Sorry to be so quiet recently. We have all been heads down getting ready for a fun time in L.A. at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference. If you are there, stop in the booth and come hear Lorenzo's session. Cool upcoming annoucenments on NETMF.
But in the meantime, there is a really cool new board out from a partnership of Avent and Analog Devices(ADI). Avent (http://www.avnet.com/) as you know is a large distributor of electronic parts, enterprise computing, and other things including embedded subsystems. ADI (http://www.analog.com) is, of course, the makers of the Blackfin processor which is a convergent device supporting DSP functionality as well as general processing. The new board is built around the Blackfin 518 processor (400MHz), has plenty of memory, 10/100 Ethernet with IEEE 1588 V2 support, UART, USB, Avnet TFT LCD, and more. One of the most unique things about the board is the integration of FPGA through the FPGA Mezzanine board. This supports robust signal processing applications in the target markets of Industrial Automation, Smart Energy Management, Network-enabled Instrumentation, and Test and Measurement equipment.
Of course, the board comes with .NET MF 4.0 support which was created by Adeneo.
Check out their video at: http://www.avnetondemand.com/behind-the-wheel---demos/channel/32/video/390/
and pick it up at http://www.em.avnet.com/evk/home/0,1719,RID%253D%2526CID%253D0%2526CAT%253D0%2526CCD%253DUSA%2526SID%253D32214%2526DID%253DDF2%2526SRT%253D1%2526LID%253D32232%2526PRT%253D0%2526PVW%253D%2526PNT%253D%2526BID%253DDF2%2526CTP%253DEVK,00.html?new=true
Following up to some specific feedback we decided to provide one more update to the Beta version. The update is available for download at https://connect.microsoft.com/netmf/. In this update we fix some issues with debugging over TCP/IP, we polished MDK3.80a support and we moved the entire DPWS stack over the XML native parser. We also removed a dependency from ATL in the runtime, which enables using Visual Studio Express with the Porting Kit to rebuild the CLR, the emulator, and the tools. As always we are looking forward to your feedback.
Following up to your feedback we are providing a refresh for the Beta version of the .NET Micro Framework 4.0.
Download procedures are as for the Beta and if you already accepted the Microsoft Connect invitations for the Beta PK and SDK, you should not have any access problem, and you should find the newest binaries in the download area on Connect.
The most important changes are the addition of a new reference port for the Atmel SAM9RL64-EK development board for the SAM9RL64 processor (ARM926-J core) and some fixes for the HTTP(S) support. We also improved the LPC2478 reference port, improved the PK documentation with board specific instructions and provided some more detailed information about the booting strategy with TinyBooter on different reference ports.
We are looking forward to hear from you, please submit your feedback through Microsoft Connect.
There are actually two betas going on. One for the SDK and one for the Porting Kit. If you aren't familiar with the product, the SDK is all you need to try out creating managed applications. There is an emulator that will let you see how the Micro Framework works for creating applications. This SDK can also be used with a nubmer of development boards as they provide firmware updates for the 4.0 release. The Porting Kit is used for adapting the runtime to your hardare.
Version 4.0 includes support for the following features:
- HTTP and HTTPs: An object model is now provided for handing both HTTP clients and servers, similar to the .NET Framework, with the new types System.Net.HttpWebRequest, System.Net.HttpWebResponse, and System.Net.HttpListener from assembly System.Http.dll
- Multi-touch: Basic support for multi-touch events, such as moving two fingers on a touch screen, is now provided in the object model and the emulator. Gesture support has been redesigned to be faster and more flexible.
- Versioning: Versioning has been implemented to strictly identify assemblies by the version number at build time and on the device, and eventually re-deploying missing assemblies. Side-by-side load and bind for types belonging to the same assemblies with a different version number is supported. Support has also been added for assembly naming which includes the version number.
- Emulator support for SSL and HTTPS: The emulator now explicitly supports SSL and HTTPs emulation.
- Native XML Parser: The XML parser has been moved to native code for better performance.
- Native collections: The collection classes have been moved to native code for performance, and have been enriched with Queue and Stack types.
- Time sync: Devices can use the new Time Sync API to sync the system time with a specified server's time, automatically or manually.
- Arbitrary display size: A custom heap and allocation area is now provided to support bitmaps larger than 760KB.
- Large buffers: A new type, Microsoft.SPOT.Hardware.LargeBuffer, is provided for allocating buffers larger than 760KB, which would not fit in the managed heap. This type is located in assembly Microsoft.SPOT.Hardware.
- Watchdog and Power Level control: The power level and the watchdog behavior can now be controlled from the managed application using types Microsoft.SPOT.Hardware.PowerState and Microsoft.SPOT.Hardware.Watchdog from assembly Microsoft.SPOT.Hardware.dll.
- Thick pens and gradient fills: A richer graphic model is now provided for designing widgets and controls.
- TinyCore performance improvements: TinyCore performance has been enhanced in the area of event dispatching and layout.
The 4.0 release is the first release for which we have included the source code. In the beta release, this is done without license to redistribute. With the RTM, we will be releasing the source with redistribution rights as defined by the license. We will be building a community to accelerate the development of the product. Look for more on that in the near future.
To get either of the beta's, please go to connect.microsoft.com and look up the program that is right for you.
Let us know if you have any questions.
Here is coverage of NETMF on 'This week on Channel 9'. They discuss the contest that just completed and the upcoming 4.0 release. They include a link to the 4.0 port video. The interviews with the professional contest finalists are coming next week.
http://channel9.msdn.com/shows/This+Week+On+Channel+9/This-Week-on-C9-NET-Micro-Framework-Azure-and-PHP/.
In the mean time, are you ready for Version 4.0 Beta? It is just around the corner.
The final round of judging was completed last Friday evening. As I have mentioned before, the number and quality of the entries has made the contest very enjoyable but has made the selection process very difficult. The finalist and their projects are as follows:
Professional Category
James NG (US) - First Prize - a security device (watch) that replaces all your passwords, car keys, credit cards and more
Deon Schaffer (US) - Second Prize - a device to control aroma therapy in the home both locally and remotely
Slava Vassiliev (Russia) - Second Prize - a set of health monitoring devices connected to HealthVault
Gudmund Aasgaard (Norway) - Finalist - a device to remotely control large animals with dynamic fencing
Bryan Fisher (US) - Finalist - a whole range of devices to automate the production of broilers (chickens)
Hobbyist Category
Tomas Scherrer and Diego Pinto do Santos (Brazil) - First Prize - a musical syntheziser in a 3.5 in screen
Terry Fogg (Australia) - Second Prize - a telescope hand controller complete with internal star charts
Ellis Percival (UK) - Second Prize - a complete home automation system including remote monitoring and control
Rainer Stropek (Austria) - Finalist - a demonstration system for conventions that uses RFID adn BizTalk to 'Find Mr X'.
Alexander Inochkin ( Russia) - Finalist - a fully automated home watering system for your plants.
I'd like to thanks everyone for their efforts in all three rounds of the contest. It was extremely entertaining to see the projects but it was very difficult to judge them. I hope you all enjoyed this as much as we did. The videos will be posted out soon.
If you participated in Rounds 2 or 3 of the Dare to Dream Different contest, the GHI Electronics folks have a coupon offer for you that is very generous. You can visit their site at http://tinyclr.blogspot.com/ and learn more. The basics of the offer are:
========================
GHI Electronics, LLC is giving away 100 coupons and free consulting hours to Dare to Dream Different contestants.
Coupons and consulting hours and provided as follows:
- 1,000.00 USD coupon plus 20 consulting hours for each one of the 2 first place winners.
- 500.00 USD coupon plus 10 consulting hours for each one of the 4 winners of second prize.
- 250.00 USD coupon plus 5 consulting hours for each one of the 2 who made it to final stage but didn't win.
- 100.00 USD coupon for the 90 contestants who didn't make it to the final round.
- An additional 100.00 USD coupon is provided if the contest project is tested on GHI products and submitted to http://www.microframeworkprojects.com/
Total estimated value for all prizes are 26,500.00 USD
Rules:
- Coupons are valid for one time purchase directly form GHI Electronics, LLC.
- Coupons can not be redeemed for cash.
- Coupon can not be applied to previous order(s).
- Coupons are valid only for a purchase of USBizi, Embedded Master, ChipworkX and their sub products.
- Consulting hours can be used for one .NET Micro Framework related project only.
- Coupons and free consulting hours are valid till November 1, 2009.
- Support is always free and unlimited http://www.ghielectronics.com/forum/
- GHI Electronics, LLC reserves the right to alter these rules and offerings.
To use the coupons, please contact GHI directly through phone, fax or email.
http://www.ghielectronics.com/contact
A couple of weeks ago we released the pre-Beta porting kit for the v4.0 release of the Micro Framework to selected porting partners. Since then a number of partners got their development boards up& running. We are very pleased for this easy transition and eager to see what the new features, like HTTP, can do. GHI completed their first working prototype for the v4.0 release that runs on their newest ChipworkX board. Please see a demo here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8TkdnYjBEE.
There is some interesting new hardware that is hitting the streets these days and I wanted to take a minute in case you missed some of it. There are new modules and boards from Device Solutions, AUG Electronics, and GHI Electronics. I’ll go through them in the order that they came out. I won’t replicate the spec sheets here – just give you an idea of what they have and a link for you to learn more.
Meridian/P
First, the Meridian/P from Device Solutions is the Meridian module in a prototyping package. This means that you can get to all the Tahoe II functionality but in a package that you can use to mock up your eventual device. Even the headers are the same for portability of any work you did on the full dev board. The form factor also fits with Schmart Board prototyping systems.
http://devicesolutions.net/Products/MeridianP.aspx
AMI DevKit
Aug-Electronics is building some interesting applications with the Micro Framework for drink dispenser system. These devices actually run under water. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvjFz8kGoP0
They have released a development environment as well based on the same Atmel ARM9. One of the unique things about the kit is that the display is an Active Matrix OLED display.
http://aug-electronics.com/Default.aspx?alias=aug-electronics.com/ami
ChipworkX
The most recent release that we have seen is the ChipworkX from GHI Electronics. This is GHI’s first ARM9 (their previous boards and modules are on one ARM7 by NXP). They have produced both a module and a rich development board for it. The dev board boasts a 480x272 4.3" TFT display with touch screen. Check it out at: http://www.ghielectronics.com/product/123
Lots to report here.
First, the pre-release of version 4.0 has gone out to our hardware partners last week. They get a little jump on it so that they can have harwdare to support the broader beta. If you would like more information on that program - please 'Ask Colin'. The open Beta will be coming next month with the final release of 4.0 in the fall. There are some great new features in it for those who missed earlier descriptions. There are performance improvements in the graphics as well as extensions like multi-touch. There is native HTTP and HTTPS. There is watchdog and power management support. There is arbitrary display size. And much more.
Second, we are making progress on our license. It will take the form of a broad license with little constraint on derivative works. The final license will be either a standard open source license or a close derivative of one. The goal will be to enable partners to take the MF code and create whatever derivative works that they need for their purposes. At the same time there is valid concern for the proliferation of derivatives so there will continue to be a core implementation that is managed by a core technology team staffed from within Microsoft as well as from the community. This core implemenation will move forward through major and minor versions just like any existing product. The only difference is that the code will be available and contributions are encouraged. The contributions will be reviewed and tested before being integrated and made available to the public. Support for this core version of the runtime will be available through Microsoft Product Support. Of course, changes that happen at the porting layers will not be closely managed. We will also have a 'market place' where vendors can post information about add-ons and extensions that are available. We are working on the web site to support all this. We have the framework for the web site done and are working on filling it out.
I'd love to hear your questions, thoughts, and concerns as we move to finalizing our open source plans. I believe that we can make this a great 'win' for everyone but of course, the nature of a community effort is that we need your help and engagement to make it work best. So let us hear from you.
As we have seen from several of the entries in the Dare to Dream Different contest, there is a lot of interest energy management applications and the use of the Micro Framework in these applications. It absolutely makes sense since these solutions include a range of elements from small devices for local control of power consumption and UI to back end SQL Server databases and everything in between. The Micro Framework is an obvious platform for these solutions because it supports the same programming model and tool chain that can be used throughout the solution. It also has the ability to support very clean UI.
Well, it is not just in contest where MF meets energy management. It is already being used by some of our partners in commercial applications. Here is an example in a Press Release that just came out today - excerpted and translated from German.
"Environment-conscious accommodation is in contrast to comfort and digital living which demonstrate the AMEDIA hotels. They offer first class service, combined with modern communication and entertainment without additional costs. Youngest member of the family is the AMEDIA hotel in Hamburg Ohlsdorf. All guests have free access to high speed Internet access (WLAN) and video on demand in the room and can call free in 48 countries. Another highlight is the in-house HD-TV Studio for worldwide HD-video conferencing, which is also without fee available. All rooms with innovative intuitive use were the first step "room touch controller" on the basis of: NET Micro Framework Microsoft. "" About this touch screen room or technical services, air conditioning heating check and more business processes are controlled. The AMEDIA Hotel Hamburg Ohlsdorf promoted with its 165 rooms to the international first green-all-IP-property, the intelligent IT Technology and combines an ecological energy plan."
The companies involved in this are IVISTAR AG, power economizer GmbH, the Fraunhofer Institute and digitalStrom and AHC International Consulting AG IP Immo but I believe the room controller comes from Power Economizer. Pretty gool stuff.
Our Dare to Dream Different contestants are not the only ones using the Micro Framework in creative ways. The Micro Framework was part of the solution in an entry to the Imagine Cup (http://imaginecup.com/) that won the Chinese competition and will be moving on to the next level competition in Egypt. The project demonstrates the automation of healthcare data and how it can be used to improve the provision of medical services. The Micro Framework is used as the gateway for the collection of data from a variety of patient care devices from fetal monitors to glucose meters. Congratualtions to the team and good luck in the finals.
The Dare to Dream Different contest http://dreamdifferentcontest.com/ is nearing the completion of the judging for the second round. The final selection will be made soon and the third round contestants brought to Redmond. I have looked at some of the videos and I have to say that I am extremely impressed by the quality of the work that was done for the contest. The judging will be very close. I can't wait to share out the videos so that everyone can see the creative thinking that went into the projects.
As you all know, we are working through all the issues associated with moving the product from a revenue model to an 'open' model. That will all take place with the next release as promised earlier. In the interim, we are taking some steps with the 3.0 product which is available for use in development and products as before. To faciliate the broadest use of the platform, we are making the porting kit available as a free download from the Microsoft Download Center - the same place where the SDK is avilable. There is a Service Pack that was just released for the 3.0 porting kit. We are not going to take the time to merge those two releases at this time so anyone wanting to start with the porting kit will have to download the porting kit and then install the Service Pack over that. The link for the new porting kit download is: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=42ce8508-ff00-4ab8-8495-df587d77a8f2. Go ahead and pass this on. Thanks
2 weeks ago now, we announced several changes - that the product was moving into Developer Division and that we were changing our business model to include access to the code. Unfortunately, we created some confusion and concern by only providing the broadest overview of our direction without any additional detail. My intention had been to provide that overview as soon as we knew it and to follow-up quickly with more detail. Microsoft is a big company as you know and there is alot more complexity to making this scale of changes than you might think. As a result, we are not ready with the deatils as quickly as I wanted. I am writing today to keep you posted on progress.
The move does not require any additional detail. We are in our new home and already starting to explore the synergies with work being done elsewhere on the team. This will be a great move for the Micro Framework. One concern that has been raised is that we will not maintain one of the key values of the Micro Framework - its integration with Visual Studio. I can assure you that now that we are in the same orgnaization, there will be if anything a tighter bond. For example, whenVS 2008 came out, we didn't ship a platform compatible with that until 9 months later. I dont think we will be able to get away with that in the future. :-)
In terms of the availabiity of the source code and integration of community contributions, we are working down that road. There are licensing decisions, processes to set up, code to review, and much more. While I am not in a position to definitively describe the finished product yet, let me share my objectives in the planning. Microsoft will continue to maintain a development staff and do development. We are continuing to do that now. There are frankly some 'uber' features that will be hard for anyone else to do - at least for some time. At the same time, we will make the source code for the platform available on the broadest license that we can. We will also define, as Lorenzo mentioned earlier, a mechanism for the community to contribute back that is well managed to insure continued quality of the codebase. Finally, we have significant demand for Microsoft support for the product so we will define the access to support going forward that will work for our customers.
I wish I could be more definitive at this point but bear with me. The plan is to clearly define what we can/will do on the Microsoft side and then interate with the community on some how the whole process works. The goal of all this is to make the Micro Framework more broadly accessible so that we can focus on our goals of changing embedded development. In the mean time, 3.0 is still available as before.
Colin Miller
Product Unit Manager
