Inno Script Studio (Update 05/05/13)

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Update 05/05/13 : A new version has been published (v 2.1). There are lots of improvements and changes,  the best way to see what’s new you just need to go here. I’ve also updated the french translation to the latest version available (and have made some improvements too). The translation is 100% complete can be downloaded on the website.

When building applications for desktop there is a time when you need to build an installer for your customers. You have several choices :

  • MSI installer : this one from Microsoft is directly integrated in Visual Studio and is powerful for advanced tasks. However the installer feels slow on runtime and is not really “eye-candy”.
  • NSIS (Nullsoft Scriptable Install System) : this is a really nice open source solution. I use it for my current products but it appears to be no longer developed as the latest update is December 2009. So it is time to find another solution up to date.
  • Inno setup : it is a free solution which is still being developed. It looks really similar to NSIS but it does support the latest changes for the Windows platforms.

There are many other solutions available but I will stop here because Inno Setup meets all my needs. The main drawback of this choice was the lack of an editor.

But that was before our friends at Kymoto Solutions release their new product called Inno Script Studio.
It is a graphical free editor which provides everything you need when building an installer such as debugging tools, syntax highlighter, …
ISS really speeds up the development of an installer. I strongly advise you to give it a try !

To finish, a small nice detail for french readers : ISS is fully translated in french and I would like to thank Kymoto for letting me do the translation.

Status and new product revealed FeedXT

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After several months years without anything new out I would like to assure you that we are still alive. :)

JDH Software takes a new direction. We will no longer be focusing only on mobile devices but also on desktop and tablets (especially with the upcoming Windows 8 release).

With the successful release of Windows Phone 7 and the upcoming Windows Phone 8, current Windows Mobile product will receive a last update before being “ceased”.

We are now concentrating on Windows Desktop platform and we will jump into Windows Phone 7 a bit later. The target is to focus on the Microsoft ecosystem with the use of Microsoft .NET Framework.Currently three applications are under development for Windows PC.
The first of them is an application I have made for my own needs and it is quite common : a rss reader. However there are two particularities : it can be synchronized with your google reader account and it is organized with a ribbon structure. More news in a few weeks.
If you are interested to participate into the beta just drop me a mail or use the contact form in the main site, support section.Here is a sneak peak :

Windows Phone 7 Series (Updated 02/05/12)

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Here we are….

The change is here. In french we could say “Windows Mobile is dead, long live to Windows Phone”.

That’s finally the famous Pink project, the Zune phone or whatever it is called. There is no mistake possible it is a major breakdown and a new start from scratch !

The Zune UI seems to receive really good critics at the USA, unfortunately I was not able to see it in France. The interface is innovative no doubt about that. iPhone looks really conventionnal compared to it and I even do not mention Android. For now with only the presented functions it looks interesting, something really new but there are still lots of questions.

  • Mulitasking ? Windows Mobile does it from the beginning !
  • Today plugin : I’m pretty sure they are dead, even the great Titanium. I think it was necessary but Windows Mobile community will lose some really great apps from this area.
  • I do not see a file explorer on the screenshots/videos. I REALLY hope it is not removed, that’s something essential to me (and not because of IconXT – which is unuseful at all in WPhones7 btw)
  • Programs : how will they look ? It is great to see music, photos, mail, agenda, … but that’s pretty common how can other apps look like in WinPhone7 ?
  • Marketplace : will it be the only way to publish apps ? That should be logical and the occasion for Microsoft but I hope no. If yes, I really hope they will reduce the cost of their marketplace to make it at least equal to the App Store !
  • Customization ? Can we customize our phones ? Themes ?
  • And of course developpement : .NET language ? Compact Framework ? Silverlight ? C++ ? Visual Studio ? Microsoft should tell us more about that on Mix. The date is noted in my agenda ;)

There are of course really good positive points : multitouch !, fast UI, …

Two things however really disturb me :

  • There are no icons ! Icons are something really important for a good looking app, in windows Phone 7 we cannot see any (ok some small in black and white)….that’s so strange!
  • No gradients ! Every square is in “flat” color, I cannot see any gradients ! In fact I have the impression it takes the opposite direction Windows PC with Windows Seven : no transparency,…. (maybe some clues about Windows 8 ?)

The result is a clean UI and something really interesting. In fact I do not find the “Windows” spirit in it. But let’s wait Mix we will probably know a lot more about apps which are vital for every platform !

One a side note, I WILL provide an update of all my current Windows Mobile apps even they do not work on WM 7. For now I do not see Windows Phone 7 series as the successor of Windows Mobile but as another platform for phones !

Stay stuned !

EDIT 02/05/12 : Since several months I use a Windows Phone 7 device and I must say I love it. Of course JDH Software will offer in a near future applications for this platform. More news in a few months ;)

Mass Effect 2 Launch Trailer

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This trailer is indeed one of the best video game trailer I’ve ever seen ! I think it also comes from the incredible music called “Two Steps From Hell – Heart of Courage”

Watch Listen here : http://www.gametrailers.com/video/launch-trailer-mass-effect/61043

 

Titanium Plugin aka CHome

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I have upgraded my Touch Diamond 2 to WM 6.5 (great update BTW) and I admit I love the Titanium plugin :simple and nice ! I even have temporarily disabled the HTC Sense plugin !

Now as a developer I would like to develop a plugin for it and for example for ProjectXT ;) . I know it is possible because there are some in XDA-Dev. In fact, I will have to look there to understand the XML files and registry needed for building a Titanium plugin.

At the same time I’ve searched for an official word concerning Titanium for developers and I get it :

http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/mktplace/thread/40f48cc4-2c4b-4292-b5bb-977346c51717

I couldn’t agree more with the two answers after the official one… :/ Wake up MS ! :)

Microsoft Tag

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I’ve just discovered the little application called Microsoft Tag. Microsoft tags are 2D barcodes using colors that contains something mostly an URL. The Pocket PC client is free and works really great. Just need to center the picture in front of my camera and it decodes immediately, even the picture is not centered or perpendicular to the phone ! Pretty amazing :)

But why only put them in stores or on a paper ? Is the phone not be able to capture a computer screen picture ? And what would you say if you are able to download an application just by using your camera phone ?

I think it is a really interesting and useful experience. I’ve put a Microsoft Tag for the ProjectXT CAB file. (BTW it is still the old version, the new is coming soon ;) )

Check it here !

New Website has arrived !

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Hi everybody,

Today is a great day, not only because it is the day of our National Celebration in France (the equivalent of the 4th July in USA) but also because the new website is finally out !

I’ve spend a lot of time to give a more professionnal and  clearer look than the previous one. It is also W3C XHTML 1.0 Strict compatible, so if you like sites that respect these standarts, JDH Software is one of them. ;) By the way, the site is also fully translated in French !

One of the greatest part of the new site is the featured/promo pictures. Indeed in one look you can see the most important news/product or even upcoming “new things”. I’ve already put a few clues for a new product in different parts of the website…It is your turn to find them ;)

The site is one step in the roadmap I’ve given in a blog post earlier this year. You can expect software updates/releases in the upcoming months.

Finally I would like to share some screenshots about the evolution of the design of the new website :
Old Website
JDH Software 2
JDH Software 3
JDH Software 4

JDH Software 6

Windows Mobile Concepts

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Just seen from here : http://www.istartedsomething.com/20090629/the-best-windows-mobile-concepts-youve-never-seen/

That’s sad to see they’ve stopped working at WM6.5 because these designs are simply AWESOME. I’m pretty sure some test devices exist with these User Interfaces : if you have one please send me it ! ;)

Joke apart, I wonder why MS hasn’t put them in a Windows Mobile device yet. Yes, we can see some screens that look like the WM6.1 Sliding panel but it is clearly not the same result ! We can also see some “presumed leaked” WinMobile 7. In one hand that means they were quite real. On the other hand, that means we will never see them in WM7….or is it a test from Microsoft to know if users like these UIs ? If Yes, the answer is definitively YES !  (it is far better than iPhone)

.NET Compact Framework 3.7

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A new version of the .NET CF seems to be leaked around the net…: .NET CF 3.7

It comes from the leaked Windows Mobile 6.5 ROMS. However I haven’t found yet what’s is new. Some users speak about performance improvements other say they don’t see any difference. It is great MS makes new versions even when it is not in the period of a release of a new Visual Studio.

Going to chek it in the emulator.

EDIT : Microsoft seems to “confirm” it : http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/netfxcompact/thread/037570ee-b1a7-4943-aba7-bdda752c455a

Visual Studio 2010 and Smart Devices

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The beta 1 of the promising (indeed .NET 4.0 and WPF inside VS itself) Visual Studio 2010 is now out ! I’m currently downloading it by the way. I browsed through the web trying to find what is new in this version…and I find a terrible answser : the support for smart device projects is completely dropped in Visual Studio 2010.  That means there is no .NET CF, no smart device projects  (in managed or native format),… And I haven’t dreamed because it is written black on white here : http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/sa69he4t(VS.100).aspx

And it appears that even the final version of VS2010 will not support the smart device developpement. Oh well ! It is only written :

However, smart device development is still supported in earlier versions of Visual Studio, such as Visual Studio 2008

I’m not stup** and I’m sure Microsoft CANNOT give up the support for smart devices. I’m pretty sure there is a visual studio for Mobile that is currently in the pipeline but they haven’t said anything about it. Hope that it will be free (just like express editions) or at a reasonnable price (yes visual studio 2010 for pc apps plus the VS mobile for pocket pc would be a lot more expensive than the current solution with VS2008 :/). I hope also that you could get the new IDE without subscribing automatically to the marketplace…

Since WM 6.5 will be really similar to the existing WM6, I think we will stick with VS2008 and .NET 3.5 and we will see the new IDE with WM7 and .NET CF 4.0…but again we don’t know anything yet…Please Microsoft tell us more !

EDIT July 2011 : .NET Compact Framework 3.7 is in Windows Phone 7.

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