WPF/E is now Silverlight

It has just been announced at NAB that WPF/E is now known as "Silverlight".  The new name comes with a cool new logo and landing site.

http://www.microsoft.com/silverlight/

Check it out!

What is Silverlight?

Silverlight is a cross-browser, cross-platform plug-in for delivering the next generation of media experiences and rich interactive applications (RIAs) for the Web.

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Community Server 2007 Released

The Community Server 2007 collaboration platform (which includes blogs, forums, photo/file sharing) is now available. 

One of the coolest feature in this release is the new "Chameleon" theme system.  This feature allows users to tweak colors, graphics, and fonts with ease.  It also allows easier sharing of themes.

Community Server 2007 is available in three install options: Windows Install, Web Install and One-Click.

There are three types of commercial licenses available: Small Business Edition, Professional Edition, and Enterprise Edition.

As in the previous versions, free licenses are also available.

For more information, visit the Community Server site at http://communityserver.org.

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Hotfix Patch for ASP.NET Compilation Issues

If you often run into runtime exceptions as a result of ASP.NET 2.0 compilation, you might want to try out this hotfix.

Scott Guthrie has a blog post describing the compilation bug and offers a workaround for these issues (besides the hotfix solution).

Word of advice here is that only apply the hotfix patch if you really have an ASP.NET compilation issue.

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Updated ASP.NET AJAX 1.0 Documentation and "How Do I?" Videos

The ASP.NET documentation team has posted an update of the ASP.NET AJAX 1.0 documentation.

In addition,  there are a few more videos added to the list of ASP.NET AJAX "How Do I?" videos.

For a summary of what's new, check out Scott Guthrie's blog post.

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Recently released: ASP.NET AJAX 1.0 Extensions/Control Toolkit/Futures, SQL Server 2005 SP2 and Visual Studio 'Orcas' March 2007 CTP

The following are 3 download releases by Microsoft (within the last two months) that might interest ASP.NET developers.

ASP.NET AJAX Extensions 1.0 - Framework for developing and running AJAX-style applications with either server-centric or client-centric development models and is fully supported by Microsoft. (Note: Previously known as the Atlas framework)

ASP.NET AJAX Control Toolkit - Provides both ready-to-run samples and a powerful SDK to simplify creating custom ASP.NET AJAX controls and extenders.

ASP.NET AJAX Futures January CTP - Provides features that extend the core ASP.NET AJAX 1.0 platform with additional functionality that remains under development.

SQL Server 2005 SP2 - Includes enhancements such as data mining add-ins, SQL Server Reporting Services compatibilty with Microsoft Office SharePoint 2007, SQL Server Analysis Services improvements, data compression, manageability enhancements, management reports (for the Express edition), and interoperability improvements.

Visual Studio 'Orcas' March 2007 CTP - The next version of Visual Studio (available as self-extracting installation or Virtual PC image); features new ASP.NET WebForms design-surface with advanced XHTML and CSS features, JScript Intellisense for ASP.NET AJAX and browser DOM, multitargetting for .NET 2.0, 3.0, and 3.5 in websites and web applications, LINQ to SQL designer interaction in websites and web applications, and much more.

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Just published: Murach’s SQL Server 2005 for Developers

Are you writing database-centric .NET applications using SQL Server 2005?  Take a look at Murach's latest offering (see below):

Media Release:

Mike Murach and Associates has just published a 2005 edition of their bestselling SQL book, now entitled Murach’s SQL Server 2005 for Developers. It teaches how to create SQL queries and take advantage of powerful DBMS features (like cursors, views, and stored procedures) the way the best professionals do.

This includes coverage of new or enhanced 2005 features, like SQL statements for XML data handling and error processing, new data types, the Management Studio, the CLR (Common Language Runtime) integration feature that allows database objects to be created in .NET languages like C# and Visual Basic, and more. But beyond that, this book has several features that make it different from other SQL books.

#1: It’s written for application developers
Most SQL books are written for database administrators (DBAs) so developers pass them by, not realizing all there is to gain by knowing SQL better. But this book shows application developers the power that’s available to them through SQL so they can create business applications that handle database data more effectively.

#2: It starts off with how to query a database, not how to design one
Many SQL books start off with database design and performance. But if you’re an application developer, the first thing you need to know is how to write queries. So that’s the focus of the first 8 chapters in this book. It starts with simple queries, then moves on to complex inner and outer joins, summary queries, and subqueries that do more of the database processing for you so that your applications can do less.

At that point, this book shows how to create and implement a database. This material is helpful for developers who have to set up small systems on their own. And it provides a solid introduction to DBA skills for those interested in that career path.

#3: It teaches both SQL coding and how to use the Management Studio
The Management Studio, new in SQL Server 2005, provides a powerful IDE for querying, designing, and manipulating SQL Server databases. But of course, under the surface, the SQL statements are at work.

So instead of focusing solely on using the Management Studio…or on using SQL statements…this book teaches both. By understanding the underlying SQL statements, developers can use the Management Studio more easily and efficiently.

#4: Coding examples show how to take advantage of advanced features, as well as how to create queries
One key to mastering SQL is to have plenty of coding examples that show how the features work and what problems may occur as they’re used in everyday applications. And these examples become more crucial as the code becomes more complex.

So besides showing sample code for all types of queries, this book also provides code for database maintenance jobs, for using backend features like cursors and stored procedures, and for coding C# projects that create database objects using CLR integration. This code…as well as the VB code for the CLR projects…can be downloaded for free from the Murach web site.

#5: The paired-pages format lets developers set their own pace
Murach books have a distinctive format. Each two-page spread presents a single topic: the lefthand page explains the topic, while the righthand page shows the critical details, using syntax, code, screen shots, and how-to notes. Both beginning and experienced developers find that this format makes it easy to focus on the information they need, whether they’re using the book for training or reference.

Murach’s SQL Server 2005 for Developers is available directly from the publisher at www.murach.com and from all major retail outlets.

Note: You may also get the book here.

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Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1 (SP1) Released

The long-awaited Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1 (SP1) has been released.  Apart from performance enhancements and bug-fixes, the release also includes the following additions:

• New processor support (e.g., Core Duo) for code generation and profiling
• Performance and scale improvements in Team Foundation Server
• Team Foundation Server integration with Excel 2007 and Project 2007
• Tool support for occasionally connected devices and SQL Server Compact Edition
• Additional support for project file based Web applications
• Windows Embedded 6.0 platform and tools support

Scott Guthrie offers some tips on installing the Service Pack in his blog post.

Visual Studio 2005 SP1 (which weighs in at slightly over 400MB) includes updates for Standard, Professional, and Team Editions of Visual Studio 2005.  There's also a separate SP1 release for the Visual Studio 2005 Express edition.

Windows Vista users can look forward to a Vista-specific Visual Studio 2005 SP1 Update "soon".

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ASP.NET AJAX Beta 2 Released

Last week, Microsoft released ASP.NET AJAX Beta 2.  Apart from bug-fixes, the new features in ASP.NET AJAX Beta 2 include:

• UpdateProgress Control Enhancement
• Partial Rendering Auto-Degrade for Non-AJAX Browsers
• Simplified Client-side Event Binding API
• Client-side JavaScript Localization
• Client-side CSS Helpers
• Drag/Drop Support for ASP.NET Web Parts in Safari and FireFox
• Performance and Stability Improvements

Scott Gu has a nice post on this release.

To learn more about or download ASP.NET AJAX Beta 2, visit http://ajax.asp.net

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ASPNETWorld.com Migrated to ASP.NET 2.0

From the Site Editor:

The code that powers the ASPNETWorld.com main site has been migrated to ASP.NET 2.0. This dasBlog-powered blog also now runs on .NET 2.0 with the code untouched (except for the web.config file).  Should you encounter any issues with the site or the blog, please ping me here.  Thanks!

- Jason

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