What's New

• The .NET Framework 4.5 Gets ZIP

  On VB columnist Joe Kunk shows you how to create and extract "almost" .ZIP files in .NET Framework 4 and standard .ZIP files in .NET Framework 4.5. 05/21/2012

• GitHub Releases App for Windows Developers

  Windows developers can host code and collaborate with colleagues through brand-new application. 05/21/2012

• Microsoft Reveals Visual Studio 11 Product Lineup, Adds Windows Phone

  Visual Studio 11 Express for Windows Phone is slated for release with the next version of Windows Phone, the company announced on Friday. 05/21/2012

• 'Fastest Consistent Database' Claims MVVM Affinity

  In-memory database comes from Starcounter, a Swedish company that announced the world's "fastest consistent database" thanks to patent-pending technology. 05/21/2012

• Microsoft Releases Another Preview of Entity Framework 5

  The Release Candidate of Microsoft's object-relational mapping framework for .NET is available via NuGet. 05/18/2012

• Visual Studio Live! Keynote: Developers Must be Artists

  Businesses are under pressure to respond much faster to customer requirements and competitive threats. 05/17/2012

• Azure Performance Tips, Part 2: Cloud Checks

  Visual Studio test tools, profiling, performance counters, and the SQL Azure Management Console provide a snapshot as to how the app performs. 05/17/2012

• Guru Tip: How to Activate a SharePoint Ribbon Tab in Sandboxed Solutions

  How to use a feature called SPRibbon to overcome tab activation limitations. 05/17/2012

• Dealing with Local Databases, or Why Your Updates Don't Stick

  Why Visual Studio copies local databases to different folders, and what you can do about it. 05/14/2012

• Trying Out the OData/WCF Data Services Upgrades

  Microsoft released demos of both to get them in front of developers; already there's a wishlist of features from developers. Here's some of my initial thoughts and experiments with them. 05/14/2012

• No Java Required: Write Android Apps in C#

  XobotOS is a Xamarin-developed project that translated millions of lines of Java to C#. 05/11/2012

• Minor Update of Silverlight 5 Issued in Tuesday Patch

  This latest build is the first update since Silverlight 5 was released in December 2011. 05/11/2012

• .NET Architect Brian Noyes on Benefits of XAML, WPF

  F-14 Tomcat fighter pilot turned .NET architect Brian Noyes talks with John Waters about XAML, WPF and more. 05/11/2012

• Fluent Interface Design in .NET

  Eric Vogel shows you how to simplify the consumption of your API by adding a fluent interface design. 05/10/2012

• Giving Back to the OSS Community

  While we often talk of how we can leverage OSS to deliver a higher-quality product, rarely do we talk about how we can give back to the OSS community. 05/10/2012

• Exec: Microsoft Plans to 'Cloud Optimize Every Business'

  In Microsoft's last fiscal third quarter, Server and Tools delivered $4.57 billion in revenue to the company, up 14 percent. The division is large, growing and increasingly profitable 05/10/2012

• Amazon Opens Cloud to SQL, ASP.NET Devs

  The cloud wars heat up as Amazon promises easier deployment and scalability for database and application developers. 05/09/2012

• Storing Windows Phone User Settings

  Persisting user settings in Windows Phone is something every mobile developer needs to know how to do. Nick Randolph walks you through the process. 05/08/2012

• Color Returns to Visual Studio 11 User Interface

  Microsoft hears its developers, and colorizes the monochrome look of Visual Studio 11 beta. 05/08/2012

• Rockford Lhotka on the Open Source CSLA .NET Framework

  Today CSLA is one of the most widely used open source software development frameworks for .NET. We talk to its creator about how it came about and its many uses. 05/07/2012

• Microsoft's Bold Choice of Lumia Invisibility

  A calculated -- and correct -- risk to minimize the names "Microsoft" and "Windows" in a commercial campaign for the Nokia Lumia smartphone. 05/07/2012

• Implementing WebSockets in WCF 4.5

  Peter introduces WCF 4.5's support for WebSockets first by describing why you care and then by setting up to build a bi-directional service using Windows Server 8, and Visual Studio 11. 05/04/2012