by paul.laudeman with 1 comment(s)

• VB At The Movies! New Categories Added

  If you haven't seen Microsoft's new VB At The Movies, be sure to check it out! The site features a variety of short videos covering topics such as Controls and working with Data and XML. Two new categories were just added focusing on Deployment and a variety of How-To's. In addition, if you watch five of these movies you can qualify to receive a free copy of Visual Basic .NET 2003 Standard Edition if you provide feedback on the movies. In addition, you can give JRoxe at Microsoft additional feedback and suggestions for what you'd like to see in the way of future VB training resources by adding your comments to his latest post on Looking for Training?. Check it out! Posted May 12 2004, 04:52 AM by paul.laudeman with no comments