PDC10 Highlights

by Manan on November 4th, 2010 / Comments off

Category: Just Being Manan

Microsoft’s Professional Developer Conference 2010 happened last week and I was there. It felt amazing to be attending a conference that two years back I was watching on a broken Internet connection. Meeting Long Zheng, Paul Thurrott, Frank Shaw, Ed Bott, Mary Jo, Abhinaba, Brandon Watson, Kip and a lot of other folks was good fun. The part that wasn’t fun though was that I did not get a Windows Phone 7 device, that totally sucked. Having said that, listening to Steve Ballmer go “Boom baby!” live is something.

Bellevue is a nice city, not as dull as Syracuse nor is it as busy as New York City. Microsoft doesn’t have a campus in Redmond, Redmond is the Microsoft campus. They’ve got buildings all over the place and shuttles driving from corner to the other. I visited the Microsoft Store on campus and spent quite a bit thanks to my ignorance. Anyway, the three big announcements at PDC10 for me were:

  1. RenderMan being ported to Windows Azure.
  2. Server 2008 R2 VHDs can be run on Azure as is.
  3. The Windows Azure Marketplace.

Given that Silverlight is the dev platform I don’t think it is going anywhere, it was never meant to replace HTML but compete with Flash for rich media. The debate is unnecessary.

Here’s my picture set from Bellevue:

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PDC10 Highlights

Microsoft Updates Windows Phone Developer Training Kit

by dave on April 27th, 2010 / No Comment

Category: Software

windws_phone_developer_training_kit_screenshot Hot on the heels of Microsoft’s April refresh to the Windows Phone Developer Kit, they have just released a refresh to the Windows Phone Developer Training Kit, too.

[via]

Every .Net developer just became a Windows Phone developer

by dave on March 2nd, 2010 / No Comment

Category: Software

In a recent blog post, Mary Jo Foley talks about Microsoft’s plans for Windows Phone developer environments, and concludes that we’re looking at a mix of Silverlight and .Net, with Visual Studio 10 tying it all together. 

Mary Jo quotes her anonymous Microsoft insider as saying:

“The dev platform is Silverlight 3, plus elements of 4, using Blend and a Visual Studio add-in. The kicker is that while it is XAML-like, it is not pure XAML (Extensible Application Markup Language). This is actually OK, as it keeps the footprint nice and small.

“In theory you can make an entire app inside of Blend, but I think you will need Visual Studio to hook it all together in C#. In the war vs. Apple for apps, every .NET developer just became a Phone developer.”

This is a clever strategy. I haven’t touched a programming language in ages, and even I can pump something out in Visual Studio. In Microsoft’s race for apps (100K in Apple’s store vs. 1,245 in the Marketplace), this could be a key advantage for Microsoft.

Backwards compatibility

Microsoft has also yet to announce whether Windows Phone 7 Series will support apps written for 6.x. Clearly some UI changes will be necessary, but will the code run? Will there be some kind of compatibility mode? Expect to hear more about this at Mix 10.

Windows Phone 7 Series to Feature 3 Different Chassis Designs?

by dave on March 1st, 2010 / 1 Comment

Category: News

lg-win-phone-exclusive-02 Last year some smartphone specs were leaked out of Microsoft that many guessed were Microsoft’s Project Pink Chassis: a.k.a. the magical Zune Phone. Well Mary Jo Foley over at ZDnet seems to think that this Chassis was actually part of an evolving discussion at Microsoft on how to lock down their phone ecosystem so that they had fewer hardware partners that were required to adhere to much stricter specifications.

On a recent “Frankly Speaking” podcast (feb 20) the Microsoft Australia Developer Evangelist hosts Michael Kordahi and Andrew Coates discuss the three different chassis that will be available for Windows Phone 7 Series devices. Chassis 1, which was the one in circulation already, was for big, touchscreen-only devices with 1GHz processors a-la HTC HD2.

Chassis 2 phones will feature hardware keyboads – either Palm Treo-esque or of the sliding QWERTY variety – and touchscreens. Then there was Chassis 3, which they guessed might be candybar form factor.

They suggested that Chassis 1 devices would be the first out of the gates around Christmas, but offered no details on when the Chassis 2 and 3 devices might be available. We’ve already seen a prototype of the LG “Chassis 2” type design, with a sliding QWERY keyboard, so maybe we’ll see more than just Chassis 1 devices at Christmas?

The sheer variety of hardware devices available will certainly be one of the main advantages of Windows Phone 7. By locking in some rigorous hardware requirements for partners and OEM manufacturers Microsoft can ensure a consistent user experience across a broad spectrum of devices.

Marketplace Region Switcher Now Available

by dave on November 10th, 2009 / No Comment

Category: Software

WindowsMarketplaceOne really annoying feature of the Microsoft Marketplace for Mobile is the fact that you can’t switch regions, thereby allowing you to download apps that are only available in areas other than yours. This may sound like a little issue, but since Microsoft charges developers for each country in which they want their app distributed, it is safe to assume that not all apps are going to be available in all countries.

One of the great things about the Windows Mobile platform is that it’s Windows, and it can be hacked to to anything you wish. Cheers to the fellows over at XDA who have put out their own Marketplace for Mobile Region Switcher, MarketPlaceRegionSwitch 1.1. Go and download it for free to see what you’re missing in the Marketplace!

[via]

Acer Launches Smartphone Micro-Site

by dave on October 27th, 2009 / No Comment

Category: News

acer_smartphone_micro_siteAcer has launched a micro-site touting their formidable smartphone lineup. Currently showing off the beTouch and neoTouch Windows Phones, the site is currently little more than a flashy brochure for their smartphones with lots of nice pics and specifications on, but Acer is launching a developer program soon and you can get some info on the program there. It also has links to Acer beTouch and neoTouch drivers and software.

Go check it out at mobile.acer.com.

Why Business Should Use Windows Mobile

by dave on September 30th, 2009 / No Comment

Category: News

msdn_logo

I read a great post over at the MSDN blog from Reed, a developer on Windows Mobile. He makes his case for why business and enterprise should choose Windows Mobile over the other competing mobile platforms, namely iPhone, Android, and – I suppose – Palm.

He argues that the Microsoft platform is the best for a number of reasons. Taking the view that mobilizing your workforce is “not just about employees getting email… you have to think about Line of Business (LOB) applications, access to workplace documents, systems integration, use of existing knowledge, security, device management, etc.”, he goes on to make several excellent points.

In summary:

1.     Windows Mobile offers the widest range of device hardware to meet any type of user preference… or location.

2.     A secure platform above all others
3.     Device Management – Talk to any IT shop and they will tell you that if they can’t secure it, they will not manage it.
4.     Business Integration – Windows Mobile integrates with the systems you already have.

5.     Flexible Application Architecture

6.     The best develop tools on the planet

7.     Flexible Deployment

8.     Use what you already know – You can develop Windows Mobile applications using either native (C++) or managed code (.NET/C#/VB.NET).

9.     Bells and Whistles? Pick from any of thousands of 3rd party products and application to support your efforts.

10.   Never Underestimate Synergy

While a few are vague and open to argument from iPhone or Android developers, he makes some solid points – notably the variety of handsets available for Windows Mobile (extending on Steve Ballmer’s recent interview in which he stated he’d rather have the software on hundreds of handsets than the vertical markets of the iPhone and other similar competitors), and the security, felixbility and expandability of Windows Mobile.

Windows Marketplace to Charge Developers $10/Country

by dave on September 14th, 2009 / No Comment

Category: News

windows_marketplace_for_mobileTalk about shooting yourself in the foot. A ‘Softie over in the MSDN blogs has ‘cleared up’ the confusion over how Microsoft will charge for apps being sold through their Marketplace for Mobile to different countries. It turns out there will be a $10, per-country charge on top of the regular $99 for registration.

I’m thinking that Microsoft has enough ground to make up on RIM and Apple (even Samsung has their own store out now) without offering additional barriers to developers who want to work with Windows Mobile. Yes? Thoughts?

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