Entries for Another_Darren

OneCare purchase [OneCare purchase]

Another_Darren — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 12:32:34 GMT

So I've been beta testing OneCare and found it to be really usefully and non-obtrusive like so security packages.

I went to buy it as I got a discount offer but I can only subscribe!

Other AV vendors offer subscriptions or purchases, what about MS? If the only option is to subscribe then I'll look for something else.

in reply to OneCare purchase

Skype wants your BIOS [Skype wants your BIOS]

Another_Darren — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 15:07:03 GMT

http://www.pagetable.com/?p=27

Anyone want to have a guess at why Skype want a copy of your BIOS?

in reply to Skype wants your BIOS

Zune hits Europe at end of the year [Zune hits Europe at end of the year]

Another_Darren — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 08:51:05 GMT

How come such a long wait? Can't be technical issue. Is it the record labels or the digital rights?

in reply to Zune hits Europe at end of the year

Zune crippled by Universal? [Zune crippled by Universal?]

Another_Darren — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 10:53:19 GMT

engadet wrote:

It appears Sony Music and Universal Music Group are marking certain artists of theirs as "prohibited" for sharing, meaning that just because you've paid for a song...

Full article

Is MS getting screwed by Universal even after agreeing to give the a royalty payment for each Zune sold? Maybe the agreement over the royalty made Universal greedy, do they see the Zune as there music player not MS's?

in reply to Zune crippled by Universal?

Lite asp.net server [Lite asp.net server]

Another_Darren — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 11:57:27 GMT

One of the teams where I work has developed a Web application on asp.net 2.0 and SQL Server Standard. They don't have a brilliant test environment so we cannot use it for user training.

My idea is that the we have a number of laptop available (very recent high spec) so we could use XP Pro to run IIS and install .NET framework and SQL Express. Each latop would have a default database setup for the start of the training and could be reset by restoring the database back to default.

Not having used IIS on XP or knowing the limitations of SQL Express would this be possible? What issues or restrictions might I have?

Thanks for any and all help!

in reply to Lite asp.net server

Multiple line rows in DataGridView [Multiple line rows in DataGridView]

Another_Darren — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 15:21:27 GMT

I'm loading a DataGridView with some log data and 90% of the line each log entry is one line only. But in some cases, such as logging error output, I have 4 or 5 lines. I want to display each row at the correct height for it's content, for example...

+-------------------------------------------------------+
| Logged    | Message             |
+-------------------------------------------------------+
| Tue 12:15 | some text           |
+-------------------------------------------------------+
| Tue 12:16 | error message        |
| | ...more text        |
| | ...and more           |
+-------------------------------------------------------+
| Tue 12:18 | error message        |
|           | ...more text        |
+-------------------------------------------------------+
| Tue 12:19 | some text           |
+-------------------------------------------------------+

Is this possible?

in reply to Multiple line rows in DataGridView

Parellels runs windows on mac desktop... [Parellels runs windows on mac desktop...]

Another_Darren — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 11:37:44 GMT

http://uneasysilence.com/archive/2006/12/8602/

You can now run Windows apps (through parallels) on the OSX desktop,
and it acts like any other Windows app. The only down side I can see is the having those ugly windows apps UIs next to the lovely mac UI ;)

Vista - just another crossover or wine for Mac OS X!

in reply to Parellels runs windows on mac desktop...

MS getting it right! [MS getting it right!]

Another_Darren — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 10:29:51 GMT

Two things recently have shown that MS do listen to users and can get it right.

Firstly OnceCare Live beta. I was offered a chance to try it out so thought what the hell. I had originally Zone Alarm basic and windows firewall, AVG Free and Defender beta. I uninstalled the ZA and AVG and installed the OC beta. It's great, it tells me in non-geek speak what it's doing, it advises me rather than dictates and most of all it works. It sits in the background and tries it's best not to be obtrusive and I'm happy using it. My hats of to MS for getting it right! I installed NAV and McAffee ISS and they put loads of icons, popups, info box and other crap all over the place telling how they are protecting you when all you want to do is surf. My only gripe with OC beta was it's insistence that I was not 100% safe because I had not installed IE7, I'd prefer it to detect I had changed my default browser to FF and assume I was safe for using this.

Secondly (yes like I said they got it right twice!). WGA.... yes I hate it and was shocked to find out that it was now restricting unlicenced XP installs. A colleague at work had received WGA as a recent update and the next she rebooted it had restricted her internet access via IE. She was redirected to a screen about WGA and checking licence codes so she rang me for advice. I offered to fix it one night after work but she needed the PC sooner than I could visit. So I said follow the instructions and see if you can fix it yourself, I pointed out that her PC was bought legit and it should have a Windows Licence sticker on the side of the box. Anyway I saw her the following day and she was happy with herself as she had fixed it and it was "quite easy to do". Turns out that the firm Time (not bankrupt!) had built all the machine from a cloned image and not entered the correct licence key based on the one attached to the box. She had downloaded the tool to check the licence key and it did not match so she then followed the instructions from the web page to enter her correct licence key and rebooted. Bingo everything was fine and she was surfing again. I'm impressed that a non techy was able to check and correct her licence key without having to read pages of technical articles and the process turned out to be easy and resolved the issue quickly for her. Like I say I'm not a fan of WGA, and in this case it was a false positive due the system builder, but the system helped her to validate and fix it herself.

So I thought I just say something nice about MS .... for a change ;)

in reply to MS getting it right!

Using VS2005's builtin test web server for a real project? [Using VS2005's builtin test web server for a real project?]

Another_Darren — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 12:37:28 GMT

Can anybody point me to a guide, howto or whatever that will show me how I could use the development server built into VS2005 in a deployed project?

I want to develop a small app that is self contained including the web server it runs on. It's does nothave to handle 1000's of hits a day, probably less than a 100, so I'm sure the test server I use to develop the app on is sufficient.

I had heard the web server was originally based on a project called Cassini?

in reply to Using VS2005's builtin test web server for a real project?

Coffeehouse the new Techoff? [Coffeehouse the new Techoff?]

Another_Darren — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 10:31:45 GMT

What's with all the technical questions in Coffeehouse lately? Can't the admins move the threads to the right Forums?

Edit:
Maybe the issue is the order they are displayed in? Coffeehouse appears on the first screen and says... " This actually is a place for you to talk." And the Techoff is right down the bottom after scrolling down. Maybe change the order or state in the Coffeehouse description it's for non-tech talk?

in reply to Coffeehouse the new Techoff?

Product Activation costs MS [Product Activation costs MS]

Another_Darren — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 07:25:28 GMT

An article on the Inquirer about MS (and AutoDesk) says they have just lost a patents case for Porduct Activation. MS have to pay $140 million in damages.

So karma strikes again! WGA uses Product Activation so now MS have to pay for WGA ;)

in reply to Product Activation costs MS

Recommend a pattern book? [Recommend a pattern book?]

Another_Darren — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 07:51:22 GMT

Any recommendations for a C# patterns book? Want something that covers the popular patterns with sample code/projects in it.

Thanks for any replies.

in reply to Recommend a pattern book?

Themes/Skins and ASP.NET [Themes/Skins and ASP.NET]

Another_Darren — Tue, 04 Jul 2006 11:29:35 GMT

So I've just read up on themes and skins in ASP.NET 2.0.

What was the idea supposed to be? Alright it gives to away to set a common standard for all your controls, but I think we already had a method for doing that called CSS.

I'm stumped as to why MS decided to invent skins over just integrating CSS better in VS!

Anyway I'm interested in the following views the niners;

What is your experiences with skins? (Love/Hate/Issues)
What alternatives have you used to theme/brand your sites?
If anybody knows the benefits of using skins over CSS or other methods (expecially why MS choose this solution)?

in reply to Themes/Skins and ASP.NET

Re: Words with Double Meanings [Words with Double Meanings]

Another_Darren — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 19:37:07 GMT

coding4jesus3 wrote:

Sven Groot wrote:

coding4jesus2 wrote:
Only Jesus can reincarnate.

Fortunately for him, no one was camping the respawn point.

(sorry )

it was behind a big rock

C9 mods should just disable the user registration process until the 14 year old (coding4jesus1+2+3, vistawillship) parents can be contacted to get him grounded.

in reply to Words with Double Meanings

Who's using ATLAS? [Who's using ATLAS?]

Another_Darren — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 10:12:33 GMT

Just been reading about the June CTP release of ATLAS and it got me wondering if anybody has actually used this stuff yet.

Apart from playing with it has anybody tried to use ATLAS in a real project and what was your experience like implementing it?

in reply to Who's using ATLAS?

Data Access recommendations [Data Access recommendations]

Another_Darren — Sun, 02 Jul 2006 11:33:34 GMT

Right I need some recommendations for a DAL or ORM product. I'm going review them for work in the coming weeks and would prefer to take advice from people who have used them or developed them. Scouring the web and reading market spiel was never my thing.

I'm not fully up to speed on c# yet but if it has good documentation then it shouldn't take me long to get to grips with it. If it doesn't have good docs, then I'll probably pass on it. If you can recommend something it would help me greatly if you give me a few bullet points why you like the product.

Thanks.

[Rossj mentioned littleguru has something so let's hope I hear from him!]

in reply to Data Access recommendations

Vista technologies [Vista technologies]

Another_Darren — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 14:42:20 GMT

Can anyone recommend any resources (articles/whitepapers/overviews) that give an introduction to the new technologies being introduced with Vista. I have various acronyms being tossed at me like WinFX, WPF, WPE, Windows Comms Framework, etc and I need to understand how the are structured and fit together, plus the obviously thing - what they do!

Thanks in advance.

in reply to Vista technologies

WTF - programmatically send an email in .NET [WTF - programmatically send an email in .NET]

Another_Darren — Mon, 12 Jun 2006 13:20:46 GMT

I think this a great example of the type of .NET developer you never want on your team!

WTF - programmatically send an email in .NET

in reply to WTF - programmatically send an email in .NET

Is Internet Explorer really free... [Is Internet Explorer really free...]

Another_Darren — Mon, 15 May 2006 07:58:26 GMT

Please note I am not MS bashing, I just think it's a valid point.

wrote:
Years ago, Microsoft made that momentous decision to give us Internet Explorer for free, but I was thinking today about how truly free it really was — which is to say, it’s not free at all when you think about it.

How Much Is That Browser in the Windows OS?

in reply to Is Internet Explorer really free...

FedEx trust their customers [FedEx trust their customers]

Another_Darren — Thu, 11 May 2006 07:24:30 GMT

http://www.spacegrinder.com/article8.html

"FedEx was glad to assist in Lucky and Flo's first live test in a working situation. They were amazingly successful at identifying packages containing DVDs, which were opened and checked by HM Customs' representatives. While all were legitimate shipments on the day, our message to anyone thinking about shipping counterfeit DVDs through the FedEx network is simple: you're going to get caught."

Kinda makes me thing twice about shipping anything through FedEX.

Yes it does.

I wonder what the actual laws/rules are about exactly what HM Customs is allowed to open? I mean do they have a blanket "we can open any mail/package"?

in reply to FedEx trust their customers

C# coding standards [C# coding standards]

Another_Darren — Wed, 19 Apr 2006 15:18:37 GMT

I'm looking for a published document for MS coding standards around the C#/ASP langauage.

We are taking C#/ASP on at work and we want to adopt the standard coding style that MS and all it's tools use. If we could get this as a doc we can include it in our training pack for new/retrained developers as a reference tool.

Obviously the document would have to be public domin, creative commons, etc to allow us to use it internally.

Thanks.

in reply to C# coding standards