Do programmers dream in Byte Code?

Kinect for Windows has just had a update to version 1.7. The Kinect team are calling it "our most significant update to the SDK since we released the first version"

And they are right, it is just awesome , will be talking a lot about Kinect 1.7 over the next few months.

The new version includes

Kinect Fusion -   3D object scanning application  creates live 3D models

New recognisable gestures - push-to-press buttons, grip-to-pan

and new multiple users and two person interactions

along with Microsoft pushing a bunch of code samples to CodePlex in a move to deliver open source samples get them here

Get the SDK here

and the Developer toolkit is here remember you need both kits (install the SDK first)

b.

The great people over in the Windows Team have set up a rewards program to thank developers for producing great Windows 8 Applications

if you are developing or want to develop for Windows Look at and Register with

http://www.appbuilder-rewards.co.uk/

for some great rewards.

The amount and value of the rewards are staggering, from Xbox Subscriptions to Samsung TV’s

There are added bonus for early adopters such as free Windows Phones, copies of Halo.

register today, its free.

when you go to the site to claim your points, if you fill in the who referred you as either

Robert Hogg or Black Marble

it help us get more support for future Windows 8 events

http://www.windows-appbuilder.co.uk/ has all of the data you need to start

for quick starts on using windows 8 I have several posts on using windows 8 for developers and a windows 8 overview video

enjoy

b.

Wow the typescript guys are busy the new version has a bunch of compiler improvements and fixes especially around large project compilation speed and consistency in the visual studio experience.

Great improvements in the Visual Studio delivery allowing direct connection to projects not in scope, allowing debugging of files which are not in the current project.

Get it Here

b.

During Decembers Architect Forum I talked about TypeScript and some recent updates have prompted a post.

So what is the rational behind Yet another JavaScript language,  when there are already a few out there. Microsoft's motivation was to produce an Application grade version of JavaScript which would not impede only improve existing JavaScript development.

The design choices made in TypeScript which make it so appealing is that it is built as a set of Optional extensions to JavaScript so in effect all JavaScript code is also TypeScript code. Combined with the TypeScript implementation which compiles the Typescript down into JavaScript (EC3 or EC5) means that it will run on all platforms where JavaScript runs with out the need of any additional runtime. These give key advantages in both adoption which can be done at the start or during a project and also it does not preclude any existing user libraries which is the classic stumbling block for any new language.

Typescript guys have made a great choice to in effect implement most of the EC6 planned and features still up for discussion, bottom line this means you get classes, strong typing throughout your code to use in JavaScript now.

To get started first of look at http://www.typescriptlang.org/ is the home of typescript and of course as typescript is JavaScript, you can try it right now in your browser http://www.typescriptlang.org/Playground/

For actual production use you can down get it as either a Node.js package by using node.js package manager npm install -g typescript and then use the command line compiler tsc

or as plugin for Visual Studio 2012 Here

or just the source and do it yourself, all from here 

Chris Sells from Telerik has not only produced a great post on TypeScript but also some Windows 8 Templates so you can develop Windows 8 applications in HTML and Typescript which in my opinion will improve the quality of your applications no end.

read his article here and the instructions on how to install the Windows 8 templates are at the end

b.

I have been a massive fan of the work the Microsoft Patterns and Practices team for years and in the past year I have been lucky enough to be able to help out as a reviewer on a couple of projects.

What makes the P&P team stand out is the fact that their aim is to make your life easier and you to look better by helping you delivering better products faster.

One of the projects I was lucky enough to review is Hilo, which is a guide demonstrating how to write modern C++ and XAML code using async programming patterns to build Windows Store apps that use tiles, a splash screen, controls, pages, navigation, suspend & resume, and touch.  The guide provides common guidance on common development patterns and practices such as Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM) and Repository patterns and unit testing.

CodePlex Site http://hilo.codeplex.com/

Download the Hilo sample

 Get the book

B.

Now is the time to start thinking about projects for the year and by recent posts it should be clear that 3D printing is on my mind as is building a house and so when the worlds collide, I suspect fear will be striking the hearts of anybody who knows me

A Company called D Shape are moving ahead with the concept of Printing Buildings http://www.d-shape.com/index.htm 

it looks at a R&D stage but here is an article of Enrico Dini in Action, what an Awesome concept. He is planning to build a Mobius Strip House using the printer.

What can I say but, I love the world we live in.

b.

I love it when worlds collide, in this case my world of mobile phone development and the world of 3D printing.

In a great move to encourage users to embrace the Lumia platform, Nokia have released, all of the 3D assets needed to enable users to print their own cases using 3D printers.

Looking at the 820 with the back off, external batteries can be built in as can the most excellent wireless charging unit, however what would have been the icing on the cake would be the ability to interface devices into shells. There are two pins not related to battery or charging which I still have not be able to identify when the back case is off so here’s hoping ( i suspect they are case off detection )

The original Nokia post with links to the models needed to can be found here

The actual files can be found Here and Here and Here

Now all I need is a 3D printer ……

b.

As many people know I am a huge fan of Microsoft’s Security Development Lifecycle. There are a set of guides which are well worth knowing about one of which deals with Health

The paper is designed for anybody developing Software and Software Interfaces in Health (specifically HIPPA) in the US but it is just as applicable in the UK.

So if you are in the Health software market Download it and read it from here

b

Many years ago Black Marble undertook to help people to program, not with the aim of turning out large numbers of developer minions but to show how learning to program teaches people how to break down and solve problems.

Lynn Lagit  and LLewellyn Falco have produced a series of videos based on the workshops they are running for children as well as some extensions for Small Basic.

For convenience here are links to the videos, but I urge you look look at Lynn’s blog for more details

Setting up Small Basic

First Recipe

Coding Recipe Variations

To get Going click on the HERE links I would suggest looking at all of the information.

The Small Basic Microsoft official site is here

Download Small Basic HERE

Getting Started look here

The Small Basic site with more useful information is here

Small Basic free EBooks are here

If you are a Parent of Educator there is a Curriculum pack Here download in one go HERE

There is also a companion site with resources and recipes for learning at http://teachingkidsprogramming.org/

The recipes for kids to follow are here but you will need to install an add-on for Small Basic which adds Logo style components like turtle!  The add on site is here

b.

I have been discussing Windows 8 development with several developer groups this month and it seems that only a few developers were aware that in November update to the Windows App Certification Kit (ACK) was posted, it offers several bug fixes and more importantly new tests which came into force in the middle of December.

In fact many are not using the ACK at all, I urge all Windows 8 developers to run the ACK before submission as it will help you find any store validation errors !!!!!

The new (additional) App Store Rules are

• Optimized binding references (when using bindings, WinJS.Binding.optimizeBindingReferences should be set to TRUE in the app's JavaScript to optimize the memory usage).
• Branding validation (apps should not use the default icons generated by Visual Studio or included in the SDK samples).
• Private code signing (remove any private code signing keys, such as .pfx files, from the package).

While these all make sense it is a bit, no a lot disturbing that people are submitting applications with the DEFAULT Icons.

Get the latest version is here

b.