February 2005 Entries
Even wanted to watch an msdn webcast but just don't have the time or inclination to sit and watch it for an 30-60 mins?
MSDN have put up a page of "nuggets" that are only 10-15 mins long and cover a single topic such as "Writing stored procedures in .NET managed code" or "Working online/offline with the Offline Block"
http://www.microsoft.com/uk/msdn/events/nuggets.aspx
Mark Harrison pointed out that "Addison-Wesley and Developmentor have provided TheServerSide.NET with the entire book of Essential XML Quick Reference for free download"
Well worth downloading a copy - it's a good reference.
Download here: http://theserverside.net/books/addisonwesley/EssentialXML/index.tss
bbits Mobility have launched (in partnership with Lewisham) an interesting new web application that uses web services and smart devices. The service enables residents of London borough of Lewisham to upload pictures and data of any issues regarding the cleanliness of the streets of Lewisham, such as graffiti, so that the council can sort them out. Users can be notifed by SMS of the progress or visit the web site to view online. The service puts residents directly in contact with the council and should help increase efficiency and reduce administration and costs.
www.bbitsmobility.co.uk
www.lovelewisham.org
Using the ~ to get site root relative links in asp.net controls is really neat. You can easily create a url that reliably points to any page in you site using something like
Hyperlink1.NavigateUrl = "~/someFolder/somePage.aspx"
However this does not work for the asp.net 1.1 mobile controls for some reason, and repeating the logic is actually much harder than it should be. Take a look at these discussions if you don't believe that people struggle with this. Right at the end of that discussion, Scott Mitchell has the answer though, and here is the code I used in a utility class:
Dim
r As HttpRequest = HttpContext.Current.Request
Dim c As New System.Web.UI.Control
Dim root As String = r.Url.GetLeftPart(UriPartial.Authority) + c.ResolveUrl(r.ApplicationPath)
Interesting conclusion from a recent DataMonitor report as follows:
Datamonitor believes the .NET CF is best positioned for success in the next 12-18 months. Compared to J2ME, .NET CF lacks complexity, is integrated across all aspects of Microsoft's solution & enables solutions with superior functionality (though Microsoft's fixed-line heritage sometimes make mobile application development somewhat problematic).
Report is available here: http://shrinkster.com/3nr