For those of you that want to get into programming, but dont really know where to start, Microsoft have released a basic tutorial to get you started. Using the Visual Studio Express editions, which are free, you can work though 3 different levels of difficulty to help you get started.
More details on the beginning programing tutorials can be found here.
If your’e more of a designer, then some top tips for designing can be found here.
Guy Smith-Ferrier is starting up a new user group covering the Bristol area called the .NET Developer Network.
I’ve heard Guy speak quite a few times since the start of .NET and he has a great style. He is also the author of the .NET Internationalization book and has done podcasts for the “4 Chaps from Blighty” website.
His first event is on the 23rd April, and Mike Taulty is doing a session on LINQ, covering the various language features that gets us to “LINQ to objects” and where that can then go with LINQ to X (XML/SQL/DataSet/Entities) etc.
Guy has this fetish for faggot and pea batches, and, dispite our best efforts, didn’t manage to get one while in Coventry at NxtGenUG earlier this week. If anyone from the midlands is going down the the event in Bristol, please try and take him one down!
More details are available from here.
If you are doing development on Vista, particularly web development, then, following on from SP1, you will have been waiting for this update for development on Vista. Download it from here.
I sent some time looking details for Windows Home Server beta, as the marketing fluff sounds really cool. I came across a blog entry by Barry Dorrans that talks about what its been like to spend a week with it.
Okay, Okay, so the NxtGen EVO launch is the spectacle that become NxtGen normal. Okay, so Alun Rodgers transport rules, well, rules. Okay so I came last. I dont really care when you are out performed by the one man singing techie that is THE Dave Mahmon doing the ReadyBoost song live on stage. Just dont tell him I said so, his ego is big enough! Read more about what went on here.
Over the weekend, put together a few videos for a NxtGenUG presentation on Monday. I reached for my trusty Camtasia and it didnt work under Vista!
After some hunting around, I found this posting to a Beta version of Camtasia that does work. being a beta, theres a few issues, such as the screen quality suddenly dropping for a few seconds, or audio being recorded very quietly on occasions, but overall it got me sorted.
On Friday night, I was invited to an awards dinner by Almat Flying Club. I turned up and the Quicken Tree in Filongley expecting to find it a room at the back of a pub. Turns out I was wrong! It was fully blown, star studded (the walls had little light glistening like stars) evening to rival the oscars.
I collected a certificate for night flying, while others had awards for first solos, IMC ratings, best progress made, and even a category for those that had been awarded few airline jobs.
It was a most enjoyable evening. I think its something that the local aviation community is seriously lacking. Well done Almat!
While checking out dates for a holiday, I noticed that Outlook 2007 hadn’t included UK bank holidays. After checking in Tools -> Options -> Preferences -> Calendar Options -> Add Holidays I saw that the UK was already selected. I unchecked this box and checked it again. Now I got the message says the holiday dates were imported. Checked the calendar and all are there.
Microsoft have released SP2 for SQL server and express additions. This is the version that fixes some compatability issues running on Vista, as well as includes a whole host of new goodies.
As well as the traditional host of fixes, the new service park offers compression for some data warehousing applications, and other performance boosts. Theres a number of improvements in management for DB administrators and a new database wizard for better reporting.
Installing SP2 is straight forward, after agreeing to the UAC prompt and the licence agreement, you are presented with a list of which components you already have installed. Click Next a few times and it happens without any fuss.
You can download SP2 for SQL Server from here, or for SQL Express from here.
On Monday, 26th February, I’m doing a set of 6 90-second presentations to ‘sell’ some of the best new features of Vista, Office 2007 and Exchange as part of the NxtGenUG EVO launch.
The idea is to compete with Richard Costall, Dav Mcmahon and Alun Rodgers for play money, Dragons Den style!
You can read more at http://www.nxtgenug.net/ViewEvent.aspx?EventID=35
NxtGen launches are usually something special and this event is lining up to carry on with the same trend.
