What the WPF/E?

I've been tinkering with Microsoft's new suite of tools called Expression lately and I have to say that I am quite impressed with Blend in particular.

I have always felt that the bridge between designers and developers was one that was way too long to cross. Inevitably, the designers' work seemd to always suffer in the hands of developers due to their lack of design skills (I'm not bashing developers, we wouldn't make it without them, it's just that code and pretty aren't part of the same skill set).

Expression Blend attempts to close the gap between design and development by allowing the designer to create user interfaces and interactivity from within Blend, and then hand it over to the developers to add their code and such. The coders never have to even touch the design assets as Blend exports everything into XAML, a new type of data storage, and seemlessly integrates with Visual Studio.

And to add icing to the cake, Microsoft is in the process of closing the gap between browsers and OS users by implimenting this XAML technology and Windows Presentation Foundation Everywhere, or WPF/E, into existing browsers. This lets anyone, using any major browser, on any platform have the ability to view and interact with rich, dynamic, and...ehem...3D content without any hassle.

Most of the technolgy is currently in the beta stage, but I am definitely keeping an eye on all of this stuff and will be writing about it quite often.

To illustrate my interest in this new tech, here is a link to a fairly cool video series by Martin Grayson that demonstrates the possibilities with XAML and WPF.

And here's one I found on YouTube:

Go Flock Yourself!

Can't stand Internet Explorer? Looking for something more than Firefox?

Well, maybe you should head over to Flock and get the browser built for Web 2.0 advocists.

"Flock is an amazing new web browser that makes it easier to share media and connect to other people online. Share photos, automatically stay up-to-date with new content from your favorite sites, and search the Web with the most advanced Search Toolbar available today."
- Flock.com

It seems to still be in development but it runs on the same open source as Firefox, which means that it is fully extendable and reliable. If Web 2.0 is geared toward bringing the web community together then Flock is a step in the right direction. Thanks for giving us this awesome browser.

By the way, there is a button link to Flock right over there in my sidebar.

Web 2.0 - The Machine Is Us/ing Us

This explains it all...



That was friggin' awesome, huh? Well, that is a pretty good reason to want a little Web 2.0 action, and I will definitely watch this every time I need a little inspiration or motivation.

MyWebtop Beta

Well, I finally discovered the whole Web 2.0 craze, and I believe I am addicted. I have been glued to the monitor for days as I try and digest as much info as I can about this new way of thinking. This blog is where I will discuss all of my thoughts and opinions about this emerging concept and will double as a development log of my future Web 2.0 site.

Well, I guess I should get back to soaking up some more Web 2.0 goodness and start applying that knowledge as soon as possible.

See ya later!