Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 Uninstall Tool

Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 Uninstall Tool Check this article to know how to uninstall pre-release versions of Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 if the typical uninstall process is unsuccessful.

This Tool is very helpful, whenever I am installing new CTP! :)

XBOX 360 or XBOX 360 Core System?

• Xbox 360 vs. Xbox 360 Core System—Which One is Right for Me?
• Few XBOX 360 Ad's : Enjoy - Life is Short; Play Xbox!!!

• Xbox 360 European Ad - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QYMYQY5yJU
• Xbox 360 HD-DVD Ad / Commercial - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cOcTHBTRJ4
• Indian xbox 360 ad - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX-TU9vqrBw
• Xbox 360 Commercial in Japan Do! Do! Do! - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whE0Y0LeNWE
• Xbox 360 French Wireless Controller Commercial - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKf1SW2F8TY
• Xbox 360 shoot out casting - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF-Oy5Rpy34
• xbox 360 30sec ad - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHQaBYv7m-A
• New Xbox 360 LIVE commercial with Aliens - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSVJMSegj5I
• Go! Go! Go! Dead or Alive 4 Xbox 360 Japanese AD - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZylYJdFw-s
• Cops and Robbers: Xbox 360 EU Ad - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFqLN-eJ3GM
• Blue Dragon tv ad # 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqieFV7_wYI
• Ninety nine nights for xbox 360 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REk085gd6bM
• XBOX 360 Bad day commercial long - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cvZvHNCvko
• XBOX 360 Good day commercial short - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtFNu1A8SWE
• Xbox Live 1st place cinema ad - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6wiq3Yab-E
• Fan Xbox360 commercial - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbDFmZ2S7BM

WinFX: WPF – Microsoft Expression Web – Web Designer Tool

WinFX: WPF – Microsoft Expression Web – Web Designer Tool

If I want to change any quick small changes in HTML docs / web pages in my community sites, I will prefer FrontPage. Now I started using Microsoft Expression Web. Even though I didn’t use End to End, I tried few features and on a quick look it looks cool.

Here is the list that I see which is useful:

• Standards-compliant XHTML and CSS in Expression Web. One can verify whether the code is conforming to accessibility standards.
  First if you ask me what special about XHTML - XHTML is a current format which extends

HTML4. XHTML family document types are XML based, and ultimately are designed to work in conjunction with XML-based user agents. As it is XML based, it is easy for designers and document developers to represent their new elements / attributes. Refer here, if you want to know more about XHTML.

CSS rendering engine is good. You can trust this preview. ;)

The site and page templates that are part of the tool are Okay. You can straight away use few templates which are part of the tool for creation of your site.The support of using XML Data, XSLT rendering tools and other data manipulations are nice.

Last but not least the feature that I like very much and which are missing in the FrontPage: ASP.NET 2.0 Support - Through the controls toolbox, properties grid, and on-control “action menus” we can quickly insert and configure ASP.NET controls. IntelliSense and tag completion will make your coding easy.

Few Suggestions:

1. The Preview mode in the left end corner - Designer is missing (Only Design, Split and code exists).... It is very valuable on to see how the content is looking.

2. Auto Hide option is missing for all the Windows like Toolbar etc..

Asia Influencer Award

• Are you a Technology Enthusiast who takes pride in nurturing and inspiring fellow technologists to learn and grow to keep apace with the changing technological trends.
• Do you consider yourself a Community Leader who would like to engage with the various structured community-based initiatives focused towards evangelizing the latest technology advancements?
  
  Then apply for Asia Influencer Award. The Asia Influencer (AI) Award (formerly known as the Community Star) aims to reward and recognize customers who have demonstrated enthusiasm and delivered excellence on Microsoft technologies and communities. The awardees are recognized for an ongoing willingness to share the experience within technical communities.

Personally, I feel it is a good move from MS. This award will encourage more technology enthusiastic people to share more of their knowledge with community.

Are u new to Community - Wanna want to start - check here!!!

Rules for smooth migration to WCF

Is it really worth to move from WSE XML Web serivices to to Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) ?!

I would say, Yes. The benefits of migrating WSE 3.0 XML Web services to WCF are including increased performance and the support of additional transports, encodings etc… and complete support for WS-* specifications.

Are you building some distributed application and want to migrate to WCF later. Then the basic rules for smooth migration to WCF are:

For smooth migration to WCF from existing technologies, follow the below basic rules:-

- Build services using the ASP.NET (ASMX) Web service model.
- Enhance your ASMX service with WSE if you need the WSE feature set (including end-to-end security).
- Use object technology in a service’s implementation.
- Use System.Messaging if you need the reliable messaging and queuing features in MSMQ.
- In ASMX, avoid or abstract using low-level extensibility such as the HTTP Context object.
- In .NET Remoting, avoid or abstract using low-level extensibility such as .NET Remoting sinks and channels.
- In Enterprise Services, avoid passing object references inside of ES.
- Do not use COM+ APIs—instead, use System.EnterpriseServices.
- Do not use MSMQ APIs—instead, use System.Messaging.

Check here for more info on "Migrating WSE 3.0 Web Services to WCF "

Binding: How do I communicate to the service?

· Binding: How do I communicate to the service?

· Binding provides information on how a service can be accessed including transport method (HTTP / HTTPS / TCP / Named pipe / MSMQ), encoding format (Text / Binary /MTOM), security mechanism, reliability requirement etc...

- A service to be accessible, at least it should be associate with either one or more bindings.

- A contract can support many bindings and a binding can support many contracts.

· Out of the box, Indigo support nine predefined standard bindings including
BasicProfileBinding, WSProfileBinding, WSProfileDualHttpBinding, NetProfileTcpBinding, NetProfileDualTcpBinding, NetProfileNamedPipeBinding, NetProfileMSMQBinding, MsmqIntegrationBinding and IntermediaryBinding which covers most of the common scenarios.

- Developers can create their own custom binding based on their requirement with the mix of functionality.

.NET 3.0 Site

Check my new .NET FrameWork 3.0 site!!!! - http://www.arunmicrosystems.netfirms.com/Welcome%20to%20the%20_NF3%20World.htm

• The Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 (formerly WinFX), is the new managed code programming model for Windows.
  · .NET Framework 3.0 includes .NET Framework 2.0 API’s along with four new Windows Presentation Foundation, Windows Communication Foundation, Windows Workflow Foundation, and Windows CardSpace.
• 
  Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF, formerly “Avalon”) – The unified programming model to build UI, graphics, documents and media. Microsoft’s unified presentation subsystem for Windows.
• 
  Workflow Foundation (WF) – New programming model build on .NET Framework to develop workflow based applications.
• 
  Windows Communication Foundation (WCF, formerly “Indigo”) - The unified programming model to build service-oriented applications on the Windows platform.
• 
  Windows CardSpace (WCS, formerly “InfoCard”) - Unified framework for “identity metasystem”.

SOAPBOX - MSN Video Beta

Right now I am trying/using - http://www.youtube.com/

MS introduced Soapbox beta, through which one can :

. Easily upload videos from any major digital video format (AVI, ASF, WMV, MOV, MPEG 1/2/4, 3GPP, DV, H.263, H.264)
. Search, browse, share, upload video. We can upload a video, without interrupting the video we are watching..
. Tag any video on the site to categorize it as you see fit
. Embed videos in your blog and email links to your favorite videos
. Set up customized RSS feeds by user, category, or tag to automatically get notified about new videos you're interested in

So what are you waiting for? Try IT!!!!

XML + Security - How is this Combination?

Usually during my sessions, I use the phrase -""East or West XML is the Best""

Recently XML has become ubiquitous technology in the computing industry. Similarly what ever the application you build; one key feature always you need to consider is what else - SECURITY.

Now if we combine these both and ask me, how to secure my XML elements there come - XML Encryption and XML Signature. One quick question always people ask me which one to go - SSL / XML Encryption? I always suggest them to use XML Encryption. Why?

There are two main reasons for it.

1. You can encrypt a portion of sensitive XML element. Say for example, if you want to encrypt only the Credit Card details in a XML structure and leave the other details.

2. You can use the XML Encryption to encrypt data that is either transmitted directly to an application or accessed by many applications via stored media such as database record. On the other hand, SSL / other protocols encrypt the entire connection as a whole.

I don't want to reinvent the wheel of how to encrypt / use signature – Check here - The .NET Framework provides several classes that allow you to encrypt and decrypt XML data, and create and verify XML digital signatures.

Why the Name WHIDBEY for VS 2005?

The versions of Visual Studio stand for cities/islands in the Northwest that are near to Redmond, WA.
Codenamed - Everett - Visual Studio .NET 2003 - Everett is a city north of Seattle.
Codenamed - Whidbey - Visual Studio 2005 - Whidbey is an island north of Seattle, which is nearer to Everett.
Codenamed - Orcas - Visual Studio 20XX - Orcas is an island in the San Juan group of islands even further north of Seattle.
The next version of Windows (Codenamed - Longhorn) Longhorn is a bar close to Whistler and Blackcomb ski resorts. Check here to know the complete list of the Microsoft Code Names!!!

MSDN Articles that I read recently

• Mutimedia: Building Documents from Scratch Using the Office XML File Formats
  Author: Brian JonesPublishing Date: 10/12/2006http://msdn.microsoft.com/office/community/video/default.aspx
• Get More Out of SQL Server Reporting Services Charts
  Author: Robert M. BrucknerPublishing Date: 10/13/2006http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnsql90/html/MoreSSRSCharts.asp
• Integrating Office Applications with ASP.NET 2.0 Web Sites
  Author: Fulvio GiaccariPublishing Date: 10/13/2006http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa701256(office.11).aspx
• Take it for a Spin in Microsoft Visual Studio Virtual Labs
  Author: MicrosoftPublishing Date: 10/16/2006http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=5613096
• Microsoft Robotics Studio October 2006 CTP Released
  Author: Tandy TrowerPublishing Date: 10/19/2006http://msdn.microsoft.com/robotics/getstarted/ctp4/default.aspx
• The .NET Show: Windows Vista Readiness
  Author: Robert HessPublishing Date: 10/20/2006http://msdn.microsoft.com/theshow/episode.aspx?xml=theshow/en/episode059/manifest.xml
• CLR Inside Out: Investigating Memory Issues
  Author: Claudio Caldato and Maoni StephensPublishing Date: 10/17/2006http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/06/11/CLRInsideOut/default.aspx
• Cutting Edge: Windows Workflow Activities
  Author: Dino EspositoPublishing Date: 10/17/2006http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/06/11/CuttingEdge/default.aspx
• Secure Habits: 8 Simple Rules For Developing More Secure Code
  Author: Michael HowardPublishing Date: 10/16/2006http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/06/11/SecureHabits/default.aspx
• Software-Development Methodologies and VSTS: From Documents to AutomationAuthor: Sanjay NarangPublishing Date: 10/20/2006http://msdn.microsoft.com/architecture/default.aspx?pull=/library/en-us/dnbda/html/SDMthVSTS.asp
• Creating Custom Task Panes Using Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office
  Author: Robert GreenPublishing Date: 10/17/2006 http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa722570.aspx

Free .NET Framework 3.0 / Visual Studio 2005 E-Learning

Check out the cool offer from MS E-Learning - .NET Framework 3.0 / Visual Studio 2005

Topics covered within the collection include:

Windows Presentation Foundation - Clinic 5135 : Introduction to Developing with Windows Presentation Foundation and Visual Studio 2005

Windows Workflow Foundation - Clinic 5136 : Introduction to Developing with Windows Workflow Foundation and Visual Studio 2005

Windows Communication Foundation - Clinic 5137 : Introduction to Developing with Windows Communication Foundation and Visual Studio 2005

VSTS

Visual Studio Team System has cool set of tools across SDLC lifecycles including the following auidence:
Database Professionals
Project Managers
Software Architects
Software Developers
Software Testers
Team Foundation Server

Check the links for more details

Setting up the Environment - Win FX

Setting up the Environment
· Before deep dive into the core concepts and demos in the upcoming blogs, let’s quickly see the environment setup for WinFX development. Need to install the following components:
· 1. Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 Redistributable Package
- The Microsoft .NET Framework version 3.0 redistributable package installs the common language runtime and associated files required to run applications developed to target the .NET Framework 3.0.
· 2. Microsoft Windows Software Development Kit for Windows Vista and .NET Framework 3.0 Runtime Components
- The Windows SDK includes content for application development with the APIs in Windows Vista, including the .NET Framework 3.0 technologies
· 3. Visual Studio 2005 extensions for .NET Framework 3.0 (WCF & WPF), November 2006 CTP
- The Visual Studio 2005 extensions for.NET Framework 3.0 (WCF & WPF), November 2006 CTP provides developers with support for building .NET Framework 3.0 applications using the released version of Visual Studio 2005.

Setting up the Environment
· 4. Visual Studio 2005 extensions for .NET Framework 3.0 (Windows Workflow Foundation)
- This installs the Visual Studio Designer and WWF Debugger.
· Windows SDK is the core component for the WinFX development which installs the Documents, Samples and Developer Tools: