Archives
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Job Application? Name and weblog only, please!
Scott Hanselman wrote about being put off by a resume submission with this sort of e-mail signature: Joe Blow, MCSE, MCSE+I, MCSD, MCT, MCP. He jokingly (?) proposed that we sign our names with something a bit more useful: Scott Hanselman, 11 Successful Large Projects, 3 Open Source Applications, 1 Collossal Failure.
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Assault on 13th Labour - Cross Platform Distributed Computing in .NET
BoingBoing linked to a distributed program attack on an encryption puzzle on Perspex City called Assault on 13th Labour. What caught my eye was the fact that it's a .NET console application which runs on Mac and Linux under Mono as well as Windows under the Microsoft.NET runtime. -
The Death Star - The Ultimate Waterfall Project?
James Higgs asks a great question: Was the Death Star built using waterfall?
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[SQL] FTP download and restore an MSSQL database backup
I extended my DOS batch script to restore a SQL 2000 database and grant permission to ASPNET account to pull the database backup from an FTP location.
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Sparklines
Jon Udell recently posted about Sparklines :
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[JS/CSS] event:Selectors - the simplest way to hook Javascript events to a CSS class
event:Selectors is a really nice wrapper for the Prototype.js library. It allows you to hook Javascript events to CSS classes with 2 or 3 lines of Javascript code:
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[AJAX] Let's hear it for the WebBus
Andrew Stopford proposed a WebBus - a common communications system for browser components (AJAX, Javascript, Applets, Flash, etc.). That makes a lot of sense - all these AJAX widgets are kind of neat as little individual pieces of flair, but they could do a lot more if there was a common communications protocol for inter-component communication in the browser.
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[T-SQL] Call a stored procedure once for each row in a query or table
Although it's not at all good from a database performance perspective, sometimes data import or upgrade scenarios require a script which calls a stored procedure once for each row in a table. In this example, I'm calling usp_InsertUser on every employee in EmployeeImportTable.
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[T-SQL] Drop all constraints on a table
Here's a simple scriptlet I've included in database upgrade scripts to drop all constraints on a table which will then allow dropping the table. Of course, you'll want to replace the @database and @table parameters.
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SQLite - ALMOST a great embedded database solution for .NET applications
A comment on my post
about the SQL/e announcement said it sounds a lot
like SQLite. The subject warrents a
separate post. SQLite is a great embedded database. It's free, open source,
small, fast, ACID
compliant, and frequently updated. -
SQL/e - Microsoft to release an Embedded Database version of SQL Server
Last year I wrote about how we need an Embedded Database for .NET applications. Microsoft's current .NET database lineup runs as data servers, which is completely inappropriate when you need a simple data format for a desktop application . My post was based on the problems I faced while working on an RSS aggregator built for speed and scalability - I spent all my time troubleshooting problems with open source embedded database engines (SQLite, SharpHSQL, Firebird), and eventually just gave up on the project for the time being.
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Could desktop search and virus scanning start a carpool?
Most of us have at least two systems scanning our hard drives. In my case, one is checking them for viruses, the other is updating indexes for desktop file search. It seems like a lot of duplicated effort, since they both do very similar things: -
[tip / tools] Pausing music when you get a Skype call
Phil sent me a link to a Motorola / Skype Bluetooth Headset that automatically stops your music when calls come in. We both use Skype a lot - I hardly touch the phone anymore - and it sure sounded convenient to be able to switch from music or podcasts to a phone call, then automatically switch back when the call ended. That got me looking for Skype toys that let you do that with my existing headphones; here's what I turned up. -
[OT] Web 2.0 Redefinition: Dialup Access
Dialup Access (noun, circa web 1.0): "Dial-up access is an inexpensive but relatively slow form of internet access in which the client uses a modem to dial the internet service provider's node, a dialup server type such as the PPP and TCP/IP protocols to establish a modem-to-modem link, which is then routed to the internet. It is now legacy technology in the advent of widely available broadband internet access in the Western World." [en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialup_access] -
[tool] Remove source control bindings from a VS.NET 2003 Solution or Project
We recently gave up on trying to use SCC bindings in VS.NET 2003. We're using SourceGear Vault in CVS style checkout mode, which means you merge on checkin instead of lock on checkout. Yep, we're optimists, and optimistic locks are more our speed. Unfortunately, VS.NET's source code control doesn't play well with that at all.
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Get VS.NET 2003 SP1 Beta Now
VS.NET 2003 is about two years overdue for SP1. If you don't want to wait until June (or thereabouts), you can apply to download it early through connect.microsoft.com. -
MS Office - free, but pay for services?
There's a very interesting article in this month's issue of Business 2.0 about Ryanair's innovative business model. This is an incredibly successful business model - Ryanair's profit margin is about 3 times Southwest Airlines' margin ; Ryanair is said to have the strongest financials of any European airline.