The Daily Grind 1005 by Mike Gunderloy Thursday, November 2, 2006

With four kids, there is always at least one awake at 6AM.

• Shell MegaPack 8.0 - New version of this control set for drop-in shell functionality in your WinForms apps. Trial download is here, pricing from $295.
• dotTRACE 2.0 - JetBrains is out with the new version of their .NET profiler, including memory profiling. Trial download is here, pricing from $499.
• ReSharper UnitRun - Free Visual Studio add-in to run and profile (using dotTRACE) unit tests.
• SmartDraw 2007 - New version of one of the easier business graphics apps around. Trial download is here, pricing from $197 through November 8.
• Released: Excentrics World Server Controls v2.0.3 - Featuring full compatibility with the latest Microsoft AJAX bits.
• DevDiv Hotfix Public Availability Pilot Program - Another bit of openness from the Visual Studio team; you can now download selected patches without a call to product support.
• PowerGadgets - Tool to integrate graphical displays into PowerShell scripts. Trial download is here, pricing from $69 to use, $299 to create new ones. (via Doug Finke)
• Microsoft XNA Game Studio Express (Beta 2) - A new build for the DIY game designer. I still think this is basically quixotic, but it appears to be popular.
• Microsoft IronPython for ASP.NET CTP - Integrate Python with your ASP.NET pages. Works with VS or VWD.
• Codename: RikReader - WPF-based RSS reader. (via Frank Arrigo)

• Introduction to GhostDoc - Roland Weigelt explains how GhostDoc works to generate skeleton XML comments for you.
• Microsoft Virtual PC: Good Enough -- for the Price - People ask me about Virtual PC vs. VMware from time to time. This article pretty well sums it up; buy VMware if you're serious.

• Signs You Have Too Little Process - More humor from Daniel Markham.

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Mike Gunderloy is the editor of Larkware, the daily .NET newspaper of record.