Have you tried out the WordPress.com app for Windows 8 ?  In the first version, you can like a post, follow a blog, or share a post on your own WordPress blog.  The experience is pretty seamless and really showcases the Metro design concepts of Windows 8. To get started, enter the Store (shown...

CS194: Senior Project was one of my favorite classes at Stanford, because it was an opportunity to build a project based on societal needs using the coolest technology out there.  My team designed and implemented a project leveraging the Nintendo Wiimote; but today with the Kinect for Windows sensor...

Want to learn more about WordPress and WebMatrix, or WordPress performance?  Come out to the next SoCal WordPress meetup hosted by Microsoft! From http://www.meetup.com/The-Southern-California-WordPress-Meetup-Group/events/52952262/ : C'mon out and join us for two great speakers covering two useful...

Maybe you’ve attended a free HTML5 WebCamp or you’re planning on attending an upcoming DevCamp .  Either way, you should be equipped with developer tools like WebMatrix , Visual Web Developer 2010 Express , or even Visual Studio .  You’re seeing how well IE9 supports your HTML5 web app and...

Want to enhance the user experience for an application in WebMatrix?  Task-based extensibility (TBEX) allows you to customize the WebMatrix user interface for a particular application.  Here I’m going to show you how to modify the dashboard locally with the Acquia Drupal application from the...

Do you have a New Year’s Resolution to build your own website?  If not, it’s a pretty good one that can be fulfilled in under ten minutes! Here’s a video that shows you how to download WebMatrix , gives you a quick tour of WebMatrix 2 Beta released in November 2011, and creates, customizes, and...

lightning talks Last week I had the opportunity to present to the LA Drupal group on building a Drupal site with WebMatrix.  The session was also recorded , but unfortunately there was a problem with the audio.  Although you can look forward to a recording with audio, hopefully this preliminary...

Last week I had the opportunity to attend Evening with Industry (EWI) events with my two favorite schools, Stanford and UC Berkeley. (I’m not a conflicted individual; this just means that my school will win Big Game on Saturday ) The events are organized by the collegiate sections of Society of...

Let’s see how easy it is to restrict access to certain pages based on roles.  First, if you don’t have WebMatrix, DOWNLOAD IT HERE .  I am using the WebMatrix 2 Beta version released in September 2011. We’re going to use the photo gallery site created in a previous post as a starting point...

The NuGet gallery in WebMatrix 2 Beta, which you can DOWNLOAD HERE , makes it easy to add helpers to your website.  You can make your website more social by adding commonly used functions from Facebook, Twitter, Paypal, etc.  Let’s see how we can enhance the photo gallery site created in my...

ASP.NET Razor syntax is an easy way to mix HTML and code, like C# or VB.  It’s not exclusive to WebMatrix, but it can be helpful in customizing your websites by giving your web pages a consistent look and feel.  Let’s see how easy it is to get started using Razor syntax in WebMatrix. ...

Thanks to all who attended my session earlier today. I enjoyed presenting at such a large Code Camp and I’m definitely looking forward to day 2 of Silicon Valley Code Camp ( http://www.siliconvalley-codecamp.com/ ). As always, feel free to drop me a line if you have any questions. For those of...

Getting your WordPress blog up and running has never been easier.  Here I’m going to show you how to get started with WebMatrix, a free tool from Microsoft that you can download here .  I’m using WebMatrix rather than going directly through WordPress because I want to easily customize and publish...

Silicon Valley Code Camp is coming to the SF Bay area Saturday and Sunday, October 8 and 9, 2011.  If you are at all remotely nearby or if you simply want to be a part of the excitement of learning anything and everything code-related, sign up at http://www.siliconvalley-codecamp.com .  Code...

This past weekend I drove two hours south to spend the weekend at BarCamp San Diego ( http://www.barcampsd.org/ ) following HTML5 WebCamp LA. If I’ve learned anything about BarCamps from attending two (my first one was in Los Angeles earlier this year), a BarCamp completely embraces the unconference...