New Release: Windows Mobile Line of Business Solution Accelerator 2008

Rafik — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 22:42:00 GMT

Rob Tiffany, the mobile accelerator guy, just announced the new release of Windows Mobile Line of Business Solution Accelerator 2008. It a collection of windows mobile centric samples that showcase different new technologies and help developers greatly accelerate building their applications, thus the name “Accelerator”. Rob also has a great blog that I read regularly. Here is a quick overview of what this new release contains:

Adapt your App
Create a single binary that runs unchanged on Windows Mobile Standard or Pro, Portrait or Landscape, Rectangle or Square. No more wasting time building separate executables to accommodate different screen sizes or input methods.
Sync Services for ADO.NET
Synchronize your data between SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server Compact 3.5 using the new Sync Framework. Keep all your occasionally-connected mobile workers on the same page.
Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) Store and Forward
Reliably push messages to servers or other devices via Exchange Server 2007. Programmatically notify peer devices that they have new orders waiting for them and need to sync.
MapPoint
Guide delivery drivers to their customers via either the shortest or quickest route. Integrated mapping means you’ll never get lost again.
LINQ
Use the new Language Integrated Query to filter results from Generic Object Collections. Query both your objects and XML using a familiar, SQL-like syntax to boost developer productivity.
Custom Controls
Capture signatures and dazzle your end-users with 3D and Alpha-blended controls that alter their behavior depending on the platform they’re running on.
Managed Stored Procedures and Triggers
The pluggable data layer allows you to say goodbye to compiling Dynamic SQL inside your code and fires events to react to INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE operations.
Notifications and Online Help
Formerly only supported on Pro, say hello to Popup Notifications and Online Help on Standard. Popup Notifications, also known as “toast,” display an HTML message and then disappear after a pre-determined amount of time. Using Online Help on every screen reduces your application training costs.
Language Switching and Localization
Change Language/Regional Settings inside your app and watch text and Online Help speak a different language. Don’t wait until your application is finished to realize that it needs to be world-ready.
Time to Market
Stop reinventing the wheel and use this Accelerator as the foundation for your next Windows Mobile development effort. If you don’t want to use the whole thing, pick and choose the components that are the best fit for your project.

I am playing with it right now.. pretty cool stuff. Download Now

Update: Just to let you know, I left Microsoft to start a new company, Raveable Hotel Reviews. See examples: Top 10 Hotels in Myrtle Beach, Best Hotels in NYC, Romantic Hotels in Seattle, Kid Friendly Hotels in Orlando and Top 10 Hotels in San Diego. Your feedback is welcome on twitter.com/raveable, raveable blog.

I am not actively blogging about Sync Technologies. Please see Sync Team Blog for more updated content.

It is about time: Sync Services for Windows Mobile

Rafik — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 10:01:00 GMT

I remember the very beginnings when Sync Services came along and I started blogging that people asked to have the runtime works on mobile devices. That is a reasonable and expected request. After all, mobile devices are the true occasionally connected and sync services can make real difference. I am pleased to tell you that you that the initial CTP for the sync services for mobile is ready to download and try out:

Sync Services for ADO.NET for Devices supporting Windows Mobile

The runtime is almost identical to the desktop version with one exception. The mobile version does not support 2-tier model where the device can execute commands directly on the backend database server. While it is possible to have a mobile device VPN to the network thus be able to connect directly to the DB, it is does appear to be neither a common scenario nor the direction where the industry is heading. Having been at MIX08 this year, I can tell you that even device cradle scenarios are becoming the theme of the past.

You asked for it, here you have it. It is about time to give it a try and tell us what you think.

Update: Just to let you know, I left Microsoft to start a new company, Raveable Hotel Reviews. See examples: Romantic Hotels in Myrtle Beach, Best Hotels in Seattle, Top 10 Hotels in Miami, Kid friendly hotels in San Diego, Hotels with a kitchen or kitchenette and 5 Star Hotels in Las Vegas. Your feedback is welcome on twitter.com/raveable, raveable blog.

The Synchronizer : mobile

New Release: Windows Mobile Line of Business Solution Accelerator 2008

It is about time: Sync Services for Windows Mobile