.NET

CSLA Light

Chris Williams — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 19:29:36 GMT

Rocky Lhotka has just released Beta 1 of CSLA .NET for Silverlight framework (and a corresponding version for Windows).

If you are unfamiliar with CSLA .NET, it is one of the most widely used business application development frameworks for the .NET platform. I expect it will be extremely widely used in Silverlight as well, since it provides even more direct benefits to Silverlight developers! CSLA .NET for Silverlight abstracts many of the complex issues faced when building business applications in Silverlight, and helps provide the same level of productivity and power developers are accustomed to on the .NET platform.

You can read an overview here:
http://www.lhotka.net/weblog/OverviewOfCSLANET36ForWindowsAndSilverlight.aspx

And you can find download links here: http://www.lhotka.net/weblog/CSLANET36ForWindowsAndForSilverlightBeta1Released.aspx

To my knowledge, CSLA .NET for Silverlight is the first major framework targeting Silverlight 2.0 to enter the beta phase, and Rocky expects to release the final version of CSLA .NET for Silverlight as Silverlight 2.0 itself is released.

And best of all, all the sample apps are in VB (as well as C#). And he's been primarily using VB in the demos when speaking about the framework, and the various issues he’s had to address in building such an ambitious project on Silverlight 2.0. (so all you folks wondering about the future of VB w/ CSLA can rest easy.)

XNA 3.0 Beta is out

Chris Williams — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:36:40 GMT

http://creators.xna.com/en-us/3.0beta_mainpage

http://creators.xna.com/en-us/3.0beta_mainpage

What I do...

Chris Williams — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:34:52 GMT

Occasionally, people ask me how I became an MVP... or they ask me what do I do besides consulting, that keeps me so busy. Here's a list of stuff I've done over the last year, and what I have scheduled through the rest of 2008.

The List!

If you want me to come speak at your event, it would be a good idea to check here first to see if there's a date conflict.

Twin Cities Developers Guild - tomorrow night!!

Chris Williams — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 16:30:30 GMT

Quick reminder, tomorrow night is the Twin Cities Developers Guild meeting featuring Rocky Lhotka!

If you're in the area, or just really love CSLA (and who doesn't?) come on out and get your first public look at CSLA Light (as in, Silverlight, uh-huh... that's right!)

http://www.twincitiesdevelopersguild.com

Please RSVP for an accurate food and beverage count.

NINE Questions with Rod Paddock

Chris Williams — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 14:58:28 GMT

We're kicking this week off with an interview with my good friend Rod Paddock. Aside from being one of the coolest dudes on earth, Rod's also the editor of a little mag you developer types may have heard of: CoDe Magazine. I shot Rod some questions, and he shot me some answers. Here you go:

1. Where are you from? (especially if its not where you are now, geographically.)
I’m from California. I graduated from Palmdale High School in 1987. I lived in Bend Oregon for a few years when I went to school. Then moved to the Seattle area around 16 years ago.

2. Who do you work for / What do you do? Give me the 10 second pitch on you/your company/your product...
I am the owner of Dash Point Software, Inc. a Seattle and soon to be Austin, TX based company. Our company provides software services specializing in Visual Studio .NET and SQL Server. We do end to end development services. Meaning we help companies architect and develop software to run their business with.

3. How did you get there?
I started my business when I was laid off from Pinnacle Publishing (we used to sell Graphics Server and a ton of newsletters, the newsletters are owned by some hack POS company now) like 14 years ago. I was doing some work on the side when I had a “real” job. When I got laid off they said “Let us know when your last day is.” So I told em I wanna work 4 days a week at home and one in the office for the next 8 weeks or so. I worked 1-2 hours for them on the 4 days and the rest started my business. I basically called all the people I was moonlighting for and said I have a ton of availability now. They said cool. We have a lot more work. I was also a trainer for Application Developers Training Company (Now AppDev from your hometown of Minneapolis)

4. A lot of folks see you as a techie rock star type & code mag editor, but I know you're also a heavy duty gamer. What's your favorite game and how did you get introduced to it?
My all time favorite game is Dungeons and Dragons. When I started gaming I didn’t start with that game but with a game called Gamma World. In 7^th grade I played a keeshan (amphibious mutant) and blew our entire party up with a grenade of some type. After blowing the party up I learned how to play D&D. I was a big time gamer, writing articles, modules and attending a ton of conventions including GenCon twice. My first article was published in the RPGA newsletter when I was 17 or 18. I generally like to be a DM when I play. Probably why I like computers so much. Control freak I guess<G>

5. Speaking of rock star types, you're one of those folks others blog about. how does the aspiring developer get to be Rod Paddock? What does it take?
Wow this is a tough question. I really consider myself as a regular dude. Not a rock star. I think the key element of what I do for a living is passion. I really love what I do and have a serious passion for it. If I didn’t do this for a living I would definitely do it for fun. Another quality you need to possess is a desire to learn. This is a learning business where you need to keep adapting your skill set. I love to learn so this is the job for me.

I consider myself lucky. This profession has given me the ability to travel the world and hang out with some of the coolest people in the business.

6. I'm a social networking junkie, and I see you on sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, your blog, etc... what are your thoughts on the social networking boom and where do you see it heading?
You know what lately I am really digging the whole social networking thing. It’s a great mechanism for people to keep in touch when they are pretty much anywhere in the world. Heck I was seeing tweets from my friend Markus Egger who is in Egypt today. I used to give my wife grief about her whole MySpace deal. You know the web site where every page looks like a ransom letter. I really started to like it when I got into Facebook. I set up an account many moons ago and forgot all about it. I returned to it and had like 7 friend requests. I accepted them and then went about looking at the folks I was friends with and adding there friends to my list. It’s pretty cool and a good mechanism for keeping up with people that have crazy busy lives. My most recent foray into social networking is Twitter. It’s kind of an addicting platform.

7. You're a VB MVP and you were FoxPro before that, so what are some other areas of your technical expertise?
Yup I definitely live in a house that FoxPro built. I am a true computer junkie and have a passion for learning new technologies. My expertise is in ASP.NET, VB.NET, SQL Server, WinForms, Silverlight, Visual Basic 6, Visual FoxPro among others. In a former life I worked in Unix. I am also a fan of Linux (don’t use it but keep up on what’s happening in that space)

8. What's next for Rod? Any big plans / projects on the horizon?
Next step for Rod and family is our move to Austin, TX. Our house in Austin is almost done and we’ll be moved in by end of August, 2008. Once we get moved in my next project is to fully equip my media room. Along with being a computer geek I am probably a bigger movie geek.

9. Last of all, and thanks for the interview, any tattoos?
Yup…. I have two. Trying to figure out what the third will be.

NINE Questions with Dana Coffey

Chris Williams — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 20:36:11 GMT

I'm taking a break from this glorious day, with nice weather and grilled meats to bring you this interview with Dana Coffey (someone many of you know as @CrazeeGeekChick on Twitter.) Dana is from a place near and dear to my heart. The South. Every time I see her take the time to actually type out the word "y'all" I get a chuckle. So without further delay, here is Dana Coffey and her NINE Questions.

1. Where are you from?
Peachtree City, GA – land of the Golfcart paths. It’s just south of Atlanta

2. Who do you work for / What do you do? Give me the 10 second pitch on why I want your "product".
I work for McGuireWoods LLP (www.mcguirewoods.com) We’re a law firm that specializes in some high profile corporate level litigation. The technology used there is pretty impressive and innovative. Our CTO has a history with Sun Microsystems and is a big promoter of Open Source Software.

3. How did you end up there?
My fellow ASP Insider Steve Presley worked there and contacted me when they needed a Sr. Application developer. The position is a telecommuting position and he was familiar with my desire to work from home in order to care for my 3 kids. I was at Definition 6 at the time(www.definition6.com) and happy there, but McGuire Woods made me a sweet offer! I love the work, the team and have really been enjoying my time there so far.

4. I know you maintain the ASP for Blondes blog, but what other areas of technical expertise do you have?
My degree is in business management, but most of my technical skills revolve around ASP and ASP.NET. I’ve been a ASP.NET MVP twice, and I also dabble in other related Microsoft technologies. My newest love is the huge trend towards Web 2.0 and the social web. I’m currently in the planning stages of revamping ASPforblondes.com into another kind of site altogether – There will still be ASP related info, but mostly general technology and social web content. I’m one of those rare developers who speak “end user” very well, so one of my biggest assets is the ability to communicate between IT and end/business users. I think like a business manager.

5. So I know you mostly from your twitters and your blog, but that's just one part of the big picture. What's something the world at large doesn't know about Dana Coffey?
I’m a recovering alcoholic. I’ve long ago given up my anonymity on the subject, but most people don’t know that fact about me. I spend a lot of time giving back to those in early recovery and helping in any way I can. It’s a cause that is near and dear to my heart due to both personal experience and family history.

6. Speaking of twitter, what's your take on the whole social networking boom? Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc...
Well my previous answers might give it away. I think social networking is absolutely mind boggling! The whole paradigm has given the web a way to engage with people on a “tribal” and emotional level. It’s really opened my eyes to the importance of personal branding as a science, and I’m really excited about seeing where we go with it next! Coming from a business background, it gives me the total warm fuzzies just to think of the many ways business can use this model to help its customers. For instance, when I tweeted that I was having issues with Comcast Internet, the Comcast guy actually tweeted me and gave me his direct line to get my problem solved! How cool is THAT?

7. What’s the biggest challenge you face in your job?
We currently have several classic ASP applications for which I’ve had to provide support. I’ve begun the process of moving them all over to ASP.NET, which thrills me! In the meantime however, I realize how awesome ASP.NET is and how spoiled I am. Supporting and debugging a behemoth app done in classic ASP is a hairy business!

8. We've covered tech pretty well, so any non-technical interests or hobbies? What do you do for fun?
Well I’m a single mother, so I don’t have a lot of free time, but when I do get the time, I love to go camping, ride my golf cart, roller-skating, bike riding and going to the movies. I spend a lot of time playing with my doggies, a longhaired dachshund named Snoopy and a beagle puppy named Woodstock. I tweet about them quite a bit, and they’re regular attendants at our weekly staff conference calls J

9. So, last question... any tattoos?
Yep – I have a dancing teddy bear on my ankle. I’m currently designing my next tattoo, which will be either the Tibetan or Chinese symbol for Gratitude. (The Chinese symbol incorporates two symbols; “speak” and “love”)

Have Fun. Raise Money. Help Kids. I give you the Charity Fragathon

Chris Williams — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 15:06:33 GMT

so a few of you (including my parents) have been wondering what this "big idea" of mine was. It's not another game store, although don't rule that out permanently. It's not a video game studio, although again... never say never.

No, this is something truly magnificent.

I give you the Charity Fragathon. www.charityfragathon.com

The Twin Cities XNA User Group is throwing their first ever charity event! Admission to this event is $10 (ten bucks!!) and that covers entry into what just might be the biggest Halo 3 tournament you've ever seen. We'll also have a room set aside for Rock Band 2 and of course XNA games for anyone who wants to check out the new Xbox Live Community Games.

Is that it? Nope, not even close. In addition to all this gaming goodness, we're going to give away some awesome prizes for the tournament winners and random stuff throughout the night. We'll also be providing pizza, sodas and BAWLS Energy Drink courtesy of our sponsors.

So this is for charity? Yep, we're raising money for Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota. Magenic (one of our sponsors) has graciously committed to MATCH 100% of the first $3000 we raise, so we're going to hit them for every cent! The only way we can do that is with YOUR donations. If you can't make it, but still want to give... we can totally hook you up.

Codestock is ONE WEEK AWAY

Chris Williams — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 02:12:02 GMT

Codestock is ONE WEEK AWAY!!

What is Codestock? Well, it's a one day conference, full of top notch programmers talking about the latest technology. There's no marketing presentations, or in your face propaganda. Oh yeah, and I'm speaking there... of course.

Come spend a Saturday with some top tier developers. I'll be there, you should too.

(and no, this isn't my big announcement... stay tuned!)

NINE Questions with Randy Walker

Chris Williams — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:55:51 GMT

I was hoping to get this out earlier in the week, but real life, work and that annoying sleep habit I can't seem to kick all got in the way. Randy is a fellow VB MVP and "Carl & Gary's" alumni, but I'll let him tell you about that. Here are my NINE Questions with Randy Walker:

1. Where are you from?
Born in South Korea, adopted and lived all over the U.S. While I consider myself an Arkansas Razorback by heart (Go Hogs!), I’m a Texan through and through. I currently live and work in Northwest Arkansas, home of Wal-Mart, Tyson, JBHunt and the Univ of Arkansas.

2. Who do you work for? Give me the 10 second pitch on them. Why would I want to buy their product?
I write and sell software to Vendorville. A term coined for the Consumer Package Goods industry that sells their products in Wal-Mart stores. Most people wouldn’t be interested in my product.

3. What brought you to your current employer?
I used to work for the Clorox Company in their Wal-Mart field office. There was a really awful tool that we purchased, which works with Wal-Mart’s Business Intelligence website called Retail Link. I said to myself, hey I can write something that can do that, and do it better. So I did!

4. I know you mostly from GeeksWithBlogs (www.geekswithblogs.net/rwalker) and the MVP community, but that's just one side of you. What's something the world doesn't know about Randy Walker?
Unlike most MVPs that are awarded because of influence, I’m not as technical or as good of a speaker as the rest. Where I tend to excel is in having a vision for long term goals and in recognizing the potential in people. Currently I’m focused on building leaders in our local developer communities and bridging the gap between businesses and technology.

You can read about my personality type at http://typelogic.com/enfj.html, as well as take a test to find yours out at http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp (in order to get the best results make sure to answer how you really are, not what you want to be).

On a more personal note, I’m a PK (pastor’s kid) and MK (missionary’s kid) and strive for balance in all things.

You can catch my Twitter at http://wwwtwitter.com/vonlar and my other blog: http://www.mysoftwarestartup.com.

5. As I mentioned in your introduction, you're a VB MVP, tell me about your coolest VB moment.
I started out in programming using VB4 for one month before switching to VB5. One of the coolest moments of my career was meeting my developer hero, Carl Franklin. Most people know him from DotNetRocks fame, but he used to run Carl & Gary’s VB website. I can’t tell you the amount of hours he saved me while I was learning how to develop software and use VB.

6. So you're from Arkansas, and you're helping to build community leadership. Is there a big User Group scene there?
Actually, our local UG scene has grown by leaps and bounds. We’ve really been able to build a large core group of leaders that are passionate about learning and sharing their knowledge. I’d like to think that we have the highest active UG member to local developer ratio in the nation.

7. You're active with INETA as well, at the regional level. What's that like?
While I’ve only been a regional rep for INETA for 8 months, I’m just now getting the hang of it and actively trying to help out other user groups in Kansas, Missouri, and Arkansas. It’s not as easy as it sounds. Not knowing the local dev scene I’m responsible for, it’s hard to know how to help a user group grow, much less create good relationships with the leaders in that area.

8. Any non-technical hobbies? What are they and why?
Sadly, not enough. Pretty much my days are filled with actively attending church, taking care of my nearly 3 year old son and running my software business. I do enjoy rock climbing and occasionally beating Josh Holmes in golf.

9. Last of all, any tattoos?
I once used a really cool temporary Visual Studio 2005 tattoo that Microsoft sent me, does that count? (Chris: Nope!)

Make Money On XNA Games!!

Chris Williams — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 21:22:20 GMT

Big announcement today:

http://creators.xna.com/en-us/XboxLIVECommunityGames