DonS.CF : Tablet PC Development

Determining Ink Capabilities at Runtime

Dons — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 15:37:42 GMT

I've been asked on a couple of occasions whether or not it is possible to determine if the Tablet PC OS is installed on a system running a .NET application. Typically, this would be beneficial if you were writing an application that wanted to support both ink and non-ink user input. While the InkEdit control included in the Tablet PC SDK does provide a simple way of supporting ink and non-ink input "out-of-the-box", more complex solutions might wish to dynamically load different types of UI objects.

There is an example of how you might do this over at MSDN. The C# example uses assembly loading and reflection to determine if the Microsoft.Ink assembly is loaded and whether or not ink recognition is available.

Club Pocket PC - Boston Meeting: Wednesday, Oct. 18th, 2006

Dons — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 15:04:37 GMT

FYI - The next meeting of Club Pocket PC - Boston will be held on Wednesday, October 18th at 6:30 PM at the Microsoft office in Waltham, MA.

Presentations include:

FIRST LOOK: Windows Mobile Device Center for Windows Vista. If you are wondering about how your Windows Mobile device will work with the upcoming Windows Vista operating system, this presentaton will give you insight to the successor to ActiveSync.
Microsoft SLAM for Windows Mobile Smartphones. Microsoft Research recently launched SLAM (Social/Location/Annotation/Mobile), a concept application for Windows Mobile Smartphone. SLAM is focused on social networking with small groups, exchanging conversations and other media. If you are interested in seeing what Microsoft is thinking in the mobile device social networking space, then this demonstration is a must-see.
Ink Enabling Applications for Microsoft Windows Tablet PC Edition. Digital ink functionality has always been a cornerstone of the Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition platform. Surprisingly, however, there has been slower than anticipated release of "ink-enabled" applications. If you are a .NET developer, you may be very surprised to see just how easy it is to provide ink functionality to your users. This presentation will demonstrate the common steps to support digital ink and related tasks.

I will be presenting the ink-enablement session (and working with my "partner in crime" Steven "fyiguy" Hughes on the other presentations as well. As always, it's a great opportunity to learn and meet other Windows Mobile and mobile technology enthusiasts. Hope to see some of you there!

Using The New Microsoft.Speech Namespace in the .NET Framework 3.0/Vista

Dons — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 13:32:00 GMT

I have had the opportunity to work with the new Microsoft.Speech namespace in the .NET Framework 3.0. The short of it - it rocks! Very easy to get started, but a wealth of sophisticated functionality for developers. Of course, you need to be running Vista in order to make this happen. One thing I really liked is the bringing forward of some of the concepts of Microsoft Speech Server and the Speech Application SDK ("SASDK") into the client-side API. Most notable is the whole prompt database concept, allowing for structured interaction with the user. You do not have to use this, however, as the SpeechSynthesizer.Speak() method does allow for the use of any text string to be spoken.

While most of the messaging around the Speech API is focused on accessibility, speech interaction can be useful on the desktop in other situations. Case in point -

My 6 year-old son is in first grade and learning his spelling. He comes home at the beginning of the week with a new list of spelling words to learn. I decided to combine the power of the Tablet PC with the new Speech API. The result was an application that:

1) Allows the user (I would assume an adult) to create lists of words to practice. The list is stored as XML. Multiple lists can be created.
2) Has the user go through each word. The application speaks the word, then the user spells it by writing on the Tablet PC. Once finished, they tap on a big color-coded button to check the spelling.
3) If the answer is correct, the application says so by voice, then provides a little applause. If the answer is worng, the application says so (in a nice and encouraging way), and a little "awww" is played. The user can always try again.
4) At the end, a tally of total words and correctly spelled words is provided.

Total time to develop the application - about 4 hours from concept to realization. Most of the time was spent on UI creation; writing the Tablet PC-specific code and Speech interface was more of a matter of minutes than hours.

I really think there are many more possible uses for the new Speech API. Just think of something you do currently that involves reading. Would a voice interface be nicer or improve productivity? If the answer is even "maybe", then you should check it out.

The Lowdown on SQL Server Everywhere Edition

Dons — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 19:48:00 GMT

On April 6th, 2006, Microsoft (via a SQL Server 2005 Update from Paul Flesner) announced a "new" product in the Microsoft SQL Server family - SQL Server Everywhere Edition (or "SQL Everywhere" for short, or "SQL/e" for shorter). At the time, I chose not to post about it until more official word came out. I did this for two reasons -

My unofficial word would be just that - unofficial. Better to hear more information direct from the source;
I would have to type a lot less if I simply pointed people in the right direction ;-)

Microsoft's own Steve Lasker has put together a good FAQ regarding SQL/e on his MSDN blog. In short, SQL/e is essentially SQL Mobile without the desktop limitations. As you may or may not be aware, SQL Mobile was authorized for use in developing Tablet PC applications as well as Windows Mobile applications. That was the extent of "desktop" deployment, however. This new structure allows for SQL Mobil... er, SQL/e to be used as an embedded database in any Microsoft OS environment.

Personally, I applaud this decision. I know that when the decision to allow Tablet PC deployments but not others first came out, a lot of folks in the .NET CF and Embedded MVP communities thought an broader expansion would be a good thing. Obviously, Microsoft listened (to MVPs and others) and responded. This change opens a number of possibilities for occasionally-connected application developers.

BTW - Steve Lasker has also posted about leveraging SQL/e in Visual Studio 2005 development. Really great article with useful information.

Developer Cabana Night In Waltham (October 6th) Is Shaping Up Quite Nicely

Don — Tue, 31 Aug 2004 18:43:00 GMT

In his lastest weblog post, Thom Robbins has posted a list of just some of the people who will be present at the upcoming Developer Cabana Night at the Microsoft - Waltham offices on October 6th from 6:00 to 10:00 PM.

The list includes -

Chris Bowen	www.monster.com
Carl Franklin	www.franklins.net
Robert Hurlbut	www.hurlbut-consulting.com
Patrick Hynds	www.criticalsites.com
Duane Laflotte	www.criticalsites.com
Jesse Liberty	www.libertyassociates.com
Chris Pels	www.idevtech.com
Richard Hale Shaw	www.richardhaleshawgroup.com
Don Sorcinelli	www.bostonpocketpc.com
Pat Tormey	www.4square.net

Yes, that's my name you see there. It should be in very small font type, espcially when compared to the people it is listed with ;-)

I will be leading the discussions in the “Mobile Application Development” room that evening. Remember - this is a “NO SEMINAR ZONE”, so there will be no canned Powerpoint presentations.

If you have not yet registered for the Developer Cabana Night, you can do so at the Microsoft Events web site. In addition, if you have a question you would like to pose to the “experts” in advance of the event, you can do so by sending the question to cabana@bostondotnet.org.

I look forward to see you there!

Code Camp II Back In Boston This October

Don — Tue, 31 Aug 2004 16:01:00 GMT

For those who are unaware, Code Camp is a free one-weekend intensive training session sponsored and hosted by the Microsoft - Waltham offices. For one weekend (Saturday and Sunday, so you don't have to be out of the offices), Code Camp provides track-oriented sessions that are really code-intensive and beneficial.

The first Code Camp in Boston earlier this year was a great success. So successful, in fact, that the sequal (Code Camp II) has been scheduled for the weekend of October 16th and 17th! Thom Robbins has posted more information on all of this in his .NET weblog. This page provides links to the current (and ever-growing) list of speakers and sessions, as well as the registration page for the event.

I was looking forward to presenting on Windows Mobile topics under the "Smart Client" track at this Code Camp. Unfortunately, I found out yesterday that the closing date my family's first home purchase (time to grow up, I guess) will be on October 15th. Rather than being the first man to be thrown out of his home before he even officially owns it, I have had to back out of the event. While this is disappointing personally, I know that the event will be a huge success for all of the lucky participants and presenters.

Speaking of presenters - if you are interested in presenting one or more sessions at this upcoming Code Camp, I encourage you to read Thom's post on his "Call For Speakers" and take advantage of the opportunity. I have told Thom that I would gladly offer my support and assistance to any Windows Mobile-oriented presenter; while I cannot be there in body, I can in spirit :-)