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Tuesday, February 09, 2010
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JetBrains is really churning out the IDE's lately. RubyMine is excellent for Rails Development. There is a version of Web IDE for PHP Development. And now, there is a public preview of PyCharm that is for Python Development with support for Django.
RubyMine for Rails Development is the one I use the most and I absolutely love it. Therefore, I suspect that Web IDE and PyCharm have to be pretty good for developing in PHP and Python, respectively. If you are the daring type, PyCharm is currently in public preview and you can give it a spin as well as give them feedback before it is officially released!
As so happens, I also got a new Python book today, The Quick Python Book . This is the second edition and hot off the press. Really looking forward to start reading it!
Hope this helps.
David Hayden
Monday, February 08, 2010
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Now is a good time to check out the new features of Unity 2 and Enterprise Library 5 before they are officially released around the same time as Visual Studio 2010.
For download links: Download Enterprise Library 5 and Unity 2 Beta 1
You can also check out my Unity 2 Tutorials and Enterprise Library 5 DAAB Tutorials if you are looking for stuff to play with.
David Hayden
Sunday, February 07, 2010
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I have been playing with PHP lately just to learn more about it. I can assure you that I am more dangerous than anything else with it. My web development framework of choice is the ASP.NET MVC Framework.
I will say, however, that my tinkering with PHP has led me to several MVC Frameworks based on PHP, like Zend, CodeIgniter, CakePHP, etc. It has been an eye opening experience to use other implementations of MVC other than the two I know quite well ( Rails and the ASP.NET MVC Framework ).
What I also like about these frameworks is that they can easily be developed on a Mac, which I also love as a development machine. It's not that I have a fondness for OS X over Windows 7. What I love is that I can run both operating systems on a Mac and quite easily develop in the framework / technology of my choice, whether it be Rails, PHP, ASP.NET MVC Framework, Webforms, etc. I can either run both OS's simultaneoulsy using VMware Fusion or Parallels or boot into a particular OS of my choice.
What also excites me about doing PHP Development on the Mac is that I finally get to use Espresso for PHP Development. You can certainly use TextMate, JetBrains Web IDE, etc. but I have always been wanting to use Espresso, which I purchased some time ago. I am not using Espresso to build professional PHP Web Applications, so I can't really comment on the pros and cons of its features ( other than the lack of built-in support for source control ), but what I do love about it is the clean and easy to navigate user interface.
Shown below is a snapshot of Espresso 1.1.1 while playing with the scaffolding features of the CodeIgniter PHP MVC Framework.
I don't plan to jump into the features of Espresso as you can easily get a tour on the MacRabbit website.
If Espresso is not quite your thing, I recommend checking out the new JetBrains Web IDE built specifically for PHP Development. JetBrains makes some really nice development tools. I use ReSharper, TeamCity, and RubyMine with great fondness. JetBrains Web IDE comes in flavors for Windows, Linux, and OS X. I have installed the beta of JetBrains Web IDE and plan to look at it in more detail myself.
Although I will stick with the ASP.NET MVC Framework for professional development, I do love to play with other development environments and frameworks like Rails, PHP, and who knows what is next. If you are interested in PHP Development on the Mac, I would certainly look into Espresso, TextMate, Coda and the JetBrains Web IDE for development.
Hope this helps.
David Hayden
Thursday, February 04, 2010
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I am trying to teach my children about computer programming at a young age since they always see Daddy developing professional web and mobile applications for a living. I honestly don't know where to start, but I do know that the process has to be fun and spark their creative juices.
As luck would have it I stumbled upon the Scratch Programming Language over at MIT that is absolutely perfect for introducing young children to the concepts of programming in a very fun and creative way. As the website mentions, using Scratch allows children to learn the basics of computer programming using their creativity and imagination to build interactive games and stories using art and music.
My children are abolutely crazy about Scratch, having built several games in the first two days after downloading it. As a developer it allows me to introduce my children to common concepts and programming language terminology like variables, looping, events, messaging, etc. that are used to build these wonderful games and stories. The kids enjoy embracing their love for music and art while building interactive games and stories for everyone in the family to enjoy. It is amazing to see them combine their love for music and art in a way to solve problems and entertain.
If you are like me and want to make the most of your young child's time on the computer, I highly recommend visiting the Scratch website. Scratch is a fantastic way to introduce your children to a computer education that embraces both left and right-brain thinking in a fun and imaginative way.
Hope this helps.
David Hayden
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
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Just like I did with Unity 2 Tutorials, I created a number of Enterprise Library 5 DAAB Tutorials that you may be interested in:
Some really interesting changes occuring with the new extension methods, ExecuteSprocAccessor and ExecuteSqlStringAccessor, on the Database Class.
Hope this helps.
David Hayden
Sunday, January 31, 2010
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Microsoft has an All-In-One Code Framework that has a lot of code samples for the Microsoft .NET Developer. Examples include:
- Entity Framework 4 Model First
- ASP.NET Examples to Import Excel Spreadsheet and Send Mail
- Silverlight Code Samples on Writeable Bitmap, Databinding, and Silverlight Storage
- WPF Animated Image and Data Paging Examples
- Visual Studio Example of Toolbars and Automation
- Windows Services
- Microsoft Office Samples for Automating Visio
- XML and Sample Libraries
- etc...
If you are interested in downloading several samples to help you with your ASP.NET, Silverlight, Entity Framework Development, the All-In-One Code Framework is probably worth a peek.
Learn more here.
David Hayden
Free Florida Web Developer Training
Friday, January 29, 2010
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I have been using RubyMine since this past summer for all my Rails development and I can't say enough good things about it. Since then I have always been hoping for a similar IDE from JetBrains for ASP.NET MVC.
Well, that hasn't happened, but JetBrains has a public preview of their Web IDE which is very handy for PHP and Web Development. I can't compare it to anything since I haven't played with it much yet, but it definitely looks promising. It has lots of the things you want from an editor, such as code completion, intellisense, refactoring, version control support, debugging, code navigation, etc.
I have been thinking a lot about learning PHP, so this might be a good IDE to help get started. If you are interested in an intelligent IDE for PHP and Web Development, doesn't hurt to swing by the JetBrains website and download a trial of their Web IDE here.
Filed: PHP and Web Developer Tools
David Hayden
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
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Filed: Microsoft .NET Developer Tools
The CodePlex Team mentioned the other day that they now support Mercurial as a version control system in addition to TFS. It surprises me that the CodePlex team chose Mercurial because:
- It's not from Microsoft ( and the CodePlex team is )
- It isn't Git ( which I hear about more than Mercurial )
- Never used it ( and I like to learn new technologies )
Myself and development teams I have been a part of have been using Subversion for years and it has never caused me pain or any friction that I can remember. This has pretty much caused me to ignore Git and other distributed version control systems as well as TFS.
However, the fact that the CodePlex Team mentioned they are now using Mercurial as an alternative to TFS, in spite of the things I mentioned above, has got to get you wondering if you are missing something :)
So, I installed TortoiseHg on Windows 7 and have been using Mercurial for almost a week on a new and smaller client project. Although I can't say that anything has clicked yet as to the value of distributed version control systems, using Mercurial has been just as painless and easy to use as SVN. In fact, I have a sneaking suspicion that Mercurial might be faster, but I can't say that with a fact as I am just getting started with it on a new Mercurial host provider and a newer ( and currently smaller ) project. Time will tell on that.
Of course, to my happiness, JetBrains TeamCity also supports Mercurial. In fact it must be destiny as their screen shot has them choosing Mercurial :)
And last, which is also fantastic, you can get a free online book that teaches you Mercurial which I have very much enjoyed: Mercurial: The Definitive Guide.
Let me say that if you are a developer new to version control or having pain with your current version control system, I think it is worthwhile to try out Mercurial. It is painless to install and use, and the free online book is a very easy and good read. Since CodePlex now supports it for hosting OSS Projects, you can create a free project and learn Mercurial for absolutely nothing.
Hope this helps.
David Hayden
Sunday, January 24, 2010
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I wrote a couple of Unity 2 examples that I thought were worthy of sharing recently that you may find valuable if you use Unity as your dependency injection / inversion of control tool of choice:
If you haven't heard already, Enterprise Library 5 and Unity 2 are expected to be released April 14. We will also be having a couple of beta versions released in the interim as early as Feb 7, 2010.
For those of you attending the South Florida Code Camp on Saturday, Feb 27, 2010, I will be doing a Introduction to Enteprise Library 5 presentation which will include a pretty good discussion as well as examples on Unity 2. The great news is that this will be based on the first beta release of Enterprise Library 5 and Unity 2 as opposed to the source code drops that I am currently working with :)
I look forward to seeing you at the South Florida Code Camp!
David Hayden
Enterprise Library 5 Tutorials
Monday, January 18, 2010
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I am starting a Sarasota Web Developer Group in February that is dedicated to teaching web developers the ASP.NET MVC Framework as well as the new features in ASP.NET 4 from scratch. You can get a full background and description of the new group, set your calendar for the first few dates scheduled, as well as register for the first meeting at the following post:
In addition to the Sarasota Web Developer Group I also lead the Tampa ASP.NET MVC Developer Group. Both groups have the same focus and drive to teach real-world development skills on web development complete with homework assignments and screencasts.
I am very excited about the new developer group and hope all developers in and around the Sarasota, Florida area join us monthly. Would love to have developers from Sarasota, Tampa, Bradenton, Venice, Ft. Myers, etc. come out an join us for meetings that will surely improve your skills and confidence in web development. All meetings take place in the wonderful Community Foundation of Sarasota and will be very much worth your time.
Please read the post mentioned above and sign up for the first meeting. I will be kicking off the group with two talks on ASP.NET 4 and ASP.NET MVC as well as a demonstrating the new IIS SEO Toolkit to help with search engine optimization of your websites.
Learn more here.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
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Earlier I talked about a change in ASP.NET 4 to help with SEO with regards to using the new Page.MetaKeyword and Page.MetaDescription Properties: SEO in ASP.NET 4 Websites - Page.MetaKeywords and Page.MetaDescription.
Another change to help with search engine optimization in ASP.NET Websites in ASP.NET 4 is the Response.RedirectPermanent option.
ASP.NET 4 Response.RedirectPermanent for Search Engine Optimization ( SEO )
This is pretty self-explanatory, but often you need to modify the url's used by your website, possibly for better search engine optimization :), but you don't want to lose all that hard work that has been done on search engine ranking and optimization by changing the URL's. You also don't want to do a plain 'ol Response.Redirect, which is more for temporary redirects, because that could actually hurt your SEO.
In cases when you are permanently changing the location of the content on your website, better to use Response.RedirectPermanent, which will issue a Http Status Code of 301 Moved Permanently.
You can already set the Http Status Code and Redirect Location directly on the Response object today to achieve the same results, but for simplicity, the Response.RedirectPermanent option makes it really easy and clearly defines your intentions.
Nothing too exciting or difficult about using Response.RedirectPermanent. Just add the url of the new location as such:
Reponse.RedirectPermanent(”newlocation.aspx”);
Again, just like the Page.MetaKeywords and Page.MetaDescription Properties to help populate HTML Meta Tags during runtime via a database or whatever, Response.RedirectPermanent just makes things a bit more convenient.
David Hayden
Sunday, January 10, 2010
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It used to be that the HTML Keywords and Description Meta Tags on your web pages really meant something. Search Engines, like Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc., would use the Keywords and Description Tags to properly index your website in their search results, allowing search engine users to better find the information they were looking for. Problem is that web designers and web developers abused the HTML keywords and description metatags, making them utterly useless as a reliable form of data.
That being said, I wouldn't ignore the html keywords and description tags. Setting these HTML tags is search engine optimization and internet marketing 101. Use them meaningfully in your website for that less than 1% chance that Google, Bing, Yahoo, and other major search engines might actually take them into account.
In ASP.NET 4, Microsoft web developers will be happy to know that it is a bit easier to properly set these html tags using a couple of properties on the Page Class, Page.MetaKeywords and Page.MetaDescription. This makes it much easier to set the keywords and description tags from fields in a database or another dynamically generated fashion.
This is pretty simple to do:
- Page.MetaKeywords = “keywords,separated,by,comma“
- Page.MetaDescription = “An enticing little description of this incredibly valuable content.“
Again, I wouldn't use this as your ownly means of SEO optimization and Internet Marketing for your ASP.NET website, but certainly if search engine ranking and traffic generation is important to you, use this and every other SEO technique at your diposal. The new Page.MetaKeywords and Page.MetaDescription Properties are much easier than previous techniques for Microsoft .NET Developers.
Hope this helps.
David Hayden
Thursday, January 07, 2010
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I have a couple of Western Digital My Book Studio Hard Drives that I ocassionally connect to my Mac Book Pro when I want to off load some documents, files, etc. This stuff is not really worthy of automated backup and I just manually from time-to-time copy it over to a couple of external hard drives just in case I ever have a hankering to look at them again.
The problem I experience from time-to-time is that Spotlight wants to index these drives and it really is unnecessary. The obvious solution is to just tell Spotlight not to index these hard drives and doing so is as easy as going into the Spotlight Preferences, choosing Privacy, and adding the hard drives to the list of locations Spotlight should not index. Adding my two hard drives to Spotlight looks something like:
Hope this helps anyone who is not aware that you can keep Spotlight from indexing various hard drives or other locations on your Apple Mac.
David Hayden
Related Posts
Filed: Microsoft .NET Developer Tools
I think I actually mentioned this on Twitter :), but I have been getting a lot of requests to help clients integrate 3rd party social networks into their applications. A lot! I am sure everyone is experience this as social networking continues to evolve and grow in leaps and bounds. I have built a few custom .NET libraries as well as taken advantage of 3rd party libraries to help in these endeavors.
If you want to integrate Twitter into your .NET application and prefer a 3rd party library, you could use TweetSharp, which is a C# .NET Library with a Fluent API for use with Twitter. TweetSharp is up on Google Code and described as follows:
“A feature-complete library for the Twitter API. Use this library in your client applications to enable a simple, discoverable fluent interface for building Twitter queries, as well as additional features like asynchronous processing, server-side caching, url shortening, and rate throttling.”
The project looks active as they just released Preview 21 over the holidays.
Again, if you need to integrate Twitter into your Silverlight, WPF, ASP.NET MVC, or ASP.NET Webforms applications, you may want to give TweetSharp a try.
Learn more here.
David Hayden
.NET Developer Tools and Utilities
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
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I mentioned it in an earlier post, Sarasota .NET Developers Windows Live Group, but wanted to mention it again for those not following my other blog.
I created a Windows Live Group for Sarasota .NET Area Developers to make it easier to communicate with one another as well as stay up-to-date on various events and activities in the area. At a minimum, this would be a nice place to announce various meetings for the Sarasota .NET Developer Group as well as our nerddinners. However, the Windows Live Group would also be great for organizing carpooling to various codecamps and other events out of the area. It won't be used for spamming of any kind and I will be sure to kick spammers off at a moments notice :)
So, if you are a developer in the area and want to stay up on various events, activities, and opportunities in the Sarasota Area, please join the Windows Live Group.
Hope this helps.
David Hayden
I'm not sure I am a huge fan of Adobe's Reader. The PDF reader seems quite bloated and very intrusive on my PC with its extra updater software as well as its annoying attempt to install the Google Toolbar.
I just realized there is a free and lightweight PDF reader, called Foxit Reader, that offers an alternative to Adobe. Haven't yet tried it, but the features and description look pretty compelling as a no-nonsense PDF reader. Per the website:
- “Incredibly small: The download size of Foxit Reader is just a fraction of Acrobat Reader 20 M size.
- Breezing-fast: When you run Foxit Reader, it launches instantly without any delay. You are not forced to view an annoying splash window displaying company logo, author names, etc.
- Annotation tool: Have you ever wished to annotate (or comment on) a PDF document when you are reading it? Foxit Reader allows you to draw graphics, highlight text, type text and make notes on a PDF document and then print out or save the annotated document.
- Text converter: You may convert the whole PDF document into a simple text file.
- High security and privacy: Foxit Reader highly respects the security and privacy of users and will never connect to the Internet without users' permission. While other PDF readers often silently connect to the Internet in the background. Foxit PDF Reader does not contain any spyware.”
I haven't use it yet personally, but if you are in the market for a free PDF reader as an alternative to Adobe's PDF reader, Foxit Reader may just be the ticket.
Learn mor about Foxit PDF Reader here.
Filed: Tools and Utilities.
David Hayden
Recent Tools and Utilities Mentioned:
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
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 I have received quite a few emails from people inspired by my various posts on the Ab Rocket and how effective it has been in giving me stronger and leaner abs. If you want a little background, you can read a couple of my previous posts on my quest to lose weight as well as look and feel better:
In many of the emails I typically get the same questions:
- How often did you and do you use the Ab Rocket?
- How long did it take to see results?
- Did you follow any nutrition guide?
Those of you who have purchased an Ab Rocket will probably be excited with my answers, because I didn't spend all day on the Ab Rocket and I didn't make a huge change in my diet. You don't need to go crazy and devote your life to exercise. You just need to be patient and stay the course. As always, talk to a physician before starting any workout or fitness program to make sure you don't harm yourself.
How Often Did You and Do You Use the Ab Rocket?
Like any new exercise, I start out slow. I am probably a bit too cautious, but I am pretty much a fan of the saying “better safe than sorry.“ The abs are a core muscle, which to me, means you use them in just about every activity. Last thing you need is to pull or tear a muscle in the abs and get a hernia. Seriously, hurting your abs will pretty much negatively impact any exercise or activity you plan to participate in. It ain't worth it!
When I first started using the ab rocket I did 1 set of ab crunches every other day and I did not do that set to exhaustion. I did as many ab crunches as I could do comfortably and I really paid attention to my form. When you first start using the Ab Rocket start slowly and take it easy. Put on a motivating music video or tune and concentrate on the following:
- Breathing. Extremely important that you breathe during the entire exercise. Never, ever hold your breath. Ever :) Breathe out during the crunch. Breathe in on the way down.
- Completely relax your head and neck against the backrest. This will take practice as we are all in the habit of thrusting or pulling are neck and head to complete a situp / ab crunch. The beautful thing about the Ab Rocket is that it takes the pressure off your neck and head. Embrace it!
- Slow and Steady Movements. As with any exercise we don't want any sudden or jerky movements.
- Squeezing Abs. This may sound weird but a lot of people push their abs out while doing an ab crunch and develop a little pooch in the front. This may be in part to incorrectly holding their breath. Don't develop this bad habit. It will make you look “fat“ when you are not. Abs must be squeezed while using the Ab Rocket. This takes practice and patience.
- Listen to Your Abs. If you feel any pain, discomfort, or even the slightest twinge in your abs while using the Ab Rocket. Stop! As I mentioned, this is a core muscle and will take awhile to develop. Start slow. Do not go to complete exhaustion. Patience is key.
When you first start using the Ab Rocket you really want to concentrate on developing proper technique and not on the number of ab crunches you can accomplish. Proper technique is key to developing stronger and leaner abs and you must accomplish that first. No sense doing ab crunches if you are doing them wrong, because you will end up 1) not doing them effectively, 2) hurting yourself, and / or 3) developing bad habits that will be hard to break later. First learn to use the Ab Rocket and do ab crunches correctly and then start a comfortable path that slowly and safely adds more and more challenging repetitions and sets to your ab workout over time.
As mentioned, I started with 1 set every 2 or 3 days and gradually at my own pace increased the number of sets and frequency of the workouts. I continually focused on proper technique and avoided trying to get in one or two more ab crunches if it meant I would use incorrect form and possibly hurt myself.
A year later and I am using the Ab Rocket everyday and doing 3 sets of about 30-40 ab crunches. I rest no more than 1 minute between sets. This takes me less then 10 minutes to accomplish with my eyes closed and my iPod playing. Note that this is a year later, so you do not start at this pace. I still do not go to complete exhaustion and never will. If I hurt my abs now they will turn to mush and I do not want that :)
How Long Did It Take To See Results?
This is a hard question to answer because the results snuck up on me. One day, I just noticed that my abs were rock hard to my disbelief. I remember being so amazed that for about a week I kept asking my wife to poke me in the abs and hoping she was impressed as I was :) She was impressed, but admittedly, was getting a little tired of having to go through the evening ab poking ritual :)
If I had to guess-
- 3 Months - Strong abs. Waist smaller. Clothes fitting better.
- 6 Months - Hint of a 6 pack thanks to Portion Control. Chest bigger than Abs which is a requirement for me :)
- 9 Months - Small changes to diet to break through some weight barriers. Six Pack.
Unfortunately, you won't see that six pack if you are overweight. You will need to focus on portion control and nutrition, which was by far harder for me than doing ab crunches :) However, I personally think a 6 pack is overkill for most of us. I think a lean and strong core is more than fine and in many ways much more attractive. I think with a consistent workout, most people will be happy within 3 months and delighted in 6 months. Focus on proper technique and consistency and the results will follow.
Did You Follow Any Nutrition Guide
I am just starting to focus more on nutrition now that I have been working out consistently for 1 year and have successfully maintained 160lbs for 9 months. Of course, I have never eaten poorly, just too much at times :) Fruits, vegetables, green tea, water, lean meat, etc. has always been a part of my diet. I am not addicted to carbs, sugar, or high fat foods - never have been.
My focus has mainly been on portion control with some small changes to my diet. For the most part I am eating about the same foods, but less of them. This was and is a huge step for me and I am happy to say that I am accomplishing this with flying colors.
I do not believe in commercial diets and I do not believe in drastically changing your eating habits. Just as with exercise, I think one is better off making small changes and allowing the body to properly adapt to those changes.
If you truly feel you have a bad diet or want quicker results, however, I highly recommend you talk to a professional.
Conclusion
I hope this helps. Keep in mind I am no expert and learning as I go. The best I can recommend is that you take it slow and focus on long-term results. Develop those healthy habits and don't get frustrated if things don't happen as quickly as you prefer. Time will still go on and results will happen as long as you are consistent in your efforts.
As always, don't risk your health. Talk to a physician, nutritionist, and personal trainer for professional advice. I am no expert and mainly just want to encourage you to live a better lifestyle!
If you have yet to purchase an Ab Rocket, I recommend reading the comments from others on Amazon before making a purchase. Other than an Ab Wheel, which I just started using, my only experience has been with an Ab Rocket to help strengthen my abs. If I had the money, I might try an Ab Circle Pro , which looks interesting, but the budget doesn't allow me to do that at this time :)
Stay healthy!
David Hayden
Monday, January 04, 2010
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If you are a Microsoft Office 2010 Developer you will be excited that the Microsoft Office 2010 Developer Kit was released which includes a number of Hands-On Labs to get you up to speed on developing applications for Microsoft Office 2010.
Each of the hands on labs in the training kit have a number of exercises to incrementally present the concepts and help the developer build their skills. The hands on labs included in the Office 2010 training kit are:
- Getting Started with Office 2010 Development
- Office 2010 UI Customizations
- Client Workflow
- Security and Deployment
- Open XML
- InfoPath and Forms Services
- Business Connectivity Services
- Office 2010 Service Applications
- Developing BI Applications
Download the Microsoft Office 2010 Developer Kit here.
David Hayden
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
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This came up while talking with a client today. There are so many options for free antivirus software for the home and home business that I am surprised anyone actually pays for it. Many of the popular antivirus, anti-rootkit, and anti-spyware software companies have a free version that will easily handle most user needs.
If you prefer to get your free antivirus and anti-spyware software from Microsoft, Microsoft also has free software available, called Microsoft Security Essentials. The only gotcha to installing it is that you must be running a genuine copy of Windows (i.e. you better have a paid, registered license ). Per the Microsoft Security Essentials Website:
“Microsoft Security Essentials provides real-time protection for your home PC that guards against viruses, spyware, and other malicious software.”
So, if you have a genuine copy of Windows and you are in need of antivirus and anti-spyware software, might as well download a copy of Microsoft Security Essentials for your home PC.
You can download Microsoft Security Essentials here.
Hope this helps.
David Hayden
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
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  Around Thanksgiving I was in Sports Authority and saw the Ab Circle Pro and thought it would be a really nice way to vary my ab workout and exercises. I have faithfully used an Ab Rocket ( Ab Rocket Honest Review - Ab Crunches / Situps Fitness Equipment ) for over a year and developed some really nice abs. They aren't cut like the models you see on TV, but there is a six pack and I am very, very happy with how I look and my clothes fit.
Unfortunately, the Ab Circle Pro is out of my budget at around $170 since I already have an Ab Rocket. However, while surfing, I ran into the Power Wheel which is more affordable and has a lot of positive reviews in strengthening and firming the abs.
I never got around to buying a Power Wheel, but then Christmas came around and my wonderful wife buys me a $10 Ab Wheel. For the past few nights I have been using it along with my Ab Rocket to see if the results are as good as everyone says. Here is a quick review of my experience using the Ab Wheel as a means to vary my ab workout.
Assembly
First, I have to talk about the assembly of the Ab Wheel as I hate assembling anything. The beauty about the Ab Wheel, and probably most Ab Wheel equipment, is how incredibly easy they are to put together. The Ab Wheel consists of a strong bar with one hand grip already attached, two wheels, and the other hand grip waiting to be attached. You simply put the two wheels onto the bar and attach the remaining hand grip and assembly is done! Beautiful!!
Note that the hand grips are snug, as they should be, to keep the wheels from sliding around and off the bar. It does take a bit of effort to put the second hand grip on the bar, but you only have to do it once in your lifetime so be patient while putting it on. I have read reviews where people complain how difficult it is to attach the second hand grip, but seriously, it isn't that hard to do. I think that if you can't get the hand grip on the bar, then you probably shouldn't be using the Ab Wheel :)
Quality
I initially had doubts about the quality of the Ab Wheel when I first saw it. The Ab Wheel felt cheap when I first took it out of the box. Even the packaging felt cheap. The bar, wheels, and hand grip are just tossed in a nothing-of-a-box with a small piece of paper that doesn't really tell you much about what to do with it and how to assemble it.
Thinking about it later, however, this is what you should expect for $10. Quite frankly you are getting the most for your $10 - an Ab Wheel that is made to help you do ab exercises and nothing more. With normal wear and tear I doubt it will break or wear out soon so you are getting the biggest bang for your buck. If you are worried about it only being $10, you can certainly find others for a higher price :)
Storage
As I have mentioned over and over in my other home gym equipment reviews, when you workout at home you have a minimal amount of space to put your home exercise equipment. The Ab Wheel takes up very little space and will fit in a bag when traveling. This is a definite plus in my book as I don't want to dedicate a room to exercising or have fitness equipment all over the house.
Ab Workout
I have only used the Ab Wheel 3 times and the one thing I noticed about it compared to an Ab Rocket is the pressure it places on your arms, shoulders, and lower back. What I like about the Ab Rocket is how it isolates your ab workout without putting pressure on any other parts of the body. In fact, the pressure the Ab Rocket takes off your neck when doing normal situps is heavenly.
However, the Ab Wheel requires you to hold up your upper body with your hands and arms via the hand grips on the bar. If your upper body is not strong this will take some getting used to. You might find that your arms are tired before your abs at first. The Ab Wheel is definitely a workout for your arms and upper body and some people might like it. Others might not like it as they really want to isolate their abs.
The other pressure that is immediately noticeable is the pressure on your lower back as you roll forward and back with the Ab Wheel. I am guessing, and recommend, that ones starts out with slow, small motions back and forth to develop proper technique and develop those core lower back muscles. Using bad technique or starting advanced ( long ) moves too quickly could give you lower back problems.
Putting those things aside, I do notice a tightness in the abs when I use the Ab Wheel when rolling the Ab Wheel. If I hadn't been using my Ab Rocket regularly, I bet I would really feel the Ab burn. I bet I would also notice a bit of a burn in the arms and upper body as well since I have to hold myself up.
The key with the Ab Wheel is to make the back-and-forth motion using your abs and keep your back in a relaxed and normal position. The back must stay in its natural alignment and you must use your abs to roll the Ab Wheel back and forth.
Again, its only been three days, but I see the potential and like the change in my ab workout so I plan to keep using it every evening along with the Ab Rocket to see if I get results.
Conclusion
If you are looking to work out your abs or vary your ab workout, you really can't beat the price of an Ab Wheel at $10. Unlike some ab machines, like the Ab Rocket and Ab Circle Pro, you do have more pressure on your arms, upper body, and back. Some people will like that it works out other muscles, but if you just want pure isolation on the abs, you may not like it. It is easy to assemble and store in your house as it takes up almost no room. Although it looks and feels cheap, I have no reason to believe it will break or wear out quickly with normal use. Seems like a good bang for your buck if you want some strong and firms abs in the new year.
If you have any experience with the Ab Wheel I would love to hear about it.
You can read the reviews on Amazon.
Be Safe and Healthy!
David Hayden
Thursday, December 24, 2009
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JetBrains just released ReSharper 5.0 Beta with support for Visual Studio 2010 and Visual Studio 2008. I am guessing ReSharper 5 will release much more quickly than ReSharper 4 for Visual Studio 2008 and you know what I mean :)
According to the What's New Section for ReSharper 5 on JetBrains' website:
“Compared to previous versions, ReSharper 5.0 has evolved in four major directions:
- Web Development. We have greatly extended the toolset available to ASP.NET developers when they work with markup files and web site infrastructure.
- Project and Team. ReSharper becomes a valuable assistant not only to individual developers but to teams working with large, complicated projects. It allows them to view, change and maintain project structure.
- Support for Visual Studio 2010. ReSharper 5.0 provides support for the new Visual Studio version earlier than ever. Of course, Visual Studio 2008 is supported, too.
- Code Analysis. This area incorporates several improvements, from "plainly" implementing a substantial pack of new code inspections to upgrading foreach and for loops to LINQ queries and letting you track how data values and method calls are passed through your code.”
You can learn more about what's new here.
Filed: Visual Studio Tools and Add-Ins.
Microsoft Developer Tools
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
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Come on out for Sarasota Nerddinner #3!!
This is a great time for all developers in the Sarasota Area, and beyond, to ring in the new year with other developers. We always get a wonderful turnout for this event as it is a great time to meet and talk one-on-one with other developers in the area.
SarasotaDev Dinner #3
Wednesday, January 27, 2010 at 6:00pm
Buffalo Wild Wings
4067 Clark Road
Sarasota, FL 34233
Join the Sarasota .NET Developers Windows Live Group to stay up-to-date on Sarasota .NET Developer Events.
Also, check out the new Sarasota Web Developers Group.
See you there!!
David Hayden
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
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This blog post is more of a bookmark for myself as I was about to download the ADO.NET Data Services Update for .NET 3.5 SP1 that was recently released and it looks like the download has been temporarily removed from the Microsoft Downloads page while they make a fix.
The ADO.NET Data Services Update has the following features that most people would be interested in:
- Row count
- Feed customization (aka "web-friendly feeds")
- Data binding for WPF and Silverlight 3
- Enhanced blob support
- Server-driven paging
- Projection Support (via the $select query option)
- A new "Data Service Provider" interface for custom providers
- Various bug fixes to V1.0 features
When the ADO.NET Data Services Update is re-released it will be located here for Window 7.
In the meantime, one can grab the latest CTP here.
A cool tool for ADO.NET Data Services: LinqPad - Query LINQ To ADO.NET Data Services
Microsoft .NET Developer Tools
Sunday, December 20, 2009
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LinqPad is already a cool tool for querying databases using the familiar LINQ Query Syntax. I talked about it awhile ago at LINQPad - Dynamically Query SQL Server Databases in LINQ.
A new feature in the beta version of LinqPad is the ability to query ADO.NET Data Services ( soon to be know as WCF Data Services ).
Per the website:
“LINQPad lets you interactively query SQL databases in a modern query language: LINQ. Kiss goodbye to SQL Management Studio!
LINQPad supports everything in C# 3.0 and Framework 3.5:
- LINQ to Objects
- LINQ to SQL
- Entity Framework
- LINQ to XML
- ADO.NET Data Services (in the latest beta)
- (Even old-fashioned SQL!)“
You can learn more about the latest beta version of LinqPad that supports ADO.NET Data Services here.
Check out other .NET Developer Tools.
Microsoft .NET Developer Tools
Friday, December 18, 2009
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The preliminary source code releases of Enterprise Libary 5 have a class, called DatabaseExtensions, which is a bunch of Extension Methods on the Database Class in the Data Access Application Block ( DAAB ). I have been calling these methods Database Accessors or DAAB Accessors after the names of the methods which are
- Database.CreateSprocAccessor
- Database.ExecuteSprocAccessor
- Database.CreateSqlStringAccessor
- Database.ExecuteSqlStringAccessor
- etc...
The goal of these DAAB Accessors is to remove some of the monotonous code that is associated with mapping an IDataReader or IDataRecord to a custom class or custom collection that you may use in your .NET applications.
You will find an example of using the Database.ExecuteSprocAccessor in its simplest form at the following tutorial:
I'll be doing a lot of my code-oriented posts on this new blog so you may want to subscribe to the feed to stay up with my posts.
Hope it helps.
David Hayden
Microsoft .NET Developer Tutorials
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