Bloggingham

Generate repeating strings with LINQ

2011-11-22T16:49:00.001-05:00

I ran across a helpful snipped for generating repeating strings with linq today. I needed to do something similar to the following (in python):

>>> 'chris' * 5
'chrischrischrischrischris'

a comment on Igor Ostrovsky's blog provided the answer

string.Join(string.Empty, Enumerable.Repeat("chris", 5).ToArray());

Enumerable.Repeat() to the rescue!

Halloween 2009

2010-01-02T11:35:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures that I have been meaning to upload from Austin's Lego Halloween costume. I put it together using the box from a case of Diet Pepsi, some pegs I cut out of a ceiling tile (because it was relatively soft and cheap), and some spray paint. I used a jigsaw to cut the ceiling tile and reinforced the box using some glue and extra cardboard before I sanded and painted it. Austin wasn't as crazy about it as I was until the candy started flowing :)

List Excel Table Names (Sheet Names) with Iron Python

2009-07-18T12:47:00.000-04:00

I thought I would share another Iron Python snippet I hacked together a few weeks ago. The PrintTables method accepts a OleDbConnection to the spreadsheet and returns a list of Excel Table (Sheet) names. You are going to have to add something resembling the following:

from System.Data.OleDb import OleDbConnection, OleDbDataAdapter, OleDbCommand, OleDbSchemaGuid

somewhere.

def PrintTables(connection):
 names = []
 schemaTable = connection.GetOleDbSchemaTable(OleDbSchemaGuid.Tables,Array[object]([None, None, None, "TABLE"]))
 
 if (schemaTable and schemaTable.Columns.Count > 0):
  nameIndex = schemaTable.Columns.IndexOf("TABLE_NAME")
 
  for dr in schemaTable.Rows:
   names.append(dr.ItemArray[nameIndex])
 return names

Validating Infopath 2003 DataConnections with IronPython

2009-04-09T17:13:00.000-04:00

I have been using IronPython lately to write utility applications- Taking a break from C# to hack away in IronPython is great. Below is a snippet from a utility that I threw together to validate infopath 2003 dataconnections. Using mostly the clr System.Net and System.Xml libraries, I retreived the dataconnection webservice calls from my manifest.xsf file using the following xpath- "/xsf:xDocumentClass/xsf:dataObjects/xsf:dataObject/xsf:query/xsf:webServiceAdapter". I then passed the schema and serviceUrl xml attributes to the PrintStatus method, and ended up with output resembling:

OrderService -> amazon.com... OK

This utility is also handy to quickly verify that all your dataconnection hostnames are pointing to the correct environment- development, production or whatever.
Update: code modified to fixed a incorrect exception handling statement and also to change the "getstatus" method- it now returns a string instead of printing in order to simplify unit testing.

def QueryDataObjectUrl(url):
 request = HttpWebRequest.Create(url)
 request.Credentials = CredentialCache.DefaultCredentials
 try:
  response = request.GetResponse()
  if(response):
   statusCode = response.StatusCode
   statusDescription = response.StatusDescription
   response.Close()
 except WebException, ex:
  statusCode = ex.Response.StatusCode
  statusDescription = ex.Message
 
 return statusCode, statusDescription
 
def GetStatusString(name, urlString):
 try:
  url = Uri(urlString)
  statusCode, statusDescription = QueryDataObjectUrl(url)
  if(statusCode == HttpStatusCode.OK):
   return "%s -> %s ...%s" % \
    (name, url.Host, statusDescription)
  else:
   return "%s -> %s ...%s" % \
    (name, urlString, statusDescription)
 except UriFormatException, ex:
  return "%s -> %s ...%s" % \
    (name, urlString, ex.Message)

New Google Gadget Submission

2009-01-12T22:00:00.000-05:00

I submitted a new gadget to google this evening that can be used to encode and decode URL querystrings. I took the javascript off of the Albion Research Ltd. website, which hosts one of the most useful pages on the Internet. I made a few minor updates including removing the form tags, substituting Google's _gel api shortcut in a few spots, and adding in a missing end "</TR>" tag. You can use the button below to add the gadget directly to your iGoogle homepage.

What was my motivation for doing this? To quickly encode and decode sharepoint list guid querystrings of course (without wasting anymore A.R. bandwidth)!

Error 0x80004005 while deleting a list field

2008-11-12T17:40:00.000-05:00

A quick Sharepoint tip: While calling the UpdateList method of the Lists.asmx web service, you may receive a "Operation Failed" message while attempting to delete a field (with an error code of 0x80004005). One potential cause of this generic error message is that you are trying to delete a read-only field.

The work around for this problem is to simply update the field's ReadOnly property with a value of False using the same method before again calling UpdateList to delete the field.

Update: Another note- you can use the configuration page (http://site/_layouts/FldEdit.aspx?List=<listguid>&Field=<fieldname>) to quickly diagnose any delete field problems you are having as it seems to do a much better job of relaying descriptive error messages than the UpdateList web service does. Even though hidden and read-only fields may not be available through the sharepoint GUI, you can still access them by simply formatting the FldEdit.aspx page querystring as above.

Programatically Connecting Sharepoint Smart Parts

2008-09-11T16:19:00.000-04:00

I recently ran into a (admittedly esoteric) scenario where it made sense to programmatically connect Smart Parts that implemented the SmartPart.IConnectionConsumerControl interface. So, in order to wire up my Smart Parts (in a manner similar to what is described here) , I needed to do a quick search through the Smart Part source on Codeplex in order to identify the following SmartPart.IConnectionConsumerControl connection point IDs of "CellConsumer_WPQ_" and "CellProvider_WPQ_".

Then all that remained was to add code similar to the following to the FeatureActivated Event of my SPFeatureReceiver:


SPLimitedWebPartManager wpm = spFile.GetLimitedWebPartManager(PersonalizationScope.Shared);
WebPart WP1 = wpm.WebParts["WP1"] as WebPart;
WebPart WP2 = wpm.WebParts["WP2"] as WebPart;

if (WP1 != null && WP2 != null)
{
if ((WP1.ConnectionID.CompareTo(Guid.Empty) == 0)
  WP1.ConnectionID = Guid.NewGuid();

if ((WP2.ConnectionID.CompareTo(Guid.Empty) == 0)
  WP2.ConnectionID = Guid.NewGuid();

WP1.Connections = GetWSSConnectionsString(
  WP2.ConnectionID,
  WP1.ConnectionID);

wpm.SaveChanges(WP2);
wpm.SaveChanges(WP1);
}

private string GetWSSConnectionsString(Guid ProviderID, Guid ConsumerID)
{
string ConsumerInterfaceName = "CellConsumer_WPQ_";
string ProviderInterfaceName = "CellProvider_WPQ_";

return string.Format("{0},{1},{2},{3},{2},{3}",
  ConsumerID,
  ProviderID,
  ConsumerInterfaceName,
  ProviderInterfaceName);
}

Handy Visual Studio Customization

2008-01-23T11:41:00.000-05:00

Someone reminded me today about this neat Visual Studio customization. It really comes in handy for deploying items developed for Sharepoint. Anyways- the tip was related to getting the public key blob for any assembly. It basically involves adding sn.exe as the command for an external tool that points to your target assembly by using the following argument: -Tp $(TargetPath). This is 100% better that the way I used to do it using the Microsoft.NET Framework Configuration tool. Check it out!

Installfest and my favorite .Net 3.5/Visual Studio 2008 feature(s)

2007-12-14T16:33:00.001-05:00

While I am a little disappointed our local user group (MADNUG) wasn't selected as one of the hosts of the Visual Studio 2008 InstallFests, Microsoft has proved, yet again, that its developer community involvement is head and shoulders above anyone else's. The Indianapolis event sounded very cool, providing free VS Pro copies and hosting mini demos of favorite features.

So, because I was unable to attend the event, I am going to blog about my 2 favorite VS2008 features in a shameless attempt to win a free MS ZUNE(thanks Dave) . My favorite features aren't the most sexy ones out there, but they are practical.

My favorite features are the JavaScript intellisense and the .Net framework multitargeting. The J.I. is a favorite simply because everyone that does web development has to occasionally do some JS work. Multitargeting also sounds very cool because I want to immediately start using the new IDE instead of switching between 2005 and 2008 during our gradual app. migration process.

Open Remedy User Client via Hyperlink

2007-12-14T14:19:00.000-05:00

Here is a snippet of code I wrote to to allow embedding of Remedy client shortcuts on a web page. To use this application to open a specific ticket, you simply format the link in your datagrid, report, etc as follows: http://[application path].aspx?eid=[request id]&form=[remedy form]&server=[remedy server] . This method is preferable to simply linking to the Remedy web UI because the Remedy client doesn't require you to log in as it caches your authentication information. I whipped this up after downloading and checking out the composition of the Remedy shortcuts that we receive as email attachments.


string strTicketID = Request.QueryString["eid"];
string strFormID = Request.QueryString["form"];
string strServer = Request.QueryString["server"];
if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(strTicketID) && !string.IsNullOrEmpty(strFormID) && !string.IsNullOrEmpty(strServer))
{
  Response.ClearHeaders();
  Response.ClearContent();
  Response.ContentType = "application/octet-stream; name=ARNotification.ARTask";
  Response.ContentEncoding = System.Text.Encoding.ASCII;
  Response.AppendHeader("Content-ID", "ARNotification.ARTask");
  Response.AppendHeader("Content-Disposition", "attachment; filename=ARNotification.ARTask");

  StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
  sb.AppendLine("[Shortcut]");
  sb.AppendFormat("Name = {0}", strFormID);
  sb.AppendLine();
  sb.AppendLine("Type = 0");  
  sb.AppendFormat("Server = {0}", strServer);
  sb.AppendFormat("Ticket = {0}", strTicketID);
  sb.AppendLine();
  Response.Write(sb.ToString());
  Response.Flush();
  Response.Close();
}

Cool C# keyword 'yield'

2007-10-11T17:41:00.000-04:00

I like using C# language features you don't usually run across- just because it makes life (mine?) more interesting.

Jean-Paul S. Boodhoo's Blog has a post up on using the 'yield' keyword to instead of creating temporary lists. Very cool- that is the first I have seen of it.

I am really impressed with Microsoft's latest... wait, is that red lights I see?

2007-10-11T16:53:00.000-04:00

DOH! I wanted to put up a post on how I am really starting to appreciate Microsoft's consumer electronics efforts. I love Halo3, the new Zunes look so very cool, and the XNA framework presentations I have attended make me want to take up console development. I even got feedback from the XBOX Live team on a new feature request I submitted... But a few days ago my 360 died again! To be more specific, this is going to be the third time my console is going in for repair. The current red-ring of death wasn't caused by something dramatic like a 12 hour H3 multiplayer marathon, I was simply attempting to play a DVD after it had been sitting idle all day.

I will be sticking by the platform- I just have too much fun with my friends to abandon it. The silver lining out of all this that the repair will again be free of charge, thanks to the fact that MS has admirably owned up to the fact that the console is failure prone.

Programatically Finding Error Web Parts on a Web Part Page

2007-07-12T15:39:00.000-04:00

So, after your Sharepoint V2 to V3 migration your site collection is full of ErrorWebParts? Here is some XPATH that you can use when iterating through your site (while calling sharepoint web services) in order to find the the ErrorWebPart identifiers:

XmlDocument doc = new XmlDocument();
doc.LoadXml(nd.OuterXml); //GetWebPartProperties2 result set

XmlNamespaceManager nsmgr = new XmlNamespaceManager(doc.NameTable);
nsmgr.AddNamespace("wpp", "http://microsoft.com/sharepoint/webpartpages");
nsmgr.AddNamespace("wp", "http://schemas.microsoft.com/WebPart/v3");
                
XmlNode ndEmptyPartID = doc.SelectSingleNode(
 "/wpp:WebParts/wpp:WebPart[" + 
 "wp:webPart/wp:metaData/wp:type/@name='" + 
 "Microsoft.SharePoint.WebPartPages.ErrorWebPart, Microsoft.SharePoint, Version=12.0.0.0," +
 "Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=71e9bce111e9429c" +
 "']/@ID",
 nsmgr);
Guid WebPartID;
if (ndEmptyPartID != null)
{
  WebPartID = new Guid(ndEmptyPartID.Value);
}

Finding sharepoint fields using javascript

2007-07-12T14:43:00.000-04:00

[Update: Removed custom javascript] I am clearing the contents of this post, as it still attracts a fair amount of traffic and I don't consider it to be a best practice anymore. I recommend you use a common library such as jQuery to do any sort of javascript sharepoint field manipulation. Examples of using jQuery with sharepoint can be found at Jan Tielen's site, and there is also a jQuery/Sharepoint field manipulation feature available on Codeplex.

Enabling Assigned To emails in WSS v3 list definitions

2007-06-19T11:31:00.000-04:00

While investigating how to enable AssignTo emails in a v3 list definition, one of my co-workers (Hello Mike Brown!) ran across the following list element attribute by exporting a list (to an stp file)
EmailAssignTo="TRUE"
this is a non-documented attribute, so use it at your own risk :)

Sharepoint Feedburner Aggregations

2007-03-08T10:14:00.000-05:00

I don't want my posts to turn into lists of links, but today I'll make an exception. The Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies Team Blog Has a list of feedburner aggregations of various sharepoint blogs-

SharePoint MS team blogs aggregated feed

SharePoint MS individual blogs aggregated feed

SharePoint MVP blogs (English) aggregated feed

I'm subscribed! Hit the link for details.

Generating Infopath Taskpane Help

2007-03-06T09:07:00.000-05:00

Using a nice technique outlined on InfoPath Dev, I have been extensively using the infopath task pane to display context-aware form field help information. After deciding that manually generating help xml for my next form would be a big chore, I decided to develop a console app to extract all of the Leaf nodes of a form template and put them into a "InfopathDev" friendly xml file format.

Here is the relevent code to get you started:


public void WriteHelpText(System.IO.Stream outStream, string strTemplateFile)
{
    XmlDocument doc = new XmlDocument();
    try
    {
        doc.Load(strTemplateFile);
    }
    catch (System.IO.IOException ex)
    {
        throw new Exception("error reading file:" + strTemplateFile, ex);
    }
    XmlNodeList ndList = doc.SelectNodes("descendant::*[not(child::*)]");

    XmlTextWriter writer = new XmlTextWriter(
    outStream, System.Text.Encoding.UTF8);
    writer.Formatting = Formatting.Indented;
    writer.Indentation = 5;

    writer.WriteStartDocument(false);

    writer.WriteStartElement("Help");

    foreach (XmlNode nd in ndList)
    {
        writer.WriteStartElement("Field");

        //generate xpath attribute
        StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder(nd.LocalName);

        //walk node path back to document source
        XmlNode parentNode = nd.ParentNode;

        do
        {
            sb.Insert(0, parentNode.LocalName + "/");
            parentNode = parentNode.ParentNode;
        } while (parentNode != (XmlNode)doc);

        writer.WriteAttributeString("xpath", sb.ToString());
        writer.WriteRaw(strDefaultHelpText);

        writer.WriteEndElement();//end Field Element
    }

    writer.WriteEndElement();//end Help Element
    writer.WriteEndDocument();//end document
    writer.Flush();
}

Buried Sharepoint V3 Feature

2007-02-21T12:40:00.000-05:00

A little known neat SharePoint feature (at least it was to me :)

If you create a view that is filtered to a specific column, an rss feed will be created for that specific filtered view-

To find the address to the feed for a specific view, open up the settings page for that view and copy the link that the rss icon is pointing to. One surprising thing is that wss doesn't provide a "live bookmark" that would enable you to autodiscover the feed for each view. Only a single default feed is provided. You probably will want to provide a link somewhere if you want your users to take advantage of these "hidden" filtered feeds.

Because I need a new cell phone plan, and work can get annoying sometimes

2006-09-13T11:02:00.000-04:00

From Gaping Void

Life Update

2006-08-04T17:50:00.000-04:00

Where to begin- I recently have launched a website devoted to all things IT related in Michiana. I am going to try to keep up with local events and grow a user community on my new site, michianaITprofessionals.com, while still trying to keep personal and .Net development posts on this site (for now).

Also, I have a functioning XBOX360 again. Not my original box, because Microsoft is still sending replacement boxes in order to minimize your repair wait. After I finally got around to sending it in, I received a new XBOX360 in just a few days. I also am using my XBOX as a Windows Vista Media Center Extender, albeit in a limited manner as I don't have a TV tuner for my desktop running the Vista Beta OS. While I find the interface very impressive, the media center experience moves at a crawl. It sure is nice to be playing COD2 and GRAW again though :)

Chris

Vonage USB stick: V-Phone

2006-06-28T09:55:00.000-04:00

Of interest to Vonage customers like myself, TechEffect Notes:

[Vonage's chairman and chief strategist Jeffrey Citron provides] the first look at the V-Phone, a USB device which carries Vonage software and enables users to make calls from any broadband-connected computer using nothing more than the keychain pictured above. Citron said Vonage would unveil the V-Phone this week.

Let's just keep our fingers crossed that the adapter doesn't require a separate account, unlike other wireless Vonage options.

via [engadget]

Sadly, disappointment

2006-06-24T13:07:00.001-04:00

As much of a fan as I am of the XBOX360, I am going to have to send in my console for repair again, and I am disappointed with the way support has handled my console problems. My console is freezing after playing 5 minutes of any game, displaying vertical white lines. Support is insisting I pay to have the console repaired, even though this appears to be a common problem and it is the second time in a year that my console has needed repair. So, to let MS know I am disgruntled, I have sent in the following email to the gamerscore blog, which was the only contact alternative I could find. I am not expecting anything to come of it, but here is the message I sent:

Good morning. I am not sure if this is the best place to send you a concern I have with xbox 360 console support, but it was pretty much the only contact alternative I could find. I am going to have to send my console in for the second time, this time because of not being able to play any of the games I have bought. My console freezes and vertical white lines appear on my tv after 5 minutes of playing any game. Support insisted I pay for this repair- Yet I have already invested almost $700 dollars into my console (purchasing a HD, extra wireless controller, mem card, remote, games, vga cord, etc) and now am on my second repair for what seems to be a widespread problem. I want to let someone know that I am not satisfied with the way this problem has been handled, and as a software developer that uses primarily MS dev tools, I would not expect my customers to have to pay for multiple quality issues with my products in such a short period of time. Thank you for listening,
Chris

If you are experiencing a similar problem, I wish you the best of luck getting it resolved.

Share Your OPML

2006-05-08T10:11:00.000-04:00

via [Dave Winer] (who is also the site's creator)

Here is something unique that has spurred me to come out of my recent blogging seclusion. I love sharing my blog roll (OPML) with colleagues and similarly this site allows you to share your list with the world which is fantastic. It is kind of like passing yourself off as an intellectual by bragging about what books you are currently reading :)

Here is my list. Is it sad that my own blog is on there?

Neat new XBOX Live web feature: Friend Management

2006-03-28T09:41:00.001-05:00

coolio:

Just in time for the Xbox free live weekend, the ‘My Xbox’ section of Xbox .com has been upgraded. You can now send, receive, or decline a friends request…or remove a friend from your friends lists directly from Xbox.com.

via [Major Nelson]

Office SharePoint Server 2007 site rollups

2006-03-13T12:10:00.000-05:00

The Sharepoint Team Blog today introduced 2 new webparts coming to Office SharePoint Server 2007:
1. The Personal Roll-Up (for mysites)
2. The Generic Rollup (for any site)

It looks like the first web part will actually show tasks, docs, etc. that are related to you, while the second will be more of a window(page-view) into a page on a specified site (or list of sites).
Our main problem with third-party rollup webparts in WSS V2 has been performance related, I am guessing that the MS rollups won't suffer from the same issues.
via [Jan Tielen]

Indiana Telecommunications Deregulation

2006-03-02T11:25:00.000-05:00

Here is some exciting telecommunications related news for Indiana residents- Governor Mitch Daniels says he'll sign a telecommunications deregulation bill, which was approved recently by the Indiana general assembly. Hopefully this will bring our monthly telecommunications bills down, which for us includes several services- cell phones, cable internet, cable television, Vonage telephony... And I will also keep my fingers crossed that this move will prompt Verizon to bring Fios service to the area. For some strange reason, I find the prospect of having fiber optic cable shuttling data to and from my home very exciting.

via [WNDU]

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter™

2006-03-02T10:42:00.000-05:00

Wow. I am blown away. I cannot wait until March 7th. Check out this quote

You think you know, but you have no idea. That’s the first thing that came to mind after finishing up the co-op multiplayer test session of Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter. Sixteen players completing missions against stout A.I. units? That’s just plain silly- and by silly we mean flippin’ sweet. And by sweet we mean awesome.

In addition to the preview above, it's official xbox site is here.

Windows Vista Product Lineup

2006-02-28T09:00:00.000-05:00

I am probably the last blogger on the face of the earth to weigh in on this, but the new Windows Vista SKUs have been announced. There were 6 versions announced:
Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Enterprise, WV Home Basic, WV Home Premium, WV Ultimate and WV Starter.

One thing that is concerning me is how the announced SKUs will affect the availability of the next version of Windows Media Center. XP Home is what comes with most OEM PCs currently, and I imagine that Vista Home Basic will be the default OS after it is released. The current flavor of Windows XP Media Center Edition is only available through higher end OEM PCs or specialized online retailers such as PCAlcamey.com. After Vista is released, am I going to be able to buy a copy of Home Premium for my homebrew PC or to upgrade the family heirloom? Will I have to meet the Aero Glass requirements in order to run media center using Vista Premium?

This kind of burning question keeps XBOX360 owners looking to use their beautiful new consoles as media center extenders up at night. :)

[Update] I guess I need to read press releases more carefully!
Charlie Owen points out here that this quote

Windows Vista Home Basic, Home Premium, Ultimate and Business will be available as a full-packaged product at retail and on new PCs.

means that Windows Media Center is coming to a store shelf near you![/Update]

Upcoming Call of Duty 2 Update details from Infinity Ward

2006-02-27T09:17:00.000-05:00

There is a very interesting update from Infinity Ward this morning in the XBOX forums. Shame on me for thinking that this patch was looking like a lost cause and would never get done:

Dear Call of Duty Community:
As you recall, we announced plans that we were working on our second Title Update for Call of Duty 2, improving the Xbox Live multiplayer functionality. We’re happy to report that this update is currently in the final stages of testing and all is going well. In fact, we will be releasing it soon, so stay tuned. To give you a better understanding of what we have been working on, the second COD2 Title Update will have the following enhancements:
1. Player Lag has been addressed
Plus, we have added the following functionality:
2. Private Game Lobbies / Reserved Slots
3. Enabled the Live Host to set custom game options
4. Map Preferences setting
5. Post Game Lobbies (all players at end of match will return to their game lobby)
6. Enemy Player Name Notification
7. Ability for the Host to kick a player
8. In game Lobby - Game Type, Map and Host Notifications
Again, thank you for your support…and stay tuned for future updates!
- Infinity Ward

via [Major Nelson]

Retrieving the WSS Doc Lib Source using Visual Studio Tools for Office

2006-02-20T15:46:00.000-05:00

This took a little while to dig up, but here is a snippet I used to get the Document Library address that an office doc was opened from using Visual Studio Tools for Office:

//Using it to set A named range "DefaultFilePath" in excel
foreach (string str in Environment.GetCommandLineArgs())
{
if (str.Contains("defaultsavelocation"))
Globals.Sheet1.DefaultFilePath.Value = str.Substring(str.IndexOf("http"));
}

basically, the location gets stored in a command line argument when you open the file from a document library. Its value is in an unusual format, something like "defaultsavelocation=1_65=http://server/site/doclib" .

[Update] I amended this code to use str.IndexOf("http") instead of str.IndexOf("=http") + 1. It looks like the value doesn't consistently contain the defaultsavelocation string, and sometimes only has the uri itself.[/Update]

Rumor:DirecTV blade in the XBOX 360

2006-02-17T11:51:00.000-05:00

via [Engadget]

XBOX 360 Supply problems over "within four to six weeks"

2006-02-16T10:13:00.000-05:00

gamesindustry.biz reports:

Microsoft's Peter Moore has announced that Xbox 360 shortages should soon be at an end, stating: "Within the next four to six weeks, anybody will be able to walk into a store and buy an Xbox 360."

While this is good news to all the gamers that are still unable to get their hands on one, personally I am not sure that I am all that excited about having to compete with additional players attempting to get into the Xbox Live Call of Duty2 multiplayer game lobbys :)

via [Engadget]

Interesting Q&A on the next generation of MS Web Authoring and Design Tools

2006-02-16T09:20:00.000-05:00

Microsoft is introducing a new tool, Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2007, for building SharePoint applications and designing SharePoint sites. This new product, part of the full 2007 Microsoft Office lineup announced today, will join Microsoft Expression Web Designer, the next-generation tool for designing dynamic, standard-based Web sites, to deliver a complete set of tools for Web design and development.

Further mentioned is that SharePoint Designer is a tool for the infomation worker in the enterprise who designs SharePoint Web sites and workflow-enabled Sharepoint applications. Expression Web Designer, on the other hand, is a tool for professional web designers with support for integrating XML, CSS, ASP.NET 2.0, XHTML and other standard Web technologies.

This seems like a logical move as Frontpage in its current incarnation seems to have a fragmented feature set composed of one set of tools for general web development and a seperate set for managing Sharepoint which is of limited use for non-Sharepoint developers.

brrreeeport

2006-02-14T09:46:00.000-05:00

brrreeeport

Curious? check out the link above.

Creating Custom Properties in Excel linked to WSS Fields

2006-02-09T17:24:00.000-05:00

I have a requirement to import some existing form templates in excel which all need to share the same document library metadata.

For example, Let's say I have excel template A and B in Document Library C which contains the field "Status". The field "Status" has a default value of "Hello World". What I would like to have happen is that if you open a new worksheet using template A or B, one of the cells in the worksheet will have a value of "Hello World" and be linked to the WSS "Status" field.

using the following Articles:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HP051996031033.aspx, http://weblogs.asp.net/mnissen/archive/2004/09/09/227532.aspx, and http://blogs.msdn.com/cjohnson/archive/2005/06/27/432991.aspx

I have been able to add a custom property named "Status" linked to a cell, that when updated will update the "Status" metadata field in sharepoint. One important piece isn't working though- when you initially open the worksheet, the "Status" cell doesn't default to "Hello World". Does anyone have any suggestions for this problem? Is a macro or something more complicated required?

[Update #1]
Mark Muller has a great solution to a related problem I was having here, regarding having a central repository for your office document templates. I think I am getting close to a complete solution.
[Update #2]
Two alternatives I am considering are 1. creating a web part that will dynamically populate the desired cells when a document is initiated via the web part, and 2. using Visual Studio Tools for Office to populate the fields. 2 is a little more problematic as we have not officially rolled out VS2005 :)

My new favorite sharepoint blog

2006-02-02T07:54:00.000-05:00

Teun Duynstee has a great blog. He has created a Gantt Chart list view for the current version of WSS. I will have to make time to try it out today, as this could be the killer WSS application (which has also been mentioned as a feature present in WSS vNext).

XBOX360 dashboard update confirmed

2006-01-30T16:47:00.000-05:00

As announced by Xbox Live's Major Nelson and confirmed by forum posters, Microsoft has released an update for the XBOX360 dashboard. Included in the update:

* Improvements to the Xbox Guide.
* Option to retain your saved games when you delete a profile.
* Increased accuracy of "last time played."
* Network configuration improvements for Xbox Live® members in the Netherlands.
* More detailed messaging for unreadable disk or region errors.

Here is a link to the announcement on the official XBOX site.

Creating Custom Meeting Workspace Templates

2006-01-25T16:14:00.000-05:00

!!Warning, Backup all files modified in this process before attempting to add additional meeting workspaces!!

Step 1.
Create a new meeting workspace by updating The MPS ONET configuration file
The MPS ONET.xml file is located here: \\[server]\c$\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\60\TEMPLATE\1033\MPS\XML\Onet.xml
Inside of this file, copy the basic Meeting Workspace "Configuration" Element (/Project/Configurations/Configuration) and append it as a new configuration element, updating it with an unique "ID" and "Name" attribute.

The "List" child elements of your new configuration define the WSS Lists instantiated when the workspace is created, you can add new ones as required. In order to remove existing lists, you must first remove any webparts related to the lists as described below.

Step 2.
(optional)Update the web parts living in your new meeting workspace
If you would like to customize your meeting workspace web parts you will need to define a custom module for your configuration. To do this, you typically replace the name attribute of the first "Module" child element of your new configuration element with a unique name.

Then define a new module by copying the "BasicHome" Module element (\Project\Modules), pasting it as a new module, and then updating it to use the name you defined in your custom configuration element above. Then, modify or add webparts as needed (which are typically defined using "View" child elements, whose "List" attributes match the base types of the lists defined in your configuration element. You are limited to one view per base type on a file).

Step 3.
Add an entry to the original WEBTEMP configuration file
(\\[server]\c$\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\60\TEMPLATE\1033\XML\WEBTEMP.XML)
for your new configuration element by copying an existing meeting workspace element. Be sure to then update the new entry with an "ID" and "Name" corresponding to your configuration element in the ONET.xml file.

Extra Credit
Add a custom list to your Meeting Workspace Definition
Copy one of the list templates located here: \\[server]\c$\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\60\TEMPLATE\1033\STS\LISTS\ and paste and rename it as a new template. Add custom fields, groupings, etc. as needed. Add a new child "ListTemplate" element to the \Project\ListTemplates element with a "Path" attribute of STS, a new ID, and the same name as your new list template folder. You can then add this new List basetype to any meeting workspace configuration element.

Extra Extra Credit
Updating the Meeting Workspace Web Part Page
Do you need to move web part zones around in your custom template or want to perform some other aspx related modification? Then you will need a new default Workspace Home Page for your template, in order to avoid modifying the appearance of all MPS dependant templates.
copy default.aspx and paste it using a new filename, for example test.aspx. Modify your test.aspx file to taste. Change the Url attribute of your \Project\Modules\Module\File element to read "test.aspx". Add a NavBarHome attribute with the value of "TRUE" (which will point your home link to test.aspx). In your custom configuration element, add a new child element called executeurl. () The execute element will redirect visitors to the correct default page once their site has been created. After all that, you are on your own!

(A big thank you goes out to Mike Brown, for walking me through creating a custom meeting workspace. He doesn't get the blame for the messy extra credit steps though, those were hacked together by yours truly)

Another WSS based blogging tool

2006-01-25T09:55:00.000-05:00

This looks really nice. As soon as I pony up the cash for hosting services, I would like to move my blog to Windows Sharepoint Services based management software. Nice work Steen!

Free Texas Hold ‘Em Poker for the XBOX360

2006-01-23T12:52:00.000-05:00

Engadget has an interview up with Peter Moore this afternoon, corporate vice president of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business in the Entertainment and Devices Division (he must have a heckofa business card). Peter is quoted as saying that a free(sponsored) version of Texas Hold 'EM Poker will be avalible via the XBOX Live Arcade.

Xbox Live Arcade, which we originally thought was for my mom or for my sister, people who don’t play games, well, the hard core of the hardcore are saying “This is addictive stuff.” And I announced Street Fighter II and Texas Hold ‘Em Poker. It’s sponsored, by the way, so you won’t have to pay for it. 20 games will be available, so Arcade is going to be something. I’d sort of like it to be an indie films-type thing for smaller publishers who’ve got great IP, Geometry Wars is a great example.

I am probably the last person to know about this, but it is some fun news nonetheless.

Professional development program "Do You Have the Stuff to be a Leader?"

2006-01-23T09:16:00.000-05:00

The Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County, which has a neat program called the "Young Professionals Network"(YPN), has an event coming up this Friday called "Do You Have the Stuff to be a Leader?".

The professional development program "Do You Have the Stuff to be a Leader?" is geared toward young professionals ages 21-39 and will focus on the enterprise leadership attributes you need to succeed. Learn what top executives expect from you. You are the future of our community. Gain real-world insight during an informal discussion learning about strategic vision, communication and results. The attached flier provides more details. I hope you'll be able to make this complimentary event as I've been part of the preliminary discussions so far and I'm truly fired up about what will be discussed. Feel free to pass this info along to your colleagues, friends and others you know who would be interested.

To register, call The Chamber at 574.234.0051 ext. 301, email events@sjchamber.org, or go to www.sjchamber.org. Deadline to register in advance is 1 p.m. January 24. See you there!

via Shari Carroll, The Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County

Make yourself heard! Ask for an MCE upgrade

2006-01-13T10:43:00.000-05:00

Charlie Owen has been soliciting comments in favor of offering a Windows XP upgrade to Windows Media Center. Want to stream videos from your Windows XP computer to the 360? Then sign up here!

Charlie also has a great resource here for going the re-format/install from OEM disk route.

Call of Duty 2 XBOX Live update?

2006-01-09T11:55:00.000-05:00

Raise your hand if you have experienced crippling lag while playing Call of Duty 2® through XBOX Live. There is an interesting post stickied to the top of the COD2 XBOX forum from Infinity Ward

Infinity Ward is aware that some players have experienced challenges with lag issues and we are currently working with Microsoft to create an update that will resolve it. We’re tuning and testing possible solutions, so it’s too early to provide specifics. We are aware of the issues at hand and we will keep you posted as soon as we are able to confirm details surrounding an update. Thank You!
Sincerely,
Infinity Ward

From what I have read, the current matchmaking system in COD2 simply chooses the first person to join a game lobby as the "host", regardless of the comparative network latency times for that player. This system works very poorly at times, especially when compared to the similar 360 title Perfect Dark Zero®. I have played both games extensively online, and the seemingly zero lag time and additional features of Perfect Dark Zero provide a much richer XBOX Live gaming experience. We will have to wait and see what solution IW will provide for the current lag problem, which is one of the biggest reasons COD2 only rates a "good" grade, even though its superior single player gameplay teases you with what could have been.

Want better WSS discussions?

2006-01-09T09:27:00.000-05:00

Bil Simser is working on a very interesting web part that adds more capable discussion capabilities to Windows Sharepoint Services. As a certified forum addict, I can't wait to start using WSS forum software that more resembles the bulletin board software we know and love.

The Magic of the Green Button

2006-01-05T11:24:00.000-05:00

I have to be at the CES next year. A lot of interesting stuff came out of Bill Gate's keynote including:

Microsoft announced a broad agreement with DIRECTV Inc. that will open up new ways for consumers to enjoy their digital media in the networked home and on portable devices. Microsoft and DIRECTV will work together to enable digital content to flow between Windows-based PCs, DIRECTV devices, PlaysForSure-based portable media devices and Xbox 360

also the announcement that a HD-DVD drive will soon be available for the XBOX 360, and much more.

Coupled with the last nights suggestion by ABC to watch highlights from the NC game via iTunes, is there any doubt that this is a revolutionary time for the television and entertainment industry as a whole?

Check out the linked Vista extender functionality, and also visit Gizmodo and Engadget for expanded coverage.

Also, Major Nelson has recorded audio of the event here

Subfolders are bad!

2006-01-05T09:43:00.000-05:00

Since this post is driving so much traffic here is an updated MS Guideline for WSS V3/MOSS: WSSv3 - Guidelines for acceptable performance

Found this summary on using Document Library Subfolders on Mark Muller's blog yesterday.

This problem hits close to home- On one occasion I noticed that a Sharepoint "Web Designer" had used explorer view to drag an entire folder structure into a document library, which made me cringe. Moving a document repository off the file system and into sharepoint should be viewed as an opportunity to add meta-data and clean up an old mess, not just an opportunity to just dump it on the web.

In addition, Mark Harrison pointed out that Sharepoint Services Administration guide mentions this limitation:

The interfaces for enumerating documents in a folder do not perform well beyond a thousand entries

as part of the guidelines for designing a server that has good overall performance.

Telerik Developers are Blogging

2006-01-05T09:31:00.000-05:00

Telerik offers a bunch of great products, including free tools for Microsoft Content Management Server. Check out their blog, I just subscribed.

via Angus Logan

XBOX360 stolen from vehicle

2005-12-20T11:22:00.000-05:00

Ouch, sounds like you might want to be on the lookout for tails after pulling out of the Best Buy parking lot.

After waiting in line for 16 hours, [John] Doty paid $400 for the game system as a Christmas present for his fiancé.
Headed home Sunday morning, he stopped at a southside restaurant for something to eat.
Doty says, "I locked my doors and I went inside to grab a couple things. I was only in there probably about two minutes."
When he returned, the Xbox was gone.

According to the coppers:

Cpl. Aaron Cassel with South Bend Police says, "The Xbox 360 is very hot right now and everybody wants one and they're very expensive on E-bay and things like that. So, yeah people may be watching. There are people that watch the parking lots of different stores."

Extracting pending list items from a WSS list with moderation enabled

2005-12-16T17:24:00.000-05:00

Having trouble extracting pending list items from a Windows Sharepoint Services list with moderation enabled?
Here is a sample for your coding pleasure.

First, you need to add a web reference to the sites lists.asmx and views.asmx web services. Then, grab a reference to your "Approve/Reject" view:

wsViews.Views viewsService = new LocalNamespace.wsViews.Views();
viewsService.Credentials = this.adminCredential;
viewsService.Url = "Your site URI" + "_vti_bin/views.asmx";
viewsService.PreAuthenticate = true;

XmlDocument doc = new XmlDocument();
doc.LoadXml(viewsService.GetViewCollection("Your List GUID Goes Here").OuterXml);

//configure a namespace manager in order to do some xpath navigation
XmlNamespaceManager xnmMan =
new XmlNamespaceManager(doc.NameTable);
xnmMan.AddNamespace(
"wss",
"http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/soap/");

XmlNode approveView = doc.SelectSingleNode(
"wss:Views/wss:View[@DisplayName='Approve/reject Items']",
xnmMan);

Then, query your site using the lists service and the approveView ID:

wsLists.Lists listsService = new LocalNamespace.wsLists.Lists();
listsService.Credentials = adminCredential;
listsService.Url = "Your site URI" + "_vti_bin/lists.asmx";
listsService.PreAuthenticate = true;

XmlNode ndModerationQuery = doc.CreateNode(
XmlNodeType.Element,
"Query",
string.Empty);

//valid modstat values are Approved, Pending, and Rejected
string strQueryString =
@"<Where><Eq><FieldRef Name=""_ModerationStatus"" /><Value Type=""ModStat"">Pending</Value></Eq></Where>";

ndModerationQuery.InnerXml = strQueryString;
doc.LoadXml(listsService.GetListItems(
"Your List GUID Goes Here",
approveView.Attributes["Name"].Value,
ndModerationQuery,
null,
null,
null).OuterXml);

Now have at your pending and rejected list items! Via me.

feed for XBOX live marketplace

2005-12-16T17:18:00.000-05:00

Trying to keep up with all the recent additions to the XBOX live marketplace (including the newest addition Robotron)?

Xbox Live's Major Nelson has an unofficial blog for new marketplace content here.

Enjoy!

Content Editor Web Part and Javascript

2005-12-07T11:07:00.000-05:00

Bil Simser, a Sharepoint MVP, has a posting up regarding using Javascript with the Content Editor Web Part to create a "real time" clock. Nothing beats instructions as simple as these:

1. Obtain source code for a simple JavaScript clock. You can copy the source from above or generate your own from http://www.maxxblade.co.uk/clock
2. Add a Content Editor Web Part to a Web Part Page in your site or portal
3. Paste in the JavaScript for your clock
4. Enjoy!

This simple function demonstrates an interesting use of the content editor web part I had not considered. Good Stuff.

Ouch, how about accidentally selling an XBOX 360 for $80

2005-12-07T10:26:00.000-05:00

Due to restrictions on ticket sales in KY, an Ebay bidder ended up selling an XBOX 360 along with tickets to a UK/UL basketball game for $80. Somebody out there got a heck of a deal-

Merry Christmas

The Packet Switched Press

2005-12-01T13:00:00.000-05:00

A blog called the "Packet Switched Press" has 2 very good XBOX 360 articles up. "7 Days of Xbox 360: Impressions, predictions, and why Gotham TV may be the most important thing we've seen"- which is a very interesting take on how the 360 compares to other major breakthroughs in gaming history, and a "REVIEW: XBOX 360, media-centric features" which is pretty self-explanatory.

Good stuff.

Xbox 360 Windows Media Center Setup Guide

2005-12-01T12:57:00.000-05:00

Linked above is an article I found in the 360 forums on configuring a MS Media Center PC to interoporate with your XBOX 360. Enjoy!

Xbox 360 replenishment

2005-12-01T09:11:00.000-05:00

WNDU in South Bend is reporting that we may see some XBOX 360 replenishment soon. If you haven't gotten your hands on one yet, keep your fingers crossed!

The Infamous XBOX 360 Rattling Noise

2005-11-23T14:19:00.000-05:00

When I get a few minutes, I will go into how I acquired my 360, but for the time being I wanted to post on the rattling noise with the 360 that frighteningly sounds like a loose component rolling around.

I first noticed this noise when I was flipping my console over in order to stick it underneath my television set. From what I have read, it supposedly is not a problem and it's related to the system's ability to correctly orientate it's status display for the plugged in controllers. I will try and update this post when additional information becomes available.

Only a few more hours to go...

2005-11-21T09:53:00.000-05:00

Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired Magazine, has some information on his experience using the XBOX 360 as a "digital home enabler" (in other words, what features are included for non-gamers or "wives" as I call them).

Also included in his post is a link to additional information on the impressive visualizations you can use on the 360 while enjoying music stored on other computers in your home.

Do you think this is going to allow MS to increase the current household penetration percentage of 42% for video game systems? (courtesy of the Consumer Electronics Association, via Marshall Brain)

MS Chicago Launch Event

2005-11-19T15:22:00.000-05:00

I attended the recent MS Chicago Launch Event for Visual Studio and SQL Server 2005. A good time was had by all.

Some highlights from the developer sessions:
* Team Foundation Server looked incredible. TFS integrates project mgmt. and collaboration into VS using WSS, and also provides very interesting source control integration. This is really going to change the way the masses develop software.
* Shared Code Snippets. An neat way to share code with your team and the public (it sure beats email :)
* Of course master pages and the new login controls along with navigation providers looked good.
* A nice feature that I am sure was included due to developer feedback was better connection string management through the web.config
* You can now drag and drop controls into the code view
* The ability to publish applications to remote servers will be a nice feature for those of us responsible for promoting apps. from dev. to QAS etc.
* Much more...

We also picked up some free software which was much appreciated. The only downer was the giveaways- A few "old" Xbox’s were given away, and there wasn't even so much as a 360 demo. Not that I was selected for any of the drawings anyways :)

XBOX 360 as a content provider

2005-11-18T13:18:00.000-05:00

Is the XBOX 360 positioned to become a one of the most numerous content delivery clients? I have seen mention recently that in addition to games, movies and music are going to be avalible through XBOX Live Marketplace (video playback information can be found here). IMO, this could blow something like iTunes out of the water due to the huge gaming consumer base.

If it is indeed the case that movies are avalible through XBOX live, Microsoft would suddenly become the largest movies on demand provider in the country. The only constraint on the 360 would be its hard drive capacity- the premium systems currently include a paltry 20GB hard drive. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.

Click here for an announcement that contains some of the content that will be avalible on November 22nd.

New info on the next version of MCMS

2005-11-18T11:07:00.000-05:00

For whatever reason, previous information leaked on MCMS vNext didn't sound all that appealing to me. I envisioned something like the way areas and site mapping is structured now in Sharepoint. But this latest info from Arpan Shah sounds awesome.

Web content will be stored in a SharePoint list. So this will be accessible via web service just like list data is accessible today. Not all your custom ASP.NET application will be stored in WSS... but items like Master Pages and Page Layouts (the analogy to CMS Templates) will be stored in SharePoint galleries allowing you to apply workflow to them, for example.

Also

Enhancements in WCM functionality in Office "12" include (just to name a few):
- Richer Web Authoring
- better site deployment tools
- Flexible Rich Client Authoring
- Integrated Search
- Template Authoring in FrontPage
- Workflow templates
- Web Part architecture and support for Master Pages
- Complete API :-) (specifically targetted to folks wanting to access security groups today)
- Web based site management tools
- Multi-lingual publishing capabilities

As buggy as we have sometimes found the current Sharepoint API to be, the current MCMS API (PAPI) is much, much worse. Not exactly as buggy, just very lacking in features. I loved the information presented during the Chicago Launch Event, and I can't wait to apply it to the next version of MCMS. My job satisfaction level will double :)

Circuit City 360 update

2005-11-15T09:01:00.000-05:00

Mike Brown received the following response to his query regarding the Fri. avaliblity of the XBOX 360. Apparently it will only be avalible online on Tues.

I understand your concern regarding the availability of the Xbox 360.

The Xbox 360 would be available online on 11/18/2005. Web-only packages will not available for pre-order or in-store pickup. We are receiving shipments on a regular basis and your order will be shipped as soon as we receive it from the manufacturer. What we suggest is that you visit our web site regularly for frequent updates. The physical stores are set to release the Xbox 360 on 11/22/2005. For further information regarding the store availability, please visit the local Circuit City
stores. To find location and contact information for Circuit City stores in your community, simply follow these steps:

1. Visit www.circuitcity.com
2. Select "Store Locator" at the top of the home page
3. Input a zip code or select a city and state
4. Click "find" or hit Enter on the keyboard

For further assistance, feel free to contact us at (800) 843-2489.

Thanks Mike!

XBOX 360 goodies

2005-11-14T09:28:00.000-05:00

Backwards compatibility information along with some launch details are out this morning. First off is this Gizmodo post, providing links to official XBOX 360 backwards compatibility info. It looks like previous titles (some) will be playable via software emulation, if you have the 360 hard-drive:
XBOX.com Q and A on Backward Compatibility
XBOX.com compatible Games Listing

Also, here is launch information from both Best Buy and Circuit City. Circuit City claims that it is going to start selling the 360 on Fri., while Best Buy has a very intricate setup planned for Mon. night:
Best Buy
Circuit City
(go to "Video Games", click on "Next Gen", then "Shop for Game Hardware")

[Edit: According to Michael Brown, the South Bend Circuit City employees were confused to say the least]

Cool Home Accessory

2005-11-08T09:54:00.000-05:00

via Gizmodo

This is an awesome techy home accessory. At $14.97, it is not a super rip off like some of those LED tiles for the kitchen or bathroom that run hundreds of dollars either.

Adding Informational Icons to WSS List Items

2005-11-07T09:14:00.000-05:00

Customized sharepoint lists typically have to employ both DHTML and Javascript woven throughout the list schema and its related aspx files (i.e. EditForm.aspx, NewForm.aspx, etc.) in order to display specialized list item information (such as workflow status). These customizations are difficult to maintain and may require extensive modifications when upgrading to future versions of Windows Sharepoint Services.

One strategy I have successfully employed to circumvent these problems is to use a technique I call image referencing. This technique requires little or no Sharepoint template modifications, and zero aspx file modifications. The basic idea behind image referencing is that you pass an identifier (via the query string) to a remote application in order to dynamically generate an image that represents something meaningful to the user.

In order to display the list item icon inside of Sharepoint, you can either modify the list through the list schema or via MS Frontpage. To add the icon to the list schema([Server]\c$\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\60\TEMPLATE\1033\[site definition]\[list definition]\schema.xml file), you will need to add a computed field that points to the imaging application. This computed field will need to reference a unique identifier for the list item, such as its FileRef or ID (for example ) and also an identifier for the library in order to uniquely identify the list (in this case we will use the list url: ). Then, all that remains is to add the image html to your custom field, and you end up with something like this:

<Field Sortable="FALSE" Filterable="FALSE" Type="Computed" Name="ItemStatus" DisplayName="Status">
<FieldRefs>
<FieldRef Name="FileRef"/>
</FieldRefs>
<DisplayPattern>
<HTML><![CDATA[<img alt="image description" align="absmiddle" src="]]></HTML>
<HttpVDir/>
<HTML><![CDATA[http://applicationserver.com/statusapp/status.aspx?FileRef=]]></HTML>
<Field Name="FileRef" URLEncode="TRUE"/>
<HTML><![CDATA[&LibRef=]]></HTML>
<ListUrlDir WebRel="TRUE" URLEncode="TRUE"/>
<HTML><![CDATA["/>]]></HTML>
</DisplayPattern>
</Field>

As you can can see the image url above contains query string parameters that provide identifying information to the image generation application. Your remote image generation application can then use this unique identifier to query a database in order to generate a meaningful icon to your users.

Windows Live beta announced

2005-11-02T09:47:00.000-05:00

In a public demonstration yesterday, Microsoft announced they were working on 2 web based products, "Windows Live" and "Office Live". I checked out the beta version of Windows Live yesterday, which is similar to a previous MS beta offering Start.com. I think "Windows Live" is the first really good implementation of a public portal I have seen. It combines simplicity and the ability to grab content from anywhere (via RSS) in a pretty package. I especially like the search input box. You don't see many textboxes with a gradient background.

Home Alone

2005-11-01T11:39:00.000-05:00

Our dog Hanna is a little more than 16 months old. Today, for the first time, I moved her cage into our guest bedroom, left the cage open, and closed the bedroom door. Hanna now has a level of freedom she has never had before. Good luck Hanna!

HDTV Defined

2005-10-28T11:03:00.000-04:00

Here is a great blog posting that contains the definitions to all the HDTV terms that you get jumbled in your head when you are browsing the HDTV selection at Sears while waiting for an oil change (or maybe it's just me).

One that always gets me. ATSC vs. NTSC tuners. I have no problem keeping them straight until I am comparing (drooling) over the differences between a Sharp Aquos and a Sony Wega.

Hello Mark!

2005-10-28T10:46:00.000-04:00

I am a fan of IceRocket.com and also of your (Mark Cuban's) blog. I noticed in a recent posting of yours that you track the "Dallas Mavericks" topic using Icerocket. So I thought I would blatantly include some juicy keywords in this posting to see if I could get a celebrity comment on my blog. If anything, this is a good test for Icerocket right? So if you read this Mark, feel free to leave a comment :)

2.0 Framework Release and Launch Events

2005-10-28T10:16:00.000-04:00

The release version of the 2.0 framework came out yesterday as well as a new SDK. Is anyone else reading this going to the Launch event for SQLServer, VS, and Biztalk in Chicago on Nov. 10th? I got my ticket a week or so ago, I am really looking forward to going (also supposedly there are going to be some good giveaways :) See you there!

Certifiable!

2005-10-27T15:44:00.000-04:00

Finally. I just passed exam 70-320 and earned my first Microsoft Certification. I am now a Microsoft Certified Application Developer. Of course I wasted no time updating my blog with my certification graphic. I deserve something for passing all of those tests don't I?

Programatically adding items to a wss document library

2005-10-21T14:20:00.000-04:00

I recently had a requirement to programmatically add a document to a WSS (Windows Sharepoint Services) document library. Part of the requirement was to add specific metadata to the uploaded document in order to correctly route it through a subsequent workflow process.

Thinking that using a web folder to upload the document would be the simplest approach, I began investigating doing just that. Thankfully, after running into complications, I found an alternative. The Sharepad reference application (via Mike Fitzmaurice) This reference application includes a great library for adding items via Frontpage RPCs (FPRPC), and also includes methods for setting properties on uploaded documents. Definitely check it out if you have the same requirement for something you are working on. Thanks Guys!

MCMS Site Manager and the 2.0 framework

2005-10-21T11:34:00.000-04:00

As you may have noticed after installing the .Net 2.0 framework, site manager fails to start up properly. An email from Stefan Goßner confirmed that you need to have the latest version of the J# redistributable on your machine for it to work properly.

XBOX 360 Demo in South Bend

2005-10-20T10:48:00.000-04:00

Shockingly, the first playable xbox 360 demos are going up in Walmarts of all places. I called in to check out the status of our local Walmart (off of portage), and I guess the have one in. When I talked to the guy in the electronics dept. though, he first asked if I was the MS rep. coming to set it up :)

I guess it will not be going in for a couple of days, unless I can convince them that I am the MS rep. here to set it up.

A reader in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin wrote to tell us that his local Wal-Mart has a playable Xbox 360 on display with demos of Call of Duty 2, Kameo, and King Kong.

Does your local Wal-Mart have playable Xbox 360s? To find out:
* Go to walmart.com
* Enter your zipcode in the “Store Finder” on the bottom of the left-most column
* Call the number listed, and ask to be transferred to electronics
* Ask!

New XBox 360 info

2005-09-06T18:47:00.000-04:00

Some new(neat) info I hadn't seen before:
*The console can be switched on and off wirelessly using the Media Remote control or the wireless game controller.
*Cross-platform development between Windows and Xbox is being actively pursued.
*DVDs can be played even if you don't have the remote control, unlike Xbox 1.
*DVDs will play back in progressive-scan, with the Xbox 360 up-sampling to prog-scan in the case of DVDs that don't support it.
*You will definitely need a hard disk to play Xbox 1 games.
*You can also plug in a laptop or PC (or not plug it in - if you're using wireless networking) and play content direct from that. This is through Windows Media Player Extender, the software for which is pre-installed on the Xbox 360.

via:Mark Harrison

Using Windows Connect Now To Setup A Secure Wireless Network

2005-08-11T11:23:00.000-04:00

Tim Coyle links to a neat article on securing wireless networks using Microsoft Windows Connect Now (WCN) technology.

WCN lets you transport network settings from a Windows-based PC to networked devices in your home using a USB flash drive.

The only problem is that I don't own any WCN hardware, although I would love to pick up one of Dlink's wireless network storage enclosures if they were around $200 dollars cheaper :)

Walking the dog

2005-08-11T11:08:00.000-04:00

I have a year old Rhodesian Ridgeback. She is an incredible dog, and fun to take on nightly walks. There is one problematic thing about walking her though- she loves to chomp on long grass. If I don't hurry up stop her from swallowing it, she always ends up throwing up later in the evening. Dogs don't get the whole Cause/Effect thing :)

Updating DateTime values for ListItems in Sharepoint

2005-08-08T18:28:00.000-04:00

When Using the UpdateListItems method in the WSS lists service, a little trial and error resulted in this method being the most convenient for adding Date/Time values to a list:

string strDate = DateTime.Now.ToString("s", DateTimeFormatInfo.InvariantInfo) + "Z";

From The SharePoint Products and Technologies 2003 SDK:
ISO8601 - Display date and time in ISO8601 time format converted to UTC: YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ.
Is the format used for document properties in Microsoft Office as well as for the standard interchange format used in Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services between New and Edit forms and the server.

More information on formatting a .NET date time string can be found here:

datetimeformatstrings.asp