My Treo Lives Again!

So I returned home, and the temp files were still deleting.  Taking a chance, I stopped the File Explorer, and simply renamed the Temp directory to Temp2, and created a new Temp directory.  That was actually quick.  I un-selected everything I could to sync, and did an AvtiveSync.  It took a bit, but it sync’d.  I started the updater, and after a moment or two, it told me I already had the update installed.  So I called Palm again.  Kudos to Palm support–second ring, an actual tech support person answered and we tried to fix it.  We deleted temp files, soft reset and rebooted, reinstalled the updater, still no dice.  After 45 min, I had to go to a 6th B-Day party, still with no phone.  The install hung right at the end of copying files, and never began the Updating step.

We came home, and I tried it again.  Deleted the few files in my new Temp directory, deleted the TreoUpd123 folder, removed the PalmUpd program, rebooted everything, re-installed the updater, changed the VERS file to 1.12, and let it go.  Removing the PalmUpd program is something we did the first time I called support, but not the second.  Finally, everything worked perfectly, and my phone is back online.  Not to mention ActiveSync is a lot quicker since I cleaned up the error I was getting.  Direct Push e-mail is awesome, and MS seems to have fixed a few things with the POP/IMAP e-mail as well.  Frustrating for a bit, but it’s all better now.

The third page of the installer site (http://www.palm.com/us/support/downloads/treo700wupdater/verizon.html) has some troubleshooting which talks about some of the problems I had.

Technorati:

Treo Updater Update

If you’re trying to call my cell phone, you need to e-mail me instead. 
It’s going to be another day or so.

When I got home last night, the Treo Updater was still stuck.  I called
Palm, and on the first or second ring, a real support person answered–pretty
cool.  I don’t know if I dialed in at a magic moment, but I was expecting a
long hold.

We killed the update process, soft reset the phone, checked some settings,
and found that the update had partially installed.  Not such a good
thing.  We cleaned out a PalmUpd123 folder, removed a Palm Update program,
and soft reset the phone.

Then the fun really began.  I had been getting some ActiveSync error,
but all my information was updating fine, so I ignored them.  As it turns
out, the updater is extremely finicky, and you need to have a perfect ActiveSync
in order to get the updater installed.  The tech support guy had me look in
a temp directory for some files that may be piling up.  This directory
normally contains a few files; mine had almost 5000.  It takes 30 min or so
to delete a couple hundred or so generated during installation (this is that
“cleaning up” step).  I was obviously going to be waiting for some time
once I started the delete process.  I stopped the process this morning
after 11 hours, and there were 1800 still to go.  So I started deleting
again and left the phone plugged into the charger.  I imagine it’ll be
ready when I get home tonight.  24 hours to clean out the temp
directory–ugly!

These temp files are often the result of ActiveSync problems, probably the
problems causing the error I was ignoring.  I had my phone set to sync
mail, calendar and contacts from my company’s Exchange server, and calendar and
contacts on my home PC.  Palm tech support informed me that you shouldn’t
be able to sync calendar and contacts in both places.  Someone forgot to
tell my phone, and I’ve been sync-ing both for some time now.

My next steps are to finish deleting all those temp files, turn off the PC
sync for calendar and contacts, soft reset (just because), perform a good
ActiveSync, and then try the updater again.

I’m going to hope that future iterations of Windows Mobile do a better job of
managing these temp files, because this is a real nuisance.

Scott Hanselman’s Pittsburgh Talk Update

The subject of Scott’s
Pittsburgh .NET talk
has been updated:

Essential Tools for the Effective Developer

Join us for the May Pittsburgh .NET User Group meeting as Scott
Hanselman, Chief Architect at the Corillian Corporation, looks at some of the
essential tools for effective development.  Scott is known for his
Ultimate Tools List at
http://www.hanselman.com/tooland
his ongoing efforts to collect and use tools that help developers be as
effective as possible.
Your brain thinks fast, why should your fingers be
“I/O Bound?” Join us at this fast-paced talk about Scott’s philosophy of
effectiveness, a journey that might introduce you to a number of Apps,
Applets, Add-Ins, Toolbars and Shell Customizations that’ll take your
development environment to the next level. We’ll also talk about Test Driven
Development and Continuous Integration and may also touch on a number of
CompSci concepts like Cyclomatic Complexity.

Info at http://pghdotnet.org/Events/220.aspx.

Treo 700w Updater Killed My Treo

I am sans-Treo today.  I know better than to do these things in the
morning, but one of my co-workers didn’t have a problem upgrading, and I just
couldn’t resist the lure of direct push e-mail.  What a mistake!

The upgrade process went well for the Treonauts (http://blog.treonauts.com/2006/04/treo_700w_updat.html),
so I was hopeful.  I started the installation, and the update screen
claimed it was a 30 min process.  The preparation step went quickly, and
then the actual update started.  I fed the dogs, showered, walked the dogs,
packed lunch, made breakfast, kissed wifey a few times, and after 75 minutes, I
was still at the beginning of the upgrade step.  I placed a quick call to
Verizon, who said that you can expect about an hour total (about 30 min for the
upgrade, and about 30 min for the cleanup).  When I told them it had been
75 minutes on the upgrade step, the said that was a problem, and tried to patch
me through to Palm.  Palm was conveniently closed, not comnig to work until
6 am Pacific.  Since it was 7:45 Eastern (4:45 am Pacific), I headed off to
work.  I left the update process running, hoping 8 or 9 hours might be
enough.  We’ll see when I get home.

There is an elapsed time counter on the update screen, but it doesn’t roll
the hours.  After 66 minutes, the clock read only 6 minutes had
elapsed.

Scott Hanselman Coming to Pittsbugh .NET

Pgh.NET: Software Factories / Code
Generation

Join the Pittsburgh
.NET User Group (Pgh.NET) as Scott Hanselman, Chief Architect at Corillian and
Microsoft Regional Director, presents at this International .NET Association
(INETA) sponsored event. Sponsored by Raeder Landree.
Date:
Tuesday, May 9
Time: 5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Venue: Microsoft,
30 Isabella Street
Cost: No charge
RSVP:
Online, Council Events or
412.918.4229

MSFP (including Diect Push) Now Available for Verizon Treo 700w Customers

Direct push e-mail is now available for Treo 700w users–the MSFP has been
released!  w00t!

There’s also an updated Picsel PDF viewer.  Maybe this one works. 
And, that little bug where the internet connection os closed after POP mail is
retrieved is apparently fixed.  E-mail from Palm below; additional info at
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/business/5/default.mspx.

Palm(R)

***********************************************************************

Treo(TM) 700w smartphone users with Verizon Wireless service:

An important new update for your Treo 700w smartphone is now available.

This update offers Palm and Microsoft enhancements as well as Microsoft’s
latest feature pack, including:

Microsoft(R)’s Messaging and Security Feature Pack (MSFP)

– Direct Push Technology for automatic wireless synchronization of

email, calendar, contacts, and now, tasks*

– Wireless access to your company’s Global Address List*

– Enhanced business security features

Memory modifications

– Updated memory management

Email enhancements

– More support for push email solutions, such as WirelessSync and
GoodLink(TM)

– Enhanced email synchronization capabilities, such as the ability to

maintain an “always on” data connection after POP or IMAP email

synchronization and the ability to auto-synchronize all email accounts

based on user settings*

And More

– Latest version of the Picsel PDF viewer, now available for download
at

http://www.palm.com/us/support/downloads/picsel/index.html

– Wireless Manager provides updated interface for turning wireless
radios

on or off

– Updates to the Pictures and Videos application

To access the software update and installation instructions visit
Customer

Support: http://www.palm.com/700wupdate

You can also download the new Treo 700w User Guide.

http://www.palm.com/us/support/handbooks/treo/treo700wvzw_ug.pdf

Get the most from your Treo 700w smartphone — download this important
update today! Consult your company IT department on software upgrades if
appropriate.

———————————————————————-

* Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2) upgrade required for Direct
Push Technology and Global Address List lookup. Mobile email and web within
wireless coverage area only. Requires data services from a mobile service
provider at an additional cost. ISP and/or VPN may also be required.

 

Express Editions Permanently Free, and New Starter Kits

Hot off the presses, teh Visual Studio Express Editions will be permanently
free: http://forums.asp.net/thread/1262185.aspx

This is great news for programmers of all stripes.  Even better news are
some of the cool starter kits:

Beta: Skype Wrapper for .NET Starter
Kit

The Beta of the Skype Wrapper for .NET Starter
Kit is a managed code wrapper with samples that enables to programmatically
connect and consume Skype services from
Visual
Basic
, Visual
C#
, Visual
J#
, or Visual
C++ Express
.

Teacher Starter
Kit

The Teacher Starter Kit is a rich client
application for keeping track of students, course rosters, and assessments or
grades using
Visual
Basic or Visual C# Express
.

Maker Faire Demo: Skype Home
Automation

The Skype
Home Automation
extends the Skype Starter Kit to show how
you can use an instant messaging application to communicate with a home server
for the purposes of automation and monitoring, like checking if the lights are
on, or even play your favorite music.

 

 

Picasa Incompatible With Netgear SC101

My photo collection is building, and the PictureProject software that shipped with my Nikon D50 is clunky and slow.  Before my collection grows out of control, I wanted to try another piece of software.  Tonight’s test was Picasa, and I think I’ve found the first incompatibility.  Picasa does not see the drives on my SC101.  I can browse the drives fine with Windows Explorer, and PictureProject imports photos from the SC101 drives (although it tends to lose the thumbnails from time to time), but Picasa has no clue these drives exist.  I’ll give the software another chance, but it’s probably back to PictureProject for now.

Review: ASP.NET 2.0 Cookbook

This is a short review because about 85% of the book is code samples. 
ASP.NET
2.0 Cookbook
is divided into 21 chapters, covering topics ranging from
Master Pages, error handling and web parts.  The major improvements in
ASP.NET 2.0 are in here, including examples of the GridView control, profiles
and themes.  Every example includes a brief description of the problem
to be solved, an overview of the solution, and some deeper discussion about the
solution.  In all, there are 125 solutions presented in 980 pages, so you
can see there is ample coverage of every solution.  As you progress
through the chapter, each example builds on the skills and knowledge
developed in the previous example, but is a complete example unto itself. 
Additionally, every example is presented in both VB.NET and C#.  Not only
is this good for cut and paste purposes, but it’s a good way to practice the
language you don’t use primarily.  Speaking of cut-and-paste, there is a
45-day trial to the Safari Bookshelf, which will allow you to search all sorts
of books, and cut and paste from the code examples.

I’ve obviously not used every example in the book, but he ones I have used
have been useful, complete and informative.  Examples are written as inline
code, so examples will work with Visual Web Developer Express, as well as Visual
Studio 2005.  If you want to use the code-behind or code-beside models,
you’ll have to do a little translation on your own.  The code samples and
sample database are available for download from thre author’s website, for
easier use in your projects.

I don’t recommend this as your “introduction to ASP.NET 2.0 book”; this book
is meant mainly for developers who have been through the basics and have some
familiarity with Visual Studio or Visual Web Dev Express.  If you’re
familiar with ASP.NET 1.1, and want a way to get up to speed with some major
improvements in ASP.NET 2.0, I think you’ll find this is a good book to get you
there.