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March 28, 2004

First web service call is slow

This is something I've always noticed but never really looked into.


While on the subject of performance... Have you ever wondered why the first call to a method on a Web service takes more time than subsequent calls? The first time a method on a Web service is called causes the soap client to reflect over the Web service proxy object. To mitigate this delay declare the Web service object global to the class and call a simple web method on the Web service during form load. Subsequent calls will not incur this reflection overhead. [Jono's Blog]

Posted by mikel at 05:44 PM | Comments (0)

March 25, 2004

The Millionaire Responds!

OK, this whole blog thing is cool. A few days ago I find out that the owner of the Dallas Mavericks has a blog from a Microsoft employee (Scoble). So I subscribe to his blog and a few days later he takes a little shot at Indiana basketball fans. So I sent off a quick note with my thoughts. I really didn't expect a response, but not only did he respond but he did so within 10 minutes!

i understand your points on basketball, obviously i disagree about the nba being real basketball, but on the pricing thing.The empty seats were the 10 dollars seats...


thanks,

M

Posted by mikel at 11:30 PM | Comments (0)

David Copperfield

Jessica and I went to David Copperfield tonight at Elliott Hall of Music. We had gotten the tickets so long ago (the show was postponed from its original January date), I had almost forgotten it was coming up. Really good show. Way funnier than I thought it would be. Really part stand-up comic, part magician.

Posted by mikel at 11:14 PM | Comments (0)

What's up with Pacers fans

Mark Cuban wonders what's up with Pacers fans. Here's my thoughts that I sent to him via his blog...

Mark,

First, the blog is great. Keep it up.

Second, I have a comment about lackluster Pacer fans and the state of Indiana that you remember. As an Indiana resident and basketball fan, let me fill you in.

The first thing that happened was they started class basketball at the high school level. Remember the movie "Hoosiers". Yeah, it's nothing like that anymore. Attendance is way down at high school games. They used to hold the state tournament finals in the RCA dome. Now they don't even sell out Conseco (though I'll be there this weekend).

Second, most people in Indiana don't consider the NBA "real" basketball. Mostly, it's 10 guys playing one-on-one. The last great "teams" where the Bulls with the Triangle offense.

Third, ticket prices are pretty high. Cost of living in Indiana is really low. So comparatively, professional sports is expensive. And there's a lot of other ways to get your basketball fix in the state for cheaper (college and high school).

So, basketball is much less of a community event because the magic of a one class system was taken away and the basketball fans that are left would rather watch college ball than the NBA.

-Mikel

And finally, what is up with Indiana Pacers fans. Your team has the best record in the NBA and you arent selling out games. Thats not the state of Indiana that I remember.. m [Blog Maverick]

Posted by mikel at 04:28 PM | Comments (0)

Some good resources from Jim Wilson






The workshop yesterday was a blast. We literally had every seat filled with people lined-up around the walls and flowing into the hall. It was great!! To all of you who were there, I thank you for taking the time to spend that 9-hour day (yes that was 9 hours) with me digging into the Windows Mobile Developer experience. If you werenÂ’t there, feel free to download the slides and demos anyway. I hope you find them useful.

The Irish teddy bear contingent is so happy about the success of the workshop that theyÂ’ve moved straight from their St. Patrick’s Day week-long party into a full-fledged MDC bender. Hey if the MDC doesnÂ’t make you wanna party, I donÂ’t know what does		 

As a follow up to the workshop hereÂ’s the information I promised.

First off, here are the demos. This is literally every piece of code I typed at the workshop. Here are the slides (2.2mb) as well.


Also, as I promised, here is the list of the various URLs I mentioned throughout the day.


Again thank you to everyone for making the workshop an unparalleled success. I had a great time – I hope you did as well. See y’all soon.

Jim

[Jim Wilson - JW Hedgehog, Inc.]

Posted by mikel at 07:45 AM | Comments (0)

March 24, 2004

I don't understand Microsoft marketing

I really don't understand Microsoft Marketing, either that or I don't understand marketing in general. They do so many things that seem so ridiculous (the whole everything is called .NET being a big one). So what I don't understand now is how if you're going to go with the year naming scheme (Windows Mobile 2003), then why is it Windows Mobile 2003 SE and not Windows Mobile 2004? I guess they did the same thing with Win 98 SE.

Anyway, whatever they want to call it. Some interesting stuff...

Microsoft, in conjunction with several developer shows taking place this week, announced Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition along with a Visual Studio 2005 technology preview and a series of programs to boost Visual Studio 2005. [InfoWorld: Top News]

Posted by mikel at 06:00 PM | Comments (0)

March 23, 2004

Extracting an icon in the compact framework

Just to prove in the hundred's time that there's nothing impossible exist for him, Alex Feinman has posted this article on OpenNETCF.org. It shows how to create a managed Icon object from native icon handle. Brilliant job (as always) Alex!

[Alex Yakhnin]

Posted by mikel at 04:24 PM | Comments (0)

March 21, 2004

ChrisAn gets bitten by the CF bug (in a good way)

Chris Anderson (probably one of the most well respected and public programmers at Microsoft) really dove into the compact framework and device development over the last few days. I'm excited that Chris is finally catching up! :) And I'm doubly exciting because of comments like this...

"Guid.NewGuid doesn't exist, but it took 1 google search to find the right hack for this. I'll have to follow up with the device folks to see if this is fixed in Whidbey."

Not that I particulary care about the NewGuid method, but when this guy bangs his head against something I bet it gets fixed in the next version! I bet this will make developing for the CF even better.

http://www.simplegeek.com/permalink.aspx/65bdeaef-fbdb-412a-b606-39e287de12df
http://www.simplegeek.com/permalink.aspx/add58be3-b81c-4a98-ba0e-ea1fcc042675
http://www.simplegeek.com/permalink.aspx/92c30341-d92a-4852-b01a-d319fc12344a

Posted by mikel at 09:20 PM | Comments (0)

Prof. Lutes on Pocket PC Development

Kyle's new article on "Designing and Building Applications for the Pocket PC" has just been published on InformIT. Lots of good information, but I particularly liked this little nugget.

For purely experimental reasons, I once tried to continually browse the Web during a staff meeting, but my PDA died before the two-hour meeting ended.

Posted by mikel at 09:12 PM | Comments (0)

March 19, 2004

.NET rocks covers the Compact Framework

My question made it onto the show. Not sure if I get any free stuff or not.

For those listeners who want to listen in to tomorrow's show recording, we'll be talking to Jon Box and Dan Fox (we know) around topics covered in their book, “Building Solutions with the Microsoft Compact Framework“

Topics include the Microsoft Architect Advisory Board, design patterns, mobile controls and the future of smart devices, converting apps to the CF, lots of CF tips and tricks, pInvoke from the CF, SQL CE, performance, and securing smart device apps.

Click here to listen to the show Friday, March 19 at 12PM EST. The show is 2 hours long

Click here to ask questions during the show

Click here to join our live yahoo chat during the show

[Carl Franklin]

Posted by mikel at 01:14 PM | Comments (0)

Here's what we need for the Mobile Computing Lab

"The computing power comes from a Tablet PC fitted into the armrest on the back seat, along with a Bluetooth-enabled printer and fax machine.

For wireless connectivity, the car has a wireless LAN access point that connects to the outside world over General Packet Radio Services and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System third-generation telephone networks, which support wireless data services. "

BMW 7 Series car has Tablet PC, Bluetooth-enabled printer and fax machine, and wireless connectivity. [Computerworld Mobile/Wireless News]

Posted by mikel at 10:03 AM | Comments (0)

March 17, 2004

Now here's an interesting blogger

Mark Cuban is the owner of the Dallas Mavericks.

It was then I told them that rather than providing any commentary or quotes to them on this matter, or on any upcoming matters, I would be posting whatever I had to say on my blog. They were not happy. "How are we going to ask you follow up questions?" I explained that he could email me directly or from the site, but that I would most likely post his question and my response. "Is the league sending a message that they didn't want you talking to reporters?" Ding ding ding. Give him a lollipop. I went on to explain that this was the best way for all of us. They could get all the quotes and information they needed. "Will this be just you writing it, or will you dictate it to someone else?" The satisfaction of knowing that each will have to explain to their editors what a blog is -- and argue for who knows how long about whether or not BlogMaverick.com is an attributable source -- crept over me and that jaunt on the gauntlet flew by.[Blog Maverick]

Posted by mikel at 10:21 PM | Comments (0)

March 16, 2004

Microsoft ISV

Microsoft seems to be doing quite a bit for ISVs lately. The next show is supposed to be on mobility. But I don't see that they have an RSS feed to subscribe to (MSDN TV and The .NET Show do). Ironic since they covered blogging in this show.

[Update]: Listened to a webcast today, not to much exciting. Just need to check it more later.
http://members.microsoft.com/partner/pointscalculator/default.aspx
http://members.microsoft.com/partner/isv/worktog/seminarsarchive.aspx

Are you working for a software company? Or, are you a startup? Microsoft is producing the "ISV Show" just for you. Interviewed there is venture capitalist Jeremy Allaire, talking about blogging opportunities (in the "startup" segment).

Hmmm, why doesn't the ISV show have an RSS feed? I really liked this show and want to be warned everytime a new show comes online.

[The Scobleizer Weblog]

Posted by mikel at 04:42 PM | Comments (0)

March 09, 2004

making your small business website media friendly

What every company website should have to be media friendly.
via Inside Indiana Business

24-hour media contact name and phone number/cell or beeper number

E-mail access to media contact

Company history or background including locations with addresses, number of employees, new projects,

Downloadable photos and bios of key executives

Archive of news releases for further background

Downloadable company logo

Info page with address

Potential brief company video – no more than two minutes (optional)

Posted by mikel at 12:16 PM | Comments (0)

March 06, 2004

Copying, Cloning, and Marshalling in .NET

http://www.ondotnet.com/pub/a/dotnet/2002/11/25/copying.html

Posted by mikel at 10:40 PM | Comments (0)

March 04, 2004

Prof. Lutes on public properties in C#, Java, and C++

Kyle's new article on public properties has been posted on DevSource.

Adding Properties to an Object in C# is Different than Java and C++

Scott Hanselman has a post that touches at the same core issue. He calls it cargo-cult programming. The point is that you really understand the how and why the code is the way it is.

Posted by mikel at 03:51 PM | Comments (0)

March 02, 2004

Smartphone videos

I can't wait until we can get one in the MCL and I can play with it.

Oh, Motorola videos of the next MP phone are leaking out (scroll down on that page for the videos). Dang, I want this phone running the Microsoft SmartPhone OS and software. First one to get my boss and me one will be our friends for life! Not to mention I'll write about it here and put photos on my photoblog.

[The Scobleizer Weblog]

Posted by mikel at 09:54 AM | Comments (0)

Kyle Cordes' talk on the CF

A pretty decent overview of beginning development for the .NET compact framework but there are a few things I'd disagree with.

http://www.kylecordes.com/story-268-cf-wireless-sig.html

"VS.NET does not cooperate with building the same software for both CF and desktop .NET"
That definitly hasn't been the case for me. I have a CF dll, CF, exe, and full framework exe. Both the CF and full framework reference the CF dll.

"If you include both a desktop and CF project in the same “Solution”, and you build/run the desktop app, VS.NET will build and deploy (!) the CF project."
To change that you just need to modify the startup behavior and make sure that the dll is set to deploy to the same place as the consuming device.

"# You can’t run the same EXE/DLL on both the CF and desktop .NET
# … because you need to bind to the right core assemblies for each platform"
Yes, you can. See above.

"# You can’t run exactly the same source code on both
# … because you CF code will need to make a few P/Invoke calls specific to the CF
# … because a few lines of code you need for the desktop, won’t work on the CF"
This is true only if you P/Invoke in your application or do CF or full framework specific things. There is quite a bit overlap between the CF and full and as long as you stick to that you are good. That's why I split the core of my app out into a DLL and two exes. The dll is the exact same source, exact same binary.

SQL CE "allows only one connection (total across all databases and apps!) at a time"
Interesting, didn't know that. I'll have to test it out.

I need to check out this free installer, Kyle used it to build a PC based install for his CF application.

Posted by mikel at 09:30 AM | Comments (1)