The Microsoft SysInternals Team has released the VERY POPULAR free Windows Screen Zooming tool call ZoomIt.  I blogged about an earlier version about a year ago and it was one of the most popular downloads on my blog, so I am now blogging about the updated version.

Here's the description of the tool:

ZoomIt is screen zoom and annotation tool for technical presentations that include application demonstrations. ZoomIt runs unobtrusively in the tray and activates with customizable hotkeys to zoom in on an area of the screen, move around while zoomed, and draw on the zoomed image. I wrote ZoomIt to fit my specific needs and use it in all my presentations.

ZoomIt works on all versions of Windows and you can use pen input for ZoomIt drawing on tablet PCs.

To download the utility: Click here

~Robert Shelton

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I just finished watching Scott Hanselman’s (Program Manager for Microsoft) presentation on the .NET Framework (Current and Future) from the PDC 2008, and it was GREAT!  Scott does a great job presenting and “entertaining you” as well.  It is well worth the time, but be warned, you may laugh out loud at times (you’ll see, when you watch his BabySmash .NET application (www.babysmash.com).

Here’s the description of the video:

Join Scott Hanselman for this lots-of-code-minimal slides talk that walks through the sheer joy of building out a .NET Framework application with Visual Studio using many of the new advances in the .NET Framework 3.5SP1 and 4.0. We have a data layer with Entity Framework, use REST web services with WCF and ADO.NET Data Services, write an ASP.NET site for reporting using Dynamic Data and MVC. All the data will come from a WPF client application and a Silverlight application that the audience will run live! All this, plus it's an application that babies and toddlers will love!

Check it out here: Click to view

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As an FYI: Microsoft “Velocity” is the code name for the upcoming distributed (meaning over multiple machines) Data Caching technology.  The video linked below is a great Overview on why, IMHO, this is going to be a GREAT new feature to the Windows Platform for Developers, DBA’s and Admins.

In general, I am not a big fan of watching presentations (especially long ones) via a Video download, like this one, but I have to say that the speaker did a great job of explaining and demonstrating (great demos) the technology. 

Take a look, when you have time.

To view the video: Click here

~Robert Shelton

The Visual Studio team has released the November 2008 Training Kit (Preview) for Visual Studio 2010 and the .NET Framework 4.0. 

Here’s what’s in the kit:

The Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4.0 Training Kit includes presentations, hands-on labs, and demos. This content is designed to help you learn how to utilize the Visual Studio 2010 features and a variety of framework technologies including: C# 4.0, Visual Basic 10, F#, Parallel Computing Platform, WCF, WF, WPF, ASP.NET AJAX 4.0, ASP.NET MVC Dynamic Data.

To download it: Click here

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If you need a way to Web Test your (web based) InfoPath forms, than you will want to checkout this download.  Essentially, it shows you how to setup your eForms such that they can be a part of your Visual Studio Automated Testing process.  I would have never thought about doing this, but having given it some thought, I think that it's a great idea.  I would have just "assumed" for the sake of testing that the eForm worked, but with all of the formatting, rules, data-binding, etc., that goes into eForms, that would be a bad assumption.

It's great that this was put up on CodePlex for people to freely access.

Check it out: Click here to access

~Robert Shelton

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In this video Anders Hejlsberg discusses some of the upcoming features of C# (4.0), which will release in the Visual Studio 2010 timeframe.  It's always great to hear from Anders, as one of the major driving forces of one of the most popular .NET Languages (VB.NET is the other).  I hate to sound like a Fan-boy, but this guy is really, really sharp (C-Sharp pun intended )!

 
C# 4.0 - Questions and reasons behind the answers

He discusses a variety of subjects, including:

• C# Dynamics
• Optional Parameters (as a former VB.NET-Only developer, I am happy about this one)
• Variances

Downloads:

• Checkout the video: Click here
• Check out the C# "Futures" web site: click here

~Robert Shelton

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The Microsoft SharePoint team just posted (on their blog) some details about the Visual Studio 2010 Tools for SharePoint.  Here’s a few bullet points from the TechEd EMEA briefing where this storied started, which outlines some of the features:

• Server Explorer for SharePoint viewing Lists and other artifacts in SharePoint directly inside of Visual Studio

• Windows SharePoint Services Project (WSP file) Import to create a new solution

• Added a new web part project item and showed the Visual web part designer which loads a user control as a web part for SharePoint

• Showed adding an event receiver for SharePoint and using the wizard to choose the event receiver and to just create a source file with that event receiver.

• Added an ASPX workflow initiation form to a workflow project and showed how this workflow initiation form has designer capability

• Showed the packaging explorer and the packaging editor which lets you structure the SharePoint features and WSP file that is created

If you are not already subscribed to their blog (Microsoft SharePoint Team Blog), you should definitely do so.  It is one of my favorite blogs to track SharePoint Development.

~Robert Shelton

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The October 2008 release of the Visual Studio Team Foundation Server Power Tools has just released.  I won’t waste a lot of your reading-time with my thoughts on the subject.  I will just tell you what’s in it, and give you the download location.

Overview of the Power Tools

The Visual Studio Team System 2008 Team Foundation Server Power Tools is a set of enhancements, tools and command line utilities that improve the Team Foundation Server user experience.
The following tools are installed with the tfpt.msi package:

• Command line tool (TFPT.EXE)
• Team Explorer IDE menu additions
• Build Notification tool
• TFS Best Practices Analyzer
• Process Template Editor
• Work Item Templates
• Custom check-in policies
• TFS Server Manager
• TFS Users tool
• Alert Editor
• TFS Power Shell Extensions
• TFS Windows Shell Extensions
• Team Members Tool

Also available is the WssExt64Bit installer which provides the ability to install the Team Foundation Server WSS extensions into a 64-bit WSS instance. The RTM version of the WssExt installer that ships with Team Foundation Server 2008 does not support 64-bit WSS sites.

Here’s the download location: Click here

~Robert Shelton

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