Channel 9 video on WPF/E (cool dev tech for Macs and Windows)

by on May 16, 2006

Thanks so much to Charles Torre and Duncan Mackenzie for filling in and taking over my Channel 9 video duties while I tend to my mom. She's doing well, by the way, and is just slightly more alert than in past days (albeit getting more and more tired).

An interesting video they threw up is one I did with the Windows Presentation Foundation Everywhere team. If you're a developer this technology will let you create new kinds of applications that are very hard to create with existing tech. Another cool video is the one Charles did with the InfoCard team. That's a way to build in identity to your applications.

My coworkers have really been great through this process. I have a much deeper appreciation for them that I'll try to repay.

  • That's a nice Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain poster in Mike's office. So, this is the Flash or Shockwave killer, right? It's going to be hard to go up against such an entrenched install base, but it looks like the WPF/E team is doing good work.
  • >will let you create new kinds of applications that are very hard to create with existing tech

    Could you elaborate on this please? What type of applications will WPF/E enable that are difficult with current technologies?

    From what I have seen of WPF/E, (at Mix), this wasnt the case, but I imagine you have much more insight into it than I do.

    thanks...

    mike chambers
  • Ian Ceicys
    Scoble,
    As a long time Channel9er - Zeo, Channel 9 is in very good hands, maybe now Charles will get to do more going deep videos. ;)

    On a different note, I think I speak for the channel9 community when I was that we've appreciated your hard work but now you are needed in a different community.

    Having read your blog for the past week my heart and prayers go out to you, your mom, and your entire family as you deal with what's happened.

    Take it easy scoble and spend time with your mom and your family.
  • Goebbels
    What a crock of shit... each word gets more and more absurd:

    Cool?

    Dev?

    Tech?

    For Mac?


    Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!!!!!

    Does anybody buy it? Anyone?
  • "Does anybody buy it? Anyone?"

    I do. It does sound like an interesting competitor to Flash, especially with an XML-based language behind it. It's not surprising Microsoft wants it on as many platforms and browsers as possible, since Flash is EVERYWHERE.
  • Jay
    The key here is not "Developers, Developers, Developers". It's "Designers, Designers. Designers". Flash, as mentioned, is entrenched. The tools are familiar to designers, and they don't need developers to make it happen. Shoot, I know lots of Flash developers who develop in practically nothing but Flash, and think of themselves as Computer Programmers. And its Designers, be it Web Designers or something else, which makes Flash as popular as it is, and keeps is popular.

    What Microsoft needs to do is change a Culture. A Culture that looks at Flash first and other things second. Microsoft needs to address the following point, and I welcome, if not challenge, someone to this.

    "I know Flash. Flash does everything I need. It runs on Macs, PCs, and Linux. Most people already have it on their computers. I'm comfortable with Flash. Why should I even consider WPF and WPF/E? Can I edit it on my Mac, like I can with MX Studio?"

    To a designer, why does XML mean anything? Why do I care about Document Support with WPF? A Flash-based timeline is a great metaphor for me: I understand it. Why do I need to learn something that might use or might not use a Timeline?

    For the record, I'm not a designer. I'm a hard-core C# Engineer, but I work with designers a lot and understand (and sympathize) with them.
  • Jay: WPF brings designers and developers together. You should also watch this video to see how and why this isn't a Flash competitor but lets you build new kinds of apps: http://channel9.msdn.com/showpost.aspx?postid=1...
  • I tried watching the video yesterday, Robert, but I got cut off during viewing, as many of the commenters on Channel 9 described. (WMP 9.00000x, WinXP sp3, fast connection.)

    Got text summary? I already invested 20 minutes for minimal content, and so am loathe to re-invest that time without knowing what I may hear, thanks.

    jd
  • "To a designer, why does XML mean anything?"

    Well, it doesn't mean much to someone doing a simple animation. But, if you're doing a rich interface as part of an interactive experience, having a proven and straightforward markup language that can handle all types of data as your base is in the plus column.

    Of course, how well it does all this is yet to be seen.
  • in an hour of interview the ONLY demo on the Mac is a faked clock?

    some things that jumped out:

    "We can't rely on the hardware on non-windows platforms"??? Um, hello, *Apple*? They have the most predictable video hardware ever, especially on the new Intel gear. If he doesn't know anything about Macs, that's one thing, but come on, that kind of comment is inane.

    He's doing cross-platform CLRs, and knows nothing about Mono? Again, what kind of "cone of silence" does the Windows team live in? Mono has a very detailed presence, even a blog. There's a lot of stuff being done with it, and I'm real sure that Miguel would be THRILLED to work with Microsoft instead of being shunned by them for a change. Get out of the bubble guys, there's a lot of neat stuff.

    not being able to debug or develop on target platforms will suck, and really cripple the adoption rate of WPF/E, along with not being able to do much of anything until summer, and having to use VS to even play with it. Dumb decision.

    Yes, you can build C# on the Mac. If Microsoft would actually partner with Mono, they could get their C# compiler work done tons faster. Oh wait, Ballmer, Open Source. Never mind, silly idea.

    Leaving Linux in the cold is stupid too. Can we get a friggin' GROWNUP in charge of Microsoft for a change?
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