Lou Vega

5 Reasons Why my Windows Mobile powered Tilt is better than the new Iphone 3G

Lou Vega — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:20:34 GMT

I'm pretty tired of hearing about how "great" the Iphone 3G is. So here's a short tribute to my trusty Windows Mobile powered Tilt.

My Tilt already had GPS, Bluetooth, and 3G capability when I bought it. I didn't have to wait hours overnight for a sales clerk to tell me "here's your phone, it doesn't work all the way, but good luck activating it at home!"
My Tilt has MMS capability - Granted I don't use it as much as others do, but for such a "great" phone you'd think Apple would have included such a basic feature.
Sorry Iphone users - apparently another basic feature such as Copy/Paste was left out. Seems that's a basic part of my Windows Mobile 6 powered phone's core OS.
My Tilt's camera capabilities (still photo and video) are better - wait, oh yeah, Iphone doesn't have a video camera.
I was able to develop software for my Windows Mobile powered Tilt the day I brought it home from the store...didn't have to wait for the vendor to "decide" to offer 3rd party app support.

A neat trick with Windows Mobile Live Search and Community Megaphone

Lou Vega — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 19:08:36 GMT

Glen Gordon just posted an entry on his blog about this and it's pretty neat. He can explain it far better than I can, so just read his blog post on this.

Silverlight Control Builder Contest 2008

Lou Vega — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 18:02:04 GMT

I was talking with Page Brooks last night about the Silverlight Control Builder Contest he's currently running. If you're into Silverlight, you really need to check this out. I'm not even a "Silverlight" dev and I'm thinking about trying to put together a control to enter based on the sheer number of way cool prizes up for grabs.

Find out more by either clicking the logo below or catch Page tonight at the Columbia Enterprise Developer's Guild meeting.

Win an Xbox or an MSDN Subscription....sweet!

Lou Vega — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 13:21:09 GMT

As I was driving home from giving a presentation at the PDANUG last night, I got a call from David Silverlight and he reminded me about this cool new program INETA has to recognize those involved in user groups. He's written up an excellent blog about it on Community-Credit you can read http://www.community-credit.com/cs/blogs/community_credit_news/archive/2008/06/17/the-ineta-community-champion-award.aspx

I know a number of you reading this help run user groups in your area and as someone who helps run a user group, I know there's a lot of stuff behind the scenes that goes on to keep a group running. This is a great chance for you to shine in that area...so what are you waiting for? Get your contributions logged and compete with me for that Xbox! :)

Speaking tomorrow at Pee Dee Area .NET User's Group

Lou Vega — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:57:31 GMT

I've been invited to speak tomorrow at the Pee Dee Area .NET User Group (PDANUG). The meeting starts at 6PM and I'll be covering Windows Mobile topics to include the State & Notifications Broker and how I built the call blocking application I blogged about earlier this year.

31 Days of Visual Studio 2008 Tips & Tricks

Lou Vega — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:19:11 GMT

Fresh from the successful completion of his "30 Days of .NET Windows Mobile Applications" (quite an impressive feat I might add), fellow Mobile Geek Chris Craft has started a new series based on one of his well received Code Camp presentations focusing on Visual Studio Tips & Tricks...he now presents "31 Days of Visual Studio 2008 Tips & Tricks". Check it out if you haven't had a chance to catch him at a Code Camp near you!

Thanks! Microsoft MVP Award - Device Application Development

Lou Vega — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:33:25 GMT

So today starts a new month and with it comes some pretty awesome news especially with all that's gone on in my life recently. I received an e-mail this morning (around 11:30) congratulating me on being awarded Microsoft MVP for Device Application Development. Oddly enough in this day and age of rapid information exchange via Twitter, I had folks congratulating me via Twitter and E-mail before I had even finished going through the MVP registration site.

There are certainly a number of people who've helped me along the way, inspired me and pushed me to grow and I'd like to thank them - hopefully I can do so at a developer/social event somewhere in person soon - I would hope each of you knows who you are :)

This was certainly welcome and exciting news - thanks again everyone!

Dropping off the radar for a while...

Lou Vega — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 01:56:29 GMT

As some of you may know having seen me @ Code Camps, or other events in the past 6 months or so know, my life's been pretty hectic. Starting back in February and continuing up to this very night, my son has been in and out of the hospital so many times it's sickening to think that I know so much about the inner workings of a place nobody should have to visit that often. He was last discharged Tuesday, and then at 3:30 this morning (Monday) he was re-admitted. Each time they get a little closer to understanding what's going on and a little closer to getting him all better but it's gotten to where I can't handle that and all the extra stuff in my life any more.

Some of you also know in the middle of this back in May I had a pretty bad car wreck that landed me in and out of the ER for a while due to a concussion. My car was totalled, I'm supposed to go to traffic court yet can't remember much at all about the wreck, and this is all going on while my son's been in and out of the hospital.

When my son gets out of the hospital each time there's a rough period of adjustment where he's venting due to the trauma and loss of control he feels when he's in the hospital. He's going to be 3 on June 19th and yet he's spent more time in the hospital than I have in my 35 years. The medical bills too from all this are starting to really mount up too...just another thing to deal with since insurance companies don't look out for people.

All said and done, I just can't deal with it all anymore...there's a ton more behind the scene's that's gone on since November but in the end I just have to drop out of this aspect of my life for a while unless something really good happens really soon.

Thanks to all my friends online and offline who've supported me through all this and especially those close few who I'm sure will continue to support me through the coming months. I hope to catch you all at a code camp or other event some time in the future when this is all a distant memory.

Catch me at Mobility Developer Roadshow(s)!

Lou Vega — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 01:00:39 GMT

I had previously blogged about Brian Hitney and Glen Gordon bringing a Mobility Developer Roadshow to Atlanta and Charlotte...well they're still doing it, and they've asked Chris Craft and I to join them in the presentation. I'll be covering the section on managed code development for mobile devices. This should be a lot of fun, so if you're into mobile development or looking to get into it, come out and join us!

Overview

This session is geared towards familiarizing the attendee with developing smart clients using the .NET Compact Framework 3.5 on Windows Mobile 6.x.
Labs will be by demo only (not hands on), and will be available for download after the class.
Lunch will be provided. Class times: 9:00 AM–12:00 PM, 1:00 PM–5:00 PM.
Click the links below to register

Charlotte - June 18, 2008

Atlanta (Alpharetta) - June 24, 2008

GC.NUG Meeting June 12, 2008

Lou Vega — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:01:53 GMT

A bit of a late announcement - I'm just returning to a schedule after my son was released from the hospital last night.

This month’s meeting will start off with Pizza and then break into "The Adventures of Linq".

Linq (or Lanquage INtegrated Query) is a new feature of the .Net 3.5 runtime that provides an elegant mechanism for querying data from within C# & VB.Net code. In this session, we'll move past the basic examples that occupy most introductions to Linq and examine the new .Net 3.5 functional constructs that enable Linq to work it's "magic". We'll look at what Linq is and why it is. And we'll examine several examples that demonstrate that Linq is not just a "convenience feature", but a powerful mechanism that creates an entirely new paradigm for .Net application development.

Our speaker this month is John Lunsford. John is a software engineer in Charleston, SC. John specializes in development with .Net technologies. John currently works as an independent software consultant, but previously worked at Blackbaud in Charleston for 2 1/2 years, where he helped to develop the company's new suite of enterprise product offerings for non-profit organizations. Prior to coming to Charleston, John worked for EdFinancial Services in Knoxville, TN, where he developed web-based enterprise financial applications for EdFinancial and it's partners. John's passions are new technology, speaking, & writing. He has spoken at code camps and user groups throughout the Southeast about Linq, WPF, WF, .Net Fuzzy Search, .Net Encryption, & ASP.Net.

See you there!

30 Days of .NET (Windows Mobile) Revisited

Lou Vega — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 17:36:16 GMT

After talking with Chris (Craft) about his project for the next 30 days, I asked if he would mind whether or not I took his C# code and converted it to VB.NET to post on my VB Mobile blog and he liked the idea. With that said look forward to having some updated code samples as quickly as I can convert them. See Chris' blog for the latest installments he's released.

30 Days of .NET (Windows Mobile Applications)

Lou Vega — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:37:27 GMT

Fellow Mobility Geek and friend Chris Craft has started a series on his blog which aims to showcase 30 Windows Mobile Applications in the next 30 days. Simple examples to get anyone started on the path towards Windows Mobile Development...now why didn't I think of that? :)

Anyways, to tune in to what Chris is bringing you, head over to his blog and check it out!

Old School games and Server Quest

Lou Vega — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 03:51:24 GMT

The other day I blogged about Server Quest which is a little game Microsoft has put out to shine a spotlight on the I.T. Pro. Having played it for a bit tonight I have to say it's a crazy mix of old school graphical gaming, think something along the lines of an I.T. Themed "Maniac Mansion" for those who may remember that one :)

Anyways it's full of some subtle references to gaming from the old days, and it's a neat way to pass some time. If you never played any of those old games, you may not like it - fair warning.

Microsoft puts the spotlight on an unsung hero – the I.T. pro

Lou Vega — Fri, 30 May 2008 14:04:01 GMT

TechNet interactive campaign lets the geek get the glory

Just when you thought your eyes had finally healed from years of straining to make out pixelated adventure game graphics, Server Quest rolls into your browser like an avalanche of early nineties gaming action. This spring, prepare to be ushered into a world where the IT pro reigns supreme. "Don't they already?" you might ask. Maybe so, but this is your chance to prove it.

You play as Matt and Alicia, IT geniuses navigating their way through the perils of office life, while trying to protect the network from malicious software and keep the entire staff booted up and logged on. Are you geek enough to keep the server safe and win the long-overdue respect of the office's arrogant sales guy, Chase? In order to find out, you'll have to dig deep into your surroundings, solve puzzles, and uncover Easter Eggs and mini games that will help you inch your way closer to the prize—and closer to carving your name into the annals of geekdom.

Server Quest is an entertaining viral promotion that takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the challenges and annoyances that IT professionals face every day.

Look for it online at www.server-quest.com. This spring, play Server Quest…and give a geek a chance.

Enjoy!

If you ever needed to explain DoS attacks to a non-technical person...

Lou Vega — Fri, 30 May 2008 12:56:04 GMT

Often times a geek will find themselves having to explain something technical to a completely non-technical person. The CEO of this company that was the victim of a DoS attack recently provides an excellent write-up that explains things well. Take a peek for yourself:

http://revision3.com/blog/2008/05/29/inside-the-attack-that-crippled-revision3