AdDuplex for Windows 8 is here!

AdDuplex, the largest cross promotion network for Windows Phone apps, has launched the first cross promotion network for Windows 8.

Starting today developers of Windows 8 apps can help each other get more exposure for their apps for free by participating in the AdDuplex ad exchange program. At this time only the managed XAML/C#/VB metro-style apps are supported, but support for other app types is coming.

While the Windows 8 SDK is in beta, you will get a better exchange ratio on the AdDuplex network (0.9 instead of 0.8) as well as additional launch bonuses. The first 5 Windows 8 apps to launch on the network will receive 250,000 impression bonus that can be used to advertise both Windows 8 and Windows Phone apps.

As part of this release we had to make some changes to the underlying engine. AdDuplex for Windows 8 supports multiple ad sizes and image ads as well as other features that are coming soon. Therefore we decided to run the current (Windows Phone only) version and the new one in parallel for some time. You can download the SDK, samples and documentation as well as manage your Windows 8 apps at beta.adduplex.com

Using a provisional WinRT port of SilverlightSerializer to store state in MVVMLight ViewModels

Over 1.5 years ago I showed how to store your Windows Phone application state (‘tombstoning’) using SilverlightSerializer by Mike Talbot. In my quest to leverage hard-won Windows Phones skills to be usable in Windows 8 I made a provisional port of SilverlightSerializer 1 to WinRT. That is, in C#.

Since my win8nl library port is a bit behind, I’ve stuck the class in a simple project that you can download here and from codeplex

Usage is as follows: in App.xaml.cs, you define two methods: SaveState and RestoreState:

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Everything you need to know to build HTML5 games with Canvas & SVG

Agenda:
- Canvas & SVG: 2 ways to draw on the screen
- Useful libraries & tools
- Some gaming frameworks
- Some beginners' tutorials
- Some interesting online working games & experience feedbacks


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Silverlight Metro Time Line Control

I’ve come up with a nice little user control that plots “activities” over the past couple of days.

And when I say I’ve come up with, I mean I was inspired by/copied the design from the new Microsoft Dynamics software.

It’s currently making use of the Telerik chart controls, as that’s what I am using at work but I’m sure that part could be swapped out for a Silverlight Toolkit chart.



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You can download the source:  https://github.com/stevenh77/FxChart

Attached Behaviors in WinRT Metro Style App

Although you don't get the convenience of the Drag and Drop approach to using Blend Behaviors many have become used to, the Attached Behavior pattern still works with WinRT XAML applications. Even better, the underlying mechanism is unchanged.

I have a confession to make. I was never a fan of the Blend Behaviors anyway. I think they add complexity where it's not necessary (and I could never recall how to manually add them to XAML by hand). I always preferred to implement the pattern as an attached property on a dependency object rather than extending the Behavior class from the Blend SDK. It might be because, when I learned the benefits of what would later be called the Attached Behavior pattern, it had yet to be supported by Blend.

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Here is the Gist that contains the behaviours

The First Release of Metro PieChart Control

So I’m glad to announce that the first release of of PieChart Control for Windows 8 now Supports lots of interactive features like

- Support Default and Hole Type PieChart

- Legend and Tooltips

- Pushout feature for on Click events

- On Select and DeSelect Item from the PieChart


find below the download link for the assembly file Download Here
for source click here 

Extending WinRT: how to avoid constrains and expose C# objects hierarchy from WinMD library

Windows 8 programming model allows extending WinRT by implementing WinRT components. These components can be created by using any supported language (JS, C#, VB, C++) and can be consumed by all these languages as well.

Visual Studio provides WinRT library project template, thus creation of your first WinRT component is matter of seconds. Gradually, you will find that your code should follow some rules to stay compatible with WinRT. Most of these rules are not deal breaker, but sometimes they can make you scratch your head a bit.

For example, one of the rules for C# states that all public classes (except XAML controls) must be sealed and custom WinRT-enabled class cannot be inherited from another custom WinRT class. But what can be done to expose a complex hierarchy of objects via WinRT?

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Why Would you Want to Write Applications for Windows 8 Now?

Last week, we had our first Windows 8 webinar titled, “Why build for Windows 8 and how RadControls for Metro can help.” One question that we attempted to answer is, “Why build for Windows 8 now?” “Why not wait until a future date when the platform is more stable?” These questions are valid from a consumer and an enterprise point-of-view and I’ll try to explain why we believe that you should start writing applications for Windows 8 today.

4 Solid Reasons to Start Building Today

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