In May of 2003 Microsoft asked me to do a keynote-like session at the Visual
Studio.NET launch event in Oslo, a trip I just couldn't pass up. The problem
was that I had no idea what a smart client application was. So, I had to
quickly get smart on smart client applications. Before I go through the
attributes of what a smart client is, let me tell you that back then no one
could really agree on the definition of a smart client application. So, the
research was a frustrating task. In fact, a few short months later I ran a
smart client "chalk talk" at the PDC. I pulled a number of smart client
experts on stage and was amused as the experts and audience spent the entire
hour arguing about the definition of a smart client application.
So what is a smart client application? It's easiest to start with what it
isn't - it is not a browser-based application. One of the most imp... (more)
(October 27, 2003) – As I walked out of the opening keynote (run by Bill
Gates and Jim Allchin) at PDC 2003 Monday, it occurred to me that it was one
of the best keynotes I have seen in years. Trust me, I have been to 10+ years
of these things. I am usually disappointed by opening keynotes, and I believe
Bill Gates is as sick of his “Digital Decade” speech as I am. But he had
all-new content for the PDC, and Longhorn in its infant stage, simply put,
looks awesome. I have been playing with the Longhorn bits, but I have not
seen compelling demos done against the bits until now, and... (more)
Paul Flessner, Sr. VP, Server Applications, gave his keynote entitled
“Getting Ready for Connected Systems” at Tech·Ed 2005 in
Orlando, FL today. Embodied in the keynote were a number of new product
announcements and a handful of powerful and entertaining demos.
The huge announcement of the day was that SQL Server 2005, Visual Studio
2005, and BizTalk Server 2006 will launch the week of November 7. Now the
world can stop speculating that these products will slip into 2006 –
Microsoft has officially committed to dates.
"The BizTalk Server 2006 announcement is a sur... (more)
This article covers building .NET applications in Whidbey and manifesting
them in Word and Excel documents. This is accomplished with Visual Studio
2005 Tools for the Microsoft Office System (VSTO 2005).
If you're like many developers, you wonder why you'd build a .NET application
to manifest its user interface in a Microsoft Office application like Excel
or Word.
I was the same way when I first heard about Visual Studio Tools for Office
(VSTO) a couple of years ago. I immediately discounted it - until I played
with it. Then I found version 1.0 (VSTO 2003, shipping since October,... (more)
In May of 2003 Microsoft asked me to do a keynote-like session at the Visual
Studio.NET launch event in Oslo, a trip I just couldn't pass up. The problem
was that I had no idea what a smart client application was. I had to quickly
get smart on smart client applications. Before I go through the attributes of
what a smart client is, let me tell you that back then no one could really
agree on the definition of a smart client application. So, the research was a
frustrating task. In fact, a few short months later I ran a smart client
"chalk talk" at the PDC. I pulled a number of smart... (more)