The Daily Grind 1007 by Mike Gunderloy Monday, November 6, 2006

The rain seems to be here to stay.

• Amberjack - Open source javascript tool for building "site tours" where a little wizardy thing guides users around your Web site. (via Digg)
• telerik Reporting Tool CTP available now! - A new CTP from the telerik folks - this one a reporting engine with WinForms and Web front ends.
• Known Folders Browser 1.0 (for Vista and Beyond) - Kenny Kerr supplies a tool for sorting out the explosion of special folders in the Windows operating system.
• Assemblur - This .NET 2.0 obfuscator has a new Web site and a new minor release. Download here, free for use in projects consisting of a single compiled assembly.

• VMware's Fusion begins private beta - If I ever do get seduced into buying a Mac, this will probably be the first piece of software I get for it.
• ToolTip Voodoo - Cory Smith shows how to create giant garish custom tooltips with VB.NET.

• The Parable of the Two Programmers - Why it doesn't always pay to do things right. (via Jared Richardson)
• Money Really Does Matter - I'm An Admitted Code Mercenary - Dennis Forbes provides a contrary point of view to those who say developers are motivated by non-monetary incentive.

Sponsors

DotNetBar 6.1, the best Office 2007 style components available New 6.1 release features: Windows Vista Glass Support Scrollable drop-down Gallery control Fully automatic Ribbon MDI Merging Multi-key KeyTips functionality Check box and option box item type in Office 2007 style Automatic support for flexible Ribbon resizing New design-time interface for dockable windows, toolbar and menus Much much more... DotNetBar is toolbox of 21 components that help you create professional user interface with ease. Download trial version today and see why DotNetBar is the leader! www.devcomponents.com

GENOME @ TechEd: O/RM for .NET now featuring LINQ CTP support Tired of SQL? Wasting time manually coding data access for .NET business objects? Visit www.genom-e.com to learn how high-end object-relational mapping saves lots of work in database-driven applications and improves code maintainability. Encapsulate and reuse query logic in domain models without forfeiting advantages of server-side query execution Reverse-engineer existing databases Generate database schemas from business models Compile-time checking of mapped query logic Available for .NET 1.1/2.0 Supports System.Transactions Integrates with Visual Studio.NET 2003/2005 Supports SQL Server 2000/2005, Oracle 9i/10g and IBM DB2 First third-party O/RM to already integrate with LINQ (CTP) Free white papers, presentations, demo videos and evaluation versions provided Genome will be at Microsoft TechEd Developers Conference in Barcelona 7-10 November, so drop by our booth if you�re attending and want to learn more.

telerik r.a.d.controls is the preferred UI suite for ASP.NET, combining highly-efficient rendering with unsurpassed client-side functionality. The comprehensive toolset enables developers to rapidly build AJAX/ATLAS-enabled, cross-browser, and standards compliant applications for even the most demanding scenarios.

You need to share your Task Lists. Maybe you have MS Project or MindManager. Perhaps you have SharePoint or Groove. You definitely have a Team ready for Action. Where's the software that makes it all make Sense? Meet TeamDirection Project.

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