Episode 59 of The SitePoint Podcast is now available! This week your hosts are Patrick O’Keefe ( @iFroggy ), Brad Williams ( @williamsba ), Stephan Segraves ( @ssegraves ), and Kevin Yank ( @sentience ).
Read the original post:
SitePoint Podcast #59: Speaking of Fail
My morning yesterday at HIFA was filled with a sense of awe when I attended a play titled “The Woman Who Didn’t Belong To A Political Party”. I absolutely loved this play. It is really about what Mbuya Nehanda went through and that she gave birth to a spirit of resistance that ushered in a new Zimbabwe.
Read more from the original source:
Unity through theatre
I knew that HIFA opening nights don’t disappoint – the same for this year! I was there and I don’t know about you but I was not disappointed; HIFA always finds something untamed for the opening. However as much as I saw the effort and time it took for the production to take place I did not get it. Maybe its because I am not a classical music person or something
Continue reading here:
Harare is Alive
In today’s tutorial, “ A Beginner’s Guide to Silverlight with PHP ,” author Jordan Knight takes a look at Microsoft’s .NET powered client side technology, Silverlight, which aims to satisfy the demand for Rich Internet Applications. Jordan starts off by showing us how to get started with Silverlight development using Visual Studio from Microsoft’s Web Platform Installer, and concludes by demonstrating how to use Silverlight to access PHP based web services. As you move through the article you’ll learn how simple and practical PHP and Silverlight integration can be
More here:
A Beginner’s Guide to Silverlight with PHP
During WPF’s first version (v3, of course) we considered building a porting tool to enable WinForms developers to easily migrate to WPF. We didn’t build that migration tool because: We thought that the UI paradigm changes didn’t deserve a simple port, and believed people shouldn’t just port their battleship grey apps to WPF, but they should rethink and upgrade their user experience. We were aware of the VB6 –> WinForms converter and had the impression that it cost a bunch, but didn’t provide great customer value
Read the original post:
Software should adapt and improve when UI paradigms change – rethink, don’t just port
We got a customer question about a change in behavior between WPF 4’s Release Candidate and WPF 4’s final version (RTM). We discovered late in WPF4 a change in behavior since WPF 3.x that affected StaticResource lookup. In v3.x, we would always determine what a StaticResource resolved to (which exact value in which resource dictionary should be the answer to the {StaticResource} execution) during parse time.
Read more:
My StaticResource reference worked differently with WPF 4 RC than it does with WPF 4 RTM
The Voices That Matter: Web Design Conference is taking place in June, and I have a pair of tickets worth $1,390 to give to one lucky reader. A short conference blurb New Riders’ Voices That Matter: Web Design Conference, now in its fourth consecutive year, will take place June 28-29 in San Francisco and is well-timed to coincide with the evolving functionality in the HTML5 and CSS3 specs, the number of new ways in which people access the Web, and the rise of social media. It’s an opportunity to discuss web design’s most critical topics with industry experts
Go here to read the rest:
Voices That Matter: Web Design Conference
Its been a long time since I blogged. Primarily due to Tech Ed India, the ongoing Great Indian Developer Summit (GIDS 2010) and the related travels. However, here is a quick post with a few updates. Visual Studio 2010 RTMed in India during Tech Ed. We had the privilege of having Soma our Senior VP launch VS 2010 RTM in Bangalore, India, during Tech Ed India 2010. With that we also had Silverlight 4 getting RTMed during the same week. Earlier I had written posts around using the VS 2010 Beta, RC and the corresponding Silverlight, WCF RIA bits etc., and getting them all to work together. Now that, both VS 2010 and Silverlight have RTMed, I wanted to post a quick update on the necessary downloads. Visual Studio 2010 RTM can be downloaded from MSDN Visual Studio site If you are doing Silverlight 4 development with Visual studio, then you can download the Silverlight 4 Tools RC2 for Visual Studio Then, if you are developing with WCF RIA Services, you can download the WCF RIA Services RC 2 for SL4 and VS 2010 And finally, if you want to use WCF RIA Services in ASP.NET you would require the Domain DataSource control. Also, to use some of the additional Service Utility tools, you would require the WCF RIA Services Toolkit. You can download the same from WCF RIA Services Toolkit April 2010 Once you have installed all the above, you should be able to see the following in your add-remove programs WCF RIA Services v1.0 for Visual Studio 2010 (Version 4.0.50401.0) WCF RIA Services Toolkit (Version 4.0.50401.0) Microsoft Silverlight (Version 4.0.50401.0) Microsoft Silverlight 4 SDK (Version 4.0.50401.0) Also, you would need the Expression Blend 4 for designing the apps for Silverlight 4. You can download the release candidate from here Thats it. You are all set for development with Visual Studio 2010 and Silverlight 4, WCF RIA Services
Read more:
Visual Studio RTM, Silverlight 4 RTM and WCF RIA Services download links
I’ve just sit for ADO.NET 4.0 beta exam this last Sunday, April 11 and I really liked how the exam measure the skills that really works for me in day-to-day tasks. I think the folks in Microsoft Learning has did a good job in this version of the exam. So I though it deserves a review.
The rest is here:
TS: Accessing Data using Microsoft® .NET Framework 4.0 Beta Exam Review
Everyday stresses can build up and hang around in the back of our minds so that even when we have free time to relax and unwind, we find ourselves stressed out about all the little things that are bugging us. So today I would like to invite everyone to let go of all their frustrations and, as part of the cleansing process, tell us about the stuff that’s been driving you crazy
See the rest here:
Frustration Friday: Vent And Be Free!
What is the meaning of life ? Why are we here? What is the answer to life, the universe , everything? Have you ever asked yourself these questions? Quite probably you have. Whether you were having some kind of crises in your life, or you just like exploring your own inner existentialism, the need to know, or at least feel better, about our existence is one that has plagued mankind since the beginning of time. At least, I assume it has. It sure as hell messes with my mind. You might be thinking that I am going through a crises, since I am obviously thinking about my existence. Well, I actually do enjoy thinking about my existence, and how it fits in with the big scheme of things. Do I have any answers? Of course not. I don’t believe in definite answers, at least where existence and the meaning of life are concerned. First off I would like to say that, in the big scheme of things, we are nothing. We are next to nothing. We aren’t even dust in the wind. Think about it. Think about the immensity of the universe, of everything. Supposedly, in our galaxy, there are two hundred billion stars. Just in our galaxy. And speaking of our galaxy, scientists estimate it is about thirty kiloparsecs in diameter and about one kiloparsec thick. Now one parsec is about 3.262 light years , or 19 trillion miles. So that would make our galaxy approximately ninety-seven thousand, eight hundred and sixty light years across. Ok, now, supposedly there are one hundred and twenty-five billion galaxies in the universe. These numbers are, to me, almost completely unimaginable. These are expanses that I can scarcely even conceive
Read more here:
Existential Nonsense
For some unexplainable reason, surfing keeps finding its way into my life lately. I dreamt of surfing the other night. The following day, I sat down on the couch after straightening up our kitchen and the show Parenthood was ending by showing one of the show’s fathers sitting on a surfboard and smiling contently as he looked out to sea.
More here:
Dropping In On A Killer Surf Art Blog
If you have never used my AsyncEnumerator class (which is part of my free Power Threading library) to simplify writing code that performs asynchronous operations, then you can ignore the rest of this blog posting. I have been working with Microsoft in an attempt to add my AsyncEnumerator (or something like it) into a future version of the .NET Framework.
Karl Jo Seilern and Anton Waldburg, managing partners of theblogpaper.co.uk , seem to be swimming against the currents in the ever turbulent waters that are the publishing industry. While most print publications are moving more and more content online in order to reach an increasingly tech-savvy, internet-based and mobile readership, Seilern and Waldburg are taking blog content offline in the blogpaper–the UK’s first completely user-generated, free newspaper. When I asked the duo what the rationale was behind taking blog content offline and into print form, Waldburg told me it is simply a way to “fully satisfy the needs of a young readership.” Readers can access the blogpaper’s content online, but having a print edition gives readers another format choice and extends the reach of the blogger past online consumers to those who prefer a more traditional reader experience.
Visit link:
The Blogpaper, Moving Blogs Into Print
I have a theory about how we ended up here on Mother-Ship Earth . After all, isn’t almost everything about our precarious futures just a tad too ominous, seemingly set into a pattern of continuous lucid movement? What if every one of us had originally decided to jump onto this moving planet we call Earth
See the original post:
Would You Jump Onto A Moving Planet?
I go with Recon. M-95, extra ammo, binoculars, and that cool revolver I unlocked yesterday. Let’s do this. I drop down through the air, my parachute billowing and slowing my descent. I look down and notice a vacant tank, something Russian , like a T-90 or something, just waiting for someone to drive it. Unfortunately, another soldier, SuperPhat420 by his blue name hanging over his head, also notices it and starts steering his parachute towards it. Since he was quite a bit lower than me he gets there first. As he enters the tank its engine rumbles to life and he guns it. The big machine lurches forward, but I had timed it correctly and make it in just in time. I don’t mind not driving though. Gunning is preferable since, when the tank is inevitably destroyed, you can always blame it on the driver. I scope around.
Read more from the original source:
A BFBC2 Moment
Last night, when I should have been asleep, I was up reading some random blog posts and checking out my friends posts on Facebook and friedeggs.com . During my late night browsing session, I came across a post by SelinaJane–one of my new best buddies –about 60 Cool & Creative 404 Error Pages . If you have a chance, take a look at the post because, as the title promises, there are some really cool and creative page designs.
Read more here:
Creative Inspiration From 404 Pages & Pancakes
We have a new Lightweight Champion! Frankie Edgar defeated BJ Penn with a unanimous decision victory over the former 155lb Champion. What? Unanimous decision? Hearing the scorecards after the fight, it was hard to believe that one of the judges didn’t give any rounds to BJ. The three judges scored the bout 50-45, 49-46, and 48-47. Frankie is an excellent wrestler. Those two take-downs definitely influenced the judges in Frankie’s favor.
See the article here:
Underdog Becomes New Champion Frankie Edgar Wins at UFC 112
In the United States when a child is born with a disability and is not wanted by their own parents, the child is sent to a foster home where the family is given training on how to care for the child. There are strict requirements and the children are generally well cared for. In other countries, Haiti, Turkey and Ukraine, for example, many times when a child is born with a disability (sometimes even a minor defect such as stunted growth to an extremity) the parents are counseled to institutionalize the child, often being told that they will not be able to care for the child, or that the child will die regardless of care
See the article here:
Adopting From Abroad
As I sit here in a comfy chair at Starbucks, typing away on my laptop, I think it odd that my thoughts drift to visions of destruction and desolation. Odd because my imaginings entail the loss of pretty much everything I enjoy as I sit here: my iced mocha, the wireless internet I am using, my car outside, even the sense of safety and security that I feel. Odd also because, while I entertain notions of what it would be like, a part of me is sure that I really have no concept of what I contemplate. No frame of reference. I could assume that since I have played numerous games, seen numerous movies, and read numerous books centered on the theme of the post apocalypse that I do indeed have plenty of vicarious experience to draw upon. But how much do I really know about something if what I know is solely based on things fed to me through popular culture . Just because I have watched as many war movies as I possibly could, and read as much as I could about military engagements and what not, does not mean that I have any idea of what it truly means to be in a war. An idea, maybe, but nothing more. Something tells me that if I were really and truly there, I would not be quite so into it. And yet, this idea of the end times fascinates me. Why? What is it about the end of everything that is so alluring? Is it some kind of species awareness that makes us afraid that something may happen to wipe us from history completely? Or, is it because Hollywood just wanted to make another bad disaster movie? There are so many ways we have envisioned the demise of our species. The pole shift that will occur in 2012, that was supposedly foretold by the Mayans is a good example. It sounds really exciting. But when you really research the whole 2012 thing, you get all bogged down in Mesoamerican Long Counts, and previous worlds that have been destroyed, or were they destroyed, some say no, and after a while, you don’t even care anymore. Did you know that the Aztecs believed that there were four “Suns,” or worlds previous to this one, all of which were ultimately destroyed? Then again, the Aztecs themselves were, for the most part, destroyed by European invaders, so maybe they were on to something after all. Let’s not forget the vikings. According to Norse mythology there were a series of events, called Ragnarok , that signaled the end of the world. A great battle between the gods, followed by a bunch of natural disasters , and eventually the submersion of the world under water. Then again, of course a sea-faring people would predict that eventually the oceans would cover there lands. It just makes sense. Even Christianity has its own doomsday predictions. The rise of the Anti-Christ, followed by the return of Jesus Christ , and ultimately, Judgment Day. Or something along those lines. I’m not quite sure about the particulars, but if you are really interested you could read the Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye . I think there was even a movie starring Kirk Cameron.
See the article here:
Reflections On The End Times