Johnny Halife’s Blog

I’m proud to announce that we have helped Microsoft Architecture Strategy Team shipping another version of LitwareHR. These are (among others) the enhancements done for this new version of LitwareHR:

· Platform upgrade. Updated LitwareHR v2.0 to run on Windows Sever 2008 and Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 (Beta 2). This included leveraging new technologies like Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (ADSLDS), new management APIs and IIS7.

· Performance. We did performance assessment work for Multi Tenant Database design, the outcome of this research is reflected on a new asset called Multi Tenant Database Guide. Based on this assessment we have updated LitwareHR data access code to enhance its performance.

· Services Enhancements. Created new services leveraging Windows Communication Foundation 3.5 features as RSS & REST.

· SilverLight Streaming mash-up. We did a mash-up with LitwareHR and Silverlight Streaming Services that allows candidate evaluation screen to display a video submitted by the applicant.

· Automated Deployment. Moved from the old document  + readme + bunch of scripts approach to a new one including dependency checking and automated configuration.

· Smart Client Application. We included a WPF application that shows how to consume LitwareHR services from an external application. Also shows offline capabilities.

Gadget. We extended the UX of Litware up to the candidate desktop with two gadgets: one for Fabrikam and one for Contoso.

So now go and grab the bits:

http://www.codeplex.com/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ProjectName=LitwareHR&ReleaseId=8439

thanks,
~johnny

These days lot of things are coming around, as I mentioned on the DinnerNow.net posts, lot of technologies were made available. Some of them in beta phase , and some as final releases.

I know, you’ll probably say: “Ok, I’ve downloaded DinnerNow.net, installed it, and I’ve seen those technologies working together but now what?”. Ok, here is what can you do: I’m proud to announce (as James Conard did in his weblog) that Windows Server 2008 Developer Training Kit (Beta 3) is now public & available.

What I will find if I download the package?

The kit contains presentations used by Developer & Platform Evangelism (DPE) on their early adoption program for ISV (a.k.a Touchdown). It contains presentations on 15 different topics going from IIS7 to .Net 3.0 including stuff like Virtualization and High Performance Computing. It also includes 7 hands on labs, where Southworks helped the DPE team on the development. Check out Gabriel’s blog to read more about the labs.

What should I do now?

C’mon, the answer is easy… Get the bits now! And don’t forget to check James’ post about it!

Also I want to congratulate to the guys who contribute to this amazing package, like: Jason Olson, David Aiken, Matt Winkler, Nigel Watling, Brett Hill, Volker Will, and Justin Smith.

That’s all folks… and stay tuned.

thanks,
~johnny

Acropolis is a set of components and tools that make it easier for developers to build and manage modular, business focused, client .NET applications. Acropolis is part of the “.NET Client Futures” wave of releases, our preview of upcoming technologies for Windows client development.

Acropolis builds on the rich capabilities of Microsoft Windows and the .NET Framework, including Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), by providing tools and pre-built components that help developers quickly assemble applications from loosely-coupled parts and services. With Acropolis you will be able to:

• Quickly create WPF enabled user experiences for your client applications.
• Build client applications from reusable, connectable, modules that allow you to easily create complex, business-focused applications in less time.
• Integrate and host your modules in applications such as Microsoft Office, or quickly build stand-alone client interfaces.
• Change the look and feel of your application quickly using built-in themes, or custom designs using XAML.
• Add features such as workflow navigation and user-specific views with minimal coding.
• Manage, update, and deploy your application modules quickly and easily.

If you read the description above it seems to be very similar to Smart Client Software Factory. What's the relationship between them, how does the future of SCSF looks like? If you have this questions, your planning to use SCSF or you are using SCSF check out this post on Glenn's Block (P&P Product Planner) about P&P, SCSF & Acropolis.

If you wanna play around with Acropolis bits download them from here. For a preview of Acropolis and to get involved I recommend you this video Getting started with code-name “Acropolis”.

thanks,
~johnny

Hi guys, as announced by the PS Team today at their blog, Powershell for Windows Vista is now RTM and ready for download. I recommend you that download it, 'cause it's one of the most powerfull tools I've ever seen last days.

What's Windows Powershell?

Windows PowerShell, previously Microsoft Shell or MSH (codenamed Monad) is an extensible command line interface (CLI) shell and scripting language product developed by Microsoft. The product is based on object-oriented programming and the Microsoft .NET framework.

Windows PowerShell 1.0 is available for download from the Microsoft web site.

Microsoft originally intended to launch PowerShell along with Windows Vista, but later defined a separate release schedule for PowerShell. Windows PowerShell is the foundation of the administrative experience for Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 where everything is done via command line interfaces and the administrative GUI is layered on top of those commands.

So man, what are you wating for… get the bits now! (x64)

And stay tune something will change on the food ordering history :)…..

~johnny

As announced by Scott Guthrie ASP.NET AJAX is RTM.

What’s ASP.NET AJAX?

ASP.NET AJAX is a free framework for quickly creating a new generation of more efficient, more interactive and highly-personalized Web experiences that work across all the most popular browsers.

With ASP.NET AJAX, you can:

• Create next-generation interfaces with reusable AJAX components.
• Enhance existing Web pages using powerful AJAX controls with support for all modern browsers.
• Continue using Visual Studio 2005 to take your ASP.NET 2.0 sites to the next level.
• Access remote services and data directly from the browser without writing a ton of complicated script.
• Enjoy the benefits of a free framework with 24×7 technical support provided by Microsoft.

So why don’t you get the bits and start playing around, download it from here

For more info on ASP.NET AJAX go to http://ajax.asp.net

thanks,
~johnny