Friday, November 28, 2008

Performance Map (Treemap) of the NHL

One of my favourite data visualization tools is the heatmap, or treemap.

There’s a new one out there for Silverlight.

More info here.

The adCenter treemap here. 

 

Treemap.QuickStart

Thursday, October 30, 2008

First Look: SecondLight | Larry Larsen | Channel 10

Secondlight, turning anything into an interface.

So what does this mean? It means a doctor can use a sheet of paper to dynamically 'cut through' a 3D MRI, or you could even scoop up windows on a surface computer and then interact with them on this lightweight display without altering the original Surface image.

First Look: SecondLight | Larry Larsen | Channel 10

Friday, October 24, 2008

85turns presents Siverlight mad Simple

Accessing external data feeds with Silverlight 2.0

Along with this difference is the ability to access data.  ASP.NET applications can use the HttpWebRequest or call a web service not located on the same server.  Since Silverlight runs on the client, it is a potential security risk to access data from a server where the XAP did not originate.  SO, the introduction (it’s a standard practice for Flash) of the client access policy.  Briefly, create a file named clientaccesspolicy.xml with the xml content below, and your service/data is ready to be consumed by Silverlight.

85turns presents Siverlight mad Simple

Monday, October 20, 2008

Josh Smith : Introducing a new XamDataGrid Behavior: DisplayAdorningEditors

Master-Details datagrid with a twist.

Introduction

In my previous post on this blog, I showed how to display an extra field of data in the adorner layer, instead of putting it into a XamDataGrid cell.  Since writing that post, I have spent the entire weekend blissfully working on and expanding that core concept.  I managed to extract all of the plumbing code that hosts an editor in the adorner layer into a reusable class.  I also vastly enhanced and thoroughly tested this functionality.  In this blog post, I am proud to present the fruit of my labor: a new behavior for XamDataGrid called ‘DisplayAdorningEditors’.

Josh Smith : Introducing a new XamDataGrid Behavior: DisplayAdorningEditors

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Balsamiq Mockups Home | Balsamiq

Doing mockups or wireframes?  Great napkin-style idea tool in Balsamiq.

Balsamiq Mockups

Improve your Usability

Explore Different Designs in Minutes

Get to Agreement Early

with a tool everyone can use

Cut down spec-writing time

Spend your time coding, not churning

Use it with your clients

Let them help you bring their vision to life

Integrated in the way you work

Web, Desktop or Web Office

Balsamiq Mockups Home | Balsamiq

XAML Power Toys « Karl On WPF - .Net

I am a firm believer that code generation tools will one day make most software development projects obsolete, or at least force developers to start developing code generation tools. :)

Here’s a Silverlight/WPF code generation tool.

XAML Power Toys is a Visual Studio 2008 SP1 Multi-AppDomain Add-In that empowers WPF & Silverlight developers while working in the XAML editor.  Its Line of Business form generation tools, Grid tools,  DataGrid and ListView generation really shorten the XAML page layout time.

It’s accessed through commands in the XAML editor context menu and the Solution Explorer item context menu.

XAML Power Toys generates .NET 3.5 SP1 WPF compliant XAML and Silverlight RC0 compliant XAML. 

XAML Power Toys « Karl On WPF - .Net

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Mike Taulty's Blog : Silverlight and WPF - Sharing Library Projects

 

Silverlight and WPF - Sharing Library Projects

One thing that I got asked a couple of times down at REMIX UK was the question of;

How come I can't reference a regular .NET library from a Silverlight project?

Mike Taulty's Blog : Silverlight and WPF - Sharing Library Projects

Monday, September 15, 2008

Jason Morales' Microsoft BI Update : The Business Intelligence Update - September 2008

 

The Business Intelligence Update - September 2008

HOT TOPICS

Register NOW for the 2nd Annual Microsoft BI Conference - click here!

25% Discount Promotion - Microsoft Office SharePoint ECAL / PerformancePoint Server CAL

*** extended through September 30, 2008

Assessment Tool for Business Intelligence

- compare your infrastructure against industry best practices and the latest IT research

Online Demo: Geospatial Business Intelligence

-  by integrating Virtual Earth and PerformancePoint

-  Blog: More on Virtual Earth & PPS

Business intelligence basics: case studies and job advice

Five keys to hiring (good) business intelligence professionals

Leveraging business and marketing skills for a business intelligence (BI) career

UPCOMING EVENTS

How does it all stack up?

6 part Seminar Series, sponsored by Inetium & Microsoft

Sept 18

Omaha, NE

Click here to register

Dashboard in a Day - sponsored by Quilogy

Sept 16 - Omaha, NE

Sept 18 - Chicago, IL

Click here to learn more and register

The Next Generation of Business Intelligence

Executive Roundtable Breakfast Series, sponsored by Neudesic & Microsoft

Sept 18 - Denver, CO

Sept 30 - Las Vegas, NV

Microsoft BI Conference

Oct 6-8 - Seattle, WA

www.microsoftbiconference.com

Managing Performance with PerformancePoint

Planning, Financial Reporting, Monitoring and Analytics for Dynamics GP 10

Oct 8 - Mountain View, CA

Click here to register

PASS Community Summit 2008

Nov 18-21 - Seattle, WA

Click here to learn more

Find Events & Webcasts

UPCOMING WEBCASTS

* all times listed below are for Pacific time zone

Microsoft Business Intelligence for Retail - sponsored by Solver

Sept 11, 11am

Click here to register

Using Your SharePoint Portal to Communicate Business Intelligence presented by Quilogy

Sept 11, 1 pm

Click here to register

Achieving Business Intelligence Across the Enterprise presented by Thorogood

Sept 18, 9am - Realize Fast & Effective Planning, Budgeting & Forecasting

Click here to register

NEWS LINKS & PRESS RELEASES

SQL Server 2008: First Impressions

BIScorecard Rates Eight Leading Products

An Effective Business Intelligence Strategy is the Key to Business Success

Next-generation BI at Hand, Forrester Reports

Gartner lists Microsoft India as leading vendor of BI

Information Agility

Who doesn't want to be agile?

The Business Intelligence Model of Conflicting Interests

Is Excel a Complete BI Solution?

Pervasive business intelligence: Are organizations really ready?

Seven Steps to Successful BI Competency Centers

Business Intelligence: Distilling Raw Data into Useful Information

The Business Intelligence Education Problem

Full Circle: Decision Intelligence (DSS 2.0)

Contact Me if you'd like to receive monthly emails of Jason Morales' Microsoft BI Update

Jason Morales' Microsoft BI Update : The Business Intelligence Update - September 2008

Syntax Over Sanity : Syncing audio with storyboard animations in Silverlight 2 Beta 2

 

Syncing audio with storyboard animations in Silverlight 2 Beta 2

You've seen complex animations created with Flash... e-cards, cartoons, et al. Bear in mind we're not talking about video but animations, where vector-based objects are manipulated using timelines and keyframes. I haven't worked in Flash since the MX days but I remember having the ability to associate sounds with specific keyframes.

I asked a Silverlight Discussion group how this could be achieved in Silverlight 2 Beta 2. It seems there's no built-in mechanism to support it at this time, but all hope is not lost. Eric Stollnitz posited the idea, "What if you set up a DependencyProperty and animated that in your storyboard?"  Hmmm... it sounded just crazy enough to work.

Syntax Over Sanity : Syncing audio with storyboard animations in Silverlight 2 Beta 2

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Mike Swanson's Blog : Update on My Illustrator Plug-In and Flash to XAML Conversion Tool

 

Update on My Illustrator Plug-In and Flash to XAML Conversion Tool

Just over three years ago, in July, 2005, I released the first version of my Adobe Illustrator to Avalon/XAML Export Plug-In. The plug-in started off as a weekend project, and it’s since become quite popular. The plug-in is included in most WPF and Silverlight books, and it’s fun to see it referenced when I’m thumbing through new releases at Borders or Barnes & Noble. I hadn’t been watching the download stats, so I checked tonight and was surprised to see that it’s been downloaded over 75,000 times (actually a bit more, but the stats aren’t complete). Even if I only counted the most recent release, that would make it a top download on CodePlex. That’s pretty cool.

Mike Swanson's Blog : Update on My Illustrator Plug-In and Flash to XAML Conversion Tool

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Tech Daily Dose

The Dems are in the MS camp with Silverlight for their video feeds.

Plus, in a first for a political convention, Silverlight, Microsoft's platform for interactive Web applications and HD video, in conjunction with the Level 3 Communications network, will bring live, gavel-to-gavel convention video coverage of the highest quality to a worldwide audience via the DNCC's Web site at DemConvention.com.

Tech Daily Dose

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Brahma - Calculations within the GPU

I have the test library setup now for Brahama, the GPU wrapper for Microsoft Accelerator.  It looks fast.  Really fast.  And the ability to mix GPU & CPU execution is a killer feature.  Match this up with an Nvidia Tesla and you have one kickass computer.

But does it play Flight Simulator?

Sorted 4096 Vector4s on the GPU in 0.1739 seconds, average time for each iteration was 0.0000
    Validating sort results: Error
    Array was set up in 0.0004 seconds
    Sorted 4096 Vector4s on the  CPU in 1.1536 seconds, average time for each iteration was 0.0003

I hope the focus stays on Brahma, the GPU-executing class wrapper.  Do I want to get rid of WPF and keep XAML?  No, I just want to see some more examples of Brahma with real-world Cuda-like samples.

How about some Silverlight integration too?

XAML without WPF = XOML

For a long time, I’ve been writing about how messed up Xaml is because of WPF-interdependency, and how Microsoft should have decoupled the Xaml bits from WPF, etc (Some of these rants were on my old blog). Well, I finally decided to do something about it, and I’m writing a XAML-like library that loads, and writes markup using its own XomlLoader and XomlWriter. At this point I’m calling the markup eXtensible Object Markup Language (I know that the Workflow Foundations’ designer files have that extension…) because that’s what its meant to be. It is also aimed to run on the .NET Framework, Mono and the .NET CF. :)

Using Xoml, you will be able to data-bind, forward reference, resource reference, write markup-extensions and more. I will be putting this project up for download shortly, look out for more news on it.

Ananth’s very own blog

C$ Programming Language - Home

C$ (CBucks).  Another CPU to GPU calculation engine.

This about sums it up.

C$ language, while concentrating on solving computationally intensive problems, also aims at solving system problems and easing integration of high-performance code into user-friendly applications, which becomes crucial as parallelism becomes widely available even on commodity PCs. In order to solve system problems, one needs object-oriented programming support in the language. For high-performance programming, however, one needs some means of parallelization. As the language is supposed to be highly portable, no assumptions can be made about the underlying architecture (GPU, SMP etc.). Therefore, some kind of array programming seems a good choice here.

 

C$ Project Home Page

The aim of this project is creating a unified language and system for seamless parallel programming on modern GPU's and CPU's. In future, it is planned to be extended to other processors.

C$ Programming Language - Home

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Infragistics - Investing in Microsoft Silverlight Controls

 

FaceOut - Rich Internet Sales Dashboard

Infragistics' faceOut is an interactive demonstration of our NetAdvantage for Silverlight preview controls.  Using our chart, gauge, and enhanced scroll panel, we've created a salesperson dashboard to illustrate how you can build a richer experience on the Web for a real, line-of-business scenario.  We've taken this concept a step farther by creating an enterprise mashup using representative enterprise sales data along with Windows Live Maps and the Live Contacts schema to show how you can integrate your corporate data with services provided on the internet to bring you a business-driven mashup experience.

Infragistics - Investing in Microsoft Silverlight Controls

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Lightstreamer :: Live Web Content Delivery

This would be useful for queuing systems and quote-tracking systems, among other things.  Not sure if it supports Silverlight, but definitely .NET.

Based on the AJAX-Comet paradigm, it streams real-time data to any Web browser, without installing anything on the client. Both HTML and Flex applications can receive live data from Lightstreamer, as well as traditional thick clients. See below for a quick example.

Lightstreamer :: Live Web Content Delivery

SilverPart (Beta 1.0) - Home - Silverlight Web Part

 

silverpart.jpg
Project Description
This project includes a Silverlight wrapper Web Part that can be used in SharePoint 2007 (MOSS) or WSS 3.0 to expose Silverlight content.
The goal of this project is to create a generic web part that has custom properties that provide flexibility for embedding different Silverlight applications in SharePoint sites.
The SilverPart Web Part was created with the intention of allowing the integration of Silverlight and SharePoint technologies in order to create full RIA applications.

SilverPart (Beta 1.0) - Home

Unit Testing with Silverlight 2 - Jeff Wilcox

 

Test support for Silverlight

At MIX we released source code to the controls, unit tests, and we including a unit test framework that runs in the web browser using Silverlight on the Mac and PC.  The Microsoft.Silverlight.Testing framework is simple, easy-to-use, and will give developers yet another way to increase their productivity and application quality.

In today’s post we’ll take our working chat interface from Scott’s last tutorial, improve its testability, and add some simple tests.  At the end we’ll have a set of cross-platform, cross-browser tests that can run everywhere

Unit Testing with Silverlight 2 - Jeff Wilcox

NetFXHarmonics DevServer Released

One example of WPF databinding.

When announce any major project I always provide an "as a training tool" section to explain how the project can be used for personal training.  NetFXHarmonics DevServer is built using .NET 3.5 and relies heavily on LINQ and WCF with a WPF interface.  In terms of LINQ, you can find many examples of how to use both query expression syntax and extension method syntax.  When people first learn LINQ, they think that LINQ is an O/R mapper.  Well, it's not (and probably shouldn't be usef for that in enterprise applications! there is only one enterprise class O/R mapper: LLBLGen Pro).  LINQ allows Language INtegrated Query in both C# and VB.  So, in DevServer, you will see heavy reliable on LINQ to search List<> objects and transform LINQ database entities to WCF DTOs.

NetFXHarmonics DevServer Released

Silverlight 2 DIGG Sample Part I

Silverlight mashup with Digg.

Scott Guthrie has a great eight part series titled First Look at Silverlight 2 where he walks you through building a Silverlight 2 sample app from scratch.  The walkthrough highlights almost all of the key features of Silverlight 2 Beta 1.  The walkthrough is so comprehensive that I have been using a slightly modified version of it for my Silverlight 2 presentations.  Since I am a big fan of seeing vs. reading, I asked Scott if it would be ok if I turned his written walkthrough into a video walkthrough delivered as a Channel 9 screencast.

Silverlight 2 DIGG Sample Part I

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Calling a JavaScript function from Silverlight 2 - Laurent Duveau

 

Calling a JavaScript function from Silverlight 2

Wow, this is far better now with SL2! no more tips and tricks.

JavaScript:

<script type="text/javascript">
function DisplayMessage()
{
alert("call me from Silverlight 2");
}
</script>

Silverlight:

using System.Web.Browser;

HtmlPage.Window.CreateInstance("DisplayMessage");

Calling a JavaScript function from Silverlight 2 - Laurent Duveau

Scott Morrison : Using The Silverlight DataGrid

I was about a year too early the first time.  Here's crack #2 at getting a working datagrid in Silverlight.  Still disconnected though... it uses a web service and no direct SQL client.

At MIX 2008 we shipped the first preview of the Silverlight DataGrid and a preview of it in WPF was also shown.  Now that it is out there people want to know how to use it.  If you are one of those people, then you have come to the right place.  Here's a quick guide on how to get up and running with a Silverlight DataGrid.

Scott Morrison : Using The Silverlight DataGrid

And more from the comments about getting connections to SQL and Silverlight.

http://blogs.msdn.com/swiss_dpe_team/archive/2008/03/17/silverlight-2-beta1-wcf-linq-to-sql-a-powerfull-combination.aspx

Last month, we built an internal demo which pulled Key Performance Indicators into a Messenger-style Vista gadget from Analysis Services, using web services and ADOMD.  Silverlight 1.1 displayed the "bling" with bouncing graphs and spinning video cubes.

A datagrid will be even more helpful for data geeks like me, though it is probably a better idea to leave Silverlight to its unstructured, creative self.

Mix University | MIX Online

A little bit of everything here.

MIX University

Visualize.Contextualize.Experience

The next-generation Web experience is here. On this site, we’ll help you to visualize the possibilities that new technologies bring to your business, understand how incorporating these technologies will improve your customers’ experience, and to immerse yourself in the enabling technologies. Want to see how the use of ASP.NET AJAX can take a site from a functional one to a destination? Interested in walking through the construction of a Gadget?   It’s all available for you on this page. Take what you need, or dive in to it all. Oh, and be sure to visit again – more is always on the way.

Mix University | MIX Online

ux.artu.tv

158MB of goodness.

XAML-Ready Design Agency with Expression Blend - MIX08 Session

March 8th, 2008

Hello!

We had such a blast at MIX08!  I hope you had a great time too. I had a session on Friday called XAML-Ready Design Agency with Expression Blend. I feel very happy for meeting all the folks that were able to join us during the session. I have published all the assets for my session including the DeepZoom “slide deck” we used during the session (I decided I wouldn’t use PowerPoint anymore, just DeepZoom Smile). I’m also including my source Expression Design file to my slides.  Feel free to re-use, just add a note mentioning the source Tongue out - Arturo Toledo | ux.artu.tv

I was reviewing the www.visitmix.com site yesterday night and I discovered all the videos for entire event are already published there!  All these videos represent an amazing source of training and information. I personally learned Silverlight 1 by watching the MIX07 sessions. Now with the MIX08 you literally have days of recorded video with amazing content, technical, creative and even on Design theory with the UX track.

ux.artu.tv

Hard Rock Memorabilia

Almost as good as being there... almost.

Hard Rock Memorabilia

Inkscape

More goodies for XAML artists.

SourceForge - Inkscape

"Drawing a car in Inkscape

A Linux, Windows & OSX vector graphics editor (SVG format) featuring transparency, gradients, node editing, pattern fills, PNG export, and more. Aiming for capabilities similar to Illustrator, CorelDraw, Visio, etc.

Greg's Cool [Insert Clever Name] of the Day

Greg's Cool [Insert Clever Name] of the Day - Deep Zoom & Silverlight 2

 

Microsoft Downloads - Deep Zoom Composer

"...

We are pleased to present a technology preview of Deep Zoom Composer, a tool to allow the preparation of images for use with the Deep Zoom feature currently being previewed in Silverlight 2 Beta 1. The new Deep Zoom technology in Silverlight allows users to see images on the Web like they never have before. The smooth in-place zooming and panning that Deep Zoom allows is a true advancement and raises the bar on what image viewing should be. High resolution images need to be prepared for use with Deep Zoom and this tool allows the user to create Deep Zoom composition files that control the zooming experience and then export all the necessary files for deployment with Silverlight 2.

Greg's Cool [Insert Clever Name] of the Day

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Silverlight BluePrint - Patrick Tisseghem's Blog [MVP SharePoint]

Plus a howto on the article below for configuring Sharepoint & Silverlight.

How to configure your SharePoint extended IIS Web App for working with Silverlight 2 applications

There were a number of questions on the blog or per email regarding the configuration of the web.config in a SharePoint IIS Web app in order for the Silverlight BluePrint samples to work. Not that much though and that is of course a good sign. As I understand from it, many people are up-and-running with the samples.

Silverlight BluePrint - Patrick Tisseghem's Blog [MVP SharePoint]

Silverlight for SharePoint Blueprint

What's the deal with Silverlight and Sharepoint integration?

Find out here...

Silverlight for SharePoint Blueprint

Friday, February 29, 2008

What makes me laugh.

That the video hosted on Microsoft Research's World Wide Telescope site is hosted with a Flash media player.

Can't somebody on the Silverlight team help them out a bit?

The WorldWide Telescope (WWT) is a rich visualization environment that functions as a virtual telescope, bringing together imagery from the best ground and space telescopes in the world for a seamless, guided exploration of the universe.

WWTelescope

Sounds impressive though... can't wait to see it.

The best part about it.  The dedication.

Q. What will WorldWide Telescope cost?

A. Microsoft Research is dedicating WorldWide Telescope to the memory of Jim Gray and is releasing WWT as a free resource to the astronomy and education communities with the hope that it will inspire and empower people to explore and understand the universe as never before.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Even a chimp can write code : Ashish Shetty's weblog

Pageturn v2.0?

The British Library's Turning The Pages project is currently featuring 5 treasures from across the United Kingdom. In addition to the Windows Vista version (specifically a WPF browser app a.k.a. XBAP) of the app, there's now a new Silverlight version for broader browser and platform reach.

Even a chimp can write code : Ashish Shetty's weblog

Sharepoint & Silverlight Web Part

 

A SharePoint Silverlight Web Part which displays SharePoint Documents and Pictures in a rich Silverlight flow control.
See SharePoint Silverlight Browser in action Silverlight Browser Video or read more on Ian's Blog

Features

Read More
Silverlight Flow Control

- Rich Silverlight user interface
- Change background colour etc.
- Silverlight 1.1 Alpha(September Refresh)

Read More
Custom SharePoint Query Filter

- Customise which Documents and Images are displayed
- Filter by Current Site
- Filter by Sub-Sites
- Filter by Site Collection
- Filter by Content Type
- Filter by File Extension
- Filter by individual SharePoint lists

System Requirements

Server: Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 (WSS 3.0)

Client: Microsoft Silverlight 1.1 Alpha September Refresh.

Download WebPart

SharePoint Silverlight Browser supports both Microsoft SharePoint Services 3.0 (WSS 3.0) and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (MOSS 2007).
Triplewood.Silverlight.Browser.Beta1.zip

Triplewood - Sharepoint Portal Server Software and Consulting

Crash Course in Next-Gen RIA: AIR, Silverlight, and JavaFX

Good intro to 3 technologies vying for attention.

Crash Course in Next-Gen RIA: AIR, Silverlight, and JavaFX

Get a hands-on introduction to the newest RIA technologies from Adobe, Microsoft, and Sun by building demo applications using AIR (Flex), Silverlight (CLR), and JavaFX.

Crash Course in Next-Gen RIA: AIR, Silverlight, and JavaFX

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

VectorMagic | Precision Bitmap to Vector Conversion Online

If you want to convert your images into vector graphics for use in Silverlight, here is step 1.

VectorMagic | Precision Bitmap to Vector Conversion Online

Uca Blog - A Second Attempt at Exporting XAML from Visio 2007

Another Visio to XAML converter...

Some times ago, I developped a svg to xaml converter based on SharpVector library. I mainly use this tool for working on silverlight projects. It reads svg input convert it to xaml and can manipulate xaml objects. (Replace rectangle geometries with Rectangle, set canvas as a bounding box of inner elements, remove default values,...).
After reading this post, I've just plug my convert library and here are the results :

Uca Blog - A Second Attempt at Exporting XAML from Visio 2007

Visio to XAML Conversion

I'm currently studying for the Visio exam 70-545.  It will be interesting to see where this "Visio to Silverlight" conversion tool leads us.

This opens up a whole new world for Silverlight and WPF developers. 

Think of the possibilities of converting network diagrams/flow charts/etc to add to Silverlight and WPF apps.

It'll be nice to avoid the old “convert to EPS, load in Illustrator, then export to XAML“ workflow.

Visio to XAML Conversion

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Make Your .NET Data More Useful with Treemap Visualization

Someday someone will port this to Silverlight...  

The Microsoft Treemap control requires your XML to be formatted in a particular way in order to successfully parse and render the data. An example of this XML is seen in the following code:


<Nodes EmptySizeMetric="0">
<Node Text="Americas" SizeMetric="50" ColorMetric="-40.1" ToolTip="Americas">
<Nodes EmptySizeMetric="0">
<Node Text="USA" SizeMetric="100" ColorMetric="0" ToolTip="USA">
<Nodes EmptySizeMetric="0">
<Node Text="Texas" SizeMetric="20" ColorMetric="40" ToolTip="Texas">
<Nodes EmptySizeMetric="0"/>
</Node>
<Node Text="California" SizeMetric="60" ColorMetric="0" ToolTip="California">
<Nodes EmptySizeMetric="0"/>
</Node>
</Nodes>
</Node>
<Node Text="Canada" SizeMetric="20" ColorMetric="200" ToolTip="Canada">
<Nodes EmptySizeMetric="0"/>
</Node>
</Nodes>
</Node>
<Node Text="Europe" SizeMetric="25" ColorMetric="100" ToolTip="Europe">
<Nodes EmptySizeMetric="0"/>
</Node>
</Nodes>

Source: Make Your .NET Data More Useful with Treemap Visualization

Monday, February 11, 2008

Microsoft has no sense for fashion?

Interesting story on Silverlight & the future of the web.

This all happened before in the land before the web

This story is a story about Silverlight, and how what you are about to see with Silverlight, happened already.

Software Development in the Real World: The Silverlight Strategy, this will be a great movie

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Julie Lerman Blog - Silverlight

Saving ink in silverlight 1.0

In the TabletPC SDKs and in WPF it's very easy to take an ink image and save it to an image format - BMP, JPG, etc.

Then came Silverlight and the InkPresenter and naturally I wanted to do the same. But it wasn't so easy.

Silverlight itself isn't bogged down with that functionality. So you first need to get the XAML representation of the Ink and send it to a service where either the TabletPC SDK or the WPF APIs are available. Even then you are not home free because the Silverlight ink is not quite the same as either of the other two. So you then need to extract data from the XAML representation of the Silverlight ink and create a new object for whichever API you choose.

This was all done in Silverlight 1.0. I haven't pulled this into Silverlight 1.1/2.0 yet, but it should all be the same and you still have to do the conversion on the server side. THe only difference of course, is the javascript needs to be converted to .NET code on the client side.

Julie Lerman Blog - Silverlight

Magnet/Scribbler - Windows Sideshow

Ok so where can I get one of these for under $50?

The MK140 FM Magnet/Scribbler is a portable device that functions like an electronic note pad with Windows SideShow capability. It combines the convenience of sticky notes with wireless access to Windows Vista. It can be easily attached to a refrigerator or wherever it is needed for maximum convenience.

Magnet/Scribbler

They also have a Sideshow e-Reader and a Blackberry-style wireless chatting tool under development

Monday, February 4, 2008

IR / Infrared LED keychain flashlights - Specialty IR / Infrared LED flashlights & IR illuminators

You'll need this for a wiimote whiteboard.

World's smallest, brightest Infrared Keychain Flashlights & IR Illuminators! Used by members of the Secret Service, these special-purpose Photons produce a powerful infrared beam invisible to the naked eye. Ideal for use with infrared night vision equipment and IR-sensitive video cameras.

IR / Infrared LED keychain flashlights - Specialty IR / Infrared LED flashlights & IR illuminators

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Silverlight-Speed Loop

 

Creating a High-speed Loop

John Bower steps up a gear, produces a Lamborghini, and examines the process of using a high-speed function loop to create a fast-paced Silverlight application.

Silverlight-Speed Loop

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

theADOguy - Code - Data Driven Astoria Silverlight

This code is probably kinda stale (it's from last Oct) but sounds like what I was looking for awhile back.

Here's an example building a data driven site using Silverlight, AJAX and Astoria (Astoria uses the Entity Framework so that's there too).

Added 10/15/2007 Download

theADOguy - Code

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Life and Death with wiimote

One application of a 3D mouse or a wiimote is in the healthcare industry, by simulating interactions with different tools, like a hammer.

The Wii Tools
Two tools, a reflex hammer and an ophthalmoscope were developed to interact with the virtual patient. Interaction with these devices is very intuitive using the wiimote.
To strike with the hammer, simply swing as though striking. You must swing hard enough that it would result in an actual strike, otherwise, it will just touch. The wiimote vibrates when a strike occurs.

Virtual Environments Projects - Brent Rossen - Spring 07

I wonder if this will work with Life and Death, the game?  Time to get the scalpel out, and remember to turn the gas on.

Friday, January 11, 2008

WiiLi.org GlovePIE Wii-Mote Scripts

So I just picked up a bluetooth adapter to test out the wiimote on the PC.  A bit awkward but it really does work!

Next... get it going with some FPS games... and flight simulator... and touchscreen-enable my laptop.

There are 42 pages of scripts & counting.  The Google Earth one is worth checking out. 

Alright, I recently got my wiimote up and working with my PC (Windows only.. no linux yet)
the main reason I wanted it was to play point blank in mame with friends.. much to my dismay, there was no half decent script to do that!

WiiLi.org GlovePIE Wii-Mote Scripts

Time to hit Active Surplus to get some IR LEDs... or maybe I'll just cough up the $20 for the sensor bar.

Monday, January 7, 2008

Microsoft Live Labs Volta Team Blog - Ignoring the architecture team

Volta is a way to ajax-ify an application with a few clicks & some minor code changes.  It converts compiled MSIL .NET languages to Javascript, among other things.  It has some limitations, mainly around VB.  It should allow clients to change their minds about tier scaling & requirements with just a little work to change.

But what is Volta?  It is probably a path from Silverlight 1.1 to Silverlight 2.0, since a core focus is not converting to Javascript, but converting from Javascript to .NET, ultimately a more powerful transition and a key driver to .NET adoption.

My question, was it named after Alessandro Volta, the guy who electrified frogs legs?

The final question that is frequently asked is how Volta relates to Silverlight.  Is Volta meant to replace Silverlight?  Are we trying to make JavaScript work for the same scenarios as Silverlight?  Simply put, no.  As others have observed, Volta is compatible with and is built to be complementary to Silverlight.  The Microsft PressPass Q&A about Volta further explains that Volta is an MSIL to MSIL toolkit aimed at making writing distributed applications easier. Silverlight is an implementation of the .NET platform that therefore will automatically benefit from the advantages of the Volta toolkit. The technologies complement each other well, and we believe that amplifies and validates the importance of the complete .NET platform, including Silverlight.   

All the benefits of the Volta toolkit, such as declarative tier-splitting and asynchronous programming or declarative import of JavaScript libraries into .NET, will apply to programs deployed to the Silverlight platform. In fact, we are in the process of replacing the browser helper objects used to facilitate debugging in this preview, which host the regular desktop CLR in IE and Firefox, and are replacing them instead with the Silverlight 2.0 runtime.

Microsoft Live Labs Volta Team Blog

Cobol.NET to ... javascript?

Volta sounds interesting.  Tier-targeting without reprogramming your apps.

"The freaking great and interesting part is that they've written a translator that converts MS IL to JavaScript! So then JavaScript is sent to the client side and executes in the browser," Mandalapa adds.

Redmond Developer News | Extending.NET to Multi-Tier Apps

Mark Johnston's Blog : Silverlight training videos

 

Adam Kinney and co held a training day at Microsoft's campus in Redmond to help people get started and answer some fundamental questions about what the technology could do. The great news from us that don't live in the Pacific Northwest is they recorded all of the audio and video for the day and put it online.

firestarter_500

It includes the following:

Mark Johnston's Blog : Silverlight training videos

POKE 53280,0: Pete Brown's Blog : Why I stopped my Silverlight 1.1 Work

Since there is no go-live license planned for 1.1 code, it's DOA for anyone not using it for academic purposes.  Looks like we will be waiting a few more months for 2.0 to go beta.

If you want to learn Silverlight today but don't plan to deploy until 2.0 is out, what would I recommend? I recommend a two-pronged approach of learning 1.0 with JavaScript and learning how to write basic WPF XBAPs using features that Scott and others have announced will be in Silverlight. IMHO, this is the best way to prepare yourself for 2.0. Learning 1.0 will get you familiar with how the browser-based Silverlight applications work, and how they fit into larger web pages. Most importantly, you'll be able to write real production-ready code, even if it is just proof of concept. Learning the basics of WPF will prepare you for some of the things that may end up in Silverlight 2.0, as mentioned by Scott and others and will also teach you another valuable RIA platform in the process. It's win-win.

POKE 53280,0: Pete Brown's Blog : Why I stopped my Silverlight 1.1 Work

Friday, January 4, 2008

WiiMote Horse Riders Page

Need a bit more than a wrist strap for this one...

WiiMote Horse Riders Page

A Wiimote,
A Spring Horse,
Need 4 Speed,
an idea,
15 minutes of time,
our 15 minutes of fame

WiiMote Horse Riders Page

Build a light show

Yes this has nothing to do with Silverlight.  But who wouldn't want to put a lightshow timed to music in their living room?

I finished this a bit later than I wanted to, but a brand new version of my Light Sequencer application and article is now available at Coding4Fun.  You may recall my previous article on creating a musical light show for the holidays.  If not, here's the video showing the output:

BrianPeek.com

WiiLi.org Wiimote Laser Tag?

This stuff is just getting started...  

Instructions:
Each player puts on their wireless "sensor bar" and switches it on, and they pick up their connected wiimote. Then they press "Run" on the script. Then it will warn you that you have 10 seconds before the game will start. So run and get into position.
After the 5 seconds your weapon will start to charge up. When your weapon is charging it will beep five times then make a sound and vibrate which indicates that it is ready. Also the LEDs will come on one at a time while it is charging.
The lights on your weapon will be on when your weapon is charged and ready to fire. You can also check whether you are player 1 or player 2 by holding the A button. Or you can check player 1's score by holding the 1 button, or you can check player 2's score by holding the 2 button. It stops counting once it gets to 10.
You can shoot with the B button. The default maximum firing rate is five rounds per second, but you can change that at the top of the script. It will make a sound and vibrate when you shoot. If you hit the opponent then their remote will make a loud noise and power down for 7 seconds. Their weapon will beep very quietly while it charges up again. They can't shoot during that time, and they can't be shot again either.
The score will also be shown in the debug box on the screen, if you don't want to check it with the 1 or 2 button.

WiiLi.org Wiimote Laser Tag?

Microsoft....Air?

Nice WPF + Nintendo Wii + Surface + Minority Report mashup.

Welcome to Cynergy Labs

Kit3D: 3D Graphics Engine for Microsoft Silverlight

Not sure if I already posted this... but it's worth a look for combining with the Nintendo wii controller for VR applications.

Kit3D is a 3D graphics engine for creating 3D content in Microsoft silverlight.

Kit3D: 3D Graphics Engine for Microsoft Silverlight