Morning Compilation

Help Files (.chm files) Displaying No Content? Here is the fix!

2008-08-02T10:11:18.7605450-07:00

Spent the morning trying to figure out why my Application Block help file (.chm) was not displaying content. Needless to say, I went down several rabbit holes on the Internet (web pages that did not yield a solution).

If you download a help file (.chm) and then open the file you may get a warning message - but this is not a clear message to what the problem is. When the application comes up, the content pain says something to the effect that it cannot display the page. There is nothing to indicate how to fix the problem.

So, here it is. CHM (help files) that are downloaded are blocked - and you have to "unblock" them. They were blocked by a security update. So, downloaded CHM files have the blocked attribute set. If you select on the file's properties you can change this behavior by selecting the "unblock" button.

Rob Caron has short discussion with screen shots here.

WCF and WF working together in harmony

2008-07-23T04:52:28.7640000-07:00

Vishwas Lele gave an excellent presentation at CAPAREA last night on bringing together Windows Communication Framework and Workflow Framework. Vishwas is the CTO at AIS and also the Microsoft Regional Director for the Washington, DC, area.

One of the interesting suggestions for why you would want to do this is that the technology lets you chain together web services in a workflow so that the service calls occur in a proper order. Web services by themselves are inherently stateless - unless you build the infrastructure to manage state in them. But with WCF and WF, combining these two technologies together you get that infrastructure right out of the box.

Report from the Summer Regional SharePoint Conference (Metro DC)

2008-06-30T08:54:12.9770000-07:00

Kudos to Gary Blatt, and his staff, of the SharePoint User Group of Washington DC. He put on a great two-day SharePoint conference (Second Annual Regional SharePoint Conference). It was attended by over 180 practitioners, developers, managers, designers, implementers, speakers, and sponsors. The sponsor/vendor attendance was quite impressive.

I particularly enjoyed the presentations by (in no particular order) Sahil Malik, Melvin Brown and Kevin Hans, Vanessa Williams, Ed Hild, and Greg Galipeau. And, of course, Gary. He's the only speaker that did not need a microphone.

Besides the technical presentations, I was particularly interested in what speakers as Melvin Brown, the KSN Program Manager at FAA, which received Excellence.Gov awards for demonstrating excellence in leveraging technology to enhance collaboration.

Many SharePoint implementers and practioners commented on the fact that SharePoint is much more than a technology, it is an enabler for collaboration. Several tips were suggested for getting users to participate, some quite ingenious, such as:

Not allowing users to attach documents to emails
Not allowing users to use email (radical)
Turning off the corporate shared drive

The conference was Not-For-Profit, and Gary used the proceeds to donate a sizeable check to the Children's Miracle Network! Good job Gary.

What should SharePoint Developers in DC Get Paid?

2008-06-28T18:20:07.8490000-07:00

Guess what? Software jobs are still very much in demand in the Washington DC. Microsoft SharePoint 2007 MOSS Developers and Architects are hot in the DC area. Recruiters and high-tech companies cannot find enough of them. This information was recently announced and discussed by top tech company representatives and recruiters at the SUGDC SharePoint conference (June 27-28).

So, if you are a top flight developer for SharePoint, what should you be getting for a salary in the DC area? Of course, many will tell you that you should get what ever the market will bare based on your skills - but that does not give most people a framework to base their compensation request on. If you are into SharePoint development and implementation, then now is your time and you should seize the moment.

But be aware that most companies have managers and administrators that not only do not have a clue as to what it takes to be a software architect or sharepoint developer, but they also do not have the slightest clue what they should be paying someone with the skills they typically ask their recruiters to find and hire.

So, let me try in my way to educate those that are looking and those that are hiring.

First, forget the average salaries hiring managers. As I said, these skills are hot. If managers are offering average compensation, my advice is to the qualified job seeker is to walk away - because they are either cheap bastards, or not smart enough to know that there is a tremendous shortage of skilled SharePoint developers, and either way you don't want to work for them.

Anyone getting hired based on or below the average salaries for 2007 is one of the following:

Not aware of what their skills are worth.
Not really skilled in the area of MOSS SharePoint development but willing to get their foot in the door based on some skill set which is either not development or not SharePoint development. Good luck.

Now - if you can justify your skill set, then you should be getting the best salary you can because companies are going begging for software developers. And, another interesting trend is that this demand is not (nor cannot) be satisfied by off-shore development companies. To do the best job of developing and implementing SharePoint, companies need their developers on site and/or in town. So, this demand cannot be satisfied by outsourcing. That is another good trend for local developers.

I based the below salaries using the indeed.com's salary search for the Reston, Washington DC, and Vienna areas (enter SharePoint Moss and a Zipcode to find a range). In addition, I have projected what jobs with clearances should go for based on an increase in compensation for the clearance type (5% for Secret, and 20% for TS) using relationships and information from ClearanceJobs.com's white paper on salaries.

Job Position and Projected Salaries

Experienced SharePoint MOSS 2007 Architect with .NET Framework 3.5 (should be $10k more than base developer):	$145,000.00
Experienced SharePoint 2007 Developer with 2 years SharePoint development and 5 years or more of .Net 2.0 Development:	$135,000.00
Experienced SharePoint Developer with SECRET Clearance (worth 5% more than base):	$142,000.00
Experienced SharePoint Developer with TOP SECRET Clearance (20% over base):	$162,000.00

SharePoint 2007 Conference at Dulles, Virginia

2008-06-25T08:18:22.1752214-07:00

SUGDC Summer Regional SharePoint Conference will be held on June 27-28 (Friday-Saturday) in Dulles Virginia at the Dulles Airport Holiday Inn.

Below is Gary Blatt's announcement, and, Yes, I will be attending! Gary informed me that they have a sizeable number of people registered. If you are interested in attending, better sign up quick.

Dear Colleague,

The SharePoint Users Group of Northern VA is proud to announce the event of the season! As a follow up to our very successful event last year, we are producing another Regional SharePoint Users conference. On Friday June 27th and Saturday 28th, we will be hosting a conference for users and by users. The event will be held at the Holiday Inn in Dulles, who has provided very reasonable rates for our out of town guests.

Breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack for both days will be included. The presenters will all be users selected from within the community to share their hands-on real world experiences with SharePoint. Oh yea, the proceeds will go to the Children's Miracle Network ( http://www.childrensmiraclenetwork.org/ ).

We have put together a great line up of speakers with a total of three tracks:

1. SP Development and Design [SP Developers],

2. SP Administration [New and Experienced SP Administrators], and

3. SP Management and Governance [Business Unit Managers, Users, and SP Project Managers].

As always, there will be cross-pollination between and among tracks.

In addition we have brought together a great group of sponsors including:

1) Premiere - AvePoint

2) Platinum - Susquehanna Technologies

3) Platinum – I3 Solutions

Please register early as we expect this event to sellout. Remember, it is only $200 if you register and pay using the code SUGDC.

For full details, please visit the SUGDC Conference page.

Thanks,

Gary Blatt
President/Founder
SharePoint Users Group of NoVA

**************************

Much ado about nothing...

2008-06-06T05:48:57.4350000-07:00

First, I want to recommend the following article by a meteorologist who "gets it". Brian Sussman does an excellent job of putting the global warming facts in perspective in this article entitled Global Whining vs. the Truth.

In his article he references best-selling author Michael Crichton, which I am placing verbatim because it provides a powerful perspective on the size of the issue!

In his must-read eco-thriller, State of Fear, Michael Crichton creates a brilliant visual to assist us in wrapping our minds around the components of Earth's atmosphere. On page 387, he likens the atmosphere to a football field. The goal line to the 78 yard-line contains nothing but nitrogen. Oxygen fills the next 21 yards to the 99 yard-line. The final yard, except for four inches, is argon, a wonderfully mysterious inert gas useful for putting out electronic fires. Three of the remaining four inches is crammed with a variety of minor, but essential, gases like neon, helium, hydrogen and methane. And the last inch? Carbon dioxide. One inch out of a hundred-yard field! At this point I like to add, if you were in the stands looking down on the action, you would need binoculars to see the width of that line. And the most important point-how much of that last inch is contributed by man-made activities? Envision a line about as thin as a dime standing on edge.

Are you still worried about the dangers of CO2?

Perhaps you still believe in Global Warming. And perhaps you believe in the Easter Bunny, too. My recommendation is to stick with the Easter Bunny, because no politician has figured out how to get money out of your wallet over that.

In case you want a perspective on what your scientific ignorance or political leanings is going to cost you (not the oil companies, power companies, etc.), here is a headline that should shock you into thinking a little more about what you could be facing with regards to cleaning up a phantom problem would be:

$45 trillion needed to combat warming

Capital Area DNN User Group Special Event: DotNetNuke WAP Module Development Overview

2008-05-14T07:26:55.1350000-07:00

We have Chris Hammond coming to talk with us at the Capital Area DotNetNuke User Group (http://www.capitaldug.org) meeting this coming Wednesday, May 21st. Chris is a core team member of the DotNetNuke development team.

This will be a great meeting for those interested in developing DotNetNuke Modules!

The meeting starts at 7pm at the ATT offices in Tysons Corner, in Vienna, Virginia.

Are the oceans cooling?

2008-04-26T03:58:06.9950000-07:00

I suppose they are teaching the scientific method still in school, but I guess they just do not teach it in journalistic schools. Why would I say that? Because of Global Warming, or lack thereof.

Using the scientific method, you have a theory from which you derive hypotheses. You test your hypothesis through observations (often by means of an experiment). The observation either supports or disproves your hypothesis. At some point, if a confluence of observations and experiments disprove your hypotheses, then you must consider that your theory is wrong. Wiki gives a very good synopsis of the Scientific Method, including the quote, “Belief can alter observations; those with a particular belief will often see things as reinforcing their belief, even if they do not.” Read the article below and see if you do not come away thinking, as I do, that the scientists are taking their own negative observations and using them to reinforce their belief in global warming.

And I love this quote by Einstein, “No amount of experimentation can ever prove me right; a single experiment can prove me wrong.” Einstein was a real scientist (not a politician), and a statement like this says that he could accept that his theories could be wrong if the observations did not support them.

So, here is another chink the armor of the theory of anthropomorphic global warming. Another experiment where the observations just do not fit. The World’s oceans have not warmed up over the last five years, according to NASA scientists that are running some very sophisticated tests. In fact, they say that the oceans have cooled slightly during that time.

The Mystery of Global Warming's Missing Heat , by NPR.

At some point, there may come a day of reckoning when the media looks back and realizes that a group of scientists proposed a theory that was based on bad math and not supported by observations, but that it because a political expediency allowing politicians, celebrities, governments, and businesses to use this so called crisis to their own advantages. Unfortunately, the press will not likely hold their own selves accountable.

Of course, many people with limited background in sciences and mathematics have already made up their minds, which is clearly evident when you read statements like this, “Personally, it seems to me that science has proven beyond any reasonable doubt that human activity increases global warming.” Do you think they may change their opinion after reading the above article? My theory of human behavior says that it is not likely.

Getting the DLLs out of the GAC

2008-04-13T08:25:15.1970000-07:00

I need to have access to the Microsoft Office Interop files which are typically installed in the GAC. You cannot just reach in and copy these out like normal files, but look down at Matthew Cosier's entry on this site for a workable solution.

SharePoint Tip: Where to find the SharePoint Assemblies for development

Thanks to Kim at JHHC for suggesting that it could be done fairly easily. As ususal, she was right.

NovaCodeCamp SOUTH SSIS Presentation Files

2008-04-07T05:38:47.0907564-07:00

For those that are interested, I have a zip file that contains the presentation and project files from my SSIS tutorial presentation.

SSISPresent_NovaCodeCampSouthMar2008.zip (1.77 MB)

I was shocked....SHOCKED...to realize that an hour and 15 minutes is not enough time to cover this material. Seriously, a minimum of 2 hours is required to get a good understanding of the basics of SSIS. A good understanding of SQL Server 2005 and Visual Studio 2005 is recommended.

Learning Tree uses an entire week to cover the material, but the end result of their hands on training is that you walk out being able to practically apply SSIS immediately on the job.