Ron DeSerranno, founder and CEO of Mobiform, a company that’s been busy building Avalon and XAML tools since the October 2003 PDC, is giving a talk on how “Avalon in conjunction with XAML will revolutionize the user experience on the web and in desktop applications. XAML and Avalon provide a powerful framework that can provide 2D and 3D graphics, fixed document format, animation and multimedia in a single markup language.”

The talk is at the TechVibes MASSIVE 2005 (clearly named by marketing folks : ), March 30th in Vancouver, BC. Drink a pint for me, eh? : )

After a movie dry spell that's lasted since Thanksgiving, I agree with Shawn and was pleasantly surprised with Constantine. I liked it enough that I'd see it again. It's not great, but it's good and the guy playing Satan is fabulous.

Wei-Meng Lee shows you how to take advantage of the new web browser and control support in Windows Forms 2.0 to build a tabbed browser using Internet Explorer.

Dino Esposito takes you on "a whistle-stop tour of the new controls slated for Windows Forms 2.0 to make writing code more productive and pleasant than ever." Woo-Woo! : )

Another hot topic among Windows Forms programmers is extensibility:

• Add run-time functionality to your application by providing a plug-in mechanism
• Add Plugins to Your App 2: Search dynamically for plugins without Config Files
• The SharpDevelop add-in tree architecture
• Writing Plugin-Based Applications in .NET
• The MS-INC Plug-In Library
• The Razor Framework :: Part 1 :: Plugins/Extensibility
• Several nifty pieces on Lutz’s Reflector add-in model
• “Customizing the Microsoft .NET Framework Common Language Runtime,” by Steven Pratscher
• On Plug-ins and Extensible Architectures: Avoiding “plug-in hell” is from the Eclipse world, but I’m guessing it applies…

I know there are more pieces than just these, so send them along!

It seems that there are any number of ways to do multi-threading in Windows Forms. Here are some of the interesting techniques:

• Give Your .NET-based Application a Fast and Responsive UI with Multiple Threads, Ian Griffiths
• A number of Ted Pattison’s Basic Instincts column pieces cover threading
• Safe, Simple Multithreading in Windows Forms 1.x (part 1, part 2 and part 3), Chris Sells
• Safe, Even Simpler Multithreading in Windows Forms 2.0, Mike Weinhardt
• Asynchronous Windows Forms Programming, Juval Lwy (provides a BackgroundWorker component for Windows Forms 1.x)
• Making windows forms thread safe, Rüdiger Klaehn (generates a proxy class to do synchronization)
• The Daemon Inside and When to go async?, Matthew Adams

After watching the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy trailer on Amazon.com, I have to say, it might not suck. Any Portland Nerds that want to join me for the first show on 4/29 (but don't tell my boss, he thinks I'm working that day... : )?

If you’d like the official Microsoft press releases and top stories as soon as they’re available, point your favorite RSS reader at the following two new Microsoft PressPass RSS feeds:

 Microsoft PressPass - Press Releases: Provides links to the latest Microsoft corporate press releases.

 Microsoft PressPass - Top Stories: Provides links to the latest Top Story feature articles published by Microsoft PressPass. These articles provide in-depth background on Microsoft technologies and strategies, including executive Q&As and technology backgrounders.

Enjoy!