John's Blog

The .NET Frameworks uses GDI+ to handle graphics, and boy oh boy, there sure are a lot of classes to pick from. In order to play with some image manipulation, I was looking for a simple way to get an image on to a form and I spent a little time trying...

If you are looking for some more samples to play with in C# Expess, I've written two projects that have just appeared on MSDN. Both consist of an article, and a project for you download and open right in your own copy of C# Express. Web Browser Express...

Q. What does eating in an restaurant in Italy have in common with writing an application for Windows Mobile 5.0? A. Confusion over menus. Well, perhaps this problem is unique to me, but every time I start writing native application for Windows...

I love the WebBrowser control - it makes it easy to create customized Web browsers in my C# applications (for example, adding tabs as in this article ). Recently I was trying to find a way to block the custom browser from opening up new pages in a separate...

The Smartphone and Pocket PC emulators that ship with the Windows Mobile 5.0 SDKs are amazing pieces of software. Unlike previous generations which emulated the software, these emulators emulate the hardware. That's right, they are virtual ARM processors...

Having had reason to play with C# Express for the past few months, I’ve learned a few tricks that speed up my programming and just make life a lot more enjoyable. Maybe “tricks” is the wrong word – these features are kind of obvious...

The Windows Mobile 5.0 Documentation is on MSDN, and yes, I admit this is a sub-optimal approach as ideally it should be in the Visual Studio documentation along with everything else. Eventually, we'll get it in there. In the meantime, you need to make...

OK, here is my latest (and last for a while) attempt to ease Navigation of the Windows Mobile 6 SDK by means of a nice picture. It might be a little wide for this blog design, but you get the idea. As before, it should be functional (i.e. you can click...

You’ve downloaded and installed C# Express and played with some menu options. Now what? We’ve tried to make it look friendly, but heck, it can still be intimidating if you’ve not used Visual Studio before. Here are some suggestions as...

Sorry that this isn't a Windows Mobile related blog entry, but it's a snow day today - an inch of snow fell on Redmond, and so the city ground to a halt - and this has been bugging me. Yesterday, I bought a Zune.  I've owned iPods since they were first...

Good news for Windows Mobile developers eager to test their applications on (presumably) forthcoming devices - there's a new emulator for Visual Studio 2005 that simulates a 320 by 240 landscape-mode Smartphone device. Is there no end to the permutations...

Ajax – the design model that aims to give web pages the look, feel and usability of applications – is all the rage. Of course, experienced web designs will sigh and mention that Ajax-like techniques have been used for years before it became known as ...

Visual Basic programmers have been keeping something from us: My Classes. The My Classes are some jolly useful methods that wrap various .NET Frameworks code, and make it quick and easy to do some otherwise tedious stuff. However, rejoice, for we...

I recently got into bother because of my rather lax use of variable names in some example code. As someone who has the job of writing code samples that programmers like you are going to read when you glimpse at the C# documentation, it’s important that...

If you haven’t seen Visual Studio Whidbey beta releases, you might not have heard of “refactoring”. Refactoring is cool, and once you see it, you’re going to use it a lot. Here’s a brief explanation. In the past, source...

Every so often, the managers of the Mobile and Embedded Devices division go away on an off-site. This is a big mistake, as it means I feel compelled to do things like write the following: Instant Messenger Etiquette Instant Messaging has...

I'm really delighted to be able to tell you that the Content Publishing team have created three new Starter Kits for Windows Mobile devices. Starter Kits are ready-to-compile-and-run code samples, and are ideal for both learning how to write for Windows...

Good news everyone - the Crossbow SDK docs have been refreshed again. Here's a summary of what's new: Fancy new image map to aid with navigation New section on developing games New section on making apps work on different hardware variations...

You asked, and the tireless programmers in the C# division listened. Edit and Continue was something that many C# users wanted, and wanted badly. The good news is that it's here, and you'll be able to try it very soon. Next week even. For the uninitiated...

As a 40 year-old computer nerd, I’m interested in how home computer programming has changed over the years, and I’m seriously wondering if we’re seeing the end of the hobbyist computer programmer. Hey, I’m leaving Microsoft next week, so indulge me. ...

This is just a quickie. If you are wondering how to launch an existing application from within your own Windows Mobile-based C# or VB.NET program, simply use the System.Diagnostics.Process.Start() method, like this: System.Diagnostics.Process.Start...

It’s official – my new job title is Content Specialist for Mobile and Embedded ISVs . What does that mean? It means that if you develop software for Smart Devices – in particular the Pocket PC or Smartphone – and you can’t find the information you need...

The release of Apple's new razor-thin keyboard earlier this week re-awakened my search for the perfect keyboard. As it's Friday and my brain is already in weekend mode, I've drawn up a list of some of the more interesting keyboards I've tried or wanted...

As you probably know, Mike Hall is a cheery chap who loves to explain Windows CE and Mobile Device related stuff. Better yet, he doesn't mind when we point a video camera at him and film him doing it. In fact, he even writes about these videos, on his...

Mike Hall recently wrote an excellent series of blog entries on creating a Kiosk system running on a Windows CE embedded platform. It's interesting reading, especially if you aren't entirely sure what Windows CE embedded platforms actually look like or...