What's new in version 2 of the Web Platform Installer?

Some of you may already know the "one-click install wonder tool", simply as the Web PI. Crystal Hoyer (PM), Andrew Brick (Dev) and Nitasha Verma (Test) came by the studio to talk about the new features released today including localized versions, many IIS Extensions, more tools and integration with the Windows Web App Gallery.

Dan Hickman from ProModel tells the story of converting their Predictive Troop Resourcing application for the U.S. Army from a Windows Forms application to a Silverlight-based application. Reusing existing .NET code, working with familiar controls from IdeaBlade, and helping to get Silverlight on the approved browser plug-ins list for the Army; ProModel was able to build the application in a very short amount of time.

Erick Ellis and Mark Wilson-Thomas talk about what's new in the WPF editor for Visual Studio in .NET 3.5 SP1.  Topics include faster performance both from WPF and optimizations of their own,  new cool visualizers, the Document Outline (very useful for WPF Apps) and more.And as Mark mentioned, if you want to get your feedback in for future updates, go to the Visual Studio WPF Designer Forum on MSDN.Looking for more than tools? Check out the WPF 3.5 SP1 Overview video[more ]

I spoke with Jennifer Lee about what's new in the Application Model realm for WPF 3.5 SP1.  Topics include the improved cold start, splash screen and a demonstration of HTML and XBAPs using the new WebBrowser control.[more ]

Adam Smith and Tim Sneath discuss a wide array of improvements made in WPF 3.5 SP1 concerning performance.  Topics include graphics, startup time and benefits gained from the updated CLR.  [more ]

Troy Martez and Dr. Sneath go on a deep dive into the new client deployment options available in WPF 3.5 SP1.  Interesting new features include the Client Profile (something like a "diet .NET Framework") which allows for smaller setup packages and new customizations during the installation process.

Looking for more than deployment? Check out the WPF 3.5 SP1 Overview video[more ]

You've heard all about the improvements and new features in WPF 3.5 SP1, now its time to see the new stuff.  David Teitlebaum takes us on a tour of graphic applications that take advantage of the new and improved Effects, DirectX Interop, WriteableBitmap and more.There is a bit of discussion in the beginning, so if you want to skip right to the demos jump to 05:45 in the video.  I'm smitten.Looking for more than graphics? Check out the WPF 3.5 SP1 Overview video.[more ]

Dr. Sneath speaks with Ian Ellison-Taylor and Kevin Gjerstad about new improvements and features in WPF 3.5 Service Pack 1.  Topics of the conversation range from Graphics, Deployment, Performance, Application Model and Tools.  And while discussing the current state and the future of WPF a few applications are mentioned including Lawson "Mango" and Yahoo Messenger. Not only does this video provide you with a great overview of WPF 3.5 SP1, but it is kicking off WPF Week on Channel 9.  Each day…[more ]

After visiting the ALT.NET Open Spaces Conference in Seattle Scott Hanselman followed through on one of the open ideas there and created the ALT.NET Geek Code page.  After selecting from the list of processes and tools you are given a code.  Code which can be expressed in text like so:…[more ]

Last week, David Shadle and I met up with three gentlemen Arnie Lund, UX Community lead for IT, Monty Hammontree, Director of User Experience for Developer Products, and Dennis Wixon, User Research Manager for Microsoft Game Studios.  who were all speakers at the World Usability Day event at Microsoft.We discussed what "Usability" means in the context of their position, how it affects the products they work on and what types of techniques they use to study Usability.I found the talk…[more ]