Moving my blog...

I will no longer blog here - please point your RSS Reader to http://www.dandyvibe.com for my new blog as well as others.

Thank you,
-v

To Dispose or to not Dispose...

For the most part Garbage Collection will run and reclaim memory where objects are no referenced. However, Garbage Collection doesn't reclaim unmanaged resources. Unmanaged resources can be DcConnections, Resources (as in a resources file), any GDI+ Managed and some File IO functionality.Do you absolutely have to call the .Dispose method? No, but you pay a small price in memory loss because the Garbage Collector has to keep the object around a little longer that needed. This is due to the fact that the .Dispose method hasn't been called to clean unmanaged resources. The code that is executed in the Distructor will now have to execute it.If you call the .Dispose method or use the Using Statement the .Dispose method will execute and clean up any unmanaged resources and hints to the Garbage Collector that it no longer has to stay in memory and the memory can then be reclaim on it's next collection.Does every object need to implement IDispose? No, only those that are making use of unmanaged resources or if you sub-class from a class that implements IDispose.Unless you are creating classes that make use of unmanaged resources I wouldn't worry too much about learning how to Implement IDispose - but just in case you wanted to know more here are some links:

http://channel9.msdn.com/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=30187http://www.codeproject.com/csharp/IDispose.asp
http://dotnet247.com/247reference/msgs/44/221574.aspx
http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/000040.html
http://www.thescripts.com/forum/thread229637.html
http://discuss.develop.com/archives/wa.exe?A2=ind0406b&L=dotnet-clr&T=0&O=D&F=&S=&P=3344Otherwise, always call the .Dispose method or use the Using Statement - this is they way to run as lean as possible... Providing the person who implimented IDispose did it correctly.

Command Line Tools for Network Interfaces

Everyone knows that when you need to modify your network interface information you have to travel over to the Control Panel and navigate to the Network and right-click on the specific NIC you're interested in. There you can change your network protocols, IP Address, Gateways, etc...

Ever wonder how you would do that if the Control Panel didn't exist?

Check out: netsh.exe

By typing netsh ? it'll guide you through all it's options and command features for modifying the information on you NIC's.

Excellent Blond Joke

Okay, normally I wouldn't even do this but I was rolling on the floor with this one. The funniest blond joke ever!!!

I thought I knew it all...

I've been Kelley Blue Book for just over 2 months - when I was hired I thought, "Here's where the 4 years of auto shop in high school are going to pay off!" Don't get me wrong, for the most part being a motorhead definately helps when working in the industry.

I myself am a bike enthusiast and I tend to know A LOT about motorcycles. I'm familiar with the Bimota project that was lead by Farrari, the Genesis project that flopped at Yamaha, I know about bikes that really suck at performance but look really hot on the street (total chick magnets - not that it matters because I'm married), I know about bikes that manafacturers have taken right from the race track to make them street legal, and I even know of motorcycle with huge V-8 engines. I thought I knew all...

So I'm reviewing this export file that is sent to several of KBB customers comparing it to the Blue Book Publications - in the motorcycle publication we specify what type of engine the motorcycle has. 99.9% of the time a motorcycle will either have a 4 stroke engine or a 2 stroke engine - not very many engine to choose from... But in the export file I'm looking at possible engine types and one of the options is Rotary. My first thought, "For a bike?! Ya, right." I've heard of the RX7 from Mazda which has a rotary engine but that's the only car to my knowledge - never heard of bike having a rotary. Almost stepping off my seat to point out the obvious I did a quick search on Google and found (my jaw dropped to the ground) Suzuki RE-5 Rotary engine motorcycle!!!

I felt blind sided by the idea of having a rotary engine on a motorcycle and even worse a rotary engine motorcycle that existed way back when I was in kindergarten! Why didn't I know about this?!

That goes to show that the Los Angeles School District TOTALLY SUCKS!!!

I'm still in shock.

Password Recovery for VSS

This is a double edge sword - hopefully people won't use it in evil ways... However, it can be used for good, too.

1. In case the VSS keeper leaves the company
2. In case you find an old VSS database to which you no longer know the password
3. In case you forget the VSS Password
4. In case you change the password and you type in wrong... twice!!!
5. In case a disgruntle employee changes the password prior to being escorted off the premises

I post the good reasons why it's important to be able to recover a VSS password - I'm sure you can think of all the evil reasons to recover the password on your own.

I found a good password recovery tool for Visual Source Safe (more like an article) on: http://dotnet.org.za/gangatha/articles/19185.aspx

So what about allowing workers to remote into their PC's???

That's an open ended question with a lot of answers to go with it...

Here's my shot at trying to answer this question:

VPN is definately a viable alternative. This will allow the developer to tap into your VSS Database and work locally on their machine where they are working in a familiar environment.

However, if you're worried about the particular environment or licensing issues you may want to have them remote into a machine on your network. Especially if they don't already own all the necessary software needed to complete the job. Keep in mind that performance isn't always on the side of the person who is remoting. Remoting for long term can be frustrating at times.
You can be sure that whatever software license you purchase will remain on your machines and on your network.

An alternative to VPN & Remoting is http://www.gotomypc.com/ (I don't mean to plug-in) which offers just about everything Remoting offers without having the complexity and having to "punch holes" into your firewall to allow VPN connections.

Of course there is always the dreaded question the quantity of work being performed. Is it fair for everyone else working a fixed set of hours while one person can work when they feel like it...?

For me, remoting works for emergency situations such as after hour "firefighting" mode or weekend catch-up work to avoid driving into work or even dressing up to appear decent at the office. I wouldn't consider remoting for everyday work...

Of course you'll probably get a bunch of contractors and consultants to chime-in and contradict my position - but I stand firm on my statements. I just don't think it's fair for those that have to work a fixed set of hours. Either allow everyone remote access and work from home in their P.J.'s or only allow access to remoting during the extended hours. Or emergency cases - keep in mind that emergency cases shouldn't happen everyday.