Decrypting app.Config
Do you need to decrypt an app.config file? There are lots of directions explaining the process if you’re dealing with a web application, but if you’re dealing with a windows app or a service of some sort, you don’t have a web.config… all you have is an app.config. The process isn’t all that different. Here’s what an encrypted app.config “appSettings” section might look like. <appSettings configProtectionProvider="RsaProtectedConfigurationProvider"> <EncryptedData...
read moreCustomPrincipal and Serialization
Recently, I’ve been working on a project that relies on a backend business object layer. The business object (BO) layer, requires authentication in order to be used. For most of the systems, this is okay, but my project is to be used by end users. We don’t need to authenticate the users… we need to authenticate the system. This is easy enough using the CustomPrincipal object in Rocky Lhotka’s CSLA framework (which is also being used). We simply create the CustomPrincipal and add that to the...
read moreUse it or lose it
There’s a commonly known piece of information that pretty much everyone knows… use it or lose it. It applies to foreign languages, computer language, cooking techniques… all sorts of things. Things like the code to unlock restrictions on an iPhone! It’s true. I forgot. The Ace (the older of the two boys) has an iPhone. I wanted to make sure he wasn’t getting into things he shouldn’t. The iPhone has pretty good restrictions to block things like installing apps, access to YouTube and use of the...
read moreStill no flash on iOS
If you’re paying attention, you’ve no doubt noticed that we still don’t have Adobe Flash on any iOS devices. Apple has dug in on that position, even going so far as to tell the world why. Surely, you must be thinking, it can’t be all that bad. iPhones have been out for four years now. Adobe must have updated their code base to improve things. There are millions and millions of iOS devices out there. Adobe must want to get in on that action. Based on the knowledge that they’re still ironing out the kinks...
read moreBurnin’ up the cellular data
I got a text message from AT&T this morning. It was a courtesy message to let me know that I was approaching my monthly data limit. I only signed up for the 200Mb plan so 65% of that means that I’ve used up 130Mb. How the heck did that happen?! It turns out it’s not that hard to do… especially when you update your applications just before you leave the comfy confines of work and free wi-fi. I began the application update while connected to the wi-fi at work, but then left for home. The phone dutifully continued...
read moreWindows 7 Gestures
It’s no secret. For as much of an Apple fan-boi as I am, I am truly happy with Windows 7. Not happy enough to get rid of my Apple gear, but happy enough to take a moment to write about another feature I just discovered. If you’ve used Windows 7, you might have discovered that you can “snap” your windows to the top of your screen which will instantly maximize the window. That’s neat, but we already had a maximize button. What you might not know is that you can snap your windows to the sides of your display...
read moreDeleting photos from your iPhone
Recently, I found that I had a TON of photos on my iPhone. These are the photos taken with the iPhone itself… not synced up via Aperture or iPhoto. Managing those is easy enough. These are the really random photos taken over the past year and a half (or whatever). Mine is a 32 Gb model, so I have lots of space, but there’s really no need to have all those pictures on my phone. Deleting them one at a time is easy to do, but time consuming. It turns out there’s a better way. All you need to do is navigate to your...
read more“Belts and Suspenders” or how to be really protected
Everyone knows they should be backing up their data, right? Just like flossing and rotating your tires though, sometimes it’s easy to let it slip for a while. But for those of you that *do* backup your data, are you doing it right? First of all, there’s really no excuse for not backing up your data now-a-days. External hard drives are really affordable and dead simple. Backup software is built into most modern operating system to make it as invisible as possible. If you’re not backing up your data, you must have...
read moreThe best compliment
I got a phone call yesterday. It was from a fairly highly placed individual in another location. He is a CIO of an entire division. He called me and paid me about the highest compliment I think I’ve ever gotten. One of the projects I’ve worked on here at the University of Wisconsin has been the Electronic Application for Admissions (EApp). You can check it out and apply at https://apply.wisconsin.edu The EApp is a tremendously large and complex piece of software. During the construction of it, I had to deal with changing...
read moreMacs are awesome, but…
Here I am… happily working along when suddenly, the screen goes gray. My headphones cut out and I’m left in awful silence. On the gray screen, I get the following message… “You need to restart your computer. Hold down the Power button until it turns off, then press the Power button again.” Macs are awesome, but don’t ever let anyone tell you they never crash. At least it had the decency to crash with a nice message (unlike some operating systems). Below, I’ve listed a few images of the crash...
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