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The SQL Server 2005 Best Practices Analyzer (BPA) gathers data from Microsoft Windows and SQL Server configuration settings. BPA uses a predefined list of SQL Server 2005 recommendations and best practices to determine if there are potential issues in the database environment.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=DA0531E4-E94C-4991-82FA-F0E3FBD05E63&displaylang=en

Available to MSDN subscribers: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/default.aspx

Everyone should check this out. Lots of info on the new version:

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9369515

The .NET Framework 3.5 Enhancements Training Kit includes presentations,
hands-on labs, demos, and event materials.

REDMOND, Wash. — Aug. 6, 2008 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the release to manufacturing of Microsoft SQL Server 2008, the new version of the company’s acclaimed data management and business intelligence platform. This version of SQL Server provides powerful new capabilities such as support for policy-based management, auditing, large-scale data warehousing, geospatial data, and advanced reporting and analysis services. SQL Server 2008 provides the trusted, productive and intelligent platform necessary for business-critical applications.

“Microsoft developed this release of SQL Server with the customer in mind,” said Ted Kummert, corporate vice president of the Data and Storage Platform Division at Microsoft. “SQL Server 2008 is the only major database that includes comprehensive, tightly integrated functionality for data management as well as advanced business intelligence out of the box. By offering a complete solution, we save customers time and money and allow them to focus on deriving the most value from their data assets.”

With more than 450,000 customer and partner downloads of SQL Server 2008’s community technology previews (CTPs), more than 75 large-scale applications already in production and more than 1,350 applications being developed by nearly 1,000 independent software vendors (ISVs) on SQL Server 2008, it’s clear that customers and partners are excited about the capabilities now available in SQL Server 2008. Tim Whitehorn, founder and chief executive officer of event management software provider ServiceU Corp., said, “We selected SQL Server 2008 because we can entrust it with our critical business applications. SQL Server 2008 is highly secure and reliable, and offers the best value on the market today. In addition, it accelerates the time frame for deploying new features and enhancements, and that to us makes SQL Server a winner.”

A number of enterprise customers from various industries are testing SQL Server 2008 including Clear Channel Communications Inc., Fidelity Investments, Hilton Hotels Corp., Simon & Schuster Inc., Siemens AG and Xerox Corp., among many others.

SQL Server has been well-received in the analyst community. Noted Forrester Research Inc. analyst Noel Yuhanna wrote in a January 2008 report, “The Forrester Wave: Information-As-A-Service, Q1 2008,” “Microsoft is (one of) the only vendor(s) with top enterprise search and business intelligence reporting capabilities. It offers strong support for aggregation, summarization, search engine and dashboards. Transactions across distributed data sources and long-running transactions are also strengths for Microsoft.”

SQL Server is an industry leader in both scalability and performance. It is the first and only database management system to be proven capable of delivering scalable results on TPC-E, the Transaction Processing Performance Council’s (TPC) newest and most challenging online transaction processing (OLTP) benchmark, with 13 published benchmarks to date.¹ Seven benchmarks are published on Windows Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 by multiple hardware vendors, demonstrating strong price-performance and performance results, including IBM Corp.’s new No. 1 performance result using SQL Server 2008 on a 64-core System x3950 M2 server.² Also demonstrating the performance of SQL Server 2008, Unisys Corp. and Microsoft set a new extract, transform and load (ETL) performance record by loading 1 terabyte of data in less than 30 minutes using SQL Server 2008 Integration Services. In addition, SQL Server 2008 has proven its scalability in large-scale data warehousing, as demonstrated by its recent 10-terabyte TPC-H benchmark.³

“We saw a 35 percent improvement in throughput on the system that we upgraded to SQL Server 2008, with no code changes on our end,” said Gary Oberg, vice president of IT and development at Applied Discovery (a member of the LexisNexis group). “This translates straight to the bottom line for us, as the more documents we can upload, the more we can process.”

Microsoft is setting additional benchmark records with ISV solutions, including a world record on four-socket industry-standard blade servers in a three-tier SAP Sales and Distribution (SD) Standard Application Benchmark, and demonstrated the largest benchmark ever on the Siemens Teamcenter digital product life-cycle management solution, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Microsoft Dynamics AX and the Camstar Manufacturing Execution System solution.

SQL Server is a key component of the Microsoft Application Platform, a suite of products and technologies designed to help customers build, run and manage dynamic business applications. SQL Server 2008 is available in the following editions:

Pricing and Availability

SQL Server 2008 is now available to MSDN and TechNet subscribers and will be available for evaluation download on Aug. 7, 2008. SQL Server 2008 Express and SQL Server Compact editions are available for free download today at http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver. As previously announced, pricing for SQL Server will not increase with SQL Server 2008. More information is available at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/presskits/sqlserver.

Wow, guess what... it's me (David McCarter). I am so excited and proud of this award because it recognizes all of the hard work I have been doing in the Microsoft community here in San Diego for over 14 years. This includes running the San Diego .NET Developers Group, teaching at the University of San Diego California, speaking and helping at conferences including Code Camp, running this web site and writing books and more! Ever since I have became a programmer I have always had a big need to help others in their career. Except for my full-time job (which pays the bills), everything else I do is geared to satisfy that need.

As most user group leaders know, we don't get a lot of gratitude for what we do, so this is a great award to let us know that we are appreciated. I've had a lot of help along they way and they know who they are. I hope to continue to give back to the community as I am a programmer.

Info on the Award:

The INETA Community Excellence Award is given to individuals for their extraordinary efforts and prolonged contributions to the developer community at both the local and national levels. Through their commitment and passion, these people have made profound impacts that will be sustained for years. In honor of their accomplishments, the Community Excellence Award is a one-time award of recognition that will last a lifetime.

You can also go here for more info and to nominate the next winner! http://www.ineta.org/Champions/CommunityChampionInfo.aspx?Section=2

Microsoft Sync Framework is a comprehensive synchronization platform for enabling collaboration and offline scenarios for applications, services and devices.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=C88BA2D1-CEF3-4149-B301-9B056E7FB1E6&displaylang=en

The download that installs the Visual Studio Tools for the Office system 3.0 Runtime, which is required to run VSTO solutions for the 2007 Microsoft Office system built using Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 has been released.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=54EB3A5A-0E52-40F9-A2D1-EECD7A092DCB&displaylang=en

I hope everyone in southern California is planning to attend this years SoCal Code Camp up at University California San Diego on 6/28 - 6/29. It's always a great time and lots of free training! I will also be selling a limited number of my latest book "David McCarter's .NET Coding Standards" at my sessions for $11, cheaper than the web site (no tax and shipping), please bring exact change.

I will be presenting the following sessions and I hope you will attend.

dotNetDave's .NET Utility Assembly (My First CodePlex Project)

10:15 AM - Sunday, June 29, 2008 - Location: 141

 dotNetDaves .NET Utility Assembly1.zip (1.11 MB)

CodePlex site: http://www.codeplex.com/dotNetTipsUtility

Building Rich & Interactive Web Applications with ASP.NET AJAX Part 1

8:45 AM - Saturday, June 28, 2008 - Location: 129

 Building Rich & Interactive Web Applications with ASP.NET AJAX.zip (1.83 MB)

Building Rich & Interactive Web Applications with ASP.NET AJAX Part 2 

 Building Rich & Interactive Web Applications with ASP.NET AJAX Part 2 - 20081.zip (1.82 MB)

Why You Need .NET Coding Standards (2008)

1:45 PM - Sunday, June 29, 2008 - Location: 127

 Why You Need .NET Coding Standards-20081.zip (2.86 MB)

Pictures and Video

Pictures from This Years Code Camp:

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidmccarter/tags/sandiegocodecamp2008/

Pictures from past SoCal Code Camps:

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/socalcodecamp/

Video from past Code Camps:

• http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5746528613401358938&hl=en
• http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3743731164665646189&hl=en
• http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8296273637053089146&hl=en
• http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8271841448294012140&hl=en

If you are a student at a university, you can get a free copy of Visual Studio 2008 Professional and other Microsoft software. Got to this link: https://downloads.channel8.msdn.com/Products/Visual_Studio_2008.aspx

I hope everyone in southern California is planning to attend this years SoCal Code Camp up at Cal State Fullerton on 1/26 -1/27. It's always a great time and lots of free training! My fav southern California band Killola will be playing again at the Geek dinner so make sure you arrive early on Saturday to grab one of the limited number of tickets available.

I will be doing the following sessions and I hope you will attend.

dotNetDave's .NET Utility Assembly (My First CodePlex Project)

 dotNetDaves .NET Utility Assembly.zip (614.15 KB)

Building Rich & Interactive Web Applications with ASP.NET AJAX Part 1

 Building Rich & Interactive Web Applications with ASP.NET AJAX Part 1 - 2008.zip (1.39 MB)

Building Rich & Interactive Web Applications with ASP.NET AJAX Part 2 

 Building Rich & Interactive Web Applications with ASP.NET AJAX Part 2 - 2008.zip (1.11 MB)

Why You Need .NET Coding Standards (2008)

 Why You Need .NET Coding Standards-2008.zip (1.71 MB)

Pictures and Video

Pictures from This Years Code Camp:

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidmccarter/tags/fullertoncodecamp2008/

Pictures from past SoCal Code Camps:

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/socalcodecamp/

Video from past Code Camps:

• http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5746528613401358938&hl=en
• http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3743731164665646189&hl=en
• http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8296273637053089146&hl=en
• http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8271841448294012140&hl=en

Microsoft announced that Visual Studio 2008 and the .NET Framework 3.5 were released to manufacturing (RTM). With more than 250 new features,Visual Studio 2008 includes significant enhancements in every edition, including Visual Studio Express and Visual Studio Team System. Developers of all levels – from hobbyists to enterprise development teams – now have a consistent, secure and reliable solution for developing applications for the latest platforms: the Web, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, the 2007 Office system, and beyond. Learn more about Visual Studio 2008.

MSDN Subscribers: Get Visual Studio 2008 Now

Today, during the keynote address at Microsoft TechEd Developers 2007, S. “Soma” Somasegar, corporate vice president of the Developer Division at Microsoft Corp., announced that Microsoft will release Visual Studio 2008 and the .NET Framework 3.5 by the end of November 2007. Visual Studio 2008 and the .NET Framework 3.5 enable developers at all levels to rapidly create connected applications that offer compelling user experiences for Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, the 2007 Microsoft Office system, mobile devices and the Web. Soma also unveiled plans to open new opportunities for Visual Studio partners, as well as to deliver new tools and resources for developers, including a first Community Technology Preview (CTP) of the Microsoft Sync Framework and new capabilities for Popfly Explorer.

“The highly social and visual nature of the Web has fundamentally changed what users expect from all applications they interact with, regardless of whether it’s on a customer-facing Web site or Windows rich client application, or a desktop business application built using Microsoft Office,” said Somasegar. “Traditionally, organizations have been hard pressed to deliver the richer, more connected applications and services they need to boost productivity, drive revenue and stay ahead of the competition. With Visual Studio 2008 and the .NET Framework 3.5, it is easy for developers to use the skills they already have to build compelling applications that take advantage of the latest platforms.”

FWBS Ltd., Xerox Corp., Dell Inc. and K2 are just a few of the early adopter customers that are already experiencing the benefits of these releases. FWBS used Visual Studio, the .NET Framework and the Microsoft Office system to build an Office Business Application (OBA) for the law field. The application enables users to work within Microsoft Office — the tools they use every day — while also dramatically improving productivity and helping users respond quickly to changing business needs.

Xerox has also had early success developing applications with the new tools. “We’ve already seen significant advantages from using Visual Studio Team System 2008 and .NET Framework 3.5. With the first application we built, we easily saved 50 percent of the time and money it would have taken to create the same application with other tools,” said Eugene Shustef, feature design lead, Global Technology, Xerox. “That’s more than a savings to IT — it delivers a huge time-to-market advantage because it put the tool into the hands of our analysts six months sooner than they would have had it otherwise.”

Creating New Opportunities for Partners

Microsoft also announced plans to make additional investments in the Visual Studio partner ecosystem. In response to partner feedback and in order to provide better support for interoperability with other developer tools and cross-platform scenarios, Microsoft is today announcing plans to change licensing terms, no longer limiting partners to building solutions on top of Visual Studio for Windows and other Microsoft platforms only. This licensing change will be effective for the release of Visual Studio 2008 and the Visual Studio 2008 SDK.

“Integrating dynaTrace’s cross-platform application performance management and diagnostics product with Visual Studio has opened up additional commercial opportunities for our business and delivered a compelling solution for our customers. .NET and Visual Studio is a strategic platform for our business, and Microsoft’s additional investments in the partner ecosystem make it even more compelling,” said Klaus Fellner, senior director of product marketing at dynaTrace. “We’re looking forward to taking advantage of the new technology available with the launch of Visual Studio 2008 and the partner benefits available through the Visual Studio Industry Partner (VSIP) program.”

In addition, Microsoft announced plans to create a shared source licensing program for Premier-level partners in the VSIP program. The program will provide these partners with the ability to view Visual Studio IDE source code for debugging purposes, and simplify the process of integrating their products with Visual Studio 2008.

Tools for Today and Tomorrow

Microsoft also announced a number of additional resources for developers of all skill sets, enabling them to make the most out of their Microsoft tools investments to build great applications on the latest platforms:

These latest releases are part of the broader Microsoft Application Platform, a portfolio of technology capabilities and core products that help organizations develop, deploy and manage applications and IT infrastructure. They also mark another major milestone leading up to the global launch of Windows Server 2008, Visual Studio 2008 and SQL Server 2008 on Feb. 27, 2008, in Los Angeles.

Product Information and Availability

Visual Studio 2008 and the .NET Framework 3.5 will be available by the end of November 2007. The .NET Framework 3.5 will also be available to end users via a free, optional download from Microsoft Update. A CTP of Microsoft Sync Framework is available today at http://msdn.microsoft.com/sync. Popfly Explorer is a hosted development environment available today at http://www.popfly.com/. More information about all of these releases is available at http://www.msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio.

Yes, you heard that right, they are releasing the source code for the 3.5 framework later this year. For more info, go to: http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2007/10/03/releasing-the-source-code-for-the-net-framework-libraries.aspx

As you can see .NET clearly beats out Java when creating n-tier applications. Check out the entire story by going to: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/bb499684.aspx

The second edition of this book (formerly VSDN Tips & Tricks .NET Coding Standards), is a consolidation of many of the .NET coding standards available today in one easy to read and understand book. It will guide any level of programmer or development department to greater productivity by providing the tools needed to write consistent, maintainable code.

The core of the book focuses on naming standards, how to order elements in classes, declaring methods, properties and much, much more. Code tips are even included to help you write better, error free applications. All code examples are shown in C# and VB.NET. I use this book just about
every day and I hope you will too.
-David McCarter

"David McCarter once again demonstrates his knack for pulling best practices into one cohesive unit with his new book. This book includes everything from how to set up your project to how to declare variables to how to use exception handling. It is a great place to start to build your own set of coding standards."
- Deborah Kurata 5/5/05

To order, go to: http://www.cafepress.com/geekmusicart.165478704

Silverlight significantly reduces development and deployment costs and provides enhanced Web audio and video streaming and playback using industry-leading Windows Media^® Technologies. Microsoft unveiled new Silverlight customer experiences on “Entertainment Tonight,” HSN and World Wrestling Entertainment, and also launched the Silverlight Partner Initiative, a program designed to foster collaboration among solution providers, content delivery networks, tools vendors and design agencies.

“Our expectations for compelling, immersive experiences on the Web are increasing daily,” said Ray Ozzie, Microsoft’s chief software architect. “With today’s release of Silverlight 1.0, we’re making it possible for developers and designers to deliver to individuals the kind of high-def experiences they crave by integrating data and services in rich and unique ways. Silverlight will further accelerate the growth in rich interactive applications by giving developers and designers new options for delivering great experiences that span the Web, PC, phone and other devices.”

Microsoft, Novell Respond to Shared Customer Demand for Silverlight and .NET

Microsoft is committed to ensuring that organizations have the best tools and resources to begin building Silverlight-based solutions with the broadest possible reach. The decision to work with Novell to offer Silverlight support for the Linux platform is in direct response to customer feedback, and both companies are optimistic about the impact this extended partnership will have in the industry.

“Silverlight is a popular new way to build and deliver cross-browser, cross-platform experiences on the Web,” said Miguel de Icaza, vice president of Developer Platforms and leader of the Mono project at Novell. “Novell is excited to work with Microsoft to extend Silverlight beyond Windows^® and Macintosh to Linux with Moonlight, so Linux users everywhere can enhance their rich media and interactive experiences on the Web.”

Leading Broadcast, Online Content Providers Light up the Web With Silverlight

“Entertainment Tonight,” HSN and World Wrestling Entertainment as well as several Microsoft Web initiatives including the “Halo^® 3” preview, Tafiti.com and The Podium ’08 are just a few of the brands already demonstrating the power of Silverlight. “Entertainment Tonight,” the No. 1 entertainment newsmagazine, worked with interactive design agencies REZN8 and IdentityMine Inc. to build a complete minisite dedicated to Emmy Award coverage linked from ETOnline.com and TheInsiderOnline.com. This is the first phase in ET’s long-term commitment to build Silverlight-powered minisites to cover high-profile entertainment events.

“When ‘Entertainment Tonight’ was launched 27 years ago, we changed the way the world saw celebrity news. I’m thrilled to be partnering with Microsoft^® Silverlight to put ‘Entertainment Tonight’ on the leading edge again and give our viewers a virtual front-row seat at Hollywood’s biggest events,” said Linda Bell Blue, executive producer of Entertainment Tonight. “‘ET’ is the first stop for the stars at the 59th annual Emmy Awards, and with Microsoft’s revolutionary new technology we will create a truly unique interactive experience — from the red carpet for all the fashions and backstage with Mary Hart and the winners to going inside our exclusive after-party that all of Hollywood is talking about. This is going to be fun.”

To foster greater involvement and collaboration within the interactive media industry, Microsoft is rolling out the Silverlight Partner Initiative. More than 35 companies have already signed up to support Silverlight and take advantage of a broad range of marketing and technical benefits enabling them to be more successful. The current list of Silverlight Initiative partners by category follows:

• Content delivery networks, infrastructure providers: Advection, Akamai Technologies Inc., CacheLogic, Edgecast Networks Inc., Internap Network Services Corp., iStreamPlanet Co., Level3 and Limelight Networks
• Design agencies: Avenue A|Razorfish, BLITZ, Cynergy Systems Inc., frog design inc., IdentityMine Inc., Lightmaker Group Ltd., Metaliq, Resolute Solutions Corp., REZN8, Schematic and VML Inc.
• ISVs/IHVs: Anystream Inc., DayPort Inc., Electric Rain Inc., Inlet Technologies Inc., Pinnacle Systems Inc., Rhozet, Sonic Solutions, Tarari Inc., Telestream Inc. and Winnov LP
• Solution providers, systems integrators: BUYDRM, Liquid Compass, MPS Broadband AB, Narrowstep Inc., Skinkers, Swarmcast and Twofour Digital

With its portfolio of application platform technology capabilities and products, Microsoft is both a longtime leader in development tools and a pioneer in enhancing user experiences on the Web and desktop. The tight integration between Visual Studio^® and Expression Studio allows developers and designers to easily share projects, designs and code to create stunning, high-quality applications faster and in a more cost-effective manner.

In addition to the release of Silverlight 1.0, Microsoft released Expression Encoder 1.0 (formerly Expression Media Encoder), a tool that makes it simple for professionals to encode, enhance and publish rich media content to Silverlight. The intuitive interface allows users to rapidly encode a wide array of file-based media content formats into a Silverlight experience. Expression Encoder also eases production of live events using sought-after features such as multisource switching and publishing of content to services including Silverlight Streaming by Windows Live™.

Product Information and Availability

Those wanting more information or to download Microsoft Silverlight 1.0 and Expression Encoder should visit http://www.silverlight.net/. At IBC2007 in Amsterdam Sept. 7–11, Microsoft will provide demonstrations of Silverlight 1.0, and Expression Encoder at the Topaz stand. More details about today’s announcements can be found in the online press room at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/presskits/silverlight/default.mspx.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass on Microsoft’s corporate information pages. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may since have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/contactpr.mspx.

Refactor! is freely available to all Visual Basic .NET 2005 developers and offers a comprehensive suite of tools that enable you and your team to simplify and shape complex code - making it easier to read and less costly to maintain.

Download by going to: http://www.devexpress.com/Products/NET/IDETools/VBRefactor/

Line and Shape controls, PrintForm component, and Printer Compatibility Library

San Luis Obispo will be holding a code camp on September 22nd, 2007. I will be attending and presenting. For more info go to: http://www.centralcoastcodecamp.com/

Articles/News:

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/business/story/134783.html

Code Camp on KCOY

My sessions will be:

Building Rich & Interactive Web Applications with ASP.NET AJAX

Presentation: AjaxSession091807.zip (875.6 KB)

Code Example: AjaxExample.zip (703.12 KB)

Why You Need .NET Coding Standards

Presentation: StandardsSession.zip (1.6 MB)

Pictures from the event: http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidmccarter/tags/cccc/

Phoenix will be holding another code camp on September 15th, 2007. I will be attending and presenting. For more info go to: http://desertcodecamp.com/

My sessions will be:

Building Rich & Interactive Web Applications with ASP.NET AJAX

Presentation: AjaxSession.zip (1023.53 KB)

Code Example: AjaxExample.zip (703.12 KB)

Why You Need .NET Coding Standards

Presentation: StandardsSession.zip (1.6 MB)

If you live in the San Diego area, dotNetDave (a.k.a. David McCarter) will be teaching a 6 week Fundamentals of the .NET Framework course at the University of California, San Diego Extension beginning on Wednesday 9/26/2007 from 5:30pm to 10:00pm. For more information and to enroll, please click here.

The Beta 2 release includes most of the products found in the Visual Studio product line. As with all prerelease software, we encourage you only to install these on a secondary machine, or in a virtual machine, as they are not supported by Microsoft Services support teams. MSDN Subscribers can also download these files from MSDN Subscriber Downloads. You can also go to:

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/aa700831.aspx

SQL Server Database Publishing Wizard enables the deployment of SQL Server databases into a hosted environment on either a SQL Server 2000 or 2005 server. It generates a single SQL script file which can be used to recreate a database (both schema and data) in a shared hosting environment where the only connectivity to a server is through a web-based control panel with a script execution window. If supported by the hosting service provider, the Database Publishing Wizard can also directly upload databases to servers located at the shared hosting provider.

Optionally, SQL Server Database Publishing Wizard can integrate directly into Visual Studio 2005 and/or Visual Web Developer 2005 allowing easy publishing of databases from within the development environment.

Download by going to: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=56E5B1C5-BF17-42E0-A410-371A838E570A&displaylang=en

Is homepage layout effective? ... What effect do blurbs on the homepage have compared to headlines? ... When is multimedia appropriate? ... Are ads placed where they will be seen by the audience? Find out: http://www.poynterextra.org/eyetrack2004/main.htm

Of particular note, SP3 provides better support for consuming WSDL documents, Data Execution prevention and protection from security issues such as buffer overruns.

SP3 also provides support for Windows XP Service Pack 2 to provide a safer, more reliable experience for customers using Windows XP.

SP3 is available in 23 languages.

To download, go to: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=6978d761-4a92-4106-a9bc-83e78d4abc5b&DisplayLang=en

Download the complete DirectX 9.0 SDK - (Summer 2004), which contains the FINAL release of the DirectX 9.0c Runtime and all DirectX software required to create DirectX 9.0 compliant applications in C/C++, and C#.

Major components include: DirectX 9.0c system components (runtimes); DirectX 9.0 Application Programming Interface (API) Documentation for each of the DirectX core areas (written for C++, and C#); DirectX 9.0c headers & libraries; Sample applications and source code; miscellaneous tools and utilities.

For additional information please see DirectX Web site along with reviewing the DirectX 9.0 Readme for last-minute updates.

To download go to: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=fd044a42-9912-42a3-9a9e-d857199f888e&displaylang=en

SP1 includes a variety of improvements to the inital product release. Documentation for this release is provided in the SP1readme_lang.htm file which can be downloaded below or found in the Reporting Services installation directory after Setup is complete.

• To view a list of the bug fixes in SP1, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 839796.
• Late-breaking information that was not available in time to be included in this readme file will be published on the Microsoft Product Support Services Web site in Microsoft Knowledge Base article 843369.
• To get the complete set of installation instructions, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 842857.
  

For the complete article, go to: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=580febf7-2972-40e7-bccf-6cd90ac2f464&displaylang=en

The service was initially built with Java, but CafePress.com came to realize that developing on that platform was slow, problematic, and was otherwise preventing them from moving their business forward. CafePress.com is now using the Microsoft .NET Framework and has seen a vast improvement in their ability to develop new features and solutions. The ability to quickly bring new ideas to market is resulting in increased sales.

Company Overview

CafePress.com offers an outsourced e-commerce solution that allows individuals, groups, and companies to sell a wide variety of merchandise without the typical hassles and overhead of doing business online. The company manages every aspect of doing business online, including e-commerce services, product manufacturing and sourcing, fulfillment, and customer service. In just minutes, anyone can set up a store selling imprinted merchandise, such as T-shirts, mugs, and more, with no setup fees and no inventory investment.

The service was originally built using Java. In time, the company came to realize that they were spending too much time patching components together and maintaining their development framework, and not enough time developing new features and solutions.

"We were running into serious compatibility problems with the previous solution," says Fred Durham, Chief Executive Officer, CafePress.com. "After an upgrade from the vendor, the issues still existed so we decided we could not wait any longer for the vendor to fix things and needed to find a new framework to develop around. Previously we had been using a combination of Java tools, runtimes, beans, and libraries. It became clear to us that a single framework would be far more productive. We wanted to get out of the cycle of maintenance and constant patching, and into new application development again."

Solution

"Along with the .NET Framework, we examined BEA WebLogic and Orion. The .NET Framework proved to have everything we wanted—the richest library, and the best price point," says Durham. "We were able to do a 100 percent conversion of all our systems in less than four months from initial testing to complete rollout. For a time during the transition, we had Java and the .NET Framework running side by side without problems on our live Web servers."

The company is now using the application server features of the Microsoft .NET Framework, including Microsoft ASP.NET to build their solutions. "A user simply uploads images and CafePress.com's servers superimpose those images onto product shots of items like T-shirts and mugs," explains Durham. "The user's store is then filled with products for sale without having to produce any actual merchandise in advance. Customers purchase items though the user's Web site and on the back end CafePress.com processes the payments." CafePress.com also has a manufacturing facility that accesses a private Web site where work orders, images, and product specifications are automatically accessed as needed to manufacture and deliver the products.

CafePress.com now uses the .NET Framework exclusively for every part of this service—utilizing ASP.NET pages, custom ASP.NET controls, and .NET-based console applications for various administrative tasks.

Benefits

Making the switch to the .NET Framework was easy and quick, and has resulted in significant advantages for CafePress.com. The most significant benefit involves development time. For CafePress.com, turning new ideas into features and services in a timely fashion is critical. Developing with the .NET Framework is allowing CafePress.com to quickly produce and add new features to their service, and to produce customized solutions to meet the needs of larger customers.

The advantages go beyond the improved developing capabilities of the .NET Framework: The CafePress.com Web site has realized impressive performance increases.

Faster Development

"We are a start-up in the classic Silicon Valley model—moving fast and bringing things to market at the bleeding edge," says Durham. "We evaluate products based on their ability to advance our business." For CafePress.com, the ability to quickly add features to their service and to develop new service for larger customers is critical to their success. The .NET Framework allows the company to move quickly in the increasingly competitive Internet industry.

"Since moving to the .NET Framework, our development speed has increased dramatically," says Durham. "Project cycle times have been reduced to approximately one-quarter of the previous development cycle times. That means more features and services for our users. With the .NET Framework, we can much more easily develop custom code for larger clients. It also means we offer more services and features at large. Again, this is because development times are compressed and the lines of code needed have dropped significantly."

An Efficient Platform

The reason that CafePress.com is realizing improved development times is because the .NET Framework provides a single development platform and eliminates the integration and maintenance issues that plagued the company when they were working with Java.

"Our development environment was messy," says Durham. "We had been using Borland Jbuilder for Java Code and HomeSite for HTML. We could never find a useful Java-based imaging library, so we were forced to use an OCX control. To use that we also had to use a COM-to-Java component from yet another vendor, with routine compatibility problems. The JDBC driver was ineffective and crashed periodically. Java is supposed to have everything, but it doesn't. We had to cobble together a lot of stuff from different vendors. We found developing in this environment to be highly inefficient. We were spending far too much time patching and maintaining our development process, when we should have been spending that time bringing new features and services to market."

The Microsoft .NET Framework Software Development Kit (SDK) contains a wealth of resources—including DLLs, tools, compilers, and samples—that enable developers to build efficient, powerful, and scalable Web-based applications and services. It provides companies like CafePress.com with a single framework for developing new applications.

"In the end, what really solidified our decision to adopt the .NET Framework was the incredibly rich class library that handled all the application plumbing you could ever think of," says Durham. The .NET Framework class library is a comprehensive, object-oriented collection of reusable classes that can be used to develop applications ranging from traditional command-line or graphical user interface (GUI) applications to applications based on the latest innovations provided by ASP.NET and XML Web services. "The class library saves us time. Our applications don't have to be built from the ground up anymore. It reduces the amount of code we have to produce and test."

One project that CafePress.com was able to undertake because of the improved development environment of the .NET Framework is called "Strip of the Day." One of CafePress.com's partners is Dilbert.com—the online home of the popular Dilbert comic strip. What CafePress.com had envisioned was a feature that would allow people to order any comic strip printed on a variety of merchandise. Previously, only select strips from the past were available. Every Dilbert comic strip is now available on CafePress.com's array of merchandise, including today's strip.

"We had wanted to do this with Dilbert.com for a long time," says Durham. "When we were on the Java platform, we always knew that developing this feature would be troublesome and would take too long. Simply put, we never got around to it because we knew what we were in for. With the .NET Framework, we developed this feature in just one week. Since implementing this feature, sales have increased dramatically—perhaps a four or five times increase in sales. More projects like this are in the works. Previously, these projects would not have even made it to our development list."

Improving Web Site Performance

Moving to the .NET Framework has not only benefited the company because of the improved development environment, it has also resulted in improved Web site performance. Web traffic is significant for CafePress.com, a Webby Award recipient. Monthly traffic for CafePress.com runs at about 50 million hits. "The performance increase after moving to the .NET Framework was unbelievable," says Durham. "The machines used to run at about 50- to 70-percent utilization and now run at about 2- to 3-percent. I have never heard of such an increase in performance."

"We're supporting about 5,000 concurrent sessions, and 10-20 pages per second with imaging, plus lots of dynamic database page views," says Durham. "We had five dual processor machines that have now been converted to one machine. There's no way we could have done that with Java."

"We handle about 1 million unique visitors a month on a single server that refuses to go above 200-megabytes of ram usage even though it has 1 gig installed, and never goes above 3 percent CPU utilization. We sustain a 5 megabit per second average throughput. Where's the top end? I have no idea."

VSDN Tips & Tricks CafePress.com store 

Posted: November 11, 2001

Original Article: http://www.microsoft.com/resources/casestudies/CaseStudy.asp?CaseStudyID=11721

The MDAC 2.8 SDK is for developers who are building applications using ADO, OLE DB, and ODBC. It contains updated documentation, headers, libs and typelibs for x86, IA64 and AMD64 platforms, as well as updated sample applications and developer tools.

The MDAC 2.8 SDK is designed for use with MDAC 2.8, which is also available for download from the Microsoft Download Center.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=5067faf8-0db4-429a-b502-de4329c8c850&displaylang=en

SAN FRANCISCO -- March 29, 2004 -- Today at electronicaUSA with the Embedded Systems Conference, Microsoft Corp. announced a Technology Preview Kit for Windows® CE 5.0, previously code-named "Macallan." Leveraging extensive feedback from customers, the final version of Microsoft® Windows CE 5.0 will focus on increasing developer productivity through a variety of feature enhancements including increased out-of-the-box hardware support, security enhancements, advanced multimedia capabilities and automated testing tools. The wide range of functionality will enable original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to build more exciting and compelling devices and bring them to market more quickly.

More than 60 industry-leading OEMs, silicon vendors and solution integrators are already working on solutions for Windows CE 5.0 as part of Microsoft's Joint Development Partner program. Some of these companies include industry leaders such as Biostar Group, Costron Company Limited, Humax Co. Ltd., InFocus Corp., Intel Corp., Intermec Technologies Corp., LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics, Tcom&Dtvro Co. Ltd and ViewSonic Corp.

"The next version of Windows CE will deliver new componentized technology that will help customers save time in the development process and will enable a wide range of innovative devices, from gateways and gaming devices to set-top- boxes," said Ya-Qin Zhang, corporate vice president of the Mobile and Embedded Devices Division at Microsoft. "This release is an important milestone for Windows CE because it reflects ongoing feedback we've received from customers to enable them to build embedded devices even more quickly."

Saving Device-Development Time

Windows CE 5.0 is designed to help developers reduce development time and costs when building small-footprint, connected devices. Customers said they wanted the ability to switch easily between the Windows CE graphical integrated development environment (IDE) and command-line environments to more quickly build devices with a wide range of functionality. The new Windows CE 5.0 development environment enables developers to take advantage of the capabilities of the command line in the graphical IDE, which will decrease operating system image development time and speed time to market.

"Unifying the tools capabilities is a brilliant move for Windows CE. Being able to work in one unified development environment where you only need to use that one toolset for building, debugging and deploying an operating system image will save OEMs a lot of time by reducing complex development issues," said Doug Boling of Boling Consulting, an embedded consultant and training firm for corporations. "All of the benefits of the command line are now exposed through the graphical IDE, making the Windows CE tools extremely easy to use. This significantly increases the productivity and creativity of our development team."

Microsoft also has dramatically increased support for widely available embedded hardware with more than 50 production-quality drivers optimized for leading chipsets, such as ARM, MIPS, SuperH and x86, enabling OEMs to use the drivers right out of the box rather than having to customize them for a particular hardware platform. These production-quality drivers are in addition to the more than 250 sample drivers currently available in Windows CE.

"InFocus recognizes Microsoft's market leadership and consistent capability in delivering robust embedded operating system platforms," said David Woolf, director of Worldwide Product Management at InFocus. "Windows CE 5.0 provides the best collection of technology, tools and resources to enable InFocus' continued product innovation. We are delighted to partner with Microsoft to deliver exciting user experiences with emerging wireless display applications."

Integrated Reliability

Windows CE 5.0 is a hard, real-time operating system that prov