Learn .NET 3.5 core technologies, WPF, WCF and more

Sign up for the What is new in Visual Studio 2008 & .NET 3.5 course and learn some of the latest .NET 3.5 technologies. Here are some exciting things you will learn:

* New controls in ASP.NET 3.5.
* Foundations of WCF (Windows Communication Foundation).
* Learn how to write WCF callback applications. Callbacks are useful for building client-server applications like chat and messaging applications.
* Foundations of WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation).
* Learn how to spice up your Windows application using XAML.

DATE
• Time: 9am to 5pm daily
• 12th to 14th (Wed to Fri) March 2008


COURSE FEES
• $1099
• To qualify for Early Bird Discount, register at least 2 participants from the same company ($899 after discount)
• Inclusive of 1 lunch and 2 tea breaks for each day

Untapped Silverlight Powers: Create Your Own Media Player

My previous article on Silverlight demonstrated how to use the MediaElement control to playback media files. This bare-bones control simply plays back a media file—it does not have visual controls allowing you to pause or advance the media (although you can do this programmatically). This article will show you how to build a Silverlight application that reassembles the YouTube player, allowing you to visually control the playback of the media.

Slides for Visual Studio 2008 Kickstart

I have uploaded the slides for the Visual Studio 2008 Kickstart event held on 12th Feb 2008.

Stay tuned to this site as I will post the links to some articles/code related to the topics that I have presented shortly.

Learn how to program touch UI for your Windows Mobile applications!

If you want to learn how to implement touch UI for your Windows Mobile application, be sure to sign up for the 27-29 Feb Windows Mobile Programming course!

Visual Studio 2008 Kickstart - Thank you!

A big thank you for those of you who turned up for yesterday's event! I sincerely appreciate your taking the time to attend the talk and hope the talk was useful to you. For those who could not attend, I hope to see you at a future event.

I am happy to announce that if your company is planning to enroll 2 or more participants in one of the following upcoming courses, you will still be eligible for the early-bird discounts. As places are limited, do sign up early.

(1) Windows Mobile 6 Programming - 27 to 29 Feb 2008 ($798; $598 after discount)
(2) What is new in Visual Studio 2008 & .NET 3.5 - 12 to 14 March 2008 ($1099; $899 after discount)
(3) Web Development using ASP.NET 3.5, AJAX, and Silverlight - 18 to 20 March 2008 ($1099; $899 after discount)

What You Will Get
1. A 2GB Thumb Drive containing all the course-related SDKs and source code
2. A lab-intensive course workbook developed by Wei-Meng Lee
3. A free copy of CoDe magazine
4. A free one-year online-only subscription to asp.netPRO magazine (US$14.99 value) (only for course (2) and (3))

Early-bird discount when you enroll 2 or more participants

I am happy to announce that if your company is planning to enroll 2 or more participants in one of the following courses, you will still be eligible for the early-bird discounts. As places are limited, do sign up before the places are taken.

Courses
(1) Windows Mobile 6 Programming - 27 to 29 Feb 2008 ($798; $598 after discount)
(2) What is new in Visual Studio 2008 & .NET 3.5 - 12 to 14 March 2008 ($1099; $899 after discount)
(3) Web Development using ASP.NET 3.5, AJAX, and Silverlight - 18 to 20 March 2008 ($1099; $899 after discount)

What You Will Get
1. A 2GB Thumb Drive containing all the course-related SDKs and source code
2. A lab-intensive course workbook developed by Wei-Meng Lee
3. A free copy of CoDe magazine
4. A free one-year online-only subscription to asp.netPRO magazine (US$14.99 value) (only for course (2) and (3))

Free practice-based training from InnerWorkings

With collaboration with InnerWorkings, I am pleased to announce that InnerWorkings is giving away a free sample of their practice-based training to all readers of this blog. This offer includes 2 hours of top quality hands-on learning on the important new features of C# 3.0 and VB 9.0, and includes a special 10% discount on all items in the InnerWorkings catalog.

To get the free 2 hours training, click the following link.

12th Feb 2008 - Visual Studio 2008 Kickstart

Come join us this 12th (Tues) February 2008 where I will present two sessions on what is new in Visual Studio 2008 and Windows Mobile development.

Session 1 - What is new in Visual Studio 2008
If you have always wanted to learn the new features in Visual Studio 2008 but have yet to find the time, the first session will kick start you with:

* A quick introduction to Visual Studio 2008
* New languages features in Visual Basic 9.0 and C# 3.0
- Implicit Typing
- Automatic Properties
- Object Initializers
- Collection Initializers
- Anonymous Types
- Lambda Expressions
- LINQ
- Extension Methods
- Partial Methods
* What is Silverlight

Session 2 - Windows Mobile 6 Development
In the second session, Wei-Meng will demonstrate how to get started in Windows Mobile 6 development. You will learn about the differences between versions of Windows Mobile - Standard, Classic, and Professional. This session will show you:

* A quick introduction to the Windows Mobile 6 platform
* How to use the various tools in VS 2008 for Windows Mobile development:
- Cellular Emulator
- Windows Mobile Emulators
- ActiveSync
* Sample applications

In addition, Motorola (Symbol) will also provide some units of their flagship products - MC70 and MC35, for demonstration. If your company is currently evaluating Windows Mobile devices for enterprise deployment, this is a good chance for you to have hands-on experience with these devices.

Event Details
Cost: FREE
Date: 12th Feb 2008 (Tues)
Venue: Microsoft Singapore 1, Marina Boulevard, One Marina Boulevard, Singapore 018989
Time: 2 to 5pm

Note: If you would like to install VS 2008 on your notebook and follow along with the sessions, you can come early at 1pm. Wei-Meng will be around to help with the installations. You would need to bring along your notebook computer and as there will be limited power-points, you are suggested to fully charge your notebook before coming.

What you will get
* A free copy of CoDe magazine (while stocks last)
* A 90-day Evaluation Visual Studio 2008 DVD
* Some other goodies. ;-)

You also stand a chance to win a copy of my latest book - Professional Windows Vista Gadgets Programming (Wrox).

What you need to do
To RSVP, send an email to me at weimenglee@learn2develop.net with the following details:

Subject: 12 Feb VS 2008
* Name
* Company
* Email

Hope to see you there!

What's New in C# 3.0? Part 2

The release of Visual Studio 2008 updates C# to version, 3.0, with several key language enhancements and LINQ support. Part Two of this series will walk you through C#'s new LINQ support features and other time-saving enhancements.

What's New in C# 3.0? Part 1

The release of Visual Studio 2008 updates C# to version, 3.0, with several key language enhancements and LINQ support. Part one of this series will walk you through implicit typing, automatic properties, and other time-saving enhancements.

Apply the New Vista APIs to Sidebar Gadgets, Part 1

Explore the various Windows Vista Sidebar gadget objects and how they can be used to enhance the functionality of your gadget.

Apply the New Vista APIs to Sidebar Gadgets, Part 2

Explore the various Windows Vista Sidebar gadget objects and how they can be used to enhance the functionality of your gadget.

Untapped Silverlight Powers: The Interactive Application

Silverlight's good for working with animation, graphics, and videos, but did you know it allows you to do things you can't do elsewhere—even with ASP.NET and AJAX? Learn how to harness that power by building an interactive signature capturing application.