About Visual SourceSafe 6.0 build numbers

Ok, I wrote some of this info so many times that I've decided to write a page where I could point users to read it directly...

Here are the SourceSafe 6.0 versions available:

VSS 6.0 RTM - This build is what shipped back in 1998 in the Visual Studio 6.0 box and as standalone product. It's a combination of binaries from builds 8169 and 8163.
The VSS 6.0 build numbers are 4-digits numbers equal to (8000 + number of days since beginning of 1998). E.g. 8001 is 1/1/1998 and 8169 is 6/18/1998.

VSS 6.0 builds before 6.0b - There are a couple of builds shipped between 1998 and 2001 on which I was not able to get too much information.
8383 - Shipped with Visual Studio 6.0 SP3 (some flavor of original 6.0)
8790 - SourceSafe 6.0a (my guess is that it shipped as standalone product)
8835 - Shipped with Visual Studio 6.0 SP4 (some flavor of 6.0a)
8987 - Shipped with Visual Studio 6.0 SP5 (some flavor of 6.0a)

VSS 6.0b - This build shipped in 2001, but I don't remember the occasion; my guess is that it shipped with a beta version of VS2002. It's a combination of binaries from builds 9119 and 8163.

VSS 6.0c - This build shipped in 2002 in Visual Studio .NET 2002 Enterprise box (VS7.0) and as standalone product. It's a combination of binaries from builds 9447 and 9350. Later, Microsoft included the same build into Visual SourceSafe 6 Service Pack 6 (VSS6SP6). Users of the older builds can upgrade for free to VSS 6.0c by installing VSS6SP6 (a 5.2MB download) from this MSDN page. Users of VS2002 and later are strongly advised to upgrade at least to this build (older builds don't recognize all VS2002 project types, the source control integration experience is worse, there are also 4 years worth of bug fixes)

VSS 6.0d build 9848 - This build shipped in 2003 in Visual Studio .NET 2003 Enterprise box (VS7.1) and as standalone product. It's the original VSS 6.0d release. 6.0d builds address various security issues with older builds, are built using VC7 instead of VC5, etc.

VSS 6.0d build 31222 - This later VSS 6.0d build was included in Visual Studio 6.0 Service Pack 6 (VS6SP6). Do not confuse this with VSS6SP6 that contained VSS 6.0c! Users of older builds can upgrade to this VSS 6.0d build by installing VS6SP6 (a 62MB download) from this MSDN page. You can upgrade your SourceSafe install for free to this build even if you already have VSS 6.0d 9848, and even if you don't have VS6 installed on the machine. You'll notice the build numbering scheme has changed from the incremental 4-digits numbers to 5-digits numbers representing year-month-day when the build was created.

Of course, there are newer VSS 6.0d builds available (as of writing this post, 61101 is the last build) that are addressing various specific problems some customers encountered. If you think you have a problem one of these builds may fix you can obtain them by calling product support (or request a QFE and have a new build created if the QFE is approved).

Really Right Stuff (RRS) clamp for Bogen/Manfrotto 484RC2 on a Velbon ULTRA-MAXi tripod

I just found my travel tripod in the closet and I remembered the hard time I had last year searching the Internet for information on replacing the Velbon ULTRA-MAXi's default head with a more sturdy ballhead.
Now that I have a blog I guess it's the right time to post here my solution...

I decided to replace the head with a Bogen/Manfrotto 484RC2 ballhead and mount a RRS clamp on it.

The original 3-way pan-head of Velbon ULTRA-MAXi comes off easily by twisting it; it reveals a 1/4" screw. The 484RC2 head has a 3/8"-16 hole in its bottom, and to mount it on the tripod base you'll need a Reducer Bushing 7.5mm (3/8"-16 to 1/4"-20).

Now onto the RRS clamp... At the time I bought my clamp, the Really Right Stuff page listed B2 LR II or B2-Pro clamps suitable for Bogen/Manfrotto 484RC2, which was wrong (those clamps have a threaded hole to be installed on a ballhead with exposed 3/8"-16 threaded post, and they will not work on the 484RC2 ballhead, whose post has a hole after removing the original clamp and screw). I see that now the page was corrected to list B2 AS II and B2 Pro II. Anyway, I got the B2 AS II RRS clamp.

To screw the clamp on 484RC2 you'll need a M6 screw (RRS kindly provided me both with M6 and 1/4" screws). The screw that came with the 484RC2 head and the original Bogen clamp is also an M6 screw and fits the B2 AS II, too.

The clamp will not fit perfectly by default on the 484RC2's post because the post has two anti-twist tabs which are wider than the recessed "cross" on the back of the clamp (see the picture below).



The clamp will stay better if you rotate it 90 degrees.
For a perfect fit the tabs on 484RC2 have to be cut off completely or adjusted by thinning them with a small file. It's not hard to do it; it took me 10-15 minutes to thin the tabs and now the clamp fits perfectly; the original ballhead clamp continues to work fine, too.