Practical .NET 2.0 Networking Projects Reviews

My latest book - Practical .NET 2.0 Networking Projects, was recently released and I am delighted with the reviews on Amazon.com. Here is one of them:

Reviewer: William A. Miller "Consultant" (Grand Rapids, MI)

"I found the book to be very solid. The chapters are divided up decently, and there is a ton of code listings in the book, although almost to the extent of to much. However, if you want to get a quick start on using any of the technologies such as fingerprint readers, GPS, and RFID this is a great primer. The author provides up to date examples, provides you references for the proper tools, and SDK's needed to complete the project. I built a fingerprint reading application based off his example for tracking visitors to the User Group meetings I attend. I've always wanted to know how to develop applications using external devices, but haven't had the time to dig in and research it. This book will give you a great starting point and will have a working application quickly. It is a fun book and will give you the basics on these technologies. One comment would be that it would have been nice to have at the beginning of each chapter/section a quick reference list for resources you will need. Also, since I typically jump ahead, I found that in the case of the fingerprint reader there was an issue when trying to add the control to the form and I spent sometime working through that on my own. Then I turned the page and the author has kindly put the resolution in a big gray box. Would have saved me a little time if I would have read that!"

Looking for a barcode scanner? Get the LS2208

If you are looking for a barcode scanner for your use with your applications, look no further. The Symbol LS2208 is a laser barcode scanner that scans with surprisingly high accuracy.

Most of the time, you would want to use a barcode scanner as a quick alternative to keyboard input, and hence you need to configure the barcode scanner to act like a keyboard, passing in the scanned data into your computer just like a keyboard.

If you have just purchased a Symbol LS2208, simply print out the following barcode and scan it using the LS2208. Once the barcode is scanned, you can now use the LS2208 to scan barcodes directly into your application. For more configuration options, download the LS2208 manual, which can be found here.

Roll Your Own SMS Gateway

You can do a lot of fun applications using an SMS gateway but unless you work for a major television network, good luck getting a return on your investment. In this article, we'll show you a great alternative to an expensive SMS gateway using a Pocket PC and a Bluetooth connection.

Last chance to enjoy early-bird discount price of $299

This is your last chance to enjoy the early-bird discount price of $299 for the "Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC Programming using the .NET Compact Framework 2.0 (Singapore - 11 May 2007)" workshop, if you register before 11th March 07. After this date, the course fee for this course will be $399.

The following new topics have been added:

• QRCode generation and scanning


• Bluetooth Printing


• RFID reading and writing


• IrDA programming
• GPS programming

Download the registration form here.

Learn Windows Mobile 5.0 Programming at your place!

A number of readers wrote in indicating their interest in my Windows 5.0 Programming Course. However, the most common problem is that these people are located outside of Singapore (maybe this is the best excuse to tell your boss that you need to come to Singapore for a course ;-P). If you have sufficient number of participants, let me know and I would be able to fly to your country for in-house training. For pricing information, contact me at weimenglee@gmail.com

Course Materials Translated into Japanese

I just came back from Japan after co-running a Windows Mobile 5.0 Workshop with my Japanese counterpart. It was nice to see my course materials translated into Japanese, though I don't understand any Japanese at all. I hope to learn it one day, but for now, my priority is to learn my Chinese well! ;-)

Windows Vista SideShow Gadgets: Little Apps, Big Impact

Vista's SideShow feature supports auxiliary screen devices that can run applications even when the main computer is turned off, letting users read news, play games, or check their email without powering up the main computer. Check out this tutorial on what how to create Sideshow gadgets using Visual Studio 2005.