We’ve got .NET sample libraries and example for managed code developers to target Windows 7 new APIs!

Windows 7 offers new functionality that developers can exploit in their applications to provide enhanced experiences and productivity for their end users. Included among these new features is the ability to add custom Tasks to the Taskbar Jump Lists, support the new Libraries and make your application Library aware, allow enhanced user interaction with Multi-Touch, and extend the application to “react” to its surroundings by adopting the Sensor and Location platform. You can read about these and many more new Windows 7 features in the Windows Engineering blog, Channel 9 videos, in earlier posts, and on The Windows Blog.

The Windows 7 Beta SDK is a great source of documentation and examples for using these new sets of APIs. However, most of the examples are written in native code similar to Windows 7 APIs which are all native C, C++, and COM APIs, which makes the life of managed code developers a bit hard. For that reason, Microsoft created the Windows Vista Bridge project that makes it easier for managed code developers to use Windows OS-specific APIs such as those described above. The current version of the Window Vista Bridge, version 1.4 contains many useful “Windows Vista” features such as  Restart and Recovery, Search, Power Awareness and other Shell integrations. However the current version doesn’t include any Windows 7 features. It will support key Windows 7 APIs in the near future, but until then, we have developed an intermediate set of solutions for supporting managed code developers who wish to target Windows 7 Beta today and not wait for the time the Windows API Code Pack for the .NET Library (the new name of Windows Vista Bridge) will be available.

NOTE: It is important to be aware that these solutions are not the “official libraries”; they come with no support or any sort of warranty -- in other words, use them at your own risk!

With that caveat in place, we can go ahead and introduce some new managed code wrappers that will allow managed code developers to use the Windows 7 Taskbar, manipulate Libraries, add Multi-Touch support for WinForms or WPF 3.5 SP1, and enable Sensors and Location in their applications.

Taskbar

The Taskbar Sample .NET Interop Library allows developers to:

• Create and manipulate JumpLists including tasks and items
• Display Dynamic Overlay Icons, Thumbnail Toolbars
• Use the Taskbar progress bar
• Control Custom Thumbnail Preview, and custom Preview also known as – AeroPeek

The Windows 7 Taskbar Sample .NET Interop Library is available for download and include 4 demos showcasing all the Taskbar features.

You can read detailed explenation about the Managed APIs for the Taskbar in the Windows 7 Taskbar .Sample .NET Library overview 

Libraries

Libraries are new in Windows 7 and provide a logical representation of the user’s data on  his local computer and on remote computers. With Libraries, the user can define which physical folders are mapped to which library and achieve better search quality and easier “maintenance” of his content. In Windows 7, it is important for developers to

enable their applications to become Library-aware by supporting Libraries. This will integrate the user's application and Windows experiences and maintain the integrity of your applications in various scenarios

The Windows 7 Library Sample .NET Interop Library allows developers to:

• Manipulate and control the libraries in Windows 7 including create a new library or delete an existing one
• Add or remove physical locations to a Library
• Set an icon for each library
• Enumerate the contents of a given library's physical location (the actual folders) to track down and map all the items in that library

The last point is very important since the Library root (that is the Library itself) is not a real  directory (there is no “c:\Libraries” or anything similar); it is just a logical location. In order to get to the actual items within the Library, you need to enumerate the contents through the listed physical folders.

The Windows 7 Library Sample .NET Interop Library is available for download, and we will provide a series of posts and Channel 9 Screencasts showing how to use the Libraries and Taskbar in Managed Code applications.

Sensor and Location Platform

The Sensor and Location platform provides a new and unified set of APIs for sensory inputs, for example Accelerometer, Light Sensors, or Location GPS are just few examples of sensors. This unified set of APIs makes it easy to consume sensory inputs and simplifies the Windows developer's life.

The Sensor and Location .NET Interop Sample Library provides an abstraction of the native Sensor and Location API and provides strongly typed objects for specific sensors and for its Sensor Data Report. For example, a Light Sensor has a strongly typed LightDataReport object.

You can read a detailed explenation about the Sensor and Location library

With the Sensor and Location .NET Interop Sample Library, developers are able to create strongly typed custom sensor objects as well as use three built-in sensors: Accelerometer3D Sensors, Light Sensors, and Touch Array Sensors. These sensors are part of the Windows 7 Sensor Development kit.

This library also provides a unified location API for asking the common question of, "Where am I?" The nice thing about the Location platform is that developers can use the same APIs regardless of the underlying technology that is actually providing the answers, such as GPS, Wi-Fi triangulation, or IP Resolver.

The Library also includes a few demos like a light-aware MSDN Reader that changes the way the content displays according to the amount of light picked up by the Light Sensor.

The Sensor and Sensor and Location .NET Interop Sample Library is available for download, and make sure to read the prerequisites.

Multi-Touch

One of the most popular features in Windows 7 is Multi-Touch support. As was presented during PDC 2008, Windows 7 Developing Multi-Touch Applications, the current API is native and in the near future Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) 4 will include full support of Multi-Touch in Windows 7. However, for the time being, the Multi-Touch Sample .NET Interop Library provides developers with full Multi-Touch functionality for both WinForms and WPF 3.5 SP1. The library includes few demos for reference, including detailed samples showcasing Multi-Touch gestures support, Manipulation and Inertia for both WinForms and WPF.

You can download the Multi-Touch Sample .NET Interop Library from.

A small and friendly reminder: These are just sample code; they are not supported and are based on the Windows 7 Beta SDK, which means they WILL CHANGE by RTM time. Make sure you stay alert for updates on the Windows Bridge status for the official Managed code libraries supporting Windows 7.

• [ Kill the Process, Use Killbox if your Access Denied ]

[In Windows Vista Run As Administrator, After Execution System Will Restart]

• %Windows\winlogon.exe
  [ No Exact Information about Files, search above related files in Program files Folder ]
  If you have any of these files in running process from task manger, end the process before removal.
  Note: if task manager is disabled, Download the following file, Click to Download - Enable Registry.reg [ Right Click - Save Target As/Linked Content As ]
  Open it with Regedit.exe [%system32\regedit.exe], then it Confirms Add to registry Yes or No, Confirm Yes, then click Ok.

From ZDNET Social Business

Stephen Rose, senior community manager at Microsoft, has a big job. He’s responsible for managing a worldwide community of more than 22 million IT professionals who use Microsoft products. An even bigger job: He’s also responsible for creating community around Windows 7.

Rose primarily works with the Springboard group, an offshoot of Microsoft Technet, a central location that holds Microsoft info for IT pros on client operating systems. The Springboard site, according to Rose, is one of the most used sites on Technet. To help create community and awareness for Windows 7, Rose and his team in part created the Springboard Series Technical Expert Panel (STEP), a “by the community, for the community” program to spur advocacy within IT professionals and community influencers withinthe Microsoft, MVP, and MCT communities. Microsoft wanted to inspire influencers to host or speak at user groups, conferences, etc., or to write about their user experiences with Windows 7.

Read the entire article here

Microsoft has really engaged with its community of customers for a good while now. From the first steps that began with Robert Scoble in 2004, community resources such as Channel 9, 8 and 10, Windows and MSDN blogs has really given users such as myself a first point of contact to interact with the people who work on Windows. New social tools such as Facebook and Twitter have also greatly impacted the engagement experience, so I would say major kudos to Microsoft for listening!

Related resources:

Windows 7 Team Blog
Springboard Series Blog
Windows 7 Blog for Developers
Windows 7 Engineering

Hello everyone and welcome to the first post of the updated Windows 7 for Developers blog. My name is Yochay Kiriaty and I am a Technical Evangelist on the Developer and Platform Evangelism Team, mainly focusing on the developer story for Windows 7. As Technical Evangelist, I get to work a lot with the product group as well as with our partners - that is, you developers. This enables me to become very familiar with the product, its engineering and APIs, and at the same time gain an understanding of the needs of the Windows 7 application developer community.

This blog will focus mainly on the developer aspects of Windows 7 and provide valuable content for developers. We want to make this blog a “one stop shop” on the road to getting yourself familiar with what Windows 7 has to offer for developers and how you can “Light-Up” your application by using Windows 7 features.

With your help, this blog should evolve to become a sort of Windows 7 developer content index. Down the road, if you want to write some code using one of Windows 7 new features and APIs, we hope that you will be able to find some reference to that topic in this blog. If you don’t find it, please feel free to comment and we’ll pick up that subject as quickly as possible. In case you have content you want to share, ping us so we can write a post and reference your content.

You can also expect this blog to have lots of code samples, and cool demos showcasing some of the new Window 7 features. You can also expect this blog to include webcasts with the Windows development group. For examples here are some links to already existing Channel 9 webcasts on Programming Windows 7 Taskbar and Ribbon, and other Windows 7 webcasts on Channel 9

Finally, this blog is part of an effort to highlight the Windows 7 developer story, a story that for some reason got lost with Windows Vista. The Windows 7 Developer and Platform Evangelism Team hope that together with you and the rest of the developers in the development community, we will be able to create an open and direct conversation about developing for Windows 7. 

You can read more about Windows 7-related entries posted on our previous site.

For the past few months I have looked at Microsoft’s Windows Live Essentials suite of free applications that integrates with online services such as Live Spaces, Photos and Mail. I would like to do a recap to get you up to speed.

With the launch of Windows 7, Microsoft has introduced some new scenarios and ways of working with your computer. Core operating system features like Windows Touch, Ink and Speech make up a really strong feature set. The new Scenic user interface in particular with its radically updated Taskbar has kept folks busy learning about its new functionality like Jump List, Aero Peek and Pinning Shortcuts to it plus more, but what about the ‘other’ Windows? Yes, the one that focuses on extending the experiences of the Windows OS to the web and personal activities such as email, photos, videos and expression. Windows Live Essentials is more than just applications though; it’s also a seamless, streamlined set of well integrated software plus services. Microsoft is focused on delivering value beyond the box and based on my experience with the suite since September 2008, I must say, I am highly impressed! Back in January of 2007, Microsoft introduced Windows Vista, which bundled new and improved applications such as Windows Photo Gallery, Windows Mail and Windows Movie Maker. Over time Microsoft updated Photo Gallery and Mail beyond the operating system christening them as ‘Live’ applications. This created a problem of duality, triggering a possibility of confusion between similar applications already built into the OS. So, Microsoft decided from then on that certain programs would be removed from Windows and be made available exclusively through Windows Live instead.

Here is a quote from Windows Live General Manager Brian Hall about the decision:

Removing programs such as Photo Gallery, Mail and Movie Maker from the core operating system will give Microsoft more time to focus on the core operating system experience in addition to improving the efficiency of things like Service Packs which could ultimately be fewer and smaller. Mr. Hall also said that a cleaner operating system eliminates potential confusion for customers faced with two different programs that are similar in function-one already in Windows and the other from Windows Live. He also said that Microsoft is working with OEMs are around Windows 7 so that they can place shortcuts that will link to a download page where you can choose just the programs you.

One thing users must note is that Windows Live Essentials is free! The only thing required is an Internet connection and going to the Windows Live Essential’s home page and download it.

- Installing Windows Live Essentials 
- Instant and Social Communication with Windows Live Messenger 9 
- Managing and Sharing Digital Memories using Windows Live Photo Gallery 2009
- A Look at Windows Live Mail 2009 
- Online Expression – Using Windows Live Writer 2009
- Movies on the Go with Windows Live Movie Maker BETA

Quick Looks

- A Quick Look at Windows Live Toolbar
- A Quick Look at Windows Live Sync
- Windows Live Essentials – Integration with Microsoft Office 2007
- A Quick Look at the Microsoft Outlook Connector

Windows Live Family Safety

Windows Vista introduced Parental Controls which made it easy to manage the time your children spend using the computer in addition what type of content they can view on the web and receive reports about their activities online. Windows Live Family Safety is pretty much the same; the difference is it’s more about managing the online activities. With Live Family Safety Filter, you can choose who they communicate with online and generate reports of their online activities other features include:

• Categorize and block unwanted web content for yourself and your family.
• Create your own list of allowed or blocked sites.
• Monitor Family Safety users' Internet activity.

If you are running any of the consumer editions of Windows Vista such as Home Basic, Premium or Ultimate, you probably don’t need it, but for Vista Business and Windows XP users it should be a welcome addition. To setup the service, you need to have a Windows Live ID (XBOX, Hotmail) that will be your primary account for Family Safety. The Family Safety interface features a Profile Center, with a toggle on or off button. The ‘Customize settings for your family’ area features a link to a dedicated website where Parents can add accounts and customize settings.

Final Conclusion

Windows Live Essentials is deep; it’s deep in features and value. The thing about the suite is the cohesive experience it delivers, focusing primarily on what users enjoy doing on the PC these days. Microsoft for years has provided a complete suite of knowledge worker experiences with Microsoft Office. Windows Live Essentials fills that gap for the consumer. The most exciting thing about Live Essentials is that all these applications and services are free and they make connecting up to family and friends seamless; providing a simplified process of sharing memories, interest and providing safety online. After using the suite since the early betas I am a solidified user and I know you will be too. So I say, go to http://download.live.com right now!

Pros:

• Its free
• Integrates well with Windows Live services
• Small in size, great performance in applications like Windows Live Photo Gallery
• Very complete feature set
• Makes sharing multimedia easier
• Synchronization and remote access features makes it easy to maintain data between multiple PC’s.
• Compliments Windows operating systems such as XP, and specific features such as Parental Controls built into Windows Vista and Windows 7 well.

Cons:

• Windows Live Movie Maker needs more work
• Windows Live Writer needs a more simplified setup process
  - Page Break option, posting a 22 page post is too long for blogging service like Live Spaces.
  - Ability to rename and merge categories.
• More integration with Windows 7 would be great, especially where Jump List is concerned.
• Downloading the suite needs to be more appropriate, Web Installer needs to be an option, not the default.

Rating:

• Installation: 88%
• Ease of Use: 95%
• Features: 95%
• Manual: N/A
• Price: N/A%
• Overall: 90%

So, have you been using Windows Live Essentials? If so, what are your thoughts and what tips do you have for improving the applications? I would definitely love to hear them!

Arstechnica reports about Microsoft’s decision to discontinue the popular electronic encyclopaedia which I have been a loyal user for many years.

“When I first saw this, I had to do a double take. I made sure it wasn't April 1 at least three times before I conceded. While looking around Encarta's homepage today, I stumbled on a message that Microsoft was getting rid of MSN Encarta completely: "On October 31, 2009, MSN Encarta Web sites worldwide will be discontinued, with the exception of Encarta Japan, which will be discontinued on December 31, 2009. Additionally, Microsoft will cease to sell Microsoft Student and Encarta Premium software products worldwide by June 2009." Looks like employees at Wikipedia and Encyclopaedia Britannica will be throwing parties tonight.”

Read the entire article here

First Microsoft Picture It!, then Microsoft Money, then Windows Live OneCare, now Encarta, Microsoft’s commercial consumer products are slowly dwindling. I can't say it wasn't inevitable, since there was no 2009 release. But Wikipedia has indeed contributed to this decision I believe. I personally use it more than ever. Its just that it lacks the multimedia aspect of Encarta which combines it well written articles. The Internet has changed a lot how we access and consume information, the instantaneous and wealth of resources vastly out numbers 1 DVD on which Encarta includes a thousands of articles by billions. Also, relevancy and constant updates make the Internet a superior choice. Although Wikipedia will now and then be vandalized, the accuracy of information written has been top notch and is a number one reference point for me.

Internet Explorer 8’s features a new tabbed Search on the fly option which allows you to quickly change Search engines based on your query. I use Wikipedia a lot, it’s very cumbersome having to type in the query through Google, search for it then open Wikipedia. With this feature, you are taken immediately to the source, which is sure to be a hit with those who want a more detailed browsing experience with better results. new tabbed search feature makes referencing information from Wikipedia and other sources a great asset.