Huge congrats to Miguel De Icaza and his team on the release Mono version 2.0

You can read all about it here - http://www.mono-project.com/

I've been working hard to get more security related work back into my schedule.

And so..... I'm starting a new "season" of the Digital Blackbelt webcast series.

If we get enough interest I'll do some give-a-ways and such !

SIGN UP NOW !!!! Here are the first 3 dates !

11/3/2008; 11:00 AM (PST)
Convincing Management: The Business Case for Adding Security to the Development Life Cycle
[ Click HERE to Register ]

11/10/2008; 11:00 AM (PST)
Security Development Lifecycle: Building an Intentionally Secure Development Process
[ Click HERE to Register ]

11/24/2008; 11:00 AM (PST)
Threat Modeling for Software Developers
[ Click HERE to Register ]

If you read my blog you probably know that I'm a total tools junkie.

I never blog about a tool that I haven't actually played with and I don't write about tools based on a "trial" install.

Recently the guys at Artinsoft let me know about Aggiorno.

I've known the Artinsoft guys for many years (and not just because some of the principals are in Coasta Rica and once sent me the best coffee on the PLANET !)

The Artinsoft guys are experts at converting your applications from one technology to another. (Like convert your Java application to a .NET application.)

So I was really interested in their foray into the "product" space.

Even though I've only started playing with it, I'm already convinced it's impressive enough to blog about. It leverages Artinsoft's "conversion" expertise but in this case convert your web page into a BETTER web page.

It takes your web page and fixes errors, removes the use of deprecated constructs, restructures your syntax for XHTLM compliance and more.

It's even IE 8 "smart".

There is even a FREE Express Version (Get it HERE)

Learn all about it at http://www.aggiorno.com/ and feel free to send me your experiences !

 

 

 

I spend most of my time doing Web Development, but sometimes it's fun to get RICH with Client Side UI work.

 

Telerik thinks so too and is staring a contest.

 

I can't enter, but YOU can !

Here is the official blurb from Telerik ...

 

Telerik is pleased to provide you with the opportunity to receive a FREE $500 Amazon Gift Certificate!

 

We are currently running a RadControls for WinForms Challenge and we will soon launch a Telerik Client Showcase Gallery on telerik.com.

 

We would be happy to feature interesting applications with Telerik RadControls for WinForms.

 

All you need to do to participate in this contest is to send us at least 3 screenshots of your application and a short (up to two paragraphs) description of your application.

 

We're very interested to see how different people are using Telerik RadControls for WinForms to create innovative and elegant solutions in the .NET community, so now is your chance to show-off your WinForms skills. And the best part of the challenge is that everybody can win!

More information about the contest and the prizes is available here: http://www.telerik.com/products/winforms/contest.aspx

Please note that the contest will be open until October 31, so hurry up!

Enter the contest here

For anyone that's interested.....

I've started a Social / Political blog at www.AmericanMisfit.com

I hope your join me over there as well !

I get between 500 and 1000 email a day.

Many, MANY, are from developers asking for help.

Now before anyone gets angry, I love helping developers solve problems.

But… Lately I’ve been getting more and more “unnecessary” questions.

My problem with this is that I spend several hours answering these email every day and taking the time to answer questions that could have been easily answered with a little proactivity on the part of the asker, means that I have far less time to work on the harder questions that folks really can’t solve without a little help.

If your question is for an opinion like what’s the best approach to do something or what book do you suggest, then by all means ask away.

If you want help writing code, I thought I’d write some guidelines to the process of emailing a question.

1.    Try stuff BEFORE you email.

2.    SEARCH FIRST – Before your email, please use the search engine of your choice to look for an answer. It’s staggering the number of times I get an email question and I find the answer on the first page of search engine results. I know it’s easier to just send an email, but it’s only easier for the person on the SENDING end.

3.    Check www.asp.net/learn - there are tons of samples, videos and tutorials.

4.    Read the error messages if your project doesn’t build, a little research on the message will likely reveal the result.

5.    Ask in the www.asp.net forums. Yes, it’s slower but asking 1-on-1 is selfish because it helps only you. Taking the time to ask in the forums contributes to the community.
6.    If you have done all that and still have a problem then by all means contact me.

7.    Please don’t PM me - even if I get your message, I don’t get your email address to reply to.

8.    Send me direct email at my Microsoft.com address or via the contact option on this website.

9.    Explain your question IN DETAIL. Include the problem or question and any error messages; explain what is happening and how it differs from the behavior that you desire.

10.    Remember, sentences have periods and email has paragraphs. If you cannot write the explanation clearly, there is little chance that I can help you since I won’t understand your issue. To my non-English speaking friends, PLEASE take extra care in your translations so that I can be off accurate help.

11.    Please send code ONLY as follows.

a.    Send a Zip file of a complete solution directory that is buildable in Visual Studio or Visual Web Developer 2008. (I do not have ready access to any other versions at the moment.)
b.    DO NOT paste code into your email !!!!
c.    Do not send code that does not compile.
d.    Do not send projects that to not build (unless that is the issue.)

12.    If you are asking for help with a behavioral problem in your code, I probably can’t help you if I can’t run your code.  This means creating a local database etc. before you email the project.

13.    Once you have a solution, please go back to the forums and post the solution so that anyone else who has the problem later will find the answer.

Following these steps will help reduce my email to the questions that don’t have readily found answers and will give me the time to help ell the developers who really need it.

Many thanks in advance.

You might know I do ALOT of PHP work on Windows, getting PHP to talk with different finds of .NET objects and COM Objects, etc.

Lately I've been prototyping a PHP class to access the ASP.NET Membership and Roles store.

I'm also an IDE junkie and whatever increases my productivity I'm in for !

If you're a Visual Studio developer, you are used to the productivity of forms based, event driven developers tools (Visual Studio)

We'll I tried out the first version of Delphi for PHP and liked it, but ..... It was young :)

Well 2.0 is the REAL DEAL and I LOVE IT !

And I'm actually working with the 2.1 beta that adds some great features. Yes, the Borland Dev Tools guys are still around and well!

I ran into DavidI (David Intersimone), THE Father of the Developer Community Concept, Anders Ohlsson, and Delphi Product Manager, Nick Hodges where they showed my the cool v.Next features.

They have new 2009 versions of Delphi for .NET and Delphi for Windows as well.

Get a free trial of Delphi for PHP here http://cc.codegear.com/free/delphiphp

I thought I'd share this while I'm waiting for VS2008 SP1 to Install .......

MeMe (pictures on the right) turned 5 yesterday. She had 3 parties in one day!

(Our morning family celebration, her classmates school party, and dinner at our local Mexican restraint which she chose !)

Code is fun, but producing truly HAPPY children is the important job !

It's getting close!!!!!!

The nature of software development is radically changing.

At PDC2008 Ray Ozzie will lay out Microsoft’s vision for cloud computing and building applications that seamlessly bridge the gaps between PC, Web and mobile devices.

In our first keynote Ray will talk about the new world of Software Plus Services, with Bob Muglia joining him, to unveil our new Cloud Computing platform.

In a second keynote, Ray will return to talk about building immersive user experiences and introduce Steven Sinofsky, who will give developers a first look at the next version of Windows, Windows

Scott Guthrie and David Treadwell will join Ray and Steven to dive deep on the latest Win32 and .NET platform advances that enable a next generation of user experiences spanning multiple devices, including a look at the latest developments in .NET, Silverlight, “Live Mesh”, and the rest of the client platform.

In keynote three, we turn the microphone over to coders extraordinaire Don Box and Chris Anderson, who will look at Microsoft’s latest technologies through the eyes of working developers.

And finally, in our fourth keynote, Rick Rashid will talk about how Microsoft research is helping to shape the future of computing.

I'll be spending much of the week in the MS Open Source Area and the OpenSpaces talks !!!

And remember the 160GB PDC2008 hard drive that will be given to every attendee.

http://www.microsoftpdc.com/

This book is OFF THE HOOK !

Wanna REALLY dissect a running application ?

IDA Pro is THE tool of choice for disassembly and the crackers choice because of it's raw power.

Whether you need to solve a tough runtime defect or examine your application security from teh inside out IDA Pro is a great tool and this book is THE guide for coming up to speed.

From the book description ....

Identify known library routines, so you can focus your analysis on other areas of the code

Extend IDA to support new processors and filetypes, making disassembly possible for new or obscure architectures

Explore popular plug-ins that make writing IDA scripts easier, allow collaborative reverse engineering, and much more

Utilize IDA’s built-in debugger to tackle obfuscated code that would defeat a stand-alone disassembler

 

Download Chapter 12: "Library Recognition Using FLIRT Signatures"

http://www.nostarch.com/idapro.htm

I haven't tried it yet, but what a great idea !!

http://pcdecrapifier.com/

This is the recently opened Apple store here in Boston.

I can't wait for until the Microsoft store opens, or the Zune Store, or the Windows store :)

One of the very BEST parts of my job is the opportunity to use many of the great developer tools that are out there in the wild !

Like most of the big controls venders, the kind folks at Component Art keep me up to date with the Web.UI suite !

I'm hoping to start blogging my walk through Impressions of ALL the tools I get to use, but often I only get to writing a blog post when the company sends me an email with an update !

I got this yesterday from Component Art.

ComponentArt is pleased to announce the immediate availability of Web.UI 2008.2. The latest release of the industry's best performing ASP.NET AJAX user interface framework features three new controls, expanded capabilities of the Grid control as well as accessible output and Section 508 compliance for all Web.UI controls.

Look at how sexy these UI components are !!!  I love the AJAX support and the increased focus on performance, which is really necessary as folks add more and more 'Ajaxy" functionality to their applications.

You can check out the live demos here http://www.componentart.com/webui/demos/

 

The Official Scoop ................

Are you a student and passionate about Information Technology?  Then don’t miss the opportunity to participate in the 2009 Imagine Cup IT Challenge for a chance to make a difference in the world, add more technical skills to your resume and win a trip to the finals in Egypt. 

Are you interested in certification?  IT Challenge quizzes are like mini-certification exams.  Use them as practice exams or to gauge your certification prowess.  NEW!  Take advantage of the free Microsoft Learning resources for certification prep and training ---over 100 hours of free e-learning and certification prep!

 

The Imagine Cup IT Challenge

 

IT Students: Do you understand the art and science of developing, deploying, configuring and maintaining IT systems that are efficient, robust, and secure?  In addition to analysis and decision-making processes, this invitational challenges you to demonstrate proficiency in the science of networks, databases, and servers.  Take the IT Challenge today!  There are four themed first round quizzes to choose from:

 

Quiz	Date	Day	GMT (London)	PST (-8) (Seattle)	MST (-7) (Denver)	CST (-6) (Chicago)	EST (-5) (NYC)
Client Technologies	10/10/2008	Fri	3:00 PM	7:00 AM	8:00AM	9:00 AM	10:00 AM
Client Technologies	10/25/2008	Sat	10:00 PM	2:00 PM	3:00PM	4:00PM	5:00PM
Infrastructure Technologies	11/6/2008	Thu	8:00 AM	12:00 AM	1:00AM	2:00 AM	3:00 AM
Infrastructure Technologies	11/23/2008	Sun	4:00 PM	8:00 AM	9:00AM	10:00AM	11:00AM
Application Technologies	12/9/2008	Tue	8:00 PM	12:00 PM	1:00PM	2:00 PM	3:00 PM
Application Technologies	12/20/2008	Sat	8:00 AM	12:00 AM	1:00AM	2:00 AM	3:00 AM
Management Technologies	1/14/2009	Wed	10:00 PM	2:00 PM	3:00PM	4:00 PM	5:00 PM
Management Technologies	1/31/2009	Sat	12:00 PM	4:00 AM	5:00AM	6:00 AM	7:00 AM

 

Remember, every eligible entrant that achieves a valid score of 50% or higher on any single Round 1 quiz (as determined by us) will advance to compete in Round 2 of the Invitational.  Anyone that completes (and passes) all 4 content quizzes, gets a “certificate of achievement” from Microsoft.  So take a shot at changing the world today! 

For more information, free learning resources or to register for the Imagine Cup IT Challenge, click here!

 

Now in its seventh year, the Imagine Cup is a global student technology competition focused on finding solutions to real-world issues. The competition encourages the world's most talented software designers, programmers, game developers, photographers, filmmakers and IT students to tackle the toughest problems (per the United Nations’ Millennium Goals) facing the world today.

 

We're the world's premier student technology competition and we invite you to join us! www.imaginecup.com

 

Imagine Cup 2009 Sponsors:

 

One of my flights to ZendCon08 was delayed 2 hours last week.

This is the last thing I want to see at the customer service counter where people are all trying to reschedule their connections.

I was wearing a "Microsoft DevDiv" shirt.

Not to Windows Team, in the next service pack to all versions of Windows, figure out how to blank the blue  screen after 60 seconds :)

Rob Bagby is in the midst of a blog series on REST in WCF and been building a series of screencasts on the same subject (in conjunction with Ron Jacobs).

Since it's such an interesting topic, especially to AJAX developers I thought I'd share them here.

Blog Series:

• REST in WCF - Part I (REST Overview)
• REST in WCF - Part II (AJAX Friendly Services, Creating The Service)
• REST in WCF - Part III (AJAX Friendly Services, Consuming The Service)
• REST in WCF - Part IV (HI-REST - Exposing a service via GET - Configuring the service)
• REST in WCF - Part V (HI-REST - Exposing a service via GET - The ServiceContract and Implementation)
• REST in WCF - Part VI (HI-REST - Consuming our GET service via AJAX)
• REST in WCF - Part VII (HI-REST - Implementing Insert and Update
• REST in WCF - Part VIII (HI-REST - Implementing Delete)
• REST in WCF - Part IX - Controlling the URI
• REST in WCF - Part X - Supporting Caching and Conditional GET

Screencast Series:

• endpoint.tv - Controlling the URI in RESTful WCF with Rob Bagby
• deCast - Creating a HI-REST GET Service with WCF 3.5
• deCast - Consuming a HI-REST GET Service From Silverlight 2 (Beta 2)
• endpoint.tv - Caching and Conditional Get with Rob Bagby
• deCast - Creating an AJAX-Friendly WCF Service
• deCast - Creating a HI-REST PUT Service That Exposes Insert and Update
• endpoint.tv - Securing RESTful services with ASP.NET Membership

From their description .....

nAML (.NET Application Language, pronounced as “namel”) is a visual modeling semantics to model .net applications with wide range of specific details. It contains extremely powerful visual notations and semantics to illustrate complex application components, processes and operations easily.

The primary objectives of nAML can be considered as follows:

• Provides a single space to visually describe one or more application systems with structural and behavioral components.
• Provides a single space to visually describe one or more application systems with logical and physical components.
• Provides a single space to visually describe one or more application systems from top to low level.
• Provides a single space to visually describe a part or whole of one or more application systems.
• Extremely simple and easy understand and learn from readers and designers perspective.
• Concentrates on .NET applications, with its related logical and physical entities (user interface, application logic, business logic, database etc).

http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/naml