Mobile applications

Mono brings C# to the iPhone, Wii

Mono is best known as an open source implementation of .NET, but as we mentioned in our coverage of Mono 2.0, the project actually started with just a C# compiler. The idea was that C# is a nice programming language, and it’d be nice if non-Microsoft programmers could use it — with or without the .NET framework.

A lot of Mono’s recent progress has been on the .NET side, but the pure-play C# compiler is still relevant.  Game programmers have used C# to write an iPhone app, Mono’s lead Miguel de Icaza announced on his blog. He followed that entry with another, more complete list of C# iPhone apps. Mono has also been used to write at least one game for the Wii in C#.

This is exciting news. The Windows world is a great place to develop, but as other platforms keep cropping up, it’s becoming harder and harder to ignore everything that doesn’t come from Redmond. The iPhone has made a splash, and gaming consoles have always been huge. Thanks to Mono, programmers can reuse their existing skills — and code base — as they look for broader audiences.

Microsoft releases .NET Micro Framework Version 2.5 updates

Microsoft updated the .NET Micro Framework, releasing Version 2.5 with improvements in Web Services and TCP/IP support.

.NET Micro Framework Version 2.5 includes a Web Services on Devices implementation compatible with Windows Vista and supported by the other Microsoft Windows Embedded platforms.

With Web Services on Devices, Micro Framework devices can discover and communicate with other devices on a network without need for user configuration. While some observers initially scoffed at Web services as a ‘real-time’ embedded solution, a growing consensus hold that it is ‘real-time’ enough for a slew of solutions.
 
Also, with Version 2.5, the framework gains native TCP/IP stack support, and, let’s face it, TCP/IP is nothing short of the greatest protocol of all time.

Microsoft also said it has inked a deal with oft-time rival IBM to collaborate on a pre-installed Windows embedded-based point-of-service solution for the retail and hospitality industries.

Danger! Windows mobile developments ahead

Mobile development has undergone some changes in recent years. A big influence has been Google, which among its various efforts is pushing the Android software stack (including an application framework and SDK, a virtual machine, a DB and a browser) for mobile devices. The software represents yet another attempt to make Web apps ‘play nice’ on cell phones and other mobile devices.

With the new approaches to software services in mind, Microsoft made a new foray into the mobile space today with news of a Windows Live Mobile Developer Program, enabling programmers to develop mobile versions of its Windows Live services. Windows Live services include Hotmail, Messenger, Photo Gallery photo sharing, and Spaces personal blogs. The announcement came at the Mobile World Congress in sunny Barcelona.

At the same time, Microsoft entered into an agreement to acquire Danger Inc., a maker of software for consumer handset applications, most notably, the Sidekick cell phone. The cost of the deal was not disclosed, but it is presumably less than Microsoft’s recent $40-billion-plus offer for Yahoo! Some former Danger principals are working on Android within Google.

Tetris, Sudoku on Windows Mobile? It must be Boxing Day

Having burned more AA batteries than I can count whilst playing Tetris for Game Boy, I would never withhold Tetris news from anyone. And is there is Sudoku news, too? Well, then, I’m a joyous child on Boxing Day.*

Blogger Carlos Aguilar Mares has created versions of both Tetris and Sudoku that are compatible with Windows Mobile v5 and v6. For these games, as for all good things, necessity was the mother of invention: “During my last two business trips (to Barcelona for TechEd and Mexico for ReMix) I was way too bored on the plane.”

The blog entry Sudoku and Tetris Game for Windows Mobile has some details about compatibility and how to install the games. Really enterprising folks can go straight to http://www.carlosag.net/mobile/ and download the games there. Enjoy!

(*Boxing Day, for those unaware, is a public holiday for many British Commonwealth countries, with origins that date back to feudal times. It refers to the packaging of gifts and not to pugilism.)

(UPDATED Jan. 7 — Another plane trip, another set of games from Carlos Aguilar Mares. Over the Christmas holiday, he created Backgammon and Connect4 for Windows Mobile. His recommendation after this project? “[Y]ou do want to download the Windows Mobile 6 SDK if you are going to target that version (which is what my cell phone has), since it will add new Visual Studio 2005 Project Templates and new Emulator images, which will help you a lot.”)