Chinh Do

Programming

• Omar AL Zabir discussed tips on how to reduce website download time by heavily compressing PNG and JPEG.
• Jeff Atwood wrote a detailed how-to on how to set up Subversion on Windows.
• Poorly Formatted Code Costs You Money. By Jakub Korab.

.NET/C#

• For when I finally find time to learn LINQ: Architecting LINQ To SQL Applications, an 8-part series by Ian Cooper.
• Unit Testing with Silverlight. By Scott Guthrie.
• Toolico.com has a nice Silverlight utility to lookup/generate string formatting codes.

  

Windows Mobile/Pocket PC

• First Impressions Of Windows Mobile 6.1. Information Week.

Gaming

• StarCraft 2 videos.

  

Something a Little Different

• New Version of Google Maps with expanded Street View released.

Programming

• Very good tips to gain a better understanding of your Project Managers: 10 things Project Managers wish Developers understood. By Frank Kelly.
• Jakob Nielsen’s Top-10 Application-Design Mistakes point out some common design problems that can be easily avoided.
• What’s your favorite code search engine? Learn to search for code better with one of these 5 Great Code Search Engines!. By David Knight.

C#.NET

• Scott Guthrie provided an extensive First Look at Using Expression Blend with Silverlight 2.
• Circular references with WCF: solved a different way. By Ruurd Boeke.
• Bored with nothing to read? Check out Jon Skeet’s C# and .NET articles and links. Lots of good stuff to peruse.
• Keith Brown’s Security Briefs: Limited User Problems and Split Knowledge discusses WCF services running under normal user accounts.
• WCF - Securing your WCF service. By William Tay.
• WCF - Fundamentals of WCF Security. By Michele Leroux.

.NET Tips & Tricks

• Did you know you can give threads any names you want (MSDN)? The names are extremely useful when it comes to debugging time:

  

• System.IO.Directory.CreateDirectory will create all directories and subdirectories as specified by the path parameter. No need to write code to create each directory in the chain. Just do this:

  Directory.CreateDirectory(@"c:\MyApp\Env\Dev");

• System.IO.Path.GetDirectoryName returns the directory name from a fully qualified file name.
  

Powershell

• Round-robin game scheduling algorithm in Powershell. By Scott Hanselman. Check out my C# 2.0 algorithm in the comments section.
• Mitch Denny wrote How To: Host the PowerShell Runtime.
• Use Powershell array expression syntax @(…) allows you to force a scalar return value to be wrapped in a array, if it’s not already in an array. I learned about this the hard way while trying to figure out while Get-Childitem sometimes returns an array and sometimes a scalar. Bruce Payette wrote more about it here.

Windows Mobile / Pocket PC

• I needed a way to stream music and other media to my Windows Mobile phone (Samsung SCH-i760) and all the PCs around the house. Orb seems to be the answer. I’ve only had it running for a few days but it seems to be working great. I can stream music and photos (have not tested videos yet) to any PC in the house or anywhere on the net. I can also listen to my entire music library on my i760 phone anytime, anywhere through Verizon Wireless’s unlimited (with a catch… not to exceed 5GB) EDVO connection.

  

• I am a Google Mobile guy, but Yahoo! Go for Windows Mobile also looks very cool. I downloaded it to my Samsung SCH-i760 a few days ago. I am still checking it out but here are a few things I like:
  • Nice and responsive interface.
  • Built-in RSS Reader.
  • Street and satellite maps.

    Here are a few screenshots:

    

    

     

Software and Tools

• You can configure Notepad++ to always use spaces for tabs/indentation. The option is a little hidden. It’s in Settings/Preferences/MISC, under Tab Setting:

  

Something a Little Different

• Alien Prank Goes Bad (video).

.NET

• MSMQ and WCF - hands-on lab now available at MSDN Code Gallery. Via John Breakwell.
• Scott Densmore shared more good stuff on the upcoming Enterprise Library 4.
• Microsoft rolled out a new code sharing site: MSDN Code Gallery. Code Gallery is kind of like CodePlex, but for the everyday developer. Via Jim Glass.
• A new version of the Source Code Outliner Power Toy is available. Via Quan To.
• Get Your Database Under Version Control. Jeff Atwood. My guess is that 75% or more of databases out there are not under version control.
• Jeff Moser wrote a detailed analysis of the various looping constructs in .NET: For Loops: Using i++, ++i, Enumerators, or None of the Above?  I totally forgot about ++i.
• A timely article for my current project: Unit Testing WCF Services. By Mark Seemann.
• James Newtonking explained why he changed his mind about extension methods.
• Buddy Lindsey, Jr’s TDD for Beginners Series is a good introduction to Test Driven Development.
• Vadym Stetsiak explained why string.ToLower() is Evil. Use string.Compare instead.
• 10 ASP.NET Performance and Scalability Secrets is an excellent article from Omar AlZabir. Many of the tips are for larger/high-trafficked sites but good to know nonetheless.
• If you are into design patterns, Jason McDonald put together a very nice quick reference poster/PDF on the most common patterns.
• Visual Studio Magazine had a very good article on WCF best practices (Connect Apps with WCF) by Brian Noyes.

Software/Tools

• Fiddler is a VERY useful HTTP debugger.

  

• Use BitTorrent to send files. That and more at Top 10 BitTorrent Tools and Tricks - Lifehacker.
• You can SHIFT+CLICK to multi-select in Gmail. Via Roy Osherove.

Windows Mobile - Pocket PC

• Looks like Google has fixed the problems that were plaguing Gmail IMAP on Windows Mobile devices. Read the blog entry from the official Gmail Blog here. And here’s a related article from PC World: Google fixes Gmail IMAP problem on Windows Mobile.
• Viigo is a free RSS reader for Windows Mobile. I have not really used it that much but it seems to work ok.

   

• Skyfire is another promising Windows Mobile browser currently in private beta. Via Engadget.

• If you have a Samsung Windows Mobile device, try the included PicSel browser. Here’s a review of Picsel browser, with a lot of useful how-to information included. By Tam Hanna.

And Now, For Something A Little Different

Nano

.NET Programming, C#

• HTTP Programming with WCF and the .NET Framework 3.5 is a good article covering HTTP endpoints in WCF 3.5. By Justin Smith, MSDN Magazine.
• WCF Load Test is an open source tool that can generate unit tests from WCF trace files.
• Source Code Outliner PowerToy for Visual Studio 2008 is now available. Via James Lau.
• Good tips on interview techniques from Dustin Andrews: Why doesn’t anybody ask me to code a unit test in an interview?
• Throw away that mouse and go mouseless with ASP.NET 2.0. Suprotim Agarwal.
• Quake 3 Arena Ported to .NET Managed C++ VS 2008! Greg Dolley.
• Add support for OpenID to your ASP.NET app. Mads Kristensen posted his OpenID implementation.
• How to Create a Database Object Programmatically in Enterprise Library, Painfully? Yang’s .NET Zone.
• Miked Esjardins shared his experience contributing to an open source project.
• Andy shared first hand tips on being a developer during a recession.
• Firefox is a developer’s best friend. According to Mohsin.

Powershell

• [Tip] Option Explicit in PowerShell. Sharar Gvirtz.

Software and Tools

• Yahoo Implements OpenID. Michael Arrington, via Techcrunch.
• Microsoft Expression Encoder is my new tool of choice to perform batch compression of digicam movies. Batch processing is handled very nicely, especially on my new Quad Core PC. I used to use MeGUI/x264 before, but it was just taking too much time to work through the various bugs and issues.

  

• If you use OneNote, check out the OneNote 2007 PowerToys. John Guin.
• Speakeasy’s Speed Test is my favorite bandwidth tester:

  

Windows Mobile / Pocket PC

• Scott Hanselman posted a nice list of mobile-friendly web sites.

Something Different

• The FT liveblogs the Societe Generale conference call, via Marc Andreessen.

.NET, C#, Programming

• ScottGui made the long awaited announcement: .NET Framework Library Source now available.
• Roy Osherove raised a attention grabbing question: Dependency Injection - Is it relevant beyond unit testing?
• From the folks who brought you Best C# Blogs, a List of best C# Web Sites. By Tim Martinn/DevTopics.
• Sandcastle January 2008 Release Available. Via John Mandia.
• James Carr’s TDD Anti-Patterns is a fun and enlightening read on of Test Driven Development.
• It’s possible to write your own ASP.NET Web Service help page. Shahed Khan has the details.
• Tobias Hertkorn posted a great tip on how to measure memory consumption of objects in C# right in the code.

Software and Tools

• Jeff Atwood shared the Top Five Browser Shortcuts Everyone Should Know. I didn’t know about the middle mouse button browser shortcut. Very useful.
• Reading Nazmul Idris’ post on Microsoft OneNote 2007 prompted me to try it myself…. and I loved it. It’s a great application to keep track of notes, journal entries, work logs, etc. It’s going to be an essential app for me from now on.

   

  I especially like offline mode support for USB flash drives. You can keep your Notebooks on a flash memory card. OneNote automatically synchronizes its local cache with the flash card when the card is inserted. When not inserted, you can still work on the local cached copy.

  What I don’t like: no VBA macro support. One of the first thing I tried was pressing ALT+F11 to bring up the VBA IDE… nothing happened. A quick search in Online Help confirmed my sinking feeling: no VBA support. Supposedly, you can write add-ins.

Windows Mobile/Pocket PC

• The coolest applications on the Windows Mobile platform, by Mike Riley.

Gadgets

• Scott Hanselman did a extensive review of Verizon FIOS TV.

Something different

• Watch dolphins blowing circles made of air bubbles.

.NET

• For Richmonders, this article on InRich.com forecasts that IT salaries in Richmond will climb faster than U.S. averages.
• Understand the Impact of Low-Lock Techniques in Multithreaded Apps by Vance Morrison, via MSDN Magazine
• Dustin Campbell wrote about F#, specifically how to borrow some of its neat features to use in C#.
• Derik Whittaker commented on the unnecessary and bad practice of leaving commented code around.
• SqlBulkCopy is a technique to insert a large number of records to SQL Server efficiently. Via .NET Tips of the Day.

Software and Tools

• Scott Hanselman shared tips on how to plan and build a new house using Google Earth and Sketchup.
• Fun with Outlook Date Fields, Kristel Leow, via Microsoft Office Outlook Team Blog. Not mentioned is my favorite: “now + x days/hours/weeks”.
• Microsoft has released a free tool to count Lines of Code. Via Stefano Mapelli’s Scattered Notes.
• Mike Walker provided initial impressions of Windows Vista Service Pack 1. Via MSDN Blogs.
• More VHDs available. Ben Armstrong (Virtual PC Guy’s WebLog).
• IE to remove the annoying “Click to Activate” “feature”. Sean Lyndersay (MSDN Blogs).

Tech and Gadgets

• Dish Network enables ethernet ports on ViP622 HD DVRs. The main feature that the broadband connection brings is video on demand. The ethernet connection also allows the box to call home via the Internet instead of using the phone line.

Miscellaneous

• View popular “sightings” on Google Maps, Windows Live Maps, and Yahoo Maps at Virtual Globetrotting

And Now, Something Different

I cut a kiwi fruit in halves the other day and this was what I saw:

Here are my finds for this week:

.NET

• Tip/Trick: Hard Drive Speed and Visual Studio Performance (ScottGu via weblogs.asp.net). ScottGu doesn't need a link from me, but I feel that this post of his is very important for all .NET developers to know. Scott recommends a minimum of 2GB of RAM for a Visual Studio machine. I have 4GB on my home PC by the way and it's great, because it lets me do things like typing up this article in Visual Studio 2008 in a Virtual PC, for example.
• How Do I: Create and Modify a Cascading Style Sheet in Visual Studio 2008? (Todd Miranda via msdn.microsoft.com). Check out the new support for CSS in Visual Studio 2008.
• DiscountASP.NET and Community Server do not mix, despite what DiscountASP.NET advertises (AjaxNinja, via AjaxNinja.com).

Tools

• I hope my hard drive doesn't crash in the next few days… because my initial Mozy backup is still running… about 3 weeks after I started it. At this rate it should be done in a few more days.

  

• Oracle SQL Developer is a very nice and full-featured Oracle query and browsing tool. Best of all: it's free.

  

Windows Mobile / Pocket PC

• I wrote before about how Verizon Wireless may cut you off if you use up too much bandwidth per month. Good news: Verizon Wireless has just settled a N.Y. probe (news.com) into that practice.
• I've been checking my Gmail account everyday every since the IMAP announcement on Oct 24. Today, it finally showed up!

  

• Capture Screen Utility from Fann Software is a free screen capture program for Pocket PC and Windows Mobile devices. It's free, and it works.

  

Miscellaneous

• If you are anoyed about that pesky Windows Language Bar that keeps coming back after you tell it to go away, you are not alone. Here's how to get rid of it for good (How-To Geek Blogs).

.NET

• Improve ODP.NET Performance (Mark A Williams, via Oracle Magazine) shows how Connection Pooling, Controlling Fetch Size, and Statement Caching can be used to maximize performance with the Oracle Data Provider for .NET.
• Did you know that you can profile a selected Unit Test in Visual Studio Team System? Read more at Profiling a Unit Test (Noah Coad, via blogs.msdn.com).

Tools

• Sysinternals (now part of Microsoft) has released a new version (v11.02) of their extremely useful Process Explorer utility. This is one of my must-have utility on any new system.



• FileZilla is an open source FTP utility for Windows. It's free and has all the features I use. What more can one ask for?



• I signed up for Mozy two weeks ago. The price is right: $4.95 per month for peace of mind. However, it’s been 2 weeks and the initial backup is still only 50% complete!! I have a Verizon FIOS connection with 2000 Kbps upload speed and about 37GB of data to backup. I’ll post an update on how restores work whenever this thing finishes.

Windows Mobile / Pocket PC

• Google has just announced free IMAP for Gmail! Unfortunately, it's not available on my Gmail account yet. I am hoping that the IMAP with Windows Mobile Outlook is better than Gmail mobile (via Pocket IE or Opera Mobile).

Blogs

• Scott Hanselman's Computer Zen is one of my favorite .NET related blogs. I don't know how he does it, but Scott often writes several detailed posts a day. Don't forget to check out his Tools List post.

Miscellaneous

• Did you know that the best Wikipedia content is often from anonymous "good samaritans"? "Anonymous contributors with a single edit had the highest quality of any group." Read more here.

And Now, Something Different

Alexa.com's current list of 100 Top Sites in the United States (sorted by traffic) has a couple of interesting entries. In addition to the familiar Yahoo!, Google, and Myspace, there are two Vietnamese related sites: VnExpress at number 70, and Vietfun, at number 80. Besides these two sites, there are no other non-English or minority-centered web sites on the list that I could tell.

Possible explanations:

• Alexa rankings are way off base.
• Vietnamese Americans are using the net much more than any other minority groups (unlikely). If this is true, there is an untapped market here.

Anyone else has an explanation?

The i760 is now available for order through Verizon Wireless web site. The retail price is $519 but if you can take advantage of various discounts (New Every 2, 2-year contract, data plan), the price will go down to $99.

The SCH-i760 is a Windows Mobile Pro (Pocket PC) 6 phone, featuring a backlit QWERTY keyboard, 1.3 Megapixel camera/camcorder, microSD, WIFI, and bluetooth.

I still have a few more months to go before my New Every 2 discount will kick in :-(.

Related Posts

• Samsung SCH-i760

As an attempt to make this blog appears more busy:-), I will begin my "Finds of the Week" series. Each week, I will share miscellaneous finds and thoughts I ran into that are related to mostly .NET development.

Here are the finds for this week:

.NET

• Parallel Performance: Optimize Managed Code For Multi-Core Machines; by Daan Leijen and Judd Hall; via MSDN Magazine. In a few years' time, I predict that most new PCs will be multi-core. This article talks about the new Task Parallel Library (TPL) and provides code samples.
• document.f.q.focus(); The Billion Dollar Line of JavaScript (by gst, via blogstorm.co.ok) talks about how many people use the Search Box on their browser to navigate to various web sites, instead of typing in a URL, and how this practice translates into revenue for Google. Interesting read.
• alessandro pointed out that and IMG element with an empty src attribute will call the browser to make a request to the default document (usually default.aspx).
• Understanding Windows Workflow Foundation (by razi bin rais, via Codeproject.com) is a nice overview of Windows Workflow Foundation.
• Where are the basic controls in Silverlight 1.1? When I started experimenting with Silverlight recently (see my Silverlight Hello World application), the first question that came to my mind was: where are all the basic controls such as button, checkbox, textbox, etc?

  

  Don't worry! Apparently, they are not there because it's still an Alpha release. According to this post from Tim Sneath, the following controls are planned to be included in the released version of 1.1: Button, TextBox, Scrollbar, Slider, ListBox, CheckBox, RadioButton, ComboBox, and UserControl (no TreeView, RichTextBox, or DataGrid).

Tools

• Probably old news to most CSS pros, but just in case you have not heard, FireBug is a very useful extension for FireFox/CSS development. Highly recommended if you ever work with CSS. I could have saved countless hours debugging HTML/CSS issues with this tool.
• Notepad++ is a new addition to my toolset. Supports syntax highlighting, regular expression search/replace, Unicode, Macros, and is light-weight.

Windows Mobile / Pocket PC

• Windows Live Search for Windows Mobile now includes voice recognition.

Blogs

• Sara Ford's WebLog is a treasure trove full of cool Visual Studio tips and tricks.

Miscellaneous

• I am pretty bad with keeping in touch with people, and I have found that LinkedIn makes it fairly easy to keep in touch with past colleages. Last week I had some free time so I decided to look up old colleagues on LinkedIn. It was great to hear from many people I worked with years ago. I found many people by simply searching on the name of the company we worked for.

And Now, Something Different

Check out the Windows Live Maps Bird's Eye view below. See the black car entering the cul-de-sac? That's me and my car.

How do I know that’s my car? Well, for one thing, my car is black. But the real reason I know it’s me is that a moment later, my garage door opened half-way… as I was about to drive into the garage:

At first glance, it seems to be an amazing coincidence (like one-in-a-million amazing). What is the chance that Microsoft’s Bird’s Eye low flying plane would fly across my house and snap pictures just as I am about drive into my garage? However, after further calculations, it turns out that the real probability is around 1/8640 (5-second window over 43200 average seconds of day-light). Still a very small chance, but certainly not lottery-winning “amazing”.