Looking for a good C# Programmer for a Friend

I have a friend who is currently urgently looking for a good .NET programmer to work on a one-year contract project. If you are good in .NET (C#) and are familiar with SQL Express, please send me your resume at weimenglee@learn2develop.net and I will forward your resume to my friend. Working knowledge of RFID will be advantageous.

Buy an Android Phone Today!

Got the following price plan from: http://home.singtel.com/news_centre/news_releases/2009_02_20.asp.

Seems like quite a good deal to me. If you are a data junkie, then it might be good to go for the 3G Flexi Plus plan, where you pay $95 per month and get a 2GB data bundle. What's more, for the first 6 months, you have a eat-all-you-can data plan. But you got to hurry, this promotion is only from 21 and 22 Feb 2009.

Windows Mobile 6.1 Programming Workshop - 4-6 March 2009 (Wed to Fri)

Motorola has recently released two very cool handsets that is targeted at the Asian market. Both devices support 3.5G and have GPS, Bluetooth, IrDA, Wi-Fi, 3.2 MP Camera, as well as 1D barcode scanner.

If you want to be the first to learn how to program the FR68 and FR6000, be sure to joing us this 4-6th March 2009 (Wed to Fri). Besides learning how to program Windows Mobile 6.1, you will also learn how to program the barcode scanner on the FR68 and FR6000!

Course Content

Part 1 – User Interface Design in Windows Mobile
Lab 1 – Building Screen Orientation and Resolution Aware Applications
Lab 2 – Basic User Interface and Controls
Lab 3 – Setting the Input Modes
Lab 4 – Touch UI Programming

Part 2 – Integrating with PIM Applications
Lab 5 – Integrating with Contacts and Outlook Mobile
Lab 6 – Integrating with Calendar
Lab 7 – Integrating Telephony Functions

Part 3 – Communicating with the Outside World
Lab 8 – Intercepting Incoming SMS Messages
Lab 9 – Implementing a Call Manager using SMS Messaging
Lab 10 – Using Web Services
Lab 11 – Transferring Binary Data using Web Services

Part 4 – Persisting Data
Lab 12 – File I/O (Text)
Lab 13 – File I/O (Binary)
Lab 14 – Database Access using SQL Server Compact Edition
Lab 15 – Creating a SQL Server Compact Database Programmatically
Lab 16 – Using XML for Storage
Lab 17 – Using XML Serialization

Part 5 – Deployment
Lab 18 – Creating CAB File for Deployment
Lab 19 – Creating a Setup Application

Part 6 – Security
Lab 20 – Cryptography – Hashing, Encryption and Decryption
Lab 21 – Signing your Smartphone Applications

Fee
S$997

Re-run of the Programming Mapping Applications Course - 13th March 2009

Backed by popular demand, I will be conducting another run of the Programming Mapping Applications course this coming 13th March 2009 (Friday).

For the course, I will cover the following:

* How to programming Virtual Earth and Google Maps using JavaScript (through web browsers)

* How to obtain geographical data using GPS and Cell IDs (C#, Windows Mobile and Windows Forms)

* How to translate Cell IDs into Lat and Lng (C#) through a secret Google Maps API

The objectives of this course are:

* to get participants acquainted with the map APIs such as Google Maps and Virtual Earth

* to learn the various techniques to obtain GPS data and Cell IDs

* to learn how to use location data to build interesting apps

Fee

* S$399

SingTel and HTC Introduce the HTC Dream™ — the First Android-Powered phone released in Singapore

Singtel and HTC has just announced that they will be bringing in the Google G1 into Asia. That means folks in Singapore and Australia will soon be able to buy the first Android handsets in the world.

Once you have played with the G1, you would want to write your own apps for it, such as this, this, this, and this.

To get jumpstarted on Android programming, come join us this 9-10th March for the Android course. You will start with zero knowledge and at the end of the second day you will be writing cool location-based services applications! Don't believe? Check this out.

Developing Orientation-Aware Android Applications

Even though users take device landscape changes for granted, these changes remain challenging for developers to program. This article outlines a few tricks that will save you time when programming for an Android device.

2-day Programming Windows Forms Applications (S$898) - Course Confirmed

I am happy to announce that the above course has been confirmed.

In this 2-day course, you will learn how to develop compelling Windows Forms applications using the .NET Framework. You will learn the basics of Windows Forms applications and the use of the various Windows Forms controls. In addition, you will be building a number of projects, including learning how to interface to external devices like Web cams and fingerprint readers.
Attendees of this course will get a free Microsoft Fingerprint reader worth S$99.

Download the application form here.

Course Outline

· Basics of Windows Forms applications
· Persisting User’s data using Application Settings
· Building Smart Clients using Web Services and WCF Services
· Deploying Smart Clients using ClickOnce
· Database Access using ADO.NET
· Printing in Windows Forms
· Project 1 – Building your own Web browser
· Project 2 – Integrating Web cam into your applications
· Project 3 – Incorporating Fingerprint Recognition Technology into your application

Programming Mapping Applications - 18th Feb 2009

For those of you who still have not registered for the Programming Mapping Applications course, please do so soon as the course has been confirmed.

For the course, I will cover the following:
* How to programming Virtual Earth and Google Maps using JavaScript (through web browsers)
* How to obtain geographical data using GPS and Cell IDs (C#, Windows Mobile and Windows Forms)
* How to translate Cell IDs into Lat and Lng (C#) through a secret Google Maps API

The objectives of this course are:
* to get participants acquainted with the map APIs such as Google Maps and Virtual Earth
* to learn the various techniques to obtain GPS data and Cell IDs
* to learn how to use location data to build interesting apps

Hope to see you at the course!

Android Cupcake Firmware 1.5

Cupcake is a repository of all new features available for the Android device after the OS has gone official. It contains many features such as a virtual keyboard, a new Note pad application, new animations for windows, a new Global Time application showing a rotating globe, and more.

To see how these enhancements work, you can now experience it on your Android Emulator. To do so, perform the following steps:

1. Download the Android SDK
2. Backup the tools\lib\images folder in your SDK folder
3. Download the Cupcake firmware 1.5 from: http://s3.amazonaws.com/nullwire/android_images_sdk1.5.zip
4. Expand the item downloaded in (3) and put it into the images folder mentioned in (2).
5. Run your Android Emulator as normal and you will now be able to try out the new Cupcake!

Enjoy!

Last week to enjoy the early bird discount!

A gentle reminder that this week is your last chance to enjoy the early bird discount (S$100) for the following courses:

1-day Programming Mapping Applications (S$399)

Google Maps and Microsoft Virtual Earth are two of the most popular mapping applications in use today. Besides using these two maps directly, you can also integrate them into your own applications using the APIs exposed by Google and Microsoft.

In this one-day course, you will learn how to incorporate mapping solutions into your own applications and how to implement interesting features such as geo-tagging and geo-tracking. In addition, you will also learn how to write location-based services using GPS and CellID technologies.

2-day Programming Windows Forms Applications (S$898)

In this 2-day course, you will learn how to develop compelling Windows Forms applications using the .NET Framework. You will learn the basics of Windows Forms applications and the use of the various Windows Forms controls. In addition, you will be building a number of projects, including learning how to interface to external devices like Web cams and fingerprint readers.

Attendees of this course will get a free Microsoft Fingerprint reader worth S$99.

Download the application form here.

Platform to watch - webOS (Palm Pre)

Just when you thought that you have enough mobile platforms to learn, Palm recently came up with a new device that seems to make heads turn. It is the Palm Pre, a device that runs on the Palm webOS. Unlike other platforms, which require you to learn new languages (such as Objective-C, Java, VB.NET, C#), the webOS supports web languages that most of you web developers are familar with - JavaScript, CSS, and HTML. This is achieved through the Mojo Application Framework. At this moment, Palm has not made the Mojo SDK available as yet, but it should do so at a later date. What made the Palm Pre so cool is that it works much like the iPhone (if not better), and what's more, the Mojo Framework sounds so developer-friendly.

So this is going to be a very exciting year...if you are still wondering if mobile applications are here to stay, you'd better start learning one or two now before the world leaves you behind! This will be the year of the great battle between mobile platforms - Android, iPhone, Windows Mobile, and now webOS (Palm)!

Check out the series of videos on the Palm Pre at Youtube.com. Here is one of them.

Location-Based Services Using CellID in Android

Though GPS functionality has become hugely popular, it doesn't work indoors and not all devices have built-in GPS receivers. How do you get around this? Learn how to find and use CellID to locate your Android device and use Google maps to display it.

Apple Singapore Sale

Apple Singapore is running a special one-day sale on Wednesday 14 Jan. If you are looking for bargain Macs, head over to Apple's web site.

The new aluminium MacBook starts at S$1928 and the older white MacBook is now selling at S$1508. The iMac starts at S$1808.

Android Book coming your way!

OK, I think I can now let the cat out of the bag.....yes, I am currently working on an Android book (to be published by Wrox). ;-) that will help you get jump-started on Android development. 

If you are totally new to Android, this book will get you into 5th gear in the shortest amount of time. It will cover all the basics of Android - activities, layouts, views, etc, as well as advanced stuff such as location-based services using GPS and CellIDs. It will also cover topics on creating your own Content Provider and how to use one. I anticipate the writing will be done by March and give and take 1-2 months the book should be out in the market. 

If you want to know what can Android do for you, come and join us this 9-10 March. 

Learn how to build location-based services for Android

In the upcoming course on Android, I will be showing attendees how to build location-based services on Android. If you want to learn how to use GPS and/or CellID to locate your current location, then come and join this 9-10 March 2009.

You can download the course application form here.

Buying an Android Phone

If you are an Android developer, you can now buy the Android Dev Phone 1, a SIM-unlocked and hardware-unlocked device, for your development purposes. The cost of the phone is US$399, but you also need to register for the Android Market first by paying the US$25 registration fee. But this is a small price to pay if you are into serious Android development.

Free eDoc on Getting Started with iPhone Development

If you have always wanted to learn iPhone development but don't know how to get started, download my free eDoc on Getting Started with iPhone Development. Try it out and see
how easy it is to get started!

Recommendations for Mac Purchase

Pertaining to the upcoming iPhone development course, I have received many queries regarding the requirements on the notebook. Yes, you would need to bring along your own Intel Mac - the iPhone SDK requires an Intel-Mac running Mac OS X Leopard. If you are currently not a Mac-user, here are several reasons why your next machine should be a Mac:

1. Mac allows you to dual boot into Windows as well as Mac OS X using the free BootCamp. If your work requires you to use Windows, you can install Windows onto Mac and then boot into Windows natively. You can also install Parallels onto Mac OS X so that you can run Windows on a virtual machine.

2. Prices for Macs are getting very competitive nowadays. Overall, the prices of Mac are still a little higher than PCs, but considering that you have the ability to run both OSes, it is a small price to pay. Moreover, the quality of Macs are way more superior than most commodity PCs.

If you are looking for a Mac notebook, I recommend you go for the latest aluminum 13-inch MacBook, which costs S$2088. If you are budget constrained (who is not?), then you can go for the older (but still trusty) white 13-inch MacBook (S$1588). I have been using the white MacBook and it has been serving me very well for the last 1 year.

Moreover, if you are a student or educator, you can get some nice Educational Discount at http://www.apple.com/sg/macbook/.

There’s Gold In Them iPhones

Newsweek recently posted an article on how kids are getting rich by writing applications for the iPhone. It is an inspiring article that should probably encourage you to start writing one yourself. All you need to have is an Intel Mac and lots of patiences. 

And considering all the bad news about the near- future economy, it is really a good move to start learning a new skill today. 

So, get jumpstarted by joining us in the first run of the iPhone development course on 12-13 March 2009. You can download the application form here.

Course Schedules for Feb and March 2009

I have just uploaded the brochures and application form for the courses scheduled for Feb and March 2009.

These includes the three new courses - Programming Mapping Applications, Programming Windows Forms Applications, and iPhone Programming.

Some of the topics covered in these courses are:
* Location-based services using GPS and Cell ID technologies.
* Integrating with hardware devices such as Web cams, fingerprint readers, etc.
* Integrating maps from Microsoft and Google.
* iPhone Programming using the Apple's SDK

You can download the application form here.

Inside the iPhone: Getting Started

I am extremely excited to inform you that my first iPhone article is now live at Devx.com!

Apple has lifted its NDA and developers are now free to talk about developing for the iPhone. In the first part of this series, you'll get familiar with the SDK by building a simple application and get a preliminary taste of what it's like to work with the mysterious Object-C.

Course Schedules for March 2009

Quite a number of you have requested for the schedule of courses next year. For your ease of planning, here are the schedules of courses in March 2009:

4-6 March (Wed-Fri) - Windows Mobile 6.1 Programming (S$997)
9-10 March (Mon-Tue) - Android Application Development (S$798)
12-13 March (Thu-Fri) - iPhone Application Development (S$997)
17 March (Tue) - ASP.NET AJAX Development (S$399)
25-27 March (Wed-Fri) - C# 3.0 Programming (S$1099)

* receive a S$100 discount if you register one-month before the commencement of the course.

More details will be released shortly. Meantime, if you have any questions, feel free to email me at: weimenglee@learn2develop.net.

C# 3.0 Programming Course (SINGAPORE) 15-17th Dec 2008

This is your last chance to enrol for the C# 3.0 Programming course (15-17th Dec 2008).

Besides learning all the fundamentals of C#, this course will introduce several technologies that would be of interest to a C# developer:

* Developing and deploying smart clients using ClickOnce
* Developing AJAX web applications
* Developing and consuming Web services

Participants will also receive a copy of my latest book - C# 2008 Programmer's Reference (S$69) free of charge.

For quick registration, please email me at: weimenglee@learn2develop.net.

Go Public with Your Android Application: Signing and Deployment

In order to deploy your application on Android devices (and on the Android Market), you need to sign it. Luckily, you can generate your own certificate and use it to sign your application. Find out how the process works.

Connecting to the Web: I/O Programming in Android

Learn how to connect your Android app to the web using an HTTP connection and how to parse XML files to extract useful information.

T-Mobile G1 skin for your Android Emulator

Sick of your default Android emulator maroon skin? Well, if you are one of the many folks drooling over the G1 but unable to get your hands on one, fret not.

Jeffrey Sharkey has just released a new G1 skin that you can use for your emulator. At least you will now feel better than your fellow developers who are still using the same old boring maroon skin!

Try it out! I have tried it and love it!

Location-Based Services Using CellID

Though GPS functionality has become hugely popular, it doesn't work indoors and not all devices have built-in GPS receivers. How do you get around this? Learn how to find and use CellID to locate your device and use Googe maps to display it.

Extend SMS Messaging to the Desktop Using Windows

When you think of SMS messaging, you probably think about your mobile device. But what if you could SMS someone from the comfort of your own desktop? This article shows you two messaging applications: One application to write the messages on your desktop and one application to send the messages from your device.

3-day C# 3.0 Programming Workshop (Singapore) - 15-17 Dec 2008

Since the release of the Microsoft .NET Framework in July 2000, the C# programming language has gone through a few revisions, with the latest version 3.0. Over the years, the C# language has gained a lot of followers, partly due to its familiar syntax to Java and C. The clear syntax of the language made it easy to learn, and is a popular choice for beginning programmers.

The latest version of C# 3.0 comes with .NET Framework 3.5. It contains many new features that make the language more intuitive and powerful. Coupled with Visual Studio 2008, Microsoft’s flagship development environment, developing applications using C# is now available to a wide audience. In this fast-pace 3-day course, attendees will gain a solid foundation in C# programming and learn the various new features in C# 3.0.

Topics
· Basics of the .NET Framework
· C# language foundation
· Class and Objects
· Interfaces
· Inheritance
· Delegates and Events
· Strings
· Generics
· Threading
· Files and Streams
· Exception Handling
· Arrays and Collections
· Language Integrated Query
· Assemblies

· Projects

All attendees will receive a copy of Wei-Meng’s C# 2008 Programmers Reference (Wrox)

Fees

$1099 (Register before 18th Nov 08 and receive a $100 discount)

For quick registration, please email weimenglee@learn2develop.net.

Tips for Debugging Windows Mobile Network Programming using Real Devices and Emulators

If you are a Windows Mobile developer, chances are you need to write applications that allow the Windows Mobile device to talk to the host computer. In such cases, you need to know a little about the IP address assigned to the device or emulator. The following is a little research that I have done and hopefully the information presented here will make your life a little easier.

Assumption: The host computer's IP Address is 192.168.1.100.

For Windows Mobile Classic/Professional Devices or Emulators

If you connect your device to ActiveSync, the following IP addresses will be assigned:
Comp: 169.254.2.2
Device: 169.254.2.1

If you connect your emulator to Activesync, the following IP addresses will be assigned:
Comp: 192.168.1.100
Emulator: 192.168.1.101 (next available IP address)

If you use Network Card Mapping for your emulator, the following IP addresses will be assigned:
Comp: 192.168.1.100
Emulator: 192.168.1.101 (next available IP address)

Hence, for sockets programming testing using emulator, set the server and client to rendezvous at the computer's IP address and not 169.254.2.2.

For sockets programming testing using real device, set the server and client to rendezvous at 169.254.2.2.

For Windows Mobile Standard Devices or Emulators

If you connect your emulator to ActiveSync, the following IP addresses will be assigned:
Comp: 192.168.1.100
Emulator: 192.168.55.101 (next available IP address)

If you use Network Card Mapping for your emulator, the following IP addresses will be assigned:

Comp: 192.168.1.100
Emulator: 192.168.1.101

Hence, for sockets programming testing using emulator, set the server and client to rendezvous at the computer's IP address and not 169.254.2.2 and use network card mapping.