#region Coad's Code (Noah Coad)

It's about time to move my blog to my own domain.  Between my blogs at msmvps.com and msdn.com, having it on my own domain will provide a more long-term home at http://noahcoad.com.  For those subscribed to the RSS feed, you'll be updated automatically.  See ya over there!

Blog Moved to: http://noahcoad.com

I think it's a good time to move my blog to a permanent new home on an web address that's easy to remember, share, and under my supervision.  Big thanks to Susan w msmvps.com and msdn.com for hosting me all these years, but I'm ready to move on.  So your input would be appreciate in this super short little survey, thanks.

(if the survey isn't showing up above (it's embedded w jscript) then use this direct link, http://surveymonkey.com/s/FLZRM2T)

One of the big internet media companies (Gawker Media) had a their user database of usernames and passwords leaked this weekend, including one of my favorite sites http://lifehacker.com.  I hope none of my dear readers usernames or passwords were leaked (like mine was), but it goes as a lesson that this could happen to anyone.  The lesson to be learned is:

don't use the same password on multiple sites

and when creating a password, use a strong password, containing letters, numbers, symbols, or is really long (>20 characters).  "Pass phrases" are best like "letsgetsomeicecream" or at least multiple words like "blackkeyboard".  Some suggest using motivational phrases to remind you of things, like "drinkmorewater" or "exercise20minutesdaily".  Single words, parts of your name, simple numbers etc can be hacked in just minutes.  When a leak like this occurs, the world has access to your username and password.  If you use that password anywhere else they have practically instant access to all other sites you use that password on, like your bank, facebook, email, etc.

Here is some interesting reading on the topic:

• Forbes: Gawker Media Password Leak
• The Dirty Truth About Web Passwords

This is written to inspire the reader to think more securely and update insecure passwords so it doesn’t happen to you.  Remember, in today’s age of computers your username and password will be leaked, it’s like having your hard drive crash and losing all the data on it… it will happen you to, it’s just a matter of when, so be prepared now.

p.s. In my case I use a separate password for every site, usually multiple words phrases with numbers and symbols too so the leak didn’t cause any personal damage.

p.p.s. If you create websites, store and enforce passwords properly, see these links to learn more: Dictionary Attacks 101, Smart Enough Not to Build this Website, Rainbow Hash Cracking, and Using Salt Tables.

Here are some ways students (college, high school, etc) can get Microsoft Office or similar apps for a deep discount.  My sister is a student and was asking how she could get discounts on Microsoft Word so here’s a quick guide.

• Office Professional Academic
  At the time I’m writing this Microsoft is offering Office 2010 Professional for $80 to students (college, high school, etc).  This is the same thing as the Pro version, but licensed only to students for academic (as opposed to commercial) use.  It includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher, and Access.  If you have an email address from your school that’s about all you need, otherwise you can just supply a scan of your Student ID, class list, or payment for classes to prove you’re a student.  Pay the $80 online and download, done.
• Office Live Documents (http://office.live.com)
  Create (edit/view) Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote docs right online for free!  This is a light-weight version of these apps running online and even look like their full counterparts.  You can share docs with others (like Google Docs) and you can keep the files in sync on your computer using MS SkyDrive. Thanks to Justin Van Patten for pointing this out in the comments!
• Google Documents (http://docs.google.com/)
  Google provides very lightweight free versions of Microsoft Office like apps Document (like Word), Presentation (like PowerPoint), Spreadsheet (like Excel), and a few others.  While these apps have the basics (like spell checking), they focus on the basics instead of being as fully featured at the Microsoft suite.  A big advantage is that the docs are always accessible from anywhere online, work independent of what kind of computer you’re on (PC, mac, etc), have easy access from mobile devices (like the iPhone), and support great online collaboration with others.  Even book authors are starting to use it and my wife and I use Google Docs for most of our shared docs.
• OpenOffice (http://openoffice.org)
  OpenOffice is an entirely free open-source “Microsoft Office like suite” of apps (written in Java).  It is a quick and simple to download and install.  It includes equivalents of most the major Microsoft Office apps as well as staples like spell checking but has its own user interface.  The document format is fully compatible with Microsoft Office apps like Word.
• University + Microsoft Run Discounts
  Some universities have a paired up a deal with Microsoft to provide many MS programs real cheap to their students.  Each school is different in this case so check with your school’s IT support.  For example at Texas A&M you can go to https://software.tamu.edu/ to get Office 2010 for $15.
• University Computer Science or Engineering Department
  Many CS/Eng departments have a free subscription to the MSDN Academic Alliance program that provides most all Microsoft’s major applications.  Just ask at your CS or Eng IT help desk about it.  Typically the dept gets discs from MS and put them on a network share.  Texas A&M’s CD dept does this and makes it real easy to get if you ask where to look.
• Microsoft BizSpark (http://bizspark.com)
  BizSpark is a program for startups that gives you all of the major MS apps (Office Ultimate, Visual Studio, SQL Server, Windows, etc).  It is easy for anyone to create a startup business (incl students), all you really need is a name for your business.  Then fill out the form on the BizSpark website about your business and you’re good to go.
• Microsoft DreamSpark
  MS provides development tools and servers, like Visual Studio, SQL, Windows Server 2008 R2, etc directly to students for free.  Now this does not include Microsoft Office, but is another freebie from MS.
• Buy Retail
  If none of those options work out, you can still pay full retail.  At the time I’m writing this Microsoft Office 2010 Home & Student is $140 retail (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote).  If you buy from microsoft.com for $140 you can download it right away, or pay $120 at amazon.com to get a disc version mailed to you.

For a quick comparison of the Microsoft Office 2010 offerings, see this handy comparison table.  If you know of other ways to get MS Office or similar products for students for cheap, please let me know in the comments.  thanks!

Apple packs a lot of functionality into that little button on your iPhone headphones!  There are plenty of posts out that cover some of the functionality, but here’s a consolidated list.

When a call is coming in (the phone is ringing)

• One click = answer or hang up the call
• Hold for 2 sec = ignore the new call (and send to voicemail)

During a call with a second call coming in (call waiting)

• One click = hold the current call and switch to the new call
• Hold for 2 sec = ignore the new call (and send to voicemail)

Outside of phone calls

• Hold for 2 sec = activate Voice Control (on 3Gs or newer models)
• One click = play or pause music
• Double click = next song
• Tripple click = go back (start of song or previous song)
• Click once then click and hold = fast forward
• Click twice then click and hold = rewind

Up & Down Buttons

• While music is playing, up & down adjust headphones music volume
• While music is stopped/paused, up & down adjust ringer volume

Thanks to Brian Hart and ismashphone.com for their posts.  Know of any other functions I’m missing?

My wallet is small.  Friends’ wallets are getting smaller.  Years back I was using an wallet insert (pictured here); and now you can get thin wallets like this by themselves.  Wallets are shrinking themselves into oblivion.

Today my wallet contains just these three things:

• Driver’s License
• Payment Card (VISA Check/Debit/ATM)
• My company’s product, a LifeNexus Personal Health Card

My company’s goal is to be able to combine payment cards with our Personal Health Card (PHC), so that’ll reduce the number down to two.  My last six years at Microsoft, instead of the PHC I had my Microsoft ID, again just three cards.

Sometimes I’ll add a receipt for reimbursement, a blank check, or a little cash, but those above are the only staples.  Cash is only really required at certain types of establishments, like local festivals.  Additional cards like loyalty programs (Kroger, Fred Meyer, etc) or rewards points (Subway, Freebirds) are kept in the car, since they usually tie to my phone number anyway, are only needed occasionally, or can be provided via other means (like a faxing a copy of my medical insurance card).

My expectation is that when we’re able to make payments and provide ID through our cell phones there will be no need for a wallet for many.  That may seem a long ways out, but mobile payment is used in Asia and Apple filed a patent using the iPhone for payment.   Federal ID via a mobile device may be much further out, but I’ll predict you’ll start seeing it within the next 15 years.  Then the wallet will become a relic of the past, used only for a warm fuzzy feeling of security, nostalgia, or as a style piece, like the wrist watch.

I've been using http://discountasp.net for the last five years for hosting my website, http://coad.net, and it has been as smooth, easy, and elegant as one could hope for.  The company is as good as it gets in my opinion when it comes to service, value, and their offerings. 

In full disclosure, they have provided some of my hosting for free for the last few years due to community participation.  They have a real interest in supporting the ASP.NET community.  The reason I'm writing this post though is because I really believe in their product.  I also have a few paid accounts (w/ no discounts) for my other companies.  All of them use DiscountASP.NET because I believe it is the best web hosting choice.

If you give them a try, please use this referral link.  thanks

Here are some of my favorite aspects of DiscountASP.NET…

• Easy and Fully Integrated Control Panel
  Some companies use off the shelf web-based management tools, or feel fragmented with different sites/tools for different services (eg: godaddy.com).  DiscountASP.NET has a one-stop-shop integrated management system where everything from billing, permission management, email addresses, database setup, etc… all at your fingertips with a very easy to use interface.  Stuff like usernames, passwords, URLs, SQL credentials, connection strings, are all very obvious.
  
  I'll say this has been probably been my #1 favorite aspect of the service.  They've spoiled me.  I've had to manage other hosing systems which may be relatively straight forward, but are just a pain in comparison.  They also have a Control Panel demo so you can see it.
   
• Microsoft SQL and SQL Express Databases
  Just drop a .mdb for SQL Express like database access, or pay a reasonable little more for dedicated SQL Server database.  You may say 'what about the free MySQL'?  Well dropping a .mdb file in your project is also a free option and has better .NET support.
   
• Grow as You Go
  Honestly most hosting providers these days have good 'grow-as-you-go' plans that let you start out small and add on as need be, but I've noticed (and it must be because they're good guys) that they're plans are particularly reasonable.  You can start out with a small plan and add services ala-cart as need be, or move to a larger package plan, whatever works.
   
• Free SSL
  They have a number of secure SSL certificates you can use for HTTPS, with a free cert to start out with.  All are easy to configure and just snap in.
   
• Latest .NET & SQL Versions
  DiscountASP.NET is always right on top of the latest versions of the .NET Framework, ASP.NET, MVC, SQL, etc.  When a product is in beta, they have a free sandbox site you can work with.  Then when the product goes live, within a day or two you have the free option of upgrading your site to the latest.
    
• Outstanding Support
  The support system is simple and engineers get back to you fast.  They're KB system is a wealth of info and they have active community forums.

They're also highly decorated with plenty of hosting award year-over-year.  So if you're looking for an ASP.NET hosting solution, give DiscountASP.NET a good serious look (go ahead, just try them out).

Here's an old article I put together while in college that was worth reviving…

An Analysis of π in the Bible

Overview
Mathematics is the one truly universal language as it spans time and space.  We find in the Hebrew Bible that there is a mathematical anomaly involving PI that is remarkably simple and accurate.

At 1 Kings 7:23 there is a unique spelling of an otherwise common word.  It is the word circumference, translated "line", and is usually spelled with two Hebrew letters.  But in this case it is spelled with an extra third letter.

"And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about." - 1 Kings 7:23

You can see this verse in Hebrew at Bible Study Tools (requires the BSTHebrew.ttf fonts).

Hebrew Numbering System
Hebrew uses an ancient numbering system in which each letter is assigned a value, and a number is indicated by a group of letters by adding their values.  Today it is Hebrew tradition to use this numbering system in dates and in numbering items.  Numbers can be made similarly to Roman Numerals in that XI = 10 + 1 = 11 (but Hebrew is read right to left).  See this Hebrew Numbering chart for each character's value.

Analysis of PI
Hebrew uses letters to represent numbers.  There is an extra letter in this spelling of line as apposed to the normal two lettered word of line.  We simply add the numerical values of the normal and specially spelt words individually, take the ratio, and multiply by three to obtain an incredibly accurate representation of PI.

Special Spelling: = 5 + 6 + 100 = 111

Normal Spelling: = 6 + 100 = 106

Radio of 111/106 = 1.04716981
Multiplied by 3 = 3.14150943
Actual PI = 3.14159265
Difference: 0.0000832 = 0.00026%

Note that this occurs specifically when the verse is referring to line as in circumference.  Since the pool/bath was ten cubits in diameter and the verse said it was 30 cubits in circumference (which is close to 10*3.14~30), it would appear that the author wanted to emphasize more precise accuracy to the acute reader.

This unique spelling occurs three times in the Bible, each time in reference to something round (a bath, a hill, a city).  See the unique rounded spelling in Strong's Concordance, or the 'normal' straight line spelling found 21 other times.

Below are the best known values of PI that the Babylonians and Egyptians used (at least that I could find).  Their cultures had been around far longer than King Solomon and they are generally accredited with a superior understanding of mathematics and science.

               Ratio               Value             Difference
Babylon  :     3 1/8   =  25/8   = 3.125             0.0165926
Egypt    :     3 13/81 = 256/81  = 3.16049382...     0.0189012
"Solomon": 3 * 111/106 = 333/106 = 3.14150943...     0.0000832

By the way, the letters used in these verses are the only letters in Hebrew that will reveal this ratio with the difference between the geometrical value of 3 letters and 2 letters.  In other words this is the lowest mathematical sequence in Hebrew to produce this ratio.

References

• Bible Study Tools
• Hebrew Alphabet
• Hebrew Numbering System

Personal Note: I had heard of this years back from a source long forgotten.  I was impressed, but waited until I had time to research it myself to share my findings here.  cheers

Death to the email "Reply" button!!  Long live "Reply All"!!

One of the more frustrating behaviors I find in the online world is when people click "Reply" to an email instead of "Reply to All" (or whatever is similar on their email app).  Why clicking "Reply" is a bad habit is that usually other email addresses on the email that need to be kept in the loop are dropped.

When I joined Microsoft I was in such a bad habit of clicking the Reply button that I removed it entirely from the Outlook toolbar (right-click on the toolbar, choose Customize, then drag the button off).  This made my life so much easier, just having the "Reply All" button visible.  Alt-L became my friend.  Now this is a standard practice at my current company. (see this little video on how to remove the Office 2007 "Reply" button)

Of course there are cases when you need only reply to the one individual that sent a mail to a long list of recipients, but I find these to be the exception rather than the rule, and it is still very easy to remove email addresses from a reply.

Google Gmail gets this.  The very first Labs option (under Settings > Labs) is an option to make the "Reply to all" button the default.

The Call to Action
So my call to anyone that does email, please, help destroy the "Reply" button and remove it from your Outlook toolbar or other email client.  Help make the world a more peaceful place by facilitating better communications and use the "Reply to All" button instead.

Ever have a problem where controls disappear from the Toolbox?  For example, I just installed a 3rd party WPF control set, used the controls, closed VS, reopened VS, and they were gone from the Toolbox.

How the Toolbox Works

At first initialization Visual Studio queries each package installed to see if it provides toolbox controls.  If it does, VS asks for a set of metadata on each control and caches this data.  Then on subsequent loads it uses the cached data (also checks for new packages w controls).  Sometimes this cached data can get corrupted.

How to Fix It

From the command prompt, run this command.  It deletes the toolbox cache data.  The files are normally hidden.  Then next time VS loads it'll take awhile to load as it reinitializes the Toolbox by querying packages and repopulating the cache.

For Visual Studio 2008

del "%LocalAppData%\Microsoft\VisualStudio\9.0\*.tbd"

For Visual Studio 2010

del "%LocalAppData%\Microsoft\VisualStudio\10.0\*.tbd"

This may not fix all problems, like if a package actually won't load for another reason, but it has fixed my issues so maybe it'll help you too.

Dropbox is a file sync app that installs a lightweight client on your PC, monitors a "My Dropbox" folder on your drive, and automatically syncs files in that folder online and to any other computer you have Dropbox installed on.  It also makes sharing files with family, friends, co-workers, projects, etc super easy.

There are plenty of other similar file sync apps, ones I've tried are Microsoft Live Mesh, ZumoDrive, and some of these others.  I've found all these either feel 'heavy weight', are tricky to use, or have some other annoyance.  Dropbox just beats them all hands down for its pure simplicity.

   Get Dropbox using this URL and get 500MB additional free drive space (I get 500MB free too). :)

The key thing to realize is that you’re working with files in a normal folder like any other on your computer.  I find this is the trickiest thing for people to grasp at first.  You save your files to folders today right?  The only difference is that the little background Dropbox app watches the “My Dropbox” folder and copies new and changed files to the Dropbox cloud and any other computer you have Dropbox installed on.  Just start editing and saving your files in the dropbox folder.  I work out of my Dropbox folder for just about everything these days.

Fun story, just the other day I needed to get a small file from my laptop to a co-worker's to install a driver.  I started copying the file onto a USB flash drive, then remembered we both had a shared Dropbox folder, so I copied it there too.  By the time I rotated my swivel chair with the USB flash drive in hand, the file was already on the co-worker's laptop in our shared Dropbox folder.  Faster and easier than using a USB flash drive.  I must say that was cool.

These are the top scenarios that I use Dropbox for:

1. Keep files in sync between your PCs
   All you PCs that have Dropbox installed with your account will be kept in sync.  Handy for keeping the same set of files on your home, office, and laptop computers. 
    
2. Access your files from anywhere
   If you're not at one of your machines, your files can be easily accessed by logging into the Dropbox website.
    
3. Keep a folder in sync with others
   You can create a folder, right-click and choose Dropbox > Share… to share a folder with someone else or a group of people.  Then the files in that folder will be kept in sync between accounts.  My wife and I use this for our Quicken data and other files and I use this extensively with my business and tech partners.
    
4. Easily share a file with anyone
   Need to quickly share one file with someone?  Just copy the file into your Dropbox\Public folder, right-click and choose Dropbox > Copy public link.  This puts a URL into your clipboard that you can then paste into an email or elsewhere to quickly share a file with anyone.
    
5. View files from your iPhone
   Wherever you go you can access your files via your iPhone too.  There are built in viewers for common file types like text files, Excel sheets, Word docs ect.  No editing here, but super handy for viewing.  I hear there is also an Android app too.
    
6. Backup of files
   Dropbox also keeps a history of each file online, so if you or a friend you’re sharing a folder with accidently delete a file or folder, you can recover them with just a few clicks.  Occasionally a colleague changes a file and I need a previous version, no problem, built in version history w Dropbox.

Some other nice benefits:

1. 2GB free space to start out with
2. Simple web-based UI for online access
3. Windows Explorer add-in to show status of synced files
4. Create photo albums for easy viewing

How it Works
Here is a little bit on how the Windows Explorer extension works.  Dropbox's PC UI is nicely integrated with Windows Explorer.  When you install Dropbox and create an account, it puts a "My Dropbox" folder under your "My Documents".  Then when you drop a new file or folder into the "My Dropbox" folder or sub folders, it puts a cute little blue glyph (see the .pdf file below) over the file to show you it is being copied up or down to the Dropbox server.  When it is synchronized, the glyph goes green.

Multiple people can have the same file open at the same time.  If a file is saved on more than one computer that would cause a potential conflict, Dropbox automatically renames the files by adding a note in the file name so they you don't overwrite and loose data.

More Resources
For more information… lifehacker.com is quite fascinated by Dropbox and has info such as "The Cleverest Ways to Use Dropbox That You're Not Using" and a Dropbox Tag for their many posts about Dropbox.  p.s. That link to download Dropbox and get 250MB additional free storage is here.

Updated on 2013-04-05: Added reason #6 above, sharing link went from 250MB to 500MB, and added paragraph about how Dropbox is just a folder on your computer.

Ever get questions from friends or family that could be easily answered if they just did a Google search (or Bing)?  For example, have you ever received an email forward from someone asking "hey, if I really forward this email will Bill Gates track it and send me $514,000?" or someone asks "how do I use a TypeConverter"?

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him to fish and you feed him for life."  Sure you could be polite and give the answer straight up, but isn't it the morally responsible thing to help them learn how to find answers for themselves?  Most the time you can type the question verbatim into Google and get an answer as a top result.  So here are some handy tools…


Let Me Google That For You, http://lmgtfy.com
Go there now.  Type a search.  It creates a link that you can then share (email, IM, etc) that animates someone doing a Google search for the phase to show them just how easy it really is.  (thanks for JD Wallace for 'teaching me to fish' with this site)

Just F** Google It, http://justfuckinggoogleit.com/
If they're just not getting the hint, here is a backup plan.

Question for you…  so do you get people asking questions easily answered with a quick Google Search?  What do you tell them?

XAML is best known for its use with WPF/Silverlight, but the XAML parser is also a powerful generic serialize/deserialize tool for many .NET object graphs.  For example, XAML is used for Windows Workflow (WF).  This post will show a basic example and some tips to use XAML parsing in your own code.

SampleXamlParser.zip

Tips to Watch Out For

• If you put a .xaml file in your VS project, be sure to set it’s "Build" property to "None" (from the default of "Page").  If you don't VS will cause a build error on the XAML line where your assembly is defined.
• All objects must have a public constructor with no parameters.

Sample XAML
Notice how there are a number of various objects defined here…

Code to Read/Write
Some sample code that reads the above XAML and shows the objects contained in it.

Of course there could be improvements to this little bit of code, like wrapping IDisposable objects such as FileStream in a using statement, improving the LINQ that outputs object type information, and more, but the point is to convey the key concepts.

Type Converter Update: If you have immutable classes (eg: Point, DateTime, Rectangle, etc) or just wish to provide simple conversion from a string to your type (and the reverse), check out the TypeConverter pattern.  The XAML parser will then use the converter.  In the above example, when DateTime gets serialized to XAML a TypeConverter is actually in play.  Here is an update to the code above with a TypeConverter: SampleXamlParser-TypeConverter.

Fun question: What are some of the advantages of using XAML parsing instead of
"plain Jane" XML serialization (using XmlSerializer)? (ex: ability to using binary XAML (BAML))

Resources

• MSDN on XAML
• Sample code, SampleXamlParser.zip
• And for the fun of it, XAML Improvement in .NET 4.0
• MSDN on How to: Implement a Type Converter

There are many launchers out there, but my favorite by far is SlickRun.  Here's how to post a twitter status update straight from SlickRun.  This way even without a web browser open or a dashboard app, you can always do a quick little tweet.

1. Get SlickRun & cURL (a little cmd app to send HTTP requests)
2. "setup" from SlickRun
3. Add an entry called "tweet"…

Where

• Filename or URL = path to curl.exe (I put mine in a directory referenced by the tools environment variable)
• Parameters = -u <username>:<password> -d "status=$W$" http://api.twitter.com/1/statuses/update.xml

Of course there are some real drawbacks to doing this, such as no notification if the post didn't go through (too long, no connection, or invalid characters).

Combing with Take Command
For a more robust solution, if you have Take Command (formally 4NT), I'd recommend wrapping the call in a simple Take Command shell script to report success or an error.  Download tweetbtm.zip (which contains tweet.btm), then the SlickRun setup would be:

Filename or URL = %comspec%
Parameters = /c %batch%\tweet.btm `$W$`

Where comspec is an environment variable pointing to tcc.exe (Take Command Console) and batch is an environment variable containing your batch scripts.

References

• Twitter REST API for status updates
• Download cURL
• Info on SlickRun: my blog post, home page
• Other Launchers: Review of 10, Google Desktop, Launchy
• Blog post on Take Command (formally 4NT)

Well it’s been five and a half years since I joined Microsoft fresh out of college from Texas A&M University and I’ve just this week given my notice that I’m leaving! (more about it on my ‘old’ msdn blog here)  My wife Dawn and I want to move back to Texas so I’ve taken a new position in a national biomedical health company that is bringing a personal health card that stores credentials, admissions data, insurance information, etc on a smart card you can carry in your wallet.  I’m sure I’ll be blogging more about it as I ramp up and get more involved.  In the mean time, I’m moving my blogging back to my pre-Microsoft blog here at msmvps.com.  Looks like it was four years and just a few days since I moved blogging over to blogs.msdn.com and this blog needs some serious CSS cleanup, have no fear, I’ll get around to it.   Cheers!

Team System MSDN Public Chat

Visual Studio Team Edition for Software Developer &
Visual Studio Team Edition for Software Testers

When: Wednesday, November 16th @ 10am PST
What: Join us to discuss the Profiler, Test Tools (Unit, Generic, Manual), Web & Load Testing, and Code Analysis (FxCop & PREFast). We have questions for you, will answer questions from you, and will chat about the exciting new technology.
Where:http://msdn.microsoft.com/chats

Visual Studio 2005 Express editions (WebDev, C#, VB, C++, J#) are officially Free! for 1 year (expires 11/6/2006).

I just watched Steve Balmer give the keynote at the first and official kickoff launch event and he talked about the great Web Developer Starter Kits w/ a demo that was real cool. Want to start up a website fast? This is the way to get started and experience the awesome power of ASP.NET 2.0!

Please be sure to register your free download so we know how popular these are. My guess is that the more people we have register, the better the chance these will be free (or as inexpensive as possible) longer.

As of today, Visual Studio 2005 has officially launched! This is a fantastic product that we have all been long awaiting!

There are a number of launch events being held in cities around the world the next month. Check out if one is in your city soon. I'll be at the Dallas Launch on November 30th. If you're going to be there, `let me know`|`mailto:noah@coad.net?subject=Dallas Launch Event`.

MSDN Subscribers can download Virtual Server/PC images with Team Suite installed for evaluation. This gets you up and running quickly on Team System without having to worry about installing Team Foundation Server. There are a number of other ways you can Evaluation Visual Studio.

• InfoWorld Article on the Launch
• Official MSDN 2005 Launch Site
• Visual Studio 2005 Team System
• Visual Studio 2005 Official Stite
• Visual Studio 2005 Express Editions (free!)

An MVP competency for Team System was just created. You can see the full list of our new Team System MVPs on the Microsoft MVP Site or read what an MVP is.

We have 9 Team System MVPs who are truly rock stars in the community. It is exciting to have such stellar people as our MVPs! Welcome to the team ... Team System MVPs!

Here are some of their blogs (in no particular order):

• Boon Tiong Lim
• Chris Menegay
• Chris Menegay #2
• David McKinstry
• Jean-Luc David
• Jean-Luc David #2
• Joe Sango
• Mark Michaelis
• Mickey Gousset
• Richard Hundhausen
• Steven Borg
• Willy-Peter Schaub
• Willy-Peter Schaub #2

Rick LaPlante (General Manager, top VSTS dude) with some of the Team System MVPs From left to right: Guy Barrette (an ASP.NET MVP), Chris Menegay, Rick LaPlante, Jean-Luc David, David McKinstry, Etienne Tremblay