PDC - will you be where?

I will be at PDC this year.
Where is PDC this year? It is here.
Thanks to Paul Neeve for building such an awesome Flash app that sucks data from Virtual Earth.

Visual Studio 2005 and Windows Vista

I know I should not be pushing the limits by trying to use a beta development tool on a beta operating system! Sometimes life requires a few little trials and this is one of them.
If you have a few issues with getting it installed you should have a look at this: http://forums.microsoft.com/msdn/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=64277

Oh and one more thing if you try this at home...
Good Luck :)

Where in the World was Dr. Neil?

So you want to know where I have been this year, well here is the answer:
WhereWasDrNeil?

Via Virtual Earth goes live

If you have wondered what has kept me so quiet for the last few weeks, now I can tell you.
I have been working on a developer website to help you build applications that use Microsoft's Virtual Earth.
Check out ViaVirtualEarth

eXtreme .NET Quick Links

A number of people who have attended the talks I have been doing have asked for links to resources. Here you go:
Tools
Build batch file
Short presentation

eXtreme .NET MSDN Technical Briefing

Yesterday I presented for a full day on eXtreme .NET in London. It was a lot of fun and I hope everyone who attended had a great day.
Many thanks to John allwright for kicking the day off and to Sean Puffett and Marcus Perryman for their superb demos that provided the audience with relief from my voice!
Topics discussed included:
-Automating the build process
-The Planning Game
-Test Driven Development
-Refactoring
-MSF Agile
& plenty of demos showing off new features in Visual Studio 2005

Mobile Developer Center: Mobile PC Network Location Awareness

This great article has been recently released on the MSDN site.
The full sample can be downloaded
here.

Mobile.Dev.Challenge

I am really looking forward to MEDC Australia next week. I will be presenting a session on using MapPoint in Mobile Applications; Putting Maps in Your Mobile Apps.
There is also a great competition running where developers can showcase their mobile applications. Find out more here. I am looking forward to seeing the entries. It is always good to see what other developers are doing with the technology.

I got PodAttacked!

I have to say it was not a huge surprise to be assaulted by the PodSquad in the middle of my TechEd session. Thanks guys for adding that extra special something to my presentation!.

download the PodAttack

Calling all Virtual Earthlings

Virtual Earth is being talked about so much that there is going to be another demo of Virtual Earth on Thursday between 12 and 1pm at the Mobile Cabana.
If you are at TechEd then I recommend you get there.

eXtreme.NET

Lot's of interest in eXtreme .NET here at TechEd. I was at the TDD discussion last night and it is great to see so much interest in developing better code.
The best news is the book is selling fast in the event store.

Virtual Earth at TechEd

My friend Chandu is going to be talking about Virtual Earth next week at TechEd! This will be a great session.
I have been doing some work in Redmond on the Microsoft campus for the last few weeks and had the chance to see some of the Virtual Earth technology. It is very cool, especially if you are a map geek ;)
The talk is on Monday morning at 10:45.
I am looking forward to doing some work with Virtual Earth, watch this space...

Visual Studio Magazine: Take .NET to the Extreme

My book eXtreme .NET gets a great review in Visual Studio Magazine!

Make your desktop apps mobile!

More figures suggesting that all developers building applications for desktop computers should be paying more attention to the issues faced by mobile users.
PC sales lifted by laptops: survey.

All application developers should consider power managment, network connectivity and data synchronisation. Using these effectively can greatly improve the user experience for the end user on a laptop, notebook or Tablet PC.

Virtual Earth

Now I am a BIG FAN of mapping technologies and the new online products coming from Microsoft and Google are looking super cool.

Books to help get started with NUnit

A number of people have asked for a list of books that would help them get started with NUnit.
Here is a list:

Browser Compatibility

I've made some changes to my main website this weekend. While the number of non-IE users coming to my site is still less than 10% of all visitors, their voices have been getting louder.
In an attempt to keep all visitors to my site happy I have changed the menu control and updated the main page template to accommodate other browsers.

eXtreme .NET Events

I am halfway through a road trip around Australia talking about eXtreme .NET.
I am then off to the USA for MEDC and TechEd before heading back to the UK for another eXtreme .NET Event.

Roll up your display

Now this is so cool - I want one.
Philips unrolls 'paper' display

Chandu Thota's WebLog - MapPoint Team is hiring

Chandu has asked me to let you know that the MapPoint team is expanding and looking for some talented people. You can find all about the postions by clicking through on Chandu Thota's WebLog
Good luck!