07-30-2005 Picnic 006
Originally uploaded by brianjo

I took the boys to the company picnic today. Very fun. It was really hot. Lot's of food. Kat took her mom and Buffy to the mall for a shopping spree, so it was just the guys. :)

Here's a link to the photo stream.

Kent has just finished posting the Absolute Beginner's Video Series on Visual Studio 2005 Express (VB and C#). You can check them out here:

Absolute Beginner's Video Series to Visual Studio 2005 Express Editions
This video series is designed specifically for individuals who are interested in learning the basics of how to create applications using Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition and Visual C# 2005 Express Edition. This includes over 10 hours of video-based instruction that walks from creating your first "Hello World" application to a fully functioning RSS Reader application. Learn how to write your first application today!!

If you're new to Visual Basic or Visual C#, this seems like a great way to get started.

In my ongoing effort to link to every SDK in the world, here's the WinFX Beta 1 SDK for your coding pleasure.

Microsoft® WinFX ™ Software Development Kit for Microsoft® Pre-Release Windows Operating System Code-Named "Longhorn", Beta 1 Web Setup
The WinFX SDK contains documentation, samples and tools designed to help you develop managed applications and libraries using WinFX, which is the set of next-generation managed APIs provided by Microsoft. This release includes documentation about using the .NET Framework 2.0, the Windows Presentation Foundation (formerly code named Avalon), and the Windows Communications Foundation (formerly code named Indigo).

Here is a direct link to the ISO, if you prefer to install from a disc. (Thanks to Norm Diamond for pointing out that I was linking to an earier version.)

I saw on GameDev.net that the NVIDIA 9.5 SDK is now available for download. Get the goods here:

NVIDIA SDK
The NVIDIA SDK includes hundreds of code samples, effects, and helpful libraries to help you take advantage of the latest in GPU technology. The latest release includes:

SLI Best Practices code sample

Transparency Antialiasing code sample

GPU video and effects using shaders

Percentage Closer Soft Shadows effect

Dozens of new and updated effects for shadows, image processing, visual debugging, and more

Image processing code samples showing how to do convolutions, compositing, discrete cosine transforms, and more

Computing image histograms using occlusion queries

Since Steve did the post How to Make a Vista Aux Display, I've been thinking about how to use my somewhat unused Tablet PC for a similar purpose. I had installed the Tablet PC Experience Pack and so I had the Ink Desktop to use as a notepad. I then added Konfabulator and I hid everything else on the desktop. This turns out to be a pretty cool bulletin board/information system. Here's a screen shot.

This can just sort of run and I can use the pen to make notes, or even pick it up to use for Web surfing or whatever. I was thinking about mounting in on the wall, but it's pretty convenient where it is now.

Weird, but I wanted to get it in my blog. A few months ago I got a mobile for my son Will. (My 10 year old.) He hadn't had a chance to use it yet, but tonight he went to a movie with his friend and their family. He called after the movie to say he was coming home. I don't know, it just made me smile. When I was a kid, I think Mannix and Banacek had phones in their cars and I thought about how cool it would be to have that some day. :)

Update: I changed the name of the file because I left a space in it when I first posted it. This was causing download problems. Hopefully the new link will fix. Sorry for the inconvenience.

In the middle of this crazy Windows Vista beta launch, I was able to attend Meltdown this week. This is a great conference. Everybody is insanely smart, and I learned something in every presentation I saw. Check out the slides if you get a chance. They're pure gold.

Meltdown 2005 Presentation (50 Mb zip)
Get up to date with the latest presentations from Meltdown 2005. All presentations given at the Windows, Graphics, Visual Studio, and Business/Publisher tracks are available for immediate download.

You can always get the latest on DirectX at the DirectX Developer Center.

After a flurry of hard work by people from all over Microsoft, we propped the Windows Vista Developer Center today. Get the details here:

Microsoft Windows Vista Developer Center
Windows Vista introduces breakthroughs in user experience, security and reliability, enabling you to build applications that bring clarity to the user's complex world of information.

Check out the site from a design perspective, even if you're not doing Windows Vista development yet. Duncan Mackenzie and Laurie Moloney get a ton of credit for pulling this together.

Good stuff. Get the details here:

Windows OneCare Live Home
Dont have the time or technical expertise to secure and manage a computer on a daily basis? Windows OneCare is a comprehensive PC health service that helps make your PC experience hassle-free.

Microsoft Product Manager for Developer Security Rick Samona, with the help of Foundstone, has created a new feature for the Security Developer Center called Spot the Bug. The way this works is that Rick will post a new bug in his blog every so often and you can take a shot at guessing the bug in the comments for the entry. When Rick posts a new bug, he'll answer the question on the current bug and mark the bug squashed. We've rebuilt the home page on the Security Developer Center to feature the latest unanswered bug and link to the squashed bugs.

This is a total experiment, and it could fail miserably, but it seems cool right now. :)

You might notice that I took the Security Bulletins list off the home page and replaced it with a link to the Security Bulletin Search page. Let me know if you were relying on that feature or not and I'll bring it back if there's a popular demand. Thanks to Erica Wiechers for helping us get this posted.