December 2005 - Posts
Erwin just released beta 3 of DopplerMobile! He lists the changes and some bugfixes on his blog. Start testing this build and provide Erwin with some feedback, just like Stefano did.
Download DopplerMobile on http://www.dopplerradio.net/dopplermobile-beta.
Yasser Shohoud points to his WCF Architecture Overview. The article covers the fundamentals (endpoints, behaviors, service and channel descriptions and the WCF Runtime) and the code examples sections provides us with a few short code examples that illustrate these concepts covered in WCF Fundamentals.
This article is a must read for every Indigo/WCF developer! For those amongst us still not familar with WCF, Windows Communication Foundation is the official name for what was formerly code-named "Indigo".
Windows Communication Foundation (formerly code-named "Indigo") is a set of .NET technologies for building and running connected systems. It is a new breed of communications infrastructure built around the Web services architecture. Advanced Web services support in Windows Communication Foundation provides secure, reliable, and transacted messaging along with interoperability. The service-oriented programming model of Windows Communication Foundation is built on the Microsoft .NET Framework and simplifies development of connected systems. Windows Communication Foundation unifies a broad array of distributed systems capabilities in a composable and extensible architecture, spanning transports, security systems, messaging patterns, encodings, network topologies, and hosting models. Windows Communication Foundation will be available for Windows Vista™ (formerly code-named "Longhorn") as well as for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.
The BetaExperience for Windows Vista & Office 12 is on-line! Today we celebrate the start of the Beta Experience program with an exclusive online event: Take part in the "Guess the launch date contest".
The big question is: when will the final Windows Vista product be officially launched? Try your luck and guess the launch date. The closer you guess, the better your chances of winning one of the 10 top prizes.
This is what you can win:
- 1st Prize: Live at the Vista launch event in the USA: a full package with entry, flight, and 3 nights in a 4-star hotel.
- 2nd−4th Prize: XBOX 360
- 5th−10th Prize: XBOX 360 Core System
The new generation of Microsoft Windows and Office is about to be launched. Get in on the act right from the start and follow the new products as they go through to the finals. As a member of the Vista and Office Beta Experience you will benefit from valuable resources, specialist knowledge and additional bonus material. In addition, your subscription will include regular issues of the Beta Experience Newsletter containing specialist knowledge all about Windows Vista and Office "12".
Gain a competitive edge through superior knowledge - register now without obligation
The case-studies that we leveraged during our Belgian Launch Event of Visual Studio 2005, SQL Server 2005 and BizTalk Server 2006 are available on-line. Check them out at http://www.microsoft.com/belux/nl/events/ready/casestudies.aspx
AlfaPrint
AlfaPrint started up as a DTP-bureau ten years ago, but devotes itself today entirely to software. AlfaPrint has carved out a strong position in the international market with its own ADAM software (active digital asset management).
AlfaPrint started using Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 to convert the ADAM software to .NET Framework 2.0. The converted version of the ADAM software will integrate well with the new functionality offered by Microsoft SQL Server 2005.
Read AlfaPrint's case study
DLV
DLV is part of the DLV Advisory Group, an international network of about 400 specialists that provides services and gives advice to agricultural and related sectors.
In 2002, Microsoft partner Dolmen developed a tailor-made application. Dolmen converted the Microsoft SQL Server 2000 into an Microsoft SQL Server 2005 without a hitch and used the new features to do so.
Read DLV's case study
Nuon
Since the liberalisation of the energy market in 2003 Nuon has been active in Belgium as a supplier of energy to homes and businesses. It currently has 400.000 electricity and gas connections in Flanders.
Based on Microsoft SQL Server 2005's business intelligence module the diagnostic software 'Dr. Nuon' was developed. It compares information from the different sources with each other.
Read Nuon's case study
ProTime
Protime is a leading developer of time registration software. Protime was established in 1995 and has approximately 50 employees.
Protime joined the Microsoft Ascend programme and more than six months prior to the launch started working with Microsoft Visual Studio 2005. Protime build the team planning application entirely with Visual Studio 2005. The ProTeam software was build according to the smart client principle and uses the '1 click' installation principle.
Read Protime's case study
Solvay
Solvay, an international chemical and pharmaceutical Belgian group employs 30.000 people in 50 countries and in 2004 achieved turnover of 7.9 billion €.
With the support of Microsoft and EZOS, the SQL Server Migration Assistant for Oracle (SSMA) made light work of migration the existing database, both data and procedures, to Microsoft SQL Server.
Read Solvay's case study
On January 5th Microsoft Belux organizes an MSDN Evening Session on Visual C++ 2005. The session is titled "A Lap Around Visual C++ 2005" and will be delivered by Ronald Laeremans, Group Program Manager Visual C++ Team, Microsoft Corp.
Come and see why Visual C++ 2005 is a must have upgrade. You'll be taken on a whirlwind tour through the 2005 release in this demo-heavy session. Get little know tips and tricks for the IDE and debugger. Learn how to improve the performance of your code using whole program and profile guided optimizations. And see how you can easily leverage the .NET libraries from your existing Win32 or MFC C++ application.
Ronald Laeremans is the Group Program Manager for the Visual C++ team. He leads team of 15 Program Managers who own the product definition. Ronald joined the Visual C++ team at Microsoft and moved to Redmond in 1999 after a decade of working in Belgium as a consultant focusing on Windows Server performance, scalability and security architecture, mostly for companies in the telecom field.
Practical Details:
- When: January 5, 2006, from 17.30 till 20.30
- Where: Microsoft Belgium, Culliganlaan 1A, 1831 Diegem
- Price: Free-of-charge
- Target audience: Developers and Architects
- Target product: .NET, .NET Framework, Visual Studio, Visual C++.
Register through this link.
Stefaan Rillaert - one of our community people in Belgium - started blogging today! He will be blogging about ASP.NET 2.0, Windows Presentation Foundation and Atlas development on his blog "It is all about having fun developing .Net UI components…". He uses WordPress as blogging engine. And yes, the UI of his blog looks really great!
Welcome to the blogosphere Stefaan!
Ever thought of using WinFX for programming a piano? Well Chris Anderson and Don Box did. Check it out in the Special Holiday Episode III: Connecting People, Programs and Devices Using WinFX.
Don Box and Chris Anderson show how to build real applications that leverage the major components in WinFX. With rich UI, robust communication, and workflow control, they build an application that integrates with various devices laying around Don's home to demonstrate how to use WinFX together.
Thursday night we had the Brussels Geek Dinner. I enjoyed it very much, not only because of the presence of Robert Scoble and his wife Maryam, but also because of the opportunity to meet a number of other Belgian bloggers. Reading their blogs it looks that most of them - if not all - were happy having attended the geek dinner!
Earlier that day Scoble did some talks and interviews on corporate blogging. Robert & Maryam even made it to the national radio StuBru! Check also Tom's blogpost for a more in-depth review of Scoble's first 24 hours in Belgium.
With this some more links to reflections on the geek dinner: DopplerPPC Viking, Luc Van Brakel, Wim Verhaeghen, Joris Poelmans, Jelle Druyts, Smetty, Coolz0r, Maarten Schenk, Druppels, Hamstersoup.com, Liegebeest and Peter.
Sometimes customers inquire about where they should define their KPIs. As you know we have the possibility to create KPIs (definition, targets, banding, thresholds,…) in both SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services as in the Business Scorecard Manager 2005. KPIUtil tool allows for integration and synchronization between both solutions.
Check out
KPIUtil.exe at
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=556E01A4-49A2-4A61-BEC5-0260B42DCF1B&displaylang=en
KPIUtil.exe is a tool that allows users to connect to both a Microsoft® Office Business Scorecard Manager 2005 server and a Microsoft SQL Server™ 2005 Analysis Services server to do the following:
- Generate SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services key performance indicators (KPIs) from Business Scorecard Manager KPIs.
- Generate Business Scorecard Manager KPIs from SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services KPIs.
- Save a configuration file that contains parameters (including the connection information to the SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services server and the Business Scorecard Manager server) that you entered by using KPIUtil.exe. You can use the saved configuration file either to generate KPIs from a command prompt or to open the configuration file in KPIUtil.exe at a later time.