Microsoft released Windows 8 Release Preview (RP) on 31st May 2012. If you didn’t yet download the latest release of Windows 8, you can download it from here: Download Windows 8 Release Preview (All Languages, ISO/Offline/Standalone Installer).

 

I downloaded the latest release of Windows 8 (Release Preview) and installed it on my VMware Player. The installation experience improved a lot from the Windows 8 Consumer Preview and in this post, I will share the same experience with you. So, continue reading and share it to your connection and help them to understand it better.

Few days ago Gurmeet Kohli, Assistant Editor of Silicon India Network (www.siliconindia.com), took an interview of mine as a blogger to publish on their site. The interview is now available online for public view.

 

The interview covers the following points: Working Life Management, The Decisions That Mattered in my Life, My Role Models, My Job Profile, Degrees That Matter, Growth Strategy, Advice For New Professionals, Prized Accomplishment(s), The Journey So Far and My Plans For The Future. Continue reading the complete post to find out the link towards the interview page.

Windows 8 is coming at the door step. Microsoft already released the Release Preview version of Windows 8. There are many improvements and new features in this Windows 8 over Windows 7. Jason (Frugal Dad) published an infographic of the same and asked people not to hate Windows 8.

 

As per the request, I am sharing the same infographic in this blog post for my blog readers. Check it out and leave your feedback below for the original author.

Gaining better visibility in the search results has always been the main focus of the traditional search engine optimizer. It is very important to stay visible for the maximum percentage of time to the most correct buying audience. The website design and the layouts speak more and are the first thing to impress the visitor.

 

In this guest blog post, Kelly Marsh will help you to understand how to make your web pages communicate in a more effective way by following few tips. This blog post is targeted for all the readers. Do share and leave your feedback. If you have any queries, ask her in the below comments section and she will guide you.

Microsoft released Visual Studio 2012 RC (Release Candidate) on 31st May 2012. The available Visual Studio 2012 RC products and localizations are pre-release versions of the next release of Visual Studio.

 

This blog post will cover all the product details and the downloadable links to each product of Visual Studio 2012 including the web installer and ISO image link for offline installation.

Microsoft released Windows 8 Release Preview yesterday, 31st May 2012. It's an all-new touch interface. It's a new Windows for new devices. And it's easy to try now - whether you're installing it for the first time, or moving from Windows 8 Consumer Preview which was released few months ago.

 

In this blog entry, find out the links to download Windows 8 Release Preview. You can find the ISO images for all different languages, which you can download to install it offline.

The Telerik Q2 - 2012 Webinar Week is approaching! As always, Telerik is organizing this week-long event packed with hour-long webinar sessions to walk you through all the awesome things they have been working on during the past four months. If you’re eager to be among the first to learn how the Q2 bits can enhance your productivity, follow the post and book your seat now.

 

Webinar Week will be held June 18-22, 2012. And you know the drill, one lucky attendee at each webinar will win more than $2,000 worth of software. This time, as a token of appreciation Telerik is also granting each Webinar Week attendee with a discount code valid towards a next Telerik purchase, upgrade or renewal! For more details, read the complete post.

Today I am starting a new giveaway contest of Telerik Ultimate Collection License. The contest is starting on 28th May 2012 and will end on 8th 15th June 2012. At the end of the contest period I will raffle 2 Telerik Ultimate License worth $1999 each.

 

So, why are you waiting for? Take part in the contest, ask others to participate and win $1999 license for Free. As much as you share, the probability of winning will be high. For more details, check out the complete post.

JetBrains released a new Decompiler and Assembly Browser named “dotPeek” for .NET Application Developers. It is a FREE productivity tool which decompiles .NET 1.0 - .NET 4.5 assemblies to C# code and has support for .dll, .exe, .zip, .vsix, .nupkg, and .winmd files. It has many features like Quick jump, Effortless navigation, Support for downloading code from source servers and many more.

 

Continue reading the post to know details about the features and find the downloadable links. I have also embedded one video describing the features published by JetBrains.

Windows Phone 7 launchers and choosers enable users to perform common tasks in WP7 device by providing a consistent user experience throughout the Windows Phone application development platform. I already covered many of the Launchers and Choosers in my blog. On popular demand, I am sharing them in this single page post. I hope, this will be helpful for you to get started with the Windows Phone 7 launchers and choosers very quickly.

 

Let’s start discussing about launchers and choosers followed by links to all the launchers and choosers.

Telerik introduces a new component called “RadDiagnostics” in their Q1.2012 release. RadDiagnostics component enables an application developer to receive crash reports and other debugging information from the end user of the application.

 

As a WP7Dev, you may want to include a functionality in your application which will mail you the stack trace and other debugging information. This post will guide you to implement the same functionality in your Windows Phone app using the Telerik controls. Continue reading to learn more about it.

Kolkata Geeks are pleased to announce Developer Conference 2012 on Saturday, May 26th. Developer Conference is the premier technical event for technology professionals at Kolkata interested in learning, connecting and exploring latest Microsoft technologies.

 

This is an In-Person community event and is absolutely free, no registration charges required. Register now and be there, enjoy the flavor of cutting edge Microsoft technologies and win lots of prizes. Read out more to find about the session details.

I have two Windows Phone 7 devices, one of them is the HTC 7 Pro and the other one is the Nokia Lumia 800. I was using HTC 7 Pro for quite a long time but when I received Nokia Lumia 800 by participating in the Microsoft iUnlockJoy program, I am using that only.

 

Few people asked me to write a review on Windows mobile phones and hence I decided to write a small review on my current experience on Nokia Lumia 800. This post will cover specification of Nokia Lumia 800 and my review on that.

Currently I am working on a Windows Phone 7 application using the Telerik controls and learning a little more bit about the controls present in their library. So, I thought to share the same in my blog for next few days. If you are using these controls, it will help you to learn very quickly.

 

As a WP7Dev, you might want to build a stunning application with an animation to the page navigation or orientation changes. This article will help you to do so by using the Telerik RadControls for Windows Phone 7. Continue reading to learn more about the APIs and the implementation steps.

Here comes the “Monthly Summary” post of April 2012. Last month I published 14 blog posts, among them 12 was on “How to” series of my Windows Phone 7 Tutorial for developers.

 

In this summary post I am going to share them in a single page, so that, you can find them very easily. Continue reading to find out all the Windows Phone 7 tutorial series. Don’t forget to check out the API implementations of the SDK in the “How to” posts.

Continuing my Windows Phone 7 Tutorials on Launchers and Choosers. Today in this blog post we will discuss about the Windows Phone 7 class named “SaveRingtoneTask”. We will first describe about the internal class implementation of the SDK itself. Later we will see how to implement it in your application.

 

Continue reading to learn about the API and code implementation. Don’t forget to share your thoughts and feedbacks at the end in the comments section. Also, share this to your friends/colleagues who might feel it useful too.

Do you want to create an application or game for your Windows Phone 7 that can share links to various social networking sites of users choice? Then this post will help you to integrate the same in your application.

 

Continue reading the complete post to know more about the API, the internal implementation of the WP7 SDK and the way to include it in your application. Don’t forget to share your feedback and if you like the post, please share it to others as this might be helpful for them too.

Today I received a great offer from my blog partner who is giving away few eBooks on "Windows 7" for my blog readers. In this post, I am going to share 3 FREE eBooks on the same topic. You can request to download by clicking the "Request Now" button

 

Stay tuned to get more free eBook offers on various topics.

Today while debugging a Silverlight application, I noticed that, my Visual Studio 2010 was taking too much time to load the referenced assemblies and the browser was freezing for some time while loading the XAP. First I thought that it is due to the solution file but after doing some investigation I noticed that it is happening for all Silverlight application.

 

Finally I found the solution and thought to share with you. In case you come across same situation, this post will help you to resolve it easily.

Do you want to develop an application or game which will update your status or game result in some social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In and/or Windows Live? Then this post will help you to integrate such task in your app.

 

Using “ShareStatusTask” of the Windows Phone 7 SDK, you can update your status line on the social networking sites. Continue reading the post for more details of the API and the implementation steps.

In last few articles I was discussing on Launchers and Choosers of Windows Phone 7. In today’s blog post I am going to continue on that again. This time we will discuss on “SmsComposeTask” of the WP7 SDK, which you can use to create SMS from code.

 

SmsComposeTask launches the Messaging application with a new SMS message displayed and requires user intervention to send the message. Continue reading to learn in depth of the API implementation and uses of the API.

In last two blog posts we learnt how to save email address in WP7 and how to send email. We also learnt the internal implementation of the APIs used by the Windows Phone 7 SDK.

 

Today in this blog post we will explore how to retrieve email address from contact list with a simple example (including the internal implementation of the API). Don’t forget to provide your feedback. If you have any queries, let me know. I will try to answer you as early as I can.

In the last blog post we learnt “How to Save Email Address in WP7 using the SaveEmailAddressTask?” where we shared code snippet of the internal implementation of the SaveEmailAddressTask along with the code implementation of a demo app.

 

Today in this blog post we will learn how to compose an email using the Windows Phone 7 SDK class called “EmailComposeTask”. Also sharing the decompiled version of the class, so that you can know the SDK implementation. Continue reading and at the end don’t forget to leave your feedback.

Do you want to build an application which will allow you to save an email address? Then this post will allow you to understand the API of Windows Phone 7 SDK. In this post we will learn about SaveEmailAddressTask class and it’s API with a simple demo.

 

Continue reading to learn about it. Also, I will share the code snippet of the internal implementation of the SaveEmailAddressTask, which will help you to understand the actual implementation of the API of WP7 SDK.

In the last blog post, we learnt “How to Call a Number in WP7 using the PhoneCallTask?” We also learnt, “How to Save Phone Number in WP7 using the SavePhoneNumberTask?” So, how can you programmatically retrieve a phone number from existing contact list?

 

This post will help you to understand it. After reading this post, you will be able to programmatically retrieve the phone number in your application (this requires user’s interaction) using the PhoneNumberChooserTask. Don’t forget to read the complete post as this will help you to know about the internal implementation of the SDK API too.

Last day we learnt “How to Save Phone Number in WP7 using the SavePhoneNumberTask?” There we discussed on the basics of the API and details about the implementation stuff with step-by-step details.

 

Today in this small blog post we will learn how to call a number programmatically in Windows Phone 7 by using the PhoneCallTask API. We will also know what are the limitations of this API class. Continue reading to know further.

Do you want to integrate a task in your Windows Phone 7 application that will help users to save their contact details e.g. a phone number in their Contact List? If you want to do this, there is a class called SavePhoneNumberTask which will allow you to implement that task.

 

This small post will help you to understand the basics about the API and details about the implementation stuff with step-by-step details.

In last two blog posts we learnt how to programmatically Save Contacts in WP7 and Retrieve Contact Information. Now after these, you may want to programmatically search for specific contact. So how to do this?

 

Windows Phone 7 SDK provides that API for you. You can use that API to asynchronously search for a contact by different parameters. Continue reading the complete post to learn more about the class and search mechanism. Don’t forget to read out my other blog posts too.

Here comes the “Monthly Summary” post of March 2012. It was a hectic time for me and was busy with personal stuffs. During March 2012, I have published 9 blog posts, mainly on Windows Phone 7 development along with a good news that I have been officially added as the Telerik Insider.

 

In this post, sharing all the posts in category wise sorted for you, so that, you can find them easily from here.

In the last post, we learnt “How to Save Contact in WP7 using the SaveContactTask?” Today in this small post we will learn how to retrieve saved contacts in WP7 using the Windows Phone 7 SDK APIs.

 

If you are developing any application for Windows Phone 7 and wants to provide user an option to get any contact details (e.g. Contact Name, complete Address of the Contact), AddressChooserTask class will allow you to get such information of the selected contact. Continue reading to get more details about this API.

It’s a time for the great news. Feeling proud to announce that, officially I am now a Telerik Insider too along with the Telerik MVP award. After Lohith Goudagere Nagaraj (@kashyapa), I am the 2nd Telerik Insider from India.

 

Thanks to everyone for your continuous support. Read to know more about the program.

Windows Phone 7 SDK exposes API to provide user option to save any contact to the Contact list. In your app you may want to include contact saving option. This small post will help you to understand the API and after that, you will be able to use it in any of your applications.

 

The SDK has a sealed class called SaveContactTask, which you can use to implement this feature. Continue reading to know more about the class and implementation steps.

Sometime in our application, we want to launch the Media Library of the Windows Phone 7 device and also want to provide user the option to view any existing image from that library. So if you want to do this, how will you implement the code?

 

Windows Phone 7 SDK provides provides API to do this. Using the PhotoChooserTask you can actually launch the photo chooser application and handle the selected image. Continue reading to read more about this process from this small tips.

In last two post, we learnt about How to search in the WP7 Marketplace using the MarketplaceSearchTask? and How to Launch the WP7 Marketplace Hub using the MarketplaceHubTask? Today in this small post, we will learn how to launch the application details page.

 

If you searched application in Marketplace using the marketplace client, you would familiar about the application details page. The details page consists of information about the application including install & share button and reviews section. You might want to add that page in your application. Continue reading to learn about the API.

In our previous Windows Phone 7 tips, we learnt how to search applications and/or music in the WP7 marketplace using the MarketplaceSearchTask API.

 

Today in this post, we will learn about the MarketplaceHubTask API to launch the Windows Phone 7 Hub client in your phone device. Using the code, you can also launch it in the phone emulator. Continue reading to learn more about it.

In your Windows Phone 7 application, you may want to search for some application or music rom WP7 Marketplace. How will you do this? This small tips on Windows Phone 7 marketplace related API will help you to write code in your application.

 

You can easily achieve this by using the Marketplace Launchers task to call the search API. Continue reading to know more about it.

Microsoft launched Visual Studio 11 Beta and .Net Framework 4.5 Beta with lots of new, enhanced and improved features. Jason Zander, announced the availability of Visual Studio 11 beta and .Net Framework 4.5 beta in his Weblog on 29th February 2012.

 

Continue reading this post to find out the links towards the Web Installer as well as the Offline / Standalone Installer of Visual Studio complete suite.

Here comes the “Monthly Summary” of February 2012. During February 2012, I have published 11 blog posts with mix categories. In this post, sharing all the posts in category wise sorted for you, so that, you can find them easily from here.

 

In February, I published three Windows Phone 7 applications which are absolutely free to download. I am sharing them here for your easy access.

My 3rd Windows Phone 7 application called “Untiny URL” is now available in WP7 Marketplace. This application extracts the shortened URL and previews the complete URL in the screen.

 

Don’t forget to try it out and provide your valuable ratings and feedback in the marketplace. Find out more about the application and marketplace URL.

Here comes my 2nd Windows Phone 7 application in the Marketplace named “Easy Connect” to provide you easy access to the connectivity settings page in your device. Finding each page in the settings is little bit difficult and hence here is my application to help you.

 

Find details about the application and the free downloadable links from Windows Phone 7 marketplace. Don’t forget to review the app and share your feedback.

My first Windows Phone 7 is now in the Marketplace. It is a small application to fetch images and provide option to the user to save that image to the WP7 device so that you can set it as Phone background.

 

Find the link mentioned below in the post and download it in your WP7 mobile for free. Don’t forget to provide your Review.

The Microsoft .NET platform, originally introduced in 2002, is mature and it provides developers with great options for creating software that can meet the requirements of any project. With many options, though, it can be difficult for today’s .NET developer to choose the correct .NET technologies for a project.

 

Addressing this problem, Telerik has assembled its senior technical leaders to produce the Microsoft Platform Guidance 2012. This document attempts to provide prescriptive guidance for .NET developers trying to determine the best .NET technologies to use for specific software challenges.

If you have a Windows Phone 7 device and you are a WP7Dev, you may want to develop and test your WP7 application inside your device. All the time, the simulator doesn’t help us to test our application and hence you need the hardware device. The Phone 7 by default comes as a locked for development, but if you want, you can easily unlock it for testing and debugging purpose.

 

In this small post, I will help you to understand each steps in detail. Continue reading to be familiar with the process.

If you are using Windows Phone 7 and want to activate the “Call Waiting Service”, this post will help you. You might came to this page by search engines if didn’t find any settings to activate this service in your phone. This post is not related to any sort of programming but just a small usages tips.

 

Continue reading and activate the service right now if you are searching for this.

Microsoft Windows Phone 7 camps now in your city. If you are in India, you can now join the WP7 Camps in 6 major cities across India. Starting from 17th February to 29th February it will happen in Delhi, Bangalore, Indore, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Trivandrum.

 

If you are in near by cities and want to join the camp, find the date and address in this post. Enjoy the event with Windows Phone influencers and learn more from them.

Sometime we may need to download images from external location to our Windows Phone 7 Media Library. Few days ago, I tried to implement the same in one of my application. Initially, I thought that it is very easy to implement but later noticed the complexity. I did few R&D with Mayur Tendulkar to implement the same and came up with a solution. Thanks to Mayur for helping me out.

 

It this post, I will discuss the way of implementation of it with the full code snippet. Continue reading to check out the downloading mechanism of external images to Media Library.

Busy Indicator is a tool which you can add in your Silverlight or WP7 application to show a loading indication to your user while doing some sort of operations. This is just to let the user know that something is going on.

 

Here in this article, we will learn how to use Telerik BusyIndicator control in your Windows Phone 7 and let the user know that some operations are going on in the background.

Here comes the most popular 5 posts of the week (29th January 2012 to 4th February 2012) at silverlight-zone.com. This week most viewed posts were from Daniel Rubino, @f5Debug, SilverSpot, Barry Lapthorn and Joe Mayo.

 

Read more to find out the popular links read by the developer community. Don’t forget to follow @SilverlightZone on Twitter. Become a “Fan” of our Facebook Page by clicking the “Like” button to stay updated. Subscribe to our Newsletter in case you want to get digest mail notification.

It’s time for you to sharpen your .Net Ninja skills. The latest Telerik release is just around the corner and Telerik has tons of new stuff to show off. If you are eager to see the new bits and sharpen your .NET skills, be sure to sign up for Release Webinar Week.

 

This 3-day event is packed with hour-long webinar sessions on the coolest new features shipping with the Q1 2012 release.  Release Webinar Week will be held on February 20 – 22, so mark your calendars and win some cool stuffs from Telerik.

Here comes the “Monthly Summary” of January 2012. During January 2012, I have published 16 blog posts with mix of mood. In this post, sharing all the posts in category wise sorted for you, so that, you can find them easily from here.

 

January was a great month for me. Celebrated 1 yr. of silverlight-zone.com. My Telerik and Codeproject MVP awards were renewed in this month. Also, I had a chance to visit Florida to attend the Telerik Influencers Summit. It was a hectic time at the end of the month.