Windows Client Feature Comparison

Microsoft released a chart highlighting the features of Windows 7, Vista SP1, and Windows Xp SP3. It lists features in 5 categories:

File organization and Search
Remote Access
Security and Compliance
Management
Deployment

To download the comparison chart, go to http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=FA0177CC-7E82-4993-B0D6-FEC84216DD9C&displaylang=en \

Cleveland TECHnic

On Saturday, June 20, 2009, several local technology vendors and user groups will collaborate on hosting a summer picnic, called "TECHnic". The event is scheduled from 10AM-8PM at St. Sava's Picnic Grove in Parma, OH. For more information, please visit www.tinyurl.com/TECHnicPicnic.

CodeStock 2009

CodeStock 2009 is a conference for software developers held in Knoxville, TN. The event is aimed at providing the latest and greatest topics in software development across various platforms. In addition, the event also has "open spaces" where fellow developers can gather and discuss any topic on their mind at the moment. This could range from advantages of C# vs. VB.Net to the pros/cons of Agile development to surviving a tough economic period.

This year's event will be held June 26 - June 27, providing a variety of topics for 2 full days. The full list of sessions is available at http://codestock.org/Sessions.aspx with the exact scheduling due out soon. Tickets for the event are $25 if purchased before June 1st, and $45 afterwards.

For members of the Cleveland C#/VB.Net User Group, 2 tickets have been provided free of charge to the first 2 people to respond to this blog. To claim your ticket, simply send an e-mail to sam@clevelanddotnet.info. If you're interested in car-pooling to the event from Cleveland, OH, please send an e-mail to the same address.

For more information on CodeStock, please visit http://codestock.org

Set the identity specification on a primary key

Q: I always used databases provided by Microsoft to practice on. Today I tried to create my own and ran into trouble. Problem is that I cannot set the identity specification on a primary key. The column properties show up as no and I cannot change it to yes. I’m using SQL Server Express 2005 on a Vista machine. Any thoughts?

A: . To change column properties, you must modify the table (right click table and select “Modify”). Select and highlight the column you want to change, then expand the “Identity Specification” in the “Column Properties” pane. Change the “Is Identity” property to “Yes”. Please note the change must be made to the “Is Identity” property, not the “Identity Specification”.

IT Events Sponsored by Sogeti

The Cleveland office of Sogeti USA will be hosting the following IT events in April.

April 21: Taking the cost out if IT
Time: 2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Location: Microsoft Office 6050 Oak Tree Blvd. Independence, OH 44131
Agenda:
> Introductions Microsoft and Sogeti
> Taking the Cost out of IT
> Break
> Optimizing Microsoft Solution Delivery
> Testimonials
> Open Forum
To register, go to http://www.clicktoattend.com/ then enter Event Code: 137141


April 30: "Me the Media - Rise of the Conversation Society"
Date: Thursday, April 30, 2009
Time: 6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Location: Beacon Place (lower level conference room), 6055 Rockside Woods Blvd. Independence, OH 44131
The speaker at this event will be Erik van Ommeren,who is managing the US branch of the Sogeti InternationalResearch Institute for New Technology. He is an author andpublic speaker on topics such as innovation, collaboration,service oriented architecture, crowdsourcing and new media. You’re invited!
RSVP by 4/27/09 to sue.fellner@us.sogeti.com

April 2009 .Net Events

Listed below are .Net related events for April 2009:

April 9: Ann Arbor Cloud Camp (http://bit.ly/a2cc)
April 9: Ohio North SQL Server User Group - Executive Dashboards using SharePoint 2007 (http://www.bennettadelson.com/seat.aspx?sig=sql&ID=141)

April 14: .Net User Group - Silverlight 3.0 Beta (http://www.bennettadelson.com/seat.aspx?sig=net&ID=145)

April 28: Cleveland C#/VB.Net User Group - IronRuby (http://www.clevelanddotnet.info/)

April 30: ArcReady (www.arcready.com)
April 30: MSDN Unleashed (http://www.msdnevents.com/unleashed)
April 30: TechNet Unleashed (http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032410537&Culture=en-US)
April 30: Cleveland Architecture SIG.

Scripting Q&A

Q: How can I automate the FTP process so it runs on scheduler without user intervention?
A: The FTP.EXE (File Transfer Protocol) command line utility comes standard with the Windows Operating system. Because it's a command line utility, it allows for many options to be entered at run time (simply enter FTP /? at the command prompt for a complete list). When using the -s:filename switch allows for the commands to be read from the filename specified. For example, first create a text file called myFTP.prm with the following commands:

open www.myftpsite.com
myUserID
myPassword
prompt off
binary
mput myfile*.txt

From a command line, execute FTP -s:myFTP.prm. Please note there's no specific extension for file containing the FTP commands. For more info on this, please visit http://support.microsoft.com/kb/96269


Q: How can I execute a command line utility from with a VB Script?
A: The CMD.EXE is a command line utility used for running other command line applications. Typing cmd /? will reveal a variety of command line options for executing the command shell. Listed below is a sample VB script for doing this:

Option Explicit
Dim return, objShell
Set objShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
return = objShell.Run("cmd /C DIR > DirLog.txt", , True)

After saving these commands into a .vbs file, they can be executed by running "cscript myFile.vbs". Please note the file extension must be .vbs.


Q: Using a VBS script, how can I access registry keys?
A: Listed below is a sample script for accessing registry keys.

Set SysVarReg = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
value = SysVarReg.RegRead ("HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\.NETFramework\Windows Presentation Foundation\Hosting\Hosts\v3.0")
WScript.Echo value

After saving these commands into a .vbs file, they can be executed by running "cscript myFile.vbs". Please note the file extension must be .vbs.

Another useful example of scripting is to query all the processes running on the current machine and output them to the console.

strComputer = "."
Set objServices = GetObject("winmgmts:\\" & strComputer & "\root\CIMV2")
Set objProcessSet = objServices.ExecQuery("SELECT Name FROM Win32_Process",,48)

For Each Process in objProcessSet
WScript.Echo Process.Name
Next

For more information on scripting, visit Microsoft's Scripting Center at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/scriptcenter/default.mspx

What is a Tablix?

The term "Tablix" can mean different things to different people. However, in the Microsoft realm it refers to the ability of SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) to combine a table and a matrix together.

Book Promotion from Packt Publishing

Packt Publishing has recently released a new book titled "C# 2008 and 2005 Threaded Programming". To help promote the new book, they have extended a 15% discount to members of the C#/VB.Net User Group. To take advantage of this offer, simply follow the 3 steps below:

1. Visit http://www.packtpub.com/books and select any Packt title.
2. Click the "ADD TO CART" button to add the book to your shopping cart.
3. Now enter "CD15ug" (without quotes) in the 'Promotional Code' field and click the "Update" button. The discounted price should now be reflected in your order.

Although Packt is based in the UK, they do offer free shipping to the US, with books arriving in only a few days. Packt Publishing has also sent a free copy to be given at an upcoming user group meeting. For more information, please visit http://www.packtpub.com/

March .Net Events

Mar 10th: .Net User Group (Using TFS). To register, go to http://www.bennettadelson.com/seat.aspx?sig=net&ID=141

Mar 12th: ONSQL User Group. To register, go to http://www.bennettadelson.com/seat.aspx?sig=sql&ID=141

Mar 14th: GCPCUG General Meeting (Switching to a Mac & Windows on a Mac). To register, go to http://www.gcpcug.org/

Mar 24th: Cleveland C#/VB.Net User Group (Writing Secure Code). To register, go to http://www.clevelanddotnet.info/

Mar 25th: Cleveland SharePoint User Group (TBA). To register, go to http://www.sharepointcleveland.com/default.aspx

Mar 28th: Cincinnati Silverlight Firestarter. To register, go to http://cinnug.org/default.aspx.

Straight 2 SQL Server 2008 Webinars

JC Armand is putting on a series of SQL Server 2008 educational webinars. These Live Meeting sessions cover a variety of topics on SQL Server 2008, from both a DBA and a developer's perspective. The sessions occur every Tuesday and Thursday, ending on Thursday, April 2, 2009. Each session is scheduled to start at 11AM EST and last for approximately 1 hour.

2/24/2009: Why SQL Server 2008
2/26/2009: How Windows Server 2008 benefits SQL Server 2008
3/3/2009: Upgrade/Migration strategy & Overcoming upgrade challenges
3/5/2009: SQL Server 2008 based Business Intelligence
3/10/2009: SQL Server 2008 for Developers
3/12/2009: What’s new in Reporting Services 2008
3/17/2009: SQL Server Consolidation Strategies
3/19/2009: Resource Governor
3/24/2009: Upgrade SQL Server clusters to Windows Server 2008
3/26/2009: Database compression & Back-up compression
3/31/2009: Database auditing & Transparent data encryption
4/2/2009: Optimizing SQL Server licensing for your business needs

For more information, or to register, go to http://www.pragmaticworks.com/StraightTo8Webinars.aspx. After registering, links will be emailed for joining each upcoming session, as well as viewing past sessions.

Windows 7 in 6 varieties

On Tuesday, February 3rd, Microsoft described its product lineup plans for its forthcoming Windows 7 operating system launch, expected in early 2010 or possibly earlier. Currently 6 different varieties will be made available:

1. Windows 7 Home Premium for consumers
2. Windows 7 Professional for businesses, with an upgrade path from Vista Business
3. Windows 7 Enterprise for Software Assurance customers only. The enterprise edition will support advanced data protection, lower cost compliance and IT tools to streamline PC management. However, it won't be available from OEMs or retail outlets.
4. Windows 7 Ultimate for enthusiasts who want a full-featured OS, including BitLocker.
5. Windows 7 Starter edition on new PCs for channel partners
6. Windows 7 Home Basic edition intended for distribution in emerging markets.

Windows XP users will be able to upgrade to Windows 7 without paying the full price. However, XP users will have to perform a clean install of Windows 7. Finally, Microsoft is heavily suggesting that Windows 7 will be capable of running on netbooks, which are smaller notebooks that typically use lower cost hardware components. Currently, netbook vendors sell them running a version of the Linux operating system or Windows XP. With Windows 7, Microsoft is on track to have a smaller OS footprint with faster boot-up and shut-down times, and improved power management.

Source: Redmondmag.com

Clouds and Collaboration Special Event

Clouds & Collaboration
How Collaboration and Cloud Computing are Transforming Business and Innovation

Turbulent times are also times of Opportunity. Companies are looking to survive but also to innovate and compete. Increasing the opportunities for innovation and improving productivity are essential. Improving Collaboration AND using Cloud computing will help you address these needs. At this event we welcome you to hear about these trends, and learn about what it can mean for your business.

This will be interesting for:
People defining Business and IT strategy
CIO’s or people reporting to the CIO
Enterprise Architects
IT people interested in innovation

You should attend if you would like to:
Get the latest information on Collaboration and Cloud computingBe inspired & informed
Meet your peers
Be ready to create your strategy around the topic
Register to receive a complimentary copy of our upcoming book on this research topic

Speaker information
The speaker at this event will be Erik van Ommeren, who is managing the US branch of the Sogeti International Research Institute for New Technology. He is an author and public speaker on topics such as innovation, collaboration, service oriented architecture, crowdsourcing and new media. Please note that this event is not sales oriented and is free of charge.


Date: February 19, 2009
Time: 5:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Location: Beacon Place (lower level conference room)
6055 Rockside Woods Blvd
Independence, OH, 44131

RSVP by 2/13/09 to sue.fellner@us.sogeti.com