Dave Bost

During the craziness of my week last week, with the Visual Studio 2010 Launch event in Chicago and the Chicago Code Camp, a little nugget of useful information passed through my radar that I’ve been waiting to tell everyone for a couple of weeks now.

There has been an update to the Windows Phone 7 Developer Tools that now work within the RTM version (shipping version) of Visual Studio 2010. If you’ve been holding out in upgrading VS2010 to RTM because the WP7 tools were not compatible, wait no more.

Rob Cameron provides a nice little walkthrough on what you need to clean from your machine in preparation for the new bits, as well as links to the new download links including an update to Expression Blend 4 RC.

Don’t forget, if you don’t have Visual Studio 2010, don’t fret as the Windows Phone tools come with an express edition of Visual Studio specifically for Windows Phone.

Get building those XAP’s!

Windows Phone

To help jump start your Windows Phone 7 application development, the team has provided a set of Application Bar Icons that follow the Metro style. There are a total of 64 icons (32 dark, 32 light) and include the following:

General: Add, Back, Base Circle, Cancel, Check, Close, Delete, Download, Upload, Edit, Favorites, Add to Favorites, Minus, New, Next, Overflow Dots, Question Mark, Refresh, Save, Share

Media: Stop, Sync, Fast Forward, Play, Pause, Rewind

Phone Featurel: Camera, Email, Search, Settings, Video, Folder

This package includes the .png of each icon along with an Adobe Illustrator file containing the vector images of the icons.

Here is a sampling of the icons included in the package…

For an understanding on how to apply an Application Bar to your Windows Phone 7 app, be sure to read How to: Add an Application Bar to Your Application. For Design guidelines, read the UI Design and Interaction Guide.

Download Windows Phone 7 Application Bar Icon Pack

Windows Phone

This Saturday we will be hosting the first Windows Phone 7 DevCamp in Chicago. I wanted to provide some details for people attending the DevCamp that will help them prepare for this weekend’s festivities.

First… this is a DevCamp. What does that mean exactly? A DevCamp is similar to a Hackathon (some would say they’re the same thing). Pek Pongpaet, a Chicago developer explains why he thinks Hackathons (or DevCamps) are Awesome.

Although there may be different interpretations of what a DevCamp is, this DevCamp will consist of the following agenda:

8:30 – Check-In (yeah…I’m not a morning person either, but we have a lot to cover in one day)

9:30 – 12:00 – Overview and (some) Training (we may not go this long)

12:00 – 5:00 – Application Competition (break off into teams and build AMAZING Windows Phone 7 Apps)

5:00 – 6:00 – Team presentations and Judging

6:00 – 6:30 – Awards

That’s right… I said AWARDS! Awards will be handed out to the top teams based on creativity, design, completeness, and sure brilliance! Depending on what teams decide to build (apps vs. games) we may split the awards into Best App and Best Game. We will determine this on the day of the event.

Second… you should come prepared and that means getting your hands on the tools before Saturday. Read the following blog post for a list of links to the tools and learning resources to help you prepare for Saturday:

• Getting Started with Windows Phone 7 Series Development and Design

Here are some additional resources I’d like to throw your way to help you before the DevCamp…

• Designing for Win Phone 7 [Clarity Consulting]
• Building the Elusive Windows Phone Panorama Control [Clarity Consulting]
• WP7 Silverlight Tutorials [AfricanGeek.com]
• Building a Windows Phone 7 Puzzle Game [CodeProject.com]
• Labyrinth Sample for Windows Phone [Peter Blois]
• Looping Panorama for Windows Phone 7 [AimeeGurl.com]
• Using the Bing Maps Silverlight control on Windows Phone 7 [Bart Czernicki]
• Silverlight for Windows Phone Forum [Silverlight.net]
• Windows Phone Forums [Microsoft.com]
• Sgt. Conker (Games on WP7)
• Windows Phone 7 Platformer Starter Kit for XNA Studio 4.0 [David Rousset]

That should keep you plenty busy come Saturday!

The most important thing about the DevCamp is showing up. Bring your ideas. Bring your passion. Bring your skills! We hope this event will kick off a series of similar events that will lead you to making MILLIONS with the Windows Phone Marketplace. ;)

See you on Saturday!

Windows Phone, training

Visual Studio 2010 will ship on April 12th. We will be celebrating this HUGE release with a number of LIVE launch events taking place around the US as well as the World. The theme for this launch event is “Life Runs on Code”. We will have sessions covering  Application Lifecycle Management, SharePoint 2010 and Office 2010 development, Windows, Web as well as the recently announced Windows Phone 7 development all with Visual Studio 2010.

One of the first launch events will be taking place in Chicago on April 29th. I will be presenting the Web and Windows Phone 7 sessions in Chicago. We hope to see you there!

What: Visual Studio 2010 Launch (Chicago)

Where: Chicago Marriott Oak Brook, 1401 W. 22nd Street, Oak Brook, IL (map)

When: Thursday, April 29th, 2010

Register

These events are happening all over the US, for other cities, visit the Launch site. We are also hosting a number of smaller launch events. You can find a city near you by visiting MSDN Events.

.NET 4, Announcements, Visual Studio, Visual Studio 2010

With the excitement over the Windows Phone 7 Series, developers are chomping at the bit to start building apps. Although were a few months away from releasing Windows Phone 7 Series to the world, now is a good time as any to start ramping up our developer muscle to build amazing applications targeting the new Windows Phone.

I’m happy to announce the first (which I’m sure there will be many) Windows Phone DevCamp coming to Chicago on April 10th.

This DevCamp will start the day off by providing a walk through of the the development tools including Visual Studio and Expression Blend. From there, attendees will break off into groups to hash out their phone applications. At the end of the day, each team will be given an opportunity to showcase their ideas.

Who: Developers, Designers, Mobile Enthusiasts and Entrepreneurs

What: Windows Phone 7 DevCamp

When: Saturday, April 10, 2010 @ 8:30am – ? (map)

Where: ITA, 200 S. Wacker, Chicago, IL.

Register Here

Announcements, Windows Phone, training