Greg's Cool [Insert Clever Name] of the Day: 02/27/2011

Friday, March 04, 2011

"Introduction to Mobile Application Development Using Silverlight [Windows Phone 7]" lectures and resources from the Microsoft Faculty Center

Microsoft Faculty Center - Introduction to Mobile Application Development Using Silverlight (1 of 3), (2 of 3), (3 of 3)

"This course teaches students through lectures, discussions, demonstrations, and homework assignments. Students learn the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to develop a mobile application on the Windows Phone 7 platform using Microsoft Silverlight. Prior to taking this course, you should have some background in programming (preferably C#, but C, C++, Java helps).

...

Lesson Overviews

The Walkthrough videos in each lesson discuss the associated PowerPoint file and how to cover the material.

Lecture 1: Industry Perspective

Assignments (Word and Source Files)

Demos (Word and Source Files)

Silverlight Tools Demo – Hello Phone (Video)

WP7 L1 Industry Perspective (PowerPoint)

WP7 L1 Industry Perspective Walkthrough (Video)

Lecture 2: Anatomy of a Mobile Application

Assignments (Word and Source Files)

Isolated Storage Demo (Video)

Isolated Storage Demo (Word and Source Files)

Navigation Demo (Video)

Navigation Demo (Word and Source Files)

SIP Demo (Video)

SIP Demo (Word and Source Files)

WP7 L2 Anatomy of a Mobile Application (PowerPoint)

WP7 L2 Anatomy of a Mobile Application Walkthrough (Video)

Lecture 3: Multimedia Integration

Assignments (Word and Source Files)

Bing Maps Demo (Video)

Demo 1 – Media Launcher (Source Files)

Demo 2 – Media Element (Source Files)

Demo 3 – Web Browser (Source Files)

Demo 4 – Bing Maps (Source Files)

Media Element Demo (Video)

Media Launcher Demo (Video)

Web Browser Control Demo (Video)

WP7 L3 – Multimedia Integration (PowerPoint)

WP7 L3 – Multimedia Integration Walkthrough (Video)

..."

Here's a snip of the files from Lecture 1;

The HelloPhone.docx (i.e. assignment walkthrough)

So pretty much a complete class, all you need to do is give or consume it...

TFS Power Tools March 2011 Update (Backup/Restore, Shell Extension and tfpt enhancements and bug squashing added for flavor)

bharry's WebLog - Mar ‘11 Team Foundation Server Power Tools are Available

"Today we released an update to the Team Foundation Server Power Tools. You can download them here:

Main Power Tools

Build Extensions

MSSCCI plugin (unchanged from previous release)

The primary enhancements in this release are:

Addressed reported issues in the Backup/Restore Power Tool

Fleshed out the Windows Shell Extension for version control

Took the first step on the path to a bunch of new TFS Build Power Tools

Backup/Restore Power Tool

We released the backup/restore Power Tool in the last Power Tools release and you can read about it in depth here: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/bharry/archive/2010/08/18/backing-up-and-restoring-your-tfs-server.aspx and here: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/bharry/archive/2010/08/19/backing-up-your-tfs-server-with-sharepoint-and-reporting.aspx. Unfortunately, we pretty quickly got feedback that there were enough bugs in it that it was not nearly as useful as we had imagined. In this new release, the experience is pretty much the same so I’m not going to repeat all of the screen shots. The big difference is that we fixed just about every bug that was reported. We also put a ton more effort into testing it. This is probably the most involved Power Tool we have shipped today and it’s clear that the standard Power Tool approach was not sufficient. We’ve tried really hard to ensure that this is going to be a great solution for you. Of course, if you find any issues at all, please let us know and we’ll get them fixed as quickly as we can. Here’s a list of all of the bugs that we fixed:

...

Windows Shell Extension

I’m really excited to finally be getting back around to giving the shell extension some more love. It’s been a long time. We focused on adding the most requested functionality to it and it’s getting close to the point where most people won’t have to run Team Explorer for version control if they don’t want to.

Here’s a screen shot showing the new commands on the context menu.

...

TFS Build Power Tools

So, why, above did I describe this above as “first step on the path to a bunch of new TFS Build Power Tools” when we’ve already got some build Power Tools. Well, because this marks a new milestone. Over the last year, we have adopted TFS Build as the heart of the internal DevDiv automated build system. As part of doing this, we’ve implemented a ton of new internal tools to manage and report on builds. In fact, we were demoing them to our MVPs at the MVP Summit yesterday and they were drooling over them.

...

Bug Fixes

And, as always, in addition to the emphasis on bug fixing in the Backup/Restore Power Tool, we fixed bugs in other parts of the Power Tools too. Here’s a list of the fixes:

..."

As a somewhat heavy TFS Power Tool Shell Extension user I appreciate that it's gotten some TLC

Thursday, March 03, 2011

New Channel 9 series; "Defrag" - Going deep into troubleshooting Windows/Office/WP7/etc issues

Defrag - Defrag 001: Startup Slow Downs, Can't Boot, Blue Screens, Homegroup, IE Logins

Today I'm joined with Microsoft tech troubleshooter extraordinaire Gov Maharajov to help walk you through solutions to your tech support problems. In an effort to help solve future problems we're going to look at these issues beyond just fixing them and drill down into how Gov would actually troubleshoot these problems. In our next episode we'll be pulling tech support issues in part from the comments here. We're happy to take on problems with Windows, Office, WP7, or other Microsoft products, so if there are nagging issues you could use a hand with, let us know here.

In this episode of Defrag:
1:35 - Troubleshooting Windows 7 Start-up Slowdowns. (Sysinfo, Autoruns, Startup Delayer)
10:23 - Windows won't boot.
15:00 - Blue Screens (WinDBG)
26:12 - Troubleshooting Homegroup
28:48 - Problems logging in to sites with Internet Explorer.

..." [GD: Show description leached in full]

Cool new show that goes deep into solving issues, problems, etc. [Insert "teaching us to fish" comment here]

What size icon am I supposed to use my for app/toolbar/menu/dialog/etc? The "Icon Reference Chart" might be just the icon cheatsheet you've been looking for...

Hicksdesign - Icon Reference Chart

Looks like a handy chart... (I always forget what size Icon I can/should use where...)

(via devcheatsheet.com - Icon Reference Chart)

Microsoft Press free ebook roundup, eight ebooks, one post, zero cost

Microsoft Press - Ebooks: List of our free books

"We haven’t posted this in a while and I thought that it might be time for a refresh. This is a list of all of our free ebooks. We’ll have more coming up in 2011, so stay tuned.

..."

I've blogged about almost all of these individually in the past, but having them all in a single post is very convenient

"Regular Expression Cheat Sheet (.NET)" from RegExLibrary

RegExLibrary - Regular Expression Cheat Sheet (.NET)

The straight, simple, easy to understand an d very low signal to noise ration is what I thought cool about this... The Character Escapes/Character Classes also link to the appropriate MSDN doc's

(via http://www.delicious.com/tag/.Net)

Wednesday, March 02, 2011

Ed Bott provides a simple and easy Windows OS End of Life/Support Summary

Ed Bott's Microsoft Report - How long will Microsoft support XP, Vista, and Windows 7?

"In an ideal world, old versions of Windows would roll off Microsoft’s list of supported products and be replaced by new ones at regular, predicable intervals. That upgrade cycle has been anything but smooth and predictable in recent years, however. Microsoft’s support policy is still returning to normal after XP was allowed to live well past its normal retirement date and then got multiple extensions to placate customers who just said no to Vista.

I was reminded of this confusion earlier today when Matt Gardenghi asked a great question via Twitter:

Where would I find a list of supported MS OS versions? Trying to determine what’s in support and what’s out of support.

Microsoft product lifecycle policy is actually quite coherent and easy to understand, at least on paper. ...

...

For Windows XP, however, those calculations don’t work, because Microsoft has extended XP’s life artificially. To find XP’s end-of-support date, you should use the Microsoft Product Lifecycle Search page to get the official answer.

...

Here’s the

...

..."

I was JUST looking for this information yesterday. I knew XP SP3 ended support in 2013/2014 but couldn't find that as a hard date (having even looked at the Life Cycle page/search and I swear I couldn't find this information "search results for Windows XP" sigh...). Anyway, Mr Bott to the rescue... :)

(via Windows Enterprise Desktop - Sunsets Ahead: Ed Bott Summarizes Windows Retirement Dates)

IRL XBox Avatar's? Well how about 3d replica figurine or 6 foot poster?

WinRumors - 6ft Xbox Avatar posters and 3D miniature figurines now available

"Ever wanted a huge Xbox LIVE Avatar poster or a 3D miniature figurine? Well they’re available now.

Microsoft announced on Wednesday that it has partnered with FigurePrints to create fully detailed 3D replica figurines. Using 3D modeling techniques pioneered by special effects houses and manufacturing technology that allows even the most complicated of these models to be created ...

Microsoft has also partnered with Fathead to produce giant Xbox LIVE Avatar stickers/posters. The leading brand in Sports and Entertainment Wall Graphics will allow you to create a custom Fathead of your avatar. Just enter your gamertag, select from one of ten poses, pick your size up to 4 ft x 6½ ft, and ...

..."

Shame that some elements cannot be used due to licensing issues. Above is what FigurePrints can show, below is my real avatar. (FatHead has the same restriction)

Still I dig the thought of having a figurine or poster (though $60 for the figurine to $150 for a poster is a little much for me)

Some things you might not want to do in T-SQL (but are funny anyway) - Mandelbrot ASCII Art

SQLServerPedia - Mandelbrot Revisited.

"...

Today I’m sharing something I first posted two years ago: Something Pretty.

Something Pretty

A T-SQL script I came up with that displays the Mandelbrot set. (Tip: Hit Ctrl-T before executing)

...

..."

There's something just so wrong that it's right about this... T-SQL to generate Mandelbrot ascii art? LOL, nice...

Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Reactive Extensions graduates from MSDN Dev Labs to MSDN Data Developer Center

Matthew Podwysocki - The Reactive Extensions Extensions Now Live on MSDN Data Developer Center

"As you may have noticed, the Reactive Extensions for .NET and JavaScript have a new home, moving from MSDN Dev Labs to the MSDN Data Developer Center. The new home will provide you with not only how to get them, but also a beginner’s guide and other additional resources including hands on labs, videos, tutorials, forums and much more.

First Off, How Do I Get Them?

There are several ways to get your hands on the Reactive Extensions (Rx) either by installing them via the Reactive Extensions for .NET Home or via NuGet which we’ll cover below. The Reactive Extensions is available on multiple platforms such as:

.NET 3.5 SP1

.NET 4

Silverlight 3

Silverlight 4

Windows Phone 7

XBox and Zune via XNA

JavaScript

The great news about getting the Windows Phone 7 is that you get the Reactive Extensions out of the box as it shipped on the ROM itself. Since it shipped with the phone, there have been updates and you can get the latest always by visiting the site or via NuGet.

Now About NuGet…

Besides a direct download on the Rx Home Page, you can also get them via NuGet.

...

Next, in the search window, type Rx and hit enter to search. You’ll see that we ship quite a few packages already and have since NuGet was first introduced.

..."

Good to see this move forward in its growth... I've been hearing more about the Reactive Extensions recently and really need to try to take a peek at it...

MySchoolApp - Windows Phone 7 Starter Kit for building a, well, My School App... (C# and VB)

Dr. Z's Blog - A Windows Phone 7 Application Starter Kit

"You can download the application along with source code (both VB.NET and C#) here. Though this application, created by Mark Frydenberg at Bentley University, is for a school, you can easily replace the logo, links to RSS and web sites in the xml files to make it your own and publish it to Microsoft marketplace. The source code is available under CDDL. Happy Coding!

...

..."

CodePlex - MySchoolApp

"MySchoolApp: A Customizable Mobile App built using Windows Phone 7

Mark Frydenberg,
Computer Systems Department
Bentley University
Waltham, MA 02452

Introduction - MySchoolApp is a customizable application written in Visual Basic for the Windows Mobile Phone platform using Visual Studio Professional 2010. The application combines links to RSS and Web sites about a school, and displays a map and local weather. It uses a Panorama control to provide slick navigation by swiping from one pane to another. See the full details in the MySchoolApp data attached - http://www.codeplex.com/Project/Download/FileDownload.aspx?ProjectName=myschoolapp&DownloadId=209131

..."

How cool is it that a third party is releasing a starter kit like this? And that he took the time to do a C# AND VB version? Too cool... :)

Here's a snip from the 9 page DocX with the project;

Dimecasts.net WP7 Application Released

Derik Whittaker - Dimecasts.net WP7 Application has been released

“I am super pumped to announce that today I received word from Microsoft that the Dimecasts.net Windows Phone 7 application has been released.

If you have a WP7 and you are a fan of Dimecasts.net then please download and install the app. This is the first release and more than anything is ‘get it out there’ release in order to start to get feedback. Please let me know what you think about the app, feedback is encouraged.

…”

Go, go Dimecasts…!

Here’s some snaps of the app (from the Zune Marketplace)

Now if only I have a WP7 device… :P

Monday, February 28, 2011

PowerDbg v6.0 - Powering WinDbg with PowerShell

Debugging Toolbox - [PowerShell Script] PowerDbg v6.0 – Using PowerShell to Control WinDbg

"Last October the latest version of the PowerDbg tool was released, version 6.0. This release has major changes. For example, it is now easier to write scripts or otherwise just hack around the debugger, and includes the PowerDbgConsole, a bootstrapper designed to make setting up an interactive PowerDbg debugging session a one-liner. In addition, this new version is faster, easier to use, and has full 64 bit support.

For those new to PowerDbg, with this tool you can easily create PowerShell scripts to automate a WinDbg/CDB debugging session. You can use PowerDbg for Kernel Mode or User Mode, Post-Mortem Debugging or Live Debugging, either for native or managed code.

PowerShell has several advantages over the WinDbg Scripting Language, like:

Increased ease in creating scripts

Leverage in the .NET Framework

Debugging and tracing features

Code reuse through functions and cmdlets

Easier maintenance

Increased ease in building large scripts

Ease in formatting and displaying important information

PowerDbg is hosted in the CodePlex website and there you can find all the information you need about the new PowerDbg, so I’m just reusing the information from CodePlex here.

...

..."

PowerShell'ing WinDbg, with the full source too... Now that's a NOT a case of the Monday's... :P

One man’s debugging tale - How he hunts down a bug in NuPack, with his friends WinDbg and Reflector
Seems like it’s a WinDbg Day - Windows Kernel Debugging For Dummies
Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) Troubleshooting for Dummies (like me)
Mark Russinovich takes us along with him as he hunts an IE crash and teaching us how to fish along the way…

Free eBook about the Iraq Surge, "Surging South of Baghdad: The 3rd Infantry Division and Task Force Marne in Iraq, 2007-2008"

USA.Gob Gab - Free eBook About the 2007 Surge in Iraq

"The U.S. Government Printing Office runs an excellent blog called Government Book Talk in which they highlight remarkable government publications. Today’s blog post highlights Surging South of Baghdad: The 3rd Infantry Division and Task Force Marne in Iraq, 2007-2008, a book describing “the experience of one unit participating in its third deployment to Iraq.”

..."

US Army History - Surging South of Baghdad

Here's the first page of Preface;

During the autumn of 2006, the 3d Infantry Division was preparing for its third deployment to Iraq. Since the capture of Baghdad 3½ years earlier, the division had participated in a broad cross-section of the fighting—from the heady days of April 2003 when armored “thunder runs” paralyzed the Iraqi Army’s resistance and spearheaded the fall of Baghdad, to the sectarian violence in 2005 that heralded the early rise of the Sunni insurgency. To counter the deteriorating situation, President George W. Bush decided to send in extra troops, a one-time limited “surge” of U.S. ground forces aimed at tamping down the burgeoning violence. This is the story of the surge through the experiences of the 3d Infantry Division, which provided two of the five brigades, numbering some thirty thousand soldiers, that deployed to Iraq between February and June 2007. For almost fifteen months, the division occupied a key portion of the battlefield south of Baghdad, fighting the insurgents and trying to rebuild the lives of ordinary Iraqis worn down
by years of conflict.

Although the war in Iraq continues to this day, historians, journalists, and participants commenced writing about it almost immediately. Dozens of books on topics ranging from how the United States got into a war in Iraq to the fall of Baghdad to the battles of Fallujah and Ramadi have been published, but the process of writing about the surge has only just begun. The Center of Military History became an early participant in this first draft of history when the 3d Division asked for an Army historian to cover its events as it started to deploy in the spring of 2007. I volunteered, arriving at the division’s new headquarters at Camp Victory outside Baghdad in May.

Conditions were spartan. The influx of new troops to Iraq had quickly outpaced housing facilities, and most of the new soldiers and civilians— including me—were billeted in tents, which sprouted up around the base in enclaves of concrete corrals built as protection from the rocket attacks that were becoming an almost daily occurrence. Despite some personal privations, there was ample technology at the division headquarters. Banks of the latest computers and telephone systems kept this modern command post running night and day, sharing intelligence and maintaining instant and constant communication with the smallest unit in the remotest reaches of the operational area. I spent much of my time tapping into the mass of data, which, along with interviews in the field and personal observation, provided the basis for this book.

We're talking a 453 page PDF here...

"Into the Cloud" Leaning about the Cloud and Windows Azure, comic book style

Microsoft Born to Learn - Visual Content (Comics, etc.) - Download a Copy of the Cloud Comic Book

"Thanks for taking a look at the previous post about our Cloud Comic. If you have time, drop us a short note to let us know what you think of this medium. Are comics a resource you think would be useful to have as part of your learning process? Would they work well for some technologies but not for others? Would you like to see more of this type of content from Microsoft?

In this post we are making the Cloud comic available as a PDF download. You'll find the remaining panels below followed by a link to download the entire comic.

..."

Come on... You KNOW you want to print this on that color printer down the hall... And since it's "for work" you have the prefect excuse! :)

Axum, so long and goodnight...

Isolation, Agents, and Message-passing in .NET - The State of Axum

"Those who have followed this blog will have noticed that it’s been a long time since we posted anything new about Axum, and the time has come to state publicly that which may have been clear to some but not others, that we’re not currently pursuing productization.

We have seriously examined the possibility of releasing the source code under an OSS license, but that, too, will require time that we don’t have that much of. At this time, no one is assigned paid hours to work on Axum, but we are still entertaining fantasies about an open-source release sometime in the future by doing some extra work during down times.

..."

The good news was that the investment wasn't wasted and as if often the case some of the ideas, concepts and effort has made its way into C#/VB/.Net BCL

(via Jeff Ferguson - RIP Axum)