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  • New Poll Released: What type of training do you prefer?

    Posted on July 24th, 2010 Mitch Milam Print Print No comments

    I’ve added a new poll to the blog to see how people like to get trained.

    If you have a few minutes, I’d like to know your opinion.

    Misc
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  • Things I found interesting on the Internet: Saturday, July 17, 2010

    Posted on July 17th, 2010 Mitch Milam Print Print 1 comment

    Here are some things I found interesting while surfing the web this week:

    ( In no particular order )

    Development

    Microsoft Dynamics CRM – Development

    Random

    Windows Live Writer

    WordPress

    Misc
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  • Top Search Terms that Brought People to My Blog

    Posted on July 10th, 2010 Mitch Milam Print Print No comments

    I was performing some maintenance this morning so I thought I’d review the search terms that brought people to my site.

    It’s actually rather interesting data as it is spread across a large variety of technologies but since my blog covers a wide variety of technologies, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.

    Search Views
    javascript close browser 198
    crm 4.0 workflow 156
    crmform.formtype 141
    823287 141
    mitch milam

       ** This is my Mom trying to keep up with me.

    128
    sql disconnect all users 120
    close browser javascript 119
    javascript close window without warning 111
    javascript close browser window 101
    visual studio icons 80
    sharepoint terminology 78
    an error occurred promoting this item to 75
    disconnect sql users 75
    window.close without warning 74
    sql disconnect users 72
    sqlsmo 71
    marketing list member view 70
    dynamic entity crm 4.0 67
    fireonchange 67
    fn_utctolocaltime 57
    sql 2008 disconnect users 49
    locaddrelatedto 48
    disconnect users from database 45
    disconnect user from sql database 44
    sql disconnect users from database 44
    principalobjectaccess 44
    cisco vpn client netscreen 43
    disconnect users from sql database 43
    skinning sharepoint 43
    crm workflow examples 42
    sql disconnect user 41
    an error occurred promoting this item to 41
    close window without warning 41
    sharepoint custom templates 41
    crm knowledge base 41
    disconnect all users from sql database 40
    crm sdk plugin send email 40
    crm 4.0 workflows 40
    launchondemandworkflowform 39
    crm fireonchange 38
    article 823287 38
    disconnect all users from database 37
    javascript close browser without warning 37
    a currency is required if a value exists 36
    crm dynamic entity 36
    crm 4 workflows 34
    workflow crm 4.0 34
    deletionstatecode crm 4.0 33
    crm workflows 31
    close window javascript without warning 31
    Misc
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  • Things I found interesting on the Internet: Saturday, July 10, 2010

    Posted on July 10th, 2010 Mitch Milam Print Print No comments

    Here are some things I found interesting while surfing the web this week:

    ( In no particular order )

    Development

    Random

    SQL

    Misc
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  • Book Recommendation: Cloud Computing with the Windows Azure Platform

    Posted on June 16th, 2010 Mitch Milam Print Print 2 comments

    When I first started working with Windows Azure, this book was one of my first purchases.  Not only does it cover the basics of working with Azure such as:

    • Azure Roles
    • Table and blob storage
    • Queues
    • Moving from the Enterprise to the Cloud
    • Security and authentication
    • SQL Azure Services

    but it also gives a very in-depth explanation of the inner-workings of the Windows Azure platform so you could actually understand what was happening physically, when you upload and publish your Azure solution.

    There are plenty of nuts and bolts code segments and samples to show you how things are done and Wrox Press makes these samples available for download here.  Additionally, chapters 12 and 13, covering SQL Azure, are actually in an online-only format and can be found at the same site.

    The only issues that I had with the book were some late-breaking technology changes that shipped in the final Windows Azure release which were different from the community technology preview (CTP) releases so their examples didn’t quite work the same.  Overall, these issues were quite minor and a little digging into the RTM examples showed me the new and proper way of doing things.

    Overall, Cloud Computing with the Windows Azure Platform is a great addition to your programming library should you be leaning toward Windows Azure as a solution.

     

    Final Note

    Roger’s company, OakLeaf Systems, has a blog that posts a daily summary of Azure-related articles and announcements. I have no idea how long it takes someone to assemble each post, but I would imagine it takes quite a bit of time.  I find these posts invaluable and greatly appreciate each summary.

    Book Reviews and Recommendations, Misc
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  • Help Find a Solution to the Gulf Oil Spill

    Posted on May 28th, 2010 Mitch Milam Print Print 15 comments

    Ok people, I think it’s time to think outside the box.

    After more than a month is seems like we are no closer to finding a solution to the run-away oil well in the Gulf of Mexico than we were when this whole thing started.

    So, let’s pool our collective intelligence and look for solutions to the problem.  There are over 6 billion people on this planet and I find it really hard to believe that someone doesn’t have a good or great idea or ideas that can help us end this situation.

    To that end, I have created a web site to help collect and disseminate ideas and information:

    Stop the Gulf Spill

     

    There are two ‘forums’ on the site which will allow people to suggest ideas on the following two important topics:

    1. How Would You Clean Up the Oil?
    2. How Would You Stop the Leak?

    Anyone can suggest an idea and the site will let you comment on ideas other people have suggested.  Finally, you can vote on ideas that you feel are the most viable.

    How will this information be used?  I have no idea.  But, if we can at least get the conversation flowing, maybe someone with the ability to make things happen will pay attention.

    If you have any feedback, comments, or suggestions, just email me at admin@stopthegulfspill.com

    Thanks, Mitch

    Misc
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  • Convergence 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia

    Posted on April 21st, 2010 Mitch Milam Print Print 1 comment

    I’ll be headed to Convergence 2010 in Atlanta on Saturday.  If you’ll be attending and want to meet up, drop me an email.

    mitch at infinite-x dot net

    Misc
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  • Using Social Media to Spot Trends

    Posted on April 16th, 2010 Mitch Milam Print Print No comments

    I performed an interesting experiment last night that I thought you might enjoy.

     

    Background

    I have an Apple iPhone and of course have AT&T for phone service.  For various reasons, I’ve actually always had AT&T for my phone service.  And, I live about three miles from the North end of the Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport which also happens to be near a junction of three freeways.

    This means that I can sometimes experience service interruptions based on time of day, traffic patterns, etc. 

    So when AT&T develops issues with their service I can pretty much tell if it’s situational ( localized ) or something else. 

    This the “something else” has been happening on their network this week.  There have been times when their 3G network has simply disappeared.  It has happened so frequently that I have been turning OFF 3G at my house and reverting back to Edge just so my phone will operate.  This is not normal behavior, even for AT&T.

    As always, I thought it was just me and I tweeted a couple of complaints about it. Then last night @tekoppele mentioned service coverage in San Francisco was really bad this week. 

    Hmm. That is odd. Dallas and San Francisco are half a continent away.  That caused me to wonder if maybe there wasn’t a system-wide issue affecting the AT&T 3G network.

     

    Research

    So, I decided to see what other Tweeple were saying and ventured out to http://search.twitter.com and searched for “AT&T service”.

    What I found was very interesting:

    1. They were indeed having system-wide network issues.
      I saw issues from Dallas, San Francisco, and Denver, just to name a few.
    2. They are also having issues with their Internet service.
    3. The number of tweets about bad service far exceeded the number of good tweets.
    4. AT&T actually has people monitoring the Twitterverse and is handling a number of complains via Twitter.
      Note: @davidyack mentioned this last year in regards to Saturn ( car company ) responding to a tweet about a car he no longer had.

     

    Conclusion

    I actually used a search engine to plug into the collective conscience of the Twitterverse for the purposes of researching an issue that I was having just to verify that I wasn’t the only one.

    I really don’t keep up with third-party Twitter services and applications so there are probably companies producing solutions to help companies mine this type of data for whatever purposes they wish.

    If not, then someone needs to make one.  I can see several possibilities where “trend-spotting” can be useful.

    Misc
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  • Things I found interesting for the week of April 5th

    Posted on April 10th, 2010 Mitch Milam Print Print No comments

     

    General

     

    iPhone/iPad Development

    Misc
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  • Things I found interesting for the week of March 22nd, 2010

    Posted on April 1st, 2010 Mitch Milam Print Print No comments

    Here are some things I found interesting while surfing the web this week:

    ( In no particular order )

    WordPress

     

    Monotouch

    Misc
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    528 views