Community developer blogs

Robert Shelton's blog

Recent Posts

• Free Microsoft Developer Conference: Reston VA (Dec. 4th)

  Posted: 03 Dec 2008 at 01:32

  Event ID: 1032395829 Event Title: Microsoft Public Sector Technology Conference

• Windows 7 Beta 1 for MDC Attendees

  Posted: 02 Dec 2008 at 21:49

  Breaking news!!! Attend an upcoming MSDN Developer Conference and you will receive a Windows 7 Beta 1 DVD. Register today and you’ll get the best of the PDC in your own backyard and hear all of the exciting announcements around the Azure Services Platform and Windows 7. Experience Windows

• How to: Automate Testing with Microsoft Hyper-V

  Posted: 24 Nov 2008 at 17:26

  As a new user to the Microsoft Vitalization tool called Hyper-V, I've been trying to figure out how to use it for testing (both Software Development and Packaged Application), but unlike my Virtual PC and Virtual Server implementations, it turns out that it's not as simple as clicking a button.  It'

• How to: Change Your Default Wallpaper Directory in Windows [Digg]

  Posted: 23 Nov 2008 at 19:07

  I always thought it was ridiculous and dangerous that Windows puts wallpapers mixed in with essential system files in the Windows folder. Is there a way or program to point the Display Properties -> Desktop tab to another folder? It would be nice if it then allowed me to organize it with sub-folders

• Microsoft Yanks Fake Security Software [Digg]

  Posted: 22 Nov 2008 at 17:00

  Last week's patch purged false security software from millions of Windows PCs.Microsoft said that the anti-malware tool it pushes to Windows users as part of Patch Tuesday removed fake security software from nearly a million PCs during nine days this month.

• 10 Really Cool Windows 7 Media Center Features [Digg]

  Posted: 21 Nov 2008 at 08:45

  A few days back, I showed you the new touch interface for Media Center PCs running Windows 7, and though I had to pull the video, I promised a walkthrough of proposed Windows 7 Media Center features.

• Microsoft modifies Zune subscription model [Digg]

  Posted: 20 Nov 2008 at 04:57

  Microsoft Corp announced a new music subscription plan for owners of its Zune players, which would allow them to keep 10 tracks per month and add them to their permanent collection.

• Microsoft starts to talk about Silverlight 3; coming in 2009 [Digg]

  Posted: 19 Nov 2008 at 16:56

  Silverlight 3 will include major media enhancements (including H.264 video support), major graphics improvements (including 3D support and GPU hardware acceleration), as well as major application development improvements (including richer data-binding support and additional controls). Note these are

• Free download: ZoomIt (Windows Zoom-ing tool) version 2.2

  Posted: 19 Nov 2008 at 16:23

  The Microsoft SysInternals Team has released the VERY POPULAR free Windows Screen Zooming tool call ZoomIt.  I blogged about an earlier version about a year ago and it was one of the most popular downloads on my blog, so I am now blogging about the updated version. Here's the description of th

• Video: .NET Framework 3.51 and 4 Overview (Informative and Funny!)

  Posted: 19 Nov 2008 at 00:09

  I just finished watching Scott Hanselman’s (Program Manager for Microsoft) presentation on the .NET Framework (Current and Future) from the PDC 2008, and it was GREAT!  Scott does a great job presenting and “entertaining you” as well.  It is well worth the time, but be warned, you may laugh out loud

• A deep dive into Windows 7 (build 6801) [Digg]

  Posted: 18 Nov 2008 at 17:30

  Since returning from PDC, I’ve been installing and using Windows 7 on a variety of hardware platforms (eight distinct desktop and portable systems so far). My immediate goal is to learn as much as possible so I can begin writing Windows 7 Inside Out. And there’s plenty to learn. The deeper I dive in

• Video: Overview of Microsoft Velocity (from PDC 2008)

  Posted: 17 Nov 2008 at 15:06

  As an FYI: Microsoft “Velocity” is the code name for the upcoming distributed (meaning over multiple machines) Data Caching technology.  The video linked below is a great Overview on why, IMHO, this is going to be a GREAT new feature to the Windows Platform for Developers, DBA’s and Admins. In ge

• Free Download: Visual Studio 2010 Training Kit (November Preview)

  Posted: 15 Nov 2008 at 23:43

  The Visual Studio team has released the November 2008 Training Kit (Preview) for Visual Studio 2010 and the .NET Framework 4.0.  Here’s what’s in the kit: The Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4.0 Training Kit includes presentations, hands-on labs, and demos. This content is designed t

• Free Download: InfoPath Form Services 2007 Web Testing toolkit

  Posted: 13 Nov 2008 at 15:23

  If you need a way to Web Test your (web based) InfoPath forms, than you will want to checkout this download.  Essentially, it shows you how to setup your eForms such that they can be a part of your Visual Studio Automated Testing process.  I would have never thought about doing this, but having give

• Free download: Video Messaging Technology for Live Mail

  Posted: 13 Nov 2008 at 14:59

  I opened my corporate email client this morning to find out that the Microsoft Live Team (The folks that build: Live Mail, Live Writer, Live Messenger, etc.), have a new feature (or at least one that I hadn't heard of) called "Live Video Messages."  As you can probably guess by the description, it w

• Web-based Office to work on Macs, iPhone | Beyond Binary - A [Digg]

  Posted: 12 Nov 2008 at 18:52

  On Microsoft's Channel 10 site, a blogger notes that the forthcoming Office Web Applications will take the productivity software to places its never been, such as the iPhone and Linux.

• Video: C# 4.0 Q/A with Anders Hejlsberg (C# creator) and Charlie Calvert (PM

  Posted: 12 Nov 2008 at 15:42

  In this video Anders Hejlsberg discusses some of the upcoming features of C# (4.0), which will release in the Visual Studio 2010 timeframe.  It's always great to hear from Anders, as one of the major driving forces of one of the most popular .NET Languages (VB.NET is the other).  I hate to sound lik

• Getting a feel for Windows 7 [Digg]

  Posted: 12 Nov 2008 at 08:22

  As many people have noted, Windows 7 is a lot like Windows Vista. But by adding multitouch abilities, Microsoft is hoping to create an operating system that, quite literally, feels different from Vista. And, when you do get to put your hands on Windows

• Visual Studio 2010 Tools for SharePoint (Early Information)

  Posted: 11 Nov 2008 at 15:51

  The Microsoft SharePoint team just posted (on their blog) some details about the Visual Studio 2010 Tools for SharePoint.  Here’s a few bullet points from the TechEd EMEA briefing where this storied started, which outlines some of the features: Server Explorer for SharePoint viewing Lists

• Parallels Desktop v4 new features - Windows apps on Mac OS X [Digg]

  Posted: 11 Nov 2008 at 09:26

  Parallels is a Windows virtualization software that allows you to seamlessly run Windows applications on Mac OS X without rebooting your machine. Version 4.0 was just release this morning.