Weekly Link Post 118

Posted by Rhonda

Application Development/Design

ReSharper 5.0 and Visual Studio 2010 – .NET Developer Tools – David Hayden highly recommends using the Resharper nightly builds with VS 2010 Beta.
Recommended books – Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 – Roy Osherove goes over books he likes.
Visual Studio 2010 Power +25 with PowerCommands 10.0 – Nice tools.
XAML: Gradients – “Gradients are a good way to make your application more visually interesting. They turn a flat solid color into something more natural and appealing to the eye by creating an illusion of light and shadow.”
Stack Overflow Careers: Amplifying Your Awesome – Interesting new service from Stack Overflow.
November’s Toolbox Column Now Online – I always look forward to Scott Mitchell’s toolbox column each month.
Tutorial Video(s): IronRuby

SQL Server, Compliance and PowerShell

SQL Server 2008 Diagnostic Information Queries – “…a set of pretty heavily commented queries that are very useful for detecting and diagnosing many common performance issues with SQL Server 2008.”

Community/Technology Events & Training

Houston Area User Group Meetings – This is my monthly listing of Houston area user group meetings.

Internet, Software and General Technology

Motorola DROID review – Nice long review of the new device.
iPhone vs DROID multitouch keyboard showdown (video) – “…while Android 2.0 and the DROID’s hardware support multitouch, the device itself doesn’t do multitouch out-of-the-box, and the soft keyboard suffers mightily for it.”

Self-Improvement, Productivity and Career

11 Ways to Think Outside the Box – This is a great list. I need to take some of these pointers.
2 Tricks That Help Overcome Procrastination – Fear is my biggest reason of procrastination, so I really need to pay attention to #1.
Eight Tips for Feeling More Energetic – “Feeling energetic is a key to feeling happy.”
LiveMeeting Tips and Tricks – Great tips for people that use LiveMeeting.
7 Must Read Productivity Steps to Finally Getting Things Done – “…nothing changes until you change.”
12 Lists That Help You Get Things Done – “There are a lot of different kinds of lists besides your task or to-do list that can help you be more productive.”

Health, Fitness and Recipes

Sports, Entertainment and Everything Else

Huge Galaxy Cluster Hints at Universe’s Skeleton – “A gigantic, previously unknown set of galaxies has been found in the distant universe, shedding light on the underlying skeleton of the cosmos.”
MESSENGER Rewrites Mercury Textbooks Even Before Entering Orbit – “As MESSENGER zoomed toward Mercury for its third flyby, it was commanded to rotate in a maneuver that would help it test a surprising result from the second flyby.”
SPACE.com — New Type of Supernova Discovered – “A new type of supernova has been discovered in which helium detonates on the surface of a white dwarf star.”
Top Cult Shows: Firefly – I totally agree…
Dilberts I Found Funny: 11-02
Movie Trailers: Planet 51 | Avatar