Wonderful Tool for Web Developers

... and it's free!

A friend just directed me to this great toolbar for web developers provided by the National Information Library Service in Australia. Although the toolbar is meant to assist developers to create pages that are useable by people with disabilities, the functions it provides are extremely useful to any developer.

Get it here: Web Accessibility Toolbar - Functions.

Very Practical Advise On Testing Resource Pools

Martin Fowler is one of the most practical people in the field of software writing: TestingResourcePools.

Another Blow To Piracy

The MPAA wins another case against pirates

Don't you hate waiting?

Well it's still "almost" here: XP SP2 out to Manufacturers.

Excellent Open Source Blog Software

I came across DotText or .Text and decided to try it out on my local IIS at work. I'm using it to help me keep track of the various projects I'm working on. At the end of the day I make an entry to tell myself where I'm at and where various files are that I'm working on. I also make entries when I come across things I want to make a note of for the future (like that Visual Studio "repair" problem a few posts ago). The posts are stored in my local SQL Server so I can do queries against it to easily find stuff.

So far it is working very well. You can download source code or binaries from GotDotNet - .Text Home. (Warning: the server is sometimes slow, so be patient.)

Shouldn't be long now

The long awaited Service Pack 2 for Windows XP will be here soon, honest. Just don't hold your breath.

Major Microsoft Windows Update to Debut After Delay

Permissions Problem when reinstalling or repairing Visual Studio 2003

I ran the "repair" on VS.NET 2003 on a Windows 2000 machine and afterwards got an error when I tried to open or create a web application.

Error Message:

The default Web access mode for this project is set to file share, but the project folder at 'http://localhost/appname' cannot be opened with the path 'd:\inetpub\wwwroot\appname'. The error returned was:
Unable to create Web project 'appname'. Unable to create the Web location 'd:\inetpub\wwwroot\appname'. Access is denied.

Solution:

The ASPNET user has permission to the d:\inetpub\wwwroot but the permission is not inherited.

Go to the folder in Win Explorer, right-click and select Properties then Security. Select the "ASP.NET Machine Account". At the bottom of the tab check "Allow inheritable permissions from parent to propagate to this object" and click OK.

Martin Fowler Hits the Nail on the Head Again

Martin Fowler is the most practical writer in the field of software development that I've come across. His article Prefer Functional Staff Organization once again proves that he can observe and make logical conclusions from what he sees.

The President is taking Psychiatric Drugs

Capitol Hill Blue: Bush Using Drugs to Control Depression, Erratic Behavior

This coming election is going to be a joke - not a funny one.

Regular Expression Reference

I just found an excellent site dedicated to regular expressions: Regular-Expressions.info - Regex Tutorial, Examples and Reference - Regexp Patterns.

I found it while searching for a regex to validate a date: Regular Expression Matching a Valid Date.