Simulate Modem speeds with Fiddler

In the Pluralsight Silverlight 3 Fundamentals video course, the instructor suggests a tip to test a custom progress bar by mimicking a slow web server on the local computer. This can be done by generating modem speeds with Fiddler, a HTTP proxy, using the menu option Rules > Performance > Simulate Modem speeds. The speed can also be customized. This technique is more convenient than using the System.Threading.Thread.Sleep method to create an artifical delay with code.

Firefox Throttle plug-in also allows you to cap download/upload rates and monitor current bandwidth utilization. This plugin seems to be currently removed from the Mozilla add-ons directory but as per this Firefox support Forum its available on the Mozilla FTP server(direct link to .XPI).

Also see:
FiddlerCap makes HTTP Traffic Capture easier

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Silverlight 4 & Windows Phone Developer Tools

If you are a developer & kept away from Silverlight, there is no time like now to start playing around with it. There have been a lot of interesting announcements at MIX10, an annual conference for web developers & designers. Silverlight is going to be at the heart of Windows Phone 7 Series development. Silverlight 4 RC (What's RC?)  is out as well with a host of improvements (including Indic Support!). The Windows Phone Developer Tools CTP has also been released.

It consists of:
* Visual Studio 2010 Express for Windows Phone
* Windows Phone Emulator
* Silverlight for Windows Phone
* XNA Game Studio 4.0 CTP

So you now have all tools needed to build an app for Windows Phone 7 (the actual phone though will come later in the year) & prepare to submit an application to the Windows Phone Marketplace. Alongwith the motivation & free tools, there are also some great learning resources.

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Project Tuva makes Science fun

"...many of the sciences are so abstract, and the amount of things you have to learn before you start connecting to those practical issues can be very daunting." - Bill Gates

Microsoft Research has been releasing a lot of interesting projects this year - Songsmith, an improved Translator, WorldWide Telescope (WWT) and now Project Tuva. Some of them are offbeat and path-breaking.

Project Tuva is an interactive educational video application built with Silverlight.

Project Tuva is an interactive video experience that makes learning about science relevant and exciting through annotations authored by researchers and subject-matter experts. Project Tuva is launching with Richard Feynman's Messenger Series lectures, a cornerstone set of seven talks at Cornell University in 1964. These videos are enhanced with a number of different layers of contextual information: full transcripts and captions, fully searchable transcripts, time-synchronized contextual "extras" that link to web resources to learn more about a spoken topic, the ability to take notes while watching, integration with Microsoft Research's own amazing World Wide Telescope project, and more.

Written in Silverlight, it uses Smooth Streaming to dynamically switch between different bit rates of video without interrupting playback. This allows the video to play in a way that's more immediate than the usual buffer-then-watch online video experience. It uses a sophisticated and fully liquid layout system to adapt to different screen sizes and viewing aspect ratios. All modifications the user makes to the interface's layout are remembered between sessions.

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Silverlight 2 FAQ

Some answers from the Silverlight 2 FAQ that I found insightful -

What is in Silverlight 1 that is not in Silverlight 2?
Nothing. Silverlight 2 is a full superset of Silverlight 1.0. It is 100% compatible with Silverlight 1.0 applications and provides more powerful features and functionality. Silverlight 1.0 applications even benefit from improvements in media playback and performance characteristics of Silverlight 2 without any additional changes needed.

When would a customer use Silverlight instead of ASP.NET AJAX?
ASP.NET AJAX and Silverlight are designed to be complementary technologies. Because Silverlight can talk to any AJAX application, both client-side and server-side, customers can enhance existing ASP.NET or ASP.NET AJAX applications by integrating Silverlight media experiences and RIAs into their Web applications. Conversely, ASP.NET AJAX can additionally be used to control Silverlight-based visualization of data or the delivery of rich experiences.

When would a customer use Silverlight versus Windows Presentation
Foundation (WPF)?Microsoft recommends targeting the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) when building rich, immersive applications and experiences that can take full advantage of the Windows platform, including hardware acceleration, peripheral access, etc. Silverlight is meant be used for broad reach, interactive media content and browser-based rich interactive and high-performance applications and experiences.

Will Silverlight support HD quality?
Yes, Silverlight supports 720p HD quality today. However, performance varies depending on the capabilities of the individual PC.

Which platforms and browsers will Silverlight 2 support?
Silverlight will support all major browsers on both Mac OS X, Linux and on Windows. Particular care is being taken to account for differences in platform and browser capabilities to ensure a consistent experience including experiences on Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer.

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