Mike-Ward.Net

Friday Links #59

Programming Computers

Prism Silverlight - 10 Things to Know - Prism is one of the hottest topics in Silverlight. Here, are 10 things that every developer should know about Prism. For a great write-up on Prism, read: Shawn Wildermuth’s MSDN article.

WiX v3.0 released. - RobMensching.com /Blog - WiX toolset v3.0 is now officially declared Production/Stable. I’ve used this toolset to build some really solid installers.

How to avoid switch-case syndrome - James Padolsey - This is the first post of a hopeful series dubbed “JavaScript, tip of the week“.

Thrive For Developers - a one-stop community hub that offers job postings, technical content, and community resources from Microsoft.

Using your Personal Computer

Shutdown or Lock your Computer via Internet, Email or SMS on Mobile Phone - TweetMyPC utility lets you remote control your computer from a mobile phone or any other Internet connected computer.

Sources: Google OS lives (and it’s coming to a netbook near you) - Google is preparing to deliver a Chrome-focused operating system that targets netbooks.

TwInbox Adds Twitter to Microsoft Outlook - Featured Windows Download – Lifehacker - Windows only: Microsoft Outlook add-on TwInbox lets you update, reply, search, and archive your Twitter messages right from your Outlook inbox.

Science and the Environment

Inexpensive Thin Printable Batteries Developed - The characteristics of the battery differ significantly from those of conventional batteries. The printable version weighs less than one gram on the scales, is not even one millimeter thick and can therefore be integrated into bank cards, for example.

Lighting Revolution Forecast By Top Scientist - A GaN LED can burn for 100,000hours - one hundred times longer than a conventional light bulb. In practice this means it only needs replacing after 60 years of normal household use. Also, unlike the energy-saving compact fluorescent lights now in use, GaN LEDs don’t contain mercury so disposal is not such an environmental headache.

Snowfall on Mars? NASA’s Phoenix Lander recorded it - The first batch of papers resulting from the Mars Phoenix Lander mission have appeared in the new issue of Science, with the most striking of them describing what appears to be night-time snow falling on the landing site.

consumer-electronics-teardowns.html: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance - Market research company iSuppli takes it upon itself to tear down popular gadgets to find out the price of the component parts and the vendors supplying those ingredients.

Quantum computer closer: Optical transistor made from single molecule - Researchers from ETH Zurich have recently managed to create an optical transistor from a single molecule in what is yet another important achievement on the road to quantum computing.

On the Web

Twit Truth - Who’s really using twitter - Various statistics about accounts and the people that engage with them.

Official Google Blog: Google Apps is out of beta (yes, really) - We’ve come to appreciate that the beta tag just doesn’t fit for large enterprises that aren’t keen to run their business on software that sounds like it’s still in the trial phase.

Bing vs. Google (http://www.bing-vs-google.com/) - Want to compare Bing & Google results? This is the right place to be. Just put your query in the search box and press Enter. You’ll see results from both engines side by side.

Stuff I just Dig

Cablevision’s “remote” DVR: Will it be a better option?: Consumer Reports - Unlike a conventional DVR, which stores programs on a hard drive in the cable box in your living room, Cablevision’s planned remote DVR service lets you store programs on the company’s servers.

Pick of the Week

Autoruns – Shows you all the programs that run at startup. There are lots of programs that do this but this one is the best IMHO.