in a few weeks microsoft will be releasing the release candidate for silverlight 1.0.  on joe stegman's blog, he posted about breaking changes, etc.  moving forward once the RC is released, the api will be stable and should have no further breaking changes between RC and final release.  however, there will be breaking changes in the RC from beta.  if you have a silverlight application, now is the time to start preparing for what you may have to change.

microsoft has prepared a preview SDK release containing:

• new silverlight.js detection/installation file for both beta and RC
• breaking changes document highlighting differences between beta and RC
• updated Visual Studio template with control embedding template
• a EULA that governs the legal use of silverlight.js, etc. (note: the updated license makes it clear that silverlight.js code is not allowed to be modified)

download this preview SDK here.  using this you should be able to get a head start on the changes.  this SDK does NOT contain the RC of 1.0 itself, rather guidance for when it is released...but the breaking changes document, etc. should be extremely helpful for your preparation.

this is way too funny not to post.  chris pirillo gets a telemarketing call from an it consulting company, which is clearly outsourced...and this proved to be one reason why your outbound sales calls might not be a good idea...seriously, spend the 15 minutes to watch this...it takes three people to explain to him what web 2.0 is...

lately i've been watching this show -- i don't even know what channel it is on, my tivo decided i might like it and started recording it...i love you tivo -- with the host david pogue.  it's basically a consumer-friendly geek gadget show.  he talks about different issues like do megapixels really matter in cameras (does a great field test on that one), what laptops are the best to travel with, etc.  his shows are well thought out and balanced in my opinion -- and he does good research.  the three shows i watched i never felt myself saying 'yeah, but' to anything he said.

anyway, while doing my due diligence on the iphone, i came across some notes about a book called iphone: the missing manual.  great idea i thought.  well, there are a whole bunch of them -- i didn't know there were!  there is a series called 'missing manuals' that has produced what they feel are the missing pieces of functionality in documentation and other texts.  from their site:

"Microsoft deserves credit. So do Apple, Adobe, and Macromedia. In fact, almost every major software company has pitched in by selling increasingly sophisticated software without a printed manual.

Instead, after paying $300 or more for the software, you're expected to learn these complex programs by reading electronic help screens.

But online help is no substitute for a real manual. Ever try to flip between help topics? Or try to read them over breakfast? Wish you could underline, or at least bookmark what you found? Ah. We thought so."

it is totally true.  for the mother-in-laws of the world, they want manuals.  my m-i-l recently got a new printer...a multi-functional.  manual in the box?  nope.  no kidding it took her 2 phone calls and about 1 hour on hold to be able to order a printed copy (which btw, was an offer in the box -- the HP customer service had no idea what she was talking about even when she called the number provided for the offer).  could she have printed the 200 page PDF (on the new printer :-))?  sure...but she paid for the printer and felt she should have been provided instructions on how to use it.  what if she bought it only for the copy/fax capabilities and didn't have a computer?  anyway, i digress...

IRONY NOTE: missing manuals offers PDF versions of their missing manuals -- read above about statement and chuckle that lack of PDFs is a selling point of their manuals.

so check out missing manuals -- there looks like some good product coverage there.  i wonder (i haven't read any of them) if they will be the new 'for dummies' series and become popular.  they certainly aren't as visible as they should be -- i was in barnes and noble last night and didn't see a single one.

on a complete sidenote, my wife played with an iphone last night -- i gave her no instructions.  she walked away from the store saying "see, that's how one of those pda phones should work...i need one of those, easy to understand...not like yours."  hmm...

do you live in an area that has a lot of graffiti?  when you walk buy you say, 'dang, that looks really good, but i just wish it wasn't painted on in my neighborhood'?  maybe, maybe not.

i saw a post about dome digital taggers.  using photography and time-lapse techniques, they are able to lay down some light (as in the luminous kind) graffiti.  check out the painting in light post as well as the flickr set of other photos.  they use light sticks, etc. whatever works to get the final product.

what an innovative way of using technology and mixing it with a different type of photography genre...i'm going to have to try it out.

if you absolutely have been sick of iphone coverage, then go ahead and delete.  i simply couldn't resist the urge to pollute the interweb more with iphone opinions...so i've finally gathered some of my thoughts and decided to vent here...and i don't even have one (yet)...

let me first say that the urge has been hard to resist to get one.  anyone who knows me knows that when new tech comes out and if i can't get it, i'm usually in a fetal position soaking in my own vomit with withdrawls.  there have been very few tech things that have come out that i absolutely haven't been a bandwagon jumper...very few.  i'm very much a v1 sucker to anything.

but i've resisted the iphone.  not on the merits because it is apple (i'm not *that guy*), but namely 2 reasons have helped me resist the urge: ATT and no Exchange ActiveSync.  you see, i'm not with ATT now and the thought makes me cringe.  i've been a t-mobile customer for 10 years (voicestream baby).  i have a great rate plan...not sure about changing.  you see the EDGE thing doesn't bother me, because that is what i have now and i'm used to it...and it is okay for mobile purposes.  Exchange...i kinda live on that now.  i have considered how better my personal life would be if email wasn't in my face all the time though...so that is not necessarily a negative.  but nonetheless, these have been the factors holding me back.  but i continue to research.

i've spent a collective 2 hours with iphone devices (in store as well as with friends who carry them in polish cloths like a precious illegal gem).  my impressions are smiles.  i don't think anyone can argue that it is beautiful...it is.  it is thin, shiny, bright, light, all good stuff.

good things:

• responsive: it better be with the processor that is in there -- more than double (in some instances 3x) what operators are putting on windows mobile devices
• bright screen
• touch interface is easy to use
• simplicity
• it works

my rants and things i've been fussing about:

• 3G: i don't buy the excuse on industrial design being the issue here.  the blackjack (with extended battery) is a 3G device on the same carrier network and is just as thin (okay .1mm thicker)
• gesture inconsistency: i can gesture left/right to go back and forth on screens, email, etc...but looking at my "today" view i can't gesture left/right to go previous/next day?  what gives.  also, why is the period only available on the keyboard when in web surfing mode?  3 clicks to a period?  wtf?
• battery life: the news of 300 charges of battery concerns me.  i see myself hitting that in < a year...

there are perhaps a few things that bother me more about the iphone (not necessarily the device) as a technologist.  first, apple.  i don't think they are a bad company, but i think they have a bad reputation for upgrades.  to me they are the epitome of upgrade==new purchase...all the time.  new features in ipod?  get a new ipod.  why should i think that iphone would be any different.  v1 certainly has issues that can be solved (maybe not the recessed earphone jack -- who was the intern that signed off on that one...hello?!?! consult your ipod buddies in design idiots) via firmware...and should.  but will apple do it?  i don't know...my confidence level is low, real low.  i hear the rumors, but am not sure if i believe it.

the other thing...ATT.  you just purchased a $600 ipod, wifi PDA.  you don't care about the phone piece.  too bad.  you can't use the ipod unless you sign up for a rate plan.  man this stinks of something legally wrong here.  i think that is just horrible, horrible, horrible.  and activation via itunes?  well, i guess it is an ipod.  the activation thing really, really bothers me as a consumer.  don't sell me a device that "is a phone, ipod and pda" but isn't those individually...there isn't truth in their advertising -- it is an ipod/pda only after ATT gives a phone number to it, period.  that is wrong.  it has plenty of features on it's own that make it a great pda/ipod combination and with wifi, it shouldn't be prevented from being one.

and the last thing: developer.  this whole announcement about safari is a scam.  revolutionary development?  not at all.  remember when WAP was cool.  then every site had wap.yoursite.com and mobile.mysite.com -- for a reason...it had to fit the form factor.  what came out of iphonedevcamp?  mostly iphone.existingsite.com, etc.  wait, i thought safari was supposed to be a full browsing experience and you could develop your web 2.0 apps the same way?  c'mon -- even the developers know you have to develop for the form factor.  i read artur's comments today on the radar and couldn't help to agree with his passion of lameness put on apple:

The Apple developer documentation site has a promise of an ability for your web app to integrate with the iPhone. Or rather, it documents the brave invention of the "mailto:" URI scheme and the promise of an broken implementation of the 7 year old RFC 2806 spec of the "tel:" scheme . Most offensive is however Apples claim to integrate with Google Maps, which means Safari intercepts requests to "http://maps.google.com/" and sends them to the Google Maps application. No other high end phone manufacturer even comes close to this level of arrogance.

seriously...come up with a platform apple...you have an opportunity here.

beyond that i'm still having a hard time resisting.  i hope (and think) apple has helped change the game in handsets.  consumer choice is key (not that it is present here but it is a start).  the way they bullied ATT into saying 'we'll control the hardware, you gives us the airwaves' is awesome.  i hope that paves the path for better windows mobile innovation.  does apple pass the compliance with consortiums requiring certain aspects of the handset before it can be sold in a market?  i doubt it.  will it matter?  i doubt it.

i had high hopes for zune.  i bought one.  i really used it a lot...put a ton of movies on it, still like the user interface a lot.  but the after-market hasn't been there for me and continues to grow for apple.  i see that we have something going with american auto manufacturers...and in the designs that are posted on the interweb it looks like some zune support.  but i'm not a fan of american auto design...and there is so much progression in supporting ipod interfaces (like the one i had in my old car that was so seamless it was sick).  i want that level of integration back.  maybe the iphone will give that to me.  i sit in my car, bluetooth hooks iphone up to my car, ipod integration into the stereo...is that so much to ask?

with me selling my imac recently and having the extra dough lying around (with wife approval), it will be hard to resist...real hard.  please apple, assure me that firmware upgrades are coming.  assure me that exchange activesync support will not be a $200 add-on.  give me warm fuzzies and i'll buy your device.