Background
We developed a SilverLight display which uses “WebClient” class to query an RSS feed asynchronously:

WebClient proxy = new
WebClient();
proxy.OpenReadCompleted += new OpenReadCompletedEventHandler(OnReadCompleted);

Once the callback event is triggered by a timer event, we have logic to iterate through the results.

Problem
The data returned by the proxy seemed to be cached, since we keep on getting the same data. I looked around trying to figure out why this would happen. The RSS Feed that we were querying was being updated properly. What could cause the caching? Is it the way I am quering? Is it SilverLight acting up?

Solution
As I started to Google (sad to say that I did not Binged), I coworker came to mind. He would reminding me about FireBug (Dev Tool within FireFox) and how awesome it is. Hence, I decided to use the Developer Tools on IE:

Why is the browser returning 304?

The first time we hit the server, it returns 200 (OK).

However, every other call to the server, it would returns 304.
Definition of 304
304: If the client has done a conditional GET and access is allowed, but the document has not been modified since the date and time specified in If-Modified-Since field, the server responds with a 304 status code and does not send the document body to the client.

Translation
The browser would ask the server if the cached data is fresh enough and use the cached data.

Resolution
Why is Internet Explorer acting up and not Chrome, FireFox, Safari, Opera?

Checked on Non-Microsoft Browsers and their respective Developer Tools and they all return 200 every time. What going on? Why is Internet Explorer being so difficult?

Hence, checked the configuration of Internet Settings and adjusted the following settings to make it all work:

1. Go the “Tools” -> “Internet Options”
2. Under the “Browser History” -> Select “Settings”
3. By default, the browser is set to “Automatically”.
   Adjust to “Every time I visit the webpage” and Click on “OK”.

 Conclusion

I was very annoyed by this behavior in Internet Explorer.

However, the lesson learned was to make sure that (1) you test your solutions on all major browsers, while (2) leveraging their respective developer tools.

Today, I needed to figure out how to add a Custom Tab onto Microsoft’s Office Communicator 2007 R2.

According to the documentation provided by Microsoft, it is a very simple process

Configuring Context-Sensitive Custom Tabs
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb963929.aspx

Step 1: Define the Registry Setting – Adjusting the registry
Step 2: Creating the Custom Tab Definition Files – Creating an XML file

Now, Step 2 was the easiest, since they have a good example on the format of the XML file.

However, Step 1 was the most troublesome, since the instructions tell you to navigate (using regedit.exe) to the following locations within your computer registry in order to create an entry:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Communicator

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Communicator

Very straight forward instructions, however, what they forget to tell you

NOTE: the above path might not exist.

At first, I blamed my Windows 7, but then I contacted a coworker that has Windows Vista and he said the path did not exist for him either.

Hence, the only thing that came to mind was to create the entries manually. At first I was very hesitant to manually create a new key, since I did not want to crash my computer. However, what is the worst that could happen? (OS rebuild)

So, I navigated to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft

1. Created a new “Key” and named it “Communicator”
2. Created a new “String Value”  and named it “TabURL” with the location of the XML file (Step 2) which I hosted on IIS. (See Image OC1 below)
3. Exited Office Communicator
4. Launched and Signed In ont Office Communicator
5. Done (See Image OC2 below)

If Microsoft reads this post, please make sure to adjust your documentation, since this omission causes a lot of unnecessary research and frustration when trying to customize Office Communicator 2007 R2.

Earlier this week, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Microsoft unveiled “Windows Phone 7 Series“.  This new phone, which Microsoft is targeting to unleash by the 2010 holiday season, will take a stab at the iPhone and its market by providing

• a completely new user experience (a Zune HD like experience)
• extensive integration with social networks, such as facebook
• video, music and photo aggregation/mashup like abilities
• office productivity tools
• integration with zune (videos & music) and xbox live (games)
• GPS, maps, search
• and many more features ……

Windows Phone 7 Series Demo

Behind the Desgin

We are only 2 months into 2010 and it seems that this year, Microsoft is going all outs in the Mobile and Gaming Markets, both of which will get hit by critical products during 2010 holiday season:

As a End User:  Make sure not be naughty this year. And if you are reading this blog post Santa, I promise to be a good developer (commenting my code)  and a good individual (helping others).

As a Developer: Make sure to stay connected to the latest and try to attend MIX10 Conference where they will release further details on not only ”Windows Phone 7 Series”, but also Microsoft’s broad web platform and tools that help bring together the clients, servers and cloud services needed for creating great rich web applications.

A very exciting year for both Users and Developers.

2010, the year of creating exceptional user experiences across all devices.

I recently upgraded my computer from Windows Vista to Windows 7.  And while setting up my computer, I discovered that the Microsoft Surface SDK only works on Windows Vista.

I am not going to lie, but I was very disappointed and could not see why the SDK could not work on Windows 7. Hence, I went ahead and searched the web for individuals with the same issue. Hence, I discovered this post which helps you with adjusting the Surface SDK msi file, along with samples to work on Windows 7.

Great Post !!!

http://www.grumpydev.com/2009/05/17/surface-sdk-sp1-on-vista-and-win7-x64/

.MSI files can act strangely at times. Causing us to explode in anger as to why it decided that it must check your disk for space requirements.

Is this a sign that I must take a break and get a cup of coffee?

Hence, I clicked on “Return” on the above message and took a break.

To my surprise, nothing had happened. Moreover, when I clicked on “Next”, I received the haunting message again

“Please wait while Setup finishes determining your disk space requirements”

Haven’t I waited enough?
Isn’t this suposed to be easier?
Is this a sign that I should go home earlier?
Am I on Celebrity Ghost Stories?

And then Command Line came to mind.

A black screen (Night) with white letter (Ghost) .

Try this command (Spell)

“msiexec /package [sample.msi] /qr”

and it should install the .MSI without any unwanted messages.

New year, new tools, new games, NO CONTROLLERS?

Microsoft is really cranking on getting Project Natal this year with hopes of getting this onto the market by the end of 2010. Check out the following article, which talks about the science behind Project Natal and how other competitors are reacting:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=microsoft-project-natal

Will Natal have the same effect that the Wii had on us, for the past few years?�
The Wii Remotes slipped out of people hands onto their expensive flat screen TVs before, will my hand hit the TV this time? Will I be in shape to play any of their games?

So many questions, yet, I can’t wait to play. Which reminds me that I need to buy an Xbox 360!

If you ever lost a phone, you know how it feels to know that all the data that you had saved on your phone is gone. All those pictures, music and contacts are gone with the phone. It happened to me and it was a royal pain to recover a small portion of what I had lost.

The experience was a reminder of how much we rely on our mobile devices nowadays; hence, I am extremely glad that Microsoft introduced the “My Phone” service. Microsoft My Phone mainly concentrates on

• Over-the-air back up of your windows mobile phone
• Share photos with your favorite social networking sites
• Manage your contacts, text messages and more online for free
• Find your lost phone

If I had this service on my phone last year, I would have been able to

• Restore all the data onto my new windows mobile phone
• Find the last known and current location of my phone on a map
• Remotely lock my phone and display a custom message
• Remotely perform a hard reset (erasing all data)
• Set the phone to ring, even if it’s set to vibrate or silent.

Find out more: http://myphone.microsoft.com/

As an avid Google user, I keep on asking myself, why would I ever use Bing. Google has been good to me, since I can easily find information in regards to work. However, when it comes to home searches, which usually deal with shopping for tools, electronics, trips, etc… I have noticed that I have been leaning towards Bing, rather than Google.

I guess that the marketing campaign, which brands Bing as a “Decision Engine”, is starting to hit home. Moreover, recently Bing released a “Visual Search” capability, which I find to be really useful. We are more likely to remember by pictures than names.

http://www.bing.com/visualsearch

Searching for cell phones was a breeze.

http://www.bing.com/visualsearch?q=Cell+phones&g=cell_phones

Silverlight is one of those technologies that keeps on giving. And what ‘s more important to guys than football? NFL Football is one of those sports where Full HD Streaming, 5 cameras, instant replay, slow motion, DVR like capabilities, expert analysis and fantasy stats can really shine out. There are even more features that will make Sunday Night Football online a must.

http://www.itvt.com/story/5482/nbc-nfl-deal-offer-silverlight-powered-live-interactive-streaming-sunday-night-football

Silverlight streaming started with the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and now Sunday Night Football! What’s next? I certainly hope that Soccer is next (MLS, La Liga)…

Keeping track of technology can, at times, be a time consuming endeavor. Especially when it comes to Microsoft technologies. Moreover, trying to explain these technologies to users can take even longer.

Hence, when I found the “Microsoft Wave” site it reminded me that Microsoft has a lot of way cool technologies that can be applied to our daily lives.

Having a site in which all types of users can learn about the latest developments and products from Microsoft is a life saver.

Check it out: Microsoft Wave