August 2006 - Posts
It could well be. Check out Brian Harry's weblog entry More Expirations Coming Soon... for a little tool that might be able to help
You probably already know that but Process Explorer from SysInternals certainly makes life a bit easier. I was trying to start Outlook 2007 (upgraded my main machine yesterday) and kept on getting an error that the ost file was in use. Quickly started Process Explorer, did a search for the ost file and found out who the culprit was.
It has been awhile since I have had to dialup to anything since I got ADSL and setup a wireless connection. A few years ago I remember using infrared with my Nokia phone to dialup via my PC. So I decided to try the same thing with my imate SP3 - except this time I thought it would be better to use my USB cable. It took some step so in case anyone wants to do this
1) Disable USB Connections on ActiveSync - on your desktop PC
2) On the imate start the modem link application - and obviously connect your phone to the PC using the USB cable
3) Setup the modem on the PC. You can find the guide here
4) You can the drivers here. Finding the drivers was not easy. In fact this was probably the hardest part.
5) Setup the dialup connection using the modem installed above. Use *99# as the phone number (I am using MTN). I thought using the instructions on the MTN site would do it but it would appear that is for setting up something tlse
Dial
You can download it from here
As per the web page
The Mobile Line of Business Accelerator showcases a mobile application written in Visual C# using Visual Studio 2005. This .NET Compact Framework 2.0 application performs different functions based upon specific user roles. In this application, there are three roles:
· In the Customer Service role, a user can place new orders and check on delivery status, and cancel orders.
· In the Warehouse role, a user can “pick” items from bins and load them on the truck with a forklift
· In the Delivery Driver role, users can retrieve route maps from the MapPoint web service, deliver items to customers, and capture signatures for proof of delivery purposes.
This development kit contains over 100 pages of documentation, a sample SQL Server DB, and all of the necessary components to run a Windows Mobile application. It provides best practices for deploying enterprise-level Merge Replication to support thousands of devices. Using the Microsoft tools outlined and this development kit, you can develop a robust, scalable, and compelling mobile application for your field work force.
Download (156MB) from here
Not much more to say except to recommend that you read this blog entry.
Time to move those apps onto SQL Express.
I was about to blog about Windows Live Writer - and I am using it right now to author this blog - and also about XNA Studio but I have already been beaten to it. So this entry is more about testing Live Writer :-)
Live Writer on first impression does look very nice. I still wish they would integrate something like this a bit better with Outlook so that I only need to have one application - not to mention leveraging Outlook's offline/sync capabilities.
Is either
1) looking to integrate with Office 2007 on the client OR
2) looking to integrate with Office on the server (eg Sharepoint etc) OR
3) wants to make sure your app works properly on Vista (i.e meet the requirements of the Vista logo spec) OR
4) leverage the functionality of .NET Framework 3.0 on the client
AND
Is looking to do this development in the next 6-9 months.
If you are then contact me (via the blog is fine). We have some ISV programs that provide training and support that an ISV might find useful.
This is a frequent/question email I get around this time of the year. Sometimes from out the woodwork someone I have never even heard of wants to be a presenter at TechED. That?s great and the enthusiasm is certainly welcomed, but a bit more is needed.
Generally when we look to select presenters I take a similar approach to what would happen if you wanted a job. Unless you are already well known you need to provide a CV of your presentation and subject matter skills and experience. So if Scott Guthrie says he wants to present (unfortunately he did not and I have asked, he cannot make it) I will not ask for a CV J
So what would this CV contain? It does need to be a proper CV. A good old email is enough J
- How many presentations have you done?
- What are your areas of expertise?
- How many people have you presented to previously?
- Have you presented at a previous TechED?
- Have you presented at another Microsoft event (Devdays, MSDN Events etc)?
- What ratings did you get at this event?
- If you can say you presented at technical events to more than 300 developers and a got a rating of more than 7.4 on a 9 point scale then you are in the game.
Now I know we have very bright developers and architects out there ? way brighter than me and other presenters. But the brightest guys do not always make the best presenters. It would great if they did. This tends to cause a dilemma at times, especially for the really hot developer. They look at the guy presenting and think ?I know more than him?. At the same time putting up this same guy who does not have the presentation skills creates a problem too. So we do try and find a balance between the two. It would be nice to find really great knowledgeable guys who are skilled presenters as well (and there are a few of them around as well ? but not that many locally)
The one question that does pop up then is ?How do I actually get to present at TechED?.
Well you need to start small and build up the confidence. Participate and present at your local user groups, blog and write articles (this is not presenting but it does help with your credibility and your CV). Then look for opportunities to present at smaller MSDN Events. These events will give you (and others who evaluate you) a good idea on whether you can make a step up to Devdays and TechED.
Often I hear stories of how great someone might be in a community session but there are huge differences to presenting at a TechED. For example
- In a community session you are typically with a set of peers who are quite forgiving if you do not have presentation skills
- The size of the audience tends to be smaller
- You can be less structured and even less prepared. The audience at a community event will realise this is not your main job.
- At a more formal event, the attendees fully expect that speakers are fully prepared and that they have good technical skills and good presentation skills. There is not much forgiveness here.
The fully prepared bit.
Many people totally underestimate the work required to deliver a good presentation. I have seen presenters who are highly skilled who look at the content and think they can easily to that. They then forget about practising and taking into account many things like
- Who is the audience I am presenting to? What do they expect and what do they know
- What is the flow of my session? How many slides should I have how many demos. Do they all fit together nicely?
- Little details like the font size and repeating the question.
- Knowing the topic in general rather than just the slides and demo you are presenting
- Have a look at http://www.garrreynolds.com/Presentation/prep.html which I found recently found and has many tips that I already followed.