UX Confidential

Riapalooza Chicago

Join your fellow RIA professionals for RIApalooza, a invaluable two day event aimed at exploring and promoting the development of Rich Internet Applications.

I will be presenting on WPF and fellow Magenicon Corey Miller will be showing his Silverlight chops.

RIApalooza promises a platform agnostic and "PowerPoint-Free" zone, which means we are going to forgo the boring marketing pitches in favor of talking technology. RIApalooza is about creating Rich Internet Applications; how to go about building them and what is being built.

The event begins with a social meet-and-greet, Friday, May 30, 2008 from 6pm to 10pm. Presentations and sessions will be held Saturday, May 31, 2008 from 9am to 5pm.

The event will be held at the Illinois Technology Association, located at 200 S Wacker Drive 15th Floor Chicago, IL 60606.

Magenic will be co-sponsoring the event along with Microsoft, Adobe, the Chicago Area Adobe Group among others. Space is limited so head on over and register now.

UPDATE: For my presentation, I plan on demoing an ongoing WPF project... showcasing how the app is being built, and how to skin controls in WPF.

Silverlight 2 Developer Poster

Don Burnett points out that the Silverlight 2 Developer Reference poster they passed out at MIX08 can also be downloaded via Brad Abram's blog here. Also, don't forget to check out the cool DeepZoom version here. Thanks Don!

2 Flavors of Expression Blend

I had the chance to chat briefly with Pete Blois from the Microsoft Expression team about this week's announcements regarding Blend. He pointed out that there are 2 new versions of Blend now available: Blend 2 Beta and Blend 2.5 March 2008 Preview. He recommended only using the 2.5 Preview when working with Silverlight 2 projects and sticking with the Blend 2 Beta when working with WPF. I will be installing both versions and have a comparison review of in the coming days.

Microsoft Uses Photosynth to Create WorldWide Telescope

We're finally seeing a cool new use of Microsoft's Photosynth technology in the Worldwide Telescope, a virtual astronomy application that trumps Google Sky in user interface and wow factor. Much like the 3D photo collages we've seen from Photosynth, users are treated to a virtual version of the universe. The technology combines images and feeds from telescopes and satellites, and weaves them together to create a comprehensive view of space and beyond. Check out the video from yesterday's TED conference.

What I'm (re)Reading

Being Digital by Nicholas Negroponte. A history of media technology and predictions for the future, this 1995 collection of Wired articles was required reading for me in college. 13 years later, Negroponte's remarkably accurate insights and optimism for the future renew my own hopes for the promise that technology can and will make a better future for us all.

A First Look at Silverlight 2!

In anticipation of MIX08 in March, Scott Guthrie has posted his First Look at Silverlight 2.

MIX08 Sold Out...

If you haven't registered in time, you are too late. MIX08 is now sold out. Luckily all the sessions will be recorded and posted to www.visitmix.com following the conference.

2 Great Reasons to get Windows Live Now!

The Windows Live platform has recently added some compelling services that provide free online file storage and media streaming that Silverlight designers and developers can take advantage of.

SkyDrive provides 5GB of free online storage, and is accessible from any Windows or Macintosh computer with Internet access. The service allows you to create personal, shared, and public folders with password protection. SkyDrive is tightly integrated with Spaces, a service that lets users share photos and post blog entries.

While SkyDrive provides online storage for files, Silverlight Steaming, allows you to host Silverlight applications and media for free! Currently in pre-release, Silverlight Streaming offers designers and developers up to 4BG to host rich media as part of their Silverlight applications.

SkyDrive and Silverlight Streaming, as with all Windows Live Services, require a free Windows Live ID. If you use Hotmail, Windows Messenger or MSN you already have a Live ID. Click here to learn more.

Usability and Interface Design Books

Smashing Magazine has a great article on Usability and Interface Design Books here. The list includes a favorite of mine: Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug. This one is a must read for anyone concerned with usability on the web.

Creating Simple Events for Buttons in Blend

At this week's Chicago .NET Users Group, I presented a short Silverlight demo for creating interactive buttons with simple events using Expression Blend and javascript. For those that asked for the demo files from my presentation, here they are: Download CNUG_Silverlight_SimpleEvent.zip