The Daily Grind 581

Ah, "Palouse smog." That's what we get when the wind kicks up 50MPH gusts just as the farmers are plowing the surrounding fields, and the fine topsoil of the area mixes with the air and reduces the visibility to a quarter mile or less. Step outside and you can chew your way through the air as it sandblasts your face. Still, beats the heck out of city living.

No long review today, sorry. I had one lined up but decided to hold it back for a bit while I resolve some issues with the vendor. I want to be sure that I only recommend products that I'm confident about.

Software

• MAPILab Rules for Exchange - Easy server-side rules management for your Exchange server, integrated into the Exchange System Manager. 21-day trial, pricing from $249.
• "Indigo" Community Technology Preview Helps Developers Connect - You probably read about this in a zillion other places, but the CTP of "Indigo" (next version of Microsoft's idea of Web Services) and "Avalon" (next version of user interface bits) shipped to MSDN subscribers today. The hoi polloi can get it at some nebulous future date. Meanwhile, you can read this press release or David Chappell's article "Introducing Indigo: An Early Look". There's also the WinFX SDK to dig into.
• fontleech - A blog designed to keep you up-to-date on where to get good free fonts. Could be useful if you find yourself doing actual design work.
• Exchange Server Best Practices Analyzer Tool - This Microsoft freebie is at version 2.0 already - pretty much a must-have if you're trying to maintain Microsoft Exchange servers.
• SlickEdit v10 - New release of this programmer's editor adds more C/C++ refactorings, an updated UI, anhanced Java support, Subversion integration, and other goodies. 15 day trial download, pricing from $284.

Information

• SQL Profiler Tips and Tricks - My latest little bundle of words for Developer.com.
• List of User Agents - A good reference when you're trying to figure out who's been thrashing away at your Web site. (via Gadgetopia)

Community

• The Collaborative Effort to Update Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace - Lawrence Lessig is gearing up to update his 1999 book, and he's decided to do so by means of a public wiki. So, have at it.
• Rory and Scott design some software - TechEd - Revenge of the Sith - Two prominent bloggers, a whiteboard, and an all-too-realistic software design session combine to make an underground Tech Ed ad. Oh wait - this was supposed to be humor! The only problem with that theory is that I've seen far too many real-world projects designed exactly this way.

Sponsor

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Mike Gunderloy is the lead developer for Larkware and author of numerous books and articles on programming topics.

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