Secret Microsoft Communications

Setting Up Team Foundation Server (not services) on Windows 8

Surf4Fun — Tue, 29 May 2012 23:01:03 GMT

First see the forum comment at: http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/tfssetup/thread/2bc48ea2-a652-4f98-9676-2243675c43fa make sure to have IIS up and running and the installation is slick. So run that cmd code as an administrator. Follow...(read more)

See Windows 8 at the Microsoft Store!

Surf4Fun — Tue, 29 May 2012 22:35:30 GMT

Alice Pang is demonstrating Windows at the following Microsoft Stores: Wednesday, May 30 Mission Viejo, CA Register Wednesday, June 6 Costa Mesa, CA Register Wednesday, June 20 Century City, CA Register...(read more)

Setting up Team Foundation Services on Win8!

Surf4Fun — Tue, 29 May 2012 20:28:20 GMT

I am going to make use of Team Foundation Services. There appears to be few problems, but nothing that can’t be overcome with procedural efforts. Now this is different then Team Foundation Server, which is working quite nicely Windows 8. First...(read more)

WIndows 8 Design: Storyboarding Windows 8 or Windows Phone 7 apps

Surf4Fun — Tue, 29 May 2012 19:50:00 GMT

If you are like many software students or professionals, you may be thinking about the high level of design skills that everyone at Microsoft keeps talking about with respect to Metro Design. Me too. It’s kind of like: WTF. Then I think, wow, design...(read more)

Windows 8 Day by the beach in Carlsbad California

Surf4Fun — Tue, 29 May 2012 18:15:52 GMT

Have any questions about Windows 8 ? Need some guidance on how to get started building a Windows 8 metro style app? Want to see more Windows 8 code samples? Looking for help in taking your application to the next level? Bring your laptop over to the beach...(read more)

5 thingies in a list about WinRT

Surf4Fun — Wed, 23 May 2012 15:15:00 GMT

Need to do a list today, so here it is, feel free to add more in the comment, but 5 seems to be magical WinRT is a set of Windows 8 OS APIs based on classes, objects and members How is this different than the Win32 APIs? Win32 API are C DLL export APIs...(read more)

Create WinRT in Blend? Is this a blend of icy goodness? Or is it just weird to write C++ in Blend?

Surf4Fun — Tue, 22 May 2012 19:29:12 GMT

And just what the heck does this have to do with building quality apps? Well, first of all a quality app don’t get hung up and freeze. If you use WinRT, then WinRT can help you prevent freezing. So no, this isn’t about a blend of icy...(read more)

Wait for it… await, do I have use this with WinRT?

Surf4Fun — Tue, 22 May 2012 16:15:25 GMT

Some people complain that my titles make no sense. But they do. To me. And you right? After all you are reading this so the title or something got you to this URL. I think a title like: “Gibberish, followed by the Spanish...(read more)

ABI ? WTF do these three letters stand for?

Surf4Fun — Fri, 18 May 2012 21:06:50 GMT

It’s ok when one article doesn’t define an TLA (three letter acronym), but then a basic article like the one “ Welcome Back to C++ (Modern C++)” , once and then the TLA ABI is used again in linked articles, etc. Somewhere, at least using basic writing...(read more)

Porting a Windows Phone App to WinRT

Surf4Fun — Fri, 18 May 2012 15:28:58 GMT

This is an awesome article about how to port a WIndows Phone app to Windows 8. Instructions, etc. Well written. As you might think: “Well Written? This can’t be written by Sam then!” And that would be correct, it is on CodeProject: http...(read more)

Get coordinates from directmath vectors in Windows 8 and C++

Surf4Fun — Wed, 16 May 2012 21:08:42 GMT

Vectors operations are similar to Matrix operations, but there is usually a need for faster calculations. On one of my jobs in the 1980s we had to create a digital system that could do calculations very rapidly and with the power supply had to be...(read more)

Let’s talk about directives in VC++ in Visual Studio 11 and Windows 8

Surf4Fun — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:26:00 GMT

Anything with a pound symbol in front of a word is used to give direction to the preprocessor. So the first time you run into the pound symbol (#) usually is something like the following: #include <algorithm> #include <iostream> #include...(read more)

XNAMATH is now in DirectMath and only accessible from C++

Surf4Fun — Mon, 14 May 2012 16:50:22 GMT

XNAMATH : The most recent version of XNAMATH, which is updated for Windows 8, now ships as DirectXMath . The headers for DirectXMath are available in the Windows SDK. DirectXMath is C++ only (namespaces, overloads, new templates, etc). The DirectXMath...(read more)

All right, I am confused, DirectX 11, DirectX, XNA and Windows 8

Surf4Fun — Sun, 13 May 2012 17:07:00 GMT

On Friday, May 11, 2012, I wrote a blog that was just a quick knock off to end the week. I had thought that DirectX 11 can only be accessed via C++, now I worry if that is true? I am so confused. DirectX is now shipped directly with the Windows SDK...(read more)

DirectX 11 and Windows 8

Surf4Fun — Sat, 12 May 2012 00:14:00 GMT

Well, apparently there is some concern about the messaging around DirectX 11 and Windows 8. Right now as of 5/11/2012 I am accessing DirectX via C++. This means that if you are thinking about low level graphics design, then you may consider it important...(read more)

Metro design for Windows 8: Design is the word

Surf4Fun — Fri, 11 May 2012 17:00:21 GMT

Design is the least expensive component of the software implementation cycle. In most CS departments and for most corporations, design often is thrown aside to get things done. Perhaps you work at a company that respects the design process...(read more)

Preparing your app for Windows 8 Launch

Surf4Fun — Wed, 09 May 2012 17:10:00 GMT

Looking for Great Windows 8 Apps, you got one? Make it happen Windows 8 is coming soon. You can download, use it, and even develop apps for it today. At this point in time the Windows Store is not open for everyone to deploy, but we are looking...(read more)

Oracle versus Google and Microsoft Open Source promise

Surf4Fun — Wed, 09 May 2012 15:44:20 GMT

Big number of articles about the civil law suit between Oracle and Google over Google’s use of Java. What about Microsoft products, what does Microsoft promise to the open source community? What is Microsoft’s promise to the open source community...(read more)

5 things you need so you can to start programming with C++ and Kinect

Surf4Fun — Wed, 09 May 2012 15:07:00 GMT

Here are the 5 or so things you need to program C++ and Kinect: There are four chapters of an excellent book at: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh145619(v=vs.88).aspx Buy a Windows Kinect, not the XBox 360 Kinect, shop around, but the Windows...(read more)

List of items to help you get started with teaching C++ using the Kinect

Surf4Fun — Tue, 08 May 2012 19:07:45 GMT

Yeech. C++. After nearly 20 years of advancement in software development, C++ is returning. Sort of like that old girlfriend (or boyfriend, your choice) that you dumped years ago, now you are divorced, and you run into her (him) at Starbucks...(read more)

Vote for the Imagine Cup team of choice every 24 hours!

Surf4Fun — Fri, 04 May 2012 18:27:37 GMT

Use this link to vote for your Imagine Cup once every 24 hours: https://www.facebook.com/MicrosoftTechStudent/app_170672609717521?app_data={'mtag':'sstokes'} Note that you will need to do this on a non-,mobile device and the page takes about 20 seconds...(read more)

Kinect and my dog

Surf4Fun — Thu, 03 May 2012 18:01:51 GMT

So does Kinect detect my dog or what? This was a funny picture while testing a simple program, it did get the head of the dog as well as the paws. This was nothing on my part and is simply the Kinect Quickstart running on my PC. After all...(read more)

Talking to my inner space alien about MetroRT, which should be simply Metro or WinRT or something completely mutated

Surf4Fun — Wed, 02 May 2012 17:29:29 GMT

My inner space alien made it’s visit and was asking me about the whole idea around MetroRT, Win8 and other stuff. First of all the Inner Space Alien wanted to know what in the heck is MetroRT? Since the only written material in the Universe...(read more)

Microsoft and the United States Marshals disrupt cybercrime botnet

Surf4Fun — Tue, 01 May 2012 23:39:12 GMT

A giant network of Zeus infected computers created a botnets. Microsoft, the Electronic Payments Association and the United States Marshals served a Federal Warrant on computer hosting centers in Illinois and Pennsylvania. Although AP reported...(read more)

List of 10 Windows Phone 7 Articles that are useful

Surf4Fun — Tue, 01 May 2012 16:23:41 GMT

Here is a list of ten articles that I have reviewed for a presentation at BYU. Thought I would share them with you: Panorama Control Overview for Windows Phone http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff941104(v=vs.92).aspx Bing Maps REST...(read more)