June 2003 Newsletter
AFUG Info
June Presentation Topic
July Presentation Topic
Free Food!
Door Prizes
Braves Outting
AFUG Job Alerts
WHOOPS!
Discounts
Bulk Subscription to CODE
Magazine
Subscribe
to asp.netPRO Magazine - Raise Money for AFUG
AFUG Training Materials
VFP Info
VFP Article
VFP 8 Bug Fix Lists
Fun Stuff
Windows 2000 Bug List
Hacker Takes a Crack at TiVo
Incredible Movies
What if SETI@home Gets Lucky?
What I Hate About
Your Programming Language
"Amazon Hacks" Announced
What is RSS?
This month's meeting will take place on Thursday, June 18th at 7:00 (Informal discussion kicks off at 6:30 and that's when the food will arrive - see the Free Food link below). This month's topic will be "Taking FoxPro Development to the Web - Part 2". This will be an in-depth look at the coding techniques and caveats behind real-world implementations of FoxPro on the Internet. AFUG member Dave Bernard will be our presenter.
Location and Directions: http://www.afug.com/meeting.html
July Presentation Topic
In July, we'll be moving our meeting from the third Thursday to the third Wednesday. So that means we'll be meeting on Wednesday, July 16th. Please make a note of this on your calendar. Juval Lowy will be doing a presentation on .NET. Here's some information on Mr. Lowy:
Juval Löwy is a seasoned software architect and the principal of IDesign, a consulting and training company focused on .NET design and .NET migration. Juval is Microsoft’s Regional Director for the Silicon Valley, working together with Microsoft on evangelizing and promoting .NET. Juval also participates in the Microsoft internal design reviews for future versions of .NET. Juval chairs the program committee of the California Bay Area .NET User Group and is a frequent speaker at major international software development conferences. He teaches .NET at Berkeley University Extension. Juval authored Programming .NET Components by O’Reilly. The book is dedicated to component-oriented programming and design using .NET, as well as the related system issues, such as remoting, threading and security. Juval also authored COM and .NET Component Services (by O’Reilly), which talks at length about .NET Enterprise Services. Juval is a contributing editor to the Visual Studio Magazine and a regular columnist. He also publishes at the MSDN magazine and other magazines.
This should be an exciting and educational presentation. I encourage everyone to attend and bring an associate. IMPORTANT: Please RSVP as soon as possible regarding your attendance at this meeting. We are inviting the Atlanta .NET Users Group members and we want to ensure that we have enough room to accommodate everyone.
Free Food!
AFUG will be providing pizza, wings, and drinks for both the June and July meetings. The food will be there at 6:30, so you be there, too. We'll even provide "moist towelettes" to get cleaned up afterwards (and there's always the bathrooms, of course). Please RSVP on whether you'll be attending and to let me know if you'd like to partake of the grub.
Door Prizes
As usual, we'll have door prizes to give away at the June meeting. We still have some Microsoft Office System 2003 Beta 2 Kit and we'll have some other goodies, too.
Braves Outting
Ok, I did a little research on this. If we have a group of 30 or more, we can get 1 - 2 dollars off the normal ticket prices. Gee thanks, Braves. However, if we attend a Tuesday night game, we can get two-for-one in the upper level reserved section. This is normally $8, so we could pair up two people, they could split the cost, and we'd get in for 4 bucks a person. Sounds good, however a week night may not appeal to some people. Here are the possible dates (some dates have promotions):
Tuesday, July 22nd - No promotion
Tuesday, July 29th - No promotion
Tuesday, August 12th - Warren Spahn Bobblehead Doll Night - First 12,000 kids 14 and under
Tuesday, August 26th - 3 Braves Player Cards - First 12,000 kids 14 and under
Tuesday, September 9th - 3 Braves Player Cards - First 12,000 kids 14 and under
Tuesday, September 23rd - 3 Braves Player Cards - First 12,000 kids 14 and under
I'll need to get some feed back on this, of course. Let me know if a Tuesday night game would work for you (and consider bringing the entire family - that's kind of the point). If a Tuesday night game does work for you, let me know which night would be best and if there is a night that you just couldn't make it.
Obviously, we can go to a weekend game, also. That could be as cheap as $7 bucks each. Here are the group prices (30 or more):
Lexus Pavilion - August, $25 / September, $28
Outfield (Field/Terrace) Pavilion - August, $17 / September, $20
Upper Level Box - August, $11 / September, $14
Upper Level Reserved - August, $7 / September, $10
You don't have to be a member to join us at the game, so don't hesitate to let me know what your preferences are!
AFUG Job Alerts
What are you missing by not joining the Atlanta FoxPro Users Group? Well one thing is the AFUG Job Alerts. These e-mail job postings (for both fulltime and contract positions) are sent out only to AFUG members. So if you're looking for a job, looking for a better job, or looking for new clients, the AFUG Job Alerts can really pay off. The $35 annual membership fee for AFUG can pay for itself with just one tip learned at a meeting, one AFUG Job Alert, one contact made who refers business to you, one AFUG member discount on books and software, and many other ways. Take advantage of AFUG membership - join today at http://www.afug.com/app.html or join at the next meeting.
WHOOPS!
Well, I think I failed to get this information out to everyone after the April meeting: You can visit http://www.cullytechnologies.com/presentations.asp to get information on the April presentation by Kevin Cully as well as his past presentations.
Discounts
Ask me about discounts on O'Reilly books and various other discounts on books, software, and training.
Bulk Subscription to CODE Magazine
AFUG now has a bulk subscription to CODE Magazine. CODE is published 6 times a year, so about every other meeting I'll have plenty of copies for all who attend.
Subscribe to asp.netPRO Magazine - Raise Money for AFUG
If you subscribe to asp.netPRO magazine at the ultra-low price of $19.99 for 14 monthly issues, AFUG will receive $5.00 for every subscription our members order. If you are interested, please go to http://www.aspnetPRO.com/INETA?INETA=116 and place your order!
Training Materials
AFUG has new training materials now available for our members (this is another great reason to pay the $35 annual membership fee). These materials are as follows:
Introducing .NET (John Durant)
2 CD Set
Get the details: http://www.appdev.com/prodfamily.asp?catalog%5Fname=AppDevCatalog&category%5Fname=NETIntroProduct
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.NET Framework
2 CD Set
Get the details: http://www.appdev.com/prodfamily.asp?catalog%5Fname=AppDevCatalog&category%5Fname=NETFrameProduct
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Exploring Visual Studio .Net (Ken Getz)
5 CD Set
Get the details: http://www.appdev.com/prodfamily.asp?catalog%5Fname=AppDevCatalog&category%5Fname=NETVSNetProduct
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Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Level 1
3 CD Set
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Level 2
6 CD Set
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Level 3
5 CD Set
Get the details: http://www.appdev.com/prodfamily.asp?catalog%5Fname=AppDevCatalog&category%5Fname=SQ00Product
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Developing Visual Basic Applications for SQL Server 2000
6 CD Set
Get the details: http://www.appdev.com/prodfamily.asp?catalog%5Fname=AppDevCatalog&category%5Fname=VBSQProduct
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XML Applications with SQL Server 2000
3 CD Set
Get the details: http://www.appdev.com/prodfamily.asp?catalog%5Fname=AppDevCatalog&category%5Fname=SQXMProduct
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C# Fundamentals
4 CD Set
Developing Applications in C#
4 CD Set
Get the details: http://www.appdev.com/prodfamily.asp?catalog%5Fname=AppDevCatalog&category%5Fname=CSHProduct
As you can see, there is a lot of material here and every member has the opportunity to check out these CDs. Here are the policies:
You must be an AFUG member ($35 annual dues) .
A $100 deposit is required (your check will be cashed).
The $100 deposit allows you to check out 2 CDs, a $200 deposit lets you check out 3 CDs, and so on.
If the CD is mailed to you, a postage and handling fee of $2.50 will be charged against your deposit.
If the CD is picked up at a meeting there is no postage and handling fee, of course.
You have two weeks to view the CD and get it back to me (depending on demand you may have longer, but no more than 30 days)
I bring all the training materials to the January meeting so you may select one there or you may contact me to have it mailed to you. These CDs are available now. First come, first served.
And don't forget our existing material:
VFP 6 Video Tapes from Keystone Learning Systems (6 tapes)
Crystal Reports 8 CDs (7 CDs)
Developing COM Active X Components (6 tapes)
VFP Article
Check out this link for an good article on VFP: http://www.adtmag.com/article.asp?id=7599
VFP 8 Bug Fix Lists
Well, I've complained about Microsoft not releasing bug lists and bug fix lists for their dot-oh releases. Now I've discovered that they have release some information on bug fixes in VFP 8. Check out these three links:
INFO: List of Memory Exception Bugs Fixed in Visual FoxPro 8.0
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=818175
INFO: List of Memory Leak and Corruption Bugs Fixed in Microsoft Visual FoxPro 8.0
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=818178
INFO: Miscellaneous Problems Fixed by Visual FoxPro 8.0
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=818179
Windows 2000 Bug List
Hacker Takes a Crack at TiVo
Breaking into your DVR isn't about stealing service--TiVo has been really friendly to hackers in the past. Instead, hacking your TiVo is about scoring more features and getting the services you want. This Wired article tells you what author Raffi Krikorian has in store for you in his upcoming book, "TiVo Hacks." http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,59028,00.html
Incredible Movies
Almost 2,000 ephemeral films (industrial, educational, and advertising) from the early 1900s through the 1960s are available for free on the Net, thanks to film archivist Rick Prelinger. http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/policy/2003/05/23/rickp.html
What if SETI@home Gets Lucky?
Brian McConnell looks at the latest developments in SETI@home and describes what will happen if a meaningful signal is found (SETI@home is the screen saver from the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence that uses you CPUs spare cycles to process SETI data in the search for extraterrestrial life). Brian is the author of "Beyond Contact." http://www.openp2p.com/pub/a/p2p/2003/03/19/seti.html
What I Hate About Your Programming Language
Choosing a programming language is rarely ever as easy as making a list of features and choosing the best ones. Like programming, it can be messy and opinionated. Every language has its own philosophy, and whether that fits your own mind is often a matter of taste. Check out http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2003/05/12/languagephilosophy.html
"Amazon Hacks" Announced
The newest book in O'Reilly's Hacks series, "Amazon Hacks" (due to release in August), is a collection of real-world tips, tricks, and full-scale solutions to practical uses of Amazon.com and the Amazon Web Services API.
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/amazonhks/
What is RSS?
In Mark Pilgrim's inaugural Dive Into XML column, he reviews the history and technical details of the varieties of RSS on the Web. He also describes a method for parsing most active RSS feeds. http://www.xml.com/pub/a/2002/12/18/dive-into-xml.html