ComponentArt announced yesterday their new beta Web.UI 2006 suite.  Included are two new controls: WebChart Lite for ASP.NET and Splitter for ASP.NET.  I had a chance to install the beta today and play around with the demos.  Once again, ComponentArt have outdone themselves.

WebChart Lite has all the features and API of its WebChart for ASP.NET big brother, but only supports 2-D charts.  Actually, from what I've seen, WebChart Lite will generate 3-D charts, but they are rendered with ComponentArt watermark.  I think it is outstanding that ComponentArt chose to provide WebChart Lite to its Web.UI subscription customers.  I'll also add that the licensing for the full version is quite reasonable when compared to some of the other charting components on the market.

The new Splitter control is very impressive.  With it you can create resizable panels that can be split horizontally and vertically, and can also collapse and expand.  The Splitter "panes" can have minimum and maximum heights and widths, or can fill the entire window area.  Layouts can be changed dynamically.  The demos provided look like an RSS reader or e-mail client.  There aren't any online demos yet, but if you download the beta you can view the demos locally.  I can think of quite a few areas in my own applications where I'll be using this new control.

Web.UI 2006 will also include ASP.NET 2.0 versions of their controls with support for new features such as skins, themes, and the ASP.NET 2.0 navigation architecture.  Way to go, ComponentArt!

A minor release, but looks like some major improvements, such as a new SQL Server 2005 provider that takes advantage of some new features for better performance.

I've plugged Paul Wilson's O/R Mapper before, but I don't think it would hurt to reiterate that it is a fantastic tool.  I strongly encourage you to take it for a real test run (read: complete a small but real-world application with it).  Reading the feature list and taking it for a quick spin just won't do it justice.  If you've not used an O/R mapper before, it takes a little time to adopt the right mindset.  However, I think the benefits will become very clear once you see what it is capable of.  The beauty of WilsonORMapper is in its simplicity. 

I also recommend you try Paul Welter's CodeSmith templates for WilsonORMapper.  You can point CodeSmith at your database and generate a complete set of business classes ready to handle just about everything you need to do.  I have not yet tried the new CodeSmith templates from Jason Bunting.

Full list of changes can be found on Paul's blog.

I am very pleased to announce that www.ChristianASP.NET is now running on mojoPortal! 

The great news is that I now have discussion forums, which is a goal I have had for ChristianASP.NET from the beginning.  The bad news is, if you've registered for an account on this site in the past, you will need to register again.  I don't have any plans at this time to convert old user accounts.

Joe Audette and other contributors have done an outstanding job and a great service to the ASP.NET community over the last couple of years with the development of mojoPortal.  mojoPortal has been designed to run not only on Windows but also on Linux and Mac OS/X using Mono.  It features a pluggable data access layer and comes with support for MS SQL, MySQL and PostgreSQL.  Other application features include:

• Html Content Management
• Blogs
• RSS Feed Aggregator
  
• Event Calendar
• Search
• Image Gallery
• File Manager
• Localization
• Skinnable Design
• Host Multiple Sites From One Database

mojoPortal is a fantastic open-source alternative with a very bright future ahead.  I know that Joe has been hard at work to incorporate some of the latest ASP.NET 2.0 features, including updated Master Pages, Themes and skins.

Why would someone offer a free service and not be getting something out of it, right? 

Truth is, I do get something out of it.  A lot, actually.  I get the pleasure of knowing that some of the web sites I host are touching lives in their church, community, and all over the world.  I get the pleasure of knowing that some are using this hosting to learn a trade that will provide income for their family.  I get the pleasure of knowing that some web sites are helping to connect friends and families around the world, including those who are missionaries.

This site also gets peoples' attention.  As a result, I've been connected to some of the greatest minds in the .NET community, both Christian and non-Christian alike.  I love it when people send me an e-mail just to let me know they visited my site, or to ask questions about ASP.NET, SQL Server, or, most importantly, faith in Christ.

My return on investment so far has been enormous, only it can't be measured in dollars ;)

Unfortunately, I'm afraid many visitors to this site might be turning away because 1) they think it's too good to be true, or 2) you get what you pay for.  I don't blame them.  I'd be skeptical, too.  If you were to ask any of my existing "customers," I think they'd say... hmm... what would they say?  I'd hope they say something to the effect of, "aw... he's all right.  Give 'em a try!"

About a week ago, a friend of mine pointed me to this review of WindowBlinds.  In short, WindowBlinds allows you to apply themes to your Windows, changing the look and colors of your desktop, Start Menu, window borders, buttons, and so forth.  I was intrigued and headed off to the WindowBlinds web site to download the 60-day trial.  Little did I know I was going to become consumed with downloading and trying out themes available at WinCustomize.  There are literally thousands of themes available encompassing just about anything you can imagine, including other operating systems.

My favorite so far is the Arrow theme by MikeB314.  This theme makes Windows XP look similar to the upcoming Windows Vista, including semi-transparent window borders, semi-transparent task bar, and a custom Start Menu.

I think there must be something inherently in geeks to want to tweak their machines.  Of course, I guess that holds true for just about anyone serious about their hobby or profession.  Harley-Davidson owners are well-known for customizing their bikes, guitarists can't quit collecting guitars, and Jeep owners have their slogan: "It's a Jeep thing. You wouldn't understand." 

The full version will set you back $19.95, and enables features that make some themes look even better.  It's a silly way to spend money, but for the price of a few StarBuck's you can "trick out" (what the kids are calling "customize" these days) your Windows to your heart's content.

Google finally caved in and gave its Gmail users a DELETE button.  I understand their push at getting people to archive stuff, but everybody gets a lot of e-mails they have no need for ever again.  Finally!

I admit... it took me a moment to figure it out.  I was staring at the drop-down list thinking, "Am I going blind?"

I've always had a severe case of not-invented-here syndrome.  However, after taking a fresh look at dasBlog this weekend, I realized that there were a bunch of cool features that I was never going to get around to putting into my own blog application.  So, I decided to swallow my pride and take a serious look at converting.  Here's what I've discovered so far.

1. dasBlog is nearly as brain-dead simple to set up as you can get
2. 10 minutes of coding based on Scott's post and I had all my existing content imported into dasBlog
3. dasBlog themes are extremely easy to modify and create
4. Blog search with keyword highlighting is awesome
5. Trackbacks, pings, comments in my RSS feed, and all the other goodies I've been missing

I've set up my old blog home page and RSS feed to automatically redirect to the new blog at http://blog.christianasp.net/.  However, if you're a subscriber, I would appreciate if you would go ahead and update your subscription to the new link.  I believe all my old blog links will continue to work here.

Looks like my friend Josh has made it a New Year's resolution to turn up the volume on his site The Guitar Blog.  There's been a outbreak of new posts in the last few days :) 

Anywho, if you're a geek who likes to pick-n-grin (and from my experience there's an inordinate number of geeks who are also grinnin' pickers), then get yerself subscribed to The Guitar Blog and send Josh some of your link love.  Er... whatever it is you call lots of track-back-pack-ping-ding ... just go check it out, ok?