Silverlight Christmas Cards

Keeping in the spirit of the Holiday, here are some Christmas wishes with a silverlight twist.

Online Spotlight, Norway
Happy Holidays from ObjectSharp
FranksWorld Special Presentation

If you have any cool Silverlight Christmas greetings, please email them to sam@clevelanddotnet.info.

Merry Christmas everyone and Happy New Year!

.Net Framework 3.5 Source Code to be released soon

Now that VS2008 is released, one of its accompanying features is the ability to debug and step-into the actual source code used in .Net Framework 3.5. They will begin by offering the source code for the following Base Class Libraries

System,
System.IO,
System.Collections,
System.Configuration,
System.Threading,
System.Net,
System.Security,
System.Runtime,
System.Text
System.Web (ASP.Net)
System.Windows.Forms (Windows Forms)
System.Data (ADO.NET)
System.Xml (XML)
System.Windows (WPF)

The source code will be released under the Microsoft Reference License (MS-RL). The final release of VS 2008 will support the ability to configure the debugger to dynamically download the .NET Framework debugger symbols (and corresponding source code) from a web server hosted by Microsoft. You'll be able to configure the .NET Framework symbols to be downloaded all in one shot, or manually retrieved on demand. Although this capability is not yet available, it soon will be. Microsoft developers have had some issues with the packaging and distribution, but so far no indication that won't happen. It's just a matter of time at this point.

To read more about this, visit the following links:
http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2007/10/03/releasing-the-source-code-for-the-net-framework-libraries.aspx
http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2007/11/29/net-web-product-roadmap-asp-net-silverlight-iis7.aspx

MCTS Study Resources

The MOSS MCTS track consists of 4 exams, each providing a level of certification:

• Exam 70-630: Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 – Configuration
• Exam 70-631: Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 – Configuration
• Exam 70-541: Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 – Application Development
• Exam 70-542: Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 ― Application Development

More information on Microsoft MCTS exams can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/mcts/default.mspx. For those wishing to pursue any of the abover certifcations, listed below are a few resources to help achieve your goal.

Transcender Practice Exams - Transcender has long been a reputable source for providing accurate exams in Microsoft certification. The tradition continues as they offer practice exams for 70-630 and 70-631 (released earlier today). With each question, it offers an explanation of why that choice is correct and why the others are wrong. It also offers references to help expand your knowledge in that area. These practice exams are highly recommended and have proven very useful. Unfortunately, a company representative stated they will not be publishing practice exams for 70-541 or 70-542.

MeasureUp Practice Exams - MeasureUP offers exams similar to Transcender at a lower price, but has not been as widely used. Each question contains an explanation on both correct and incorrect choices. A 6 question demo is available online for free. Unfortunately they only offer practice exams for 70-630 and 70-631.

ExamInside - ExamInside also offers similar exams at a much lower price but with only 50+ questions. Besides offering practice exams for 70-630 and 70-631, they also offer an exam for 70-542. Exam 70-541 is currently not available.

When you're ready to take the exam, be sure to register for a free second shot at http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/offers/secondshot/default.mspx

Best of luck studying!

December .Net Events

Listed below is a summary of the .Net events scheduled for this month. Attend a few and increase your .Net knowledge!

Dec 11th:

• ONSQL User Group Meeting - This will be a "No content" meeting intended to celebrate the holiday season via high tech entertainment.

Dec 13th:

• TechNet Event - Windows Deployment Services, VoIP
• MSDN Event - VS2008, Web Based Data Services, Silverlight
• .Net User Group Meeting - This will be a "No content" meeting intended to celebrate the holiday season via high tech entertainment

Dec 18th:

• C#/VB.Net User Group Meeting - "Visual Studio 2008" by Mark Harr, MCSD