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As the year 2005 is closing very soon, I want to remind you to change the URL of my RSS feeds so that you get the chance to read my blog in the year 2006 as well.
The new URL is simply: http://www.saunalahti.fi/janij/blog/2006.xml. That is, you would just change the year number in the URL to point to the new year that will soon begin.
Of course, if you are reading this using my normal web pages, there isn't anything to worry about.
Chances are you've already installed the newest version of Microsoft SQL Server 2005 on one of your (testing) servers.
I find the 2005 version a great release feature and easy-of-use wise, but the release is also a great example of advanced software architecture.
For example, did you know that when you install SQL Server 2005, you are also installing a mini operating system (OS) onto your server?
Sure, a RDBMS is by definition some kind of application logic on top of a database file, but I think SQL Server 2005 takes this a big step further.
This operating system that "runs" SQL Server 2005 is called simply SQLOS. Slava Oks, a developer on the SQL Server team at Microsoft, defines SQLOS in his blog like this:
"SQLOS is a user mode operating system that leverages a hierarchical design similar to the hardware on which it runs."
What do you think? I think this is interesting. And yes, I confess I didn't know about this layer existed before. But there's an easy cure for that. Happy studies!
I just finished updating my web site to have a new look -- the summer one didn't reflect what I see when I look through the window. :-)
Enjoy!
PS. As the year 2005 is soon drawing to an end, I remind you already that the URL for this RSS feed is going to change. Simple change the year number at the end of the URL from 2005 to 2006, and all should be fine.
Are you looking for a nice and easy painting application to replace Windows' Paint? And better yet, would you want to learn C# programming along the way?
Then, Paint.NET from Washington State University is a great solution for you!
The free, open-source image and photo manipulation application supports modern image editing capabilities, and also comes with full source code.
Seasons Greetings! I hope you are having a relaxing and quiet holiday season, no matter where you are.
As I'm writing this, I'm downloading the latest Windows Vista build from MSDN. What a great way to spend your Christmas eve, installing a new operating system version! Just kidding... :-)
All the best to you and your family, and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2006!
The MSDN Patterns & Practices web site (Microsoft always writes the section name with lowercase "P"s which I don't prefer, but nonetheless) has a new Smart Client application block available, the Composite UI Application Block (CAB).
The application block is a half-dozen megabyte .MSI file, and both C# and VB.NET versions are available.
I'm looking forward to reading this guide, but the problem is that I cannot find a full PDF/Word doc version of this guide. Instead, I need to read the documentation as a series of help topics, but that is of course better than nothing!
Data security and encryption is always a fascinating subject. The classes in the .NET Base Class Library (BCL) make it easy to encrypt and decrypt data, but the often problem is that you don't have a key.
Luckily, there's a way to encrypt data based on machine keys. The January 2006 issue of MSDN magazine has an article that details this process.
Today happened to be a clear (though chilling!) day for a change, so I decided to take my Canon 5D for a walk in the park, and test some infrared shots.
Of course, many say that you can't do IR photography with modern digital cameras because of their built-in IR filters, but I think you can. Okay, the results might not be super, but I must say I like what I see.
So this is a shot taken with a rather cheap Hoya IR R72 filter I bought from Digitarvike for 30 €. Nice glow, no? This is a shot with 1.6 sec exposure, f/3.5 and ISO 100. I used the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM lens for the shot.
If you feel adventurous, you might wish to check LifePixel's excellent hands-on tutorial how to tras... oops fix your camera for infrared photography. But be warned, it will surely void your warranty. :-)
Good day today. Firstly, StreetBeat had got Madonna's new single "Hung Up" on vinyl, and so I promptly ordered mine. It happened to be a double 12" single with the album mix and six others. So far, I like the Extended Dub the most, but that might change.
Also, I got a call from FotoTekniset, and they had finally got all the B+W filters (Schneider Optics) I had oredered for my new EOS camera, and they would ship them to me later today. Very good!
As a sidenote, Verkkokauppa.com also has B+W filters today for a competitive price. When I ordered my filters early November, they didn't sell any of those.
But that's it for today! "It's quarter past five, and I'm done."
Today, I had the chance to install the production (gold) version of Delphi 2006 Architect (alias Borland Developer Studio 4.0) for the first time.
The final RTM version number is 10.0.2151.25345. Having used the betas, the quality is now a lot better to what Delphi 2005 ever way. And also, there are many excellent features that didn't exist in 2005. That said, I give thumbs up for this release.
Of course, nothing is perfect, but by adding your reports to QualityCentral (QC), it will get better.
Thanks Borland for this release, no more typing "end;" or drawing class diagrams manually with this release. :-)
When you use Visual Studio .NET 2003 to develop web applications, you use ASP.NET 1.1. Now that Visual Studio 2005 is out and provides excellent new features for web application developers, it is time to convert your projects to ASP.NET 2.0.
On MSDN, there's a nice article about how to convert your VS.NET 2003 web projects into the 2005 world.
Now, this document won't tell you how to get the best out of ASP.NET 2.0 (there are tons of other articles for this purpose), but it gives you a hands-on steps how to move your older ASP.NET applications to the new Visual Studio version.
As Ajax applications are become more and more popular, it also means that software defects well-known in desktop application are starting to creep into web applications as well.
Ajax applications use JavaScript extensively, and since the language is far from type-safe and never strict enough to force good programming practices, trouble is on its way. One of the problems that surface because of this are memory leaks.
Justin Rogers has written an article about IE and JavaScript memory leaks. I recommend reading this article, since it illustrates that not even web programming is perfect, and many people have already started to learn.
I've known for a long time that Apple computers have an appeal for professional artists, be they in music, traditional art or photography.
Since especially photography has interested me lately, I've been keen on learning more about professional photography.
It came as a surprise to me when I noticed that Microsoft is also in this business. They have a complete web site (under Windows XP) dedicated to photography for the pros.
For instance, you can download for free a RAW Image Thumbnailer, learn about color management in Windows XP, and more. Hopefully you will find these links as useful as I did.
Uh oh, December already! Where did the year 2005 go? Looks like I've been quite busy.
In any case, there's no need to stop as Microsoft has again published a great MSDN article about Office programming with .NET.
Take a look David Hill's and John R. Durant's article titled "Creating an Outlook My.Blogs Managed Code Add-in". A nice introduction, and will be helpful reading in addition to the Office programming book I acquainted myself with earlier this week.
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