Paul Ballard's WebLog

Are you looking for a position where every day is another chance to learn something new?  Want to work with one of the best teams in the industry?  Then do we have a spot for you.

I recently needed to reinstall the Java Runtime environment on my desktop in order to view sites with Java Applets.  When I went to Sun's download site, I got the familiar Windows XP information bar saying that the site was attempting to install an ActiveX control and the download wouldn't proceed without it.

While I didn't quite resort to chocolate bribery, I just received word that I have been accepted into the Longhorn Beta 1 program.  I've got a laptop sitting right here (otherwise collecting dust) just waiting to take it for a test drive.  I'd love to say that you should check back for screen shots, news, etc. but I have no intention of violating any of my various NDAs.  But rest assured the minute the details are publicly available, I'll do a  brain dump of what I've learned.

I got an email this evening from alert reader Teddy Garcia telling me there was a bug in the 2.0 version of the StudentCollection class that shipped with my MSDN article.  My first instinct was that he had to be mistaken because I of course am above simple coding errors. :-)  But sadly he was not mistaken and I am in fact fallable.

I wasn't always the .NET fanatic that I am today.  In fact, before learning about .NET I spent a few years in the Unix/Java/Netscape world working on websites that are still in production today.  But before that even, I spent the first 10 years of my career working in OS/2. 

Mike Diehl had a recent blog post about debugging Windows Services.  As I've been doing quite a bit of this lately, I thought I might jump in with some more information on Windows Services and the fun that is debugging them.

I have had the honor of working with the Patterns & Practices Team on a set of  design patterns around providing secure service communications.  My involvement has been somewhere between casual observer and boat anchor but it has been great watching these patterns and documents evolve.  Now the workspace on GotDotNet is open to the public so anybody can download, review, and comment on the patterns and guidance they provide.  If you interested in learning more about implementing security with web services, WSE, and x.509 this is a great resource.  The documents are also available as a CHM file.

The Dallas Morning News recently featured an article showcasing the rising demand for qualified .NET developers.