Visual Studio 2005 hits ZBB for beta 2

S. Somasegar blogs that Visual Studio 2005 has hit the Zero Bug Bounce milestone for Beta 2.

Beta 2 is due for release in Q1 2005.

Maxthon

I've been using Firefox on my home machine on and off for the last year. In general it's fast and works very well, but there are times that I have to go back to Internet Explorer (due to compatibility issues). So I still find myself using Internet Explorer on a daily basis with the downside that I no longer have any tabbed windows.

Luckily there is a browser that uses the Internet Explorer rendering engine and wraps it in a tabbed dialog. "Maxthon is a powerful web browser with a highly customizable interface. It is based on the Internet Explorer engine which means that what works in IE, works the same in Maxthon but with many additional efficient features". I can easily see myself permanently switching to Maxthon very soon.

How to run Virtual Server 2004 under Windows XP

I thought that Virtual Server 2005 only worked on Windows Server 2003. However, John Howard (no, not that John Howard) blogs: How to run Virtual Server under XP.

"Avalon" for Windows XP

The Avalon November 2004 Community Technical Preview for Windows XP has been released on MSDN Subscriptions as part of the WinFX SDK.

"Avalon" requires a Beta 1 build of .NET Framework 2.0 to be installed.

Update: Chris Anderson has a demo application -- XamlPad. Note that he is using ClickOnce to deploy updates (this is the first time I've seen that technology working).

Gaston Milano (the WhidbeyCommands for Visual Studio 2003 developer) has released a Xaml Viewer for Visual Studio 2005 which has been updated recently.

blinkx and Smart Folders

blinkx 2.0 has a cool Smart Folder feature.

"Smart folders are intelligent folders that automatically and persistently update their content as new information becomes available. Smart folders build over time and can be based on the actual ideas contained within the content of those files, and not on select keywords.

"Smart folders within blinkx have been applied to all data types, including: pictures, music, video, text and Web pages. blinkx enables fast automatic indexing and linking of desktop documents, including: Microsoft Word, PowerPoint presentations, Excel worksheets, Adobe Acrobat PDFs, contact information from Outlook, Outlook Express, and Eudora, HTML pages and text documents, as well as Web and news content. blinkx 2.0 also extends the range of formats that blinkx can understand to include all popular multimedia formats such as: MP3, AAC (iTunes), WMV, MPEG, Real, AVI, QuickTime MOV, TIFF, GIF, JPEG, Zip files and BMP.

"You can set smart folders to check for new content on the Web, TV or news and trickle download them unnoticed into your smart folders. You can then view them even when you are off line."

.NET Rocks! - Java, .NET, and the future

One of the best .NET Rocks! yet: Mark Pollack, Ted Neward, and Don Box on Java, .NET, and the future.

"This show was originally intended to be a discussion about Java and Spring.NET with Mark Pollack. Then Ted was invited, and he invited Don. The result is an almost two hour discussion of Java and .NET."

MSN Web Messenger

MSN Web Messenger has been updated. It looks more and more like the standard desktop version.

Koders - Source Code Search Engine

"Koders is a search engine for source code. It enables developers to easily search and browse source code in thousands of projects hosted at hundreds of open source repositories."

I've done a couple of "reference searches" and have had good results without the normal Google "noise".

Microsoft developer guidelines

This is a really good set of guidelines that "encourage consistency and predictability" during software development. These guidelines are specifically for library developers but I think they offer useful advice for all development tasks.

While we are on the subject, I've been enjoying the latest Larry Osterman series of blogs on code style. Here they are:

What does style look like, part 1
What does style look like, part 2 (structure)
What does style look like, part 3 (indentation)
What does style look like, part 4 (documenting)
What does style look like, part 5 (headers)
What does style look like, part 6 (naming conventions)
What does style look like, part 7 (language specific style)
What does style look like, part 8 (the end)
Larry's Coding Conventions

Another convert to the HTC Typhoon cause

Steve Makofsky wrote an article saying how he did not like the HTC Typhoon (Orange SPV C500, AudioVox SMT 5600, etc.). However, having used it for two weeks, he now considers it to be "pretty damn good". I could not agree more. Even though there will be many phones in the near future that will beat it, there is no phone out there today that can come close.

MSN Toolbar Suite

Neowin.net have an exclusive article on the new MSN Toolbar Suite. I'm a big fan of Lookout -- using it on a daily basis -- so I'm looking forward to testing out the Outlook Toolbar.

YouSendIt

Use YouSendIt if you need to securely exchange large files without sharing passwords (à la FTP). Each exchange remains "shareable" for seven days.

There is a 1GB limit per exchange, but you can send larger files by splitting the transmission.

MapPoint, SmartPhone and C#

The Code Project has an interesting series of articles on "MapPoint, SmartPhones and C#". Here is Part 1 and Part 2.

What amazes me is how much can be done with such little code.

iRiver H320/340 Firmware 1.20

The updated video playback firmware is here. I'll write a follow-up post that describes how to prepare video for playback on this device at a later date.

Handtops

The OQO is not the only handtop computer (small computers that run full versions of Microsoft Windows XP) out there today. Here is a list of alternatives.

Here is the FlipStart:



The Sony U50 (in Japanese):



Although this is reportedly dropped to make way for the Sony U750.

Here is the Antelope:



And this is the Tiqit:



Finally here's a product comparison from Handtops.com.

10x10

From Scoble: 10x10.

Konfabulator for Windows released

Download it here.

iPodder 1.1 released

iPodder 1.1 is now available for Windows and Mac. The Linux version is currently postponed.

Create Well-Formed XML with JavaScript

Here's some cool JavaScript from O'Reilly's XML Hacks: Create Well-Formed XML with JavaScript (also available as PDF).

Kumite

Following on from my Eclipse post, Alien Invention also have Kumite. This is a Street Fighter clone exclusively for Microsoft Smartphones. One of the cooler features is a Bluetooth multiplayer mode. I'm not sure when it'll get released, but I hope it is sooner rather than later.

Konfabulator for Windows

Konfabulator for Windows is due Monday, November 8.

HP Pavilion zd8000

Could the HP Pavilion zd8000 be the coolest notebook yet? Notebook Review have some screenshots here. It features a 17" BriteView widescreen, full keyboard, multicard reader, DVD burner, docking cradle and remote control:



Remote control? It needs it since it has a dual TV Tuner (pictured on the right):



I'm assuming it'll come with Windows Media Center Edition 2005 pre-installed (notice the remote looks to have the green Windows Media Centre "seal of approval" so it must be have it or at least be compatible with it). The rumours are that it'll be out in December.

Scoble's linkblog

Scoble's linkblog is worth checking out. It's basically a companion to his main blog, but does not contain as much descriptive text -- think of it as a jumping point to other blogs. I've gotten lots of great links from it.

The Future of Wi-Fi

Good summary on The Future of Wi-Fi.

Eclipse

No, this post is not about IBM's IDE by the same name. It's about a more serious application: Eclipse for the Microsoft Smartphone by Alien Invention.

Eclipse has been installed on my Orange SPV C500 (the HTC Typhoon -- aka i-mate SP3, aka Audiovox SMT5600) for nearly two months and I've been addicted ever since. I really love retro games and Smartphones are a perfect platform.

By the way, could this phone be any cooler? Messenger, Internet Explorer, Media Player (I have a 512 MB miniSD card so use it as an "emergency" MP3/WMA player), easy synchronization, Pocket Streets 2005 and last, but not least, the .NET Compact Framework to play with (for example, see Chandu Thota's blog on the Joy of Location with MapPoint Location Server).

Hush E-Series

While I waited for the Nanode, I thought about getting the Hush Mini-ITX:




It now seems that Hush are making a Windows Media Center Edition 2005 compatible device -- the Hush E-Series:

Nanode

The delay of the VIA Nano-ITX motherboards (the EPIA N-Series) and Eden-N processors has meant that I have been waiting for nearly six months for the release of Hoojum Design's Nanode. However, there now seems to be some movement with the Nanode due within the next month or two.

iCruze

Monster make high-quality audio cables and will soon release iCruze -- a device to allow drivers to connect an iPod through a factory-fitted or aftermarker car audio system. Since this is a direct connection, it does not suffer the loss of fidelity seen in FM transmitters such as the iTrip or TuneCast.

How to Build a Complete Citrix MetaFrame Lab with VMware Workstation

Brian Madden has an interesting article about Building a Complete Citrix MetaFrame Lab with VMware Workstation.

palmOne to make Microsoft Windows Mobile Treo?

Engadget have an interesting article suggesting that palmOne could soon make a Microsoft Windows Mobile Treo. This will be an amazing turn of affairs if true.

Apple iTunes 4.7

A new version of Apple iTunes for Windows is available here. This is the first version to support the new Apple iPod Photo.