Starting with a keynote by Bill Gates and filled with .NET stars from the Middle East (including INETA MEA Region Head, Goksin Bakir) and also some from the states (Kimberly Tripp, Patrick Hynds and Stephen Forte), this years MDC starts in a few days. Over on geekswithblogs, Mohamed Ahmed Meligy writes about how excited he is to attend this event.

http://www.AcehAid.org

The Vermont.NET January meeting's presentation by Mario Cardinal was about Enterprise Library. All of Mario's work was based on the specifications because the product had not yet been released.

The Microsoft Patterns and Practices team has just announced that the Enterprise Library has indeed been released. Check it out!

http://www.AcehAid.org

In addition to my In Depth Tablet Web Applications presentation at Windows Anywhere in (2/6-10 in San Francisco) I just found out that I get to be on a panel with a bunch of Tablet developers and vendors (who are also developers).

Influencing Tablet PC Solutions–Tablet PC ISV, Wednesday, February 9, 2:00 pm to 3:00pm

Here are the other members of the panel session, all of whom have done some major tablet pc development and have real products on the market. I'll be the dabbler (or is that doodler) on the panel, that is for sure!

Joerg Lenz, SOFTPRO
Sean Campbell, 3Leaf 
Steve Hoffman, ActiveInk Software 
Josh Einstein, Einstein Technologies 
Teresa Shu, xThink 
Brad Baldwin, Agilix

http://www.AcehAid.org

Loren Heiny pointed this out. For $25 you can get into the exhibit hall at this 6 conference show in San Francisco (feb 6-10). I'll be there to speak at the Windows Anywhere conference  - In Depth: Tablet PC Web Development.

Here is the list of exhibitors

If you are in the northeast - you can get into the expo hall at the Sys-Con Web Services Edge East conference (Feb 15-17) along with  the keynotes and workshops for free.

 

http://www.AcehAid.org

multi-item auctions are REALLY wierd on ebay.

According to EBay's algorithm (designed for the thrifty, not for the charitable) nobody is supposed to have to pay more than the lowest winning bid. So, though many have already bid more than $100, there are still not enough bids to push away the last of the $100 winning bids. Therefore all of the "winning bids" still are sitting at $100. I don't know what it will take to get these things moving. Lots of bids. Lots and lots of bids. EBay doesn't really like charity auctions, I think.

Here's from the eBay site about multi-item auctions:

Bids are displayed when you click on the "Bidders list" link. Bids that are not currently winning show their bid prices, but bids that are winning show the price that they would pay if the auction ended immediately. This means that, in the Bid History, all winning bids show the same price per unit – the lowest winning bid. To place a winning bid (a bid that wins at least some units), you need to exceed this price.

http://www.AcehAid.org

Don Kiely says he just can't get good Indian food where he lives in Alaska. When he came to Vermont in July we took him out for Indian one night. It was his only requirement during the whole visit. Now he is in Alberta and I see that he went out again with John Bristowe for Indian last night.

Don who is a new addition to the INETA Speaker Bureau is speaking at the Alberta.NET user group today as an INETA speaker. Yippee.

http://www.AcehAid.org

Poor Dave. Already a "grumpy old git" at such a young age.

It seems that students are not only not being taught math properly, but they are being given high marks for very poor achievement. I really thought this was going to be something about the "no child left behind" plan and elevating grades to keep funding coming (yes, sadly, I can envision that it has come to this) but this is about the U.K. education system. Dave's depressed about this. Rightly so.

http://www.AcehAid.org

People keep emailing me to say how great the latest INETA newsletter looks (Jan '05 went out a few days ago but is here online). I have nothing to do with it's wonderful good looks.

Sheri Nawrocki is the graphic designer extraoadinaire. Though she is a professional graphic designer, she also knows a lot more about .NET than most designers (and has access to whatever she needs to know). So she is a great graphics person to partner with on .NET projects, don't you think?

Sheri is working on her own design website, SheriBDesigns, (you know, the old shoemaker's kids syndrome), but watch this space. Sheri tells me that my pointing to her website will light a fire under her to finish it up. Hey, what's a friend for?

http://www.AcehAid.org

I finally finished outfitting my Toshiba M200 tablet. I bought memory in November so it has 1GB and just bought an extra battery (on ebay, no less!), a USB CD/DVD drive and the cool little portfolio that was designed for it so I can use the tablet without even taking it out!

http://www.AcehAid.org

Mark Fussell writes that the Hands on Labs for WSE2 have been updated for the SP2 version, added to and released. Mark refers to the first rev of these HOLs  written by Aaron Skonnard, as "without doubt the best resource for getting up to speed with understanding WSE 2.0 quickly." I couldn't agree more. I have mentioned these HOLs in many posts and both my WSE2 presentation and an upcoming article make many references to them i.e. "please refer to the HOLs for more details on ______" just about everything.

So the one I worked with Security & Policy C# version now has a VB partner! Hooray. Though I loved the opportunity to keep working on my C# skills, it's really hard to deal with two learning curves at once.There is also one for Messaging in both C# and VB.

See Marks' post for more details. If you want to learn WSE2.0, you must must must do these HOLs.

The security one also is the best resource I have seen for installing certs into your windows box, by the way!

http://www.AcehAid.org

Thanks for the reminder Dave! Since I'm going to Code Camp (sure hope my sessions get selected), his post made me think to actually book my room.

So I booked a room at the Waltham Westin. Funny, they have an internet discount of 15% but it is a non-refundable reservation. I could get a 21 day AAA discount, but it, too, is non-refundable. So I paid the regular room rate. (I just hate being locked into anything) Got two beds. Looking for a chick roomie for 3/12 to split the cost.

http://www.AcehAid.org

I can't believe I wasted SO much time designing a drawing UI in both BLInk! and on my [ink on the web] Doodle app.

I just dropped an Agilix InfiNotes Note control into an asp.net web page and poof! Actually, I didn't "drop" it, it's a windows forms control, so I embedded it via an Object tag. You can't do this with the free trial really, you have to have the full blown app so that you get the right dll. Which I will be getting ASAP. (I don't regret the time waste because I learned a LOT.)

http://www.AcehAid.org

Can someone tell me what is special about this screenshot of my ink on the web application running from within Visual Studio? You can click on it to see a full size image.

http://www.AcehAid.org

ObjectSharp is bidding on 5 consultants in our charity auction for Aceh Aid at IDEP. Owner (and  RD and auction item, himself) Barry Gervin lists what he will be asking of the consultants if he wins! It helps to understand that each of the people in his list have well known specialties and they are quite the opposite of what he is planning to ask of them.

http://www.AcehAid.org

Hooray!!!

Look in your inboxes if you are subscribed. Or read it online!

Thanks for the major group effort that went behind this newsletter.

 

http://www.AcehAid.org

http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=5552696499

go BID!

http://www.AcehAid.org

It is sunny out with fresh snow. I promised myslef that if the temp went above 10F I would hop in the car and go over to Mad River to do a few runs after lunch. I have not skiid ONCE this year even though I bought a ski pass, even though we moved to Vermont to ski, even though we bought a house only 7 miles from MRG just so we could go there easily. It's 9 degrees. Too cold. Keep working. Will I ever ski again?

http://www.AcehAid.org

by way of programmer-jobs@yahoogroups.com (which I must admit I NEVER subscribed myself to, but I will leave myself on it...)

Here is an example (just came through my inbox)

THIS IS A WORK-AT-HOME PROGRAMMING JOB:
Program database driven web app for small entertainment company.  Project will iinvolve any and all technologies that are appropriate with emphasis on SQL, asp (or .net), java, vbscript, html.  Web application will handle 1. searching for live entertainment (bands, DJs, motivational speakers, magicians, etc), 2. booking entertainment, 3. setting up an entertainers press kit file (so it can be searched) and 4. production management of an event.  Some modules are complete while others exist in MS Access and must be converted web apps.            

APPLY ONLINE AT:
http://www.programmingfromhome.com/Job.cfm/202729

http://www.AcehAid.org

hmmmm....I wonder if my husband reads my blog....

 

http://www.AcehAid.org

I have been asked about the auction being tax deductible.

Absolutely!

So get your clients and your companies to bid!! I told my clients about the auction and said "hey, can you hire me some help for when I get really stuck on something?" Even an hour of having someone like Kimberly Tripp take a look at their SQL Server setup would be invaluable!!

The PayPal account (acehaid@tides.org) that the winners send their $ to is a U.S. 501c3 non-profit. If you want to donate a lot of $ to them (regardless of your eBay bid or even if you win) you can even send a check or wire money.

More info is on this page www.acehaid.org.

http://www.AcehAid.org