MIX10 is over and it has been a great pleasure for me to be there. I will provide you with some short recap of the “What’s new”s and “Must see”s.

Facts

Windows Phone

MIX10 was so all about Windows Phone that I guess everyone out there must have heard of it. But anyways I will provide some facts about it.

• Development for Windows Phone can be done with either Silverlight or XNA.
• The tools for development are totally free and can be downloaded at http://www.silverlight.net/getstarted/devices/windows-phone/. You find some getting started information there as well.
• There is a special (free) version of Visual Studio 2010 Express for Windows Phone, but you can of course use you normal Visual Studio 2010 version, when it’s released.
• There is a full featured emulator you can use for testing your applications.
• At the moment it seems, that if you write your programs in Silverlight, you can use only one touch point on the Windows Phone. Hopefully this is because everything is still under heavy development.
• Tim Heuer posted a nice “Getting started” article at http://timheuer.com/blog/archive/2010/03/15/get-started-with-silverlight-for-windows-phone.aspx.
• Grab the free Windows Phone Developer Training Kit here: http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/wpdev/archive/2010/03/15/go-get-it-the-windows-phone-developer-training-kit.aspx

Silverlight 4

Silverlight didn’t shine nearly a much as last year. It stood cleary in the shadow of the Windows Phone. I kind of do not understand this, since there are so many exciting new features especially for business applications.

At MIX10 the RC of Silverlight 4 has been released and the final version will come out in April. I guess Microsoft will sync it with the release of Visual Studio 2010. The tools and such can be grabbed at http://www.silverlight.net/getstarted/silverlight-4/

The differences in Silverlight 4 compared to previous versions:

• The Silverlight definitive diff lists: http://firstfloorsoftware.com/blog/the-silverlight-definitive-diff-lists/
• Ensuring That Your Silverlight Applications Work with Silverlight 4: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc645049%28VS.96%29.aspx
• A guide to what has changed in the Silverlight 4 RC: http://timheuer.com/blog/archive/2010/03/15/whats-new-in-silverlight-4-rc-mix10.aspx
• New in the Silverlight 4 RC: XAML Features: http://www.davidpoll.com/2010/03/15/new-in-the-silverlight-4-rc-xaml-features/

Microsoft also released a first version of the Microsoft Silverlight Analytics Framework, which provides an API as well as many 3rd party providers (like GoogleAnalytics, ATInternetAnalytics, etc.) for analyzing your website traffic.

Channel 9 published a list of Silverlight 4 Training Courses at http://channel9.msdn.com/learn/courses/Silverlight4/

A new version of the Silverlight Toolkit will be available soon at http://silverlight.codeplex.com/

HTML 5

HTML 5 (supported by IE9) is kind of strange for me: On one side it’s great, because of its possibilities, hardware acceleration, etc., but on the other hand there is Silverlight. I really hope Microsoft will push them both, since in my opinion Silverlight has the biggest potential. HTML 5 will kind of transport us back to the stone age concerning the development platform.

OData

From a session description: “The Open Data Protocol (OData) applies web technologies such as HTTP, AtomPub and JSON to enable a wide range of data sources to be exposed on the web in a simple, secure and interoperable way. Whether you have a simple collection of reference data, are building a Rich Internet Application using WCF RIA Services or are building the data platform for a high-end website, this code-heavy session walks through the key technologies and practices available to expose your data and its associated logic as an OData feed.”

Well that sure sounds great, but would you really implement a web service breaking all your clients when changing a thing in the schema? “Well just use versioning”, you might say. Well there isn’t any versioning in OData…

Sessions

There have been great sessions at MIX10 and I will provide you with my personal favorites. Be aware that the listed sessions are mostly in the non-tech/UX area, but those are the ones I attended. In order of appearance:

1. Keynotes
   Really not great this year, but give you a nice round-up.
   1. Day 1: http://live.visitmix.com/MIX10/Sessions/KEY01
   2. Day 2: http://live.visitmix.com/MIX10/Sessions/KEY02
2. The Art, Technology and Science of Reading: http://live.visitmix.com/MIX10/Sessions/DS07
3. 10 Ways to Attack a Design Problem and Come Out Winning: http://live.visitmix.com/MIX10/Sessions/EX06
4. Touch in Public: Multi-touch Interaction Design for Kiosks and Architectural Experiences: http://live.visitmix.com/MIX10/Sessions/DS06
5. Designing Bing: Heart and Science: http://live.visitmix.com/MIX10/Sessions/CL06
6. The Elephant in the Room: http://live.visitmix.com/MIX10/Sessions/DS13
7. An Hour With Bill Buxton: http://live.visitmix.com/MIX10/Sessions/DS16
8. Design the Ordinary, Like the Fixie: http://live.visitmix.com/MIX10/Sessions/EX25
9. Developing Natural User Interfaces with Microsoft Silverlight and WPF 4 Touch: http://live.visitmix.com/MIX10/Sessions/EX18
10. Treat Your Content Right: http://live.visitmix.com/MIX10/Sessions/DS02

Ressources

Some links and other stuff which won’t fit in the other categories can be found here.

• The Spectrum of User Experience: http://informationarchitects.jp/the-spectrum-of-user-experience-1/
• Jason Santa Maria (a great site about graphic design): http://jasonsantamaria.com/
• Typography.com (all about font design): http://www.typography.com/home/index.php?affiliateID=
• Dynamic Layout and Transitions in Expression Blend 4: http://blogs.msdn.com/expression/archive/2010/03/16/dynamic-layout-and-transitions-in-expression-blend-4.aspx
• Very nice (fun) video: Star Wars vs. Saul Bass on YouTube as recommended by Robby Ingebretsen
• MIX10 sessions on
  • iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/sessions-microsoft-mix10/id362365921
  • MIX site itself: http://live.visitmix.com/videos
• Microsoft Design .toolbox – A free online training site for Silverlight and Expression Studio
  Andy wrote a nice overview of what’s inside: http://www.andybeaulieu.com/Home/tabid/67/EntryID/191/Default.aspx
• Robby Ingebretsens (very) short list of must read books for aspiring designers #mix10
• Robby Ingebretsens list of speaks: http://speaking.nerdplusart.com/
• Official Fotostream of MIX10 on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mixevent
• MIX10 Tools, Samples and Downloads: http://live.visitmix.com/resources

Update:

• Awesome install checklist from Adam Kinney: http://adamkinney.wordpress.com/2010/03/19/install-checklist-for-silverlight-4-rc-blend-4-beta-and-windows-phone-developer-tools-from-mix10/