Check out the Microsoft Partner Pack for Windows XP. It features a set of .NET applications designed to improve your XP experience, in a number of categories: Play, Explore, Share, Protect, and Do More. From the site, "The applications were developed to follow five Windows XP pillars that bring value to users."

You can also have Microsoft mail you aCD-ROM if you're
willing to pay for the shipping, but with the quick internet package, why bother?

Do More:

USB Flash Drive Manager:

Microsoft implemented the USB Flash Drive Manager to address two issues: First, making the work with USB Flash Drives more productive and secondly show to the ISV community how to integrate USB Flash drives with desktop applications.

Although Microsoft tried hard, all this is is a technology demo. You get to see that using USB drives and .NET actually works. Aside from that, if I want view files, copy files, or rename a USB drive, I'll just use the exposed Windows Explorer interface, thanks.

PayPal Payment Wizard:

PayPal chose to implement their new version of a desktop payment wizard that integrates with Microsoft Office Outlook and with Outlook Express using C# and targeting the .NET Framework.

It's not bad. For people that wouldn't normally know how, this wizard sets up the HTML to insert a PayPal link or button into an Outlook or Outlook Express email. It also has a preview mode, so I can snag the HTML. Final verdict? Cute!

Post-It Software Notes:

When 3M wanted to modernize the Post-it Software Notes application with better Windows integration they chose to port their application to managed code and target the .NET Framework. Using Visual Studio .NET 2003, they managed to deliver the new application with a fraction of the resources comparable technologies require.

My review? The best of the bunch. A lot of my friends at Cornell use the old version–the new .NET version seems snappier and faster, and with managed code, I know that 3M, not known for its programmers, probably won't ruin my system. It's a little buggy, but incredibly useful.

Explore:

Google Deskbar:

When Google wanted to make the Google Deskbar extensible for developers, they decided to create a .NET-based plug-in API. The productivity and security enhancements enabled by targeting the .NET Framework make the Deskbar easy to extend with new functionality. And that means more new ways for Google users to access information more quickly and easily.

Verdict? Scary. It puts a little Google search box on your taskbar, with those binocular eyes. I am frightened… see picture above. Just stick with the Google browser toolbar, ok?

Desktop Media Gallery:

This client-side .NET application connects through web services to deliver up-to-the-minute content from the PixelMill and Corbis backend systems.

Thumbs down. It's a good idea, but again, a technology preview. This application lets you connect via web services to the Corbis content, but only a tiny tiny subset (less than 100 images) of the database. And, the images are very slow to arrive. A good caching and preview service would be more helpful. Good content would be even better.

Onfolio Manager:

Managed code can make it easier and this is exactly how Onfolio implemented their web research application, Onfolio Professional. The result is a powerful extension to Internet Explorer that makes it easy to capture, organize and share information found online. Read more on how they did it.

This IE extension claims to let you manage information found online. It's got an ok, although fairly visually appealing interface, and looks promising. Try it yourself!

Play:

Sandlot Games:

Sandlot Games, a computer game ISV and publisher, has developed two great games
(SUPER SLYDER and SERPENTINE) for Windows that are also integrated to run on
the Windows XP Media Center Edition.

Trying Serpentine, it seemed tacky at first, but I end up liking it. It is a simple game where you run a serpent around, a snake game, where you can raise blocks to change its path. Adorable.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 22nd, 2004 at 6:26 pm and is tagged with usb flash drive, paypal link, microsoft mail, usb flash drives, explorer interface, technology demo, post it software, isv community, five windows, microsoft partner, software notes, notes application, internet package, preview mode, final verdict, target, desktop applications, usb drives, new application, old version. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback.