Microsoft - Cisco Partnership

Microsoft and Cisco have entered into a partnership to develop products for voice and data collaboration, targeting business uesrs. The overall package includes 30 products, most of which are enhancements or updates to existing technologies, but 3 of them are entirely new:

1. The Cisco Unified Presence Server collects information about a user's availability status (such as whether they're on the phone or on a computer at any given time).
2. The Cisco Unified Client, a program that allows users to make desktop video calls as well as sort, view and play messages on their PCs.
3. The Cisco Unified Customer Interaction Analyzer, a service that can be used in contact centers, which can analyze the tone of a customer's voice as well as how and where to route a call.

The two companies will work together to integrate Microsoft Office Communicator 2005 and Microsoft Office Live Communications technologies with Cisco's Unified Communications System.

The package of tools will allow customers to move between instant messaging or phone sessions, as well as launch or answer calls from within the Office Communicator. Customers can also choose to start a call from either the computer or telephone. The companies expect the interoperable package of tools to be available in August 2006.

For information visit http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060306/ap_on_hi_te/cisco_microsoft;_ylt=AiDoBfOrIZRpPOx_EPPPad.s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3b2NibDltBHNlYwM3MTY

How Microsoft sets up their own SQL Servers.

This is an interesting blog article from Microsoft.com Operations (http://blogs.technet.com/mscom/archive/2006/02/13/419406.aspx). It details how they setup their SQL Servers. It is interesting that they do not use clusters, preferring log shipping to keep multiple servers up to date, and perform "manual failover" from web sites by modifying connection strings. Also interesting is that they run SQL Servers behind Network Load Balancers.

Thanks to Mark H. for passing this article along.

Versions of Windows Vista (Europe)

On yesterday's blog (http://clevelanddotnet.blogspot.com/2006/03/versions-of-windows-vista.html), I posted a summary describing the 6 versions of Windows Vista. In addition to those 6 versions, Microsoft will be releasing 2 additional "N" versions to comply with the European Union's anti-trust rulings. Vista Home Basic and Vista Business will be both be offered as "N" versions, without a Windows Media Player. For more information, goto http://www.computerworld.com/softwaretopics/os/story/0,10801,109097,00.html?source=NLT_PM&nid=109097

Versions of Windows Vista

Windows Vista is Microsoft's latest operating system, due to be released in the 2nd half of 2006. The product will have 6 different offerings, targeting the 6 major segments of the user population. Each offering will have different capabilities to accomodate that particular segment.

The 6 versions of Windows Vista are comprised of 2 for businesses, 3 for consumers, and 1 for emerging markets:

1. Windows Vista Business: For small business users.
2. Windows Vista Enterprise: For high-end business users in large global organizations with highly complex IT infrastructures.
3. Windows Vista Home Basic: For consumers with basic PC tasks (browse the Internet, e-mail, basic document creation).
4. Windows Vista Home Premium: For more sophisticated home users using Tablet PCs or digital entertainment.
5. Windows Vista Ultimate: For high-end home and business users. This version that has it all! It's the first operating system that brings together all the entertainment features, mobility features and business-oriented features available in Windows Vista.
6. Windows Vista Starter: For entry level PC users wanting to experience the world of social and educational benefits that personal computer technology and the Internet makes possible.

All new versions are available for either 32-bit or 64-bit systems, depending on the needs of the customer. Windows Vista Home Basic, Home Premium, Ultimate and Business will be available as a full-packaged product at retail and on new PCs. Windows Vista Enterprise will be offered only to business customers participating in Microsoft’s Software Assurance program.

For more information, see the following:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/versions/default.mspx
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/windowsvista/evaluate/overvw.mspx
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2006/feb06/02-26WinVistaProductsPR.mspx

LC.EXE

Q: What is LC.EXE?

A: LC.EXE (License Compiler) is a command line utility provided with .Net Framework 2.0. By default this utility is installed in C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\SDK\v2.0\Bin. When executed, LC.exe will read license information from a text file and include it with .Net assembly. For more information, goto http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ha0k3c9f.aspx.

Recently a KB (Knowledge Base) article was published for a bug regading this utility. The License Compiler (Lc.exe) throws an exception when a .NET Framework 2.0 application consumes licensed components on a computer that is running a 64-bit operating system. For more information, see KB article 913961.

Using Shutdown.exe

Q: How can I remotely shutdown a machine in a workgroup?

A: Use the Shutdown.exe command with the –m switch. This command is found in the Windows System directory (i.e. C:\Windows\system32 for Win XP), and will allow you to specify a remote computer name to shutdown. See the following for more info

Usage: shutdown [-i -l -s -r -a] [-f] [-m \\computername] [-t xx] [-c "c
omment"] [-d up:xx:yy]

No args Display this message (same as -?)
-i Display GUI interface, must be the first option
-l Log off (cannot be used with -m option)
-s Shutdown the computer
-r Shutdown and restart the computer
-a Abort a system shutdown
-m \\computername Remote computer to shutdown/restart/abort
-t xx Set timeout for shutdown to xx seconds
-c "comment" Shutdown comment (maximum of 127 characters)
-f Forces running applications to close without war
ning
-d [u][p]:xx:yy The reason code for the shutdown
u is the user code
p is a planned shutdown code
xx is the major reason code (positive integer less than 256)
yy is the minor reason code (positive integer less than 65536)

This can be executed from a script or a .Net program.

Special Offer for a C# Class

Interested in taking a "Programming with C#" class? Due to a last minute cancelation, Solutient is in need of students for next week's class, Class 2124 for Feb 27-March 3, 2006.
This class provides students with the knowledge and skills they need to develop C# applications for the Microsoft .NET Platform. The course focuses on C# program structure, language syntax, and implementation details.

Next week's special price: $995 Learn More
If interested, please contact Steve Luc at Solutient by email (sluc@solutient.com) or by phone at 216-654-0025. Visit Solutient on the web at http://www.solutient.com.

Windows Defender

Microsoft Windows Anti-spyware tool has now been enhanced and renamed to Windows Defender. Currently the product is in its 2nd Beta release. To download it, go to http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx.

Microsoft Security Patches

Microsoft plans to release 7 security patches on February 14th, 2006.

• 1 patch affecting Microsoft Windows Media Player.
• 4 patches affecting Microsoft Windows (some will require a restart).
• 1 patch affecting Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office (require a restart).
• 1 patch affecting Microsoft Office (may require a restart).

For more information, please goto http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/advance.mspx.

Detecting a ClickOnce Application

Q: How do I tell if I'm currently running in the context of a ClickOnce application?

A: You can see if a ClickOnce application is running in the current AppDomain by checking the AppDomain.CurrentDomain.ActivationContext property. If that value is non-null, then the domain is running a ClickOnce application. The ActivationContext will also get you the name of that application. There may be situations (such as choosing an isolated storage scope), where having this information is necessary and useful.

For more info, visit http://blogs.msdn.com/shawnfa/archive/2006/01/20/514411.aspx

File Upload Limit

Q: I’m using code very similar to that in this article (http://www.dotnetspider.com/technology/kbpages/568.aspx). The problem I have is when I try to upload a 9 MB file, I immediately get “Page cannot be displayed” error. Execution doesn’t even reach the PageLoad() event. The size limit for an IMAGE type in SQL Server 2000 is 2GB+, so size should not be a problem here. When I try the same function for files under 4MB, everything works as expected. What's the problem?

A: Your web application can only upload a file size of 4 MB only. To upload files more than 4mb you have to add option in the web.config file and set the maximum file size there.

In addition, if you're running IIS6, you could be hitting the limit for AspMaxRequestEntityAllowed. If the Content-Length header field of the HTTP request is larger than this limit, the page will bomb out immediately. You can increase the value in IIS6's metabase. For more info, goto
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/iissdk/html/99b8a8bd-f9e7-43a8-b4cf-1186e2b3e9e2.asp

What is _vti_cnf ?

Q: What is _vti_cnf?

A: This is a special folder created by Frontpage for use with IIS. Other folders may include _vti_script, _vti_pvt, or _vti_txt. For a complete list of FrontPage special files and folders, goto http://www.rtr.com/fpsupport/SERK/a_spfile.htm. This folder is not required for an ASP.Net application so it can be deleted manually.

Discount training for SIG Members

Solutient is offering a wide variety of .Net classes at a discounted rate exclusively for SIG members. The complete list is posted on the SIG web site at http://www.clevelanddotnet.info/ under the "Links" section. To receive the C#/VB.Net special interest group membership preferred pricing, you must mention promotion code A16. If you have any questions, please contact Steve Luc at SLuc@solutient.com.