The software development department where I work writes all software in a Virtual PC environment. Depending on the project this can be Windows 2000 with Visual Studio 2003, Windows 2003 with Visual Studio 2005 or even Linux with Eclipse.

The desktop machine where the Virtual PC with the development environment is running is still a basic office machine with the regular office applications and Virtual PC 2004. Based on the project the development environment is chosen. Sources are stored in a central SourceSafe repository. So it's very flexible.

Recently Microsoft released the white paper "Microsoft Virtual PC 2004 Development and Debugging". This document gives a lot of tips and tricks an explains in detail some of the more advanced areas. It's a must read for developers who want to start developing with Virtual PC but also a great startpoint for those that just want to try out Virtual PC.

Browsing the web you see the most strange advertisements. Today I came across "Frozen Pets Make Cool Vacations". Don't just leave your pet - freeze your pet!
It's an advertisement for the Cryo Kennel. Made in Eureka. Jump to the site to see more strange new inventions.

cryoKennel-small.jpgNEW! The Cryo Kennel
Going away on a trip?
Can't bring your family's furry friend?
Let Fluffy or Fido chill out in the Cryo Kennel!
Don't leave your pet -
freeze your pet!

Warning: some devices may use technologies still in experimental development. Use at your own risk.

Well actually it's an advertisement for the new SciFi channel tv-serie Eureka. And a very good one too, meaning - a very good commercial. The first episode of the serie has not even been aired yet. Great marketing guys!

The serie is about a seemingly ordinary town Eureka. A community of scientific geniusses assembled by the government to conduct top-secret research.

It sounds like a serie with a lot of geek-potential. I can't wait to see the first episode ;-)

Update: After seeing the pilot episode I'm not sure how this serie is going to evolve. A lot of geeky stuff but the big twist at the end was a bit over the top and not promising for a very good storyline.

Console is a command line client with some interesting features like; tabs, shortcut keys, transparency and a lot more ...

For example four tabs with four different command prompts: Console_tabs-small.gif

A while ago I posted about Coverflow, an application only available for MacOSX users. After my visit to the MIX06 conference and seeing the possibilities of WinFX it was just a matter of time before someone would create a Coverflow-like application for Windows Vista.

Harmony_browse_mode-small.jpg

Brad Abrams found it as Harmony in one of the labs of Thirteen23.