If you’re serious about making money with your apps, read their post thoroughly. It’s chalk full of tips. Read between the lines.

If you need help or want to talk about your app, schedule some time with me. Additionally, listen to the Windows Developer Show. Come join a community of developers, every week, who love Microsoft technologies.

Use your passion for creating, building and coding, just like Four Brothers Studios, and you’re bound to have success!

Windows 8

• Generation App
• Windows Store Apps Dev Center
• Windows 8 Store App Samples
• Windows 8 Camp in a Box
• Windows 8 Virtual Labs
• Using Windows 8
• Windows Store Blog
• Windows Store App Support

Windows Phone

• Generation App
• Windows Phone Dev Center
• Windows Phone Samples
• Windows Phone Quickstarts
• Windows Phone Virtual Labs
• Windows Phone SDK 8.0
• What’s New in Phone SDK 8.0
• The Windows Phone Toolkit

Windows Azure

• Azure Free Trial
• Windows Azure Dev Center
• Windows Azure SDKs for Windows, Mac and Linux
• Azure Training Kit
• Windows Azure Samples
• Windows Azure Tutorials
• Windows Azure Virtual Labs

Visual Studio 2012

• Visual Studio Home
• Visual Studio Team Foundation Center
• .NET Framework
• Visual Studio 2012 Samples
• Visual Studio Development Forums
• Channel 9 on Visual Studios 2012
• Channel 9 on Visual Studio Application Lifecycle Management

Microsoft Developer Hubs

• Developer Centers and Destinations
• Patterns & Practices Developer Center
• Patterns & Practices Documentation
• “How Do I?” Videos

My dad installed into me at a young age that anything worth doing is worth doing right. As a child this drove me nuts. “Does every single leaf REALLY need to be vacated from the sidewalk???”

Michel Hyatt, blogger/speaker/author, recently covered discipline on his podcast. It might just be the spark you need to get your app shipped out the door. Give it a listen.

What will you do in 2013 to be more disciplined?

Many of the New Year’s resolutions have one thing in common – addition. Adding exercise. Adding a new diet. Adding a new habit. But what about subtracting? What about removing something from our lives? Something that isn’t adding value? Something we’ve outgrown or no longer requires our attention?

I heard a story of a person asking a famous violinist from Carnegie Hall how she’d become so skillful. She replied -

“I decide everyday that I will neglect things and even people, that would take me away from my priority of practicing.”

That’s some serious dedication. For those of us with duties outside ourselves (kids, parents, pets, house plants, etc.) this may a bit heavy handed but the premise is no less true. All of us has someone or something we need to STOP.

Subtraction has many benefits:

• More time/money
• Conserve energy
• Increase focus
• Become super rich (this is not always true. in fact, it’s not true at all)
• Complete goals faster

Whom or what will you neglect in 2013?

How good can this class be?

Here is a chronological list of games since instituting this load out.

23-12
10-10
9-2
6-12
16-14
14-12
10-8
10-8
13-9
17-16
18-12
12-14
14-13
23-14
19-8
21-11
14-8
10-9
10-12
15-17
19-15
34-15
15-9
18-14
12-4
11-4

That’s not that great!? This load out is lame.

I would disagree. Most people searching the Inter webs for the “best class configuration for call of duty” don’t see these numbers e.g. mid-high double digit kills while unlocking their highest score streak.

Ok. Enough. Let’s see the configuration

Here we go.

CAUTION: There is a secret sauce to this load out. You must read the “Secret Sauce” section of this blog post. You’ve been warned!

Primary Weapon: Shotgun
Secondary Weapon: None
Attachments: None
Lethal: None
Tacticial: None

Perk 1: Hardline & Lightweight
Perk 2: Toughness & Fast Hands
Perk 3: Extreme Conditioning & Dexterity

Wildcard: Perk 1, Perk 2 & Perk 3

Score Streaks: UAV, Hunter Drone & Lighting Strike

What!? Have you lost your mind!? Explain yourself.

Ok. At first glance this load out looks … insane. Stupid even. But hear me out.

This class is built to be a wrecking ball. Clear rooms. Destroy camping snipers.  Surprise unsuspecting enemies as they turn corners. First. Class. Wrecking. Ball.

Where this load out leaks oil is mid to long range. You will die. A LOT. That’s why you must use the “secret sauce” to complete the ensemble.

Secret Sauce and How To Play This Class

You must pick up weapons off the battlefield as your secondary weapon.

Did you kill someone? Pick up their gun. Clear an entire room? Choose your free weapon.

What’s better? The weapon you pickup will be heavily modded. A top notch gun for FREE! Use this weapon to shore up the mid to long range.

Next, stay out of large crossings or the center of the map until you get your 2nd weapon. I repeat, use alternate routes or quick clear long crossings. You’ll soon realize why this is important. This class gets destroyed in the mid to long range. After a while you’ll get frustrated and think this class configuration is lame.

Additionally, with Hard Line you will quickly unlock your Score Streaks! It’s not uncommon to get two Lighting Strikes in a round. Maybe even three!

Finally, this class configuration has Fast Hands. You will be constantly swapping weapons! Let me repeat that. YOU WILL BE CONSTANTLY SWAPPING FROM YOU SHOTGUN TO YOUR SECONDARY. Meaning, if you are about to go into a room, switch to Shotgun. About to leave the room and entire a big cross, swap to your mid to long range. This tactic is not particular to this class configuration. However, this is very necessary when you’re running around with a shotgun.

This class configuration is cheap! I hate players like you!

This class configuration disrupts the norm. As I said, you will be a wrecking ball. Moving fast and dishing out the pain. This class is not for the “sit back and wait” or “patient and quiet”. You need to move, flank and cause chaos.

This class reminds the rest of the players that this is a video game. Not a real battlefield. If you want that sort of “real / methodical” game play than EA is waiting with open arms.

That’s it! Now go bring the pain!

Don’t forget. Stay out of the clearings until you get your 2nd weapon. Clear rooms. Flank. If you do get to a clearing, RUN FAST!

What do you think of this configuration? What class configurations are you using?

BING

By swiping left will cause Bing to show “Local Events”, “Local Deals”, “In Theaters”, “Top Videos” & “Top Headlines”.

AUTOMATIC BACKUP

Windows Phone 8 will automatically backup photos, text messages and settings to SkyDrive.

SEND VOICE AND CONTACTS VIA TEXT MESSAGE

Windows Phone can now send and receive voice and contact attachments via text message.

LOCK SCREEN NOTIFICATIONS AND WALLPAPER

Windows Phone 8 now allows app developers to access the lock screen (notifications and wallpaper). Here is an example of an email and text message shown on the lock screen with Bing set as the lock screen wallpaper. Bing will automatically refresh the wallpaper as Bing.com changes

WINDOWS PHONE STORE SUPPORTS CATEGORIES e.g. NEW AND RISING, NEW RELEASE, ETC.

Windows Phone Store now supports categories such as NEW + RISING, PICKS FOR YOU and more.

STORE SUPPORTS APP SUGGESTIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS VIA FACEBOOK

Windows Phone Store will recommend apps based upon your Facebook data.

TAP + SEND e.g. BUMPING PHONE TOGETHER TO TRANSFER PICTURES, CONTACTS, ETC.

Windows Phone 8 allows users to bump their phones together to transfer contacts, pictures, websites and more.

WINDOWS PHONE 8 WALLET

The Windows Phone 8 integrated Wallet app supports coupons, credit cards, memberships and more.

INTEGRATED SPEECH RECOGNITION NOW SUPPORTS ONENOTE

Windows Phone 8 not only allows users to send text messages via voice but now users can dictate to OneNote with a touch of a button.

COMPANY APP SUPPORT

Windows Phone 8 now supports Company Apps

AUTO UPLOAD APPS

Windows Phone 8 now has an auto upload feature. Users can approve apps to auto upload their data.

UPLOAD FULL RESOLUTION PHOTOS TO SKYDRIVE

Windows Phone 8 now provides an option to have full resolution photos automatically uploaded to SkyDrive

MICROSOFT ACCOUNTS NOT WINDOWS LIVE

Windows Phone 8 has a new start up process and now uses the term Microsoft Accounts instead of Windows Live

I host the Windows Developer Show – a weekly internet show for Microsoft developers and enthusiasts. My brother, Travis, and I started the show in January of 2010 and have watched in amazement as the show has taken off.

We’ve been featured in the N.Y. Times, Engadget, Gizmodo, Arstechnica, ZDNet and more.

We’ve climbed the charts in the Zune and iTunes marketplace as one of the most subscribed to technology podcasts.

We’ve had the great fortune to rub elbows with amazing guests, such as, Mary Jo Foley from ZDNet and All About Microsoft, Paul Thurrott from WinSuperSite and the TWiT network, Alex Wilhelm from TheNextWeb, Ed Bott, Rafael Riveria, the folks who created “Plants vs. Zombies” and many more. Travis even appeared on the TWiT network with Leo Laporte. For those who don’t frequent podcasts that’s a pretty cool deal.

One of the questions we constantly get asked is, “What equipment and software do you use to record and broadcast the show?” For whatever reason, within the podcast community, this sort of information is rarely shared, hard to find and treated as “trade secret”.

So with no avail, here is what we use each week. The configuration aims to be minimal - using the least amount of equipment possible to produce a high quality sound. Using this gear has the side benefit of decreasing the amount of post production time required to “cut” an episode. Significantly!

We’ve had great success with our audio. I hope it works for you too!

FULL DISCLAIMER: I utilized Amazon Affiliate links on most of this gear. If you found this post helpful and plan to purchase any of the gear it would be great if you used the link below when you go to buy!!!

Microphone

I’m not going to lie, the Heil PR-40 microphone featured below isn’t cheap. That said, both of these microphones are industry renowed. The Shure SM58 microphone is used nightly, all over the world, at every major music concert in the world. The Heil PR-40 microphone is widely used by radio broadcasters. We started with the Shure microphones and moved to the Heil PR-40. We kept the Shure microphones and use them for guests during road shows.

Additionally, you’ll need something to “hold” the microphone. For the Heil PR40s we use a broadcast boom with a shock mount. With the Shure microphones we use a standard desk microphone stand.

Finally, to keep the sound “pop free” we use a pop filter on the Heil PR-40s. This helps filter out breathing, blowing or pop sounds, such as the sound produced from pronouncing the letter “P”. For the Shure microphones we use a standard issue foam ball windscreen.

Option 1 -Heil PR-40 w/ Shock Mount with VAC-PR40 pop filter and Overhead Broadcast Boom
Option 2 -Shure SM58-LC Cardioid Vocal Microphone without Cable with foam ball windscreen and a desktop microphone stand

Mixer

A standard USB mixer with one special feature – “send/return”. Why this is important will become apparent in our next section. Suffice it to say, finding a small mixer that supports “send/return” isn’t easy. We’ve been happy with the Alexia USB mixer. Travis and I each have one.

We have a bigger mixer for road shows. This mixer also supports “send/return”, powers 4 microphones and is pre-amped for external speakers!

Option 1 -Alesis IO2 Express 24-Bit USB Recording Interface
Option 2 -Behringer XENYX X1622USB Premium 16-Input 2/2-Bus Mixer with XENYX Mic Preamps & Compressors

Compressor, Limiter & Gate

This is the “secret sauce”. A compressor, limiter & gate (CLG) accepts pre-processed sound from the mixer via a “insert cable”, processes it and sends it back to the mixer. The mixer then sends the processed sound out the main. This is done in real time. It’s awesome!

So what effect does the CLG have on the sound? The compressor brings down the highest peaks, leaves the lower levels and produces a more dynamic range of sound. Said another way, it makes you sound like an radio DJ. The limiter ensures that if YOU YELL it won’t peak the sound wave. In essence, it limits or places a ceiling on the audio so it doesn’t sound overdriven. Finally, the gate closes the microphone when you’re not talking. This is huge. While Travis is talking my microphone is closed meaning it doesn’t introduce any sound into the mix e.g. sirens, dogs barking, etc. This is a gigantic post production time saver!

Each CLG below can handle 2 microphones. Travis and I each have a CLG. On road shows we bring both of our CLGs to provide compression, limiting and gating for 4 microphones.

Option 1 -Behringer MDX1600 2-Channel Expander/Gate/Compressor/ Peak Limiter

Video

We bought a pair of Microsoft LifeCam Studio 1080p Web Cameras. We use these each week AND on road shows. One nice thing about the LifeCams – they can be mounted on a tripod. This is great for road shows.

Option 1 – Microsoft LifeCam Studio 1080p

Cables

No rock science here. To connect the microphone to the mixer you’ll need an XLR cable. To connect the mixer to the CLG you’ll need a 1/4″ dual insert cable.

Option 1 -Hosa Cable STP202 TRS To Dual 1/4 Inch Insert Cable (6.5 Foot) & XLR male to XLR female Microphone Cable – 15 feet

Headphones

Use whatever you want. Just make sure you have a 1/8″ to 1/4″ adapter. Basically the adapter takes a normal headphone jack and converts it to the larger, studio style, jack.

Option 1 – Any headphones with a 1/4″ jack
Option 2 – If your headphones don’t have a 1/4″ jack than you’ll need a 1/8″ to 1/4″ adapter.

Software

One of the gems we found a while back is “The Levelator“. Simply drag and drop a WAV file onto the app and it will normalize the levels. Essential, it makes sure everyone comes in at the same level. This is great for those guests who like to talk low.

We’ve always used Audacity to perform our post work. It’s free and it works. Plus, because the CLG does all the noise reduction, compressing and volume limiting, we only use Audacity to “cut” the episode. We don’t need effects, noise reduction filters or plugins.

For audio and video we use Skype. Again, because Travis is in California and I’m in Texas (God Bless #Texas) we need to connect to talk and broadcast. We use CallBurner to record the Skype audio. CallBurner has NEVER failed us. EVER! We will use the sound file produced by Callburner to cut the audio-only version of the podcast.

To push the audio/video recording signal to the Justin.TV we use XSplit. XSplit is a fraction of the cost of most broadcasting software and has most of the features we need e.g. screen regions, transitions, etc.

Occasionally, when we record audio-only shows, we use TeamSpeak. This connects Travis and I, similar to Skype, but over an audio-only channel, no video. This was recommended to us by a listener and it works great! TeamSpeak also includes the ability to record to WAV! If you are thinking of producing a podcast, without video, TeamSpeak could be the way to go!

From our broadcast machine, where XSplit is running, we use Virtual Audio Cable to wire up various audio sources to the broadcast audio channel.

Settings for the Compressor / Limiter / Gate

Here are our settings for the compressor, limiter, gate. Hope this helps. Don’t forget to heck the audio levels of your mixer under your operating system. Currently I run my operating system audio at 80%. Your mileage may vary. You can fine tune this using Audacity. Simply start a recording and check the audio levels to a point where the audio doesn’t peak.

That’s it. Enjoy!

JSON is “faster” than XML

Using JSON data in lieu of XML will make your Metro apps 46% faster!

It’s true.

Rendered JSON data is smaller than XML. Which means JSON requires less time to travel.

Even better, Windows 8 offers full support for JSON! Metro UI controls can be bound to JSON data. Also, common JavaScript functions, such as JSON.parse(), are natively supported. JSON is a first class citizen in Windows 8.

“But, I don’t have JSON data. I have XML data.”

Don’t worry – I’ll get to that.

The Facts

Using Fiddler, we will measure the resulting file size and network transfer time of an RSS feed in XML and JSON format. For our sample data, we’ll use the wildly famous, unbelievably spectacular and world renowned Internet show,  “The Metro Developer Show” </shameless plug>

Below, a screenshot from Fiddler depicting the network transfer times of our RSS feed in XML and JSON format. 62 seconds vs. 33 seconds!

XML – 62 seconds

JSON – 33 seconds

Of course, the above screen shots uses a theoretical network speed of 6KB/sec. This would never rarely happen. But it could. And why not code for the lowest common dominator!?

Let’s take a look at file sizes. Below, we see the resulting file sizes of the RSS feed in XML and JSON format. What a difference!

XML – 376,744 bytes

JSON – 201,529 bytes

Less data. Less time. Everyone wins!

How To Parse XML as JSON with 2 Lines of Code

Many of us avoid using JSON data because, simply put, we don’t have access to our data in JSON format. You will now! The below code snippet shows an XHR JavaScript request made by a Windows 8 Metro App coded in HTML5/JavaScript. The secret? We use Google’s API for AJAX as a conduit. We send Google our RSS feed URL and Google sends it back as JSON!!!

All we need is 2 lines of code. One line specifies the URL of our XML feed. The second line encodes our URL and concatenates it with the base URL for the Google API. Then we make our normal XHR request. Instant JSON data endpoint! Free, fast and highly available!

Let’s face it – you aren’t going to read this opening paragraph. In fact, if you’ve gotten this far, congratulations. Most of you have clicked on the metro tiles below and returned to twitter, reddit, etc. For those of you who have – go to the next paragraph!

Myself and Chris Clark Sell, Microsoft DPE and man behind Metro Weekly, have been working to bring Windows 8 metro tiles to the web. The idea is to create fully functional, metro-like, Windows 8 tiles using HTML, CSS and JavaScript.  The project is creatively entitled “metro-tile” and can be found on GitHub.

We’re just getting started! I encourage you to fork it, refactor it, add to it, clean it, nuke it and submit pull requests. If you are new to GitHub (frankly, who isn’t) read,  “The quickest and easiest “Getting Started w/ GitHub” article you’ll ever read!”

Potential Use Case Scenarios

• Front and back tile support with data display & tile flip animation
• Data binding w/ Knockout.js w/ data provided by an ASP.NET Web API
• RSS Feed auto-parsing and display
• Drag and drop w/ auto arrange

Live Demo

Safari and Chrome only; IE10 *should* work but it doesn’t