This tip comes courtesy of Scott Hanselman's blog.
MSDN is now available in a low-bandwidth mode.
Step 1) Goto http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/default(loband).aspx
Step 2) Click on the link Persist low bandwidth view. It is located in the upper right corner.
Step 3) Enjoy the speedy page access.
The authoritative work by Brad Abrams and Krzysztof Cwalina on .NET framework design was recently updated.
The Blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/brada/archive/tags/Framework+Design+Guidelines/default.aspx
The Blurb:
Framework Design Guidelines, Second Edition, teaches developers the best practices for designing reusable libraries for the Microsoft .NET Framework. Expanded and updated for .NET 3.5, this new edition focuses on the design issues that directly affect the programmability of a class library, specifically its publicly accessible APIs.
This book can improve the work of any .NET developer producing code that other developers will use. It includes copious annotations to the guidelines by thirty-five prominent architects and practitioners of the .NET Framework, providing a lively discussion of the reasons for the guidelines as well as examples of when to break those guidelines.
Microsoft architects Krzysztof Cwalina and Brad Abrams teach framework design from the top down. From their significant combined experience and deep insight, you will learn
Microsoft Patterns and Practices has released some Hands-on Labs for Enterprise Library 4.1.
.NET 3.5 and VS 2008 are required.
This set of Hands-on Labs is a guide to learn about the application blocks included with Enterprise Library 4.1 and to leverage their capabilities in various application contexts. It includes Caching, Cryptography, Data Access, Exception Handling, Interception, Logging, Security, Validation, and Unity Hands-on Labs.
Docs for Enterprise Library 4.1 (10/2008) are here.
The MSDN Site: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vbasic/aa904594.aspx
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_Integrated_Query
LINQ (Language Integrated Query) was delivered in .NET 3.5 and Visual Studio 2008. It addreses O/R mapping issues by making query operations like SQL statements part of the programming language. It also offers built-in support for querying in-memory collections like arrays or lists, XML, DataSets, and relational databases.It also allows you to develop queries in your native development language (with IntelliSense).
LINQ to XML: It is recommended that developers switch over from coding against the XmlDocument DOM to LINQ's XDocument
LINQ to SQL: Deprecated... use LINQ to Entities
LINQ to Entities: Entity Framework Learning Guide
Books:
http://silverlight.net/getstarted/silverlight3/default.aspx
Silverlight 3 Beta was unveiled at MIX09. It is a preview release which continues Silverlight’s track record of rapid innovation - introducing more than 50 new features, including support for running Silverlight applications out of the browser, dramatic video performance and quality improvements, and features that radically improve developer productivity.
Important notes:
