Verio is offering a sweet little free hosting deal to developers and designers to promote Microsoft-based hosting for products and technologies like Expression, Visual Studio, and Silverlight.  The Plan includes:

• .NET Framework 3.0 (I am told 3.5 will be made available eventually)
• SQL Server Express
• ASP.NET 2.0 (Including ASP.NET AJAX 1.0)
• Full Trust
• Shared AppPool
• 100 MB disk space
• Free through January 2010

So what do you have to do to get it?  Just call 800-932-7483.  No credit card is required.  The offer is not available online.  You need to call the toll free number.

I just signed up myself!  The process was pretty quick and painless.  I haven't actually tried using it yet.  That's next:).

Mike Taulty has a really nice overview video here.  I have spent much more time looking at LINQ to SQL than LINQ to Entities (which is just using LINQ queries against the ADO.NET Entity Framework).  I plan on digging in to the ADO.NET Entity Framework soon (it's on my laundry list of TODO's!).  Remember, LINQ to SQL is only for SQL Server.  LINQ to Entities / ADO.NET Entity Framework will work against other databases (using db specific providers).

Thanks to everyone who attended!  If you missed it, you should be able to watch a recording soon here.  I've uploaded the updated code & deck to my Windows Live SkyDrive folder here.  My list of LINQ resources I find helpful is here.  Someone mentioned during the presentation that WinZip was displaying errors about the code download file.  I have verified (on a second computer) that the archive is good. 

Thanks to a suggestion from Robert at our team offsite last week, I am pulling all of my "Resources" links out of my slide decks and replacing them with a single link to a list on my blog which I will continue to update.  Windows Live Spaces, which is what I use as my blogging service, has a nice feature (similar to SharePoint) where you can create lists.  In preparation for my LINQ webcast today, I began the migration and added a "Resources" list to my space.  Each item in the list will link to another list with helpful URLs for a given subject :

As with any list on Windows Live Spaces, you can click on the "+" icon to subscribe to an RSS feed for the list or even add it to your own space:

Of course, subscribing to the "Resources" list will only let you know when I add a new group of resources.  To get updates for the contents of the LINQ resources, for example, you will need to click on the LINQ entry in the list (or use this direct link for LINQ), select the "Tools" dropdown, and make the appropriate selection ("Subscribe to RSS feed", "Add to Live.com", etc.):

I hope this makes it easier to find follow up information after my presentations.

-Marc

August 29th 2:00P-3:30P EST (11:00A-12:30P PST)

Modern applications operate on data in several different forms: Relational tables, XML documents, and in-memory objects. Each of these domains can have profound differences in semantics, data types, and capabilities, and much of the complexity in today’s applications is the result of these mis-matches. In this talk, we will explain how Visual Studio 2008 and the .NET Framework 3.5 aim to unify the programming models through LINQ capabilities in C# and Visual Basic, a strongly typed data access framework, and an innovative Application Programming Interface (API) for manipulating and querying XML.

Database-centric applications have traditionally had to rely on two distinct programming languages: one for the database and one for the application. In the second part of this talk we will introduce LINQ to SQL, a component of the LINQ project designed to help integrate relational data and queries with C# and Visual Basic. LINQ to SQL enables developers to express queries and updates in terms of their local programming language without sacrificing the server-side execution model of today’s high-performance SQL-based approaches. Using these advances, database queries that previously were stored as opaque strings now benefit from static type checking, CLR metadata, design-time type inference, and of course IntelliSense. LINQ to SQL also supports a rich update capability that lets you save changes to an object graph back to the database using optimistic concurrency or transactions.

Register at this link: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032346231&Culture=en-US

-Marc

Yes, you read that right!  Details here.

The top three requests I hear from customers regarding WPF controls are something like the DataGridView in WinForms, Office 2007 Ribbon, and behavior similar to how Visual Studio allows you to drag & drop / dock / undock windows like the toolbox, etc.  Of course, all of this is possible with WPF and some effort.  However, there aren't any controls out of the box that make it almost effortless.  You need to look to a control vendor if you want to save some time.  Dennis Basaric from DevComponents informed me that they have released DotNetBar for WPF which includes their new Wpf-Dock control plus their existing Wpf-Ribbon control.  I haven't had a chance to work with the latest control yet, but it's definitely something I would evaluate if I needed docking behavior in my application.  Details here.

Well, the internal conversation that lead me to this post continued while I was on vacation.  It turns out that the license you agree to when you install the ASP.NET Futures does have the Go Live text.  However, the team asked me to remind people that the "release includes early experimental versions of features currently being considered for future versions of ASP.NET and the .NET Framework."  What does that mean?  It means use them at your own risk.  There is no guarantee that what's in the Futures release makes it into an official release.  What does Go Live mean?  Many people assume that Go Live = supported.  Not so.  Go Live is meant to allow those who want to assume the risk the opportunity to use pre-release software in production.  There is no support for the ASP.NET Futures other than the forums.

Windows Live Folders is now Windows Live SkyDrive (http://skydrive.live.com).  I started using it in the early beta stages.  If I would have read the fine print I would have known that they warned people that the urls would change.  Therefore, all of the download links on any of my recent post are broken.  I will do my best to fix them all.  In the mean time, everything I linked to was in my public folder.  Direct links won't work, but you can still get to all the downloads by going to my new public folder here.  You just might have to browse the folders a bit before you find what you are looking for.  I've tried to create sensible folders.  Sorry for the inconvenience.

Tim Sneath has some details here, plus there is a great video that was just published on Channel 9 here.

Thanks to everyone who attended!  All of my latest VE content is available here.  Direct links:

Deck

VE Map Control (v5) / ASP.NET AJAX Demo Code (requires VS2008 Beta 2) 

WPF Demo Code (requires VS2008 Beta 2)

ClickOnce Deployed WPF Demo (requires that the .NET Framework 3.0 be installed on the desktop before running)

I mentioned both IDV's Visual Fusion products and MapDotNet Server a few times as responses to some of the "How do I do X?" questions.  Have a look at both products to see how they build on top of Virtual Earth.  Both IDV & ISC (makers of MapDotNet Server) delivered webcasts for me recently.  You can get to the recorded webcasts here. 

If you missed today's webcast, then you can watch a recording here.

There were a few questions I couldn't completely answer.  Once I get the Q&A log, I will hunt down answers and blog them.

UPDATE: I forgot about Chris Pietschmann's ASP.NET AJAX Virtual Earth Mapping Server Control.

If you've seen one of my deliveries of "What's new for Web Developers in Visual Studio 2008..." presentation, then you have seen the three new controls in ASP.NET 3.5 (ListView, DataPager, LinqDataSource).  Daniel Moth just shared some links here to some resources that go a little deeper than I have time to in my 1-1.5 hour presentation.

Charlie Calvert published a video where Matt Warren (C# Principal Architect) & Luca Bolognese (Lead Program Manager) have a very deep discussion of LINQ to SQL internals.  I you're like me and you really like to know how all the moving parts work, then this is a MUST SEE video.  Details here.

I have been tinkering with different JavaScript Intellisense scenarios in Visual Studio 2008.  I just stumbled onto a feature I did not know existed thanks to an internal discussion.  First, if you use a ScriptManager in your page to reference other JavaScript files and service references like so:

MyPage.aspx:

...

<asp:ScriptManager ID="ScriptManager1" runat="server">
                <Scripts>    
                    <asp:ScriptReference Name="PreviewScript.js"
                        Assembly="Microsoft.Web.Preview" />
                    <asp:ScriptReference Path="MyPage.aspx.js" />
                </Scripts>
                <Services>
                    <asp:ServiceReference Path="OfficesService.svc" />
                </Services>
            </asp:ScriptManager>

...

Next, if you like to put all of your JavaScript in a separate "code beside" like I do, then all you have to do is reference MyPage.aspx in MyPage.aspx.js like so:

/// <reference path="MyPage.aspx" />

Once you have done this, you will get JavaScript Intellisense in MyPage.aspx.js for everything that was referenced in your ScriptManager.  Now if you add a reference to the ScriptManager, you automatically get JavaScript Intellisense in your "code beside" .js file.  Before I found this feature, I would add duplicate "/// <reference/>" entries in my MyPage.aspx.js file corresponding to the entries in my ScriptManager.  It was a maintenance hassle as references changed.  Problem solved:). 

I have a 3 monitor setup at home.  Both the WPF & Web (ASP.NET/Html) designers have a "split view" capability which allows you to see markup and the design surface at the same time (and keep them in sync).  If you "split" vertically and stretch VS across two monitors, you can have your markup on one monitor and your design surface on the other.  I just started using this feature and MAN OH MAN is it a UI developer's dream!  Here's a screenshot of the web designer split across two of my monitors (sorry about the camera phone pic quality):

For WPF, switching vertically is obvious.  However, for the new web designer it is a little bit more hidden.  Scott Guthrie has an explanation of how to enable it here.

Charles Sterling has put together a great 3 part Hands on Lab where you start off using Visual Studio 2008 and the new WPF Designer (code name "Cider") to build an Browser Application (.xbap).  Then, he walks you through how a designer could pick up the app you built in Visual Studio and jazz it up using Expression Blend.  Going through these three HOLs is a great way to try out the designer/developer workflow we've been saying that Expression/Visual Studio gives you and learn what you will be able to do as a developer using the WPF Designer in Visual Studio 2008.  Labs are here.

In short, no. 

I promised to follow up on this question that was asked in my What's new in Visual Studio 2008 for Web Developers webcast this week.  The ASP.NET Futures "contains an early developer preview of features providing a wide range of new functionality for both ASP.NET and Silverlight. The Futures release includes early experimental versions of features currently being considered for future versions of ASP.NET and the .NET Framework." (from http://www.asp.net/downloads/futures/)

Although the ASP.NET controls in the Futures release are not ready for prime time, I definitely recommend taking a look at them and providing feedback at http://forums.asp.net/1127.aspx.

The Virtual Earth Platform is an integrated set of services that combines unique bird’s eye, aerial, and satellite imagery with best-of-breed mapping, location and search functionality. It enables business to deliver innovative solutions and breakthrough customer experiences.  With the Virtual Earth platform, companies can create an immersive experience that enables consumers to easily discover, search, and visualize business location data and locally relevant information. Take your websites and applications to the next level by integrating the Virtual Earth Platform to deliver the highly visual and locally relevant information consumers care about most.

I will be covering the following:

• Virtual Earth vs. Live Maps
• Programming with the Virtual Earth Map Control v5 using JavaScript
• Using Virtual Earth with ASP.NET AJAX
• What if I don’t want to write JavaScript?
• Hosting Virtual Earth in a desktop app

This will be a developer focused session on programming with the Virtual Earth Map Control.

When

August 8th 2:00P-3:30P EST (11:00A-12:30P PST)

Register at this link:

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032346283&Culture=en-US

Note: Audio will be via the Internet.  Your machine will need a speaker.

From here on out, I will be uploading all of my publicly available downloads to Windows Live Folders.  I have already begun the movement.  None of the old links will break, but all new links will point to Windows Live Folders.  I've already updated the "My Presentations & Downloads" link on http://www.devkeydet.com.  Direct link here.

Visual Studio 2008 has this great new JavaScript Intellisense feature.  Now with this addon from Justin Angel, who is an MVP from Israel, you can get full JavaScript Intellisense for Sivlerlight.