Coding4Fun Blog

Any good software has updates and Visual Studio isn't any different.  Microsoft just released a Community Technology Preview of VSE Orcas. Orcas is the code name for the next version of Visual Studio and contains loads of new features. What is new in Orcas?  Well, LINQ, Windows…

HARSH_JOSHI has a post over on the MSDN forums on how to create transparent menus and title bars for your applications.  The article itself is written in VB.Net and is based off C++, c# and VB implementations. Adding this code into your project is relatively straight forward…

Jan Dolinay shows over at Code Project how to detect if a removable drive was removed.  It also has the ability to detect if drives are inserted as well. Why would such a task be important?  If your application has its data being saved to a flash drive or iPod.

Want a cheap webcam based laser range finder?  Todd Danko did and build two different applications to do it.  One is in Visual Basic 6 and the other is in Visual C++.  Todd based his application off the UB Robotics project.  Using some of the examples from Coding 4…

Travis Feirtag shows how to use an accelerometer and .Net 2.0 in 2D and 3D.  To do the rendering, Travis uses GDI+ for the 2D example and Direct X for the 3D example.  For an accelerometer, Travis uses the Analog Devices XL202 Evaluation Board with an RS232 interface. Now what can…

Arian Kulp created a way to keep on top of what you checked out from the library and will tell you when it is due. It also allows you to search for books from the comfort of your home or starbucks. His code makes the assumption your library uses the Horizon Information Portal as that is what his…

Kevin Roach build a light grid system that uses FMod and Visual Basic 6 for his software to power the MIT disco boards.  His software isn't open for source viewing but you can view his videos over at his site along with download it. For those who't aren't aware about FMod, FMod is…

Windows Home Server now has their SDK available over at MSDN.  The Home Server is build on WIndows and IIS so you get a bunch of API access for free. Setup: Reference the HomeServerExt.dll in a class library Implement the Console and Settings interfaces (VB, C#, C++)…

If you have the Xbox 360 Guitar Hero controller, you can use XInput to actually mount it as a controller exactly like an Xbox 360 USB controller.  Frets on Fire already has it working with a quick control map. Here is the download link from Microsoft (32bit) or the 64 bit edition…

The University of Western Australia has created a cheap way to navigate immersive 3D environments.  To accomplish this task, they modify DarwiinRemote for OS X.  The WiiRemote provided a low cost alternative to other controllers used for immersive environemnts. If you're looking for a…