May, 2008

A few people have approached me recently to ask how to fix a performance issue in the ASP.NET designer in VS 2008 when using controls with large number of properties. I did my research and found a hotfix that addresses this problem. You can find the details on this team blog .

In less than two weeks, the Toronto Silverlight User Group will have it's inaugural meeting. The user group is targeted at both developers and designers who are interested in learning about Silverlight and how the two parties can work together more seamlessly to create rich user experience on the web. As many of you know, Silverlight 2.0 includes CLR integration which makes it an interesting and...

On Saturday, May 24 - the developer breakout tracks will explode with a combination of Grok Talks , presentations on online services and many other surprises. Bring your laptop as there will be an opportunity to show off your skills and participate in the Visual Studio 2008 install fest. Requirements vary for different combinations of components within Visual Studio 2008. To install Visual Studio 2008...

Over the past week, I've been conducting a half-day briefings on how to build great websites on the Microsoft platform. The first stop on the tour was Vancouver (Wednesday, May 14), the second was Mississauga (Tuesday, May 20) and the third was in Montreal (Thursday, May 22). For those of you that attended one of the two briefings so far, you might remember me saying that the PowerPoint deck we...

Have you seen cool services like Windows Live, FaceBook, Twitter and Amazon? Did you know that you can build amazing applications using these services? In this track, you’ll get the lowdown on the fundamentals of services, how they work, and clarifying some of the myths and acronyms. Then, you’ll discover how to integrate services such as Windows Live, and Flickr into your applications and "mash up...

Sign up for the Grok and Load session at Energize IT! Visual Studio 2008 is a suite of development tools designed to help developers solve complex challenges and create innovative software. This session consists of a three-part series of hands-on and community based activities that you can participate in. First, you will get a chance to install Visual Studio 2008 during our install fest. Then, learn...

Alright - you've seen the posts about EnergizeIT 2008 which happens in Toronto on Saturday, May 24.  I'm writing this post to talk about the loudest, roudiest, "goes-to-eleven" breakout track at the event.  Of course, I am talking about the PHP on Windows track.  Our theme for the track?  Glad you asked.  Rock & Roll.  Bring out the heavy riffs, wild drum...

I get asked that question a lot. And frankly, it's a valid question that requires a thoughtful answer. At face value, it looks like Microsoft isn't practising what it preaches - if Microsoft doesn't even switch out Flash, why should you as a RIA solutions provider? I can assure you that this is something that we at Microsoft are very aware of. If you go to some Microsoft web properties (among the...

Peter has been working professionally in software development for over 18 years. He's been writing computer software far longer; since his first computer, an Atari 800. Starting in C, Peter progressed to C++ not too long after its adoption by the major compilers. With a strong background in C++, Peter has been writing, designing, and architecting Windows-based software and solutions for over 15 years...

You would be forgiven if you didn't realize Expression Studio 2 is now available.  It went up quietly this week on the newly red-designed Expression website .  While there will be a bigger splash later in the year to announce the launch of this product, the reason why you haven't heard much about it yet is because while the product is now released by Microsoft, the physical media for the...