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Windows 7 & Broken Space Toilets on WebbAlert
Posted by Markus Langenfeld - 05/29/08 at 12:05:47 pm
Dammit Wednesday: Your Compliance Is Required
Posted by Markus Langenfeld - 05/14/08 at 12:05:40 pm
Is it too much to ask for compliance from our tools? Shouldn’t they work the way they were designed and advertised to work? It’s one thing to be overloaded with things to do but even with the stresses of being overwhelmed aside, when you have the tools (in my case software) to work on a project you should be able to eventually get it done, provided the application works as well as you do.
My day job is in an environment where we often times need to get information very quickly and we need to do things quickly so we can move on to the next task, when stuff is slow or isn’t working it can be very frustrating. Last week was a perfect example of a simple issue causing a ripple effect through our everyday workload. We’re currently in the process of changing partners for our VoIP telephone service and part of that process is getting our existing software integrated with the new system. As of this past winter our billing software is fully integrated with our provisioning system, when a change is made in the billing system it is instantly reflected in the provisioning system eliminating the need for double entry. Last week that synchronization broke and it took a couple days of troubleshooting just to find the problem and a few more days of intermittent BS before everything was back to normal. Ironically the problem was related to the new changes that were done in preparation of the VoIP provider switch.
Where is this rant going? Well if all of our tools magically worked the way they should without a hitch our lives could be so much easier, and uncomprehendable amounts of time would be saved. But unfortunately we don’t live in a perfect world. The truth is, often times these software glitches end up being some Monday detail that was missed when the system was created or put in place. Which means because someone didn’t do their job or guaranteed something that isn’t there the end user gets to pay the consequences.
Sure, mistakes are made. But spending additional time installing expensive SNMP cards because every other one is bad, or getting excited about a new feature in an application only to find that it doesn’t work, or experiencing repetitive downtime with a leading web host to the point where they don’t bother apologizing for my inconveniences anymore – it’s all starting to get on my nerves.
INTEROP Las Vegas 2008, April 27th - May 2nd
Posted by Markus Langenfeld - 04/10/08 at 09:04:40 am
Times like these I wish I lived closer to the southwest so I could attend all of these big events. Interop Las Vegas is one of the largest business IT conferences in the country with over 250 sessions that cover everything from IT security to unified communications. The exhibition hall alone includes over 500 vendors including their major sponsors Microsoft, Cisco, Oracle, Dell, Intel, Novell, and Google among countless others. Also, this year there will be keynote speakers from all of the major players of the industry including Microsoft, Citrix, McAfee, Motorola and Cisco Systems.
If you find yourself in Vegas at the end of this month right now you can pick up a free expo pass on the Interop website, and by using priority code CMCLNL01 you can save 20% on a Conference Pass.
Windows 7 in a year? Not Likely.
Posted by Markus Langenfeld - 04/07/08 at 03:04:00 pm
If you’ve been keeping up with the current events you may have noticed a quote taken from Bill Gates this past week where he stated - “Sometime in the next year or so we will have a new version [of Windows],”. Nearly overnight only in an internet of chaos has the totally vague comment manifested into an apparent product announcement from Microsoft.
According to Ars Technica (and anyone in the right mind) by using common knowledge of Microsoft’s release history and understanding what goes into a big software release such as the next version of Windows, there is no way we will see a Windows 7 release within a feasible feature as it’s being reported by the big media sources and much of the blogosphere. The comment was made at an annual developer conference in Miami where Microsoft also stated several times that Windows 7 is in planning stages and the development is slated to last at least 3 years from the general availability of Windows Vista.
To make a long story short, the article (which you can read here) concludes that Windows 7 could be in beta testing by 2009 but a retail release is more likely to be expected two or more years from now, not one.
Thoughts and photos from a HERO.
Posted by Markus Langenfeld - 04/02/08 at 10:04:59 pmI’m not sure if everyone is aware of this but… I am a real live hero. It’s true, at the launch event I attended yesterday Microsoft told me that I along with all of the developers, geeks, and admins in the IT industry are heroes as long as we run their new software.
That new software is of course Microsoft Windows Server, SQL Server, and Visual Studio 2008. The all-new additions to the Microsoft arsenal offer endless new features and functions designed to make management, storage, and development easier for the rest of us. You can check out all of the details about the new titles and the launch events on the tour website.
This was my 4th Microsoft event, 3rd Launch event at the Minneapolis Convention Center (MCC). My first Microsoft conference was the Windows Server 2003 launch about 5 years ago and when I compare the photos from then and now not a lot has changed. There are more vendors at the partner pavilion and some of the workshops (or breakout sessions as Microsoft calls them) moved around but for the most part it’s the same event just with new banners and products to show off. Still, it’s a lot of fun.
Tuesday’s conference had a great keynote speech done by Gabriel Broner who is the General Manager of the Storage Solutions Division at Microsoft. Gabriel claims that he works in Redmond, WA but keeps a home in Edina, MN. I found that interesting because it is a ‘tour’ after all and the other speakers didn’t claim to be residing in Minnesota. I’m curious if Gabriel actually does have a home here or maybe he just looks up a city in each state he hits on the tour and claims he has houses there also. As if I didn’t already have limited free time on my hands now I’ll have to call random residents of Edina asking if they work for Microsoft just to get to the bottom of his shenanigans.
The massive convention center is a great venue for something of this size as each area can essentially have its own floor and each session has its own room. The Partner Pavilion where all of the sponsors had the booths set up was moved to the lower floor into an utterly gigantic warehouse like space. Totally underground, I didn’t even know it existed. In fact, MCC is such a large complex that while the Microsoft thing was going on they were also holding the Minnesota Sportsman’s Show along with another private conference simultaneously and there were still tons of unused space.
Having the opportunity to learn about the new technology is quite an experience but we all know the best part about trade shows is the free garb. I literally got a huge Dell tote bag full of pens, t-shirts, balls, Frisbees and magazines along with a flying monkey, USB charger, and a thing that untangles the cord on my phone. I also received a very nice Microsoft branded lunch bag but the crème de la crème, the big enchilada is of course the mind blowing $550+ worth of software just for attending. I received a kit that includes full copies of Windows Vista Ultimate SP1, Visual Studio 2008 Standard, and a year licensed copy (extended trial) of Server 2008 Enterprise. Now you know why I bother going to these things.
Despite snapping pictures with a camera being frowned upon I did manage to take a few more pictures while I was down there, you can see them all by Clicking Here.
I did it! I made it! I’m on WordPress 2.5
Posted by Markus Langenfeld - 03/31/08 at 03:03:58 pm
It feels like WordPress 2.5 came way sooner then expected. I didn’t put upgrading my WordPress install onto my to-do list for this weekend but I decided it would be a good idea to start upgrading the websites at 3am on a Saturday night, I mean what better time?
Here on Markus Land the upgrade went without a hitch, I’d like to thank my Savant-like web development skills but in reality I just lucked out. I also upgraded the install on my mother’s website and unfortunately she wasn’t so lucky. What she doesn’t know is that her website had a nice brokenness to it for a good hour before I could figure out the problem, and then the next morning we discovered another issue with the WordPress dashboard that turned out to be a glitch specific to her K2 theme.
Once I got everything updated I spent a little time exploring the brand new interface which at first was a bit of a shock with everything moved around but overall I’m really digging the minimal Happy Cog redesign. Besides the revamped dashboard, some of the changes I noticed right away include the tag management interface, semi-automatic plug-in upgrading, redesigned visual post editor, media buttons, and of course the gallery functionality. When you look at all of the new features of 2.5 it’s almost overwhelming, I’m not going to bother listing them all - I’ll just direct you folks to the Official Release on the WordPress Development Blog.
Looks like I’ll be going after all.
Posted by Markus Langenfeld - 03/25/08 at 08:03:13 pm
I recently blogged about the Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Launch Tour and the limited seating the events have this year. I was bummed that it was showing all of the spots as taken or ‘sold out’ for Minneapolis on the tour website and I didn’t think I’d be attending this event, I guess I thought wrong. I randomly checked the website today and to my surprise I had the ability to register for my city but only for a select number of tracks. The track system is essentially the set of workshops and breakout sessions that the attendee prefers but if you manage to get into the event in the first place you’re really free to attend any of the workshops you want. I immediately filled out my registration as a partner and I will be attending the launch event a week from today at the Minneapolis Convention Center.
Aside from the Keynote and loitering in the sponsors pavilion some of the workshops I hope to sit in on include – ‘What’s new in Windows Server 2008‘, ‘Reach End-Users with Next Generation Web Applications’ and ‘Securing your IT Infrastructure with Windows Server 2008’. I’ll try to take some pictures while I’m down there and I’m sure I’ll have plenty to write about.
Microsoft’s Latest: IE 8 & Vista SP1
Posted by Markus Langenfeld - 03/19/08 at 03:03:58 pmMicrosoft has been very busy with the software updates lately which to me is somewhat surprising. From what I’ve seen in the past when there’s a big OS launch in the works like Server 2008 they have a tendency to fall behind on their other promises.
Internet Explorer 8 although still in beta was a big surprise, businesses and end users are always going to be slow to adapt so for me it still feels like IE 7 was just released. The new Internet Explorer offers a refreshing set of features such as social community integration but more importantly Microsoft has worked hard on improving standards compliance. With the work being put into the new browser one thing is certain – Microsoft is not taking Firefox’s move into browser market share lightly.
For fans of Facebook, Live Maps, and eBay the new Flock-like ‘WebSlices’ feature will definitely make the browser more user friendly, but the attention to standards compliance is what has many of the developers buzzing. IE8 being able to pass the Acid2 test without issue marks a big milestone for the browser. Microsoft is also promising better AJAX compatibility with new features like the ability to use the browser buttons with the application, for an example: You could zoom in/out with the back and forward buttons.
Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista was officially released to the masses yesterday. Naturally, the highly anticipated service pack is mostly composed of performance tweaks and bug fixes but the sheer volume of changes as outlined in the release notes is impressive. After just one day of SP1 being available for download sources like Engadget are reporting various driver problems and software incompatibilities, then again is that really news when it comes to Vista? Personally, I installed SP1 onto my notebook last night without any issues but Microsoft reports that it’s still working on “problematic drivers”.
Will Internet Explorer 8 be the next best browser? Could Service Pack 1 become the end-all for Vista distress? I’m doubting it, but only time will tell.
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