okay, if you don't know justin-josef angel, that is a shame, the dude is smart.  he's an mvp for microsoft and has been active in the silverlight community now, trying to really start the community thinking different on extending silverlight.  lately he's done just that.

anyone who has ever had to develop a global application knows the challenges of ensuring localization.  it is perhaps one of my weakest spots as a developer and i'm sure a lot of others as well.  since justin-josef speaks arabic and hebrew he wanted to tackle this problem...rtl language display in silverlight.  thus enter the Silverlight Arabic and Hebrew languages support project (SAAHLSP; just kidding the acronym is mine, but there is a job for justin in microsoft product naming in his future).

Rendering Comparison
Normal Silverlight	Silverlight Hebrew and Arabic Support
RTL (Right-to-Left): Not Supported Align-to-right: Not Supported	RTL: Supported Alight-to-Right: Supported

way to go!  this project really shows the power of having the .net framework when silverlight 1.1 comes to light and the extensibility you can add to this platform, empowering the developer to makes these extensions.

the project has several learning points to it if you are interested...

• Codeplex Project
• Online lab/demo
• 20 minute webcast explaining
• Complete tutorial/walkthrough

great work!

looks like mozilla labs is cooking up something to bring web apps to the desktop.  their latest project, prism, aims to:

bridge the divide in the user experience between web applications and desktop apps and to explore new usability models as the line between traditional desktop and new web applications continues to blur

hmm..so at the surface without being able to get my hands on it, it looks like some type of desktop sandbox wrapper around a web application?  most likely relying on a web rendering platform to exist on the desktop already (i'm sure they are obviously depending on mozilla/gecko)?  wow, welcome back 1996.

what? you don't remember IE4?  the feature that was implemented in IE4 called HTML Application (HTA)?  i do.  i implemented it several times.  sure, you may mock me now, but for the DHTML days of young, HTA (when IE would be your restriction) was the shiznit for some customers.  looking at it now, we scoff at such an idea.

it is funny because someone even commented on the prism labs project with the same thought (no response yet when i last checked as of this writing).  well, i'm not sure about it, and based on the 190+ comments neither are others.  of course, those will forget the HTA attempt at such a thing, and since microsoft isn't implementing it, it will be super cool and people will flock to it when released...maybe.

wait, bringing web apps to the desktop...when you look at one of their UX Goals, you'll see they aim to 'integrate web applications into the user's desktop experience' -- hey mozilla, consider it done...IT'S CALLED YOUR OWN BROWSER.

some news on the windows live platform front...now you can link your passport live id accounts!  i like a lot of the windows live services, but one that i've struggled with is live id.  not the concept, but rather the implementation.  it is getting incrementally better day by day and this one change in particular made me happy.

when passport first came out, most got one.  when messenger came out, you used your passport.  then you could create a passport/live id with your own email account (didn't have to be hotmail.com), then there were some changes and you might have had to migrate yours...etc.  you can see where i'm going here -- i have roughly 4 live id accounts.

then you have your corporation, like mine :-) -- sometimes they require registrations from a live id ending in @mycorpdomain.com -- that frustrates me, but oh well.  i basically have two primary live id accounts i use and when i login/out of sites because i may have created sites under one account, etc. -- i would have to lose major context of what i was doing...not anymore!

here's what you do to link your various live id accounts...

1) go to http://account.live.com and login with your preferred live id

after you login you'll see the summary page and on it you should see the "Linked Windows Live IDs" section:

2) click on the 'Manage Linked IDs' and you should see:

3) click on the 'Link an existing Windows Live ID' and you'll be asked to confirm your logged in live id password, and then you'll be able to add another Windows Live ID account:

4) once completed you'll see that your accounts are now linked:

great, so now what? well when you go to a live id-enabled site you'll be able to switch identities immediately on that site without having to logout/login to a different windows live id...you'll be instantly changed on the same site...that is awesome.

so go link your most used windows live ids!  thanks windows live team!

the concepts of these 'devcamps' seem to be a winning formula.  a combination of open spaces, tech content, socializing, and contesting is luring people to iphone devcamps, silverlight, adobe air, and now sharepoint.

my compadre dave in chicago is helping to support a MOSSCamp in chicago.  using the barcamp site?  of course not, it is for moss :-) so they are using some of the new sharepoint features in a public site.  you can read about the plans for the 9 NOV event being held at clarity consulting.

so if you are available, in the area, and not too tired if you are coming back from devconnections in vegas, you should head over there -- it is free!

should be a good time if you are in the area.  sharepoint has really evolved to be a great platform for content management and internet sites...now that it is built on asp.net, it makes development much more flexible on that platform!

one of my favorite network shows is 'the office' (other than that i think the reality shows suck.  damages (on fx network) season finale was pretty decent by the way, not great, but decent.

anywhoo... it seems second life is making it's way all over the entertainment world.  apparently csi:ny had second life on it and then on the latest episode of 'the office' my favorite character (other than creed), dwight shrute, pursues second life.  in his words:

"second life is not a game...it doesn't have points, scores, it doesn't have winners or losers." (jim: 'oh it has losers')

dwight then goes on to say:

"i signed up for second life about a year ago.  back then my life was so great that i literally wanted a second one.  in my second life i was also a paper salesman, and was also named dwight. absolutely everything was the same...except i could fly."

the show is hilarous...you can watch it on nbc.com for free after 2PM tomorrow apparently (i love how networks are doing this now).  later in the show dwight's world is discovered where he has acquired land in second life and called it "second second life."

brilliant.