Mitch Wheat - Treat the cause, not the symptoms!

The talk lineup for December’s DevJam community event of the Perth .NET User Group (Thursday, 3rd Dec), is as follows:

• Piers Williams:  Windows 7 Touch
• Jeremy Thake:  SharePoint 2010 toolbox in VS2010, resistance is futile!
• Paul Cooper:  T4 templates in Visual Studio
• Rhys Campbell:  AOP with Unity
• Jake Ginnivan:  Introduction to VSTO Outlook Add-ins
• Ying Low:  Caliburn
• Adrian McGrath:  Windows 7 Virtualisation
• Mike Minutillo:  .NET on RAILS

DATE: Thursday, Dec 3rd, 5:30pm
VENUE: Excom, Ground Floor, 23 Barrack Street, Perth
COST: Free. All welcome

There will be pizza and refreshments provided and a few door prizes including either a "VS Professional with Premium Subscription" Or "VS Team Suite" courtesy of Microsoft.

During a lunch time conversation with a colleague (Thanks Hadley!), it was mentioned that most PC setups are not utilising their hard disk speed potential due to being configured as IDE instead of AHCI. I’ve previously tried to get this working under Windows XP but it required a re-install and went into the too-hard basket.

The good news is, if you are running Windows 7 (or Vista, but let’s hope it’s the former!), ACHI is supported out of the box and you do not need to re-install.

You might be thinking that this doesn’t apply to you if you have a shiny new SSD? It does!  Back in August this year, I blogged about the Windows 7 performance score and how I was a little disappointed with the disk performance as it was the ‘slowest’ component in my new system.

How to Activate AHCI

These instructions are for expert users and are at your own risk. [If you installed Windows 7 with your motherboard BIOS set to use AHCI rather than IDE, then Congratulations! there is nothing to do.]

Otherwise, there are two things you need to do to activate AHCI.

1. You must Activate AHCI in Windows First

• Close all open programs.
• Open regedit and navigate to the key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\msahci
• Double-click on the ‘Start’ value to edit it. The value will most likely be “3″. Change that value to “0″ (zero).
• Close regedit, and reboot your PC.

2. Activate AHCI in your Motherboard BIOS

• As your PC boots up, enter your BIOS setup.
• Go to the hard disk configuration. Find the setting that says SATA Setting or configuration (varies by motherboard).
• Select AHCI from the drop-down options. Once it’s set to AHCI, save and exit, and continuing booting Windows.
• Windows will install the necessary drivers and then prompt you to reboot.
• Re-boot and you are done!

If you don’t activate it in Windows first, you will get a blue screen upon loading Windows. If that happens, go into your BIOS and set SATA mode back to IDE, then boot Windows, and follow the steps as described above.

Please Note: this won’t work if you are already using RAID as your SATA setting, unless your motherboard has a second dedicated RAID controller like mine (many do).

Here is the re-run Windows Experience index:

And you know what? It’s not just faster by the benchmark score; it is noticeably faster accessing the disk as well!

The SharePoint 2010 (Beta) Developer Center is up and running with a host of new training modules. You can also find documentation on the Microsoft SharePoint 2010 SDK, the SharePoint Professional Developer Evaluation Guide, and access to SharePoint 2010 community pages.

The Windows SharePoint Services Resources look useful.

Join us at the Perth .NET User Group, Thurs November 5th to hear Joe Albahari present on the new C# 4.0 features. C# 4.0 is just around the corner, and it introduces a number of much-requested features including optional parameters, named arguments and (horror) dynamic typing! We're going to demo all of C# 4.0's new features, discuss best practices, show off dynamic Office and Python interop, and explore some novel uses for dynamic typing that may not have crossed your mind. In particular, we'll examine a surprising pattern whereby a little quacking can make large classes much more manageable. VB programmers may attend - but please, no smirking!

• TOPIC:    What's new in C# 4.0 - Joe Albahari
• DATE:     Thursday, Nov 5th, 5:30pm
• VENUE:   Excom, Ground Floor, 23 Barrack Street, Perth
• COST:     Free. All welcome

Joe Albahari is author of C# 3.0 in a Nutshell and the upcoming C# 4.0 in a Nutshell.

There will be a door prize of a LINQPad 10-user team license donated by Joe, and a choice of license from JetBrains (one of ReSharper , TeamCity Build Agent, dotTrace Profiler, RubyMine, or IntelliJ IDEA).

More details here.

Restarting the Microsoft Transfer Manager

If you have ever started a large download via the resumable Microsoft Transfer Manager, forgotten about it and shutdown your PC. You will no doubt have found yourself in the same situation I found myself in a few days ago. I started a download from the MSDN subscription site and later shutdown my PC.  No problem I thought, I’ll simply resume the download.

Except I couldn’t find the Microsoft Transfer manager to restart it! There was no shortcut or entry in the Programs menu.

So where is the download manager located! After some hunting around, it turns out it lives at %windir%\Downloaded Program Files\TransferMgr.exe.

[Note: If you open that folder in Windows Explorer and find garbled names, open a console window (cmd.exe), change directory (CD) to  C:\WINDOWS\Downloaded Program Files\, and run a list the contents (DIR). You should see TransferMgr.exe]

TIP: Once you have found and re-run Transfer Manager, there is an option to place a shortcut on the desktop. Click the Options button, and tick the checkbox “Place application shortcut on the desktop”.

Aligned with the SQL Azure October CTP release, Microsoft have published an updated version of the Windows Azure Platform Training Kit: Windows Azure Platform Training Kit - October Update

Among other things, the training kit contains the following SQL Azure related content:

Presentations

• Introduction to SQL Azure
• Building Applications using SQL Azure
• Scaling Out with SQL Azure

Demos

• Preparing your SQL Azure Account
• Connecting to SQL Azure
• Managing Logins and Security in SQL Azure
• Creating Objects in SQL Azure
• Migrating a Database Schema to SQL Azure
• Moving Data Into and Out Of SQL Azure using SSIS
• Building a Simple SQL Azure App
• Scaling Out SQL Azure with Database Sharding

Hands On Labs

• Introduction to SQL Azure
• Migrating Databases to SQL Azure
• Building Your First SQL Azure App

To try out SQL Azure you first need to obtain a SQL Azure token. Then there are a few differences connecting to the server, specifically using SSMS to connect to your DB in the cloud.

Microsoft have released the October preview of the Visual Studio 2010 & .NET Framework 4 Training Kit. This training content is ready to use with VS2010 Beta 2. You can download from here: Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4 Training Kit

In addition, Channel 9 has recently launched a free online learning centre that will host developer focused training courses created by developers for developers. The online training course allows developers to search for and browse the content without downloading the full training kit.

The Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4 Training Course includes videos and hands-on-labs designed to help you learn how to utilize the Visual Studio 2010 features and a variety of framework technologies including: C# 4.0, Visual Basic 10, F#, Parallel Computing Platform, WCF, WF, WPF, ASP.NET AJAX 4.0, ASP.NET MVC Dynamic Data.

Well almost!  OK, granted I’m a few hours early, but it’s a bit like waking up early on xmas morning :)

Bye bye Vista, Hellooo Windows 7!

[Looks as if Microsoft’s OS fortunes are going to be nicely aligned with the economic recovery…]

The single Windows 7 license that was part of the Windows launch ‘party’ pack will be one of the prizes for the Perth .NET User Group December’s DevJam community event (since a single license, a party does not make!).

I came across this useful list of Compact Framework Tips and Tricks posted by Chris Tacke on StackOverflow: .Net Compact Framework Tips, Tricks, and Gotchas

A few days ago I was re-awarded with a Microsoft MVP and would once again like to thank everyone for their support and encouragement.  A big thank you to Rose Stamell and Nick Ellery at Microsoft.

I was browsing over at Joe Albahari’s personal web site (Joe is the creator of the easy to use and very successful LINQPad, and one of the authors of O’Reilly’s excellent ‘C# in a Nutshell’) and noticed this 10 LINQ Myths: The ten most common misconceptions.

As well as being a C# guru, Joe is an active participant and supporter of the Perth .NET User Group. In fact, he will be presenting a session in November on the New features in C# 4.0 (More details will be posted shortly…).

We are fortunate to have Brad McGehee present two sessions while he is in Perth. The second session is "Introduction to the SQL Server 2008 Data Collector". In previous versions of SQL Server, performance tuning was often difficult because the available tools weren't always easy to use or interpret. In SQL Server 2008, Microsoft is introducing the Performance Data Collector. This comprehensive new toolset has been designed to integrate the collection, analysis, troubleshooting, and persistence of SQL Server diagnostic information, making the jobs of DBAs much easier. 

• TOPIC: Introduction to the SQL Server 2008 Data Collector - Brad McGehee
• DATE:   Friday, Oct 2nd, 5:30pm - 7:00pm
• VENUE: Excom, Ground Floor, 23 Barrack Street, Perth
• COST:   Free. All welcome

Brad McGehee is a MCSE+I, MCSD, and MCT (former) with a Bachelors’ degree in Economics and a Masters in Business Administration. Currently the Director of DBA Education for Red Gate Software, Brad is an accomplished Microsoft SQL Server MVP with over 14 years’ SQL Server experience, over 6 years’ training experience, and has been involved in the industry since 1982. He is a frequent speaker at SQL PASS, European PASS, SQL Connections, SQLTeach, SQLBits, SQL Saturdays, TechFests, Code Camps, SQL Server user groups, and other industry seminars.

RedGate have generously donated a license to their excellent SQL Compare Pro.

More details here.

Join us at the Perth .NET User Group in October for two talks with a SQL Server focus, aimed at both Developers and DBAs. We are fortunate to have RedGate's Brad McGehee present two sessions while he is in Perth. Brad is a frequent speaker at conferences around the world.

The first talk is Thurs October 1st, where Brad will present on "How to Interpret Graphical Execution Plans". One of the SQL Server black arts is how to read and interpret graphical Query Execution Plans. This is a key thing to understand as Execution Plans provide valuable clues as to why a particular query may be running slowly. In this session, you will learn how to read an Execution Plan, and learn what to do with the information you have gained from reading it.

• TOPIC: How to Interpret Graphical Execution Plans - Brad McGehee
• DATE:     Thursday, Oct 1st, 5:30pm - 7:00pm
• VENUE:  Excom, Ground Floor, 23 Barrack Street, Perth
• COST:     Free. All welcome

Brad McGehee is a MCSE+I, MCSD, and MCT (former) with a Bachelors’ degree in Economics and a Masters in Business Administration. Currently the Director of DBA Education for Red Gate Software, Brad is an accomplished Microsoft SQL Server MVP with over 14 years’ SQL Server experience, over 6 years’ training experience, and has been involved in the industry since 1982. He is a frequent speaker at SQL PASS, European PASS, SQL Connections, SQLTeach, SQLBits, SQL Saturdays, TechFests, Code Camps, SQL Server user groups, and other industry seminars.

We will have pizza at this session courtesy of INETA.

RedGate have generously donated a license to their excellent ANTS Memory Profiler Pro. There is also a door prize of a choice of license from JetBrains (one of ReSharper , TeamCity Build Agent, dotTrace Profiler, RubyMine, IntelliJ IDEA).

Try to arrive early if you want a seat!

More details here.

Microsoft has launched a new initiative, WebSiteSpark, aimed specifically at independent web developers and small web development companies.  The only two requirements to join the program are:

1. Your company builds web sites and web application on behalf of others.
2. Your company currently has less than 10 employees.

The Australian launch of WebSiteSpark will be on the 8th of October.

What do you get?

Software licenses that you can use for three years AT NO COST.  Once enrolled, you can download and immediately use the following software from Microsoft:

• 3 licenses of Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition
• 1 license of Expression Studio 3 (which includes Expression Blend, Sketchflow, and Web)
• 2 licenses of Expression Web 3
• 4 processor licenses of Windows Web Server 2008 R2
• 4 processor licenses of SQL Server 2008 Web Edition
• DotNetPanel control panel (enabling easy remote/hosted management of your servers)

The Windows Server and SQL Server licenses can be used for both development and production deployment.  You can either self-host the servers on your own, or use the licenses with a hoster. 

For more info see Scott Guthrie’s post: Announcing the WebsiteSpark Program

Even though you no longer have to worry about disk partition alignment for SQL Server on Windows Server 2008 (you did on Windows Server 2003 and Earlier; see Disk Partition Alignment Best Practices for SQL Server), there are still important tuning parameters and settings that can result in improved performance for the Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system. You can download the document from here: Performance Tuning Guidelines for Windows Server 2008 R2.

It is often said that Richard Feynman was truly a magician. The Tuva project (apparently Bill Gates is its sponsor) at Microsoft Research is showing Richard Feynman’s ‘Messenger Series’ lectures. Although the format is slightly dated (check out the non-wireless microphone!), it does nothing to hide Richard Feynman’s infectious enthusiasm for science and its exposition. As Bill notes in his introduction, his motivation for making these publicly available is "...everybody ought to see these, as they make science interesting...".

If this has whet your appetite, check out The Feynman Lectures on Physics including Feynman's Tips on Physics: The Definitive and Extended Edition