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The new BizTalk 2006 exam for the MCTS: BizTalk 2006 cert is now available on the Vue website in its beta form (you just can't schedule it until May 24). I know there is a promo code out there somewhere that will let you take this exam for free but so far I haven't found it (I've tried combos of 235 and BTA, BTS, BIZ to no avail). Anyone know the promo code?

Update: Just received this from Jim Clark of MS Learning (through Marty):

Hi Kris, registration for this beta exam is available now, and the exam will run 5/24 – 6/2. The invitations for this exam have been slightly delayed until the Preparation Guide goes live on the web site (hopefully today, if not tomorrow).

Registration info:

To register for this exam or for information about testing centers in your area, call:

• Prometric: (800) 755-EXAM (800-755-3926)
• VUE: 800 TEST REGistration (800-837-8734)

Outside the U.S./Canada, please visit the following Web sites for registration information:

• Prometric: http://www.register.prometric.com/ClientInformation.asp
• VUE: http://www.vue.com/ms/

The promo code is TS235, and you can send this to anyone you wish.

Last christmas I took an old Micron laptop (the one I won in this DHTML contest) and converted it to a digital picture frame.

I then wrote a screensaver that pulls an RSS feed from our families website of the latest pictures that have been posted to the server. I use FolderShare to pull the photos from everyone's computer onto the server. The screensaver then cycles through the photos so that my wife can enjoy them.

Everything was working great until I turned on WPA security on the FAN (Family Area Network). I was able to get all the computers online with the new settings except the picture frame with uses a D-Link DWL-650 pc card to connect to the internet. First I went to see if there were some new drivers on the D-Link website but D-Link doesn't even provide downloads of the old drivers any more. I thought I was out of luck.

However, after a little bit of googling I came across this page which explains how to use the Eusso drivers with the DWL-650+ card. I don't have the plus card, but I gave it a shot and it worked! So now everything is back up and running.

The question that I have is why couldn't D-Link provide these drivers for me? I guess they feel they aren't making money supporting the old cards, but I know that it will make me think twice about buying another D-Link card in the future.

From WindowsWorkflow.Net:

Windows Workflow Foundation Beta 2.2 is now available for download on MSDN at this location. Please note that this release is not compatible with the February CTP of WinFx and must be installed on a machine without the February CTP. For more details, please refer to the installation instructions. While this installation is marked as the "Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Extensions for Windows Workflow Foundation Beta 2.2", it contains the runtime and documentation components as well.

Hmm... I hope this doesn't mean I have to flatten everything and start over just to install this update. However, this is exciting since it should include the ASP.Net asynchronous background workflow support I was looking for.

Update: You can upgrade to this version by following the instructions. However, I misread Paul's post about "functionality was added after beta 2.2 was released" [emphasis mine]. I read that and thought it was going to be in 2.2. :)

Update2: I don't know why this suddenly appeared as new to me when it has been out for quite some time! For some reason when I went to the homepage it looked different so I thought it was a newer release. I guess I have to have a good laugh at my own expense from time to time. :)