Great Reference Resource for Windows Phone Development

Recently, while I was searching on the internet, I came across a poster which breaks down the windows phone api into categories so you can easily find the part of the api that you want. I see this as helpful for people who are (relatively) new to Windows Phone programming. For those of you who are already experienced with Windows Phone programming, this is a quick guide to find what you need (and so you can go searching on MSDN for the documentation that you need).

The download is a pdf file. You can download it here at: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=272110

In other news, I have a few updates for you regarding my Windows Phone apps. I finally finished a long awaited update for my media player, Mobile Media Manager. The update is already live for the paid version, but the update for the free version is still in certification.. I expect it to be out in a day or two.

My prayer app, Prayer Aid, is now out. Please check it out and leave me a review + rating in the store so I can improve it. It is meant to help you grow your prayer life with God. It should also give you some new ideas for prayer as well. It also can help you find a church while on vacation. Since God never takes a vacation from you, why should you take a vacation from him?

My eagle scout app is currently being worked on. I hope to have the update for it out soon.

If you want to go ahead and get my existing apps now (while I'm working on the updates), please use the following links:

Mobile Media Manager (paid version) download: http://bit.ly/y3rf6VMobile Media Manager (free version) download: http://bit.ly/xGCsWE
Prayer Aid: http://bit.ly/Mg7Mnk

A Simplified Guide to Understanding Recursion

For many beginning computer science students, the idea of recursion is difficult to grasp. I wager that some more experienced computer science students or even some seasoned developers out of college and already out in the field don't really grasp the idea of recursion. As an f.y.i., I use "function" and "method" interchangeably to mean the same thing (it depends on which language you're most comfy with).

First of all, all recursive functions have what is known as a "base case". A base case is the "state" which you want to get to with the recursive function. If you haven't met the base case yet, you take steps to get to that base case.

As an example to illustrate this concept, let's look at the factorial function. For a technical definition of a factorial, the factorial of a non-negative integer n, denoted by n!, is the product of all positive integers less than or equal to n. In case you forgot about 0! (the ! sign is the formal operator for the factorial), 0! is equal to 1 (so we will just forget about it). Now, let's use 5! as our example. If we were to multiply this out manually, we have

5! = 5 * 4 * 3 * 2 * 1 = 120

Now that we know this, let's build a recursive function to do this. In this demo, I will use C# as the programming language, but it's the same idea in Java and C++.

public int recursiveFactorial(int base, int multiplier) {
     //this is our base case
     if (multiplier == 1) {
         return base;
     }
     else {
         //if we haven't met our base case yet, we take steps to get to that base case
         base = base * multiplier;
         return recursiveFactorial(base, (multiplier - 1));
}

Now let's look at what this function does. It first takes in 2 integers as input, base and multiplier. Base is the number we start out with (in this case, 5), and multiplier is the number we will multiply base by if we haven't met our base case (multiplier starts out as base - 1 to fit the definition of the factorial). The base case here is to get multiplier = 1. So now, let's run our function and see how the recursion works.

First, we will call

recursiveFactorial(5, 4);

Now here, we check: is 4 equal to 1? No, it is not, so the else part of our recursive function activates and we simplify things to get closer to our base case by calling the function again with 20 as our base input variable and (4-1) as our multiplier input variable.

recursiveFactorial(20, 3);

Now we check again: is 3 equal to 1? No, it is not, so the else part of our recursive function activates again (and we multiply base times multiplier) to get closer to our base case.

recursiveFactorial(60, 2);

Are we starting to get the picture yet? Now here, we check: is 2 equal to 1? No, it is not, so the else part of our recursive function activates yet again and things are simplified even more (by multiplying base times multiplier again) to get ever closer to our base case.

recursiveFactorial(120, 1);

We check again: is 1 equal 1? Yes, we have finally met our base case, so we just end things by returning base. From here, the value "bubbles up" to the top "level" (where we first called the recursiveFactorial function).

If you've ever heard the term "stack overflow", it comes from this idea of recursion. With a stack overflow, a recursive function is called so many times that the computer doesn't have enough memory available to handle the recursion, so the computer crashes.

So does this guide help you to grasp the idea of recursion? If you are a seasoned developer, can I improve this guide (or give better examples)? Please let me know in the comment box below.

While you're learning about recursion, 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. If you have a Keurig machine, the monks also have k-cups for purchase as well (known as "monk shots") Using the link (or picture below) to buy the coffee (or tea) helps the monks out and helps me with my endeavors 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 (trust me, I'm working on them), 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
CodeProject

Imagine Cup Check on Participants

Well, I hope everyone had a nice Christmas break. As we will be coming back to our respective colleges and universities some time within the next 2 weeks, I thought this might be a good idea to check in with everyone who is participating in the Imagine Cup competition in 2013.

If you don't know what the Imagine Cup is, it is a competition held annually by Microsoft in which students use their imagination and their knowledge to come up with a technology solution to a problem in the world today. The competition is broken down into different categories. If you participated in Imagine Cup in the past, you might be interested to find that the categories have changed from previous years. The categories for this year are: Games, Innovation, World Citizenship, Windows 8 Apps, Windows Azure, and Windows Phone

If you make it past the preliminaries in the Games, Innovation, or World Citizenship categories, you will get a chance to come to Microsoft for the US Finals. From there, the finalists in each of those categories from each country will go on to the Worldwide Finals, held, this year, in St. Petersburg, Russia in July.

If you have a team together, but haven't submitted a project yet, there's still time (but not much left). If you want to participate in the new US Imagine Cup Accelerator program this year, you have until January 6 to sign up. I will mention that participation in the accelerator program is optional. If you are not participating in the accelerator program, but still want to participate in Imagine Cup this year, you have until (at least, for the Games, Innovation, World Citizenship categories; dates for the other competitions vary) March 24, 2013.

For those of you who have already signed up and are working on something wonderful for the competition, I hope everything is coming along smoothly and I wish you all well. May the best project win.

If you want more information on Imagine CUP, just follow this link. If you need tools for the competition, Microsoft offers students free software tools via Dreamspark.

So, what are you thoughts on Imagine Cup, past or present? Please share them with me via the comment box below.

We all know that this competition requires hard work, and hard work can sometimes involve long nights, even if your tired. To help you stay awake during those long working hours, I recommend drinking some (tasty) 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.

For my existing Windows Phone apps, I will have updates to all of my existing programs submitted to the Windows Phone marketplace by next week (Christmas/New Years caused a delay, sorry). If you want to get my apps now while waiting for the update, 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

Some Short News for Computer Science Students and Teachers in Fall 2012

It's that time of year again where everyone starts to realize that summer break is almost over and it is time to head back to school. With this, I have a few announcements for those being educated in Computer Science.

What better way is there to start the preparation for the school year off than by installing Windows 8 on your computer? Tomorrow, Windows 8 will make its way on MSDN. I am sure, by default, this will also apply for MSDNAA as well, which has now been integrated into Dreamspark. If it doesn't exactly show up tomorrow, check back in a day or two. You might be better off doing that anyway, as I am sure there will be much traffic on MSDN trying to download the RTM version of Windows 8.

Speaking of Dreamspark, students (especially freshmen) should know that Microsoft is generous to students, so generous that you have access to a good bit of software for free which, otherwise (if you weren't a student), would cost you some major $$$. This software includes products like Windows (so, for example, if you got the Home Premium flavor of Windows 7 installed on your computer, you can upgrade it to the Pro flavor of Windows 7. For development purposes, you also get access to Visual Studio for free. These are just some examples, but you get the idea.

As I mentioned before, start thinking ideas for your school's Imagine Cup team. If your school doesn't have a team, you can always start one. The Imagine Cup is open to both high school and college students, but be warned that winning will not be easy. Still, do not let the fact that winning is hard get in the way of you or your team.

With Windows 8 comes WinRT, a whole new set of APIs for Windows. Windows 8 programs can be written in javascript, c#, or c++. Feel free to combine languages if you like, but be warned there are constraints when working in more than 1 language on the same project.

Well, this all for now in this new briefing, but I hope that you can do something with this information. For students, all you really have to pay for when getting a new computer is the hardware. As an additional request, I know there are those of us who really like a company's software and exhibit fanboy-like behavior and there are those of us who don't care and just "use what works". If you are going to have debates between software and/or hardware products this year (like Windows 8 vs Mac OS X Mountain Lion), please do so with charity and don't reduce things to ad hominem attacks. If it comes down to using ad hominem attacks, you've basically lost the debate (automatically).

As a college student myself, I know what a drag it can be in the morning if I don't have my coffee to get me started. If you are going to drink coffee, why not drink it like a mystic monk. Some tasty 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). For the summer (or what's left of it), 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 of Mobile Media Manager is out, but my last submission update for the free version in Microsoft Apphub certification failed, so release of the update to the free version will be a few days (< 7). 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

Imagine Cup 2013: Start Thinking Now

Well, it is still summer, but we are now in August, which is when students and teachers start thinking about heading back to school. While we are on the subject of school, if you are looking for something to do with your computer science class this year, look no further than the Imagine Cup.

The Imagine Cup is a software competition for students that Microsoft holds every year. Each year has a theme based on the UN Millennium goals. Depending on the sector of the competition you are a part of, you have to design a piece of software that reflects the theme.

There are a few sections of the Imagine Cup, but the most popular are Software Design and Game Design. In Software Design, students have to come up with a solution to a problem (based on the UN Millennium Goals) using hardware and Microsoft software. The team who comes up with the best solution to the team's problem wins. In game design, students design a game (based on the UN Millennium Goals) for either Windows Phone or Xbox which reflects the year's theme.

Participation in the competition can be done by both high school students and college students.

The competition (at least, for the competitions mentioned above) consists of 4 rounds. In round 1, the team submits a plan, which includes a storyboard and a description. A team can also submit an alpha or beta build, but it is optional for this round. All entries which survive round 1 move on to round 2. In round 2, teams need to submit a working prototype, an updated project plan, and a video describing the whole thing. If you survive round 2, things get better.

Round 3 is the US finals (or if you don't live in the United States, your country's finals). Here, you and your team get flown out to Redmond for a visit to Microsoft's headquarters where, incidentally, the US Finals are held. As a bonus, anyone who makes it this far in the competition gets a free opportunity to interview for a Microsoft internship or, if you are a senior in college, a full-time job at Microsoft. This also the round when your project gets voted on by millions of people on Facebook to determine the People's Choice. The first place winners of the Software Design competition move on to round 4, the last round of the competition. The first place winners of the Game Design competition are recognized, but do not get to move on to round 4 because every country participating in the Imagine Cup has a Software Design competition, but not every country has a Game Design competition.

Round 4 is the World Finals. Here, the winners of the Software Design competitions from all over gather to see which one is the best in the world. Word has it that the world finals are going to be held in Russia in 2013.

So, I hope I've gotten your interest. While the theme for the 2013 competition has not been revealed yet, you can preregister. For more information on the Imagine Cup competion, please see http://bit.ly/fcPDqa. For everything you need for the competition, students can get any software you need via Dreamspark.

If you have any thoughts or comments of your own about the Imagine Cup or if you are thinking of entering the 2013 competion, feel free to share your thoughts and comments via the comment box below or e-mail me at catholictechgeek@gmail.com.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 while using the computer or can't quite stay awake while using one, 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 of Mobile Media Manager is out, but my last submission update for the free version in Microsoft Apphub certification failed, so release of the update to the free version will be a few days (< 7). 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

What makes a Great Video Game

For some video games genres, fans come by default. For example, with sports video games, the ones most likely to play them are fans of the games in real life. For most genres of video games, however, you need to work to earn your players. While the following will apply to action/rpg games, these are points that can apply to any type of video game.

The most essential part of any video game is a good, solid storyline and plot. One of the great things about video games is that they have the ability to tell a story. Of course, books, which have been around for much longer than video games, do the same thing. Where a video game excels in contrast to a video game is the ability to actually "act" out the story yourself through the character onscreen. For example, with a battle scene, the visual aspect of the video game helps to give form to that scene in the way which the author saw it. A good exposition will introduce the main character, the protagonist, and other main or secondary players which play a great part in this story. The rising action part of the story will help to build the story up, giving us extra needed information about a character or characters and the setting(s), until we reach the climax. This is also where the villain can be introduced if he is not introduced to us in the exposition. The climax will most likely be that final struggle, that final boss battle, which decide the outcome of the story, and ultimately, the game. The resolution should tie everything together. If there is to a sequel to the game, this is also where you can create that "to be continued" feeling and set the player up for the next game.

The second most essential part of any video game is good characters. People should be able to relate to a character in the game, especially the protagonist, in some way, shape, or form. A character's nature can work to help draw the player further into the game. Good characters also help to make the game more memorable. Uniqueness of a character plays a big part here. What makes your character different from all the other video game characters out there? I realize that a character can only be so unique from the others, but what matters is how the character looks, thinks, and acts.

The third most essential part of any video game is side quests (and variability of them). A main storyline is good, but what is going to convince players want to continue playing your game if they want to deviate from the main storyline a bit? Side quests accomplish this function, creating a "game within a game". A simple, yet enjoyable mini-game can keep a player playing for hours on end. One of the reasons that Final Fantasy VII was so enjoyable is that it had many side quests to keep a player coming back for more, even after the main storyline was beaten.

Another essential part of a good video game is its "battle system". If your character gets into a conflict, or battle, how can the character act in battle? Does the character have just a simple kick and punch, or can the character do some flashy "super moves" as well? Does the character use any kind of special weapons or movements? The game camera plays a big part here. One of the biggest things that can turn off  players is a bad camera. A player should be able to have a clear view of what he or she is fighting as well as the ability to freely move about. The controls should also be easy to use as well.

Another part of a good video game is its music. As a composer, singer, and saxophone player, I know how music can set the mood of a scene. If the main character in the game is in a frantic moment, the music will probably be fast-paced. If it's a more sad and somber scene, the music will reflect this as well (usually being in the key or either D minor or G minor, but not always).Repetition of a particular musical theme is fine and can help to engrave it in the mind of the player, but don't overdo it. Part of the reason why the Final Fantasy prelude and victory themes are so memorable is because they occur in every game in the series. A good soundtrack also means that people are more likely to buy the OST of your game.

The issue of graphics quality is a mixed bag. High quality graphics is always desired, but this is not an issue which, alone, can decide the outcome of a person's purchasing decisions. Try to be modest with your graphics. If the graphics quality is high, it can slow a game down unless a person upgrades their hardware to handle that high graphics quality without slowdowns. The amount of frames per second (fps) which a game should strive for to have a smooth playing experience is around 60 frames per second.

As I said before, these points can apply to any video game out there. If you create video games, theses are some points that can help you in really making it great for the players and memorable too. Be as creative with your game as possible. It is, after all, your masterpiece. If your game can stand the test of time, you will know that your game has done well.

I realize that I might have missed something, or not given enough information on a given point. If you know of something I missed or if you have some ideas of your own on what makes a video game great, please share it in the comment box below, or e-mail me at catholictechgeek@gmail.com. You can also comment (and follow me) 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.

In the meantime, while you are thinking or playing great video games throughout the years and feeling thirsty, 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, the monks also offer tea for sale. 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 update for the free, ad-supported version of Mobile Media Manager got denied in Apphub certification, but it will be resubmitted within the next day or two. The update for the paid version will be in certification with it (I've been busy lately, and hadn't had a chance to submit the paid version update to Apphub yet). BSA Eagle Tracker is also getting a bug fix for an obscure bug I noticed recently, so it is also due for an update.

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

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).

'tis the Season to Imagine

Well, it's that time of year again. Summer has started and the Imagine Cup World Finals is just around the corner. Here, all the finalists from each country's own Imagine Cup competition will come from all over the globe to (this year) New York City to see who is worthy of winning the Imagine Cup.

In case you don't know what the Imagine Cup is, it is a technology competition with five categories, each with its own rules and objectives, tied to a particular common theme: Software Design, Embedded Development, Game Design, Digital Media, and (with the advent of Windows Phone 7) Windows Phone 7. The goal of the Software Design category is to come up with a software (and maybe hardware if need be) solution that solves a big problem in the world today. The goal of the Embedded Development category is to build a hardware and software solution that solves a big problem in the world today using embedded hardware and software. The goal of Game Design is to come up with the best game for either PC/Xbox, the web (via silverlight), or for Windows Phone 7. The goal of the digital media category is to make a video that conveys your view of an issue or issues in society that exists today which is visually and audibly interesting and stimulating. The goal of the Windows Phone 7 competition is to make the best (non-game) program for Windows Phone 7.

The US finals were held back in April at MS headquarters in Redmond, with the winners of Software Design being Team Notetaker from Arizona State University and the winners of Game Design being Team Bloom from Tribeca Flashpoint Academy for Windows/Xbox and Team Big Impact Bear from University of Houston for Windows Phone 7 Gaming. You can find the rest of the US winners here.

The Worldwide Finals will take place on July 8-13 in New York City. The winners from all of the categories in each country will be judged there to see who will take home the Imagine Cup.

Now, your vote is needed for the People's Choice Award in each category. You can find the voting site here. Your vote counts!

Now after reading this, some of you might be inspired to start an Imagine Cup team at your college/university or high school. This is good. You can find everything you need to get started for next year right here and all the tools that you (might) need can be found on Dreamspark.

Would anyone reading this article who has participated in the Imagine Cup competition before like to share there experience with other readers who haven't heard of the Imagine Cup before or have been considering it, but haven't entered before? Do you have any other thoughts on the Imagine Cup you would like to share? Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences in the comment box below. I am also open to people following me on Twitter as well (username is @rctechgeek).

Windows Phone Apphub Marketplace 2.0 is coming

At TechEd, everyone who came to the session on Windows Phone Marketplace learned about some details about some changes coming to the marketplace with the release of Mango. Well, developers rejoice, for some great changes are coming that will make program testing and distribution much easier.

The first change coming is that you will be able to have beta testers before you decide to publish your program to the marketplace. After setting up your program in marketplace as a beta, you then give out a link to all of your beta testers. Your testers can then use that link to download the "beta" version of your program to their phones without having to have the testers' phones developer-unlocked. All of your testers will need to have a windows live id to download your beta (but you need that for marketplace anyway). However, the beta version of your program is only good for 90 days, but you can put out a new beta version of your program which has that 90 day limit "reset". Plus, there is still nothing like a crash test tool that can collect system information about your program (aside from the debugger).

The next change is that you will be able to have privatized programs. With this, your program is hidden from any marketplace searching and only people who have the link to your program will be able to get it. However, if the link to your program gets leaked, there's not much that can be done about limiting the distribution of your program.

The third change coming is a welcome one for students. If you sign on to Dreamspark, you will no longer have to verify with Geotrust (Dreamspark will trust that you're a student) before you can developer-unlock your phone and start publishing programs to the marketplace. Before this change, you first had to submit a program to the marketplace, wait for Geotrust to verify you, and then be able to developer-unlock your phone and start publishing programs. With the advent of Mango (the next Windows Phone release), you will no longer have to wait. I hope this will be (somewhat of) an incentive to work on getting together a team to make a program for the Imagine Cup competition next year.

The last change is with publishing games. With Mango, there is now going to be a ratings system (standard ESRB) built-in to Marketplace. You will also be able to publish mature games to the marketplace now, which means we will finally be able to see mobile Halo make it into the marketplace soon for the enjoyment of many gamers out there.


With the advent of Mango and all of its wonderful changes, additions, and updates, I know that these changes to the marketplace will help to make the Apphub Marketplace grow and become better to use for everyone. I certainly welcome these changes and hope other developers and users out there will welcome these changes as well.

Questions? Comments? I would certainly like you hear your view on this. Feel free to follow me on twitter as well (username is "rctechgeek", link is in the "About Me" section).