Dave Baker's WebLog : Technology

Controlling Your Festive Lights with the .NET Micro Framework

davbaker — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 22:56:45 GMT

Rob Miles has come up with a new spin on seasonal project by making his festive lights flash red whenever he posts a new entry on his blog :).

Check out http://blogs.msdn.com/coding4fun/archive/2008/11/27/9149635.aspx for all of the information on the .NET Micro Framework and the hardware and code required for this cool festive project.

New version of Windows CE - ScarecrowReady

davbaker — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:05:00 GMT

OK - so this blog is in desperate need of a relaunch. But whilst I'm working on some new content I couldn't resist bringing you a sneak preview of our newest version of Windows CE. ScarecrowReady...

No it's not a real product, but always interesting to see the variety of different uses for Windows Embedded (and its disks). For a showcase of real products using Windows Embedded, take a look here.

Thanks to Caroline for the photos.

Swimming the English Channel with Virtual Earth

davbaker — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 17:56:35 GMT

I recently did some work with Road Angel, a Satellite Navigation company in the UK, around an Enterprise vehicle tracking system called Mileage Management, which they have developed with their Partner Alpha Micro. Checkout the Video Case Study.

Well, in the interests of Charity, Alpha Micro have taken the solution an adapted it so that you can Live track a sterling bunch of Microsoft UK employees who are going to swim the channel this weekend - The Sat Nav is in the boat by the way :)

Thanks to Microsoft Virtual Earth and the clever programmers from Alpha Micro Systems you will be able to track their progress, see their profiles, find out who is swimming, see how long they’ve been going, send txt messages of support and see photos uploaded live from the boat as they go. All via the website http://www.amslivetrac.com/.

They're starting at 12:30AM Sunday (UK time) - That's Saturday night, and by the team's own admission it's unlikely they will finish until way into Sunday afternoon so you will be able to view their progress for much of the day.

All money raised will support the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance, and you can donate at www.justgiving.com/channelswim2007.

Follow their progress at http://www.amslivetrac.com/ and support the world’s first world’s first internet tracked channel swim.

It's not what you've got, its what you do with it! Windows Embedded in the Enterprise - Free Webinar

davbaker — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 22:54:56 GMT

Embedded platforms are being increasingly used as part of enterprise solutions to help improve efficiency and drive down cost. If these type of solutions are of interest to you sign up for the free webinar "Windows Embedded Opportunities in Enterprise Organizations," will be held on June 28 at 8:00PM GMT. For further details and registration go here.

Wearable Windows - .NET MicroFramework for clothes and bags

davbaker — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 22:17:00 GMT

A colleague of mine pointed this out in the most recent edition of Electronics Weekly. Eleksen, here in the UK, have developed fabric embeddable Vista Sideshow displays (Sideshow is built on the .NET MicroFramework) that can be used to access information on your Vista PC. Go on wear your Windows on your sleeve :)

Checkout this amazing laptop bag on their website...

Vista Display Controllers
SideShow Electronics receive critical information from the laptop PC and update the on-board memory cache. The module can receive data from the laptop PC either wirelessly through Bluetooth or via the USB connection depending on the application.

A 2.5 inch LCD display presents the information to the user. Both portrait and landscape configurations can be supported depending on the industrial design requirements.

ElekTex fabric controls allow navigation and access to the information stored in the on-board memory cache. Additional controls can be added for enhanced functionality or to support new applications such as MP3 playback, photo album show, video clips, etc.

So What is Frimr ...?

davbaker — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 19:10:00 GMT

You may have noticed the Frimr flag on the left hand side of my blog and wondered what it means.

Frimr was shown to me by Olivier (Embedded Developer Evangelist for France) whilst I was at TechEd in Barcleona. Frimr is a Web 2.0 site created by his colleagues in Microsoft France. Frimr evaluates your presence on the Internet with a very smart algorithm that crawls the internet and calculates your personal rank, the higher your rank, the more visible you are.

...and why the name? "Frimer" is a French verb that means to bragg or boast. So if you have a blog you want to boast about head on over to www.frimr.com and start boasting.

Imagine Cup Student Technology Competition Offers $170,000 in prizes

davbaker — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 18:17:00 GMT

The first round of the Imagine Cup 2007 student technology competition has officially begun. The annual Imagine Cup event invites small teams of students to compete in nine technology areas, one of which replaces the former "Windows Embedded Student ChallengE."

Each Imagine Cup competition has a theme, and this year's is "Imagine a world where technology enables a better education for all".

The nine technology categories in which student teams can compete fall into three general areas:

· Technology Solutions -- Software Design, Embedded Development, Web Development

· Skills Challenges -- Project Hoshimi, IT Challenge, Algorithm

· Digital Arts -- Photography, Short Film, Interface Design

In eight of the nine competition categories, three teams will receive cash awards totalling $15,000:

· $8,000 -- First place

· $4,000 -- Second place

· $3,000 -- Third place

In the software design category, the top three prizes are:

· $25,000 -- First place

· $15,000 -- Second place

· $10,000 -- Third place

The finals are scheduled to take place in late July or early August in Seoul, South Korea.

For further information go to http://imaginecup.com/

Transparent Processors

davbaker — Wed, 22 Mar 2006 10:45:00 GMT

Still very much in early development but Oregon State University researchers claim to have fabricated the very first transparent IC

http://www.deviceforge.com/news/NS4777763425.html

OK, it's probably a long way off but think of the possibilities of building processor logic that resides in the a screen? What would this do for automotive, mobile media and cellphone technologies. I guess all we need now is transparent mass storage :)