How secure is your network? (Luncheon)

Visionpace-IT is proud to present a unique opportunity to learn whether your network is either too secure or not secure enough.

Attend our FREE lunch and learn on July 31, 2007

Travis Davies, Network Architect, will discuss the following:

• Learn why you might be bolting down your network too much!
• Learn about "Social Engineering". What is it? Are you guilty?
• Be Password Savvy.
• Learn what you might be doing to compromise your network.
• Are you giving away your Intellectual Property?
• Become educated on these topics and more...

The luncheon will be on July 31, 2007 from 11:30 - 1:00 at Visionpace (17501 E Hwy 40 Suite 218 Independence, MO 64055). Please call Kelly by July 27th at 816-350-7900 to make a reservation.

Southwest Fox 2007 Conference

My pager is off. My telephone has been disconnected. The cell phone is on mute. E-mail is shut down. Why? So I won’t have to confront those of you who will claim I am wasting precious “blog space” (I thought it was unlimited) with what might be perceived as a blatant commercial. Oh, I am not denying that it IS a blatant commercial, but like the politicians in Washington say, “I am sorry, but I will not be taking any questions today.” Such an easy way out - not taking questions. Where was that approach when I was in high school? Mr. Aring, please explain the oedipal relationship that Hamlet had with his mother and step-father. “Sorry, teach. I am not taking questions today.” Jeeesch!.

We are halfway through 2007, and yet, several Visual FoxPro conferences loom on the horizon. FoxForward will be held in the Atlanta, GA area. Two European conferences are available (they are excellent or so I have been told since I have never actually been to them) in Frankfurt, Germany and in Prague in the Czech Republic. Of course, there is OzFest in Australia also. However, the one conference for whom I am currently beating the drums is the Southwest Fox 2007 conference ( www.swfox.net ). Time is running out to get the early bird discount of $75 (you can also snag a FREE $99 pre-conference session); you must register by July 6, 2007, but even at the full price, this conference looks like it is going to be a winner.

Established in 2004 by Bob Kocher and Jeff Johnson, and very capably run by Bob for the last couple of years, this conference (held in the Phoenix, AZ area) has taken on a new life this year when it was announced that three of the VFP community’s guruiest gurus, Tamar E. Granor, Doug Hennig, and Rich Schummer have taken over the reins. Unlike other conferences, the subject matter is almost entirely FoxPro “stuff” for FoxPro developers. If you happen to actually learn something (and you will!)about .NET, Agile development, Sedna, or any other technology, consider it a bonus. Newbies, as well as seasoned developers, will encounter a number of topics of interest. There will be five, count-em, folks, FIVE separate session tracks. Extending VFP, Integrating VFP, the Software Business, Sedna and VFP SP2, and some no-spin Fundamental basics. A veritable morgishboard, er, smorga, arg, FEAST for the FoxPro developer who KNOWS (and cares in their heart of hearts) that FoxPro will be around for the next 10-20 years.

If you have never been to a developer conference, you can not imagine how intense they are and how draining on your body. It is no wonder many developers spend that later part of the evening refueling their system with their favorite adult beverage in preparation for the next day’s assault on the learning curve. I have never gone to a conference where I didn’t learn something that I could put to use immediately upon my return to work. I urge you to visit the conference website and consider attending. Believe me, I mean it when I say, “What happens in Mesa, AZ, stays in Mesa, AZ”, unless, of course, you go back home and start showing off all of the cool things you just learned.

All Those Who Liked Doing Book Reports in School, Raise Your Hand

I hated doing book reports in school. I usually tried to “read” a book that had been made into a movie. I preferred to “watch” a book rather than read one. I gave up this approach when I once reported on Jules Verne’s “Around the World in Eighty Days”. Turns out the much bally-hooed scene of Phineas Fogg going over the Alps in a hot air balloon was never a part of the actual novel; it was just a Hollywood gimmick and my English teacher was aware of that fact. Anyway, why would I want to read a book when I could be outside playing? I haven’t changed too much over the years. Why would I want to read a book when I could be inside playing (on the computer)? I rarely read for pleasure, but I almost always have a technical book, white paper, or trade magazine with me. You just have to “grow ‘til ya go”.

The latest book I have been schlepping around is “Flying Fox – Applying Visual FoxPro Reporting to Any Data, in Any Environment” by Lisa Slater Nicholls. “Flying Fox” is an easily portable paperback (about 140 pages) offered by dFPUG (Deutschland FoxPro User Group). In Europe, it may be ordered at http://tinyurl.com/2pa32x. Here in the colonies, Whil Hentzen’s Hentzenwerke Publishing is handling the domestic distribution and can be ordered at http://tinyurl.com/2naej6.

What this book lacks in physical presence, (it is just an average sized paperback), it more than makes up for with content and the urge to think “outside the box” with respect to creating application reports. The introduction sums it up quite nicely. “Database developers who have never used Visual FoxPro can use this book to learn how to use VFP as a low-cost and full-featured reporting tool for their data sources. Even if you don’t use VFP for anything else, VFP makes reporting accessible, extensible and cost-effective.” What business owner would not be impressed by that degree of flexibility and cost? Not many. I want to re-emphasize that this book and its concepts are not for Visual FoxPro users only. One word of caution… If you are using a version of FoxPro that is earlier than VFP 9.0, you will have to upgrade to take advantage of all of the concepts; specifically, the use of the report listener classes. Another important point is that even though Nicholls states that you don’t need to know VFP, you will have to learn some FoxPro. However, this should not be a showstopper since she takes several chapters to draw you into the VFP environment as well as explain the commands needed to accomplish your goals.

Additionally, more chapters are devoted in the step by step development of a VFP reporting application. In summation your honor… I would like to state that I have read through the book twice and although I consider myself to be somewhat savvy report-wise, I still do not fully understand all of the concepts. It is not because of Nicholls’ explanation, but rather, reluctance on my part, to get my hands dirty since I do not have an immediate need for this functionality. I am confident that once I actually place my fingers on the keyboard and start to build my reporting application it should all come together. For me, it is simply a case of adding another tool to my development arsenal and I am suggesting that you consider making yourself aware of these reporting possibilities also. Read the book, now! It will be years before Hollywood makes it into a movie.