Creating an Installation Page That Automatically Detects the .NET Framework Version   11 Jan 2006 21:16 GMT
Microsoft Development Manager, Barak Cohen, shows how you can programmatically detect which .NET Framework components are installed via your application's installation page/script via the userAgent string.
Source: MSDN

Training Video: Extending Native C++ Code with .NET Features   11 Jan 2006 21:16 GMT
DevelopMentor instructor and Managed C++ guru, Marcus Heege, presents a video on the powerful ability to feely mix native C++ and Managed C++. This combination enables you to augment your existing C++ applications with the .NET Framework's classes and types giving you the best of both worlds!
Source: MSDN

Win a Pocket PC with the Visual Studio 2005 Virtual Lab!   11 Jan 2006 18:49 GMT
Attend the Visual Studio 2005 Virtual Lab and submit an evaluation between now and June 30, 2006 and you could win a Pocket PC!
Source: MSDN

BizTalk Server 2006: Orchestrating Web Services   11 Jan 2006 01:35 GMT
See how the development process in BizTalk Server 2006 makes it easier to include Web services in your orchestrations.
Source: DevX

Accessing and Updating Data in ASP.NET 2.0: Data Source Control Basics   11 Jan 2006 00:00 GMT

When I started my career as a web developer, Microsoft's Active Server Pages version 2.0 had just burst onto the scenes. Back in my day, web developers were responsible for writing code to both access and display data. That is, we had to write code that queried the database and then had to write more code to squirt out the appropriate data surrounded by the applicable HTML elements. ASP.NET version 1.x simplified this process with the host of data Web controls (the DataGrid, DataList, Repeater, DropDownList, and so on). With just two lines of code these controls could emit their own, proper HTML elements when given an arbitrary data source. Today, with ASP.NET version 2.0 and its data source controls, developers can both access data and display it without writing a lick of code. You kids have it so easy these days!

In a nutshell, the ASP.NET 2.0 data source controls provide a declarative way to work with data. Rather than having to write code to connect to a database, issue a command, and retrieve the results as a DataReader or DataSet, with the data source controls these instructions can be specified through the standard Web control syntax. (Of course behind the scenes, the data source controls are still performing the programmatic steps we had to take in ASP.NET 1.x.) Once a data source control has been properly configured, it can be bound to any data Web control. When the page is visited, the data Web control will automatically invoke the associated data source control, retrieve its data, and display it as configured.

While the data source controls are easy to get started with, there are a number of subtleties and issues that can cause headaches. In this article series we'll examine the five built-in data source controls in detail. This first part, however, examines the concepts shared among all five data source controls and how ASP.NET 2.0's data Web controls work with their associated data source controls at runtime. Read on to learn more!
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Source: 4GuysFromRolla

Wicked Code: The SQL Site Map Provider You’ve Been Waiting For   10 Jan 2006 23:38 GMT
In this installment of Wicked Code, Jeff Prosise updates his original ASP.NET 2.0 SqlSiteMapProvider to add support for automatic reloading of the site map following a change to the site map database.
Source: MSDN

Integrate enterprise CRM data within the Outlook UI.   10 Jan 2006 23:35 GMT
Utilize a SQL Express database as a local data cache and the programmability of Microsoft Outlook to integrate enterprise CRM data within the Outlook user interface.
Source: MSDN

Integrate enterprise CRM and other LOB application data into the Outlook UI.   10 Jan 2006 23:34 GMT
Provides an architectural design and sample code that demonstrates an approach for integrating enterprise CRM and other LOB application data into the Microsoft Outlook user interface.
Source: MSDN

Cutting Edge: Build Providers for Windows Forms   10 Jan 2006 23:31 GMT
This month, Dino Esposito delves into the build provider model for ASP.NET 2.0, showing you how to implement similar functionality for Windows Forms through the power of MSBuild.
Source: MSDN

Improve the availability of CRM data for information workers.   10 Jan 2006 23:28 GMT
Improve the availability of CRM data for information workers by creating a sample Outlook add-in and associated set of utility classes using Visual Studio Tools for Office that displays enterprise CRM data naturally within the Outlook user interface.
Source: MSDN