Understanding how Data Binding Works at Design Time

Understanding how Data Binding Works at Design Time

In this lesson we take a short aside and learn about the design time experience in Visual Studio and learn how it is able to render sample data. This gives us insights into binding syntax, data collections, schemas and more.

Source: http://channel9.msdn.com/Series/Windows-Store-apps-for-Absolute-Beginners-with-C-/Part-8-Understanding-how-Data-Binding-Works-at-Design-Time#time=0h0m17s

Programming Windows® 8 Apps with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript

Apply your existing skills with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript—and start building your own Windows 8 apps now. As a member of the Windows Ecosystem team, the author has trained hundreds of Microsoft engineers and has been on the front lines of bringing the first Windows 8 apps to the Windows Store. Through this book, you’ll get a thorough grounding in platform features and considerations, and delve into development essentials. “Quickstart” sections provide ready experience with the tools, API, and core features. And you’ll gain insights and best practices on design, coding, and performance from real-world developers working on real-world apps.

Topics includes:

• Platform Characteristics
• App Anatomy and Page Navigation
• Controls, Control Styling, and Basic Data Binding
• Collections and Collection Controls
• Layout
• Windows 8 Style Commanding UI
• State, Settings, Files, and Documents
• Input and Sensors
• Media
• Purposeful Animations
• Contracts
• Tiles, Notifications, the Lock Screen, and Background Tasks
• Networking
• Devices and Printing
• Extensions
• Localization, Accessibility, and the Windows Store

Windows 8 Inside Out

You’re beyond the basics—so dive right into Windows 8 and really put your PC to work! This supremely organized reference is packed with hundreds of timesaving solutions, troubleshooting tips, and workarounds. It’s all muscle and no fluff. Discover how the experts tackle Windows 8—and challenge yourself to new levels of mastery!

Topics include:

• Installing and personalizing Windows 8
• Mastering the new UI and features
• Using pen, touch, and voice input
• Implementing security essentials
• Managing files, disks, and drives
• Sharing and synching digital media
• Setting up and troubleshooting a home or mobile network
• Monitoring and tuning performance

Windows 8 For Dummies

Microsoft Windows is the operating system that runs nearly 90 percent of the world's computers. Windows 8 will offer new interface updates, cloud-based services, and much more. This update of Andy Rathbone's bestselling Windows guide covers all the basics, plus the enhancements unique to Windows 8. Whether you're meeting Windows for the first time or upgrading from an earlier version, this book shows you how to navigate the interface, work with files, browse the Internet, set up e-mail, manage media, and more.

• Combined editions of this book, all by Microsoft MVP Andy Rathbone, have sold more than 15 million copies worldwide, making Windows For Dummies the #1 bestselling technology book of all time
• Covers all the basics of using Windows 8--core desktop components, managing files and folders, saving files, using Windows search, printing, and working in the cloud
• Shows how to get online, set up and use e-mail, use the latest version of Internet Explorer, set up security and virus protection, add music to the media player, organize photos, and edit media
• Includes coverage on using Windows 8's new start screen on both a desktop computer and a touchscreen device

Windows 8 For Dummies has what all Windows newbies need to know as well as complete coverage of the new version's bells and whistles.

Team Foundation Service is live! Up to 5 users are free, and for a limited time all use is free!

It's available now. It's Team Foundation Service, a new way for teams who care about rapid software delivery to plan and manage projects. And for teams up to 5 developers, it's free.

• Accessible from anywhere, using existing and familiar tools.
  Plan projects, collaborate with your team, and manage your code online from anywhere using any modern web browser. Works with all editions of Visual Studio 2012 (even Express!), as well as Eclipse and other tools (by using our command line client).
• Get started quickly, with no infrastructure to manage.
  Go from "sign up" to your first project in minutes, and set up a Continuous Integration (CI) build in a few easy steps. Your source code and work items are stored in the cloud, making server configuration a thing of the past.
  
• All languages and platforms welcome.
  From C# to Python, from Windows to Android, you can use a variety of languages and target a variety of platforms. Our services are designed to help you focus on what you do best—building great apps.
  

Get started today by signing up for your free account!

Team Foundation Service is being made available to teams of up to five developers for FREE. Sign up today, invite up to four team members and start collaborating for no cost. To get started, visit: http://tfs.visualstudio.com.

Visual Studio Express 2012 for Windows Phone

Windows Phone SDK provides Visual Studio Express 2012 for Windows Phone and the assets to build epic apps faster using what you know. Use .NET to build your apps or take full advantage of the platform for your games with DirectX/C++. .NET apps and games can reuse their business logic across Windows 8, the web (ASP.NET), and Windows Azure so developers can move faster.

Windows Phone apps
The Visual Studio 2012 integrated development environment (IDE) simplifies the development of phone apps so you can focus on delighting your users.

Windows Phone Emulator
Once you’ve built your app, test it using the Windows Phone Emulator. You’ll see it the way users will see it in a simulated, real-world environment.

Blend for Windows Phone
Seamless integration with Blend for Windows Phone means you can create unique and compelling apps that will shine in the Windows Phone Marketplace.

Use with your existing Visual Studio
With the Visual Studio Add-in you can create end-to-end solutions. Create continuous services to power your apps with cloud-based services. Or share business logic across Windows Phone, Windows 8, or ASP.NET.

Link: http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio/cht/products/visual-studio-express-for-windows-phone

Windows Phone 8 Developer Platform announced

Windows Phone 8 Developer Platform launched! Microsoft are making available the most important advancement of the dev plat to date, including a new Windows Phone SDK 8.0 and a refreshed Windows Phone Dev Center now open for Windows Phone 8 app submissions.

The Windows Phone SDK 8.0 is a full-featured development environment to use for building apps and games for Windows Phone 8.0 and Windows Phone 7.5. The Windows Phone SDK provides a stand-alone Visual Studio Express 2012 edition for Windows Phone or works as an add-in to Visual Studio 2012 Professional, Premium or Ultimate editions. With the SDK, you can use your existing programming skills and code to build managed or native code apps. In addition, the SDK includes multiple emulators and additional tools for profiling and testing your Windows Phone app under real-world conditions.

System requirements

Supported operating systems: Windows 8, Windows 8 Pro

• • Windows 8 64-bit (x64) client versions

• Hardware:
  • 4 GB of free hard disk space
  • 4 GB RAM
  • 64-bit (x64) CPU
• Windows Phone 8 Emulator:
  • Windows 8 Pro edition or greater
  • Requires a processor that supports Second Level Address Translation (SLAT)
  If your computer meets the hardware and operating system requirements, but does meet the requirements for the Windows Phone 8 Emulator, the Windows Phone SDK 8.0 will install and run. However, the Windows Phone 8 Emulator will not function and you will not be able to deploy or test apps on the Windows Phone 8 Emulator.

Free ebook: Introducing Windows 8: An Overview for IT Professionals (Preview Edition)

The Windows 8 operating system is the newest member of the Microsoft Windows family. It differs from earlier Windows releases as much for what it does not change as for what it does change. That is, the features that IT pros loved about Windows 7 are still there in Windows 8—just better. The same keyboard shortcuts, management tools, security features, and deployment options are available in Windows 8. But in many cases, Windows 8 improves them in intuitive and significant ways. Some examples are the ribbon in File Explorer and faster disk encryption when using BitLocker Drive Encryption. This book describes these enhancements plus many of the new features in Windows 8.

Download: Introducing Windows 8: An Overview for IT Professionals - PDF ebook

Source: Microsoft Press

Beginning ASP.NET 4.5 in C#

This book is the most comprehensive and up to date introduction to ASP.NET ever written. Focussing solely on C#, with no code samples duplicated in other languages, award winning author Matthew MacDonald introduces you to the very latest thinking and best practices for the ASP.NET 4.5 technology.

Assuming no prior coding experience, you'll be taught everything you need to know from the ground up.  Starting from first principals, you'll learn the skills you need to be an effective ASP.NET developer who is ready to progress to more sophisticated projects and professional work.

You'll be taught how to use object orientation and code-behind techniques to lay out your code clearly in a way other developers can easily understand. You'll learn how to query databases from within you web pages, spice up your layouts using ASP.NET AJAX and deploy your finished websites to production servers.  You'll also learn how to debug your code when things go wrong and the performance and scalability issues that can affect your web projects as they grow.

With you book you can take your first step towards becoming a successful ASP.NET developer with confidence.

What you’ll learn

• Learn everything you need to know to build ASP.NET 4.5 applications with confidence.
• Dive into the deepest, broadest, introductory ASP.NET coverage available.
• Be guided by an award winning author who will steadily progress your knowledge from first principles to advanced techniques over the course of the book.

Who this book is for

This book is ideal for anyone new to .NET development who wants to learn how ASP.NET 4.5 works. No prior programming knowledge is assumed and all concepts are explained from first principals.

Table of Contents

1. The .NET Framework 
2. The C# Language 
3. Types, Objects, and Namespaces 
4. Visual Studio
5. Web Form Fundamentals 
6. Web Controls 
7. Error Handling, Logging, and Tracing 
8. State Management 
9. Validation 
10.Rich Controls 
11.User Controls and Graphics 
12.Styles, Themes, and Master Pages 
13.Website Navigation 
14.ADO.NET Fundamentals 
15.Data Binding 
16.The Data Controls
17.Files and Streams 
18.XML 
19.Security Fundamentals 
20.Membership 
21.Profiles 
22.Advanced ASP.NET Components 
23.Caching 
24.LINQ and the Entity Framework 
25.ASP.NET AJAX 
26.Deploying ASP.NET Applications

Beginning ASP.NET 4.5 in VB

This book is the most comprehensive and up to date introduction to ASP.NET ever written. Focusing solely on Visual Basic, with no code samples duplicated in other languages, award winning author Matthew MacDonald introduces you to the very latest thinking and best practices for the ASP.NET 4.5 technology.

Assuming no prior coding experience, you'll be taught everything you need to know from the ground up.  Starting from first principals, you'll learn the skills you need to be an effective ASP.NET developer who is ready to progress to more sophisticated projects and professional work.

You'll be taught how to use object orientation and code-behind techniques to lay out your code clearly in a way other developers can easily understand. You'll learn how to query databases from within you web pages, spice up your layouts using ASP.NET AJAX and deploy your finished websites to production servers.  You'll also learn how to debug your code when things go wrong and the performance and scalability issues that can affect your web projects as they grow.

With this book you can take your first steps towards becoming a successful ASP.NET developer with confidence.

What you’ll learn

• Learn everything you need to know to build ASP.NET 4.5 applications with confidence.
• Dive into the deepest, broadest, introductory ASP.NET coverage available.
• Be guided by an award winning author who will steadily progress your knowledge from first principals to advanced techniques over the course of the book.

Who this book is for

This book is ideal for anyone new to .NET development who wants to learn how ASP.NET 4.5 works. No prior programming knowledge is assumed and all concepts are explained from first principals.

Table of Contents

Part 1: Introducing .NET 
1. The .NET Framework 
2. The C# Language 
3. Types, Objects, and Namespace

Part 2: Developing ASP.NET Applications
4. Visual Studio
5. Web Form Fundamentals
6. Web Controls
7. Error Handling, Logging, and Tracing
8. State Management

Part 3: Building Better Web Forms
9. Validation
10.Rich Controls 
11.User Controls and Graphics 
12.Styles, Themes, and Master Pages 
13.Website Navigation

Part 4: Working with Data
14.ADO.NET Fundamentals 
15.Data Binding 
16.The Data Controls 
17.Files and Streams 
18.XML

Part 5: Website Security 
19.Security Fundamentals 
20.Membership 
21.Profiles

Part 6: Advanced ASP.NET 
22.Advanced ASP.NET Components 
23.Caching 
24.LINQ and the Entity Framework 
25.ASP.NET AJAX 
26.Deploying ASP.NET Applications

Ivor Horton's Beginning Visual C++ 2012

The only book to teach C++ programming with Microsoft Visual Studio!

There's a reason why Ivor Horton's Beginning Visual C++ books dominate the marketplace. Ivor Horton has a loyal following who love his winning approach to teaching programming languages, and in this fully updated new edition, he repeats his successful formula. Offering a comprehensive introduction to both the standard C++ language and to Visual C++, he offers step-by-step programming exercises, examples, and solutions to deftly guide novice programmers through the ins and outs of C++ development.

• Introduces novice programmers to the current standard, Microsoft Visual C++ 2012, as it is implemented in Microsoft Visual Studio 2012
• Focuses on teaching both the C++11 standard and Visual C++ 2012, unlike virtually any other book on the market
• Covers the C++ language and library and the IDE
• Delves into new features of both the C++11 standard and of the Visual C++ 2012 programming environment
• Features C++ project templates, code snippets, and more

Even if you have no previous programming experience, you'll soon learn how to build real-world applications using Visual C++ 2012 with this popular guide.

C++ AMP: Accelerated Massive Parallelism with Microsoft Visual C++

Capitalize on the faster GPU processors in today’s computers with the C++ AMP code library—and bring massive parallelism to your project. With this practical book, experienced C++ developers will learn parallel programming fundamentals with C++ AMP through detailed examples, code snippets, and case studies. Learn the advantages of parallelism and get best practices for harnessing this technology in your applications.

Discover how to:

• Gain greater code performance using graphics processing units (GPUs)
• Choose accelerators that enable you to write code for GPUs
• Apply thread tiles, tile barriers, and tile static memory
• Debug C++ AMP code with Microsoft Visual Studio®
• Use profiling tools to track the performance of your code

Visual Studio 2012 – Modern app development

Visual Studio 2012 – Modern app development

Microsoft's "CHANGE", 1975 - 2012

What's New in the .NET Framework 4.5

This topic What's New in the .NET Framework 4.5 from msdn contains a summary of key new features and improvements in the following areas of the .NET Framework 4.5. It does not provide comprehensive information and is subject to change. For general information about the .NET Framework, including guidance for installing or uninstalling the .NET Framework, see Getting Started with the .NET Framework.

• .NET for Windows Store Apps
• Portable Class Libraries
• Core New Features and Improvements
• Tools
• Parallel Computing
• Web
• Networking
• Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF)
• Windows Communication Foundation (WCF)
• Windows Workflow Foundation (WF)

Setup Controls using C# code, instead of XAML.

In this exercise, we are going to add TextBlock using C# code, instead of XAML.

Start Visual Studio Express 2012 RC for Windows 8, New Project..., using template of Visual C# Windows Metro styles, Blank App (XAML), with name of helloMetro_Csharp. OK.

Double click on MainPage.xaml in Solution Explorer to open the XAML defination of the screen. Modify the code to add x:Name="mycontent" for <Grid> element. And save it.

    <Grid x:Name="mycontent"
        Background="{StaticResource ApplicationPageBackgroundThemeBrush}">

    </Grid>

Double click on MainPage.xaml.cs to edit the code behind MainPage.

        public MainPage()
        {
            this.InitializeComponent();

            TextBlock myTextBlock = new TextBlock();
            myTextBlock.Text = "Hello Dev-MicroSoft";
            myTextBlock.FontFamily = new FontFamily("Times New Roman");
            myTextBlock.FontSize = 80;
            myTextBlock.HorizontalAlignment = HorizontalAlignment.Center;
            myTextBlock.VerticalAlignment = VerticalAlignment.Center;

            mycontent.Children.Add(myTextBlock);

        }

Save and Run it.

Download and Install Visual Studio Express 2012

Visual Studio Express 2012 products provide free development tools for creating modern applications on the latest platforms.

• Visual Studio Express 2012 for Web
  Microsoft Visual Studio Express 2012 for Web is a free and robust development environment for building, testing, and deploying web applications across the Microsoft Web Platform.
• Visual Studio Express 2012 for Windows 8
  Microsoft Visual Studio Express 2012 for Windows 8 provides the core tools that are required to build compelling, innovative Windows Store apps.
• Visual Studio 2012 Express for Windows Desktop
  You can use Visual Studio Express 2012 for Windows Desktop to build powerful desktop apps in C#, Visual Basic, and C++. You can target client technologies such as Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), Windows Forms, and Win32.
• Visual Studio Team Foundation Server Express 2012
  Even small teams deserve great results. Visual Studio Team Foundation Server Express 2012 provides small teams of up to five developers with source code control, work item tracking, and build automation for their software projects so that they can deliver predictable results.

Download Link: http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/410971009/direct/01/

Unfortunately, may be it will not work on your setup of pre-release versions of Windows 8 currently!!! Because of the error of "The .Net Framework installed on this machine does not meet the minimum required version: 4.5.50709."

It's because "Visual Studio 2012 RTM will not install on pre-release versions of Windows 8"!!!

Alternatively, you can download the RC version listed here:

• Microsoft Visual Studio Express 2012 RC for Windows 8
  http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=29915
• Microsoft Visual Studio Express 2012 RC for Web
  http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=29928

Pro C# 5.0 and the .NET 4.5 Framework

This new edition of Pro C# 5.0 and the .NET 4.5 Platform has been completely revised and rewritten to reflect the latest changes to the C# language specification and new advances in the .NET Framework. You'll find new chapters covering all the important new features that make .NET 4.5 the most comprehensive release yet, including:

• .NET APIs for Windows 8 style UI apps
• An improved Managed Extensibility Framework (MEF)
• New asynchronous task-based model for async operations
• How HTML5 support is being wrapped into C# web applications
• New programming interfaces for HTTP applications, including improved IPv6 support
• Expanded WPF, WCF and WF libraries giving C# more power than ever before

This comes on top of award winning coverage of core C# features, both old and new, that have made the previous editions of this book so popular (you'll find everything from generics to pLINQ covered here).

The mission of this text is to provide you with a rock-solid foundation in the C# programming language and the core aspects of the .NET platform (assemblies, remoting, Windows Forms, Web Forms, ADO.NET, XML web services, etc.). Once you digest the information presented in these 25 chapters, you’ll be in a perfect position to apply this knowledge to your specific programming assignments, and you’ll be well equipped to explore the .NET universe on your own terms.

What you’ll learn

• Be the first to understand the .NET 4.5 platform and Visual C# 2012.
• Discover the ins and outs of the leading .NET technology.
• Learn from an award-winning author who has been teaching the .NET world since version 1.0.
• Find complete coverage of XAML, .NET 4.5 and Visual Studio 12 together with discussion of the new Windows Runtime.

Who this book is for

If you’re checking out this book for the first time, do understand that it's targeted at experienced software professionals or graduate students of computer science (so don't expect three chapters on iteration or decision constructs!).

It is perfect for anyone who is interested in the new .NET Framework 4.5 and the C# language. Whether you are moving to .NET for the first time or are already writing applications using previous .NET versions, this book will provide you with a comprehensive grounding in the new technology and serve as a complete reference throughout your coding career.

Table of Contents

1.  The Philosophy of .NET

2.  A Survey of .NET Development Tools 

3.  Core C# Programming Constructs Part I

4.  Core C# Programming Constructs Part II 

5.  Encapsulation 

6.  Inheritance and Polymorphism

7.  Structured Exception Handling

8.  Working with Interfaces

9.  Generics and Collections 

10. Delegates, Events and Lambda Expressions     

11. Advanced C# Language Features

12. LINQ to Objects    

13. Understanding Object Lifetime 

14. Building and Configuring Class Libraries 

15. Reflection, Dynamic Loading, Late Binding, and Attributes

16. The Dynamic Language Runtime 

17. Processes and AppDomains 

18. CIL and the Role of Dynamic Assemblies

19. Multithreaded and Asynchronous Programming 

20. Working with I/O Services and Object Serialization

21. ADO.NET Part I: The Connected Layer

22. ADO.NET Part II: The Disconnected Layer

23. ADO.NET Part III: The Entity Framework

24. LINQ to XML

25. Windows Communication Foundation

26. Windows Workflow Foundation

27. Introducing WPF and XAML

28...

Beginning ASP.NET 4.5 in C#

This book is the most comprehensive and up to date introduction to ASP.NET ever written. Focussing solely on C#, with no code samples duplicated in other languages, award winning author Matthew MacDonald introduces you to the very latest thinking and best practices for the ASP.NET 4.5 technology.

Assuming no prior coding experience, you'll be taught everything you need to know from the ground up.  Starting from first principals, you'll learn the skills you need to be an effective ASP.NET developer who is ready to progress to more sophisticated projects and professional work.

You'll be taught how to use object orientation and code-behind techniques to lay out your code clearly in a way other developers can easily understand. You'll learn how to query databases from within you web pages, spice up your layouts using ASP.NET AJAX and deploy your finished websites to production servers.  You'll also learn how to debug your code when things go wrong and the performance and scalability issues that can affect your web projects as they grow.

With you book you can take your first step towards becoming a successful ASP.NET developer with confidence.

What you’ll learn

• Learn everything you need to know to build ASP.NET 4.5 applications with confidence.
• Dive into the deepest, broadest, introductory ASP.NET coverage available.
• Be guided by an award winning author who will steadily progress your knowledge from first principles to advanced techniques over the course of the book.

Who this book is for

This book is ideal for anyone new to .NET development who wants to learn how ASP.NET 4.5 works. No prior programming knowledge is assumed and all concepts are explained from first principals.

Table of Contents

1. The .NET Framework 
2. The C# Language 
3. Types, Objects, and Namespaces 
4. Visual Studio
5. Web Form Fundamentals 
6. Web Controls 
7. Error Handling, Logging, and Tracing 
8. State Management 
9. Validation 
10.Rich Controls 
11.User Controls and Graphics 
12.Styles, Themes, and Master Pages 
13.Website Navigation 
14.ADO.NET Fundamentals 
15.Data Binding 
16.The Data Controls
17.Files and Streams 
18.XML 
19.Security Fundamentals 
20.Membership 
21.Profiles 
22.Advanced ASP.NET Components 
23.Caching 
24.LINQ and the Entity Framework 
25.ASP.NET AJAX 
26.Deploying ASP.NET Applications

C++ and Beyond 2012

C++ and Beyond 2012: Alexandrescu, Meyers, and Sutter - Ask Us Anything

Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 Seminar

WinRT XAML Toolkit

A set of controls, extensions and helper classes for Windows Runtime XAML applications, to help you build your apps faster, letting you focus on adding cool features and not worrying about plumbing.

Website: WinRT XAML Toolkit

Windows Phone 8 SDK Preview program is now open

Microsoft begin accepting requests for access to the Windows Phone SDK 8.0 Developer Preview program. The objective is to let developers of the most-downloaded apps start optimizing them for Windows Phone 8, and expect the majority of published developers in this situation to qualify for access.

To apply, please visit the Microsoft Connect site and complete a short application.

Source: http://windowsteamblog.com/windows_phone/b/wpdev/archive/2012/09/12/windows-phone-8-sdk-preview-program-is-now-open.aspx

WinRT Revealed

Windows 8 application development is an exciting topic these days. Windows 8 introduces WinRT, the API for accessing the operating system and the underlying hardware where Metro applications run. WinRT can be accessed through multiple development languages, including C++, .NET languages and JavaScript. Developers from all backgrounds can use their skills to build beautiful and fast Windows 8 applications. 

Author Michael Mayberry takes you through a quick overview of this new addition in WinRT Revealed and will get you started quickly in developing Windows 8 applications in this new environment. Written at a brisk space and a no-nonsense style, you'll find exactly what you need to understand what's different in WinRT compared to what you know, and pointers on how to develop solid WinRT applications even before Windows 8's release.

What you’ll learn

• What WinRT is
• How to access WinRT
• How to create WinRT components
• Best practices for UI programming

Who this book is for

This book reaches out to all developers who are interesting in creating Windows 8 applications, for both consumers and enterprise. Microsoft’s introduction of a new runtime framework in WinRT raises questions. This book aims to answer those questions and prepare developers for building apps for Windows 8.

Table of Contents

1. Introducing WinRT
2. Building WinRT Components
3. Building a .Net App With WinRT
4. Reaching Beyond the App
5. WinRT Resources

Free ebook from Microsoft Press: Introducing Windows Server 2012 (RTM Edition)

Mitch Tulloch has updated his very popular free ebook on Windows Server 2012 based on the RTM version of the software. 

A key feature of this book is the inclusion of sidebars written by members of the Windows Server team, Microsoft Support engineers, Microsoft Consulting Services staff, and others who work at Microsoft. These sidebars provide an insider’s perspective that includes both “under-the-hood” information concerning how features work, and strategies, tips, and best practices from experts who have been working with the platform during product development.

Download:

PDF - Introducing Windows Server 2012 RTM Edition - PDF ebook

EPUB – Introducing Windows Server 2012 RTM Edition – ePub format

MOBI – Introducing Windows Server 2012 RTM Edition – MOBI format (for Kindle)

Source: Microsoft Press

Introducing the Nokia Lumia 820

Introducing the Nokia Lumia 920

Introducing the Nokia Lumia 920 and 820

Download MSDN Magazine PDF version

Download MSDN Magazine PDF version, June, July and August 2012 are available now. Download here.

Nokia: Things are about to change

Things are about to change on 5 September 2012. Stay tuned!

Microsoft new logo, new look!

In advance of one of the most significant waves of product launches in Microsoft’s history, Microsoft unveiling a new logo for the company.

Know more: The Official Microsoft Blog - Microsoft Unveils a New Look

Microsoft launched Windows Upgrade Offer website

Microsoft announced at May, anyone purchased Windows 7 PC between 12 June 2012 and 31 Jan 2013 can upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for US$14.99. The website of registration is onow live for 140 countries.

Windows Upgrade Offer website: http://windowsupgradeoffer.com/

Free ebook: Programming Windows 8 Apps with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript (Second Preview)

The second preview edition of “Programming Windows 8 Apps with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript” by Kraig Brockschmidt is available from Microsoft Press for free in pdf format. The book currently contains 12 chapters and it will be expanded and other ebook formats will be available with the complete book.  Sample code also can be downloaded.

Description
This book is about writing Metro style apps for Windows 8 using HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript. Our primary focus will be on applying these web technologies within the Windows 8 platform, where there are unique considerations, and not on exploring the details of those web technologies themselves.

The new chapters cover collection controls (everything you wanted to know about ListView!), layout (especially view states), commanding UI (app bars, message dialogs, and their friends), the all-important topic of managing state, a close look at input and sensors (a form of input, really), media, animations, and contracts (share, search, the file pickers, and contacts). The earlier preview chapters (1-4) have also been updated and refined.

Table of Contents

• The Life Story of a Metro Style App: Platform Characteristics of Windows 8
• Quickstart
• App Anatomy and Page Navigation
• Controls, Control Styling, and Basic Data Binding
• Collections and Collection Controls
• Layout
• Commanding UI
• State, Settings, Files, and Documents
• Input and Sensors
• Media
• Purposeful Animations
• Contracts

Download Link: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/microsoft_press/archive/2012/08/20/free-ebook-programming-windows-8-apps-with-html-css-and-javascript-second-preview.aspx

Windows 8 RTM is available for developers

If you have an MSDN Subscription or a TechNet Professional Subscription, the Windows 8 RTM is available. For info on other programs see the Windows 8 has reached the RTM milestone post on Windows Team blog.

If you are not part of one of these programs, you can download the 90-day evaluation of the Windows 8 Enterprise edition for developers. This is available now from the Windows Dev Center download page along with Visual Studio Express 2012, Windows 8 design assets, code samples, and all the related tools and SDK’s needed to build apps.

If you use the evaluation version, you are recommended installing it on separate drive or partition or in a VM. This way you’ll be able to upgrade from your original OS to the Windows 8 RTM when it becomes available in October. If you don’t, then you’ll need to reinstall from scratch when you decide to move to the full version. Make sure you read all the details on thedownload page.

Source: Windows 8 app developer blog - Windows 8 RTM is available for developers.

Windows Phone Dev Center announced

Windows Phone Dev Center announced. The site is designed to provide everything needed to build, publish and manage apps for Windows Phones.

http://dev.windowsphone.com/

Start Here! Learn the Kinect API

Ready to learn Kinect programming? Start Here!™

Learn the fundamentals of programming with the Kinect™ API—and begin building apps that use motion tracking, voice recognition, and more. If you have experience programming with C#—simply start here! This book introduces must-know concepts and techniques through easy-to-follow explanations, examples, and exercises.

Here’s where you start learning Kinect

• Build an application to display Kinect video on your PC
• Have Kinect take photographs when it detects movement
• Draw on a computer screen by moving your finger in the air
• Track your body gestures and use them to control a program
• Make a program that understands your speech and talks back to you
• Play a part in your own augmented reality game
• Create an "air piano" using Kinect with a MIDI device

Developing iOS Map Applications with C#

Microsoft Surface Windows 8 Tablet : Keynote

Surface by Microsoft

Create bootable USB Windows 8 Release Preview

To craete bootable USB Windows 8 Release Preview from Windows 7 PC, you need to download and install Windows 7 USB/DVD download tool.

Download Windows 8 Release Preview ISO images.

- With a USB inserted.

- Windows 7 USB/DVD download tool.

- Browse to choose downloaded Windows 8 ISO file.

- Choose media type of USB device.

- Select inserted USB and click Begin copying.

- Bootable USB device created successfully.