I am moving my blog to a new URL. Please go to the following location from now on:

http://blog.davidmccarter.net

Thanks!
David McCarter

7:17:40 AM  #  

If you live in the San Diego area, dotNetDave (a.k.a. David McCarter) will be teaching a 6 week VB.NET course at the University of California, San Diego Extension beginning on Thursday March 31st from 5:30pm to 9:30pm. For more information and to enroll, please click here.

5:56:22 PM  #  

Microsoft has developed an almost ideal tool to help you configure security on computers in your organization. The tool is the Security Configuration Wizard, which is available in Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1. The tool can help you configure services, network security, auditing, registry settings, and more. The wizard accomplishes these goals by producing security policies, which can be used in conjunction with security templates and specific server roles.

Click here for the complete article.

7:48:37 AM  #  

Paderborn, Germany - 25 Jan 2005 - The joint value proposition between Microsoft and Wincor Nixdorf, focusing on Microsoft's Smarter Retailing Initiative (SRI), has resulted in more than 15 major retailers, including Axfood, ICA, Metro Cash & Carry and Superdrug ordering a total of over 60,000 licences of BEETLE point-of-sale (POS) systems that use the Microsoft® Windows® XP Embedded operating system. The decision to invest in new technology for the store and back office illustrates the growing view among European retailers that their existing POS solutions, many of which are between seven and 10 years old, are not able to perform the tasks that smart retailers deem essential, such as providing an enhanced consumer shopping experience. Included among the benefits that retailers using Microsoft XP Embedded enjoy are enhanced performance at the checkout, with significant improvements in transaction times, and the opportunity to offer a consistent level of service, whether a customer is shopping in the store or online. "The debate around which new point-of-sale system to select is shifting from being simply around the selection of a till device to tackling the much broader question of how to implement the best point-of-service offering," said Dilip Popat, managing director, Retail Industry Solutions Unit for Microsoft Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). "Retailers are being driven to upgrade their systems to take advantage of new technology that can provide better customer service, with lower total cost of ownership." To this end, Microsoft has been working closely with Wincor Nixdorf. According to Michael Schulte, head of software marketing for Wincor Nixdorf, any replacement hardware and software has to address value-added customer service scenarios and integrate multiple device formats such as self-checkouts and information kiosks, in addition to traditional checkout lanes. As a result of customer and development partner feedback, Microsoft will soon be shipping a retail-optimised software platform, Windows Embedded for Point of Service, designed for easy setup, use and management of point-of-service systems. Wincor Nixdorf has been an early and active member of the Joint Development Program for Windows Embedded for Point of Service, which will be available in the first half of 2005. "We are committed to supporting Windows Embedded for Point of Service and developing solutions that deliver greater value to retailers by allowing them to take advantage of their legacy systems, while providing plug-and-play functionality for retail device peripherals, which is the single most requested feature by retailers," said Schulte. As further evidence of this commitment to delivering greater value to retailers, Wincor Nixdorf will soon deliver its Store Communication Framework, a product that will simplify the connectivity and data management issues inherent in today’s retailing infrastructures. Key elements of Store Communication Framework will be built upon the Microsoft .NET platform and leverage the Microsoft enterprise connectivity toolset. Wincor Nixdorf has also chosen Microsoft .NET as the platform for TP.net, its newest point-of-sale solution. "This decision was taken based on four key factors: the relative simplicity of developing, maintaining and extending solutions; the speed and effectiveness with which solutions can be deployed worldwide; the low cost of developing and modifying web services-based concepts, and the strength of our relationship with Microsoft as our technology partner," said Schulte. Windows Embedded for Point of Service and the Microsoft .NET Framework are core technologies within Microsoft's Smarter Retailing Initiative, which provides an innovative, open standards-based approach that allows retailers to easily create next-generation point-of-service systems that connect the store to the consumer. These future systems will also support emerging technologies such as RFID and biometrics.
5:55:44 PM  #  

Musicians believe the internet is an essential tool to help create and market their work, but at the same time more than half of artists say file sharing of unauthorized copies of music should be illegal, according to a new report.  Click here for the entire article.
4:14:41 PM  #  

Products give business people and programmers a shared language that helps them implement changes quickly. Click here for the full article.

5:45:10 PM  #  

If you have kids in San Diego, then you need to check out this web site brought to you because of Megan's law: http://www.sandiego.gov/police/newsflash/sexoffender.shtml
5:39:21 PM  #  

...you take a walk around it and you see shopping carts littering the sidewalks. I live in the Carmel Valley area of San Diego, which is pretty affluent. Why this started happening here about three or four years ago is beyond me. The funny thing is the carts are never far from the actual store?? Don't these people have a car? If not, are they really pushing home that much that they need a cart? Come on people!!
5:36:51 PM  #  

Linux vendors Red Hat, Novell and Mandrakesoft on Wednesday released patches for several vulnerabilities, ranging from flaws that could allow denial-of-service attacks to buffer overflows.

For the complete article click here.

3:15:30 PM  #  

INCUBUS ANNOUNCES "MAKE YOURSELF FOUNDATION" GRANTS FOR 2005

Band Donates $100,000 to the American Red Cross

New York, NY - Grammy award nominated rock band Incubus today announced a number of donations today through their non-profit organization, the Make Yourself Foundation. At the top of the list, the band is donating $100,000 to the American Red Cross Tsunami Relief Fund. Founded in 2004 by the band, the Make Yourself foundation was established to donate funds to various charities which are listed on the Make Yourself Foundation website (www.makeyourselffoundation.org). In its first year, the Foundation raised an astounding $400, 000 through Incubus' music-related activities while the band toured around the world.

When sitting down to decide how to best allocate the funds, the massive tsunami hit Asia, altering the band's initial plan. The band explains, "We started the MYF as a vehicle to try and help people who have not been as fortunate as us. Last year we spent the year raising money and bringing attention to a number of worthy causes. When we sat down in December to allocate the money, we had no idea of the disaster that was about to happen. The magnitude of the tsunami disaster is truly overwhelming and we can only hope that this donation can help bring some relief to the people who've been affected by it."

In addition to the Tsunami relief effort The Make Yourself Foundation will be making donations to the following organizations.

The Red Cross www.redcross.org
Future Forests www.futureforests.com
International Rett Syndrome Association www.rettsyndrome.org
The Painted Turtle www.thepaintedturtle.com
Surfrider Foundation www.surfrider.com
Operation Smile www.operationsmile.com
Heal The Bay www.healthebay.org
Institute of Music and Neurologic Function www.bethabe.com
Sweet Relief www.sweetrelief.org
Save the Music www.vh1.com/partners/save_the_music/home.html
Break the Cycle www.breakthecycle.org

The band is planning more charitable related music projects this year.

3:12:22 PM  #  

8:07:43 PM  #  

Last week I went to see "Meet the Fockers" at a movie theater in Mission Valley here in San Diego. I heard the movie was great, maybe even funnier than the first so I was excited to go check it out. My excitement severely dropped when I saw (and heard) at least four small infant babies being brought into the theater by their parents! So I prayed and hoped they would not cry… I was wrong. Not only did one or more of them cry during most of the movie but I swear that they all were crying at one time at one point! This pretty much ruined the movie for me.

I don't know about "most" parents, but when I had my kids, I did not step foot into a movie theater for many years unless we got a grandparent to watch our kids for us. It is totally beyond me why anyone would want to go take an infant or small child to a movie that is rated PG-13 or higher. Heck, kids should only be in G movies and babies should never be there!

Leave your baby at home and wait for the movie to come out on DVD or video! If you can't afford a babysitter, than this is cheaper anyway. I even said something to the parents down the row from me and they still did not take their baby out of the theater so it would stop bothering everyone around them. This is just another example of why I really don't like going out to the movies any more… I just can't take the ever increasing rudeness of the people that go.

1:55:28 PM  #  

Microsoft .NET Is Named Best Program Development Platform In Financial Industry by Waters Magazine... pretty cool huh? Here is the complete article.
4:08:54 PM  #  

South Africa-based retailer Woolworths Holdings is set to deploy an upgraded application that it developed with the help of a new Mainsoft tool that converts code written using Microsoft's intermediate languages to Java byte code. For the complete article, go to: http://www.computerworld.com/printthis/2004/0,4814,96180,00.html

6:54:13 PM  #  

Continuing its flirtation with open source, Microsoft Corp. on Monday posted the code of a little-known collaboration application to open-source development site SourceForge.net.

[InfoWorld: Top News]

6:53:26 PM  #  

For those of you working with ASP.NET, please be aware of the following reported security vulnerability in ASP.NET.

Microsoft is currently investigating a reported vulnerability in Microsoft ASP.NET. An attacker can send specially crafted requests to the server and view secured content without providing the proper credentials. This reported vulnerability exists in ASP.NET and does not affect ASP.

This issue affects Web content owners who are running any version of ASP.NET on Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows 2000 Server, Windows XP Professional, and Windows Server 2003.

The underlying issue is that ASP.NET is failing to perform proper canonicalization of some URLs. Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) article 887459, "Programmatically Checking for Canonicalization Issues with ASP.NET," describes how to add additional safeguards to an ASP.NET application to help protect against common canonicalization issues, such as those related to this reported vulnerability.

The ASP.NET Team has confirmed that all versions of ASP.NET on all operating systems may be susceptible to this potential exploit. They strongly recommend you apply the following code to the Global.asax for each of your applications.

Global.asax code sample (Visual Basic .NET)

Sub Application_BeginRequest(Sender as Object, E as EventArgs)

    If (Request.Path.IndexOf(chr(92)) >= 0 OR _

        System.IO.Path.GetFullPath(Request.PhysicalPath) <> Request.PhysicalPath) then

        Throw New HttpException(404, "Not Found")

    End If

End Sub

Global.asax code sample (C#)

void Application_BeginRequest(object source, EventArgs e) {

    if (Request.Path.IndexOf('\') >= 0 ||

        System.IO.Path.GetFullPath(Request.PhysicalPath) != Request.PhysicalPath) {

        throw new HttpException(404, "not found");

    }

}

The ASP.NET team is continuing to work on this problem and will post more information once it becomes available to http://www.microsoft.com/security/incident/aspnet.mspx.

Resources

http://www.microsoft.com/security/incident/aspnet.mspx

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=887459

6:50:23 PM  #  

CNet is reporting that tech jobs are on the decline. Click Here for Article

6:47:32 PM  #  

Microsoft previews 'Whitehorse' modeling tools for web applications for Visual Studio 2005. Click here for the complete article from CNet.
6:43:20 PM  #  

Bush want's OBGYN's to spread love to their patients? Check out this video:

http://www.transbuddha.com/mediaHolder.php?id=20

5:52:08 PM  #  

I think this picture is pretty self explanatory.

3:44:21 PM  #  

A Perfect Circle is releasing a new album on election day that is "a collection of songs about war, peace, love and greed".I kinda wished it would come out before the election to get us in the right mood :-) For the entire article about this album go to: http://www.billboard.com/bb/daily/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000626795.

8:11:18 AM  #  

Another 9/11 passes and another year with absolutely no major network coverage of the event. The only show I could find today was a one hour special on the Discovery special. None of the major networks (Fox, CBS, NBC or ABC) devoted event 1 minute of prime time to this event on Friday (9/10) or on 9/11 (Saturday).  My thoughts I wrote last year (Remember Those Who Unwilling Gave Their Lives: 9/11) still ring true this year… sad. It’s sadder that the only time we really hear about 9/11 is when one political party is laying blame on the other or the president is using it to get himself re-elected.
7:45:27 PM  #  

Netflix now has RSS feeds! Way cool. My favorite one is the "New Releases" feed. I've been using Netflix for many years and hopefully this feed will make it easier to find out what cool new movies I can add to my queue.
9:13:12 AM  #  

Let me first start off saying that I am a HUGE Cheap Trick fan. I buy anything they put out. While this DVD is great, it is not a live DVD... it is really a documentary (or rockumentary). With that in mind, it has great insight to the history of the band that I never knew like Tom invented Pop Tarts and Rick's dad was a famous opera singer.

I was let down that there is no way to watch the concert footage (most of it new songs) in its entirety.

7:53:28 PM  #  

There are data syncing issues with this model and other strange behaviors. Unfortunately Viewsonic is no longer offering an upgrade to Pocket PC 2003 which should fix some of these issues. Here is the response from their technical support: "The PPC 2003 upgrade CD for the Pocket PC V37 is no longer in production.". I personally would not purchase anything that can't be upgraded! Buyer beware! The screen resolution is not that great either.
3:11:25 PM  #  

Quake Shakes San Diego. An earthquake hit San Diego Tuesday with enough force to make more than a few San Diegans nervous. Where I work, some people actually stood up and exclaimed "... what was that?". I wonder... if a tornado hit the building they would be asking the same question. Then a bunch of people ran to the window as to try to witness massive distruction. FUNNY!
7:24:30 PM  #  

If this is how Pardee Homes "saves" the habitat in San Diego, I would hate to see what it looks like when they aren't trying!

Picture taken near the beginning of the west end of hwy 56 in San Diego (Carmel Valley)

9:43:38 AM  #  

9:19:11 AM  #  

Regardless on how you feel about the Vons strike... read on. This week I just could not believe my ears! For fear of retaliation when the strike is over, I only go into the Vons, which I have been shopping at for over six years, to get my prescriptions filled. The first day I was there, the strikers were telling the customers that the pharmacy was closed! Not cool. It gets worse, much worse.

The next time I went in, a few of the pharmacy assistants came back to work to help the pharmacist (who was all alone the first time went in). After talking to her for a few minutes, I learned a few very disturbing things:

• All the people that work in the pharmacy are in the union, even though they are on a different contract, they are ruled by the same people.
• The pharmacists that decided the break the picket line and provide medicine to people like myself have to pay $100 per day fine!
• The assistant that spoke to had two choices, if she wanted to help the pharmacist, she either pay the $100 per day fine or sign away all her rights in the union. This means she cannot vote and they will not help her in any way during this period. Since she does not make all the much money and has a student loan bills to pay, she chose the latter. In addition, she might have to pay $200+ to get back into the union when this is all over! Huh?

I cannot believe any reasonable person would even think of denying any fellow American access to medication that in many cases is necessary for the health of that person. Well, this is that the union is doing. It seems with the fining of the pharmacy workers, they are discouraging them to work to provide this care. This is just unacceptable and should not be tolerated!

If I could afford it, I wish I could go purchase every worker at the pharmacy at the Vons where I live (there are only two pharmacies in my area) a dinner at Outback Steak House or something like that… just to show them that I care and appreciate everything they are doing for us.

Grocery Strike Talks. Nov. 10 - For the first time since contract talks broke off a month ago, striking workers and supermarket officials are meeting with a mediator.

3:34:18 PM  #  

6:44:54 PM  #  

Only two years after the worst tragedy in the history of the United States, I'm amazed of the lack of "prime time" television coverage given to this day. There is only one sixty minute show looking at the current state of a few topics. NBC actually cancelled a thirty minutes show it was going to do! Thirty minutes? Only sixty minutes? That's all the networks are willing to give up when all they are showing are repeats anyway? This deeply saddens me.

I remember all too well that day… I sat in front of the television for almost two days in a state of shock… numb and confused that something like this happed to over 3,000 innocent fellow Americans. Unfortunately, like the day that JFK died or Columbia blew up on liftoff, it will be etched in my mind forever. But unlike other recent events, this one we can never forget! What worries me is that we already are.

If it were up to me, this would be a holiday. All Americans would take the day off and remember those who died. Those who helped people to survive. Those who made a difference. Then, we would collectively work on how to prevent this from happening again… how ever that might be. We can never fall asleep at the wheel again!

10:56:37 AM  #  

Today our local NBC affiliate decided (for some strange reason) that the lead story of the day would be about the Evangelist Billy Graham holding a four-day mission at Qualcomm Stadium. The segment showed mission goers delighted that they get to hear this great man speak. Isn’t this the same man who said that if we listen to musicians like Ozzy Osbourne we would go to hell? Isn’t this the same man that said that if he does not get six million dollars by a certain date he was going to die?

Enough said!

6:21:15 PM  #  

Anniversary Called 'Major Milestone' For Computer Users

So, did you at least send a card? According to some of the folks who keep track of such things, Wednesday was the 20th anniversary of the Internet.

It was on Jan. 1, 1983, that the first 400 or so computers hooked up to what was then called ARPANET had to switch to a communications protocol called TCP/IP. It was that means of transferring data that allowed the World Wide Web to expand and thrive -- basically making the Internet what it is today.

Vint Cerf, the co-inventor of the protocol, says the anniversary is "a major milestone" for computer users to observe. However, there are others who insist that the Internet is even older than that.

They say when two computers at the UCLA swapped data across a 15-foot cable, it marked the start of the basic concept behind the Internet.

9:13:13 AM  #  

Another grueling major voting period is finally over. The biggest relief is that all those misleading and negative television commercials are gone! Why do you choose to spend so much time tearing down the other candidates? Why can’t you talk about what you are going to do for us? Why can’t you talk about the issues? Why can’t you talk about the plans you have to fix what’s wrong with San Diego, California or America?

 

Instead you just focus on the negative. Are you being a good example (role model) to other Americans? I think not. If you think these types of tactics will deter me from voting… you are wrong! I will make sure I vote… just not for anyone who chooses to participate in this type of negative campaigning!!

 

So I hope you think about this next year. The numbers of people who think like me are growing! Any you wonder why most of us hate politicians!

10:37:08 AM  #  

Dr. Blackbourne (who bares a striking resemblance to Yoda) took the stand on the second day of the Westerfield trial. During his testimony, he seemed to not really give the answer we all have been waiting for… how Danielle Van Dam was murdered. If he were a little greener, I could imagine him saying in my head the following things…

• “Cloud your minds with doubt, I will.”
• “Weather charts? Meditate on that I will do.”
• “I know the time of death, but no real evidence I have.”
• “You must find your own answers, young jurors.”

4:28:45 PM  #  

Have you gotten the surprise of your life from your girlfriend or acquaintance and they say they are pregnant with your child? Before you let her put you through emotional torture (and your family and current children... as I did) and possible financial strain, PLEASE get a DNA test done!

The actual test is painless and can even be done yourself! I used the DNA Testing Centre, Inc. in Texas. You can order kits on the web by going to: http://www.dnatestingcentre.com/order.htm. It's relatively inexpensive and is well worth it if you compare it to the devastation it can cause you and your family if the child is not yours.

5:24:00 PM  #  

Here is a list of people in cars you should avoid at all times while you are driving on the road! (I have seen all of these type of drivers)

1. All VW Bus's! They don't go very fast and screw up the stream of traffic!
2. All Mini-Vans! They are the new VW Bus's!
3. Any driver and rests their head in their hand. If they are too tired to keep their head up, then they must be too tired to pay much attention to the road!
4. All Teenagers!
5. Drivers that eats their cereal out of a bowl propped up on the lower part of the steering wheel!
6. Woman driver doing her makeup! I never understood this one. Why can't you women take care of this at home or in the bathroom at the office instead of putting us all in danger or slowing the flow of traffic?
7. Woman driver doing her makeup while on her cell phone!
8. Anyone on a cell phone! Ever notice how they drive slower and act as if they don't know where the hell they are going. They are an accident waiting to happen! Using a cell phone in a car should be made illegal while it’s in motion. Pay attention to the road!!!
9. Anyone who stops two or three car lengths behind the car in front of them at a stoplight. Obviously, these people have a depth perception problem and should not be on the road in the first place!
10. Anyone who puts on their breaks every few seconds for no apparent reason. I can’t figure this one out. Either they have a problem remembering which pedal is for the breaks and which is for the gas? The other reason is that they are so afraid of everything around them that they might needs to slam on the breaks at any millisecond? Who knows.
11. Reading while driving! That's right, reading newspapers, books, memos... I've seen it all. The car is not a library people!
12. Fussing around with something in the passenger seat. No I don't mean a child, I am talking about purses, briefcases or what ever else some of you keep in the passenger seat that for some reason you think driving on the road is a good time to take care of it. Can't you do this before or after you get in the car?

2:11:53 PM  #