Personalized lock screen

Microsoft Windows 8 Personalized lock screen. from windows.microsoft.com

The tiles of the Start screen

Microsoft Windows 8 The tiles of the Start screen from windows.microsoft.com.

Touch keyboard

Microsoft Windows 8 Touch keyboard from windows.microsoft.com.

How to Convert Time in Different Time Zones C#

Time Zone
In this article, we will discuss about how to convert time according to time zone. I am using TuneZoneInfo class to retrieve information about the current time zone and you can convert it to UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) or vice versa. And also you can use this class to retrieve information on any time zone defined on the local system.




#region TimeZoneConverter Source 

      private void frmTimeZoneConverter_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
      {
         // get and set current date and time
         lblLocalTimeIndicator.Text = DateTime.Now.ToString();

         // Get system (local) time zone information in to readonlycollection list
         ReadOnlyCollection<TimeZoneInfo> TimeZoneColl = TimeZoneInfo.GetSystemTimeZones();
         cmbTimeZones.DataSource = TimeZoneColl;
         cmbTimeZones.DisplayMember = "DisplayName";
         cmbTimeZones.ValueMember = "Id";

      }

      private void cmdTimeConvert_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
      {
         if (cmbTimeZones.SelectedIndex > 0)
         {
            DateTime dt = DateTime.Now;

            // Convert current time in to selected time zone.
            lblConvertedTime.Text = TimeZoneInfo.ConvertTimeBySystemTimeZoneId(dt, TimeZoneInfo.Local.Id, cmbTimeZones.SelectedValue.ToString()).ToString();

         }
      }

      #endregion TimeZoneConverter

      #region Information 
      private void GenaralInformation()
      {
         TimeZoneInfo tzi = TimeZoneInfo.Local;

         // Gets and sets standared time zone name.
         lblCurrentTimeZoneStd.Text = tzi.StandardName;

         // Gets and sets the daylight saving time zone name.
         lblCurrentTimeZoneDlt.Text = tzi.DaylightName;

         //set current time and date
         lblCurrTime.Text = DateTime.Now.ToString();

         // check whether daylight serving is available
         lblDaylightSavingYes.Text = tzi.IsDaylightSavingTime(DateTime.Now).ToString();

         // set universal time
         lblUniTime.Text = DateTime.Now.ToUniversalTime().ToString();

         // get and set time different between local and universal time(UTC).
         lblOffset.Text = tzi.BaseUtcOffset.ToString();

      }

      private void tabControl1_SelectedIndexChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)
      {
         GenaralInformation();
      }

      #endregion





This will Support this .Net frameworks
.net framework 4.0
.net framework 3.5
.net framework 3.0
.net framework 2.0

.NET Framework Client Profiles
Supported in: 4, 3.5 SP1

The entire source code of this article can be downloaded over here.

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Windows 8 NEW FEATURES APP Development


Windows 8
Windows 8 has a new developer platform according to Microsoft Vice President Julie Larson-Green. The primary purpose of this article is to discuss the new features coming up in Windows 8. Especially I ll consider from the development side.

Here is the list of new features coming up in Windows 8 which I found based on various sources in internet.



Windows 8 Application Development features
  1. A New developing environment for software developers
  2. Windows Runtime (WinRT)  and app model
  3. Adding Metro style to apps
  4. It provides broad range of app programming languages
  5. Compatibility with existing frameworks
  6. Able to build component libraries with extensible frameworks
  7. Able to create immersive user interfaces with adaptive layout
  8. Massive media support for apps
  9. Developing support for Internet Explorer 10
  10. Support for frameworks
  11. Maximize your earnings through Windows apps Store

Developing for Windows 8
In windows 8, Microsoft has provided number of excellent new feathers to the developers. It gives platform and tools to create rich app experiences where customers focus on tasks that are important.

With this new environment
  • Web developers can use their HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript skills to build native applications for Windows.
  • .NET Developers can use XAML, C#, and Visual Basic to build beautiful Metro style apps.
  • Game developers can use the power of DirectX 11.1 to build amazing, immersive gaming experiences.
  • Driver developers can use the new, integrated Microsoft Visual Studio development environment to increase productivity.
Windows Runtime and app model
The Windows Runtime (WinRT) is providing set of APIs used to build Metro style apps for the developers. You can use  WinRT API to in multiple languages such as JavaScript, C++, C#, and Visual Basic. As well as HTML5 and CSS3 APIs that are accessible to Metro style app developers.

Adding Metro style to apps
Metro style UI controls are designed for both touch devices and for mouse and keyboard. There are the three kinds of controls that you can use. 

Standard controls – these controls includes tools to display, enter, and manipulate data and content. Such as view, text, pattern, overlay, media (audio and video), content, collection, and basic.

Collection controls – these controls give developers to create rich content experiences in consistent, touch-friendly ways. Such as simple list, grid view, grouped grid view, flip view, and semantic zoom.

Intrinsic controls 

It provides broad range of app programming languages
If you develop windows Metro style apps using JavaScript leverage, then you can use combination of HTML5 and CSS3 to build the user interface and JavaScript for app logic. If you use C++, C#, or Visual Basic to build apps, you have to use XAML markup for the user interface, with C++, C#, or Visual Basic for app logic. Game developers are able to build Metro style type games using C++ and DirectX 11.

Compatibility with existing frameworks
WinRT APIs are able to access other Microsoft programming frameworks, like the .NET Framework or Windows C Runtime Library.

Able to build component libraries with extensible frameworks
By using windows 8 app models feature, you can build reusable component libraries. You can build your own custom components with C++, C#, or Visual Basic and then, you can use JavaScript or any other supported language to call these components from your apps.

Able to create immersive user interfaces with adaptive layout
By using Metro style apps, you can build attractive user interfaces using css3. It provides to your customers a fluid, natural-feeling experience. Smooth Animations, 3-D transformations, Flexible box layouts, Grid layouts, Multi-column layout are available.

Massive media support for apps
You can integrate audio and video content with your application using declarative APIs with support for many popular codecs.
Metro style apps also have access to the Windows.Media namespaces. By using this you can enable capturing, transcoding media, Play stream audio, video, or images to networked devices. With camera capture support, you can create capture controls, use a preview window, and specify resolution and codecs for media capture.

Developing for Internet Explorer 10
Internet Explorer 10 support for modern standards like HTML5, CSS3, and SVG, as well as hardware-accelerated graphics and compiled JavaScript. This type of technology provides you to build the next generation of web experiences.


Support for frameworks
The Windows 8 SDK includes free versions of Microsoft Visual Studio 2011 Express and Microsoft Expression Blend, as well as the latest tools, APIs, compilers, debuggers, sample apps, documentation, templates, tutorials, and guidance from the experts. Visual Studio 2011, Express, and Expression Blend work perfectly with Windows 8

Windows Dev Center provides developers to a dashboard which includes many ways to improve developing apps by monitoring their success. Such as View reports on downloads, revenue, usage, in-app transactions, customer ratings, market trends, and crash and hang data.

Maximize your earnings through Windows Store
Windows Store will meet your application with millions of customers to anywhere in the world. This environment will provide you to distribute, update, and get paid for the apps that you develop. Windows store has an ability to revenue-sharing approach so you can earn more. When you submit an app to Windows Store, you can specify whether the app is free, a trial version or full. With in-app purchases, you can set up your app to let a customer ot buy content or new functionality, such as unlocking the next level of a game etc... and also you can select countries or regions to sell your app.









Windows 8 NEW General FEATURES

Here is the list of new features coming up in Windows 8 which I found based on various sources in internet.














General Features
  1. New Tile based start screen
  2. Touch keyboard
  3. Windows 8 App Store feature
  4. Apps can work together
  5. Metro style
  6. Picture password
  7. New Task Manager
  8. New easy restore
  9. USB 3.0
  10. Support for fewer Restarts
New Tile based start screen
A Tile is a program shortcut which displayed in home screen of Windows 8. And it is a small, rectangular program interface similar to the Icons. Tile is "Live" and "Interactive". Especially programs are able to display information on the Tile like notifications; current status etc. by using this you can get details and notifications from a program even when it is closed (not running). Users can click on the tile and perform some operations without opening the application. 

As an example Tile for your mail account can show the number of new emails. A stock ticker Tile can display the current trading value of few stocks.
Microsoft is bringing significant changes to icon concept with tile. The classic start menu is being replaced with a Tile based start screen.
Have used Windows Phone 7 will be familiar with the Tiles. Windows 8 borrows tile from the Windows 7 Phone UI. And Tile is touching friendly.

Touch keyboard
Windows 8 provides two touch keyboards for users for mobility and flexibility which is full size touch, Because of this it easy to use your computer on the go. It’s more comfortable and natural to type using your thumbs when the keyboard is split Whether you’re walking around or sitting down.


Windows 8 App Store feature
Microsoft introduction a Windows Store on Windows 8, like Ubuntu Software Center, and Mac App Store, that allows developers to publish their Metro-style applications on Windows 8 devices. 
If you signing up with windows Store, which means you can sell your app through Windows Store and you can tap into the broad customer reach of Windows around the world. 

Apps can work together
If you want to send some pictures in email, in different places like facebook, flicker you can easily pick and send the ones you want. Likewise apps can communicate with each other in windows 8.
Metro style
Microsoft has extensively redesigned "Metro-style" user interface, optimized for touchscreens as well as mice and keyboards for Windows 8.

Picture password
Instead of typing a password in login for the screen, a new authentication method allows users to use a set of gestures in the selected picture to login.

New Task Manager
A new Task Manager replaces with new Windows Task Manager (though the old version is also included).

New easy restore
Windows 8 comes with two new recovery functions. Which are named as Refresh and Reset, and both make a complete restore easier than a re-installation. 

USB 3.0
New USB 3.0 ports operate at speeds up to ten times faster than USB 2.0. To better support these speeds and longer battery life. Microsoft is outfitting Windows 8 with native USB 3.0 drivers.( windows 8 will have built-in support)

Support for Multiple Monitors
Windows 8 will include support for multiple monitors; The Developers Preview of the new OS includes first-time capabilities for extending the taskbar across two PCs, without any need for third-party apps. And it is easy to switch between multiple monitors.

 Support for fewer Restarts
In Windows 7 it gave users for number of options to update notifications and installation. Users could elect to have updates installed automatically or option for notification when an update was available and users have to choose to be notified only before the installation.
But in Windows 8, Most of those options will remain. Users will only be asked to restart their PCs so that an update can take effect once per month-on patch Tuesday. That's usually the second Tuesday of each month. There's one exception--critical security patches will trigger an update request immediately. 

What is c# / What is C sharp


C sharp


C# is a software design and programming language which enables object oriented concepts. It is invented around 1999 or 2000 by Anders Hejlsberg at Microsoft.

C# is designed to work with Microsoft's .Net platform.

It is very similar to java. But C# does not support multiple inheritance. It provides interfaces. Interfaces implemented by a class specify certain functions that the class is guaranteed to implement.

 Interfaces avoid the multiple inheritance while maintaining the ability to let several classes implement the same set of methods.

Microsoft .NET Framework 4

Another useful feature of C# is garbage collection. Therefore, it is unnecessary to add a destructor for each class unless a class handles unmanaged resources.  If so, it's necessary to release control those resources from within the class.

C# also provides direct access to memory through C++ style pointers, but these pointers are not garbage collected until specifically released by the programmer.

In C#, .NET framework, programmer’s code is compiled in to MSIL (Microsoft Intermediate Language) which is similar to the java bitecode.

MSIL allows C# to be platform independent and runs using just in time compiling.

The MSIL is what allows C# to be platform independent like bytecode.

What are the Variables and Variable Types in C sharp


"Variables" are simply storage locations for data in program. Programmer is able to place data into variable and retrieve their contents. The interpretation of the data in a variable is controlled through "Types".

The C# simple types consist of the Boolean, Integrals, Floating Point, Decimal and String. In integrals types includes sbyte, byte, short, int, uint, long, and char.

In “Floating Point" refers to the float and double types


The Boolean Type
Boolean types are declared using the keyword, bool. They have two values: true or false.
          bool state = true;
        bool noState = false;


Integral Types
They are whole numbers, either signed or unsigned. Integral types are well suited for those operations involving whole number calculations.

The Size and Range of C# Integral Types
Type
Size (in bits)
Range
sbyte
8
-128 to 127
byte
8
0 to 255
short
16
-32768 to 32767
ushort
16
0 to 65535
int
32
-2147483648 to 2147483647
uint
32
0 to 4294967295
long
64
-9223372036854775808 to 9223372036854775807
ulong
64
0 to 18446744073709551615





Floating Point and Decimal Types
In C# floating point type is either a float or double. Floating point types are used when you need to perform operations requiring fractional representations.

The Floating Point and Decimal Types with Size, precision, and Range
Type
Size (in bits)
precision
Range
float
32
7 digits
1.5 x 10-45 to 3.4 x 1038
double
64
15-16 digits
5.0 x 10-324 to 1.7 x 10308
decimal
128
28-29 decimal places
1.0 x 10-28 to 7.9 x 1028



The string Type
A string is a collection of characters. This type allows us to manipulate character data through methods and properties. It provides methods to concatenate, append, replace, search and split.


String has the following characteristics

  1. It is a reference type – string is not a value type. It is a reference type.
  2. It's immutable - You can never change the contents of a string. If you try to do, it just sets the value of string to a new string, which is a copy of the old string.
  3. It can contain nulls - In .NET, strings can contain null characters with no problems at all as far as the string methods themselves are concerned
  4. It overloads by the == operator - When the == operator is used to compare two strings, the Equals method is called




What is Enumeration or Enums


In this c sharp question, we will discuss about Enumerations.

Enumeration or Enums store special values. They make programs simpler by providing an efficient way to define a set of constants which they may be assigned to a variable. If you use constants directly to do this, your C# program rapidly becomes complex and hard to change. Enumeration will provide you to keep these magic constants in a distinct type. This improves code clarity and alleviates maintenance issues.

As an example if you define a variable which will represent a day of week then there are only seven meaningful values. To define those values, you can use an enumeration type, which is declared by using the enum keyword.

enum Days { Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday };

By default type of each element in the enum is int. if you need to specify another type then you need to implement it by using a colon, as shown in the bellow example

enum Days : byte { Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday };

If you do not specify values for the each element in the list the values are automatically incremented by one. Like

Days.Sunday has a value of     0
Days.Monday has a value of    1
And so on.


class Program
    {
        enum Days { Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday };

        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            // These values are enum Days types.
            Days weekend_ = Days.Saturday;

            if (weekend_ == Days.Saturday)
            {
                // Will be printed.
                Console.WriteLine("Today is Weekend");
            }

            if (weekend_ == Days.Sunday)
            {
                // Will not be printed.
                Console.WriteLine("Today is Weekend");
            }
        }
    }


And also you can assign any values to the elements in the enumerator list of an enumeration type, and you can also use computed values at the program.

enum MyDayPlan
{
    Getup = 5,
    Schooling = 8,
    Swimming = 5,
    Eating = Swimming + 2
}




Microsoft DreamSpark Offers Free Download Visual Studio 2008, Server 2003, SQL Server 2005


Microsoft DreamSpark Offers Free Download Visual Studio 2008, Server 2003, SQL Server 2005 and more to student

What is DreamSpark.

Microsoft DreamSpark is a world wide program that provides no-cost access to Microsoft designer and development tools for students, In order to support and advance their learning and skills through technical design, technology, maths, science and engineering activities.
Every free Microsoft developer tools download will be verified through an Online Student Status Verification process which linked to schools and organizations around the world that can confirm student status.

Free Offers,

.NET Mobile

.NET Mobile

Mobile technology
1. Today, Cell phones(mobile phones) have becoming part of our life style.

2. Now Mobile devices can connect to the Internet, and execute web applications contents.

3. Different mobile devices support different programming languages. Some support WAP and WML, some support HTML or a limited version of HTML, and some support both or a different language.

To support all types of mobile devices, developers must create one different application for each language.


NET Mobile, Microsoft has introduced a new platform for developing mobile applications.


Introduction
Before moving further, I want to give you a brief introduction.
.NET is a developmental platform introduced by Microsoft at their 2000 Professional Developers Conference (PDC). The following figure shows a simple architecture of the .NET framework application development.


Requirements for development

To develop mobile applications with .NET, you must download and install the following components. IE and the .NET SDK can be downloaded from the Microsoft MSDN site for free.

Windows 2000 Professional/Server/Advanced Server OS
Internet Explorer 5.5
.NET framework Beta 1
.NET Mobile Web SDK Beta 1
Your favorite WAP simulator.

The mobile controls provided by ASP .NET target, as the name suggests, mobile devices (cell phones, Palms, etc.). This article will give you an idea of how to develop mobile web applications using ASP .NET and the Microsoft Visual Studio .NET environment. It will describe some of the most important mobile specific controls but won't go deep into the subject. At the end we'll also take a look at the Pocket PC Emulator 2002 which is included in Visual Studio .NET.

The ways mobile pages are organized differ from the classic web pages that you see on your computer. One mobile page is represented by a Form and a typical file ( MobileWebForm1.aspx ) can contain multiple forms, therefore multiple pages. This way when you open a page with the WAP browser actually multiple pages will be loaded (represented by forms) and when you click a link to one of the other forms there will be no loading time because they are in the same page. There is a good reason for this. Some WAP browsers disconnect after they retrieve the webpage to save the battery of the mobile phone and the money if the connection is charged per minute. This way they won't have to reconnect every time a new form is loaded, if it is located in the same file.

More Information