Silverlight Resources

Beleo is the list of Silverlight resources. I've taken it from Mike Snow's blog and added some more. Keeping it here for my reference. Hope it will be useful to all.

Install The Latest Tools

Beta 2: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=50A9EC01-267B-4521-B7D7-C0DBA8866434&displaylang=en

Getting Started

• Main Site: http://www.silverlight.net
• MSDN: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb404700(VS.95).aspx
• Breaking changes between beta 1 and beta 2: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb404700(VS.95).aspx
• Architecture: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb404700(VS.95).aspx

Silverlight Blogs

• Bill Reiss: http://www.bluerosegames.com/SilverlightBrassTacks/
• Brad Adams: http://blogs.gotdotnet.com/BradA/
• Dan Wahlin: http://weblogs.asp.net/dwahlin/default.aspx
• Delay: http://blogs.msdn.com/delay/
• Jeff Paries: http://designwithsilverlight.com/
• Jessie Liberty: http://silverlight.net/blogs/jesseliberty/
• Joe Stegman: http://blogs.msdn.com/jstegman/default.aspx
• Karen Corby: http://scorbs.com/
• Laurence Moroney: http://blogs.msdn.com/webnext/default.aspx
• Michael Palermo: http://weblogs.asp.net/palermo4/default.aspx
• Mike Snow: http://www.silverlight.net/blogs/msnow
• Michael Sync: http://michaelsync.net/
• Neo: http://www.silverlightexamples.net/
• Nikola: http://blogs.msdn.com/nikola/default.aspx , http://www.nokola.com/
• Peter Blois: http://www.blois.us/blog/
• Pete Brown: http://community.irritatedvowel.com/blogs/pete_browns_blog/default.aspx
• ScottGu: http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/tags/Silverlight/default.aspx
• Synergist: http://blogs.msdn.com/synergist/
• SDK Team: http://blogs.msdn.com/silverlight_sdk/
• Tanmoy Rajguru: http://anothersilverlight.blogspot.com/
• Tim Sneath: http://blogs.msdn.com/tims/
• Tim Heuer: http://timheuer.com/blog/
• VectorForm: http://www.vectorform.com/silverlight/blog/
• Web Services Team: http://blogs.msdn.com/silverlightws
• Wilco Bauwer: http://www.wilcob.com/Wilco/Silverlight.aspx
• Stream: http://www.silverlightcream.com/

Miscellaneous Topics of Interest for Silverlight

• 3D Engine: http://www.codeplex.com/Kit3D
• Balder 3D Engine: http://www.codeplex.com/Balder (Blog: http://www.dolittle.com/blogs/einar)
  

Game Programming:

• http://www.andybeaulieu.com/Default.aspx
• http://www.silverlight.net/blogs/msnow
• http://silverlightrocks.com/cs/default.aspx
• http://www.devx.com/RIA/

Secure Password sending:

• http://dnnsilverlight.adefwebserver.com/Samples/SilverlightXAML/tabid/56/Default.aspx
• Silverlight Nuggets: http://silverlightnuggets.com/
• Sockets: http://www.flawlesscode.com/
• Web Services: http://dnnsilverlight.adefwebserver.com/Silverlight20/SilverlightWebservice/tabid/66/Default.aspx

My finding on SEO for Flash

Sometime time ago (May be a month), I heard that flash content now can be indexed on Google and Yahoo Search engine. For this Adobe has provided some complex flash player to theese search engines which in turn will allow them to dig inside the thousand of Flash enabled Web sites out there and crawl inside them to brin the relavent content for indexing. Google has even desribed it's improved methods form flash indexing.

After going through many blogs and articles I can say that it is just a baby step and flash is still very far away from actually getting indexed. One question is that why Flash will not be searcable on live serach.

Gilbert Corrales has explained the fact in details and also that how Silverlight can be indexed in all search engines without any specific player.

Also found this hilarious take on the Google's method of indexing the flash content. Very interesting indeed.

When Will It End?

I seen the light from the mountain moon shimmer, shadow bright.
I seen the mountain when trees stood straight up right.
I seen desolated mountain weep as man destroyed tall to fall.
When will heartless ravage end, to let the mountain mend.
What's left on the mountain is ours to tell.
What's left for our children's children as they run & play where trees used to be for they have no place to dwell.
Mountain streams will continue to flow, foliage will continue to grow,
trees once more will reach the blue, only to surrender to man's blow...
When acid-rain turns to ice, the age of freeze begins.

Man will perish.
&
God will cherish.

Written by Neha Tyagi. I really liked so posting it.

Interactive is a meaningless word

Making websites more useful, not just interactive ...

I have never quite understood what the word 'interactive' means in the context of the Web. The Web is inherently active in that its corner stone is the link. The link is a call to action. We go to the Web to act, to do. Saying that a website needs to become more interactive is like saying that a football game needs more football.

In a Web context, 'interactive' is thus a meaningless word and it tends to be used by cool, meaningless people. In fact, the objective of making a website 'more' interactive is often absolutely not what the customer wants.

Customers don't want interactivity from your website. They want results. They want to do what they came to do as quickly as possible. You have to interact with a hotel booking process in order to book a room, but you want that interaction to be as fast and painless as possible.

One of Google's key design principles: "Every millisecond counts. Nothing is more valuable than people's time", it goes on to state." Google pages load quickly, thanks to slim code and carefully selected image files. The most essential features and text are placed in the easiest-to-find locations. Unnecessary clicks, typing, steps, and other actions are eliminated.
A core objective of Google is to get you off its website as quickly as possible. It has a relentless focus on making the first result the right result so that you will leave its website in the shortest time possible. Google makes most of its money from advertising.

'Save people time' should be written in 10 foot letters across the walls of every web design team's office. Do not listen to the fools who talk about more interactivity. It is from the minds of these fools that the truly awful Flash Intros crawled out. Focus all your energy on saving your customers time. Be useful. Be functional. Be brief."

This is the edited version of article written by Gerry McGovern.

Hey my first post

Since long (Almost 4 years) I've been trying to start my own blog. But as usuall couldnt act on this plan. But it seems finally the time has come here I am posting my first post on my blog. As the name suggest I can write about anything which interest me. It would be some technical stuff (Flash, Photoshop, Silverlight, CSS, Flex ), some cricket, some bollywood and some might some philosophy of life (It is when I entered in that zone) but again there is no limit.
So I am just concluding this with the hope that this is not my last post J