I ran across this issue when building my HIPAA Schemas in Release mode for deployment.

(-1040) The engine input file compilation process is already active

There are good reason for receiving this, such as, someone else doing a compile and/or accessing the EIF file at the same time you are. If you are sure that is not the case then you can manually unlock the repository. Do do this open Query Analyzer and run this script:

USE BizTalkHIPAA_EDIDb
GO
UPDATE parame SET repolock= NULL
GO

What initially caused this issue was, at one time I was building the Schemas and I canceled the build which killed the COMPEIF.exe process leaving the table in a locked status.

Ed K.

So I installed Windows Vista Ultimate, since I upgraded from Windows Media Center 2002 the first thing I was interested in was to defragment my drive. I must say, I was shocked at the GUI and concept of the new defragmenter. There is no pretty little graphical current and future state progress, there is no "Select drive option" and there is no "view the details" of what could not be defragmented. What I do like is the ability to schedule the process and the fact that is runs as a background service, which is great since I do not have time to sit idle and let it defrag, I need to be working while its working.

I am still in the process of figuring out what software does not work on my box after the upgrade. I am extremely displeased with two companies that did not have their sh#t together for the release of Vista........"VONGO" (Movie download software) and "SONIC WALL" (VPN client)  arrrgggggg.

UPDATE:

I found that you can still open your "Computer" and individually select a disk drive to Defrag.

Ed K.

So... very cool thing that I saw on Caleb Jenkin's blog the other day.  If you have trouble picking color themes and all that jazz... than here is a site that you can really get some good help from:  Adobe Kuler

There are some really good links that point to some good sites about Color Theory in general.  As a presentation layer designer/developer, it is important to keep in mind what colors you choose and what "meanings" different colors have to different people including different cultures if you are developing software that is used globally.

• http://www.worqx.com/color/index.htm
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_theory
• http://www.colormatters.com/colortheory.html
• http://webexhibits.org/causesofcolor/index.html
• http://www.apple.com/pro/color/
• http://www.colorstrology.com/

I personally have a great product that I carry around with that is a bound book of web colors and just web cheat sheets in general.  Plus the owner of the company is just awesome.  Very nice guy and has great customer service...  http://www.visibone.com

The other nice thing about the Web Designer's Color Card that I have is that those of us who actually can see all of the colors can be reminded of what those that are color blind can see...  Just another thing to think about when choosing colors for your UI.

Ed B.

Well, as you can see I did not post what I was learning at the IAF training, this is because the subject in which we were taught is sensitive information that we cannot share with others outside our organization. The training was awesome and really taught me about how to align IT with Business needs. This is always a touchy subject with most developers because they do not think that IT is bought in soon enough during the project inception. I understand that and definitely have felt the burn of that scenario. The IAF provides an outstanding way in which to address that common concern elegantly. I look forward to attending the advance classes that are offered. For now, that's it, all I can say.

Ed K.

Just checked... Windows Vista is now available for download to MSDN Subscribers.

Ed B.

So... looks like Microsoft Visual Studio Team Edition for Database Professionals (which currently happens to be the Microsoft product that has the longest name in the Microsoft Product Catalog) will be RTM on November 30.

Ed and I have been invitied to sit on the Expert Panel for the Dallas Launch Event on December 13.  You can find more details about the event here.  We look forward to seeing you there.

DB Pro (former "Data Dude") is a great addition to the Visual Studio Team System and has a lot of cool and useful features.

1. Brings in the database developers and includes them in the collaboration using Team Foundation Server.
2. Database Schema is now able to be put into source control!  This enables a group to manage changes to the database with all of the version control features TFS brings to the table.
3. Generates Data for testing.
4. Produces database schema change scripts.
5. Allows creation of unit tests for the database.
6. Rename Refactoring across entire database!  Unfortunately, it will not rename objects that you have used in code.  For instance, if you have a data layer project, it will not change stored procedures or parameter names if you changed them in the DB project.
7. Schema Comparisons (between Projects and Live Databases, and DB to DB)
8. Data Comparisons (same)

Things that this release did not have in it that I hope to see in the future:

1. Data Modeling Tools
2. Intellisense for T-SQL (Although I really understand how daunting of a task that would be because of how the syntax of T-SQL was designed.
3. I'm sure there are other things that I think are needed but I'll add them as I think of them.

Very exciting times!

Ed B.

So... after looking and looking... and then some more looking at MSDN Subscriber Downloads this weekend I finally saw that Office 2007  was released.  Not all of the programs are available yet but the main applications are.

Beware though... if you were using prerelease versions of Office 2007 be sure to uninstall all of the components from them before you attempt to install the RTM version.  So far so good though.  I'm really impressed with the release.

Ed B.

I have been invited to attend a 5 day training class on Capgemini's Integrated Architecture Framework. The training will start this week and is located in Dallas TX. I had the opportunity to choose to take the training in either Dallas or Paris France. Do to the short notice I had to choose Dallas since I do not have a passport (the Microsoft .Net Passport won't work) and it takes to dang long to get one. O well, better to do it here locally so I will be more concentrated on learning rather than site seeing. I will do several post this week sharing what I learn.

Ed K.

The DotNetRocks show "Live from Tulsa TechFest 2006", show number 201, has been posted. This is one of the best shows I have heard in a while. Not just because "The Eds" are on it, but because of the humor and wide variety of people interview. Caleb Jenkins jokes, David Walkers references and Bill Vaughn's thoughts are a  few of the great momonents in the show. You can catch "The Eds" at minute 13. We had the opportunity to do a plug at the end of our talk so, we Bragged about  our employer Sogeti USA (a Capgemini Group company.) 

Download the show here.

Thanks for interviewing us Carl and Richard! We love the show and are huge fans!

Ed K.

The 3.0 Framework has been release today and is available for download here. Visual Studio 2005 Extensions for the 3.0 Framework can be downloaded here.

The Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 is the new managed code programming model for Windows®. It combines the power of the .NET Framework version 2.0 with new technologies for building applications that have visually compelling user experiences, seamless communication across technology boundaries, and the ability to support a wide range of business processes. These new technologies are Windows Presentation Foundation, Windows Communication Foundation, Windows Workflow Foundation, and Windows CardSpace. The .NET Framework 3.0 is included as part of the Windows Vista™ operating system; you can install it or uninstall it using Windows Features Control Panel. This redistributable package is for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. (Microsoft, 2006)

For customers that already have the .NET Framework 2.0 installed, this .NET Framework 3.0 redistributable package installs only the new Windows Vista components. This ensures that any .NET Framework 2.0-based applications work seamlessly when the .NET Framework 3.0 is installed, with no application migration or updates of any kind required. (Microsoft, 2006)

Ed K.