So I followed to the core Phil Wickland's Hello World! Silverlight and SharePoint blog postings here:
http://philwicklund.com/default.aspx. I figured downloading all the templates for RC0 would work perfectly fine. No it did not I had to uninstall and remove all the dll files from my GAC. When I used the Silverlight 2 Beta 2 templates and information everything worked perfectly fine. So for right now do not use RC0, instead use 2 Beta 2.
After I had that issue I went through the blueprints for SharePoint and guess what. I still have issues. I tried opening up the Visual Studio 08 files and compiling them. The second project would not attach, so I could not get them to compile. I tried doing some fixes with no luck. Luckily today there is a guy at Techfest that knows some of the product team. He said if I have any more issues I can e-mail him. Has anyone out there made these work? If so, did you need to do anything special?
I'm hitting bed I barely churned this out. I think I spoke to some people on messenger barely remember what I said. Night everyone.
Thanks everyone for the encouragement...I have about three more chapters and John has about one more to write for the book (yeah I'm the slacker). At the end of the weekend early next week I'm hoping to make that two chapters and then the week after than only one...It's coming along pretty nicely. If anyone is interested in pre-ordering here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/SharePoint-2007-Disaster-Recovery-Guide/dp/1584505990/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1223191459&sr=8-1. I know that a few people had commented or e-mailed me and I never responded.
I am all over the place coming up with new things to do. I am going to be getting involved with Tech Masters in KC and ramping up on recruiting more people for the Office Geeks. I still want to do the comic and start a student initiative at a few universities in the area so that we can get more college kids involved in user groups. If anyone has talked to me I kind of want to get kids involved by doing some form of ride share program. I also want to speak at a couple universities to spread the word about user groups. I know when I was in college nobody told me about all the great community stuff. I didn't find out until sometime early on in 2007. Look at all the positive things that happened in my life:
- I quit World of Warcraft
- Got an awesome job working with the product that I love
- I'm writing a book
- I became a user group leader
- I started playing Rockband (.Net User Group Installfest was the first time I played)
- I met a lot of good people (Lee Brandt, Scott Spradlin, Paul Galvin, Rob Foster, Jeff Julian, John Alexander, Doug Butscher, Michael Lotter...)
- I spoke at a conference
- I spoke at a couple code camps
- I got to visit a couple cool places, including Maine, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Washington D.C.
I guess the only thing that sucks about this year I realized last week. To go to the code camps and conferences I had some help, but I paid for some stuff out of pocket. That meant that I had no time to visit St. Louis once a month, so I went every three months or so. I kind of lost a lot of time with my friends. I kept in touch somewhat on the phone and im, but it's just not the same as I saw last week when I went to St. Louis. I miss Leah the most. We were both kind of the outcasts from high school. I guess what I learned the most this past year is that you need to find the group of people where you fit in. I feel like I fit in within the SharePoint Community and it's kind of nice. I don't regret anything I did this past year. I will probably do even more later on this year and in the upcoming year. I am going to try to at least speak once a month in 2009. I want to try and speak at two conferences and maybe 10 code camps or user groups. After the book is finished I am going to start working on my comic, the college student user group stuff, and then maybe help out with some ISPA stuff.
As for speaking engagements I am attending Tulsa Techfest next week (two cans of food a day or $2 and you get to see me speak twice, plus Michael Lotter and the SharePoint Cowboy, Eric Shupps). I am trying to get into the Tampa Code Camp and Raleigh Code Camps in November and December. I am going to try to hit up the Jacksonville Office Geeks in February and maybe the Best Practices Conference (if I get in that means I'm down one conference and need to find another). If anyone has a good idea for a speaking engagement let me know. I like to hit code camps in areas that I love or areas that I have never been. One of my best friends really wants me in Salt Lake City next year and another one wants me to go to Portland. I have never been to either state. Anyway, I know the really cool code samples have been light lately. I should have something in the next few weeks in store with my Silverlight and AJAX Demos. If not I'll try and play around with some stuff for fun. I get a little antsy if I don't touch code for too long. I'll catch you all later.
I need to give a shout out to the SharePoint Pod Show, because it is another resource you guys could utilize aside from blogs. It is an entire podcast dedicated to SharePoint. Here is the URL:
http://www.sharepointpodshow.com. So far they have an interview with Eric Shupps, one with Robert Bogue, and an old interview with Patrick Tisseghem. They cover such topics as governance, design for performance, and enterprise search. I think that Rob Foster has a really good speaking presence and for anyone discouraged by sound quality rumors they just upgraded there equipment. So seriously why not download the seven podcasts?
SQL Server 2008 and Office
Presented: Brian Laird Sponsor: Power I.T. Corporation- Food Provider for the Meeting
Date: Thursday, October 2nd(Each meeting will be on the 1st Thursday of the month)
Time: Food at 5:45pm; Presentation from 6:15pm - 7:00pm
Location: Centriq Foss Training 8700 State Line Road, Suite 200 Leawood, KS 66206
Phone: 913-322-7000
Description: Discussion regarding performance and functionality enhancements in SQL Server 2008 and how they affect Office applications. Examples will show new reporting services features and office integration.
Bio: Brian has been working with Microsoft applications since the dirty days of ASP 3.0 and SQL Server 6.5. He's played nearly every role in the project life cycle but prefers code over anything else. He currently contracts with Power IT corporation for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County / Kansas City Kansas.
Sponsor Information: Power I.T. Corporation is a leading provider of strategic staffing for the Information Technology community in the Kansas City metro area. We leverage our ability to attract and recruit the top talent in the industry to offer a wide array of I.T. services including contracting, contract for hire and permanent placement to the communities we serve. With over 40 years of internal experience providing and exceeding expectations of both clients and employees, Power I.T. has become the staffing firm of choice for many of our clients the past 5 years. Power I.T. is very proud of its record of customer service. We regard our quality search philosophy and quick response as the first important measure of our service.
So above is the really generic information and now I'm going to explain why you guys need to come to this meeting. Brian is awesome and smart and it's his first talk. He needs people to root him on. He's talking about SQL Server 2008 and Office Systems. Some stuff about Reporting Services and some stuff about SharePoint. It will be good content for those of you looking to move from 05 to 08. Not convinced yet?
<subliminal messages> Come to KC Office Geeks Meeting </end subliminal messages>
Also if you want to plan ahead we have a great talk next month about SharePoint Patches by the infamous JD Wade from St. Louis. The next month after WSS MVP, Darrin Bishop will be talking about ECM...That should about cover the year. I hope to see all you Kansas and Missouri Devs.
A couple people in the community have heard me complain a lot about my best friend's wedding. I was hoping I could get a get out of jail free card by not being in the wedding, but several months ago I got sucked in with everyone else. I have known Leah for about 8 years. We went to high school together, but did not start hanging out until my senior prom (her junior prom). That was the first time I stayed at her house. Little did I know it was the beginning of a very long and successful friendship. We have cried on each others shoulders numerous amounts of times. She knows me better than anyone else. I am not the type of person who will share their feelings readily as most of my friends know. Leah is the exception and when I moved last year it was hard, because that was around the time she started to plan her wedding. She had to do it all on her own. That was also around a time when we were starting to grow apart, not only because of the move, but because she was just so busy. Somehow we managed to keep it together, but that was also a reason I was dead sure she would not include me in the wedding. I was kind of in this I'm hurt that you did not ask me, but I kind of understand what is going on mode at that point in time. I was like I'll attend the wedding and I'll be completely relieved not to be in the wedding. So around early to mid this year something weird happened and Jason, Leah's fiancee, decides he's going to have a Rockband Party and pick his wedding party. Somehow I got invited to this party. I called up Jason and asked what's going on why am I invited? He tells me that he thinks I should be in the wedding, because I am like a family friend since I have known him for three years I'm like a pretty good friend (dude helped me sand and re-coat my kitchen chairs). I was pretty honored and I was happy I would wear a tux and not some ugly bridesmaid dress. The party happened and we had a good time playing Rockband. I get a call a bit later on in the week...Turns out Leah was pretty jealous and wanted me on her side in the wedding. Everytime I think about this moment I want to cry. Despite, everything that happened she still wanted me on her side of the wedding. So she tells me the dress color is at David's Bridal...Clover Green...I decided ok let's look on the internet this can't be as bad as it sounds...Please it really can't, right? It was pretty bad. I was like she asked me I need to not complain really really hard not complain. I couldn't do it. I told her who picked this color you know I hate the color green. She tells me Jason picked the color. So everywhere I go for several months I tell people about the infamously scary colored bridesmaid dress. It was really not as bad as I talked about. I looked pretty good and my hair was completely straight. Leah finally got the wedding she deserved to have her entire life. Things turned out pretty well and I am selling the dress on Ebay. So for all of you who were curious here is a link to the clover green bridesmaid dress:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mosslover/2878142908/.
I was using VPC 2007 on Windows Vista Ultimate 32 bit for the first time last week. I was creating some user documentation for my new job. I noticed that even with sharing turned on for my C Drive I could not save any files from the VPC to my C Drive. I heard there was really no Vista and VPC 2007 support, so I decided to start experimenting as per usual (don't try this at home I have broken more VPC's than anyone within the SharePoint Community I bet). So I found this Public area on the C Drive under the Users. I saved the file in that directory and it actually worked. I am assuming that there is some kind of security issue with Vista and Virtual PC 2007. I know the security is a little wacky. I hope this helps someone out there. I will try to post little snippets from my trials a bit more in the next few weeks.
I started my new job at B&R Business Solutions this week and met some pretty good people (Nas Ali, Chris Regan, and Nick Gallo). It was a lot of days of bad sleep due to some early on health issues with my boyfriend and then later on me falling asleep at odd hours. It was definitely a change of pace, but I liked it. I was actually surrounded by SharePoint People. I felt like I was not a Klingon working on Earth (for lack of a better analogy). It feels like this job will stick for a while. I also loved not being in the Midwest. I don't hate the Midwest. I needed a change of pace and this is it. It's great. As time passes I'll figure it all out of from here. I am so excited.
Also, for those of you concerned in Kansas City/St. Louis, I am not gone entirely. I still live in Olathe. I will continue to run the Office Geeks, which is one of my most favorite things to do. I will be at Coders 4 Charity and hopefully, I will help Lee get a code camp together next year. Don't expect me to stay here forever, but I'll try to stay here for at least another year or so.
So now I need to get back to documenting...
It's been a crazy ride over the past year and a half working at Terracon as the SharePoint Guru (that's what they started to call me because I fulfilled so many different roles). My last day was a little hectic yesterday, because I decided to stay and hang out with my friend Julie F. I like clothes shopping every so often and I heard there was this awesome JCPenney Outlet on 75th street. She had some insane ticket, so I figured if I wait until 5 p.m. everything would get straightened out. It turns out the wait cost me my freedom for another hour. There was a Tornado Warning and one of the managers told us we all had to go down to the basement. So I ended up in the basement sitting with a bunch of Terracon and Garmin Helpcenter Employees, until 6 pm rolled around and tornadoes decided to head elsewhere. One hour later we finally ended up eating and hitting up the outlet plus Kohl's. Needless to say by the end of the day my pocket book was about $250 lighter....
So some of you know where I am heading next and some of you have no idea. If you don't know I am going to work mostly remote from Kansas City for B&R Solutions, where Chris Regan, Jason Medero, Bob Fox, and my favorite person, Michael Lotter work. I have talked to both Chris and Michael and it sounds like I'm in for something very different than the usual. I don't know if I will regret this move later on, but who cares. I get to stay in charge of the KC Office Geeks and I get to work with SharePoint and travel to the east coast without actually moving. I finally made a decision outside of my comfort zone. It looks like little Becky is finally growing up and entering the big leagues. Look to blog for more interesting posts starting next week (I hope)...
Also, I noticed another 10 of you crazy people signed up for my blog...Welcome...
Exploring VSTO with Visual Studio 2008
Presented: Dennis Bottjer
Sponsor: Power I.T. Corporation- Food Provider for the Meeting
Date: Thursday, September 4th (Each meeting will be on the 1st Thursday of the month)
Time: Food at 5:30pm; Presentation from 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Location: Centriq Foss Training 8700 State Line Road, Suite 200 Leawood, KS 66206
Phone: 913-322-7000
Description: An introduction to the Visual Studio Tools for Office templates included with Visual Studio 2008. This presentation will begin by explaining what VSTO is and where it came from. Next, we will then look at several VSTO code examples. Finally, we will conclude the presentation with additional resources and a look into VSTO's Future. Bio: Dennis J. Bottjer is a Software Solutions Architect, for Microsoft Gold Partner SpringPoint Technologies, in Tulsa, OK. He is a Microsoft ASP/ASP.NET MVP. He previously worked for one of the largest US based Financial Services Companies on the FORTUNE 100. He has an undergraduate degree in Management Information Systems from the University of Oklahoma. Dennis served for two years as the President of the Jacksonville Developers User Group. Sponsor Information: Power I.T. Corporation is a leading provider of strategic staffing for the Information Technology community in the Kansas City metro area. We leverage our ability to attract and recruit the top talent in the industry to offer a wide array of I.T. services including contracting, contract for hire and permanent placement to the communities we serve. With over 40 years of internal experience providing and exceeding expectations of both clients and employees, Power I.T. has become the staffing firm of choice for many of our clients the past 5 years. Power I.T. is very proud of its record of customer service. We regard our quality search philosophy and quick response as the first important measure of our service.
I know a lot of people are intersted in VSTO in Kansas City. That is why I asked Dennis to come out here. I know we can fill the room this time. Seriously come on Kansas City...
I know I have been really silent and I am not usually this silent. I have not really had a substantially awesome blog entry in a while. Well that is due to some trips, some changes, some book writing, and some life events. First off here is my Flickr Url http://www.flickr.com/photos/mosslover/, so I don't have to embed a ton of pictures. My New York Pictures will be up tomorrow or the next day, but the Maine/New England ones are already up. You can see the beauty of Acadia National Park. I would say those pictures are far superior to the five billion Statue of Liberty and Manhattan/Brooklyn Pictures. I really have no idea which place I loved better. Both had there strong points and there beauty. I would say Maine was kind of that outdoorsy natural beauty that you get due to all the trees and mountains. Brooklyn just had this vibe that I felt from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. This was my first New York Trip sans my parents. The Maine trip was really my first trip where I was heading to just visit a place without necessarily visiting people. I had to do all the trips that I have done to get to this point in my life. To realize that if you are not happy with something, then you really need to go out and change it. So as you know I started out with MOSS Camp in St. Louis, then I ended up at School of Dev in Tulsa and then the Regional SharePoint Conference in D.C. These are all places that I have been, so nothing really spectacular. Finally that takes me to Hartford Code Camp and Maine. That was like a new endeavor a new experience. It was like a new chapter in my life. The chapter where I go out and take charge of what I want. The chapter where I finally go out and travel to places new. I know that I have been to New York City, but it is an entirely different experience going to Manhattan for a day trip three or four times with your parents as a teenager/early twenty-something. I am a lot older, 26, and my take on life is a little different. I had a lot of growing up to do from the age of 16 when I first visited New York to the age of 26 that I am now. I feel like I enjoy things a little bit more. I guess getting away from home makes that possible. There is a lot of baggage that comes with my parents that I won't touch on this blog in detail ever. Plus it helps to meet a lot of good people. I met a really cool guy from German over the weekend, Tim, my friend Julia's cousin he told me all these great stories about Germany. We compared a lot of cultural differences here versus Germany and discussed some stereotypes we each had. He invited me to visit his home in Germany and I am going to try and do that next year. I have always wanted to go to Europe and there have been about three times I chickened out. Johnny and I have decided to fly into London next year and take the train around Europe. No tour just the two of us, maybe a Frommer's Guide, and the destinations we want to go to on specific days. But I digress as usual...So I met someone else over the weekend that really affected me. That made me really think based on her experiences. I can't really go into detail it was very personal some of the stuff she told me. I am hoping I get to see her again, but I really will never know like I still have no idea how she will affect my decisions in life in the future. So from that I can say the people were awesome. Now for the actual wedding part I will say it was interesting. My friends got married in a Vegan Restaurant. It was simple and it was different. I want that in life. It kind of made me realize when I do get married in a few years how it's going to be and what it's going to be like. It's really weird how stuff like that can affect you. Anyway, so that's the trip part...Overall I had good times in both places...The Maine stuff you can really see in the pictures I won't get into too much details over those.
So here is the big news, I put in my resignation to Terracon and I accepted a new job. I really don't want to say anything until I start. I know some of you out there know and others don't. I'm not trying to mess with anyone's head. I don't like mind games myself. I just don't want to jinx anything for the next two weeks. I start the new job on September 15th, so that is when I will create a blog post. Anyway, I am very tired and I want to see another episode of House and write some more stuff for the book. So if you want as usual leave comments, questions, or whatever you want. I'll try and respond in a timely fashion. Later guys.