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Nice little free additional to my developer toolkit… thankyou Microsoft!
Microsoft acquired the chart control technology in June of last year from Dundas Software, a Toronto, Ontario-based provider of data visualization technologies. Redmond first employed it in its SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services Report Builder 2.0 release. The Data Visualization Group within the SQL Server Reporting Services Team gets credit for creating the new ASP.NET Chart Controls.
For new developers, Microsoft is providing a sample environment with more than 200 samples of ASP.NET and Windows Forms, as well as the C# source code. Every major feature in Chart Controls for the .NET Framework is covered in the samples. Users can see the Chart Controls in action and use the code as templates for their own Web and Windows apps.
I have just installed the new NXE Update for my XBOX 360 and, like a lot of people as it turns out, I now have no sound at all.
I have my XBOX hooked up to an HD Monitor via HDMI cables… and there’s no sound!!! Not impressed. Not remotely impressed.
I searched around on the Forums and there were various recommendations about switching on and off, removing hard-disk etc and rebooting… non of these have worked… really not that impressed.
Have read some rumours about Microsoft releasing a patch for this in the next few days…
Have gone ahead and raised a support e-mail with Microsoft to try to get the issue raised.
This update has, for the meantime, ruined my gaming experience. Did I mention I’m not impressed? I await to hear from Microsoft on a fix for this in anticipation.
After all the hype around this update… I expected more anyway… there just doesn’t seem to be much in the way of decent new functionality.
I was especially amazed that Microsoft haven’t put a Web browser onto the XBOX 360 yet. The Wii has a web browser. The PS3 has a web browser. With the NXE Update, Microsoft is trying to reposition the XBOX 360 as a more family-oriented gaming and multimedia experience… a web browser would have been a smart thing to put into this update.
It seems like the update has fallen very short of expectations and hopes for many…
http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/nxe-creating-hdmi-headaches-for-uk-xbox-360-owners/
http://www.trustedreviews.com/gaming/news/2008/11/20/Xbox-NXE-Update-Causing-Problems/p1
http://www.avforums.com/forums/xbox-360/867084-nxe-installed-now-no-sound.html
Just awesome technology built on top of Microsoft Surface
Managed to get some use out of my investment in sound record toys this week. I spent one evening recording our Church Choir’s Christmas CD.
Was quite a small choir so was just using DigiDesign Pro Tools LE 7.4, my MBOX and two condenser mics. All went reasonably well during the recording. Is great fun just setting up all the equipment, sound-checking and then recording. I think we did OK, but if I was going to do it again I would separate the choir out into their different sections, and mic them and the organ up separately to try to get more control over the whole balance.
Tracks Included:
- Track 01 – Once in Royal David’s City
- Track 02 – O Little Town of Bethlehem
- Track 03 – O Come All Ye Faithful
- Track 04 – Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
- Track 05 – God Rest Ye Merry! Gentlemen
- Track 06 – Silent Night
- Track 07 – In The Bleak Mid-Winter
- Track 08 – Ding Dong! Merrily On High
- Track 09 – Away in a Manger
- Track 10 – I Heard a Maiden Softly Sing
- Track 11 – Jesus Christ the Apple Tree
- Track 12 – The Angel Gabriel
Spent last night and most of today editing and doing the first mastering cut of the recordings. There were quite a few parts of different songs re-recorded because the choir hadn’t been happy with some sections of their songs – so have spent the day doing some clever precision cutting, pasting and matching to bring complete songs together.
So far, layout on all tracks is complete, gating and EQ is also complete where necessary. Haven’t been anywhere near the reverb yet but I will.
Am delivering the first draft tomorrow to the choir master with a view to probably going back this week to re-record the tracks they aren’t happy with.
After that, will do the final master.
Have to do my cover art for the CD too and then get my production line organised.
So far so good… just a bit of fun – enjoying getting to do this kind of thing!
Will keep you updated with progress on this little project.
