Why Haven't I Posted Any Lately?

Well, I have actually been actively writing lately. 

I've neglected to tell you that I've transferred my thoughts and ideas over to the Roundedcube Blog. You can find posts that I wrote by following this link. 

Please update your bookmarks and links (if you did that) to one of those links.  I really appreciate your support.  Please keep reading and I'll keep writing them as much as I can. 

Thanks again. :)

Marco

Congratulations to Sitecore for being ISV of the Month

Sitecore has been chosen by the SQL Server Azure Team as its first ISV of the Month for leveraging Microsoft Azure.  You can read the blog post here:

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/sqlazure/archive/2011/02/11/10128353.aspx

As part of this exciting news, if you don’t know yet, Sitecore now works very closely with Microsoft. When I say closely, I mean physically.  They now have an on-site location at the Microsoft Partner Solutions Center in Redmond, WA. 

For Sitecore users, developers, and enthusiasts, this can only mean that Sitecore’s commitment to improving its product as well as being in line with Microsoft’s vision is going to be accelerated.  Just in the past year, we’ve seen several versions of Sitecore come out.  Plus, there’s the Azure version.  Then, we also have new modules and updated Sitecore-based products.  Sitecore is really stepping on the gas to separate itself from the competition by leveraging strategic partnerships.  At this rate, partners need to keep up both technically and business-wise.  There’s so much value in adopting Sitecore now and in the future.

Thanks Sitecore for such dedication to excellence.  I’m proud to being a partner.

Sitecore: What do you want to know?

I know that this is only my second post this year and I haven’t done one since November 2010.  I’ve been a bit busy lately and with the holidays, it was tough to get my head on a topic and write about it.  Anyway, I’m getting back to it and I’m hoping to find out what kind of topics you’d like to hear more.  I’ve been all over the place (but maybe that’s what makes you read my blog) from simple hacks that I do, actual real-life best practices, to business and technology insights.

Here are some ideas that I can explore and blog about:

• OMS and Analytics
• More Sharepoint
• Site Creation Best Practices
• Other CMS vs Sitecore
• Azure
• New Sitecore Features
• Selling Sitecore
• Sitecore Beyond CMS
• System Integration

I’ve also been contemplating of writing a comprehensive e-book that guides a developer from installation to deployment.  The audience would likely be more for new Sitecore adopters but I’ll put enough best practices and techniques in there that I hope seasoned Sitecore technologists would at least read and give me some feedback.

I don’t have a set date but I’d like to hear your thoughts on what you’d like to see as well.

What is an In-house Sitecore Resource?

One of the challenges many new Sitecore clients have is what happens after the Sitecore-based Web site is finished and running.  There are obviously many choices out there but the common theme is that whatever you end up with, you will need to have a good Sitecore technical resource…and this person doesn’t always have to be the best programmer you can find.  Of course, you can also apply these when looking for a long-term relationship with a Sitecore vendor.  Here are some of the things you should look for.  Remember, we’re not talking about a resource that just manages the site

Roundedcube.com Launched

We just recently launched our new Website and, of course, it’s managed using Sitecore CMS, what else.  It’s actually something that I had a hand on so that I can get back to doing some actual Sitecore work.  Although I may know the concepts, getting back to it took a bit of time especially when I started it was on v6.2 and now it’s on v6.3.  I think I was going to upgrade to v6.4 but didn’t have enough time.  It would’ve been great to see the new enhancements on v6.4 such as cloning, page editor updates, etc.  Maybe in a couple of months.

Anyway, check our site out and let us know what you think.  We put a lot of effort in making the site mobile-friendly (notice no Flash).  It works so well on iPhone/iPad, webOS, and Droid phones.  However, we are still developing the mobile-version of the site and should be out in the next month.  It will re-use the Sitecore instance we have and its content.  I’m making sure that marketing can maintain/enhance the site easily for any media.  So stay tuned for that.

Also, you may have seen some tweets or posts regarding an Easter egg on the site.  Let me just get the cat out of the bag and just double-click on the main feature on the homepage.  Have a great time with it.

Visit our site (http://www.roundedcube.com) and let us know what you think.

Sitecore 6.4 Cloning – What does it Mean?

If you want to know “what it is”, then check John West’s Blog.  John gives you a quick preview of this new powerful feature, what it does, how it compares with other Sitecore assets, etc.  The concept is not far-fetch and you may have already required or implemented it before.  It essentially allows an item to use another item’s field values.  Let’s say you have a Location page (content item) that has days/hours of operation, amenities, location name, map, address, etc.  Also, let’s say that all locations have the same hours of operation and amenities.  What cloning allows you to do is to “clone” the location content item for another location and just update the address, name, and map.  Upon rendering, you’ll see a complete page with the re-used (or shared depending on how you look at it) content values of hours of operations and amenities together with the specific values for address, name, and map.  This is all without developing any logic specific to this except for rendering the fields.  Cool, huh?

Proud to be a Sitecore Blogger

Yup.  Besides this blog and our corporate blog, I’m now also a Sitecore blogger:

http://www.sitecore.net/Community/Best-Practice-Blogs/Marco-Tana/Posts/2010/09/Marketers-Top-Sitecore-Priorities.aspx

This may sound self-glorifying but I’m actually proud where my writing skills has taken me.  I still have the occasional grammatical errors but I consider that to be part of my personality (nice excuse, huh?).  Anyway, Sitecore is bringing together a group of Sitecore veterans to give you their (our) experiences with the product, modules, and associated technologies and practices.  It’s called the Best Practice Blogs and was recently released.  You’ll find advice and expertise on marketing, implementation, e-commerce, SEO, usability, and analytics.  There’ll be more topics too come as Sitecore gets more articles. 

I’ve read most of the posts already and very interesting ideas.  I definitely learned a thing or two.  I’m sure you will too.  I say you check it out and I’ll definitely write another one.  By the way, if you happen to read mine, leave me a message and let me know what topic you’d like me to tackle in the future (or at least rate my post).  You can suggest anything from design, technology, project management, processes, etc.  If I have some ideas to share, I’ll definitely evangelize it on my posts either here in my blog, at Roundedcube’s blog, or Sitecore’s.

Thanks again for reading.

ASP.NET Vulnerability Allows Downloading of Server Files (and Decrypt Viewstate)

ANOTHER UPDATE: Sitecore released a fix last Friday on SDN.

UPDATE: A FAQ that details more about the workaround and the vulnerability was released on Sep 20.

Yes.  You read that right.  Essentially, by doing some queries on the server that has an ASP.NET-based Website/app, a hacker can eventually figure out how to download restricted files like web.config and even be able to determine the server’s cipher text and decrypt your site’s Viewstate or other encrypted data you may have. 
I’m posting this here because Sitecore is obviously ASP.NET-based.  So, here’s the post form Scott Guthrie on the workaround and more information about the vulnerability.  Spread it around and let’s make sure our community is safe and keep Sitecore’s integrity intact (even though this is not even about Sitecore).  You know how that works : ).
http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2010/09/18/important-asp-net-security-vulnerability.aspx