Express Yourself
Microsoft is working to finish its Expression line of tools. Last week, the
company released a
near-final
version of Expression Blend, which helps developers build Vista and XP interfaces.
This week, a
near-final
version of Expression Design, a graphics program, was shipped.
I haven't fiddled with any of these little beauties yet. Have you? Let us know
what you think at [email protected].
Microsoft Comes Clean on AJAX
Microsoft this week promised to support and promote AJAX interoperability by
joining the OpenAJAX Alliance. If all parties truly cooperate, then Microsoft's
ASP.NET AJAX (I had to use the caps lock to type that name!) will work with
AJAX tools from other vendors.
This also shows that Microsoft is serious about Web 2.0-style development.
In fact, if you really think about it, Microsoft has a broader range of Web
2.0 development tools than Google. Here's
what Google offers in this area.
Redmond Developer News Executive Editor Jeff Schwartz has the deets
here.
No Hiding from AIM
Here's a technology I don't think I need and know I don't want. By figuring
out what wireless router you're using, AOL's instant messaging service can let
your friends (and your boss) know
exactly where you are.
This reminds me of all the hype around presence, when we were all supposed
to fall in love with the notion of knowing if our co-workers were in the office,
on the phone or in the john. It's not enough that we are tethered to work through
cell phones, BlackBerrys and home broadband connections -- now our every physical
move is to be known, as well?
Doug's Mailbag: WebEx vs. Live Meeting, FoxPro Alternative
In the battle of the
Web conferencing tools, Live Meeting and WebEx are neck-and-neck -- today,
anyway:
We used WebEx for a couple of years, and the quality of service deteriorated
badly toward the end of our stay in 2005. We would routinely (as in more than
50 percent of the meetings, from various locations around the country) have
client hangs, disconnections, PowerPoint rendering errors, audio drops, poor
audio quality, recording failures, etc. And along with all of that, the customer
service was incredibly bad. We finally had to punt. We looked at a couple
of different providers and settled on Live Meeting. LM has been infinitely
better. There are still things to complain about, and the learning curve was
non-trivial, but at least the service works.
-Gil
My company has a corporate account with WebEx, so I'm partial to it.
However, I do use Live Meeting from time to time. Overall, I'd say WebEx has
the edge.
-Rich
So, is there life after FoxPro? This reader stays optimistic:
I must admit the death of FoxPro saddens me. I left A-T's dBase for FoxPro
and it served me well for many years. I graduated from FP to a relatively
unknown (but rather amazing) cross-platform RDBMS called 4th
Dimension, or 4D. As FoxPro developers search for a vibrant, growing alternative,
I hope they are as fortunate as I was in finding 4D.
-Robert
Got something to add? Let me have it; comment below or drop me a line at [email protected].
About the Author
Doug Barney is editor in chief of Redmond magazine and the VP, editorial director of Redmond Media Group.