Opening .ISO files

1. Download MagicDisc.

2. Run the downloaded file cnet2_setup_magicdisc106_exe

3. Use default values and complete simple wizard.

4. On the task bar, click the up arrow to view the hidden icons. (I'm using Windows 7) Right click on the CD/Hand icon.

5. in the menu click the top item Virtual CD/DVD-ROM --> J: NO Media --> Mount....

6. Navigate to your downloaded iso file and select it.

7. Navigate to your computer and instead of selecting the C drive, look for the newly mounted iso file. In my case it was the E drive. Double click it and now it will act just like a DVD in your disc player. You will likely be looking for a setup.exe file inside there if this is an installation.

Installing SQL Server 2008 R2

I recently had to re install SQL Server 2008 R2. I have an MSDN account so, first I downloaded the developer edition which is an .iso file. View my previous post on how to work with ISO files. The SQL Server install has a few things to configure. I found this post most helpful and it got me to the finish line successfully.
INSTALL SQL SERVER 2008 R2

System restore turned off by administrator

Recently I had to do a system restore on my computer. I clicked start and typed in "system restore", just to find this message

The method that worked for me is found HERE, using the 2nd method by editing the registry. I'm using a windows 7 - 64 bit machine.

SQL SERVER – Change Password of SA Login Using Management Studio

Here's how to change a log in password on SQL Server Management Studio.

Open a New Window from Link with Blogger

So I didn't exactly intend for this to be my first post, but while I was writing my first post on Blackberry development here on Blogger, I quickly realized that javascript within my HTML Post code is going to be tricky. I ran into my first problem when I wanted to open any links to resources I'm referencing in a new window.

And here's how it's done.

Just add: target="_blank"

The Real Blogger Status

Blackberry Development with HTML5 and Ripple Emulator: Part 1

Blackberry has recently come on board with full support of HTML5. This is so easy it's actually fun!! I've recently decided to jump head first into mobile development with HTML5, and this is the first step to a broader world of development. I'm going to start very simple and the blackberry is my first target. I'm using a Window 7, 64 bit machine, so let's walk through the process and see how this works.

The first thing we need is an HTML5 page. I'm using Visual Studio 2010 and have created a very simple Hello Blackberry page.

Next up, we'll need the Ripple emulator. This is a nifty way to view your web pages in the skin of many devices such as Blackberry, iPhone, iPad and many more. Currently Ripple doesn't exactly emulate the actual device to perfection, but it's still a great tool to see what your app will look like and a lot more than basic functionality quickly across multiple platforms.

**FYI - IE9 choked on the download, however Google Chrome worked. It seems that when it comes to Ripple only Chrome will work. Also, Ripple does not work out of the box behind a proxy server, which is likely the case while at work. A couple URL's would need to be opened up and at least in my case, our cyber security folks would flip out. So Ripple has basically no longer become an option for me where I work, PhoneGap is next up for the work scenario. At home it works great, so let's continue.

Download Ripple Here

I downloaded and ran the setup wizard accepting the default setting which took all of maybe a minute in total. So now I have Ripple on my programs list. Clicking Start and Ripple gives me this screen.

I'm really excited about this so far. Right away the option of PhoneGap is just cool. I plan on doing some work with PhoneGap in a later post, but for now, we'll go with WebWorks as that is what's native for Blackberry.

Nice! The phone itself actually took up more real estate on my screen than I had, but scrolling down actually does reveal the buttons on a blackberry phone. The next thing I did was click Devices and chose Blackberry Torch 9800 and this looks much better.

There's tons of cool information to play around with in Ripple, so before I lose my focus and get lost in all the goodies, let's see what my Hello Blackberry page looks like in the Ripple emulator.

Back in Visual Studio I simply hit play, this gave me the localhost address of the page, http://localhost:9556/BlackberryDemo/index.html. Copy and paste this into the Ripple emulator and click enter. PRESTO!

That's all there is to it. Now by simply changing the device you can see the app in many different Blackberry devices. What's even cooler is that by switching the Platform to PhoneGap, you can view your app in devices like iPad and iPhone. Sweet!

In the Part 2, I'll go over the WebWorks SDK and the steps required in the code for the app to work with WebWorks.

My new Software solutions blog

This blog is being created basically so I can remember what the heck I did to solve software problems throughout my career. I always seem to have a vague rememberence of solving something just like this, but can never seem to quite remember when and where and how. So, here's my solution, document everything here in this blog, and I'll never forget how I solved that problem anymore. Well that's the plan anyway.

I'm currently working for a company that focuses on the Microsoft technology stack. So, I would expect to be writing about things in the arena of Lightswitch, Silverlight, Sharepoint, .NET, C# is our language of choice. Also, I'm involved in the HTML5 and phone gap experiment. Well, I guess it's no longer an experiment, so after beating my head against a wall on the topic of HTML5 vs Silverlight, I've come to the conclusion that I will be on the HTML5 bandwagon, but keep Silverlight in my back pocket.

On the side, I have a blast created games for WP7 under the name DarkWheat Games, using Silverlight and XNA Game Studio. So I plan to write a bit on that stuff as well as my expansion into all mobile devices via HTML5 and Phone Gap. I'm a firm believer that the mobile world is the best possible place a developer can put themselves into right now, so I plan on fully planting myself into that world.

With a bit of luck and persistence, I will actually write some cool stuff here, and this will actually help me keep track of all the cool things I learn along the way. Until next time...