I recently attended a one-day technical briefing regarding the status of Microsoft’s Indigo platform. Indigo is the code name for Microsoft’s next technology offering for developing distributed applications and Web Services on the .NET platform and is currently in the early stage of the beta process.  Read more ...

The primary goal of SQL Server 2005 Business Intelligence is to improve your organization by providing relevant information from disparate data sources in a timely manner. This allows you to make better, faster, and more informed decisions. It also allows you to analyze the affects of these decisions based on information rather that instinct.  Read more ...

There's a widely-held belief in the Microsoft development community that InfoPath forms development requires little or no development effort. Granted, building the simplest data entry form with InfoPath requires no coding and is little more than a "drag-and-drop" exercise. However, to reap the full benefits of InfoPath such as SharePoint, BizTalk, and Web Services integration requires custom programming and specialized knowledge in the following areas:   Read more ...

Currently, there are many disparate tools available for managing the software development life cycle. Examples include Microsoft's Visual SourceSafe for source code control, third-party tools for automating unit and load testing, automated build environments for automating the software build process, and diagramming tools for creating object models and database entity/relationship diagrams. However, it is often difficult and time consuming to integrate these tools into a unified development environment. Microsoft's Visual Studio 2005 Team Services, currently in beta and scheduled for release later this year, provides a unified environment for managing the software development life cycle by integrating an array of extensible tools that manage all phases of the software life cycle (not just source code control) into a standard IDE.  Read more ...

Recently, a number of our clients have asked us about SQL Server 2005 and its highly-touted Common Language Runtime (CLR) support. Based on many of these conversations, there appears to be significant misinformation surrounding this next version of SQL Server. This article will address the most commonly-asked questions and concerns.  Read more ...

Lately, many of our clients have asked us what InfoPath is all about, and how they can effectively use InfoPath in their organization. We've compiled the "top-ten" list of frequently-asked questions:  Read more ...

The next version of Microsoft SQL Server, SQL Server 2005, is currently in beta and scheduled for release in early 2005. Improvements in SQL Server 2005 are focused on business intelligence, developer productivity, and enterprise data management. The following is a list of features that we have found to be most compelling to our current development projects:  Read more ...

For those of you who have not upgraded to Exchange 2003, there are many reasons to consider it. While there are several new features, the security enhancements and new Outlook Web Access (OWA) are the most compelling.  This article will detail some of the key enhancements.   Read more ...

Last month, we began the first of a two-part series on the top ten Visual Studio 2005 Enhancements for Windows forms development. Here are the remaining features that we have found to be most compelling:  Read more ...

We’ve been providing feedback to the Windows Forms and Client Data development teams at Microsoft regarding the next release of the Visual Studio IDE, named Visual Studio 2005, and codenamed “Whidbey”. From our experience with the alpha versions of Visual Studio 2005, the overall theme is definitely improving developer productivity; doing more with fewer mouse-clicks and by writing less code. The following is the first half of a “top-ten” list of features that we have found to be most compelling to our current development projects:  Read more ...

Live Communications Server allows users in your domain to collaborate using Instant Messenger. It also provides user presence information and instant event notifications. However, installing Live Communications Server requires careful planning and multiple steps, even in a small to moderately-sized enterprise.  Read more ...

There are many compelling reasons for introducing Windows Server 2003 into your organization. Perhaps you’ve heard about great new file and print service features such as Automated System Recovery (ASR), which allows for easier file backup and system recovery, or the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS), that allows users to quickly recover lost files without intervention by IT personnel. Perhaps you’d like to take advantage of new features in Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 such as Worker Process Isolation Mode. Or, perhaps you’d like to deploy newer versions of applications such as Exchange Server 2003 or Office SharePoint Services that require Windows Server 2003 as the operating system. Whatever the reason, introducing Windows Server 2003 need not be a risky, time-consuming endeavor that results in downtime for your users.   Read more ...