Installing Geneva Beta 2 on Windows7
on Nov 5, 2009 in geneva identity vs2008 windows7 Recently I installed the Beta 2 version of "Geneva", or ADFS 2.0. All of my machines are now Windows 7 machines, including just about all of my VHDs and virtual machines. The only time I use Win2k8 R2 is when the product I'm installi...

Why we're all NOT going to die on December 21st, 2012.
on Nov 4, 2009 in maya 2012 stupidity hollywood Unless you've been living under a rock for the past couple of months, you've probably not been able to escape the movie trailers, hype, and even SyFy channel (yes, SYFY channel..that should TELL YOU SOMETHING) specials regarding the Mayan ...

Something Wicked This Way Comes - Breaking Changes for .NET Services in Azure
on Nov 2, 2009 in pdc09 azure netservices cloud acs servicebus If you want the full gory details, check out the .NET Services team blog post here. What follows below are some of the things that I think are most crucial to understand both for new developers and for developers unfortunate enough to be in a positio...

LINQ to SQL and Entity Framework on top of SQL Azure
on Oct 28, 2009 in sql azure sqlazure entityframework linq2sql ef orm As mentioned in my previous blog post, you don't get full designer support on SQL Azure within SQL Server Management Studio. In addition, you don't get designer support for LINQ to SQL or Entity Framework, either. So what do you do if you wan...

Creating and Manipulating your SQL Azure Database with SSMS and Visual Studio
on Oct 28, 2009 in sql azure sqlazure visualstudio cloud database So after the long and torturous wait, you're now in the SQL Azure CTP and you are ready to get the ball rolling with your fabulous, shiny new cloud-based SQL database server. Now what? Well, the first thing you're going to need to do is creat...

Client-Side Validation with jQuery, DataAnnotations, MVC 2, and VS2010 Beta 2
on Oct 26, 2009 in vs2010 mvc2 jquery dataannotations validation client mvc aspnet Anytime a feature of a framework gives me something for free that I don't need to manually implement I'm a happy camper. One such feature of ASP.NET MVC 2 is jQuery client-side validation. The reason I like this is that unlike other jQuery fr...

Templated Helpers in ASP.NET MVC 2 (VS2010 Beta 2 Version)
on Oct 22, 2009 in vs2010 beta mvc mvc2 template controls ui jquery Templated Helpers are one of the new features in ASP.NET MVC 2. The other day, Visual Studio 2010 Beta 2 came out and some of you may have noticed that it comes pre-equipped with a beta release of ASP.NET MVC 2. In short a templated helper is a way o...

Kindle 2 vs. Nook
on Oct 20, 2009 in ereader ebooks kindle nook amazon barnesandnoble Barnes and Noble just recently unveiled their upcoming eReader, the Nook. On the blog of my non-techy alter-ego I've posted a comparison of the two readers that is entirely based on my own personal feelings of what is cool and what isn't, so...

Get Your Red Hot VS2010 Beta 2!
on Oct 19, 2009 in pdc vs2010 beta Visual Studio 2010 Beta 2 is now available to MSDN subscribers and will be available to the public at large late next week. The list of stuff that is awesome and worth checking out in VS2010 Beta 2 is too long and ridiculously in-depth for me to cove...

The Origin of Stupidity
on Oct 14, 2009 in kirkcameron atheism evolution darwin humor So apparently Kirk Cameron and a buddy of his are continuing their campaign of lies and outright stupidity because things like common sense, science, and cold hard fact threaten their fragile hold on sanity. Ordinarily I might on on a huge rant about...