
The next in the 3rd Party AJAX Web Cast Series is Thursday March 29th
ASP.NET AJAX the Codeless Way: Telerik AJAX Manager in Action
Ever dreamed about a shortcut to building ASP.NET AJAX-enabled applications? One that eliminates the need for writing JavaScript, placing UpdatePanels all over your form, setting dozens of Triggers? Now, wake up and watch carefully, because this is already possible in real world, thanks to a new control from Telerik, called ASP.NET AJAX Manager.
Join us for a practical demonstration led by Todd Anglin, a Telerik Technical Evangelist. First, Todd will build a typical ASP.NET application using third-party controls for the rich UI. This app will perform regular postbacks. Then he will add Microsoft ASP.NET AJAX to the project and use the special Telerik AJAX Manager to turn this into a real AJAX application. Thanks to the Telerik control Todd will not write a single line of code and will not make any modifications to the existing app (no UpdatePanels, no Triggers). Too good to be true, or just too good. Come and see.
My Co-Presenter –
Todd Anglin is a Telerik Technical Evangelist responsible for building a strong Telerik community and channeling feedback to the development team. Before joining Telerik, he worked as a developer in a Fortune 200 financial services company in San Antonio as a Systems Analyst supporting applications on a wide range of platforms and technologies, including Unix, Windows Server, Informix, Oracle, and SQL Server. Todd graduated Magna Cum Laude with Business Honors from Mays Business School at Texas A&M University with a BBA in MIS and now resides with his wife in San Antonio, Texas.
Event Code: 1032333878
Event Name: Live From Redmond: ASP.NET AJAX the Codeless Way: Telerik AJAX Manager in Thursday – 29-Mar-2007
Please click on the following link for more information regarding this Webcast http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032333878&culture=en-US&Action=Preview
If you work in technology then your probably know that Addison Wesley publishes great books.
InfoPath is a very interesting technology, and one that I think is a little under exposed and documented.
This book is a definitive source for InfoPath power users and developers.
InfoPath is the perfect tool-set for Enterprise developers and power users who need to rapidly develop applications that manipulate their operational data.
This book has great coverage from both perspectives, the power user and the developer.
Make your analysts read the first half and do a user interface prototype (with data constraints and workflow) then you (the developer) can built the final version
Check it out here.
One of the cool things about my job is that I get to make friends all over the world.
I met Ruchir when he emailed me as a student looking for inexpensive hosting.
Well, Ruchir had allot of trouble finding what he was looking for and has remembered that experience – so he’s started a small hosting company with really reasonable hosting offers.
ASP.NET Hosting starts at $10.99 a YEAR !
Check it out here: http://www.softsys.org/

PHP Quebec was a blast, apart from having 3 flights canceled due to fog trying to get there, and having to rent a car and drive home due to the snow.
The bad news was that the drive took about 16 hours. The good news was that it only snowed for the first 11 ; but I made it home in time to take my kids to the Disney on Ice show on the weekend.
Anyway – thanks to all the folks who attended the PHP and the Windows Platform session.
You can download the deck here :
http://www.joeon.net/downloads/ppt/PHP-Quebec-2007.ppt
Course: Applied ASP.NET AJAX
When: April 23-25, 2007
Where: Microsoft Technology Center, Waltham MA
Cost: Special Microsoft Rate - $2,095
Register: 781.749.9238 or bill@pluralsight.com Bill Williams
ASP.NET 2.0 AJAX Extensions expose a framework for building richer, more interactive Web applications. This course walks you through the components of ASP.NET AJAX Extensions, asks you to build a number of AJAX-enabled ASP.NET applications, and shows how best to leverage the capabilities of the extensions to make your clients' experience a richer one.
Highlights:
· Ajax: Asynchronous XML and Javascript programming
· Programming Ajax manually
· The Atlas framework
· Client-side framework features
· Client-side Web service proxies
· Browser compatibility layer
· Server-side controls and behaviors
· Atlas control toolkit
· .asmx support for JSON encoding
· ScriptManager
· UpdatePanels
· Client-side data binding
Summary Outline:
http://www.pluralsight.com/courses/appliedaspdotnetajax.aspx
Who should attend:
Developers interested in taking their ASP.NET applications to the next level with Atlas. Improve response times, eliminate tedious post-backs, and enhance your UI with sophisticated DHTML behaviors using an intuitive framework.
Preparing for success:
Experience programming in ASP.NET, and Web development in general, is required.
Next steps:
For additional information, or to register to attend and receive this special discount, please contact Bill Williams (Pluralsight) 781.749.9238 or bill@pluralsight.com



So here I sit in an airport again.
LaGuardia this time in NYC (Ajax World ended yesterday)
Every flight I’ve been scheduled on in the last 2 weeks has been either canceled or delayed. (A total of 7 cancelations.)
Judging by the announcements, there are more late or canceled US Air flights than there are ones that are leaving on (or close to) time.
The “reasons” vary. No crew, maintenance, no plane, bla bla bla.
I wish 2 things.
1.) When the airline screws up and costs me time, they should have to compensate me somehow.
2.) The rest of us should be able to call ouselves if we atain the average performance level of the airlines.
Some of the fun ?
Most of the airline reps seem to have no interest is solving the problems that their company creates, most airlines don’t even HAVE customer service stations in airports anymore. (Or they are only staffed from 9 – 5).
On the up side – the more air trvael hurts the more popular LiveMeeting gets.
Still, it sucks to spend 1/4 of your work week sitting in an airport, looking for a place to plug in your laptop and wishing you were home playing with your children.
Today we announced that Microsoft has joined the OpenAjax alliance.
The OpenAjax alliance is a group of vendors, open source projects and companies using AJAX that are focused on developing common AJAX standards and ensuring interoperability across different AJAX frameworks, tools and technologies. Joining the group will help ensure that the Microsoft AJAX Library and ASP.NET 2.0 AJAX Extensions integrate well with other AJAX frameworks and server technologies.
Interoperability has always been a key ASP.NET AJAX deliverable. We made the client-side Microsoft AJAX Library work seamlessly with other server frameworks from the very beginning, and during the beta we went through and renamed several JavaScript classes/functions to avoid collisions with other frameworks (for example: $() to $get() and Sys.Debug). Through the OpenAjax Alliance we will partner with other industry leaders to provide even deeper interoperability in a way that continues to benefit all developers on all platforms.
Bertrand Le Roy from the ASP.NET Team will be representing Microsoft in the organization's upcoming meetings. Stay tuned to his blog to stay up to date.

I happened to get into a conversation at Ajax World with the CTO of a medium sized company with a pretty large infrastructure that is considering moving from Java to .NET
After the days events went up the block from the hotel to Morton's. The BEST Steak-house in the country (says me )
http://www.mortons.com/
The Food is awesome, the service is great, and George is the best bartender on the planet.
Check them out. There are about 35 of them around the country but the Mid-town Manhattan location is my favorite. On 5th avenue, but the entrance is on 45th around Madison.
It’s conference season.
Last week I was at the PHP Quebec conference.
http://conf.phpquebec.com/
This week ………

I’m in New York City this week speaking at Ajax World.
Just being here and staying at the beautiful Roosevelt Hotel at 45th & Madison has been a fun blast from the past. I worked in Manhattan for five years.
I’ve run into a number of old friends and coworkers, and, even though I’m pretty over committed these days at work and have spent much of the conference in my hotel room working, I’ve managed to tour the expo floor, meet with many of the vendors and get a look at their products, talk to lots of customers at the Microsoft booth, and attend some interesting sessions.
There are about 1000 people here and there have been a few revelations.
1.) Ajax is even hotter than I thought.
2.) There is HUGE interest from large enterprises, venture capital firms, and the like.
3.) There is still lack of understanding about what Ajax means to application design and architecture and User Experience.
4.) Most people STILL don’t know Microsoft offers great FREE Developer Tools !
Get Yours Here : http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/
Next week ………
I’m presenting on AJAX at the Microsoft Technology Summit on the campus in Redmond and spending a couple of days meeting with the dev tools and platforms product units to discuss some really interesting new resources for developers.
Stay tuned !
Rory and (Robert) Scoble are at war.
In my time at Microsoft I’ve gotten to know both of them. I “lovingly” tell you they’re both egomaniacs (as am I!)
Rory and I have have found much to argue about. I think because we are so different, but many mutual acquaintances say it’s because we are alike apart from the decades that separate us in age.
Scoble has taken to bashing Microsoft these days and Rory is taking him to the woodshed for it. Robert, your opinions have made you famous, but when some one with comparatively little business experience (and I don’t mean that as an insult, but even using my own experiences as a comparative benchmark, I believe this is accurate), leaves a company and them makes a big deal about what a mess your “old” company is and how you have the answers…….
Well, it reads like pure sensationalism intended only to place your non-profitable company on the media coattails of your former employer.
Robert deserves credit for his accomplishments while at Microsoft, but his contentions about “discoveries” are, shall I say, “creative writing”, many of us were doing what he takes credit for inventing back then. He just had the luxury of getting allot of funding.
http://scobleizer.com Would likely have a very small fraction of it’s readership had he not had the luxury of Microsoft’s budget and properties to promote it, and in my opinion, http://scobleizer.com declines steadily in relevance since his departure from Microsoft.
While Rory (tung in cheek) refers to himself as the Smartest Man on the Planet, he doesn’t take himself so seriously. In fact, Rory doesn’t misrepresent himself as a business guru.
In the years that I’ve known him, I’ve often found Rory to be infuriating, but I have always found him to be honest.
Rory’s work on C9 is comedy, documentary, entertainment, news even.
I personally appreciate Rory’s humility in the grand scheme of things relative to Microsoft and the world of Technical Business.
I also admire him for taking pride in the company that has given him opportunities and for taking issue with Roberts insults.
I think Robert could bite the hand the fed him with a little more grace, whatever we aren’t perfect at, nobody was listening to Scoble until Microsoft took him public.

The next in the 3rd Party AJAX Web Cast Series is Thursday March 29th
ASP.NET AJAX the Codeless Way: Telerik AJAX Manager in Action
Ever dreamed about a shortcut to building ASP.NET AJAX-enabled applications? One that eliminates the need for writing JavaScript, placing UpdatePanels all over your form, setting dozens of Triggers? Now, wake up and watch carefully, because this is already possible in real world, thanks to a new control from Telerik, called ASP.NET AJAX Manager.
Join us for a practical demonstration led by Todd Anglin, a Telerik Technical Evangelist. First, Todd will build a typical ASP.NET application using third-party controls for the rich UI. This app will perform regular postbacks. Then he will add Microsoft ASP.NET AJAX to the project and use the special Telerik AJAX Manager to turn this into a real AJAX application. Thanks to the Telerik control Todd will not write a single line of code and will not make any modifications to the existing app (no UpdatePanels, no Triggers). Too good to be true, or just too good. Come and see.
My Co-Presenter –
Todd Anglin is a Telerik Technical Evangelist responsible for building a strong Telerik community and channeling feedback to the development team. Before joining Telerik, he worked as a developer in a Fortune 200 financial services company in San Antonio as a Systems Analyst supporting applications on a wide range of platforms and technologies, including Unix, Windows Server, Informix, Oracle, and SQL Server. Todd graduated Magna Cum Laude with Business Honors from Mays Business School at Texas A&M University with a BBA in MIS and now resides with his wife in San Antonio, Texas.
Event Code: 1032333878
Event Name: Live From Redmond: ASP.NET AJAX the Codeless Way: Telerik AJAX Manager in Thursday – 29-Mar-2007
Please click on the following link for more information regarding this Webcast http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032333878&culture=en-US&Action=Preview
I’ve never benn a big fan of virtualization, Id rather just have twice as much hardware
But since I’ll be spending most of the time between now and July on the road, I thought I’d revisit VirtualPC again, especially now that the 2007 version is out and there is a free desktop version.
Since I’m working on some interop demos, I started with trying to install Ubuntu. WHile LInux installer hardware detection generally sucks, for native installations I’ve found Ubuntu’s HD logic to be very good.
My first try installing Ubuntu 6.10 on VPC 2007 wasn’t so good.
There ius a problem that has to do with the boot splash and 16 pixel vs 24 pixel
I found this workaround in a Ubuntu blog and it works like a charm:
http://www.geekzone.co.nz/freitasm/2184
Step 1: Boot Live CD, press F6 (Other Options)
Step 2: Go near the end of the line and remove the word splash, then press Enter.
Step 3: After Ubuntu 6.10 boots, Press Crtl-Alt-F1 to get to a command line interface.
Step 4: Type in the following command to reset defaultdepth from 24 to 16:
sudo sed -e 's/DefaultDepth.*24/DefaultDepth 16/g' -i /etc/X11/xorg.conf
Step 5: Press Ctrl-Alt-F7 to return to the Ubunto Desktop.
Step 6: Press Ctrl-Alt-Backspace to reload the Ubunto Desktop.
Step 7: Graphics are now properly adjusted, and you can perform an installation under VPC.
Vista was driving me nuts and I posted some of my frustrations at the end of last week.
The response was interesting. There were a couple ignorant slashdotters who chimed in with the used sore looser crap.
Mostly though, I got reminded how smart my blog readers.
There were answers or explanations to all my frustrations.
My problem with the AJAX Control Toolkit download was simple. I just need to unblock the downloaded file before decompression or installation. Not too bad.
The problem with access my pictures folders was an interesting. He link I was clicking on was a symbolic link to help with backward compatibility so that when a program expects the link which allays existed on Windows XP, things will work.
Those links are hidden, but as a developer / systems weenie, when I install a fresh OS I un-hide everything. While I still think that administrators should be “all powerful”, it cures my frustration to know that the behavior is intentional and there was a reason behind the decision.
So, after a weekend of Vista, I have all my core tools working. In fact, I have all my demos for PHP Quebec and Ajax World running on Vista including ASP.NET and PHP Interop, COM from PHP .NET from PHP, ATLAS from PHP Virtual Earth from PHP, even WPF/e from PHP.
Change stings, especially when your work load doesn’t leave time for play, but I thought I’d update.
For me IIS 7 is worth all the frustration to get up and started.
Visual Studio 2005 seems to be working fine and is faster after replacing the beta “Visual Studio Update for Vista” with the release version.
Orcas on Vista will be like Christmas.
Thanks for all the hints and comments.
Check it out.
The folks from Borland Dev Tools, now called CodeGear are gearing up to release Delphi for PHP. A RAD IDE for PHP.
I’ve been chatting with Michael Swindell, The VP of Products at CodeGear and I’ll be kicking the tires on the product shortly.
Full review here soon !

I found this tidbit on Steve Riley’s blog.
Windows Vista vs. hotels
At many TechEds this year I've presented information about the new TCP/IP stack in Windows Vista. One of the important advances is its automatic performance tuning. With some of the early pre-release builds of Windows Vista, people were reporting problems with public Internet connections, most notably in hotels. Some of the routers used in hotels don't properly implement the specifications for receive window tuning; the symptom looks like failed DNS requests when trying to browse the Web.
We made some changes to the stack and to Internet Explorer to detect non-conforming gateways and adjust accordingly. And indeed, I've seen the problem pretty much disappear. However, the gateway in a hotel I visited in South Africa still exhibited the problem, and when I disabled the auto-tuning Windows could finally connect.
I suspect that most of you won't encounter this using the RTM build. If, however, on rare occasion you do, here is the command you can issue to disable automatic tuning:
netsh interface tcp set global autotuninglevel=disabled
You can abbreviate netsh commands to the first three letters like this:
netsh int tcp set glo aut=dis
Be sure to re-enable the setting when you aren't on the hotel's network:
netsh interface tcp set global autotuninglevel=normal
Or, using the shortened method:
netsh int tcp set glo aut=nor
This really puzzled me.

How can MY OWN pictures file be access denied. (Especially since in an admin on the box.)
I asked my peers who quickly suggested that it was a parental controls thing because I’d put something naughty in my pictures folder (Not True)
Turns out that Vista creates a link in your documents folder to your Pictures folder so that legacy applications that expect such a link will work, but the Windows Explorer coughs on the link and throws this security error if you try and use that link to navigate TO the folder. (… and I thought that’s what links were for.)
Now, I’m sure this makes sense to somebody – just not to me
I wanna like Windows Vista, really I do.
But, like a loud child, I have to WORK at liking it.
After finally turning off all the redundant Security Dialogs….
- – Do you wanna do this ?
- – Are you SURE you wanna do this ?
- – It might be dangerous, are you really really sure ?
I’m settling down to really work on Vista and I’m finding lots to complain about.
Today’s complaint is this.
I downloaded and installed the AJAX Control Toolkit and tried to open up the Toolkit Solution and I get this.

Well, it turns out that the files contained in the Zip file are not trusted because they came from the internet.
So I can do this….

I can “Unblock”.
My problem is that there doesn’t appear to be a way to do it at the directory level, so I have to do it for each of thousands of files.
I know that I’m old and crotchety, and I( understand that these security enhancements are for users that need the security assistance.
I want the Windows Vista Features.
I also want6 w Wizard that I can run that tells Vista _ TRUST EVERYTHING I DO AND DON’T EVER ASK ME AGAIN !!!!!
I’ve been involved in the sport of Kickboxing for over 30 years.
Up until this January I owned a Gym and now am a (somewhat) silent partner in one.
This guy, Jason “The Trooper” Bonacorsi is one of the fighters that I’ve trained fort about 10 years.
He’s won the US Heavyweight Processional Kickboxing Championship, The North American Pro Title and lost an attempt at the Super Cruiser Weight Title (Which he had to loose 20 pounds for.)
In two weeks he’s fighting for the PKF Super Heavyweight Intercontinental Championship.
The Guy he’s fighting is the current USKBA World Heavyweight Champion.
The reason I’m blogging this is that he’s broken all his sparring partners. So with two weeks left to go, I’m wrapping myself in rubber and going to the gym tonight to spar with him. (It’s been over a year since I really sparred with a pro.)
So…. If this is my last blog post, I’ve enjoyed writing to you all. Donations can be sent to the “Joe’s Kids Foolish Dad Died Because he Never Grew Up Fund”.

The Internet Information Services 6.0 Migration Tool is a command line tool that automates several of the steps needed to move a Web application from IIS 4.0, IIS 5.0 or IIS 6.0 to a clean installation of Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 and Windows Server 2003.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO.

My friends over at MaximumASP.net (one of my AWESOME hosting partners) is gearing up to support Longhorn server and IIS 7.
As Bruce Lee said, “You can’t learn to swim standing on the beach”.
So MaximumASP.net is getting their IIS 7 experience using the Betas.
They have LIMITED FREE beta test accounts available.
You can apply here (no guarantees, limited offer, restrictions apply, etc, etc, etc.)
http://iis7.maximumaspbeta.com/

I’m starting a new Live-From-Redmond webcast series on developing AJAX applications using 3rd party libraries.
The first one is TODAY – MARCH 8th at 09:00(PST) / 12:00 (NOON) EST
Learn about the kinds of things that you can do with 3rd party UI libraries.
In this session you’ll not only learn about how do use ComponentArt’s Web.UI library with Microsoft AJAX but you’ll learn some interesting things about building efficient web applications with the Microsoft AJAX Client framework.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP !
A couple of years ago I metthe guys from Softricity (http://www.softricity.com/) who had somne really interestering virtualization technolohy.
Well, the business guys at Microsoft thought they were interesting too, so we bought thecompany.
Now we’re gonna really grow that Microsoft product group.
If you’ve every wanted to work at Microsoft but don’t wanna move to “The Rainy City” (Redmond/Seattle) now’s your chance.
If you’re interested, contact Lauren.
Lauren Day Microsoft Staffing Consultant 617-695-0336 ex. 101 EST laday@microsoft.com

I’m starting a new Live-From-Redmond webcast series on developing AJAX applications using 3rd pary libraries.
The first one is THIS THURSDAY – MARCH 8th
Learn about the kinds of things that you can do with 3rd party UI libraries.
In this session you’ll not only learn about how do use ComponentArt's’s Web.UI library with Microsoft AJAX but you’ll leaqrn some interesting things about building efficiant web applications with the Microsoft AJAX Client framework.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP !
As a younger (single) guy, FoxPro helps me buy lots of big-boy toys !
In my day jobs I wrote C, C++, Assembly, Pascal, ADA, Modula2……
But nights and weekends I wrote FoxPro.
It was the perfect “small business” application environment and I fould lots of “on the side” consulting work in FoxPro.
But, .NET is the furture. So if you’ve decided it’s time to move ahard, here are a couple of resource links for you.
- http://www.vfpconversion.com/index.aspx
- http://www.gotdotnet.com/team/vfp/

If you like me, after dinner it’s back to work.
Duringthe day it’s recording videos, and phone calls most of the day.
Night time is research, coding, learning, etc….
While my office is only a few minute walk from my house, I like to be in the house at night so I can hear the kids play. They run in and out of my den or turn my TV to the Disney Channel
Sitting on the couch with my laptop isn’t comefortable and the laptop on my lap doesn’t really work either.
I recently found this “Lap Desk”.
It’s the second of these type of products that I’ve tried. The first was junk, but this one is cool.
It’s light but pretty firm and it’s vented so your lap doesn’t sweat. It’s also wide enough for my Trackball or my mouse dock.
So now I can sit back and comefortably type away.
Check it out HERE.

I’m a mobile guy and USB devices are an integral part of my day.
I found this little beauty at Circuit City. It has a total of 7 ports. 4 on the front and 3 on top.
The ones on top are great for dropping USB keys onto.
It also has an external power supply (so it doesn’t suck up 2 USB ports on your PC).
You can pick them up HERE.
I’ve had SO MANY inquiries as to how I reocrd the How-Do-I videos I thought I’d type up a little guide.
First, I use Camtasia Studio 4 from TechSmith. I do my recordings on Windows XP, but I’ve tested a beta release of Camtasia for Vista and it appears to work fjust fine.
Audio…
Get a GOOD USB Headset. I use the Plantronics Audio 510 USB. This really makes a different with sound quality.
My audio format is MPEG Layer-3 (TechSmith LAME), 44100Hz, mono, 15KB/s
When recording – I set my screen properties to 1024x768 and I do video capture as native .camrec format, I use the standard TechSmith Screen Capture Codec and record at 5 frames per second.
When I produce my video I use custom production settings to create the .wmv file.
I producs with the Profile “Camtasia Studio Full Motion Video and Audio High (CBR)
The setting look like this -
Audio encoding mode: CBR Video encoding mode: CBR
Audience: 291.05 Kbps Audio codec: Windows Media Audio 9 Audio format: 32 kbps, 44 kHz, mono CBR Video codec: Windows Media Video 9
When saving I select “Largest Video Size” with is 1024x768 becuase that’s the size of the desktop when I record.
That’s It !
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