Yesterday I took the exam @ Sitecore for Advanced User and I passed with 18/20.  So from now on, I'm a certified Advanced User .

What is Sitecore? Sitecore is a WCMS (Web Content Management System).  In our company we use it for our websites.

The advanced training gives you following insides:

1. What is it?
2. How does everything work (like content editor, page editor)
3. How to publish
4. Workflows
5. Security
6. Maintenance

Sometimes you go to a site and you got a lot of irritations, just by visiting it.  Well, you can search for another site, but there are times, that you just need that site.

Well here in Belgium we have such a site: The Yellow Pages.

Why is it irritating?  Well today I search for a pharmacist in my neighbourhood.  No problem at all.  But the result shows me first 12 other store about shops who do shop equipment.  Even shops from more than 100 km out of my neighbourghood.  The worst part was, that I needed to scroll down to see my search results.  This is so bad.

 

Picture above shows (in Dutch) what I wasn't looking for, but still gives them on the first place.

 

Picture above: Finally, after scrolling down and passing 12 non relevant search results, I got what I was looking for.

Here in Belgium, we pay one of the highest internet prices of the world.  Finally an organisation stands up for it.  Test Aankoop, the belgium customer organisation, started a petition against these prices.  Find all the information on their website: http://www.test-aankoop.be/internet/goedkoper-internet-teken-onze-petitie-s616753.htm (in Dutch) and sign the petition here: http://quask.euroconsumers.org/FormServer/internettarieven_mb.

The Belgium post is very friendly when they damaged a package send to you .

Almost 6 months ago, I received an international package where the box and content where damaged.  I made a complained about it to receive a compensation, because they had damaged it.  Several times, I got a letter back for all the nfo I already provided, like pictures, shipment number,...  Futhermore no reaction.

Today, finally after 6 months, I got a phone that they won't pay a compensation.  They agree that they have damaged the package, but that's it.  It seems something with the kind of shipment.  This is really cray.  When I tried to explain my point of view, the guy on the phone (from the complaint department) is getting very unfriendly.

I hope the post will be very soon open, not only for the government post, but also for private posts.  Maybe then everything will be better.

Sometimes it would be better that you pay a little extra and just use DHL of UPC or so.

The Beglium post just s***ed.

Find here 2 pictures of the damage and as you can see, it's really damaged.

 

Since yesterday (August 6th, 2009) 6PM GMT/10 AM , Windows 7 RTM is available for MSDN and Technet subscribers.

First I thought I wait till today because of the slow performance while everyone is downloading, but just couldn't wait and tried the download.  I took less than 1 hour to download Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit .  So I got no really download performance problem .

You can download it here :

• MSDN : http://msdn.microsoft.com/nl-be/subscriptions/default.aspx
• Technet : http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/default.aspx

Just for fun

From my friend Gill, I got a fun link

From the makers of Office 2003 and Office 2007 here is the movie of Office 2010.  Watch it here : http://www.office2010themovie.com/

Finally, from now on, you can follow me also on Twitter : http://twitter.com/Cipidos.

Cu in the Twitter zone....

When you have the Plextor MediaX media HD (model PX-MX1000L) and you want to connect it to your PC as external HD with the USB cable included in the box, it could be that your PC doesn't recognize the Media HD. 

There's only one solution, change the USB cable.  The cable included in the box is from low quality.  Taking a good USB cable will solve your problem and your Media HD is recognized by windows.

it's a shame of Plextor to include such a bad quality USB cable.  The cable even doesn't work with other HD's.

Together with my colleague Bart Wullems I wrote an article about eScrum in Team Foundation Server.  This article is published in the Dutch .Net Magazine.  This magazine is from Microsoft Netherlands for the Netherlands and Belgium Microsoft Developers.

This is the link directly to our article : http://download.microsoft.com/download/1/3/0/130ccf47-be89-48ee-829d-3a6568befbaa/114602.pdf (It's in Dutch)

You can read the magazine online here : http://msdn.microsoft.com/nl-nl/cc998678.aspx.

Lately I have bought me some new gadgets.

• 24" monitor : Samsung Syncmaster 245BPlus
  
• A SLR camera : Nikon D80
   
  These are the specs of this camera :
  

  Effective pixels		10.2 million
  Image sensor		RGB CCD, 23.6 x 15.8 mm, 10.75 million total pixels
  Image size		L (3,872 x 2,592) / M (2,896 x 1,944) / S (1,936 x 1,296)
  Sensitivity		100 to 1600 (ISO equivalent) in steps of 1/3 EV, plus HI-0.3, HI-0.7 and HI-1
  Storage media		SD memory card, SDHC compatible
  LCD monitor		2.5-in., 230,000-dot, low-temp. polysilicon TFT LCD with brightness adjustment
  Exposure metering		3D Color Matrix Metering II, Center-Weighted and Spot Metering
  Exposure modes		Digital Vari-Program (Auto, Portrait, Landscape, Macro Close up, Sports, Night Landscape, Night Portrait), Programmed Auto [P] with flexible program; Shutter-Priority Auto [S]; Aperture Priority Auto [A]; Manual [M]
  Interface		USB 2.0 (Hi-speed) (mini-B connector); SD card slot
  Power sources		Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL3e, MB-D80 battery pack (optional), AC Adapter EH-5 (optional)
  Dimensions (W x H x D)		Approx. 132 x 103 x 77mm (5.2 x 4.1 x 3.0 in.)
  Weight		Approx. 585g (1lb 5oz) without battery, memory card, or body cap or monitor cover

  
  Furthermore I have following lenses :
  

  • Nikkor AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70 / 3.5-4.5 G IF-ED
  • Nikkor AF Zoom 70-210 / 1:4
  • Tele lens with Macro function and seceral extra filter (it has no processor in it, so I have to use it manually)

  
  The last two are from my father and are from his analogue Nikon photocamera.  But after testing it seems that these still working on the D80 as this SLR has backwards compatibility for it's lenses.  This made me very happy.

 Today is my birthday...turning 36, a year older and closer to the 40 but still a whole life in front of me.  Looking forward to see what this year will bring me

...Have another great year with my wife

...Doing a great job @ Ordina

...Become a TFS expert

..Have a great year with all my freinds and a lot of fun

 

Yep, here it is my second link list of the week .

VSTS and TFS links :

• Overall list of Visual Studio Team System add-ins, add-ons, widgets, and extensibility solutions.
• Brian Harry has a few interresting posts about TFS like upgrade to TFS 2008 rules, TFS version detector tool,...

 .Net

• Updated .NET Framework 3.5 Common Namespaces and Types Poster
• Visual Studio 2008 productivity - print your keyboard shortcuts sheet for C# and Visual Basic
• .Net Framework Libaray source code now available

LINQ

• Some good starter examples about LINQ to SQL

As I'm a hugh fan of electronic music and especially Jean-Michel Jarre and Kraftwerk, I was suprised too see an annopuncment on my Live messenger about the latest concert of Jean-Michel Jarre in the Marigny Theatre in Paris.  You can see the clip here.

It's his latest concert together with the release of his latest Album "Oxygene Live in your Living Room".  This CD/DVD special gives you a 3D entertainment in your living room while listening/viewing the performance.  BTW this DVD is recorded @ the alfacam studio's in Belgium. And it's just great for watching.

The idea of my colleague Gill is great.  As I'm reading a lot of blogs it would be interresting to have a weekly list of links which are usefull, funny, handy.  Gill txs for the idea .

News links :

• First impression on Windows Mobile 7
• Version 2 of the great book Framework Design Guidelines comes at the end of this year.  You can add suggestions here.

VSTS

• Recording of "Introducing Application Lifecycle Management with Visual Studio Team System 2008" MSDN Evening

LINQ

• Essential LINQ to Objects Video in 20 Minutes by Bart De Smet
• LINQ to Active Directory

Funny links :

• Bill Gates last day @ Microsoft.  Read the everything on Snowball .
• Windows 2003 to Windows 2008.

Yesterday evening, I went to the cinema with my wife, brother in law and his girlfriend.  The movie we have seen was "The hitman".  But also outside was a stand of Coca Cola with their nice Christmas truck.  Here are some pictures (taken whit my mobile phone).

      

On the blog of Techrepublic, there's a nice article about the types of programmers you'll meet in the field.  Read it here.

Found on my colleague's blog "Snowball.be".  Take a look at it and have a good laugh

This is just an hilarious video on MS Paint. Just watch it, you'll see!

Yesterday evening and today, I received a few mails with some sad news. David Boschmans passed away the night from Tuesday to Wednesday.

We all know David as an enthusiast man for the Belgium Development community as a developer evangelist.  He enjoyed live and after a few events we had a good pint and laugh.

David, We will miss you.  You will not be forgotten.  Rest in peace my friend...

My thoughts go out to his family.

Update :

Tom Mertens created a small place, where you can leave your message, so we will always remember David.  Go to http://david.vsdotnet.be.

You can also see pictures of David at Flickr : http://www.flickr.com/groups/davidboschmans/pool/

One of my hobby's is photography.  Around two years ago I had bought me a Nikon Coolpix 8700. At this moment I have taken almost 4500 pictures with it.  So it was time to create a Flickr account.  So go there and take a look.  At this moment I have uploaded two sets of pictures, but I will upload a lot more.

If you have tips, I can always use them .

BTW : I'm planning to buy me at the end of the year a Nikon D80 camera .

I was a little worried looking @ my clustermap.  The small picture on the main page shows a lot of dots.  When clicking on it, your got the full view (Click here).  Most of the Dots are disappeared.  But after looking around, it seems that they have archived the Stats.  So on your main picture you still see the total amount of Dots.  On the Detail you see the dots from 19 June 2007.  And when clicking the archive, you see the dots till 19 June 2007 hehe.

What is iLike?
It is a service that lets you discover music based on what you and your friends like. You can share your music tastes, see what your friends are listening to, and get tons of free MP3s from emerging artists that match your tastes.

It's still in beta, but if you want an account, just leave me a comment with your e-mail address and I send you an invitation.

Today I have bought myself a new GSM.  After having A Sony Ericsson T610 and a HP IPAQ 2210, I went for a full PDA Phone.  I struggling between the Glofiish M700 and the HTC P4350.

After looking to some reviews and what the salesman of the PDAShop told me, I have bought the HTC P4350.  The most differance between the two phones is the GPS.  But as I already have GPS this feature isn't not some meaningfull (and it cost almost 150 Euro more without the software).

Read more about the HTC P4350 here.

(Txs to JoostTeam)

If you follow the JoostTeam site, you already know this news.  But here a few newsitems on Joost.

• Joost has added hundreds of new channels since may 14th. (Even the first adult channel). Read more.
• Latest download (version 0.10.2) is pulled from their site.  Read more.

If you want to know when new cchannels are added, you can use Hal Schechner “new content” RSS feed at http://hal.schechner.com/joost/feeds/content_new.xml.

BTW : If you want an invitation.  I still have invitations left.  So go to this article and leave a comment with your information.

Txs to Dan Brickley I have thius info about some issues I mentioned in my review.

1. About the invitation that was lost.  Find here an article with a solution : http://www.joostteam.com/2007/05/12/how-to-get-joost-working-when-your-invite-went-in-the-spam-bucket/.  But as Dan told me, Always download the latest version of Joost directly on the Joost site and not from another site where it is possible that you download an old version.
2. About using multiple accounts : Dan hopes Joost will solve this in the future, so you can easily switch between accounts.
3. About the resending of an invitation : The people of Joost will look at it.

I'm very pleased that they reading blogs and reviews on the web, and take care of what people are saying. 

I'm playing more and more with Joost.  So if I found something interresting, I will let you know.

A good site with info arround Joost and a forum is JoostTeam.

(Article updated on 16/05/2007).

After using Joost for about 14 days. It’s time to write down a bit about my experience. They still have troubles with the heavy load. Sometimes we got connection problems. Also the rating doesn’t work every time. The content is still not much. OK, you have a lot of music clips, documentary’s, etc. But no real life streaming of programs. All of them are short clips (some more than 30 minutes). The quality is good but not very good. In full screen you still see that they use a lower resolution.

 

At this moment I have a few Joost invitations.  So those who want an invitation, leave a comment.

I need following info :

• Firstname
• Lastname
• E-mail

Update : After 1 hour already send 8 invitations (everyone who had leaves a comment or had sent me an e-mail should have received an invitation).  Still some left .

Update 2 : It seems that everyone is looking for an invitation.  After almost 12 hours I have received 11 comments and 5 e-mails for an invitation (All 16 should have received their invitation). And still you can have one.  So don't hestitate to leave a comment with your info and I will send you an invitation.

Thanks to my current project leader, I'm now a Joost beta tester. 

What is Joost ?

Joost is a new way of watching TV on the internet. With Joost, you get all the things you love about TV, including a high-quality full-screen picture, hundreds of full-length shows and easy channel-flipping.

With Joost you have hundreds of full-screen shows from your favourite channels., Complete control over what you are viewing and a lot of extra features.

You can also look at this intro movie.

Here you can see several screenshots. https://www.joost.com/screenshots/

BTW : As soon as I have invitations, I will let you know.  At this moment I have 0 invitations.

Update : Joost faces problems providing video on demand. "The broadband video service Joost has been struggling to keep up with demand after extending its pre-launch testing by allowing trial users to send unlimited invitations to others".  More info here : http://informitv.com/articles/2007/05/04/joostfacesproblems/ .  So I hope I have soon some invitations.

If you have a Creative Soundblaster X-Fi, you will be happy to know that they have released a new version (2.13.0012) of their drivers for Vista.  Finally gone out of beta.  Download the driver here.

I just have installed them and I must say the sound is better now.

The first troubles with Vista are comming up.

I had installed the Windows Mobile Device Center.  I have succesfully connected to my PDA and have succesfully synchronized with my PC and Outlook 2007.

Since today I got following error when connecting my PDA with my PC :

This is strange as Outlook is installed.  Have to find a solution for this.

Part 3 of software which I'm installing on my Vista Machine. This list contains the version I have and if they work or if you need a patch or a later version. Also problems during the installation are mentioned.

Part 2 of software which I'm installing on my Vista Machine. This list contains the version I have and if they work or if you need a patch or a later version. Also problems during the installation are mentioned.

Since yesterday I'm busy with installing the first software on my Vista machine.  I will list up what's working and what's not working.

First about the hardware :

1. Printer : HP Officejet 7310.  Although on the site of HP they stated that it will only work with basic functionality, my printer works fine.  I only have to test the scan functionality.
2. Scanner : HP Sscanjet 4070 : I haven't installed this one.  HP stated that there's no driver at this moment.  I'm just going to try.
3. Freecom FSG-3 storage drive : See this post on my blog.
4. Fingerprint reader keyboard : The latest drivers of Microsoft gives a fully working keyboard except for the fingerprint reading function.  The software for this will be availlable somewhere April - May this year.
5. Microsoft Wireless IntelliMouse Explorer : With the latest drivers of Microsoft the mouse has a full functionality.
6. IPAQ 2210 in craddle for synchronization : Use the synchronization center of Microsoft.

Next what about software :

1. Office 2007 : No problems
2. Kaspersky Antivirus : You need to download their latest version (at least version 6.0.2.614) which is Vista ready.  All previous versions won't install.
3. ACDSee Pro V9 : It installs but gives an error about a DLL that's missing under Vista.  Somewhere in March a patch will be availlable
4. 2Go Favorite Sync tool : It installs and works fine, but you have to setup following conditions :
   1. Compatibility Mode to run : Windows XP SP2
   2. Run as administrator

The next days I will update this list with my experiences.

At this moment I have a few problems that need to be solved :

1. When running a program from my Freecom FSG-3 storage drive, I got the message that I don't have the rights for running a program from a network location.
2. 2Go Sync tool, doesn't startup when booting the PC, because Vista doesn't trust this program.  I can run it from the message window that Vista shows me.  Then I got the question if I trust the program.  So in some place I need to setup that this program always can be seen as a trusted program.

Update : If you want to check if a program is compatible in Vista, checkout this site : Windows Vista RTM Software Compatibility List

After playing around this weekend with Vista, this is my second post about it. First of all, If you want to have the 3D look when tabbing between programs, you must have installed the Aero theme (which is by default enabled). Then Don't use the ALT-TAB key combination. This give you the old fashioned way of tabbing, but with screen preview (like the powertoy under Windows XP). Use WINDOWSKEY-TAB to use the 3D tabbing. Next something about dreamscene under Vista Ultimate...

After setting up my new machine I came to the first problem.  This is the situation :

I have a Freecom FSG-3 storage Drive (500GB).  I can connect to it through the admin page, but when I want to add it through a share, I can't login.

After searching to the problem I came to following solution (at your own risk):

1. Open mmc
2. Add snap-in : "Group Policy Object Editor"
3. You'll get a message pop up asking you to confirm what object you want to edit - local computer is in by default and this is correct so just click on Finish and then on OK
4. use the tree to navigate to Console Root\Local Computer Policy\Computer Configuration\Windows Settings\Security Settings\Local Policies\Security Options (phew!)
5. Changes following policies :
   1. Microsoft network client: Send unencrypted password to third-party SMB servers - set this to Enabled
   2. Network security: LAN Manager authentication level - set this to Send LM & NTLM - use NTLMv2 session security if negotiated
6. Restart your PC
7. Now you can login to the shared drives
8. Done!!

From what I understand is that the problem is with Samba which is the program the FSG would most likely be running to make it visible/accessible to windows.  The problem would be fixed in firmware 4.x, which will be relaesed ???.

I just got my new computer.  This is the configuration :

• Chieftec big tower case BX-02B-B-B
• PSU 550W Coolmaster
• Intel DG965WHMKR mainboard
• Intel E6600 Core2Duo CPU
• 4GB DDR 800 Mhz Kingston Ram
• WD250GB Sata2 HD
• WD120GB HD
• Cardreader
• DVD+/-RW AD7170 A Nec
• Asus EN7600GS Silent 512Mb Videocart
• X-Fi Xtreme Music Soundblaster

Pictures of my machine will follow.

I can only say that it runs smoothly with Vista.

Installed is Dual boot :

• Vista Ultimate
• Xp Pro

This is my score from Vista :

After this PC is fully blown into Vista, I will upgrade my Mediacentre, which is an Acer Aspire IDea500.

News for the mobile users :

Next monday on the 3GSM World Congres, Microsoft will officially announce the new Windows Mobile version.  More info and a few screenshots can be read here.

For me the most interesting part is that .Net Compact Framework and SQL Server is now build in in Windows Mobile.

I'm going to try and run it on my Pocket PC (I hope that everything will go fine with this upgrade).

Jim Erwin found a very special warning from the compiler :

http://geekswithblogs.net/jerwin/archive/2006/11/16/97285.aspx

This Saturday, I’m going to marry my lovely girlfriend.  We already have had a party for some friends.  This Saturday, we are going to marry at 10 o’clock for the law and at 11 o’clock for the church.  In the evening there’s a big party.

 

I have created a website for our honeymoon.  Find it here (sorry for the non-Dutch speaking people).

I just have bought en new gadget.  The XBeam.  This device is great to strengthen the muscles of the fingers, arms and shoulders.  It's great for people who are computer operators and much more.  For computer operators it's esxpecially to end the RSI.  The device does not use weights, but centrifugal force.  It can go to 15.000 revolutions per minute and generating a counterweight of 17 kilograms !.

I have bought the Ocean Blue with Power led's so in a darker room, this gives more fun.  The harder you go with the XBeam, the harder those leds are burning.  More info @ xbeam.be

The mobile PC magazine published a top 100 gadgets of all time.

Don’t look.  First take a guess.  Any idea which gadget of all gadgets ever is on the first place ?  I thought it was the Rubiks Cube or the walkman.

But no, the walkman is on the third place and the Rubiks Cube is on the 89 place. 

Here you can find the full list :

• Place 100 till 81
• Place 80 till 61
• Place 60 till 41
• Place 40 till 21
• Place 20 till 1

Sources : mobile PC Magazine & nu.nl

Today I'm for two days @ U2U.  I'm following the course MS2030A "Creating Reporting Solutions Using Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services".  Our teacher is Nico Jacobs.

During the christmas holidays and the last week I have bought myself some gadgets.
First of all I have bought the Microsoft Optical Desktop With Fingerprint Reader.

This package contains a Microsoft wireless mouse and the keyboard with fingerprint reader.  The fingerprint reader exists in 3 different versions :
- Keyboard
- Mouse
- Separate reader

It's a nice gagdet.  When having several users, you can't use the automatic login of windows.  With this reader, you don't have to remember your password.  OK this statement isn't correctly.  You always have to remember your passwords.    It works very well for the windows login, websites and programs.  You have to register at least 2 fingers.  And here's is the negative point.  You can use all the registered fingers.  So when you have added access to somewhere with your first finger, you can alos login with the second registered finger.  It's a shame that there's no SDK offered for this reader. 

Futher, I don't use the mous eincluded in the package.  Because I have the Microsoft Wireless IntelliMouse Explorer.

The color I have is Black Leather.

And for my last gadget, I have bought a keyboard for my iPAQ.  It's a Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard.

It's a compact and very light keyboard.  Only 2 AAA batteries are needed. AND the weight is 160 grams!!  This keyboard can also used on mobile phone, smartphone and laptops.  Be aware for your mobile phones it's the Symbian OS that is required.

During my christmas holiday, I got a mail that I can attend those days.  Now I'm going to see which tracks I will follow.

So maybe I will see some of you there.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone.

And just like Roy Dictus, I have a christmas present for you.  The first 5 people who send me an e-mail @ sven.cipido@gmail.com will get one.

Yep, today I bought a new digital camera.  It's a Nikon Coolpix 8700.  Read a review at Steve's Camera site.

Some detail info :

• 8 Effective Megapixels
• 35-280mm 8x Zoom-Nikkor ED Lens
• 12 scene Modes
• 3cm minimum focus
• RAW image data recording
• Movie with audio (30fps) at VGA (640x480 pixels) size
• And a lot more. 

Stil have to found out every possibility with this camera.  I already have taken some pictures.  Great quality. 

Finally some time.  Well it was fun.  Although we were only with 4 people (Yves Hanoulle, Roy Dictus, Peter Himschoot and myself) we had a great talk and laugh.

The restaurant itself was nice, a must with a group.  You eat with your hands and a wooden spoon, drink out of jars.

It was a shame that the batteries of the camera were empty.  I have tried to take a few pictures with my mobile phone.  I will check later if they are OK to post and not to dark so you can't see anything.  So keep your eye here for info about the photos.  Otherwise we will see you at the next geek dinner.

Update : As I thought, the pictures where almost black with a few red pixels.  But no worry:  Next time I try to bring my camera with me.

Roy Dictus is organising the 2nd edition of the Belgian Geek Dinner.  Look here for more info.

Today is my last day @ U2U.  I'm following a course “Programming .Net Enterprise Applications with C#”.  We had following teachers :

• Gert Servranckx
• Peter Himschoot

I took a few pictures with my Mobile Phone (So sorry for the low quality).  More to follow

 

Thanks to Patrick Verbruggen, I came across software which can be used to control your Phone using Bluetooth.
So be sure to read the article at Patrick's site.

I just have tested it and it's great.

Thanks too Roy Dictus, I now have also the very popular GMail account.

You can contact me there by using sven.cipido@gmail.com.

 

A list of my first impression:

            - Nice layout

            - It's fast

            - Using Google's search engine

            - Feature to star/label your e-mail

           

Then something about my internet connection.  At this moment I have a cable connection through Telenet (Belgium provider).  Since yesterday they offer some new subscriptions.  The subscription that I'm using now isn't available anymore for new customers.  For this you got following specifications:

            - 8.5 GB Download (Calculated over 30 days)

            - 1.5 GB Upload (Calculated over 30 days)

            - Download speed: 4 Mbps

            - Upload speed: 192 Kbps

            - 1 dynamic IP address

            - 2 mailbox (each of 50 MB) and 5MB of attachments possible

           

Now they introduced 2 new subscriptions.  I'm going to upgrade to the heaviest subscription they have now.  For this I got following specs now:

            - 12.75 GB Download (Calculated over 30 days)

            - 2.25 GB Upload (Calculated over 30 days)

            - Download speed: 6.6 Mbps

            - Upload speed: 512 Kbps (!!!!!)

            - 4 dynamic IP addresses

            - 8 mailbox (each 50 MB) and 10MB of attachments possible

           

I think 8 mailboxes are way too much especially now with my GMail account.  But the best part is the upload speed.  No other provider in Belgium is offering this speed (as far as I know).

 

The negative point is that I need a new cable modem to have this speed.  But the provider offers a free change of modem, so I just have to wait till they contact me.

Update : New date because of TechEd

Finally, we will have in Belgium also a geek dinner.  Organised by Jelle Druyts (great man).  The Geek dinner will be held in Antwerp on friday the 2nd of July 25th of June at 20:00 hour, but only if there are enough people. 

More info can be found here. 

Just leave a comment when you want to come.  Jelle will release all the details a few days before the dinner.

Because of company policies, I have removed all information about the Beta version of HIS 2004.  As soon as I get the green light everything will be published again, together with new information.  I’m sorry for this, but keep reading for my other posts.

Today's my birthday, I'm turning 32 :)
Yep, on April 1st, and this no Joke.

I'm happy.  Just as David Cumps, today my blog is added in the list of the Belux bloggers @ Microsoft.

And Thanks to David Cumps notification, I also discovered that I'm mentioned in the March issue MSDN Flash Wow, this feels great 

Thanks everyone, now that I'm a part of this big electronic space.

OK, Jan already did a post about this event. But at the customer where I was today I didn't have an internet connection (at htis moments you know what you're missing).  And as you can read futher, I didn't want to update my blog late this night (or morning).

But, yesterday I went to this event, where three speakers come to talk about, mostly, Sharepoint and Infopath.  First we had Yves Kerwyn.  he talked how to use the underdog program Frontpage to create your teamroom layout (or change).  I only can say, yves is in really love with Frontpage 2003 (What is your wife telling about this ).  And I was amazed what you could do with this product.  Then, Jan Tielens came on stage.  He talked about the development of web parts.  Within a short time he created some simple webparts, which shows us a lot of possibilities (even connectable webparts where included).  Jan had also some nice tips for us.  And last but not least, Patrick Tisseghem.  he showed us the new infopath toolkit.  And as you could read before in my Blog, I will try this also as my next step.  I was amazed that when Patrick asked who already have downloaded this toolkit (togheter with the SP1), and who already programmed in it, that nobody else (except me) in a room of 90-100 people raised his hand.  Or nobody wants to say, that's also possible.  At the end Patrick, showed also some forms published in sharepoint.  And we learned that there is a Sharepoint space, where documents can disappear and never appears again (just like a black hole in space, but now in Sharepoint).

Afterwards there was a little drink the hotelbar.  When this was over, we went with 8 people (Patrick Tisseghem, Yves Kerwyn, Inge ?, Tom Mertens, Wim ? and two others (one guy and a girls form U2U who's names I forgot) to 'Den Uiver' for a good talk and discussion, we even talked about Lotus Notes (or must i say Lotus Klotes -> PS : This is my own opinion).  A sad thing for someone was that there was no Guiness, no snacks because the kitchen was closed till 8 march and when we ordered 4 little bags of chips they said that there was only one.  But OK, around 0.30 we all went home.  Thanks guys and girls for the nice evening.  Hope more of these will follow. 

I wish everyone a Merry Christmas, the best for the coming year 2004 and a good IT year. I hope I can discover several new and exciting things about ;Net and Microsoft.  Keep reading and you will find out.