Tap My Mind

A Blog by Scott Isaacs

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VS2008 DVDs From InstallFest

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On February 20, 2008

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If you attended a VS2008 InstallFest in the last couple months and registered your trial copy of VS2008, you have probably received the final media in the mail in the last day or two (or probably will in the next day or two).  Someone sent me a note today asking about activated the installed trial version with the "real" software key.  He (and I) thought that it would be done from within the VS2008 IDE.

We were wrong.  In case anyone else is missing it like we were, this tip is for you.  You have to actually run the installer on the new disc.  Choose the option to "modify or uninstall" and after the installer finally loads, click next and you’ll see a handful of choices, including one to add a license key.  Copy the key from the disc jacket and you’re all set.

New Milwaukee ALT.NET Group

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On February 16, 2008

In Uncategorized

If you were at the last WI .NET Users Group meeting, you already know, but for those that weren’t, there is a Milwaukee chapter of the ALT.NET User Group forming.  Dan Miser is heading things up and the first meeting is Weds, March 5.  Details are here.

If you’ve been following the movement, and are interested, you should definitely try to make it to the meeting and get involved.  The format of the meetings will probably be different than our normal WI .NET UG meetings.  From Dan’s blog post: "be prepared to be engaged, discuss, and share (bring your laptop to showcase code and/or slides)".

Dan and I got to talk a little after the last UG meeting, and we had a few ideas about collaboration between the two groups.  I’m looking forward to talking to him some more and getting some joint meetings and/or coordinated topics setup.

Wednesdays are tough for me, but I’m going to try to make it.  Please spread the word, and be sure to sign up for the meeting so Dan knows how many to expect.

Seeking Twitter Client Suggestions

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On February 15, 2008

In Uncategorized

Who uses Twitter?  Please send me suggestions for what clients you use and what you like and don’t like.  There’s lots of info out there, but would prefer to hear from people I know.

I’ve tried Twitter a couple times, and have posted a total of three tweets, one of which was today.  If I can make it easy enough for my lazy butt to do it, I’m planning to be more active.

Same as always, leave a comment on this page or contact me with your suggestions and/or thoughts.

Deeper in .NET 2008 Registration Open!

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On February 12, 2008

In Uncategorized

I’m very happy to announce that registration for Deeper in .NET 2008 is now open.  You can visit the site now to get the latest info and register to attend.

Lots of the info is still in the works, but there is definitely some good info out there now.  In addition to all of the info about our sponsors (we have six so far!) we’ve announced three of the speakers that will be coming to Milwaukee on April 5 for Deeper in .NET 2008 (DiDN).

We’re very happy to have Jason Beres from Infragistics returning to Milwaukee.  Jason has been at all but one of our Deeper in .NET conferences and has spoken for us more than just about any other single speaker (that’s one of those unverified statistics, but it seems to be about right).

Also, joining us this year courtesy of INETA is Mark Miller from Developer Express.  I’ve never experienced the pleasure of seeing Mark present myself, but everyone I speak to tells me that I’ve been missing out.  His presentation is sure to keep you entertained and informed.

Our third speaker for Deeper in .NET 2008 is Richard Campbell.  You may know of Richard from his company Strangeloop Networks, or perhaps you’ve heard him as co-host on .NET Rocks!  I spoke with Richard on the phone the other day and he sounds just as excited about coming to Milwaukee as we are to have him.

More speakers, the schedule, and the details of the different sessions will be posted in the upcoming weeks, so please keep checking back on the site for the latest info.  I’ll also try to post updates on my site as more details are finalized.

I mentioned earlier that we have six sponsors signed up so far.  We’re very thankful to New Resources Consulting (Platinum), Edgenet (Platinum), Centare Group (Gold), Stratagem (Gold), Compuware (Gold), and Exacta Corporation (Silver) for getting involved and supporting the group.  Without them there wouldn’t be a conference this year.

We still need more sponsors, though, to make DiDN a huge success, so if your company is interested, please have them contact me and visit our sponsors page for more info.

So sign up today and start telling everyone you know about Deeper in .NET.  If you blog, blog about it and trackback here or send me a link.  Tell your co-workers, family and neighbors.  I’m very excited about DiDN and it’s coming up soon on April 5 (just over 7 weeks away)!

Mock Objects Tonight at WI .NET UG

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On February 12, 2008

In Uncategorized

Tonight is meeting night for the WI .NET Users Group.  Derik Whittaker is making the trek up from the Chicagoland area to talk to us about mock objects.  After opening registration only a couple days ago, we already have 60 people signed up, so if you’re interested in coming, please register soon.

Tonight we have the pleasure of having a new sponsor for tonight’s meeting as well.  Manpower Professional is putting us up at Libiamo’s Italian Restaurant downtown Milwaukee.  Parking will be available in the Manpower parking structure next door to Libiamo’s.

I hope to see everyone there.

Holiday Party Canceled (For Now)

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On December 11, 2007

In Uncategorized

The WI .NET Users Group Holiday Party I mentioned before has been canceled due to weather.  As soon as it is re-scheduled, we will let everyone know.  I apologize for any inconvenience.

Coworking

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On December 7, 2007

In Uncategorized

Here’s something that sounds really interesting to me.  About a week and a half ago, Larry Clarkin posted about “coworking”, and I’ve been meaning to write about it ever since.  Coworking is an interesting concept.  From the Coworking Community Blog: Coworking is a movement to create a community of cafe-like collaboration spaces for developers, writers and independents.

Do you work from home?  I rarely do anymore because of the nature of my job, but I used to occasionally work from home.  I was always fine for the first day or so, but if it was a more than a couple days, it was really hard for me to stay focused.  I would run into roadblocks that would normally not be an issue. 

Coworking would have been ideal for me.  I would have the flexibility and freedom of working from home, but the collaboration opportunities of working at the office.  If I ever start an at-home business, I am sure that I will be looking for coworking space opportunities.

Anyway, Larry is starting a coworking group in the Brookfield, WI area.  The first meeting is on December 17 at 1:00 PM at Einstein Bagels on Bluemound.  Of course he has all the pertinent into on his site, so check it out.  Larry also points to the Wikipedia entry and the Coworking wiki (CoworkingMilwaukee) for more info.

I’m not yet sure if I’ll be able to make it myself, but I encourage you to check it out, especially if you work independently.

Toys For Tots Donations

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On December 7, 2007

In Uncategorized

I forgot to mention it in my most recent newsletter to the WI .NET Users Group, so I wanted to post it here.

If you’re coming to the Holiday Party next week, please consider bringing a toy to be donated to Toys For Tots.  As mentioned in a previously referenced post by Dave Bost:

In the spirit of the holiday, we will be collecting toys for Toys for Tots. Bring a toy and have a chance at winning an outstanding prize (TBD). Please make sure that all toy donations are new, unwrapped toys. This allows the Toys for Tots program staff to determine that the gift is safe for distribution and to identify the appropriate age and gender for each gift.

I think this is a great opportunity for us to provide something for a child who would otherwise not receive anything for Christmas.  It’s not a requirement at all, and there is no obligation, but the opportunity to give will be there for you if you choose.

Thanks.

More About The WI .NET UG Holiday Party

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On December 7, 2007

In Uncategorized

So the WI .NET Users Group’s Holiday Party is coming up soon.  Today I was able to increase the registration capacity because Dave Bost from Microsoft was able to come through for us and got us a few dozen more Visual Studio 2008 licenses than previously expected.

By the way, if you’re attending the party to install Visual Studio, Dave has a great post that includes some steps you should take to prepare for the installation.  He also talks about a number of contests surrounding the party.  There is even a contest you can enter even if you can’t make it to the party.

One of the contests is a Demo Contest.  We are looking for a number of people who are willing and able to do a short demo (around 5-15 minutes, depending on participation).  If you’ve been using VS08 or .NET 3.5 and would like to talk about one of your favorite features, please contact me and let me know.  As long as the schedule permits, we’ll allow people to "sign up" to give a quick demo right there at the party, but we’d like to get as many interested people as possible to sign up in advance.

Even though we have again reached our limit for Visual Studio licenses, there is another link to register on our site.  We’d still like to have everyone at the party for the food and fun, so sign up using this alternate link.  Also, by signing up you’ll be added to the waiting list in case anyone the already registered is unable to make it for some reason.

I hope to see everyone there.

Holiday Party 2007 — Already Sold Out

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On November 21, 2007

In Uncategorized

I recently posted about a Holiday Party that Microsoft is sponsoring for the WI .NET Users Group.  Well, unfortunately, a mere 3.5 hours after making the announcement, the event has filled up.  The Chicago .NET Users Group is also having a similar event, and theirs "sold out" in 2 hours.

Microsoft had a particular number of licenses available for us at this event, and we have already reached the limit.  My contact there is working to see if there is anything that can be done to add more, but he’s not sure yet what will be available.

If anything else comes up and more space is made available I will definitely make an update.  I apologize for those of you that wanted to register but were not able to get signed up in time.  This booked up much faster than anticipated.

Please check back regularly in case more seats are added.  I will send a newsletter update as well if that happens.

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