Windows and .NET Articles

Build Dynamic Database Applications in .NET with Project Codename "Jasper" by Julia Lerman
Instead of moving to Ruby on Rails, ASP.NET developers might consider Project Codename "Jasper" and the growing number of .NET dynamic languages. In this article, you'll learn how to use Jasper. 07/31/2007

Windows Wireless LAN Security Primer by Chris Sanders
If you've got a wireless Windows network, you're at risk. This primer gives you a great introduction to what you need to know to keep it safe. 06/27/2007

Eight Reasons Windows Administrators Should Learn JScript Instead of VBScript by Bill Stewart
When it comes to writing WSH scripts or HTML applications, system administrators can use either VBScript or JScript. Bill Stewart tells you why JScript is your best choice. 06/19/2007

Implementing and Understanding DHCP by Chris Sanders
Setting up DHCP on tens, hundreds, and even thousands of computers can be daunting. Here's how to do it easily with Windows Server 2003. 06/12/2007

Developing Visual Studio Project Wizards by Ron Petrusha
The real power of Visual Studio project templates becomes evident when they are combined with Visual Studio wizards. In this article, Jim Petrusha shows you the best way to create them. 06/06/2007

Using the Cryptography APIs in .NET by Wei-Meng Lee
The .NET framework contains a number of cryptography services that allow you to incorporate security services into your .NET applications. In this article, Wei-Meng Lee shows you how to use some of the common security APIs to make your .NET applications more secure. 05/22/2007

Managing Printing in Your .NET Application by Wei-Meng Lee
The .NET Framework makes it easy to support printing. In this article, Wei-Meng Lee shows you the basics of printing in .NET 2.0, including how to configure page setup, print multiple pages, preview a document before it is printed, as well as let users select a printer to which to print. 05/15/2007

Why Do ASP.NET Programmers Need to Learn CSS? by Dan Hurwitz and Jesse Liberty
ASP.NET has not been great at controlling the layout of elements on a web page. Dan Hurwitz and Jesse Liberty show you how to gain precise controls over presentation with Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). They argue that programmers who embrace CSS as their own, rather than thinking of it as an esoteric skill of designers, place themselves ahead of the pack. 05/01/2007

Displaying Master-Details Relationships in ASP.NET 2.0 by Wei-Meng Lee
One of the common tasks in manipulating databases is displaying master-details relationships. Wei-Meng Lee shows how you can use the GridView and DetailsView controls to display records in the authors and titles tables. 04/24/2007

Installing and Configuring ISA 2006 by Chris Sanders
Internet Security and Acceleration Server (ISA) 2006, Microsoft's latest release of its popular web proxy and security suite, has become a full-blown perimeter security solution for both small and large networks. Chris Sanders shows you how to set it up and configure it for best performance. 04/17/2007

The Logic of Service-Orientation Plus 14 SO Tenets and Practical Principles by Juval Löwy
What exactly is service orientation, and what does it mean for the future of the software industry? What are the principles that should guide any developer using it? In this excerpt from Programming WCF Services, Juval Lowy explains what it's about and offers practical principles for its use. 04/10/2007

PC Deployment with ImageX by Jim Aspinwall
If you need to deploy Windows to multiple machines, ImageX is a big time-saver. Jim Aspinwall shows you how to do it. 04/03/2007

Tuning Virtual Server for Maximum Performance by Chris Sanders
If you deploy Microsoft Virtual Server in a production environment, the performance of the virtual machines running on it becomes increasingly important. Chris Sanders shows how to tune it up for maximum performance. 03/27/2007

PC Deployment with WinPE by Jim Aspinwall
Need to deploy Windows Vista or XP to many machines? WinPE is Microsoft's answer to doing it. Jim Aspinwall shows you the ins and outs of installing and using it. 03/20/2007

Logging with Custom Web Events by Jesse Liberty
Every serious ASP.NET application requires logging. Jesse Liberty shows how to use the little-known ASP.NET Health Monitoring system to create a robust and extensible, yet minimal, logging system that will send email in a crisis and routinely log to a database. 03/13/2007

Cleaning Up Your Disk Drives in Windows Vista by William R. Stanek
Your PC's hard disk fills up fast with junk, gunk, and extraneous files. In this excerpt from Windows Vista: The Definitive Guide William R. Stanek shows you how to clean it up fast. 03/06/2007

The Three Faces of ASP.NET AJAX by Dan Hurwitz, Jesse Liberty
The new Microsoft ASP.NET AJAX web development framework is like a mythological figure with three face: one friendly but rigid, one playful, and the third a bit frightening. Jesse Liberty and Dan Hurwitz show you how to how to make the most out of AJAX, whether you want to work with simple drag-and-drop controls, create custom controls or extenders, or dig deep into its innards and see how it all works. 02/27/2007

Analyzing Assemblies with Reflector by James Avery, Jim Holmes
It's tough to to understand how a class, method, or entire assembly fits into your overall system. In this excerpt from Windows Developer Power Tools, James Avery and Jim Holmes show you how to use Reflector freeware to explore any .NET assembly and find its dependencies and callers, or dive down and explore an entire assembly. 02/20/2007

Five Things You Need to Know About Virtual Server by Chris Sanders
Microsoft Virtual Server lets you consolidate servers, better control security, and set up a more flexible testing environment. In this article, Chris Sanders explains how it works--and how to set it up. 02/13/2007

Understanding Windows Vista's User Account Control by Paul Marquardt, William R. Stanek
User Account Control (UAC) is one of the most misunderstood features of Windows Vista. In this excerpt from "Windows Vista: The Definitive Guide," William R. Stanek and Paul Marquardt tell you everything you need to know about UAC--including how to turn it off. 02/06/2007

Six Top Tips for Hacking Windows Vista by Preston Gralla
Windows Vista is finally here--time to get hacking! Preston Gralla, author of Windows Vista in a Nutshell, shares six of his favorite hacks for bending the new operating system to your will. 01/30/2007

Secure Wireless Networking with IAS and RADIUS by Chris Sanders
Perhaps the best way to secure your wireless Windows network is to use RADIUS authentication. Chris Sanders walks you step by step through the RADIUS setup so you'll be able to lock down your network in no time. 01/23/2007

The Case for Freeware and Open Source Windows Tools by James Avery, Jim Holmes
In Windows Developer Power Tools, James Avery and Jim Holmes tell you about scores of incredibly useful, freely available tools for Windows developers. In this article, they tell you about some of their favorite ones. 01/19/2007

Build a .NET App for Google Checkout by Martin Omander
Google Checkout, Google's online payment system, integrates with websites such as Buy.com. In this article, Google's Martin Omander details Google Checkout's plumbing and shows you how to build a .NET application to integrate with it. 01/09/2007

Build Snippets with Code Snippet Editor for Visual Basic 2005 by Wei-Meng Lee
Want to create code snippets for Visual Studio 2005, but don't want to get your hands dirty? Wei-Meng Lee shows you how to do it by using the Code Snippet Editor for Visual Basic 2005, a shared source project developed by the Visual Basic developer community. 01/02/2007

The Five Best and Worst Things About Vista by Preston Gralla
After five years, Windows Vista is finally here. What's good and what's bad about it? Preston Gralla, author of Windows Vista in a Nutshell, tells you five things you'll love and five things you'll hate about Vista. 12/19/2006

Building FTP Services Using .NET 2.0 by Wei-Meng Lee
.NET 2.0 provides two new managed classes for performing FTP accesses. With them, you can incorporate FTP into your applications easily. Wei-Meng Lee shows you how to perform the most common FTP functions using these two new classes. 12/12/2006

Build Your Own Media Center PC, Part 2 by Wei-Meng Lee
Windows Media Center turns your ordinary PC into an all-in-one home entertainment center to watch and record TV programs, play DVDs, listen to music, share your digital photos, and more. In this second part of a two-part series, Wei Meng-Lee shows you how to assemble the PC and watch and record TV. 12/05/2006

Build Your Own Media Center PC, Part 1 by Wei-Meng Lee
Windows Media Center turns your ordinary PC into an all-in-one home entertainment center to watch and record TV programs, play DVDs, listen to music, share your digital photos, and more. In this first part of a two-part article, Wei Meng-Lee shows you how to build a Media Center PC from scratch. 11/28/2006

Using Offline Files by Chris Sanders, Mitch Tulloch
Mobile users need access to their personal files, even when disconnected from the network--and offline files let them do just that. Mitch Tulloch and Chris Sanders show you the ins and outs of setting up and using offline files. 11/21/2006

How to Deploy Software Using Group Policy by Chris Sanders, Mitch Tulloch
Deploying software needn't be a chore for network administrators. You can leverage the power of Group Policy and Intellimirror, as Mitch Tulloch and Chris Sanders show you. 11/14/2006

Top 10 Tips for Using Windows PowerShell by Jeff Cogswell
PowerShell is Microsoft's newest replacement for the command line, and it's far more powerful than any command-line prompt Microsoft has given us before. Starting to learn it, unfortunately, can be a bit overwhelming. Jeff Cogswell offers his top 10 tips for getting the most out of it. 11/07/2006

Mastering Windows' New Firewall, Part 1 by Mitch Tulloch
Windows Vista introduces a more powerful, more configurable Windows Firewall. Mitch Tulloch shows you how to master all aspects of it. 10/31/2006

Creating Visual Studio Project Templates by Ron Petrusha
Visual Studio 2005 offers a great tool for those who create largely identical projects--custom project and item templates--that automates project creation and eliminates the need to add the same references, project items, or even largely identical code to new projects. Ron Petrusha shows you how. 10/17/2006

Implementing Mandatory Roaming Profiles by Chris Sanders, Mitch Tulloch
System adminstrators often ignore one of their most useful tools: IntelliMirror, which makes sure that users' files, apps, and settings are available wherever they log on. Mitch Tulloch and Chris Sanders show how to use it to implement mandatory roaming profiles. 10/10/2006

Better Registry Searching by Mitch Tulloch
Finding what you need in the registry is harder than trying to find a needle in a haystack. Mitch Tulloch shows you how to find what you need--fast! 09/26/2006

Windows XP File Sharing Mysteries: Part 2 by Mitch Tulloch
Confused by file sharing in XP? You're not alone. In this second part of a two-part series, Mitch Tulloch brings you under the hood and shows you XP's secrets. 09/19/2006

Using Data Compression in .NET 2.0 by Wei-Meng Lee
New compression classes are available in the .NET Framework 2.0, and they can be used to reduce the size of data transmitted over a network. In this article, Wei-Meng Lee shows you how to use the compression classes in .NET 2.0 in a web service environment. 09/12/2006

Building Photo Uploaders with XAML by Jack Herrington
Who says Windows can't play nice with open source applications? Jack Herrington uses the XAML technology on Windows Vista to create a visually appealing and user-friendly image uploading application for getting pictures into a PHP web application. 08/29/2006

How to Remove Startup Programs by Mitch Tulloch
Got a PC that takes a week and a day to boot up? Most likely, it's filled with programs that start at bootup--programs you don't need. Mitch Tulloch shows you all the secrets of how to ferret out and remove these time and resource wasters. 08/22/2006

Windows XP File Sharing Mysteries: Part 1 by Mitch Tulloch
Confused by file sharing in XP? You're not alone. Mitch Tulloch brings you under the hood and shows you XP's secrets, in the first part of a two-part series. 08/08/2006

Drag and Drop Ajax Programming with Atlas by Jesse Liberty
Think you need to write scripts and use JavaScript if you want to write Atlas apps? Think again. Jesse Liberty shows you an easier, more effective, and more productive way--using drag-and-drop programming. 08/01/2006

Registry Hacks for Servers by Mitch Tulloch
Need to bend Windows Server 2003 to your will? Mitch Tulloch offers great Registry hacks that will help you get more out of your servers. 07/25/2006

Best Windows Admin Downloads by Mitch Tulloch
There are more than 9,000 tools, templates, white papers, and other items available from the Microsoft Download Center. Which are the best for Windows administrators? Mitch Tulloch clues you in. 07/18/2006

Build a Virtual Routed Network by Mitch Tulloch
Building a multi-domain, multi-site testbed network with a workstation in each domain and at each site can take about half a dozen machines...unless you follow Mitch Tulloch's advice, and build a virtual routed network on one PC with Virtual PC. 07/11/2006

How To Recover from Registry Corruption by Mitch Tulloch
What do you do if your system crashes and you've got a corrupt registry? Mitch Tulloch comes to your rescue with advice on how to recover and restore your registry. 06/27/2006

Inside Vista's New Diagnostic Tools by Mitch Tulloch
Vista comes with a great suite of diagnostic tools for helping your PC run better and avoid crashes. Mitch Tulloch gives you the rundown on what they are and how to use them. 06/20/2006

The Ultimate Free Windows Toolkit by Mitch Tulloch
You don't have to spend a bundle if you want to keep your network and its servers in tip-top shape. Mitch Tulloch gives you the rundown on the best free tools you can find for system administrators. 06/13/2006

Designing Small Windows Networks by Mitch Tulloch
It's not as simple as you think to design a network for small business--you need to design for maximum benefit with minimum resources. Mitch Tulloch tells you how to do it, taking into account everything from deploying Small Business Server to rolling your own solution. 06/06/2006

Windows Vista Beta 2 Up Close and Personal by Wei-Meng Lee
Vista Beta 2 is finally out. What's good and what's bad? Wei-Meng Lee takes it for a test drive and gives you the full rundown. 05/30/2006

Build a Web-Based Bug Tracking App, Part 2 by Jesse Liberty
In part two of this series, Jesse Liberty shows you how to build a web-based bug-tracking application using ASP.NET. 05/23/2006

IIS7 Revealed by Mitch Tulloch
Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) has evolved over the years from a simple web server to a full-fledged application hosting platform. What's next for IIS? Mitch Tulloch interviews Microsoft IIS Evangelist Brett Hill, who gives you a road map to the future. 05/16/2006

Build a Web-Based Bug Tracking App by Jesse Liberty
Having problems tracking bugs every time you create a new project? Jesse Liberty has the solution. Here, he shows you how to build a Web-based bug-tracking application using ASP.NET. 05/09/2006

Ensuring Application Compatibility in Vista by Mitch Tulloch
What should you do if your enterprise has mission-critical line-of-business apps that simply must continue running properly once you've upgraded your desktops to Vista? Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, offers insight and advice. 04/25/2006

Programming Word from .NET by Jesse Liberty
Using .NET with Word can be a potent combination. Jesse Liberty shows you how to take advantage of Word's formatting features and add the power of .NET's programmability. 04/18/2006

Supporting Branch Office Environments by Mitch Tulloch
Supporting the IT needs of branch offices that have limited or no IT resources can be a challenge. What to do? Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, interviews Richard Harrison, CISSP, principal technologist for infrastructure and security at Content Master, who offers his expertise on how to support branch offices using Windows. 04/11/2006

Use ClickOnce to Deploy Windows Applications by Wei-Meng Lee
Deployment is a key to success for your software product--if you can't deliver your application, you're sunk. Use ClickOnce to Deploy Windows Applications, a new PDF from O'Reilly, shows you how to use ClickOnce, a new technology in Visual Studio 2005, to quickly get your Windows application into the hands of your customers. You can download this PDF for just $7.99. 04/06/2006

An Overview of UAC in Windows Vista by Mitch Tulloch
Vista's User Account Control represents a big step forward for system security. But it's not that easy to understand. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, shows you how it works, and offers tips for making it better. 04/04/2006

Object-Oriented Data Programming: C# Meets Caché by Jesse Liberty
There are plenty of legacy databases using MUMPS and Caché--but what do you do when you need to bring them into the modern world? Jesse Liberty shows you how to bridge the worlds of object-oriented data programming and old-time databases. 03/28/2006

Using the MultiView and Wizard Controls in ASP.NET 2.0 by Wei-Meng Lee
Need to collect data from Web pages? ASP.NET 2.0 makes it easy, with the use of MultiView and Wizard controls. Wei-Meng Lee, author of ASP.NET 2.0: A Developer's Notebook shows you how to take advantage of them. 03/21/2006

Directions in Windows Scripting by Mitch Tulloch
Administering Windows platforms using scripts can be a big productivity booster or a headache. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, sits down with Don Jones, a Microsoft MVP and the creator of ScriptingAnswers.com, for a no-holds barred interview about the future of scripting. 03/14/2006

An Inside Look at Group Policy in Windows Vista by Mitch Tulloch
Vista will bring some important changes to how Windows handles Group Policy, and these can offer significant benefits to administrators. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, gives you a look at how they impact day-to-day administration of a Windows network. 03/07/2006

IPv6 and IPsec in the Enterprise Today by Mitch Tulloch
What's the current state of IPv6 deployment around the world, and how is IPsec changing in the enterprise? Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, interviews William Dixon, president of V6 Security and former Microsoft program manager for Windows Networking, to bring you the inside scoop. 02/28/2006

Inside Look: Internet Explorer 7, Beta 2 by Wei-Meng Lee
The long-awaited Beta 2 of IE 7 is finally here. What's new, good, and better? Wei-Meng Lee gives you a guided tour and an inside look. 02/21/2006

Creating an Application from Scratch, Part 3 by Jesse Liberty
Jesse Liberty is creating an application from scratch in ASP.NET 2.0 while you watch over his shoulder. In part 3, he builds the engine and implements it. 02/14/2006

How Vista Will Handle IPv6 by Mitch Tulloch
IPv6 is the completely re-architected TCP/IP protocol stack in Vista and Longhorn. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, examines this Next Generation TCP/IP stack, and shows how it enhances the manageability, usability, and security of Windows-based networks. 02/07/2006

Creating an Application from Scratch, Part 2 by Jesse Liberty
Jesse Liberty is creating an application from scratch in ASP.NET 2.0 while you watch over his shoulder. In part 2, he starts building the application, making use of Amazon Web Services. 01/31/2006

Using the Windows Mobile 5.0 Emulators in Visual Studio 2005 by Wei-Meng Lee
Emulators are a must-have for anyone developing mobile applications. To get you started, Wei-Meng Lee shows you how to use the emulator tools that shipped with Windows Mobile 5.0 and Visual Studio 2005. 01/24/2006

An Inside Look at IPSec in Vista by Mitch Tulloch
IPSec management tools are not particularly intuitive in XP. But things are going to be better in Vista. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, takes a look at IPSec support in Vista, and clues you in on what you can expect. 01/17/2006

What Are Web Parts? by Jesse Liberty
Today's web application is customizable in ways that could only have been dreamed of five years ago, partially because of Web Parts. Jesse Liberty shows how they work by guiding you through building a simple application in ASP.NET. Jesse is the author of Programming ASP.NET, Third Edition. 01/10/2006

Unit Testing in Visual Studio 2005 Team System by Wei-Meng Lee
Unit testing is one of the tasks that every programmer worth their salt needs to do. Wei-Meng Lee shows you how to use the new Unit Testing feature of Visual Studio 2005 Team System to auto-generate the code needed to test your application. 01/03/2006

Just-In-Time Data Loading For DataGrids by Jesse Liberty
One of Jesse Liberty's clients has a problem: she has a database with 2 million records and wants to display these records in a data grid, but does not want to load them all into memory from the database. She wants them loaded "just in time." Jesse shows how to use the new DataGridView to neatly solve the problem. 12/20/2005

Identifying Essential Windows Services: Part 2 by Mitch Tulloch
In Part 1 of this series, Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, showed you how to identify which basic server services are essential, and which can be turned off. In this second part, he shows you additional services for servers configured with specific roles. 12/13/2005

What Is Virtualization by Wei-Meng Lee
Virtualization lets you have multiple "virtual machines," each with its own operating system running in a sandbox, shielded from each other, all in one physical machine. But why would you want to do this? Wei-Meng Lee explains, and takes you on a tour of some of the most popular virtualization software available: Microsoft Virtual PC 2004, VMware Workstation 5.0, and Microsoft Virtual Server 2005. 12/06/2005

Identifying Essential Windows Services: Part 1 by Mitch Tulloch
An important part of hardening Windows servers against attack is disabling any unnecessary services on your machines. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, shows you how to identify which services are essential, and which can be turned off. 11/29/2005

What Are Generics by Jesse Liberty
Generics provide the ability to create type-safe collections in .NET. Jesse Liberty explains why they're important, and how to best make use of them. Jesse is the author of Programming ASP.NET, Third Edition. 11/28/2005

What Is Spyware by Anton Chuvakin
As business use of the internet has grown up, so has business abuse. From this incubator emerged spyware -- the grownup cousin to viruses and worms, whose intent is not simply to have fun at someone else's expense but to make money at someone else's expense. Anton Chuvakin looks at what spyware is, how it works, and what you can do to keep your systems free of spyware infection. 11/22/2005

Disabling USB Storage With Group Policy by Mitch Tulloch
The security threat posed to companies by USB flash drives has been known for some time now. But it's a tough problem to solve. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, shows you how you can disable USB storage using Group Policy. 11/15/2005

Creating an Application from Scratch, Part 1 by Jesse Liberty
Watch over Jesse Liberty's virtual shoulder as he documents his creation of a real-world application from scratch. In real time--that is, as he develops it. 11/14/2005

Windows Server Hacks: Shadowing Remote Desktop Sessions by Mitch Tulloch
Shadowing Terminal Services sessions is a cool feature of Windows Server 2003 that lets you remotely control the desktop session of another Terminal Services user. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, shows you the ins and outs of doing it. 11/08/2005

Beware of Network Sniffers by Mitch Tulloch
Network sniffing is harder than most people think, but that doesn't mean it's not a threat. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, tells you the truth about sniffing dangers, and shows you how to protect your network. 11/01/2005

C#: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow: An Interview with Anders Hejlsberg, Part 2 by John Osborn
Anders Hejlsberg, in charge of the ongoing development of the C# programming language for Microsoft, talks about the past, present, and future of C#. Among other topics, he covers the implementation of C# generics (compared to Java), nullable types, and how language integrated query is implemented. 10/31/2005

Hacking Your Car: Install Windows on a CompactFlash Card by Damien Stolarz
The car PC community is constantly searching for hardware and software solutions to improve the system's boot speed and reliability, and reduce the physical size of the computer. One of these solutions is to build a system that boots off of a CompactFlash (CF) drive. In this excerpt from Car PC Hacks, learn how to install Windows on a CompactFlash card. 10/25/2005

Hacking IIS6 with Metabase Explorer by Mitch Tulloch
Mucking about in version 6 of the IIS metabase is a lot easier than in earlier versions. But try it, and you may end up with metabase corruption and other woes. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, shows you how to hack the IIS6 metabase with Metabase Explorer. 10/25/2005

Security Myths: The Perimeter Is Everything by Mitch Tulloch
Is the perimeter the be-all and end-all of network defense? Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, takes a look at whether it's time to kill the myth that perimeter defense is everything. 10/18/2005

C#: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow: An Interview with Anders Hejlsberg, Part 1 by John Osborn
Anders Hejlsberg, in charge of the ongoing development of the C# programming language for Microsoft, talks about the past, present, and future of C#. Among other topics, he covers the implementation of C# generics (compared to Java), nullable types, and how language integrated query is implemented. 10/17/2005

What's New in Windows Mobile 5.0? by Wei-Meng Lee
Microsoft recently released the latest version of the Windows Mobile platform, Windows Mobile 5.0. What's cool and new? Wei-Meng Lee gives you the rundown of the best new features. 10/11/2005

Tell Us What You Think: The Second Windows DevCenter Survey by Preston Gralla
We're asking Windows DevCenter readers to participate in our second online survey. We've sweetened the pot with a chance to win books and MAKE magazine subscriptions. Here's how it works. 10/04/2005

Hands-Free Disk Defragmenting by Mitch Tulloch
A fragmented hard drive can quickly become a performance bottleneck for your Windows XP system. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, gives you tips on the easiest ways to defrag it. 10/04/2005

What Is C# by Jesse Liberty
Jesse Liberty reveals this little-understood secret: C# is really one of two "coatings" of MSIL, the Microsoft Intermediate Language (the second is Visual Basic 2005). Both C# and VB 2005 produce MSIL, and it is MSIL that runs on the .NET platform. Jesse provides an overview of the C# language and how it works within the .NET platform, and concludes with resources for coding in C#. Jesse is the author of Programming C#, 4th Edition. 10/03/2005

Tell Us What You Think: The Second ONDotnet Survey by Preston Gralla
We're asking ONDotnet readers to participate in our second online survey. We've sweetened the pot with a chance to win books and MAKE magazine subscriptions. Here's how it works. 10/03/2005

Enhancing Skype by Wei-Meng Lee
If you're a Skype fan, you know it can be used to make Internet phone calls. But did you know about all the cool tools you can use to enhance it? Wei-Meng Lee gives you the rundown. 09/27/2005

Using Windows Explorer with Alternate Credentials by Mitch Tulloch
Running Windows using administrator credentials can be hazardous to the health of your machine. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, shows you how you can help solve the problem by using Windows Explorer while running alternate credentials. 09/20/2005

What Is ASP.NET by Wei-Meng Lee
Part of the .NET Framework, ASP.NET allows developers to build dynamic web apps and web services using compiled languages like VB.NET and C#. Wei-Meng Lee provides a look under the ASP.NET hood, describing how it works, its improved support in areas like state management and tracing and debugging, and important new features in version 2.0. Wei-Meng is the author of ASP.NET: A Developer's Notebook. 09/19/2005

Security Myths: 392 Steps to a Hardened Server by Mitch Tulloch
There are plenty of security guides out there to offer advice--but which ones should you trust? Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, tells you about the best, and clues you in to other extras you need to know about security. 09/13/2005

Top Ten Word Annoyances by Guy Hart-Davis
Ubiquitous Word--so many of us use it despite quirks that can sometimes drive us a little mad. Guy Hart-Davis, author of Word Annoyances, endeavors to improve our mental health with solutions to ten Word annoyances. From autocorrect anomalies to crash recovery tips, Hart-Davis provides comprehensive fixes to many Word problems. 09/13/2005

What Is .NET by James Avery
.NET is probably one of the more muddled and mismanaged brands in the history of Microsoft. Elucidator James Avery clarifies things by describing the two chambers at the heart of .NET: the Common Language Runtime (CLR) and its essential components, and the Base Class Library (BCL) and its major features. 09/06/2005

Using Your Webcam for Surveillance by Wei-Meng Lee
Webcams can be used for more than videoconferencing--they can be used for surveillance as well. Wei-Meng Lee shows you how to do it in a few easy steps. 09/06/2005

Upgrade Your Domains from Windows 2000 Active Directory to Windows Server 2003 by Mitch Tulloch
Upgrading your domains without proper planning can get you into deep water fast. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, offers half-a-dozen tips for migrating your domains from Windows 2000 Active Directory to Windows Server 2003. 08/30/2005

Setting Up Vonage with Your PC by Russell Shaw
If you're looking to save money on phone calls and get extra VoIP features, Vonage is a good bet. Russell Shaw shows you how to set up Vonage with your PC. 08/23/2005

What Is Visual Studio by James Avery
What can you really do with Visual Studio? James Avery discusses some of the various applications you can build using Visual Studio, some of its most compelling development features, and what you need to know to get started writing quality applications in Visual Studio. James is the author of Visual Studio Hacks. 08/22/2005

An In-Depth Look at Vista, Part 2 by Wei-Meng Lee
Wei-Meng Lee has had time to explore some of the cooler aspects of Vista, such as Aero Glass and Broadcast Presentations. He shows you how to troubleshoot them and get Vista up and running. 08/16/2005

What Is a Pivot Table by Matthew MacDonald
Pivot tables are a hidden gem in Excel. While many otherwise experienced spreadsheet users avoid them because they seem too complicated at first glance, the real problem is that pivot tables are rarely explained properly. This article illuminates how your life will be better when you learn to use pivot tables, then walks you through how to build a basic pivot table. 08/12/2005

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08/10/2005

Hacking Access
In these three excerpts from Access Hacks, learn how to populate a listbox with values from more than one source; how to put a watermark on your reports; and how to use Word's Compare and Merge Documents feature to identify discrepancies between similar tables. 08/09/2005

A First Look at IE 7 by Wei-Meng Lee
IE 7 is finally here, and Wei-Meng Lee has the goods for you, from tabbed browsing to RSS support and more. 08/09/2005

Localization in ASP.NET 2.0 by Wei-Meng Lee
The web is an international place. Why shouldn't your websites be ready for international visitors? With the introduction of ASP.NET 2.0, Microsoft aims to make it easy to localize your website for individual users, no matter where they hail from. Wei-Meng Lee shows you how you can localize your ASP.NET 2.0 web applications. Wei-Meng is the author of ASP.NET 2.0: A Developer's Notebook. 08/08/2005

Internet Security Annoyances by Preston Gralla
Spyware, Trojans, worms, viruses, phishing, and now pharming--all security issues that can lead to a disenchanting internet experience. This excerpt from Internet Annoyances can help you prevent these kinds of security breaches with tips on configuring your home router for maximum security, constructing your own personal firewall, and more. 08/02/2005

An In-Depth Look at Vista, Part 1 by Wei-Meng Lee
The long wait for the first beta of Microsoft's new Windows OS is finally over. Wei-Meng Lee took it for a spin and gives a detailed overview of Vista. 08/02/2005

Calling Web Services Asynchronously by Raj Makkapati
Making synchronous calls to web services can be problematic on occasion, because they have the potential to cause considerable delay. The reason for this is the manner in which synchronous calls work: the application blocks the client until the web service call returns. To overcome the necessity of having to wait for the web service response, we can call web services asynchronously. Raj Makkapati walks you through how to call web services asynchronously. 08/01/2005

Refactoring in Visual Basic 2005 by Matthew MacDonald
Refactoring is the one-size-fits-all name given to a set of coding shortcuts that help you rework code on the fly. C# developers have such a tool, but Visual Basic developers were not so lucky--till now. Matthew MacDonald, author of Visual Basic 2005: A Developer's Notebook, reviews Refactor, the free VB 2005 tool, and offers some how-to techniques for using it. 07/26/2005

Defining a Baseline Audit Policy by Mitch Tulloch
It's vital that you create a baseline audit policy to audit for security events on critical systems. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, helps you define the best audit policies for Windows Server 2003 server roles. 07/26/2005

Understanding the BackgroundWorker Component by Wei-Meng Lee
Multithreading is one of the most powerful concepts in programming. Using multithreading, you can break a complex task into multiple threads that execute independently of one another. By default, your Windows application uses a single thread of execution. Wei-Meng Lee shows you how multithreading has been simplified in VB2005 using the BackgroundWorker component. 07/25/2005

Making Internet Phone Calls Using Skype by Wei-Meng Lee
Skype lets you use the internet to make phone calls to other Skype users and also to regular telephones. Wei-Meng Lee shows you how to set it up and start talking. 07/19/2005

Watching Ports with Port Reporter by Mitch Tulloch
Here's another cool tool from Redmond. It monitors port usage for security reasons and for troubleshooting network connectivity problems. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, shows you where to get it and how to make the most out of it. 07/19/2005

Unit Testing in .NET Projects by Jay Flowers and Andrew Stopford
Now is a pretty exciting time for unit testing in .NET. Tremendous progress is being made on several fronts: IDE integration, process integration, and new test fixtures. Jay Flowers and Andrew Stopford explain how to use Visual Studio's new integrated unit testing, as well as the NUnit and MbUnit testing frameworks. 07/18/2005

Using Log Parser 2.2 by Mitch Tulloch
Log Parser is one cool tool, and it can help you analyze all kinds of logs with ease. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, shows you where to get it and how to make the most of it. 07/12/2005

Cooking with Windows Server, Part 2 by Robbie Allen
In this excerpt from Robbie Allen's Windows Server Cookbook, Robbie shows you how to build web sites and how to mailbox-enable a user. 07/12/2005

Building a Complex Custom Control: Rolodex by Jesse Liberty
This article marks the end of "Liberty on Whidbey" and the beginning of a new column: "Liberty On Beta 2." Each article will demonstrate a real-world problem Jesse's had to solve for a client, and will leave you with a complete design and working code. Jesse had a customer who asked for a complex Windows application that would let him scroll through a list of customers, suppliers, or employees, using the visual metaphor of a Rolodex, much as he might look at contacts in Outlook. 07/11/2005

Getting Your Bluetooth Headset to Work in XP by Wei-Meng Lee
With Bluetooth support built into SP2, getting a Bluetooth headset to work should be a breeze. But it ain't necessarily so. Wei-Meng Lee shows you how to do it. 07/05/2005

Is This Security Alert Really from Microsoft? by Mitch Tulloch
An excellent way to get information about Windows updates is via email with Microsoft Technical Security Notification Services. But how do you know what's real and what's a spoof? Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, shows you. 07/05/2005

Cooking with Windows Server, Part 1 by Robbie Allen
In this excerpt from Robbie Allen's Windows Server Cookbook, Robbie shows you how to activate Windows Server 2003, how to find large folders and files on a volume, and how to hide a file or folder. 06/28/2005

Easy Scripting by Mitch Tulloch
Windows scripts are far more powerful than mere batch files--and much harder to use as well. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, gives you hard-won advice on how to more easily create scripts, and offers many helpful resources. 06/28/2005

Building Web Parts, Part 3 by Wei-Meng Lee
In this last installment of his Web Parts series, Wei-Meng Lee will show you how to let users dynamically add Web Parts to page and how to restore Web Parts that they have closed. 06/27/2005

Navigating SharePoint by Jeff Webb
Where to begin if you're getting started with SharePoint? Jeff Webb, author of Essential SharePoint, gives you the basics in a few short steps. 06/21/2005

Run Multiple OSes with Virtual PC and VMware Workstation by J.W. Olsen
Need to run multiple operating systems on your PC? Virtual OSes are the way to go. J.W. Olsen gives you the lowdown on Virtual PC and VMware Workstation. 06/21/2005

Refactoring with Visual Studio Macros by James Avery
Refactoring is a method of improving your code without breaking or modifying the external functionality of your application. Refactoring has been growing in popularity partially because it is one of the key practices of extreme programming and because it goes hand in hand with test driven development. Refactoring consists of a plethora of different small changes (or “refactorings”) that you can make to your code. These changes are small enough to quickly test and have a low risk factor, but in total, they increase the overall quality of your code base or application. In this new article,James Avery discusses a macro approach to refactoring. 06/20/2005

Generics in .NET 2.0 by Venkat Subramaniam
Generics in .NET 2.0 permeates with potential. But what are generics? Are they for you? Should you use them in your apps? Venkat Subramaniam, author of .NET Gotchas, answers these questions and take a closer look at using generics, and their capabilities and limitations. 06/20/2005

Using Tabbed Browsing in Internet Explorer 6 by Wei-Meng Lee
You don't need to wait for Internet Explorer 7 for tabbed browsing--with the latest MSN Toolbar, you can use it in IE 6. Wei-Meng Lee shows you how to use it. 06/14/2005

Powering Up Terminal Services with Service Pack 1 by Mitch Tulloch
Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 includes useful enhancements to Terminal Services. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, has details and offers tips on how to make the best use of them. 06/14/2005

Porting a Project from Visual Studio .NET to Mono by Kevin Farnham
Three years ago, when .NET was still in pre-release status, Kevin Farnham developed a C# application to automatically generate stock market web pages. Recently, he ported the project to Mono and Debian Linux. Follow along to see how the port went. 06/13/2005

What's New in Beta 2: Web Parts Revisited by Jesse Liberty
Jesse Liberty has been working with Whidbey (.NET 2005) for a little over a year, and believes that .NET 2005 2.0 is a great improvement over 1.x. That said, the beta has had a bit of a hard time settling down, and so many of the earlier columns he wrote about Whidbey are, at best, a bit out of date. In this column he revisits, fixes, and expands on one of his favorite 2.0 features: Web Parts. 06/13/2005

A Guided Tour of the Newest Longhorn Build by Wei-Meng Lee
What's the current state of Longhorn? Wei-Meng Lee takes a look at the latest build of Longhorn and gives you a guided tour. 06/07/2005

Using the Security Configuration Wizard by Mitch Tulloch
One of the enhancements in Service Pack 1 for Windows Server 2003 is the new Security Configuration Wizard (SCW), a tool designed to help admins secure their servers against attack. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, shows you what it does, how it works, and how you can use it. 06/07/2005

Building Web Parts, Part 2 by Wei-Meng Lee
In part one of this series, Wei-Meng Lee discussed how to create Web Parts and configure them to look good. But he didn't touch on one of the most important feature of Web Parts; that is, how to let users move the Web Parts from one zone to another. In this article, he shows you how to move Web parts and how you can configure Web Parts to make use of SQL Server 2000. 06/06/2005

Using Microsoft's Malicious Software Removal Tool by Mitch Tulloch
The Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool can rid your PC of malware, even if you're already protected by antivirus software. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, shows you the ins and outs of how to use it. 06/01/2005

A Look at Google Web Accelerator by Jake Ludington
The beta of Google Web Accelerator was released to great fanfare, and then quickly pulled. Does it actually work--and what are the privacy implications? Jake Ludington gives you the inside scoop. 05/31/2005

Refactoring Support for Visual Basic 2005 by Wei-Meng Lee
Microsoft recently announced that they have teamed up with Developer Express Inc. to release Refactor! for Visual Basic 2005 Beta 2, a free plugin for Visual Studio that enables Visual Basic developers to simplify and restructure source code inside of Visual Studio 2005. Wei-Meng Lee walks you through the new refactoring. 05/31/2005

Ferreting Out Near-Identical Records in Access by Ken Bluttman
Working with lists of contacts is a common database activity, but as a list grows, so do the chances for duplicate records. Ken Bluttman shows one technique for ferreting out these near-identical records in Access using the InStr function to find when one value in one field is inside the value of the same field in another record. Ken is the author of Access Hacks. 05/24/2005

Some Useful Scripts from Readers by Mitch Tulloch
Readers often offer the best advice for nagging problems. In this article, Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, shares reader scripts for remotely enabling Remote Desktop, and controlling a default printer in a roaming profile. 05/24/2005

Building Web Parts, Part 1 by Wei-Meng Lee
Websites today contain a wealth of information; so much that a poorly designed site can easily overwhelm users. To better help users cope, portal websites today (such as MSN) often organize their data into discrete units that support a degree of personalization. In this first of three articles, Wei-Meng Lee discusses how to use Web Parts for user customization in your ASP.NET 2.0 websites. 05/23/2005

Which Is the Best Desktop Search Tool? by Jake Ludington
There are plenty of desktop search tools out there--but which one is the best? Jake Ludington puts Google Desktop Search, Windows Desktop Search, and Copernic Desktop Search through their paces, and tells you his top choice. 05/17/2005

How to Boost XP Performance by Mitch Tulloch
PC feeling a bit sluggish? It's not tough to juice up its performance. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, shows you how to do it in a few easy steps. 05/17/2005

Hacking Visual Studio
Author James Avery has selected five hacks from his recently released book, Visual Studio Hacks. Learn to create comments faster using GhostDoc; to refactor your code with Visual Studio 2005's new Refactor menu; and more. 05/16/2005

Hacking Windows XP by Preston Gralla
Learn how to make better use of the XP login screen, how to give Internet Explorer a face lift, and how to build your own Firefox search engine, in these three excerpts from Windows XP Hacks, 2nd Edition. 05/10/2005

Copy Scheduled Tasks to Remote Machines by Mitch Tulloch
There are times when for ease and security reasons, you'll want to schedule a task to run on a remote PC. Where to begin? Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, gives you step-by-step instructions for getting it done. 05/10/2005

Putting a Browser into Your Windows Application by Jesse Liberty
There are times when it would be convenient to have the capabilities of Internet Explorer inside your Windows application. The classic case is when you want to look at an XML document, and you'd like to take advantage of IE's ability to show the document as a collapsible and expandable hierarchy. In this article, Jesse Liberty will show you how to do that, in just a few easy steps. 05/10/2005

Finding an Application's Registry Keys by Mitch Tulloch
How can you find out which registry values you need to deploy for a third-party or in-house app you want to manage using Group Policy? Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, gives you the rundown on how to do it easily. 05/03/2005

Thumbing Through Firefox Tabs by Troy Mott
Add-ons such as tabbed browsing extensions let you try out all sorts of features that can save you time and are just plain cool to use. Troy Mott highlights four extensions you can use to take advantage of tabbed browsing in Firefox: TabBrowser Preferences, miniT (drag+indicator), SessionSaver, and All-in-One Gestures. Troy is a coauthor of Windows XP in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition. 05/03/2005

Adding Custom Buttons to Internet Explorer by Mitch Tulloch
Have you ever wanted to extend the Internet Explorer toolbar by adding your own buttons? It's not that tough to do. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, walks you through it in a few easy steps. 04/26/2005

Creating a Windows DLL with Visual Basic by Ron Petrusha
Think it's not possible to create a Windows DLL using Visual Basic? Think again. Ron Petrusha shows you that it's not so tough. 04/26/2005

More Windows Explorer Hacks by Mitch Tulloch
Face it, XP's Windows Explorer can use a lot of help for doing even the most basic things, such as copying files. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, is back with another set of hacks to power it up. 04/19/2005

Protect Yourself from WiFi Snoops by Preston Gralla
You needn't be at the mercy of WiFi snoops. There's a lot you can do to protect your home or business network, without spending a lot of time or even any money. Preston Gralla, author of Windows XP Hacks, 2nd Edition, shows you how with step-by-step guides to hiding your network SSID, filtering out MAC addresses, and using encryption. 04/19/2005

XML DataSource Controls in .NET 2.0 by Jesse Liberty
With .NET 2.0's XML DataSource control, you can bind to an XML document just as easily as you bind to tables in a database. If the XML document you load is hierarchical, the data is exposed hierarchically, which makes it ideal for mapping an XML document to a TreeView control. Jesse Liberty explains how the XML DataSource works in ASP.NET. 04/18/2005

Automating Desktop Tasks in XP by Mitch Tulloch
Tired of repeating the same mouse clicks and keystrokes for basic tasks you do every day? It's time to automate them. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, tells you about five great tools that can do it for you. 04/12/2005

Hacking Firefox: Add Stuff to Your Toolbars
Learn how to trick out your Firefox toolbars in this excerpt from Firefox Hacks. This hack shows you how to upgrade toolbars, with a focus on two example extensions that benefit from toolbar icons: InfoLister and Gmail Notifier. 04/12/2005

C# Generics: Collection Interfaces by Jesse Liberty
The .NET framework provides two sets of standard interfaces for enumerating and comparing collections: the traditional (non-type-safe) and the new generic type-safe collections. In this excerpt from Programming C#, 4th Edition, Jesse Liberty focuses on the key type-safe collection interfaces, reviewing each collection interface and providing code examples that demonstrate how to implement each one. 04/11/2005

Create Podcasts Using Your PC by Jake Ludington
Want to create a podcast? It's simpler than you think. Jake Ludington shows you how to do it using tools virtually everyone has or can easily acquire on a tiny budget. 04/05/2005

Using DFS for Software Installation by Mitch Tulloch
The Distributed File System (DFS) component of Windows Server 2003 is a powerful tool that can ease the task of deploying and maintaining applications using Group Policy's Software Installation feature. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, gives you tips on how to power it up. 04/05/2005

Building .NET Add-Ins for Windows Media Center Edition by Michael Earls
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 is an exciting platform for enjoying all of your media from the comfort of your sofa. However, in many cases you might wish to extend Media Center to perform functionality that it does not have "out of the box." Microsoft has created a software development kit that lets you write your own software that runs in Media Center. In this article, Michael Earls shows you how to write your first .NET add-in for Media Center Edition of Windows XP. 04/05/2005

Five More Annoying PC Annoyances by Steve Bass
After his first PC Annoyances book was released, Steve Bass was surprised by the barrage of email he received with yet more annoyances to fix. That led to the just-released second edition of PC Annoyances, where he added 160 more fixes to irritating PC quirks. And if that's not enough, he offers five more here. 03/29/2005

Understanding Local Group Policy by Mitch Tulloch
The little-known Local Group Policy can be a powerful tool for network administration. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, shows you how to get the most out of it. 03/29/2005

Enhanced Text Input in Windows Forms 2.0 by Jesse Liberty
Visual Studio 2005 provides enhanced controls for managing data input in Whidbey. To get you started, Jesse Liberty takes a look at the masked editing control, which allows you to restrict the input from a user that a Windows Form will accept and to control how it is displayed by using a mask. 03/28/2005

Deploying Microsoft Office Using Group Policy by Mitch Tulloch
Before you deploy Microsoft Office on a big network using Group Policy, you need to be aware of gotchas. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, shows you the best way to do it. 03/22/2005

Batch-Running Word Macros from the DOS Command Line by Andrew Savikas
Looking for an easy way to run any Word macro, on any number of files, right from the DOS command line? Andrew Savikas shows how to do just that, using Perl, Python, and Ruby, with code samples for each scripting language. Andrew is the author of Word Hacks. 03/22/2005

Miguel de Icaza Explains How to "Get" Mono by Howard Wen
It's perhaps the most controversial project in the open source world, but this mostly stems from misunderstanding: Mono, the open source development platform based upon Microsoft's .NET framework. Immediate reactions from many dubious Linux developers have ranged from confusion over its connection with .NET to wondering what the benefits of developing under it are. Throughout the course of its four years of intense development, sponsored by Novell, Mono founder Miguel de Icaza has had to frequently clarify the .NET issue and sell the community on it. In this new interview, Howard Wen asks Miguel to explain himself one more time. 03/21/2005

Receive Podcasts Using Your PC by Jake Ludington
Receiving podcasts using free software, your PC, and a portable music player is a snap. Jake Ludington shows you how to do it in a few easy steps. 03/15/2005

Customizing Local Security Policies by Mitch Tulloch
Want to harden server security? Customizing the Security Options policies of Group Policy is a great way to go. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, shows you the best way to do it. 03/15/2005

Enhanced Text Input in Windows Forms 2.0 by Jesse Liberty
Visual Studio 2005 provides enhanced controls for managing data input in Whidbey. In this new column by Jesse Liberty, he discusses the advanced WinForms Text Input control. 03/14/2005

Powering Up Administrative Templates by Mitch Tulloch
In this second installment of a two-part article, Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, shows you how to get the most out of using administrative templates. 03/08/2005

Go Wireless
Here's an excerpt from Windows XP Annoyances for Geeks, 2nd Edition, that shows you how to set up a simple wireless network, connect that network to the internet, connect your wireless devices to other people's wireless networks, and prevent others from sneaking on to your network. All without wires, and the most amazing thing is that it actually works. 03/08/2005

An Introduction to Developing Software for Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 by Michael Earls and jGuru
At a recent consumer electronics show, Bill Gates suggested that the Media Center PC would be the centerpiece for combining online entertainment sources with existing video sources. As Sean Alexander (a product manager for Media Center) later suggested, Windows Media Center Edition will be the "hub for whole-home entertainment". Windows XP Media Center Edition allows you to do those things today. Michael Earls starts you out with how to write applications for Windows Media Center. 03/08/2005

Understanding Administrative Templates by Mitch Tulloch
Administrative templates are a key management component of Group Policy on Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, shows you how they work and how to use them. 03/01/2005

Using Timers to Evaluate Code Performance by Ron Petrusha
Need to evaluate the execution time of a block of code? Ron Petrusha shows you how to use the Timer function to do it. 03/01/2005

Building the Perfect Budget PC, Part 2 by Robert Bruce Thompson and Barbara Fritchman Thompson
You can build a powerhouse system without breaking the bank. In this second installment of a two-part article, Robert Bruce Thompson and Barbara Fritchman Thompson, authors of Building the Perfect PC, show how to assemble all the components and finish the job. 02/23/2005

Rid Yourself of Digital Media Annoyances by Preston Gralla
Sometimes those little quirks in your favorite digital media toys can take all the fun out of playing. Preston Gralla offers a baker's dozen fixes to MP3, iTunes, and QuickTime annoyances, so you can get back to the fun. Preston is the author of Internet Annoyances. 02/22/2005

Data Binding in ASP.NET 2.0 by Jesse Liberty
Not only has Microsoft made radical changes in how data binding is done between ASP.NET 1.x and 2.0, but it has also created significant differences between how it is done in Windows Forms and ASP.NET in 2.0. This keeps life interesting (Jesse Liberty says, gnashing his teeth). In this new column, he dives into data binding in the new Web Forms. 02/22/2005

Dissecting a PC by Robert Bruce Thompson, Barbara Fritchman Thompson
02/16/2005

DHCP and DNS Security by Mike Danseglio
In this excerpt from Securing Windows Server 2003, author Mike Danseglio explores the core network services of DHCP and DNS. These services are essential to most IP networks today in that they respectively provide automatic addressing and name resolution. However, their security considerations and safe operations are often neglected. Mike shows you how these services work, how they're vulnerable to attack, and how to protect them against those attacks when possible. 02/15/2005

Building the Perfect Budget PC, Part 1 by Robert Bruce Thompson and Barbara Fritchman Thompson
You can build a powerhouse system without breaking the bank. In this first part of a two-part article, Robert Bruce Thompson and Barbara Fritchman Thompson, authors of Building the Perfect PC, show you which components to buy. 02/15/2005

Encrypting Connection Strings in Web.config by Wei-Meng Lee
One of the best practices in ASP.NET is to save your database connection strings in the Web.config file instead of hard-coding it in your code. It's not such a good idea to save your connection strings as plain text in Web.config – you should ideally encrypt the connection strings so it leaves no chance for a potential hacker to easily get more information about your database server. In ASP.NET 2.0, Microsoft has taken this further by allowing you to encrypt the connection strings in Web.config, all without much plumbing on your part. In this new article by Wei-Meng Lee, he shows you how it works! 02/15/2005

NTFS Performance Hacks by Mitch Tulloch
A great way to improve the performance of your XP machine is to tweak the NTFS file system. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, shows you how to make the most of it and boost your system's performance. 02/08/2005

Getting Real-Time Data from the Web in Excel by Matthew MacDonald
Did you know that you can use Excel for more than just storing and organizing static data? In this article, Matthew MacDonald, author of Excel: The Missing Manual, shows you how to use Excel as a tool to handle up-to-the-minute information like sales figures and currency exchange rates. 02/08/2005

Building Mono on Windows by Kevin Shockey
Mono, the open source implementation of the CLR, is not just for non-Microsoft platforms. Kevin Shockey walks you through the three phases required to build Mono on Windows without using the .NET framework. 02/07/2005

Fix Hot Spot Annoyances by Preston Gralla
Using a Wi-Fi hot spot is a great way to stay connected when you're away from home or the office. But beware: you may be vulnerable to snoopers; you may be unable to send email; and your connection may flake out. Preston Gralla, author of Internet Annoyances, fixes all your hot spot woes. 02/01/2005

Working with Roaming User Profiles by Jonathan Hassell
If you have a highly mobile local user base and are constantly fielding concerns about personalized settings and desktop customizations that don't seem to travel with your users, then roaming user profiles may make your life a lot easier. In this article, Jonathan Hassell, author of Learning Windows Server 2003, explains how roaming user profiles can save you time and energy. 02/01/2005

Gmail Hacks by Wei-Meng Lee
Gmail is the best free email service on the planet. Whether you're one of the lucky ones who already has it, or you're waiting for it to throw its doors wide open, Wei-Meng Lee takes you inside and shows you how to get more out of it. 01/25/2005

Migrating User State Information to XP by Mitch Tulloch
Upgrading users to new PCs with XP can be a difficult, time-consuming chore. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, shows you how to use the User State Migration Tool to make it a breeze. 01/25/2005

Disk Cleanup Hacks by Mitch Tulloch
No matter how much space you have on your hard disk, it's never enough. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, shows you better ways to clean your hard disk quickly. 01/18/2005

Run Mac OS X on a PC by Wei-Meng Lee
You can get the best of both worlds--you can run the real Mac OS X on your own PC. Wei-Meng Lee shows you how to run the Mac operating system on an emulator called PearPC. 01/18/2005

Using SQL Cache Dependency by Wei-Meng Lee
Caching has long been recognized as one of the more effective ways to improve your ASP.NET web applications. One particular caching feature missing in ASP.NET 1.x was SQL cache dependency: the ability to invalidate a database cache if data in a table is changed. In ASP.NET 2.0, Microsoft has added the new SQL cache dependency feature. Wei-Meng Lee discusses the SQL cache dependency in ASP.NET 2.0, and how you can manually implement it in ASP.NET 1.x. 01/17/2005

Top Ten Excel Annoyances by Curtis Frye
Excel Annoyances author Curt Frye claims that the "the river of Excel annoyances runs deep and treacherous," and we suspect that you might agree. In this article, Curt offers fixes for ten of the most common annoyances, giving you the paddle you need to stay afloat in the currents of your favorite spreadsheet. 01/11/2005

A First Look at Microsoft's AntiSpyware by Wei-Meng Lee
Microsoft's new AntiSpyware tool hit beta last week. Will it really protect you against malicious pests? Wei-Meng Lee puts it through its paces and tells you what he finds. 01/11/2005

Web Parts in ASP.NET 2.0 by Jesse Liberty
In a previous article, Jesse Liberty discussed how personalization works. This article picks up from where he left off and shows you how to use Web Parts to allow your users to further personalize users' interactions with your web site. 01/10/2005

Konfabulate Your PC by Thomas Kunneth
One of the Mac's coolest tools, Konfabulator, is available for the PC. Here's where to get it and how to make the most out of it. 01/04/2005

Printing Directory Listings by Mitch Tulloch
XP's GUI can't do something as simple as print out a listing of every file in a directory. So Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, comes to the rescue and shows you four ways to print out directory listings in XP. 01/04/2005

Using the Observer Pattern in .NET by Michael Weier
Recently, after visiting a friend who received a binary clock as a gift, Michael Weier thought it would be a great example to show how to use the Observer pattern. 01/03/2005

Inside Secrets of MSN Desktop Search by Wei-Meng Lee
MSN's Desktop Search is a surprisingly powerful desktop search tool, with loads of hidden features and hacks. Wei-Meng Lee opens up the hood and takes a look, and fills you in on what he finds. 12/21/2004

Windows Explorer Hacks by Mitch Tulloch
Face it, Windows Explorer is old and tired. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, shows you how to power up this venerable utility and make it an actual powerhouse. 12/21/2004

Create a Letterhead Using OpenOffice.org Writer by Jean Hollis Weber
Stop wasting your money paying a print shop for letterheads. Jean Hollis Weber, author of OpenOffice.org Writer: The Free Alternative to Microsoft Word, shows you how you can use OpenOffice.org Writer to create letterheads at no cost. 12/14/2004

Windows Server Hacks: AutoProf Policy Maker by Mitch Tulloch
Group Policy is a great tool for managing Active Directory networks. But using it to do something simple like mapping a network drive can be maddeningly complicated. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, tells you about a handy way to power up Group Policy. 12/14/2004

A Network Administrator's Best Friend: BartPE by Mitch Tulloch
If you're installing or troubleshooting networks, then the best tool you've never heard of is BartPE. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, tells you why you need it and helps you get up and running with it. 12/07/2004

Security Centers and Firewalls by David Pogue
With the release of Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), Microsoft's latest and most reliable corporate desktop operating system now provides better protection against viruses, worms, and malicious hackers. David Pogue, creator of the Missing Manuals series, offers an excerpt from his newest book, Windows XP Pro: The Missing Manual, 2nd Edition, which covers all the intricacies of SP2. This excerpt deals more specifically with the Security Center and the Windows Firewall. Knowledge is power; protect your system. 12/07/2004

Learning ASP.NET for the ASP Developer - Part 3 by Neel Mehta
In the final part of this tutorial, Nihal Mehta will demonstrate how to construct largescale ASP.NET websites. In the previous tutorials of this series, Nihal showed how to build single ASP.NET pages where all the code for a page was written on the page itself. This approach can quickly get tedious when you have code that is common across several pages. Thus, one of the most important elements in sites with a large number of pages is the ability to share code. 12/06/2004

Automate Windows Installations by Mitch Tulloch
Answer files can automate Windows installations, saving time and simplifying deployment. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, offers tips and tricks for making better use of them. 11/30/2004

Great PC Hacks, from Easy to Techie and Beyond by Jim Aspinwall
It's time to break out the hardware hacking tools. In this second part of a two-part article, Jim Aspinwall, author of PC Hacks, offers great hacks, from the simple to the techie and beyond. 11/30/2004

Using the SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services by Wei-Meng Lee
Microsoft has finally added reporting capabilities to its flagship database server, SQL Server 2000. In this article, Wei-Meng Lee walks you through the basics of creating a simple report using the SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services. 11/29/2004

How To Start Hacking Your PC by Jim Aspinwall
Want to get under the hood of your PC and start hacking? Jim Aspinwall, author of PC Hacks, literally wrote the book on it. In this first part of a two-part article, he teaches you everything you need to know to get started. 11/24/2004

Defragmenting Your Pagefile by Mitch Tulloch
Defragmenting your hard drive regularly makes sure that your PC runs as fast as possible. But what about defragmenting your pagefile? Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, tells you why you need to do it and shows you how. 11/23/2004

Building Simple Lists Using Strings in VBA by Andrew Savikas
Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), the language used for scripting Microsoft Word, isn't really known for its string-processing abilities. But sometimes, string hacking is a quick and convenient way to solve a problem, and the string functions VBA does provide are often up to the task. In this article, Andrew Savikas, author of Word Hacks, shows you how to use strings for simple lists. 11/16/2004

Windows Server Hacks: Customizing Windows' Just-in-Time Setup by Mitch Tulloch
Just-in-time setup is a great way to create multiple user profiles on machines. But there are gotchas you have to watch out for along the way. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, shows you what you need to watch out for, and how to solve problems. 11/16/2004

Skins and Themes by Jesse Liberty
In his previous column, Jesse Liberty showed you how to use web forms security to create a personalized site. Here, he builds on that work to introduce the concepts of skins and themes, which allow users to configure the look and feel of your site. 11/15/2004

Hacking Word by Andrew Savikas
How can you make the world's most widely used word processing program work even better for you? Andrew Savikas, author of Word Hacks, gets you five steps closer to taming your text with his generous collection of hacks. Rid yourself of hidden character styles, tap VBScript for powerful string searching, use Perl from within a Word macro, and more. 11/09/2004

Optimizing Windows Startup by Mitch Tulloch
Tired of waiting for what seems like an eternity while XP loads after you turn on your PC? Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, shows you how to speed up XP startup in no time. 11/09/2004

ASP.NET 2.0 Databinding by Jesse Liberty
In ASP.NET 2.0, a great deal of the ADO.NET object model has been incorporated into controls that let you interact with data declaratively, and that spare you from writing boilerplate code to create datasets, extract tables, bind tables or views to controls, and so forth. Jesse Liberty shows you how ADO.NET 2.0 and ASP.NET 2.0 are now meaningfully matched. 11/08/2004

Solving XP Application Compatibility Problems by Mitch Tulloch
Applications written for older operating systems such as Windows 95 and 98 have problems running under XP. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, shows you how to solve application compatibility problems. 11/02/2004

Tips for Improving Graphics Performance by Stephen J. Bigelow
Stephen Bigelow, author of PC Hardware Annoyances, breaks it down to the basics with seven tips to improve your computer's graphics performance. Oftentimes, the solution to what seems to be a hefty problem may be as simple as reading the fine print on a box and adjusting your settings accordingly. 11/02/2004

Introducing SQL Server Reporting Services by Wei-Meng Lee
Microsoft has finally added reporting capabilities to SQL Server 2000. Wei-Meng Lee walks you through the basics of creating a simple report using the SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services. 11/01/2004

Cooking with Access by Ken Getz, Paul Litwin and Andy Baron
The authors of Access Cookbook, 2nd Edition have selected four recipes offering practical solutions to common problems Access users face. Read on and learn how to perform a mail merge from Access to Word, create a web front end to an Access table, build an object inventory, and export columns to an HTML table. 10/26/2004

Stop Mac Envy Forever by Thomas Kunneth
Do you suffer from Mac envy? You're not alone. Apple is famous for its interface design. But suffer no more--Thomas Kunneth shows you how to make your PC work like Mac OS X. 10/26/2004

Personalization in ASP.NET 2.0 by Jesse Liberty
In previous articles, Jesse discussed security and managing users' roles. This article picks up from where those articles left off, and show you how to provide personalized web pages for your users. Personalization allows your web site to welcome the user and to persist the user's state. 10/25/2004

Learning ASP.NET for the ASP developer - Part 2 by Neel Mehta
In the first part of this tutorial, we showed how ASP.NET allows us to cleanly separate presentation markup from server side script code. In this second part, we will continue our investigation of ASP.NET from a classic ASP developer's perspective. We will delve deeper and demonstrate how an ASP.NET page is put together. 10/25/2004

PC Hacks for Windows by Jim Aspinwall
Jim Aspinwall, author of PC Hacks, has hand-selected three must-have hacks for Windows. Jim will show you how to give your Plug and Play a lesson in playing well with others by tweaking your BIOS parameters; how to pick up CPU speed by applying proper CPU cooling techniques; and how to help your hard drive perform better with less wasted space by setting it up the way you want it. 10/19/2004

Windows Server Hacks: Hacking System Restore by Mitch Tulloch
System Restore is a great tool for recovering from crashes and poor program installation. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, gives you advice on how to use little-known options and features. 10/19/2004

Power Hound Tips for Online Protection by Preston Gralla
Windows XP Power Hound author Preston Gralla offers relief from some of your online security worries with four important tips. Protect yourself by testing your security, controlling your security levels, limiting AutoComplete, and keeping an eye on web bugs. Preston shows you how. 10/12/2004

Building the Perfect Bleeding-Edge PC, Part 2 by Robert Bruce Thompson and Barbara Fritchman Thompson
You've gotten all the parts--now it's time for the nitty-gritty of putting it all together. Here are step-by-step instructions for building the PC of your dreams, by Robert Bruce Thompson and Barbara Fritchman Thompson, authors of Building the Perfect PC. 10/12/2004

The Magic of ClickOnce by Wei-Meng Lee
One of the major attractions of the web application is its ubiquitous access--anyone with a web browser can access the application and there are no setup issues to worry about. With the advent of web services, a new model can be drawn from the best of both worlds--harnessing the rich capability of the client-side Windows environment as well as the distributed and connected model of web services. This new model is known as smart clients. In this article, Wei-Meng Lee shows you how smart clients are supported in Visual Studio 2005 and how it makes deploying them easy and painless. 10/11/2004

Building the Perfect Bleeding-Edge PC, Part 1 by Robert Bruce Thompson and Barbara Fritchman Thompson
What does it take to build the perfect bleeding-edge PC? First you need to pick the perfect components. From processor to power supply, Bob and Barbara Thompson have assembled their ideal mix of high-performance components that will run on both Linux and Windows. The Thompsons have authored the recently released Building the Perfect PC. 10/05/2004

Managing Remote Desktop by Mitch Tulloch
Remote Desktop is a great tool for remote management, but it also has its hazards, and you should be careful whom you allow to use it. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, shows you how to control who has access to it and how to lock it down using Group Policy. 10/05/2004

Cooking with ASP.NET, Part 2 by Mikkel Aaland, Geoffrey T. LeBlond
Last week, in part one of this two-part excerpt from the ASP.NET Cookbook , authors Michael Kittel and Geoffrey LeBlond cooked up three recipes to make ASP.NET work for you. This week, they're back in the kitchen with two more recipes: one to create a reusable handler that reads image data from the database and sends it to the browser, and another to improve the performance of pages that rarely change by saving and reusing HTML output. 10/04/2004

Making Sense of Partial Classes by Nick Harrison
In Whidbey, Microsoft has introduced partial classes, with which we can spread the definition of a class over multiple files. The use of partial classes attempts to solve the problem of separation of designer code and implementation code. Nick Harrison shows you these solutions and explores the benefits of using partial classes in your own projects. 10/04/2004

How to Cure the SP2 Upgrade Blues by Preston Gralla
Preston Gralla, the author of Windows XP Power Hound, offers solutions to the two most common SP2 upgrade problems: configuring pop-up blocking and configuring the firewall. 09/28/2004

Troubleshooting Printer Problems by Mitch Tulloch
Probably nothing annoys users more than when they can't print. And probably nothing annoys administrators more than when users complain they can't print. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, shows you how to quickly troubleshoot and solve printing problems. 09/28/2004

Cooking with ASP.NET
Michael Kittel and Geoffrey LeBlond have selected a few of their favorite recipes from O'Reilly's recently released ASP.NET Cookbook. Learn how to add a Totals row to a DataGrid, communicate between user controls, and display user-friendly error messages. Check back next week, as the authors offer two more recipes--for creating a reusable image handler and saving and reusing HTML output. 09/27/2004

Master Pages in ASP.NET by Jesse Liberty
On many web sites, it is important to achieve a consistent "look and feel" as the user moves from page to page. While this was possible with .NET 1.1, it was difficult and required both programmer and designer discipline. ASP.NET 2.0 makes this far easier with the creation of master pages. Jesse Liberty shows you how master pages work in ASP.NET 2.0. 09/27/2004

Role-Specific Backup Strategies for Windows Servers by Mitch Tulloch
A good server backup strategy should be role-specific in order to minimize your resource usage while maximizing speed and ease of recovery. Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, shows you how to build the best backup strategy. 09/21/2004

Using Extensions in Firefox by Wei-Meng Lee
The Firefox browser has a lot going for it, and one of its best traits is its ability to use extensions that add to its features. Wei-Meng Lee, author of Windows XP Unwired, shows you how to find and install them, and clues you in to his favorites. 09/21/2004

Learning ASP.NET for the ASP Developer, Part 1 by Neel Mehta
You may be an ASP developer. After the boom of the 1990s, there are thousands of you out there. We know you want to learn ASP.NET. In this, the first of three articles by Dr. Nahal J. Mehta, he shows you how to leverage your ASP knowledge to learn how to think like an ASP.NET developer. 09/20/2004

Best Outlook Add-Ins and Helpers by J.W. Olsen
If you want to get the most out of Outlook, you need add-ins and helpers. J.W. Olsen takes a look at three of the best and gives you the lowdown on each. 09/14/2004

Deploying SP2--Or Not by Mitch Tulloch
Is XP SP2 easy to deploy? How can you do it? And more importantly, what can you do if you don't want to deploy it immediately? Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server Hacks, gives you advice. 09/14/2004

Site Navigation in ASP.NET 2.0 by Wei-Meng Lee
As your web site grows in complexity, it is imperative that you make the effort to make your site much more navigable. A common technique employed by web sites today uses a site map to display a breadcrumb navigational path on the page. ASP.NET 2.0 comes with the SiteMapPath control to help you in site navigation. Wei-Meng Lee shows you how it all works. 09/13/2004

Lightweight XML Editing in Word 2003 by Evan Lenz
Strictly speaking, you can edit custom XML in Word, but there are limitations that make the process needlessly complex. This article presents a lightweight approach to XML editing in Word that works in all editions of Word 2003. All you need besides Wo