Useimmat varmaankin jo tietävät, miten helppoa puhelinsovellusten tekeminen on nykyään, kun käytössä on Windows Mobile puhelimet. Enää ei tarvitse olla monimutkaisia kehitysympäristöjä ja monen vuoden ammattikokemusta sovelluskehitykseen. Pelkkä kiinnostus ja läjä esimerkkejä jo riittää ja heti alkaa valmista syntymään.
Nyt kun yhä useammissa Windows puhelimissa on sisäänrakennetut GPS paikantimet ja puhelimiin tehtävät sovellukset ovat helppoja tehdä Visual Studiolla ja .NET:llä, on aika alkaa toteuttamaan niitä visioita, joita kukin on aiemmin mielessään vain kuvitellut.

Käytännön tarve sai Kari Ruuskasen tarttumaan Visual Studioon ja tutustumaan, miten paikkatietoa hyödyntävän mobiiliohjelman voisi helpoiten tehdä. Ohjelmointi kun ei työkuvaan kuulunut ollenkaan, mutta tarve ja visio sovelluksen toiminnoista oli selkeänä, piti vain ryhtyä tuumasta toimeen.
Tässä esimerkissä mennään läpi Kari Ruuskasen toteutus, jossa hyödynnetään niin tekstiviestejä, GPS paikkatietoa kuin Live karttasivun generointia - puhelimessa!!
Puhelin seuraa missä omistaja kulkee ja laatii siitä mm. Live Maps html-sivun, jota voi katsella selaimella.
Sovellus on säädettävissä myös siten, että kun puhelin siirtyy aiemmin määritetystä alueesta toiseen, lähtee siitä SMS viesti toiseen puhelimeen ja näin ollen tiedetään kokoajan, millä alueella puhelin on.

Lataa projektin koodit itsellesi, tutustu niihin ja hyödynnä niinkuin haluat.

Jason points out that some mobile operators ship Windows Mobile with the full version of Windows Live, which includes Windows Live Messenger, others ship with a partner-developed Windows Live Messenger client instead.

If you're in that last half, you might be missing out on all the features of a full Windows Live install, which includes push Hotmail, Windows Live Contacts synchronization, a Live Search bar for your homescreen, and one-click photo upload to Windows Live Spaces. But now, there's a special version of Windows Mobile just for you, available now from http://wl.windowsmobile.com.

FolderShare is a utility that you can use to keep your files in sync across your computers. You can also use FolderShare to share your files with friends or accessing them when you're away from home from any computer that has an internet connection.

The FolderShare team has just announced a major update to the beta, which addresses some issues like problems with IOMEGA drives and issues some users had when using the utility on XP and Vista. They also updated their FAQ, available here, with more questions and answers, which is a great place to give the team feedback on the service.

The FolderShare beta is available both for Windows and Mac.

It was announced that the Windows Live division has partnered with five social networks - LinkedIn, Facebook, Bebo, Hi5, and Tagged to facilitate address book portability, as a part of the commitment to supporting data portability initiatives. Using the Windows Live Contacts API, announced at this month's MIX08, the users of the social networks can easily import their Windows Live contacts into the social network web sites. Starting today, you can visit www.facebook.com and www.bebo.com to find your friends using the Windows Live Contacts API.  Hi5, Tagged and LinkedIn will be live in the coming months.

Additionally, a new site, Invite2Messenger, will let social network users invite their friends from their social networks to join their Windows Live Messenger contact list. As of today, Facebook works, with the other networks coming soon.

This 2-way street for moving relationships from site to site is more secure than other methods, like "screen scraping," which is the term used to describe the process of allowing one site access to your address book by providing your login credentials (or vice versa). This new process respects your privacy while still allowing for the open flow of data.

The Windows Live Spaces team have officially announced some new features to both the Windows Live Spaces and Live Events services. The new features are:

• Friends of Friends: this feature will show you the friends you have in common with others when you visit their space
• Multiple photo modules: you can now showcase your photos in separate albums on your Space just by adding more than one album from the Customize page
• In Live Events: now your own name and email address appears on the invitation instead of the automatically generated one. Also, public events you organize will show up in your Windows Live profile and the Events homepage now so your friends & contacts will know when and where it's happening

I'm most excited about the "friends of friends" feature, something that is very Facebook-like (which I love). It's always cool to see who everyone knows!

Mike Torres, a member of the Windows Live team, recently posted an article detailing how he uses the Windows Live suite of programs. It's an interesting read, because Mike really uses Windows Live to its fullest as well as running almost 100% Microsoft software at home. He says he wants to "eat the Microsoft dog food," and that he does - in addition to Windows Live, he also runs Media Center on Vista Ultimate, Zune, Office 2007, Visual Studio, Office Communicator, Expression Studio, and Money 2007. 

Mike then goes on to detail how he uses all aspects of the Windows Live suite - Hotmail, Live Mail, Windows Live for Windows Mobile, Messenger, FolderShare, OneCare, Windows Live Photo Gallery, Windows Live Writer, SkyDrive, Spaces, and Windows Live Events.

Since most of us use web services piecemeal, choosing our favorite app for the particular job at hand, it's cool to hear from someone who uses every piece of the online suite. As he says, "Windows without Live on it feels plain these days - sort of like how Xbox must feel without Xbox LIVE."

I have to admit, there are certain things in Windows Live suite that I almost think of as just a part of Windows now, like Windows Live Photo Gallery and Live Mail. When I went to set up a new Vista installation recently, I had to remind myself to go out and download them again. I personally love Windows Live Photo Gallery's "Send to flickr" feature - what a timesaver that is! I'm also a huge fan of SkyDrive, an online storage option where you have a gig of free storage for your files (of any type - not just Office docs!). And of course, I don't even know what I would do without Live Writer.

You can check out the Windows Live Suite at http://get.live.com. Or, if you're already using it, let me know what your favorite features are, too!

If you want to deploy software to a bunch of computers at once on a network, you need an MSI file. Since the Windows Live apps are more consumer-oriented, the installers are not provided in that form from the app's homepage. However, there is a way to acquire the MSI files you need -  actually, there are two ways:

1. Install the programs on one computer. The MSI files can then be found locally:

    * 32-bit Windows - C:\Program Files\Common Files\WindowsLiveInstaller\MsiSources
    * 64-bit Windows - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\WindowsLiveInstaller\MsiSources

2. Download the installers directly from the Live Suite SkyDrive folder. In this folder, you can find the following:

Before you install Windows Live Photo Gallery you will need to install Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition.

(via stealthpuppy)

Acabo de receber essa informação de meu colega Miguel Ferreira, que autoriza as novas funcionalidades dentro do Windows. Foi lançado hoje o primeiro fornecedor de revelação de fotos online da Galeria de Fotos de Windows Vista e Galeria de Fotos do Windows Live – Submarino Revelação. Com essa funcionalidade, basta você selecionar as fotos, clicar em "Imprimir" e lá tem uma opção "Encomendar Cópias" que conectará automaticamente com o serviço do Submarino. Se você ainda não tem uma conta, você cria uma que será armazenada automaticamente pela Galeria de Fotos para a próxima vez que usar o serviço. Depois, basta escolher algumas opções básicas como tamanho da foto, bordas e efeitos especiais e número de cópias. Pronto, você receberá em casa pelo correio!  

Para acessar, é necéssário configurar o Windows Vistas para o Brasil (No Painel de Controle em Configurações Regionais na aba Local):

Inicie a Galeria de Fotos do Windows Vista ou do Windows Live, escolha as fotos e clique em "Imprimir" depois "Encomendar cópias":

Selecione Submarino Revelação e continue:

Faça o ajuste de opções e pronto. O custo de uma foto tradicional 10x15 é R$ 0,59 mais o valor de entrega.

If you've been using Windows Live SkyDrive, then you already know how handy it is to have your most important files available to you online, accessible from anywhere that has an internet connection. But are you getting the most out of SkyDrive? Check out the following tips below to find out!

1. Embedding SkyDrive files online: SkyDrive is more than just free online storage - you can also share your files on the internet in a number of ways. You can either use the URL to link to your shared file, or you can embed a badge linking to your file. You can choose from one of three badges styles for the embed. Check out this blog for an example of all three.

2. Get the SkyDrive Live Writer plugin: Bloggers using Live Writer will love this one - there is a SkyDrive plugin available for Live Writer that lets you put the embed code for a SkyDrive file or folder into a blog entry created with Live Writer. You can also browse your SkyDrive files from within the plugin to choose what file you want to embed.

3. Use the drag-and-drop upload feature: drag-and-dropping your files makes uploading so much easier. To use this feature, go to the folder you want to add files to and click on "Add files." At the bottom of the page, click on "Install this upload tool." Install the ActiveX control (the yellow information bar should pop-up - click it, click "Install ActiveX Control, then click "Install.") Upload away!

4. Subscribe to a friend's SkyDrive RSS feed: To subscribe to a SkyDrive RSS feed, go to the public folder that you’re interested in, and click on the orange RSS Feed at the top right of the page. Then, anytime that folder is updated, you’ll be notified.

5. Get alerted in Messenger when a friend shares a SkyDrive file: After adding your friend to your Windows Live Messenger contact list, you will see a yellow "gleam" next to their name when they share a new file on SkyDrive. Their contact card will show the last few files they've uploaded.

6. Play Music & Video on your Space Using SkyDrive: this site has an excellent post on how you can use SkyDrive to play music & video in Windows Live Spaces.

Last week, Windows Live Services software was released and upgraded. If you had betas installed, or just earlier versions of the products, you can upgrade them to the latest and greatest in a few simple clicks. Check out the Windows Live Services page here for the link:

Windows Live Services
 

When you run the installer against the earlier versions of the products, it will look something like this:

This is the easiest way to get updated versions of Live Writer, Mail, Messenger and Photo Gallery.

If you like to chat and also enjoy helping others there is a great option for you. And it will not cost you a cent. For every conversation you start by using Windows Live Messenger there is a certain amount of money donated to your preferred charity organization - e.g. I've chosen the UNICEF. In order to contribute to our society this way you just have to add a special logo "I´M" in front of your name. There has been almost $150,000 raised so far.
You might also consider to star in a new MTV project that is starting now in order to promote this cause.
Windows Live Messenger has over 220 million contacts worldwide. It is popular for the wide range of services it offers. Apart from the traditional text, phone and video conversations users can play games (e.g. chess), chat with special agents like Encarta and share their photos and other files. All this is for free - as well as other Windows Live services.

On Monday, Live Search 411 was officially launched. This voice-activated local search service lets you do local searches right from your phone just by speaking. To use the service, call 1-800-CALL-411 (1-800-225-5411) from any phone in the U.S. and say where you are and what you are looking for. The service can also send you text messages, maps, traffic maps, and text-based directions. Live Search 411 goes a step beyond simply providing you with business information though - several handy features make this new service really stand out, including:

• The ability to connect to any business listing you find for free
• Receive SMS links to maps, driving directions and traffic conditions (just say "text me the info")
• Get movie showtimes and even buy tickets over the phone (via a partnership with Fandango)
• Share text messages of business details with friends so they can easily meet you there
• Hear the current weather conditions and the forecast
• Quickly access travel resources like airlines, hotels, and rental cars
• Remember your personalized locations for movie theaters, weather and traffic, and your preferences for receiving text messages.

Learn more at: http://www.livesearch411.com