Frank La Vigne

Another iPad Cartoon

Frank La Vigne — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 23:40:00 GMT

Maybe the best thing about the iPad is all the humor it has produced.

Because Na’vi Need Mortgages Too

Frank La Vigne — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 07:46:00 GMT

Either these mortgage ads are getting weirder or they are trying to reach out to the native population on Pandora in an effort to drum up business.

Technorati Tags: Strange,Errors Abound,Obnoxious Mortgage Ads

Evolution by Steve Jobs

Frank La Vigne — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 19:53:00 GMT

More iPad humor.

I guess the point is to show that if an iPhone got larger, so could laptops. Maybe they’ll make a 20 inch laptop like Dell.

Technorati Tags: iPad,Apple,Steve Jobs

The End is Nigh (for Visual Source Safe)

Frank La Vigne — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 01:36:00 GMT

Visual SourceSafe’s will reach its end-of-life support date for is in the middle of next year.

This means that, if you still have source code in VSS, you are brave (or foolish). If you’ll have source code in VSS after the end of its support lifespan, you’re just plain nuts.

Ed Blankenship recently appeared on the geekSpeak webcast talking about migrating to Team Foundation Server from Visual Source Safe. [watch now]

Here are some additional Team Foundation Server resources Ed mentions during his talk.

Whitepaper – “From VSS to TFS”: http://sstjean.blogspot.com/2006/10/document-from-vss-to-tfs-introduction.html
Whitepaper – Exposing TFS to the Internet: http://blogs.msdn.com/ablock/archive/2009/08/24/exposing-tfs-2010-beta-2-to-the-internet.aspx
Visual Studio 2010 and .NET 4.0 Training Kit (Labs, Videos, Slide Decks, etc.): http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=752CB725-969B-4732-A383-ED5740F02E93&displaylang=en

Technorati Tags: VSS,Source Safe,TFS

That's One Big TV

Frank La Vigne — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 01:23:00 GMT

A co-worker posted this on FaceBook and I'm still drooling over the possibilities of Xbox games on a screen this big.

Imagine Halo or Modern Warfare 2 on this.

iPad Editorial Cartoons

Frank La Vigne — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 00:22:00 GMT

Editorial cartoonists chime in on the madness/hype/lead in to the iPad launch. [More cartoons]

Technorati Tags: iPad,Humor,Apple

At Apple, 2010 Is Like "1984"

Frank La Vigne — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 18:16:00 GMT

Did you ever wonder how Apple keeps its secret projects secret?

Well, wonder no more.

They call themselves the Worldwide Loyalty Team. Among some employees, they are known as the Apple Gestapo, a group of moles always spying in headquarters and stores, reporting directly to Jobs and Oppenheimer. Here's how they hunt people down.
..
"Apple has these moles working everywhere, especially in departments where leaks are suspected. Management is not aware of them," he told me, "once they suspect a leak, the special forces—as we call them—will walk in the office at any hour, especially in the mornings. They will contact whoever was the most senior manager in the building, and ask them to coordinate the operation."
The operation, as Tom calls it, is not anything special. It is not one of a kind event. It's just a normal practice, and the process is pretty simple: The manager will instruct all employees to stay at their desks, telling them what to do and what to expect at any given time. The Apple Gestapo never handles the communication. They are there, present, supervising the supervisors, making sure everything goes as planned.

I don’t know what’s worse: the thug-like tactics or the eerily cheery name of “Worldwide Loyalty Teams.”

Ironic that this is the same company that produced this commercial.

Technorati Tags: Apple,Secrecy,Craziness

Sprint Fail

Frank La Vigne — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 18:05:00 GMT

All I wanted to do was send a text message to my mom, who is a Sprint customer, since my phone battery died.

Sprint wants you to log in to their web site in order to help prevent spammers from sending out messages.

That’s understandable.

I had forgotten my password and when I finally got the “reset password” email complete with link: I was treated to this:

Fortunately, there’s more than one way to send a text message from your computer.

I used to actually like Nextel, but since the Sprint merger, not so much.

Technorati Tags: Sprint,Fail

Bing Maps Developer Sheet

Frank La Vigne — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 17:51:00 GMT

I just put the final touches on chapter 9 of my Silverlight 4 book, which deals with the Bing Maps Silverlight control.

While searching for something mapping related, I came across this: a cheat sheet for Bing Maps developers.

I could’ve used this a few weeks ago. :)

Bing Maps Developer Data Sheet

View more documents from Gazi ERDOGAN.

Technorati Tags: Mapping,Silverlight,Silverlight 4,Book,Bing,Bing Maps,Reference

Unemployment Visualization

Frank La Vigne — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:40:00 GMT

Here’s a scary visualization of the rates of unemployment in the US.

It almost looks like an infection spreading across the country and, in many ways, it is.

Technorati Tags: Economy,Unemployment,Data Visualization

AT&T Beefs Up Network in Preparation for iPad

Frank La Vigne — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:36:00 GMT

According to Network World, AT&T is investing around $2 billion to upgrade and expands the company’s 3G coverage.

Just one day after Apple announced that its new iPad tablet would be available on both AT&T and Verizon, AT&T began touting investments in its 3G HSPA network that the company believes will give it the ability to handle increased traffic from mobile devices. During a conference call Thursday, AT&T COO John Stankey said that the company was investing $2 billion in improving its wireless network in 2010 and that it would construct roughly 2,000 new cell sites to expand its coverage.
AT&T says that a big part of its wireless network upgrade will come through its transition to HSPA 7.2 technology that the company expects will cover 90% of its 3G network by the end of 2011. HSPA 7.2 is a variation of the GSM-based HSPA technology that has a peak speed of 7.2Mbps, although AT&T cautions that most users are unlikely to see data rates approaching theoretical peak speeds.

Clearly, it’s the threat of competition from Verizon that’s got AT&T dropping money into their network. Try as they may want to spin it, AT&T does not have an exclusive deal with iPad in the same way they did with the iPhone. If they were really that into customer service for the sake of customer service, why did they wait until the iPad’s unveiling?

Competition works wonders.

Technorati Tags: iPad,AT&T,Verizon,3g,HPSA

Office Pod

Frank La Vigne — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:41:00 GMT

I think one of these Office Pods would great in my backyard, especially facing the neighbor’s 8 acre plot.

Aside from “coding in nature,” it would be a great place to work while I’m at home. It’s probably outside the range of even Jake’s screaming.

Plus it’d make a wicked cool “tree house” when he’s older.

[found via JKOnTheRun]

Technorati Tags: Office,Pod,Geek

5 Technologies That My Son Won’t Know Or Remember

Frank La Vigne — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 15:49:00 GMT

Now that I have a newborn son, I see everything differently.

Every year or so, there’s an email that gets sent around that profiles the mindset of the incoming college freshman class.

Some points are minor: “Soft drink refills have always been free.“

Others major: “The Warsaw Pact is as hazy for them as the League of Nations was for their parents.”

Projecting forward, here are at least five things my son will have no memory of:

Shrink Wrapped Software
Film-based Cameras
Modems
Long Distance
Public Phones

Shrink Wrapped Software

Pundits and visionaries in 1990’s who said that we’d no longer buy shrink-wrapped software, but get our bits over the internet, sounded crazy. Yet, that’s what we do every day. Whether it’s downloading an installer or a RIA experience, shrink-wrapped software is pretty much going the way of the VHS tape.

Film-based Cameras

The other day, I blogged about the the humble origins of Photoshop. It’s original icon was that of a Fotomat booth – instantly recognizable in the 1980s. Now, not so much. The same goes for film-based cameras. Just try to find a place today that will develop film. Especially anything other than 35mm. This has gone the way of Vinyl records: forgotten by most and adored by purists.

Modems

No, I don’t mean cable modems. I mean the old fashioned sounds-like-a-screeching-cat-when-connecting kind. Yes, kids, before broadband connections were available, we actually “dialed up” to the internet. Before that, there were these things called BBS’s or Bulletin Board Systems. They were kind of like miniature AOLs. What’s an “AOL?” Nevermind.

Long Distance

Grandma lives in New Jersey. Grandpa lives in Pennsylvania. We live in Maryland. In the olden days (ie >10 year ago), calling them would have cost an arm and a leg. AT&T had to resort to tear-jerking commercials to guilt people into calling long distance relatives. Now, calling anywhere in the US is available for one flat rate. Across the street, across the state, or country, it all costs the same. Even weirder: my cell phone still has a NJ area code and my house has a Virginia area code. Did I mention we live in Maryland? Location and distance ain’t what it used to be.

Public Phones

Public phones were the great communication device of the 20th century. Accessible to all and coin-operated, you could place a call to anywhere on the go – provided you had enough change and didn’t mind stopping to have a conversation. Cell phones have pretty much brought about their demise, much to the delight of germophobes everywhere.

Apple iPad Announcement Live Stream

Frank La Vigne — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 13:44:00 GMT

Watch the iPad announcement live:

Live Video streaming by Ustream

Joel Cochran on Community Megaphone Podcast Show #2

Frank La Vigne — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:34:00 GMT

Local WPF/Silverlight guru is on the latest episode of the Community Megaphone Podcast.

Way to go Joel!

Show #2 with guest Joel Cochran posted on Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Originally an AS/400 RPG Programmer, Joel is a former Contributing Editor for ITJungle.com (originally MidrangeServer.com) and has taught various programming languages and Internet technologies at Blue Ridge Community College. He has been developing in C# full time since 2003 and currently devotes most of his efforts to Blend and WPF. A frequent speaker at User Groups and Code Camps, he enjoys teaching and writing about .NET and other technologies, which he happily shares on his blog at http://www.developingfor.net. Joel has served as the Director of Operations for Stonewall Technologies, Inc., in Staunton, VA, since 2000.
Show Notes

Pro WPF in C# 2008: Windows Presentation Foundation with .NET 3.5, Second Edition By Matthew MacDonald

Silverlight 3 Programmer's Reference by J. Ambrose Little, Jason Beres, Grant Hinkson, Devin Rader, Joe Croney

Technorati Tags: WPF,Sivlerlight,Community Megaphone,Developer Community

The Top 10 Treats in Entity Framework 4 Webcast

Frank La Vigne — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:27:00 GMT

Tomorrow, Julie Lerman will present on the top 10 treats in EF4 in a free webcast.

Registration is free. [register now]

Additional details below:

Tour the Top 10 Treats in Entity Framework 4
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
10am PT, San Francisco
6pm - London | 1pm - New York | Thu, Jan 28th at 5am - Sydney | Thu, Jan 28th at 3am - Tokyo | Thu, Jan 28th at 2am - Beijing | 10:30pm - Mumbai
Presented by: Julia Lerman
Duration: Approximately 60 minutes.
Cost: Free
Visual Studio 2010 and .NET 4.0 bring us a new version of ADO.NET Entity Framework, called Entity Framework 4. From the designer, to the APIs to entire new feature sets to support agile development, even former EF skeptics are getting excited about this version. There is a lot to see. In this one hour webcast, Julie Lerman, who is currently working on the 2nd edition of Programming Entity Framework, will highlight the ten most significant changes to the Entity Framework

Entity Framework is definitely something worth learning and Julie is an excellent presenter, so do what you can to make this.

Technorati Tags: EF4,Julie Lerman,O'Reilly,MEF,Enitty Framework

Mac Tablet Rumor Frenzy

Frank La Vigne — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 14:08:00 GMT

For some reason, I thought the big Mac announcement was today. (Jan 26), but apparently it’s tomorrow.

After 5+ years of waiting, what’s another 24 hours, right?

Well, to ease you through the next 24 hours, here are some Mac Tablet links:

Five Features the Mac Tablet Should Have, but Wont (At first)
Thought provoking pie in the sky wishful thinking gone unchecked.
Mac Tablet: a Complete History
A sordid history of the Mac Tablet from 2002 to the present.
Apple Tablet: Just Something Else to Carry
Cynicism: David Coursey has it.
It’s not a Tablet?
Not everyone is convinced we’re going to see Steve Jobs roll out a tablet. Count Chuck La Tournous as one of the doubting Thomases.
Will the Mac Tablet live up to the hype?
ABC news weighs in

Technorati Tags: Tablet,MacTablet,Steve Jobs,Rumor,Frenzy,Hype

Mapping New York

Frank La Vigne — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 08:02:00 GMT

In our savvy Web 2.0+ era, we take it for granted that we can generate custom maps on demand complete with turn by turn directions and aerial overlays. Long before Deep Zoom and AJAX powered maps, maps were hand drawn and often filled with fanciful decorations and embellishments.

But the history of maps and map making is so much richer, as the new book Mapping New York points out.

From the 1600s to today, the book is filled with rich illustrations and the Guardian has 15 of them you can look at and admire right now.

Technorati Tags: Maps,GeoLocation,Mapping,New York

Charlie Brown has his own TIE Fighter

Frank La Vigne — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 07:52:00 GMT

Excellent Peanuts/Star Wars mashup

Technorati Tags: Star Wars,Charlie Brown,Tie Fighter

Abe Lincoln is Ready. Are You?

Frank La Vigne — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 07:20:00 GMT

Honest Abe is all set for the big Apple tablet announcement today.

[found via @veverkap]

Photoshop: The Very Beginning

Frank La Vigne — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:34:00 GMT

Few software programs have the kind of longevity and impact on popular culture as Adobe Photoshop.

Photoshop is often used as a verb, much to Adobe’s disdain, and even people who never re-touched a photo, let alone used the software, have uttered the phrase “photoshopped.”

I first got the chance to play with the software in college with Photoshop 2.5.

The power it gives the user today over images is still impressive, but back then it was simply astounding. It felt like you had an art studio combined with the special effects power of George Lucas in your computer.

Although a lot has changed over the years, the core UI and overall experience has remained largely the same. You could take someone familiar with Photoshop from the mid 90’s and sit them in front of the very latest version (CS4) today and they’d have a good understanding of how to use it.

That’s an impressive study in usability and consistency.

BitRebels has an article about the early history of Photoshop, before it was an Adobe product.

In 1987, Thomas Knoll, a PhD student at the University of Michigan, began writing a program on his Macintosh Plus to display grayscale images on a monochrome display. This program, called Display, caught the attention of his brother John Knoll, an Industrial Light & Magic employee, who recommended Thomas turn it into a full-fledged image editing program. Thomas took a six month break from his studies in 1988 to collaborate with his brother on the program, which had been renamed ImagePro. Later that year, Thomas renamed his program Photoshop and worked out a short-term deal with scanner manufacturer Barneyscan to distribute copies of the program with a slide scanner; a "total of about 200 copies of Photoshop were shipped" this way.
During this time, John traveled to Silicon Valley and gave a demonstration of the program to engineers at Apple and Russell Brown, art director at Adobe. Both showings were successful, and Adobe decided to purchase the license to distribute in September 1988. While John worked on plug-ins in California, Thomas remained in Ann Arbor writing program code. Photoshop 1.0 was released in 1990 for Macintosh exclusively.

It’s amazing to read how humble Photoshop’s origins are, given that it’s the de-facto image editing software today.

Technorati Tags: Photoshop,History,Mac

Pittsburgh Code Camp Call for Speakers

Frank La Vigne — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:33:00 GMT

It’s still January, but Spring Code Camp season is just around the corner: including Pittsburgh Code Camp and they’re looking for speakers.

When: April 17th, 2010, 9 AM - 5 PM
Where: University of Pittsburgh, Sennott Square

Technorati Tags: Pittsburgh,Code Camp,Developer Community

Well Known Sites/Companies Using Prism

Frank La Vigne — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:27:00 GMT

Below is a short list of well known web sites and companies using Prism.

It’s not a complete list to be sure, but this question came up during a discussion recently.

Disney
Fit BPO
http://www.ideablade.com/SuccessStories/FitBPO_UFC_Gyms/success_stories_UFCGym.aspx
Telerik
http://www.telerik.com/support/pits.aspx
http://demos.telerik.com/silverlight/salesdashboard/
CompletIT (Document management/DNA Analysis)
Thomson Reuters
MSN's My Health Info
http://health.msn.com/my-health-info-center/
Glo
http://bibleglo.com/
Kongsberg Maritime - Process Control System for oil platforms and container ships
Veracity
AgiliTrain

Technorati Tags: Silverlight,Prism,WPF

Panera Bread iMac Man

Frank La Vigne — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:15:00 GMT

Gizmodo sits down with internet celebrity Panera Bread iMac man to discuss World of Warcraft, Panera Bread, and internet stardom.

Panera Bread is pure awesomeness: free Wifi and unlimited drink refills.

It doesn’t get any better than that.

Technorati Tags: Panera Bread,iMac,Gizmodo

More Silverlight Performance Goodness

Frank La Vigne — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:15:00 GMT

Mike Snow has some tips on squeezing the last drops of performance out of your Silverlight applications.

In short, here are four parameters on the plug-in to set in order to tweak your application.

On top of that you can also use XPerf to analyze performance of your Silverlight application.

With XPerf, you can track CPU and disk usage over time and get a better handle on what’s going on. It’s a free install from MSDN. URL= http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc305187.aspx.

For more details and instructions please see read Seema’s post on using XPerf.

Technorati Tags: Silverlight,Performance Tuning,GPU