Longhorn / Windows Vista

Computer Finally Back Up and Running

Frank — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 11:38:00 GMT

Due to some NTFS.sys corruption drama earlier in the week, my main Tablet was effectively offline for a few days.

I re-paved the entire system and, since it's been a year since I intalled Vista originally, forgot how much fun it is to install VS 2005 and SQL 2005.

I never quite got the SQL 2005 Dev Edition installer to work, but I was able to get SQL Express working, which is good enough for now.

Once I finish up what I'm currently working on, I plan to make an image of my hard drive, in case this issue rears its ugly head again.

I plan on using Self Image, a free, open-source drive imaging utility and making frequent backups from now on.

Technorati Tags: Vista,NTFS.SYS,Hard Drive

Processor Affinity

Frank — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 23:54:00 GMT

Here's a cool feature that I discovered in Vista and also exists in XP.

If you have multiple processors, you can choose which one a process executes on.

This could come in handy.

Technorati Tags: Vista,XP,Windows,Tips

So Maybe Your Coffee Machine Does Need WPF

Frank — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 15:28:00 GMT

Rob Relyea responds to my blog post about the .NET Micro Framework. In the post, I said that the Micro Framework cuts out a lot of functionality to squeeze into a 300k footprint and I rhetorically asked if a coffee machine needed WPF.

It leaves the impression that there is no WPF at all in the Micro Framework, which isn't quite true.

Since the Micro Framework allows you to build out gadgets for Windows SideShow, it does need to have a graphics rendering engine.

In his post, Rob explains:

It doesn't need the full WPF for embedded programming scenarios, but the .NET Micro Framework team thought it would be valuable to have similar APIs for their UI to WPF. There are a few types that look very familiar in some of their namespaces: Microsoft.SPOT.Presentation, Microsoft.SPOT.Presentation.Controls, Microsoft.SPOT.Presentation.Media, and Microsoft.SPOT.Presentation.Shapes.
No Xaml, but similar APIs...

SPOT stands for Smart Personal Objects Technology and, in case you're wondering why it appears in the .NET Micro Framework namespaces, the two products are related.

Technorati tags: Micro Framework, SPOT, WPF, Embedded, Device Development, SideShow, Gadgets, XAML

Microsoft Surface

Frank — Thu, 31 May 2007 10:47:00 GMT

By now, you may have read the news about Microsoft Surface: a coffee table sized computer with a multi-point touch screen.

Some astute bloggers even noticed a prototype Zune in one of the product's promotional videos.

The obvious marvel is the system's multiple point touch sensitive screen, which allows for multiple people to interact on the same surface at once.

As for me, I wonder about those little "video cubes," we see a couple playing with in the video. Each tile-sized piece plays a portion of a video clip. The object of the game is to put them in the right order and it appears as if each tile sports its own video display.

I also wonder about the mechanics behind the file transfer scenarios. In the video we see, a person place a digital camera onto the surface. Suddenly, photos fall out of the camera and onto the display, where they can be resized, dragged and dropped around.

We see the same kind of scenario in the map scene, where a business traveller locates several locations on screen, gets directions and moves them onto his phone which was already placed onto the display surface.

The narrator on the video talks about barcodes on the bottom of devices providing the Surface computer information about the device. If that's the case, then where are the bar code readers? And what happens if the device doesn't have a barcode on it? My phone doesn't and neither does my Zune.

Rumor has it that these devices will be on display at "upcoming" Microsoft events. I'm hoping that TechEd will be one of those events. I definitely can't wait to step up and play with this.

Technorati tags: Touch Computing, Microsoft Surface, Surface, Vista

Enter Windows Server 2008

Frank — Tue, 15 May 2007 16:13:00 GMT

Windows Server Codename Longhorn, or simply Longhorn Server, now has an official ready-to-ship name: Windows Server 2008.

Even the logo has been designed.

So, now that the next version of Windows Server has a name and a potential release year, it's time to learn more about the new server OS.

Juan, a co-worker of mine, has put together a list of training resources on WS2008, the OS formerly known as Longhorn Server.

Technorati tags: Windows Server 2008, Longhorn Server, Windows

Ink Analysis Article Published

Frank — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 15:01:00 GMT

In this article I wrote for CoDE Focus' Second Mobile PC Development Issue, I explore the Ink Analysis API.

What if you wanted to see more than just the top result? What if you wanted to recognize shapes as well? What if, in addition to converting the text of the document, you wanted to copy the structure of the document?

Ink analysis makes all this and more possible.
[continue]

The issue has some great articles.

Here's a list:

Enjoy!

Technorati tags: Tablet PC, Mobile Computing, Developer, UMPC, Ink Analysis, Ink, Ultra Mobile, Origami

TechEd 2007 Countdown Gadget

Frank — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 10:14:00 GMT

Inspired by the MVP Summit Countdown Gadget and the MEDC Countdown Gadget, I put together a TechEd2007 gadget that pulls in the Editors' Choice Feed from TechEdBloggers.Net.

Download it now.

Technorati tags: SideBar Gadget, Windows Vista, TechEd, TechEd 2007, Countdown, TechEdBloggers.net

Vista Sidebar Gadget Contest and Resources

Frank — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 13:59:00 GMT

The Code Project is holding a contest for Windows Vista SideBar Gadget developers. The prize is $1000 worth of gadgets.

Microsoft Zune
I-Mate JAM PocketPC Phone, unlocked
Sony PSP Entertainment Pack, including PSP, game, movie and memory stick
CarMD – diagnose your “check engine” problems in your US-made vehicle
Scott E-Vest 237D – a stylish way to carry all of your gadgets with you in a “three-season” jacket

If contests aren't your thing, then you can still make use of the resources in the contest announcement page.

Technorati tags: Windows Vista, Sidebar, Sidebar Gadgets, Gadgets, The Code Project, Contest

Intro to Sidebar Gadget Development

Frank — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 11:27:00 GMT

Gadgets for Windows Sidebar are astonishingly easy to develop.

They're basically mini-HTML pages wired up with JavaScript with an XML manifest attached to describe it all.

Who would have ever thought JavaScript would be so useful outside of a browser. ;)

Technorati tags: Windows Vista, Sidebar, Gadgets, Microsoft, Developer

Handwriting Personalization in Vista

Frank — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 12:25:00 GMT

One of the nicest features for Tablet users in Windows Vista is Handwriting Personalization. Handwriting Personalization lets you train the recognition engine to your specific style of writing.

In Windows XP, the recognizer didn't learn your handwriting. If your recognition success rates went up, it was because you were subconsciously changing the way you write to achieve better recognition results.

In order to train the recognizer, you write out 50 sentences, each letter of the alphabet and can even work on problematic characters. The lower case letter "l" and the number 1, for example. The system can even learn based on corrections you make in the Tablet Input Panel

The sentences were written to cover a wide array of letters in both upper and lower case. So, it should come as no surprise range from mundane to surreal, as seen in the above example where "Little bunnies quietly hopped across Fleet Street."

The handwriting personalization really boosts recognition success rates. In Windows XP, I would say I'd get 75% accuracy. Now, it's up to above 90% now that my Tablet can understand my strange handwriting. (I mix cursive and block.)

All that and I enjoyed the surreal poetry I had to write out.

Technorati tags: Windows Vista, Vista, Tablet PC, Handwriting Recognition, Mobile Computing, Ink, Tablet Input Panel, Little Bunnies