Visual Studio 2013 and Windows 8.1

If you did not see this announcement from Somasegar, check it out!  You can now download release candidate of Visual Studio 2013 and RTM! version of Windows 8.1.  This means that you can start moving your existing 8.0 apps to 8.1 if you would like.  There is also a slew of cool new features you …

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Talks at DevLink 2013

Last week I attended DevLink conference in Chattanooga, TN.  This was my third time there, and I always enjoy this event.  For a fraction of a price of a large conference you get a very good selection of talks and speakers.  In addition to listening to talks, I also had three of my own.  I …

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Convert Byte Array to an Image in WinRT

A long time ago I blogged about converting byte arrays to images in XAML applications. I was recently faced with the same problem in WinRT / Windows Store Applications.  The converter code I had before did not work for one simple reason.  Pretty much all IO operations in WinRT are asynchronous, which includes writing to …

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Implementing Facebook Integration in WinRT App

I am working on and off on a personal application for Windows 8.  I would like to protect the data via a login screen, but I would really hate for the user to remember yet one more login.  Moreover, I would like to at some point generate email reminders for the users as well as …

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Building a Calendar Control for WinRT in XAML

I have had a pet project for calendar control for Windows Phone 7 on CodePlex for quite sometime.  I also have had this project on NuGet as well.  I have been working for a while on porting this project to WinRT / Windows Store Applications.  I am finally done with first revision and it is …

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Getting Started with Azure Mobile Services and More

In this post I will describe what I learned in creating my first Windows Store App projects using Azure Mobile Services. Windows Store app is the current name of the applications designed to run on Windows 8 using WinRT (Windows Run Time).  These types of applications can be download and installed on any machine running …

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Talk at Microsoft Integration Architects Group

I spoke at the Microsoft Integration Architects Users Group on September 20th. Here is the summary of the talk. This talk will highlight new programming model for Windows 8. Application types that Windows 8 will support will be discussed. The discussion will concentrate on Metro style applications and various programming languages that developers can use …

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Visual Studio Launch Event at Magenic Atlanta

I am very excited to announce that Magenic Atlanta is hosting free Visual Studio 2012 Launch event on Saturday October 13th at Magenic office in Atlanta. Join us at Magenic Atlanta for the launch of Microsoft Visual Studio 2012.  Experience all of the incredible new features and powerful possibilities offered, plus learn to build modern …

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Talk at Atlanta .NET Users Group

Yesterday I spoke at the Atlanta .NET Users Group.  Here is the summary of the talk. This talk will highlight new programming model for Windows 8. Application types that Windows 8 will support will be discussed. The discussion will concentrate on Metro style applications and various programming languages that developers can use to write them. …

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Working with GridView Control in WinRT App

As I am continuing to learn WinRT and its component, I spent sometime learning new native controls that are available for use in Metro style applications designed for Windows 8.  One of those controls is GridView.  This control can be easily visualized by looking at Windows 8 start screen.  You see groups of tiles, scrollable …

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