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Interesting reading about Entity Framework 4.0

2009-07-08T17:29:57Z

Entity Framework has suffered great changes and in order to know more about them I recommend the following reading:

POCO (Plain Old CLR Object or Persistence ) in the Entity Framework 4.0

Sneak Preview: Persistence Ignorance and POCO in Entity Framework 4.0
POCO in the Entity Framework:

“Why is POCO important in Entity Framework? Is important because now we have the ability to really separate the Storage Model from the Conceptual Model, and being the Conceptual Model our normal CLR Objects, that was not possible in previous versions of Entity Framework. This is a huge breakthrough for this 4.0 version. Is not perfect, and in this technologies it never is but it’s very interesting”

Part 1 - The Experience (Explains how to make this two parts of the POCO experience with Entity Framework 4.0, from making the Model to the designing of the POCO entities, as well as answering some interesting questions)
Part 2 – Complex Types, Deferred Loading and Explicit Loading (Goes further in the POCO entities and make changes shows how to implement Complex Types as well as configuring the Loading by using Deferred/Lazy Loading or Explicit Loading)
Part 3 – Change Tracking with POCO (Explains furthermore how the Change Tracking, that is so important in Entity Framework, works in POCO entities and how can it be configured by using Metadata)

Using Repository and Unit of Work patterns with Entity Framework 4.0 (Explains how to implement common patterns like Repository and Unit of Work using Entity Framework 4.0)
Entity Framework Feature CTP 1 (Announcement of the Entity Framework CTP Features for .NET 4.0 Beta 1)
- Feature CTP Walkthrough: Self Tracking Entities for Entity Framework (Explains the scenarios on where to use the Self Tracking Entities)
- Feature CTP Walkthrough: POCO Templates for Entity Framework (Explains how to use POCO Templates, that is a kind of T4 Template in order to generate POCO entities)
- Feature CTP Walkthrough: Code Only for Entity Framework (Explains how to Entity Framework without any model like EDMX, just code)

I hope you enjoy the reading.

Data Services – Can be ADO.NET or SQL – What’s the difference

2009-07-08T17:30:37Z

Just a while ago I was talking about Data Services and suddenly a confusion between ADO.NET Data Services and SQL Data Services took place, because we were talking about different Data Services, and so in order to try to clarify the differences I remembered to write this post.

There are two types of Data Services that are:

SQL Data Services
- Cloud – at this moment is being converted from ACE (Activity, Container and Entity) to TDS (Tabular Data Stream) as I’ve presented in this post.
- In this case we are talking about a Database in the Cloud and the ultimate desire will be to just change the ConnectionString used.

ADO.NET Data Services aka. “Project Astoria”
- This one is about making available a set of REST Services on top of ADO.NET
  - Highly Extensible:
    - Query Filtering (GET requests)
    - Operation Filtering (PUT, POST, DELETE, etc requests)
    - Making other Operations available with the same capabilities as the ones associated with ADO.NET Data Services.
      - Filter
      - Sort
      - Group
      - Take
      - Skip
      - and so on.
  - This layer can be placed on top of:
    - Entity Framework
    - Linq-to-SQL
    - Custom CLR Objects
- Where to know more:
  - Overview: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc956153.aspx
  - Sample: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc748663.aspx
- Offline Version:
  - http://channel9.msdn.com/pdc2008/TL08/
  - http://blogs.msdn.com/astoriateam/archive/2008/10/22/astoria-futures-offline-enabled-data-services.aspx

Hope it helps you get the confusions out of discussions on this topic.

Writing specifications for web applications

2009-07-08T15:06:45Z

Why and how you should write specifications for your next web project.

Why are We Embarrassed to Admit That We Don’t Know How to Write Tests?

2009-07-08T17:26:06Z

Take your average developer and ask “do you know language/technology X?” None of us will feel any shame in admitting that we do not know X. After all there are so many languages, frameworks and technologies, how could you know them all? But what if X is writing testable code? Somehow we have trouble answering the question “do you know how to write tests?” Everyone says yes, whether or not we actually know it. It is as if there is some shame in admitting that you don’t know how to write tests.

NEC VersaPro UltraLite VS shows just how thin 15.8mm is

2009-07-08T17:03:13Z

The NEC VersaPro UltraLite VS may be a small and light computer with an Intel Atom processor. But its high price tag (around $1000) firmly prices it out of the netbook categroy. But the laptop may have one feature that almost makes it worth the price, if you happen to have a whole lot of cash burning a hole in your pocket. It’s thin. Like super, duper thin, measuring just 15.8mm thick at its thinnest point and 19.4mm at its thickest. That’s about 0.62 to 0.76 inches.

Akihabara News got some hands-on time with the laptop recently, and shot a few photos to show just how slim the laptop looks in person. The answer? Very. Hit up the photo link for more images.

Post from: Liliputing

Sony Ericsson's Android Rachael UI Makes Me Want to Ditch My iPhone [Smartphones]

2009-07-08T18:17:00Z

Sony Ericsson will use their own interface in their next Android-powered Rachael smartphone. The good news: It kicks serious ass. Check out the video demonstration, as well as the new images of this hot Android smartphone and the new Kiki.

As you can see in the video, the user interface in the 7.2Mbps HSDPA Rachael—which is rumored to have a Snapdragon processor, an 8-megapixel camera with auto-focus, and 3D acceleration—is extremely sleek, making full use of the touch interface, with pretty widgets everywhere. It also appears to be heavily oriented to social networks like Facebook and Twitter. I like it enough to make me want to ditch my iPhone—if it had equivalent apps to the ones I use, that is.

People were discarding already Sony Ericsson—myself included—but if they release this on time, bug free, and with this interface, they may have an opportunity to become the leading Android smartphone. [Esato via Boy Genius Report]

Modder adds Twitter / IRC / email LED to Eee PC, lives to tell the tale

2009-07-08T20:33:00Z

You know, we were cruisin' the blogosphere the other day on our tricked out Eee PC, rocking our newly installed trackball, when we realized that we were enjoying ourselves so much that we had completely lost track of the time -- and the way that news moves around here, that's a very dangerous thing. Like, what if @spencerpratt got to the bottom of the moon landing hoax or the conspiracy to fluoridate our water and we totally missed the tweet? Well, we can thank our lucky stars that a certain Justblair has already given this some thought. With little more than an AtMel AtTiny45 microprocessor, a red / green / blue LED, and some programming chops, this guy has rigged a netbook with a little light that notifies the user when they get a new message in Thunderbird, Pidgin or Twitter. This is definitely not a project for beginners, but if you'd like to take a crack at it hit the read link for the whole low down. As for us, it's back to Loose Change: the Blooper Reel on Google Video.

[Via Liliputing]

Filed under: Laptops

Modder adds Twitter / IRC / email LED to Eee PC, lives to tell the tale originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Will Microsoft promise split the open source movement

2009-07-08T18:24:29Z

When we last left “As the .Net Turns,” Richard Stallman was promising that Microsoft would never, ever marry his open source daughter. Now Microsoft has raised the tension in the room by giving that daughter a ring, to the cheers of the rest of her family.

4 Companies Leading the Mobile Revolution

2009-07-08T18:53:15Z

The four IT leader companies in mobile innovation.

Microsoft's Gazelle Browser Could Be the Google Chrome OS Competitor? [Browser]

2009-07-08T19:40:00Z

That Google Chrome OS counter Microsoft was supposedly working on could be this Gazelle browser, which wants to treat the browser more like an OS.

The Gazelle prototype is supposed to do stuff like protect webapps from each other, and isolate different browser tabs (like Google Chrome does now and Firefox is going to do). It's one of the many, many research projects Microsoft has incubating, but might be the one that they trot out next week to show that they're still in the loop in terms of keeping up with Google.

What it won't do is replace IE—at least not in the short term. [CNET - Thanks tipsters!]

Image credit

Jolicloud Alpha 2b released, Alpha 3 coming soon

2009-07-08T19:55:11Z

While the Google Chrome Operating System due out later this year is designed to provide quick and easy access to web-based applications, that’s exactly what Jolicloud offers today (plus the ability to run desktop Linux apps). While the operating system is still available only to a small group of testers, development is coming along. This week Jolicloud released Alpha 2b, which is a minor update on the recently launched Jolicloud Alpha 2.

The update includes an improved search engine, an easier way to upload pictures to your Jolicloud profile, and overall improved responsiveness. There aer also new applications available including music streaming service Deezer and desktop media player Moovida.

Work is also underway on Jolicloud Alpha 3, which will be the first version to drop the Ubuntu Netbok Remix interface. While the operating system will still be based on Ubuntu, and thus able to run most applications that can run on Ubuntu Linux, Jolicloud Alpha 3 will have a custom user interface written in HTML and Javascript. Right now, only certain portions of Jolicloud like the application installer and community sections use the new interface. The program launcher and other areas of Jolicloud use the Ubuntu Netbook Remix interface. When Alpha 3 is available, the entire operating system will have a consistent UI.

Post from: Liliputing

Two More Android Updates This Year [Android]

2009-07-08T19:43:06Z

In addition to the one minor and one major (Cupcake) update Google rolled out, there's going to be two more updates for the 2009 year. One's minor and one's major (Donut). [Mobile Crunch]

Downloadable Videos from NDC

2009-07-08T21:15:00Z

http://blogs.msdn.com/grothaug/pages/downloadable-ndc2009-videos.aspx

This time they're easy to download. There's some awfully good content in there.

Giz Explains: What the Hell's Google Chrome OS? [Giz Explains]

2009-07-08T21:50:00Z

Google. Chrome. OS. Just reading that makes my pants tingle. But, uh, what is it exactly?

Here's what Google says: "Google Chrome OS is an open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks" and "most of the user experience takes place on the web." That is, it's "Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel" with the web as the platform. It runs on x86 processors (like your standard Core 2 Duo) and ARM processors (like inside every mobile smartphone). Underneath lies security architecture that's completely redesigned to be virus-resistant and easy to update. Okay, that tells us, um, not much.

After all, Google's Android is a mobile OS that runs on top of a Linux kernel. But Chrome OS is different! Android is designed to work on phones and set-top boxes and other random gadgets. Chrome OS is "designed to power computers ranging from small netbooks to full-size desktop systems" for "people who spend most of their time on the web." Hey wait, they both run on netbooks? Hmm!

Since the official blog post is all Google has said about Chrome OS and it doesn't say much, let's do something I learned in college, turning tiny paragraphs into pages of "deep reading."

It seems like there are two possibilities for what Chrome OS is, on a general level. The more mundane—and frankly uninspired—possibility is that it's essentially a Linux distro with a custom user interface running the Chrome browser. As someone quipped on Twitter (sorry I don't remember who), if you uninstall everything but Firefox 3.5 on Ubuntu, would that be the Firefox OS? What's the difference between Chrome OS and a version of Chrome with Google Gears on Intel's pretty Moblin OS?

The other possibility is more interesting. Look at this closely: "Most of the user experience takes place on the web." The software architecture is simply "Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel." That sounds familiar. A lot like Mike Arrington's CrunchPad, actually, which boots directly into the WebKit browser running on top of Linux.

Meaning? The entire experience of the CrunchPad takes place on the internet, and the web is its "platform" as well, essentially. Chrome is WebKit-based as well. (I'm surprised Arrington didn't mention this in his post, actually.) If I had to guess, I'd say Chrome OS is somewhere in between an entirely browser-based OS and a generic Linux distro, though leaning toward the former.

But running a full computer like Chrome OS, based entirely on web apps, is crazy, right—I mean, what if you're not online? There are two things that show it actually might not be completely retarded.

You can already use Gmail offline. I think that will be really indicative of other app experiences in a totally web-oriented Chrome OS with Google Gears. The same goes for Google Docs in offline mode, an option some people have been using for over a year. It's no coincidence that Google pulled "Beta" off of its web apps the day it announced Chrome OS.

Another reason it might work is Palm's WebOS on the Pre, where most of the apps, like Pandora, are written simply using web languages. (It, too, is running WebKit on top of Linux kernel.) As Harry McCracken notes, it seems like a prime opportunity for Google's long rumored GDrive online storage to finally rear its head, picking up on the line "people want their data to be accessible to them wherever they are and not have to worry about losing their computer or forgetting to back up files." That could make Chrome OS wildly more compelling. And don't get me started on all the app-like possibilities from HTML5 by the time Chrome OS launches in the second half of 2010.

Actually, the more minimal it is, the more I think Chrome OS could be better, in some ways, than Android. Google half-assed a lot of Android at launch (UI inconsistencies, missing video player, etc.). If Chrome OS really is just a glorified browser, Google can afford to be that lethargic—all they have to do is maintain the browser, and everyone else will take care of the web apps. Which developers will code, because they'll run on any OS with a browser—Windows, OS X, whatever—and because the web as a platform is the way things are going. Even Microsoft knows this, deep down, as their Gazelle browser project shows.

How will you sync an iPod, manage printers and network drives, or yank photos and videos from your camera? We don't know. Some things may be impossible. Will there be an uproar, like there was with iPhone 1.0, about the limitations of web apps? Surely someone will bitch.

But I can almost see a day where phones run Chrome OS, too, when wireless internet is truly ubiquitous. It seems obvious, now, that this is Google's long-haul play—not Android, even. Either way, Microsoft doesn't have to be scared today. But they might be in about a year.

Still something you wanna know? Send questions about web tablets, web apps, the wicked webs Google weaves and anything else to tips@gizmodo.com, with "Giz Explains" in the subject line. Top image by Cobra Commander, from our totally insaney Google Chrome comic Photoshop contest.

HTC Hero vs. T-Mobile myTouch 3G... fight!

2009-07-09T00:04:00Z

Two long lost siblings, at last reunited. But can there ever be unity? We don't think so. At every turn, the HTC Hero seems to trounce the myTouch 3G -- it's really hardly a contest. The myTouch is certainly lighter, and in many ways "feels" smaller because of it, but the size differences really are negligible. They're still both great phones, but the Hero really feels like a million bucks, while the myTouch feels a bit like a toy. Unfortunately, only one of them just went up for pre-order on T-Mobile, and it's not the one we want to marry.

Gallery: HTC Hero vs. T-Mobile myTouch 3G... fight!

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

HTC Hero vs. T-Mobile myTouch 3G... fight! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Why Google Chrome OS Could Save Microsoft and Intel From Themselves

2009-07-08T17:35:45Z

Google’s announcement that it is launching a new operating system, entitled Google Chrome, is seen by many as a gauntlet thrown down to Microsoft. Somewhere deep in Google HQ, a few executives probably believe that the company’s new cloud-based OS is the beginning of the end for Windows. And in the halls of power in Redmond, executives may be girding for a desktop battle. They’re wrong. Google’s Chrome OS has the potential to save Microsoft, Intel, and the rest of the notebook industry from falling margins by creating a meaningful distinction between notebooks and netbooks.

Let’s journey back in time to October 2007, when the first commercial netbook, the ASUS Eee PC 701, hit store shelves. The Eee PC 701 had a paltry 7-inch 800×400 screen, a 4GB flash chip for storage, an underpowered Celeron processor, a tiny keyboard, and short battery life. Its small form factor and simple custom Xandros UI made it look more like a toy than a notebook, but a lot of people loved it. Consumers were excited because it was inexpensive and easy to carry. Notebook vendors were stoked because they saw an opportunity to sell a new class of companion device in addition to traditional notebooks and desktops. Then things changed.

The original netbook vision was of a Linux-based companion device that was extremely inexpensive and let you perform mainly Web-based tasks. It was meant to be like a smart phone, but with a bigger screen and keyboard. The buzzword “$100 laptop” was bandied about, with the hope that someday the netbook would achieve price parity with an iPod.

However, as the months went by, more and more users looked at the Eee PC and wanted more functionality. They demanded larger screens and keyboards, longer battery life, more storage, and the ability to run their favorite programs. Vendors wanted to meet these needs and grab a share of the new netbook market so they started coming out with 9-, 10-, and recently even 12-inch models.

Intel knew that its rusty old Celeron chip wasn’t right for this new market and it saw VIA CPUs emerging in early netbooks like the HP Mini-Note, so it introduced Atom. And Microsoft saw that Vista would not run well on netbooks so it lowered the price and extended the life of Windows XP just for netbook-makers.

Even while netbook makers added the above features and more, prices remained in the $299 to $399 range, and carriers even started to subsidize these machines for $199–and now 99 cents.

As the netbook revolution was getting underway, several landmark ultraportable notebooks hit the marketplace. The MacBook Air, Lenovo X300, and Voodoo Envy 133 all hit store shelves with prices north of or close to $2,000. Consumers looked at many of these traditional notebooks, particularly the underpowered first-gen Air and the underwhelming Envy and said “why should I pay thousands more for this than I pay for a 10-inch netbook?”

Unfortunately for Intel, Microsoft, and the notebook vendors, they did too good a job of making netbooks more powerful. Users realized that what they were looking for all along were lighter, cheaper, longer-lasting notebooks and that a single core Atom processor and Windows XP were good enough for most of the everyday tasks they wanted to perform. Now, “cannibalization” is the big concern, with many consumers buying $400 netbooks in lieu of mainstream notebooks. And, partly because of netbooks and partly because of the economy, the cost of regular notebooks has continued to plummet.

The industry desperately wants to restore the distinction between netbooks and notebooks so consumers will have an incentive to buy higher-priced systems with faster processors and more expensive versions of Windows. Microsoft has tried to set a screen size limit of 10-inches for OEMs to install its lower cost Windows XP and Windows 7 Starter Edition licenses on their systems. And Intel is reportedly trying to prevent manufacturers from using its popular Atom N270 and N280 processors on anything larger than 10 inches, steering them instead toward its pricier consumer ultra-low voltage (CULV) chips. Yet these efforts are doing little to stem the popularity of low cost systems with screens ranging from 10 to 12 inches.

Enter Google’s Chrome OS, which has the ambition of replacing Windows on all PCs, but is most likely to appear on netbooks. We don’t know how much Chrome will cost, but let’s assume for a second that it will be either free or incredibly inexpensive. Unlike Windows, it’s going to be designed almost exclusively for cloud-computing. Also unlike Windows, it will run on both traditional PCs and a new generation of “smartbooks” that use inexpensive ARM processors. Because of Google’s clout, it has a decent chance to succeed where other Linuxes — we’re looking at you, Xandros, Ubuntu, Linpus, and Moblin– have failed.

If Chrome OS succeeds, it could lead to mass adoption of sub-$200 smartbooks. While Google could very well take market share away from Microsoft (and from Intel if the CPUs are ARM-based), it also draws a bright line between notebooks and netbooks. Today’s Atom-based Windows XP machines would be considered bargain notebooks, not netbooks. And with a clear focus on providing the full computing experience, vendors can push performance and bottom-line enhancing features like multi-core processors, larger screens, speedy SSDs, gobs of RAM, and powerful operating systems such as Windows 7 Home Premium.

Microsoft and Intel won’t cede the companion device space to Google easily, but losing in the low-cost war could help them win more high-margin customers–and save their very hides from the perils of cannibalization.

Poll

Will Google Chrome be good or bad news for Microsoft?

	Good news, because it will make Windows a premium OS.
	Bad news, because it will cost Microsoft marketshare.
\| Results

Windows Software Guru Now President of the Whole Windows Business [Microsoft]

2009-07-08T23:13:13Z

Steven Sinofsky, the amazingly competent dude at the helm of Windows 7 software development, has just been named president of the whole Windows division. He basically assumes the managerial duties of Bill Veghte, who was overseeing the business side.

Having met Sinofsky on a number of occasions, I can say that it makes total sense. He's sharp, and now that he doesn't need to focus all his managerial efforts on meeting development deadlines, it's time to put the rest of his brain to use in getting the product into distribution. My sense is, given the man's focus and drive, he was probably already making most of the key logistical decisions already.

It's weird that Veghte is being bumped at a time when sales messaging for Windows 7 is so vital. The task of marketing Windows 7 will be taken over by Tami Reller, current CFO of the Windows division, who will report to Sinofsky. Veghte's a really nice guy, and I was under the impression that some people thought he could be the next Ballmer, so I'm not too worried for him. However, it sounds like a demotion. All Microsoft says is that Veghte "will be moving to a new leadership role in the company to be announced later this year." Let's just hope it's not leader of sanitation and food services. [Microsoft]

HTC Android Family Portraits: G1, myTouch 3G and Hero [Android]

2009-07-09T00:30:00Z

Ever wondered what it'd be like to get three generations of Android phones together—G1, myTouch 3G and Hero? If you think that's kind of kinky, oh man, I hope you have a clean pair of pants lying around.

A couple interesting things gleaned about the Hero as I barely refrained from cramming it down my pants: There's a ton of HTC software on there, not just the Sense UI—they've built their own mail client with Exchange support, and even a slick, iPhone-worthy Twitter app. Also, the grey Hero has a rubber back—only the white one is rocking out the Teflon (but it's the only one that needs it).

Oh yeah, dear god please give me one. Right now. Thanks.

Does Windows Mobile Still Have a Market Left?

2009-07-08T20:08:00Z

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mi...ns?pagenumber=1

"As computing goes mobile thanks to the emergence of more powerful devices, Microsoft Corp. is finding itself increasingly threatened by new rivals -- and some old ones, too. The company's mobile technology has suffered in comparison to both the iPhone, from traditional foe Apple Inc., and Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry. Meanwhile device makers who have normally been big supporters of Microsoft's mobile operating system software, such as Motorola Corp. and Palm Inc., have been moving toward the use of different technology."

We've already had an interesting discussion about this topic, but as people look at the mobile market it's going to come up again and again: Microsoft has really dropped the ball in terms of competing in this space. In some ways, this echoes what they did with Windows XP: it was a good product when it launched, but they took their eye off the ball and got lazy - and Vista shipped years late, and missing many of the features it was supposed to have. Similarly, Windows Mobile was a great mobile operating system back in the day - but Microsoft focused on the wrong things, year after year, and now have ended up at the bottom of the marketshare heap. They can do better - and they will do better - but for now, they're going to take some lumps.

Testing With "The Force"

2009-07-09T05:48:33Z

Markdown was one of the humane markup languages that we evaluated and adopted for Stack Overflow. I've been pretty happy with it, overall. So much so that I wanted to implement a tiny, lightweight subset of Markdown for comments as well.