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What is twitter in 140 seconds video contest

Kathleen Anderson — Sun, 11 May 2008 13:58:00 GMT

What is twitter is a video contest for the millions of users who get asked the age old question when trying to explain to non-twitter users, "what is twitter?". Record your video, tag it "what is twitter" and post it on the web.

What can you win?

1. 8gb Apple iPhone

2. 1GB iPod shuffle

3. 5 Startup Wear T-shirts http://www.startupwear.com

4. More to be announced!

Link: What is twitter in 140 seconds, video contest, twitter, tweets, video contest

twhirl 0.8.1 released

Kathleen Anderson — Thu, 08 May 2008 00:36:34 GMT

Mostly a maintenance release, but includes better support for FriendFeed. You can now block a user from the lookup panel, by clicking the corresponding button. Twitter also sends back now if you follow a user when you lookup a username, so you either have a “follow” or “unfollow” button available.

Link: twhirl’s blog » Blog Archive » twhirl 0.8.1 released

Hotmail will continue to work with Outlook Express - for now

Kathleen Anderson — Wed, 07 May 2008 01:13:12 GMT

Last month, I posted about Microsoft's plan to disable the ability of Hotmail users to use Outlook Express to download their email. Today, we heard this:

Recently, many customers received notification regarding Microsoft’s plan to disable the DAV protocol, which allows you to access your Windows Live Hotmail inbox from Outlook Express. From the feedback we received, it became clear that you needed additional time to evaluate alternative solutions and with this in mind, we are postponing the transition deadline previously announced. This means that you will continue to be able to access your Windows Live Hotmail accounts from Outlook Express beyond the June 30 transition deadline.

Link: Windows Live Hotmail Technical Support Blog: Responding to Customer Feedback – Disabling DAV

Sprint HTC Mogul - one week out

Kathleen Anderson — Wed, 07 May 2008 00:36:00 GMT

I love this phone. I know you're not supposed to love inanimate objects, but I do love this phone. I can do so much more with than I could with my (separate) cell phone and iPaq. I've set up two email accounts, synced it with Outlook for my Contacts and Calendar, and configured my Windows Messenger account. I've only installed one third-party software so far - TwitToday - which adds a textbox to the Today screen. You can type your message and send it right from the Today screen. You can also go to the Twitter Mobile web site by tapping on the Twitter logo. I am going to hold off on installing any other software until I finishing reading the manual and learn all about what comes with the phone - there's a lot there.

I went to a Sprint store today to buy an additional wall charger to leave in my suitcase so I won't forget it when I go away. They had a 2-in-1 Mini-USB Charger - it will charge both in a wall power outlet and in the car - now I don't have to remember to take a car charger with me.

Overall, I am very happy with the Mogul, and no, I'm not the least upset about the announcement today about the HTC Touch Diamond. If you hold off buying something new, waiting for the next new thing, you'd still be talking on your Bell Atlantic Mobile Bag phone that you had back in the 80's (yes, I did have one).

Chris Bowen's Blog : The Roadshow Rides Again! - May/June Edition

Kathleen Anderson — Fri, 02 May 2008 23:28:18 GMT

The Northeast Roadshow
We're at it again! It's time to pack our laptops and gear to head out across the northeast for our fifth Roadshow! Only this time, you're getting three of us for the price of, well, zero - the events are free after all... Jim O'Neil, our new colleague here in the northeast, is joining Bob and me as we set out to tour various cities, bringing you deep developer and architect content. And some giveaways as well, of course.
What's the Roadshow?
Starting with our first one in March of 2007, the Roadshow is our chance to head out to various parts of the northeast to reach the broader community. In these free full-day events, we bring you deep technical content including not just the "how to", but also discussion of why and when you may consider technology and practices. We're also hugely entertaining, especially when failing to hit our marks as we throw things into the audience.
Where? When?

May 22 - Williston, VT

May 28 - Westbrook, ME

May 29 - Waltham, MA

June 10 - Rochester, NY

June 12 - Farmington, CT**

How?

Register today (venue details and links below) - it's free - and join us for a relaxed day of low-fluff, high-signal content for developers and architects!
Note that some cities consistently hit capacity, so don't wait to register.

Agenda at: Chris Bowen's Blog : The Roadshow Rides Again! - May/June Edition

Expression Studio 2 RTMs today!

Kathleen Anderson — Thu, 01 May 2008 22:06:27 GMT

Last year the Microsoft Expression team shipped a new suite of tools for creative professionals. This first release of Expression Studio marked a significant milestone in the history of development tools at Microsoft, delivering superior designer-developer workflow and providing designers a set of interaction design, graphic design, Web design, digital asset management and video production tools to deliver better user experiences on Windows and the Web.

I am pleased to announce, just one year later, the team has done it again with today’s release of Microsoft Expression Studio 2.

More at: Somasegar's WebLog : Expression Studio 2 RTMs today!

CTDOTNET Event (Tuesday April 29th 6 - 8 PM): SQL Server 2008: Should .NET Developers Care? - Adam Machanic (SQL Server MVP & Author).

Kathleen Anderson — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 01:56:50 GMT

Event to be held at Microsoft Farmington CT Office.

Please send a RSVP to ctdotnet@gmail.com - we need a pizza/soda count!

The marketing message behind SQL Server 2008 has certainly been odd. Phrases like "pervasive insight" and "beyond relational" are difficult to interpret, and it has been a challenge getting a solid explanation of why developers should actually pay attention to this upcoming release when SQL Server 2005 seems to do the job just fine. In this session we will plumb the depths of what's actually there -- at least as of the just-released CTP 6 -- and check out many of the features that developers will want to become familiar with. We'll talk about table-valued parameters, change tracking, the MERGE statement, the DATE and TIME data types, improved T-SQL syntax and intellisense (finally!), filestreams, spatial data support, and whatever else I can jam in without putting people to sleep.

Adam’s Bio:

Adam Machanic is the SQL Server Practice Lead for Pythian Group, a leading provider of remote, fully and partially outsourced DBA services, for over 100 clients around the world. He has been involved in dozens of SQL Server implementations, for both high-availability OLTP and large-scale data warehouse applications, and has spent quite a bit of time optimizing data access layer performance along the way. Adam has written for numerous web sites and magazines, including SQLblog, Simple Talk, Search SQL Server, SQL Server Professional, CoDe, and VSJ. He has also contributed to several books on SQL Server, including "Expert SQL Server 2005 Development" (Apress, 2007) and "Inside SQL Server 2005: Query Tuning and Optimization" (Microsoft Press, 2007). Adam regularly speaks at user groups, community events, and conferences on a variety of SQL Server and .NET-related topics. He is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) for SQL Server and a Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP). Check out his blog here...

This event is sponsored by TekSystems and Edge Tech Services

Our thanks to MyWinHosting & Franklins.NET for their continued support.

Link: Connecticut Dot Net Users Group

New resource for the Expression Web Community

Kathleen Anderson — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 19:12:38 GMT

For the last couple months I've been working on a project that launched the week of the 2008 MVP Global Summit. It's a new resource for Microsoft Expression Web users - the Expression Web Wiki. The wiki was 'seeded' with content from the Expression Web Help Files, but as most wikis go, it's up for editing by the community for corrections and additions.

I had a lot of fun and frustration working on this project - I've never done a wiki before and never worked on the Unix platform. I got a lot of help from the MediaWiki Administrators’ Tutorial Guide by Mizanur Rahman, from Pam Keesey, a Technical Writer for Expression Studio at Microsoft, and from the folks at the MediaWiki User Forums. Along the way, I also got a recommendation for a great PHP editor, Eclipse PDT, from a TwitterFriend.

Please check it out and let me know what you think.

Finally made the decision - getting a Sprint HTC Mogul on Wednesday!

Kathleen Anderson — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 17:41:58 GMT

For quite a while now, I've wanted to go from two devices to one. I'm using an HP iPaq rx3715 for my Calendar and Contacts, and a Sprint Samsung A920 cell phone. After going around and around with all the options available with Sprint, I've finally chosen the Sprint HTC Mogul. It's got all the features I really wanted, not that there were that many of them, but I wanted Windows Mobile so I can sync with Outlook, a larger screen than most phones, and a larger QUERTY keyboard. The Sprint store had to order it - it's not something they keep in stock - I'm picking it up this Wednesday.

I want to thank my TwitterFriends @chrisrue @mas90guru @EdHans @callkathy and @judis217 for answering my questions and giving their opinions - you all were a great help!

Got Hotmail? No more Outlook Express for you

Kathleen Anderson — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 00:34:48 GMT

Outlook Express users will no longer be able to access their Hotmail emails using Microsoft's slimmed down email client from the end of June.

Microsoft is encouraging Outlook Express users who want to continue to access their Hotmail accounts offline after June 30 to download its free Windows Live Mail software.

Users will still be able to use Outlook, the big brother of Outlook Express, to read their Hotmail messages offline, but first they may have to upgrade their Outlook Connector synchronisation software, according to information posted online by Scott Hammer, a Microsoft email support manager.

Link: Microsoft kills Hotmail via Outlook Express News - PC Advisor

MVPs playing with Microsoft Surface at the 2008 Global Summit

Kathleen Anderson — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 22:21:00 GMT

We spent two days in the same building with the Expression Team and discovered there was a Microsoft Surface in the building. A few of got a chance to play with it on break!

Is the Dalai Lama is checking out?

Kathleen Anderson — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 23:06:00 GMT

We went downstairs a little after 3 to go over to the WSCTC to register for the MVP Summit and there were police and US State Department Displomatic Security Detail all over the lobby - we figure the Dalai Lama was checking out of the hotel - that was the rumor going around. We didn't get to see him in person.

While we were at the registration, the fire alarms went off and we all had to leave the building. And as usual, it was raining.

Tonight we are all getting together at Rock Bottom to meet and greet the Expression Product Team. I've heard we're not the only groups of MVPs meeting there - it should be a lot fun and very noisy. And we'll also get to meet Melissa Travers, our new MVP Lead!