Well its about 2:30, and I'm packing up my laptop (well not really because I'm using it to write this blog post) to head on out of Bloomington and travel up to Chicago for DevDays tomorrow.  Glad to see that a few of us have gotten in contact about a meetup to eat/drink afterwards tomorrow.  If your heading to DevDays, Chicago - stop on by Rock Bottom Brewery afterwards!  Jeff Key, Adam Kinney, Erik Porter and myself (along with my coworker) will be there having a good time.  I'll probably be able to check my email a few times tonight, so if you wanna meet up, drop me a line and I'll give you my cell phone number.

Now... onto DevDays 2004!

Updated: Please View this post for the latest version.

WebDeploy has hit v0.6 with a ton of new features that are very appealing to developers.  This updated version is still the same simple windows application that it was, but it has been beefed up quite tremendously.  Below is a screen shot of the new main form

Now, for the good stuff...the stuff you've all been waiting for...the changelog:

• Ability to upload files via FTP.
• N-number of profiles that are easily switchable via the "File" menu.
• New Profile configuration dialog that replaces the previous "Configuration" dialog.
• N-number of FTP Profiles for each WebDeploy profile.
• Added Last Modified Date Checking as an option.
• Added a "Copied Files" dialog which will list the files copied during the last deployment.
• Updated Version Checking with "On-Demand" checking via the "Help" menu.
• Setup will automatically convert previous settings if you chose to retain your settings during the uninstall.
• Executables are now obfuscated (sorry code sniffers).

Like I stated previously, I'm providing WebDeploy as Freeware, and the source code is not available, however, if anyone would like to help me in creating graphics to make the UI better, I would be open to letting you see the source.  Contact me if you would like to help.  Also, if you have any further suggestions/comments/ideas/problems, please do not hesitate to contact me or post them on this blog post.

If you wish to download WebDeploy, click here. You will need the .NET Framework 1.1.4322 to run WebDeploy.

I know Jeff and Adam threw out their plea (is it really a plea?) for attendees of the DevDays, Chicago event next Wednesday, but I really haven't heard back from either of them about a possible meetup before/during/after DevDays.  So, if you're going to DevDays, Chicago on March 10th, shoot me an email.  I'd like to meet anyone and everyone there!

Well, its not a direct post from Scoble, but its pretty darn close, maybe I'll get a straight link from Scoble one of these times :)  Though, I would like to mention that I'm not affiliated with NewsGator, and the NNTP Plugin is not suppored by NewsGator. Thanks Scoble!

NewsGator releases NNTP plugin

Last night hosted our first "real" meeting for the Central Illinois .NET User Group based out of Bloomington, IL.  I say "real", because every meeting prior to last night, were just brief get-to-know-you meetings, and discussions on what we'd like the group to do.

Last night's meeting was great, for 2 reasons.  One, I got appointed as "Program Director" for the club.  I thought this role would be great, only because I get to create the ideas behind each meeting, and setup speakers from INETA, Microsoft, or other local companies to come and talk to us.  So, be for-warned...you may be contacted by me if I want you to speak :)

Secondly, we had 2 great speakers that talked about accessibility of web and windows applications.  The speakers, who are employees of State Farm Insurance, are disabled themselves and do a multitude of conferences, classes, and whatnot.  They were both very entertaining to listen to, as they've been working very closely together for quite some time, so all the friendly quirkness comes out in their talks.  I believe that our group got a ton of information out of them, as we're all now aware of the "dos" and "donts" of making an application. 

Some key items I wanted to stress with the community, are the following:

• When creating web applications, make sure you use the "alt" attribute for images, describing what the image is portraying.  Without these, a webpage could be completely blank to a screen reader.
• Always keep the navigation/menus, and commonly used items in the same place.  By moving them around on the screen, it can confuse users who have to memorize where items are.
• Make sure you provide descriptive instructions on what needs to be done.  An example that was used, was don't say "Press the red image to continue", but rather say "Press the red triangle to continue."
• Make sure when you develop a UI, that it goes to your users to have them actually test it out, and see if it is logical and easyto use to them.  If a disabled person gets confused with your UI, then the UI is worthless. It should be well laid out for disabled & non-disabled persons.
• Make sure that if you have an e-commerce site, that you have a return policy. 

Well, the last item is more of a joke, rather than a "do" or "dont".  One of the speakers, who is blind, always scours a website prior to purchasing anything, for the return policy,  only because sometimes the wrong item is ordered, and he had no idea it was coming -- so when he wanted a sweater, he really got a BMW... big difference on the credit card.

I encourage anyone who is in the Central Illinois area, to come to our meetings.  We meet the first Wednesday of every month at the Microsoft office in Bloomington, IL.  For more information on our group and see our up-and-coming schedule, visit http://www.centralil.net for more information. 

Just as a heads-up, our next meeting will have a speaker talking about security in .NET.  My guess is that it will be something similar to what we're hearing at DevDays.

I've received multiple comments on why I developed WebDeploy rather than just using XCopy or VS.NET's inherint "Copy" tool.  I just wanted to take a brief moment to share why WebDeploy was built:

1. I wanted an easy to use tool that would allow me to deploy my personal and work web applications (or anything for that matter) without having to really think about it.
2. Most work environments require you to take the completed web applications and deploy them from a staging server, aka a User Acceptance Testing (UAT) server.
3. I like to use the GUI over the command line.
4. Deploy web applications easily across FTP (a feature soon to be added).

To explain #2 - in most work environments, developers use VS.NET on their local machines to build the applications. Then, a build script/process takes over to get a working build on a development server.  This is where the major problem comes into play...how do I get a build on UAT or on the Live server?  Well, almost all of the time, your UAT & Live servers don't have VS.NET installed...and more often than not, they don't have NAnt installed either...this means you have to manually copy the files from Development to UAT and then from UAT to Live.  Thats where WebDeploy fits in...it alleviates the headache of moving files from Development to UAT and then from UAT to Live servers.

To explain #4 - XCopy or VS.NET's "Copy" tool doesn't have FTP support.  Sure, the Whidbey version of "Copy" probably will have, but Whidbey is still a year out, what should we use until then?

So, I hope my explanation on why I built WebDeploy explains answers and gripes from those saying the same can be done with XCopy or "Copy"..because in practice, it really cant.

Version 1.0 of the NewsGator NNTP Plugin to allow posting to newsgroups has been released. This version includes instant notification of updated versions, as well as refinement of the sending username and email per the RFC spec.  This version solves the 441 error, where you may receive a message saying your email address doesn't conform to internet standards.

Visit the NewsGator NNTP Plugin page to view more information and download the plugin!

Updated: Please View this post for the latest version.

I've finally put the finishing touches on my pet project over the last few weeks, and have released it to the public.  WebDeploy, is a small windows application that allows a developer to easily transfer files from one location to another based on extensions.  The tool has become a major workhorse in my daily work routine of deploying web applications, in which I only want to copy over images, webforms, or assemblies.

As the above image shows, you define your source and destination folders by either typing the location or using the folder selection.  The source and destination textboxes (and folder selection) allows you to choose any available directory, either on your hard drive or on a file share (you can use UNC paths). An easily available checked listbox to the right allows you to select extensions you wish to deploy at the current time.  Further configuration of the application allows you to add/remove extensions, and also set your default selected extensions.  When you're ready to deploy your files, you can:

1) Click the "Deploy" button
2) Click "Tools" -> "Deploy" in the file menu
3) Hit F5

The configuration dialog allows you customize WebDeploy to your needs.  In it, you can add any number of extensions you wish to copy at some point or another.  The left checked listbox allows you to choose your default selected extensions whenever the application loads.  You also have the option to copy empty directories, auto-fill your last used directories (when the application starts), and backup destination files prior to deploying.  The backup feature is really nice if you're copying a large amount of items, and you made a mistake.  Just by clicking the "Deploy" button again, the files are restored to their original items.

The last dialog that is available, is an exceptions dialog.  If for some reason any file cannot be copied due to a thread being aborted, the file is in accessible because its currently in use, or you don't have permission, the information is logged.  The exceptions dialog will allow you view a listing of files and their exceptions for the last deployment during the current session.

I'm providing this application as freeware to anyone who wishes to use it, however source code is not available.  I'm planning on advancing the application to allow deployment via FTP in future versions, so those of you (me included) that don't have local access to your webserver will not be out in the cold.  I would also like to hear what else you wish to have included for WebDeploy.  I want this application to grow as a normal staple of every developers tool box...it's already grown to be a major tool in mine.

If you wish to download WebDeploy, click here.  You will need the .NET Framework 1.1.4322 to run WebDeploy.

I've been working on a Web Deployer windows application the last week or so, and everything was working great until I refactored some code the other night.  In a separate thread, I'm traversing through a directory (and subdirectories) getting the size of all the files needing to be copied.  Just after that, I start traversing through that same directory, attempting to copy the file to a destination. However, after refactoring code into 1 method for all the traversing, I've been unable to copy any of the files, and am getting a "The process cannot access the file ... because it is being used by another process."

If you have any idea or could help me out, that would be great.

As Frank stated, MSDN Connections (Australia) is up and running.  However, when I tried to register, it told me that I must change my country to Australia to get into it.  Well, since I don't live in Australia, I don't want to do that, so I guess for the masses, we'll have to wait until MSDN Connections is available for the US or other countries.