Chris Tacke has posted some info on a really cool little control that he has written for CF.....
An automotive dial gauge.

With all the hoopla starting to surround ReSharper I'm going to post some stuff on a REALLY cool competing tool that I'm using an early Beta of....... but I don't have time right now.... so I'm leaving blog notes to myself......

I posted a couple of days ago on some stuff to do with scheduling in SQL Server.

MSDN has just published a good article on the internals of the User Mode Scheduler inside SQl Server.

Michael Yuan is reporting the release of two new Windows Smartphone devices from Motorola.

These have all the usual fruit that you'd want and expect on a current generation mobile;

• 1.3MP Camera
• Bluetooth
• Tri Band GPRS

..... as well as a few things that set them apart....

• WiFi!.... Yes WiFi!
• Smartphone 2003 OS (first in the US with that I think)
• SP2 of the framework.... which is just as well becuase you can't update the CF into RAM on these devices.

I'm going to grab one while I'm in the US in April if I can find one. Does anybody have any pointers as to where to get one in and around the Seattle/Redmond area?

1) If you add a file (say an xml config) file to a CF project and set its BuildAction property to Content would you still need to include it in the CAB inf file?

If you are using the Pocket PC emulator to debug Compact Framework applications that rely on networking you may want to look at this article. it describes the process to follow to ensure that the emulator can comunicate over the network.

Couple of goodies have popped up on MSDN Subscriber downloads recently.

Win XP SP2 Beta
Windows Sharepoint Services

According to American Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson George W. is going to win in a landslide this year- god told him so. More likely Pat has been smoking the same crack that Ralph Nader has recently.
 

Something funny over at LitleGreenFootballs.

Some Palestinian students learning english.... visit the site to see what is on the blackboard.

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=9924_Crude_Propaganda_on_Both_Sides_of_the_Lens

It's usually pretty easy to pick a PayPal spoof that's trying to nick ya money, right?

Not anymore..... take a look at this example of Visual Spoofing

via [Chris Tacke]

Robert Levy has posted some comments on the rise of theSpoke.net and the fall of GotDotNet.com/student.

http://robertlevy.net/archive/2004/02/22/152.aspx

Beverage Daily is reporting on a portable spectroscope for use in detecting counterfeit Whisky.... now that would have ben great in my student days!

Via [The Trademark Blog]

Tablet MVP Casey Chesnut has a run down of the Dallas MVP summit. We antipdeans were invited to attend via Live Meeting but I don't think many/any of us managed to get up that early in the morning.

http://www.mperfect.net/blog/browse.aspx?bid=632130464595625000

When you were a kid did you need to know how things worked? Like taking things apart? Interested in the guts of the .NET framework? Good.

Your first point of call should probably be Don Box and Chris Sells' great book $a(ISBN 0201734117,books). It's a great read, especially for those coming from other managed environments (Java especially) as it allows you to get your head into exactly what .NET is without having to wade through 'how to program in an OO environment' 101. It's the sort of book that any .NET programmer worth their salt should 'cover to cover' at least once in their career. Then you can slot it back on the shelf for ready reference in answering those particularly gnarly newsgroup questions.

But, I digress. The second place to head is the weblog of Chris Brumme, one of the architects on the CLR team. This blog has an extremely high signal to noise ratio with the posts usually stretching into  several pages of extremely detailed information on a given aspect of the CLR and/or Framework. His recent post on hosting covers allot of ground with the real value, I think, being that it gives some insight into the considerations involved in producing highly performant server software - viz SQL Server.

Chris describes in some detail:

• How CLR threading interacts with the underlying host.
• How SQL server manages multi-threading in a slightly surprising fashion
• Hooks that are being introduced in the Whidbey timescale to allow the CLR to better cooperate with 'extreme' hosts such as SQL Server.
• Schemes for managing memory and threads in post physical and virtual (hyperthreading) MP environments.

http://blogs.msdn.com/cbrumme/archive/2004/02/21/77595.aspx

NZPundit is reporting the chaos that has bestruck one of the most 'creative' areas of Wellington.

http://www.nzpundit.com/archives/005481.html

Have you tried Skype yet?

It's a Peer 2 Peer IP Telephony product that just works. A friend is in Hawaii for business (I know!!!!... tell me about it) and we've talked a few times over the last wee while on Skype and it really does just work straight out of the box.

Quality is good and if you both have a full duplex soundcard then it's very close to being as good as a phone call... without the cost- Skype is FREE as in FREE BEER.

It gets a double thumbs up from me. It makes me feel like I did when ICQ came to the fore back in 96-97... I had a genuine sub 100,000 UID back then

Now if they could just write a version for Pocket PC I could wander around the house while talking....

http://users.senet.com.au/~colton/Interesting_Stories.html

Take one Piper Saratoga, one Australian and a half dozen other aircraft....mix...

DP Review is posting details on the new all manual Panasonic DMC-LC1. It looks like a very sexy bit of kit!

• Fairly fast Leica lens
• Manual Zoom, Manual Focus, Manual Aperture, Manual Shutter speed.
• Auto bracketing

Looks like a great camera for hands on photographers....It even looks retro.

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2004/Feb04/02-12windowssource.asp

Wasn't MS's Fault
Wasn't Shared Source's Fault
Not the Govt Security Program.....

So why not tell us who it was!

Also...

Kuro5hin has a guided tour of some of the comments... makes funny reading.

http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2004/2/15/71552/7795

Now as anyone who knows me would tell you, I'm far from being a tree huggin, yogurt slurpin, sandal shod hippie. But, I'm pretty partial to a well made Hummus Mediterainian Chickpea Dip. I make a pretty mean one myself but also buy quite a lot in the tubs from the  supermarket. I think I'm going to have to do a bit of a review of some of the brands that I have tried. They range from the divine to the downright nasty.... what do you think? Are you a chickpea muncher too?

David Slack, another Public Addressee, posted an interesting wee survey on the Treaty of Waitangi. The purpose of the carefully selected questions (and even more carefully selected answers) is obviously to encourage us to all conclude that this Don Brash Orewa Speech thing is just a big beat up.

Unfortunately Mr Slack is just that. Let's go through and take a look at some of the selective statistics that he is referencing. (Question in Bold, Answer in Plain, my ranting in italics)

Question 1.
What has been the approximate total cost of Treaty of Waitangi settlements since 1989?
According to the Office of Treaty Settlements, the total cost of settlements since 1989 has been $596 million.
OK. But is this really the full extent of all of the settlements? He lists them below in another question. Most notably absent is the true cost (both up front and ongoing) of the Waitangi Fisheries Settlement. Looking at this site we can see that the Sealord component alone of this settlement cost $350 million- a sum which if added to the Slack answer would make a not inconsiderable difference. Whats more this settlement commits the crown to substantial ongoing liabilities the value of which must surely measure into the hundred of millions of dollars.

What was the approximate size of Telecom's profit for the year ending June 2003?
Telecom's net profit for the year ending June 2003 was $709 million. In 2001, it was $643 million; in 2000, $783 million; and in 1999, $822 million.
The only year in which it did not achieve a net profit greater than the total value of of all treaty settlements was in 2002, when it had to write off $725 million of its investment in the Australian company AAPT. This was more than four times the total value of the settlement with Tainui, who have found themselves pilloried in the business press for making poor investment decisions.
This is the 'Big Bad Multinational Corporate Greed' component that necessarily comes with almost any left wing social commentary. If the share holders of Telecom want to they are able to get stroppy about any such losses and wasteful use of resources. One might say that the New Zealand taxpayers (as 'shareholders' in the country) are getting stroppy also- as is their right. If the shareholders of Telecom have been slack in reprimanding their board then so what. Let us not as a country be slack in reprimanding our governors.

How much revenue did the Government collect for the year ending June 2003?
According to Treasury, the Government collected $57 billion in total for the year ending June 2003.
And just how did they collect said revenue? By taking it forcibly of you and I; the people who had to work their asses off to earn it. I don't know about you but we seem to be being lined up for a 'if the government only pisses away 0.01% of the annual tax take then that is OK' statement. If the government wants to take my money by force (and that is a discussion for another time) then the least they can do is be responsible with the money! Slack standards of accountability are not acceptable no matter what proportion of the kete is at stake.

Of all the money the New Zealand Government has spent in the last five years, what proportion of that has been spent on Treaty settlements?
According to Treasury , in the past five years, the Government has spent $227 billion.
Treaty settlements in that period totaled $248 million, or 0.109% of total spending.
If you paid $1,000,000 in tax in the last five years, your contribution to treaty settlements was $1090. If you paid $100,000 in tax in the last five years, your contribution to treaty settlements was $109.
And what proportion has been spent through other agencies such as Te Mangai Paho? Te Puni Kokiri? the Pipi Foundation? The Treaty Settlement process is but a drop in the ocean in terms of $$$. If anything successive governments have been slack in making full and final recompense for justifiable grievances- viz just and proper Treaty settlements. It's the 'recompense' that is being provided for completely unjustifiable reasons that is the real concern for most New Zealanders.

How many Treaty claims have been settled?

According to the Office of Treaty Settlements, there have been 15 completed settlements since 1989:
Ngati Tama
$14.5 million
Ngati Ruanui
$41,000,000
Te Uri o Hau
$15,600,000
Pouakani
$2,650,000
Ngati Turangitukua
$5,000,000
Ngai Tahu
$170,000,000
Te Maunga
$129,032
Rotoma
$43,931
Waimakuku
$375,000
Waikato/Tainui raupatu
$170,000,000
Ngati Whakaue
$5,210,000
Haui
$715,682
Commercial Fisheries
$170,000,000
Ngati Rangiteaorere
$760,000Waitomo
The Crown transferred land at the Waitomo Caves to the claimant group, subject to a lease, and provided a loan $1,000,000.
Date of Deed 1989
A good question to have asked might have been: 'Of the 15 aggrieved groups with whom a settlement has been reached, how many are back already for another bite of the cherry? And, how many had had full and final settlements or similar in the past?'. The last National Government was particularly slack at upholding past settlement agreements. Much of the furore over the recent Foreshore and Seabed decision is centered on Marine Farming rights- something that is surely covered by the definition of fishing in the Fisheries Claims Settlement Act. We need to resolve past grievances. We need to resolve them swiftly, fully and finally.

How many Treaty claims have been heard by the Waitangi Tribunal and are approaching settlement?
You can read about progress at this web site, which reports that there are twelve claims at various stages of settlement.
According to the Office of Treaty Settlements, progress in historical Treaty settlement negotiations is best measured by the number of claimant groups moving toward settlement of all their claims. Many separate claims may be lodged by individuals from the same tribal group. The number of registered claims therefore gives an inflated picture of how many settlements will be required.
Settlements are currently occurring at a rate of about one every six months.
And what of those making claim to tax dollars on the basis of race outside the Treaty settlement process? What is this wonderful euphemism 'historical' Treaty settlement process? Is the also a 'fanciful future opportunities' Treaty settlement process? As noted above successive governments have been slack at tidying this mess up; hence where we are today. It is surely line in the sand time!

Who has the final say in a Treaty settlement?
Parliament has the final say. Click here to read about the process of Treaty negotiations and settlements.
Hence the outstanding promise shown by poll results such as these. This is far more than the second major party taking up the political slack. It was a truly phenomenal polling turn around founded on a single political issue.

Tertiary students have access to 1451 scholarships for study. How many more scholarships are available solely to Maori?
The Sunday Star Times reports here that Maori students can apply for an additional 154 scholarships not open to others.
Funny how the Sunday Star Times didn't note the number of scholarships that 'orange haired and be-freckled but otherwise slack beer swilling' students could apply for to the exclusion of others. Once again, we should be appalled that such racially based scholarships exist irrespective of the actual proportion of them. Let's have a tertiary education system with acceptance on color and class blind merit and assistance on need. Enough of our student load fueled 'shotgun' approach to tertiary enducation. Enough dodgy tertiary institutions masquerading as Universities.

The Government presently spends about $7.7 billion per year on health. Maori represent 14.7% of the population. What approximate proportion of the health vote do they receive, including special grants for Maori health?
The Sunday Star Times reports here that the Ministry of Health estimates that last year it spent $1105 million on Maori health through its mainstream funding 14.7% of the total health spending of $7.7 billion.
Additional money targeted specifically at Maori lLast year amounted to $158m, about 2% of the total.
As above, what proportion was targeted at 'orange haired and freckle faced people' purely on the basis of their skin color and ethnic lineage? There is no slack in our health system. We have long waiting lists for most quality of life restoring elective surgery. Playing favorites programs do not have a place in a need based health system.

Last year, the Court of Appeal gave a decision which gave rise to the current debate about ownership of the foreshore. What did that case decide?
The Court of Appeal held that the Maori Land Court has jurisdiction to consider whether the foreshore and seabed are Maori customary land.
You can find concise analysis of the case by Damian Stone, of Bell Gully, here.
Oh lordy a question the sentiment of which I agree with entirely. The Court of Appeal ruling was little more than jurisdictional. The Labour government (and I suspect one member more than others) got their knickers in a twist over nothing. I bet you thought it was only the Waikato Law School admission criteria that were hopeless! *grins* If you want something even more concise ask Damian Stone for a list of his Bell Gully colleagues who are Waikato graduates!

If the Government passes a law that declares who owns the foreshore, who can fully and finally over-rule them?
A large enough group of voters is the only group that can effectively fully and finally over-rule a Government law, by voting in a new Government capable of passing new legislation that overturns previous legislation, or over-rules any finding of any court or tribunal.
Click here to read about New Zealand's constitutional arrangements.
Governments do not pass laws, Parliament does. But in practical terms Mr Slack is correct here. Parliament is sovereign and we live in a democracy so a large enough block of voters could potentially amass sufficient Parliamentary power to overturn any previous enactments. Or... we could just have a bloody revolution... *rubs hands with glee*

Which of the following is not a treaty which was entered into many years ago?
The right to issue a writ of Habeas Corpus is not a treaty. It is, however, very old law and yet, curiously, many people continue to find it helpful in defending their human rights.
I bet he put this one in for Margaret! You'd have to be a pretty slack law student or polly not to get it. It kinda stands out as the 'so bloody what' question of the bunch. The concept of Habeas Corpus well predates the legal formalism thereof in the Habeas Corpus Act 1679. But anyway.... so what, the liberties that it protects are in fact important and would (or at least should) be protected still even if it were thrown out tomorrow.