In my search for a new switch for Antares I contacted HP based
upon the contact information found on their site.

It turned out that the information I found was outdated. The funny
remark the telephonist made (and I quote):

"Our Internet is outdated...".

Never knew HP has their own Internet, or do they own the Internet ?

Constanze Roman (Community PM),
Maarten Struys (Technical Mangarer PTS Software)

GPS Intermediate Driver
- Multiple applications can share the GPS hardware
- Coding Sample in SDK

Fake GPS can deliver GPS information (for testing purposes).

Aaron Skonnard (Cofounder Pluralsight)

Web 1.0 -> HTTP GET
Web 2.0 (2008)
- Content + capabilities (ie maps.google.com)
- Atom
- JSON (smaller than XML, no parsing)
- Resources are identified by URI's
- REST is an architectural style, not a specification

Michael Howard (Principal Security Program Manager)

Multipass:
- Run all available tools
- Look for patterns
- Deeper review of riskiest code

What does the bad guy control

- SQL injection issues
- Crypto issues (ie SHA512)
- Server XSS antixss library
- Integer Arithmetic issues
- Buffer overflow

Build or buy a Fuzzer

Pat Helland, Partner Architect

Expected Response Time = (Minimum Response Time / 1 - Utilization)

David S. Platt (Supreme and Exalted Dictator-for-Life, Rolling Thunder Computer)

Know Thy User, For He Is Not Thee

Lots of human time costs lott of $ (or €).
Automated collection of user data based on user actions.

Example: Customer Experience User Program

Check this site

The tips:

1. Start small (ie top 10 help topics)
2. Don't collect personally identifiable data
3. The Statistical Universe is Your Friend
4. Coordinate with other Feedback Mechanisms
5. Use the Data for Good, Not for Evil

- Representational State Transfer
- Architectural style
- No state on the application server (scalability)
Get/Post/Put/Delete (uniform interfaces)

Advantages:
- GET -> cahche
- Interoperability

REST support added in 3.5 and improved in 3.5 SP1

Udi Dahan (The Software Simplist)

Is availability just a question of nines...?
It is all about response time.

Udi Dahan (The Software Simplist)

Often in a three tier solution the database is the bottleneck.
By use of Velocity (caching framework) it is possible to take that away.
Tip: content delivery networks (off-loading static content).

Internet -> the best cache in the world !
"Leverage the Internet"
"Consistent enough"
"Make it as static as you can"

Request, publish new (user) data, update cache.
Use messages (subscribe/publish)
Many steps: use Sagas to manage state
Use RequestTimeout to prevent memory abuse

David Aiken

An operating system for the cloud:

- hardware abstraction across multiple servers
- distributed scalable, available storage
- deploying, monitoring and maintenance
- automated service management, load balancers, DNS
- programmable environment
- interoperability
- designed for utility computing

OS takes care of your service in the cloud:

- deployment
- availability
- patching
- hardware configuration

Service Model takes care of the configuration of the cloud.
Load balancers are responsible for balancing the load.
Blobs replcaes the file system (functionally)

Info can be found here.

Steve Lasker (Program Manager)

Niet standaard onderdeel van het .NET Framework.
copy local=true (both referenced libraries of Compact 3.5).
Both X86 and AMD64 (including Intel 64) are supported.

Some Compact info:

- Multiple connections from multiple processes and threads
- Runs In-Proc w/Application
- SqlCeConnection
- SqlCeCommand (cache query plan)

SqlCeResultSet for great performance (it can outperform
SQL Express)

No Sprocs support (= stored procedures)
SyncServices

Hadi Hariri (Tech Lead iMetaTechnologies)

UrlRoutingModule - System.Web.Routing

Global.asax
Ordered (most restrictive first)
Constraints (RegEx, IRouteConstraint)
Incoming and outgoing (HTML.ActioLink, Url.Action).

Check the RouteDebugger

jQuery will be available both in ASP.NET and VS2010

Miha Kralj (Senior Architect)

The future isn't what it used to be...

IBM has lost a lot of money, why ?:

- Stupid people ?
- Bad technology ?

- Problem with the business model
- A sacred cash cow (don't compete with main frames)
- Make the cow obsolete
- New rules

You are changed!
And you can't go back!

Technology has the power to alter reality

Digital natives are taking over

Enter the communication era

Upgrade the technology, then upgrade people!

Past success is your greatest enemy

From assett to service

Find, contribute, what do I need

Digital identity is your identity, the line is disappearing

Find out what the other guy is doing, then do something else

Ted Pattison (Technical Researcher)

Check this site.

Most important stuff (that I wrote down):

- Custom tasks (.targets) instead of batch files
- SiteConfig.xml contains the static info
- On build problems check the .NET Framework references
- WSPBuilder does support multiple libraries
- Bounce IIS every time after you do a deployment
- .targets contains the path to the stsdev.exe binary

Tim Huckaby (CEO InterKnowlogy)

Check the folowing sites:

43 things
InterKnowlogy implementation

The second is using the data from the first, only presentation has been improved...

XAML

- seperates front-end from back-end
- declarative programming language
- most concise way to represent UI
- no compilation needed to render
- almost all WPF related tools emit

Tools:

- Microsoft Expression Blend 2
- Microsoft Expression Design 2 (= Adobe Illustrator)
- XAML crunsher

Check on the Internet for AppStyles.xaml, the easiest way to design/steal a great
design...

Mike Dowen (Program Manager Lead)

This session was divided into three parts:

- Framework install
- Assembly sharing and versioning
- Performance and NGen

Framework install

For installing the .NET Framework, you (basically) have 3 options:

- Framework Bootstrapper

- small impact on installer size ++
- downloads only needed components ++
- wait for download --

- Client profile

- subset of assemblies ++
- 200 K bootstrapper, 25 MB download ++
- customizable, branded experience ++
- 3 clicks: exe, cert, EULA ++

VS 2008 SP1 allows targeting of Client profile
Configuration builder for setups

- Include the complete Framework in Installer

- stand alone ++
- increase install package --

Assembly sharing and versioning

- Frameworks used across your orginization
- Controls

Easier updating
Install assemblies in GAC: any application can start using it
Strong name: unique name, 4 part version, public key (GUID), culture
Signed to prevent tampering
Loader uses name

New version:

- New functionality, breaking
- Bug fixes, non-breaking

Side by side support

Servicing versions:

- Update in place
- Change strong name (- publisher policy)

In place:

- Simplicity
- Compatibility risk

New version:

- Flexibility/compatibility
- Complexity

Assemblies in the GAC are verified when installed, not on each load.
This gives a better performance.

Strong name bypass (3.5 SP1). Speeds things up and no verification.

Performance and NGen

NGen: share code page across processes, reduces private working set.
Less time JITting

ngen install [YOUR_APP.EXE]
ngen update
ngen display [ASSEMBLY]

3.5 SP1 allows code launched from explorer to run at full trust, making
run-from-share viable.

TechEd 2008, be part of the experience

Pierre Liautaud (Vice President, Western Europe) opened the TechEd 2008
mentioning a couple of interesting bullet points:

- Windows Azure, the service oriented platform
- Power of Choice
- BizSpark

After that, it was time for Jason Zander (General Manger, Visual Studio)
to show...Visual Studio 2010.

Visual Studio 2010 comes together with .NET Framework 4.0 and
one of the most interesting additions is the testing capabilities.
For instance you can do replay debugging to be able to reproduce
a bug a tester runs into complete automated. Next to that, showing
a sequence diagram is very easy, though I don't see an advantage to
that (design before coding ?).

And again some bullets:

- Integration with teamsystem is really cool
- Lab management (part of Team System 2010)
- jQuery with intellisense
- SharePoint explorer
- Profiler Performance Report
- Parallel computing (parallel_for)
- Ribon support
- Multitouch

With the introduction of Windows 2008 Server, unfortunately
the back-up possibilities have been limited to the absolute
basic. But...there is DPS 2007 which supports all the stuff
and more...

As I'm running Windows 2008 EE x64 with Exchange 2007 on a
single server, I searched for a solution for being able to
back-up both files and state and Exchange. As up till now I'm
still searching as it turns out that DPS can't be installed
on a DC.

Looking forward how Microsoft solved this in the SBS2008
environment...

NO, it must be a feature !

During my current project I found out that by setting the dpi to 120
instead of 96 (which is default) in Windows this also affects the dimensions
of a winform accordingly. Setting the dpi has to do with the combination 15,4"
and 1920 x 1200.

Turned out that the hard coded 1024 pixels as width were reduced to
eighthundred something. Does that make sense...?

Once a month we receive a paper of our employer containing a puzzle
(for which you can win nice prices).

As being a developer the real challenge is not to solve the puzzle
by itself, but also create a generic solution for any other puzzle.

This month we had to solve the "breinbreker" (no suitable translation
possible). Herewith my solution (it is not perfect, it works). Enjoy !

In the near future I will publish the website on the following URL

As I ran into a problem with showing progress in an
application properly, I decided to create a stopwatch
to get the feeling how to use the Timer object (from
the System.Timers namespace).

For those who are interested in the sourcecode:
StopWatch.cs.txt (6,07 KB)