Amol Kulkarni : Techno-Domain
"The shell must break before the bird can fly." -- Tennyson.
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Java 8 developer preview ready for testing
Friday, July 27, 2012
Microsoft Visual Studio LightSwitch
Windows 8 Preview Installation experience on a virtual machine
• While downloading iso for Windows 8 previews, please check the size of iso file after download is completed. It should be close to 2.5 GB for 32 bit installer and around 3.5 GB for 64 bit. If the file size is not correct then chances are high that your installation will fail.
• 64 bit installation (either fresh or upgrade from Win 7) could be painful experience at times. After the installation is complete, it just shows the message that certain files are missing and then restart the installation. After few iterations, you will find that certain drives are missing and need to be installed separately. At least, I had this experience. Workaround information for this issue is available on the next along with some fixit tools as well.
• Windows 8 32 bit installation is really smooth. Complete installation may take around 1 hour after few restarts. But it is worth.
• Windows 8 gives you pleasure of both the worlds i.e. typical windows (XP, Vista, 7 etc.) experience + tablet UI experience.
• Just plug in USB device and start using it on your win 8 tablet. :)
Next..
Install Express 2012 RC for Windows 8 and you are good to start writing Metro apps…
More to come….
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Work Item Query Language Editor
And if you want to write your own complicated query then here are few simple tips that may help you:
• Using the TFS Work Item Query Editor, create the query. Just focus on the structure of the query and don’t worry about operators etc.
• Save this query as .wiq file on your disk.
• Open this file in the note pad and put all the operators and combinations that you wanted to put but editor doesn’t support.
• Open this file in the editor again and click on ‘Save query as’. Then save it to the respective project wherever you want either as a public query or a private query.
Trust me this helps. :)
Cheers,
Amol
Thursday, June 04, 2009
VS2010 Beta 1 Installation Experience and a brief preview
The installation was pretty smooth. It took me around 20+ minutes to install this and in the meantime installer asked me to restart the PC twice. Overall, it was satisfactory installation. I was literally anxious to start the application as I had heard about it for some time. I started VS2010 and it was on within few second for the first attempt. Excellent!
The Start Page is a brand new experience especially for the XP users. It is more like Windows 7. A very stylish Start Page made me more anxious to dive deep into the VS2010. And yes amazing docking effects.
Next thing I did was to click on the File -> New -> Project and voila….
Tones of project types (or installed templates as called now a days) starting from classic windows form application to ASP.NET web application to Silverlight application, Silverlight class library, WPF, WCF, Office add-ins and what not. You can select .NET Framework version on this dialog. Interesting is that now you can also select Visual F# to create F# application and libraries.
Next thing, I created a classic Widows Form application just to have a feel of .NET 4.5.
The tool box is rich and cool. It has additional controls and new groups like WPF Interoperability. It also has Visual Basic PowerPacks.
Lots of new tool bars are also added in the IDE like- Web One Click Publish etc.
In the Tools -> Options, you can see lot of new options like: Environment-> Extension Manager, F# related options, Debugging ->Output Window etc.
Overall, cool IDE. I will spend some more time looking into 4.0 Framework and other features….keep on watching this space.
Cheers,
Amol
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Visual C++ 2008 Feature Pack
Some of the key changes in the MFC libraries are: Office ribbon style interface, Office 2007 and XP look and feel, new set of GUI controls etc.
You can download the Feature pack from here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=D466226B-8DAB-445F-A7B4-448B326C48E7&displaylang=en
Cheers,
Amol
Windows 7 ship date – 22nd October 2009
The release candidate is already distributed.
Source:
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2009/Jun09/06-02SteveGuggenheimer.mspx
Cheers,
Amol
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Shim Infrastructure for Windows 7
The Shim Infrastructure implements a form of API hooking. What it means is that it redirects API calls from Windows to Shim itself. Typically call to Windows looks like:
Application --> Import Table --> Windows.
With the Shim Infrastructure, the approach will be:
Application --> Import Table --> Shim --> Windows
Now, some of the interesting facts:
1. The code that runs a shim sits outside the Windows.
2. For Windows, the shim code is just like any application code. Thus you cannot bypass security mechanisms in Windows.
3. All the shims are stored in a shim database.
4. And yes, you cannot create a new shim. You have to get in touch with Microsoft and then Microsoft may release the shims with the HFs or SPs catering to general applications.
Shim is actually really powerful mode to resolve application compatibility issues and get going with Windows 7 deployment.
Cheers,
Amol
Relying on error messages in your application logic
In simple words, do not rely on standard error messages in your application logic.
Cheers,
Amol
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Omaha - From Google
This autoupdating engine is something to look for going forward. More to come…..
http://code.google.com/p/omaha/
Cheers,
Amol
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR)
I need to do more hands on this to give more feedback. In the meantime, you may want to have a look at the Adobe website to get more information.
Adobe AIR
Cheers,
Amol
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Common problems while creating a new TFS team project
1. Unable to connect to the Windows sharepoint service
Resolution: Change the port number of Sharepoint admin website to 17012 and restart the IIS.
2. Error uploading report : Work Item with Tasks
Resolution: After trying all the things available on the newsgroups, websites etc., if still your problem is not solved then try using domain user for logon for the Microsoft Windows Share Point Search service. Restart the service and then try creating the project again. The same domain user should have access to the reports database.
Hope it helps.
Cheers,
Amol
Monday, December 15, 2008
The 7 deadly sins of IT managers
Following are the sins:
Sin No. 1: Lust for new technology
Sin No. 2: Information gluttony
Sin No. 3: Avarice as an action item
Sin No. 4: Slothful approaches to IT
Sin No. 5. In-house envy
Sin No. 6: Wrath management
Sin No. 7: Pride creep
Source:
http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/12/15/51FE-it-manager-sins_1.html
Cheers,
Amol
Friday, October 10, 2008
Even after lot of criticism and cribbing, Vista is alive and kicking.
Following are some of the details from the Vista Tracking Poll:
1.48 percent of respondents indicate that their organization is evaluating, testing, or implementing Vista. That doesn't sound dead to me.
2.30 percent of respondents have organizations that are currently implementing or have already implemented Vista.
3.50 percent of the respondents said Vista is performing "above expectation" on key features.
I felt really happy when I read this article on Vista today. Here is the URL for your reference from the InfoWorld .
http://weblog.infoworld.com/enterprisewindows/archives/2008/10/windows_vista.html
What I really liked about this article is given below:
“If you truly want a Mac, go get one. Stop complaining about Vista and change. Or take your PC and install Linux. Or downgrade to XP. But stop the Vista bashing. You 20 people who yell like you are 20 million are really starting to get on the nerves of the 200 million Vista-loving PC users out here who would spend more time debating with you, but we are too busy enjoying our Vista OS and don't have time.”
Thanks J. Peter Bruzzese. I agree with you completely.
Cheers,
Amol
Mono 2.0 project released
Hello,
All of us are aware of Mono project. The latest update from Mono is that they have released Mono 2.0 and it supposed to be a major milestone in the Mono project. After releasing the Moonlight they have now incorporated new features in 2.0 most notably C# 3.0 and Visual Basic 8 -- a debugger and MoMA, a tool that analyzes .NET assemblies and determines how compatible they are with Mono.
Following are the features in Mono 2.0:
Microsoft Compatible APIs
1.ADO.NET 2.0 API for accessing databases.
2.ASP.NET 2.0 API for developing Web-based applications.
3.Windows.Forms 2.0 API to create desktop applications.
4.System.XML 2.0: An API to manipulate XML documents.
5.System.Core: Provides support for the Language Integrated Query (LINQ).
6.System.Xml.Linq: Provides a LINQ provider for XML.
7.System.Drawing 2.0 API: A portable graphics rendering API.
Mono APIs
1.Gtk# 2.12: A binding to the Gtk+ 2.12 and GNOME libraries for creating desktop applications on Linux, Windows and MacOS X.
2.Mono.Cecil: A library to manipulate ECMA CLI files (the native format used for executables and libraries).
3.Mono.Cairo: A binding to the Cairo Graphics library to produce 2D graphics and render them into a variety of forms (images, windows, postscript and PDF).
4.Mono's SQLite support: a library to create and consume databases created with SQLite.
5.Mono.Posix: a library to access Linux and Unix specific functionality from your managed application. With both a low-level interface as well as higher level interfaces.
6.Third Party APIs bundled with Mono
7.Extensive support for databases: PostgreSQL, DB2, Oracle, Sybase, SQL server, SQLite and Firebird.
8.C5 Generics Library: we are bundling the C5 generics collection class library as part of Mono.
Compilers
These compilers are part of the Mono 2.0 release:
1.C# 3.0 compiler implementation, with full support for LINQ.
2.Visual Basic 8 compiler.
3.IL assembler and disassembler and the development toolchain required to create libraries and applications.
Source:
http://mono-project.com/Main_Page
Cheers,
Amol
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Windows 2008 Server Installation Experience on the 64 bit server
To summarize, I am impressed with Win 2008 server.
Cheers,
Amol
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Monday, October 06, 2008
Are we heading to global recession and if yes then how will it impact on India IT/ITES industries?
Some of the big tier 1 service providers in India, have or rather had some kind of investments with Lehman brothers as well. Since, they are the big boys of the market here, they can sustain the temporary impact of this. But, what about other IT companies having strength in the range of 500-5000 people?
First thing first, are we heading for global recession? Most of the people will answer it as ‘Yes’. And looking at some of the events at Wall Street happened recently, it is not wrong. US government has to prepare bail out package for this. This it self says that how bad it is. My gut feeling is that what we are seeing right now is just the tip of the iceberg and worst is yet to come. As Mr. Amartya Sen has said in one of the interviews recently that it might take 3-4 years for the world to come out completely. Also, in terms of percentage it not as bad as it was during the greatest world recession. It could be just 50% if we compare it. Such events will trigger panic among the investment banks, investors, creditors etc. This is a storm rather Financial storm and it will take some time to settle down. It will throw away lot of garbage material which has been piled up so far in the market. As they say, during the storm; it is the best time to fish if you are comfortably positioned. Merger and acquisitions will take place as usual but with better sense.
However, what amuses me is the chain of events. One bank goes down…then second…..then third and so on. Also, combine this with crashing real estate market and oil prices and you will get more amused. Couple of months back, oil has touched almost 150$ and not it somewhere between 60-80$ if I am not wrong. Analysts are predicting that it could even touch as low as 50$. Who knows…….
Now, second thing is how will it impact Indian IT/ITES companies? There will be direct impact on those companies having BFSI vertical and having major presence in the BFSI space. This could lead to cost cutting, workforce reduction rather than keeping on bench, reducing focus on BFSI and narrowing on health care etc. Others who do not have this vertical in their organization will also be hit in some form or other. The impact would not be too high. The onsite companies may want to cut down on IT expenditure just to consolidate their position. This would mean projects in the pipelines could be delayed. The customers will ask for more value for the money they are paying for sure. For all the jumping jacks who keep on changing jobs every now and then; they will have to be patient and be at the right place at the right time. Job market would be driven by requirements purely and not by the HR recruitment targets for sure. Sales people will have hard time in selling the products/ applications/services.
So far, I focused more on the negative part. There would be some positive outcomes as well. As they say in Italian Mafia that every decade there should be a war between the mafia gangs. This makes sure that bad blood is thrown out from the mafia stack. Same theory can be applied to the current situation as well. This happens once in a decade or twice in some cases. It settles down the dust and throws away unwanted particles. This is the law of the nature. We have been seeing lot of Investment bankers recently. Everybody was investment banker. This will stop now and only talent will be available in the market. This could be a boom to the outsourcing as well. Because more you stress on the cost cutting more you have to do the outsourcing. This will also move the focus of the market to products, innovations etc. for sure.
Cheers,
Amol
Thursday, May 22, 2008
MS Office to support ODF and PDF...
This is a good feature for end users. Once installed, they need not have to use any plug-ins or converters to translate the word file to PDF etc. This may also open lot of opportunities to programmers to play around with this feature programmatically using Office APIs.
Cheers,
Amol
Monday, May 19, 2008
Fortress........succesor to Java????
Sun Lab is working on a language which could be potentially successor of Java, called as ‘Fortress’ to solve problems for application development for high-performance computing. Parallel computing is supported in this language. Its syntax is based on mathematical notation. It has language constructs such as for-next loops are parallelizable.
Should you want more information on this, you can download the binaries from
Project Fortress Community .
Cheers,
Amol
Friday, May 16, 2008
Thick client application using Silverlight
The simplest thing to do is to use WebBrowser control on the Win Form and then let the browser control display the web pages using the Silverlight. Isn’t it simple to start with? And yes, it is also possible to have two way communications between the Windows Form application and the Silverlight application.
I also found on the net that few people have successfully used this approach on Linux as well with the help of go-mono of course.
Well, well, well….I am not finished yet….
Microsoft is also planning to launch a new MSN toolbar beta powered by Silverlight. Now, does that ring a bell in your mind? I am sure yes if not then please go through this blog one more time.
Cheers,
Amol
Moonlight….Silverlight on Linux…
Should you want more information on Moonlight, here is the URL.
Cheers,
Amol
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
ASP.NET MVC Framework
The new MVC framework is built on top of ASP.NET 3.5 and hence can use all the features of ASP.NET 3.5.
This is how you can see the template and Solution explorer in Visual Studio .NET.
You can download this preview version 2 from here .
Cheers,
Amol
Monday, February 11, 2008
Sony Ericsson to make phones using Windows Mobile Operating System
Here are the links giving more insight information on this:
Sony introduces Windows mobile phones.
Future Challenges
Cheers,
Amol
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Launching of MS 2008 technologies
BTW, did you know that Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 originally began as part of a single development project? Then the development of Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 has branched into separate releases with different release cycles.
Cheers,
Amol
Monday, December 17, 2007
Microsoft and Acquisitions
Today, I found the list of official acquisitions by Microsoft here on the website.
http://www.microsoft.com/msft/acquisitions/history.mspx
You may want to have a look at it know more about it. One of my favorite acquisitions is that of Great Plains software in the year 2000 and of course hotmail. Recently, Microsoft has acquired UK based provider of online mapping and location based services called as ‘Multimap’.
Cheers,
Amol