First Update Since Out of School

In case you are wondering where I have been, no, I am not dead (and this blog is not dead either). Things have changed since I last posted here, so I will give my readers an update on what has been going on and keeping me from writing.

First, the finals exams of my senior year of college are done and I have officially graduated from Wheeling Jesuit University with a Bachelors of Science in Computer Science with a minor in Mathematics. The workload with school and programming was keeping me from regular updates with the blog. I have also secured employment with P.T.C. (Parametric Technology Corporation).

Second is the program updates. I have been working on updates for the paid version of Mobile Media Manager. Once I get this update for the paid version is out, I will be working an update which will be more Windows Phone 8-specific (using Windows Phone 8 features). I will still be putting out updates for the Windows Phone 7 port of Mobile Media Manager.

BSA Eagle Tracker is long due for an update. I promise that an update is coming, please be patient for a little while longer.

My build of Seven-Eighter will also have an update soon as well (yes, I have been reading everyone's tech support enquires, so I am aware of problems users have had).

I am also working on 2 new apps, one being for Windows Phone and another for Windows 8. The one for Windows Phone is a prayer app. Its purpose is to help you with finding time for prayer and help in diversifying your prayer life. It is geared towards Catholics (more specifically, Roman Catholics), but there is room for expansion for both Eastern Catholics and Protestants. More features and prayers will be coming with future updates. If there is enough interest from Eastern Catholics, I can work on incorporating some Eastern Catholic stuff in there as well.

The Windows 8 app is a social media app. It is meant to be a quick "dashboard" to see into all of your social media all in 1 list, organized time-wise by the most recent status first. For example, if I use Facebook and Twitter and the most recent status is from Facebook, the Facebook status will show up first in the list. If the most recent status is from Twitter, the Twitter tweet will show up first in the list. Your standard reaction commands (like and comment for Facebook and reply and retweet for Twitter) will be available. If you need to make any account changes, however, you will need to go to the respective social media site and modify your settings there. Also, you will be able to "link" a person between social media accounts (like linking a person's Facebook username with his or her Twitter username) and see all entries for that person under the linked name (the "linking" is done just within the program, so there is no actual linking of social media services outside of the program). Depending on progress, the linking feature might be put in an update rather than the initial release, but it is definitely coming.

This is all for now, but I figured that I should give my readers some kind of update to show that my blog is not dead. I should be posting more frequently from now on.

While you're waiting for your problems with phone updates to be over, why not try some delicious Mystic Monk Coffee? Mystic Monk Coffee (use this link or click on the picture below to access the store and purchase) is what you really need when it comes to coffee. Trust me, it's good coffee (in most instances, much better than Starbucks coffee) and you won't regret buying some (just keep it away from your computer keyboard or laptop/tablet). If you like tea more than coffee, they also offer tea. Using the link (or picture below) to buy the coffee (or tea) helps the monks out and helps me with college expenses as well. The coffee (or tea) also makes for great gifts for friends and family as well.

While we are waiting for updates to my windows phone apps, if you want to go ahead and get my apps now, please use the following links:

BSA Eagle Tracker download: http://bit.ly/Mm1Upo
Mobile Media Manager (paid version) download: http://bit.ly/y3rf6V
Mobile Media Manager (free version) download: http://bit.ly/xGCsWE

The Gift of Giving in the Windows Phone Marketplace

On the developer side of the Windows Phone marketplace, there are enough headaches to deal with, but this is not the purpose of this article. On the user side, the marketplace is relatively stable. Downloading can be done via wi-fi or over 3G/4G cellular internet. What could be improved here is payment options for apps.

Currently, the only options for payment in the Windows Phone marketplace are payment via credit/debit card or payment via cell carrier tab (if your carrier supports this, as I am not sure that all carriers do). However, if you don't have a credit card you can pay with, you are out of luck and can only download the free apps out there.

It would be good if Microsoft did something similar to what Apple did with iTunes. With iTunes, Apple sells gift cards in stores that people can use on iTunes to buy music, as well as apps. Microsoft should have their own "gift card" which people can buy in real life and use in the marketplace. There are many valid reasons for this. One is if a person wishes to impose a spending limit for apps on himself or herself. Another reason would be for a person which doesn't have a credit card due to bad credit or no credit (like teens) And yet another would be for a gift for occasions such a birthday or Christmas.

Another option Microsoft should look into is the ability for developers to "reward" testers. Sometimes, a developer may want to "reward" a beta tester with a "free copy" of the released version of an app on the marketplace as thanks for help with testing pre-release versions of apps. Sometimes, a developer, for whatever reason, may want to give a free copy of his or her paid software to a certain person (such as friends or family) for free. Currently, there is no mechanism in place for the developer to do this. This could be accomplished via a one-time promo code which the developer gives the user and the user inputs at time of buying the app.

To help with the first issue, besides a gift card (in amounts of real money) that people can buy, Microsoft could also look into perhaps using their system of Microsoft points to pay for apps. On the Xbox marketplace or Zune marketplace, you need to use points to pay. Wouldn't it be great if a user had some extra points and he or she could buy your app with it? Using Microsoft's own points conversion to convert the user's points into real money for the developer will have to happen, but I don't think this is a big deal. On a side note, Microsoft should unify their method of payment across the windows phone marketplace, the windows 8 marketplace, the Xbox marketplace and the Zune marketplace by either having all marketplace payments as either "all points" or "all (real) money". I hope that when Windows 8 comes out, Microsoft will have looked at all the problems had with Windows Phone and come up with adequate solutions for them.

Do you think these solutions for alternate payment I have proposed have any merit? If so (or if not), or if you have any thoughts or comments of your own about this, feel free to share them via the comment box below.You can also find me on twitter (twitter username is @rctechgeek). Feel free to subscribe to my rss feed too. I am now on Tumblr now as well (link to Tumblr is http://www.tumblr.com/blog/catholictechgeek), so please follow me on Tumblr too.

If you're feeling thirsty or feel like giving to someone, drink  (or give someone you care about) some tasty Mystic Monk Coffee (use this link or click on the picture below to access the store and purchase). Trust me, it's good coffee (in most instances, much better than Starbucks coffee) and you won't regret buying some (just keep it away from your computer keyboard or laptop/tablet). For the summer, they are also offering Iced Coffee as well. If you like tea more than coffee, they also offer tea. Using the link (or picture below) to buy the coffee (or tea) helps the monks out and helps me with college expenses as well.

Feel free to try out my apps for Windows Phone: Mobile Media Manager, a media player app I made which has some features which (I feel) are missing from the system Zune player, and BSA Eagle Tracker, an app that boy scouts can use to track their progress to Eagle Scout (when the scout handbook isn't always handy). The update for the paid version is out, with the free version currently in Microsoft Apphub certification (due to be out soon within a few days). BSA Eagle Tracker is also getting a bug fix for an obscure bug I noticed recently.

BSA Eagle Tracker download: http://bit.ly/Mm1Upo
Mobile Media Manager (paid version) download: http://bit.ly/y3rf6V
Mobile Media Manager (free version) download: http://bit.ly/xGCsWE
CodeProject

Windows 8: The Countdown Begins

It's almost that time again, the time when the next version of Microsoft Windows makes its way from Microsoft into the hands of users everywhere.

According to Microsoft, Windows 8 will be put in the hands of OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers, or quite simply, the big computer companies which make the computers you buy) in August. From there, they will have some time to develop and test drivers for the new operating system, as well as come up with ideas for new computer products, all leading up to the big release day.

Microsoft says that Windows 8 will be released on October 26, 2012. This release date applies to new Windows 8 computers and to upgrades from previous versions of Windows. I have mentioned in previous blog posts that you don't need to buy new hardware just to run the next version of Windows 7 this time, meaning that if your computer runs Windows 7 well (or even Windows Vista, as bad as that was, well), it can run Windows 8 (in place). To provide an incentive to upgrade, through January 31 of next year, Microsoft is running a special upgrade price, $39.99. The only catch here is that you must be running Windows XP or later, but I can't think of many situations where this wouldn't be the case. If you're the kind of person which likes the install files on physical media, a packaged DVD upgrade to Windows 8 (Pro) will cost you $69.99 during the same period of time.

If you go the upgrade route, the kinds of files and settings you can migrate depend on which version of Windows you are upgrading from. Users running any flavor of Windows 7 can upgrade to Windows 8 pro and migrate everything along which includes your Windows settings, personal files, and apps. Users running Windows Vista can only migrate your Windows settings and personal files. Users running Windows XP will only be able to migrate your personal files. In many instances, a backup of any important files on the computer and a clean install (meaning that you start fresh) will be the best option to choose.

If you really want to jump on the touch features found in Windows 8 and currently don't have a tablet pc or slate pc, you might want to just wait until the OEMs come out with some offerings with touch/stylus and go with that. Even if touch is not a big factor for you, the performance fixes/new features should entice you to upgrade. With Windows 8, you get the new Metro UI, which is the new user interface standard with Windows, as well as Xbox Live, Zune (excuse me, I mean "Xbox Music"), and the Windows Marketplace.

With the upgrade, you can now download it and use a big enough usb drive or a dvd as install media. Judging from my experiences with the Windows 8 Consumer Preview/Release Preview, you will need a usb drive which is 8gb or bigger if you choose to use a usb drive as install media. Now granted, you could also do this with Windows 7 as well, but this time, the download and create your own install media thing is much more mainstream.

If you wait to buy until after the promotional period or wait for a boxed retail version of Windows 8 to come out, there is no word yet on how much you will have to pay for it. I guess then, we will just have to wait and see what happens. If just can't wait until October, the release preview of Windows 8 is still available for you to download and install. Remember: no matter what you do, ALWAYS BACKUP IMPORTANT FILES FIRST before doing any major operations on your hard drive such as (re)installing Windows

My prediction is that it will be the consumers (and a little more than just the early adopters this time with the cheap upgrade price) which will be the first to jump on Windows 8. Businesses and organizations will wait until at least the first Windows 8 service pack comes out before any upgrades happen.

If you have any thoughts or comments on anything related to Windows 8, feel free to share them via the comment box below.You can also find me on twitter (twitter username is @rctechgeek). Feel free to subscribe to my rss feed too. I am now on Tumblr now as well (link to Tumblr is http://www.tumblr.com/blog/catholictechgeek), so please follow me on Tumblr too.

If you're at work now and can't seem to stay awake or if your're driving to work and you need that coffee to get you going in the morning, drink some tasty Mystic Monk Coffee (use this link or click on the picture below to access the store and purchase). Trust me, it's good coffee (in most instances, much better than Starbucks coffee) and you won't regret buying some (just keep it away from your computer keyboard or laptop/tablet). For the summer, they are also offering Iced Coffee as well. If you like tea more than coffee, they also offer tea. Using the link (or picture below) to buy the coffee (or tea) helps the monks out and helps me with college expenses as well.

Feel free to try out my apps for Windows Phone: Mobile Media Manager, a media player app I made which has some features which (I feel) are missing from the system Zune player, and BSA Eagle Tracker, an app that boy scouts can use to track their progress to Eagle Scout (when the scout handbook isn't always handy). New versions of the media player with new features/bug fixes is coming within a week (most likely sooner than this, but definitely within 2 weeks) of passing Microsoft Apphub certification. BSA Eagle Tracker is also getting a bug fix for an obscure bug I noticed recently.

BSA Eagle Tracker download: http://bit.ly/Mm1Upo
Mobile Media Manager (paid version) download: http://bit.ly/y3rf6V
Mobile Media Manager (free version) download: http://bit.ly/xGCsWE

The Implications of the Windows 8 Cloud in the Enterprise

If you haven't seen or tried Windows 8 yet, there is a big change in procedures as far as logging in goes. The big thing with Windows 8 is using the power of "The Cloud" to synchronize your settings across all computers you own. In order to utilize this sync feature, you must have a windows live id. In fact, this is the new norm in logging in to Windows. To log in, you input your windows live id username as the login username and your windows live id password as your login password. For a consumer, this is a welcome feature. Many families own more than one computer and can now have the same settings such as desktop wallpaper or Internet Explorer favorites across all of their computers. What's more is that you can customize which settings get synchronized, so you can pick and choose what gets synced and what doesn't. In the enterprise, this doesn't work so well.

In a business, computer security is much more uptight. Like consumers, you still have to worry about stuff like viruses and malware. However, businesses also have to worry about integration with existing systems. Access to company resources is still controlled by active directory and all given permissions on existing domains is still active. Since Windows 8 has built-in integration with Skydrive, the potential of (unauthorized) transfer of company files from company property increases. With existing systems, you still have this problem, but it is much easier to catch since you don't have to worry about numerous windows live ids being used constantly. With the Windows Live Id, you also open up to the intrusion of the personal life with company life. For example, with the synchronized settings, you may have an employee which had an offensive wallpaper on his home computer, and then it got transferred over to the work computer by default. There is also consumer programs on there like Xbox Live as well, which would almost certainly be disabled in an enterprise setting. You furthermore have the issue of being able to install unauthorized programs from the marketplace, but I believe installing from the marketplace is (still) controlled by access levels (in other words, only admin users can still install programs from the marketplace).

For the benefit of enterprise users, there is an option in which you can set up "local" users that only reside on the computer (very similar to what you already have now). The thing with local users is that settings are not synchronized between computers. I am sure that most companies that move to Windows 8 will be happy with the local user option. To solve file and settings synchronization issues, one solution is to have a "company" windows live id. This would something which would be set up and managed by the company, being able to control which windows live services a user has access to.

A plus side about the windows live id is that it works with the synchronization features already mentioned. Being able to work from any company computer anywhere seems like a great thing. However, let's not forget that when a new user logs in with the windows live id, the new user is automatically added to the list of users for that computer, and files created by that new user reside on the computer even after you log off unless you delete them first. Depending upon the situation, this can be a security risk.

From what I can see, Windows 8 is a great consumer operating system designed for consumers and students alike. However, these (and more) are some issues which enterprise users will have to iron out if they will, indeed, make the jump from Windows 7 to Windows 8. I will admit that I haven't really gotten a chance to test out Windows 8 in a domain setting. Word has it that the professional version of Windows 8 will have support for stuff that enterprise users need, like the ability to join a domain. In the next version of Windows Server, there are no guarantees, but Microsoft might consider some of these issues when updating tools to control group policy settings.

If any enterprise users or I.T. department people have already done some testing with Windows 8, I would love to hear about how testing went and what the results are. You can share this via the comment box below.You can also find me on twitter (twitter username is @rctechgeek). Feel free to subscribe to my rss feed too. I am now on Tumblr now as well (link to Tumblr is http://www.tumblr.com/blog/catholictechgeek), so please follow me on Tumblr too.

If you're at work now and can't seem to stay awake or if your're driving to work and you need that coffee to get you going in the morning, drink some tasty Mystic Monk Coffee (use this link or click on the picture below to access the store and purchase). Trust me, it's good coffee (in most instances, much better than Starbucks coffee) and you won't regret buying some (just keep it away from your computer keyboard or laptop/tablet). For the summer, they are also offering Iced Coffee as well. If you like tea more than coffee, they also offer tea. Using the link (or picture below) to buy the coffee (or tea) helps the monks out and helps me with college expenses as well.

Feel free to try out my apps for Windows Phone: Mobile Media Manager, a media player app I made which has some features which (I feel) are missing from the system Zune player, and BSA Eagle Tracker, an app that boy scouts can use to track their progress to Eagle Scout (when the scout handbook isn't always handy). New versions of the media player with new features/bug fixes is coming within a week (most likely sooner than this, but definitely within 2 weeks) of passing Microsoft Apphub certification. BSA Eagle Tracker is also getting a bug fix for an obscure bug I noticed recently.

BSA Eagle Tracker download: http://bit.ly/Mm1Upo
Mobile Media Manager (paid version) download: http://bit.ly/y3rf6V
Mobile Media Manager (free version) download: http://bit.ly/xGCsWE
CodeProject

Early Adoption or Waiting for Service Packs: Where the Consumer Stands on Microsoft Windows Adoption

When it comes to adoption of Windows, people and organizations/businesses have different times frames when it come to getting that next version of Microsoft Windows that comes out. Obviously, the early adopters get the next version of Windows as soon as they can, pending any needed hardware upgrades to support their experience on the next version of Windows. Businesses and organizations tend to value stability. Because of this, businesses and organizations often stay with their current infrastructure and wait until Microsoft comes out with the first Windows service pack before considering adoption of that next version of Windows in their organization or business. Consumers are a special bunch because they are the ones who really drive adoption (of that new version).

Consumers are made up of people from the business/organization crowd, the early adopter crowd, and everything in between. Most of the time, consumers don't build their own computers and are dependent on what the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) they buy their computer from offers. For example, if the OEM moves from installing Windows XP on computers they build to installing Windows Vista on computers they build, consumers mostly put up with the upgrade, but they do expect their existing hardware peripherals (like printers and mice) to work with the new operating system. Unless there is some groundbreaking change to Windows (like adding the Metro UI to Windows 8), people generally learn to live with the new operating system and all that it offers, regardless of stability, as long as everything "works".

Usually, when a new version of Windows is released, people have had to upgrade their computer hardware in order to run the new version of Windows. For most, this comes in the form of a new computer. However, Windows 8 is different. Unlike past versions of Windows, you won't have to upgrade your hardware just to run the new version of Windows and you can use your existing hardware. This presents a dilemma to consumers: should I wait and just get a new computer with Windows 8 already installed or do I want to forget about the cost of buying new hardware and just buy the upgrade to upgrade my existing installation of Windows?

For this dilemma, I offer some advice. First, what are your needs now? If what you have currently works for you, why change it? Second, what are you future computing needs going to look like? I will say that Windows 8 is more touch-friendly than previous version of Windows. The current trend in the computer world is that tablet computers (with or without stylus) are replacing laptops and desktops as primary computing devices. For some people like artists, this is a welcome change because you could use a tablet pc for your drawings instead of drawing on paper and then scanning it. For other people, like gamers or video editors, a tablet doesn't have the computing power (or good enough cooling) you need for the designated purpose. Third, how much money are you willing to invest in new hardware or software? Only buy what you need when you need it. Last, how much do you value stability? When a new version of Windows comes out, Microsoft tries to make sure it has taken care of most (if not all) of the bugs which plagued the new version during testing. For most consumers, the RTM build of Windows (in other words, the build version of Windows that is released to OEMs and retail stores) is stable enough to do your daily work. If your are uber conscious of stability, you can do the same as businesses and organizations do and wait for that first Windows service pack to be released.

Since consumers are (mostly) the ones with the money that pays for new technology, consumers drive the sales of new versions of Windows. If the consumers like something and are buying it, the company is more willing to invest more money to improve its products.

I will close by saying that if you do move to the new version of Windows, before you do ANYTHING to install it, BACKUP ANY EXISTING DATA THAT IS IMPORTANT in some way, shape, or form (!). It is a terrible scenario for someone to not backup data that a person considered important, install the new version of Windows, and then realize that important data was somehow lost when that person installed the new version of Windows. Also, no matter what, please do your homework first before buying something. If you need to, consult with a more knowledgeable person first.

If you don't want to wait and want to try out Windows 8 now (for Free), the latest preview version out, the Release Preview, is the last version before the gold release (in other words, the next build of Windows 8 will be the official released version). If you have a spare partition on your hard drive, go ahead and try it out. A reminder to always backup anything important on your hard drive before doing something major like this. Also, if you are a developer, try out the new version of Visual Studio, now with Javascript debugging capabilities as well. For those of you looking at Windows Azure development, please see https://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/pricing/member-offers/msdn-benefits/.

Do you agree or disagree with my position? Either way, please comment on this via the comment box below, or e-mail me at catholictechgeek@gmail.com. You can also comment on twitter (twitter username is @rctechgeek). Feel free to subscribe to my rss feed as well. If you like this post, please share it with your family and friends.

While you're thinking about Windows 8 or the next version of Windows that happens to come along, try some Mystic Monk Coffee (use this link or click on the picture below to access the store and purchase). Trust me, it's good coffee (in most instances, better than Starbucks coffee) and you won't regret buying some (just keep it away from your computer keyboard or laptop/tablet). For the summer, they are also offering Iced Coffee as well. If you like tea more than coffee, they also offer tea. Using the link (or picture below) to buy the coffee (or tea) helps the monks out and helps me with college expenses as well.

Feel free to try out my apps for Windows Phone: Mobile Media Manager, a media player app I made which has some features which (I feel) are missing from the system Zune player, and BSA Eagle Tracker, an app that boy scouts can use to track their progress to Eagle Scout (when the scout handbook isn't always handy). New versions of the media player with new features/bug fixes is coming within a week (most likely sooner than this, but definitely within 2 weeks) of passing Microsoft Apphub certification. The free, ad-supported version of Mobile Media Manager is now in Apphub certification, with the paid version to to be in Apphub certification by the end of this week. BSA Eagle Tracker is also getting a bug fix for an obscure bug I noticed recently.

BSA Eagle Tracker download: http://bit.ly/Mm1Upo
Mobile Media Manager (paid, ad-free version) download: http://bit.ly/y3rf6V
Mobile Media Manager (free, ad-supported version) download: http://bit.ly/xGCsWE

Signup for 30 Days to Launch Contest: Only 4 Days Left

Update (6/4/2012): Entry for the contest is now closed.

Update (6/1/2012: Only 2 days left now)

If you haven't noticed it at all either because you were busy with something else, working on final exams, or living under a rock, Microsoft is offering the 30 Days to Launch Contest for any developer out there.

The goal of the 30 Days to Launch Contest is to learn how to develop a Windows Phone app (or if you already have some knowledge of Windows Phone, a chance to increase that knowledge) and produce one in 30 days. After that 30 days for submitting your apps are up, you have an additional 15 days to make publication decisions for each of them. Each person gets 1 entry into the contest, so if you submit more than 1 program to the marketplace within that time frame, choose your contest entry wisely. At the end, all entries will be judged by popular vote from now until August 13.

If you need the Windows Phone SDK, you can just click on the picture below to download it.

The prizes are:
   Four (4) Grand Prizes. Each winner will receive a Prize Package consisting of a La-Z-Boy© recliner and a Lenovo IdeaPad 300 Ultrabook™. Approximate Retail Value (ARV) $ 3,000 per prize package.

Please note that you must have an apphub account to participate in this contest. If you don't have one, students can get an account free through Dreamspark. If you aren't a student, you can still get an apphub account by following these steps:

• First, sign up for www.30tolaunch.com using a Windows Live ID
• Second, spread the word via Social Media in one of the following ways:
  • Like the Microsoft User Community Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/Aho2an
  • OR Tweet about 30 to Launch by telling us about your participation. For your tweet to qualify, you must reference the tag #30tolaunch AND include the following in the body of your tweet: I am participating in 30 to Launch to build a Windows Phone app! Rules: http://aka.ms/f1i1lr. We reserve the right to remove any inappropriate tweets.
• Third, provide a short description of the app you plan to create and submit through the online form by clicking on the I’m Done button for Week 2 for your 30 to Launch Windows Phone app on the My 30 to Launch Idea page.

Only entries for new apps (not updates to existing apps) are accepted for entries. You must also be 18 years of age or older to enter.

WHAT CONSTITUTES AN ELIGIBLE ENTRY?

To be eligible for judging an entry must meet the following content / technical requirements:

• Your application must be coded and submitted as a Windows Phone Application within 30 days of your sign-up date and must be published to the Windows Phone Marketplace no earlier than 7 days and within 45 days of your sign-up date. Tools for Windows Phone development which can be downloaded here include:
  • Visual Studio 2010 Express for Windows Phone
  • Windows Phone Development Tools
  • Express Blend for Windows Phone
  • Windows Phone Emulator
• You must complete the Voting requirement between July 30, 2012 August 13, 2012 to vote for ONE 30 to Launch app published during the campaign. You cannot vote for your own app.

In addition:

• your entry must be your own original work; and
• your entry should be published to the marketplace on or after 7 days following your sign up date. Your app should not be something previously submitted to the Windows Phone Marketplace prior to this contest; and
• you must have obtained any and all consents, approvals or licenses required for you to submit your entry; and
• your entry may not include any third party trademarks (logos, names) or copyrighted materials (music, images, video, recognizable people) unless you have obtained permission to use the materials. You may include Microsoft trademarks, logos, and designs, for which Microsoft grants you a limited license to use for the sole purposes of submitting an entry into this Contest.

Entries may NOT contain, as determined by us, in our sole and absolute discretion, any content that:

• is sexually explicit, unnecessarily violent or derogatory of any ethnic, racial, gender, religious, professional or age group; profane or pornographic;
• promotes alcohol, illegal drugs, tobacco, firearms/weapons (or the use of any of the foregoing) or a particular political agenda;
• is obscene or offensive;
• defames, misrepresents or contains disparaging remarks about other people or companies;
• communicates messages or images inconsistent with the positive images and/or good will to which we wish to associate; and/or violates any law;

We reserve the right to reject any entry, in our sole and absolute discretion, that we determine does not meet the above criteria.

Apps will be judged on the following basis:

• 25.00% - Does the app utilize the live tile or secondary tile feature? (does not apply to game applications)
• 25.00% - Does the app have market potential given current mobile application trends?
• 25.00% - Is the app innovative and original?
• 25.00%- Does the app use additional Windows Phone 7.5 capabilities such as cloud-enablement through Windows Azure*, Background Agents, Background Audio, Pictures Hub integration, Music & Video Hub integration etc.
  • *Cloud-enabling the application using Microsoft Windows Azure includes scenarios such as:
    • Use “push notifications” to send updates
    • Manage gamer identity using their Facebook, Google, LiveID, etc.
    • Push video or images using Windows Azure CDN
    • Add leader boards, social interaction, shared landscapes, player location and movement
    • Send Line-of-business data using OData standards

The last day to sign up is June 3, 2012.

For more information, please see the contest rules at http://www.30tolaunch.com/WindowsPhone/Contest/OfficialRules. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comment box below or e-mail me at catholictechgeek@gmail.com. You can also ask me on twitter (twitter username is @rctechgeek). Feel free to subscribe to my rss feed as well.

If you need some coffee to help get you going in the morning to give you the inspiration to accomplish your app or to help you stay awake while working on your app, try some Mystic Monk Coffee (use this link to access the store and purchase). Trust me, it's good coffee (in many instances, better than Starbucks coffee) and you won't regret buying some. For the summer they are also offering Iced Coffee as well. If you like tea with your coding more than coffee, they also offer tea (use the same link above).

Feel free to try out my apps for Windows Phone: Mobile Media Manager, a media player app I made which has some features which (I feel) are missing from the system zune player, and BSA Eagle Tracker, an app that boy scouts can use to track their progress to Eagle Scout (when the scout handbook isn't always handy). A new version of BSA Eagle Tracker will be out in the marketplace in a few days once it passes certification.

BSA Eagle Tracker download: http://bit.ly/Mm1Upo
Mobile Media Manager (paid version) download: http://bit.ly/y3rf6V
Mobile Media Manager (free version) download: http://bit.ly/xGCsWE

Frustrations of an Uninformed Developer

When a developer develops an app, he tries to design the app with what the target audience, not just himself, will want in that app in mind. When a developer puts a program out on an app marketplace, he (or she) hopes that the app will do well. However, when a developer tries to improve the app, there is only so much that he will recognize that needs to be improved. To help close this gap, this is where the end-user comes into play.

We all know that the developer is human and every person is different. When the end-user uses the app, the person might see something that needs to be changed or improved in the app that the developer didn't catch. It is VERY IMPORTANT that users notify the developer about changes or possible improvements to the app. If not, improvements to the program can't happen. It is very frustrating when a developer finds that he is getting a decent number of downloads of his app, but there is little to no feedback (whether it be positive or negative feedback) from users of the app.

I will mention that when users are giving feedback on changes and improvements of an app, users need to be as clear as humanly possible as to what they want changed or improved. Stuff like "this app crashes" is not very helpful. Restating that as "this app crashes when ... happens" or "this app crashes when I do..." is much more helpful to the developer. Ratings are also important as well. Ratings can give a developer a gauge of how well his app is doing.

Developers, you need to be accessible as to how your app's users can issue support requests to you. It is also important to reply as quickly as humanly possible to those support requests. Honesty is another big thing. If there is something that users are wanting that just isn't possible with the current environment, just be honest with the users about it. People always appreciate honesty.

Now you may be wondering what this has to do with me. On the windows phone marketplace, I have an app called Mobile Media Manager, which is a media player. I have been getting a good number of downloads but I have been getting Very Little feedback on the app. With little feedback, I don't have a strong idea of whether people enjoy my app or not. I can only assume that with a good number of downloads of that app, people enjoy using my app. If  you have downloaded either the paid version or the free version, please rate and review the version you tried. If you have a support issue, please see http://catholictechgeek.blogspot.com/p/mobile-media-manager.html.

To find my Apps on the windows phone marketplace, just search for "Nowaksoft". You can also use the following links to get to it:
paid version: http://bit.ly/y3rf6V
free version: http://bit.ly/xGCsWE

I should have an update for both the free version and paid version of Mobile Media Manager out soon, depending on how fast the update passes certification. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me via the comment box below or via e-mail at catholictechgeek@gmail.com. You can subscribe to my rss feed or follow me on Twitter (username is @rctechgeek).

Mobile Media Manager and a Progress Update for it

If you have been wondering where I've been this February since I haven't done much posting, I've been working on development of my media player app for Windows Phone, Mobile Media Manager. The goal of Mobile Media Manager is to make a media player that is better than the Zune player that comes with Windows Phone and fulfills as many needs/wants as (humanly) possible. To do this, I looked at the competition and did some observations based on user reviews and what I thought could be improved.

Here is a screenshot of the player screen:

This is the basic state of the player, simple, yet still usable. A big part of the interface is big playback buttons. There are a number of reasons why they are big. One reason is if you're in the car, driving, you don't really have (enough) time to look over at your phone to see the screen and change the song. Another reason is for men with big hands who might have a hard time with the small button size in the zune player (although, I will admit that the playback button size in mango is a big improvement over playback button size in nodo). Repeat and shuffle have been moved to the bottom as buttons in the application bar. To see the state of each, just open up the menu to see the descriptions of the application bar buttons. Where you see the message "No Album Art Found" is where album art would be displayed, or you will see the message if there is none to be displayed. In a future version, I will add the capability to fetch album art from the internet if it's not there, but I am not sure when that will actually be.

If you're curious, I have also built in gesture support (just swipe your finger) for moving forward or backward through the Now Playing list (but not for play/pause).

In progress updates, I have revamped the Now Playing screen and Playlist Editor screen. I am also working on implementing choosing a photo in your photo library as the background and being able to add songs from a url for streaming. As things are very busy for me at school right now, I am trying to do my best to find time to work on the program, but things can get rough at times.


It helps tremendously if I can get reviews in the marketplace. From there, I can get a feel for how my app is doing and also get suggestions to improve the app. I can't do much if I don't get input from the users in the marketplace. So if you have tried either the free version or bought the paid version, please write a review. So far, I have only received 1 review for the paid version (thank you if you are the one who gave me the 3 star review and some helpful tips to improve) and 2 for the free version, of which 1 just says "this app crashes". Something like that is not going to help me much, so if you are going to give suggestions in addition to a rating, please be more descriptive.


Download (for paid version): http://bit.ly/y3rf6V

Download (for free, ad-supported version): http://bit.ly/xGCsWE


If you like I can continue to explain the other screens of my program during my next post. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me via the comment box below or via e-mail at catholictechgeek@gmail.com. You can subscribe to my rss feed or follow me on Twitter (username is @rctechgeek).

Even More Windows Phone Contests

Well, I am finally back from Christmas break, so I have some more new contests to announce.

While we are waiting for the results of the Microsoft Apportunity contest, there is still the You've Got Game sweepstakes from Microsoft. In this contest you can win 1 of 3 Dell Alienware M18x Laptops. Also, each week on Tuesday around 4pm PT, twenty-five (25) people will be selected to receive one (1) Xbox Live Gold Card from among all eligible entries received during the previous week. You could also win 1 of 3 4 GB Xbox 360s with Kinect. The contest end at 4:00 PM PT February 29, 2012, so any game published between now and then works as an entry. Just like the Apportunity contest, if you use Azure in your app, you get an additional bonus entry.

You can enter on Facebook by visiting the website for the Sweepstakes at www.facebook.com/MicrosoftUserCommunity?sk=app_234264339961262 or www.facebook.com/MicrosoftTechStudent?sk=app_234264339961262 and completing all of the registration requirements, including completion of an online entry form. Once you get a confirmation screen, you will get an App URL. Once you have your unique URL, you will be prompted to share the promotion via your Facebook profile. If you choose to share this sweepstakes with your social network, you will receive an one (1) entry into the sharing sweepstakes for each person who clicks on the unique link that you sent and visits the Facebook Game Changer page.

Also, Microsoft has just announced that it is offering the first 500 AppHub developers to publish a Windows Phone app to the Marketplace a free Nokia Lumia 800 handset, to really set the ball rolling for 2012. However, you must meet the following requirements:

• Target Windows Phone 7.5
• Work as described
• Include Fast App Switching
• Conform to Metro guidelines

The app must be released anytime from January 1, 2012 to February 10, 2012 (by 11:59 PM PST). Once the app has been submitted, developers can then send the following form in an email to WPNewYear@microsoft.com:

• Name (matches App Hub account):
• Mailing Address (where device will be shipped-not used by Microsoft for any other purpose):
• App Hub Publisher/ISV ID #:
• Application ID:
• Marketplace deep link:
• Application publication date:
• Uses Fast app switching (yes or no):
• Conforms to Metro guidelines (yes or no):

However, you must act fast because only the first 500 people who enter will get the device.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask me via the comment box below or via e-mail at catholictechgeek@gmail.com. You can subscribe to my rss feed or follow me on Twitter (username is @rctechgeek).

A Reminder about the Microsoft Apportunity Contest

I would just like to remind everyone that the deadline for the Microsoft Apportunity contest is steadily approaching, so get your entries into the contest in as soon as possible. Any app published between October 15 and December 31 will get you an entry (for each app you publish).

You have about 1 week left to submit all entries. Again, I would like to make it clear that this contest is open to anyone (age 18 or older), not just students.


To submit your program to the Windows Phone Marketplace, either click the picture above or go to :

       http://bit.ly/MangoOffer

and enter the code:

        E8YRA


I wish everyone well in this contest. If you don't have the SDK already, it's a little late (but not impossible), but you can download it at: http://bit.ly/GoMango. Students can get Visual Studio, needed for development, through Dreamspark.

On a side note, I hope everyone is doing well as we draw ever closer to Christmas.

To help you stay tuned for further announcements, you can subscribe to my rss feed or follow me on twitter (username is @rctechgeek).

Even More Contest Fun from Microsoft

Introducing, the Microsoft Big App on Campus Student Competition. If the Microsoft Apportunity contest wasn't enough incentive to develop apps for Windows Phone, Microsoft is partnering with the band The Gracious Few to create an amazing experience for ten (10) students in Austin, TX at SXSW:  a private concert, backstage passes, a private dinner with the band, and being interviewed on national radio about their apps.

Now, I personally don't know much about this band, but I am sure there are those of you out there that do. Also, the fact that Microsoft secured an opportunity for you to be interviewed on national radio about your app is a pretty big feat, allowing for more people to know about your app and (hopefully) buy it or use it a lot (if it's free).


If you aren't too keen on the band part, I might mention that there are also $15,000 cash prizes (one for the top free app and another for the top paid app) for the two apps which will be named “Big App on Campus.” That's a lot of money and can enable you to pay off those pesky student loans you have faster.

BAOC is open to any US college and university student who builds apps for Windows Phone.  Each application created from August 1^st, 2011 until February 14^th, 2012 can be entered and students can submit multiple entries.

I would imagine it is also possible for a "double entry", that is, (if inside the same timeframe as the Apportunity contest) you can enter the same app in both the Apportunity contest and this contest as well.

Anyway, all entries have to be in by February 14, 2012. On February 15, 20 semi-finalists will be chosen from those entries. On February 23, there will be public voting to select 10 finalists from those 20. On March 1, 2012, there will be public voting to select the Big App on Campus.

For those who are wondering what Microsoft is looking for, here's the judging criteria :

• Innovation (40%):  How innovative is the idea?  Does it do something new or does it accomplish something in a new way?
• Experience (40%):  Does it feel seamless and like a native experience on Windows Phone?  Does the app have a polished feel?
• Potential (20%):  Does the app have potential in the market (lots of users, making money, both) or not?

Public voting will be done via a combination of downloads of the apps + “Likes” on Facebook.


 To enter, you must first be entered into Dreamspark and from there, get an App Hub membership (both are free of charge for students) at https://users.create.msdn.com/Register/. Create a program for Windows Phone. Programs may either be free or paid (your choice). After that, Visit http://bitly.com/wpUndrgrnd and complete an Official entry form, including submission of your name, email address, App Hub ISV ID, approved APP ID, contest category (free or paid), and App name.


I hope everyone has a good time with this contest. You can subscribe to my rss feed or follow me on twitter (username is @rctechgeek).

Windows Phone camp in Pittsburgh: Part 1

So far, I am having fun at a Windows Phone camp in Pittsburgh, PA.  After the introductions, everyone started out with a talk on monetizing your app. From this, I learned that sometimes, making your app free, but with ads in the app, might be a better option  for more revenue intake for any apps that I publish than perhaps making my app paid.

After that, we started the programming with a look at Silverlight (for beginners). As a programmer for Windows Phone, I am already pretty familiar with most of the Silverlight basics (I only say most because I haven't had to use some of the more advanced silverlight concepts in my programs yet). We talked about the various controls and view models available in Windows Phone. However, we didn't learn how to create a custom control (but I already know how to do that).

After the silverlight part, we moved on to XNA. Here, those multi-variable calculus concepts which I (sort-of) despise came back to haunt me. As a programmer, I really haven't tried my hand at making games much (with any language or framework), so this part looked a little scary at first. We used a "Cheese Roller Game" as the XNA tutorial material. I think I came out of the XNA part unscathed.  However, I think I really need some more practice with these concepts before I try my hand at making a game to sell in the marketplace.

Now, we are going to break for lunch, so I will be getting part 2 to you later on today. After lunch, we will have some time to play around with what we have learned, and later, we will have a contest to see who can make the best app. Stay tuned for more. I will have some photos available for your viewing pleasure later as well.

Update on Microsoft APPortunity Contest

Well, for everyone who has entered the Microsoft Apportunity contest, the folks at Microsoft have smiled upon you. I have a couple of contest updates that you will like. If you haven't read about the contest before, you can read up here.

The first update concerns those of you who use Azure in your programs. If you use Azure in the program that you publish in the Windows Phone marketplace, not only do you do you get your normal 1 entry, but you also get 1 EXTRA entry into the contest as well just for using Azure in your Windows Phone app.

The second update concerns students and Computer Science professors. If a student publishes 3 programs to the Windows Phone marketplace, he or she gets a FREE phone. If you are a student and you don't have a device yet, this is your chance to get a device for free. If you are a student and you already have a device, this gives you an extra device that you can use for testing your programs out.

Students: this is your chance to shine and make an impact on the mobile world. If you have a great idea, now is the time to really develop it and let the world know about it.

Computer Science Professors: this is a great way for your students to develop that great program idea they have and get some real world experience from it. You could even integrate this contest into your classes by making it a class assignment or for extra credit.

I would like to make it clear that this contest is open to anyone (age 18 or older), not just students.


An important reminder that this contest runs from now until the end of the year, December 31, 2011.

Again, to submit your program to the Windows Phone Marketplace, either click the picture above or go to :

       http://bit.ly/MangoOffer

and enter the code:

        E8YRA


I wish everyone well in this contest. If you don't have the SDK already, you can download it at: http://bit.ly/GoMango. Students can get Visual Studio, needed for development, through Dreamspark.

If you are participating in the contest and/or you would like to hang a contest poster at your work or school to promote the contest, you may download it below (clicking on the image opens the poster pdf in a new window):



To help you stay tuned for further announcements, you can subscribe to my rss feed or follow me on twitter (username is @rctechgeek).

Wanted: New Developers for Windows Phone Mango

If you haven't noticed yet, Windows Phone 7.5, codenamed "Mango", has been out for a while. However, you might have noticed that compared to Android or iOS, Windows Phone hasn't been given much love when it comes to development for it. It's sad because Windows Phone is a platform that delivers. However, you can change that.

Windows Phone needs new developers and new programs to help it to grow and mature. If you have been thinking about developing for Windows Phone, but haven't done it yet, now is the time. If you are new programmer, this is a good time for you to get your program ideas out there and established in the world of technology. Windows Phone mainly uses Silverlight for graphical user interfaces. Silverlight is similar to html, so if you've done any html coding, you should have some idea of how some things works since the structure of XAML, which is the markup language that Silverlight uses, is similar to html. For the internal guts of the program, you use either C# or Visual Basic. If you've programmed in Java before, the concepts are mostly the same, with a few minor differences between java and C#. It is possible to use C# (or Visual Basic) for modifying the graphical user interface of your program in addition to Silverlight. This is useful for situations such as adding components to the user interface on the fly.

To give you an incentive to develop for Windows Phone, Microsoft has launched the APPortunity Contest. You could win one of five Samsung tablets. Each time you publish a program to the Windows Phone Marketplace (for Mango), you get an entry into the contest. If you publish 5 programs to the marketplace during the contest, you get FREE ADVERTISING for ANY program of YOUR CHOICE. The free advertising will run on the Windows Phone Application Network for around 60 days and includes 25,000 impressions.

This contest runs from Now to December 31, 2011.

Important:  To submit your program to the Windows Phone Marketplace,either click on the picture above or go to :


       http://bit.ly/MangoOffer

and enter the code:

        E8YRA


I wish everyone well in this contest. If you don't have the SDK already, you can download it at: http://bit.ly/GoMango

There are more details in this contest to come. To help you stay tuned for further announcements, you can subscribe to my rss feed or follow me on twitter (username is @rctechgeek).


Update (1-14-2011): I have some important updates to the contest that you will like, especially with students. The link that was here is currently down, but I will have it up in an hour or so.

Update (1-21-2011): I have finally fixed the page with some contest updates that was messed up. You can see the update here.

Windows 8 at BUILD: Part 1

If you didn't know, Microsoft's BUILD conference is going on this week in Anaheim, CA. This conference, geared towards (desktop) Windows development, has much news in regards to Microsoft's next version of Windows, Windows 8.

I have reported about this on my blog before, but Windows 8 is getting a big change to the graphical shell interface. This change brings in elements found in the Metro UI of Windows Phone, and integrates them to create a user interface which looks similar to the Metro UI found in Windows Phone. The good news is that if you like the old Windows interface that you are used to in Windows 7 more than the new one, you are in luck because you can choose which interface you like best.

Along with this, we have word that with Windows 8, Microsoft has announced it will have an app store for Windows 8, which will sell programs with the older interface and programs with the newer Metro interface. If you have a Windows Phone device, chances are that this Windows 8 app store will be similar to the Windows Phone app store.

Next, we have news that the old stigma associated with upgrading to the latest version of Windows has been eliminated. With Windows 8,  you won't have to upgrade your hardware (just) to get great performance. Evidence of this has been show, with Windows 8 having been shown running on a Lenovo IdeaPad S10, which has an early-generation Atom cpu. Microsoft says that you will only need about 1gHz processor and 1 gigabyte of ram to run Windows 8. I'm not sure if this is with the older interface or the newer interface, but either way, the low amount of system resources needed to run Windows 8 is good and reassuring. If I can get a hand on a developer preview of Windows 8, I will run it on my eeepc 4g (one of the first eeepc models that Asus made) and see how it handles itself.

I mentioned being able to download a developer preview. The good news is that if you're curious about Windows 8 and you have a spare machine + space to install windows 8, Microsoft has said that you are able to download a developer's preview some time next week. If you are able to be at Microsoft's BUILD conference however, you can get access today, and actually, everyone who went to the BUILD conference got a free computer running Windows 8.

As today is only Tuesday, the conference and there is still more news to go around concerning Windows 8, so stay tuned for more. If you have any thoughts on Windows 8, let's hear them via the comment box below or you can e-mail them to me at catholictechgeek@gmail.com, and I will answer them at the end of my next article. You can also follow me on Twitter (username is @rctechgeek).

Some Games I would like to see be ported to Windows Phone

If you didn't know already, a Sonic the Hedgehog game was recently released for Windows Phone and is on the marketplace for your gaming pleasure. The much-anticipated Mango update Windows Phone is coming soon in the Fall, and is slated to be the best update yet to the Windows Phone operating system. Wouldn't it be great if some other games we know and love got ported to Windows Phone? With this, there are many games for other platforms that I would like to see a Windows Phone version of. Here are some of them, in no particular order of importance:

• Halo
     I'm sure many fans of the Halo series have wanted a mobile version of Halo for quite some time. With Halo being part of Xbox Live and Xbox Live being part of the Windows Phone operating system, there is a potential for mobile to mobile playing and mobile with Xbox playing as well, with Xbox Live integration not being a problem.
• Final Fantasy
     Who wouldn't want a few of the games in the Final Fantasy series being ported to Windows Phone? Final Fantasy I has already been ported to Windows Mobile, so we know it is possible, and some of the other Final Fantasy games deserve to be ported as well.
• Pokémon
    Little needs to be said for this one. Unfortuately, with the Pokémon games being in the hands of Nintendo, I don't think we have much chance of seeing any native ports. Now if someone would make an emulator that can play them and Microsoft (actually) lets it go on the marketplace, that would work as well.
• Duck Hunt
     This little gem from the Nintendo NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) caused people to spend endless hours playing this game. Now I know that you can't hook up a gun (if you didn't know, to play Duck Hunt on the NES, you used a "gun" controller to shoot the ducks) to your windows phone, but I can see touch input functioning as the "gun".
• Orions: Legends of Wizards
     This game was a Windows Mobile gem, winning many awards for gameplay. It is a mix of a card game and real-time-strategy. I'm sure that those of you that had Windows Mobile devices remember this game. Unfortunately, the Windows Mobile version never got an update so you could play it on HVGA resolution devices (in other words, devices with 800 x 480 resolution). This games deserves an update, a port to Windows Phone, and maybe some more expansion packs.
• Arvale
     This is another game (series) that was big on Windows Mobile. This one is sort of an RPG with dungeon crawler. Anyway, besides breaking the 4th wall much of the time, this game was enjoyable and I spent many hours playing them (the first full version that I actually played was Arvale: Short Tales; I just played trials of the Arvale games before).
• (Super) Mario Bros.
     Again, one of those games that don't need much said about it. However, like the Pokémon games, I doubt we will be seeing a native port of this from Nintendo.
• Angry Birds
     This great game is a hot seller on the iOS and Android operating systems. The only one out of the picture is Windows Phone. Many people have been asking for a port of this to Windows Phone for some time now, with me being one of them, and it is currently unknown (to me, at least) whether we will get a port of Angry Birds to Windows Phone or not.

I'm sure that I left out a couple of other games that deserve a port to Windows Phone. This is just a short list of some of them. I am curious to hear what games you think should get a Windows Phone port and if you agree (or disagree) with any of the items on my list. You can make your thoughts known via the comment box below.

What if Microsoft made a Linux Distribution?

My how much operating systems have progressed. Around the start of June, the first release candidate of version 3.0 of the Linux kernel was released. We all know that Windows has been around since the 80s. With Linux as one of Microsoft's great adversaries, I thought it would be fun to try to visualize what would happen if Microsoft did a complete 180° turn on Linux and made its own distribution of Linux.

For one, Microsoft would probably have the whole explorer shell as its desktop environment. Since it is Linux, the customization options here would be a little looser, but Microsoft would probably make it difficult for users to install another desktop environment or window manager, although the use of the console would not be limited in this way. Microsoft would probably modify the kernel to include (and also build, as kernel modules) some drivers that would normally not be included in a Linux distribution by default.

For the package manager, Microsoft would have it's own proprietary package manger + package type. This would, no doubt, tied into some online store that you would use to get programs. However, Microsoft would probably have some sort of way of installing packages locally. If you wanted to use packages for existing systems like rpm or deb, you would probably be out of luck because Microsoft would most likely tweak the system so that only packages in its proprietary format can be installed (but someone would eventually make something like the utility called Alien, which lets you convert packages from one format to another, like from deb to rpm).

For programs that would come with it, Microsoft Office would probably either not be bundled by default or have some sort of basic version of Microsoft Office bundled. If you wanted the full version, you would probably buy it through the online store and have to download it. Other programs, like paint or notepad, would probably be included, but would either be made totally by Microsoft or have Microsoft branding on it.

For those of you who like to use WINE to run your Windows programs under Linux, Microsoft would probably come out with something that serves the same purpose that would blow WINE (and also Cedega Crossover Office, the "paid, with support" version of WINE) out of the water.

Since the Zune player and Windows Phone 7 devices are so popular right now, Microsoft would include (or free download from online store) a Zune client that could interface with the Zune player and Windows Phone 7 to modify your mobile media library with few problems. Xbox Live would probably make a debut on the Linux platform as well.

Internet Explorer would get a native port to Linux, with all (or most) of the features that you would find on the Windows version. Windows Live would also get full Linux support as well. Samba support would be native, with Microsoft coming up with it's own version/implementation of SMB/CIFS (and NETBIOS too?).

There's probably a whole lot more that can be said about this. However, this is all that I could come up with for now. If you can think of some more things that weren't mentioned that would happen if Microsoft made it's own distribution, I would love to hear about it. If you have any other comments about this, make your thoughts known via the comment box, or on Twitter (username is @rctechgeek).

Microsoft makes porting programs from Android and iOS to Windows Phone easier

To help get more programs on to the Windows Phone Marketplace, Microsoft has recently been targeting developers of Android and iOS programs. To make things easier for those developers to port their programs to the Windows Phone platform, Microsoft has come out with documentation which maps the APIs found in Android and iOS to the applicable ones in Windows Phone. It even links the applicable Windows Phone API to the documentation page on MSDN. What's more is that if you see something wrong, missing, or you know of something better than what's given, you can tell Microsoft and the documentation will be changed.

This resource also has the reverse effect as well. Mobile developers who are starting out in the mobile world programming for Windows Phone or are students can use this resource to make programs for Android or iOS, assuming you have all the needed hardware and tools to make them. I know that once I finish my BSA Eagle Tracker program, I am going to work on porting it first to Android, and then to iOS. This API mapping guide makes it a lot easier for me to find the applicable API in the new platform and use it.

With Mango coming, I think that Microsoft is trying to make this the best update yet, complete with many feature updates and additions, bug fixes, and many new programs making their way onto the marketplace (in this case, from Android and iOS to Windows Phone).

The link to Android to Windows Phone documentation: http://wp7mapping.interoperabilitybridges.com/Home/Library?source=Android
The link to iOS to Windows Phone documentation: http://wp7mapping.interoperabilitybridges.com/Home/Library?source=iPhone

As an Android or iOS developer, do you think this is useful and will use this to start making programs for Windows Phone? Windows Phone developers, do you plan on using this resource to port your programs to Android and iOS for maximum exposure? Feel free to tell me via the comment box or on Twitter (username is @rctechgeek)

Why I still have Windows Phone 6.5 even in the age of Windows Phone 7

In case you are wondering what Windows Phone 6.5 is, it's just the renamed form of Windows Mobile 6.5. Anyway, with Windows Phone 7 out right now and Mango just around the corner (termed version 7.x), some might wonder why I still keep a device handy that runs the older version. Why is this? Well, there are some aspects of Windows Phone 6.5 that I still use and I can't find in the newer Windows Phone 7 (or even Mango).

The first one is WP6.5 has a file manager and access to the file system. What's more is the fact that a 6.5 device can act as a SD card reader in a desktop or laptop. I'm sure it's not above Microsoft to add this to Windows Phone 7 (I found a post on the internet with an early rendition of Windows Phone 7 with a file manager, so it's possible), but you must admit that sometimes, the isolated storage concept can get in the way. This is true especially when you have e-mail attachments which requires a certain program to open it.

The second one is that with Windows Phone 6.5, I can take my media library on my SD card and transfer it to any other device as long as it has the right size SD card slot. With Windows Phone 7, you have to sync your media library on each device, taking portability right out of the equation. I do realize that some phones, like the Samsung Focus, have an external SD card slot in them, but the majority of phones only use the SD card as a sort of "raid storage" (which is how the os works). The portability also goes with the file manager in that I can store documents on the SD card and (assuming I have the right reader in my desktop or laptop) I can open up that same document on my desktop that I just had open on my mobile device.

The third one is lack of console emulators with Windows Phone 7. I do realize that you can you write an emulator with managed code (such as C#), but all of the good emulators seem to be written in native code (using C++, something that Windows Phone 7 lacks). I can think of a few times where I've been on trips and I wanted to play a console game on my device (such as Pokemon Yellow), but I had to use my 6.5 device to do it. Some of the games written for Windows Mobile were really good (such as Orions: Legends of Wizards), but they can't easily be ported to Windows Phone 7 due to lack of native code support.

The fourth one is the capability to "sideload" programs under Windows Phone 6.5. With Windows Phone 7, you can only install programs using the marketplace (developers know a way around this though). 6.5 allows you to keep the installation file handy on your device (sd card is preferred) and if something happens where you need to reinstall, you have the installation file ready with no waiting for downloads. With Windows Phone 7, you only are allowed to get what is "approved" for the marketplace and you can't install programs (normally) that are useful, but but wouldn't pass marketplace approval for certain reasons. With Windows Phone 6.5, you can install programs from local storage in addition to the marketplace (few to no restrictions as to what you want to install, in other words).

These are just a few of the reasons why even though I have a Windows 7 phone, I still keep my Windows Phone 6.5 device handy. If I think of any more good reasons, I will start a new post with those ideas.

Do you think that Windows Phone 6.5 is outdated or do you think there is still some worth to it even with Windows Phone 7 (and Mango coming)? Feel free to let me know here (in the comment box) or on twitter (url for twitter is http://www.twitter.com/rctechgeek).


Edit:  If you haven't read it yet, part 2 is here

What Windows 8 has taken from Windows Phone

If you didn't get the news recently, Microsoft has started to unveil some of the details of the the next version of Windows, Windows 8. The shell (strangely) looks like the one you find in the Windows Phone operating system. Rather than the traditional desktop with icons and the start menu, the desktop is now comprised of "live tiles". While there is support for the traditional methods of input such as a mouse or hardware keyboard, Windows 8 has a new soft keyboard for tablets and slates, which takes up quite a bit of the screen. If you don't have a touchscreen, there will probably be a way to disable it.

If you're wondering about compatibility with programs written for older versions of Windows, fear not, for Microsoft has built a "compatibility mode" into Windows 8 for those older programs. This compatibility mode looks just like the Windows 7 shell, but it's integrated with the overall look and feel of Windows 8. This, I'm sure, will be a big need of enterprise users if they are ever going to adopt Windows 8.

Unlike Windows Phone, Windows 8 actually has a File Manager (unlike Windows Phone, which does not have a file manager)! However, the file manager has changed a bit to fit the new interface (particularly with music, pictures, and videos). If you don't like it, you can still go back to the traditional look of the file manager. Windows Media Player has taken up the Zune interface that is present in the Zune itself and Windows Phone, with (probably) no option to take the old Windows Media Player interface. There is also no word on whether Windows Media Player will be the only way to play media or if 3rd party media players will be allowed, but I'm guessing that there will be some 3rd party players allowed because of the compatibility with older versions of Windows.

From the look of the new Start screen, we see an icon for a "Windows Marketplace". I assume it will work just like the Windows Phone marketplace. However, I am glad that the marketplace will not be the only method to load programs on to the system (as it is in Windows Phone), and you can install programs the traditional way too.

Multi-tasking looks like it will work just like it will in Mango, the next version of Windows Phone. The window manager allows you to change the screen so that you can have more than 1 program on the screen at a time. This is true even with the programs for older versions of Windows, but the compatibility mode
counts as a "program".

There is a new emphasis on programs written in HTML5 and Javascript, which might allow for some speed increase. There's probably going to be an engine service running in the background that will parse all of the instructions when you run a program written in HTML5 and/or Javascript.

There is no official word yet (that I know of) on support for Windows 8 with ARM processors. If computers with ARM processors CAN run Windows 8, those computers will not be able to run programs designed for older versions of Windows (due to the processor that those older programs were compiled for and you can't change unless you compile those programs for an ARM processor) unless Microsoft builds some kind of emulator into Windows 8. If anyone knows of some official word on this, please enlighten me.

With Windows 8 still in the labs, there isn't a whole lot that I can tell you about it, but I know that it will definitely change the Windows shell forever (just as Windows 95 did). I can say that the system requirements to run Windows 8 will probably break the "new version of windows so you need better hardware to run it" mentality that has been with every new major version of Windows since Microsoft is also trying to target the tablet and slate crowd as well as the desktop and laptop crowd. Stay tuned as I will be coming out with more details in the coming weeks as Microsoft makes things known to us.

Edit: Here's the video so you can see some of the changes for yourself