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October 2005 Entries
SQL Server 2005 installation requires admin rights

I've just installed SQL Servewr 2005 on my main dev machine, and while I'm an admin (yes, I know it's bad but I [un]install lots of things so is just easier). However, since I had to reinstall my DC I haven't logged out, hence I don't have admin privs. Most of the installation passes, but some fail - Integration Services, VS IDE integration, SQL Books Online, and Workstation Components. Some I can understand, but Books Online? Why does that require admin rights to install? Weird.

 

posted @ Monday, October 31, 2005 8:54 AM | Feedback (2)
Email down

Subtitle: Really, I mean it, backup your stuff.

Having installed the new disk, my task this morning was to make recovery disks and image the main disc on the server. Sadly I was a day too late, as the other disc has failed. The one with the OS on it; my domain controller and mail server. Bugger.

Currently I'm rebuilding a spare with Exchange, just so I can get email going again. I've also just ordered a RAID controller and 4 discs, so when they arrive I'll install the OS onto a RAID 5 array (or possibly 0+1 - I haven't decided yet).

On the plus side, the .NET 2.0 framework has shipped, so I plan to upgrade the web server this weekend. That means the site for the Wrox Press Beginning ASP.NET 2.0 site will be publically available.

posted @ Friday, October 28, 2005 2:49 PM | Feedback (3)
Backup your stuff
A few weeks ago I rebooted by main server and because it was taking a long time to come back I went to the cabinet to see what the problem was. It was stuck correcting what seemed like a zillion disc errors and "correcting" the faults. I quote correcting because in reality this means "deleting any file we think is damaged". Luckily this was my media drive, which has continued to have problems (a new one is ready to replace it). Unluckily I've lost a lot of treasured TV and radio programs and a fair amount of music. The music is recoverable (but time consuming - finding what's gone and then re-ripping), but the TV and radio is lost. Some I can get back via torrents, but some I probably can't, mainly because I can't actually remember all I had. It was all too big to backup properly and that large RAID array I've been promising myself forever is still to expensive. My recommendation - buy a large USB external drive and just backup everything you have. Checking 50Gb of music is not something I'm looking forward to.
[Listening to: 525 Power Tracks - Hard Rock and Heavy Metal - 525.com Power Tracks - ]
posted @ Tuesday, October 25, 2005 5:45 PM | Feedback (4)
PDC Presentations Available
Presentations from PDC 2005 are available for streaming or download.
[Listening to: What Is It Now? - Badly Drawn Boy - Have You Fed the Fish?]
posted @ Tuesday, October 25, 2005 10:58 AM | Feedback (2)
Comments Fixed

Well, sort of. I'm using a SQL system to reduce comment spam, which is why comment entry is really slow - each entry is checked with a regular expression against a table of know keywords/sites. It's slow, but it works. After the blacklist issue, I updated the list, so there were more entries, and it turns out that it's a timeout issue - the command is taking too long to execute and there's no exception shown. There are two options:

1. Recompile the dotText source, adding in longer timeouts for comment insertion.
2. The immediate solution, which is to remove entries from the blacklist. Yeah, it's a hack, but I can add them back in.

So, for those hosting their blogs here, if you start getting comment spam again, then don't bother to email me as I know about it. I'll sort the immediate ones out, and when I have time (mid 2006 by the look of it) I'll modify the source.

 

posted @ Wednesday, October 19, 2005 11:20 AM | Feedback (2)
The Blue Man Group ...
... are in London until March 2006, at the New London Theatre in Drury Lane. I've just booked tickets for early December, to go with Dan and Jane, who have only seen the show in German and although it's mostly music, some spoken and written word is used. They'll understand those bits now. If you like music and comedy, then I heartily recommend it. I have to say it's one of the funniest things I've ever seen.
posted @ Friday, October 14, 2005 4:09 PM | Feedback (2)
Comments are down

It's a really odd problem this. Comments from the web UI don't work, and yet if I trace the SQL using the Profile, and copy the SQL being executed, and run than explicitly in Query Analyzer it works. What's changed? Well, I'm using dotText and have the comment spam triggers from here. This used the blacklist by Jay Allen (updated daily), who recently took it down, and my blacklist was just populated with his web page explaining his take down - something I didn't notice since I was away. I've repopulated the blacklist, but since the original replacement, comments don't work. At all.

Anyone with ideas please mail me - you can find my email address on the ipona website.

posted @ Thursday, October 13, 2005 11:15 AM | Feedback (2)
Setting the master page in web.config

We already know that the Visual Studio 2005 designer doesn't support nested master pages, but it's worth pointing out other problems when setting the masterPageFile attribute of the element in web.config. There are two issues with content pages in this scenario:

1. The designer does not render the Content area. Instead you get a gray box with "Content controls can only be used in a content page."
2. Schema information isn't available, and therefore IntelliSense is inaccurate.

The scenario is easy to reach:

1. Create a master page. No need to change anything.
2. Create a content page and remove the masterPageFile attribute from the Page directive.
3. Add a masterPageFile attribute to the element in web.config.
4. In the content page notice the IntelliSense errors, and switch to the designer.

For me this isn't a big problem for two reasons. First I tend to use CSS layout, which means that centrally setting the master page isn't overly important, as global changes can b achieved by changing the CSS (either manually or via themes). Second, I don't tend to use the design surface much, partly due to my use of CSS - the designer has, err, issues when using CSS layout.

posted @ Wednesday, October 12, 2005 12:57 PM | Feedback (3)
Dave's top tip

Never make a funnny face while Plip has a camera.

posted @ Monday, October 10, 2005 4:39 PM | Feedback (0)
Microsoft Fingerprint Reader

I recently bough the Microsoft fingerprint reader, after a recommendation, and I've been surprised by how good the package is. It doesn't work for logons in a domain, which is my configuration, but then I don't turn my machine off, so it's not a problem, but it does work for websites, and work very well. Any website that requires login you just place your finger on the reader, and the associated software prompts for the logon information for the fields. Subsequent visits you just use the finger and there's no prompting or typing. Very, very useful, for both the terminally forgetful (me), and the lazy (me again).

 

posted @ Monday, October 10, 2005 4:35 PM | Feedback (-8)
Workflows

Plip is talking about workflows, and I really think this is actually an important step in software design. We all build workflows into our applications, even if we don't realise this is exactly what they are. Building Workflow into the platform allows all aspects of applications, and indeed multiple applications, to participate in a workflow. Like several of the things I've seen over the last two weeks, I could use this now, however much of an alpha product it is. James, a friend of mine who is a DE on the workflow team, gave me a copy of the book members of the team have authored, and I plan to download the beta and start working through it. You can find out more at the workflow site.

On another note I received the Framework Design Guidelines book from Addison-Wesley, which looks interesting. Essentially a whole bunch of do's and don'ts, with inline comments from the authors and reviewers - an interesting concept.

[Listening to: Bob Harris Country - - ]
posted @ Monday, October 10, 2005 9:29 AM | Feedback (3)
The last two weeks

It's been an interesting time. First the MVP summit, where I met many people I only knew by name or IM and email. It was my first summit and I didn't know what to expect, but I really enjoyed myself. A little too much focus on marketting stuff, but we did have time with the web team. The most interesting session was when we (the ASP.NET MVPs) were split into regional groups and given $1000 (virtual, not real) to spend on improving the web platform. What was interesting about this was that the three groups only had one or two items in common; we all had different ideas on what should be added.

After the MVP summit was an ASP Insiders summit, where we spent a lot of time with the ASP.NET team. There was a whole day on Atlas, discussing current and future implementations, as well as sessions on future products. The most impressive from my perspective was Quartz, the new web design tool, which is the tool I want Visual Studio to be. It's hands down better than anything I use at the moment, and while there are other good web tools around, I think Quartz is better. I told the team I'd swap my car for a copy of it now; it doesn't matter that they haven't finished writing it, I'd still use it.

 

posted @ Friday, October 07, 2005 11:12 AM | Feedback (3)
D3.2


I'll be there. I have two talks, one ASP.NET 2.0 Web Parts, and the Programming the SQL Server 2005 CLR.

This was a great event last year, and shouldn't be missed - a free code camp and you don't even have to take a day off work.

[Listening to: Helen Mayhew - - ]
posted @ Friday, October 07, 2005 10:57 AM | Feedback (6)
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