PowerDesigner and Visual Studio 2005

PowerDesigner 12.5

PowerDesigner, a model driven approach to align business and IT, is an enterprise modeling and design solution that helps implement effective Enterprise Architecture and brings a powerful meta-data management environment to your application development life cycle.

PowerDesigner uniquely combines several standard modeling techniques (UML, Business Process Modeling and market-leading data modeling) together with leading development environments such as .NET, Workspace, PowerBuilder, Java™, Eclipse, etc., to bring business analysis and formal design processes to the traditional software development lifecycle. And it works with all modern RDBMS.

PowerDesigner and Visual Studio 2005

The PowerDesigner Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Plugin allows you to leverage all the power of the PowerDesigner enterprise-level modeling environment from within VS2005.

All VS2005 development takes place in "solutions", which contain "projects". You can create PowerDesigner models in directly within a solution, or within any type of project, including the PowerDesigner-specific "modeling project".

Download Sybase products for free trial usage at eShop's Try and Buy and through Sybase.com's evaluation copies page.

Best Regards,
Duane Aritonang
Chief Technology Officer
http://www.ArtDuane.com

Visual Studio 2008 Shell

If you create software development tools, you’ll want to consider building on the Visual Studio 2008 Shell.

A streamlined Visual Studio development environment, the Visual Studio Shell provides the core foundation so you can focus on building your application’s unique features. Flexible customization options help you deliver optimized experiences for specific markets.

Key Benefits:

- Faster Development. The Visual Studio Shell accelerates development by providing a base integrated development environment that can host custom tools and programming languages.

- A Familiar Environment. Developers can build on the Visual Studio platform and provide end users a familiar user interface, speeding the learning curve for both.

- Optimized for Languages & Tools. Created in response to requests from our partners, the Visual Studio Shell gives you the option of integrating your tools with Visual Studio or creating an isolated, custom-branded application.

Best Regards,

Duane Aritonang
Chief Technology Officer
http://www.ArtDuane.com

Windows Live ID for Client Applications

Windows Live™ ID for client applications is a managed API that enables client applications to access Windows Live sites and services.

This API is intended for use in developing.NET Framework applications that run on end users' desktop computers, more specifically Windows® Forms applications.

Included in Windows Live ID for client applications is a Sign In dialog box that collects the sign-in name and password from your end-users.

Click link below to download the Windows Live ID Client 1.0 SDK Alpha Refresh:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=b5a78784-922d-4267-a6e9-5d2ecf1dced8&displaylang=en

Best Regards,
Duane Aritonang
Chief Technology Officer
http://www.ArtDuane.com

Build Your Own Windows Vista Sidebar Gadget

You’ve probably heard a lot of buzz lately about gadgets—these are the lightweight applications that you’ve seen, for example, sitting on a Windows Vista™ desktop. There are actually three different types of gadgets supported by Microsoft.

Sidebar gadgets are the ones that run on the Windows Vista desktop. Web gadgets are similar, but run on Live.com and Windows Live Spaces pages. SideShow gadgets run on devices such as secondary displays on laptops, remote controls, and computer keyboards.

Sample code:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/code/?url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/07/08/SideBar/default.aspx

Best Regards,
Duane Aritonang
Chief Technology Officer
http://www.artduane.com/

An Overview of Microsoft® Visual Studio® code name "Orcas" White Paper

By Tony Goodhew [April 2007]

Microsoft® Visual Studio® code name “Orcas” delivers on Microsoft’s vision of smart client applications by enabling developers to rapidly create connected applications that deliver the highest quality rich user experiences. With Visual Studio code name “Orcas”, organizations will find it easier than ever before to capture and analyze information so that they can make effective business decisions.

Visual Studio code name “Orcas” enables any size organization to rapidly create more secure, manageable and reliable applications that take advantage of Windows Vista™ and the 2007 Office system.

Visual Studio code name “Orcas” delivers key advances for developers in 3 primary pillars:

• Improve Developer Productivity
• Manage the Application Life Cycle
• Employ the Latest Technologies

For the latest information, see
http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio

Best Regards,
Duane Aritonang
Chief Technology Officer
http://www.ArtDuane.com/

Microsoft Code Name "Acropolis" July Community Technology Preview (CTP) 1

Microsoft Code Name “Acropolis” is a set of components and tools intended to make it easier for developers to build and manage modular, business focused, client applications for Microsoft Windows on the .NET Framework.

Building on the vision of software + services, Microsoft Code Name “Acropolis” makes it easier to build and manage modular, business-focused, client applications for Microsoft Windows with the .NET Framework. It builds on the rich capabilities of Microsoft Windows and the .NET Framework, including the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), by providing tools and pre-built components that help developers quickly assemble an application from loosely-coupled parts and services. Code Name “Acropolis” reduces the complexities of building occasionally connected client applications and provides the ability to assemble and reconfigure systems without having to write as much code. It is part of the .NET Client Futures release, Microsoft’s preview of upcoming technologies in Microsoft Windows client development, available now at http://www.windowsclient.net/.

To download the files, click the link below:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=44977885-86B5-4AA0-9F20-DB365BFB9D10&displaylang=en

Best Regards,
Duane Aritonang
Chief Technology Officer
http://www.ArtDuane.com/

Microsoft Silverlight

Microsoft Silverlight (formerly known as code name “WPF/E”).

Microsoft Silverlight is a cross-browser, cross-platform plug-in for delivering the next generation of .NET-based media experiences and rich interactive applications for the Web.

Silverlight offers a flexible and consistent programming model that supports AJAX, Python, Ruby, and .NET languages such as Visual Basic and C#, and integrates with existing Web applications. Silverlight media capabilities include fast, cost-effective delivery of high-quality audio and video to all major browsers including Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer running on Mac or Windows.

By using Expression Studio and Visual Studio, designers and developers can collaborate more effectively using the skills they have today to light up the Web of tomorrow.

Find here for more detail:
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/silverlight/default.aspx

Best Regards,
Duane Aritonang
Chief Technology Officer
http://www.artduane.com/

SQL Server 2005 Best Practices Analyzer (July 2007)

Download SQL Server 2005 Best Practices Analyzer (July 2007)

The SQL Server 2005 Best Practices Analyzer (BPA) gathers data from Microsoft Windows and SQL Server configuration settings. BPA uses a predefined list of SQL Server 2005 recommendations and best practices to determine if there are potential issues in the database environment.

For support, questions or comments on the Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Best Practices Analyzer, please visit the SQL Server Tools General forum on the MSDN forums.

Best Regards,
Duane Aritonang
Chief Technology Officer
http://www.ArtDuane.com

10 ways to make your Web site 'sticky'

By Joanna L. Krotz

If you've figured out the kind of Web site your business needs, a question I address in a separate article, it's time to discuss how to attract visitors to your site and to keep them around long enough to develop a relationship.

Back in the 20th century, we surfed for the joy of the ride. But nowadays the online experience is all about getting immediate right answers. As usability guru Jakob Nielsen has pointed out, all we care about anymore is how fast we find the precise page that delivers the exact information or solution we are seeking.

More detail at: http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/resources/marketing/online_marketing/10_ways_to_make_your_web_site_sticky.mspx

Best Regards,
Duane Aritonang
Chief Technology Officer
http://www.ArtDuane.com/