I’m heading to TechEd North America 2012 in June, and I’ll be collecting feedback from devs and designers on concerns and issues that confront you in Windows 8. Areas of interest include, but aren’t limited to: Database connectivity (Cloud, SQL, local...

As we approach the release of Windows 8, interest in developing Metro style apps is rising. I’m eager to start blogging about the world of Windows 8 coding later this year. In the meantime, we’re getting tantalizing tidbits from the product team’s Windows...

I finally got my act together and posted the code for my EmoEngineClientLibrary , which is a C# wrapper around the DotNetEmotivSDK.dll assembly that ships with the Emotiv SDK . Browse the source code Browse the documentation overview You may recall this...

Download: Windows 8 Consumer Preview At the start of 2012, I moved from the Server business unit to Windows & Windows Live, to help out with Windows 8. When I showed off the Windows 8 Consumer Preview bits on my sleek new Samsung XE700T1A to an old...

Longtime readers of the Learning Curve know about my fascination with brainwaves, aka, neurodata ( Again with the brainwaves ). Then along came Kinect, which provided a pleasant distraction. But how to get the best of both worlds? With the release of...

Download here . In the three months since Beta 2, there have been many improvements to the SDK and runtime, including: Support for up to four Kinect sensors plugged into the same computer; Significantly improved skeletal tracking, including the ability...

I’ve been absent from the old Learning Curve blog for a few weeks, because we’ve been very busy landing the Windows 8 Developer Preview. But the //build/Windows conference is almost here, and lots of stuff that we’ve been working on for the last two years...

[ Update: Before you read this tale of woe, here’s the correct way to replace your Trophy’s digitizer: HTC Trophy Screen Repair Take Apart Guide . h/t John Haug.] So my new HTC Trophy fell off of my thigh to the curb as I climbed out of my car. The vaunted...

Download Kinect for Windows SDK beta . NUI geeks rejoice! The noncommercial Kinect SDK beta is available from Microsoft Research.  Skeleton-tracking provided by the Kinect For Windows SDK beta. Get documentation here . Here are the code samples that...

A first look at the new "Windows 8" user interface. Read more at http://bit.ly/iCTxY6 . By Julie Larson-Green Corporate Vice President, Windows Experience REDMOND, Wash. – June 1, 2011 – Today, at the D9 Conference, we demonstrated the next...

Everybody knows that WorldWide Telescope is pretty cool. But when you drive its UI with Kinect, it’s a whole different experience:     I am so looking forward to the Kinect SDK beta, reportedly coming later this spring. WorldWide Telescope Kinect...

Great new stuff coming in Mango. Here’s what you’ll see demonstrated at MIX ‘11 : Multitasking: The fast app switching (FAS) and Windows Phone background agent features provide a rich multi-tasking experience for apps. IE9 for Windows Phone: Additional...

  Mix ‘11 Live Technorati Tags: Microsoft , Azure , Silverlight , HTML5 , Internet Explorer , Windows Phone

As a Prius owner and Microsoft developer, I find this announcement to be really exciting. There’s a live webcast today (6 April 2011): Watch at 1 p.m. PDT Here are the official talking points: Microsoft Corp. and Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) today announced...

Kinect devs in New York City may want to attend: Map to Microsoft Offices at 1290 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY How to get your Kinect app on Microsoft platforms with Dave Drach Thursday, March 31, 2011, 7:00 PM Microsoft Offices, 6th floor 1290...

Register. Oh, to be able to go this year. So many interesting sessions, I’d be a kid in a candy store. If any of you go and blog, please send me links. In addition to the obligatory boot-camp sessions for HTML5 Canvas, jQuery, and the like, these are...

Turns out that it’s a lot simpler than I thought . The most significant barrier to entry is the USB jack. If you buy the Kinect sensor by itself, you’re good to go. But if you buy the XBOX 360 bundle, as I did, then you have a problem. As I understand...

Adding my voice to the choir. Download here: Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (KB976932) . Here’s some official verbiage: What is in SP1? Windows 7 SP1 includes minor updates, including some made previously available through Windows...

If you look around for Kinect SDKs, you’ll find that there are at least three frameworks ( OpenNI , CL-NUI , and the official PrimeSense NITE ) to play with. For me, this is all too much to suss out, so I’m delighted to report that Microsoft Research...

Here’s the official word: For those of you who sign-in to comment on the MSDN Blogs, there is a change coming on January 27th 1:00 pm (PST) regarding user accounts and profiles. Please click here to read about this change. If you have questions, please...

If you’re like me, you’ve been itching to get under the hood of Kinect . The prospect of a true, Minority Report -like interface is too alluring to resist.  Rejoice, for the moment is at hand: PrimeSense , the company behind the Kinect 3D technology...

Loyal readers know that I’m enthusiastic about the Windows Phone developer story, so here are some events to help you get started with Phone 7. You can register here: www.msdnevents.com/wp7 . The official word: Windows Phone 7 offers a new world of opportunity...

Download the code samples . The MSFT P&P folks have come up with some great stuff over the years – I have a particular fondness for the original .NET Framework Application Blocks, which made life so much easier, what with the database access and the...

Download: Windows Phone Developer Tools RTW I have high hopes and an app or two in mind for Phone 7. Here are a few handy links to get you started. Windows Phone Developer Portal . Brandon’s blog post has more details on this release. Windows Phone Development...

Download . I’m a bit late to the party, but here’s a quick blurb on IE9. I was impressed with the preview, and now the Beta is posted . I can’t decide what the coolest feature is, but what comes to mind first is the blazing speed. Here’s a nice feature...