Desk Drive 1.2 introduces two new features. The first feature allows you to hide the tray icon. To get to the settings dialog once the the tray icon is hidden, simply run the program a second time.
The second feature allows you to start Desk Drive automatically when you login to Windows. The source code for this version is also available for download.
Version 1.3 will introduce a new localization mechanism that is much easier to author. Typical localization strategies in .Net involve producing a satellite assembly for every language. This is an effective and efficient method for large programs. For smaller programs like Desk Drive, it's over kill. Desk Drive's localization system involves only an XML file and requires no compilation. It's a customization of the .Net Resource Manager so it leverages the framework while only changing the data source. Look for it in the next week or so.
PicLens is a browser plug-in for Firefox that presents images in a unique and interesting way. It makes for a compelling, alternative way to browse images and news.
I don't have a high-end graphics card in my laptop. In fact, it's the integrated Intel chip set that ships on many laptops and yet it has plenty of power to present a smooth, stutter free presentation (even in Vista so there!). While there are not a load of sites that support this yet, there are some notable publishers like Amazon who provide support.
One of the cooler features that has hooked me is the "Discover" mode. Once installed, it places an icon in the right corner of your browser as pictured below (yellow highlighted area).
Clicking on it puts you in "Discover" mode when the site does not have a PicLens compatible RSS media feed. In Discover mode you get a selection of news and information presented in PicLens' unique image browsing format. It's really cool.
Opera 9.51 - Opera is the "other" browser that doesn't get as much press as Firefox. It's really fast and is a great alternative.
Intype we trust - Intype is a powerful and intuitive code editor for Windows with lightning fast response.
Paraffin 1.04 - If you're using WiX, Paraffin can help you automate some of the setup chores. Written by John Robbins of Wintellect so you know it's good.
Novel Solar Concentrator from MIT - More efficient solar panels by using a relatively simple trick.
Expression Blend and Design - Karen Corby is the Program Manager who worked with the Expression Blend team in developing the Visual State Manager feature. Karen has written four excellent and comprehensive blog posts (starting here) which explain the motivation for VSM, everything you can do with VSM and how it works under the covers, and how to build and skin a custom control. Even if you won't be writing your own custom control, this is highly recommended material on the subject from someone who designs the platform itself.
ChipIn - The Easy Way to Raise Funds Online - Neat and free web app that allows you to raise money online easily and quickly - without a lot of complicated coding or hassles.
andLinux.org - Run Linux natively inside Windows.
Antarctica Once Abutted Death Valley - Science News has a story of strange bedfellows. It seems that Antarctica was once adjacent to what is now the American Southwest, some 800 million years ago.
Can someone tell me why i shouldn’t drop WCF? - Interesting article on batching WCF service calls.
Bug Shooting - The perfect screen capture utility for windows and it's free.
Mofuse - Mofuse is discontinuing their pro accounts and giving them away for free. Mofuse is a web service dedicated to create mobile versions of blogs.
Scalable Fabric - Scalable Fabric is a task management system for the Windows desktop. Kind of cool.
Seven Essential Cheat Sheets - Keyboard shortcuts for many popular Web services.
nCleaner - A very nice system cleaning application that competes well with CCleaner.
Firefox Tip - Save multiple Web pages as MHT files. MHT files save web pages and all embedded graphics in a single file known as a Web archive. IE has supported this for years and now Firefox can do the same with this plugin.
Google Docs Template Gallery Launches - It's about time.
I'm at an architecture conference this week which is why I'm a bit behind on my blogging schedule. However, I thought I would take a few minutes to talk about the next version of Desk Drive. Desk Drive has been amazingly popular and I get requests to modify it all the time. The top requests are:
- Hide the tray icon
- Startup on login
- Position icons on desktop
- Localized versions
I've pointed out that XP allows you to hide icons on the tray but it appears from the responses that that is not a satisfactory solution. Ok, I'll add an option to hide the silly tray icon. Starting the program a second time will bring up the settings dialog when the tray icon is hidden.
Startup on login is also an often requested item. I'm guessing most users don't know they can drag and drop the shortcut to the startup folder. Fair enough, I'll add it.
The one I'm not sure how to implement is how the saved positions on the desktop should work. I've had a fair number of requests but what I really need is a use case as to how this feature should work. Leave your feedback in the comments so others can comment.
As to localized versions, Desk Drive is localizable if you have the tools, namely Visual Studio 2008, but it's a pain and no one has bothered (and I don't blame them). The standard .Net satellite assembly approach for resource localization is over kill for such a small app like Desk Drive. To fix this issue, I've written an XmlResourceManager, which extends the .Net ResourceManager framework to use an Xml file as a resource source. I'll blog about this component in another post but the basic idea is that all the resources for all languages will exist in a single Xml file that is read at load time.
Modifying the Xml resource file will require nothing more than a text editor and a knowledge of the local language. Since the Xml file is read at load time, testing the results will be easy and immediate. I can't imagine an easier and more immediate mechanism. Look for these improvements in the next week or so.
Here's the bottom line. If you have high-speed Internet access you can make unlimited local and long distance phone calls (to any phone, not just videophones) for 29.95/month. If the other party has a Videophone, you can see them. And the kicker, the equipment is free! Send me an email at mike@blueonionsoftware.com or visit http://mikejean.acnrep.com. This is a limited time offer so don't delay.
ACN’s IRIS 3000™ is the very latest in video phone technology and combines the power of video with the expandability of a phone adapter, plus enhanced features not available on any other phone.
This video phone essentially has a phone adapter built into the video phone allowing you to digitally-enable your entire household when used with a cordless base station and multiple cordless handsets.
The IRIS 3000 offers a high resolution, 7-inch wide screen with high-quality picture. The screen tilts and swivels for greater flexibility and folds down flat, making it easy to take with you when traveling.
Use the AV in/out jacks in the rear of the video phone to project the picture to a larger screen or monitor, and send the sound to external speakers to share your video conversation with a larger group.
- Stay in touch with friends through real-life video calls
- Enhanced Phonebook let’s you organize your contacts by name and photo
- As easy to use as a standard telephone
Easy Setup! Just connect the video phone to almost any broadband connection, plug in the power supply and turn on the phone. You'll be ready to make calls in minutes. View FAQ section for additional information regarding technical requirements.
Vacation over. Back to the good stuff.
There are a number of articles and workarounds posted on the Web on how to make the strongly typed resource classes in Visual Studio public instead of the default internal. Well, hack no more. Visual Studio 2008 provides a way to do this easily.
The resources editor in Visual Studio 2008 has a handy pick-list that easily allows you to change the access modifier as pictured above. How simple is that?
We were up at 5:30 am local time and out the door a little after 6:00 am. We headed North to Hayden Flats in look of wildlife. We came up empty. In fact, we were pretty much a bust on the wildlife aspect of our trip. Others told us they were practically tripping over wildlife but we were hard pressed to find any. Timing is everything I suppose.
The balance of our day was spent exploring the thermal activity in area. I'm told there are 10,000 geysers, fumeroles, vents, hot springs and mud pots (my favorite). My wife is something of a goal driven person so I'm betting we saw something like 8,000 of these items. It was a long day and a lot of walking. Still, we did see some great sights, particularly the hot springs.
My favorite hot springs are deep blue. I'm told the temperature of the blue is the hottest at 197 Fahrenheit. The boiling point of water at this altitude is 199 F. The color is just beautiful. I found myself wanting to dive in. We hiked about 200 ft up a hill to grab a magnificent view of Midway.
Of course, no trip to Yellowstone would be complete without a visit to Old Faithful. It's a great geyser but it's also a victim of its own success. The viewing area is so large that you end up almost 100 yards away from the geyser. It diminishes the impact considerably. The best geyser we saw was Grand geyser (pictured below). It's almost has big as Old Faithful but not as consistent and therefore not as popular. You can sit much closer to this geyser as well which makes for a much more dramatic event.
After a very full day we retreated to our campsite where a fire, bourbon and a nice cigar awaited. After all the walking (I'm guessing we walked close to 10 miles) we slept like bricks.
Day 10 of our trip started early again. We were packed and on the road again by 7:30 am. We made a quick stop in Grant Village near the South entrance of Yellowstone and took in the Visitors Center. Heading South from there, we entered Grand Teton an hour later.
Grand Teton is smaller than Yellowstone (small out here is 45 miles long). The mountains are unique in that they have no foothills in front of them so you can see the entire range almost unobstructed. The mountains are youngsters in the Rockies and still rising. The jaggedness of the peaks is due in part to the relatively young age of the mountains.
The main attraction in the area is Jenny Lake. It's a picturesque lake nestled in the mountains. There's a boat ride to the other side leading to some very steep trails. The trails lead to Hidden Falls and Inspiration point. The falls are magnificent and well worth the effort. Inspiration Point is much higher and while the view is great there are similar views to be had else where in the park that can be more easily reached. Signal mountain is perhaps the best view of the valley and you can drive up to it.
There is also a trial the rings the lake. It's about 3 miles to the falls using this lake trail. We went early in the morning to avoid trial traffic. The trail is lovely and in relatively easy. However, relatively easy out here is still work. We hiked both directions and on the way back I saw plenty of people who were not prepared for hiking in the mountains. Most had no water. Yellowstone and the Tetons are arid places and high altitude as well. It is very easy to become dehydrated out here. It was clear to me that 90% of folks were ill prepared with no water, poor shoes (sandals do not cut it our here) and poor health. The park service stays pretty busy I imagine bailing people out who have over extended themselves.
The Winter and Spring have been wet here as well and the falls, rivers and lakes are just gorged. The sound of rushing water is everywhere. Wildlife was much more abundant here than in Yellowstone. We saw large herds of Elk in several locations, spotted a Bear (at last) and the usual Prong Horns.
There are several visitor centers at the Tetons but two stand out. At the Southern entrance is the Craig Thomas Visitor Center which is a marvel of architecture. The exhibits are excellent and one unique display allows you to walk on a stream by embedding monitors in the floor. The other visitor center is at Coltor Bay and is housed in a decidedly tired building. But don't let that fool you, inside is one of the finest Native American exhibits available. It comes from a private collection and is simply stunning. The artifacts reveal the ingenuity of the plains people to fabricate beautiful utensils and costumes from nothing more than native plants and and animals. It also demonstrates the influence of early settlers who brought technologies like metallurgy that allowed the fashioning of axes and other implements.
Our visit to the Tetons concluded the wilderness part of our trip. From here we head down to Denver to visit friends and take in a Rockies Baseball game and fireworks. There's also a visit to Red Rocks which I'm looking forward to.
We've arrived at Yellowstone at last! The day's driving was relatively easy despite the mountainous terrain. Towing a large trailer takes a little different attitude. The cruise control is worthless. It's designed for lightly loaded vehicle. I've found if I accelerate early and keep the RPM's up the truck does a very good job of pulling the trailer. Also, I've been adjusting the load levelers and I think I've found the sweet spot. Despite pulling some pretty steep grades, most of the time I could maintain 55 mph.
At the RV park we checked in and discovered only hard-sided campers are allowed. Our camper has pop-outs on the ends for sleeping. Apparently the bears find the sleeper sides a bit too tempting. After seeing the sites, it was fine that we could not stay there. Nothing but asphalt and tightly packed campers. We opted for the more primitive tent sites. It means no 110 volt but we have battery for lights and water and gas for cooking. Not exactly what you would call roughing it.
We came through the East entrance which took us over some 8000 ft. passes. It's almost July and there's snow on the ground. Temps go down to the 40's at night and only hit 70 during the day. Actually, for me, these are great conditions. I've slept like a brick in the camper with the cooler conditions.
Despite my reservations about hauling a camper around, I've found the camping experience to be delightful. The cozy space of the camper is a welcome retreat at the end of the day. Make no mistake, there is a bit of extra hassle in setting up and tearing down camp and the trailer does make for some long driving due to the reduced speeds. Still, on balance, I'm feeling it was the right decision for us. The kids love the adventure of camping and we can cook and eat our own food which is always a plus in my book.
Nights are very cold here still (late June). Temperatures dipped into the high 30's last night. Thank goodness for down sleeping bags. There is snow every where above 7,000 feet. Two weeks earlier, many of the park roads were closed due to blizzard conditions. The heavy snowfall has meant very high water levels. Many of the creeks look more like small lakes.
We met our guide the next morning at the historic Yellowstone Lodge. It was built in the 1920's and has that grand style of early turn of the century buildings sometimes had. It has been recently restored and has one of the best views of Yellowstone Lake and the mountains in the entire park.
Our first stop was Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. The upper and lower falls are perhaps the most spectacular feature of the park. We're told the light is best in the early morning. The falls were thundering with the excess water from the heavy snow melt. The water would bounce off the bottom and fly 75 ft back into the air. The surrounding rock contains minerals that turn it yellow. This is where the park gets it name from. There is closer observation point called the "Brink of the Falls". Here you stand at the top of the lower falls. The water is mere feet from us flowing by at an impossible rate. The noise is thunderous.
Next was the Sulfur Caldron. It's supposedly the smelliest area of the park. It was. But the thermal activity was incredible. Large pools about 50 ft across boiled with a yellow sulfuric fury. Further back, there was a giant mud pot about 25 ft. in size plopping and gurgling like an angry caldron.
Further down the road we moved into Hayden Valley. It's a great stop for watching Elk and Wolf packs, but not today. We moved on over the pass and into Northern end of the park. Here we saw Osprey (Fish Hawks), Peregrine Falcons, and Golden Eagle nests. Bison and Elk littered the area. On the way back we stopped at a large rapids and watched Cut Throat Trout jumping to get upstream.
After dinner, we went to the Fishing Bridget Visitor Center. The kids played on the beach while a stole a few watts from the park service to recharge my laptop. My wife spotted a herd of Elk on the shore to the West. Several juveniles were running about. Coming back from the visitor center we ran into a coyote trying to cross the road. He was a healthy, fluffy specimen rather than the emaciated ones I see back East. He made for quite a traffic jam.
Tomorrow we go out at 6 am with hopes of seeing a bear or two. Then on to the geysers and mud pots.
We slept in late (well for us a least) and didn't get out the door until 8:00 am. We set out for the Wildlife Loop in Custer State Park, SD. No sooner did we drive a few miles when we ran into hundreds of buffalo. They were in the road and in no hurry to move. We were near the South entrance to the park. The younger buffalo were checking out some of the doors of the ranger station.
There were numerous calves everywhere. The heard is more productive than the park can support so the cull the it every fall in a huge round-up. Animals are selected for slaughter and wind up on the menus of many of restaurants in the area.
The park is alive with life. Everywhere you go you see Long Horned Sheep, Prong Horn Deer, Prairie Dogs, Wild Horses, and lot of birds. The place is just teaming with life. We spent more time outside of the car taking photographs than driving.
In the afternoon we attended some ranger programs. The kids particularly liked mining for gold. We went to a local creek where they issued the children pans and showed them how to sift for gold.
The needles highway is perhaps the most spectacular part of the park. It is a narrow winding road that cuts through the mountain with several very narrow tunnels and leads to some amazing rock formations that jut out of the ground like needles (hence the name I suppose).
It rained again that night (I thought this was a desert people!). Fortunately for us our travel trailer was water tight and we experienced no leaks. This is one time when the travel trailer trumps tent camping. We sat dry and protected from the storm and could read and play games. It's great family time.
The next day we left for Thermopolis in Wyoming, famous for their mineral hot springs. Along the way we stopped in Dead Wood, home of Calamity Jane, Wild Bill Hickock and other notable Western figures. It apparently hit bottom in the 1980's and was a dying town. Some one got the idea to introduce gambling shortly afterwards and the downtown has made an amazing comeback. Restored and new structures are carefully monitored to maintain the old West feel of the town. There are numerous hotels, casinos and speciality stores. Definitely touristy but when compared to the 1980 pictures, a vast and welcome improvement.
The Adams Museum in Dead Wood is well worth the visit. It's free but they accept donations. It's rated as one of the 10 best Western museums in the United States. I'm not sure what that means but it is a very pleasant and thoughtfully presented collection. Among the many artifacts is the first train that was used in the area. It's quaintly small, almost child sized. It could not have pulled more than a dozen cars.
From Dead Wood we crossed the mountains. Again I wished for 8 cylinders. The Trailblazer has the muscle, but it takes a lot of RPM's to get the job done. Something I'll remember for the future.
The hot springs are very comfy by the way. They percolate out of the ground at 130 degrees and then is cooled in graduated pools. One pool was 117 degrees. The other two were 104 and 97 respectively. Personally, 97 was plenty hot for me.
Access to the Internet is sporadic here in the mountains. I try to write everyday but it can be several days before I find a Wi-Fi hot spot. Typically, the information centers, sprinkled near the major tourist attractions, are the only places I've found to be reliable.
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