Reading Notes #118

Suggestion of the week

• Windows Azure: General Availability Release of BizTalk Services, Traffic Manager, Azure AD App Access + Xamarin support for Mobile Services - New Windows Azure features walkthrough by Scott Gu.

Cloud

• How much data can you put on VSOnline? (Brian Harry MS) - Interesting numbers and calculus about estimating the quantity of code we can put before having issues.
  
• Windows Azure Cache: Feature Comparison Matrix (Ashish Goyal) - Ashish did a great job here by bringing all the features of the Azure Cache side by side so we can compare them easily.
  
• Windows Azure IaaS Host OS Update Demystified (Pradeep M G) - Important notice. If you are an Azure user, you should have received an e-mail about it... There is a Windows Azure maintenance that is coming...
  
• SaaS, PaaS, IaaS… que choisir? (1/2) (Pour consulter tous les articles de Nadia Bourha →) - Very interesting article about where the cloud comes from. (in french / en fancais)
  
• SaaS, PaaS, IaaS… que choisir? (2/2) (Pour consulter tous les articles de Nadia Bourha →) - Second part of a serie that explain, in French, what are the advantages to use the cloud for a business.
  
• Free ebook: Microsoft System Center: Cloud Management with App Controller (KimSpilker, Devon Musgrave karsz) - Free e-book in different format: pdf, epub and mobi.
  
• Understanding NoSQL Technologies on Windows Azure (David Chappell) - White paper on nosql with azure. The paper focuses on what these technologies are and why you'd use them, rather than how to use them.

Programming

• Visual Studio 2013 Launch Highlights (Jonathan Rozenblit) - This post highlights some moments of Visual Studio presentation.
  
• Introducing node.js Tools for Visual Studio (Scott Hanselman) - It's pretty incredible how Microsoft technologies is evolving these days, and here is another example of that.
  
• Microsoft Launches Node.js Tools For Visual Studio (Frederic Lardinois) - Another post that lists some of the best features included in the brand new Visual Studio tool.
  
• Test Cases with NUnit - I love that! I didn't know... Get how I will write my next tests?

Miscellaneous

• Software Architecture (Paulo Zemek) - Interesting post about "home-made" framework.

~Frank

Reading Notes #117

Suggestion of the week

• One ASP.NET – Welcome to the Web Development Buffet! - Great post that introduces quickly a really nice project Asp.net One and how it's integrated with the new Visual Studio 2013.

Cloud

• Migrating Database Workloads to the Cloud - Great source of information. This article describe all the scenarios with the pros and cons then helps you in the steps to do it.
  
• First look at Visual Studio Online “Monaco” - | Gunnar Peipman - Programming Blog - The idea is fantastic, let's see how all this will turn in few months.
  
• Amazon takes Virtual Desktop to the Cloud (Paul Thurrott) - That a incredibly cheap solution that a lot of people / companies will definitely appreciate.
  
• Introduction to WebSockets on Windows Azure Web Sites (Mark Brown) - Very nice tutorial to use websocket in an Azure website.
  
• SaaS’s Real Triumph (Geoffrey Moore) - Good post that explains why we should embrace the SaaS in our enterprise.
  
• How much data can you put on VSOnline? (Brian Harry) - Interesting numbers and calculus about estimating the quantity of code we can put before having issues.

Programming

• Using web.config transforms with App.config files - | Gunnar Peipman - Programming Blog - Nice post that explains the few steps you need to do, to have a different config file for different compile setup.
  
• LICEcap – best screen capture tool I’ve ever used - Definitely, a very convenient tool that generates animated GIF of your screen capture. A tool to add to our toolbox...
  
• Things to avoid when customizing TFS work items (Dan Hellem) - The best time to read this post is before going in with TFS. But still, it's never to late!
  
• Scott Hanselman - Nice update about portable class library and great news for Xamarin and mobile device developers.
  
• A Better Syntax For Unit Tests (Andrew Binstock) - This post describes how nice is the syntax of some unit tests frameworks.
  
• Enterprise Library 6: Developer’s Guide Released (Grigori Melnik) - This book is a must in your bookshelf. And h0ey good news it's free!
  
• Linqpad – bring the power of LINQ to SQL Server development - Linqpad is a great wonderful tool. If you never have the chance to try it, now will be the time.;) And you won't recreate it.

Miscellaneous

• December Exam Preparation: Exam 70-487: Developing Windows Azure and Web Services (Sarah Arnold) - Nice initiative. Does this event happen in other cities?
  
• Personal branding, the recording of my presentation - Interesting presentation for all bloggers or people with a more public profile.
  
• 10 Surprising Social Media Statistics That Will Make You Rethink Your Social Strategy (Belle Beth Cooper) - Interesting thoughts about how we can reach more people that we expect, using the good social media for the targeted public.

Reading Notes #116

 

Cloud

• A complete overview to get started with the Windows Azure Scheduler - Very complete tutorial on how to manage the new Azure Job scheduler by code.
  
• Migrating a Java Spring Framework Application to Windows Azure (Gregory Leake) - The starting point for Java developer.
  
• How to write to and read from Windows Azure tables within Web Applications (BrunoTerkaly) - An impossible to fail tutorial that take you by the hand and guide you step by step.
  
• Manage Azure Subscriptions with Office 365 Users (Tyler Doerksen) - Nice tips to manage/add security.
  
• Staying Current on Technology for your Organization (Buck Woody) - Interesting though and methodology to stay up to date with techno.
  
• Migrating Database Workloads to the Cloud - Great source of information. This article describes all the scenarios with the pros and cons then helps you in the steps to do it.

Programming

• Code Maps in Visual Studio 2013 - Interesting feature that improves a lot the visualization of our code.

Channel 9 has an excellent streaming video that covers Code Maps here 

Databases

• re: Why You Should Never Use MongoDB (Ayende Rahien) - NoSQL is very popular, but we should learn and do our homework before starting a big project, like this post shows us.

Miscellaneous

• Using Surface RT for presentations (Gunnar Peipman) - Really?! I'm honestly surprise by the ordinary/medium performance...

~Frank