Is it possible to do a distributed transaction across two processes where one process calls the other using .NET remoting? (I'm using .NET 2.0) Specifically, I have a system that manages work orders, and sometimes the work order requires an adjustment to stock. The stock system uses a .NET service that runs on a server. I'd like to start the completion process of the work order in a distributed transaction, call the stock management service, enlisting it in the transaction, and then finally complete or rollback the transaction in the original work order process. I have access to the stock management source code, so modifying or adding a new method isn't a problem. If anyone has done this or knows if it would work, where to find an example or if there are any "tricks" that must be done, I'd appreciate any feedback or thoughts on this. I've never done any practical work with distributed transactions, just read the theory from books and simple examples. Thanks for the help, Trevor B

I don't use source control, (only because I've never learned how to set it up properly), and I work from a laptop full-time. I do DVD-R backups of what I call my "essentials" almost nightly, and then use Symantec's Ghost app to make a drive image to an old PC (via firewire) once a week or more. Trevor

Hi, I'm trying to update an app.config file for an application. After I update the config file how do I tell the application to "refresh" the settings it read from the config originally? example: string val = ConfigurationSettings.AppSettings["companyName"]; // val = "My Co" use my own routine to write the setting: SetValue("companyName", "YourCo"); string val2 = ConfigurationSettings.AppSettings["companyName"]; // val2 = "My Co", but I want it to be "YourCo" It's only after I close the application and restart it that I pick up the "YourCo" value. Thanks for any suggestions, Trevor B

No, unfortunately, Crawford Gordon really was mis-managing badly at the end of the Avro run. There were a few countries that were interested in the bits and pieces of the Arrow technology, especially the Iroquois, but everything was all destroyed, and even the plans that could have been sold were also destroyed. It's funny, they cut everything up into little tiny pieces. (It's a lot like the Howard Hughes thing where he made the engineers cut up the badly designed steam-car.) The "legend" of the Arrow says that residents near the Avro plant saw big pieces of the Arrow being trucked away late one night. Many believe the pieces were taken to Area 51, where the US used the technology to build more spy planes. There is a shot I saw somewhere of the F-117A taken head on next to a head-on shot of the Arrow. The simlarities are striking. Is it coincidence? I think a lot of it is, but there's probably some influence from the Arrow in a few planes in the world. (Or at least I like to believe there is.) Back to the Iroquois thing, one of the guys I went to college with said that he belonged to an aviation group, and they found part of an Iroquois engine in an airplane junkyard. I don't remember what he said happened to the carcass, whether it's in a museum or what. It's really very sad, actually. After the Arrow died, Avro continued, trying to build boat hulls and stuff, but the company was just dessimated by the cancellation of the Arrow. Trevor

I think that the A10 is a pretty nasty beast, too!! :) At any rate, the design of the Arrow allowed it to be long range and capable of high-speed at the same time. I'm not an aviation engineer by any stretch but I believe the Delta wing allowed this (i.e. like a hang-glider with a jet engine on it!) But as you said it's your personal taste, and I can't very well tell you you're wrong!! You won't find many Arrow fans that agree with you though. :-D Trevor

It's true that the X2 was fast, and that it wasn't conventional. The X2 is one of the theories that dogs the Arrow. It's believed (by some) that the US wanted the Arrow out of commission because it was the only aircraft in the world that would be capable of taking the X2 down. (As is very briefly explored in the Arrow movie) What made the Arrow's speed so incredible was not just that it had a theoretical speed of somewhere around Mach 2.5, it was also a two-man, all-weather, long range interceptor, capable of taking off from a Canadian airbase, flying patrol over the polar cap, and then returning to base. I don't mean this in a negative way at all, but the X2 was none of those things. The Arrow and X2 are apples and oranges. The X2 had one purpose, and it was very, very dedicated to that task. Trevor

In response to the how real the movie was... It was based on the facts, stories and rumours that surrounded the Arrow. Nobody, in the general public really knows what happened. You saw in the movie where the Woodman took the jet past Mach 2, yet the books say 1.96. Did he really pass Mach 2? I love the Arrow, and I have read a lot of books about it. The stories are always clouded by the pain that the Avro employees felt when the project was cancelled. My own personal opinion is that like most stories of legend, there are partial truths to all the stories. All the little things built up, such as pressure from the US, cost overruns, techincal issues, and the extreme disrespect of Diefenbaker and Crawford Gordon Jr. For nothing but facts (because it contains video and sound clips only, check this site: http://archives.cbc.ca/IDD-1-75-275/science_technology/avro_arrow/[^] The Arrow had a lot of potential, and it would have been awesome to see 206 fly with the Iroquois engine. Trevor Braun

If you're interested, I'm selling my 9 month old Dell Inspiron 9100. It has all the bells and whistles: P4 2.8, 512Mb RAM, 60Gb (7200 RPM), DVD burner, 15.4" WUXGA (1920 x 1200 res), wireless 802.11 b/g, no bluetooth, Radeon 9700 128Mb, 27months of warranty left, XP Home, Microsoft Office 2003 Basic, etc, etc. Unfortunately, on the "most importantly" it is not lightweight. I don't know the exact weight of it, but it's pretty hefty. It's very, very fast though. I'm asking $2700 CAD (about $2300US, I think). I have the original packaging and CD's, manuals, etc. I find myself working more from the office now, and the laptop is just overkill for the little bit of email and stuff that I do from home. Outside my laptop, I do recommend the Dell Inspiron laptops. They reasonably priced, and you can configure them six ways from Sunday. I haven't had to return any of the laptops I've owned for any reason (all Inspirons). A lot of people had keyboard issues a few years back, but I haven't heard much on the negative in the past 2-3 years. Hope this helps. Trevor Braun