Sometimes technical, sometimes not, never a kitty

Microsoft Across America is bringing their Launch Event 2007 to Pittsburgh on Feb 1, 2007. The event will be held at Sheraton Station Square, which is an awesome location finally. Attendees go home with Office 2007 Pro and Groove 2007. You may wonder why Groove, but after you see the cool stuff it can do, you'll dig it. Full info at http://www.microsoft.com/business/launch2007/signup/default.mspx.

This is not one of those crazy "Bill gates will pay you a dollar for everyone who reads this e-mail" things--this is real. Microsoft is giving away Microsoft Office Acocunting Express 2007 for free. This is the latest version of their small business accounting package, aimed at the Quickbooks crowd. In the past couple of years, Microsoft has begun offering "Express" editions of many of its products for free. These editions have most of the basic features one needs, and for many people, is all they'll ever need. If you outgrow an Express edition, the upgrade to the Professional edition is pretty simple--just buy it. The Pro edition is aimed at the QB Pro/Peachtree crowd. Along with the free software, Microsoft is running a contest for the best small business idea. The winner gets $100,000 and free retail space in NYC to get your business started.

Full story and download at http://www.ideawins.com/

It took me a while to find this tip, so here's how to get Google Desktop to index XML files:

I think by default GDS has XML file indexing TURNED OFF in the registry - it won't index them at all. This key is in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Google\Google Desktop\file_extensions_to_skip.  You'll have to remove "xml" from that list (I think)

(source: http://groups.google.com/group/Google-Desktop_past-discussions/browse_thread/thread/6059c564cf1bf007/4cb1bf32429413bb)

The 'xml' extension was in this list, and I removed it.  Now I wait until the reindex is complete and try some queries.  Update to follow.

<update 2006-12-29>

The reindex has taken place, and there are plenty of XML files in the index now.  I can find them by simply searching for *.xml, but I still can't search the contents of an XML file in Google Desktop Search.  Not such a surprise, since Google Desktop Search's help indicates it does not support XML files (http://desktop.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=12634&topic=201).

Before I get too far into what I'm trying next, let me explain my need.  We use XML to send and receive shipment details with a business partner.  From time to time, I need to be able to quickly locate a specific shipment in the hundreds of XML files stored in the archive.  I'm positive I'm not the only person in this situation.

I found a plug-in at http://www.trivex.net/ which will have GDS treat XML as plain text, and that should hopefully improve the search.  Apparently Copernic can be set to do this from its control panel, and that's the next stop.  A plain text search is good enough, but ideally, either GDS or Copernic would support an XQuery for a specific element or attribute value.

So I've installed Larry's Any Text plug in (http://www.trivex.net/).  That was darn easy.  I had to add the XML extension to the config file furing installation, and the plug-in has triggered a reindex.  I'll let you know how this one works out.

<update 2006-12-29>

The index updated over lunch, and Larry's plug-in did the trick.  I can pull up the XML files I need simply by order number or some other identifier.  It's great.  Too bad it's not an XQuery or something similar, but it'll work.  Keep in mind that GDS does not support wildcards, so you have to enter the entire string you're looking for, not a partial order number.  Fortunately, element and attribute values are percieved as whole words.

The talk goes something like this:

FedEx--"When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight."

UPS--"Moving at the speed of business."

I have 300+ identical packages to ship next week.  No flipping way amd I making the labels one at a time via a website.  I know both UPS and FedEx have PC-based shipping software for their accounts, so I decided to acquire such.

I started with FedEx.  I registered online, complete with FedEx account number.  In order to obtain the software, you have to call your account rep.  Not knowing who that was, I called the general support number, spoke to a nice rep, explained what I needed.  The support rep sent a message to my account sales contact.  This was about 8:30 pm on 12/5, and I didn't leave with a warm feeling anything was going to happen.  The next day I realized I gave the nice rep my wrong extension, called back, spoke to yet another nice rep, and gave my correct extension.  Another message was sent to my acocunt sales contact.  Even with the wrong extension, the main number on the account is correct.

So, my Plan B was UPS.  I registered at www.ups.com, complete with account number, and filled out the online request form.  This was right arount 3:00 pm on 12/6.  At 1:00 pm on 12/7, I had WorldShip 8 in my hands.  22 hours from request to delivery.  Still nothing from my FedEx guy nearly 40 hours later.  Looks like 300+ packages are going UPS.  On a personal note, I'm a little torn by this.  I grew up in Louisville, where UPS is based.  But I now live near Pittsburgh, where FedEx Ground is based.  Either one is a home-team to me.

Small businesses have weird needs.  Sometimes (as in this case) we have huge shipments all at once.  Business owners  are pretty much 24/7 living their business.  This phone tag stuff is so '80s.  Hard to believe it's so tough to give your business to a company sometimes.

My newest GTD tool is an oldie but a goodie.  I've started packing my Swiss Army Knife (Ranger model), and it's quite amazing how many things never even hit my inbox now.  I've had one for years, and it's found a lot of use in my office.  Now, it's finding utility all over the place.  Most of the things I prevent from hitting my inbox would go on an extensive list in wifey's head, only to come back at some time when I couldn't do anything about it.  Mainly it's the screwdrivers that find use, but the cutting tools come in handy, and if you need that screwpull, good times are ahead.  Just remember to take it out if you're flying!

Yesterday's news from asp.net:

The By the Community, For the Community program is back in full swing with a new poll available. Visit the By the Community, For the Community page to vote for the code sample you would like to see developed. Once you have voted, please use the Suggestion Box to recommend future samples.

 

There seem to be a lot of SE referrals as to how to erase data from a Treo 700w.  The easiest way is to do a hard reset, where you hold in the red power button and press and hold the reset button (under the pattery cover) at the same time.  Your Treo will start to reboot, and you'll be prompted to erase all the information.

This will reset your Treo back to factory settings (if you installed the update with MSFP, this will be retained).  All e-mail settings and messages, any thrid party software, etc. will be wiped.  Information on your SD card will not be touched.

The next meeting for the Pittsburgh .NET User Group (Pgh.NET) will be on Wednesday, November 8, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and is presented in partnership with the International .NET Association (INETA). Jason Beres from the INETA speakers bureau will be our presenter.

Deep Dive into Atlas Controls and Toolkit -- Building Applications
This session dives into the control details in the Atlas toolkit.  At the end of this session, attendees will have a full understanding of the data binding in Atlas, the Atlas Update Panel and other controls, such as the AutoComplete Extender.  In addition, the presentation will look at how all of the controls can be used to create business applications and "mash ups" using XML Web Services.

About Our Presenter
Jason Beres is the author of Teach Yourself Visual Studio .NET 2003 in 21 Days; the co-author of the Visual Basic .NET Bible and the C# Bible; and a contributor to SQL Server 2000: The Complete Reference and ASP.NET @ Work: 10 Enterprise Applications. Jason has been a featured speaker at Microsoft Dev Days, the largest regional developer-centric conference that Microsoft has each year.

Dinner and networking will run from 5:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m., with the presentation beginning at 6:00 p.m. The meeting will take place at Microsoft, 30 Isabella Street, North Shore.

Please RSVP to Council Events or 412.918.4229, so that we have an accurate count for dinner.

Thank you,

Jared Roberts
Director, Member Programs
Pittsburgh Technology Council
412.918.4243

I found out today one of my fraternity brothers was killed in Mexico over the weekend.  Brad and I had rooms next to each other as freshmen, and we could talk through the hole in the wall for the radiator pipe at night (which annoyed his roommate to no end).  He had the greatest collection of Doors albums, and we spent hours jamming.  Later, we pledged the same fraternity, and lived in the house for the next couple of years.  Brad eventually went his own way, leaving the fraternity and Allegheny College.  We lost touch after that.  He went goodness knows where, and I went to Alabama for graduate school.

Brad’s easygoing nature often belied just how smart he was.  He was one of those guys who could instantly find a hole in any argument, but wouldn’t argue the point.  Brad was a good talker, and relished good, thoughtful conversation.  Instead of being an arguer, he’d lay out what he was thinking and why.  Sometimes, he and I saw eye to eye on issues, and sometimes we were polar opposites.  No matter, he was respectful of you, even when you disagreed.

It wasn’t much of a surprise to find out he was a videographer for Indymedia.  That just suited him perfectly.  The photo below is part of the story of his death at http://www.indymedia.org/en/2006/10/849305.shtml, and is a great image of Brad.  This was his thoughtful conversation look, and is a good way to remember him.  If you never knew him, this photo’s all the introduction you need.  There’s some more story at http://www.forbes.com/technology/ebusiness/feeds/ap/2006/10/29/ap3128352.html.