The latest headlines and articles from Web Applications(c) 2009, Web Applications UK Ltd. All rights reserved.5Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:33:10 GMT<p>Rob has been with Web Applications since 2003 making him the longest serving member of staff. Not only that - Rob, Lee and Gordon go back, way back. Rob’s known Lee since he was 18, and Gordon since he was 20. There is no need to bandy about guessing ages, suffice to say that it’s in the realm of a 20 year acquaintance; give or take a decade.</p><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/ca0c21fbdc85f6a1597417732d450607.ashx?hs=1"></script> <p>Rob is Web Applications’ Services Manager. It’s safe to say that Rob is a prime example of someone who was worked his way through the ranks. Rob started as a developer, became a Senior Engineer, then briefly moved into Project Management and now resides as the head of the Services department. It used to be that the Services Manager meant being the Support Manager and the IT Manager; but with such a large customer base that is continuing to grow, IT infrastructure has been delegated to Robin and Allan. Don’t be fooled though, Rob is ready and willing to jump in whenever Robin and Allan are away. Of all the positions he’s had in the company, Rob is definitely happiest where he is now. Services is a great place to work and he enjoys having an impact on the company’s perception since the support team often interacts directly with customers.</p> <p>I asked Rob what an average day looks like in Services. The answer? There is no ‘average day’ in services. Then I got what can only be described as an ideological call to action.</p> <p>“You have to be proactive in Support, it can be difficult to plan in advance. You have to stop problems from growing out of proportion.”&#160; Support is like being a guard to an exquisite treasure, you have to battle valiantly against every attacker, and never waver, whatever the cost may be. So engage that issue, pour your heart and soul into every query and never back away or be afraid to call in reserves! YOU WANT THE TRUTH? YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH. Cue <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qIgVrOy9vM&amp;feature=PlayList&amp;p=AE6FFCB8EB59DC71&amp;playnext=1&amp;index=9">John J. Rambo’s breakdown from First Blood.</a> Phew! I may have gotten carried away a little, but they are a very committed bunch, especially now that the fishbowl <a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/113/services-gets-a-mascot.aspx">has its own little pet fishes</a>.</p> <p>After talking to Rob for a few minutes it became immediately obvious that he had two huge passions. One is movies - not so weird. The other is the reproduction of medieval armour and the subsequent use of the armour in medieval Live Action Role Play (or LARP). Now, who am I to say that medieval costumes and role playing are weird? It’s not weird, it’s pure gold.</p> <p><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'8f4701b3'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/SirRobertKnightoftheFishbowl_A54B/montage_4.png"><img title="Sir Rob, Knight of the Fishbowl" border="0" alt="Sir Rob, Knight of the Fishbowl" width="878" height="768" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/SirRobertKnightoftheFishbowl_A54B/montage_thumb_1.png" /></a></p> <p>It is almost touching the way Rob talks about his medieval role play. You see, Rob has set up a workshop in his garage and uses his knowledge of metalworking skills he has honed over the years to create realistic reproductions of medieval armour. He enjoys the craftsmanship as well as creating something himself. His love of fine craftsmanship is also apparent in his preference of Formula One over more traditional sports. It’s also deeply satisfying for Rob that using nothing but his own skills and some hard work he can create something physical that he can look at, admire, and wear with pride. In some ways it is ‘the antithesis to sitting at a computer all day’ to use his own words.</p> <p>Okay, here is how I see this working. Rob sits there and says, “I want to create something <i>fantastic,</i> what shall I do? I know, I will set up shop in my garage, car be damned, use the most dangerous tools I can think of, buy lots of sheet metal, and turn myself into a fashion designer for those prone to flesh wounds.” And that is exactly what he did. The chain mail is still a work in progress; all designers know the measure of a masterpiece is in the details.</p> <p>Now the Role Play aspect of this is interesting to me. It seems that the people involved are pretty intense (come on, that’s not surprising) and so your character is consistent until something happens to you. Now, Rob for instance, dies about once a year, at which point he has to conjure up a new <i>persona</i>. I’m not entirely sure how often people get together for this but Rob personally participates two to three times a year through <a href="http://www.curiouspastimes.co.uk">Curious Pastimes</a>. Each time he joins the banner of knights he stays for the whole weekend, camping in a tent and living the life of his character. I’m told this fact is a good illustration of how committed Rob is (Rob is committed to his hobby, not committed to a hospital, yet) to his medieval role play…because he really hates camping. Hey Rob, I hear glamping is fun, it’s like camping but with all the comforts of home? It might be a little anachronistic to the medieval re-enactment, but hey, so are teeth fillings, Corona Light and the Styrofoam used to pad the fake swords. Just saying.</p> <p>Ask Rob his favourite movie, just do it and see his reaction. I’m pretty sure there was a little explosion detonated in his head. After hee-ing and haw-ing for a couple minutes about how there were just too many options, Rob honed in on Star Wars, the Empire Strikes Back and declared it unequivocally the victor. There is something special in that movie, specifically in the baddies that makes it so fun to watch over and over again. Now that Rob has kids he gets to relive the feeling of watching Star Wars for the first time.</p> <p>So that’s Rob, the Knight of the Fishbowl. Please, appreciate the montage of pictures put together for public consumption. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.</p><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/114.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/114.aspxMelanie TownsendThu, 29 Jul 2010 14:22:40 GMT<p>After years of hard work and social exclusion, the services team manages to get a reward, a pet. </p> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/ca0c21fbdc85f6a1597417732d450607.ashx?hs=1"></script> <p><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/ServicesGetsAMascot_D7D6/George_1.jpg" class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'39880a03'})" ><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 10px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="George" border="0" alt="George" title="George" align="right" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/ServicesGetsAMascot_D7D6/George_thumb_1.jpg" width="114" height="150" /></a>The Services Team have not just been given any pet, but one of the most rare and beautiful species known to mankind. Sea Monkeys. They may not seem like much to the naked eye, but put those puppies under a microscope and they will *shine*.</p> <p>Some have questioned the motivations behind the acquisition, but Support have assured us that the Sea Monkeys will be treated fairly in accordance with all laws, and will not be accidentally knocked over nor be flushed down the toilet.&#160; There is even an origami swan providing protection against all harm. </p> <p>Purchased from that vendor of all sorts of exotic fish and animals, Tesco, the Sea Monkeys have made a comfortable home in the services department. The support team has promised that they will take care of their new pet, they will hug them and kiss them and call them all George. There seems to be some confusion about whether the Sea Monkeys have already hatched, whether the floating bits are food, or maybe the water is just really dirty – it doesn’t really matter though, as long as they’re happy.&#160; </p> <br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/113.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/113.aspxMelanie TownsendThu, 29 Jul 2010 09:09:39 GMT<p>I won’t lie to you, we’re <a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.htmlExpand(this, { objectType: 'iframe',width:1024,height:768 } )" href="http://www.microsoft.com/">Microsoft</a> fans here…&#160; OK, that should’ve got rid of the annoying fanbois!&#160; The Redmond guys do a lot of great work, most of which goes under the radar, unnoticed and unappreciated.&#160; It’s easy to pick on the pack leader, but it doesn’t mean it’s all true.&#160; That said, too often they make decisions that, to put nicely, are hard to defend.&#160; One that <a href="http://www.campaignmonitor.com/blog/post/2393/microsoft-takes-email-design-b/">caused quite a storm</a> was the decision to use the Word 2007 HTML renderer in Outlook 2007 to render HTML emails.</p><p>Up until Office 2007, Outlook used the rendering engine from Internet Explorer to render HTML emails, but used Word to compose them.&#160; This meant that users would write an email in Outlook, cc’ing themselves, and what they got back looked different.&#160; <a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.htmlExpand(this, { objectType: 'iframe',width:1024,height:768 } )" href="http://www.microsoft.com/">Microsoft</a> noticed this, and <a href="http://www.molly.com/2007/01/18/what-happened-with-html-and-css-in-outlook-2007/">decided to do something about it</a>.&#160; Fixing Word to output HTML in a standards compliant way would have been the logical choice, but not for <a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.htmlExpand(this, { objectType: 'iframe',width:1024,height:768 } )" href="http://www.microsoft.com/">Microsoft</a>; it was much easier to render HTML emails in Word when received in Outlook.</p> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/ca0c21fbdc85f6a1597417732d450607.ashx?hs=1"></script> <p>For Outlook users, the result was a consistent experience, for email marketeers, it was a disaster – but who likes them anyway, bunch of spammers.</p> <p><img alt="The Campaign Monitor newsletter in Outlook 2007" align="right" style="display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px" src="http://www.campaignmonitor.com/uploads/images/blog/cm-2007.png" /></p> <p><img alt="The Campaign Monitor newsletter in Outlook 2000" align="left" style="display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px" src="http://www.campaignmonitor.com/uploads/images/blog/cm-2000.png" />The result was a general avoidance of HTML in emails (beyond the simplest mark-up), and a descent into the dark ages, as can be seen from the examples from <a href="http://www.campaignmonitor.com/blog/post/2393/microsoft-takes-email-design-b/">Campaign Monitor</a>.</p> <p>But, to be fair that’s <a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.htmlExpand(this, { objectType: 'iframe',width:1024,height:768 } )" href="http://www.microsoft.com/">Microsoft</a>’s prerogative.&#160; They can write systems to be non-standards compliant, they can degrade functionality, and people have the right to vote with their feet.&#160; There’s no God-given right here to force them to be sensible, they’re a business, and just as our friends over at <a href="http://www.apple.com/">Apple</a> prove consistently, you don’t need to play nice to win.</p> <p>What gets on my nerves is when a Software company rights code <em>that doesn’t work with their own products</em>.&#160; That’s a bug!&#160; And the big problem for big M was the effect of the Outlook decision on SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS).&#160; SSRS 2005 was a great success in the enterprise, and unsurprisingly it was increasingly being used to email rich reports throughout the enterprise and to customers.</p> <p>These emails could contain graphs, pictures, all kinds of useful information, and companies lapped it up.&#160; But the output from SSRS 2005 <a href="http://stackoverflow.com/questions/417032/sql-reporting-services-why-does-my-report-shrink-when-its-emailed">did not display correctly</a> in <a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.htmlExpand(this, { objectType: 'iframe',width:1024,height:768 } )" href="http://www.microsoft.com/">Microsoft</a> Outlook 2007 – the client of choice in MS-enabled enterprise, and the largest revenue spinner for <a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.htmlExpand(this, { objectType: 'iframe',width:1024,height:768 } )" href="http://www.microsoft.com/">Microsoft</a> itself.&#160; At this point, with large enterprises complaining about the pretty reports being broke, you’d think <a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.htmlExpand(this, { objectType: 'iframe',width:1024,height:768 } )" href="http://www.microsoft.com/">Microsoft</a> would have a change of heart, but that would’ve been a big climb down.&#160; It might have been difficult to patch all those copies of Outlook out there, but I doubt it, changing the renderer from Word back to IE wouldn’t have been that difficult, ideally they would have fixed Word to be standards compliant – but that would have been prohibitively expensive, so I don’t blame them ducking that solution.&#160; The cheapest way was to patch the HTML Renderer in SSRS 2005, and that’s the route they chose and deployed in <a href="http://support.microsoft.com/kb/956854">cumulative update package 10 for SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2</a>&#160; (and later SP3).&#160; This update didn’t restore full HTML compatibility, it just stopped the tables shrinking, and so it didn’t look so bad.</p> <p>No one was happy but at least it was better than the terrible shrinking column problem that was plaguing the SSRS community.</p> <p>Now with the soon to be released <a href="http://brea.se">Brease</a> version 2, we’re leveraging some of the great enhancements added to SSRS 2008, where they’ve upgraded the Report Builder to be much more useable and feature rich – which is great for clients, for whom Visual Studio is a bit <em>too</em> feature rich.&#160; Imagine our horror when we discovered the shrinking columns problem had reoccurred? Clearly, when re-writing the HTML renderer in SSRS 2008, <a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.htmlExpand(this, { objectType: 'iframe',width:1024,height:768 } )" href="http://www.microsoft.com/">Microsoft</a> had not included their previously released fix.&#160; Obviously we got on the phone and after several days came back a typically amusing, and standard, “we can’t reproduce it but here’s the fix…” response.</p> <p>So for anyone else noticing that their SSRS 2008 reports are not rendering correctly in Outlook.&#160; Firstly you should upgrade to R2, as <a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.htmlExpand(this, { objectType: 'iframe',width:1024,height:768 } )" href="http://www.microsoft.com/">Microsoft</a> have added a setting to the <a href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms153991.aspx">MHTML Device Information Setting</a> and the <a href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms155395.aspx">HTML&#160;Device Information Setting </a>called OutlookCompat (what??? you missed it???).&#160; The description of this field is “Indicates whether to render with extra metadata that makes the report look better in Outlook.”.&#160; The&#160;default value for MHTML&#160;is true, but for HTML&#160;it's false so you have to explicitly set it.&#160;</p> <p>So to fix the shrinking tables problem in SSRS 2008 R2, you need to edit the rsreportserver.config file in your installation (if you don’t know how,&#160;slowly back away from your computer and&#160;call your IT guy).</p> <p>Look for the following XML -</p> <div id="codeSnippetWrapper"> <pre id="codeSnippet" style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: #f4f4f4; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: 'Courier New', courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #0000ff">&lt;</span><span style="color: #800000">Extension</span> <span style="color: #ff0000">Name</span><span style="color: #0000ff">="HTML"</span> <span style="color: #ff0000">Type</span><span style="color: #0000ff">="Microsoft.ReportingServices.Rendering.HtmlRenderer.MHtmlRenderingExtension,<br />Microsoft.ReportingServices.HtmlRendering"</span><span style="color: #0000ff">/&gt;</span></pre> <br /> &#160;</div> <p>And replace with the following -</p> <div id="codeSnippetWrapper"> <pre id="codeSnippet" style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: #f4f4f4; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: 'Courier New', courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #0000ff">&lt;</span><span style="color: #800000">Extension</span> <span style="color: #ff0000">Name</span><span style="color: #0000ff">="HTML"</span> <span style="color: #ff0000">Type</span><span style="color: #0000ff">="Microsoft.ReportingServices.Rendering.HtmlRenderer.MHtmlRenderingExtension,<br /> Microsoft.ReportingServices.HtmlRendering"</span><span style="color: #0000ff">&gt;</span><br /> <span style="color: #0000ff">&lt;</span><span style="color: #800000">Configuration</span><span style="color: #0000ff">&gt;</span><br /> <span style="color: #0000ff">&lt;</span><span style="color: #800000">DeviceInfo</span><span style="color: #0000ff">&gt;</span><br /> <span style="color: #0000ff">&lt;</span><span style="color: #800000">OutlookCompat</span><span style="color: #0000ff">&gt;</span>True<span style="color: #0000ff"><span style="color: #800000">OutlookCompat</span><span style="color: #0000ff">&gt;</span><br /> <span style="color: #0000ff"><span style="color: #800000">DeviceInfo</span><span style="color: #0000ff">&gt;</span><br /> <span style="color: #0000ff"><span style="color: #800000">Configuration</span><span style="color: #0000ff">&gt;</span><br /><span style="color: #0000ff"><span style="color: #800000">Extension</span><span style="color: #0000ff">&gt;</span><br /></span></span></span></span><p>&#160;</p></pre> <p>Alternatively, you can set the DeviceInfo OutlookCompat flag explicitly when rendering HTML that will ultimately be rendered in an email client. This will prevent the junk being output on all HTML that may only be destined for a browser.</p> <p>I hope that helps some poor harassed developer out there who has a big Enterprise screaming down his neck after investing a fortune in upgrading to SSRS 2008! In the meantime, lets keep hoping that the trend being shown with <a href="http://ie.microsoft.com/testdrive/">IE9</a> represents a general softening of <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/">Microsoft</a> towards standards compliance, and maybe, just maybe, Office 2014 will include a Word that loves HTML… you know, it might just happen!</p> </div><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/112.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/112.aspxCraig DeanThu, 22 Jul 2010 16:36:30 GMT<p>This week’s profile is John P. I promised not to add any embarrassing links in this profile to his various websites (myspace, ball of dirt) but I will say that he is <em>highly</em> searchable if you can spell his last name.&#160; That said, let’s begin.</p><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/ca0c21fbdc85f6a1597417732d450607.ashx?hs=1"></script> <p><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'3a44385c'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/ProfileoftheWeekJohnPtheOfficeArtiste_F75E/J.png"><img title="J" border="0" alt="J" width="30" height="47" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/ProfileoftheWeekJohnPtheOfficeArtiste_F75E/J_thumb.png" /></a>&#160; ohn is Web Applications’ Graphic Designer and has come into our world in the beginning of March this year to make everything ‘prettier’. His job includes designing marketing material, logos, creating new identities for sub-branches of Web Apps (like our soon to come Unified Comms branch), new website, User Interfaces and icon sets. At the moment he is creating a new set of product logos for us, and has completed four out of the six, giving them a completely new, sophisticated look.</p> <p><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'3a44385c'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/ProfileoftheWeekJohnPtheOfficeArtiste_F75E/G.png"><img title="G" border="0" alt="G" width="40" height="51" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/ProfileoftheWeekJohnPtheOfficeArtiste_F75E/G_thumb.png" /></a> enius Day revealed some undiscovered facts about John. One is that he speaks a mile a minute (seriously, it puts Steve Elliott to shame). Another fact is that John loves his fonts, sorry, <em>typefaces</em>. He has designed a whole new <em>typeface</em>, it’s very pretty, not particularly legible (no offence), called Denva. The story is that he was trolling the web for company logos, and found one from a construction company based in Denver, CO. His <em>typeface </em>is based on this image; because the image looked a bit like an ‘A’ he decided to take Denver and change it to Denva. The mind of an artist eh?</p> <p><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'3a44385c'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/ProfileoftheWeekJohnPtheOfficeArtiste_F75E/T.png"><img title="T" border="0" alt="T" width="45" height="36" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/ProfileoftheWeekJohnPtheOfficeArtiste_F75E/T_thumb.png" /></a>he best part about this job for John is the diversity that is offered in his day-to-day activities. Moving to this role from a more print-based and branding background has opened John’s eyes to a whole new world of web-possibilities.</p> <p><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'3a44385c'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/ProfileoftheWeekJohnPtheOfficeArtiste_F75E/N.png"><img title="N" border="0" alt="N" width="35" height="48" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/ProfileoftheWeekJohnPtheOfficeArtiste_F75E/N_thumb.png" /></a> ow here is the point in the conversation where I turned against my subject. Here’s the story…John and I are on the same team in the office. It’s a good team, we also have Vivienne, Naomi, Kate (who has joined us very recently) and Nick. It’s pretty much the best team ever, we provide light and hope to an office mucked in technology, we’re like a glimpse of the outside world, doors to human emotions like joy and excitement. Honestly, we’re an awesome team, but I might be biased. WELL, I asked which <a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/50.aspx">Webbie</a> he would like most&#160;to be awarded come Christmas, given the options from last year, which include:<a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'3a44385c'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/ProfileoftheWeekJohnPtheOfficeArtiste_F75E/john%20pic.png"><img title="John after Goldfinger is done with him. " border="0" alt="John after Goldfinger is done with him. " align="right" width="180" height="240" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/ProfileoftheWeekJohnPtheOfficeArtiste_F75E/john%20pic_thumb.png" /></a></p> <p>The most up to date with technology <br /> Largest consumer of coffee <br /> Always takes advantage of free food <br /> Best Entertainer <br /> Takes the most breaks <br /> Person who is always right <br /> Person with the most ‘idiot’ moments <br /> The person who ‘just does it’ <br /> The best team</p> <p><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'3a44385c'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/ProfileoftheWeekJohnPtheOfficeArtiste_F75E/Y.png"><img title="Y" border="0" alt="Y" width="40" height="52" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/ProfileoftheWeekJohnPtheOfficeArtiste_F75E/Y_thumb.png" /></a>ou may have noticed I left out the, arguably, most prestigious award, ‘Pride of Web Apps’ Colleague of the Year award, I didn’t want it to be an option, the other awards are so much more colourful. Clearly, the obvious (and most accurate) choice was The Best Team award. But noooo, John thinks he would prefer the Nike Award for the person who ‘just does it’. Of course when I pointed out that he had perhaps chosen unwisely, John quickly saw the error of his ways and begged to change his answer for the Team award. Unfortunately it was too late. If John doesn’t think his group is easily the best then too bad for him, the rest of us know better. In his defence, he does have a tendency to get on with things, so I suppose his answer wasn’t completely without merit, but it was still wrong.</p> <p><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'3a44385c'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/ProfileoftheWeekJohnPtheOfficeArtiste_F75E/J.png"><img title="J" border="0" alt="J" width="30" height="47" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/ProfileoftheWeekJohnPtheOfficeArtiste_F75E/J_thumb.png" /></a>&#160; ohn has an interesting definition of ‘hobby’. For instance, his band is one of his hobbies. They have recorded 40 ‘tunes’ (musicians prefer the word ‘tunes’ to ‘songs’ for some reason. I don’t know why this is the case, but it seems widespread) in the past month. 40. I’m pretty sure that counts as a second job, not a hobby. And his other hobby? EATING and cooking. Cooking I can understand, but personally I can’t really see eating as a hobby, it’s more of a human necessity, but hey, that’s just me.</p> <p><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'3a44385c'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/ProfileoftheWeekJohnPtheOfficeArtiste_F75E/I.png"><img title="I" border="0" alt="I" width="25" height="61" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/ProfileoftheWeekJohnPtheOfficeArtiste_F75E/I_thumb.png" /></a>&#160; won’t bore you with the tale of John’s Squash winnings and losses. It’s like a short melodrama if you ask him. Yes, yes he used to play tennis but then he didn’t play tennis for a while and then he moved to squash and then the office team got set up and that was exciting and so he lost to <a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/61/knowing-me-knowing-shui-hellip-ah-ha.aspx">Shui</a> in his first game but then he really came back from that and beat Shui when he played him again and now he’s won all of his games except for last night where he lost in an epic battle to <a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/83/steve-elliott-escapes-the-squirrels.aspx">Steve Elliott</a> &lt;-- is what I mean.</p> <p><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'3a44385c'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/ProfileoftheWeekJohnPtheOfficeArtiste_F75E/S.png"><img title="S" border="0" alt="S" width="40" height="56" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/ProfileoftheWeekJohnPtheOfficeArtiste_F75E/S_thumb.png" /></a> o finally I will leave my reader with things to remember about John. He has some intense arachnophobia. Flip-out levels of arachnophobia. Also he laughs like a girl. If you’re quiet you can hear it sometimes, but you have to train your ears to pick up on those super high pitches. I let him read this profile before I published it and I couldn’t hear him laughing, but maybe I just couldn’t pick up the frequency. And finally, John is a snob about public transport, but I’m pretty sure that’s because we all know <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/guam/7904170/Ship-turned-away-after-spiders-started-pouring-from-cargo-hold.html">public transport is crawling with spiders</a>.</p> <p>And! Brand New Edition, a comic from Kris to complete the whole package</p> <p><img align="middle" width="600" height="148" alt="" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/john comic.png" /></p><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/111.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/111.aspxMelanie TownsendThu, 22 Jul 2010 11:11:00 GMT<div><table border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" width="293"> <tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" width="24"><font color="#000080"><strong>September</strong></font></td> <td valign="top" width="16">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="20">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="20">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="20">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="20">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="20">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="10">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="31"><font color="#000080"><strong>October</strong></font></td> <td valign="top" width="20">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="20">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="20">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="20">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="20">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="10">&#160;</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="24">Sunday</td> <td valign="top" width="16">Monday</td> <td valign="top" width="20">Tuesday</td> <td valign="top" width="20">Wednesday</td> <td valign="top" width="20">Thursday</td> <td valign="top" width="20">Friday</td> <td valign="top" width="20">Saturday</td> <td valign="top" width="10">&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="31">Sunday</td> <td valign="top" width="20">Monday</td> <td valign="top" width="20">Tuesday</td> <td valign="top" width="20">Wednesday</td> <td valign="top" width="20">Thursday</td> <td valign="top" width="20">Friday</td> <td valign="top" width="10">Saturday</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="24">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="16">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="20">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="20">1 <br /> &#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="20">2</td> <td valign="top" width="20">3</td> <td valign="top" width="20">4</td> <td valign="top" width="10">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="31">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="20">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="20">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="20">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="20">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="20">1</td> <td valign="top" width="10">2</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="24">5</td> <td valign="top" width="16">6</td> <td valign="top" width="20">7</td> <td valign="top" width="20">8 <br /> &#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="20">9</td> <td valign="top" width="20">10</td> <td valign="top" width="20">11</td> <td valign="top" width="10">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="31">3</td> <td valign="top" width="20">4</td> <td valign="top" width="20">5</td> <td valign="top" width="20">6</td> <td valign="top" width="20">7</td> <td valign="top" width="20">8</td> <td valign="top" width="10">9</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="24">12</td> <td valign="top" width="16"><strong><font color="#800000">Ten Year Anniversary</font></strong></td> <td valign="top" width="20">14</td> <td valign="top" width="20">15</td> <td valign="top" width="20">16</td> <td valign="top" width="20">17</td> <td valign="top" width="20">18</td> <td valign="top" width="10">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="31">10</td> <td valign="top" width="20">11</td> <td valign="top" width="20">12</td> <td valign="top" width="20">13</td> <td valign="top" width="20">14</td> <td valign="top" width="20"><strong><font color="#800000">Oldham Gala Dinner</font></strong></td> <td valign="top" width="10">16</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="24">19</td> <td valign="top" width="16">20</td> <td valign="top" width="20"><font color="#800000"><strong>Travel Innovation <br /> Summit</strong></font></td> <td valign="top" width="20">22</td> <td valign="top" width="20">23</td> <td valign="top" width="20">24</td> <td valign="top" width="20">25</td> <td valign="top" width="10">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="31">17</td> <td valign="top" width="20">18</td> <td valign="top" width="20">19</td> <td valign="top" width="20">20</td> <td valign="top" width="20">21</td> <td valign="top" width="20">22</td> <td valign="top" width="10">23</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="24">26</td> <td valign="top" width="16">27</td> <td valign="top" width="20">28</td> <td valign="top" width="20">29 <br /> &#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="20">30</td> <td valign="top" width="20">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="20">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="10">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="31">24</td> <td valign="top" width="20">25</td> <td valign="top" width="20">26</td> <td valign="top" width="20">27</td> <td valign="top" width="20">28</td> <td valign="top" width="20">29</td> <td valign="top" width="10">30</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="24">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="16">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="20">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="20">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="20">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="20">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="20">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="10">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="31">31 <br /> &#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="20">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="20">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="20">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="20">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="20">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="10">&#160;</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>First, this September Web Applications UK will be announcing its TEN Year Anniversary. It seems amazing to us that it has been ten years since Lee and Gordon founded the company - and also that it has <i>only</i> been ten years, but there you have it. Web Applications staff will have an activity day out to celebrate this momentous occasion. The date of the anniversary is September 13, though our ‘Day Out’ will likely be on a weekend.</p> <p>Second, Web Applications UK will be sponsoring and attending Travel Technology Initiative’s Autumn Conference called <a href="http://www.tti.org/index.php?id=49">‘Travel Innovation Summit’</a> on September 21 in London. We <i>love</i> attending these events and getting a chance to visit London mid-week.</p> <p>Third, The Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce will be hosting the Oldham Gala Dinner on October 15. The dinner will give Oldham Businesses a chance to celebrate recent achievements with clients, friends and partners. The event will be held in Clough Manor in Denshaw and registration will be open shortly.</p> <p>When more details are available the events will be listed individually on our <a href="/Community/Events/tabid/88/Default.aspx">Events</a> section of the website as always.</p> <div class="d_itc_f" style="height: 11px; clear: both"><script src="/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/m.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div></div><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/76.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/76.aspxMelanie TownsendWed, 21 Jul 2010 12:44:00 GMT<div><p>On Friday, July 16 Web Applications held its first annual Genius Day. This event was to be made annual judging from its reception this year, but it was an all-out success. Twenty five members of staff participated in the competition, each one coming up with an original idea. The ideas represented a myriad of issues from streamlining issue tracker and Babel releases to an iPhone application and comic strips. Everything was covered and the amount of time and effort that went into each presentation was extremely impressive.</p> <p>Genius Day was a competition of sorts (the judging criterion is a bit murky) but after all was said and done the best presentations appeared to be decided by the level of passion, creativity, and usefulness for Web Applications. On Monday, July 19 each individual or team had between two and five minutes to present their work, and the winners were announced directly after all the presentations were complete.</p> <p><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'d3ad3fda'})" href="/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/GeniusDayhascomeandgonebutideasarefriend_B312/genius1_2.jpg"><img title="Denva Typeface" border="0" alt="Denva Typeface" align="right" width="300" height="99" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/GeniusDayhascomeandgonebutideasarefriend_B312/genius1_thumb.jpg" /></a>Four individuals received an Honourable Mention:</p> <p><strong>John P</strong>: Denva – Display Typeface&#160;&#160; <br /> <strong>Claire</strong>: No One Like Conflict: Release Procedures <br /> <strong>Steve M</strong>: PHP Babel Helper <br /> <strong>Rashid</strong>: SQL Reports Deployment (Programmatically)</p> <p>And now the winners:</p> <p>1^st Place:<strong> Louise, Andrew and Cheryl</strong>: Jami Dodger, a Traffic Application <br /> 2^nd Place:<strong> Kris and Kerry</strong>: Three Topics, Babel Log, Testing Document, Panel Comics <br /> 3^rd Place: <strong>Steve E</strong>: MEF – Managed Extensibility Framework</p> <p>We would like to congratulate the winners and say thank you to everyone who participated and to those who covered the phones during the presentations, these events would not be possible without your sacrifices. And now, start brainstorming for next year!</p> <p>UPDATE-----</p> <p>I forgot to add that Chris H received an honourable mention as well for his presentation on SVN Commits Logger using jQuery/AJAX.&#160; I apologise for any distress caused by this omission.</p> <div class="d_itc_f" style="height: 11px; clear: both"><script src="/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/m.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div></div><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/75.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/75.aspxMelanie TownsendTue, 20 Jul 2010 15:57:57 GMT<p>Ahh, so Genius Day has come and gone; the presentations were Monday morning where everyone showed off their great ideas. I’m going to do a quick run-down of everyone’s project as succinctly and accurately as I can, some of them were quite technical and went completely over my head, so I’ll do my best. Everyone had to present for at least 2 minutes but no more than 5 minutes, which was followed by a Q&amp;A session. Now, if you concentrate you can hear it, it’s Oprah saying “Geeeeeeeeeeniusssssss”… and so we begin.</p><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/ca0c21fbdc85f6a1597417732d450607.ashx?hs=1"></script> <p>First on the docket was Shaun.</p> <p><strong>Shaun: Form Validation Made Easy</strong></p> <p>This is exactly the kind of presentation that went over my head. Luckily I was able to track Shaun down after his presentation and find out what he was talking about. Shaun worked with HTML web forms to solve two recurring problems, duplicated code and some inconsistency in the way error messages are presented. Shaun was unfortunately unable to finish because when his five minutes were up, his presentation was shut-down…in mid-sentence.</p> <p><strong>Pete: Passing XML in C# –&gt; SQL Table Value Parameter</strong></p> <p>Okay, I talked to Pete after his presentation as well, and this is what we have: Pete found a way to pass XML in C# to SQL Tables much faster, reducing the speed that it takes from about 20 seconds to instantly, I think.&#160; It was pretty obvious from the title onwards that I wasn’t really going to understand this one.</p> <p><strong><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'085acf6a'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/GeniusDayRecap_EE59/allan%20genius%20day_2.jpg"><img title="Allan, a relaxed man" border="0" alt="Allan, a relaxed man" align="right" width="160" height="240" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 10px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/GeniusDayRecap_EE59/allan%20genius%20day_thumb.jpg" /></a>Allan:&#160; Installing System Centre Essentials</strong></p> <p>Allan can correct me if I’m wrong here, but I’m pretty sure his project was to&#160;install some software that’s going to make his job a little bit easier. It’s a Network Management Tool, and his genius day project was…learning how to use it? Allan might have to explain this one to me again.</p> <p><strong>Alistair:&#160; Product Enhancement</strong></p> <p>Finding a way to enable customers to input extra information (such as the dimensions of a tent) and owner management in Acumen that when owner’s reserve their own properties.&#160; Owners&#160;now can change their mind and cancel their own booking without calling&#160;the head office. These enhancements are forum led.</p> <p><strong>Fahim:&#160; Wireless Internet</strong></p> <p>Fahim decided to look into the idea of wireless internet and wireless electricity (and also video SEO). If internet can be wireless, why not electricity too. Personally, I thought wireless electricity = batteries but I might be wrong there (apparently it’s a very trendy emerging topic for researchers). He explored the idea of speech recognition and how to upload a video (for example, onto YouTube) and instead of physically implanting metadata, let the content be trawled for words spoken instead of keywords. This might also be done through time-based metatags. It was also my personal favourite presentation, well done Fahim.</p> <p><strong>Ashley:&#160; Google Maps in Mercury</strong></p> <p>Ashely used the version 2 map API and looked into the feasibility of putting GoogleMaps into Mercury. Craig quickly pointed out that perhaps this might have been time better served with Bing, (sorry MS) but hey, moving on. Ashley documented 5 major steps in the map creation: Initial Screen, Loading Properties, Centre on Property, Zooming and Viewing Regions.</p> <p><strong><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'085acf6a'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/GeniusDayRecap_EE59/jami%20dodger.png"><img title="Jami Dodger: Making your journey sweeter" border="0" alt="Jami Dodger: Making your journey sweeter" align="right" width="240" height="179" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 5px 10px 10px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/GeniusDayRecap_EE59/jami%20dodger_thumb.png" /></a>Infinity (AKA Cheryl, Andrew and Louise):&#160; Taking the Biscuit </strong></p> <p>This group came up with an ingenious project for our special day, an iPhone application called Jami Dodger with the tagline: Making your journey sweeter. This was the winning idea of the day, and I have been told to keep my little typing fingers to myself when it comes to describing this project, so all I’ll say is that it's a traffic app. There. Done. Please don’t shoot.</p> <p><strong>Jeff:&#160; Pat Testing Implementation (PATTI)</strong></p> <p>A Pat test ensures electric appliances are safe for use. Currently the date/outcome of these PAT tests is recorded manually on a sheet of paper…with a pen and paper. Well, this is a tech office - no one should <i>ever</i> have to use a pen and paper unless it is to label your food in the fridge. What Jeff has come up with is a web-based application that allows users to record their testing, separate logins will keep track of who did the testing and when, and it will be coded using MVC2 with SQL database.</p> <p><strong>Anthony:&#160; Client-Side Table Sorting</strong></p> <p>Anthony&#160;created a wrapper for <a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/travel/tr_veller.aspx">Tr@veller</a> data tables.&#160;&#160;What will the wrapper do,&#160;you ask?&#160; The wrapper will eliminate the need to hit the server every time we want to sort the data contained within it.&#160; It is an extension of the TableSorter plugin for jQuery.&#160; Some of the benefits include improved page-load time, increased security and less time spent during development.</p> <p><strong>Saeed:&#160; Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Reports in Report Builder 3.0</strong></p> <p>Saeed’s presentation on Genius Day was a very in-depth guide to getting the most out of Report Builder 3.0. He explained how to create simple reports, sub-reports, how to set-up visibility controls, databases and basically discussed everything you need to know about creating a report. The step-by-step process was clear and informative for anyone just starting to use report builder or for someone who wants to expand their usage.</p> <p><strong>John P:&#160; Denva - Display Typeface, Work in Progress<a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'085acf6a'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/GeniusDayRecap_EE59/denva.png"><img title="A QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG = the legible version" border="0" alt="A QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG = the legible version" align="right" width="300" height="135" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/GeniusDayRecap_EE59/denva_thumb.png" /></a> </strong></p> <p>Well, the first thing John is going to tell anyone who asks about his typeface is that the name of the typeface as it is now (Denva) will change. That aside let’s look at what he did. John came up with his own font. He found a company logo, was struck by the image of it, and then styled an entire alphabet around it through a rather gruelling creative process.&#160; The alphabet is only in uppercase for a couple reasons, one is that it is not a font for mass consumption (it’s hard to read all together) but would work in single letter/word blocks, and the other is that letters like the I and J already incorporate the dots.&#160;</p> <p><strong>Claire:&#160; No One Likes Conflict</strong></p> <p>It took me a while to figure out this title, but I understand now, Claire’s project was on resolving conflicts between Issues in the release process. She wrote a Babel release process checker which can be used for UAT or Live Releases.</p> <p><strong>Shui:&#160; Getting Blood From A Stone</strong></p> <p>Basically, Shui detailed the process for answering the phone on weekends when there are fewer people available to help with queries. He lists the appropriate questions to ask, the basics of issue investigation and finally when, how and to whom calls should be escalated.</p> <p><strong>Steve M:&#160; PHP Babel Helper</strong></p> <p>Steve looked into a way to standardise Babel for Web developers. Apparently PHP web developers sometimes need a little help interfacing to .NET Web Services and the majority of people prefer clients like PHP/MySQL websites. Steve attempted to provide a standard class with an example method with mirrors the Babel message set. This isn’t a completed project but Steve was able to lay the foundation and hopes to find the time to finish it.</p> <p><strong><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'085acf6a'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/GeniusDayRecap_EE59/steve%20genius%20day_2.jpg"><img title="Steve didn't win first place, even though he's doing the Hussain Bolt" border="0" alt="Steve didn't win first place, even though he's doing the Hussain Bolt" align="right" width="240" height="160" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 10px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/GeniusDayRecap_EE59/steve%20genius%20day_thumb.jpg" /></a>Steve E:&#160; MEF</strong></p> <p>MEF as in Manage d Extensibility Framework…not the recently banned substance. Okay, I’m going to admit, I definitely cheated on this summary, I have Steve’s slides, and I may plagiarise a bit here – sorry. So, what is MEF? MEF is a Microsoft library for .NET and provides a standard method for host applications to consume external extensions (plugins). So far, Steve has found that importing External Session providers works and it can scan a sub folder of the Host Application’s bin folder for dll’s, scans those for exported. Well, now you know as much as I do, and if you understood that, significantly more. Steve also joined Shaun’s club when he was cut-off mid-sentence due to timing.</p> <p><strong>Darren:&#160; Time Tracker</strong></p> <p>Darren wrote a program that was a stop watch. He added the options from Issue Tracker so you could use a drop-down menu and choose the type of work you are doing, and then start the timer. The clock has the extra capabilities of being able to manage more than one issue at a time, so if you stop working on something you can stop one timer, start a new timer, and pick the first back up later.</p> <p><strong>Chris H:&#160; SVN Commits Logger using jQuery/AJAX</strong></p> <p>Right, I have no slides to help me on this one, Chris wanted to create a program that auto-formatted files in different codes. Using AJAX he wanted to make it so issues were updated automatically when someone works on them. Chris also wanted to add breadcrumbs (the navigational tool at the top of pages, showing the progression from your original page to the one you’re on) for issue tracker. Apparently some of this stuff has already been accomplished somewhere, but Chris got points for independently deciding they were good ideas.</p> <p><strong>Noy:&#160; Picture Browsing Web Service</strong></p> <p>Noy created an application that harnesses the power of a web service to allow rapid image browsing (you know how long it takes to flip through pictures on Facebook…it fixes that). He used ASP.NET and Ajax to set up the slideshow. This application lets you flip through pictures without having to reload the page. It was built with a simple architecture using file system objects and http requests and is highly customisable.</p> <p><strong><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'085acf6a'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/GeniusDayRecap_EE59/Kris%20Cartoon%203_2.jpg"><img title="Kris of Kris and Kerry" border="0" alt="Kris of Kris and Kerry" align="right" width="240" height="180" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 10px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/GeniusDayRecap_EE59/Kris%20Cartoon%203_thumb.jpg" /></a>Kris and Kerry:&#160; Three Topics </strong></p> <p>Kris and Kerry had three pieces to their project, a User Interface for the Babel Log, Updating Testing Document and some Panel Comics. Kris wanted to make the testing criterion for Reporting Services more formal than it is now. Kerry and Kris also wanted to make the Babel Log simpler to use for those less technically minded (a blow across the bow to Project Managers, grumbling in the audience ensued). They also added different ways of searching the log. Kris finally wanted to add some small comics into the Web Applications RSS feed, which I think is a great idea. It’s no secret I have love for those <a href="http://tvs2.comicgenesis.com/d/20060212.html">web comics</a>.</p> <p><strong>John S: MVC and jQuery Photo Blog</strong></p> <p>John wanted to create a place to view photos that looks better/more professional than Flickr. The intention of this photo blog is what it sounds like, photos connected to a blog, that way the photographer can write a summary for the photograph, explaining inspiration or why a particular picture was important. John really wanted to use jQuery to make everything look pretty.</p> <p><strong>Rashid:&#160; SQL Reports Deployment (Programmatically)</strong></p> <p>At the moment there are only two ways to deploy a report on a server, meaning choices are limited. Rashid came up with a new way to get a bunch of files on the server very quickly through a new deployment method. The participants include: SSRS Web Service, test reports, an application to exploit the web service, report server.</p> <p>So, at the end of the day, some prizes were awarded. First though, honourable mentions included John P, Claire, Steve M. and Rashid.&#160; Now, for the winners:</p> <p><strong><em>1^st Place:&#160; Cheryl, Andrew and Louise</em></strong></p> <p><strong><em>2^nd Place:&#160; Kris/Kerry</em></strong></p> <p><strong><em>3^rd Place:&#160; Steve E</em></strong></p> <p><strong><em>UPDATE--------</em></strong></p> <p>I forgot that Chris H. received an honourable mention as well.&#160; I apologise to Chris for any distress caused by this omission.&#160; Please forgive me.</p><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/110.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/110.aspxMelanie TownsendWed, 14 Jul 2010 16:53:00 GMT<div><script type="text/javascript" src="/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/ca0c21fbdc85f6a1597417732d450607.ashx?hs=1"></script> <p>Saturday (July 10)&#160;was the anniversary of our move into Windsor Works, and anniversaries usually feel like a&#160;good time to take a solid look back at what has been accomplished in the past year.&#160; One year ago the company outgrew Hollinwood Business Centre both physically and culturally. Web Applications wanted its premises to be somewhere that reflected its true personality, not a generic (though very respectable) corporate centre. After a great deal of research, we found Windsor Works, a converted mill by the Mumps Roundabout in Oldham, it needed work, but it felt right. Web Applications fitted out the office in Windsor Works with bespoke furniture and tailored the space to fit our needs and provide extensibility and flexibility for change. The open plan office area fosters communication and socialisation between colleagues whilst retaining areas for meetings and plenty of storage. The Oldham Evening Chronicle has written a <a href="http://www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk/news-features/8/news/28873/windsor-palace-really-works">couple</a> of <a href="http://www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk/news-features/8/news-headlines/29424/mayor-toasts-a-windsor-jewel">articles</a> describing the building and the degree to which it positively impacts the local community.</p> <p><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'a6850d23'})" href="/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/WebApplicationsUKEatsMilestonesforBreakf_ED83/Windsor-Works_2_2.jpg"><img title="Windsor Works" border="0" alt="Windsor Works" align="left" width="240" height="214" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 10px 10px 10px 5px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/WebApplicationsUKEatsMilestonesforBreakf_ED83/Windsor-Works_2_thumb.jpg" /></a> Web Applications is soon to celebrate its ten year anniversary, and like a ten year old it cannot sit still.&#160; What is meant by that is that Web Applications is changing, it changes every day, we are constantly moving forward (in a cohesive way) to meet our goals and challenge ourselves. Being too stable or static would mean we stopped moving, and started being afraid to make mistakes. This company is ten years old this year and still possesses all the precocity and all the impudence of a new-born, valuing ingenuity, daring and instinct. Web Applications is capable, confident and competent, but we still can’t sit still.</p> <p>Recently we have indulged in one of our MD Craig Dean’s favourite pastimes, office re-organisation. In case you haven’t been paying attention, Web Applications has been recruiting heavily in recent weeks, a stint which has only very lately come to a close. We have had six new full-time hires begin working in the past three weeks in addition to two new summer interns, and expect one more to begin soon. To accommodate our growing numbers the office was re-organised, desks were moved, teams were broken up and reformed and our world as we knew it ended…for the second time in three months. This is definitely a more substantial re-organisation than previously witnessed, generally <i>people</i> move but <i>desks</i> don’t, this time we had to find space for a number of new workstations. The office looks a little different.</p> <p>The growth at Web Applications is good but palpable. There is an obvious influx of full-time employees accentuated by interns and work experience students who happened to start at the same time. In another week or two they will all be old hands, complaining about the Web Applications shirts or the chairs in the kitchen as their ‘rite de passage’. In addition to the increase in numbers, the business has also seen some exciting additions. Br-ease is taking its first breaths of life, Babel is holding its own and Mercury has reached the surface, and that is just in our Travel Division. All these products and projects have really come to life in the past twelve months. The <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YWGoxHT9u4&amp;feature=PlayList&amp;p=65235797A8BE1C53&amp;playnext_from=PL&amp;index=0&amp;playnext=1">UGS clips</a> are a good place to hear about what we have been working on across the company in more depth.</p> <p>Web Applications continues to strive for excellence and grow our tight-knit community. This year has been an exciting year for us, but, like every year, next year will be even better. Thank you to all our customers and partners for making this a banner year for us. Happy Anniversary Windsor Works!</p> <div class="d_itc_f" style="height: 11px; clear: both"><script src="/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/m.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div></div><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/74.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/74.aspxMelanie TownsendWed, 14 Jul 2010 15:19:31 GMT<p>Let’s get everything out in the open. Kerry is a lawyer.  Yeah, yeah, she’s a Project Manager now, but I personally believe once a lawyer always a lawyer.  You will have to excuse the occasional lawyer joke in this post that might not have anything to do with the topic.</p> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/ca0c21fbdc85f6a1597417732d450607.ashx?hs=1"></script> <p>To be fair, hitherto and henceforth (though not heretofore) Kerry assents to the assertion that she does not engage in the practice of, adherence to, or aggregate more knowledge of, law, and has not actively engaged in the practice of law from the time of her completion of her Masters which shall henceforth be deemed ‘MA’ in the field of I.T.&#160; Enough of that I don’t have the legalese to keep it going anymore.&#160; Kerry realised at some point (obviously after her degree) that she did not in fact want to become a solicitor.&#160; Unfortunately for Kerry, she came to this understanding too late for me to hold back my abuse.&#160; Sorry Kerry, innocent until proven broke.</p> <p><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/KerryisaSecretLawyer_F953/milhouse_2.jpg" class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'9f76ffe1'})" ><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Even the Simpsons &#39;enjoy&#39; lawyers" border="0" alt="Even the Simpsons &#39;enjoy&#39; lawyers" title="Even the Simpsons &#39;enjoy&#39; lawyers" align="left" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/KerryisaSecretLawyer_F953/milhouse_thumb.jpg" width="113" height="117" /></a>Moving on for a moment, let’s find out what Kerry does at Web Applications.&#160; She started in 2008 and enjoyed two full weeks of freedom before our uniforms were introduced, meaning Kerry has witnessed their full evolution.&#160; As a Project Manager, Kerry’s life is predominately occupied with writing and responding to emails. It’s an exciting life as a Project Manager, reading non-existent nuances into documents, and making up completely inadvertent hidden meanings.&#160; It’s a full time job interpreting completely straightforward correspondences, but someone has to do it.&#160; As a <i>former</i> lawyer it should not really come as a surprise the area where Kerry really excels.&#160; Specification writing.</p> <p>Whilst most people view specification writing (or spec-ing) as a necessary evil, a task where the importance is clear but the enthusiasm is lacking; Kerry sees it as an opportunity to shine.&#160; With a background that focuses more on I.T. Management than I.T., Kerry is ideally situated to explain processes in the least technical language<i>. </i>This proves Kerry is a bit of an enigma in that sense as she secretly wants to become a developer; we shouldn’t spread that around too much though, there’s no need to make developers’ heads even bigger.</p> <p>Sometimes, on really special days, we let Kerry out of the office to get soda cans for us from the store.&#160; She drives with <a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/65/profile-of-the-week-naomi-the-gatekeeper.aspx">Naomi</a> to pick up the office’s supply of drinks - it is well known that this is Kerry’s favourite recurring task.&#160; I’m pretty sure can-day is <a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/71/the-book-of-allan.aspx">Allan’s</a> favourite day as well.</p> <p>How do you tell when lawyers are lying?&#160; Their lips are moving.&#160; Whoa!&#160; In the spirit of fun with fiction, let’s look at some of Kerry’s favourite hobbies and one group she is particularly involved with is her amateur dramatics team (hold on, I think true artists call it a <i>troupe</i>).&#160; This season everyone in Web Applications is going to enjoy Kerry’s first foray into acting.&#160; She has been a part of the dramatics team for quite a while and most recently was their production manager, but this year Kerry has decided to move into a more on-stage role.&#160; Kerry will play Millie in one of the five plays that comprises Alan Ayckbourn’s ‘Confusions’.&#160; This is some very exciting news and I am sure that all of us at Web Applications UK would like to support Kerry in this endeavour, I for one haven’t properly heckled someone on-stage in a long time; my skills need sharpening.&#160; You can visit her group’s Facebook page <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=20011099715#!/group.php?gid=20011099715&amp;v=wall">here</a>.</p> <p>And one last one for the road: You know what’s wrong with Lawyer jokes?&#160; Lawyers don’t think they’re funny and no one else thinks they’re jokes. </p> <br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/109.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/109.aspxMelanie TownsendWed, 14 Jul 2010 14:50:48 GMT<p>Well, as I’m sure anyone who is reading this is going to be aware, we like to do things differently at Web Applications UK. This Friday is our Genius Day. What is Genius Day? Wouldn’t you like to know…actually I’d like to know too.</p><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/ca0c21fbdc85f6a1597417732d450607.ashx?hs=1"></script> <p><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'99e94749'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/ShowMeTheGenius_DEB8/einstein_2.jpg"><img title="Einstein? No thanks, I'll take 2." border="0" alt="Einstein? No thanks, I'll take 2." align="left" width="240" height="206" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/ShowMeTheGenius_DEB8/einstein_thumb.jpg" /></a>This is our first Genius Day, and assuming it’s as big a success as everyone who counts thinks it’s going to be, it will continue on as an annual event. Genius Day is going to be the best day of the year, and the best day of our lives. It will be hugely important. It will change the way everyone does everything. Did I say it was this Friday? Right, stalling time is over and now to let you know what I actually know about Genius Day, which might not amount to much.</p> <p>Genius Day is the one day of the year where Web Applications staff get the opportunity to spend the day being creative and showing off their skills. We can use the day however we like and pretty much do whatever we like (except stay home), with the caveat that our work is presented on Monday to everyone else. It’s good to keep that in mind, especially if you’re planning on napping. It’s the perfect time to show off a bit of code, try to learn something new, or do something a little but outlandish without being afraid of failing or backlash.</p> <p>For many of us Genius Day will be work-related, it’s an ideal moment to finish some niggling task that has slipped off the agenda for far too long. For a few of us though, our project will probably be completely unrelated and, knowing Web Applications staff, somewhat outlandish. I have it on less than perfect information that people are going *all out*, personally I can’t wait to see what people come up with. I hope it requires a trip off-campus – I like field trips.</p> <p>What is sometimes lost in translation between the tech industry and the rest of the world is that developers (and others in the IT sector) are naturally very creative. You should hear some of our excuses “Two weeks is such a vague time scale, so I interpreted it as two months.” Genius Day is essentially an ‘idea’ day, Google does them from time to time; what more proof do we need that it’s a good plan?&#160; For the nervous Nellys of the world, calm down, we will still be answering the phone.</p> <p>And so it was decreed that on Friday, July 16, 2010, Web Applications would host an office-wide day of genius - that unorthodox projects would be adopted and random acts of brilliance encouraged. Everything in history suggests that this is great use of our time because who knows what amazing idea will come of it. For those in the office who say they think best lying down or in the shower this is what I have to say to you: there is a shower in the Men’s Room (one at a time please) and plenty of floor space to spread out, you are welcome to bring your own pillow. Personally, I can’t wait to show everyone my genius idea…just as soon as I think of one.&#160;</p><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/108.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/108.aspxMelanie TownsendWed, 07 Jul 2010 15:11:06 GMT<p>A number of weeks ago now Web Applications UK had some very special visitors. We try to tell everyone we’re a pretty cool place, as a tech company the odds of that are sadly stacked against us, but we really are down with the kids, honest! To prove our nascent <i>hipness</i> we’ve decided to let you in on a little secret. We’re so awesome übercool bands film their music videos in our office. Okay, it was just one, but still – pretty awesome. It’s okay to be jealous now.</p><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/ca0c21fbdc85f6a1597417732d450607.ashx?hs=1"></script> <p><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'1690f52a'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/NewsflashSoldiersworkwithGuns.Itsnotwha_E34A/clip_image002_2.jpg"><img title="Bez poses for the picture" border="0" hspace="12" alt="Bez poses for the picture" align="left" width="184" height="244" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/NewsflashSoldiersworkwithGuns.Itsnotwha_E34A/clip_image002_thumb.jpg" /></a>On June 4^th, after most of our staff left and went home for the night, our office was invaded by a group of people with pale skin, dark hair and lots of eyeliner, and those were just the technicians. Really though, <a href="http://www.sitcomsoldiers.com/">Sitcom Soldiers</a> are the production team who were responsible for making the music video (I’ll get to the band later) and were all at least mildly respectable looking and very polite. Sitcom Soldiers was founded about six years ago; since then it has undergone many changes and adaptations. The result is a core six-member group who have been operating as a collective for the past three years. As far as I can tell this ‘collective’ is fluidic, incorporating more or fewer members to accommodate any given job or circumstance. I had the opportunity to quickly meet a few members: Bez, Ben, Dave, Mitch and Malc. According to Bez, the group films about two videos a week and has 600-700 videos to its name. They are a committed production team, and, according to Dave, ‘We live for this!’</p> <p>Sitcom Soldiers have dabbled in other forms of new media in the past but are now fully focused on making videos. Music Videos are an important part of getting an artist exposure. Given the vast amount of social networking sites and music sharing platforms (e.g., YouTube) you do not have to be a huge artist to need a video, and even up and coming bands can have massive hits. Videos also give bands a chance to musically AND visually express themselves. It’s a win-win situation. Now, we know Sitcom Soldiers were here filming on Web Applications’ premises, should we find out whom they were filming? I’m sure they were just a couple of young guns…badum ching!</p> <p>Yes that’s right, Young Guns were here! Nominated for Best New British Band in <a href="http://www.kerrang.com/blog/2009/07/the_k_awards_2009_shortlist_re.html">Kerrang!</a> Magazine in 2009 this is one very exciting new arrival from Buckinghamshire. This is not the first time Young Guns have worked with Sitcom Soldiers, in fact it is the third. Sitcom Soldiers have shot two other videos for the Young Guns in addition to their latest video ‘Crystal Clear’ from their debut album, <i>All Our Kings Are Dead. </i>The narrative of this video is divided trichotomously, each storyline featuring a person who breaks out of a monotonous existence to follow a dream. One of those storylines was filmed at here at Web Apps, all three are meticulously weaved together and then come together at the end. It takes a keen imagination to make Web Apps the scene of corporate chains and misery but hey, artistic licence had to be used somewhere. All in all we expect avid viewers to be able to see about 30 seconds of Web Applications real estate. As the French say, ‘C’est Supercool!’ or, as Webbies say, ‘Is that my desk?’</p> <p>As I hope all of you are already aware the video is up and running on YouTube and can be found <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOQ0F105otA">here</a>. The crew filmed for a couple hours which, like I said, resulted in 25-30 seconds of the film. I tallied up the number of times our office is shown (being hip doesn’t mean we can’t be obsessive as well) and we appear 14 times throughout the video, with segments lasting between one and five seconds. Whilst watching the video we hope you noticed that we are the opening scene. Behind the scenes pictures are available at <a href="http://www.rocksound.tv/index.php/photos/article/behind-the-scenes-young-guns/P9">Rocksound.tv</a> where you can find a couple of Young Guns around our office (ahh that joke doesn’t get old). First <a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/87/web-applications-uk-we-rsquo-re-famous.aspx">GMTV</a>, now the Young Guns, who knew we were such hot property? Check out the video below.</p> <p>&#160;</p> <p><object height="385" width="640"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qOQ0F105otA&amp;hl=en_GB&amp;fs=1&amp;" /> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed height="385" width="640" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qOQ0F105otA&amp;hl=en_GB&amp;fs=1&amp;"></embed></object></p> <p>I couldn’t resist making one of these for <a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/">Web Applications UK</a>.&#160;</p> <p>Doesn't everyone love these comics? You can find a couple more fun ones <a href="http://krapps.com/2010/05/19/steve-jobs-vs-bill-gates-comic-template/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Krapps+%28KRAPPS%29">here</a>.</p> <p>&#160;Enjoy:</p> <p><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'1690f52a'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/NewsflashSoldiersworkwithGuns.Itsnotwha_E34A/jobs%20gates%20web%20apps_4.png"><img title="Nothing wrong with a little fun" border="0" alt="Nothing wrong with a little fun" width="421" height="788" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/NewsflashSoldiersworkwithGuns.Itsnotwha_E34A/jobs%20gates%20web%20apps_thumb_1.png" /></a></p> <p>&#160;</p><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/107.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/107.aspxMelanie TownsendFri, 02 Jul 2010 09:47:40 GMT<p>I sat down today with Lauren and Dale, our resident Microsoft Apprentices. I had a pretty quick chat with them about what they’ve been up to since they started about two months ago and how they’re getting along.  The results are good.</p> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/ca0c21fbdc85f6a1597417732d450607.ashx?hs=1"></script> <p>Lauren and Dale are Microsoft Apprentices who receive their training through the <a href="http://apprenticeships.qa.com/">QA</a> Academy in Manchester. They are on the same course so their schedules are identical and they work with the same people in our office. They split their time between their classes and coming into the office - at the moment their time is weighted towards the classes but that balance will shift as their apprenticeship progresses.</p> <p>Lauren and Dale work with Web Application’s Network Engineer <a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/71/the-book-of-allan.aspx">Allan</a><b> </b>(and occasionally Robin) doing the internal computer networking necessary for the office. At the moment Lauren and Dale are our own personal construction workers. Really.</p> <p><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/MicrosoftApprenticesReadySetandLiftWithT_96BF/Dale%20and%20Allan_2.jpg" class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'6ae44fe7'})" ><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 10px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Dale and Allan assembling desks" border="0" alt="Dale and Allan assembling desks" title="Dale and Allan assembling desks" align="right" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/MicrosoftApprenticesReadySetandLiftWithT_96BF/Dale%20and%20Allan_thumb.jpg" width="240" height="180" /></a>You see, we have been recruiting lately, and we need to increase the amount of desks and PCs to accommodate our recent growth. Lots of desks are also getting switched for newer, slightly smaller desks to make room for the new ones. This means about 18 desks need to be assembled. In the last two days our esteemed apprentices have finished 4 desks so, I think it is probably a good thing that they are doing a Microsoft Apprenticeship instead of carpentry. Next week our apprentices will be back in class so it will be up to Allan to continue where they left off. That’s fine though, Allan considers assembling furniture the highlight of his job, just ask him.</p> <p>In addition to construction our apprentices are also setting up the PCs for the newcomers, making sure everything is connected properly and that each PC has the necessary software installed. Dale and Lauren also have the joy or mix and matching monitors, checking that everything is compatible and we have enough wires and things for hooking up all the machinery.</p> <p>With all of this going on it is not too surprising that these two feel that they get plenty of variety in their day to day tasks. Both Lauren and Dale are enjoying their classes and think that their classes and the time in the office are mutually beneficial. Everything they learn in class seems to relate directly to what they are working on in the office, and Allan is a great teacher himself, explaining why things are the way they are and correcting some of the out-of-date information from the textbooks.&#160; The I.T. industry is an ever-changing beast.</p> <p>The class sizes are pretty small, there are ten people in Lauren and Dale’s class, and they have a teacher they like which makes a world of difference. The balance between coming to work in the office and time spent in the classroom seems about right to the apprentices, especially as they will eventually be spending more time in the office environment. The work they have been given in the office has not only met but exceeded expectations, they didn’t think we would give them so much responsibility. We have faith in our apprentices!</p> <p>After they finish their year, Dale and Lauren will have a number of qualifications, including CompTIA A+ Technician, Network+ Technician and be Microsoft Certified. When asked whether they had any advice for other people considering the Microsoft Apprenticeship, Lauren replied, ‘You have to put your best into it, you really need to make sure it’s what you want to do and you need to have a passion for it to succeed.’ Dale responded, ‘It’s a great program but you need to make sure you do plenty of work at home or you won’t get everything you’re taught.’ Sounds like good advice to me. Things are going well, we enjoy having Lauren and Dale around and hope that they enjoy being here too!</p> <p>Visit our <a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/about_us/recruitment.aspx">Recruitment</a> page to learn about apprenticeships and jobs available. </p> <br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/106.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/106.aspxMelanie TownsendWed, 30 Jun 2010 15:36:19 GMT<p>22 Competitors. 4 Rounds. 1 Winner.</p><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/ca0c21fbdc85f6a1597417732d450607.ashx?hs=1"></script> <p><b>Wii Sport Tournament</b></p> <p>Once again Web Applications UK held its office tournament and this year’s game was Wii Sport Resort. The purpose of the set-up of this tournament is to incorporate as many games as possible to reward the all-rounder, those players who are very good at a variety of games. Each full round will feature a different game, for example round .5 will be Wii Golf, Round 1 Wii Bowling, Round 2 Wii Table Tennis and so on. The .5 round was created to accommodate the uneven number of players in the tournament; the player with the lowest accumulated swings for Wii Golf will advance into the full tournament. Those playing in the .5 round were chosen at random. Due to a very busy schedule the games have been spaced out quite far but we’re doing our best. The games started on March first, and the final game was June 29^th, so it lasted less than four months! Let’s get right to the results:</p> <p><b>Round .5</b></p> <p>The office Wii Sport Resort Tournament kicked off with a bang and a massive upset. First to play were Mark and Shui in the 3-hole Golf round. Shui, last year’s tournament winner was slated to gain an easy victory, but a gap in his Wii knowledge led to a very disappointing score of 21 on the par 12 course. Mark, equally unfamiliar with the game, racked up an easy victory scoring two under par with a final tally of 10. Mark has moved onto the next round, and with a shocking turnaround, Shui is out! Next in line, Mark will play Bob, a formidable opponent.</p> <p>Next in line were Darren and Naomi. I was unable to witness the proceedings of this game, but have been reliably informed that the end score left Naomi 8 over par and Darren a comfortable 3 over par. Darren proceeds to the next round but will need to improve his game if he wishes to go any further. For his next round, Darren will play newcomer John.</p> <p>Nick and Kerry had the closest game of all so far. After the first two holes the scores were tied, both one under par. Nick and Kerry played very well, and brought entirely different skill sets to the match. Whilst Nick was not an avid gamer, he was a very experienced golfer. Wii Golf is intended to mimic the movement and stances of real golf, so with minimal practice Nick was able to do quite well. Conversely Kerry is an excellent Wii competitor, and golf is one of her many strengths. It was the par 5 third hole that held the deciding shots. Kerry’s second shot left her in the bunker, but Nick was having trouble controlling his distance. A struggle ensued, but Kerry managed to pull out another birdie to grasp the final victory. Nick ended up with a bogey, leaving him at par for the three holes, with Kerry at two under. Kerry’s next victim, I mean opponent, will be Steve.</p> <p>Vivienne had a stormer of a round against Alistair; she played consistently well, managing a respectable par for each hole. Alistair took some time to get his legs, though performing consistently better as the game went on. Unfortunately for Alistair, it was too little too late as his par on hole 3 was not enough to conquer Vivienne and he lost with 6 shots over par to Vivienne’s perfect par. If only Alistair had been able to avoid the drink on his first shot of the game, the outlook from the start might have been a bit sunnier. As it was, he spent the entire game trying to catch up, but there was just too much to do in too little time. His unfamiliarity with the game cost him the tournament. Vivienne moves on to the next round to play Kris.</p> <p>Next up, Melanie (yours truly) played Richard. For many reasons this was a bit of a throwaway round, neither Richard nor I really knew what we were doing, but we muddled ahead none the less. While I’m having trouble remembering what the actual end score was, I do know that we were both over par by varying degrees BUT none of that matters because I managed to win. This is good for one reason. The longer I’m in the tournament the more interested I remain, which means you might actually find out who wins. All in all the score went something like 2 over par against 5 over par, just to give a general idea. I will now battle ahead to take on Rob in what I’m sure will be my final stand. Who knows, this tournament is truly anybody’s game.</p> <p>This ends the opening round; the five winners will progress into the full tournament as well as the other three pairings who did not play in Round .5, totalling eight projected match-ups for Round 1. Next round: Bowling.</p> <p><strong>Tournament</strong> Round 1: Wii Bowling <table border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" width="74"> <p><font color="#008000">Claire</font></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="62"> <p><strong><font color="#008000">Jeff</font></strong></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="23">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="62"> <p><font color="#800000">Bob</font></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="64"> <p><b><font color="#800000">Mark</font></b></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="28">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="77"> <p><b><font color="#808000">Andrew</font></b></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="68"> <p><font color="#808000">John P</font></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="24">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="71"> <p><font color="#000080">Steve</font></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="71"> <p><b><font color="#000080">Kerry</font></b></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="71"> <p><font color="#000080"><strong>C</strong>hris</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="74"> <p><u><strong><font color="#008000">141</font></strong></u></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="62"> <p><font color="#008000">131</font></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="23">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="62"> <p><u><strong><font color="#800000">182</font></strong></u></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="64"> <p><font color="#800000">152</font></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="28">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="77"> <p><u><strong><font color="#808000">150</font></strong></u></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="68"> <p><font color="#808000">144</font></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="24">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="71"> <p><font color="#000080">145</font></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="71"> <p><u><strong><font color="#000080">155</font></strong></u></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="71">&#160;</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="74"> <p><font color="#008000">151</font></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="62"> <p><u><strong><font color="#008000">153</font></strong></u></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="23">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="62"> <p><font color="#800000">162</font></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="64"> <p><u><strong><font color="#800000">204</font></strong></u></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="28">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="77"> <p><u><strong><font color="#808000">197</font></strong></u></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="68"> <p><font color="#808000">98</font></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="24">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="71">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="71"> <p><u><strong><font color="#000080">244</font></strong></u></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="71"> <p><font color="#000080">93</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="74"> <p><font color="#008000">111</font></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="62"> <p><u><strong><font color="#008000">143</font></strong></u></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="23">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="62"> <p><font color="#800000">144</font></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="64"> <p><u><strong><font color="#800000">207</font></strong></u></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="28">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="77">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="68">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="24">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="71">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="71"> <p><u><strong><font color="#000080">181</font></strong></u></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="71"> <p><font color="#000080">132</font></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </p> <p>&#160;</p> <p> <table border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="722"> <tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" width="80"> <p><strong><font color="#800080">John S. </font></strong></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="71"> <p><b><font color="#800080">Darren</font></b></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="24">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="83"> <p><b><font color="#ff0000">Kris</font></b></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="83"> <p><font color="#ff0000">Vivienne</font></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="24">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="82"> <p><font color="#008080">Melanie</font></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="72"> <p><b><font color="#008080">Rob</font></b></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="38">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="76"> <p><font color="#ff00ff">Cheryl</font></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="87"> <p><b><font color="#ff00ff">Robin</font></b></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="80"> <p><font color="#800080">117 </font></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="71"> <p><u><strong><font color="#800080">157</font></strong></u></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="24">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="83"> <p><u><strong><font color="#ff0000">171</font></strong></u></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="83"> <p><font color="#ff0000">136</font></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="24">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="82"> <p><font color="#008080">115</font></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="72"> <p><u><strong><font color="#008080">191</font></strong></u></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="38">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="76"> <p><font color="#ff00ff">138 </font></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="87"> <p><u><strong><font color="#ff00ff">154</font></strong></u></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="80"> <p><font color="#800080">130</font></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="71"> <p><u><strong><font color="#800080">147</font></strong></u></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="24">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="83"> <p><u><strong><font color="#ff0000">190 </font></strong></u></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="83"> <p><font color="#ff0000">160</font></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="24">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="82"> <p><font color="#008080">111</font></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="72"> <p><u><strong><font color="#008080">178</font></strong></u></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="38">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="76"> <p><u><font color="#ff00ff"><strong>174</strong> </font></u></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="87"> <p><font color="#ff00ff">173</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="80">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="71">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="24">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="83">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="83">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="24">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="82">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="72">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="38">&#160;</td> <td valign="top" width="76"> <p><font color="#ff00ff">132</font></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="87"> <p><u><strong><font color="#ff00ff">165</font></strong></u></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </p> <p>End of round synopsis? Jeff and Claire had the closest match, averaging only 15 pins difference between them per match. Mark had the biggest turnaround against Bob, losing by 30 in the first match, to winning by an average 50 pins in the next two rounds. Bob was expected to do quite well so this early exit is a bit shocking. Andrew and John had the highest strike to split ratio (for every strike Andrew got, John got a split). Steve wins the give-up award for quitting after losing his first round, which coincidentally, was a very close match with Kerry. Darren and John had by far the slowest game even though it only lasted two rounds. Kris and Vivienne’s game began very slowly as well but managed to pick up some speed as it progressed. In Rob L’s and my game, Rob takes the prize for most consecutive spares, almost never leaving a pin standing at the end of his turn. Cheryl and Robin had the closest round, with one finishing 174 to 173. Finally, Kerry (who agreed to play again in a match against late addition Chris) had the biggest difference in scores with the opening round of 244 to 93, and, Kerry had the highest average score in this round of the tournament, averaging 193.</p> <p>Those are the results for the full Round 1, these are the match-ups for Round 2:</p> <p><b>Tournament Round 2: Table Tennis</b></p> <p>I said when I got knocked out I’d stop caring, and well, it happened. The table tennis round consisted of 4 matchups,</p> <p>Kris vs. Jeff,&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; Mark vs. Darren,&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; Andrew vs. Robin,&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; Rob vs. Kerry</p> <p>Each group played 2 games of table tennis and we operated on a first to 11 basis. Due to a shortage of meeting room availability, it behoved me to make the rounds a bit shorter, so players did not play the usual ‘best of three’. Seeing as the scores are rather uniform (wins with 11, wins with 11), I’ll just let you know who won. Kris defeated Jeff, Darren beat Mark, Andrew succumbed to Robin, and Kerry lost to Rob. Next round will be basketball.</p> <p><b>Tournament Round 3: Basketball</b></p> <p>Basketball was my favourite round. While it may have required less skill, basketball definitely needs some finesse, and the way this basketball round was conducted, a certain amount of endurance was needed. This round required three full games, but it was not best of three, the score was cumulative.</p> <p>First up: Kris vs. Darren</p> <p>Darren dominated the first round scoring 19 compared to Kris’ 13. Kris was a quick learner though and leapfrogged Darren scoring 20 and 23 the next two rounds to Darren’s static 16. All in all Kris scored 56 compared to Darren’s 51 in a very exciting match-up.</p> <p>Last up: Rob vs. Robin</p> <p>Rob L. was expected to win against Robin but fate had a different idea. Rob struggled to get the hang of basketball and trailed in all three rounds while Robin steadily improved. At the end of the day Rob managed to accumulate 26 points as Robin blew past with 52. Next round will be the last with Swordplay.</p> <p><b>Final Round: Swordplay</b></p> <p>It is Kris verses Robin in this final round of Wii Sports Resort. Kris and Robin played each other in a practice round and then got stuck in. At the first go Robin comes out of the gate with his sword blazing and knocks Kris off the edge for a quick early lead. Kris battles back in Round 2 and slowly but surely hits an equaliser point. Finally, in what was something of an anti-climax, Robin quickly knocks Kris out in a final round that lasted all of 5 minutes. Robin is the winner!</p> <p>Shui, last year’s tournament winner, hands over the trophy to Robin to proudly display on his desk until a new winner emerges. A big thank you goes out to all of our participants, it was great to have so many people sign up to play and I hope the same spirit continues onto the next game.</p> <p><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'8f855a41'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/WiiSportTournamentWinnerAnnounced_E05A/tour2_2.jpg"><img title="Robin is victorious" border="0" alt="Robin is victorious" width="140" height="187" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 0px 30px 0px 5px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/WiiSportTournamentWinnerAnnounced_E05A/tour2_thumb.jpg" /></a><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'8f855a41'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/WiiSportTournamentWinnerAnnounced_E05A/tour1_2.jpg"><img title="Kris is defeated" border="0" alt="Kris is defeated" width="140" height="187" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 0px 30px 0px 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/WiiSportTournamentWinnerAnnounced_E05A/tour1_thumb.jpg" /></a><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'8f855a41'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/WiiSportTournamentWinnerAnnounced_E05A/tour3_2.jpg"><img title="Shui hands trophy to Robin" border="0" alt="Shui hands trophy to Robin" width="240" height="180" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/WiiSportTournamentWinnerAnnounced_E05A/tour3_thumb.jpg" /></a></p> <p><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'8f855a41'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/WiiSportTournamentWinnerAnnounced_E05A/tourn.png"><img title="tourn" border="0" alt="tourn" width="646" height="397" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/WiiSportTournamentWinnerAnnounced_E05A/tourn_thumb.png" /></a></p><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/105.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/105.aspxMelanie TownsendMon, 28 Jun 2010 17:07:00 GMT<div><p>On Monday, June 14, Web Applications UK won the Community Service Shield, presented by <a href="http://www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/page.asp?PgID=153964&amp;ClubCtteeID=1447&amp;ClubID=309">The Rotary Club of Oldham</a>. Rotary clubs foster community involvement at home and overseas. Rotary members are men and women from all backgrounds who have an interest in helping others. Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland (RIBI) has over 55,000 members in 1,840 clubs. RIBI is an integral part of Rotary International, the world’s first service organisation. The <a href="http://www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/page.asp?PgID=153964&amp;ClubCtteeID=1447&amp;ClubID=309">Community Service Award</a> was originally a ‘one off’ initiative that was created to celebrate the millennium but has flourished into an annual award. The Shield is given to local companies who demonstrate strong ties to and active participation in the local community. Previous winners include companies like Warburton’s and the Oldham Evening Chronicle; this year it’s Web Applications UK’s time to shine.</p> <p><img hspace="10" alt="President of Rotary Club Alan Whitehead with Craig and Shaun" vspace="10" align="left" width="139" height="160" src="/Portals/0/craig with shield.png" />Web Applications UK demonstrates its commitment to the local community in a number of ways. Our rich mentor scheme, numerous work experience students and apprenticeships are catered to making the work place an exciting and inviting place for young people, encouraging them to think about their career choices and find the right path to reach their goals. Web Applications UK is involved in a variety of community events, from hosting networking events to sponsoring local business awards. We invest our time, money and experience to make Oldham a wonderful place to live and a great place to work.</p> <p>Web Applications currently has twelve of its more than forty employees, fully CRB checked (Criminal Records Bureau) who act as mentors to young people, five who have mentees at this time and four who have mentees in Oldham, aged 16 through 19. Our mentor scheme is conducted through the <a href="http://www.careeracademies.org.uk/">Careers Academy UK </a>and lasts for eighteen months. Mentors have their students from February and continue to connect with them until the students finish their college course. This is the first year that this program has been available for the IT industry and we became involved with it as soon as we could. Our employees offer guidance and support for their mentees. Our mentors meet with their young people once or twice a month, discuss how they’re doing and participate in an activity together; it can be as relaxed as coffee or as active as a game of football.</p> <p>In the past few months we have had eight work experience students come into our office. They are given a project and a couple of small tasks to complete. The purpose is to give these students a chance to see what it is like working in an office environment and experience the real world. The students spend a full week in our office before returning to school. This program has been so successful that we occasionally have students return for a second week.</p> <p><img alt="Web Applications UK on the Shield" vspace="10" align="right" width="200" height="150" src="/Portals/0/web app shield.png" />At the moment Web Applications UK has two Microsoft Apprentices. These students split their time between working at our office and receiving training towards industry qualifications provided by <a href="http://apprenticeships.qa.com/apprenticeship-programmes/microsoft-advanced-apprenticeship">QA Apprenticeships</a>. These apprentices gain valuable IT experience whilst working with us in addition to the opportunity to spend time working in a real business. We try to vary the work for the apprentices as much as possible to give them exposure to a number of different aspects of our business as they will spend a full year working with us.</p> <p>In addition to hosting students in our office, many Web Applications UK staff have travelled outside the office to visit schools, training students on interview skills through <a href="http://www.positivestepsoldham.org.uk/">Positive Steps</a>. Positive Steps is an independent service based in Oldham that offers a series of services, one of which is <a href="http://www.connexions-oldham.org.uk/">Connexions Oldham </a>which pairs Web Applications staff members with schools that might benefit from our tutorship. Another service provided by Positive Steps is the Job Club, which staff members attend monthly, to teach interview technique and life skills, to some of our most disadvantaged young people. In the past year members of our staff have visited various schools at least ten times, all within the Oldham area. Schools we have visited include St. Augustine, North Chadderton, South Chadderton, Grange School and Blue Coat School (to name a few). Web Applications feels that students who are properly prepared for interviews will exhibit more confidence when it is most needed later in life.</p> <p><img alt="The Community Service Shield" align="left" width="300" height="400" src="/Portals/0/community she.png" />On November 19, 2009 Web Applications hosted a Webinar titled<a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/events/beat_the_recession.aspx">‘Beat the Recession’ </a>in association with many local entities including: Oldham Council, Oldham Evening Chronicle, and Business Link. The seminar was aimed at highlighting issues facing local business and answering crucial questions that can sometimes fall through the cracks. The seminar was free and was very successful, and is still available online on the Web Applications UK Website (it can be found <a href="/community/events/beat_the_recession.aspx">here</a>).</p> <p>Web Applications UK sponsors a number of local organisations and events which range from sporting clubs to business awards. We sponsor Inter Web F. C. which operates within the <a href="http://www.leaguewebsite.co.uk/buxtontavernersleague/">Buxton Taverner’s League</a>, and we are a founding sponsor of <a href="http://www.oldhambusinessawards.co.uk/">The One Oldham Business Awards</a>, supporting it for the last two years. Web Applications UK has also participated in many local gatherings, including sponsoring the Mayor’s Emerald Charity Ball which took place on March 12, 2010 and attending the Pride of Oldham Awards Luncheon. Web Applications has had meetings with local Council leaders and recently we spoke to our MP, Phil Woolas about problems facing local businesses. We are also the lead sponsor of the Oldham Works Campaign.</p> <p>The <a href="http://www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk/news-features/8/news/25150/spirit-of-oldham">Oldham Works Campaign </a>was launched by The Oldham Chronicle last year to highlight local success stories, sparks of light on a town suffering from the recession. Web Applications believes that great things are happening in Oldham and that they should be singled out and given a place to shine. Web Applications UK understands that our company is organically linked to our local community and we support and are involved in that community from its smallest members to its most powerful ones. We continually invest in the young people of this community, giving them our time, experience and guidance, as well as sponsor larger organisations and services with any funds we can spare. Our commitment to Oldham is strong and is based in the foundations of Web Applications UK.</p> <p>The Rotary Club of Oldham presented the Community Service Shield to Web Applications on Monday June 14, 2010. Craig Dean and Shaun Austin represented Web Applications and attended a luncheon to celebrate. The award was presented by Rotary Club of Oldham President Alan Whitehead and the luncheon included around 20 Rotary club members. The Shield is now hanging proudly in our foyer and we feel extremely honoured to have been granted this prestigious award.<script src="/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/m.js" type="text/javascript"></script></p></div><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/73.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/73.aspxMelanie TownsendFri, 25 Jun 2010 11:20:25 GMT<p>If you are sitting there thinking, hmm,<em> I thought you were already a Small Business Specialist</em>, well, you would be correct, but SURPRISE! We are now re-certified. The emotions you are looking for are relief and elation.</p><p><img hspace="5" alt="Small Business Specialist" vspace="5" align="right" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/Systems/SBS2010-151x76.png" />So, why should you care? Well, maybe you should ask yourself, am I a small business? Am I partnered with a small business? Do I know of anyone who works in a small business? Yes, okay good, that’s why you should care. Small businesses have separate and specific needs that require a specialised skill set. A skill set we possess.</p> <p>Microsoft outlines 5 good reasons you should care about that little badge, and since they probably know best, I’m going to let you know what they say.</p> <p><strong>1) You can trust your IT is in good hands. </strong><br /> Microsoft Small Business Specialists are trained and supported by Microsoft. They're the experts - and they've got the badge to prove it.</p> <p><strong>2) They’ll save you from costly and time-consuming mistakes </strong><br /> Microsoft Small Business Specialists work quickly, efficiently and accurately. They are able to recommend and supply the latest and most appropriate Microsoft technology for your business. They make the job look easy, because it is - for them.</p> <p><strong>3) They specialise in small businesses (and no business is too small) </strong><br /> Microsoft Small Business Specialists look after small businesses day in, day out. They understand the issues you face, and enjoy solving them.</p> <p><strong>4) They have access to specific resources for small businesses </strong><br /> Our specialists are provided with a wealth of invaluable resources that are specific to small businesses like yours.</p> <p><strong>5) They do what they do best, so you can to what you do best </strong><br /> IT solutions can improve your company's productivity. Our specialists have extensive experience managing small business networks. They know what IT solutions will address your business needs. They can also offer valuable IT support.</p> <p>There you have it and I must say, we sound pretty great, and well, we are. We have been re-certified. It’s an interesting word, re-certified. Technically speaking ‘Small Business Specialist’ isn’t a certification per se, it’s a designation (and soon to be a competency). ‘We are re-designated Small Business Specialists’ doesn’t sound as great but it’s ostensibly more accurate. This little wording dispute will take care of itself next year because in October 2010 Microsoft is adding Small Business Solution Provider to its burgeoning list of competencies.</p> <p><img alt="Volume Licensing Competency" align="right" width="100" height="35" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/MS VL.jpg" />Well, that’s that. Oh and we have received the Volume Licensing Competency. Visit our <a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/about_us/microsoft_gold_certified_partner.aspx">About Us</a> section for more information on that and our other competencies or you can visit Microsoft’s page on the <a href="https://partner.microsoft.com/UK/program/competencies/compvolumelicensing">Volume Licensing Competency</a>. Volume Licensing doesn’t have a pretty badge like the Small Business Specialist, it’s such a nice shade of blue…</p><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/104.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/104.aspxMelanie TownsendTue, 22 Jun 2010 16:09:13 GMT<p>On May 17, 2010 <a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/">Web Applications UK</a> had its annual User Group Seminar.&#160; Around June 1 the video from the event was ready to be uploaded onto YouTube.&#160; 3 Weeks, about 18 aborted/failed uploads (the mysterious disappearance of 9 clips) and at least 10 migraines later, the job is complete.&#160; The clips are ready and available for your consumption and viewing pleasure.&#160; So please, enjoy!</p><p>All the clips from that special afternoon in the Castlefield Rooms are available via our Youtube page <a href="http://www.youtube.com/WebAppsUK">www.youtube.com/WebAppsUK</a>.&#160; However! Due to a barrage of video upload failures, there is no discernable order to the clips (other than their clear numbering clip 1, clip 2…).&#160; This was remedied by placing all the videos onto their own <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/WebAppsUK#g/c/65235797A8BE1C53">playlist</a> which allowed me to&#160;add the clips in order and make finding specific videos easier.&#160; Below I have listed each clip and provided a short summary of what is covered in that segment, along with a link to the specific video.&#160; You can either access all the link this way, or use the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/WebAppsUK#g/c/65235797A8BE1C53">playlist</a>, it is up to you.&#160; Hope you enjoy!</p> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/WebAppsUK#p/c/65235797A8BE1C53/0/6YWGoxHT9u4">Clip 1</a> – <b>Introduction</b> Craig delivers his opening gambit. He welcomes everyone and thanks them for attending.&#160; Craig laments the absence of those who couldn’t make it due to the ash cloud. He goes through the agenda and explains why different parts of the agenda are important and applicable to everyone. He explains our theme and introduces the three topics he is going to be discussing, the past, present and future of Web Applications UK.</p> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/WebAppsUK#p/c/65235797A8BE1C53/1/TWx4SB6v8qo">Clip 2</a> – <b>Introduction </b>Craig goes into detail on Web Applications past and how we have delivered what was asked of us. A lot of how we move forward as a company is by making use of new technologies. A big issue that customers have often talked about is a new reporting engine, and now we have it, called Br-ease. Craig moves into Web Applications Present and how we Achieve What We Promise, listing 6 specific things we promised to do. In the end of this clip, Craig makes it through the first 2 promises: we have moved premises and become a full Unified Communications based business. The rest will be continued in Clip 3.</p> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/WebAppsUK#p/c/65235797A8BE1C53/2/ChdG06HxfjE">Clip 3</a> – <b>Introduction </b>Continued from Clip 2, Craig details the promises we have fulfilled. In this clip, Craig talks about how we have grown the business, made additions to the Support Team, introduced Direct Debit and introduced monthly billing. We have stabilised the Acumen Division and frozen prices. In addition to this we have added new customers and improved communications.</p> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/WebAppsUK#p/c/65235797A8BE1C53/3/GvgnJijengU">Clip 4</a> – <b>Introduction </b>Craig moves on to the future of Web Applications and the ways in which we will Anticipate Future Needs. We plan to guard ourselves against the future through improved communications and improved standards, security with convenience – without compromise, cloud computing and social integrations.</p> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/WebAppsUK#p/c/65235797A8BE1C53/4/fuVTfA6TvSQ">Clip 5</a> <b>– Introduction </b>Craig continues talking about the importance of social integrations and introduces Web Application’s new 363 days a year policy, meaning that Web Applications is open on Weekends! The office will now only be closed on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day from here on out and weekends will include the same hours as weekdays, 8am to 6pm.</p> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/WebAppsUK#p/c/65235797A8BE1C53/5/08Hn9njfHwM">Clip 6</a> – <b>Introduction </b>In order to illustrate the full potential of UC Craig initiates a video conference, speaking first to Vivienne and then to Robin, who discusses the new Microsoft partnership programme.</p> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/WebAppsUK#p/c/65235797A8BE1C53/6/_u2SL5mDGoQ">Clip 7</a> – <b>Introduction </b>This is really part 2 of the video conference. In this segment it is Allan’s turn to speak and he talks about Web Application’s network infrastructure and our Microsoft Apprenticeship scheme. Next up is Jeff from the support team who discusses release procedure and the 363 days a year scheme. This is the end of the Video Conference and Craig moves on to highlight some of the advances the Systems Division has made.</p> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/WebAppsUK#p/c/65235797A8BE1C53/7/5_t_PR1SXoU">Clip 8</a> – <b>Introduction </b>In this, the final segment of Craig’s Introduction, we take a look at Web Application’s involvement in the community, the clubs and events we sponsor, our partnership with local businesses and our involvement in school placements, apprenticeships, and internships.</p> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/WebAppsUK#p/c/65235797A8BE1C53/8/HJHUaJMWAmw">Clip 9</a> <b>– Tr@veller </b>Steve Morgan outlines what he is going to be discussing in his presentation, Tr@veller enhancements and Mercury. Mercury is a light-weight, fully hosted, version of Tr@veller. It is built as a SaaS, and will feature community led changes as well as be configurable. Steve goes through how to find Mercury on our website, what it would look like, and the benefits of Mercury to Tr@veller customers. He moves on from there to start looking at Tr@veller enhancements, first up to be seen here is the new Menu (with collapsible side bars).</p> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/WebAppsUK#p/c/65235797A8BE1C53/9/gko2k_b2fs8">Clip 10</a> <b>– Tr@veller </b>Steve goes into more detail about Tr@veller’s new Menu and demonstrates exactly what it looks like. He discusses the technologies that were used in making these enhancements. He also illustrates how to move and remove bookings through the new User Interface, accessing the Booking Management Screen.</p> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/WebAppsUK#p/c/65235797A8BE1C53/10/z0F2hMMEG7A">Clip 11</a> <b>– Tr@veller </b>In this segment Steve discusses how to tap the full potential of Babel and Tr@veller through new third party integrations (Hotel Beds, low cost flights, chartered flights, UK rail and Eurostar). Steve also illustrates how Babel can be used for pricing, especially when using a packaging system and relying more on third parties.</p> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/WebAppsUK#p/c/65235797A8BE1C53/11/GPkaCYZtPpo">Clip 12</a> <b>– Tr@veller </b>Steve picks out some of the specific screens that have been improved, screens he affectionately calls ‘Old Favourites’. These screens include Rates, Discounts and Payments. The Rates Screen now has improved usability, better range selection, and better highlighting of selected rows. As always, when Steve says something has been improved, he backs it up with screen shots illustrating the enhancement.</p> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/WebAppsUK#p/c/65235797A8BE1C53/12/NvQLL0_OK5A">Clip 13</a><b> – Br-ease</b> Steve Elliott talks about the Wonder of Br-ease. Br-ease is Tr@veller’s new Reporting module. It was built using the latest Microsoft technologies, it adds a lot of great new features and its modular design allows us to build even more in the future. Steve defines Deliverables, a key component to Br-ease, and then does a demonstration to further illustrate their functionality.</p> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/WebAppsUK#p/c/65235797A8BE1C53/13/zlv6eByqakE">Clip 14</a><b> – Br-ease </b>Steve next talks about the different reports Br-ease is capable of, including Reporting Services Reports (SSRS) and Quick Reports. The two together make up a detail report which can either be sent to one person, probably using a Stand Report, or to many people using a Batch Report. Steve illustrates this using a sample report.</p> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/WebAppsUK#p/c/65235797A8BE1C53/14/gB2KhFw-7jg">Clip 15 </a><b>– Br-ease </b>Steve picks up where he left off and moves from Quick Reports to Standard Reports. Standard Reports are meant for a single recipient and are good for MIS reports. Next up are Br-ease’s Batch Reports, the power behind all of Br-ease. Batch Reports output multiple reports to different destinations using deliverables. Steve uses a sample to illustrate Batch Reports as well.</p> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/WebAppsUK#p/c/65235797A8BE1C53/15/_pPuEUe0gTs">Clip 16</a><b> – Br-ease </b>Br-ease is specifically engineered to be able to allow reports to be sent at specific times, for example, MIS report in MD’s inbox at 8am every morning, or all confirmation emails for the previous day to be sent at 2am. Br-ease has a granular security model and a sophisticated Schema Admin which provides flexibility when viewing exec reports and optimising quick reports.</p> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/WebAppsUK#p/c/65235797A8BE1C53/15/_pPuEUe0gTs">Clip 17</a><b> – Br-ease </b>Steve talks about how Br-ease Integrates with existing products from Web Applications. Br-ease has deep integration with Tr@veller and Mercury, though can also stand alone as a separate reporting engine and can integrate into any SQL Server Database. Steve finishes up his presentation with a quick history of Br-ease.</p> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/WebAppsUK#p/c/65235797A8BE1C53/17/5yJFeiTBqC0">Clip 18</a> – <b>SQL </b>Andrew Fryer, a guest speaker from Microsoft, begins his presentation on SQL Server 2008 and Business Intelligence. He starts with a quick introduction to SQL 2008 then goes through the Microsoft BI vision and Strategy policy and how Microsoft has made Excel and SQL much simpler and easier to use.</p> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/WebAppsUK#p/c/65235797A8BE1C53/18/crxfTcTkbRU">Clip 19</a> <b>– SQL </b>Andrew talks about some of the biggest Reporting challenges. He mentions Office 2007 and the Ribbon in particular in relation to Reporting Service’s integration into Office and SharePoint which maximises data organisation. Andrew demonstrates how to edit reports in the Report Builder and make use of the full SQL functionality.</p> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/WebAppsUK#p/c/65235797A8BE1C53/19/buxXnN9ZNbc">Clip 20</a> <b>– SQL</b> In this segment Andrew discusses how Collaboration gets the most out of SQL Server. Andrew talks about how it can be difficult sometimes, to see what is going on. He makes use of some of the new visualisation tools to illustrate what the numbers in his report are describing. He also explains how to manage enterprise-wide workloads, basically how SQL Server handles vast amounts of numbers through an enterprise-scale platform, central deployment and strong manageability.</p> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/WebAppsUK#p/c/65235797A8BE1C53/20/P38JianF8RA">Clip 21</a> <b>– SQL </b>Andrew gives us a quick summary of Reporting services from Authoring to Management to Delivery (and thus back to Management). He moves from here to Power Pivot for Excel 2010. Andrew discusses how, not all data relevant to your business comes from within your business, it is important that it’s simple for everyone to be able to access information, not just the IT people within an organisation.</p> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/WebAppsUK#p/c/65235797A8BE1C53/21/iDnMzA-SXNU">Clip 22</a> <b>– SQL </b>Andrew finishes up an example from the last segment. In these clips he goes into detail with a demonstration of Power Pivot for Excel. He illustrates the power of Power Pivot as he shows it process thousands of rows of data, defining relationships and creating graphs to compare different sets of data. Andrew goes into greater analysis of the integration of SQL into SharePoint and then finishes off with useful places to find more information.</p> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/WebAppsUK#p/c/65235797A8BE1C53/22/o1jj70EpcV0">Clip 23</a><b> – Q&amp;A </b>Steve Morgan, Steve Elliott, Andrew Fryer and Craig Dean sit on the panel to take questions from our attendees. Questions in this segment cover topics on corporate fonts to use in Br-ease, Br-ease availability in Acumen, Outlook integration in Acumen and browser support in Mercury and Tr@veller.</p> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/WebAppsUK#p/c/65235797A8BE1C53/23/MjzdHsbYSTg">Clip 24</a> <b>– Q&amp;A </b>Questions were on topics covering Style Sheets in Reports, setting features in Tr@veller, Br-ease in relation to Tr@veller, and SagePay.</p> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/WebAppsUK#p/c/65235797A8BE1C53/24/voHkCZBtMWk">Clip 25</a> <b>– Q&amp;A</b> Questions included our experience migrating people to SQL Server 2008 and whether Br-ease would support Fax Gateways. This is the End.</p><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/103.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/103.aspxMelanie TownsendThu, 17 Jun 2010 16:29:31 GMT<p>On Tuesday a small delegation from Web Applications UK went to London to participate in Travolution’s Question Time. This is their story.</p><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/ca0c21fbdc85f6a1597417732d450607.ashx?hs=1"></script> <p><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'b50953a5'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/AQuestionofTravel_F570/trav1.png"><img title="Our Illustrious Panel" border="0" alt="Our Illustrious Panel" align="right" width="240" height="186" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 5px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/AQuestionofTravel_F570/trav1_thumb.png" /></a>The Question Time panel was made up of five industry leading representatives. Craig Dean from Web Applications had the technology provider for end users covered and Steve Tassell from Microsoft illustrated the power of some of their latest technologies. Seamus Conlon from Cruise.co.uk very much represented your everyday holiday provider and Marko Balabanovic had an interesting angle from Lastminute.com. Finally, David Parfect represented Facebook, the king of social networking, apparently ignored by the travel industry thus far.</p> <p>These five panellists had a pretty good idea of what they were getting into. They did not know the questions they were going to get asked but they did know the structure of the debate and who else was going to be there. The Web Applications team arrived early to set our things up (did you see our <a href="http://www.unifyingcommunication.co.uk">Unifying Communication</a> sign in the corner?) and completed a run through of the&#160; demonstration that Steve Tassell would conduct. The event had been sold out, so all that was left to do was sit and wait for our eager guests to arrive.</p> <p>TW group’s Simon Ferguson gave a short introduction to start off the event and then Steve Tassell jumped into his Unified Communications demonstration. The demo began with Unified Messaging, Voicemail in particular, as well as a seemingly unintentional “Can you hear me now?” joke. I thought it was funny. The voicemail was left by Steve’s co-worker Brett concerning a document. Steve listened to the message in Outlook and saw that Brett was online, and so sent him an Instant Message. Brett had a few questions so the IM was promoted to a voice call, and then video for good measure. Steve was unable to answer the question and so dragged Vivienne into the video conference. Brett shared the document with Steve and Vivienne so that Vivienne could not only see the document in question, but also edit it. What was perhaps the most impressive part of the demonstration was finding out that Reading not only had its own football team, the team had fans…crazy.</p> <p>After the demonstration, Travolution’s Editor Lee Hayhurst took over and became the moderator for the panel; the questions began.&#160; For ease of use I have shortened the names to initials: <br /> <strong>CD</strong> = Craig Dean, <a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/">Web Applications UK</a> <br /> <strong>ST</strong> = Steve Tassell, <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/">Microsoft</a> <br /> <strong>MB</strong> = Marko Balabanovic, <a href="http://www.lastminute.com">Lastminute.com </a><br /> <strong>SC</strong> = Seamus Conlon, <a href="http://www.cruise.co.uk">Cruise.co.uk </a><br /> <strong>DP</strong> = David Parfect, <a href="http://www.facebook.com">Facebook</a></p> <p><strong>Question 1: These (Unified Communications) seem to be an application for business, where are these applications for the consumer?</strong></p> <p><strong>CD</strong>: Putting Unified Communications in people’s homes is very simple. It’s extremely useful for temp staff and people working from home and is a much more cost effective solution than fitting out a PABX.&#160; We have a complete Unified Communications solution in our office and love it, we don’t have a single phone.</p> <p><strong>SC</strong>: I see problems within a call centre environment and the order in which people do their work.</p> <p><strong>CD</strong>: This technology is smart and knows (or can be programmed to know) who the best person to contact is at any time. I think you’ll find that in actual usage in an office environment, this isn’t an issue at all.&#160;</p> <p><strong>Question 2: Did the market say this is a product [Unified Communications] we want? Or did Microsoft put it together just because they could?<a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'b50953a5'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/AQuestionofTravel_F570/nicktrav.png"><img title="Web Apps' Nick and Glen from Travolution" border="0" alt="Web Apps' Nick and Glen from Travolution" align="right" width="164" height="240" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 5px 15px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/AQuestionofTravel_F570/nicktrav_thumb.png" /></a></strong></p> <p><strong>ST</strong>: In many ways UC is the coming together of things that already exist, and make them easier to use together. The market it always looking for things to get simplified, and the market is changing as the younger generation becomes a more prominent member of the work force. This new generation are very much driven by a sense of immediacy and products like UC make sense for them, get in contact with who you need to right now, or find someone else who can help you.</p> <p><strong>DP</strong>: For successful products in this market you need to follow three simple rules, it needs to be Quick, Simple and Easy. Chat is what we’re focusing on right now, but then again, we’re largely consumer to consumer so it is a little different for us.</p> <p><strong>MB</strong>: In our company [lastminute.com] we have this kind of technology already, and have for a while. It isn’t that big of a change.</p> <p><strong>CD</strong>: But it’s presence that makes it all so importance. When you’re working with agencies and suppliers, knowing who is available and being able to message them questions whilst on the phone to the people asking them, it makes a huge difference in time saved and sheer convenience.&#160;</p> <p><strong>Question 3 from Paul Hastings, Hostel Booking: Does the advent of mobile technology like the iPhone and iPad mean the Mobile Revolution is really here? </strong></p> <p><strong>MB</strong>: This is one of those things, if you get a lot of mobile bookings, great, we will all probably have to go into mobiles eventually. If you don’t get a significant number of mobile bookings however, it is very expensive to be an early innovator in the mobile realm, and it will not necessarily be worth the money.&#160; For some people the Mobile Revolution is here and has been here for a while, for others it is still a few years away.</p> <p><strong>DP</strong>: The problem that we face now is advertising on mobile platforms. It’s not being done effectively yet. We are Facebook though, you can be sure when we do start mobile ads, we’ll do it differently to everyone else.</p> <p><strong>ST</strong>: Mobile is very important to us. Microsoft does not discriminate against different mobile clients; we want to work within every major mobile network, even if it’s not a Windows phone. Things will get cheaper, all technology gets cheaper as time goes by.</p> <p><strong>CD</strong>: There are statistics that state that by 2013 there will be more phones capable of web browsing than PCs. That alone means it’s going to be a huge opportunity.&#160; The gears have starting moving on the Mobile revolution, it is imminent, you just have to make sure it doesn’t pass your business by.</p> <p><strong>SC</strong>: As a company you need to be everywhere that people are. We need to be present everywhere that people spend time. People still read newspapers, so even if they aren’t the future, they are still the present, and we need to be there. Everyone needs to forget the ROI (Return on Investment) because you just can’t calculate it with Mobile right now.</p> <p><strong>Question 4: What commercial opportunities will open up due to Mobile?<a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'b50953a5'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/AQuestionofTravel_F570/travolution%20qt%20pic%203.png"><img title="The Panel, Relaxed" border="0" alt="The Panel, Relaxed" align="right" width="240" height="191" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 5px 10px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/AQuestionofTravel_F570/travolution%20qt%20pic%203_thumb.png" /></a></strong></p> <p><strong>CD</strong>: Everything is now. SMS is important for sending deals to people, especially when they leave on holiday. It’s also great for up-selling. Many people go on holiday these days and don’t have everything planned in advance; they are much more open to opportunities that catch their eye.</p> <p><strong>MB</strong>: Location based vouchers. Sending people through your door is the <u>new</u> advertising. There are still some things that have to be done on paper, that’s a problem, eventually though that should be less of a problem.</p> <p><strong>SC</strong>: It is a big move forward that you know your customers can check their email all the time while abroad. So you can send them emails of offers while they’re abroad and you know they’ll get them.</p> <p><strong>DP</strong>: I think people are getting way ahead of themselves here. We’re a long way away from all of this. You do definitely need to take a look at the ROI.</p> <p><strong>Question 5: Thomas Cook is branching in London Centre. Is this a good thing? Seamus?</strong></p> <p><strong>SC</strong>: I know nothing about this. It probably won’t be called Thomas Cook if they bought someone else.</p> <p><strong>MB</strong>: Of course it would be called Thomas Cook. You don’t throw away a brand name like that. It’s a good thing, it drives competition which is good.</p> <p><strong>Question 6: IS there a new phase of OTA innovation to come?</strong></p> <p><strong>MB</strong>: The cost of selling over the internet is significantly cheaper than using a call centre today. But we might see the resurgence of travel agents due to increases to PPC (pay per click) bookings.</p> <p><strong>SC</strong>: In theory anyone can come and disrupt the OTA space.</p> <p><strong>MB</strong>: Internet booking sites all look kind of alike. The average consumer has no idea what OTA or Metadata is, nor would they be able to spot it. Thomas Cook may disrupt the City hotels, who knows? Any big brand can come in. Nike might be doing something soon in this space. Really, it could be anyone.</p> <p><strong>SC</strong>: Do you want to see disruptive? Go to TripAdvisor, it’s hugely disruptive.</p> <p><strong>Question 7: Will there be a way to manage all by social networking platforms?<a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'b50953a5'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/AQuestionofTravel_F570/ipad%20jeans.png"><img title="iPad Jeans" border="0" alt="iPad Jeans" align="right" width="110" height="240" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 0px 10px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/AQuestionofTravel_F570/ipad%20jeans_thumb.png" /></a></strong></p> <p><strong>CD</strong>: Yes, it’s all about getting the right technology provider. If you have a technology provider that understands your business and what you’re trying to do, then you can really get whatever you want and whatever your business needs. People say they can’t calculate an ROI for mobiles?&#160; We can, you just have to know what you’re doing.</p> <p><strong>ST</strong>: This is one of those areas that would need a killer app. It might not be there yet, we’re still looking for that perfect UC App.</p> <p><strong>DP</strong>: People think it’s all the same, Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, but they’re not, we’re very different to everything else out there, we’re not competing.&#160; I think you could use these social networking platforms much more than the travel industry does at this time.&#160; It’s free to create a group on Facebook.&#160; Where is everyone?&#160; We have 450 Million users.&#160; I think maybe you should look into leveraging the power of social networks before thinking about how you’re going to manage them.&#160; The way these are used are completely different as well.&#160; Businesses should definitely make this more important.</p> <p><strong>Queen 8: Is the Man-bag coming back into fashion with the advent of the iPad?</strong></p> <p><strong>CD</strong>: I think Germany came up with some jeans for you.</p> <p><strong>SC</strong>: Absolutely, bring on the man-bag, I love it.</p><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/102.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/102.aspxMelanie TownsendThu, 10 Jun 2010 09:34:35 GMT<p>For Kris’ profile I have taken a different approach. The following are six Haikus which I feel cover the length and breadth of Kris’ time at Web Applications. Haikus are short and punchy, and I believe reflect Kris’ artsy side. I hope you enjoy. (A Haiku is characterized by 3 lines consisting of 5-7-5 syllables.)</p> <p></p> <p align="center">Kris kips at lunchtime <br />Works hard whilst awake all day <br />Kips again at home <br /></p> <p align="center">Kris wins at wii sports <br />Many competitors lose <br />Next the final match <br /></p> <p align="center">Software engineer <br />Works on <a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/travel/tr_veller.aspx">Tr@veller</a> et al. <br />Made <a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/acumen/mercury.aspx">Mercury</a> black</p> <p align="center"><a href="http://www.smashbros.com/en_us/">Super Smash Brothers</a> <br /><a href="http://www.kirbykirbykirby.com/">Kirby</a> is his favourite <br />The brick’s a cheap move</p> <p align="center">Began on Blue Team <br />With Cheryl very briefly <br />Now on Kerry’s team</p> <p align="center">Kris writes some <a href="http://tvs2.comicgenesis.com/d/20060212.html">comics</a> <br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webcomics">Webcomics</a> to be exact <br />Maybe more in time?</p> <br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/101.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/101.aspxMelanie TownsendWed, 09 Jun 2010 15:56:51 GMT<p>On June 15, 2010 Web Applications’ Craig Dean will take his place on a five-person panel discussing the changing face of Office Communication. The event is now fully booked, but make sure to register your interest if you haven’t already and get yourself on that waiting list!</p> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/ca0c21fbdc85f6a1597417732d450607.ashx?hs=1"></script> <p></p> <p><a href="http://www.travolution.co.uk/">Travolution</a> has announced its first Question Time of the year, sponsored by Web Applications UK. The event will be held on Tuesday June 15^th at the <a href="http://www.firmdale.com/index.php?page_id=13">Charlotte Street Hotel</a> in London. Question Time will have a panel of five travel industry and communication experts, including our very own Craig Dean, Seamus Conlon from <a href="http://www.cruise.co.uk/">Cruise.co.uk</a> and Andy Washington from <a href="http://www.lastminute.com/">Lastminute.com</a>, as well as Steve Tassell (Unified Communications Product Manager) from <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/">Microsoft</a> and <a href="www.facebook.com">Facebook’s</a> David Parfect. Also on stage will be Lee Hayhurst from Travolution acting as the debate moderator. The topic of discussion will be ‘A communication revolution is coming. Is your business ready?’</p> <p><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/TravolutionQuestionTimeiscomingtoavenuen_EDFC/charlottestreetscreeningroom%20(2)_2.jpg" class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'ee1ab1da'})" ><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Charlotte Street Hotel" border="0" alt="Charlotte Street Hotel" title="Charlotte Street Hotel" align="left" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/TravolutionQuestionTimeiscomingtoavenuen_EDFC/charlottestreetscreeningroom%20(2)_thumb.jpg" width="204" height="191" /></a>In a climate dominated by Apple’s latest products, social networking, live document sharing and cloud computing it is clear that things are changing in the world of business communication. The question is - can the travel industry afford not to be an early adaptor? If you have any questions about how communicating through digital interactions is going to affect your business in the next ten years, this is your opportunity to find the answers. The panel chosen looks ideally designed to discuss the topic from both a travel and technology standpoint, with Web Applications perfectly intersecting the two perspectives.</p> <p>Web Applications plans to have a 15 minute presentation before the discussion begins to illustrate the full power of the latest communication technology so that our audience can grasp the extent of this revolution.</p> <p>Registration for this event is now closed because it is <b>fully booked</b> but, if you are an eternal optimist visit Travolution’s Question Time <a href="http://www.travolutionquestiontime.com/">webpage</a> and register your interest with Angela. We are thrilled that so many people are coming to hear our thoughts! Well, it’s always possible they are coming to hear other people speak too, but we can’t be sure. Web Applications is very excited to be a part of such an important debate and we are confident this will be a landmark discussion. The event will begin at 6pm and will last approximately 2 hours. If you are planning on attending, make sure to send us a message (or leave a comment) and let us know!</p> <p><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/TravolutionQuestionTimeiscomingtoavenuen_EDFC/image_2.png" class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'ee1ab1da'})" ><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="TW Group" border="0" alt="TW Group" title="TW Group" align="right" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/TravolutionQuestionTimeiscomingtoavenuen_EDFC/image_thumb.png" width="240" height="74" /></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.travolution.co.uk/">Travolution</a> is part of the TW Group which also includes <a href="http://www.gazetteers.com/">gazetteers</a>, <a href="http://www.twacademy.co.uk/">TW academy</a> and <a href="http://www.travelweekly.com/events.aspx">Travel Weekly</a>.</p> <p><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/TravolutionQuestionTimeiscomingtoavenuen_EDFC/image_2.png"></a></p> <p>&#160;<a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/TravolutionQuestionTimeiscomingtoavenuen_EDFC/image_2.png"></a></p> <br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/100.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/100.aspxMelanie TownsendMon, 07 Jun 2010 15:43:00 GMT<div><script type="text/javascript" src="/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/ca0c21fbdc85f6a1597417732d450607.ashx?hs=1"></script> <p>Sage Pay will once again be performing some scheduled maintenance overnight.&#160; The maintenance will take place between 10pm and midnight on Tuesday night (June 8, 2010).</p> <p>What is <b>NOT </b>affected:</p> <p>This maintenance will not affect any new Payment, Deferred and/or Authenticate transactions processed during the maintenance window.</p> <p>What <b>IS</b> affected:</p> <p>During the scheduled hours of maintenance (again, 10pm to midnight) users will be unable to view or perform actions such as Refund, Void, Repeat, RepeatDeferred, Release, Abort, Cancel and Authorise against any archived transactions.</p> <p><b>WHO</b> is affected:</p> <p>This includes anyone with a Direct integration into Sage Pay Go and those using Sage Pay’s Reporting and Admin API.<a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'892b9439'})" href="/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/SagePayScheduledMaintenance_DC0B/Sage%20pay_2.gif"><img title="Sage pay" border="0" alt="Sage pay" align="right" width="127" height="34" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/SagePayScheduledMaintenance_DC0B/Sage%20pay_thumb.gif" /></a></p> <p>You can find the original email from Sage Pay <a href="http://sagepay-email.com/8Z4-6DMW-971EP5BU8C/cr.aspx">here</a>.</p> <div class="d_itc_f" style="height: 11px; clear: both"><script src="/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/m.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div></div><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/72.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/72.aspxMelanie TownsendFri, 04 Jun 2010 17:00:21 GMT<p>As Web Applications prepares to head down south for Travolution’s Question Time, I thought we’d spend a minute looking at the topic of the debate, Unified Communications.</p><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/ca0c21fbdc85f6a1597417732d450607.ashx?hs=1"></script> <p>Unified Communications (UC) provides a centralised resource for all your methods of communication and simplifies and amplifies the way to connect to the people you need to. There are a number of accessible resources to find out more about UC, from providers like <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/">Microsoft</a> and <a href="http://www.cisco.com">Cisco</a> to relaxed discussions with real users that can be found in <a href="http://whitepapers.theregister.co.uk/search?q=Unified+Comms">The Register</a>. If you would like to find some sources in print, the March 2010 edition of Travolution (www.travolution.co.uk) featured the top 10 technologies of 2010 which discusses multiple facets of UC, and Computing magazine (<a href="http://www.computing.co.uk">www.computing.co.uk</a>) did a series on Unified Communications throughout its March issues. To get the Web Applications take, visit the <a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/systems/unified_communications.aspx">UC section</a> of our <a href="">website</a>.</p> <p>The premise upon which Unified Communications is based is simple, make it easier to get in touch with people you need to – and that is exactly what it does. UC has five key features: Unified Messaging, Presence, Video Conferencing, Collaboration and IP Telephony. Unified Communications is the integration of real-time communication services such as <b>Instant Messaging</b>, <b>Presence Indication</b>, <b>Telephony</b>, and <b>Video Conferencing</b> with non-real-time communication services like <b>Voicemail</b>, <b>Email</b> and <b>Fax</b>.</p> <p>Unified Messaging (UM) is a centralised mailbox for all your messaging communications, such as email, instant messaging (IM), text messaging (SMS), group chat, fax and voicemail. The key enhancement UM provides is the time saved through getting more from your applications. Each component of UM is connected and stored in your mailbox so all correspondence is easily retrievable.&#160; We recommend Microsoft Outlook as your Unified Messaging client.</p> <p><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'4437f3f4'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/UnifiedCommunicationsTheFutureIsNow_FC00/communicator_2.jpg"><img title="Communicator with Presence Status" border="0" alt="Attendant Console with Presence Status" align="left" width="455" height="333" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/UnifiedCommunicationsTheFutureIsNow_FC00/communicator_thumb.jpg" /></a>Presence is one of the most talked about and celebrated new features of Unified Communications. Intimately linked with Direct Line technology, Presence provides real-time information that indicates whether a person is free to take a call, receive an Instant Message (IM) or start a conference; this influx of information is vital to improving your business’ productivity. Presence is a key player to helping UC determine the best medium for establishing a connection. For example, if a person is at the office, and someone calls their mobile, UC software knows that you are at your desk and can automatically route that call from their mobile phone to their desktop phone for a cheaper rate. Common Presence status include: Available, Away, Busy, In a meeting and Do Not Disturb.&#160; You can see to the left is an Attendant Console, the different coloured circles next to peoples name indicate their levels of availability, green = available, yellow = away or be right back, orange = busy/do not disturb/in a meeting.&#160; You can also customise these settings to say out of the office, available but don’t IM, or anything you want to describe your status.</p> <p>Video Conferencing is a great new addition to the network of features belonging to Unified Communications, integrating Web based conferencing with audio and video, providing an almost intimate setting for meetings. Video Conferencing is a real-time solution that allows people to communicate face to face despite vast distances, making it a great function for anyone who works from home or wants (or needs) to cut down the time they spend travelling to remote sites. It also provides a way to hold in-depth impromptu meetings across any distance. Video Conferencing is especially enhanced by presence and collaboration. The presence setting will update to indicate that you are in a conference, but it is collaboration which makes Video Conferencing truly exciting.</p> <p>Collaboration is an extremely useful function stand-alone or in conjunction with Video Conferencing. Collaboration adds a massive amount of value to video conferencing and transforms video conferencing into a completely interactive experience with the added functionality of shared window viewing. With Collaboration you can be sure that the numbers on your screen are in fact the same as the numbers your counterpart has, no matter how different your interpretations. Each side of the video conference chooses which windows to share so that only pertinent information makes it into the conference, and your twitter feed will not interrupt a presentation.</p> <p>The voice part of the equation, or IP telephony, is often the most critical element, and one that the majority of end-users organisations use as the basis for their initial UC roll-outs. IP telephony translates into voice conversations for the end user. Software-driven Voice over IP (VoIP) is widely heralded as the future of business voice communication. This is the solution that enhances communication for information workers, allowing them to start voice connections for the platform of whatever application they are working with, as well as receive calls when connected to a wide range of networks without a Virtual Private Network (VPN). VoIP also works with Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) or through a media gateway and Public Switched Telephone Networks (PSTNs).</p> <p><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'4437f3f4'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/UnifiedCommunicationsTheFutureIsNow_FC00/travolution%20group_2.jpg"><img title="TW Group" border="0" alt="TW Group" align="right" width="240" height="74" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/UnifiedCommunicationsTheFutureIsNow_FC00/travolution%20group_thumb.jpg" /></a>Unified Communications is truly the future of business correspondence and is one of the most exciting technical enhancements that companies are adopting. At Travolution’s Question Time we will be discussing the future of how businesses communicate and what the travel industry should be doing to mark its role as an early innovator. In case you haven’t seen the <a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Community/Events/tabid/88/ctl/Details/Mid/449/ItemID/14/Default.aspx?ContainerSrc=%5bG%5dContainers/_default/No+Container&amp;SkinSrc=%5bG%5dSkins/Community/Horizontal-Tabbed">Event</a> listing, Web Applications UK is&#160; sponsoring Travolution’s Question Time which will take place at 6pm in the Charlotte Street Hotel in London and will last approximately two hours. The panel in the debate includes representatives from Microsoft, Facebook, Lastminute.com, Cruise.co.uk and our very own Craig Dean. The debate will be monitored by Travolution’s editor Lee Hayhurst. To make a reservation and hear all about the future of communication, visit <a href="http://www.travolutionquestiontime.com">www.travolutionquestiontime.com</a>. We hope to see you there!</p><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/99.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/99.aspxMelanie TownsendTue, 25 May 2010 12:34:35 GMT<p>This will only work with SQL Server 2008 and above as it requires a new feature of SQL Server only present in 2008 and 2008 R2: Table Value Parameters.</p> <p>Previously when we wanted to provide SQL with a set of data, e.g. a table, we had to pass in XML and parse that within the SQL. SQL’s parsing of XML isn’t great when dealing with large quantities of data. Additionally we want the data in table form anyway, so why bother with the XML? Ideally we just want to be able to pass in a table to SQL, just like we can get tables out.</p> <p>In this post I’m going to go through the steps in both SQL and C# to allow you to do this. My examples use C# 3.5 and above (through use of Linq) but it could be easily converted to .NET 2.0.</p> <h3>Step One – Create the Data Table Type in SQL </h3> <p>Use SQL Server Management Studio to navigate to the correct database. First thing we need to do is define a Table Type. This is a requirement of passing Table value parameters to a Stored Procedure. In this post I’m going to use an example of passing in a set of products.</p> <p>To create a data table type, you can use the following syntax:</p> <div style="border-bottom: silver 1px solid; text-align: left; border-left: silver 1px solid; padding-bottom: 4px; line-height: 12pt; background-color: #f4f4f4; margin: 20px 0px 10px; padding-left: 4px; width: 97.5%; padding-right: 4px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; max-height: 200px; font-size: 8pt; overflow: auto; border-top: silver 1px solid; cursor: text; border-right: silver 1px solid; padding-top: 4px" id="codeSnippetWrapper"> <div style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: #f4f4f4; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px" id="codeSnippet"> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: white; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum1"> 1:</span> <span style="color: #0000ff">CREATE</span> TYPE [dbo].[Product] <span style="color: #0000ff">AS</span> <span style="color: #0000ff">TABLE</span>(</pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: #f4f4f4; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum2"> 2:</span> [ID] [<span style="color: #0000ff">int</span>],</pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: white; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum3"> 3:</span> [Name] [nvarchar](<span style="color: #0000ff">max</span>),</pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: #f4f4f4; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum4"> 4:</span> [BestBefore] [datetime] <span style="color: #0000ff">null</span></pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: white; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum5"> 5:</span> )</pre> <!--CRLF--></div> </div> <p>This creates a type with three columns: <b>ID</b>, of type integer, doesn’t allow nulls, <b>Name</b>, of type nvarchar(max), again, doesn’t allow nulls, <b>BestBefore</b>, a date time that does allow nulls.</p> <p>Once the data table type is created it can be found within: Programmability -&gt; Types -&gt; User-Defined Table Types on the target database and is ready to be used in stored procedures.</p> <h3>Step Two – Add the parameter to the Stored Procedure</h3> <p>Now that the Data Table type has been created, we can add the parameter to the stored procedure. When passing table types as parameter values, they must be marked as Read-Only, this is another requirement enforced by SQL Server. The syntax below shows the head of a stored procedure that will add a list of products to the database. Once inside the body of the stored procedure, the parameter can be used like any other Temporary Table Variable.</p> <div style="border-bottom: silver 1px solid; text-align: left; border-left: silver 1px solid; padding-bottom: 4px; line-height: 12pt; background-color: #f4f4f4; margin: 20px 0px 10px; padding-left: 4px; width: 97.5%; padding-right: 4px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; max-height: 200px; font-size: 8pt; overflow: auto; border-top: silver 1px solid; cursor: text; border-right: silver 1px solid; padding-top: 4px" id="codeSnippetWrapper"> <div style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: #f4f4f4; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px" id="codeSnippet"> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: white; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum1"> 1:</span> <span style="color: #0000ff">ALTER</span> <span style="color: #0000ff">PROCEDURE</span> [dbo].[spProductAddList] ( </pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: #f4f4f4; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum2"> 2:</span> @SessionID uniqueidentifier,</pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: white; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum3"> 3:</span> @ProductList <span style="color: #0000ff">as</span> dbo.Product readonly )</pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: #f4f4f4; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum4"> 4:</span> <span style="color: #0000ff">AS</span></pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: white; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum5"> 5:</span> <span style="color: #0000ff">BEGIN</span></pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: #f4f4f4; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum6"> 6:</span> …</pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: white; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum7"> 7:</span> <span style="color: #0000ff">END</span> </pre> <!--CRLF--></div> </div> <h3>Step Three – Create an Explicit Cast Operator</h3> <p>There are several different options for passing the data to SQL; we found a couple of articles on this but none provided the quality of solution we wanted:</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.codeproject.com/KB/cs/CSharpAndTableValueParams.aspx">http://www.codeproject.com/KB/cs/CSharpAndTableValueParams.aspx</a> - This is the original article we found; it has a good introduction to how the principles worked, but we weren’t happy with the use of an ad-hoc DataTable implementation. </li> <li><a href="http://orionseven.com/blog/tag/c/">http://orionseven.com/blog/tag/c/</a> - In this article Bryan Smith uses a custom IEnumerable implementation to create his own GetEnumerator method which outputs SqlDataRecords of the correct structure/value. We preferred this method but felt we could build on it to create a nicer OO solution without the need for a separate, specific collection class. </li> </ul> <p>With this in mind we settled on a method that used an explicit cast operator on the class in question to create a SqlDataRecord from the base object. </p> <p>In the application for our example we already have a “Product” class; to this class we’re going to add the following method:</p> <p></p> <div style="border-bottom: silver 1px solid; text-align: left; border-left: silver 1px solid; padding-bottom: 4px; line-height: 12pt; background-color: #f4f4f4; margin: 20px 0px 10px; padding-left: 4px; width: 97.5%; padding-right: 4px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; max-height: 200px; font-size: 8pt; overflow: auto; border-top: silver 1px solid; cursor: text; border-right: silver 1px solid; padding-top: 4px" id="codeSnippetWrapper"> <div style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: #f4f4f4; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px" id="codeSnippet"> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: white; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum1"> 1:</span> <span style="color: #0000ff">public</span> <span style="color: #0000ff">static</span> <span style="color: #0000ff">explicit</span> <span style="color: #0000ff">operator</span> SqlDataRecord(Product product)</pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: #f4f4f4; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum2"> 2:</span> {</pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: white; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum3"> 3:</span> SqlDataRecord sqlDataRecord = <span style="color: #0000ff">new</span> SqlDataRecord(</pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: #f4f4f4; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum4"> 4:</span> <span style="color: #0000ff">new</span> SqlMetaData(<span style="color: #006080">&quot;ID&quot;</span>, SqlDbType.VarChar, -1),</pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: white; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum5"> 5:</span> <span style="color: #0000ff">new</span> SqlMetaData(<span style="color: #006080">&quot;Name&quot;</span>, SqlDbType.VarChar, -1),</pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: #f4f4f4; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum6"> 6:</span> <span style="color: #0000ff">new</span> SqlMetaData(<span style="color: #006080">&quot;BestBefore&quot;</span>, SqlDbType.VarChar, -1)</pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: white; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum7"> 7:</span> );</pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: #f4f4f4; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum8"> 8:</span>&#160; </pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: white; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum9"> 9:</span> sqlDataRecord.SetInt32(0, product.ID);</pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: #f4f4f4; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum10"> 10:</span> sqlDataRecord.SetString(1, product.Name);</pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: white; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum11"> 11:</span>&#160; </pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: #f4f4f4; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum12"> 12:</span> <span style="color: #0000ff">if</span> (product.BestBefore &gt; DateTime.MinValue)</pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: white; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum13"> 13:</span> sqlDataRecord.SetDateTime(2, product.BestBefore);</pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: #f4f4f4; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum14"> 14:</span>&#160; </pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: white; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum15"> 15:</span> <span style="color: #0000ff">return</span> sqlDataRecord;</pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: #f4f4f4; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum16"> 16:</span> }</pre> <!--CRLF--></div> </div> <p>This creates an explicit cast operator from the type product to the type SqlDataRecord. First thing we do is create the SqlDataRecord instance, in the constructor we add 3 SqlMetaData objects which define the columns of the Data Table Type we defined in step one.</p> <p>Once we’ve created the record, we need to set the values; this is done using the SetString/SetInt32/SetDateTime methods. When this is done we return the sqlDataRecord object which contains the data from our object in the same format as the Data Table Type in SQL.</p> <h4>Step Four – Passing the data from C# to SQL</h4> <p>Now we have a way of generating our SqlDataRecords and have told SQL what format to expect the data in, we have to program the C# to provide this to the SQL. We have to create a parameter in ADO.NET, but give it a type of “SqlDbType.Structured”. This tells SQL that it should expect a Table Variable for the value of the parameter. </p> <div style="border-bottom: silver 1px solid; text-align: left; border-left: silver 1px solid; padding-bottom: 4px; line-height: 12pt; background-color: #f4f4f4; margin: 20px 0px 10px; padding-left: 4px; width: 97.5%; padding-right: 4px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; max-height: 200px; font-size: 8pt; overflow: auto; border-top: silver 1px solid; cursor: text; border-right: silver 1px solid; padding-top: 4px" id="codeSnippetWrapper"> <div style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: #f4f4f4; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px" id="codeSnippet"> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: white; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum1"> 1:</span> <span style="color: #0000ff">using</span> (SqlCommand command = <span style="color: #0000ff">new</span> SqlCommand(<span style="color: #006080">&quot;spProductAddList&quot;</span>, connection))</pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: #f4f4f4; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum2"> 2:</span> {</pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: white; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum3"> 3:</span> command.CommandType = CommandType.StoredProcedure;</pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: #f4f4f4; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum4"> 4:</span>&#160; </pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: white; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum5"> 5:</span> SqlParameter productsParameter = <span style="color: #0000ff">new</span> SqlParameter(<span style="color: #006080">&quot;@ProductList&quot;</span>, SqlDbType.Structured)</pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: #f4f4f4; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum6"> 6:</span> {</pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: white; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum7"> 7:</span> Value =</pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: #f4f4f4; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum8"> 8:</span> products.Count() &gt; 0</pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: white; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum9"> 9:</span> ? products.Select(</pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: #f4f4f4; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum10"> 10:</span> p =&gt; (SqlDataRecord)p)</pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: white; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum11"> 11:</span> : <span style="color: #0000ff">null</span></pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: #f4f4f4; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum12"> 12:</span> };</pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: white; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum13"> 13:</span>&#160; </pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: #f4f4f4; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum14"> 14:</span> command.Parameters.Add(productsParameter);</pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: white; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum15"> 15:</span>&#160; </pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: #f4f4f4; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum16"> 16:</span> command.ExecuteNonQuery();</pre> <!--CRLF--> <pre style="border-bottom-style: none; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0px; line-height: 12pt; border-right-style: none; background-color: white; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0px; width: 100%; padding-right: 0px; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;, courier, monospace; direction: ltr; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 8pt; border-left-style: none; overflow: visible; padding-top: 0px"><span style="color: #606060" id="lnum17"> 17:</span> }</pre> <!--CRLF--></div> </div> <p>Using LINQ we cast our products into SqlDataRecord objects using the explicit cast from step 3. The result of the LINQ Select is an IEnumerable&lt;SqlDataRecord&gt; which is provided to SQL as the value. If there are no products then “Null” is provided to SQL. SQL does not seem to like a value of “default” for Table Variable parameters.</p> <p>And that’s it, C# passes the collection of SqlDataRecords to SQL, which can then do as it pleases with the data it has without having to resort to XML. </p> <p>As mentioned this will only work on SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 R2 and the example was written using C#/.NET 3.5; however it could be easily ported to .NET 2.0 by removing the use of LINQ and replacing it with a foreach loop.</p><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/98.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/98.aspxStephen ElliottMon, 24 May 2010 15:51:08 GMT<p>There were riots at the door as people vied for seats at Web Applications’ prestigious UGS. Luckily no one was seriously injured during the stampede, except of course our humility. What an awesome response. Really though, we love the support our faithful clients showed us in their attendance - and if you happened to miss it, here’s the run-down of the seminar. Get ready for a long post.    </p> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/ca0c21fbdc85f6a1597417732d450607.ashx?hs=1"></script> <p><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/UGS2010BestOneYet_EC36/GEN%20-%20DSC_0091_2.jpg" class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'88ecd3d8'})" ><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Naomi Welcomes People" border="0" alt="Naomi Welcomes People" title="Naomi Welcomes People" align="right" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/UGS2010BestOneYet_EC36/GEN%20-%20DSC_0091_thumb.jpg" width="165" height="244" /></a>We had a great time at the User Group Seminar last week. In case you were unable to attend, here is a brief synopsis of what you missed. There were four presentations in addition to the Q &amp; A session which closed the seminar. The talks included (in chronological order) Craig Dean’s Introduction, Steve Morgan on Tr@veller Enhancements, Steve Elliott on Br-ease and Andrew Fryer from Microsoft discussed SQL Server 2008.</p> <p>Craig opened the seminar with a run-through of the Agenda, reminding everyone of all the great things we were demonstrating. He talked about the theme (and our theme tune) and how it was decided upon. He then presented the past, present and future of Web Applications UK; how we were working hard to: <b>Deliver </b>what our customers ask for; <b>Achieve</b> what we promise; and <b>Anticipate</b> future needs. Craig thanked our customers in their continuing faith in us, he illustrated some of our recent achievements and how we do everything we can to maintain our reputation as a capable customer focused business. There was a great demo of our new website which showcases our skills and products much better via the Mercury Registration System, cutting edge ASP.NET MVC (model view controller) framework, AJAX and jQuery (We’ve gone anagram mad!). We are implementing a whole new User Interface for core products making the most of our new in-house designer and, as always, continuing with our commitment to provide the best solutions to our customers.</p> <p><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/UGS2010BestOneYet_EC36/CD%20-%20DSC_0122_2.jpg" class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'88ecd3d8'})" ><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Craig tells everyone what&#39;s on the screen" border="0" alt="Craig tells everyone what&#39;s on the screen" title="Craig tells everyone what&#39;s on the screen" align="left" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/UGS2010BestOneYet_EC36/CD%20-%20DSC_0122_thumb.jpg" width="244" height="165" /></a>Craig announced the new Web Applications <b>363 program</b>, meaning the only days our office will be closed from now on are Christmas and New Year’s Day. The other 363 days a year our office will be open from 8am to 6pm, there is no additional charge for this service (meaning no increase in Licensing and Support fees) and our of hours support is still available for its fixed fee. What’s even better is this 7 day a week approach has already begun!</p> <p>Craig discussed the new things that are happening in our Systems Department. The Systems division is supporting Travel and Non-Travel’s IT infrastructure, managing key partnerships and creating new solutions. Web Applications UK counts Microsoft, Cisco, Dell, HP and Gateway as valued partners and we work to maintain these relationships whilst building upon them. We currently have two Microsoft Apprentices who are trained through QA in addition to our involvement in our local community as evidenced in our <a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/87/web-applications-uk-we-rsquo-re-famous.aspx">cameo</a> during GMTV on April 14. Web Applications is also working on finding new solutions to existing problems and are working to find a ‘Business in a Box’ solution to help support businesses.</p> <p><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/UGS2010BestOneYet_EC36/CD%20-%20DSC_0140_2.jpg" class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'88ecd3d8'})" ><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Video conferencing is fun" border="0" alt="Video conferencing is fun" title="Video conferencing is fun" align="right" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/UGS2010BestOneYet_EC36/CD%20-%20DSC_0140_thumb.jpg" width="244" height="165" /></a>Our upcoming news and events section was passed through very quickly because Craig was already a bit behind schedule (shocking I know). On June 15 two things are happening, Parkdean is hosting a Pro-Am Golf Tournament at the Belleisle course in Ayr to support Ayrshire hospice (we’ve previously mentioned this <a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/68/web_applications_sponsors_a_charity_golf_tournament.aspx">here</a>) and Web Applications will be participating in <a href="http://www.travolutionquestiontime.com/">Travolution’s Question Time</a>. We are sponsoring both events and hope both of these events garner a lot of support. In regards to Travolution’s Question Time we are not only a sponsor but Craig will be sitting on the panel to answer questions on the Communication Revolution that is happening across UK businesses. Also on the panel are representatives from Microsoft, Facebook, Cruise.co.uk and Lastminute.com, we’re pretty excited about this discussion because of our passion for Unified Communications which we displayed during the live video Craig had with Vivienne, Allan, Robin and Jeff during this introduction – more on Travolution’s Question Time to come. In terms of our commitment to the community, Web Applications UK is involved in a number of local club sports including <a href="http://www.duffa.org">DUFFA</a> Ultimate Frisbee, Inter Web F. C. (our sponsored football club, which incidentally won the Cup Final), we sit on the board for the IT Careers academy and offer a number of work placement and work experience opportunities for local members of the community who want to see what life in an IT company is like. We do our best not to put them off. To top it off we currently have our own Internal Squash club as well as an on-going Wii tournament which is in its final stages.</p> <p>Many of the things Craig talked about in this introduction will be described in <i>even more</i> detail in the weeks to come. I know it’s all very exciting, please try to stay calm and keep an eye out for updates.</p> <p><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/UGS2010BestOneYet_EC36/GEN%20-%20DSC_0092_2.jpg" class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'88ecd3d8'})" ><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="They came for the news, they stayed for the tea" border="0" alt="They came for the news, they stayed for the tea" title="They came for the news, they stayed for the tea" align="left" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/UGS2010BestOneYet_EC36/GEN%20-%20DSC_0092_thumb.jpg" width="244" height="165" /></a>After this was a quick tea and coffee break.</p> <p><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/UGS2010BestOneYet_EC36/SM%20-%20DSC_0205_2.jpg" class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'88ecd3d8'})" ><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Steve demonstrates things" border="0" alt="Steve demonstrates things" title="Steve demonstrates things" align="right" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/UGS2010BestOneYet_EC36/SM%20-%20DSC_0205_thumb.jpg" width="165" height="244" /></a>Next on the docket was Steve Morgan’s presentation on some new Tr@veller enhancements and an introduction to <a href="http://www.mercuryreservations.com/">Mercury</a>. Some of the new Tr@veller features discussed were the New Menu, Availability Grid improvements, Moving Bookings, New Integrations and its use of SQL 2008 R2. After quickly outlining what he was going to be talking about in regards to Tr@veller, Steve introduced Mercury, a light-weight, fully hosted version of Tr@veller.</p> <p>Mercury is a SaaS (Software as a Service) which means you only pay a transaction fee, other than that it is completely free. It will publish stock to market leading portals, there is a ‘Try before you buy’ process and will include community-led changes (giving YOU the power). Reports are created by a hosted version of Br-ease and will plug into the existing AcuWeb solution to provide a low cost website.</p> <p>Steve moved on to talk about the new Tr@veller menu. One of the additions includes side panels which will allow for designs that break out of the typical Tr@veller header/details design and will accommodate phone wizards, recent bookings and CSR guides and notes. Steve illustrated many of the additions through a series of demonstrations.</p> <p><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/UGS2010BestOneYet_EC36/SM%20-%20DSC_0198_2.jpg" class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'88ecd3d8'})" ><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Doesn&#39;t Steve look thrilled?" border="0" alt="Doesn&#39;t Steve look thrilled?" title="Doesn&#39;t Steve look thrilled?" align="left" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/UGS2010BestOneYet_EC36/SM%20-%20DSC_0198_thumb.jpg" width="244" height="165" /></a>The discussion turned to Babel and third party integrations, picking out a number of situations that are optimised by Babel, then Steve used an example of a Packaging System to illustrate his point. This was an example of a packaging system where stock is pulled from various third party sources in real-time; price is created from commission rules and supplier prices in real-time. In this case Tr@veller is used as a bookings repository and a stock provider.</p> <p>Steve provided tons of demonstrations to illustrate what he was discussing; watching little pictures move definitely saved the day.<a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/UGS2010BestOneYet_EC36/FILM%20-%20DSC_0267_2.jpg" class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'88ecd3d8'})" ><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Stick to the script!" border="0" alt="Stick to the script!" title="Stick to the script!" align="right" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/UGS2010BestOneYet_EC36/FILM%20-%20DSC_0267_thumb.jpg" width="244" height="165" /></a></p> <p>After Steve was finished we had lunch. Excellent food was provided by Albert’s Shed, though, I don’t think the Castlefield Rooms has an in-house Engineer. Craig’s table managed to spontaneously collapse on itself, giving everyone in the room a little chuckle. After lunch I tried to start cornering people talk to the camera for a minute, just stare into the lens…</p> <p>Steve Elliott was next in line and gave his talk on ‘The Wonder of Br-ease’.</p> <p>Br-ease is a completely new reporting engine that takes all the positives from Tr@veller and adds some great new features. It’s a modern platform that uses the latest Microsoft technologies and its modular design allows for lots of future growth.</p> <p>In addition to the wonder of Br-ease, there was also an element of the wonder of Steve. I have never seen anyone use a floating mouse like that in my life.</p> <p><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/UGS2010BestOneYet_EC36/SE%20-%20DSC_0235_2.jpg" class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'88ecd3d8'})" ><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Steve and his amazing floating mouse" border="0" alt="Steve and his amazing floating mouse" title="Steve and his amazing floating mouse" align="left" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/UGS2010BestOneYet_EC36/SE%20-%20DSC_0235_thumb.jpg" width="165" height="244" /></a>Br-ease reports are easy to use and configure; they combine reports from different sources to create intelligent reports. Deliverables ensure you can choose the right report for the right time. Deliverables are made up of one or more Detail Reports (Quick Reports or Reporting Services Reports), they support a wide range of delivery methods and are intelligent – meaning it will choose the best deliverable based on the circumstances.</p> <p>Reporting Services Reports (SSRS) are built into most versions of Microsoft SQL Server, individual reports can be imported into Br-ease as required, there are multiple rendering options (PDF, Excel, Word, HTML, etc.) and there is a wide range of support and documentation. Quick Reports are a new addition to Br-ease and are available in Br-ease version 2. Quick Reports are built with simplicity and ease of use in mind, and allow report authors to leverage existing data structures within the data source. Are you still with me? Good.</p> <p>Br-ease Standard Reports are great for sending reports to one recipient. They are good for MIS reports and use deliverables, but only one deliverable is sent when executed.</p> <p><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/UGS2010BestOneYet_EC36/SE%20-%20DSC_0227_2.jpg" class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'88ecd3d8'})" ><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Br-ease Architecture, you don&#39;t get graphs like this in Kansas" border="0" alt="Br-ease Architecture, you don&#39;t get graphs like this in Kansas" title="Br-ease Architecture, you don&#39;t get graphs like this in Kansas" align="right" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/UGS2010BestOneYet_EC36/SE%20-%20DSC_0227_thumb.jpg" width="244" height="165" /></a>Br-ease Batch Reports are extremely powerful. They can output multiple reports to different destinations. Deliverables are split into groups. A Selector Report chooses who gets which report, and then the first valid deliverable from each group is sent per Selector row. Valid deliverables are determined by Selector output and Data Protection information. Selector is not related to Skynet or the Decepticons, though it is a distant cousin to Number 5 in Short Circuit – we checked. </p> <p>There is a sophisticated security system within Br-ease that allows granular security controls, allowing for varying levels of user access. In the Schema Admin you can modify what database objects are available when authoring Quick Reports. The Schema Admin also provides huge flexibility for optimising Quick reports without having to delve into SQL Management Studio.</p> <p>Finally, Br-ease integrates seamlessly into Tr@veller and Mercury, and can also stand alone as a separate report engine, integrating into any SQL Server Database. There are many plans for Br-ease at Web Applications, and soon we hope to add even more functionality by enabling Cloud Printing Services. Best of all, Br-ease is free! Almost. The license for Br-ease is free, but there is an integration cost. Contact your Project Manager for more details.</p> <p>Last on the structured presentations was Microsoft’s Andrew Fryer, technical evangelist, discussion SQL Server 2008 R2 Reporting Services.</p> <p><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/UGS2010BestOneYet_EC36/PANEL%20-%20DSC_0313_2.jpg" class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'88ecd3d8'})" ><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="The Panel, Steve, Steve, Andrew and Craig" border="0" alt="The Panel, Steve, Steve, Andrew and Craig" title="The Panel, Steve, Steve, Andrew and Craig" align="left" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/UGS2010BestOneYet_EC36/PANEL%20-%20DSC_0313_thumb.jpg" width="244" height="165" /></a>Andrew focused on two new version of SQL Server, SQL Server 2008 R2 and SQL Azure. The focus of this discussion was the massive potential in SQL Server for optimising Business Intelligence and its massive power to deliver the <b>right information </b>at the <b>right time</b> and in the <b>right format.</b></p> <p>Andrew’s presentation had a lot of information in it. He addressed many of the current reporting challenges that businesses have to deal with, and then went through all the functionality of the new SQL Server to illustrate how much easier it is to use. He discussed author compelling reports and how to manage enterprise-wide workloads with its enterprise-scale platform, central deployment and strong manageability. You can also deliver personalised reports, which means these reports can be delivered to whatever location you choose, it includes interactive reports and can come in whatever format you want. I think it took a special sort of person to follow Andrew’s presentation, which is why this review is based on the slides from his talk which I happen to have squirreled away.<a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/UGS2010BestOneYet_EC36/PANEL%20-%20DSC_0317_2.jpg" class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'88ecd3d8'})" ><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Look at the Brochure!" border="0" alt="Look at the Brochure!" title="Look at the Brochure!" align="right" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/UGS2010BestOneYet_EC36/PANEL%20-%20DSC_0317_thumb.jpg" width="244" height="165" /></a></p> <p>Andrew demonstrated the power of Excel and PivotTables, looking at how quickly data can be analysed (lots of data). He also talked about the new location services, namely map analytics. His example was a pretty crazy one, dealing with how many birds collided with American planes, breaking down the data by breed of bird and US State the, er, unfortunate events happened in.</p> <p>After Andrew’s presentation was another quick break and then came Question Time. If you watch the video you’ll see me with a classic deer in headlights look on my face as I ferry the microphone around the room. The video for the seminar should be available sometime this week. Once again we’d like to thank everyone who participated in the event, and we’ll begin working soon to make next year’s even better.</p> <br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/96.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/96.aspxMelanie TownsendMon, 24 May 2010 11:01:00 GMT<div><script type="text/javascript" src="/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/ca0c21fbdc85f6a1597417732d450607.ashx?hs=1"></script> <p>Inter Web F. C. had a tough battle on Sunday. Great Rocks were the previous champions of the Les Pountley Cup and had been at the top of the League table for the majority of the season. With hopes high and determination set Inter Web dominated the match with a resounding 5 – 1 victory.</p> <p><a href="/community/blog/entryid/68/profile-of-the-week-darren-mitchinson.aspx">Darren</a> was kind enough to provide pictures from the match which gives us a slide show of how the game went. Let’s take a look.</p> <p><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'4e57bafc'})" href="/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/FortheWinInterWebF.C_9AB6/clip_image002_2.jpg"><img title="Team Photo" border="0" alt="Team Photo" width="244" height="165" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/FortheWinInterWebF.C_9AB6/clip_image002_thumb.jpg" /></a></p> <p>Sound the Horn!!! Pre-match expectations are sky-high.</p> <p><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'4e57bafc'})" href="/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/FortheWinInterWebF.C_9AB6/clip_image004_2.jpg"><img title="Ready...Set..." border="0" alt="Ready...Set..." width="244" height="165" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/FortheWinInterWebF.C_9AB6/clip_image004_thumb.jpg" /></a></p> <p>It doesn’t appear to be a very high speed match…everyone appears to be standing still.</p> <p><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'4e57bafc'})" href="/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/FortheWinInterWebF.C_9AB6/clip_image006_2.jpg"><img title="Run!" border="0" alt="Run!" width="244" height="165" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/FortheWinInterWebF.C_9AB6/clip_image006_thumb.jpg" /></a></p> <p>Oh! Look at that, movement!</p> <p><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'4e57bafc'})" href="/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/FortheWinInterWebF.C_9AB6/clip_image008_2.jpg"><img title="King of the Pitch" border="0" alt="King of the Pitch" width="244" height="165" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/FortheWinInterWebF.C_9AB6/clip_image008_thumb.jpg" /></a></p> <p>Darren obviously has no idea his picture is being taken, that’s his natural stance.</p> <p><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'4e57bafc'})" href="/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/FortheWinInterWebF.C_9AB6/clip_image010_2.jpg"><img title="Where is the Cup?" border="0" alt="Where is the Cup?" width="244" height="165" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/FortheWinInterWebF.C_9AB6/clip_image010_thumb.jpg" /></a></p> <p>Good game everyone, come in for an orange slice.</p> <p><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'4e57bafc'})" href="/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/FortheWinInterWebF.C_9AB6/clip_image012_2.jpg"><img title="Oh - There It Is" border="0" alt="Oh - There It Is" width="244" height="165" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/FortheWinInterWebF.C_9AB6/clip_image012_thumb.jpg" /></a></p> <p>No one is ever letting Darren hold the cup again.</p> <p>To find out more information visit the Buxton Taverners’ League <a href="http://www.leaguewebsite.co.uk/buxtontavernersleague/Home">Website</a>.</p> <div class="d_itc_f" style="height: 11px; clear: both"><script src="/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/m.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div></div><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/71.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/71.aspxMelanie TownsendTue, 18 May 2010 15:43:00 GMT<div><p><img alt="Bupa Great Manchester Run" align="left" width="175" height="263" src="/Portals/0/bupa_great_manchester_run.jpg" /></p> <p>On Sunday Steve ran 10k to support charity and on Monday he managed to catch enough breath to talk for 45 minutes on Br-ease.</p> <p>That’s right, our very own <a href="/community/blog/entryid/83/steve-elliott-escapes-the-squirrels.aspx">Steve Elliott</a> managed to complete his mini marathon in ten minutes <i>faster</i> than he had hoped and anticipated. As <a href="/community/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/69/hero_is_spelled_stephenelliott.aspx">previously stated</a>, Steve participated in Bupa’s Great Manchester Run on Sunday, May 16, in support of the <a href="http://www.cbf-uk.org/index.php">Children’s Burn Foundation</a>. We’re very proud of Steve and this particular achievement. Not only that, but through his and Claire’s fundraising, they managed to raise their target amount of money which will fully cover a week of camp in the Lake District for one special child.</p> <p>On a side note, Steve enjoyed this run so much that he might do more of them! There is another 10k run coming up in Leeds this July which Steve is considering running as well. Looks like Steve caught the Run bug.</p> <div class="d_itc_f" style="height: 11px; clear: both"><script src="/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/m.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div> <p>&#160;</p></div><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/70.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/70.aspxMelanie TownsendWed, 12 May 2010 11:24:35 GMT<p>Web Applications’ Darren Mitchinson will be going to the Buxton Cup Final this Sunday in a bid to win the Championship with his team, Inter Web.</p><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/ca0c21fbdc85f6a1597417732d450607.ashx?hs=1"></script> <p>&#160;<a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/68/profile-of-the-week-darren-mitchinson.aspx"><img title="Real Queen kit" border="0" hspace="5" alt="Real Queen kit" vspace="5" align="left" width="116" height="121" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/DarrensGoingForTheLesCup_ADF1/darren_thumb.jpg" />Darren</a>, formerly a Real Queen (see picture) is a key member of the team Inter Web, sponsored by Web Applications UK. This is Inter Web’s first year in the tournament and we are very proud of how well the team has performed. The Buxton League finished with Inter Web in third place, and now the top four teams will grapple to see who will ultimately come out on top for the Les Pountley Cup. So far they have won their first game 3-0 against Kinder Lodge which leaves them against Great Rocks for the final match.</p> <p>Inter Web has not had the smoothest ascent into this final. The team had a promising start but saw injuries derail the team’s hopes at an early stage around Christmas. Rallying together the team has seen a massive comeback to finish their year as a strong contender for ultimate glory. Darren, Inter Web’s star midfielder, has managed to avoid any more own goals giving his team a chance at victory and is hoping to finish his year in style. Considering their Goal Difference at the end of the league was -6, it’s pretty amazing they’re in the final at all.<a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'14a9db4f'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/DarrensGoingForTheLesCup_ADF1/inter%20web%20f%20c_2.jpg"><img title="Inter Web F. C." border="0" hspace="5" alt="Inter Web F. C." vspace="5" align="right" width="240" height="180" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/DarrensGoingForTheLesCup_ADF1/inter%20web%20f%20c_thumb.jpg" /></a></p> <p>The Buxton Taverners’ League is divided into divisions one and two, though division one seems to have a delusion of grandeur and calls itself the Premier League. Which is odd, I thought there was already a premier league out there somewhere…I guess it must be Chelsea and Tottenham who are just pretending. Yes, Web Application’s Darren is a Premier League footballer, words I’m sure he’ll cherish for years to come.</p> <p>Great Rocks are the current holders of the cup and have been the team to beat throughout the season. This is no longer just a contest of skill and perseverance, there are some pretty big egos on the line. The final will be played at the Silverlands Stadium in Buxton and Kick-off is at 2pm this upcoming Sunday May 16. We have it on a less than reliable source that tickets cost £2 payable to Darren on the pitch (in reality tickets don’t even exist, just show up to the stadium and find a seat – it’s free). Silverlands Stadium reportedly can hold up to 5000 supporters, personally I fear this might not be enough space for the Inter Web fanatics whom I’m sure will be lining up in droves to watch this historic game, but the organisers seem confident that this will be enough space so I suppose I’ll have to leave it to their better judgment.&#160;</p> <p>Good luck Darren and all the members of Inter Web F. C.</p><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/95.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/95.aspxMelanie TownsendTue, 11 May 2010 16:52:00 GMT<div><script type="text/javascript" src="/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/ca0c21fbdc85f6a1597417732d450607.ashx?hs=1"></script> <p>&#160;</p> <p><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'fb853568'})" href="/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/HeroIsSpelledStephenElliott_EC94/steve%20elliott%20hero_2.jpg"><img title="Our Hero" border="0" alt="Our Hero" align="left" width="180" height="240" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 5px 10px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/HeroIsSpelledStephenElliott_EC94/steve%20elliott%20hero_thumb.jpg" /></a>Steve will be racing in the Great Manchester Run to support the Children’s Burns Foundation, Charity Registration No. 1121682. Steve’s fiancée Claire is a sister in the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Burns Ward, which is the impetus for supporting this particular charity. Money raised from the event will go to help burn-injured children have a fun week away at a camp located in the Lake District. The camp is run purely on donations and fund raising by the charity so Claire and Steve are very excited to be a part of this great opportunity.</p> <p>Steve and Claire have been training for this 10k run since January and hope to complete the race in a respectable time. They will be racing in Pink so keep a look out for them in Manchester City Centre this Sunday; their start time is 12:20pm. More information on the Children’s Burns Foundation can be found <a href="http://www.cbf-uk.org/index.php">here</a>. If you would like to read Steve and Claire’s story and donate to help support them, their information can be found <a href="http://www.justgiving.com/claire-diamond">here</a>.</p> <p>Everyone here at Web Applications is pulling together to give Steve the confidence that he’s going to do amazingly well and exceed his expected finish time. At the moment Steve has only made it to 5k in practice runs but we’re sure he’ll be fine. Web Applications UK is a proud supporter of Steve and his cause. Go Steve!</p> <div class="d_itc_f" style="height: 11px; clear: both"><script src="/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/m.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div></div><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/69.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/69.aspxMelanie TownsendTue, 11 May 2010 12:32:00 GMT<div><p>Web Applications is very pleased to be sponsoring <a href="http://www.parkdeanltd.com/index.htm">Parkdean Holiday Parks’</a> Pro-Am charity golf tournament. We are very happy to be involved in this wonderful event, the proceeds of which will go towards the Ayrshire Hospice.</p> <p>The <a href="http://www.ayrshirehospice.org/">Ayrshire Hospice</a> is a wonderful charity that was established to improve the quality of life for people who are suffering from advanced or terminal illness and gives support for families and carers across Ayrshire.</p> <p>The setting for this Pro-Am charity tournament will be Belleisle Golf Course in Ayr and will be June 15, 2010. Those who have attended this event in previous years will be well acquainted with the Belleisle Golf Course as it has hosted this charity tournament in previous years. Three-man teams will play with a top Scottish Professional over one of Scotland’s most picturesque courses. The tournament will be closely followed by a presentation dinner.&#160; Find more information <a href="http://www.ayrshirehospice.org/fundraising-events-info.asp?id=32">here</a>.</p> <p>Web Applications UK is proud to be a sponsor of this charity golf tournament and we wish all the participants the best of luck!</p> <p><img alt="" vspace="10" align="absMiddle" width="100" height="35" src="/Portals/0/Web-Applications-Logo.gif" /><img alt="" width="113" height="64" src="/Portals/0/parkdean_logo2.gif" /></p> <div class="d_itc_f" style="height: 11px; clear: both"> <p>&#160;</p> </div> <p>&#160;</p></div><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/68.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/68.aspxMelanie TownsendMon, 10 May 2010 17:30:00 GMT<div><p><img alt="" align="left" width="113" height="160" src="/Portals/0/UGS2010.jpg" />Below is the agenda for the UGS. For the sake of making the agenda as accessible as possible these details can also be found in the events section of the website, but be warned it is exactly the same. As the agenda shows, we will have presentations from a Senior Engineer and a Project Manager, as well as the Keynote delivered by Chief Executive Craig Dean who will provide all the information you need on Web Applications and where we’re heading. The seminar will be held in the Castlefield Rooms, 18-20 Castle Street, Castlefield M3 4LZ on Monday, May 17^th 2010. Parking around Castlefield Rooms is limited so come early, but don’t fret if you miss out, there’s an NCP across the street.</p> <p>&#160;</p> <p>&#160;</p> <div><b><u>Schedule</u></b></div> <div>&#160;</div> <div>10.00am&#160;&#160; –&#160;&#160; 10.30am&#160; <b>Registration</b></div> <div><span>&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; Tea, coffee, bacon sandwiches and egg sandwiches will be available.</span></div> <div>&#160;</div> <div>10.30am&#160;&#160; –&#160;&#160; 11.30am&#160; <i>Don’t Stop Believin’ by Craig Dean, Chief Executive</i></div> <div><span>&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; Craig Dean will be giving the keynote speech which will delve into Web Applications UK’s past and future.&#160;He will be touching on what Web Applications has accomplished in the past year with an emphasis on responses to clients’ wishes and requests. &#160;Craig will also be revealing an exciting new initiative and taking a look at some of things you can expect in the coming year. </span></div> <div>&#160;</div> <div>11.30am&#160;&#160; –&#160;&#160; 11.45pm&#160; <b>Break </b></div> <div>&#160;</div> <div>11.45am&#160;&#160; –&#160;&#160; 12.45pm&#160; <i>Tr@veller enhancements and an introduction to Mercury by</i> <i>Steve Morgan, Project Manager</i></div> <div><i><span>&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; </span></i>Steve Morgan will be giving a presentation of the latest future-proofing enhancements to Tr@veller including the new framework and menu system which utilises the latest ASP.Net MVC and jQuery technologies.&#160;Steve will also focus on some of the new features added to Tr@veller in the last year.</div> <div>&#160;</div> <div>12.45pm&#160;&#160; –&#160;&#160; 1.45pm&#160;&#160;&#160; <b>Lunch </b></div> <div>&#160;</div> <div>1.45pm&#160;&#160; –&#160;&#160; 2.30pm&#160;&#160;&#160; <i>The Wonder of Br-ease by Stephen Elliott, Senior Engineer</i></div> <div><i><span>&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; </span></i>Stephen Elliott, a Senior Engineer and lead architect of Br-ease, will be giving a presentation on the new Batch Reporting System.&#160;Steve will be highlighting the key features of this exciting new product whilst demonstrating its power and flexibility.</div> <div>&#160;</div> <div>&#160;2:30pm <span>&#160;&#160;– &#160;&#160;2:45pm&#160;&#160;&#160;<b>Break</b></span></div> <div>&#160;</div> <div>&#160;2.45pm&#160;&#160; –&#160;&#160; 3.30pm&#160;&#160;&#160; <i>SQL 2008 Reporting Services</i> <i>by Andrew Fryer, IT Pro Evangelist</i><b>&#160;</b></div> <div><b><span>&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; </span></b>Andrew Fryer will be our Microsoft Representative for the afternoon.&#160;As an IT Pro Evangelist he is passionate about SQL 2008 Reporting Services and Business Intelligence; his presentation will ensure you harness the full potential of these products.</div> <div>&#160;</div> <div>&#160; 3.30pm&#160;&#160; –&#160;&#160; 3.45pm&#160;&#160;&#160; <b>Break </b></div> <div>&#160;</div> <div>&#160; 3.45pm&#160;&#160; –&#160;&#160; 4.30pm&#160;&#160;&#160; <i>Question Time chaired by Craig Dean</i></div> <div><i><span>&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; </span></i>As always the day will end with the opportunity for our customers to ask questions about everything they’ve heard throughout the day.&#160;The Q&amp;A session also provides an excellent forum for networking with the Web Applications’ customers in attendance and helps us understand our clients’ priorities.</div> <div>&#160;</div> <div>4.30pm&#160;&#160; –&#160;&#160; 4.45pm&#160;&#160;&#160; <b>Finish</b></div> <p>We can’t wait to see everyone there and are anticipating a very informative and entertaining User Group Seminar. Don’t Stop Believin’!</p> <div class="d_itc_f" style="height: 11px; clear: both"><script src="/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/m.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div></div><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/67.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/67.aspxMelanie TownsendFri, 07 May 2010 17:40:00 GMT<div><p><img hspace="5" align="right" width="300" height="54" alt="" src="/Portals/0/ms_aer1.gif" />Web Applications once again made the grade to be an Authorized Education Reseller for <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/">Microsoft</a> products. What does this mean? The AER program allows Web Applications to sell Microsoft products at discounted prices to qualified educational users. This certification only lasts a year at which point it must be renewed and the qualification criterion must be satisfied. We told you about our certification <a href="/community/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/27.aspx">last year</a>, and we’ve done it again.</p> <p>In order to be considered for certification Web Applications had to pass a Microsoft online testing module and already be part of the Microsoft Partner Network in addition to a few other qualifications. If you would like more information about this certification, contact us at <a href="mailto:info@WebApplicationsUK.com">info@WebApplicationsUK.com</a>.</p> <p>You can also find out more information on this program from <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/">Microsoft</a>&#160;<a href="https://aer.microsoft.com/aer/default.aspx">here</a></p> <div class="d_itc_f" style="height: 11px; clear: both"><script src="/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/m.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div> <p>&#160;</p></div><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/66.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/66.aspxMelanie TownsendThu, 29 Apr 2010 17:27:00 GMT<div><p>Web Applications has converted its Media Room into a separate Server Room to house our new DMP 2010, located on the other side of the building from the main server room. This new server is a keystone solution in the Web Applications Disaster Recover Strategy and will ensure continuity of service to our customers in the event of a catastrophe.</p> <p>This new server is the <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/systemcenter/en/us/data-protection-manager/dpm-2010-overview.aspx">Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager 2010</a> (DPM 2010), the latest in data protection technology. The server is hot off the presses from Microsoft and will constitute an upgrade from our previous version, the DPM 2007. What we are running at the moment is the Release Candidate until the Release to Manufactures (RTM) is available at the end of May, at which point we will migrate over. One of the key improvements of DPM 2010 is the Bare Metal recovery it provides. This means that if something happens to the regular servers, you can go to your local computer store, pick up another server, connect it to your network and restore all your data. In this way you have the infrastructure to rebuild your entire pool of data without losing anything.<img hspace="5" alt="DPM 2010" vspace="5" align="right" width="200" height="267" src="/Portals/0/server.jpg" /></p> <p>DPM 2010 also allows users to recover data with extreme ease and protects against accidental data deletion. If a user changes or deletes a file, the DPM 2010 can restore that file if this was done in the last five days. Even more, since the DPM 2010 performs a back-up three times a day; if a user changes something in the morning and has a change of heart in the afternoon, they can easily restore the specific previous version from earlier in the day.</p> <p>Our DPM 2010 has its own room in the front section of the office. The reason this server is in its own room (along with some air conditioning) is to provide extra protection. The DPM 2010 backs-up all the data from the other servers, so if something happens to them we are fully capable of providing continuity of service to our customers which is of paramount importance to us. The Server Room is, in a way, a hazard proof vault, consisting of fire proof walls and door so that if some sort of disaster occurs and there is a fire that destroys our main servers (located in the back of the office), the DPM 2010 is on the other side of the building and completely insulated against the hazard. There are fire proof doors and a firewall that separate the entire front section of the office from the back section which would provide ample time for the fire brigade to come to the rescue if a fire ever starts in the building. As you can see the server has its own (very tall) server rack which provides room for expansion. Within the server are 12, two terabyte disks ensuring plenty of space. The DPM 2010 does not need much power to operate, but still has three separate power sources in addition to a back-up battery.</p> <p>Web Applications takes disaster recovery and data protection very seriously and we strive to do everything in our power to guard against unforeseen circumstances. In addition to being a Microsoft reseller (meaning you can purchase your own DPM 2010 through us) Web Applications UK offers consultancy services to assess the needs of businesses of any size. If you would like to know more about disaster recovery or have any other technical queries, make sure to get in touch either over the phone at +44 161 682 6565 or by emailing us at <a href="mailto:info@WebApplicationsUK.com">info@WebApplicationsUK.com</a> and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Data loss is devastating, and in many cases, highly preventable; protect yourself and your data by taking the time to make sure your business has a disaster recovery infrastructure, it’s worth it.</p> <div class="d_itc_f" style="height: 11px; clear: both"><script src="/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/m.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div></div><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/65.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/65.aspxMelanie TownsendThu, 29 Apr 2010 14:17:24 GMT<p>There are two significant changes that will be taking place in the forthcoming redesign of the Web Applications UK Website which are near and dear to my heart. These changes are the subject of much office discussion - and just because I’m talking to myself, don’t assume it’s not a conversation worth having. For one, pictures of current Web Applications employees will grace many of the pages. The second? The death of the interactive user surveys.</p><p>Whilst we are sure everyone would love having our smiling faces at the top of various Web Applications’ webpages, that’s not quite the way it’s going to play out. There will be some general office photos featured in the pages’ top panels which will be taken on premises and with Web Applications’ staff, but these photos are not expected to include any close-ups of our faces (collective sigh of relief). However! There will be a smattering of our lovely smiling faces (with name, rank and serial number) on an assortment of pages throughout the website. It will be great to have that extra connection with our partners and customers so that they can put faces to names, and know exactly who we are as a company. It can be difficult finding ways to personalise the tech industry sometimes, but we’re certainly making a go of it and doing all we can.</p> <p>It’s not really the addition of the pictures that has piqued my interest - it’s the imminent death of our polls (well...poll). Any situation where our customers get to directly interact with us is a good thing, and surveys are a great way for you to tell us what you want, what your company is like, etc. Now, I understand that our current survey situation is in need of updating, but what better time to enact change than during the redesign of the Website! Now, perhaps I’ve been remiss in my duties in regards to the current poll, but I feel it’s my obligation to inform our valued readers that the survey is in danger of not finding a place in the redesigned website. There is a general consensus that the polls are widely, well, ignored. I’ve seen the numbers, and while the nays have a case, this doesn’t have to be the end. I know the poor survey section has been neglected, but it shouldn’t have to die.</p> <p>Ladies and gentlemen of the Web Applications community, only you can save the survey. Participate in the survey below to show your support, if there aren’t enough ‘Yes’ votes then we’ll let the survey silently slip away to a better place, where it can sleep peacefully forever. If lots of people click ‘no’ I’ll count it as a strike against the survey while basking in the irony of your participation. If you do end up with a reignited faith in the value of the poll (and my ability to maintain it) then I will diligently campaign for it to be included in the new website redesign. So, do you think the polls are worthwhile? You decide.</p> <script language="JavaScript" src="http://www.micropoll.com/akira/MicroPoll?id=250341"></script><noscript><div><a href="http://www.micropoll.com/akira/mpview/899332-250341">Click Here for Poll</a><a href="http://www.questionpro.com" title="online survey">Online Survey</a><BR><a href="http://www.surveyanalytics.com/enterprise-feedback-management.html" title="Enterprise Feedback Management">Enterprise Feedback Management</a><BR> | <a href="http://www.micropoll.com" title="Polls">Polls</a><BR> | <a href="http://www.contactpro.com" title="email marketing">Email Marketing</a><BR><BR> | <a href="http://www.ideascale.com/" title="crowdsourcing software">Crowdsourcing Software</a><BR><a href="http://www.micropoll.com/akira/MicroPoll?mode=html&id=250341">View MicroPoll</A></div></noscript><!-- END MICROPOLL JAVASCRIPT CODE --><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/94.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/94.aspxMelanie TownsendMon, 26 Apr 2010 16:51:04 GMT<p>The User Group Seminar is coming up quickly and you only have two weeks left to confirm your attendance.</p> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/ca0c21fbdc85f6a1597417732d450607.ashx?hs=1"></script> <p>The User Group Seminar this year is going to be phenomenal. Personally, this will be my first UGS which makes me extremely excited and curious to see what is going to happen. Fortunately for me, I get a little insider knowledge, and let me tell you, it’s going to be great.</p> <p><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/TwoweekslefttoRSVPfortheUGS_FA71/UGS2010_2.jpg" class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'d40fc3d2'})" ><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="UGS2010" border="0" alt="UGS2010" title="UGS2010" align="left" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/TwoweekslefttoRSVPfortheUGS_FA71/UGS2010_thumb.jpg" width="174" height="244" /></a>First off, does it get much nicer than the <a href="http://www.thecastlefieldrooms.com/">Castlefield Rooms</a>? I think not. I was given the opportunity to have a look around the venue a little while ago and I think I’m looking forward to <a href="http://www.albertsshed.com/">Albert’s Shed</a>’s food almost as much as anything else. It’s going to be delicious.</p> <p>Next, we have a ton of great announcements to make. This has been a very ambitious year for Web Applications UK and we’ve seen a lot of growth. We’re going to be announcing some pretty big things and explaining our presentations in great detail, so it’s truly worth it to be in attendance, you’re not going to want to miss it. We have demonstrations prepared and a ton of new ideas bouncing around that we can’t wait to channel towards you, our clients and partners. These announcements, well, they’re huge, optimistic, and you really don’t want to miss out on the first-hand experience. I can’t give away any more than that.</p> <p>We have a great speaker from <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/en/gb/default.aspx">Microsoft</a> coming. Now, if SQL and BI don’t immediately sound enthralling, just wait until you hear what they are going to do for your business and you’ll be hooked. Just remember a good public speaker can make anything interesting, and we’ve bagged a great one. Andrew Fryer has been known to talk about a range of subjects and part of his job is doing these kinds of presentations. Microsoft doesn’t let just anybody represent them - so you know Fryer is going to be good. If you need any more convincing just check out his <a href="http://blogs.technet.com/andrew/">blog</a>, it will blow you away.</p> <p>This is your opportunity to ask us questions directly. User Group Seminars are designed to foster discussion and interaction; we want your feedback and your questions. This is a specially created opportunity to let you tell us what you like and what we could improve.</p> <p>Please let us know if you wish to attend within the next two weeks, the last day we will be accepting RSVPs will be Friday, May 7. If you would like some more information, don’t hesitate to email us at <a href="mailto:info@WebApplicationsUK.com">info@WebApplicationsUK.com</a> and we’ll get back to you as quickly as we can. The Seminar will be held on May 17, 2010. Don’t forget lots of information can be found in our <a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Community/Events/tabid/88/ctl/Details/Mid/449/ItemID/10/Default.aspx?ContainerSrc=%5bG%5dContainers/_default/No+Container&amp;SkinSrc=%5bG%5dSkins/Community/Horizontal-Tabbed">Events</a> section. Hope to see you there! </p> <br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/93.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/93.aspxMelanie TownsendMon, 26 Apr 2010 16:17:17 GMT<p>Nick is one of the new recruits at Web Applications and the first recent addition to be profiled. As our Sales Manager Nick is our designated ‘people person’ and we love him dearly for it. Nick has two jobs really, one is Sales Manager, and the other is battling the sands of time. At both he is remarkably successful.</p><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/ca0c21fbdc85f6a1597417732d450607.ashx?hs=1"></script> <p>&#160;</p> <p>Nick started working at Web Applications in the middle of January, straight off the back of a holiday in Thailand to visit his son on a world trip. As our Sales Manager his main responsibilities consist <a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'2848c9d5'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/NickDrivesServesandSlices_F284/squash_2.jpg"><img title="Nick the Squash Player" border="0" alt="Nick the Squash Player" align="right" width="122" height="84" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 5px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/NickDrivesServesandSlices_F284/squash_thumb.jpg" /></a>of seeking out new opportunities and processing which opportunities are viable and which are less feasible. Aside from that he spends a lot of his time going to conferences, promoting the company, making company brochures: such as a corporate brochure and specific product brochures, and exercising, lots of exercising.</p> <p>Though Nick has been in Sales since he left University (sometime in the 70s I suspect) where he received a degree in Finance, and is relatively new<b> </b>to the Travel industry. “New” is a relative term, to me a decade sounds like a long time, to Nick it probably doesn’t seem quite as long. One of the things Nick has noticed about Travel is that it’s an interesting industry, and once you’re in, you’ll never leave it. Wise words from a well travelled man.</p> <p><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'2848c9d5'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/NickDrivesServesandSlices_F284/bat1_2.jpg"><img title="No Battlestar Here" border="0" alt="No Battlestar Here" align="left" width="170" height="139" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/NickDrivesServesandSlices_F284/bat1_thumb.jpg" /></a>Nick has found his new home at Web Applications a bit strange, in a good way I think. I don’t think we are quite what he expected. Web Applications prides itself on its technical knowledge and expertise. Somehow when joining the technology provider, Nick didn’t expect everyone to be quite so <i>geeky</i>. It’s not you, Nick, they only start talking about Battlestar Galactica when they see you coming.</p> <p>I said Nick exercised a lot, well, it’s kind of impossible to talk about Nick without mentioning sports. I guess when you’re addicted to sports; you get into a routine where you’ll do almost anything to get the full experience. This includes occasionally driving from Manchester down to Plymouth to watch Plymouth Argyll matches; that ladies and gentlemen is a 600 mile round trip. It is also what I call dedication.</p> <p>Nick is a bit of an Athletics freak, though it’s more than watching sport, he actively participates almost every day. Rarely does a day go by that he doesn’t go to the gym. He plays football twice a week, he plays tennis, golf and is currently pre-emptively listed at the top of the upcoming company Squash league. It seems he has the corner on ‘gentlemen’s sports’. This is all quite impressive for a man who saw the Sex Pistols live in concert...in 1978.<a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'2848c9d5'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/NickDrivesServesandSlices_F284/kylie_2.jpg"><img title="Kylie" border="0" alt="Kylie" align="right" width="124" height="124" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 5px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/NickDrivesServesandSlices_F284/kylie_thumb.jpg" /></a></p> <p>Nick gives the impression that he enjoys the finer things in life, as well as some things that are decidedly less refined, like James (I’m talking about the band). Nick recently purchased tickets to go see James in concert when they come to Manchester in December. When I say recently I mean it. According to the James Website, those tickets only went on sale this morning. I am beginning to see that Nick does nothing by halves.</p> <p>There’s a list Nick has compiled of 50 things to do before he dies. His top thing to do is Kylie Minogue. I haven’t a clue as to what else is on the list; I thought it best to nip that line of conversation in the bud. Also, in line with the finer things in life, Nick likes his fashions. This is a shame since we have Web Applications uniform shirts. Looking at the bright side, it’s very easy to accessorise with black.&#160;&#160;</p><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/92.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/92.aspxMelanie TownsendWed, 21 Apr 2010 14:36:07 GMT<p>Andrew Fryer is the Microsoft representative who is going to be gracing us with his presence and presentation at the User Group Seminar May 17^th. With the User Group Seminar less than a month away, we decided it was time to let you know a little about our guest presenter. He has been with Microsoft for a number of years and specialises in Business Intelligence as well as other topics, like remote desk-topping (<i>sic</i>), web virtualisation, and the topic du jour, SQL Server 2008.</p> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/ca0c21fbdc85f6a1597417732d450607.ashx?hs=1"></script> <p></p> <p><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/AndrewFryerTechnicalEvangelist_DA73/podium_2.jpg" class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'9b0e6ba7'})" ><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 0px 10px 5px 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Speaker&#39;s Podium" border="0" alt="Speaker&#39;s Podium" title="Speaker&#39;s Podium" align="left" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/AndrewFryerTechnicalEvangelist_DA73/podium_thumb.jpg" width="175" height="131" /></a>Yes, Mr. Fryer from <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/en/gb/default.aspx">Microsoft</a> is going to be speaking at our seminar on his favourite topic, <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/bi/">Business Intelligence</a>, and <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/uk/sql/default.mspx">SQL 2008 Reporting Services</a> (SSRS). His job will be to educate the masses (the attendees) on the ease of using reporting services, and how to get the best results from it. In case you’re unsure how this relates to Web Applications, Br-ease, our new Batch Reporting System, can use SSRS when creating Detail Reports (A full explanation of Br-ease is coming to theatres soon.)</p> <p>Some of you may be thinking, ‘Who is this mystery man coming from Microsoft?’ Well, instead of sitting there reading what I write about him, you can look him up for yourself by reading his <a href="http://blogs.technet.com/andrew/default.aspx">blog</a>. I’ve spent some time on this blog, and it really is quite interesting, especially his videos. Personally, I recommend <a href="http://www.powerpivot.com/">PowerPivot</a> cookery, a video you can find by looking at his January posts. There is also an interview that has been posted with him talking to a colleague about what <a name="_GoBack"></a>he does at Microsoft which I found very informative. Don’t be intimidated by these videos, the longest of them (that I found) is only about five minutes, ideal for a quick introduction to his speaking style.</p> <p>I’m very excited about Andrew, he comes across as an exceptionally dynamic speaker, and I think if anyone could make SSRS interesting, it’s definitely him. The UGS is in less than a month now and Web Applications is gearing up to make it the best seminar yet. Menu choices have been sent out so make sure to reply with your preferred dishes. If you’d like to attend but still haven’t contacted us, make sure to get on that pronto because time is definitely running out. See you all there! </p> <br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/90.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/90.aspxMelanie TownsendMon, 19 Apr 2010 12:37:00 GMT<div><script type="text/javascript" src="/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/ca0c21fbdc85f6a1597417732d450607.ashx?hs=1"></script> <p>&#160;<a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'26615ed3'})" href="/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/Acumen9UsersGetNewEnhancements_B091/AcumenLogo_hi_4.gif"><img title="Acumen" border="0" alt="Acumen" align="left" width="59" height="64" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 5px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/Acumen9UsersGetNewEnhancements_B091/AcumenLogo_hi_thumb_1.gif" /></a> There have been a number of enhancements made to the Acumen 9 system which were released this past week. These enhancements can be found in a range of additional features throughout the system, from general enhancements to Booking Details Screen, Customer Details Screen, Unit Details Screen, Owner Details and Availability. When all the new enhancements were added-up there were just too many to go into detail, so please excuse the abridged version.</p> <p>Some of the General enhancements for Acumen 9 include making the display of the background image and background logo on the main screen user-configurable (are able to be turned on or off), adding new user configuration options like ‘Cancel Brochure Requests for New Bookings’ and ‘Prompt for Bed Make-Up When Booking’ and little things, like making it so the system will offset screens to ensure one screen does not completely hide another.</p> <p>The Booking Details Screen has been given a load of additional functionality. Some of the new enhancements include newly displayed buttons, for instance shortcuts that were previously only available through F-Key assignments, or a ‘Modify Deposit Info’ button which users can click to edit deposit information for the booking. The system will also now warn users when transferring bookings from a unit that allows pets to one that doesn’t. In addition to this, the booking screen has been given the added functionality of an auto-centre feature which allows users to configure the form to be automatically centred in the main form when initially displayed. This last feature is available through the right-click form menu.</p> <p>The Customer Details Screen has added a couple things that are sure to make life easier for the user. First off, the system will now allow searching for customers by their email address and postcodes can be resolved on demand. The system will now ignore ‘Mc’ and ‘Mac’ in customer surnames when generating new customer references. And, like with the Booking Details Screen, the Customer Details Screen can also be configured to be automatically centred when initially displayed.</p> <p>The Owner Details Screen has been revised to make owner data more readily accessible through the page frame tabs, and has been enhanced with the same auto-centre feature as the Booking Details Screen and Customer Details Screen. The Unit Details Screen has been given the same added accessibility.</p> <p>Lastly, Availability – the system now mitigates the impact of extraneous TAB characters when performing a standard availability search and accepts the ‘PgDn’ key as a shortcut to immediately execute the availability search from any availability input text box.</p> <p>In addition to all of these new enhancements, several other little changes have been made to improve the entire Acumen 9 user experience. Web Applications UK works towards the continual improvement of all of our products and offerings, as always we take pride in putting our customers first.<a name="_GoBack"></a></p> <div class="d_itc_f" style="height: 11px; clear: both"><script src="/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/m.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div></div><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/64.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/64.aspxMelanie TownsendFri, 16 Apr 2010 16:54:38 GMT<p>Once Shaun starts talking, it really doesn’t stop.</p> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/ca0c21fbdc85f6a1597417732d450607.ashx?hs=1"></script> <p>Shaun is a Senior Engineer here at Web Applications. He has been with the company since May 2006, which puts him at nearly four years. As a Senior Engineer he spends the vast majority of his time on new and bespoke developments, working with most of Web Applications’ various products and offerings. I wonder sometimes what the difference is between a senior engineer and software engineer, so I asked Shaun. His answer? Senior engineers are <i>harder</i>. Awesome, that’s all cleared up for me. But really, senior engineers look after the software engineers, they check their work, make sure they’re doing okay, and get final say on technical issues. If the senior engineer isn’t happy with something, it’s not getting released. The relationship between a software and senior engineer is a beautiful thing, full of encouragement and gentle correction, steering the software engineer towards professional improvement. Shaun’s on <a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/84/8-out-of-10-cats-agree-cheryl-is-a-good-owner.aspx">Cheryl</a>’s team, who we know and love.</p> <p>Sometimes Shaun tries to export his helpfulness to other areas as well. Shaun is very useful pointing out any mistakes I make (Full Disclosure: There is a chance I’m not prefect) in fact, it’s almost like his second job, not that I mind, I welcome Shaun’s comments and encourage him to continue his constructive criticism. I only wish I could return the favour. Shaun’s kindness doesn’t stop there, he reportedly encouraged a colleague to join a five a side football team. This colleague, blissfully unaware of his surrounding area, managed to drive his head into another player’s abdomen. Shaun, far from angry, applauded the participation of his colleague and thanked him for providing copious amounts of personal amusement.<a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/ShauntheSheepisnoRelation_FAB9/clip_image002_2.jpg" class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'0c998c81'})" ><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 5px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="That&#39;s Gotta Hurt" border="0" hspace="12" alt="That&#39;s Gotta Hurt" title="That&#39;s Gotta Hurt" align="right" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/ShauntheSheepisnoRelation_FAB9/clip_image002_thumb.jpg" width="142" height="95" /></a>&#160; In addition to his helpful personality, Shaun has an excellent memory. He can even remember exactly which brand of beer was on tap at various events he has participated in over the years. Very impressive.</p> <p>Shaun enjoys his sport. He continues to play five a side football weekly near Huddersfield, though the amount of free time he has to watch his local football team, Oldham Athletics, has been limited now that he’s a father. When the weather is nice Shaun likes to bike ride into work since the new office location is very close to his home. In fact, our new offices are one of Shaun’s favourite things about working here. While riding his bike was originally supposed to save him money, it has ended up being more expensive than driving due to the amount of kit and equipment required. Sorry Shaun, no one forced you to mount turbo boosters on the back of the bike, and yes, push bikes have to abide by road laws. Shaun has lived in Oldham all his life and is without a doubt a ‘real person’ (subtext found <a href="http://tinyurl.com/yynjje2">here</a>). In fact, his crippling fear of sheep has ensured he has never travelled outside the town limits.</p> <p><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/ShauntheSheepisnoRelation_FAB9/nemo_2.jpg" class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'0c998c81'})" ><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 5px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="nemo" border="0" alt="nemo" title="nemo" align="left" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/ShauntheSheepisnoRelation_FAB9/nemo_thumb.jpg" width="124" height="94" /></a>Now, Shaun has at least one thing in common with his Project Manager, he has pets. Well, he had pets. In the recent weeks Shaun has tried to raise a variety of goldfish. Sadly, none of them have lived to tell their story. Walter and Walter 2 lived with Shaun and his family for a few weeks before succumbing to a mysterious illness. Sadly, Benny and Dude, the next two goldfish, managed to survive for an even shorter amount of time. Shaun has informed us that he will suspend acquiring any more fish in the near future for fear of an investigation by the RSPCA; I think this is a wise move.</p> <p><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/ShauntheSheepisnoRelation_FAB9/clip_image005_2.gif" class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'0c998c81'})" ><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 5px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="The Washing Machine Revolts" border="0" hspace="12" alt="The Washing Machine Revolts" title="The Washing Machine Revolts" align="right" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/ShauntheSheepisnoRelation_FAB9/clip_image005_thumb.gif" width="108" height="108" /></a>Apart from being a would-be pet owner, Shaun recently moved house and has been busy trying to decorate it. I think his kitchen is a member of PETA. The appliances have formed an alliance against Shaun, and are slowly mounting an offensive attack in a clear retaliation for the death of his fish. Three of his five major kitchen appliances have been on the fritz, including his washing machine, oven and freezer. There is a silver lining to his broken washing machine at least, when attempting to do a wash his family is treated to the R2D2 dance it performs around the kitchen. I find it funny, but that machine goes too far when it adds bleach to itself while chanting ‘Help me bleach, you’re our only hope.’ This would be less upsetting if the machine was not new, and all three appliances broke within their first two weeks of use. The freezer has now broken twice. Shaun is looking into the government body that oversees Appliance Conspiracy. </p> <p>I will let the readers judge Shaun’s choice of entertainment for themselves. He has begun watching House, borrowing the box sets from co-workers. So far he’s finished season one and has begun season two. Just a hint Shaun, the patients always lie. One of his favourite movies is ‘The Gift’, a thriller with taglines like ‘The only witness to the crime wasn’t even there’ and ‘It was the perfect crime...except someone saw it all.’ You’ll find that Shaun’s favourite actress, Katie Holmes, is one of the film’s stars. He names ‘The Matrix’ as his favourite movie but I’m pretty sure that’s for appearances only.</p> <p>In closing, Shaun is definitely an interesting character. He has an excellent sense of humour, especially when talking about himself, and completely lacks self-censorship. Whether you laugh with him or at him, Shaun takes the prize for life of the party.</p> <br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/89.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/89.aspxMelanie TownsendThu, 15 Apr 2010 16:31:00 GMT<p>Missed any of GMTV’s program on April 14, 2010? You know, the one that had segments filmed at Web Applications.&#160;Well, lucky for you, we’ve provided clips.&#160;Videos to follow.</p><p>Enjoy!</p> <p>Clip One</p> <p>&#160;</p> <object height="344" width="425"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NEnEoH9x6fs&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" /> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed height="344" width="425" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NEnEoH9x6fs&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1"></embed></object> <p>&#160;</p> <p>Clip Two</p> <p>&#160;</p> <object height="344" width="425"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9TqzGGftvmM&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" /> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed height="344" width="425" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9TqzGGftvmM&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1"></embed></object> <p>&#160;</p> <p>Clip Three</p> <p>&#160;</p> <object height="344" width="425"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/SZWDGpcxMtQ&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" /> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed height="344" width="425" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/SZWDGpcxMtQ&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1"></embed></object><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/88.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/88.aspxMelanie TownsendWed, 14 Apr 2010 12:30:18 GMT<p>It’s 6 am. Normally at this time I would be fast asleep but today I’ve already been in the office for twenty minutes. Why? The #^@* election.&#160; UPDATE we've added the video.</p><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/ca0c21fbdc85f6a1597417732d450607.ashx?hs=1"></script> <p><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'19a58848'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/WebApplicationsUKWereFAMOUS_BDE6/crew%202_2.jpg"><img title="The whole crew, look at him holding the camera" hspace="5" alt="The whole crew, look at him holding the camera" vspace="5" align="left" width="244" height="184" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/WebApplicationsUKWereFAMOUS_BDE6/crew%202_thumb.jpg" /></a>Election time for me is always a strange mix of&#160; excitement with a healthy dose of mild dissatisfaction, but today things got a lot more personal. Web Applications was the backdrop for a GMTV segment on Nick Clegg visiting Oldham and his message to ‘real people’. Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, announces his party’s Manifesto in London at 9:30 this morning, then hops on a plane and re-delivers his plans at the local Asda to talk about his proposed benefits to ‘real people’. While I’m a conscientious objector to the term ‘real people’ (implying what? Some people aren’t real?) I can’t fault Mr. Clegg for it, he certainly didn’t coin the phrase and it’s hardly a distinguishing feature between the major parties, so I’ll cut him a little slack - it is election time after all. I do have to give it to you Mr. Clegg, my morning just got massively more interesting.</p> <p>The crew of GMTV are very nice and polite and somehow in my early morning coma I’ve managed to rustle up a slew of teas and coffees to accommodate our guests. The best part of the morning is the attempt to genuinely look busy while entranced with the broadcast. The crew has been filming 15 second clips every half hour to an hour, providing great entertainment for those of us who made it into the shot du<a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'19a58848'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/WebApplicationsUKWereFAMOUS_BDE6/gmtv%203_2.jpg"><img title="Still holding the camera, quick! blur out the windows!" border="0" hspace="5" alt="Still holding the camera, quick! blur out the windows!" vspace="5" align="right" width="244" height="184" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/WebApplicationsUKWereFAMOUS_BDE6/gmtv%203_thumb.jpg" /></a>ring the roulette of the camera angle. Camera shy in the extreme, until the crew leaves I think I’m going to remain pretty high strung.</p> <p>It was a good morning for Web Applications. Richard Gaisford described us as an ‘IT company that’s going places’. Thank you Mr. Gaisford, yes we are. The morning ran smoothly though it was not without a few little hiccups, there was a soon to be infamous predicament concerning our windows. Okay look, our windows are scheduled to be cleaned next week, half of the office windows (the prominent half) face the road, and it’s windy and dusty outside. Unfortunately we didn’t have quite enough warning to pre-empt a window cleaning before the crew arrived this morning and so our windows were (admittedly) mildly smudged. We’re sorry, okay? Our poor windows may have become the joke of the day, but by golly they do their best.</p> <p><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'19a58848'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/WebApplicationsUKWereFAMOUS_BDE6/gmtv%204_2.jpg"><img title="Camera still in the air!" border="0" hspace="5" alt="Camera still in the air!" vspace="5" align="left" width="244" height="184" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/WebApplicationsUKWereFAMOUS_BDE6/gmtv%204_thumb.jpg" /></a>More on the topic of the program, GMTV saw fit to film the segment in our humble abode because we were the type of people who might be positively affected by some of the plans that Nick Clegg is going to announce concerning child care, taxes and the like. It seems the Oldham seat is hotly contested. Apparently, Web Applications employees are ‘real people’ (cue look of joy from Pinocchio). Semantics aside a little spark of pride is ignited in my heart that our humble Oldham area was chosen as the location the Lib Dems’ have chosen to test out their Manifesto.</p> <p>We have done our best to digitally document our morning, as you can see. We were very impressed with the friendliness of the crew and with Richard Gaisford, GMTV’s Chief Correspondent. Taking a look at the size of their camera, I’m equally impressed with the cameraman’s fortitude.</p> <p>Despite our beleaguered windows the morning was a complete success. Web Applications always enjoys playing host and we dearly hope our guests felt welcome, hopefully the copious amounts of coffee and bacon butties helped. Really we had a wonderful morning and now, it’s 9:30 and the crew are gone, I think I miss them a little already<a name="_GoBack"></a>.</p> <object height="344" width="425"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NEnEoH9x6fs&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" /> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed height="344" width="425" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NEnEoH9x6fs&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1"></embed></object><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/87.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/87.aspxMelanie TownsendMon, 12 Apr 2010 17:07:00 GMT<div><script type="text/javascript" src="/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/ca0c21fbdc85f6a1597417732d450607.ashx?hs=1"></script> <p><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'d8fa1106'})" href="/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/SagePaySystemUpgrade_F0DA/Sage%20pay_2.gif"><img title="Sage Pay" border="0" alt="Sage Pay" align="left" width="127" height="34" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/SagePaySystemUpgrade_F0DA/Sage%20pay_thumb.gif" /></a>Some people will have received an email from Sage Pay discussing their system upgrade that will happen this Saturday, April 17. The upgrade will allow Sage Pay to rebuild their live site into the new upgraded system whilst moving the Sage Pay Live Payment Gateway service across to their Disaster Recovery (DR) site. This does not mean that there is anything wrong; they are just doing some work.</p> <p>In all likelihood, this will not affect you at all. The only people this will affect are those who have firewalls that restrict access to external resources or those who have any specialised DNS settings. Both of these instances are highly unlikely. If you have reason to think that you have this firewall or DNS setting, you can contact your IT provider and have this all sorted out, but if you don’t know, you’re probably fine.</p> <p>Work will not be started on Sage Pay’s system until 22:00 Saturday the 17^th to cause the least amount of disruption as possible, it may take a few seconds but there is always the possibility that it will take longer than that. This new upgrade will enable Sage Pay to enhance the speed and capacity of their systems to cope with future predicted demand. If you feel like airing concerns to Sage Pay directly, you can always email or call their support line.</p> <p>To see Sage Pay’s original email, you can find it <a href="http://sagepay-email.com/8Z4-4AGG-DA16CFNKEC/cr.aspx">here</a>.<script src="/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/m.js" type="text/javascript"></script></p></div><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/63.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/63.aspxMelanie TownsendFri, 09 Apr 2010 14:31:01 GMT<p>Web Application UK’s new designer is coming up with some fresh ideas to revamp our web presence. In addition to inventing some new icons within our reporting system Br-ease, our designer, John, has designed a new look for the entire website and taken it to a whole new level. We assure you that the website will retain all of that signature charm you have come to know and expect from Web Applications though it will definitely be different and, I like to think, a welcome change. </p> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/ca0c21fbdc85f6a1597417732d450607.ashx?hs=1"></script> <p></p> <p><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/SayingSoLongFarewelltotheOldWebsite_DA51/Brease%20-%20Icon%20Set%205%20for%20blog%20new1_2.jpg" class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'27bd2f84'})" ><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="A Selection of our New Icons" border="0" alt="A Selection of our New Icons" title="A Selection of our New Icons" align="left" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/SayingSoLongFarewelltotheOldWebsite_DA51/Brease%20-%20Icon%20Set%205%20for%20blog%20new1_thumb.jpg" width="69" height="336" /></a> The first artistic stage for any true designer is the sketch book and John is no exception. He has a plethora of sketches, all nicely ordered, around his desk, some completed and others abandoned but all are useful for reference. From the sketches the ideas start to get put online in <a href="http://www.adobe.com/uk/">Adobe</a> <a href="http://www.adobe.com/uk/products/illustrator/?promoid=BPCVZ">Illustrator</a>. The new images and layouts spend some time in illustrator and perhaps <a href="http://www.adobe.com/uk/products/photoshop/family/?promoid=BPCWR">Photoshop</a> before they are ready for review. Things are really starting to come together and it’s a very exciting new look. </p> <p>The first thing you will notice about the new homepage is its background colour; it is going to be very light. As much as Web Applications has loved its current website, we as a company are continually growing and changing and we feel our website should reflect that. John is using lots of designer skills to reinvent the website, including a clever way of spacing out the content using the rule of thirds - I could tell you more but I don’t want to spoil the surprise for its unveiling ceremony. </p> <p>One of the big new improvements with this site will be its movement and interaction with the user. The top pane of the site will have a scrolling banner and under that drop down menus to give the overall page more movement, which in turn will make it more interesting. The centre of the page will have our associated partners to keep our real software-house style look, and the bottom of the page will have all our ‘latest’s, latest news, latest tweets, latest polls. We hope to make the polls more user-engaging and have our clients participate in a meaningful way. The news and tweets will display a little less information than they do at the moment in an attempt to preserve space and guard against cluttering. The top and bottom bands of the webpage will be the signature black and will involve the classic Web Applications World banner. Many members of our team are also very excited to showcase their <a href="http://jquery.com/">JQuery</a> expertise for the whole world to see.</p> <p>Overall the new homepage will incorporate more colours, many of our current icons have been re-imagined, and the feel of it will be very interactive. I have seen some of the blueprints for the new website and I believe it has a gentler feel to it.&#160; I hope everyone takes advantage of the new functionality and will participate in the polls and visit our new <a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Oldham-United-Kingdom/Web-Applications-UK/338886209039?ref=ts">facebook page</a> and <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/companies/847762">LinkedIn profile</a>. What changes would <i>you</i> like to see in the new website? Comment below.</p> <br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/86.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/86.aspxMelanie TownsendFri, 09 Apr 2010 13:23:14 GMT<p>Web Applications wants to make sure that you have as much up-to-date information as possible. To guarantee that, we have multiple ways of getting information out to you: News, Forums and Blogs.</p> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/ca0c21fbdc85f6a1597417732d450607.ashx?hs=1"></script> <p></p> <p>Web Applications works hard to make sure all our customers are in the know about what’s happening behind the scenes here. We have a News section where you can find all our major comings and goings, read about our upcoming events and see what we’re involved in. The news section is where you find important information that is not specific to Acumen, Tr@veller or Systems customers, but is applicable or relevant to all. The Blog area of the website is somewhat more informal. In blog articles you can find out about what interests us, what new things are happening, what our staff are like, and much much more. <a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/SubscribeandStayConnected_CA67/clip_image002_2.gif" class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'de013166'})" ><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="RSS icon at the top of News articles" border="0" alt="RSS icon at the top of News articles" title="RSS icon at the top of News articles" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/SubscribeandStayConnected_CA67/clip_image002_thumb.gif" width="359" height="118" /></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/SubscribeandStayConnected_CA67/clip_image004_2.gif" class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'de013166'})" ><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="RSS Feed Icon" border="0" alt="RSS Feed Icon" title="RSS Feed Icon" align="left" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/SubscribeandStayConnected_CA67/clip_image004_thumb.gif" width="24" height="24" /></a>If you would like to subscribe to our News and Blog releases, just click on the RSS Feed symbol. You can find the RSS orange symbol at the bottom of all of our WebPages, and clicking this symbol takes you to the feed page where you can subscribe to all of News and Blog items. If you prefer just News or just Blog articles you have to find the same RSS button but in different places. To subscribe to News items click on Community, then News, and then click on the orange RSS Feed symbol <b>at the top</b> of the page. To follow blogs just click the RSS icon sitting next to each blogger’s name to follow that person’s blog. Clicking any of these RSS icons will take you to the feed for whichever section you chose, and at the top of the feed page there is an option to ‘Subscribe to this feed’ – and thus you are subscribed.</p> <p><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/SubscribeandStayConnected_CA67/clip_image006_2.jpg" class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'de013166'})" ><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="A subscription icon is available at the botton of every page!" border="0" alt="A subscription icon is available at the botton of every page!" title="A subscription icon is available at the botton of every page!" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/SubscribeandStayConnected_CA67/clip_image006_thumb.jpg" width="371" height="96" /></a></p> <p>Now, for forums. Forums are ideal for product-related queries and discussions. To join into the discussions you must be registered with the Web Applications website and Login via the icon at the top of every page within Web Applications UK Website. Now, if you have been given a user name but have forgotten it, you can contact support to retrieve your information. If you are a new customer, or have just recently decided to become a member of the online community, you will need to be given login materials. If you would like to register <b>and have not previously been given a username<i> </i></b>then contact <a href="mailto:info@webapplicationsuk.com">info@webapplicationsuk.com</a> and we will sort you out no problem.</p> <p><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/SubscribeandStayConnected_CA67/clip_image008_2.gif" class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'de013166'})" ><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Subscribe to Forums" border="0" alt="Subscribe to Forums" title="Subscribe to Forums" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/SubscribeandStayConnected_CA67/clip_image008_thumb.gif" width="375" height="108" /></a></p> <p>Once you are in the Forum (access through the Community tab) you can click on discussions relevant to yourself and subscribe by ticking the appropriate box. You will be able to find it without a problem. That covers our subscription process, so remember, you do not need login information to subscribe to our News and Blogs, but you do need to register to gain access to our forums so make sure to get in touch if you need a username and password. We’d love to welcome you to our community!</p> <br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/85.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/85.aspxMelanie TownsendThu, 01 Apr 2010 13:13:56 GMT<p>Cheryl is this week’s profile and I am very excited to sink my teeth into my first Project Manager profile. Cheryl is one of the longest serving PMs at Web Applications and I am so happy she virtually volunteered this week. Let’s begin.</p><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/ca0c21fbdc85f6a1597417732d450607.ashx?hs=1"></script> <p>Like I said Cheryl&#160;has been here a long time,&#160;nearly four years. As a Project Manager some of her jobs include, but are not limited to, liaising with clients, getting their requirements, planning, managing the development of projects, and desperately trying to keep the developers in line and on task.</p> <p>An average day for Cheryl starts out with sorting and responding to emails, writing specs, planning projects, pre-sales all with the possibility of a fit of giggles. The days Cheryl really enjoys are the ones where she gets to go to exhibitions; especially exhibitions where she has the opportunity to show off her marquee-building skills. Now, Cheryl may have had issues with erecting marquees in the past, but she has learned from her mistakes and is now a master of the art. Cheryl went to <a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Community/Events/tabid/88/ctl/Details/Mid/449/ItemID/6/Default.aspx?ContainerSrc=%5bG%5dContainers/_default/No+Container&amp;SkinSrc=%5bG%5dSkins/Community/Horizontal-Tabbed">The Lawns Show</a> near Hull last year and Alistair is poised to be attending instead of her this year, but maybe, now that Cheryl’s true feelings are known, she will be allowed to attend the three day event - if not instead of Alistair then alongside him. May hope forever flourish.</p> <p><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'27fdb1e4'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/8outof10catsagreeCherylisagoodowner_C831/Lily%20the%20cat_2.gif"><img title="Lily the cat" border="0" alt="Lily the cat" align="left" width="237" height="240" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 5px 10px 5px 5px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/8outof10catsagreeCherylisagoodowner_C831/Lily%20the%20cat_thumb.gif" /></a>Cheryl is known around the office for her great rapport with her colleagues. In this I’m perfectly serious. Cheryl is one of the most helpful people around the office whenever I need something explained and is always extremely patient with me; part of this (aside from being naturally sweet tempered) must be due to the fact that at one time or another, Cheryl has had nearly every developer in the office on her team. Most recently she had Rob C. and Guy on her team until Alistair started and she had <a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/83/steve-elliott-escapes-the-squirrels.aspx"><b>Steve Elliott</b></a> on her team until Sara started, so now she is left with Rob L. and Shaun. When asked what her favourite part of working at Web Applications was, Cheryl was quick to reply it was the people she worked with. Well, I say quick to reply, it came after a short rant about how it certainly wasn’t her commute, but after that was over it was definitely her colleagues. Though to be fair, of course it’s her colleagues; in what other office could you find superheroes, super<b> </b>programmers and a truly super Concorde pilot? I rest my case.</p> <p>As wonderful as Cheryl is around the office, I do have one warning for those who don’t know her: under no circumstances should you let Cheryl borrow your car. Ever. Cheryl has a history of what can only be described as ‘vehicular mishaps’. She has been known to use the company car from time to time for client visits and the like, so when Web Applications recently acquired a new company car I was curious why Cheryl instantly wanted to know if the car had parking sensors. She says it’s just because the car looks big – and while I accept that it is an estate, it is certainly nothing compared to what I would consider a large car, like a Land Rover or something. I remain somewhat dubious of Cheryl’s parking skills. This might sound cynical, and indeed it would be except for the fact that Cheryl put petrol in the last company car – which would not have been a problem had the car not run on diesel. At best this is a speckled past, though we’re all willing to forgive it. Cheryl tries to excuse this brand of silliness by declaiming the cleverest people have the least common sense. Sure Cheryl, sure.</p> <p>When it comes to media I had an interesting conversation with Cheryl about James Bond. It was decided that, eyes closed, Sean Connery was the best Bond, but, eyes open Daniel Craig took the cake. If a movie were to be made of Cheryl’s life, it would be fitting for the lead to be played by Kate Winslet, good ol’ English Rose that she is. Were Kate to play the part she would have to quickly become a cat person.</p> <p>Oh yes, Cheryl likes her pets. At the moment she has two cats, Jack and Lily and two rabbits, Mo and Bill. We decided that it takes at least four cats to become a cat lady, so Cheryl remains safely in the ‘normal pet owner’ range of the spectrum. That, however, does not mean Cheryl isn’t a teensy bit batty when it comes to her fluffy friends. She once had a cat who could speak. Yes, really. The idea of her cats speaking is nothing compared to the hilarity of Cheryl’s <i>impression</i> of the cat speaking. Alf the cat had a three word vocabulary consisting of Alf, No and Out. She insists that this is perfectly sane because Fern Cotton also has a cat who can speak, it can say ‘hello’. Now, I did a search in <a href="http://www.google.co.uk/">Google</a> and came up with nothing to prove that this is true, BUT on a lark I searched <a href="http://www.bing.com/">Bing</a> and found the evidence! I am beyond shocked; I can only assume I didn’t try hard enough on Google but well done Bing! If you’d like to read it for yourself, it’s about halfway down the page on her March 30 <a href="http://www.officialfearnecotton.com/category/blog/">blog entry</a>, but it’s true, Fern Cotton does indeed believe her cat can speak. Cheryl, you are completely vindicated and I now believe that Alf could in fact articulate Alf, Out and No. I am rendered utterly speechless.</p><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/84.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/84.aspxMelanie TownsendThu, 01 Apr 2010 08:51:00 GMT<div><p>A flood at&#160;a <a href="http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/networking/2010/03/31/paddington-fire-affects-437-bt-exchanges-40088510/?s_cid=938">BT exchange in Paddington, London</a>&#160;has caused a fire that has knocked out broadband and telephone connectivity across the UK.&#160; This is currently affecting our telephone services.</p> <p>Customers who telephone us may find that they receive a "busy" tone, or are unable to be&#160;connected.&#160;&#160;Our e-mail&#160;services are unaffected, and you may still access support and services through this channel.</p> <p>Our telephone service providers are aware of the problem and are working to resolve it as soon as possible.&#160; We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.</p></div><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/62.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/62.aspxRob IllingMon, 29 Mar 2010 11:23:32 GMT<p>Steve was less than keen to be featured in this week’s profile. In fact, for a while he downright refused. Through a series of tough negotiations and some very useful recently acquired information; Steve became inclined to acquiesce to my request, for that I’d like to send a special thank you to Rob Illing. And so I was able to sit down with Steve and learn a little more about him, his love for all things JQuery and his antipathy for embarrassment.</p><p>Steve is a Senior Engineer and has been a part of Web Applications UK for nearly four years which means he’s basically part of the woodwork, and by basically I mean literally. During an office reorganisation, instead of moving his things to his new desk like everyone else, Steve tried to physically move his entire desk to its new position. I don’t want to suggest that Steve is averse to change; I think he just really liked that desk.</p> <p>Steve was one of the employees honoured in December with a Webbie Award. He took home the prestigious Nike Award, for the employee who ‘Just Does It’, in many ways, this award really seems to fit. I have the impression that Steve is an honest to goodness morning person. He routinely gets into work at an ungodly hour (I don’t know exactly when since I generally rock up to work significantly later) and proceeds to make the early morning the most productive time of his day. I’m not sure Steve can get all of the credit for coming in early since his arrival time is largely dependent upon <a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/78/superjeff-or-batjeff.aspx">Jeff</a>, his chauffeur to work. Once again, Jeff, is the (dark?) knight in shining armour. Steve is no damsel in distress - the man can clearly take care of himself. The fact that his favourite meal is pizza and beer, he gets a ride to work each day and he’s about to marry a nurse all imply deep-rooted self-sufficiency...oh wait.<img title="Jeff always ready to oblige" alt="Jeff always ready to oblige" align="right" width="375" height="197" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/Steve Profile.gif" /></p> <p>To contrast Steve’s perceived dependency at home, he exhibits a vast amount of independence at work. Steve is the <i>auteur</i> of the new reporting system for Tr@veller called Br-ease and is known for teaching himself new things, like JQuery and MVC (Model View Controller), and subsequently spreading that expertise around the office. Steve worked on the private beta of AcuWeb and wrote a series of <a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/blogid/4.aspx">blogs</a> on the subject prior to its release last June. In addition to that blog, Steve has <a href="http://www.tegud.net/">one</a> of his own where he talks about new sorts of codes and languages and things he’s learning and trying out.</p> <p>On any given day Steve spends his time between Br-ease and a number of side projects. His favourite project he’s worked on while at Web Applications has definitely been Br-ease, which he has built from the ground-up with the help of a few others. Br-ease is a really exciting project for Steve, but it’s not the only exciting thing in his life right now as he is getting married next March. Yes, Stephen Elliott will be tying the knot in the Town Hall in Manchester in a year’s time with Claire, a sister in a children’s ward whom he met while attending university in Manchester. Steve is a lucky guy in more ways than one with his aforementioned chauffeur. Jeff gives Steve a ride to and from work each day, and they share a real bond with their mutual love of snowboarding. Snowboarding is a surprisingly popular sport at Web Applications, and unlike Jeff I have the feeling that Steve has physically participated in the sport (Jeff, please excuse my scepticism).</p> <p>I talked to Steve for a while and I still don’t know if he has a favourite movie, TV show, or video game; what I <i>do</i> know is that he likes Carlton Cold. Carlton Cold is an Australian beer he discovered whilst travelling in Australia for three months before beginning university. Australia must have been a big move from his hometown of Letchworth, a village which has its own <a href="http://www.letchworth.com/">website</a> and apparently is the first Garden City in the world, the home of the very first roundabout <i>and</i> the habitat of a mutant race of smoky black squirrels. Steve really enjoyed his trip to Australia and considers Byron Bay to be his favourite place to visit. I pause to wonder if he managed to go GoGo dancing there as he is known to do in Manchester. This may come as a shock to some, it did to me, but there has been more than one sighting of Steve all dolled up, a spectacle which has ruined the night of at least two of his colleagues. I have no wish to embarrass Steve so his stage name will remain a secret. Just a small hint: the name may or may not be linked to Steve’s travels and his favourite colour, pink.</p> <p>Stephen Elliott does not like to be embarrassed. He made that very clear when he “accidentally” opened Rob Illing’s car door into Gordon’s car, arguably causing extensive damage. I think we all remember how much <a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/77/gordon-a-man-measured-by-scoville-units.aspx">Gordon</a> enjoys his cars. Steve was so dismayed at the upcoming shame that he decided to try to avoid the confrontation altogether and wait to see if Gordon noticed. Of course Gordon noticed the dent immediately; he kisses that car every night before going to sleep. Some suggest that need to make it up to Gordon has contributed to Steve’s tireless work, dedication and commitment to the highest standards at Web Applications, making him a celebrated asset to the team.</p><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/83.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/83.aspxMelanie TownsendMon, 15 Mar 2010 17:28:48 GMT<p>The Mayor’s Ball was a great event and Web Applications had a wonderful night. The evening began with a champagne reception for the VIPs and ended with one of our members winning Ferrero Rocher chocolates, needless to say we heartily enjoyed ourselves.</p><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/ca0c21fbdc85f6a1597417732d450607.ashx?hs=1"></script> <p><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'5924cec4'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/GoodFoodGoodCompanyGoodCause_F589/Craig%20contemplating.jpg"><img title="Commander-In-Chief" border="0" alt="Commander-In-Chief" align="left" width="117" height="155" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/GoodFoodGoodCompanyGoodCause_F589/Craig%20contemplating_thumb.jpg" /></a>After everyone seated themselves and the champagne ran out, the Mayor made his entrance with plenty of pomp and circumstance. His procession was very elegant and we enjoyed it especially because it meant dinner was coming. The Mayor’s Chaplain said grace and the starters rolled out. The meal opened to the sound of bagpipes, the wonderful smell of fruit and a special Thank You speech from Mayor Jim McArdle.</p> <p><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'5924cec4'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/GoodFoodGoodCompanyGoodCause_F589/charity%20ball%20webapp%20sign.jpg"><img title="Web Applications Sign" border="0" alt="Web Applications Sign" align="right" width="146" height="111" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/GoodFoodGoodCompanyGoodCause_F589/charity%20ball%20webapp%20sign_thumb.jpg" /></a></p> <p>Next, during the main course they showed a DVD to promote the charities. One of the&#160;local schools put together a reconstruction of the plight that disadvantaged children go through when they are called upon to be a carer for their sibling or parent, which directly related to the supported charities of the evening.</p> <p style="text-align: center"><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'5924cec4'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/GoodFoodGoodCompanyGoodCause_F589/bagpipe2.jpg"><img title="Bagpipes" border="10" alt="Bagpipes" align="left" width="150" height="199" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/GoodFoodGoodCompanyGoodCause_F589/bagpipe2_thumb.jpg" /></a></p> <p style="text-align: center"><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'5924cec4'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/GoodFoodGoodCompanyGoodCause_F589/ed%20and%20craig.jpg"><img title="At Dinner" border="10" alt="At Dinner" align="left" width="175" height="132" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/GoodFoodGoodCompanyGoodCause_F589/ed%20and%20craig_thumb.jpg" /></a></p> <p style="text-align: right"><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'5924cec4'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/GoodFoodGoodCompanyGoodCause_F589/winning%20ticket.jpg"><img title="Winning Raffle Ticket" border="10" alt="Winning Raffle Ticket" align="left" width="150" height="198" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/GoodFoodGoodCompanyGoodCause_F589/winning%20ticket_thumb.jpg" /></a></p> <p>&#160;</p> <p style="text-align: center">&#160;</p> <p style="text-align: right">&#160;</p> <p>&#160;</p> <p style="text-align: right">&#160;</p> <p>&#160;</p> <p>&#160;</p> <p>After dinner was a cheese board and Ceilidh band, and those representatives of Web Applications were on their feet dancing. There was an auction nearing the end of the night of local athletic club paraphernalia, including shirts, footballs and golf clubs. A band, The Intervention, performed magnificently and received a great reception. Throughout the night there was an ongoing raffle; prizes ranged from chocolates and teddy bears all the way to DVD players, with a proviso that items be collected after 11pm. Around midnight people started to head home, with full bellies and the knowledge that this charity ball supported Dr. Kershaw’s Hospice and Young Carers. All the proceeds from the night went to these two deserving charities.</p> <p>If you would like to help out with these charities or learn more about them, you can find more information about Dr. Kershaw’s Hospice <a href="http://www.drkershawshospice.org.uk/">here</a>, and Young Carers <a href="http://www.oldham.gov.uk/cs-young-carers.htm">here</a>.</p><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/81.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/81.aspxMelanie TownsendThu, 11 Mar 2010 16:30:52 GMT<p>The awards for ‘The One Oldham Business Awards’ will be presented Monday, March 22, 2010 at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in Oldham and Web Applications will be a part of the action.</p><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/ca0c21fbdc85f6a1597417732d450607.ashx?hs=1"></script> <p><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'906db9b0'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/OldhamBusinessAwards_E7EA/oldhambusinessawards_2.jpg"><img title="Oldham Business Awards" border="5" alt="Oldham Business Awards" align="left" width="234" height="145" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/OldhamBusinessAwards_E7EA/oldhambusinessawards_thumb.jpg" /></a>&#160;Web Applications is a sponsor of ‘The One Oldham Business Awards 2010’, supported by the Oldham Evening Chronicle.&#160; The event will comprise of a dinner and awards ceremony to honour the winners of the various business awards in each of the nine categories.&#160; Categories include: Business of the Year (over £5m), Business of the Year (£1-5m), Business of the Year (under £1m), Start-up Business, Businessperson of the Year, Innovation and Design, Young Entrepreneur, Retailer of the Year and the Environmental Award.&#160; There are more categories this year, two more than in the inaugural Awards last year. The Environmental Award is a recent addition as well as a third tier for the Business of the Year Award (£1-5m) to help the judges better assess the relative merit in the range of businesses throughout Oldham.</p> <p>The Gala Presentation Dinner will take place at 6:45pm on Monday the 22^nd and the night is expected to end around 12:30am.&#160; Web Applications is very proud to have been given the opportunity to sponsor the Business of the Year Award (£1-5m turnover), and would love to share this evening with you.&#160; The Gala is a black tie event, and will include dinner and drinks along with entertainment throughout the night.&#160; This is a great opportunity to recognise some of Oldham’s great business and show our support in their commitment to the local community.&#160;</p> <p>If you would like to join us in this exciting Gala, please let us know, and indicate the number in your party.&#160; You can find a list of the awards <a href="http://www.oldhambusinessawards.co.uk/">here</a> and more information in the Oldham Evening Chronicle <a href="http://www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk/news-features/7/business-news/19805/one-oldham-business-awards-sponsors-to-date-as-of-february-5-2009">here</a>.</p><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/80.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/80.aspxMelanie TownsendThu, 11 Mar 2010 16:25:02 GMT<p>This Friday Web Applications is very proud to announce that a number of its members will be attending the Mayor’s Emerald Ball in Oldham.</p><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/ca0c21fbdc85f6a1597417732d450607.ashx?hs=1"></script> <p>The evening will feature food, drink and a variety of entertainment including a Ceilidh Band, a local rock band ‘The Intervention’ and a DJ. This event will be one of Mayor Jim McArdle’s Charity Balls<a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'542c2f78'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/MayorsEmeraldBallCharityEvent_E692/emerald%20tuxedo_2.gif"><img title="Emerald Ball" border="0" alt="Emerald Ball" align="left" width="176" height="205" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/MayorsEmeraldBallCharityEvent_E692/emerald%20tuxedo_thumb.gif" /></a> and all the proceeds from the evening will be donated to the Mayor’s Supported Charities, Oldham Young Carers and Dr. Kershaw’s Hospice; he has carefully chosen these charities because they offer help to local children.</p> <p>The Emerald Ball will take place March 12, 2010 at Queen Elizabeth’s Hall in Oldham, beginning at 6:30pm with a champagne reception. From there the guests will find their tables and sit down to a three-course dinner. With a Ceilidh band, a rock band and a DJ there is sure to be something for everyone when it comes to entertainment throughout the night. Web Applications is very excited that we will be represented by six of our members and accompanied by ten partners. We do enjoy our black-tie events.</p> <p>Charity Balls are a great way to get involved in the local community and make a difference. We are going to know Queen Elizabeth Hall like the back of our hands soon, in addition to this event we will also be attending the Business of the Year awards in that same venue in just a few weeks – so keep an eye out for more information about that. If you are part of our entourage (and you know who you are) we will see you Friday!</p> <p>If you wish to attend and are not currently signed-up, tickets may still be available by calling the Mayor’s Office at 0161 770 3927 or sending an email to <a href="mailto:mayors.office@oldham.gov.uk">mayors.office@oldham.gov.uk</a>. We hope to see you there!</p><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/79.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/79.aspxMelanie TownsendThu, 11 Mar 2010 16:16:22 GMT<p>There are a lot of things that can be said about Jeff. He’s a highly valued member of the Web Applications’ team, some might say the Superman of Services, and if you add a bit of speculation with conjecture and sprinkle with a hint of fantasy you may find Jeff has a secret admirer...but whom!</p><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/ca0c21fbdc85f6a1597417732d450607.ashx?hs=1"></script> <p>Let’s save the fun stuff for later and start with the facts. Jeff is a Senior Engineer working in Support Services. He’s been with Web Applications for nearly three years and spends his days overlooking releases, checking the support box and delegating to John (a new recruit)...and sometimes to Bob. He is the head of his team (very impressive) which consists of him and John (which is less impressive) but it seems he pretty much helps everyone out. I’m told he comes to the rescue of his peers when unforeseeable events occur; often staying at work late into the night (Was there a Lois to his Superman?). His dedication has been recognized with the premier ‘Pride of WebApps’ <a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/50/hear_ye_hear_ye_the_webbies_have_been_awarded.aspx">Webbie Award</a>, which, if memory serves, is on his mother’s mantle.</p> <p>There are some questions that must be asked when talking about Jeff; the first is where does he come from? He conveniently moved around quite a bit in his youth, obstructing a possible investigation. Born in Southport he quickly moved to New York City for two years, then returned to Southport before moving home again to Crewe and finally relocated to Manchester for the past six years. It hardly needs to be stated that his background is shrouded in mystery. Add to that the superman costume under his work clothes and ladies and gentlemen, I think we have a story.&#160; <a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'1c0ff7ad'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/SuperJeffOrBatJeff_E481/batman_2.gif"><img title="Or BatJeff?" border="0" alt="Or BatJeff?" align="right" width="140" height="153" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 20px 5px 5px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/SuperJeffOrBatJeff_E481/batman_thumb.gif" /></a></p> <p><a class="itcexpando" onclick="return mp.expand(this,{slideshowGroup:'1c0ff7ad'})" href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/SuperJeffOrBatJeff_E481/Jeff%20is%20superman_2.gif"><img title="SuperJeff?" border="0" alt="SuperJeff?" align="left" width="113" height="166" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/Portals/0/images/%5BProvider%5D/%5BFolderFilePath%5D/WLW/SuperJeffOrBatJeff_E481/Jeff%20is%20superman_thumb.gif" /></a>The case is, though Jeff is a self-proclaimed Superman, is he perhaps a bit more of a Batman? While I don’t think Clark Kent read many graphic novels (read: comic books) in Smallville, Bruce Wayne may have. I can say with certainty that Jeff is currently into the Kick-Ass series. Clark Kent lived on a farm and then an apartment in Metropolis, but Jeff here might have a Batcave. Jeff has recently made no secret of his additions to the room he has in his house that is devoted to workout equipment. His latest acquisition is a <a href="http://www.slamman.co.uk/images/slam_man_info.gif">Slam Man</a>, a high-tech training device that improves your speed, agility and response time when fighting (crime). I don’t think Superman ever really <i>trained</i> but Batman sure did. In addition to this, Jeff also has a cycling machine, a rowing machine and likes indoor climbing and snowboarding. High speed and unobtrusive forms of transport great for surprise attacks, could these be in preparation for a new version of the Batmobile? The jury remains out. Perhaps it is not Lois we are looking for, but Rachel Dawes (the Maggie Gyllenhaal version, not Katie Holmes, let’s be kind).</p> <p>In addition to this, Jeff is rather cultured. He enjoys reading and going to movies. While they may not be art house flicks, I don’t think it’ll come as a surprise that he watches a lot of martial arts films and comedy (at times both at once). So the question remains, who is the secret admirer? I cannot reveal my sources, so let’s just say someone made it known to me, using the words 'love' and 'Jeff' side by side in the same sentence. You may speculate amongst yourselves.</p> <p>So what does Jeff do when not saving the office and (possibly) fighting crime? In the near future he may team up with Robin, I mean Steve Morgan, and play a little Ultimate Frisbee. Batman was never scared of a little competition. Sure he may not, at the moment, know how to play Ultimate Frisbee, but I’m sure a few rounds on the Slam Man will give him all the preparation he needs. Just remember Jeff, start with two hand catches.</p><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/78.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/blog/entryid/78.aspxMelanie TownsendTue, 09 Mar 2010 16:22:00 GMT<div><p>Our website will be down March 11^th2010 for a few hours between midnight and 6am.&#160; There will be scheduled maintenance on our server which will not have an impact on anyone else's server or website.&#160; Do not be worried if you are unable to log into the forum at 2am, I know that's a very popular time, by 6am everything should be up and running.&#160; <script src="/DesktopModules/itcMetaPost/js/m.js" type="text/javascript"></script></p></div><br/><a href="http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/61.aspx">Go to article</a>http://www.webapplicationsuk.com/community/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/61.aspxMelanie Townsend