A few days ago Peter Provost blogged about Brad Wilson's Dark Visual Studio color scheme. I decided to try it out (again) since I felt like I needed a little change in my coding environment. For my current project we are using Windows Server 2003 for our virtual machines and I'm using Hyper-V to run them. One of the things I like to do with my Hyper-V machines is RDP into them since that gives me better clipboard support and I can connect my local drives to the machine and access them easily.
The problem is that Brad's color scheme uses the Consolas font which doesn't render very nicely if you don't have clear type font smoothing. Well after a little digging around I found out that Microsoft just recently released a hotfix to enable font-smoothing in RDP on Windows Server 2003. So I gave the hotfix a try and as long as you check the "enable font-smoothing" checkbox in the RDP connection it works perfectly.
Before the hotfix:
After the hotfix:
Much better on the eyes. And I think I like the dark color scheme. I'll give it a few days and see how it goes.
Today I upgraded http://blogs.sqlxml.org to Community Server 2008. Previously it was running Community Server 2.1, so since I missed a few versions the upgrade was not quite as simple as it could have been. However, it went pretty well overall I think. Let me know if you find anything that is broken.
Right now I think the only thing that I know is broken is my Silverlight add-in, which I will fix as soon as I have some time to dig into how to upgrade that. I also haven't figure out how to get the Google ads on my personal blog. Not sure where those ads go now and the new documentation is pretty difficult to navigate.
Update: That was easy. Just fixed my Silverlight add-in by updating the referenced DLLs to the new 2008 DLLs and recompiled. Works!
On my Windows Server 2008 laptop, if I open Google Maps in the browser this is what I get:
Everything is totally scrambled. It used to work just fine in IE8, but now it is completely broken. I've tried turning Emulate IE7 on and off, clearing my browser cache, etc, but nothing seems to fix it. I guess I'll have to go download Firefox to see if that fixes it.
Peter Provost just posted on Speeding Up Vista Boot Time:
When you have a computer with a recent model CPU, chances are it's a dual-core CPU. Both Intel & AMD have been producing dual core CPU's for a few years now. By default, Windows Vista will only use a single core during boot-up. You can easily change this from the System Configuration utility:
He then goes on to show how to do this (not sure if he pulled the instructions from somewhere else since it seems to be quoted, but there is no source linked). Anyhow, you can do the same thing in Windows Server 2008 (just follow his steps).
I just tried it on my laptop and while everything still worked, I can't really say if it was actually faster.
Yesterday I rode in the 2008 Tour De Cure which was part of my 2008 goals for the year. I rode the 65 mile route in 4 hours and 20 minutes (which turned into 67 miles after I took on wrong turn). You can see the map below which I uploaded to Google maps by converting the TCX file from my Garmin 205 to KML using this handy converter.
View Larger Map
The ride was a lot of fun and I managed to keep up with a pack of pretty fast riders for the first half of the race (ave. speed was around 19 mph). I lost them on the hills though, but caught up with them at the rest stops. :)
Up next is the Bike MS: Southern California Ride - Sept. 20-21 which is almost three times as long but over two days. I am still raising money for that ride and if you'd like to sponsor me you can do so here.
A lot of people are waiting expectantly for the release of beta 2 of Silverlight 2.0. Dave, for instance, is watching a number of blogs and twitter. However, I just saw on Barak Cohen's Silverlight News blog that it is available today. He doesn't have a live link though and just says that:
Silverlight 2 will be available on download center and on http://microsoft.com/silverlight
Hmm.. Today is quickly coming to a close so maybe it will be released tonight? Keep an eye out.
Update: You can get a preview of the new Beta 2 tools that are coming here:
- WCF templates for Silverlight Enabled.
- Build configurations.
- XAML Validation now reports build errors.
- Setup Improvements.
- Projects created in Beta 1 are prompted for conversion when opening to Beta 2.
- Linking a Web Site to a Silverlight Application.
Check the post for a description of each of those. Lots of goodies!
Update2: As AN mentions below it is out! Get it here: http://silverlight.net/GetStarted/
Update3: Get the full scoop over on ScottGu's blog.
One of the only annoying things at Tech-Ed was that on the display outside each breakout session it would constantly switch between the list of sessions in the room and then a message stating that all sessions would be available online after 48 hours. So as you were walking by instead of just being able to glance at the monitors to see what sessions you were passing up you would see this message instead (seems like they could have just put the message at the bottom of the list).
So now I'm home and thought I would go check out some of the sessions I missed on Tuesday, but there don't seem to be any online. Hmmm. Anyone know where they are?
Thanks!
Update: Fixed typo...
Ok, so in my first post on Integrating MVC with Silverlight I didn't actually get to the Silverlight part. I only laid out the navigation and set it up so that it would work with Silverlight when I did add it in. So while on the flight from Orlando to Phoenix I re-wrote my menu using Silverlight 1.0 (using some old wpf/e code I had laying around). Below is a screenshot of my updated sample which now has Silverlight:
So I'm still using the partial rendering by switching out the master page, which still isn't the ideal solution. What I'd really like is a way to call ViewPartial and pass in the name of the content area that I want to render. I'm also still not integrated with the MVC url system and have the Urls hardcoded in my javascript. Also, even thought the menu control could have state it doesn't actually show which page is currently selected.
So this example does integrate Silverlight with MVC, however, it still needs some more work. Since my flight to Burbank just got delayed from 8:25 to 10:15 maybe I'll have some time to work out these other issues. :(
Download Updated Sample Code Here
Ok, so before I go any farther I want to spell out a couple of things. First, my sample code doesn't have any Silverlight in it yet. Since I didn't have a whole lot of time and beta 2 is only a day or so away I didn't think it was worth the effort. This post is more about figuring out where Silverlight would go rather than actually demoing what it would do. Second, I'm an MVC newbie so there is probably a better way to do what I'm trying to do. However, I've been at TechEd 2008 this week attending MVC and Silverlight sessions and talking to the MS folks and so far haven't seen a good answer.
So with that out of the way, here is what I've been thinking about. I'm trying to understand the best way to integrate Silverlight (or Flash for that matter) into an MVC application. I know that I can just stick the Silverlight html tags into my view and that will work just fine, but if I do that then my Controllers will probably not know about Silverlight and vice-versa. For instance, here is the scenario that I've been thinking about.
Let's say I have a nice looking Silverlight menu bar. Now I could easily add that control to my master page and put links in to all my MVC pages. However, I probably want to do a couple of things: (1) I would like the control to know about where I am at so I can display some kind of context information and (2) I would like the control to get the correct urls from MVC instead of them being hardcoded. Now maybe there is a nice way to do this that I haven't thought about, but instead here is what I came up with (and what is in the sample code at the end of the article).
The way that I made this work is pretty simple, but it still feels a little dirty. I created a second master page that I called Partial that contains nothing but the MainContent content area. This goes in the shared views area next to the Site master page.
<%@ Master Language="C#" ... %>
<asp:ContentPlaceHolder ID="MainContent" runat="server">
</asp:ContentPlaceHolder>
Next, I added a mode parameter of type string to all the actions in my Home controller which I pass as the name of the master page in the View method (using preview 3 here).
public ActionResult About(string mode)
{
ViewData["Title"] = "About Page";
return View("About", mode);
}
Lastly I wrote a little javascript (which uses the asp.net ajax library) to get the contents of the page passing the Partial as the mode and then I stick the results into the content div.
function asyncNav(url) {
url = url + '?mode=Partial';
var request = new Sys.Net.WebRequest();
request.set_url(url);
request.set_httpVerb("GET");
request.add_completed(updateMain);
request.invoke();
}
function updateMain(executor, eventArgs) {
if (executor.get_responseAvailable()) {
$get("content").innerHTML = executor.get_responseData();
}
else {
if (executor.get_timedOut())
alert("Timeout");
else if (executor.get_aborted())
alert("Aborted");
}
}
So now my navigation can accomplish both of my goals because it doesn't unload when the user clicks a link so it has context and it is using urls that comply with MVC. I know, I know, I'm not actually using Silverlight yet, but I think that will be pretty easy to implement and I'm planning on giving it a shot as soon as Beta 2 is released. For now, check out my code and let me know what you think. Am I on the right path or am I missing the boat?
Download Sample Code Here
Update: Just posted Part 2 here which actually uses Silverlight.
Ok, I'm not totally sure why all my posts lately have had a slightly negative tone to them, perhaps I'm becoming a slightly disgruntled Microsoft developer. Anyhow, here goes another slightly disgruntled post.
Today MS released the beta mentioned in the title of this post. You can get the details at Somasegar's blog:
Traditionally our service packs address a range of issues found both through customer and partner feedback as well as our own internal testing. While this service pack holds true to that theme and delivers updates for these types of issues, it also builds on the tremendous value that Visual Studio 2008 and .NET Framework 3.5 deliver today and enables an improved developer experience by adding a number of additional components that cover a range of highly requested customer features.
Ok, so this service pack is really not a service pack at all. I think Matt Milner describes it well in his post Not just a service pack (VS 2008 and .NET 3.5 SP 1):
Microsoft has rolled out the beta of SP1 for .NET Framework version 3.5 and Visual Studio 2008. Now don't get confused, this is not just a simple set of bug fixes, this thing is big!
- Entity Framework and LINQ to entities
- ADO.NET Data Services (formerly project "Astoria")
- Dynamic data web sites (highly RAD data driven web sites)
- Performance improvements across the board (WCF, WPF, AJAX, debugging, etc.)
- New client profile (not quite the slimmed down CLR of silverlight, but gives you a smaller footprint without server technologies you don't need). Now, if they could do the opposite and remove the Windows UI stuff so I could run Windows Server 2008 Server Core with IIS and ASP.NET.
- a bunch of perf and usability improvements in VS 2008
Now I'm excited about this service pack because as a Microsoft developer I get a lot of benefits from the above items. I've been using ADO.NET Data Services and think it is great. However, I think Microsoft needs some help with its release cycle and naming releases. Maybe it is because they are trying out this new way of doing more frequent releases, but thinks have just gone completely wacky in my opinion. It used to be fairly straight-forward:
- .NET 1.0 - 1/5/2002
- .NET 1.1 - 4/1/2003
- .NET 2.0 - 11/7/2005
- .NET 3.0 - 11/6/2006
.NET 3.0 varied some in that it still used the CLR 2.0 which was somewhat confusing for many people, but also made sense and was a nice feature. However, next up was .NET 3.5 which really seemed more like .NET 4.0 than 3.5 with all the new features. Interestingly, .NET 3.5 still used the CLR 2.0 but included C# 3.0. Confused yet?
Now we have a service pack on top of 3.5 that adds even more features. So 3.5 SP1 is more of a feature pack, but I guess it does have performance enhancements which makes it kind of a service pack. I personally this to be confusing and think that if you add features you should do some kind of rev on the version number. Really this should be .NET 4.1, but that is only my $.02.
Anyhow, enough complaining, get back to coding with all these new features, which are really cool features! Have fun!
The XNA Team announced the CTP of the XNA Game Studio 3.0 today:
Today, we are delivering the first Community Technical Preview (CTP) of XNA Game Studio 3.0, giving you the ability to build games for the entire family of Zune media devices. This feature gives you access to the majority of the XNA framework APIs while retaining a seamless sense of integration with the Zune media experience. In addition, this release now requires either Visual Studio 2008 Standard Edition and higher (C# language support must be installed), or Visual C# 2008 Express Edition.
I downloaded the CTP today thinking I could whip up a quick sample hello world game during my lunch break just for fun. After installing it on one of my virtual machines I realized there was no way for me to get the game (or even test the game since there doesn't appear to be an emulator) to my Zune since there isn't a way to "plug" my Zune into my virtual and according to the FAQ:
Q: Can I transmit the game to another Zune device wirelessly?
A: No, you must deploy the game to your Zune through your device connection on your PC, using XNA Game Studio 3.0 to deploy.
Ok, no problem I thought, I'll just install the VS 2008 C# Express Edition on my host. So after installing that and then installing the CTP it would crash every time I tried to add my Zune to the device center. Then I remembered reading this in the FAQ:
Q: Does the CTP work for 64-bit mode?
A: This CTP doesn't work in 64 bit yet. We plan to support it before RTM.
Hmmmm.. I guess programming Zune games isn't in my near future. If I have time tonight I'll give it a shot on my desktop PC which I haven't moved over to 64-bit yet (mainly because I'm still waiting for a 64-bit client for Home Server).
I just recently found out that I passed the WF 3.5 beta exam (well, actually I passed it some time ago but it took Prometric, the world's worst test provider, a while to figure out how to send the score to Microsoft). So here is my new logo:
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Since they wrap a lot of the words, you really need to spell it out:
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist - .NET Framework 3.5, Windows Workflow Foundation Applications
I think that is my longest certification title to date. The Windows Mobile 5.0 is a close second.
BTW - I also found out that I didn't pass the WPF or the WCF exams so I'll have to retake the real ones at some point.
I went to install Live Mesh on my Windows Server 2008 Laptop just now and got this lovely message:
I had run with UAC enabled for some time but finally got tired of all the flashing and waiting that goes on whenever I start Hyper-V manager, want to change a network setting, or even when I just want to switch power plans. So I was already quite annoyed at UAC and then I read this article.
"The reason we put UAC into the platform was to annoy users. I'm serious," said Cross.
After reading that I decided that I would turn UAC off, and wow what a difference. Everything was faster. I would click the Hyper-V manager and it would actually open instead of wait, wait, flash, hit ok, wait, flash, wait, wait, open. I could change my power plan just by clicking on the power icon in my tray. It was almost as if I was using Windows Server 2008 as it was designed.
So now I've been a happy non-UAC user for a few weeks and was excited to install Live Mesh but no. Microsoft has decided for me that I can't use it unless I turn on UAC. This is just as bad as when I try to install the Windows Live applications and get this message:
This message is a bunch of BS because if I extract out of actual MSI packages, every single one of the applications will run just fine on my Windows Server 2008 machine (or Windows Server 2003 for that matter), but someone has tried to decide for me where I can run it.
Hey Live Team, just tell me what you support and don't support, but don't make me hack your installers just because you don't like what or how I'm running my machine.
Back in January I posted my goals for the year of exercising, regular blogging, and better time management. I was doing pretty good on the first two until I was staffed on an out-of-town project which made exercising more difficult and took all my time for blogging.
For time management I started using ClearContext based on the recommendation of Lamont Harrington. Now my inbox is usually empty except for when I occasionally get behind. So that goal has been pretty much realized, but I'm sure I will learn more as the year goes on.
In order to get back on track for exercising I've signed up for two cycling events going on this year:
- SoCal Tour de Cure - June 14th
- Bike MS: Southern California Ride - Sept. 20-21
For the Tour de Cure I'm doing the 65 mile ride and for the Bike MS I'm doing the 175 mile ride. Should be a lot of fun plus it will help a worthy cause. Speaking of which, if you'd like to make a tax deductible contribution to either one on my behalf I'd really appreciate it.
For this ride I'm attempting to raise $1000. If you're interested in donating you can sponsor me here. During both of my wife's pregnancies she contracted gestational diabetes. The nice thing about gestational diabetes is that once you give birth it usually goes away. However, sometimes it can "stick" and then you will have the real thing. My wife had to modify her diet and check her blood sugars after each meal.
The other contact I've had with diabetes, which I'm sure most of my readers share, is through Scott Hanselman. Scott has been very vocal about his diabetes even to the point of twittering all his diabetic activity for a day. He usually participates in the diabetes walk (last year he raised over $20k through his team) which is one of the ways I came in contact with the ADA.
So if you want to donate to a good cause, you can do so here.
For the MS ride I'm also attempting to raise $1000. For this ride you can sponsor me here. Thankfully this one hasn't really crossed my path nor anyone in my family. However, it is definitely a worthy cause as well.
I hope you will consider sponsoring me for one or both rides. I'll keep this post updated with my progress and will probably do another post for the MS ride when it gets closer.
Gerry just posted some information about the new ADO.NET 3.5 Exam and the new ASP.NET 3.5 Exam, but didn't post the dates or the promo codes. I just signed up for both exams via the Prometric site and it appears both exams run from March 15th – April 4th. They are free if you use the promotion codes.
Good luck!
Update: Ok I removed the "promotion codes" at Gerry's request below. I'm guessing that Gerry thinks that someone sent me the exam information, however I simply took the promotion codes he posted on his blog for the other 3.5 beta exams which are the exam number plus "B1" and used the new exam numbers plus "B1" to get the new ones. The days are shown on the Prometric site when you register for the exam.
So I believe this is just a misunderstanding since I didn't post any non-public information, but I've removed the codes anyway. However, you can figure them out just like I did by looking at the previous codes. :)
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