Answer My Query

A new version of the Extended WPF Toolkit was released today and it is packed with goodies.  And to all you cry babies who wined for a VS 2008 and .NET 3.5 version finally got on my nerves enough to create one for you.  Ha, just kidding, but there really is a Visual Studio 2008 and .NET 3.5 binaries and source available for download.  One caveat to the 3.5 version is that it has a dependency on the WPFToolkit and won’t work without it. What’s in it do you ask? Five kick @ss controls: The BusyIndicator BusyIndicator makes it easy to let the user know when an application is busy. Simply wrap the relavent content in an instance of the BusyIndicator control and toggle its IsBusy property to True during any long-running process. The ColorPicker The ColorPicker is an editor that allows a user to select a custom color including support for transparency. The MessageBox Displays a message box that has a message and that returns a result. The RichTextBox Extends the System.Windows.Control.RichTextBox control that represents a rich editing control which operates on FlowDocument objects. The RichTextBox control has a Text dependency property which allows a user to data bind content to the RichTextBox.Document property. The RichTextBox control introduces the concept of Text Formatters. Text Formatters allows a user to format the content of the RichTextBox control into any format of their choice. Three Text Formatters are included; PlainTextFormatter, RtfFormatter, and a XamlFormatter. The RtfFormatter is the default Text Formatter. A user can create their own custom Text Formatter by creating a class that inherits from ITextFormatter and implimenting the contract accordlingly. The ChildWindow – although it is in alpha Similar to the functionality of a traditional, standard Windows Forms dialog window, the ChildWindow allows you to popup both modal and non-modal dialog windows using C# or XAML. These controls need to be pulled through the mud, used and abused.  Help me find the bugs and make this toolkit a solid toolset that any WPF developer would want in their toolbox.  please submit all issues to the Discussions section of the Extended WPF Toolkit project site.

A new mid-tower PC case ‘Bandit’ from Sharkoon has recently entered the European market. Featuring a black color coating (inside and outside), the case boasts a top-mounted HDD/SSD dock, a built-in multi-card reader, a top-placed I/O panel with USB 2.0, eSATA and audio ports, five 5.25-inch external drive bays, three 3.5-inch internal drive bays, seven expansion slots and comes equipped with two fans – one 120mm LED-equipped fan in front and a 180mm fan on top. The Bandit sells for 69.90 Euro (about $89). [Sharkoon]

Blockbuster Inc. today announced that Onkyo’s latest Blu-ray player, the BD-SP808 supports BLOCKBUSTER On Demand. This service allows users to browse and select certain movies as soon as the titles are available on DVD and Blu-ray without having to pay a monthly subscription fee. Using the system’s search tool, users can also view ratings, trailers and other information about each movie for a more personalized and simplified viewing experience. Additionally, the Onkyo BD-SP808 also features a High Quality Video Scaler and full-featured Blu-ray Disc Play Back. [Press Release]

You may or may not remember a month ago when we first caught wind of the Motorola “mini DROID slider” in all its blurry-cam glory. Well, today we got some new pics and even a decent video showing the desirable mini portrait slider. The device has a Palm Pre look to it with a nice looking slide-out QWERTY portrait keyboard. The screen is noticeably smaller than any of the other DROID line phones on the market and it is unmistakably running a version of Moto Blur. In the short video the XT300 definitely looks responsive but I would be willing to bet that this is an “entry-level” phone meaning that the processor is lacking in speed. I hope that Moto proves me wrong on this but having a slower processor in a phone like this would follow suit with the industry. Nonetheless, there is some speculation that this will eventually be hitting Verizon Wireless as the older shots have the infamous red “DROID Eye” at boot up. But it is still to early in the game to make any real assumptions. If this phone hits Verizon and it has a decent processor (greater or equal to 1Ghz) I think it will do well. The Android phone market needs this sort of form factor and maybe Moto will be the one to deliver. Via [Engadget]