ClickOnce Deployment Issues

I love ClickOnce, but it can be a problem if your application checks for new versions at startup and your connection to the Internet is down. One problem reported was:

The details button gave me lots of information, but the primary part was this:

ERROR SUMMARY Below is a summary of the errors, details of
these errors are listed later in the log. * Activation of C:\DOCUME~1\RBRIGH~1.RAN\STARTM~1\Programs\Startup\WALLPA~1.APP resulted in exception. Following failure messages were detected: + Exception reading manifest from http://intralink.domainnamechanged.com/proxy1.html: the manifest may not be valid or the file could not be opened. + The 'br' start tag on line 4 does not match the end tag of 'center'. Line 7, position 3.

This is very misleading. The root problem was just that my proxy server settings were wrong on my laptop. I don't think these error messages would help you discover that.

Test

Test

Poster Child for the Ignorant and Belligerent

The Register has an interesting article entitled "Oklahoma city threatens to call FBI over 'renegade' Linux maker." It's great. The City Manager for the town of Tuttle, OK , Jerry A. Taylor demonstrates:

1) Technical Ignorance While Claiming Technical Expertise
2) A Belligerent Attitude
3) Pointless Threats
4) Inability to Take Responsibility
5) Inability to Show Appreciation
6) How to Embarass the Whole Town
7) Political Suicide

Its a classic customer support story. Fun for the whole family. You can read all the emails here.

The Robots are Coming!

Woo Hoo! New Lego Mindstorms announced. I've enjoyed toying with the currunt versiona a bit. Now we're getting a very cool upgraded version. I'm picturing combining both! Maybe I'll hook up a wireless video camera and have it patrol the house. Maybe I'll arm it with some kind of gun that shoots dye like they use to catch bank robbers! or maybe a tranquilizer dart! Hmm... how could it get a DNA sample I wonder...

San Francisco Pictures - Then and Now

An amusing little way to spend some time... Scenes of San Francisco from Alfred Hitchcock's film Vertigo shot in 1958. Compare them to the same location in 2003. Take the photo tour.

Future Tech Update

Ok, I'm too lazy to actually write a bunch of stuff for my blog. Well, too busy actually. Here's a quick run down on interesting technology development that may become main-stream life changers in the future:

1. Real time tracking of your friends and family
2. Media Center PCs links with your XBox 360 gaming consoles
3. Watch TV over the Internet. Move over HDTV here comes IPTV!
4. Seaching your pictures and maybe the Internet's pictures for people using face recognition. (i.e. google search for all published pictures of me)
5. Windows Live will change the way we use computers when traveling from location to location. For example, portable favorites.

OK. No more time. Lots of geek stuff on the horizon! Should be interesting to watch and experience.

Sci Fi? No. It Really Happened.

According to government documents released this week, a cylinder containing the highly radioactive and deadly Cobalt-60 got stuck in a delivery tube for three weeks at the U.S. defense department's White Sands Missle Range. The cylinder was spewing enough radiation to kill a man in 30 seconds, too much even for protective suits. Even the bomb disposal robot they sent in was repeatedly overcome by the radiation. After three days of robot repair, circuits fried by radiation and other bits melted, the robot saved the day. Read all about it in an article in Nature magazine.