.NET Micro Framework Book

I'm writing a book. I'm very excited about this. The schedule is deeply scary, in that we hope to have the bulk of it completed by the end of January next year, but then again if you don't set a deadline you don't know when you are late. Anyhoo, myself and Donald Thompson of Microsoft are writing a programmers guide to the new .NET Micro Framework.

This is a new embedded platform which Microsoft have been working on for ages (it is what powers the Microsoft SPOT watches). For me it is a terribly interesting because it means you can write code in a high level, managed, environment using C# and then run it on a device the size of a postage stamp which costs pennies to make.

I am anticipating that it will do amazing things to the world of embedded development, as it makes it much easier to write code and put it into any kind of tiny system.

I've had a .NET Micro Framework microsite on my pages for some time. We've just set up a site for the book and we will be posting sample chapters and the contents for comments soon.

Wii Week

"Batter Up" with Peter and Darren

Well, we have started our Wii Week. The machine arrived from Nintendo on Saturday, and we have set it up on in our open area for the week. The climax is on Friday, when we have some schools coming over for a look and we are going to have three or four systems running in the department.

I had a very quick go with Tennis, Baseball and Bowling. All I can say is "The system works". It works wonderfully well. It works "want one" well. The feeling of control that you get with the small gamepads is very good and surprisingly subtle.

The Wii is going to massively change gaming by adding a new level of fun (and probably fitness) as well. The games we played are all free with the console. And they are smashing.

There is no way that I can see the Wii being anything other than a hit with this kind of stuff available at the start. Wonderful.

If you are in the department, we are running the Wii from 12:00 to 1:45 pm each lunchtime. Feel free to drop round and have a go.

How true....

Don't laugh too loudly at this. I'm still wiping the tears from my eyes.

York was full

Did everyone in the world decide to go to York today? Just because we did doesn't mean that everyone else has to. Anyhoo, we had a nice time (although we had to try three places to find somewhere for lunch - and I'm not tell anyone where we did go because it was nice and quiet and I we might want to go there again). Took the camera, and the light was quite good for pictures.

A nice bridge

A few leaves left to fall....

A few that have fallen

..and another Bliss replacement (Clifford's Tower)

Wiik Ending

We've been preparing for the launch next Friday of the Nintendo Wii. I (of course) have got one on order, and I'm planning on heading up town at midnight on Thursday.

We're going to open up the department to kids from local schools and do some demos of research level motion sensing technology in our Hive Virtual Environment. And some of our stalwart students are bringing in their Wii machines to help show them off.

Today we heard from Nintendo. We've been pestering them to let us have a machine to demonstrate, and they' promised to let us have one of their store demo pods. Today they said "We're terribly sorry, we can't get the pod to you next week. We have to send it tomorrow. Is that a problem?"

Hmmmmm. Somehow I don't think so. With a bit of luck we should have the device running in our open area for most of next wiik.

Marvelous.