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How Random is a RNG?
Despite their name, "Random Number Generators" (RNGs) actually generate deterministic, pseudo-random sequences. A short review of the maths behind "random"-ness and the .NET Random class.
Read "How Random is .NET Random?" |
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Flex vs Silverlight
The world of "Rich Internet Applications" (RIAs) is here, and there are two technologies competing for developers' affections. A very brief rundown of the pros and cons of Adobe Flex and Microsoft Silverlight.
Read "Flex vx Silverlight" |
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Monitoring Outlook folders and logging events to MySQL
Monitoring and responding to Outlook folder events is easy with Outlook Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) and the Outlook object model - as long as you work around a few quirks in the Outlook security features.
Read "Monitoring Outlook folders and logging events to MySQL" |
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Tried Mozilla Thunderbird?
Mozilla Thunderbird has been around for a while now, and it's a real alternative to Microsoft Outlook. Despite some shortcomings, it is an excellent choice for the personal or light business user.
Read "Mozilla Thunderbird is Go" |
What We Think: Our Recent Articles
Below is a collection of mostly older articles related to software development. Nowadays we prefer to post our thoughts on our blog.
Bulk Data Import to SQL Server CE
SQL Server Compact Edition (CE) is a good little product; but there is no way to bulk import data. So what do you do? You write your own bulk importer...
Character Encoding for XML 1.0
The XML 1.0 specification specifically disallows many control characters that may be part of your Unicode character data. How can you make your payload XML 1.0 safe without stripping out characters and losing data?
Safari For Windows
Apple products have always been the gold standard for aesthetic, usable consumer technology. The Safari web browser is no exception. The new Safari 3.0 beta release allows PC users to take on some of the visual elegance, performance and usability of the Mac world. And the anti-aliased text rendering makes browsing the Web a less stressful exercise for your eyes.
Simple Flash Remoting and XML Parsing
Macromedia Flash Remoting Components provides a high-cost solution to the need for server integration within Flash. A simple and effective open source solution from Flash Dynamix is a zero-cost alternative that is appropriate for many applications.
"Server has committed a protocol violation"
The most obscure, difficult to debug software issue I have ever come across in ASP.NET.
Developing with Open Source
Developing with open source code brings its own challenges. My recent experiences building code with an open source codebase on the LAMP stack taught me something about good and bad code, the beauty of the "Find in Files" function - and my own attitude to programming.
Common Zero Point for Flex Charts
Adobe forgot to implement it. So we have had to do it ourselves.
