"I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness for it shows me the stars."

— Og Mandino

Jeff Prosise's Blog - A Touch of Silverlight: has a really cool Silverlight Web comic book catalog viewer, MyComix.

Bryant Likes's Blog - Silverlight Examples: Hong Button, Matrix Digital Rain, iPhone, Rolling Gear, WPF/E Reflection.

Dave Relyea's Blog - Silverlight 1.1 Alpha Layout System and Controls Framework: view demo, view source.

Andy Beaulieu's Blog - Silverlight Rocks!: has created an Asteroids clone, Silverlight Rocks!, view demo, view source.

Mark Heath's Blog - Silver Nibbles: has made a Nibbles clone, Silver Nibbles, view demo, view source.

MSDN Forums: Silverlight General Discussion, Silverlight Designer Issues, Silverlight Developer Issues.

The Sierpinski triangle, also called the Sierpinski gasket, is a fractal named after Wacław Sierpiński who described it in 1915. Originally constructed as a curve, this is one of the basic examples of self-similar sets.

View Silverlight Sierpinski Triangle demo

Download Silverlight Sierpinski Triangle source code

Note: The background stripes are from Stripe Generator - ajax diagonal stripes background designer, very cool Web 2.0 stripe generator.

Here are all the Silverlight resources that I know about, in a nice somewhat organized collection for easy review. My intention is for this to be something of a Silverlight launch pad. Feel free to share these Silverlight links, and please mention any others you know of in the comments section.

Note: All items should have a tooltip which shows when they were first added to the launch pad's destinations list, and new destinations should have aicon for at least 30 days. Any destinations markedare must see locations.

“There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” by Edith Wharton

Silverlight Core Web Sites

• Microsoft Silverlight Light Up the Web
• Silverlight
• MSDN Silverlight Dev Center
• Silverlight QuickStarts Silverlight Development Using the .NET Framework
• Silverlight Gallery
• Silverlight Forums - Silverlight
• MSDN Forum: Silverlight General Discussion
• MSDN Forum: Silverlight Designer Issues
• MSDN Forum: Silverlight Developer Issues

Silverlight Downloads

• Microsoft Silverlight 1.1 Alpha
• Microsoft Visual Studio codename "Orcas" Beta 1
• Microsoft Silverlight Tools Alpha for Visual Studio codename "Orcas" Beta 1
• Expression Blend 2 May Preview
• Microsoft Silverlight 1.1 Alpha Software Development Kit (SDK)
• Microsoft ASP.NET Futures (May 2007)

Silverlight Web Sites

• Microsoft MIX07
• Microsoft Silverlight Streaming - Admin Home

Silverlight Articles

• The Code Project: Silverlights Out - An Introduction into Silverlight by Example
• Microsoft Silverlight - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Microsoft Silverlight 1.1 Developer Reference Poster
• Silverlight - ScottGu's Blog
• Silverlight Get Started Building A Deeper Experience Across The Web -- MSDN Magazine, June 2007
• What's New in Silverlight (1.0 Beta and 1.1 Alpha)?

Silverlight Editorials

• Scott Hanselman's Computer Zen - Putting Mix, Silverlight, the CoreCLR and the DLR into context
• Software Development in the Real World Top 10 Reasons Silverlight Will Change the Web
• Why Silverlight Is Important
• Silverlight and .NET - This is HUGE!

Silverlight Videos

• Silverlight Videos: Getting started with Silverlight 1.1
• Silverlight Videos
• 20+ Silverlight Screencasts
• Channel 9 Silverlight Media
• Lumines
• Backstage at MED Silverlight on Windows Mobile A closeup

Silverlight Samples

• Lutz Roeder's Silverlight Page 
• John's Web Thoughts Step by Step on how to start with new MS Technology
• Scott Hanselman's Computer Zen - Silverlight Samples
• Silverlight Pad
• Silverlight Airlines Demo 
• Silverlight Gallery
• Silverlight Disco
• Silverlight Binary Clock
• Silverlights Out 2.0
• Zillinois - Yet Another SilverLight XAML Demo
• MIX07 - Silverlight and the Compact Framework
• Dr Popper Silverlight
• Silverlight Video Reflection
• Silverlight GlyphMap Utility
• Jeff Prosise's Blog - A Touch of Silverlight
• Silverlight Examples: Hong Button, Matrix Digital Rain, iPhone, Rolling Gear, WPF/E Reflection
• Silverlight Rocks!
• Silver Nibbles

Silverlight Software

• Electric Rain Harmony - Flash SWF to XAML Converter - For WPF and Silverlight
• RadControls for Silverlight
• Mike Swanson's Blog Windows Presentation Foundation Tools and Controls
• Test With... Silverlight-CoreCLR - TestDriven.NET by Jamie Cansdale
• Silverlight Console Applications - TestDriven.NET by Jamie Cansdale
• Building Orcas Projects with Expression Blend 2 - TestDriven.NET by Jamie Cansdale
• Silverlight 1.1 Alpha Layout System and Controls Framework: view demo, view source

Silverlight Security

• The Silverlight Security Model
• Silverlight Security II: What Makes a Method Critical
• Silverlight Security III: Inheritance
• .NET Security Blog Silverlight Security Cheat Sheet

Silverlight Miscellaneous

• Silverlight Resources (MindMap v 1.3)
• Silverlight Resources MindMap as Silverlight Application 
• The Windows Experience Blog Download Microsoft Silverlight DreamScenes for your desktop!

Silverlight Blogs

• WynApse
• WynApse.com
• Silverlight SDK
• Silverlight Games 101
• .NET 3.0 Cornucopia
• Bryant Likes's Blog
• Dan Wahlin's Weblog
• Devlicio.us - Blogs
• Tim Sneath
• ScottGu's Blog
• Web.Next
• Joe Stegman's Weblog
• Mike Harsh's Blog
• Delay's Blog
• Chris Craft's Blog
• ExplosiveDog.Com
• Silverlight - TestDriven.NET by Jamie Cansdale
• Brad Abrams

As promised, I have updated the Silverlights Out game. Really all I did was give it a new paint job, so it looks as cool as it really is. :) Animated scrolling starfield background, transparency, and those cool glass icons everyone likes to use these days.

Silverlights Out 2.0

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Topic: Real-World Windows Communication Foundation
Our next event will be held on Tuesday, May 8th, 2007. Thad Smith, from ACS Technologies will be presenting real-world development with Windows Communication Foundation. This presentation will include pragmatic approaches to utilizing the Windows Communication Foundation in your solutions.  See you there!

Here is the tentative schedule:

6:00 PM - 6:20 PM Socializing / Dinner
6:20 PM - 6:30 PM Introduction, Sponsor Time, and News.
6:30 PM - 7:45 PM Presentation
7:45 PM - 8:00 PM Drawing and Wrap Up

PDANUG serves the Pee Dee Area of South Carolina. Our group focuses on the .NET Framework and related technologies. We cordially invite anyone that is interested to join us at our monthly gatherings. You can find more information on our meeting location and topcis below. You may also contact us by emailing admin@pdanug.net for more information.

If you are interested in our group, please register! This helps us gain an understanding for who is interested in attending our events.

Click Here for detailed driving directions

So you're downloading the eight 743.9 MB files needed to install Visual Studio Code Name "Orcas", and you're thinking to yourself, "Self, there HAS to be a better way."

Well, there is. Two simple registry changes and you can go from 2 maximum downloads to 10!

Oh BTW, we're working with the Registry so you know the drill. Be careful. Enter at your own risk.

Increasing IE's Maximum Concurrent Downloads Setting

1. Click on the Start button and select Run.
   
2. On the Run line type Regedt32.exe and hit Enter.
   This will launch the Registry Editor.
   
3. Locate the following key in the registry:
   

   
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings

4. Click on the Internet Settings Key. Now go to the Edit menu, point to NEW, and click DWORD Value.
   
5. Type MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server for the name of this DWORD Value.
   
6. Double-click on the MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server key you just created and enter the following information:
   
   • Value data: 10
   • Base: Decimal
     
7. When finished press OK.
   
8. Click on the Internet Settings Key. Now go to the Edit menu, point to NEW, and click DWORD Value.
   
9. Type MaxConnectionsPerServer for the name of this DWORD Value.
   
10. Double-click on the MaxConnectionsPerServer key you just created and enter the following information:
    
    • Value data: 10
    • Base: Decimal
      
11. When finished press OK.
    
12. Close the Registry Editor.

It was really hard for me to find the settings needed to configure a server to "serve" Silverlight applications. So I've posted them here. Hopefully it will help someone.

These are really for WPF, but they worked fine for me with deploying Silverlight applications. The key ones are highlighted in a bold green.

Register MIME Types and File Extensions

You must register several MIME types and file extensions so that the browser on the client's system can load the correct handler. You need to add the following types:

I couldn't resist jumping on the Silverlight bandwagon. So I created a Silverlights Out game. Just something quick and dirty to get a feel for the technology.

I had to try and improve on the orginal so I'd made the game toggle lights across borders. So if you click on a light on the left, it will effect the light on the other side and vice versa. Enjoy. :)

I've got some plans for some nice improvements, so stayed tuned.

Silverlights Out

See it!
http://www.cjcraft.com/Blog/content/binary/silverlightsout.gif

Use It!
http://cjcraft.com/silverlight/silverlightsout/silverlightsout.html

Download It! (source code and all) [quick and dirty garage project, that's why it is so CHEAP]
http://cjcraft.com/silverlight/silverlightsout/silverlightsout.zip

Umm, Describe It!

Lights out is a one player puzzle that is played on a 5 by 5 grid of squares in which every square has two states: on and off. The game starts off with all squares off, where the goal is to turn on every square. By selecting a square, all the surrounding squares' (up, down, left, right) state is turned toggled. For example, on a 3 by 3 grid of squares with all squares off, if the center one is selected, it will turn "on" the 4 up, down, left, right squares from it.

We all went to see Spider-Man 3 last night and had a blast, lots of fun.
Very ambitious movie, almost tries to cover too much material.

"Next summer, the greatest battle lies... within."

"A strange black entity from another world bonds with Peter Parker and causes inner turmoil as he contends with new villains, temptations, and revenge."

Pretty cool looking at the statistical ratings for Spider-Man 3 at IMDB.com.

Interesting trivia:

• This film is reportedly the most expensive film ever made in U.S. dollars, with a budget of $250 million. This breaks King Kong (2005)’s record of $207 million, and in terms of adjusted dollars, would be third to Voyna i mir (1968)’s budget of $560 million.
• The over 600 latex "web" balloons in the celebration scene had to be hand-painted with a Sharpie marker.
• Thomas Haden Church worked out for 16 months to build up his physique to portray Sandman.
• Kirsten Dunst dyed her natural blond hair red for the role of Mary Jane Watson. Bryce Dallas Howard dyed her natural red hair blond for the role of Gwen Stacy.
• The film's translation in Russia is "Spider-Man 3: Enemy in the Reflection"

Joel Spolsky has an excellent article on office design, especially manufactured walls. It's really insightful.

Joel takes you through how FogCreek, paid for expensive office renovation, with their first office. All of which wasn't really tax deductible.

But with their new office they are going to use manufactured walls. Since manufactured walls are a real asset, not only can they write off the office expense, they even get to lease the purchase.

This explains why so many tech companies prefer cubicle farms over having real walls. But I think Joel's right, with manufactured walls you get the best of both worlds.

We're starting to outgrow our current office at Taylor Data Systems. I'm glad there are other options for us besides cube farms.

The 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint

Presentation Guru Guy Kawasaki discusses a rule called 10/20/30 PowerPoint rule in one of his recent blog posts. What is the 10/20/30 PowerPoint rule? He states, “a PowerPoint presentation should have ten slides, last no more than twenty minutes, and contain no font smaller than thirty points.”

Guy argues this rule is applicable for any presentation to reach agreement: for example, raising capital, making a sale, forming a partnership, etc.

1. Problem
2. Your solution
3. Business model
4. Underlying magic/technology
5. Marketing and sales
6. Competition
7. Team
8. Projections and milestones
9. Status and timeline
10. Summary and call to action

Like they say in the Guinness commercials, "Brilliant!" I'm sold, and the fences this creates really helps keep things simple and easy for everyone presenters and listeners both.