check out the PDC 09 videos

check out the PDC 09 videos here

Managed Extensibility Framework

The Managed Extensibility Framework (MEF) has been getting a lot of interest lately and it’s something that’s out on CodePlex and it’s also part of .NET Framework 4.0.

It’s also part of Silverlight 4.

The name’s a good one – it’s a framework for building an application that is made up of a bunch of loosely coupled components with a lot of flexibility around component discovery, registration, lookup and lifetime management. If I had to sum it up in my own words I’d say something like;

MEF composes an application by extensibly discovering a set of components which offer exported functionality and ( possibly ) rely on imported functionality. The link between the two is a simple string name ( a MEF “contract name” ) which is usually represented by a .NET type name and MEF has the capability to plug things together where it finds ( possibly further constrained ) matches.

Read full post of mike here

How to check if Silverlight Running out of browser or in the browser ?

As Silverlight increases its Out of Browser features it will become more important to detect if the application is running in or out of the browser.  This is the check:

if (Application.Current.IsRunningOutOfBrowser)
{
       // Out of Browser 

}
else

{
      //   in the browser

}

Silverlight 4 Beta is Now Available

Yesterday, at the PDC in Los Angeles, Scott Guthrie announced the availability of Silverlight 4 beta, just four months after bringing Silverlight 3 to market. With the help of several customers we showcased the new features that will enable developers to create the highest quality media and RIA applications for the Web and desktop. These powerful new features offer developers significant benefits in rapidly creating rich software experiences, and include:

· Enhancements to Silverlight out-of-browser capabilities which enable high quality application experiences on the desktop;

· Advancements in business application development, including access to other Microsoft products like SharePoint 2010, Office, and Internet Information Services (IIS);

· The most amazing HD-quality video experiences on the Web with native multicast and offline DRM support.

In addition, our list of customers and HD streaming events continues to grow, with 45 percent of Internet-connected devices worldwide using Silverlight. Today we highlighted the diverse ways Silverlight is being used to power the applications we use every day such as, Portland, OR startup SnapFlow, who demonstrated their new workflow-making platform. We’re also looking forward to helping NBC broadcast the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games in HD-quality video with Silverlight and IIS Smooth Streaming on NBCOlympics.com beginning February 12, 2010.

Drop by the PDC Virtual Pressroom to view Scott Guthrie’s keynote and to find out more information about Silverlight 4 beta. To download Silverlight 4 beta visit the Silverlight.net community site.

NOW, here is a true INDIAN! I was moved to read this young man’s story.

Have you ever seen Mahatma Gandhi?? If not, come and visit Thennur village near Trichy. You cannot see Mahatma Gandhi there. But you can see a ‘Young’ Gandhi there. I got a chance to go there when we went to our friend Thilaga’s marriage. Here is a man who was earning Rs 2 lakhs per month 5years ago in the US. One of his ambitions, from the time he was studying in school, is to serve his village. Hence, after earning some money for his parents, he resigned his job in the US and came to his village to start an NGO in order to support the village. He is just 36 years old now which means he resigned his job when he was 31! He is also called as ‘Ilam Gandhi’ (Young Gandhi). So, what did he do after resigning his job?? He invested Rs 40 lakhs in Thennur to build a community health center and an informal learning center. Out of the Rs 40 lakhs which he spent, Rs 31 lakhs came out of his own pocket. He started an NGO called ‘Payir’ to help this village Have a look at his PAYIR’s building’s below: The community health center: Informal learning center Now, he has appointed 5 people who are locals and who function as his staff. They teach proper English to the schools available in their locality. Local staffs working in Payir And that is not all! He has created a small IT company within that village. This company has 4 employees as of now, who are all graduates from this village. They have a US client and are currently working on a $2500 project. This IT company is in the middle of a Coconut farm. Have a look at their IT company below: The IT company in the middle of a farm Inside the company Fan inside the IT company While working in the US, he used to deposit a little money for his parents as one of his mother’s wishes was to build a house for themselves. With his savings, his parents now live in a big house at Srirangam. See the picture below: But, that’s not the case with him. He lives in a small hut in that village itself. Have a look at his room below: I asked him, how he is able to live without any earnings? His reply was as follows: “Payir trust provides me with daily food. My trustees have agreed on this. I have built a hut for myself using my past earnings. So shelter is not a problem. I have 3sets of shirts and Vesti(Dhoti) which I can use for the next 2 years. My friends will get me a few dresses once or twice in a year. What more do I need in my life??”. Have a look at the slipper of the great man who was earning 2Lakhs a month in US: When I asked, how he will manage in his old age, if he gets any disease, he coolly replied that he will go to a Govt. hospital where everything is free of cost. My question is: How many of us will dare to act like Senthil ? Many of us have so many dreams in life like becoming a music director, to become a cricketer, to do MBA, go to the Himalayas, help the schools where we studied, to become a district collector etc etc.. But we all lose our dreams just to earn money and want to reach a position which we call it as ‘Status’. We determine our path by seeing what others are doing. We select our needs based on what others have. We select a course to study based on the job availability and its salary rather than our interest for the subject. Every one forgets that we have only one life to achieve our dream. Many of us chase what we do not want actually. If you still have some of your dreams unfulfilled, remember that you are the reason behind it. Start now and chase your dreams! Senthil had a dream and he started executing it now! Believe me or not. Senthil started dreaming about Payir organization during his 11th std! Senthil - The real hero! Coming to the social aspect of Senthil, how many of us will leave all that we have earned and work for the benefit of others? Have we ever dreamt of doing what Senthil has done? While returning from Thennur, only one thing was running on my mind. If everyone of us did atleast 0.1% of what Senthil has done, our India will be much better than any other country in this world!! If many of us continue to focus on personal growth without worrying about our nation, in future, there will be many more Senthil’s around us who would have sacrificed their personal life for the welfare of this country. Thennur is not just another village in our India map. It is a start of a new beginning for India. Thennur is a proof of the change that youth can bring in our country.