Using the .NET CF / SDE Beta with VB.NET

Microsoft is only supporting the .NET CF / SDE Beta 1 with full-blown Visual Studio.NET. If you are using stand-alone VB.NET, the Beta will install without any errors but you will not be able to create any new "Smart Device Application" projects. The wizards never appears. After some head-banging, I figured out how to make it work.

Open <vs_net_path>\Vb7\VBProjects\smartDeviceApp.vsz in a text editor.

Find the line that reads:

Param="SCRIPT_COMMON_RELATIVE_PATH = CSPROJ"

Change it to:

Param="SCRIPT_COMMON_RELATIVE_PATH = VBPROJ"

Update: This solution also works for VS.NET users that do not have C# installed.

7:01:29 PM | Comments:

Expand .NET beyond Windows: The arguments for moving .NET beyond Windows seem logical, and certainly the success of Java stands as a testimony that it's technically realistic. Unfortunately, it's also not quite that simple. [Sam Ruby]

Am I the only one that grasps the .Net CLR as a hedge against future Windows unprofitability? When that day comes, having .Net on other platforms will save Microsoft's applications business. The beauty of it for Microsoft is that the Open Source community will do most of the work to make Office.net for Linux possible. The transitional costs to the applications groups will be minimal.

Should Windows remain the dominant desktop platform indefinitely, Microsoft has lost nothing. They've done nothing to directly support Linux, which might prematurely erode Windows marketshare, and there is no "Linux Strategy" to back away from.

Either way, Microsoft gets to sell more Visual Studio.net seats.

4:04:16 PM | Comments:

InfoWorld: Windows .Net Server now due in mid-2003

I'm thinking that no one really cares. Windows .Net Server has been caught up in the overall .Net hype. Microsoft needs to do a better job of explaining what this OS brings to the table beyond .Net being baked-in. Why should Windows 2000 servers be upgraded?

1:27:44 PM | Comments:

Use the Configuration File to Store Settings. This article shows you how to use the .config file to store application settings. [Sam Gentile's Radio Weblog]

1:11:06 PM | Comments:

Happy Happy, Joy Joy

I've been accepted for the Smart Device Extensions and .Net Compact Framework beta! 40MB downloaded, 55MB to go...

Yeah baby, yeah!

12:34:18 PM | Comments:

.Net seen gaining steam in dev projects [via ActiveWin]

Bottom line: Users should plan to support heterogeneous environments. Microsoft will become an increasingly viable choice for the next generation of Web-services-based applications, as Java will maintain incumbency for many projects.

Overall, a well-written analysis of how things will play out in the corporate development market. I'm not so sure about this emphasis on web services. Maybe it just needs a better name. The dominant corporate development model will continue to resemble traditional n-Tier Client/Server applications with fat clients running on the desktop. Web services and related technology may replace DCOM and CORBA, but the web has nothing to do with it.

3:00:29 AM | Comments: