Free Design Tools just in time for Christmas, 2/5: Installing the tools

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Just Talking

First off, a quick note to Dr. Shin Liu students, please check Dr. Liu’s class online blackboard for my direct contact information.

Next: Don’t lose your keyless entry fob for a Prius, holey moley, $102 programming charge and $214 bucks for the FOB with the extra key.  And yes you can avoid the programming charge, there are instructions online, but that only activates the fob but requires that you insert the FOB before starting car and you have to press the button to get in the car.  So if you don’t have the $102 for programming you could save money if you find the instructions.  Also, the online price for a new FOB is about $164 + $14 for the mechanical key, with shipping and so forth the price is about the same.  Finally: DON’T LOSE all of your key FOBs, keep one someplace safe, etc.  Losing both can cost $1200 for a replacement computer + the price of Key FOB and Programming costs.  Kind of a rip, but it is about that price for most of these keys.

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Ok, now let’s talk about installing the Visual Studio Express for Windows Phone 7.1, simply go to https://create.msdn.com, and click on the Download the free tools button, (if you have installed a previous version of the Visual Studio Express for Windows Phone, make sure to use the control panel to remove it before installing the new one.)  This will download a good tools for most software development and can be used for commercial purposes, give you the tools needed to connect with the phone for development purposes, and the cost is right: free.

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Then install from this page by clicking “download the SDK”

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It will take around 20 minutes depending on your internet connection speed and computer design. 

Once you do this you will have the following three items:

  1. Visual Studio Express for Windows Phone
  2. Expression Blend for Windows Phone
  3. Windows Phone SDK 7.1 (shows up in the All Programs)

If you already have Visual Studio Professional or Visual Studio Ultimate on your system this will set up these integrated design environment (IDE) and also install items 1, 2 and 3 above.

Next: Getting stuff and showing it in XNA