Next Leeds Sharp user group meeting is a coding kata session

The next Leeds Sharp user group meeting on the 28th of June is a Kata session using Conway’s game of life. For more details see their site. Not sure if I can make it yet have to keep an eye on my ever filling diary

June 21, 2012 · 1 min · Richard Fennell

DDDNorth session submission is open

Session submission has opened for the next DDDNorth on the 13th October at Bradford University. Why not submit a session?

June 18, 2012 · 1 min · Richard Fennell

Where did my Visual Studio 2010 link go from my Windows 8 desktop after I installed SSDT?

I have been finding the ‘hit the windows key and type’ means to launch desktop applications in Windows 8 quite nice. It means I get used to the same behaviour in Windows or Ubuntu to launch things, no need to remember menu locations just type a name, all very slickrun . However, I hit a problem today, I hit the windows key, typed Visual and expected to see Visual Studio 2012 and 2010, but I only saw Visual Studio 2012 ...

June 13, 2012 · 2 min · Richard Fennell

Speaking at NEBytes on TFS2010

I am speaking at NEBytes next week on VS/TFS2012 with Andy Westgarth, check the NEBytes site for details

June 12, 2012 · 1 min · Richard Fennell

TFSPreview.com no longer needs an invite code

At TechEd USA 2012 in the keynote and the ALM session it was announced that you no longer need an invite code to access the Azure hosted TFSPreview.com, it is now open to all. There are no final details as yet over the pricing when it goes fully to production but they did say there will be some form of free offering going forward. We will have to wait for more details on that front. ...

June 12, 2012 · 1 min · Richard Fennell

Cannot update local workspace in TFS 2012RC due to UAC

Whilst preparing the demos for my [TFS 2012 ALM session on Wednesday (still places available of you are in the Yorkshire area)](http://www.blackmarble.co.uk/events.aspx?event=How to Plan your Application Lifecycle Implementation with TFS11), I got the following error whey trying to add a new solution of sample code to TFS Access to the path ‘C:ProgramDataMicrosoft Team Foundation Local Workspaces43519e4-72cf-4cd0-a711-f4bb8b817f30TYPHOON;432cfb95-26d6-4a68-af26-b102c950a90dproperties.tf1’ is denied. It seems that the ..4535… folder had been created when I was running VS2012 using ‘run as administrator’. When I tried to browse it I was prompted for UAC elevated privileges. So if I was not running VS2012 as administrator I could not access the folder. For me the solution was to just delete the folder and let VS/TFS recreate it. I had no checked out files so it did not matter. Once done all was OK ...

June 11, 2012 · 1 min · Richard Fennell

Drivers needed on my Lenovo W520 with Windows 8 RP

I posted recently on running Win8 RP on my Lenovo W520, well a few days on it is still working fine. I have adopted by usual practice of installing as few hardware vendor drivers/tool as possible, as I tend to find these make matters worse most of the time. However, I as expected I could not only rely on just what came with Windows 8. On installing Windows the only device not discovered was the single device ‘Intel Chipset’, this needed the Intel Chipset Support driver I noticed today that when on my docking station my speakers did not work. I expected to have to install the Lenovo provided audio drivers, but a check for ‘updated drivers’ on the audio device in device manager got the right ones from Windows Update. The fingerprint reader just work had to do nothing other than enrol my fingerprint in Control Panel –> Biometics, and unlike with the Lenovo version of the UI I had on Windows 7, I can now user a fingerprint to elevate my privileges via UAC. One issue seem to be the green LED by the reader does not light up, but as it works I can live with that. I will report more things I need to do as I find them. ...

June 7, 2012 · 1 min · Richard Fennell

TF215097 when running a build

I have been working on one of our build boxes today restructuring our Surface solutions to make better of Nuget. This involved upgraded the Azure SDK on the build box to the new June release, which needed a reboot halfway through the process. After the reboot and tried a new build I got the error TF215097: An error occurred while initializing a build for build definition SurfaceRetailApplication.Main CI: Could not load file or assembly ‘System.Drawing, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a’ or one of its dependencies. The located assembly’s manifest definition does not match the assembly reference. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80131040) ...

June 7, 2012 · 1 min · Richard Fennell

DDD North to be held at Bradford University on 13th October

This years DDD North is to be held at Bradford University on 13th October, keep an eye open for the call for speakers

June 7, 2012 · 1 min · Richard Fennell

Windows 8 RP and my Lenovo W520

I tried to install the Windows 8 CP on my Lenovo W520 with no success as I posted about in the past.I was only able to install Windows 8 CP only if I disabled the Nvidia graphics card and just used the integrated Intel controller. This was of no real use as I need dual monitors. With the release of Windows 8 RP I though I would try again. The first attempt failed with the same problem, it hung detecting devices. I check the BIOS and noticed I was set to discrete only (the Nvidia setting). I knew the RP should work on the W520 as other at the office have got it working. So I changed the BIOS to Nvidia Optimus (the auto swap system between Intel and Nivdia) and tried again – and it worked. So this is the first post from Windows 8. ...

June 1, 2012 · 1 min · Richard Fennell