RSS in .NET Made Easy with XML Serialization

Super simple and sweet:

So I was looking for a real quick way to publish an RSS feed from a Web
application I created for a friend and found some great articles and
components (
RSS Toolkit for ASP.NET 2.0.)  However, I
didn’t find anything that used XML Serialization (specifically) to work with
the RSS 2.0 Specification (maybe my Google skills are truly weak today.) 
I use XmlSerializer
religiously, and thought it would be quite trivial to build a set of classes
to quickly create and publish an RSS feed.   Thus, as any geek would
do, I did just that.

These classes are adorned with System.Xml.Serialization
attributes, which comply with the RSS 2.0 Specification.   To create
an RSS document, it’s no more difficult than creating and populating a PONO
(Plain Ole .NET Object.)

Full story at http://weblogs.asp.net/skillet/archive/2006/08/29/RSS-in-.NET-Made-Easy-with-XML-Serialization.aspx

Hat tip: Greg’s
Cool …

kick it on DotNetKicks.com

August BADNUG Meeting: Overview of Community Server

The August BADNUG meeting will be from 6–8pm on Aug 31 at Communifax HQ in Cranberry Township, PA.  Our presentation will be an overview of Community Server, from installation to administration to some free stuff to pimp out your site a little.  The presentation will be based in large part on the links below.

Whether you’re building an online community for marketing purposes or a corporate knowledge portal, one tool to consider is .  Community Server is essentially the spawn of a menage-a-trois of DotNetForums (I think that’s what they were called), nGallery and .Text.  Since its inception, more features have been added, but not to the detriment of its core functionality.

Sample Sites

Direct2Dell

MSNBC Cosmic Log

Offline Blogging Tools (one of many)

Configuring WLW for CS

Photo Galleries

Lightbox Module

Batch Import Photos

Chiwi Photo Gallery Manager

Cross-posting from Flickr

Skinning

Change the title image of your blog without access to the CSS file

Spam Control

(not Community Server specific)

Alabaster – Akismet Spam Rule Utility (what is Akismet?)

Developing Modules

Code Browser

Community Server 2.1 SDK

 (ICSModule entry)

Spreading the Word

Google Sitemap Add-on

WebIS Releases FlexMail 2007

WebIS has released FlexMail 2007, a
replacement for the Pocket Outlook which ships on Windows Mobile 5.0
devices.  This is a significant upgrade to the FlexMail 2006, which I’ve
used for several months now on my Treo 700w, but found myself wishing for a few
more features and faster performance.  My few wishes and then some seem to
have been taken care of in this new release.

FlexMail is far and above better in how it displayes messages with HTML
formatting, and handles IMAP accounts better than Pocket Outlook.  GMail
POP3 SSL is supported, as is storing messages on an SD card.  The
featurelist is long, and everyone likes different things, so just go check it
out for yourself.

Full story at http://webis.net/products_info.php?p_id=mail.

Remember to Nominate DNN for Packt Publishing Award

The nomination period ends September 1, so get on this soon if you haven’t
already.

Last week Packt Publishing announced an Open Source Content Management
System contest. The contest is designed to encourage, support, recognize and
reward Open Source Content Management Systems and offers a top prize of
US$5000 to the winning project, second prize $3000, and third prize
$2000.

Full story at http://dotnetnuke.com/Community/Blogs/tabid/825/EntryID/1053/Default.aspx

GolfGladiators.com Up and Running

We have up and running.  Based on Community Server 2.1, this is the 45–minute installation I did from the airport (see http://www.rjdudley.com/blog/How+Fast+Can+You+Set+Up+A+Community+Server+Site.aspx). 

We have some forums still to set up, but the forum is online, and so is one devoted to .  We’ll eventually have forums for course reviews in all 50 states.  If you’re in, say, Wisconsin, and want one before I work my way down the alphabet, let me know.  My mad art skillz are evident on the logo.

Also, we’re working on some interactive challenges and distance games you can play.  Stay tuned for those.  In the meantime, if you enjoy golf, join us at www.GolfGladiators.com.

 

SQL Prompt 3 Approaches, Pre-Order for $99

Until September 1, the current version of  is free.  The next version (v3) is now scheduled for release September 28th.  The price for v3 will be $195, BUT, you can get a pre-order discount price of $99.  You must order before v3 is released (“no exceptions” I’m being told).  To pre-order v3, contact Greg Tillman at greg.tillman [at] redgate.com, and ask him for a pre-order quote.  There is no public URL for the pre-order special.

If you have some ideas or feedback for v3, post them in the forum at http://www.red-gate.com/MessageBoard/viewforum.php?f=44.

kick it on DotNetKicks.com

Quick Look: Chiwi’s CS Gallery Manager


is a free application for uploading multiple images into a CS gallery.  Prior to uploading, you have the ability to add a photo title and description, and you can control thumbnail settings.  You can upload to any gallery you have permission to, and can choose the album/tag for the photos.


The first issue I found was URL you need to configure.  You want to use http://<siteurl>/photos/galleryservice.asmx.  For instance, I had to configure http://floristblogs.com/photos/galleryservice.asmx. 


The second issue I found was exceeding the maximum request size.  In uploading some images into floristblogs.com, any image over 1.5MB could not be uploaded using Chiwi’s tool.  However, I could upload the same photos via the photo control panel.  I have a Nikon D50, and almost all of my photos are right around the 1.5MB mark with the high-quality setting.


If you have a lot of images that only need to be resized slightly, get the free  and shrink your images slightly, then upload using Chiwi’s tool.