Here’s my vote for the best Firefox extension of all time: IE Tab, which lets you run Internet Explorer right in its own Firefox tab.

It’s the biggest time-saver I’ve come across in a long time. After you install it, when you’re viewing a page in a Firefox tab, right-click the page, select “View Page in IE Tab” and it loads the page into IE, right in that tab.

Up until now, I’ve had to run both Firefox and IE at the same time, because some Web sites still only work properly in IE. But now, I just run those sites right inside Firefox.

It’s run every page I’ve tried, without a single problem. So if you’re tired of having to run IE and Firefox at the same time, check this one out.

What’s your favorite Firefox extension?

Related link: http://www.franksworld.com/f3/

I just uploaded the second episode of Frankie’s Friday Flashback.

You can download the MP3 file directly or, if you dare to be cool, use the XML feed.

Due to a stubborn head cold and a scratchy voice, I had to cut this epsiode short.  

Episode 2 weighs in at 7:47 (just like the plane). 

It might just be the shortest podcast in history, but there is a suprise ending.

Intro: 0:00 to 0:45
Working in .NET 2.0 0:46 to 3:37
Lighter Notes 3:38 to 5:18
Wrapping Up 5:19 to 7:14
King of Javascript 7:15 to 7:47

Enjoy!

So, what would you like to see (hear) in a future episode of F3?

I’ve been using Internet Explorer 7 in the latest Vista beta for the last several weeks, and here’s a shocker: It may be better then Firefox.

I’m a big Firefox fan, and so I came to IE 7 with a chip on my shoulder. “Tabbed browsing,” I thought, “big deal. It’s just a johnny come lately.”

In fact, though, it does a lot of things right. For example, you can view thumbnails of all your tabs with a single click, and then switch among them. You can see them list style, instead, then switch among them.

It also includes a good anti-phishing filter, and a built-in RSS reader that has some nice features, although it could also use a bit of help.

Firefox, though, has extensions, and this is one area where it’s far superior to IE 7. But the latest version of Firefox is somewhat flaky, with many people experiencing crashes and other problems.

Unless Firefox fixes those problems, and adds some new features to its 2.0 release, it could find itself falling further behind IE 7, because the Vista version of IE is a very nice piece of work.

What do you think about the IE 7/Firefox ongoing browser wars?

Related link: http://www.hauser-wenz.de/s9y/index.php?/archives/154-Preventing-Form-Submission…

Atlas’ validation controls are quite nice, however — unlike ASP.NET validation controls — they do not integrate in the form submission mechanism. Therefore, even though some validation controls complain, a form can still be submitted.
However there is a rather simple workaround. First, update the <form> tag:

<form onsubmit="return validateForm();">

In the JavaScript function validateForm(), have a look at the get_isInvalid() method of each form elements that should be validated. If get_isInvalid() is false for all elements, validateForm() should return true — the form should be submitted, then. Otherwise, the function has to return false, preventing form submission. Here is an example for a form with a select list and a text field with validators attached:

function validateForm() {
  var textbox = $("TextBox1").control;
  var select = $("Select1").control;
  return !(textbox.get_isInvalid() || select.get_isInvalid());
}

Note that you have to use $("TextBox1").control and $("Select1").control to make it work. Otherwise, (e.g. by using new Web.UI.TextBox($("TextBox1"))), the get_isInvalid() call does not work.

Related link: http://www.hauser-wenz.de/s9y/index.php?/archives/153-The-Atlas-AutoCompleteExte…

One of the most anticipated new features of the Atlas December CTP is the AutoCompleteExtender which adds a feature like Google Suggests to a web page. Nikhil Kothari blogged about the new release, but I did not find a complete step-by-step example (although I honestly did not look very long for it). So I sat down and played around with it and found out how this feature works.
The first step is quite easy: Take the <atlas:AutoCompleteExtender> control and put it in your code. Link it to an existing web control you would like to “auto-complete”, ideally a textbox control. Then, link these two controls using the TargetControlID attribute and provide the URL to a web service and the name of a web method within it:

<asp:TextBox ID="vendor" runat="server"></asp:TextBox>
<input type="button" value="Search" />

<atlas:AutoCompleteExtender ID="AutoCompleteExtender1" runat="server">
  <atlas:AutoCompleteProperties Enabled="true" ServicePath="AutoCompleteSample.asmx"
    ServiceMethod="GetValues" TargetControlID="vendor" />
</atlas:AutoCompleteExtender>

On the server side, you have to write this web method. The only difficulty is to find out the method signature. Well, here it is:

public string[] MethodName(string PrefixText, int count) {}

Obviously, PrefixText is the string to search for, and count the maximum number of matches to be returned and displayed. It is also important to know that only .NET Web Sevices are supported

This being said, it is very easy to write a little lookup code. You could query a database, or you just use a static dictionary as in the example below. I know that there are numerous possibilities to optimize the code, but hey, it works

<%@ WebService Language="C#" Class="AutoCompleteSampleService" %>

And that’s it! Atlas generates script code to query the web service after at least three characters have been entered into the text field.

Related link: http://www.dnrtv.com/

The Dot Net Rocks team has come up with a new way to enjoy .NET related content:  dnrTV

dnrTV is a screen cast that picks up where the podcast left off.  It’s a great idea and it’s executed well.

Instead of hearing about how this piece of code or this component does this or that, now you can watch along during a screen cast.

The first episode stars Miguel Castro, the Dot Net Dude, who was also our December speaker at Richmond.NET.

If you missed that meeting, then definitely watch his show.

The conventional wisdom holds that Windows is a security sieve, while Linux is locked down tight. Then why does Linux have three times the number of security holes as Windows?

A 2005 year-end vulnerability summary by US-CERT (United Stated Computer Emergency Readiness Team) concludes that Linux/Unix accounted for an eye-opening 2,328 vulnerabilities, about 45 percent of the total of 5,198 vulnerabilities for the year.

Windows, by way of contrast, had only 812 vulnerabilities during the year, 16 percent of the total.

You need to be careful interpreting these numbers, because a single vulnerability may be counted as a number of separate holes, for example.

Still, though, the report should go at least a little way toward turning the conventional wisdom on its head.

What do you think about Linux versus Windows security?

Related link: http://www.bostondotnet.org/

On January 11, The Boston Dot Net User’s Group is presenting a Community Launch Event. There will be numerous speakers. I will be presenting on the following:

Some of the most powerful new controls in ASP.NET 2.0 encapsulate and facilitate the creation of Forms-based authentication, the dynamic or declarative assignment of users into roles (and role-based security) as well as personalization (allowing users to change the site to their own liking and then to have those changes preserved across sessions).

Arguably the most exciting aspect of personalization is the ability to allow your users to change the layout of key pages, and even to choose which features appear on a page, much as you might see in a My Yahoo page or on personalized pages offered by financial and other high-end sites. Web Parts fully encapsulate this ability and make offering these very advanced features to your users relatively easy.

Other speakers will discuss Master Pages, Navigation, Themese, Skins, Team System, New Controls, Snippets, and Databinding and ADO.NET 2.

For more information check the web site, which also includes time and directions.

Related link: http://myitforum.com/blog/osug/archive/2006/01/04/18088.aspx

This is the meeting you don’t want to miss!

Our keynote speaker will be Dustin Ingalls, SMS Product Unit Manger from Microsoft! He’s coming to Columbus Ohio all the way from Redmond to give us more information about the next version of SMS (”version 4″), and upcoming cool stuff with SMS 2003. In addition to all the great information he’s going to give us, he also wants feedback from you. He wants your feedback on SMS 2003, and what you think of the presented improvements for SMS version 4. We can’t stress this enough-This is your opportunity to give face-to-face feedback to the Manager of Microsoft Systems Management Server!.

The Winter Quarterly meeting is just 4 weeks away! It will be held on Wednesday (yes, Wednesday this time), February 1st at Grange Insurance Headquarters in Columbus, Ohio from 9:30 am - 4:00 pm. Same great discussions, presentations, and interaction as always!! (and once again don’t forget the great food!!)

Here is a preview of our agenda:
9:30-9:50 - Registration and Coffee Social
9:55-10:00 - Welcome
10:00-11:00 - Keynote - Dustin Ingalls from Microsoft
11:00-11:10 - Break
11:10-12:10 - Keynote - Dustin Ingalls from Microsoft Q & A
1210-1:10 - Lunch
1:10 - 1:45 - OSUG Karaoke
1:45-2:45 - Session 3 — Application Packaging with SMS 2003 using InstallShield Admin Studio
2:45-3:00 - Break
3:00-4:00 - Session 4 — Vintela Presentation & Demo

This would be a great meeting to introduce your managers to the Ohio SMS Users Group. Just tell them about our keynote, the free coffee & bagels, and then about the lunches that Chef Eric puts together for us - yep, that should do it!

All that on top of great discussions, food and prizes!
Registration, food and parking are free!
Register here: >http://ramsey.usanethosting.com/OSUG/register/
Keep an eye on the OSUG blog for more information: >http://www.myitforum.com/blog/osug

I’ve just installed the latest Vista build, and I’m pleased to report that it’s finally real. Builds up until now have been flaky, and to a great extent not particularly functional. But this one is the real McCoy.

I can’t say the installation was trouble-free. It refused to recognize my network card until I used a bit of brute force. And although Internet access is fine, I can’t connect to my home network. And, of course, there’s a good deal still missing. But still it’s almost all here.

The first things that strikes you about this build is just how beautiful it is. You’ll find transparent windows, rich colors, elegant animations and better-looking icons.

The Windows Switcher feature is probably the best new addition . Click the icon on your Task Bar, and all of your open windows will be displayed, floating in three dimensions, and angled, so you can see them all and easily switch between them.

There’s even an instant-off feature that shuts Vista down pronto — actually, it really hibernates the computer so you can turn it back on instantly as well.

There’s a lot more here as well, as I’ll be reporting in the coming months. Keep your eyes here for more on every Vista build until launch.

Have you tried Vista yet? What do you think?

Since this seems to be a tradition for some folks, I figure I would give it a go for myself. 

Here are my predictions in technology for 2006.

The much anticipated release of Windows Vista will drive a lot of activity, hype, and, even hysteria in 2006.

10. RSS will become a household word.

Sure, geeks, already know about RSS, but with the inclusion of RSS into Windows Vista, regular people will start consuming RSS feeds on a daily basis.

9. OPML will become even more important in the blogging community.

The rise of RSS feeds to prominence will also mean that a way to organize them will be desparately needed.  OPML will also be used as a tool to manage bookmarks better than the current, antiquated (circa 1995) means we have now.  Blogging pioneer Dave Winer has something in the works regarding OPML right now.  OPML is the start of a good idea, but certainly not the end.  (see my notes at the end of the list)

8. That little orange icon will not cure disease, end poverty, bring an end to all wars, or even put a dent into Microsoft’s market share, but it will help put RSS on the map of the non-techie set.

I’ve blogged about the hysteria over this little orange icon []that Mozilla created to represent RSS feeds before.  While it won’t heal the sick or take care of the needy, it will help to bring about awareness of RSS to the general public.  Despite the fact that the Mozilla team designed the icon, no one in the general public will give a hoot and that little factoid will become a point of trivia in the WikiPedia article about RSS.

7. SharePoint will rule the world.

Nearly every slide deck from the PDC that mentions Microsoft Office has Sharepoint at the heart of it.  In some slides, Sharepoint is presented at the heart of everything related to Office.  Office is the cash cow for Microsoft and, as we’ve seen before, what Office does, the rest of Microsoft does (eventually).  People either love SharePoint or hate it.  The new version ought to patch up a lot of the ugly parts of it, but, like it or not, SharePoint will become the API to Office, interoperability, and collaboration.

6. The release of Office 12.

Office 12 will come out “sometime in the third quarter of 2006“ about the same time as Windows Vista.  The trade press will have their usual run of a “should you upgrade” articles, bug lists, and tips & tricks.  For everyone else, Office 12 could be the first version of Office that people will use the way Microsoft thinks you should use it: collaboratively.

5. Microsoft’s stock will come alive again.

Microsoft doesn’t make money on developer tools or databases in the same way that they make money on Office and Windows.  With both of those product lines coming out with new versions, Wall Street will take notice and the MSFT stock will get out of the doldrums.

4. Tablet PC’s will become more mainstream, but won’t replace laptops entirely until 2008(ish).

Tablet PC sales will continue to build momentum and the marketing campaigns of Gateway will be matched by their competitors.  Dell will even announce a Tablet PC towards the end of the year.  Otherwise, shareholder will start wondering why they’re paying so much for the Google AdSense keyword.  Someone will buy out Motion Computing entirely.

3. People will finally “get“ XAML.

XAML is the language behind WPF (aka Avalon), but it can do so much more than draw pretty pictures on the screen. XAML is a standardized way to represent objects as XML.  People will see it at first simply as a means to “pimp out“ user interfaces, but, slowly, people will figure out that it’s much, much more powerful than that.

2. Blogging will become passe (kind of) and the truly elite (733t?) will podcast.

The Fortune 500 will enter the blogging world and, suddenly, it won’t seem so hip or edgy anymore.  Sure, blogs will still be around, but the truly outstanding among us will podcast in addition to blog– even if the podcast won’t come out on a regular basis. Podcasting will augment the blog, simply because people can listen to them as they drive.  It also adds a more personal touch.

1.  2006 will be the year for Video Blogs.

Sure, Video Blogs already exist, but they will take off like crazy in 2006, due to, in large part, the Video iPod.  Sites like YouTube will encourage people to produce and broadcast their own content, as bandwidth costs still make people shy away from hosting large video files.  While the production costs (in terms of time and money) are higher than blogging or podcasting, the pay offs are that much bigger.  There’s just no substitute for watching something.   Plus, Digg’s video show (link coming soon), has very low production values (Kevin Rose and that other guy sitting on a couch drinking beers as they discuss technology), but it’s still entertaining. Independent filmmakers, documentary types, and TV production folks will flock to this medium as their skills can be put to good use to spice up the shows.   

Well, those are my predictions for 2006. 

If I had to pick 11 items, then the 11th item would be the rise of BizTalk.  Most developers don’t even know what BizTalk is, fewer have even played with, and fewer still have mastered it.  That will all change in 2006, when the new version of BizTalk comes out.

Some of you out there may be wondering why I didn’t mention Google or the Semantic Web. 

Google will continue to be a powerhouse and work their way onto Madison Avenue.  They will become more of an online advertising agency than a search engine company.  My only concern with Google in 2006 is their recent “alliance“ with Sun may prove to be more distracting than practical. 

Remember, Google became what it is today because it focused on building a better solution, not focusing solely on “beating Redmond.“  Beleive it or not, customers can actually make or break a company.  Are you listening Sun?

The Semantic Web will need more time to gain momentum and come up with a standard means of tagging content.  OPML is the start of organizing content, but it’s certainly not the end of it. Tagging is the next logical step.  It will be ready for prime time at about the same time as IE 8 comes out.

As for ATOM, I sense that it will die a slow death.  It might be better than RSS, but RSS has a lot of momentum behind it and some very powerful friends.

Last, but not least, the New York Yankees will finally win the World Series in 2006.

But then again, I’m baised towards the Bronx Bombers. ;)

Did I miss anything?