Daily Links 10/06/2008

Synch google calendar with outlook
$30 / year price tag :|

Upgrading to Silverlight Tools Beta 2 and Visual Studio 2008 SP1 Beta

Fixes for Silverlight 2 Beta 2 install / Visual Studio hassles

DocProject 1.11.0 RC
Works with SandCastle May Release (when it gets released)

MSDN Code Gallery
Handy for keeping up to date with code / utilities available for M$ software development products

Good article on using mock objects in unit testing

GhostDoc
Auto-generate xml documentation in C# code based on method name and paramters via a short-cut key. What I found really nice was that if you change the parameters / names etc., and press the short-cut key, it automatically corrects the xml documentation above the method definition. It also allows you to add custom rules to make the generation more intelligent.
Use this in conjunction with DocProject & Sandcastle, and you have a comprhensive code documentation system that has minimal impact on the productivity of the development team :)

I've come across some justifying leaving debug="true" in their asp.net web.config files for detail error message reasons. Here's why you shouldn't

Mobile Phone: XML Contacts Backup
"Useful for export, modify and re-import mass contacts files. XML Contacts Backup has nice interface very friendly and easy to use. It's always good to have your contacts backed up, why not in XML format for better accessibility and editing"

Daily Links 07/03/2008

Three levels of extension methods

Old Extension Methods post from ScottGu
I particularly liked the ".In()" extension method for objects

wake up mobile device
I've been struggling to find code that will "wake up" my mobile device (ie: turn on the screen). This is the closest thing to working code I've found so far.

Some upcoming silverlight tutorials from Jesse Liberty


Microsoft, Nokia to port Silverlight to Symbian phones
Now your phone doesn't have to be a Window's Mobile device to develop for it!

All the Silverlight 2 Beta 1 download links you'll need

MSDN Forums
It seems quite active on getting solutions to your .NET development problems.

Determine if the type of object derives from (is a subclass of) a specific base type:
if (objInstance.GetType().IsSubclassOf(typeof(BaseClassType))) {}
as apposed to
if (objInstance.GetType() == typeof(DerivedClassType))
- DerivedClassType must be exact type (false if a base type class)

Singleton Factory in C#
...now all you have to do to make the class a singleton, is declare the contructor private, and use the factory to access an instance of it. Neat.

MIX 08 Sessions available on-line
Some handy Silverlight, ASP.NET MVC and WCF posts. Check it out. now.

Backup and Restore data from your Windows Mobile Device for free - PIM Backup Application
Was looking for something to backup my device before I upgrade from WM5 to 6. This seems to do what I needed (Backup contacts) and more.

Daily Links 05/01/2008

LINQ let Keyword

SQL Server Indexes: The Basics

XNA 2.0 Released (Latest version of Visual Studio's gaming engine for XBOX 360)
"2.0 version contains improved performance along with new features such as expanded support for Visual Studio 2005 products, networking and multiplayer support, the XNA Game Studio Device Center, easier Xbox 360 connectivity, improved content pipeline experience, and much more."

Skype coming to PSP

Looking for a fun tutorial for learning Silverlight 1.1 (2.0)
Check this out

Debugging Silverlight 1.1 Alpha with Vs 2008
Some help for debugging silverlight

Improve your windows mobile UI
(It's freeeeeee!)