A Dullard's Guide

The reported issues with installation of Silverlight Tools has been relatively low.  But, there have been a handful of issues reported on the Silverlight.net forums, mostly involving Service Pack 1 for Visual Studio 2008 (which is required before installing Silverlight Tools).  Some users have had trouble with the installation of SP1.  For those people, I highly recommend hitting up the brilliant folks on the MSDN forum.  They are far more experienced in the bigger Visual Studio installation experience.

The most common problem directly related to Silverlight Tools, though, is users who have encountered the message "Build 9.0.30729.XX of Visual Studio 2008 SP1 or Visual Web Developer 2008 SP1 must be installed before installation can continue." 

First off, why does the build number matter?  Part of the Silverlight Tools installation includes a patch for Visual Studio required to add functionality such as the XAML designer.  This patch is specific to a build of the product - it works with SP1, not SP1 Beta, not RTM.  Attempting to install this patch on the wrong build will either 1) best case - not provide the functionality you were looking for or 2) worst case - mess up your installation of VS causing problems later down the line.

But, when some users look at their build information, it says they ARE running build 9.0.30729.  The quick answer is that most likely the SP1 installation was only partially successful and you need to uninstall and re-install SP1.  The more detailed and helpful answer is that you should read Jimmy Lewis's blog on Silverlight Tools Speed Bumps which has all sorts of helpful information, suggestions, and workarounds.  Thanks, Jimmy!

You've seen the checkbox on nearly all products from Microsoft.  "I would like to improve the installation experience by sending anonymous feedback." "I want to help make Microsoft software and services even better."  Checking the box is for opting-in to the Microsoft Customer Experience Program.

A lot of people skip this step.  Maybe they didn't notice the box.  Maybe they are like my sister and believe that the information isn't really anonymous and Microsoft is collecting all kinds of private information about them (but of course if that were true, you know the feds or the EU would be all over that).  

Don't skip this step!  Check the box! 

Why?  What's in it for you?  Checking this box sends information about how a person uses the product and what problems he or she might have encountered.  The information sent does not include any personally identifiable information.  So, for instance, I can see someone installing Silverlight Tools had a problem installing on an Spanish operating system, but I don't know that it's Bob that's having the problem (or what other software Bob is running on his computer). 

We've used this information to help find and fix some bugs in the installation process for Silverlight Tools, so keep checking that box and we'll keep making the products better.

The release candidate for Silverlight Tools for Visual Studio is currently available for the English version of Visual Studio only.  Users of non-English Visual Studio can still use this Silverlight Tools release candidate if they install the English version of Visual Web Developer Express with SP1 which is a FREE download.

http://www.microsoft.com/express/download/

Note, that installing Silverlight Tools RC0 on a machine with VWD Express SP1 ENU and VS 2008 SP1 non-ENU will allow Silverlight 2 development on VWD Express SP1 ENU only.  Neither Silverlight 2 Beta 2 nor Silverlight 2 RC development will be possible on VS2008 SP1 non-ENU until the final version of Silverlight Tools is released for the language specific Visual Studio version installed.

• Silverlight Tools RC0 for Visual Studio 2008 SP1
• Silverlight Tools RC0 for Visual Web Developer Express with SP1
• Silverlight 2 RC0 Developer Runtime
• Silverlight 2 RC0 Software Development Kit

This release gives Silverlight developers an opportunity to upgrade their Silverlight applications from Silverlight 2 Beta 2 to the final version of Silverlight 2 (RTW - release to web) which is due out later this fall.

For more information on updates in the Silverlight 2 runtime, check out ScottGu's blog.

In addition to being compatible with the post-beta version of the runtime, there are some other improvements that developers can look forward to.

Silverlight Tools now supports Visual Web Developer Express 2008 with SP1.  This means that all the tools you need to do Silverlight 2 development are FREE! 

Installation of Silverlight Tools now merges the offline help documents into Visual Studio.  This means no matter where you are doing development, if you have a question on a component of Silverlight Tools, press F1 to launch the Document Explorer to learn more.  Or, if you are just interested in reading more about Silverlight, from the Help menu in Visual Studio, choose Contents, and expand the Silverlight 2 SDK section.

And, the updated version of Silverlight tools also includes improvements to the compression of XAP files.

Tips for Developers

For more tips about updating your Silverlight applications form Beta 2 to the final version, check out Mike Snow's blog.  Also, take a look at the ReadMe page for Silverlight developers that has some known issue that you might encounter.

Expression Blend

For Blend users out there, check out the release candidate of Expression Blend 2 SP. 

A few notes about installing Blend with Silverlight Tools...

The beta and preview versions of Expression Blend (ie, March 2.5 preview or June 2.5 preview) are not compatible with Silverlight Tools RC0 as they contain an older version of the Silverlight SDK.  The Blend 2.5 March Preview and Blend 2.5 June preview build Silverlight 2 Beta 2 applications, not Silverlight 2 RTW applications.  Blend 2 SP, however, will build Silverlight 2 RTW applications.

If you do install Blend 2 SP and then decide to uninstall it, you will need to re-install the Silverlight 2 SDK by re-running the tools installation.

However, for those times you are doing development offline - maybe on a plane, maybe in a location without wifi - if you have the SDK installed, you can register this help collection with Visual Studio for offline access. 

1. Open Visual Studio (you will have to open VS as an administrator in Vista).

2. In the Help menu, choose Index. 

This will open Microsoft Document Explorer.

3. On the left, in the "Filtered by:" drop-down, choose  "(unfiltered)" and  in the "Look for field", type "Collection Manager."   In the results area, below the Collection Manager heading, double click Help.

4. Below the Collections available for inclusion, check Microsoft Silverlight 2 SDK Documentation and click the "Update VSCC" button.

5. Close all instances of Visual Studio to begin the help files merge.   It will take few minutes to update the collection and merge in the Silverlight help files.

6. Re-open Visual Studio. If the merge is still inprocess, a dialog will appear.

7.  Reopen the Document Explorer by selecting Index from the Help menu.

8. Click the Contents Tab and look for Microsoft Silverlight 2 SDK on the left.

Object reference not set to an instance of an object

 or

Package Load Failure

CAUSE
Visual Studio failed to load the dlls required by Silverlight Tools.

RESOLUTION
To resolve this issue, from a command prompt, run "devenv /resetskippkgs"
(i.e. "Folder Path\Common7\IDE\devenv.exe" /resetskippkgs)

If you previously had Silverlight Tools Beta 2 installed, after installing SP1, if you open or create a Silverlight project, a dialog will open stating:  Microsoft Silverlight Tools is unable to open the project due to a missing patch for Visual Studio. Please download the latest update from: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=120032.

An updated patch that works with Visual Studio SP1 is included in the Silverlight Tools install at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=120032.  Once installed, Visual Studio will once again be able to open and create Silverlight projects.

UPDATED: Some users have experienced issues with downloading a cached version of the tools installer.  The download should be signed on 8/1/2008 and should install KB955214.  I am currently working with our download center to resolve the caching issue.  In the meantime, the correct version of the installer is available here (as with any .exe you download from the Internet, verify that it was digitally signed by a trusted source before installing).  If you continue to see this dialog after the update, please contact me. 

Note For Non-English Users of Silverlight Tools

An updated version of Silverlight Tools available in 8 additional laguages will be published shortly following the English release.  Before installing Visual Studio 2008 SP1, please visit http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=120032 to confirm that an update for Silverlight Tools is available in your language.

What's Different About This Silverlight Tools Installer?

This installer has been updated to include a new patch that works specifically with the final version of SP1.  Previously, the installer had worked with SP1 Beta.  SP1 Beta is no longer supported by Silverlight Tools. 

Silverlight Tools Beta 2 currently supports Visual Studio 2008 (Standard or higher) RTM and Visual Studio 2008 (Standard or higher) SP1.  The final version of Silverlight Tools will support Visual Studio 2008 SP1 - Express, Standard, Professional, and Team System. 

What Other Issues Might I Encounter with VS 2008 SP1 and Silverlight Tools?

SP1 will not install if you currently have Silverlight Tools Beta 1 installed (instead of Silverlight Tools Beta 2).  For help or more information on removing Silverlight Tools Beta 1, visit: http://blogs.msdn.com/webdevtools/archive/2008/05/12/error-installing-visual-studio-2008-sp1-beta-and-silverlight-tools-beta-1.aspx 

Neither SP1 nor Silverlight Tools will install if previous installations (especially VS 2008 SP1 Beta and Silverlight Tools Beta 1) have resulted in incompatible DLLs.  For more information on this, visit: http://silverlight.net/GetStarted/SP1InstallInfo/ 

The updated installer for Silverlight Tools will not install on Visual Studio SP1 Beta or RC.  You must upgrade to the final version of Visual Studio 2008 SP1 before updating Silverlight Tools.  Visual Studio SP1 can be downloaded at: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=122094.

Silverlight Tools is available in 9 languages (English, Japanese, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Korean, Chinese - simplified, and Chinese-traditional).  The language version you select for Silverlight Tools must match the language of your Visual Studio installation.  All language versions for Silverlight Tools can be found at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=120319.

If you're an HDi developer who spends anytime reading this blog or the MSDN forum, you've probably noticed that I've mentioned Silverlight more than a couple of times recently.  Silverlight is, of course, Microsoft's platform for delivering rich interactive applications and media experiences for the web.  The final presentation to the user is somewhat similar to Flash, but the development experience is much more focused on allowing designers work like designers, developers work like developers, and to collaborate more effectively.  Silverlight is based off of the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) which is a graphics API for Windows applications and was originally called WPF/E (/E = everywhere).

Like HDi, the presentation layer of Silverlight is markup.  Silverlight's markup is called XAML which stands for eXtensible Application Markup Language and is pronounced xammel (rhymes with camel).  Silverlight 1.0 uses JavaScript.  Silverlight 2.0 is currently in beta 1 and also allows you to use managed .NET framework code (like C# or VB).  The final version of Silverlight 2.0 should be released by the end of the year.

Because of the similaries between Silverlight 1.0 and HDi, I thought the most logical thing for me to do was to turn one of my HDi samples into a Silverlight application.  One of the very first HDi samples I published on this blog was a sliding puzzle, so I thought it fitting to make it my first Silverlight application.

(click on the picture to see the project)

Some adjustments needed to be made, of course.  HDi allowed for screen capture, but Silverlight doesn't (to the best of my knowledge).  So I took out all the screen capture code and hard coded an image.  Silverlight 1.0 doesn't have templating (2.0 does, though), so the XAML nodes are all hard coded.  The XAML can be modified on the fly with script, so that approach is an option.  Though, I wanted to stay as true to the original script file as possible, so I didn't add that.

To modify the markup in HDi, you'd call node.style.setProperty, but in Silverlight, the correct call is node.setValue.  And while you would call animateProperty or using a timing block in the markup in HDi, animation is done in Silverlight using storyboards which are declared in the XAML.

And, again, in keeping with the original script, this puzzle uses up/down/left/right buttons just like the HDi version.   This puzzle could be updated to support a mouse.

My attempt at a Silverlight 1.0 version of the sliding puzzle is attached at the end of this blog.  Warning! This is my first real Silverlight app, so from what I can tell, it works.  I can't say whether or not this is the best way to implement such a puzzle with Silverlight.  But here it is for your review.

A brief overview of what you'll find in this project....

• Default.html launches the puzzle.  The shell of ths file was generated for me by Blend.  There is JavaScript in this file which calls a function in Silverlght.js to create the Silverlight object in the HTML. 
• Silverlight.js is part of the SDK.  I made no modifications to this file.
• Page.xaml is the markup file with all the UI elements
• Page.xaml.js was generated by Blend.  Most of the code for Page.xaml should go in here, but because I already had the code in another file, I just added hooks in here for my key event listener.
• Main.js is where all my puzzle code is

If you're ready to start doing Silverlight development, there are a couple of tools you will need.  First, download the Expressions Blend 2.5 March Preview.  If you're a Visual Studio user, you should also download the Silverlight Tools for Visual Studio 2008 (includes the runtime and SDK).  You can alternatively download the Silverlight SDK and samples separately from the VS tool.

I'm going to continue working on converting some HDi projects I have to Silverlight 1.0 and then 2.0 and hope to post those projects here in the near future.  In the meantime, If you're interested in playing around with some Silverlight samples (1.0 and 2.0), check out http://silverlight.net/Learn/

Today is my one-year anniversary at Microsoft.  There have been a lot of changes for me in the last year and I've learned a lot.  So I thought I would be reflective and share some my experiences, observations, and thoughts of the past year here.

Okay, it's true, there are a lot of guys here - slightly more men than women from what I've observed.  But all in all, Microsoft is a very diverse place.  As you walk through the halls or cafeteria, you'll hear several different languages being spoken and see such a wide range of types of people.  It's kind of like being at a gathering of the Galatic Senate in Star Wars (or Starfleet for you Trekkies.)  It is both amazing and humbling to work at a place that attracts some of the smartest people from all over the world.

Microsofies (that's what we're called, apparently) use our competitors' products - openly and proudly.   I know a bunch of people who have iPhones - and all the internets that go along with it.  People here use FireFox and Macs.  And, to be honest, Google seems to index this blog a heck of a lot faster than Live Search does.  And, it turns out it's more than okay to use and like our competitors' products.  The attitude seems to be that "I'll use the Microsoft version when Microsoft makes the better version."

Of course, we do use our own products - and complain loudly about them when they don't work like we want them to.  Last night I had dinner with friends and we tried to come up with a Microsoft product that didn't get picked on internally.  The winners were OneNote and Notepad.  Those of my friends who don't have an iPhone have smart phones running Windows Mobile.  And, for all the great features of the phone that make me more productive and on-schedule, the thing that sticks out most in my head is that phantom alarm bug! (largely because it has woken me up early the past two days).  I really love the new Zune hardware and firmware, but internally users are up in arms at the fact that it lacks clock. (And, no, it isn't going to get one any time soon).

The complaining is largely because we want Microsoft to have the best products.  There distribution lists (DLs) that we can join for just about every product available and discuss what works and what doesn't work - even (or especially) if you aren't on that product team.  Also, there's this term here called "dogfooding" which means using our own products before they are released to the world as a beta or CTP (community technology preview).  Of course, sometimes dogfooding is just as good as it sounds (I'm talking about you, IE8!).  The whole point of this of course is to release the best products that we can.

Yes, I have managed to get outside the walls of Microsoft since I moved here a year ago and I think I might be becoming an actual Seattleite.  I've made some really great friends here, despite the famed Seattle Freeze.  I've learned to snowboard and love it.  I've learned to appreciate beer.  I can drink lattes without sugar now.  I'm now an REI member.  I have played Xbox and have my very own gamertag.  And, it took a really long time, but eventually I did obtain both a Washington license plate and driver's license.

When I started this blog a year ago, I had no readers.  Last month, it got more than 49,000 hits (okay, usually it averages somewhere around 20,000 but then I went and mentioned the great emulator give-away of 2008).  It's been an interesting year.  Thanks for reading.  Stay tuned - maybe for more code examples, maybe for more musings.  Who knows.

Wow.  The Xbox 360 HD DVD emulator was WAY more popular than we had imagined.  Josh processed thousands of requests and hopefully a huge number of developers are now out there experimenting with interactivity.  But, now we have run out of our token allotment from the Xbox team and the emulator is no longer available for distribution.

But, Why Can't You Just Get MORE Tokens?
Remember how your dad told you money doesn't grow on trees?  Well, neither do Xbox tokens.  And, since we were charging all of $0 for the emulator, it's not exactly cost effective to obtain another batch.

But, I Want To Learn HDi!  What Do I Do Now?!
Fear not.  There are still other tools available to help you in your HDi development.  The Interactivity Jumpstart Kit with the HDi simulator is still available and is free.  The simulator can also be used with the Microsoft Script Debugger, which is a great way to step through your script and trace bugs.

Also, many of the software players out there like Cyberlink's PowerDVD will play both HDi and audio/video content from a hard drive and are available for about $100.  And, as an added bonus, you'll have a software player that will play that other blue laser optical disc format should you want to use that other format.  Personally, I'm not interested.  But some people might.

And, of course you can always burn an HD DVD or DVD-9 with your own content and play it on a retail player because HD DVD does not require AACS unlike the other blue laser optical disc format.

What Else Could/Should I Be Learning?
Well, if you're working for a Hollywood post house, you're probably looking into BD-J.  The problem there is that you have to be a Java developer (and a really good one too - ever used a poorly written java app or even one written by an average java developer?!), and the tools to test those apps aren't exactly cheap. 

But, how about Silverlight?! - The cross-browser, cross-platform, and cross-device plug-in for delivering the next generation of .NET based media experiences and rich interactivity.  And, as announced last week, Silverlight 1.0 will be available for mobile devices.   Silverlight 1.0 uses markup (XAML) and script (JScript) based similar to HDi.  You can write that script and markup in any tool you so desire (though, Expression Studio  and Visual Studio 2008 sure are nifty.).  If you're more of a designer type, check out the Expression tools to generate the files for you.  If you're more of a hardcore programmer type, check out Silverlight 2.0 Beta which supports C# and VB.

Happy Programming!

Any of you who made requests for the Xbox 360 HD DVD emulator last week should have received at least an initial email with further instructions on getting access to the emulator support site on http://connect.microsoft.com/, signing the end user licensing agreement (EULA), and obtaining the Xbox Live Marketplace token.

Remember, there is an actual live, breathing human being processing all these emails.  His name is Josh. He is moving as fast as he can.  We let him come out of his office late on Friday and let him go home for the weekend as long as he promised to come back Monday and keep working.  Luckily for all of you, he did come back.

So far, he's processed about 3000 (legitimate, non-spambot) requests.  ~800 people have accepted the EULA, and 413 Connect invitations have been sent out with ~400 to go.  Give Josh about a business day or two (M-F, 8a-5p, PST) to respond to any email you send.  FYI, I've heard a rumor that Josh has a script that moves emails to the bottom of the queue if he gets too many emails from a single address, so try to have a little patience.

This is roughly the way the process goes...

1) Go to http://www.thisishddvd.com/emulator/ request signup instructions

2) Go to http://connect.microsoft.com/

3) Click the "Sign In" button.  If you have a Windows Live ID (ie, a Microsoft Passport login, Hotmail account, MSN account, etc), login with this.  If you do not have a Windows Live ID, click the "Sign Up Now" and create one.  Your Windows Live ID can be any email address at which you would like to receive communications about this program.  (and, btw, Microsoft is hyper-sensitive about privacy and stuff so you won't get spammed - you will just receive info about this program if you opt-in).

4) Reply to the instruction email, and change the subject line to include the Windows Live ID that you selected.  For example, I would use: "MS CONNECT ID: amydullard@msn.com"

5) Josh will send you the end user licensing agreement (EULA)

6) Reply to the EULA email and change the subject line to "I Agree"

7) Josh will send you an invitation ID for http://connect.microsoft.com/ and an Xbox Live Marketplace token.

8) Go to https://connect.microsoft.com/invitationentry.aspx and enter the invitation ID.  This site is where you will download the PC software for logging, the user instructions (in the CHM file - READ IT!!  It has all the information you will need to get started), and best practices documentation, as well as find support articles on the emulator. 

9) On your Xbox 360, sign into Xbox LIVE.  Navigate to the Xbox LIVE Marketplace tab and select Redeem Code.   Enter your redemption token.  After successfully redeeming the pre-paid code, select "Yes" to download.

10) Get programming.

Some things that I assumed everyone knew based on my original post on the Xbox 360 HD DVD emulator...

You need an Xbox 360 with a hard drive.  The emulator is software that runs on the Xbox 360.  We are not giving away hardware.  The software will only run on the Xbox 360.  It will not run on a PC.  And it won't run on the Xbox 360 Arcade because it doesn't have a hard drive.

You need the Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on.  The software needed for HD DVD playback is on the add-on drive, so it is required to run the emulation software as well.  If you don't have one to go with your Xbox 360, you will need to purchase one to use the emulator.

This is a development and test tool.  If you're looking to make your own HD DVDs or play around with some HDi - have at it.  If you think this will allow you to playback ripped discs you have stored on a hard drive, it will not.  The emulator is a great tool for testing HD DVD projects.  If you're looking for something that will just playback content, use the Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on (which you would already have), or buy a Toshiba HD DVD player for under $100, or buy the Cyberlink PowerDVD player that will play that other media format as well.  Seriously, I think the emulator is great (Andy does good work), but it's not much fun outside the context of HD DVD development.

As I learn more on the status of releasing tokens, I will post more.  In the meantime, sit tight and be patient with Josh as he sorts this all out.

UPDATE 3/18: The Xbox 360 HD DVD Emulator is no longer available.  For more information, please see: http://blogs.msdn.com/amyd/archive/2008/03/18/tokens-gone.aspx 

The Xbox 360 HD DVD Emulator is now available as a free download on Xbox Live Marketplace when you request a token at http://www.thisishddvd.com/emulator/. 

Why is it free now?

This decision was made in light of Toshiba's recent announcement that they are discontinuing their HD DVD business.  The reasons for offering the emulator for free are two-fold. 

Microsoft is committed to interactivity and giving content authors the ability to create more compelling entertainment experiences.  The specification for HDi was developed with significant input from studios like Warner Bros. and Disney based on scenarios they desired in the next generation format.  Offering the emulator for free allows a greater audience to experiment with interactivity with little to no cost.

Second, the emulator beta program had approximately 80 participants across the industry who relied on the emulator for testing HDi content.  Continued access to the emulator will assist those post houses and developers in completing their outstanding HD DVD projects.

What about the people who already purchased the emulator?

They will be issued gift certificates redeemable at the Microsoft Store.  I'm kidding, of course!  That would be completely lame - who would do that?   Complete refunds will be issued to those who previously paid the full price for the emulator.

What can I do with this?

The Xbox 360 HD DVD Emulator is a development and test tool that allows you to run complete HD DVD projects - video, audio, and advanced interactivity - on your Xbox 360 from an external USB drive or networked PC.  If you're interested in learning more about HDi and how to create your first HDi application, start in the April 2007 section of this blog and work your way forward. 

If you're interested in a tool for muxing video to test on the emulator, be sure to check out NetBlender's DoStudio MX.  They also have a demo project that you can run on the emulator. 

Note that you do not need to have video in your project, though.  Your playlist may contain titles without PrimaryAudioVideoClip(s).

Once you have your project looking just the way you want, you can burn it to a DVD-9 and share it.  More info on burning DVD-9s can be found here: http://dostudio.netblender.com/wikipapers/wiki_dvdr.asp.  FYI, I use a Pioneer DVD burner, Gear Pro Professional software, and Verbatim discs. [follow up: the burner and software I have used successfully are not mentioned on NetBlender's wiki, so I mention them so people know what I have used to create discs that work on the Xbox and Toshiba players]

What doesn't it do?

The emulator does not allow you to play ripped retail titles on your Xbox or your PC.  The emulator runs on your Xbox 360, it does not run on a PC.  It will also not do your laundry.


Do I need an Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on drive to use this?

Yes!  Yes you do!  The HD DVD playback software required by the Xbox 360 is on the add-on drive, so you will need an add-on drive to use the emulator.  But, lucky you, they are now available for $50.  Sweet.

Yesterday was some day, huh?  Even though rumors have been rampant for over a week now, it doesn't make it any easier to hear.  Toshiba's going to discontinue the HD DVD business.  It seems that's all anyone's been talking about.  Engadget ran a snarky article on what you can do with your HD DVD player. 

You know what I did with my HD DVD player?  I went to Amazon and bought more HD DVDs for it.  And then I watched Queen:  Rock Montreal - which is pretty freaking awesome. 

I do not regret choosing HD DVD.  I bought my A2 for $250 and it came with 5 free movies by mail - though, not quite as good as the people who bought it in the last few months for $199 or less with 5 free movies immediately plus 5 more by mail.  I have a modest collection of HD DVDs which I have enjoyed watching.  And, it upscales my standard def library.  Even now, the other format doesn't have players for $250.  And, prices on those players are predicted to go up.

Right now, the two top selling DVD players- overall, not just high def - are Toshiba HD DVD players which tells me that I am probably not alone in my thinking. 

To everyone who's been following along on this blog for the past ten months, thanks for reading.  I hope to bring you more interesting code samples on new exciting technologies in the not too distant future.

 Happy Programming :)

-Amy