Aaron Stanley King

Windows 8 Consumer Preview

2012-02-29T19:13:00.001-08:00

I downloaded the developer preview months ago and put it on an old laptop. It was fun but really testy. A few weeks ago I purchased a Acer Iconia Tab W500 from the Microsoft Store for $399. It’s a 1 GHz dual core tablet with a 32GB SSD. It came with Windows 7 on it. I put the developer preview on it, much better but prone to crashes.

This morning I downloaded the Windows 8 Consumer Preview. It’s even better. I’m actually in love with it. It takes some getting used to with the way the settings menu and apps work together. Performance is awesome. I’ve gotten about 6 hours out of the battery. With 7, battery life was about 3 hours.

What I want:

Office 15

Better People Tile
Better Reader

I have tons of motivation to work on cool Metro apps now though so you’ll see more from me about Windows 8.

IndyPASS presentation October 18th, 2011

2011-10-04T10:03:00.001-07:00

A complete BI solution in about an hour!

In this presentation I’ll cover how to collect data from multiple SQL Servers using SQL Server 2008 Integration Services (SSIS). Then we will use SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) to report detail on that data. After that we will use SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) to create a KPI. Finally we’ll present that KPI on a dashboard via a web page. The goal of this presentation is to show how seamless the Microsoft Business Intelligence products are. If you’ve only used a few of these products, you’ll appreciate seeing them together all at once. Code will be provided.

Please follow @IndyPASS and check them out online and on LinkedIn and Facebook!

The WoundVision Solution Video

2011-05-31T13:54:00.001-07:00

WoundVision put together this great video. I just wanted to share. A lot of people ask me about where I work. Here’s the super bowl commercial version of WoundVision.

What’s on my Zune?

2011-05-17T06:08:00.001-07:00

The other day in front of about 100 of my closest friends, I was asked about what podcasts I listen to. I was at the monthly IndyNDA meeting. I drew a complete blank. My Zune was in the car. So here is what is currently synced.

.NET Rocks! - .NET Rocks! is a weekly talk show for anyone interested in programming on the Microsoft .NET platform. The shows range from introductory information to hardcore geekiness.
Deep Fried Bytes - Deep Fried Bytes is an audio talk show with a Southern flavor hosted by technologists and developers Keith Elder and Chris Woodruff. The show discusses a wide range of topics including application development, operating systems and technology in general. Anything is fair game if it plugs into the wall or takes a battery.
The Smackdown - Developer Smackdown was started in early 2009 by Clark Sell and Mark Nichols. They published our first show that June and have tried to publish at least 2 shows a month since. To date they have seen positive growth quarter over quarter.
The Thirsty Developer - A podcast with Microsoft Developer Evangelist, Dave Bost and Clark Sell.
This Developer’s Life – A podcast where stories are told about things technical and not so technical. It’s hosted by Rob Conery and Scott Hanselman.

You’ll also notice This American Life. It’s not a developer podcast but still entertaining. I try to keep myself well rounded but stay away from all the politics that are in so many podcasts these days.

I didn’t write the descriptions for these podcasts. Like a script junkie, I copied and pasted them from Bing.

We're looking for a full-time Web Developer

2011-05-11T07:39:00.001-07:00

http://woundvision.com

http://www.flickr.com/photos/woundvision/

Apply here: http://cb.com/WoundVisionJob

Description

Searching for dynamic, team oriented, software engineers who would like to be a part of a groundbreaking healthcare company. WoundVision is a startup healthcare IT company that is introducing new wound care technology that will assist facilities with early wound detection and intervention. This position will be helping to build and continually improve the WoundVision iNSIGHT software that will be used in hospitals, nursing homes, LTAC facilities, and homecare.

Requirements

5+ years overall experience
team experience developing large scale data driven commercial Internet web sites using Microsoft technologies
Require C# in ASP.Net/IIS environment (.Net 3.5/4.0)
Must have strong SQL skills, LINQ experience, and be familiar with the MS SQL Server environment
Strong browser side skills including JavaScript, JQuery, Silverlight, XML, etc.
Production experience with Telerik RadControls (ASP.Net, AJAX, Reports)
Familiar with the Team Foundation Server environment
Experience with web services
Experience developing medical software a big plus

XNA and Silverlight

2011-04-21T06:28:00.001-07:00

Recently I was asked to give an XNA talk to a WPF/Silverlight user group. I jumped at the chance. It was interesting trying to think of XNA and the web. There is a great library called Silversprite that helps make XNA work on the web, so the heavy lifting is already done. It uses some code from MonoXNA, which I’ve already spoken about in the past.

XNA, in my humble opinion, is the best framework for game development. Hopefully my opinions, experiences, and not my coding skills were of great use to the guys up in Cleveland. It’s a great user group and if you are ever up in northern Ohio you should check it out.

http://www.clevelandwpf.info/

AT&T Finally Delivered!

2011-04-20T09:06:00.001-07:00

I received the February and March updates to my Samsung Focus today. I did have to use the recover tool to get the February update to start. I got the dreaded time out message. I guess resetting some settings is all that was needed. I did not jailbreak my phone so I’m not sure why the recovery tool was necessary, but the tool checks several things.

So far, I like the way copy and paste is working. My Google accounts do seem to be syncing better and the live tiles are more lively. Especially the People tile, it’s now blinking more often. I think that has to do with the better Facebook support. I’m on Twitter more though, so native support for that would be nice to have in the next update.

All in all the update experience was wonderful, Microsoft did their job. AT&T, not so much.

Where’s my phone update?

2011-04-04T06:46:00.001-07:00

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsphone/en-us/features/update-schedule-usa.aspx

I have a Samsung Focus. If you look at the chart and details (as of today April 4th) I should get my February update 10 days to several weeks after AT&T gets thru testing. AT&T isn’t done with testing at the time of this blog post. So the February update should be called the June update and the March update could be called the July update.

I’m glad I don’t have a brick. I’m glad I don’t have an Android 2.* and need to figure out if I can spend money on an app because it might actually not work on my version on the 2.x operating system. I’m glad I don’t have an iPhone 4 with the bigger GBs and the cracked screens.

But how much different is copy and paste on the AT&T network than another network? The Samsung update is in network testing right? Or maybe that is just smoke and there is a bigger fire. Tell me there is fire and I’ll not want the update. Otherwise quick puffing smoke my way with an update schedule.

The Cloud Age

2011-01-20T06:47:00.001-08:00

In human existence there have been several archaeological periods. Humans use these terms to classify segments of time. They are not very distinct but show differences and can be used to trend human capabilities and accomplishments. I believe humans have ventured into another such period in our evolution or de-evolution. I’m not going to judge on comment on whether this is a step forward in our enlightenment or a step farther into an abyss.

As you have read from the title of this writing, I believe humans are entering the Cloud Age. Before I tell you about the Cloud Age, let’s look back. This brief reference might help put into context my hypothesis. Some or all of these previous classifications are widely regarded as the ages of man.

Stone Age – The period in time we humans just sat around enjoying the view, trying to stay alive, keep warm and procreate. If you wanted to make a tool because you couldn’t stay alive without it, you did it out of stone. It was a simpler time, eat or be eaten.

Bronze Age – This period of time was when humans figured out that stones crumbled. So they would melt those rocks down and get a harder substance to make tools with. They found that when they endeavored to create something it didn’t last forever and humans aren’t that good at creating things in the first place. It was a simpler time, kill or be killed.

Iron Age – Humans found that creating things out of bronze was pretty boring. If they could get other people to make them things out of Iron, they could have more time to procreate. They could use those Iron tools for a longer period of time, and wouldn’t need to be nice to those Iron workers much after that. It was a simple time, rule or be ruled.

Industrial Age – Humans found that depending on just a few other skilled humans to make tools for them wasn’t very efficient. If they could build factories and gather wealth, they could get other humans to do almost anything for them. If they did this, they wouldn’t even have to be nice to them at all. It was a hard time, enslave or be a slave.

Atomic Age – Recently, in the grand scheme of things, humans found that by splitting an atom, a great amount of power could be created. If a human could control such a power all the other humans would be both afraid of them and envy them. Humans fought battles over just the idea of this power. It was a scary time, be feared or live in fear.

Information Age – Just a few years ago, knowledge was power. Humans who could control what other humans thought were regarded as powerful. Those humans didn’t need to know the truth or have any use to the world other than controlling the distribution of information. It was a complicated time, govern or be governed.

This brings me to my hypothesis. You can probably figure out where I’m going with my argument from my analysis of the previous ages of man. I’m not trying to be ironic, pessimistic, pragmatic or cynical. I’m just writing down my thoughts. I hope that you decide not to kill me, enslave me, make me fear you, or govern me. I just hope that you let me be with my thoughts and think your own.

Cloud Age – Today humans endeavor to endeavor. Humans have many tools and many places to store there tools. If it gets copied, profited from, destroyed, re-generated, criticized, legalized, abolished, they don’t care. Each tool is made of plastic, silicone, or carbon fiber and recyclable. The rights to the tool are probably stored in the cloud and can be easily downloaded, purchased, outsourced, off shored, created into a viral video and texted to the point of uselessness. Humans who are good at giving other humans things to do, thrive. The rights of those powerful humans are also stored in the cloud. It’s today, employ or be employed.

User Groups in Indiana are the Best!

2011-01-06T11:17:00.001-08:00

Many people know that I’m really into (addicted) to user groups and technical conferences. I love monthly meetings, code and coffees, meet-ups, happy hours, and even the big conferences. The reason is that I love what I do for a living. It’s work just like all jobs. I don’t like HR crap, contracts, financials, and other office duties. But I love to code. I love research and development. So I really like to talk about what I do. I love what I do for a living.

In the year 2011, I’ll be speaking in Indiana. I’m not flying out to NYC, Kansas City, or driving up to Michigan or down to Kentucky. I’m going to try to talk to the fellow Hoosiers and build the community here. It’s not that I won’t go out of state if asked, but I’m going to try to not submit abstracts and focus on Indiana.

Here is the current schedule:

January 13th - Indianapolis .NET Developers Association – ASP.NET MVC 3

March 22nd – Fort Wayne Professional Association for SQL Server – SQL Azure

June 21st – Indianapolis Professional Association for SQL Server – SQL Azure

I think I’ve still got some SQL Saturday events outside Indiana, but that’s it, I swear, I can quit anytime. I’m not an addict.

Here is a list of my favorite user groups in Indiana (copied from Brad Jones, Dave Leininger and others):

Indianapolis .NET Developers Association

An organized group of professional software developers in the Indianapolis area with a specific interest in Microsoft's .NET technologies.

Indiana Windows User Group

A group of individuals wishing to maximize their common experience, namely the use of Microsoft Windows in the business realm. IWUG is the place to be if you want to learn more about Windows Server 2003, network with IT professionals and students, discuss challenging technical issues, review Windows best practices, see first-hand the value of certification, or simply hang out with peers.

SharePoint Users of Indiana

The group is just being founded (January 2005) but promises to be an exciting group for those interested in learning more about the SharePoint platform.

Indianapolis Professional Association for SQL Server

Indiana's first user group dedicated solely to discussing issues related to SQL Server.

Indianapolis Pythoneers

Meet other local Python Programming Language enthusiasts.

Indy ALT.NET

Anybody and everybody who works with .NET technology, design patterns, system architecture, or anything else us geeks work with and would like to improve!

Drupal Indy

Drupal is an open source Content Management System(CMS) that is a very modular framework for developing websites. It can be very beneficial for those who take the time to learn to leverage it. This group is for people of all levels of experience, and tries to keep up with the latest topics in the Drupal Community.

The Indianapolis Ruby Brigade

Meet other local Ruby programmers. Anyone interested in Ruby or the Rails framework is invited!

SQL Saturday #59 – SQL Azure Follow Up

2010-11-20T09:03:00.001-08:00

I had a great time talking with all the guys from Australia, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. It was one of the best groups ever. I had so many questions and such great conversation I didn’t get to show a lot of benefits. I hope that I did get to share my real world knowledge and advice. I think that SQL Azure is a great service and can be a great tool to help lots of apps have good performance and uptime.

Please check out my recorded talk on the PASS AppDev Virtual Chapter. I didn’t have the great conversations that I did when I met you all, but in this canned form, you’ll get what you missed.

http://appdev.sqlpass.org/MeetingArchive/tabid/2005/Default.aspx

Again, I’m sorry that I ran over on my time. There was code that I wanted to share. This code shows you how to build an ASP.NET MVC 3 App using both Razor and ASP.NET pages to mix the great dynamic data form layout tools and the nice reporting features of hosting rdlc files in the cloud on Azure.

Here’s the deck download - https://www.box.net/shared/csxsnzyoxg

Here’s the code download - https://www.box.net/shared/jbusjkev8r

In order to use it you need to download and install the following:

Two more speaking engagements in November

2010-11-18T10:39:00.001-08:00

SQL Saturday #53 – New York, New York – November 20th – 9am

I just wanted to remind my fans (both of them) that I’ll be speaking at two more events this month. First off is this Saturday the 20th in the Big Apple. I’ll be covering SQL Azure to the attendees of SQL Saturday 53. I’m first up, at 9am. I’ll be covering the reasons why to use SQL Azure, reasons why not to use SQL Azure and how to use SQL Azure. I’m also showing attendees how to do a little reporting on Windows Azure before SQL Azure Reporting comes out in CTP. I think it’s a good thing to cover.

Evansville .NET Users Group – Evansville, Indiana – November 30th – 11:30am

The great guys down in Evansville asked me to come cover ASP.NET MVC. Since I’ve been using it in production almost since its inception, I jumped at the chance to share. I’ll be covering the basics and then I’ll jump into MVC 3 RC. There is a lot of great stuff that used to be in MVC Contrib that is now built in. The new way to change view engines is awesome. I’ll also cover how to port over some of that special code that only seems to work with viewstate enabled, like the Report Viewer control.

IndyGiveCamp 2010 Pictures

2010-11-04T17:25:00.001-07:00

IndyGiveCamp is this weekend from Friday at 4pm until Sunday. It’s going to be a great time so I already have set up a photo album on my SkyDrive. The Live Group is also up at http://indygivecamp.groups.live.com/
Check out the pics from the first ever Indy GiveCamp.
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I also put the same album on Flickr, just in case users like Flash more than Silverlight, Why would you do that, gosh.

Biggest SQL Saturday yet, and I’m speaking.

2010-10-18T11:48:00.000-07:00

I’m really excited about the upcoming SQL Saturday events. SQL Saturday is one of the best, if not the best ever, conference circuits around. It’s like a traveling roadshow except its put on by local coordinators not the same national speakers each time. It’s so popular though that it brings in the really best speakers. I’ve been lucky enough to be able spread the good word about SQL Azure many times.

My latest speaking trip takes me to Midtown Manhattan. To speak to so many, in such a great town is going to be a thrill. I’ve mostly spoken in the Midwest. DBAs and developers in the Midwest are a little different than the guys and gals in the Big Apple. But a lot is the same. I hope I can start a good two-way conversation about the benefits of SQL Azure and maybe show off some good uses of running SQL Server in the Cloud.

I recently got interviewed by Robert Pearl. He’s one of the coordinators of the SQL Saturday #59 in New York City. The full interview can be found on SQL Server Central at http://tinyurl.com/27qgr29

There is still time to sign up to attend SQL Saturday #59. The list of sessions is awesome and there are already over 400 attendees signed up. It’s going to be an awesome event.

Go to a GiveCamp, get a cool sticker.

2010-10-08T07:35:00.001-07:00

I’m posting this picture of my old laptop. It was my wife’s first but then she wanted a netbook. So I was handed down this 32bit Toshiba. It is actually pretty good hardware. Both Windows 7 and Linux installed with ease. I use it for demo and cross platform game programming. Since I use it in demos I started with the stickers. I acquired several from all the conferences I attend and speak at.

It is now full. It is also now too slow for my everyday work. It gets too hot and the battery doesn’t last very long. I am very proud of one sticker though. I got it from Dreams for Kids for writing code at the Midwest GiveCamp. If you haven’t attended a GiveCamp, the Indy GiveCamp is Nov 5th. Be there or be square.

PCI Compliance - resistance is futile.

2010-09-27T05:26:00.001-07:00

The PCI Compliance talk at PTI’s Back to School event was given by Kyle Neier. He’s a very experienced database administrator and also a leader at IndyPASS. He’s a cool guy. Unfortunately his PCI expert didn’t make it. That was perfectly ok because I wanted to focus on the SQL Server 2008 R2’s feature called SQL Audit.
The good ole days? Seriously? Back before SQL Audit it was a pain in the rear to audit at the database level. Kyle went into this and reminded us all the pains of what we had to architect in the past decades. I remember them well, SQL Audit is much better than those old hacks.
I don’t have to be PCI compliant in my current function but HIPAA is similar in terms of SQL Server and SQL Audit. The things I took from this is that any column that contains PHI I could audit, if I used Enterprise or DataCenter edition of SQL. It’s on the list for SQL Azure features but only has 17 votes. If you think that Audit would be useful in your SQL Azure instances like I do. Go to the SQL Azure Feature Voting website and vote now.

A Directed and Guided Discussion with Dave Leininger

2010-09-27T05:20:00.001-07:00

I sat in on Dave Leininger’s talk about Business Intelligence Architecture. He covered a lot of the soft skills that you need or at least should look into obtaining. I think that out of all those skills communication and documentation were what I focus on and will continue to focus on. Dave reminded me that talking is the best form of communication. As a developer (some people call me an architect) I would rather code than talk about coding. I do appreciate good communications. I would say that half of my unproductive hours are due to being unsure about what direction to go next. The other half of my unproductive hours are due to thrashing. Getting stuck trying to make some piece of code, framework, or sdk do something I want it to but it resists doing. Dave was right communication is a great asset to an organization.
What is Business Intelligence? Dave was a bit like a preacher talking to the choir about what BI is. I did enjoy all the real world stories. The crowd was very diverse, filled with developers, database administrators, project managers, and business analysts.
How do we not fail? Dave brought up some great slides about all the failed BI projects. I was the butt of a few jokes on this subject. Deservedly so. I’ve failed delivering better business intelligence to several organizations in the past. It wasn’t because I didn’t know the how. I didn’t figure out the what.
Today I focus more on getting iterations in front of the users. I don’t even want the iterations accepted. I want feedback. I want to know what is wrong as much as what is right. Because after all those iterations a successful solution will just happen. I’ll be done and successful with out even knowing. It’s just like falling in love. You can’t push a successful relationship between BI and your organization. The relationship just happens.
Those are just my opinions, I welcome yours.

Microsoft WebMatrix - not that movie with Keanu Reeves

2010-07-07T04:32:00.000-07:00

I thought this yesterday when ScottGu brought it out into the open, but didn't say anything. I didn't want to make myself sound old. Alan Stevens brought up the topic of the old Web Matrix. Funny how the same product at Microsoft can be redone over and over again. Hello kids, check out this new technology, it's a web editor for designers who don't want to use the word programmer. I think it's another fine way to market ASP.NET to guys and gals who aren't using it. But for those who do, Visual Studio is probably fine, thanks. But I'm not in marketing, I'm in development.

2002

http://web.archive.org/web/20030617213242/http://www.asp.net/webmatrix/guidedtour/getstarted/intro.aspx

2010

http://www.asp.net/webmatrix/tutorials/create-an-asp-net-website-from-scratch

Impressions of Windows Phone 7

2010-06-29T18:41:00.000-07:00

I attended a hands-on lab session presented by Dave Bost and Bill Steele at Indianapolis Microsoft offices today. The topic of the day was Windows Phone 7. I've watched several demos from Mix and TechEd, IndyNDA meetings and IndyTechFest. I have been more impressed with the idea of Windows Phone 7 than the development environment. Today I was pushed deeper into the SDKs than I've been before.

I was first frustrated with installation of the bits. Dave and Bill were using the April Refresh. I seemed to have something else installed. The SDK's installer wouldn't let me get very far. I had to go through several (8) product un-installs. Then one just wouldn't un-install. I found that the XNA Cleanup tool did the trick.

On my system things seemed to work better than Bill's. I think that the resources needed to run both Visual Studio 2010 and the Windows Phone 7 emulator are a bit more than a netbook should run to be productive. That's not saying it can't run, but the full powered duel core Dell I was running was doing better than the netbook Bill was using.

The Windows Phone 7 is a big shift is security. A developer can't just post a cab file up on the net and let a user open the link. With only Silverlight and XNA applications running, all those old apps I love to install on my phone will have to be ported over.

I'm going to try my hand at a few ideas I have for some apps though. I wouldn't say I was turned on to the environment but I wasn't turned off. The barrier isn't as high as the iPhone barrier is to me, I don't have to buy a Mac, but it's still a barrier.

What I really want to see is a mobile Internet Explorer and other mobile browsers supporting Silverlight. Then I can give some truly rich user experience to all my users with one build. I don't think that is going to happen this year, or next.

My three screens and a cloud are more like 6 or 7 screens and 3 or 4 different clouds. Way too many to be productive and bug free.

The Benefits of SQL Azure - CBusPASS

2010-06-11T05:56:00.000-07:00

I had a great time talking about SQL Azure and it's benefits. I did have one snafu though. When I tried logging in to windows.azure.com I kept getting errors and blank pages. It was a javascript error in Live Login. Note to the wise, double check that javascript debugging is turned off when doing your demo.

Links

Website Assessments

2010-06-08T04:28:00.001-07:00

Slides -

Sample Assessment -

Download PDF

Links -

Feedback Encouraged!

2010-04-19T18:34:00.000-07:00

If you've been to one of my many talks on the topics of SQL or XNA please provide some feedback at SpeakerRate. http://speakerrate.com/trendoid I'd enjoy anything you have to say. Don't like my slides, don't like my demos. Should I explain things more in depth, or am I too detailed. I'm trying to get better and your help is greatly appreciated.

Sql Azure - Sql Saturday Chicago

2010-04-19T09:47:00.001-07:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Sql Azure - Sql Saturday Chicago

View more presentations from Aaron King.

Pro SQL Azure
Windows Azure Platform (Expert's Voice in .Net)
Azure in Action

Dating a consultant.

2010-04-16T05:18:00.001-07:00

Hiring a consultant is a lot like dating in those TV sitcoms. Your dating this guy and it's promising but he just won't commit. When your dating a consultant you probably should keep your options open. Just in case he really isn't as into you as you are into him. In the end, just remember, you don't have to marry the guy.

Showing Progress of a ASP.NET MVC PartialView

2009-12-17T18:04:00.000-08:00

What you’ll need for this recipe:

Some long running GET that you really don’t want the rest of the page load to wait for.
New ActionResult in a Controller that returns a PartialView.
ViewUserControl that will display the results of your long running GET.
jQuery and a javascript snippet that will go call your action and load your result.

Step 1 – Action Result

   1: public ActionResult CreateData(int item)            2: {            3:     // Go to your Model/API/Service and get the long running stuff           4:     List<String> LargeList = Model.GoGetList(item);           5:                6:     // You can either add it to the ViewData or return it..            7:     // Do what you like           8:     ViewData.Add("ElementIdS", group.ElementIds);            9:               10:     // Go return your control..           11:     //it's named the same as you *.ascx file          12:     return PartialView("UserControl");           13: }

Step 2 – ViewUserControl

Go create you *.ascx file. This one could be call UserControl.ascx. Add some HTML to render your long running piece of data.

Step 3 – jQuery

   1: <script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" >           2:     // just run at page load time           3:     jQuery(document).ready(function() {           4:         // this is the name of the empty div           5:         // that you'll load with your PartialView and data           6:         var targetDiv = $("#divTarget");           7:         // this is just like the old UpdatePanel Progress stuff           8:         var ajaxLoading = '<img id="ajax-loading" src="<%= Url.Content("~/Content/images/loading.gif") %>" height="20px" width="20px" />';           9:         // go call your Controllers action called Create Data          10:         var action = '<%=Url.Action("CreateData", "Home", new RouteValueDictionary(new { item = Model.Id }))%>'          11:         // for now we are loading.. it's not done yet          12:         $(targetDiv).html(" " + ajaxLoading + " Loading... ");          13:         // lets go get our ActionResult.. with get          14:         // we just pass the url and name the result.. "result"          15:         $.get(action, null, function(result) {          16:             //  pretty fade          17:             $(targetDiv).fadeIn('slow');          18:             // make the html in the target div the result of the PartialView          19:             $(targetDiv).html(result);          20:         });          21:     });          22: </script>

Step 4 – Hook it up and run

Run. It works.