Applied Visual Studio Team System

Team Foundation Server SP1 Beta released

has been released. As with all beta releases, there are .

To receive access to the service pack, you must apply to participate. After applying, you will receive an email with instructions for acquiring the service pack.

Two notes: first, you must sign into the Microsoft Connect website using a passport account; second, the TFS beta SP1 is included in the Visual Studio 2005 SP1 beta. You access the TFS service pack by clicking the link to the VS srvice pack.

:{> Andy

Technorati Tags: Developer Community TFS Team Foundation Server SP1 Beta

MSDE will not run on Vista

Microsoft announced .

And not just that - MSDE will also not be supported on Vista.

If you're using MSDE in your apps, it's a good time to start looking at .

:{> Andy

Technorati Tags: SQL Server MSDE SQLExpress SQL Express

FAQ Fridays

G. Andrew Duthie - our Microsoft Mid-Atlantic Developer Evangelist - has started a cool series of webcasts named FAQ Fridays.

Join Andrew and today's guest, Vishwas Lele, for an hour-long discussion about Microsoft Development Practices and then some Q&A! It all starts at noon ET!

:{> Andy

Technorati Tags: Developer Community .Net FAQ Friday

RCC2-10 days: Countdown to Code Camp

Richmond Code Camp 2 approaches!
Have you ?

Only 10_{10 (decimal, lest you bit-heads think I mean there are only 2)} days remain until the second Richmond MSDN Code Camp! (That's 1010₂ days for you_we bit-heads.)

The schedule has been posted!

:{> Andy

Technorati Tags: Developer Community Code Camp Richmond, VA

SQL Server Agent JAM: The Job Activity Monitor

SQL Server 2005 ships with a nifty tool for monitoring SQL Agent jobs: the Job Activity Monitor.

To reach the Job Activity Monitor, open SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), connect the Object Explorer to a Sql Server instance with SQL Agent installed, and expand the SQL Server Agent node in Object Explorer:

Double-click the Job Activity Monitor node to open, or right-click and select View Job Activity:

The Job Activity Monitor displays (Icon and Status indicate job is currently executing):

Right-click a job for a context menu. You can start a job from the Job Activity Monitor:

When the job completes, Last Run date and time are updated:

You can refresh the view manually or set auto-refresh options by clicking the View refresh settings link:

You can set the auto-refresh interval:

Click the View Filter link to filter jobs to view:

You can also start a SQL Agent job at a specific step:

Select a start step and click the Start button:

The job executes from the selected step:

You can access historical job run data:

The Log File Viewer is a powerful and flexible utility in its own right:

Job properties may also be displayed for editing:

Job properties:

The Job Activity Monitor serves as a cool hub for all SQL Agent Job-related tasks. Kudos to the Microsoft developer team for providing such a snappy utility.

:{> Andy

Technorati Tags: SQL Server SQL Agent Job Job Activity Monitor

Load a package variable with a dataset in SSIS

Occassionally in SSIS, you need to load a dataset into a package variable. To do this, first create a variable:

Next, drag an Execute SQL Tak onto the Control Flow canvas:

Double-click the task to edit it. Set the Result Set property to Full Result Set. Choose a Connection and enter some SQL:

Navigate to the Result Set pane and click the Add button to create a new Result Set mapping. Name the Result Set 0 and assign it to the variable you previously created.

This will populate the variable with an ADO.Net dataset.

:{> Andy

Technorati Tags: SSIS Variables DataSet

OzTFS ListServ

Some cool folks down under have put together a snappy listserv and website called OzTFS.

by sending an email to with "subscribe" as the subject. You can also view archives at the site.

Cool idea!

:{> Andy

Technorati Tags: Developer Community Team System Oz TFS OzTFS

Yargh! Richmond Code Camp 2 approaches...

It's National Talk Like A Pirate Day. Hence, the "Yargh!" :)

Richmond Code Camp 2 is only 2 1/2 weeks away - can you believe it? Richmond Code Camp 2 - 7 Oct 2006 and ECPI-Innsbrook - is going to be a blast! If you haven't already, , maties! (sorry... couldn't resist...)

We have some awesome developers and architects presenting! Kevin Goff, Darrell Norton, Frank La Vigne, Jonathan Cogley, and Greg Postlewait return to present multiple sessions! I'm trying to talk Susan Lennon into sharing more of her SharePoint expertise, while Robin Edwards and Geoff Switz return to present on Web Part Pages and Data Warehousing, respectively. Chris Love, Joe Waldin, Kevin Israel, John Morales, and Ashish Jaiman are first-time Richmond Code Camp presenters! And I plan to present an Introduction to Team Edition for Database Professionals.

Hope to see you there!

:{> Andy

Technorati Tags: Developer Community Code Camp MSDN Richmond VA

 

Richmond SQL Server Users Group September meeting

The Richmond SQL Server Users Group will hold its next meeting Thursday, 14 Sep 2006 at the usual meeting place: the Markel Facilities at 4600 Cox Road in Glen Allen, VA. [map]

I will be presenting on the topic: - Part 2: Testing and Data Generators.

:{> Andy

Technorati Tags: Developer Community Richmond Va SQL Server Users Group Team Edition for Database Professionals

(Last) Call for Richmond Code Camp 2 Presentations

The second Richmond Code Camp will be held 7 Oct 2006 at ECPI - Innsbrook in Richmond's West End.

If you are interested in presenting, please .

:{> Andy

Technorati Tags: Developer Community Code Camp Richmond VA Presentations

Five years later...

Everyone in the US remembers where they were on the morning of 4 years, 364 days ago: September 11, 2001.

I remember my wife Christy (who was my fiance at the time) calling me at work and asking "What's going on?" I remember telling her we were under attack. Later, my daughters called - each of them concerned that I would be re-activated for military service due to my previous experience in security.

The calls had things in common. Chief among them was the fear and concern in the voices of my loved ones.

All Americans were affected in one way or another that day. And everything changed that day - whether we want to believe that or not. Watching documentaries the past few weeks and reading blogs and online services has shown my experiences, while unsettling to me personally, pale in comparison to so many others.

A lot of organizations are marking the anniversary today and tomorrow. Some have been holding ceremonies all week. Some have continued since the event itself. Some have completed their mission and closed.

My friend Frank La Vigne is a survivor of the 11 Sep 2001 terrorist attack on the WTC.

Ever the web journalist and blogger, Frank documented his experiences of The Night Before, 9 - 11 - 2001, and his return to his apartment in lower Manhattan three weeks later at his personal website: FranksWorld.com.

I admire Frank for lots of reasons: He's a good friend, an outstanding technologist, an MVP, and a developer community champion for mobile computing and tablet PCs.

Frank has a passion for the developer community. And he adopted Richmond, VA as his home town for a while. While here, Frank became involved in the developer community. "Involved" is a loaded term for a person like Frank: it means "passionately revolutionized"!

He asked me one favor before his recent move to northern Virginia: "Andy, please don't let the developer community in Richmond die." This was what worried him about leaving - and it speaks volumes about his commitment to the Richmond developer community and user groups.

Frank's transparency is one of his stengths. I commend him for it and for his willingness to share everything he knows with the developer community - be it technology or his personal experiences.

If, like me, you find yourself thinking about heroes - those who survived along with those who did not - today and tomorrow, think about Frank.

Andy

Greg Postlewait's presentation to the Richmond .Net Users Group

Greg Postlewait did an awesome job last night presenting to the Richmond .Net Users Group! He really knows his topic: Object Oriented Concepts. And, he kept the audience engaged (and laughing) throughout most of the presentation!

Greg will be presenting at the upcoming Richmond Code Camp 2 - don't miss it! .

Great job Greg!

:{> Andy

Technorati Tags: Developer Community Greg Postlewait Object Oriented Richmond Code Camp

Registration for Richmond Code Camp 2 is Open!

Register for Richmond Code Camp 2 at !

:{> Andy

Technorati Tags: Developer Community Code Camp MSDN Richmond VA

Team Edition for Database Professionals Webcasts

There are now four webcasts available at :

Because of schedule conflicts I was only able to attend the first presentation live and it was great! I haven't viewed the remaining presentations yet but I am sure they are awesome as well.

:{> Andy

Technorati Tags: Team Edition for Database Professionals Team System webcasts

Time to get back to it

In the US, the traditional end-of-summer has arrived: Labor Day is almost over.

This time of year always marks a change. The days, though still longer than the nights for the next couple / three weeks, continue to shorten. The first chilly winds blow in Virginia, and this month will mark the first time in a few months for furnace activity.

School has already started here in Farmville, Va. Stevie Ray started at his new preschool in mid-August. So far, he likes it a lot.

An interesting business cycle starts in the Fall as well. September marks the last month of the previous business calendar for many. Most corporate budgets are built in a use-it-or-lose-it fashion: they must spend all the money allocated to this year's budget or suffer a reduction (or at least questions) in the coming year's budget. It's an interesting problem for some departments, but a problem nonetheless.

With October comes a fresh fiscal year, and then businesses that were unable to spend in September (or perhaps August and maybe July as well) then have a new budget with which to work.

What does it all mean?

If you're in the software business, your phone will begin ringing this week - that's what it means. And that's always a good thing.

If you're a micro-ISV or even a small shop, keep in mind that you do not have to swear off sleep until Christmas. You can schedule (book) the work. You can even begin the project now and bill forward (at a discount for paying a heavier percentage up front, even) tied to a well-written schedule of deliverables - thus helping companies in a use-it-or-lose-it situation. (And how you and your customers define "begin" is entirely up to you.)

The point is this: In business, not everything is negotiable, but usually most things are.

Talk to your customers. Find out about their plans and the fiscal constraints to which they must adhere.

Then use to build them some awesome software! Let everyone win!

:{> Andy

Technorati Tags: Team System Software Business fiscal calendar year budget corporate

Where in the world is Frank La Vigne?

...in case you were wondering...

;{> Andy

Technorati Tags: Developer Community Frank La Vigne Man Legend Tablet MVP