When I tried to automate the access to the web-based UI of the Dell DRAC 5 remote access controller, I stumbled upon a strange issue. System.Net.WebClient does not handle cookies on its own. You can force it to do so by intercepting the request and response handlers, GetWebRequest() and GetWebResponse(). There you have access to the HttpWebRequest and HttpWebResponse objects, and the respective CookieContainer and Cookies properties.

But given the nature of the DRAC 5, this is not enough. By default, HttpWebRequest interprets 302 (temporary redirect) responses and loads the next page. However, HttpWebRequest does not handle the cookies set on the 302 response. So you also have to disable AllowAutoRedirect to get the chance to save the cookies.

You can have a look at the code (using HttpWebRequest directly) in the github repository of DracWake.

I’m using Windows 8 for software development (web and console applications) on a daily basis for two weeks now. At first I hesitated because everyone says the new GUI is unusable on non-touch devices such as my notebook. However, it didn’t change my workflow at all. I pin all the programs I usually use to the task bar, just as I do in Windows 7. And for all the programs I rarely use, I press the Windows key and type the program name, just as I do in Windows 7. The screen looks different, with all the fancy rectangles instead of the start menu, but input and result are the same, so I don’t care. And when I’m done, I close the lid of my notebook. All in all, I barely notice whether I’m on my Windows 8 or my Windows 7 machine.

So why should you switch to Windows 8? I don’t know. I did because I wanted to evaluate it on my own. Apart from this, there is neither a real benefit nor a drawback. I will continue to use it, but I won’t upgrade my other machines.