Just saw this .NET 3 training

by | Feb 19, 2007 | BizTalk Community Blogs via Syndication

“The .NET Framework 3.0 training kit for WF, WCF, and CardSpace includes a set of hands-on-labs, demos, and presentations. The content was originally designed as part of the Windows Server Ascend training and has been used several times for training classes. Consequently, the content is organized into a four day agenda. You can also browse this content by technology.”


Get it here


Also if you are an interactive designer and are looking for a good tutorial on using Expression Blend take a look at this one that Lee from Frog design has put together.


“It is called Expression Blend Beta Preview and it covers all of the basics of using Blend to create WPF applications. At the end you put what you’ve learned to the test by creating a Flickr photo viewer”


Alternatively check out these introduction Blend videos for a Microsoft Services guy in the UK.

SQL Server 2005 SP2 RTM

by | Feb 19, 2007 | BizTalk Community Blogs via Syndication

Service Pack 2 for SQL Server 2005 has RTM-ed! Why do you read SQL related stuff on my blog? Well this service pack includes the long awaited Reporting Services web parts for SharePoint 2007 (WSS v3 and MOSS 2007). From the what’s new page:

You can integrate a report server instance with Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 or Microsoft Office 2007 SharePoint Server to store, secure, access, and manage report server items from a SharePoint site. Integration features are provided jointly through SP2 and a special Reporting Services Add-in that you download and install on an instance of the SharePoint technology you are using.
The new Report Viewer Web Part is included in the Reporting Services Add-in that you install on a SharePoint technology instance. For more information about the Web Part and other integration features, see Reporting Services and SharePoint Technology Integration and Features Supported by Reporting Services in SharePoint Integration Mode.

Get it from the MS Download site!

Technorati tags: sqlserver, sharepoint, reportingservices, webparts

Jon Flanders joins Pluralsight!

by | Feb 19, 2007 | BizTalk Community Blogs via Syndication

Here at Pluralsight we take pride in having the most recognized authorities in the industry teaching our premier .NET courses — our business model revolves around that core principle. As a result, our BizTalkcrew wouldn’t have been 100% complete without bringing one of the biggest BizTalk names into our family. Today I’m excited to announce that Jon Flanders, of masteringbiztalk.com fame,has joined Pluralsight as a course author and instructor. Welcome aboard Jon!
Jon is not only a solid technologist but also a great friend of ours who we respect a lot. We go way back with him…I personally used to teach a popular Web application development course with Jon over 8 or 9 years ago, back when we used to promote the idea of a “1 page Web app” using DHTML + XML + Javascript, currently known as Ajax. 😉 We’ve been wanting to make this relationship happen for a while now and the stars finally aligned.
Jon will be contributing to our BizTalk Server 2006 and Windows Workflow Foundation curriculum and will be working closely with Matt Milner and myself. We’re all excited to have him.
Fwiw, our next Applied BizTalk Server 2006 offering is just around the corner (3/13 in Minneapolis) and there are still some seats left for anyone interested. It will be the best course you’ve ever taken.

YouTube, iPods and CodeMonkey

by | Feb 18, 2007 | BizTalk Community Blogs via Syndication

I am not a YouTube junkie. In general I find

it full of children trying to embarrass themselves with a video camera. Like

most of the “social networking” craze on the net, it proves to me again and again

the lower depths that man kind can fall to. That said, there are occasional

moments of brilliance that YouTube is used to distribute.

One such moment of brilliance is CodeMonkey by Jonathan

Coulton, with video by “spiffworld”. This is a mechanimation done using

World of Warcraft, of which I am thoroughly addicted, and the song is absolutely brilliant!

I was thrilled the other day when my friend Jay

“The Wall” Leask of DallasStarsPodcast.com sent me this link. I was hooked

instantly and wanted to download the video to my iPod in order to take it to work

and share with co-workers.

SCREECH!

That’s when I realized that YouTube provides no ability for you to download their

videos! How can this be? The iPod is taking over the world, I could not

be the first person to have this problem. So, time to check with the mighty

oracle Google. Sure enough, one of the top links was from LifeHacker.com

(great blog, go subscribe) and they had a GreaseMonkey script (for Firefox) but

I’m an IE7 guy. Did another search and there was my answer : Vixy.net

Vixy is the solution to exactly this problem. It takes a YouTube

watch URL and then downloads, transcodes and offers you an iPod (or PSP, Zune, AVI,

etc) download. Perfect!

I promise, this is a rare intermission from my normally technical content, but this

song deserves sharing.

And so without further ado, here is CodeMonkey :

Code Monkey get up get coffee

Code Monkey go to job

Code Monkey have boring meeting

With boring manager Rob

Rob say Code Monkey very dilligent

But his output stink

His code not “functional” or “elegant”

What do Code Monkey think?

Code Monkey think maybe manager want to write god damned login page himself

Code Monkey not say it out loud

Code Monkey not crazy, just proud