Saturday, August 28, 2004

Rory Blyth, a Microsoft employee? I like to listen to the .NET Rocks show and I’ve said that here several times.  But that Rory is one strange bird.  I mean just listen to the Google Weirdo’s segment which has the coolest music but his conduct there should give you a clue.  To top that, he’s now a Microsoft employee?  And they let him talk to the public? What is the world coming to?  Did anyone listen at Microsoft to the show before the interview process?  Obviously, his ridiculousness has a volume control.   It was hard for me initially to put Rory into a category with my friend Ron Cundiff and Russ Fustino.  These guys are eloquent in their presentations – not that Rory’s incapable.  I don’t see Rory talk too much about the guts of .NET – usually it’s just his latest condition or worry, or some crude comment that I couldn’t repeat.  But, the DCC’s that I talked to this week report that Rory is doing well and is continuing his unique style of entertainment and education.  Even Jim Blizzard, the local DE is giving marks of approval.   Congratulations, Rory!  I’m betting that he’ll be the most watched DCC in no time at all.  Send Rory to Memphis!  I’ll buy a ticket for that event.  No offense Ron, but I like to see a geek every once in a while.  (Please refer to the definition of geek). 5:56:12 PM    comment []

Top 10 Reasons for Using Windows XP SP2  Top 10 Reasons for Installing Windows XP SP2, says Microsoft. 3:51:40 PM    comment []

A real American hero You probably know that Steve Smith is popular for his websites, speaking, and training on ASP.NET.  And you may have heard that he’s serving our country right NOW in Iraq.  I enjoy reading about his activities as he goes about his work and still tries to keep up some of his technical activities from afar.  It seems that one of the best things that we could do for Steve is to fill up his work queue with training upon his return and send some funding his way today. One way to help is to purchase a sponsorship on AspAdvice now and buy some training from Steve when he returns.  He’s been down to Memphis to talk to our user group and he did not disappoint.  Be sure to look at AspAdvice and AspSmith to see different ways that you can support a real American hero. 3:48:37 PM    comment []

Crossword Puzzle for Tablet PC Sometimes I see that there is some free software out on the Internet and I dismiss it as having no value because it's free.  After getting a Tablet PC, one of the first places that I visited was the PowerToys site and downloaded several utilities and games.  I haven't checked them all out, but the ones that I have downloaded are of a better quality than just being free. Specifically, I've meant to mention my experience with the New York Times Crossword Puzzle For Tablet PC on MSNBC.com.  I've never been much of a crossword puzzle guy.  I either can't figure out the clues (no jokes please), I guess wrong, or I misplace the puzzle because it takes me so long to finish the dang thing.  And a lot of time, I'm having to look up the answers anyway.  But this Tablet PC game is different.  I can honestly say that I'll never do a paper crossword puzzle again because of several features that inking gives me.  First, after I write a letter in the square, the letter turns green if it's correct OR red if it's wrong.  I can easily erase a letter (which I can't always do in a paper scenario).  I can also get a letter hint (if I ask).  This game provides a way to download the daily puzzle from the New York Times and choose from others.  I can also save my results or even save in order to continue play later. I'm telling you: Check this one out.  It will change your life (especially if your wife sees the game). 3:04:17 PM    comment []

More Tablet PC PowerToys After seeing that there are now 20 Tablet PC PowerToys, I had to take a look to see what was new.  The new toys are: My Font Tool - you can make a new font based on your handwriting. Power Paint Tool - "Become a Tablet PC Picasso"... Web Search Power Tool - Write down your search phrase and it calls the configured Search engine Writing Practice Tool - "Youngsters can practice writing words and then watch as the letters animate to show a picture of the word. Teachers or parents can create words and pictures to make the game even more challenging." 2:39:16 PM    comment []

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