Check out the MSDN TV episode "Drag Once Databinding for Client Apps". A couple of years ago, I spent some time attempting to get object properties to appear in the data binding selection lists of Visual Studio. It was ultimately futile as it seems the VS design at the time was purely oriented to the Ado.Net world. There wasn't as much information on the how the databinding and component model worked (including such classes/interfaces as IEditableObject, IBindingList, ITypedList and TypeDescriptor) as there is now. I still don't think the documentation that Microsoft supplies really covers this area in an organized coherent manner. Sure there's lots of bits and pieces articles but nothing that describes the System.ComponentModel and databinding as a coherent whole. On the plus side, there are third party articles like this one that are gold when you come across them.
With respect to the object data binding I remember hassling Chris Sells via his shortlived Ask the Wonk service (experiment? product? forum?) about how to make VS2002/2003 more object structure aware within the IDE. He wasn't a Microsoft employee at the time so there probably wasn't a hope of finding out if this was possible, but it was worth a try since I was hitting brick walls.
Back to the present, the VS2005 ObjectDataSource functionality looks very promising as a means of achieving what was attempted a couple of years ago. I've installed VS2005 Beta 1 but can't justify the time to experiment with it in detail. I just wish Microsoft would stop demoing ADO.NET oriented data binding and show what the ObjectDataSource functionality looks/works like in MSDN TV or a Webcast? Roll on the MSDN TV session showing object data binding in VS2005! Actually for that matter, roll on the VS2005 release. There's so much goodness in it that it's tough waiting.
We’ve got about forty VC’s chasing after us
(We've been kicked out of a dozen VC's offices).
We don’t even need the money.
(I haven't been paid for the last 2 months.)Note that I know nothing about the company in the article. The statements are "so bold" that my immediate reaction was "whats the real truth here". The quotes may very well be the equivalent to political sound bites where the real guts of the conversation is lost for the sake of a short news segment. Hey, wouldn't it be great if 40 VC's were chasing your company and you didn't need the money!
Occassionaly I've heard the term "sodder" in a bunch of software oriented video/audio from the U.S. From the context, it was obvious they were talking about solder. Searched the web and the most useful info on solder vs. "sodder" was at this page. Weird ay.
After a couple of years of swearing not to install Real Networks software because of it's intrusiveness in previous versions, its now back on my PC. I remember an internet radio show commentator likening the Real Player series to a virus because of the in your face approach of the software. The impetus to install it was from seeing the bunch of audio content available on Tech Nation which I found via Guy Kawasaki's Art of the Start web site. So far it's been unintrusive, though any hint of not treating me (the user) with respect will result in its removal. So now my PC has Windows Media 10, Quicktime and Real Player installed. It seems a waste of resources and somewhat annoying to my developer sensibilities (hating repetition) but its the only way of being able to see/hear most of the content thats out there. I did a similar thing with Quicktime and it hasn't been intrusive. Maybe the leopards have changed their spots?
Though I did notice definite web design approaches on the www.real.com web site which attempted to steer me to purchase product. It was always difficult to see the small font links to the free version. Apple did something similar with Quicktime, in that it came with iTunes software when I just wanted the player. Somehow, I think the leopards would change back given half a chance. Or maybe they're just a lot more subtle about it these days.
I decided to catch up with a few of the longer blog posts using the TTS audio approach mentioned in yesterday's post while doing some mind numbing paperwork. One of them was causticTech's version of an Industry Press Release. At first I thought, causticphil's toning it down somewhat this time. Did the censor police catch up with him? Has he mellowed? Stopped drinking copious amounts of coffee/tea/<insert stimulant here>? Nope... the text to speech software was converting each swear word to "beep" e.g. fucking company -> beep company, fucking consultants -> beep consultants. No way to turn the conversion off either. His prose just didn't have the same effect...
A while back Chris Sell's blog linked to a speech demo at Nuance Communications. I actually evaluated one of their products for a prospective job and it was pretty good. Unfortunately the project never eventuated, but it would be great to have a personal TTS app that used the Nuance text to speech technology.