Radical Development

April 22, 2010
by Steven Swafford
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Microsoft Enterprise Library 5.0

April 2010 is just jammed packed with Microsoft releasing products to maintenance (RTM) and joining the ranks of SharePoint 2010, Office 2010, Visual Studio .NET 2010 is the Enterprise Library 5.0. While it has been a number of years since I last used this library I am beginning to think that I need to revisit this product. I recall years back that I was please with earlier version and I can now only imagine how far this library has progressed and how much time it can save me. Microsoft Enterprise Library 5.0 contains the following application blocks: Caching Application Block: …

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April 21, 2010
by Steven Swafford
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Creating A System Image With Windows 7

Consider the following, you have just purchased that new computer and spent hours installing all of your software and now you have everything to your taste. I am not sure about you, but I hate setting up a new computer and once I have everything I want in place the first step I take is to create a system image. This is an important step should you ever find yourself wanting to perform a fresh installation of Windows in the future. A system image is essentially a snapshot of your computer at a given point in time. Be sure that …

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April 20, 2010
by Steven Swafford
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Microsoft BizSpark Helping Startups

Microsoft BizSpark is nothing new but I did want to take the time to write about this unique opportunity that Microsoft has opened the door to for potential companies seeking to make their mark in the world of information technology. In fact there have been a number of startups that has utilized this program to make their mark in the world of information technology. If you have ever considered a startup I am sure you have found is discouraging considering the reasons and hurdles you will face. Be sure that you know what you’re getting into and the following rules …

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April 19, 2010
by Steven Swafford
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Conserve Energy and Save Money With Microsoft Hohm

Conservation has been a buzzword for several years, now, as our world’s resources are in greater demand than ever. At almost every turn, you can hear how and why we should cut down or find different ways of doing things. I am not yelling global warming nor am I here to argue for or against it (it is all a hoax). Rather my point is saving money and who doesn’t like saving money. Microsoft has stepped up to the plate with Hohm which is a product the directly looks to compete with Google’s PowerMeter. To get started go here and …

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April 16, 2010
by Steven Swafford
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Use Twitter To Start Getting Paid

Twitter is a wonderful micro-blogging platform and many start-up companies and turning to Twitter as a way to advertise. I will admit that advertisements have been both good and bad in my opinion and it comes down to using common sense when you decide to travel down this road. There is nothing wrong with wanting to make additional or even strive for a primary income from technologies that you use on a daily basis, but use common sense. I cannot tell you how many Twitter accounts that I followed only to be overwhelmed by the high volume of sponsored tweets. …

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April 15, 2010
by Steven Swafford
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How To Decompile A Java Class Inside A JAR File

Today I am stepping outside what I consider my comfort zone when in comes to programming languages and I will be talking about Java. To tell the truth it has been a number of years since I have even looked at code, but recently I am working with a vendor that does not directly support Microsoft .NET and they were nice enough to provide a JAR that contained the classes for clients that do work with Java. Now the hurdle I faced was to be able to peek at the class files in a manner that they were readable by …

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April 12, 2010
by Steven Swafford
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Visual Studio 2010 Released To Maintenance

Today Microsoft has released Visual Studio 2010 to maintenance which probably means if you’re anything like me you are downloading your copy from MSDN as we speak. Don’t even get me started on the download speeds or interruptions with the file transfer manager but this is to be expected on day one. Even as I sit in Auburn, Alabama Wishing I Was At The Visual Studio 2010 Launch Event this week, it simply was not to be. Thank goodness for Twitter (#VS2010) and Microsoft, I almost feel like I am at the event, almost. Microsoft also announced that Silverlight 4.0 …

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