Friday, December 30, 2005

Data Binding in Windows Forms 2.0 and An Overview of Windows Presentation Foundation

I have two articles published in CoDe Magazine in the Jan/Feb issue. They are:

Data Binding in Windows Forms 2.0
"Data binding is one of the common tasks that developers working with data have to perform. In Windows Forms 2.0, the new BindingNavigator and BindingSource objects can save you a lot of effort in data binding. This article will show how to perform tasks such as sorting and searching records using data binding. I will also show how to display master-detail relationships between tables using data binding in Windows Forms 2.0. "

An Overview of Windows Presentation Foundation
"These acronyms include WinFX, WinFS, WCF (Windows Communication Foundation; codenamed Indigo), and WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation; codenamed Avalon). In recent months there has been a lot of buzz going around WPF, which is one of the core components of WinFX. In this article, I will take you on a whirlwind tour of what WPF is and how you can start preparing for Vista by developing applications today using the available SDK. "

Review of Visual Basic 2005 Jumpstart

Here is a nice review of my book - Visual Basic 2005 Jumpstart, in ASP.NET Pro Magazine.

Saturday, December 24, 2005

"ASP.NET 2.0: A Developer's Notebook" Updated for Final Release of Visual Studio 2005

I have recently updated my book - ASP.NET 2.0: A Developer's Notebook, to be compliant with the final release of Visual Studio 2005. While most of the code in the book will work without problem in Visual Studio 2005, I have taken this opportunity to fix some of the bugs in the book as well as update the few sections which contain code that break in the final release of Visual Studio 2005 (most notably the Client Callback Manager section). I hope this book will give you a quick overview of the new features in ASP.NET 2.0 and get you jumpstarted on new projects.

Looking for Sudoku puzzles testers

I am currently looking for testers of my Sudoku puzzles. As part of my new book, I am showing readers how to generate Sudoku puzzles of varying levels of difficulties, using a computer. I wanted to get readers feedback on how difficult my puzzles are, and whether they really fit in to the level of difficulty they are categorized in.

Beta testers will need to do the following:

1. Solve 3 puzzles for each level. There are total 4 levels - Easy, Medium, Difficult, Very Difficult.
2. Rate the level of difficulties for each puzzle.
3. Provide additional feedback (optional).

While I won't be able to offer financial incentives for being a beta-tester, what I can promise is lots of fun (if you are a Sudoku addict) and a complimentary copy of my book when it is published.

If you are interested, send me an email at wei_meng_lee@hotmail.com and I will get back to you. Thanks and have a nice holiday!

Programming Sudoku (Technology in Action)

I have been slow in updating my blog recently as I have busy working on my latest book - Programming Sudoku.

Here is a brief synopsis of the book:

"Sudoku is the wildly popular new puzzle game. Sudoku puzzles are 9x9 grids, and each square in the grid consists of a 3x3 subgrid called a region. Your goal is to fill in the squares so that each column, row, and region contains the numbers 1 through 9 exactly once. And some squares already contain numbers or symbols, which lend clues toward the solution.

Programming Sudoku provides you with great approaches to building and solving Sudoku and other similar puzzles. Using ingenious artificial intelligence and game theory techniques, you'll learn how to get a computer to solve these puzzles for you.
This is a fun, intriguing read whether you're a novice or advanced programmer. It acknowledges the.NET platform as a base, but you'll find this book interesting whatever your programming background. The core techniques in the book enable you to solve Sudoku on any programming platform.
"

This book will show you how to solve Sudoku puzzles programatically as well as generate puzzles of varying levels of difficulties. It would be a fun read for both Sudoku beginners and Sudoku addicts. Even if you don't want a computer to solve your Sudoku puzzles, the techniques described in this book will help you to solve Sudoku puzzles in a systematic way.

Take the Pain Out of Deployments with ClickOnce

Deploying Windows applications in the age of client-server computing has never been easy. But smart client architecture offers a revolution that makes deployments and maintenance stress-free. Find out how to use the ClickOnce technology to turn your clients into smart clients.

What Is Virtualization

Virtualization lets you have multiple "virtual machines," each with its own operating system running in a sandbox, shielded from each other, all in one physical machine. But why would you want to do this? Wei-Meng Lee explains, and takes you on a tour of some of the most popular virtualization software available: Microsoft Virtual PC 2004, VMware Workstation 5.0, and Microsoft Virtual Server 2005. Check out the article.

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

Check out Gadgets for Geeks

If you are a gadget freak, you have to check out the new Gadgets For Geeks blog - http://gadgetsforgeeks.blogspot.com/. Edited by yours sincerely, Gadgets For Geeks is an online publication targeted at geeks, by geeks. Check it out today and let me know what you think!

Sunday, December 04, 2005

VP-820-L NEXPHONE Homephone Adapter

Rather than buying a Skype phone at the moment, I opted for a VoIP gateway instead. And so today I got the VP-820-L NEXPHONE Homephone Adapter. It is a slim device and plugs directly into my computer via USB. One phone jack plugs into the PSTN line while the others connect to my regular phone. The beauty of this device is that I can continue to use my regular phone for Skype calls as well as regular PSTN calls. And if I want, I can even plug in my cordless phone for making Skype calls. Of course, you won't have Skype integration into the handset, much like the Linksys phone. But for now, I have no complaints.