Architecture + Strategy

Embedded Database Engine for Silverlight Applications

2009-07-11T08:44:21Z

So far, rich Internet applications (RIA) don’t have to be concerned with data management on the client side, as most connected implementations are designed to be simply a visualization and interaction layer to data and services on the server side. In these cases, data is retrieved from the server as JSON or XML data types (or serialized binary objects for some platforms), then cached in-memory as objects and collections, part of the application, and eventually discarded as part of the application lifecycle.

But for relatively more complex applications that require larger and more distributed data sets, lower application latency, reduced chattiness, data relationships (even basic ones), the implementation starts to get a little complicated, and becomes more difficult with procedural languages like JavaScript. In that case, a simple and light-weight in-memory embedded database may become quite useful.

Perst for .NET

McObject’s Perst is an open source, object-oriented embedded database system. Perst has been available in Java (SE, ME, and EE) and in .NET and .NET Compact Framework, and Mono. But recently McObjects ported Perst to Silverlight as well. Its small library size (~1MB including support for generics; ~5,000 lines of code) and small in-memory footprint is packed with a very sophisticated set of features, such as:

Support for direct and transparent object persistence
Full text search with indexing support
Full-ACID transactions support
SQL-based interface
XML import/export

Perst inherited much of its heritage from McObject’s eXtremeDB embedded database product, which has been used in devices such as MP3 players, WiMAX base stations, digital TV set top boxes, military and aerospace applications, etc. Yes, even embedded applications and firmware can use databases.

Interestingly, the C# code tree was initially produced from the Java version using the Java-to-C# converted in Visual Studio, then some additional changes to enable specific C# features. While not all Java applications can be converted this easily, this shows that some can. And this also means how similar C# and Java are.

As an embedded database engine, Perst presents a very viable in-memory data management solution to Silverlight applications. It can be instantiated and used directly as part of the application, instead of something that runs in a separate process and memory space, or over the network on the back-end server for most RIA’s. Perst can also use Silverlight’s isolated storage to manage additional data that can be cached in a persistent manner. This enables many more complex scenarios than simply storing JSON, XML, CSV, or plain text data in isolated storage.

Silverlight 3 Out-Of-Browser

One can argue that the “connected client” design (as described above) works best for RIA’s, as they’re rich Web applications intended to enhance the user experience when connected to the cloud, to begin with. Or essentially, everyone can assume ubiquitous connectivity anytime and everywhere, so applications only need to live in the cloud, then all we need is a browser.

But we’re also starting to see very valid scenarios emerge to access the cloud outside of the browser. And applications in these scenarios are often more refined/specialized than their HTML-based counterparts. For example, iPhone apps, iTunes, Wii, Adobe AIR, Google Gears, Google Desktop, Apple Dashboard Widgets, Yahoo! Gadgets, Windows Gadgets, FireFox extensions and plug-ins, Internet Explorer 8 WebSlices, SideBars, and ToolBars, etc. These out-of-browser application models are very valid because it has been observed that users tend to spend more time with them, than the websites behind those clients.

There are many potential reasons for this observation, with some more prevalent in some scenarios. For example, local content is more visible to users and easier to access, without having to open a browser and then finding the website (sometimes needing to re-authenticate) and downloading the content. And of course, content and data can be stored locally for off-line access.

Now that Silverlight 3 also supports installation of applications locally on the desktop, we can add the option of caching some data locally, in addition to being a locally installed visualization and interaction layer to cloud-based services, or a rich disconnected gadget. And McObject’s Perst embedded database would again be a really compelling solution to help with managing the data.

This is especially important for out-of-browser and locally installed applications, as one of their primary benefits is to support off-line usage. Having a database management solution such as Perst can help increase the overall robustness of the user experience, by ensuring work continuity regardless of connection state.

About McObject

Founded by embedded database and real-time systems experts, McObject offers proven data management technology that makes applications and devices smarter, more reliable and more cost-effective to develop and maintain. McObject counts among its customers industry leaders such as Chrysler, Maximizer Software, Siemens, Phillips, EADS, JVC, Tyco Thermal Controls, F5 Networks, DIRECTV, CA, Motorola and Boeing.

www.mcobject.com

Silverlight 3 Released!

2009-07-10T18:43:42Z

Silverlight 3 is officially released into production today!

Silverlight has come a long way in the short time since its V1 launch in September 2007 and V2 release in October 2008. Each version brought very significant enhancements to the platform. My earlier post on the Silverlight 3 Beta has details on new features, adoption statistics to date, and a small list of interesting Silverlight applications.

To summarize though, some significant changes in this release are:

Out-of-Browser

Silverlight 3 offers a new set of features for building safe, secure, sandboxed companion experiences for the Web through a single coherent platform, that run on user desktops. Out-of-browser support allows Silverlight applications to run on Windows or Mac desktops and deliver online, offline, or intermittently connected access to applications and content—without having to rebuild applications on another platform. Silverlight application can be easily found on the desktop or start menu, and launched with a single click—eliminating the requirement for privileges to run. In addition, it can test if the network is connected, update itself with newer versions, and have access to isolated storage.

This works very similar to Adobe AIR, but Silverlight does not need a separate platform/runtime download in order to install applications and run them. If an application is enabled to run from the desktop, all a user has to do is right-mouse click on the application directly on the web page, which will have an option to “Install to Desktop”.

Smooth Streaming

Smooth Streaming technology is the union of online player experiences delivered through Silverlight and the streaming capabilities provided through Windows Server + IIS, that enables adaptive streaming of media so users with high bandwidth connections can experience HD-quality streaming while others with lower bandwidth receive the appropriate stream for their connectivity.

This is the technology first used for the 2008 Beijing Olympics event by NBC to deliver live and on-demand programs over the Internet, then used at many other places such as Netflix, NCAA March Madness 2009 for CBS, the 2009 Presidential Inauguration, and most recently for the Michael Jackson’s memorial service.

What’s significant about Smooth Streaming is that to deliver long-form content, along with all types of advertising scenarios (pre/post-roll, interstitial, overlay, etc.), can be delivered from Microsoft’s Internet Information Server (IIS) over the ubiquitous HTTP protocol, without requiring use of traditional streaming servers. Short-form content can still leverage out-of-the-box progressive download feature as well. Furthermore, this means it is much simpler to scale out the back-end infrastructure to serve the content to any amount of online audience, as an operation can add IIS servers quickly, plus leveraging web caches from CDN’s to further improve the scale and reach of any content.

Prototyping with SketchFlow

SketchFlow, the dynamic prototyping feature in Expression Blend 3, demonstrates the flow, layout, and transitions of an application through interactive “sketches” to convey initial concepts. And concurrent workflows between design, user experience, and development ensure that the visuals, interaction model, and the underlying architecture of an application can be simultaneously evolved and delivered as a completed project.

SketchFlow ehances the speed and efficiency to prototype a vision for an application. Rapidly demonstrate and iterate on ideas, application flows, screen layout, and functionality of an application using a SketchFlow prototype.

Lastly, visit these resources for more information:

As well as a few of the projects my team and I worked on this year:

Kelley Blue Book Perfect Car Finder
Photobucket Visual Search
Stargate Universe Photosynth
NewEgg.com Digital Camera Promotions
Grubb & Ellis Spotlight
LA Fitness Find a Club and Club Tour
InXile Line Rider

Silverlight and Bing Maps Used at Grubb and Ellis

2009-07-07T10:04:00Z

Today is a time in history where there are more economic factors disrupting the real estate market and operations than ever before. To mitigate this trend and ensure real estate and financial professionals have all the information necessary to make critical decisions, more and more data is being provided to help improve business intelligence. However, this resulted in creating mountains of charts, graphs and documents that need to be reviewed from multiple systems, in order to present a clear perspective of assets, locations, and their operations. This sheer volume of information adds significant overhead to the users and professionals that depend on them.

To address this issue, Grubb & Ellis Company worked with Microsoft and speakTECH, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, leveraging Microsoft Silverlight and Bing Maps for Enterprise, to create a new tool called Spotlight.

Spotlight is a real estate and research mapping tool which provides a rich data visualization and interaction environment for an array of property, location, operations and research information. The layering of a massive amount of data at Grubb & Ellis, over a rich interface, allows clients and professionals at Grubb & Ellis to search, review and collaborate regarding real estates across the globe, in a streamlined and easily accessible manner.

Examples of this type of intelligent data layering are:

Property Level Statistics and Analysis
Aerial Mapping Tool
Market / Sub-Market Analytics
Competitive / Market Analysis
Parcel and Other Associated Statistics
Demographic Statistics
Economic Development Zones

High definition video of transaction professionals and virtual building tours using Microsoft Photosynth, where available, are also accessible through a single click of the mouse, providing users with unparalleled insight into the information.

A few screen shots of the Spotlight application are shown here:

Main Search and Summary Screen

Property Detail and Business Intelligence Details

Broker Profiles and Property Tours in High Definition

The Spotlight application was completed in just 12 weeks, including significant work on the back-end to integrate data sources and providing them as services.

“The combination of Bing Maps and Sliverlight, has enabled speakTECH to merge the large volumes of structured data with rich interactive maps to create an entirely new generation of applications. These capabilities have enabled Grubb & Ellis to combine time consuming research and analysis tasks that used to spread across many applications, into an single user experience. Enabling rapid decision support, supports the accelerating needs of today’s sales and marketing teams” Aaron Sloman, CEO, speakTech.

Components from the Microsoft platform used in this project include:

Silverlight SDK
Photosynth Silverlight Control
Bing Maps (Virtual Earth) Silverlight Map Control
Bing Maps for Enterprise
Expression Studio
Visual Studio 2008
.NET Framework 3.5 SP1, Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), ASP.NET
Internet Information Services 7.0 (IIS)
SQL Server 2005
Windows Server 2008

About Grubb & Ellis

Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE) is one of the largest and most respected commercial real estate services and investment companies in the world. Over 6,000 professionals in more than 130 company-owned and affiliate offices draw from a unique platform of real estate services, practice groups and investment products to deliver comprehensive, integrated solutions to real estate owners, tenants and investors. The firm’s transaction, management, consulting and investment services are supported by highly regarded proprietary market research and extensive local expertise.

http://www.grubb-ellis.com/

About speakTECH

speakTECH is an interactive design and solution integration firm delivering innovative solutions in the areas of Web-Based, Enterprise wide collaboration and Social Computing. We specialize in uniting technology, riveting design and interactive experience into powerful, world-class business solutions. Established in 2005, speakTECH has grown to become a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, National Systems Integrator, and has been honored with numerous design awards.

http://www.speaktech.com/

Michael Jackson’s Memorial Service Available Via Silverlight and IIS Smooth Streaming

2009-07-07T06:13:26Z

On July 7th, 10AM PT/1PM ET, Microsoft will be broadcasting the Michael Jackson memorial, live in HD from the Staples Center in Los Angeles using Silverlight and IIS Smooth Streaming (the technologies used for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 2009 NCAA March Madness, Netflix, etc.). And this event will be available worldwide to anyone who has an internet connection.

Memorial Service Live Streaming

Visit the Sympatico / MSN inMusic website, at http://inmusic.ca/news_and_features/Michael_Jackson, for up-to-date content, and special tributes to the King of Pop. The Silverlight player providing the live streaming service will become available at the time of the event (2009.07.07 10AM Pacific Time / 1PM Eastern Time).

MSN Special Coverage

Also visit MSN for additional information and special coverage on Michael Jackson, at http://entertainment.uk.msn.com/music/michael-jackson.aspx. And visit a DeepZoom (also in Silverlight) collage of hundreds of Michael Jackson’s pictures, at http://www.msn.michaeljackson.shoothill.com/.

Microsoft at the 2009 CMA Music Festival

2009-06-09T07:59:04Z

Microsoft and the Country Music Association are partnering on bridging the cultural divide between the country music world and the world of technology, this week at the 2009 Country Music Association (CMA) Music Festival. Microsoft will be showcasing cutting edge technology few outside the tech industry have seen – including Silverlight with DeepZoom technology and Microsoft Tag.

This is one of the places where Microsoft Tag is being used in a large scale application of digitally “enhanced reality” where the physical world in tied to online assets in meaningful and significant ways. For more information on Tag, see my previous blog post - http://blogs.msdn.com/dachou/archive/2009/01/08/microsoft-tag-interactive-mobile-bar-codes.aspx.

At the festival in Nashville:

“Cell Journalists” using Windows Mobile - Attendees can participate in the event by acting as cell journalists. Using Windows mobile or other cell phone cameras, pictures taken from the event are automatically uploaded to a shared server hosted by ASP.NET and displayed throughout the event – including the Jumbotron. Windows Mobile users will have a customized, high-end experience
“Where am I” using Microsoft Tag and Virtual Earth - Attendees will be able to scan signs located throughout the venues to learn more about the physical environment and what’s happening around them. Their location will also be mapped via Virtual Earth (Bing Maps) making the task of navigating the enormous number of venues easy and convenient for festival attendees
“Tag Hunter” using Microsoft Tag - an event wide contest which will be distributed event wide by a legion CMA “Fun Squad” members. Attendees can scan these Tag Hunter cards and find out immediately if have a winning tag!
“Technology Booths” showcasing Microsoft Surface, Xbox 360, and IE8 – Attendees can drop by Microsoft booths available onsite at the festival, to check email, browse the web, and to check the festival schedule and venue information, etc. In addition, to test drive two Surface tables with a jukebox application, and in-person visits by performing artists. And of course, play the Xbox 360 RockBand Country Track Pack from MTV!

And online:

“Be This Close” using Silverlight DeepZoom - interactive search game (available on 6/11)
“Cell Journalists” ASP.NET photo sharing website

Links:

Main Site: http://cmafest.com/2009/
IE 8 Web slice : http://ieaddons.com/en/details/music/CMA_Music_Festival_2009/
“Be This Close” interactive Silverlight game - http://www.cmafest.com/2009/videophotos/games/bethisclose/
Microsoft page on CMA Site: http://www.cmafest.com/2009/microsoft

Tags and Metadata:

Twitter Tag: #MSCMA09
Twitter: @MsftAtCMA
Blog Tags: CMA Music Fest 2009, Microsoft at CMA 2009

Architect Council | Pragmatic Patterns for Architects

2009-05-27T03:03:43Z

“Cloud computing will supersede traditional IT”, “SOA will enable business agility”, “my way or the highway”, etc. We’ve all heard this type of proclamations before, as many look to the “next big things” in technology to exact sweeping changes and solve many issues; truth is, technologies and tools aren’t as instrumental in influencing progress, as the design and discipline in applying them to specific issues. When used appropriately, technologies and tools can be powerful enablers that bring about change.

To address this, and trying to be a bit more green, our team is hosting a series of live webcasts at noon PST on June 9th – 11th, 2009, which will focus on guidance and patterns for some of today’s hottest topics. Just another excuse to have lunch at your desk (if your time zone is nearby)! :)

Patterns for Moving to the Cloud – June 9
Larry Clarkin & Wade Wegner

Building Silverlight & WPF Applications with Prism – June 10
David Hill

Patterns for Parallel Computing – June 11
David Chou

For more details and registration, please visit http://blogs.msdn.com/sac/pages/council-2009q2.aspx

Free WPF Training in Los Angeles on 4/24-25 and Phoenix on 6/26-27

2009-04-03T23:14:42Z

Overview

This two day training is designed to teach developers how to create Line of Business (LOB) applications using Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF).

Day One is an introduction to the WPF graphics subsystem, the tools used to build WPF applications, and the core UI services: styling, data binding, templating, layout and input-
The second day begins with interop (Windows Forms and Win32) and then quickly dives into LOB topics, including building applications using the Model-View-ViewModel pattern, creating unit testable applications, implementing data validation, and error handling.
After completion, attendees will have a solid understanding of WPF, its advantages over other Microsoft UI platforms, and how to use the M-V-VM pattern to create great WPF LOB applications.

Dates, Locations, and Logistics

Los Angeles, CA | 4/24-25 | To register: www.msregistration.com/wpflobLA

Phoenix, AZ | 6/26-27 | To register: www.msregistration.com/wpflobAZ

Registration tips:
If you are not a partner or don't know if you are:
When asked "are you registered" select No. Select "Visiting partner" under Partner Level.
Get creative on the Partner Type; if in doubt, we are all "System builders"
Note that registration links with * are not active today (4/2). Sorry for inconvenience, they will all be active in next few days. We blogged all at once to avoid people flying from say St. Louis to LA when they could have driven to Chicago. We wanted you to know what was coming.

Format

Instructor-led training from 9 AM to 5:30 PM. 15 minute breaks every couple hours. 45 minutes lunch around mid-day.
Food: Breakfast, lunch and afternoon snacks are provided.

Cost

The training is FREE! You do need to register prior to the event, but there is no cost. You can register for one or two days. Registration is first-come-first serve, sign-up as early as possible to reserve your spot!

Agenda

Day One:

Lap Around WPF
WPF Tools ( Blend, Visual Studio 2008)
Graphics Subsystem
Layout
WPF Fundamentals and new concepts
- Application Model
- Dependency Properties
- Trees (logical & visual)
- Events
- Threading
- Resources
Controls
Styling
Templating
Q&A with instructors at end of day

Day Two:

WPF integration with Win32 and Windows Forms
Data binding
Introduction to Model-View-ViewModel
Commanding in M-V-VM
Views, Navigation and Transitions
Data Validation
Error handling, Model dialogs, Logging
Unit Testing
MVVM & LOB tips and tricks
Q&A with the instructors

About the instructors
Karl Shifflett is a software architect, former Microsoft MVP, current Code Project MVP and MCAD from Bellevue, Washington. He is currently working for Microsoft on the Cider Team as a Program Manager II. He has been designing & developing business applications since 1989 and transitioned to .NET in March of 2003. In April of 2007 he joined the list of WPF and Microsoft Expression fanatics & evangelists. He is a member of Team Mole that delivered Mole Visualizer For Visual Studio to the world. He is the author to XAML Power Toys and loves WPF LOB. Karl’s Blog: http://karlshifflett.wordpress.com/

Jaime Rodriguez is a Senior Technical Evangelist at Microsoft. He focuses on WPF and Silverlight. For the last four years, he has helped a lot of enterprises and ISVs adopt WPF in large scale, mission critical, projects.
Jaime has been doing software development for fifteen years. Prior to Microsoft, he worked at Xerox, HP, Cerner and GeoAccess. He joined Microsoft 9 years ago, he spent the first four years as an Enterprise Architect Consultant in Microsoft Services, and the last five he has been a client evangelist covering Windows Forms, WPF and Silverlight. Jaime’s blog is at http://blogs.msdn.com/jaimer.

AJAX, HTTP, and SOAP access to Cloud-based Microsoft Translator

2009-03-22T05:39:00Z

Many new and interesting developments on the Microsoft Web platform were unveiled at the MIX09 conference last week, such as Silverlight 3, Eclipse Tools for Silverlight, .NET RIA Services, ASP.NET MVC, Web Platform Installer, IIS Smooth Streaming, Windows Web Applications Gallery, Windows Azure enhancements, Expression Blend SketchFlow, Expression Web SuperPreview, Internet Explorer 8, etc. Here’s an innovative service that was not highlighted during the keynote presentations.

Microsoft Translator

Microsoft Translator, also branded as Live Search Translator, is a free language translation service that can take any text-based content (text strings, HTML pages, XML, etc.) as input, and translate it from one language to another, such as Arabic, Chinese (both simplified and traditional), French, German, Japanese, Spanish, etc. The service has been around for a while, and is very similar to the Google Translate offering.

At MIX09, the Microsoft Research Machine Translation (MSR-MT) team unveiled the web page widget (see the picture on the right), which is a fully customizable widget that anyone can be embedded into any website, and gain the ability to allow international visitors to utilize Microsoft Translator to translate web pages into their languages. I have installed it on this blog as well, and you can find it in the column on the right. Give it a try! :)

To people familiar with the Google Translate service, this may not be anything new (such as hovering on a translated sentence and seeing the original content popup). As Google Translate also provides a widget for people to embed into their websites, and it at this point has a higher number of supported languages. But the user experience in the Microsoft Translator widget is pretty nice. It does not bring the viewer to a new page, but instead, just parses and translates the content in document.body in-line and dynamically. And allows viewers to switch back to the original content by removing the “layer” of translated content.

On longer pages, the running progress of translation is also displayed in a fixed layer added to the top of the page. Closing this “header” layer also flips the view back to the original content. This is a little different from the Google Translate widget’s behavior, where it points the viewer to a new page with an HTML frame at the top. Ultimately they do very similar things, though the newer Microsoft Translator widget seems to have applied a little more user experience design.

SDK Support

Now this is one thing that Google Translate doesn’t seem to support at this moment. Microsoft Translator provides a set of HTTP, AJAX, and SOAP interfaces for anyone to interact with via code. This means any application, whether it’s client-side using JavaScript (which the widget itself uses), Silverlight (C# implementation), WPF, Win32, mobile applications, etc., or server-side (C# using WCF) integration, can now leverage the Microsoft Translator service to translate any text-based content.

The MSR-MT team has provided a live SDK for people to play with, built in Windows Azure, at http://translatorsdk.cloudapp.net/.

A couple of interesting functional features or scenarios with the service API’s:

Translating individual elements on a web page (instead of the entire page)
Performing in-line translation asynchronously (thus not impacting page rendering time)
Performing translation by excluding individual elements, which can be quite useful too if we want to translate the entire page except a few elements
Parsing and interpreting the language of the input content

This open and accessible services API has allowed Microsoft to provide a number of clients to the Translator service:

Translator website – enter text or URL to translate and presents side-by-side comparisons of input and result
Web widget – embeddable widget (one used now on this blog)
Windows Live Toolbar – a button on the toolbar to translate viewed content
Windows Live Add-In – another embeddable widget
Windows Live Messenger Bot – translate via IM’s in Windows Live Messenger
Internet Explorer 8 Activity – highlight any content on the web page and translate

The quality of translation is very comparable to Google Translate. I didn’t do an exhaustive study of the results, but just comparing a few pages translated to Chinese, I found things that were better on both services.

And of course, this is not all. The MSR-MT team is busy working on a number of enhancements and new features. Read their blog at blogs.msdn.com/translation for more details, and new announcements as they become available.

Silverlight 3 Beta

2009-03-21T00:40:00Z

You may have already heard about the many announcements made at Microsoft’s MIX09 conference this week in Las Vegas. One of the major announcements is the Beta availability of Silverlight 3 (and it does look like three’s the charm).

Customer adoption to date

Scott Guthrie during his keynote at MIX09 shared some encouraging statistics:

Silverlight launched 18 months ago, shipped Silverlight 2 six months ago
350+ million installations globally
300,000+ designers and developers
200+ partners in 30 countries contributing to the ecosystem
10,000+ applications globally
Microsoft has 200+ of its own websites built using Silverlight

A few major customer adoption announcements were also made:

Netflix standardizing on Silverlight to deliver its online on-demand video instant watch service across PCs, Macs, and devices; leveraging PlayReady DRM and smooth/adaptive streaming capabilities
2010 Winter Olympics at Vancouver – NBC announced that the event will again be delivered online using Silverlight, similar to the 2008 Beijing Olympics event
NCAA “March Madness” Men’s Basketball Championship – CBS Sports Online coverage of all tournament games delivered using Silverlight at mmod.ncaa.com
2008 Presidential Inauguration – the Presidential Inauguration Committee selected Silverlight to enable online video streaming of President Obama’s official swear-in and Whistle Stop Tour events
Bondi Publishing (who owns the Playboy Archives above) – working to deliver their set of magazines including the New Yorker, Rolling Stones, and Playboy online using Silverlight. Playboy Archives is now live with with search, navigation, and DeepZoom at playboy.covertocover.com (best to visit at home)
KEXP – a Seattle-based radio station showed off an out-of-browser version (that works when off-line) of their content browser and player
Kelley Blue Book – Perfect Car Finder application using Silverlight at www.kbb.com/kbb/PerfectCarFinder/PhotoEdition.aspx
SAP – working to deliver Silverlight controls to be used in Netweaver and Web DynPro
Microsoft Worldwide Telescope – now Silverlight enabled at www.worldwidetelescope.org/webclient
Microsoft Virtual Earth – Silverlight Map Control for any website to use for enhanced visualization of geo-location and mapping capabilities CTP now available
Other mentions including Yahoo! Japan, CareerBuilder, 10 Cent QQ, BSkyB, ITV, Intuit, etc.

Interesting Silverlight applications to see

Some of the most compelling Silverlight applications I have seen (many are registered on Silverlight Showcase) are listed below.

General Info:

Media sites/demos:

Rich application sites/demos:

Casual Games:

Line Rider
Server Quest II
Terralever Zero Gravity
Mahjong Solitaire
Diver, Tire Storm, We are Bugs!, Water Demo (Farseer)
Bridge Basher
Zombomatic
Tunnel Trouble
Klotski
Dr. Popper
Shidonni
Fragmenti
Shock
Sprawl
Vector Space: ZERO

Reusable Controls Libraries (for enterprise applications):

Now these are just some of my favorites. But with the pace of developers building cool Silverlight applications, this list may need to be updated very frequently (last updated 3/20/09).

What’s new in Silverlight 3?

Fully supported by Visual Studio and Expression Blend, highlights of new features and functionality of Silverlight 3 include: major media enhancements, out of browser support allowing Web applications to work on the desktop; significant graphics improvements including 3D graphics support, GPU acceleration and H.264 video support; and many features to improve RIA development productivity.

Enhanced media support

Live and on-demand true HD (720p+) Smooth Streaming. IIS Media Services (formerly IIS Media Pack), an integrated HTTP media delivery platform, features Smooth Streaming which dynamically detects and seamlessly switches, in real time, the video quality of a media file delivered to Silverlight based on local bandwidth and CPU conditions.
Hardware accelerated HD playback. Leveraging graphics processor unit (GPU) hardware acceleration, Silverlight experiences can now be delivered in true full-screen HD (720p, 1080p, etc.).
Extensible media format support. In addition to VC-1/WMA, Silverlight 3 now supports MPEG-4-based H.264/AAC Audio. Also with the new extensible Raw AV pipeline, audio and video can be decoded outside the runtime and rendered in Silverlight, extending format support beyond the native codecs.
Digital rights management. Full and built-in support for DRM, powered by PlayReady Content Protection enables protected in-browser experiences using AES encryption or Windows Media DRM.

Enhanced graphics support

Perspective 3D Graphics. Content can now be applied to a 3D plane without writing any code. Live content can be rotated or scaled live content in space.
Pixel Shader effects. Image manipulation effects such as blur and drop shadow, using software-based rendering. Custom effects can also be created, and applied to any graphical content.
Bitmap Caching. Vector content, text, and controls can now be cached as bitmaps. This improves the rendering performance of applications and is useful for background content and for content which needs to scale without making changes to its internal appearance.
New Bitmap API. Support for writing pixels to bitmaps directly.
Themed application support. Runtime support for application theme updates driven by templates, and cascading style sheets.
Animation Effects. New effects such as spring and bounce. Developers can also now develop their own mathematical functions to describe an animation
Enhanced control skinning. Simplified skinning capabilities by keeping a common set of controls external from an application. This allows the sharing of styles and control skins between different applications.
Improved text rendering & font support. Enhanced rendering and rapid animation of text. Applications also load faster by enabling the use of local fonts.

Enhanced rich internet application (RIA) support

Out-of-Browser capabilities

Run outside of browser. Light-weight, sandboxed companion experiences for the Web that run on the desktop. Enabled without any additional download of runtime or the need to write applications in a different way.
Consumer friendly non-administrator install. Applications are hosted in a cache and do not require any privileges to run.
Safer, more secure, sandboxed. An application can be trusted without security warnings. All assets are stored in an isolated storage.
Built in auto-update. An application will check for new versions on the server and update on launch.
Connectivity detection (on-line/off-line). Can detect a loss of connection (or react to event notifications), then choose to cache data locally until a network connection is restored.
Desktop integration. On Windows and Macs, applications can be saved as short-cuts on the desktop and be one click away from your customer. On Windows 7, support will be provided for superbar integration, multi-touch, and location awareness services such as GPS support so that your application can react to the users location.

Deep Linking. Support for deep linking, which enables bookmarking a page within a RIA.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO). By utilizing business objects on the server, together with ASP.NET controls and site maps, users can automatically mirror database-driven RIA content into HTML that is easily indexed by the leading search engines.
60+ default controls with source code. Over 60 fully skinnable and customizable out-of-the-box controls such as charting and media, new layout containers such as dock and viewbox, and controls such as autocomplete, treeview and datagrid. The controls come with nine professional designed themes and the source code can be modified/recompiled or utilized as-is. Other additions include multiple selection in listbox controls, file save dialog, and support for multiple page applications with navigation.
Enhanced data support

Element-to-element binding. Enables property binding to CLR objects and other UI components via XAML, for instance binding a slider value to the volume control of a media player.
Data forms. Provides support for layout of fields, validation, updating and paging through data.
Data validation. Automatically catch incorrect input and warn the user with built-in validation controls.
Support for business objects on both client and server with n-Tier data support. Easily load, sort, filter and page data with added support for working with data. Includes a new built-in CollectionView to perform a set of complex operations against server side data. A new set of .NET RIA services supports these features on the server.

Improved performance

Application library caching. Reduced the size of applications by caching framework on the client which helps improve rendering performance.
Enhanced DeepZoom. Allows users to fluidly navigate through larger image collections by zooming.
Binary XML. Allows communication with the server to be compressed, greatly increasing the speed at which data can be exchanged.
Local Connection. This feature allows communication between multiple Silverlight applications on the client-side without incurring a server roundtrip.

Enhanced Accessibility Features. Provides access to all system colors, allowing partially-sighted people to make changes such as high contrast color schemes for ease of readability by re-using familiar operating system controls.

Best practices for development using Visual Studio – free events

2009-03-20T16:50:21Z

Team System “Big Event”

How do you take an idea from conception to completion? How can you truly do more with less?

Please join us for this unique, invitation-only event to discover how both product and processes help your organization succeed in today’s environment. We will explore how Team System assists teams across the board to be successful in today’s tough times. This “break through” event will not only provide you with best practices around development and testing, but will demonstrate key capabilities of both Visual Studio Team System 2008 and the upcoming 2010 release. It’s a day that promises to have something for everyone!

SESSIONS

Test Driven Development: Improving .NET Application Performance & Scalability

This session will demonstrate how to leverage Test Driven Development in Team System. We’ll highlight both writing unit tests up front as well as creating test stubs for existing code.

"It Works on My Machine!" Closing the Loop Between Development & Testing

In this session, we will examine the traditional barriers between the developer and tester; and how Team System can help remove those walls.

Treating Databases as First-Class Citizens in Development

Team System Database Edition elevates database development to the same level as code development. See how Database Edition enables database change management, automation, comparison, and deployment.

Architecture without Big Design Up Front

Microsoft Visual Studio Team System 2010 Architecture Edition, introduces new UML designers, use cases, activity diagrams, sequence diagrams that can visualize existing code, layering to enforce dependency rules, and physical designers to visualize, analyze, and refactor your software. See how VSTS extends UML logical views into physical views of your code. Learn how to create relationships from these views to work items and project metrics, how to extend these designers, and how to programmatically transform models into patterns for other domains and disciplines.

Development Best Practices & How Microsoft Helps

Sometimes development teams get too bogged down with the details. Take a deep breath, step back, and re-acquaint yourself with a review of current development best practice trends, including continuous integration, automation, and requirements analysis; and see how Microsoft tools map to those practices.

"Bang for Your Buck" Getting the Most out of Team Foundation Server

Today’s IT budgets are forcing teams to do as much as they can with as little as possible. Why not leverage Team Foundation Server to its full potential? In this session we’ll highlight some capabilities of TFS that you may or may not already know about to help you maximize productivity.

REGISTRATION

Register for a date & location near you!

Welcome: 8:00 AM

Seminar: 8:30 AM-5:00 PM

April 22, 2009 - Denver, CO

Click here to register with invitation code: DD1A7F.

April 28, 2009 - Mountain View, CA

Click here to register with invitation code: 80D459.

April 30, 2009 - Irvine, CA

Click here to register with invitation code: A86389.

May 5, 2009 - Portland, OR

Click here to register with invitation code: 2DC0A9.

May 7, 2009 - Phoenix, AZ

Click here to register with invitation code: 90BC47.

To Register by Phone – Call 1.877.MSEVENT (1.877.673.8368) with invitation code.

Agile development with Scrum – free events

2009-03-20T16:36:43Z

A Day in the Life of Scrum with Visual Studio Team System 2008 and Team Foundation Server

Please join Microsoft and Neudesic for a day in the life of Scrum with Visual Studio Team System 2008 and Team Foundation Server! Agile methods are a set of development processes intended to create software in a lighter, faster, more people-centric way. Many development teams have adopted "agile" methodologies to manage change and to improve software quality. These methodologies promote continuous integration as a practice to build and test software products incrementally as new features are included, bugs are fixed, and code is re-factored.

If you missed the first series of Agile & Scrum Essentials last fall; here’s your chance to attend the follow-on event where we’ll briefly revisit the basics of Agile and Scrum and provide a walkthrough of how to configure Visual Studio Team System 2008 and Team Foundation Server for Scrum. Participants will be familiarized with how key artifacts are managed within this popular process template for enacting Scrum in organizations.

Join us for this interactive event as we explore a “day in the life of a Sprint,” that will give you a practical perspective of how Scrum teams leverage Visual Studio Team System for end to end management of the planning, execution and control of Scrum projects. The day will end with an overview of what’s coming in Visual Studio Team System 2010!

Register for a date & location near you

Welcome: 8:30 AM
Seminar: 9:00 AM-4:30 PM

To Register by Phone –
Call 1.877.MSEVENT (1.877.673.8368) with invitation code.

April 2, 2009 - Bellevue, WA
Click here to register with invitation code: 46F263.

June 4, 2009 - Denver, CO
Click here to register with invitation code: 02B7F8.

April 9, 2009 - Portland, OR
Click here to register with invitation code: ED7794.

April 7, 2009 - Salt Lake City, UT
Click here to register with invitation code: FF5466.

April 14, 2009 - San Diego, CA
Click here to register with invitation code: 1A8639.

April 15, 2009 - Irvine, CA
Click here to register with invitation code: 808B1B.

April 16, 2009 - Los Angeles, CA
Click here to register with invitation code: A61EB4.

Microsoft Enterprise Developer and Industry Solutions Conference 2009 (May 5 and 6: NYC)

2009-03-18T06:50:00Z

Please join us for the 7th annual Microsoft Enterprise Developer and Industry Solutions Conference 2009 where you will learn about solutions in Microsoft technologies relevant to the Financial Services and Health & Life Sciences industries, as well as hear about the latest advancements in major industries. This two day event will be held in New York City on May 5th and 6th.

The content is tailored for developers, architects, business decision makers, and technology decision makers in large enterprise organizations a clear roadmap of the Microsoft development platform. We will give specific examples of real world solutions using the best of breed technology to bring you from where you are today, to where you will be tomorrow. This is the only conference that will show case enterprise customer solutions directly from the mouth of developers that work in the enterprise industry space as well hear from Microsoft and their partners on topics such as Cloud Computing, Application Lifecycle Management and User Experience.

Who Should Attend?

Developers, Architects, Business Decision Makers, CIOs, CTOs, Development Managers and Technical Decision Makers.

Registration

Accommodations:

For your convenience, a block of rooms has been reserved at the Marriott Marquis at a rate of $299. You are responsible for your own reservations which can be made by calling (212) 398-1900 or 1-800-843-4898 to receive the discounted rate. Be sure to reference the Microsoft Enterprise Developer & Industry Solution Conference

Marriott Marquis Hotel

New York, NY

Conference attendance is FREE. Breakfast and lunch for both days is provided as well as a welcome reception on the first night of the event. You are responsible for all other travel and hotel expenses.

Click on the picture below to see a live demonstration of Microsoft Surface

Silverlight 3, Windows 7, Touch and Gesture Computing, etc. – Values of Software Clients (Live Events and Webcast)

2009-03-14T17:22:00Z

Architect Council | The Importance of the Client

Over the last couple of years, there has been a lot of innovation around technologies that make it easier for the end user of an application to interact with systems. These innovations have been a boon for the end user because it has provided them a more natural interface with systems that span the web, computer, and phone. However, this has caused the complexity of systems architecture and development to increase. The focus of this session will be on how to prepare and manage this complexity within your organization.

Facilitated by Microsoft, the premise of this event is to provide an open forum where architects can meet to discuss technologies with their peers. This forum will provide first-hand experience and best practices that will enable its members to learn from each other and transfer knowledge. Please join us for this great opportunity to learn, share and network with your peers and other company leaders.

EVENT SUMMARY

The Value of the Client – In the past, the choice of how an end user interacts with an application has been dictated by IT and often without regards to the usage. Recently, as the population has become more tech savvy and are experiencing interactions on the web, computer, and the phone their expectations have increased tremendously. Many organizations now have to support multiple standards and technologies to accommodate their user base. We will discuss the opportunities and challenges this presents.

The Changing Face of the Web – The web has changed from a static collection of data to an application platform. In many cases, JavaScript and AJAX have enhanced the experience to enable more advance application scenarios. In other cases, the Rich Internet Application using technologies such as Silverlight and Flash can bring the experience to a new level. In this session we will discuss the web and in particular the investments Microsoft is making in this technology.

Creating Powerful Applications on Computers and Devices – The web has been a boon to application development and deployment, but it doesn’t always fit every scenario. There are certain classes of applications which provide a better experience when running on a device and utilizing local hardware. The ubiquity of the mobile device has also extended the expectations of users with anytime/anywhere access.

The Future of the Client – The pace of change in client technologies over the past few years has been tremendous and is expected to continue to evolve. From support of new device types such as tables and walls, to continued improvements in interactions on the web, client, and the phone the client will become more and more important from a technology perspective and more strategic to the organization.

AGENDA

12:45 PM Open for Dial-in & Announcements

01:00 PM The Value of the Client

01:45 PM The Changing Face of the Web

02:45 PM Creating Powerful Applications on Computers and Devices

03:45 PM The Future of the Client

04:15 PM Raffle and Close

REGISTER

To register, please select a date/venue below.

March 31, 2009 | Online Webcast

Registration Link: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032408787&Culture=en-US

Event ID: 1032408787 *Referral code not required to register.*

April 1, 2009 | Irvine, CA

Microsoft Corporation

3 Park Plaza, Suite 1600

Irvine California 92614

Registration Link: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032399665&Culture=en-US

Event ID: 1032399665 *Referral code not required to register.*

April 2, 2009 | Los Angeles, CA

Microsoft Corporation

333 S. Grand Ave, 33rd Floor

Los Angeles California 90071

Registration Link: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032404032&Culture=en-US

Event ID: 1032404032 *Referral code not required to register.*

Internet Explorer 8 “FireStarter” Event | Mar 26th 2009

2009-03-14T01:02:00Z

On Thursday, March 26, 2009 - Microsoft is hosting a day long free training event for all Developers and IT Pro’s interested in learning more about Internet Explorer 8. You can read about the speaker line up, sessions and get a feel for the agenda by registering for the event.

Note that this event will be broadcasted online as well. So, if you are not in Redmond, you can watch the entire event online via Live Meeting. Be sure to register for the Online version. All the sessions will be recorded and made available post event.

Register to Attend In-Person (Redmond, WA): http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032406308&Culture=en-US

Register to Watch the event online: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032408665&Culture=en-US

For more details, you can contact Mithun Dhar (Developer Evangelist)

We look forward to seeing you at the event!

Cloud Computing and Azure Presentation at South Bay .NET User Group

2009-03-13T18:24:30Z

I had the privilege of speaking to the community at the South Bay .NET User Group again, on March 12, 2009; onsite at the Honda campus in Torrance, California. Thanks to everyone who made the time to attend!

For those who are interested, the slide decks I used can be found via the links below.