http://blogs.msdn.com/coding4fun/archive/tags/about/default.aspxTags: abouten-USCommunityServer 2.1 SP1 (Build: 61025.2)http://blogs.msdn.com/coding4fun/archive/2006/10/30/905421.aspxTue, 31 Oct 2006 07:04:00 GMT91d46819-8472-40ad-a661-2c78acb4018c:905421Coding4Fun0http://blogs.msdn.com/coding4fun/comments/905421.aspxhttp://blogs.msdn.com/coding4fun/commentrss.aspx?PostID=905421http://blogs.msdn.com/coding4fun/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=905421<P mce_keep="true">&nbsp;</P> <P>Welcome! This page is dedicated to helping folks new to Coding4Fun.</P> <P mce_keep="true">&nbsp;</P> <H2>Navigating the Site</H2> <P>Coding4Fun is broken into five main categories with subcategories</P> <UL> <LI><STRONG><A class="" href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/events/default.aspx" mce_href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/events/default.aspx">Events</A></STRONG></LI> <UL> <LI><A class="" href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/events/halloween/default.aspx" mce_href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/events/halloween/default.aspx">Halloween</A></LI> <LI><A class="" href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/events/holidays/default.aspx" mce_href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/events/holidays/default.aspx">Holidays</A>&nbsp;</LI> <LI><A class="" href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/events/aprilfool/default.aspx" mce_href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/events/aprilfool/default.aspx">April Fool's Day</A></LI> <LI><A class="" href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/events/webcasts/default.aspx" mce_href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/events/webcasts/default.aspx">Events and Webcasts</A></LI></UL> <LI><STRONG>Windows</STRONG></LI> <UL> <LI><A class="" href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/windows/productivity/default.aspx" mce_href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/windows/productivity/default.aspx">Productivity</A></LI> <LI><A class="" href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/windows/utility/default.aspx" mce_href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/windows/utility/default.aspx">Utility</A></LI> <LI><A class="" href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/windows/media/default.aspx" mce_href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/windows/media/default.aspx">Media</A></LI> <LI><A class="" href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/windows/misc/default.aspx" mce_href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/windows/misc/default.aspx">Miscellaneous</A></LI></UL> <LI><STRONG>Web</STRONG></LI> <UL> <LI><A class="" href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/web/mashup/default.aspx" mce_href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/web/mashup/default.aspx">Mash-Ups</A></LI> <LI><A class="" href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/web/starterkit/default.aspx" mce_href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/web/starterkit/default.aspx">Starter Kits</A></LI> <LI><A class="" href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/web/webservices/default.aspx" mce_href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/web/webservices/default.aspx">Web Services</A></LI> <LI><A class="" href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/web/misc/default.aspx" mce_href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/web/misc/default.aspx">Miscellaneous</A></LI></UL> <LI><STRONG>Gaming</STRONG></LI> <UL> <LI><A class="" href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/gaming/arcade/default.aspx" mce_href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/gaming/arcade/default.aspx">Arcade</A></LI> <LI><A class="" href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/gaming/puzzle/default.aspx" mce_href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/gaming/puzzle/default.aspx">Puzzle</A></LI> <LI><A class="" href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/gaming/board/default.aspx" mce_href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/gaming/board/default.aspx">Card &amp; Board Games</A></LI> <LI><A class="" href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/gaming/rpg/default.aspx" mce_href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/gaming/rpg/default.aspx">Role Playing Games</A></LI></UL> <LI><STRONG>Hardware</STRONG></LI> <UL> <LI><A class="" href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/hardware/audio/default.aspx" mce_href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/hardware/audio/default.aspx">Audio</A></LI> <LI><A class="" href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/hardware/video/default.aspx" mce_href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/hardware/video/default.aspx">Video</A></LI> <LI><A class="" href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/hardware/home/default.aspx" mce_href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/hardware/home/default.aspx">Home Automation</A></LI> <LI><A class="" href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/hardware/robotics/default.aspx" mce_href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/hardware/robotics/default.aspx">Robotics</A></LI></UL></UL> <P><STRONG>Articles</STRONG></P> <P>You can also find summary information directly above an article that shows: </P> <UL> <LI>Difficulty</LI> <LI>Cost</LI> <LI>Time Required</LI> <LI>Software</LI> <LI>Hardware</LI></UL> <H2>Tools to Get Started </H2> <P>If you're new to development or development on Microsoft software, you should download the free Visual Studio 2005 Express Edition products. Visual Studio Express comes in five different flavors:</P> <UL> <LI>For Web Development</LI> <UL> <LI><A href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/vwd" mce_href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/vwd">Visual Web Developer Express Edition</A>&nbsp;</LI></UL> <LI>For Windows Development</LI> <UL> <LI><A href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/vb" mce_href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/vb">Visual Basic Express Edition</A> </LI> <LI><A href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/visualcsharp/" mce_href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/visualcsharp/">Visual C# Express Edition</A></LI> <LI><A href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/visualc/" mce_href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/visualc/">Visual C++ Express Edition</A></LI> <LI><A href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/visualj/" mce_href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/visualj/">Visual J# Express Edition</A>&nbsp;</LI></UL> <LI>For Database Development</LI> <UL> <LI><A href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/sql/default.aspx" mce_href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/sql/default.aspx">SQL Server Express Edition</A> (note: SQL Server Express is an optional component in the setup of the other Visual Studio Express products)</LI></UL></UL> <H2>Beginner Developer Learning Center</H2> <P>Coding4Fun assumes you are at least somewhat familiar with programming fundamentals. If you're brand new to programming, we suggest you review the <A class="" href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/beginner/" mce_href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/beginner/">Beginner Developer Learning Center</A>&nbsp;which contains videos, tutorials, and code samples&nbsp;for Windows and Web development. &nbsp;</P> <H2>APIs and SDKs&nbsp;to Play With</H2> <P>There are plenty of free APIs you can use to write code with Visual Studio.</P> <P><STRONG>Windows</STRONG></P> <UL> <LI><A href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/sdkintro/sdkintro/devdoc_platform_software_development_kit_start_page.asp" mce_href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/sdkintro/sdkintro/devdoc_platform_software_development_kit_start_page.asp">Windows Platform SDK</A></LI> <LI><A href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/windowsvista/downloads/products/getthebeta/" mce_href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/windowsvista/downloads/products/getthebeta/">.NET Framework 3.0 Beta SDK</A></LI> <LI><A href="http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=234F5003-F24E-4EF5-B930-442EC57737D0&amp;displaylang=en" mce_href="http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=234F5003-F24E-4EF5-B930-442EC57737D0&amp;displaylang=en">Windows Vista Media Center SDK</A></LI> <LI><A href="http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=5E86EC97-40A7-453F-B0EE-6583171B4530&amp;displaylang=en" mce_href="http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=5E86EC97-40A7-453F-B0EE-6583171B4530&amp;displaylang=en">Windows Speech SDK</A></LI> <LI><A href="http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=000A16F5-D62B-4303-BB22-F0C0861BE25B&amp;displaylang=en" mce_href="http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=000A16F5-D62B-4303-BB22-F0C0861BE25B&amp;displaylang=en">Windows Media Encoder 9 SDK</A></LI> <LI>Windows Media Player - <A href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/media/en/vb/AudioPart2VB.wvx" mce_href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/media/en/vb/AudioPart2VB.wvx">Video</A>, <A href="http://download.microsoft.com/download/4/1/e/41e8f2c1-1bf7-419f-b31b-06122d090a49/AudioPart2VB.msi" mce_href="http://download.microsoft.com/download/4/1/e/41e8f2c1-1bf7-419f-b31b-06122d090a49/AudioPart2VB.msi">Project</A></LI> <LI><A href="http://developer.apple.com/sdk/itunescomsdk.html" mce_href="http://developer.apple.com/sdk/itunescomsdk.html">Apple iTunes SDK</A> </LI> <LI><A href="http://developer.aim.com/" mce_href="http://developer.aim.com/">AOL Instant Messenger</A></LI></UL> <P><STRONG>Web</STRONG></P> <UL> <LI><A class="" href="http://dev.live.com/" target=_blank mce_href="http://dev.live.com">Windows Live Developer Center</A></LI> <LI><A href="http://developer.ebay.com/developercenter/windows/" mce_href="http://developer.ebay.com/developercenter/windows/">eBay Developer Program</A>&nbsp;</LI> <LI><A href="http://www.amazon.com/AWS-home-page-Money/b?ie=UTF8&amp;node=3435361" mce_href="http://www.amazon.com/AWS-home-page-Money/b?ie=UTF8&amp;node=3435361">Amazon Web Services</A> </LI> <LI><A href="http://developer.yahoo.com/dotnet/" mce_href="http://developer.yahoo.com/dotnet/">Yahoo .NET Developer Center</A></LI> <LI><A href="http://www.youtube.com/dev" mce_href="http://www.youtube.com/dev">YouTube Developer API</A></LI> <LI><A href="http://www.programmableweb.com/apis" mce_href="http://www.programmableweb.com/apis">Programmable Web API List</A></LI> <LI><A href="http://www.xmethods.net/" mce_href="http://www.xmethods.net/">XMethods.NET</A> - Web Service list</LI> <LI><A class="" href="http://www.weatherbug.com/api/" mce_href="http://www.weatherbug.com/api/">WeatherBug API</A></LI></UL> <P><STRONG>Gaming</STRONG></P> <UL> <LI><A href="http://msdn.com/xna" mce_href="http://msdn.com/xna">XNA Game Studio Express (Beta)</A>&nbsp;</LI> <LI><A href="http://fsinsider.com/Community/Developers-Corner/About-the-SDK.htm" mce_href="http://fsinsider.com/Community/Developers-Corner/About-the-SDK.htm">Flight Simulator X SDK</A></LI></UL> <P><STRONG>Hardware</STRONG></P> <UL> <LI><A href="http://msdn.com/robotics/" mce_href="http://msdn.com/robotics/">Microsoft Robotics Studio</A></LI> <LI><A href="http://www.controlthink.com/zwavesdk.htm" mce_href="http://www.controlthink.com/zwavesdk.htm">Z-Wave PC SDK</A></LI> <LI><A href="http://www.phidgets.com/modules.php?op=modload&amp;name=Downloads&amp;file=index&amp;req=viewdownload&amp;cid=3" mce_href="http://www.phidgets.com/modules.php?op=modload&amp;name=Downloads&amp;file=index&amp;req=viewdownload&amp;cid=3">Phidgets SDK</A></LI></UL> <P mce_keep="true">&nbsp;</P> <P mce_keep="true">&nbsp;</P> <H2>More Resources (Coming Soon)</H2> <P>Email us at <A href="mailto:code4fun@microsoft.com" mce_href="mailto:code4fun@microsoft.com">code4fun@microsoft.com</A> with any suggestions for new content, tools or APIs/SDKs to add to this list!</P><img src="http://blogs.msdn.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=905421" width="1" height="1">abouthttp://blogs.msdn.com/coding4fun/archive/2006/10/30/905351.aspxTue, 31 Oct 2006 03:15:00 GMT91d46819-8472-40ad-a661-2c78acb4018c:905351Coding4Fun2http://blogs.msdn.com/coding4fun/comments/905351.aspxhttp://blogs.msdn.com/coding4fun/commentrss.aspx?PostID=905351http://blogs.msdn.com/coding4fun/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=905351<H2><STRONG></STRONG>&nbsp;</H2> <H2><STRONG>What is Coding4Fun?</STRONG></H2> <P>Coding4Fun is&nbsp;our Web site dedicated to showing off fun and cool hardware and software projects. We know there's lots of developers who code for fun and we want to show off the cool work developers can do when they combine smarts and passion.</P> <P mce_keep="true">&nbsp;</P> <P><A href="http://coding4fun.net/images/WhatisCoding4Fun_11CB6/c4f_small2.png" mce_href="http://coding4fun.net/images/WhatisCoding4Fun_11CB6/c4f_small2.png" atomicselection="true"><IMG style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" height=166 src="http://coding4fun.net/images/WhatisCoding4Fun_11CB6/c4f_small_thumb.png" width=153 border=0 mce_src="http://coding4fun.net/images/WhatisCoding4Fun_11CB6/c4f_small_thumb.png"></A> </P> <H2><STRONG>Coding4Fun Version 2.0</STRONG></H2> <P>In October, 2006 we launched the second version of Coding4Fun&nbsp;with the following goals:</P> <UL> <LI><STRONG>Killer Content </STRONG>- Find and recruit the best-of-the-best writers and have them work on code they are passionate about</LI> <LI><STRONG>Daily Updates </STRONG>- I'm delighted to announce that Clint Rutkas will now own providing daily updates to the Coding4Fun News section with new and cool content found on the Web.</LI> <LI><STRONG>Better Categorization - </STRONG>We've broken all of our Coding4Fun content into four main&nbsp;categories to make it much easier to find the content you're looking for.</LI> <UL> <LI>Windows</LI> <LI>Web</LI> <LI>Gaming</LI> <LI>Hardware</LI></UL> <LI><STRONG>Easier Updates</STRONG> - All articles will now be based on the Coding4Fun blog which means new content can be posted in minutes instead of days.</LI> <LI><STRONG>Language&nbsp;Neutrality -</STRONG> Coding4Fun is programming language agnostic and we want to make sure we're not showing preferences to either Visual Basic or Visual C#. </LI></UL> <P mce_keep="true">&nbsp;</P> <H2><STRONG>Going Back To Our Roots<BR></STRONG><IMG src="http://www.thocp.net/hardware/pictures/altairtape.gif" border=0 mce_src="http://www.thocp.net/hardware/pictures/altairtape.gif"></H2> <P><EM>"The MITS Altair inspired a new generation of technology enthusiasts, including <STRONG>Bill Gates and Paul Allen, who were among the first of these early hobbyists</STRONG> to realize that the key to the future of personal computing lay in the unlimited potential of software." <BR></EM>- <A href="http://www.thocp.net/companies/microsoft/microsoft_company.htm" mce_href="http://www.thocp.net/companies/microsoft/microsoft_company.htm">Link</A></P> <P>Back in 1975, Microsoft started out as <STRONG>*the*</STRONG> hobbyist company for a nascient software industry. While many things have changed since then, we've always had a special place in our hearts for hobbyists. <P>Coding4Fun originally started as a series of articles by Duncan McKenzie for MSDN showing interesting software projects using Visual Studio .NET. In April 2005, we launched a dedicated site, Coding4Fun with some of the best writers on the Web who showed their&nbsp;favorite side projects and in October 2006 we launched&nbsp;Coding4Fun v2. <H2>Interested in Submitting an Article or Project?</H2> <P>Read about our <A class="" href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/article.aspx?articleid=1227688" mce_href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/article.aspx?articleid=1227688">Coding4Fun Article Guidelines</A></P> <H2>We Want to Hear From You</H2> <P>If you have feedback on Coding4Fun, ideas for new content you want to see us work on, or want to send us links to some cool stuff happening in the community that we may want to feature on the site, please email us at <A href="mailto:code4fun@microsoft.com" mce_href="mailto:code4fun@microsoft.com">code4fun@microsoft.com</A>. We will try our best to answer every email.</P> <P mce_keep="true">&nbsp;</P> <P>Thanks,</P> <P>-The Coding4Fun Team</P><img src="http://blogs.msdn.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=905351" width="1" height="1">about