I updated the SDK RegistrySettingsProvider to implement IApplicationSettings and built a sample to demonstrate how to integrate it (or any .NET 2.0 custom settings provider) with the settings designer-generated code. Enjoy.

To capture the work that Doug and I did to make Indigo (WCF) and Avalon (WPF) work together, I tore up our PDC sample application into a set of simpler technology samples. To make it fun for myself, as part of these samples, I built a little library for converting numbers into strings of English words, e.g. 4 is “four:”

To drive home the point (of which there wasn’t any because the sample had nothing whatever to do with number to English phrase conversions), I spent some time polishing the algorithm so that it handled decimal points:

and when that didn’t satisfy me, I added large numbers and negative numbers:

Before writing this code, I searched the net and didn’t find any algorithms that handled both negative numbers and decimal points, let alone for .NET or in the number of lines of code to which I cut it down (93, including comments). I know it’s not useful, but it was fun. If you want the code, you can get it by downloading the .NET 3.0 Cross Technology samples and checking out the WinSDK_Samples\CrossTechnology\WpfDataBindingToWcfResults\service\NumberUtility.cs file. I built the file to be dropped into any .NET 2.0+ project (and even .NET 1.x projects, if you remove the “using System.Collections.Generic” statement at the top of the file — I don’t actually use generics), regardless of whether you’re using Avalon or Indigo or not.

Enjoy.

I had my first on 10 experience today (I was following the links to the PhotoSynth stuff) and I have to say, I instantly fell in love with Laura Foy. I know that Erica Wiechers (of The .NET Show and MSDN TV) has a huge geekboy fan base (and it was fun to work with her @ MSDN), but Laura’s interviewing style and her personality made me subscribe to her interviewer-specific RSS feed on 10.

In fact, Laura makes me wish I did something besides developer-related stuff. What do I have to do to be interviewed by Laura Foy?!?

P.S. I wanted to title this blog entry “Laura Foy is a major babe,” but Laura is a fellow Microsoft employee and that would be inappropriate. Also, the whistling and cat calls would be way out…

Imagine your vacation photos displayed in 3D and linked together, both around a space and zooming in and out. Now imagine everyone’s photos linked together in this way. What you get is PhotoSynth:

• PhotoSynth Demo and Overview Videos
• PhotoSynth architect interview on Channel9
• PhotoSynth on 10

Worth checking out.

Folks are having enough issues with their Qtek 8500 phones that they’re starting to want to trade them in on IMate Smartphones, which are the same HTC hardware but different software. Issues include (for me):

• phone not ringing on all incoming phone calls
• phone not providing notification of pending voicemail
• heavy bluetooth interference
• fuzzy pictures

Yesterday, I used Stork’s instructions to turn my Qtek into a Smartflip and have not had any of the problems except for the bluetooth interference.

The real problem is that, unlike with PCs, phone hardware manufacturers don’t actually support their phones. If I buy a Dell, they’ll provide BIOS and driver upgrades. If I buy an Qtek, they send me to the cell provider for a fix who, of course, doesn’t have the Qtek 8500 on their list.

With the flexibility of phones these days, they’re just like pocket-sized PCs and there’s a lot more innovation going on with them then with my PC right now. I used to get excited about my new laptop; now I get excited about my new phone. However, this situation about who you’re supposed to buy phones from and get support from is completely messed up and needs to change.

This spoof on Microsoft’s college recruiting practices was recorded long ago (back with the XBox was new), but it has recently surfaced again, so I thought I’d share. Enjoy.

I just realized that Avalon is getting a book treatment unlike any other topic in my memory:

• “Essential WPF,” by Chris Anderson, architect on the MS WPF team
• “Applications = Code + Markup,” by *the* Charles Petzold
• “WPF Unleashed,” by Adam Nathan of ”.NET and COM: The Complete Interoperability Guide,” *the* book on .NET interop and the correspondingly wonderful pinvoke.net.
• “Programming WPF,” by Ian Griffiths and Chris Sells. Ian’s depth of knowledge of graphics — down to the hardware — continues to amaze me.

User and GDI had Petzold. Win32 had Rector. MFC had Prosise. COM had Box. Indigo’s got no big names I’ve yet seen, but Avalon gets Anderson, Petzold, Nathan *and* Griffiths?!? It’s going to be a bloodbath in the market, but the readers are going to benefit. Why couldn’t I have picked a lightweight topic, like, oh, I don’t know, ASP.NET 2.0? : )

I have to say, I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed Portland Code Camp yesterday. I had planned on skipping the sessions (except my own), instead monkeying for Rory as my entertainment, but that went out the window when I got there and saw the session list. I very much enjoyed Scott’s PowerShell presentation (Tab completion and PowerShell Analyst — wahoo!), as well as the RoR meta-programming and IronRuby sessions, but easily the best talk I saw was Jeff Berkowitz’s Poker Bots for Fun and Profit. The set of legal, ethical, technical and algorithmic issues he covered as awesome. The coolest thing I learned about was the Poker Academy, which is a poker tutorial program that lets me build my own poker bots to test my strategies. Fabulous!

My own session was co-delivered by Chris Tavares (recently of the Patterns and Practices group), and we spent 90 minutes pumping the audience for their feedback about building distributed applications under Windows, including what their scenarios are, what sucks and should be fixed, what’s good and should be kept and what solutions they propose. I have to say, it was fun to be on the receiving end of the heat instead of the giving end for the change and to be in a group that hopes to solve such problems (the Connected Systems Division owns Indigo, BizTalk and Workflow). Thanks, attendees, for the great list and for not throwing anything but insults (and so politely, too! : ).

In addition to the free sessions, there was free food, free entertainment, free wireless and free air conditioning. I miss the single-track benefits that you get with the DevCons, but other than that, the Portland Code Camp is now in the very short list of conferences I won’t be missing in the future. Thanks to Jason, Rich, Stuart and the rest of the organizers. Highly recommended!