Thursday, February 01, 2007

Morning Coffee 22

• I figured out something to build with PowerShell. Not ready to spill all the beans yet, but I've started by building a provider for SQL Server. SQL already has the SQL Management Objects (SMO) library, so I can really focus on how PowerShell works rather than getting too bogged down in the logic of the provider. I'm sure someone else is working on something similar, but my primary goal with building this provider is to understand PowerShell. The codebase itself is a distant second in priority.
• On the subject of missing LINQ's, Alex James wants LINQ to Web. A good potential use for the Windows Live Search API.
• I posted three recent blog posts to DotNetKicks yesterday, but I've only collected one additional kick so far (for my Compiling Workflows post). Looking at what does gather kicks, I think I would need to write a more dev focused article if I wanted to make the DNK home page.
• Don Smith left a comment on my WSSF post where he talked about the developer and the architect perspective. He seemed surprised that I took the developer perspective. To quote David White: "Architect Must Implement". The customization opportunity in guidance automation is huge, but the value is to the developer first. And while it's a good start, it doesn't go very far at automating the development experience. At heart, I guess I'm a developer even though my business card sez Architect (with a capital "A" these days no less).
• I moved my laptop over to Vista yesterday. My workstation is still on XP, but that's because I haven't had time to completely rebuild my dev environment. No Aero support with the
• I elbowed my way into the TS Gateway pilot at Microsoft and I'm loving it. TS Gateway is a new feature of Longhorn Server that "enables authorized remote users to connect to terminal servers and remote desktops on the corporate network from any Internet-connected device running Remote Desktop Connection 6.0." So I can quickly and easily remote into my desktop from anywhere without establishing a VPC session. The only annoyance is my USB smart card reader, which is fine in a pinch but a pain to constantly have dangling off my laptop. However, my boss approved a PCMCIA smart card reader so soon that won't be an issue.