I have been messing with a few of the more basic principles of reflection recently. The main points include pulling out a list of types from a given assembly and then reviewing the members of those specific Types.

        public static void ReviewTypes()
        {
            // Checking out a specific assembly
            Assembly a = Assembly.Load("Mscorlib.dll");
            Type[] mytypes = a.GetTypes();
            foreach (Type ty in mytypes)
            {
                Console.WriteLine("Type is {0}", ty);
            }

            Console.WriteLine("{0} types have been located", mytypes.Length);
        }

        public static void ReviewMembers()
        {
            // examine a single type
            Type thisType = Type.GetType("System.Reflection.Assembly");
            Console.WriteLine("This Type is {0}", thisType);

            // get all the associated members
            MemberInfo[] mbrInfoAll = thisType.GetMembers();
            foreach (MemberInfo mbrInfoSelect in mbrInfoAll)
            {
                Console.WriteLine("{0} is a {1}", mbrInfoSelect, mbrInfoSelect.MemberType);
            }
            
        }

This type of granular interrogation of types\members at runtime can be very helpful!

The Zune 2 firmware update was well worth the wait, I actually waited up till midnight to get it but it was not available until later that morning.

The podcasting addition has been made more powerful by the wireless synching that I am now able to do. It took a few seconds to setup and now I do not need to connect my Zune to my PC to get the latest Run As Radio or Hanselminutes.

The true Social (as opposed to the original wireless file sharing) aspect of the Zune will be the real selling point. I believe the widget crazy social web sites will love the accessibility of the user information and playlists! While I know Apple has a tradition of creating isolated sandboxes I think it will be in their best interest to follow suit. There world seems to have a veracious appetite for this kind of useless information.

Here is my card: http://social.zune.net/member/MAD7E7E7

On the negative side I did have to deal with what appeared to be the complete destruction of my library. My library was getting scrambled and the artist were appearing under albums they were not associated. Songs were showing up in contradicting locations ... it was a mess. I hit the message boards and found the following solutions.

FOLDER XP - C:\Documents and Settings\<User Name>\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Zune\
FOLDER Vista - C:\Users\<User Name> AppData\Local\Microsoft\Zune\

• Exit Zune2 software

• Rename the following two files in the correct folder above:
  • ren ZuneStore.sdf ZuneStore.sdf.old
  • ren CurrentDatabase_365.wmdb CurrentDatabase_365.wmdb.old

• Restart Zune2 software and it will rebuild your collection.

Every year or so I really get worried about how much I am saving, or indeed how much I am spending and I tend to go crazy checking Microsoft Money or whatever analysis tool I can get my hands on.

As most employees no longer have access to fixed retirements sponsored by their employer we are generally reliant upon 401k's and other retirement packages to help us figure out what to save. The problem is that with all these calculators is that you really do not know what your rate of return will actually be; you never know how long you will live and to a lesser degree you may not know what your income may be from year to year.

Calculating retirement funds for me always becomes a year to year affair, and so I try to find graphically appealing calculators to help in my decision making.

MSNBC has a good flash based calculator that I really like! no visible post back when you hit calculate.

You can mess with the numbers and figure out at what point your earnings from interest is more than you estimate you will spend...

Now that is the magic number!

Got this update through the mail and I am really looking forward to the firmware and software update.

After reading about Mr Hanselman's shiny new house and more impressively the new upload (15Mbps) and download speeds (15Mbps) I was interested to see what through put I was getting from our local cable monopoly company. The results are as follows:

You can check your own speeds at the following location.

I now have two Vista machines at home (and one XP) and I am really digging Windows Media Center. I am looking at getting a Cable converter so that I can start recording shows directly to my PC.

I am also looking at the various MCE Extenders that are being offered. Clearly the XBOX 360 is at the top of quite a diverse list but I am also curious about a few others:

• HP Media Smart (42", 47") - The first HDTV with integrated Media Center Technology - $1,699.99, $2,099.99
• LinkSys Media Center Extender (also with DVD player option) - There is a new model available in November but you can find olde models on Amazon for less than $200,
• DSM-750 DLink Xtreme N WiFi HD -  No price point set yet

On a related entertainment note, have you noticed the fact the HD DVD prices have taken a sudden dive!! Circuit City is currently advertising HD DVD players at about $130!! Plus you get 5 free HD DVD's with the purchase, not bad eh!

UPDATE: Price was changed to $197.99 the very next day, nice catch Ed!

Blu-ray is still at $650 ... your move Sony!

To be honest I am not sure if this is the last dying breath of HD DVD or whether this is a legitimate attempt to pull the market back into its favor, but with studios firmly aligned in one camp or the other the casualties in this stand off will invariably be the consumer.