Archive for January, 2007



31
Jan

Visual Studio Tools for Office 2005 Second Edition Sample

Visual Studio Tools for Office 2005 Second Edition Sample: Managing Task Panes in Word 2007 and InfoPath 2007 Using Visual Studio Tools for Office (VSTO) 2005 SE
VSTO 2005 SE samples that provide code examples for the management of task panes in Microsoft Word 2007 and InfoPath 2007.

31
Jan

Snip IT - Addon for Internet Explorer.

Snip IT - Addon for Internet Explorer.
Use this Addon to send text selected in Internet Explorer as email.

31
Jan

Microsoft Office Outlook Tool: Time Zone Data Update Tool for Microsoft Office Outlook

Microsoft Office Outlook Tool: Time Zone Data Update Tool for Microsoft Office Outlook
This tool adjusts Microsoft Office Outlook calendar items when there has been a change in time zone definitions (saved in Microsoft Windows) or if the user is making a permanent move to another time zone.

31
Jan

Word 2007 Add-in: Get Started Tab for Word 2007

Word 2007 Add-in: Get Started Tab for Word 2007
This add-in adds a Get Started tab to the Microsoft Office Word 2007 Ribbon. Commands on this tab give you easy access to free content on Office Online that helps you learn Word 2007 quickly.

31
Jan

PowerPoint 2007 Add-in: Get Started Tab for PowerPoint 2007

PowerPoint 2007 Add-in: Get Started Tab for PowerPoint 2007
This add-in adds a Get Started tab to the Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 Ribbon. Commands on this tab give you easy access to free content on Office Online that helps you learn PowerPoint 2007 quickly.

31
Jan

Excel 2007 Add-in: Get Started Tab for Excel 2007

Excel 2007 Add-in: Get Started Tab for Excel 2007

This add-in adds a Get Started tab to the Microsoft Office Excel 2007 Ribbon. Commands on this tab give you easy access to free content on Office Online that helps you learn Excel 2007 quickly.

31
Jan

ASP.NET Soup To Nuts Webcast Links

For all of you who are looking, here’s a list of all the ASP.NET Soup To Nuts Webcast Links

11/7/2005 - HTML Basics
The first webcast in this series introduces the concepts behind the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). HTML is a powerful tool that you can use to describe the visual aspects of a Web-based application. This webcast provides a brief history of HTML, its current status, and its plausible future scenarios. This webcast is just the first in of the “ASP.NET 2.0 - Soup to Nuts” series that covers everything from the basics to the most advanced concepts


11/14/2005 - Web Server Basics
The second webcast in the “Soup to Nuts” series introduces the basic concepts behind a Web server. A Web server manages a Web site.  A Web application runs on the Web server and is served from it. Join this webcast to learn the principles you need to understand before you develop your own Web site


11/21/2005 - ASP.NET Basics

The third part of this webcast series discusses the advanced framework provided by the Microsoft.NET Framework. Join us to learn just what ASP.NET is. This webcast explains how ASP.NET is managed by the .NET Framework and provides an overview of the functionality in both Microsoft ASP.NET 2.0 and the .NET Framework.

11/28/2005 - Developing your first ASP.NET Web Site
The fourth webcast of this series gives you an opportunity to apply your learning so far to creating a simple Web site. This webcast demonstrates how to build a Web site without using any additional “tools,” then explores the various options for configuring this demonstration Web site. You also learn how Microsoft ASP.NET 2.0 handles our application during various stages of its execution.


12/5/2005 - Introducing Visual Web Developer Express Environment
This webcast introduces you to Microsoft Visual Web Developer 2005 Express Edition, the new development environment for the casual user or hobbyist Web developer. We walk you through some of the features of this environment that you can use to create and manage your Web sites, and we begin to work with the Web site that we created in the previous webcast.


12/13/2005 - Adding Data to our site

Attend this webcast for an introduction to the new Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition, which stores data for our Web application. You also learn about the many controls that you can use to request data from the database and store data in it. Also, see how to customize the look and feel of the data access controls that are presented to you in a user friendly way


12/20/2005 - Adding Pizzazz to your web site
This webcast introduces you to the concepts of layout and style, which you can use to give your Web application a unique look and feel.  Find out how master pages help define the layout of your application, while themes can be used to give your controls a little flair. The basics of site navigation and the controls that are available to help you accomplish this very important task are also discussed in this webcast.

1/9/2006 - Web Site Security
Explore Web sites from a hacker’s point of view to learn what you can do to protect your site, and, more importantly, the information it contains. In this webcast, we demonstrate several types of hacks so that you see exactly what types of vulnerabilities hackers are looking for in a Web site

Explore Web sites from a hacker’s point of view to learn what you can do to protect your site, and, more importantly, the information it contains. In this webcast, we demonstrate several types of hacks so that you see exactly what types of vulnerabilities hackers are looking for in a Web site

1/16/2006 - Server Controls
In this webcast, we discuss the server controls in Microsoft ASP.NET and how they can be used to deliver a rich user experience. Learn about the various types of controls, from the standard server controls to advanced controls like data controls, navigation controls, and logon controls. Join us for an introduction to the concept of writing your own controls.

 

1/23/2006 - Extending ASP.NET
Discover how you can take the existing Microsoft ASP.NET server controls and extend them to add functionality. Because the Microsoft .NET Framework is object oriented, it is easy to inherit from the existing controls and extend those controls to suit our exact needs. Join us for an introduction to the object-oriented programming (OOP) concepts of inheritance, polymorphism, and encapsulation in the context of extending the existing functionality of several server controls.

 

1/30/2006 - User Settings

Find out what Microsoft ASP.NET 2.0 provides in the area of personalization. Join this webcast to learn how a Web site can store user information and individual user preferences. We introduce you to the various storage mechanisms in the ASP.NET framework, such as cookies, ViewState, and profile management features.

 

2/6/2006 - Understanding Application State
State management is an important aspect of any Web application. Because state information is lost between subsequent requests, ASP.NET provides a variety of way to preserve state both server-side and client-side, when your application or controls need to round-trip information across requests. This webcast demonstrates some of the available state management features.

 

2/20/2006 - Managing Your ASP.NET Application
A central requirement of any Web application server is a rich and flexible configuration and management system — one that enables you to easily associate settings with an installable application (without having to “bake” values into code) and enables administrators to easily manage and customize these values after deployment. ASP.NET includes a configuration system designed to meet the needs of both of these audiences; it provides a hierarchical configuration infrastructure that enables extensible configuration data to be defined and used throughout an application, site, and/or machine. And, ASP.NET includes a full suite of tools to configure web applications.  This webcast demonstrates some of the available management mechanisms.

 

2/27/2006 - Monitoring Your Application
ASP.NET provides a number of ways to monitor the application and diagnose various problems that may arise during its development and operation. Some of these mechanisms are better suited for development-time debugging of the application code, others for monitoring the health and performance of the application when it is deployed, and yet others for diagnosing and investigating problems when they occur. This webcast demonstrates some of the available monitoring mechanisms.

3/6/2006 - Web Part Controls
Web parts are an exciting new family of controls that enable you to add rich, personalized content and layout to your site, and well as the ability to edit that content and layout directly from your application pages. These controls rely on the personalization services in ASP.NET 2.0 to provide a unique experience for each user in your application. Any control can easily be made into a web part to participate in these personalization services.

3/13/2006 - Caching
Caching is a technique widely used in computing to increase performance by keeping frequently accessed or expensive data in memory. In the context of a Web application, caching is used to retain pages or data across HTTP requests and reuse them without the expense of recreating them. ASP.NET has several kinds of caching that can be used by Web applications and in this session we will examine them. 

3/20/2006 - Internationalization
The Web has had worldwide reach since its inception. Users have different cultural expectations and speak different languages. In this Quickstart you will learn how powerful new ASP.NET v2.0 features make it easier to adapt your Web application to different countries, regions, and markets. In this session, we will examine the various resources for you to easily adapt your application to support various cultures. 

3/27/2006 - Tips & Tricks
In this session, we’re going to look at various features that don’t fit specifically into one of the previous webcast categories. However each and every one of them can be used to increase the usability or functionality of our web app. We’ll look at Cross Page Posting, Validation Groups, the Focus API, No Compile Pages, Client-Script Features as well as learn how to secure Non-ASP.NET Content. 

4/3/2006 - Auction Site Design
Join this webcast to take everything that you have learned in the previous auction site sessions and apply this knowledge to the site design. We show how to apply the three-tier architecture pattern to the auction site application and lay out the basic framework for the subsequent auction site webcasts. We also determine the requirements, timeline, and other project management aspects of the auction site application development life cycle. 

4/10/2006 - Auction Site Database
In this webcast, we observe the auction site application from a database perspective. You learn how to develop a database design, implement the design, and tune the database. You also learn about developing stored procedures to support the auction site and configuring the auction site application so it can securely connect to the database by limiting the access to just the required privileges. 

4/17/2006 - Auction Site Template
In this webcast, we look at the visual design of the auction site. We develop the layout, the Web parts that define the general areas of the site, and the themes to give the auction site pizzazz. We also explore the basic user interface by defining the auction item Web page and the auction item list page. 

4/24/2006 - Auction Site Management
All Web sites need some form of management. In this webcast, we explore the management options and decide on exactly what kind of management our auction site requires. We then develop the pages to support our management needs 

5/1/2006 - Data Tier Logic
This webcast shows how to develop the data access layer, and then explains why we abstract the data access from the data storage mechanism. Join us to learn about transactions and the unique requirements that a multi-user application imposes on the database. 

5/15/2006 - Auction Site Business Layer
In this webcast, we discuss the various business objects and business logic required to implement our auction Web site. Learn why we separate the code into distinct objects, and see how we can use these objects to ensure that the application performs flawlessly and efficiently. 

5/22/2006 - Auction Site Page Interaction
In this webcast, we examine how the pages of our auction Web site communicate and work with each other to effectively give the user a nice “flowing” experience. We also show how Microsoft ASP.NET technologies not only help to make the auction site easy to use and develop, but also keep the auction site safe and secure. 

6/7/2006 - Auction Site Finishing Touches
In this last webcast of the ASP.NET Soup to Nuts webcast series, we complete, deploy, and test our auction Web site to ensure that it effectively meets our requirements. We add some final touches to clean up the interface and include some nice graphics to give the auction site a finished look. (Note: Time Changed To 1PM PST on Wednesday, June 7th.)

Source: http://blogs.msdn.com/wsteele/archive/2007/01/29/asp-net-soup-to-nuts-webcast-links.aspx

31
Jan

Microsoft To Open ‘Points’ Micro-Payment Framework?

It’s no secret that the existing “merchant” system for processing credit cards is nothing but a way for large banks to rip you off one plastic swipe at a time. It’s ridiculously hard to process small transactions when you’re paying 2.75% plus $0.35 per transaction in fees. And because the industry puts up roadblocks to prevent you from shopping around, so you never know just how badly you’re getting screwed with each transaction. One time, I processed a $14,000 transaction, and got hit with over $400 in fees. Plus they’re getting interest from the credit card holder as well. What a freakin racket.

Over the past several years, Microsoft has been building out the Microsoft Points framework, and using Xbox Live to iron out all the details. I like to think of it as very similar to the .NET Framework. The .NET Framework is one engine that lets as many different programming languages as possible plug into one system. You can use any language you want, as long as your compiler spits out code in an “Intermediate Language” that the Common Language Runtime can execute.

Microsoft Points work the same way. A Point is a Point is a Point, it doesn’t matter what country you’re in or what currency you use. On Xbox Live, every TV show is worth the same number of Points, whether you’re in Australia or Zimbabwe. Microsoft manages the exchange rates internally, so the actual cost of the point varies per country. But the genius of the system is twofold:

  1. It detaches your brain from the concept that you’re spending money, by detaching the exchange of money from the item you intend to buy. After you buy 800 points for $10 USD, you forget that the 600-point Live Arcade title just cost you $7.50 USD. In the mind of most individuals, you’ve already spent the money on the points. This leads people to spend points more quickly than they would cash (this is not based on hard evidence, just my own personal experience… but Joystiq backs me up).
  2. Microsoft is able to get around the fees issue because you buy Points in bulk. You can’t just buy 10 Points (that’s $0.12 USD for those keeping track) because MS would get creamed in fees. So they charge just enough to make it worth your while, and worth theirs too.

Points aren’t just used for the Xbox 360, though. The Zune Marketplace uses Points to acquire songs. And there has been talk inside Microsoft about using Points elsewhere, like on Windows Marketplace. But apparently that’s not all.

On Friday, Bill Gates told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland that Microsoft plans to open up this micro-payments framework for everyone. I would imagine that this would be called Windows Live Payments, or something like that (that’s pure speculation, not any inside information. I haven’t been briefed on this plan.) I would also imagine that there would be an SDK to enable websites to enroll in this system.

I don’t know what fees, if any, Microsoft would charge members of this system. But I can imagine that, any way you slice it, the merchant processing industry isn’t going to like it, and that’s why it’s so cool. Time to change the game!

Source: Robert McLaws, Windows-Now.com

31
Jan

Building a webpart using AJAX

http://sharethispoint.com/archive/2006/11/15/Build-web-parts-with-ajax.aspx

31
Jan

inCode Releases Top 10 Wireless Predictions for 2007

Wireless consulting company inCode, a division of VeriSign, has released its predictions for the 10 most important events in the wireless industry for the coming year. The list, compiled by inCode’s senior staff, has had 80 percent accuracy since its inception, according to the company.

Here are inCode’s predictions:

 

  1. Social networking goes mobile. Sites such as MySpace and Facebook will add mobile users to their business model, and similar services will gain popularity with professionals and older users.
  2. Mobile TV. It’s just now making its first entries into the mobile device market, but it will become a primary driver of revenues.
  3. Cheaper and more flexible multifunction devices. Look for 3G devices but with more functionality, higher speeds, and prices below $99.
  4. GPS will become the location technology that the wireless industry actually uses in 2007. While many phones already have GPS support, applications that use that capability will blossom.
  5. Internet Big Names will play a major role in IP Multimedia Services for mobile devices. An inCode study found that while these services haven’t taken off as expected, this may be because users don’t understand what they do. Expect to see names like Yahoo and Google on your mobile device.
  6. China and India will become the hot mobile device markets, and as a result, mobile devices and services will focus on those markets first, rather than the United States and Europe as in the past.
  7. Mobile advertising will boom. Be prepared for ads with your text messages and elsewhere on your 3G phone, targeted just for you.
  8. Home entertainment will become part of the wireless world. This will include music and video downloads over both high-speed data connections and Wi-Fi. You will be able to play music, watch television or meet other data communications needs with your wireless device. This will be especially important in emerging markets, according to inCode.
  9. Users realize that security is important. 2007 may be the year that hackers really make a move on the mobile device universe. Virus attacks, data loss and theft will become major concerns, and companies will finally need to pay attention to the risks from mobile devices.
  10. Enterprises will embrace mobility. Companies will incorporate mobile devices throughout the corporation and will start to depend on wireless access to data as a routine practice. Some companies may completely replace their wired telephone infrastructure with wireless devices. 

Read the rest….Â