Eric Brandt's
^{Trail of Bre@dcrumbs}

Microsoft Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008 and .NET Framework 3.5 is now live and ready to install!

2008-02-08T00:51:00Z

The Windows SDK is available for customers to install as either an

ISO, or
Web Setup

This SDK release supports the following platforms:

...and is compatible with:

Visual Studio 2008
Visual Studio 2005 SP1 (including Visual Studio Express Editions)

Here is a small sampling of what’s in this SDK, with a more complete list available in the Getting Started section in the Windows SDK documentation.

Support for Windows Server 2008 (x86, x64, and Itanuim), .NET Framework 3.5, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista (including SP1), and Windows XP
Visual Studio 2008 C++ command line compiler toolset (with /analyze support) and matching CRT
The SDK headers, libs, and tools integrate with VS2008 when both the SDK and VS2008 are installed
New tools such as XPerf, SqlMetal, xsltc, gc, topoedit, aspnet_merge, and wsdcodegen.
Documentation and samples (2200+ sample projects) to explain usage of new Windows Server 2008 and .NET Framework 3.5 features as well as previous platform features.

Check out the Windows SDK blog and the Windows SDK MSDN Developer Center over the coming days and weeks for more information about the Windows SDK. As always, please look over the Release Notes for a description of known issues before you install the SDK.

Get Updated Instantly When the Latest ASP.NET Samples Hit the MSDN Code Gallery

2008-01-30T08:07:00Z

The Code Gallery has found its way to the ASP.NET DevCenter home page - Subscribe now and be the first to know when new all the newest ASP.NET code samples and sample applications are posted.

You can check out all of the latest code snippets and samples from the comfort of your favorite DevCenter home page right above the CodePlex feed. This new feed is scoped to provide only content specific to the ASP.NET developer and as always, you can also subscribe to this feed in your favorite aggregator. From the MSDN Code Gallery homepage you can also navigate code samples via the tag cloud.

Dynamics CRM 4.0 Implementation Guide and 4.0 Deployment SDK

2008-01-29T20:56:00Z

This just in on the Dynamics DevCenter:

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Implementation Guide
The Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Implementation Guide contains comprehensive information about how to plan, install, and maintain Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Deployment SDK
The Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Deployment SDK presents information to help you write code using the Deployment Web service.

Microsoft Dynamics Mobile documentation is now available in the MSDN Library

2008-01-29T20:32:00Z

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb986981.aspx

Microsoft Dynamics Mobile consists of a mobile sales application and tools to enable customers and partners to create and run mobile business solutions. In 2008, the release of Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 SP1 contains the integration components for Microsoft Dynamics Mobile 2008. Microsoft Dynamics Mobile 2008 also supports Microsoft Dynamics NAV 4.0 SP3.
The following documentation is available:

The New MSDN Code Gallery is LIVE!

2008-01-29T01:45:00Z

The MSDN Code Gallery is the latest developer portal offering for code snippets, samples, sample applications, and other great resources - including pages that describe samples, supporting docs with screenshots, and design documents. We've also added hosted discussions about the code samples, sample projects or other resources that have been added to the gallery. The MSDN Code Gallery is open to everyone to contribute to and it is a pure storage site with no project management capabilities so If you need to manage a live code project and collaborate with others on it, head over to CodePlex, another offering that we provide for open source project hosting.

For more see Soma's Blog: MSDN Code Gallery - snippets, samples and resources

Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 Online Help Toolkit Is Now Available

2008-01-17T21:33:00Z

The Dynamics NAV 5.0 Online Help Toolkit contains tools and information that you need to customize and compile HTML Help for Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0. You will need to log into PartnerSource to access the toolkit.

.NET Framework Library Source Code now available!

2008-01-17T05:29:00Z

Last October, ScottGu blogged about releasing the source code to the .NET Framework libraries, and enable debugging support within Visual Studio 2008. This is now available for everyone to use.

Check out the full post on ScottGu's Blog at: http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2008/01/16/net-framework-library-source-code-now-available.aspx (for which libraries are available, reference license, etc.)

Enabling .NET Framework source access within Visual Studio 2008 only takes a few minutes to setup.
Check out Shawn Burke's detailed blog post that covers the exact steps on how to enable this in more depth here. If you run into problems or have questions setting it up, please post a question in the Reference Source Forum on MSDN here.

Once you follow the configuration steps, you’ll be able to dynamically load the debug symbols for .NET Framework libraries and step into the source code. VS 2008 will download both the symbols and source files on demand from the MSDN reference servers as you debug throughout the framework code.

"Being able to step through and review the source should provide much better insight into how the .NET Framework libraries are implemented, and in turn enable you to build better applications and make even better use of them."

.NET Compact Framework 3.5 Redistributable Now Available

2008-01-09T04:15:00Z

The .NET Compact Framework 3.5 Redistributable includes everything you need to test .NET Compact Framework 1.0, 2.0 and 3.5 applications.

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/netframework/aa497273.aspx

Here is some other great new content on the DevCenter that has been posted to support this launch:

.NET Compact Framework 3.5 Run-Time Breaking Changes
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/netframework/bb986636.aspx
Some new behaviors have been implemented which provide previous behavior compatibility to support applications built with previous versions of the .NET Compact Framework.
What's New in the .NET Compact Framework 3.5
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb397835.aspx

New Dynamics CRM Content Added!

2008-01-09T04:03:00Z

Tuesday, December 11, 2007 2:22 PM Download

Download http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics/crm/bb456482.aspx

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 SDK
Coming soon! The SDK for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 contains all new information about creating plug-ins, working with custom workflow activities, using the new Web services, and much more.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0: Update Rollup No. 2
Update Rollup 2 is a tested, cumulative set of updates for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server 3.0 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM client for Outlook 3.0, including performance enhancements, that are packaged together for easy deployment.

Learn http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics/crm/bb456480.aspx

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0: Extending Marketing Automation
Learn how to programmatically manage marketing or sales events, such as seminars, using the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 Software Development Kit (SDK). Also, learn how to create and integrate a .NET Framework 2.0 Web application into Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0: Creating and Publishing Knowledge Base Articles
Learn how to write your own custom code to create and publish your target business information as knowledge base articles using the Microsoft Dynamics CRM SDK. This article describes how creating and publishing a knowledge base article differs from creating instances of other entity types in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 SDK
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics/crm/default.aspx
The SDK contains a wealth of resources, including code samples, that are designed to help you build powerful vertical applications using the Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform.

ASP.NET Learning Page Gets a Makeover!

2008-01-09T03:31:00Z

Wednesday, November 28, 2007 10:51 AM

The ongoing improvements to the ASP.NET DevCenter continue with this latest celebrity (Tahiti 1.5.1) update.

We heard what lots of you have been saying loud and clear with your generous feedback and traffic (or lack thereof), so we are rolling out these updates in an effort unbury some really great learning content that has been hidden behind tabs or buried deep below the surface.

Have a look and let us know what you think: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/asp.net/aa336567.aspx
Or if we missed something you would love to see added.

Thanks ~ Eric

New Version of ASP.NET AJAX released!

2008-01-09T02:20:00Z

Saturday, November 15, 2007 12:05 PM

ASP.NET AJAX refers to new components in ASP.NET that allow for building rich AJAX styled web applications using the design patterns familiar to ASP.NET developers. ASP.NET AJAX 1.0 was available as a separate add-on for ASP.NET 2.0. With the release of ASP.NET 3.5, the AJAX components have been integrated into ASP.NET (no separate download required - It is also available as a separate download for ASP.NET 2.0).

Download the latest version here: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/asp.net/bb944808.aspx

AJAX components in ASP.NET integrate cross-browser script libraries with the ASP.NET server side Web application framework. This integrated architecture empowers developers to rapidly create pages with sophisticated, responsive user interfaces and more efficient client-server communication by simply adding a few server controls to their pages.

.NET Framework 3.5 Now Available!

2008-01-08T21:50:00Z

Monday, November 19, 2007 10:09 AM

Set your browsers to download...

The latest version of the .NET Framework and VS 2008 are here. Experience the latest release of the most productive and powerful development tool and user interface platform on the planet. Learn about the new features for Visual Studio 2008 and the .NET Framework 3.5, from built-in ASP.NET AJAX support, to the new Visual Studio Web page designer, to the enhanced JavaScript support. Then, download a free copy of Visual Web Developer to try it out yourself!

There’s a whitepaper by David Chappell describing the .NET Framework 3.5 here:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/f/3/2/f32ff4c6-174f-4a2f-a58f-ed28437d7b1e/Introducing%20%20NET%20Framework%203.5,%20v1.0.doc

Also check out the .NET Framework 3.5 common namespaces and types poster here:
http://blogs.msdn.com/pandrew/archive/2007/11/02/announcing-the-net-framework-3-5-commonly-used-types-and-namespaces-poster.aspx

New Dynamics AX Content This Month

2008-01-08T21:41:00Z

Thursday, November 08, 2007 10:53 AM

The Dynamics AX team has just made a crop of great new content available on the MSDN DevCenter
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics/ax/default.aspx

New developer documentation this month includes:

Over 35 new class reference topics for the shop floor control classes such as JmgConsistencyCheck, JmgReport_PayAgreement, and so on.
Five new function topics including: intvMax, intvNo, intvNorm, str2Guid, and date2Str.

For a full list of new and updated topics, see: DAX_ContentChanges_2007_10_October.doc, available on the Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0 Documentation Updates site.

ASP.NET Developer Center Gets a New Design

2008-01-08T05:53:00Z

Monday, November 12, 2007 12:17 PM

I’m really pleased to announce the launch of the new Tahiti 1.5.1 design layout updates to the ASP.NET Developer Center and the Learn ASP.NET pages. These pages will continue to evolve over the next few weeks!

Eight weeks ago we released a design update (Code Namded: "Tahiti") to the Visual Basic and C# developer centers which was intended to:

Highlight lots of new Community features (e.g. Blogs with new RSS control, CodePlex feeds, Community Submitted content, MVP awareness)
Bring the How Do I? Video Series, Troubleshooting, Forums, and Downloads into greater focus
Drive a more comprehensive “getting Started” section
Update webcasts and local Events to feeds

We listened to our internal (TAGM, DevDiv, Subsidiary) and external stakeholders, and rolled out this design with the intent to monitor its performance and iterate as appropriate.

Well the time to iterate is now! Traffic is up across the life of all of the pilot sites and the key page task click-through traffic has gone up considerably. We are referring users to CodePlex like never before and our HDI videos and MVP submitted content are rated highly by our users and garner considerable traffic.

Based on the actual metrics and additional feedback, we have updated the design to:

Tighten up the space used for the top “Featured” components.
Move the 4 panel design from the Tobago look & feel, toward the Visual Studio 2008 brand; with fuller alignment coming in Q3.
Draw more attention to the How Do I? Videos by dynamically updating as new videos are released and allowing enough space to highlight more than one new video at a time.
Allow multiple headlines in the “Featured Resources” section.
Remove the forum feeds from the page, which were under-performing, in exchange for the forum listings which they replaced
Release v1 of the feedviewer control across all feeds on the homepage (added byline/publish dates)·
Find an elegant solution for local headlines.

Bundled with this release is the new events control rolled out on the Visual C# Developer Center in the right rail. We’ve also implemented a geo-detection block for non EN-US, English speaking subsidiaries which over-rides the US events widget.

Developer Toolkit for Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0

2008-01-08T05:32:00Z

Tuesday, November 06, 2007 9:00 AM

The Microsoft Dynamics GP team has made their new developer toolkit available on MSDN. The Developer Toolkit currently is available for CustomerSource users and paid MSDN subscribers and includes Web Services for Microsoft Dynamics GP, Visual Studio Tools for Microsoft Dynamics GP, and eConnect, which allow you to build Microsoft .NET-based solutions, customizations, and extensions.
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics/gp/bb931351.aspx

Eric Brandt's Trail of Bre@dcrumbs