I was recently working at a client's site where they were using TFS 2008 in a dual server setup. When getting large numbers of files (e.g. a Get Latest for the whole solution of 20+ projects) they were intermittently see 'Invalid file handle' errors. However, if they selected a smaller set of files, or just retried it …

What seems many months ago I ordered an HTC Cruise from Expansys. My old QTEK S100 was literally falling apart. The new phone was supposedly on 4 day delivery, well it took best part of 4 months to arrive (don't you just hate online stock levels and delivery dates that are just wrong) but was the wait worth it? Well I …

Interesting to see that the samples of Silverlight controls have been shipped with associated MSTest projects. I think this is first for Microsoft. Now this is a great way to see the intention behind the way any bit of code was designed. A good test set is far more use than most documentation, as it truly matches the …

IE8 Activities look cool. They're almost like favlets from where I stand, but they offer a very simple way for users to access online services and pass simple parameters. I decided I wanted to play, and we use SharePoint heavily here at Black Marble. The obvious thing to do was to create an activity which would allow …

Well the secret that never was, is out Silverlight 2.0 beta is now out along with a full complement of expression tools in beta , IE 8 has also made a welcome appearance. The visual studio update for silverlight in my Visual Studio list here I will try and do a full breakdown in the next few days, but at the minute too …

I can't spend much longer playing with IE8 or my wife will skin me. However, from my cursory browsing experience I'm worried. Either the devs have a good deal of work to do or I'm going to be very busy with CSS rules for a while. Here's the University of Bradford site in IE8: And to try to compare apples with oranges, …

Well, as expected, the public beta of IE8 appeared on the web pretty much straight after the Mix08 keynote mentioned it. I managed to grab it within mere moments and I now have it installed on my trusty laptop. As announced only a day or two ago, it defaults to the new rendering mode, with a big toolbar button to …

In a change from the usual venue in Leeds, the next meeting of the Extreme Programming club will be at Black Marble's office in Bradford. I will be giving a updated version of my DDD4 presentation on Cruise Control .NET. The fun starts a 7pm on Wednesday the 12th of March, it is free and open to all, see you there.

I was at SQLBits II in Birmingham yesterday, a great venue and great sessions. I particularly enjoyed András Belokosztolszki's session on transient data in SQL, giving an insight on when as a developer it is appropriate to use different techniques to manage data. My session on Visual Studio for Database Professionals …

Andy Wigley came over to BM Towers to present on Windows Mobile Development using Visual Studio 2008. Huge thanks again to Andy for coming over to do the event. b. Technorati tags: Windows Mobile, Community Events