Self Destruct

Self Destruct is a fun and fast paced shoot'em up game programmed by Terry Cavanagh with graphics by Annabelle Kennedy:

Download Self Destruct

XNA Animation Library

XNAnimation is a skeletal animation library for XNA. The library allows developers to easily manipulate, playback, interpolate and blend animations. See the following video for a demonstration:

Yahoo! Chart API

Yahoo! has released version 2.5.2 of the Yahoo! User Interface (YUI) Chart Library. The Chart Library requires Flash Player 9.0.45 or higher. Supported chart types include:

• Horizontal & Vertical Bar Charts
• Line Charts
• Pie Charts

Google Chart API

Google has recently published the Google Chart API, which lets developers dynamically generate and embed static charts into Web pages.

Some of the supported chart types include:

• Pie Chart

• 3D Pie Chart

• Line Chart

• Bar Chart

• Stacked Bar Chart

• Venn Diagram

• Scatter Plot

• Radar Chart

• Maps

XNA Creators Club Tour

Checkout the following video for a quick introduction to Community Games Beta on Xbox Live. The video covers the following topics:

• How to join XNA Creators Club
• Creating and sharing games on Xbox Live

Dream. Build. Play. 2008

Microsoft is holding another "Dream. Build. Play." competition for aspiring game developers. The games must target the Xbox 360 platform. Prizes includes the following:

• First Prize $40,000 (USD)
• Second Prize $20,000 (USD)
• Third Prize $10,000 (USD)
• Fourth Prize $5,000 (USD)

This year all entrants will receive a free 12-month XNA Creators Club trial membership.

The entry deadline is September 23, 2008.

Multi-Touch Technology

According to a News.com article, Microsoft plans to include a multitouch interface in Windows 7. The really exciting news is the multitouch interface should work with existing touchscreen hardware as demonstrated on a Dell laptop in the following video:

Microsoft Surface Demonstration

Sheraton Hotel demonstrates Microsoft Surface:

Microsoft Surface Review & Demonstration

Popular Mechanics reviews and demonstrates Microsoft Surface:

Microsoft Surface Possibilities

Short video showing some of the things that are possible using Microsoft Surface technology:

Windows Home Server Television Commercial

Television commercial with Bill Gates presenting HP's version of the Windows Home Server:

Microsoft Touch Wall

Microsoft introduces Touch Wall with improved drag-and-drop technology for wall-size displays:

JavaScript Frameworks

The following are some commonly used JavaScript frameworks:

• Prototype
• jQuery
• YUI
• MooTools
• Dojo

Windows Home Server

Microsoft recently released Windows Home Server, which makes it easy for families to keep and share documents, photos, videos, and music.

Some of the key features include:

• Remote Access
• Media Sharing
• Drive Extender
• Home Computer Backup
• Home Networking

Learn more about Windows Home Server.

IT Budgets

According to InformationWeek, more than half of all IT professionals surveyed believe we are in or heading for a recession.

As the economy cools, many of the 374 business technology professionals in our poll are bracing themselves for trouble.

• 58% say we're either in or headed for a recession
• 57% are being asked to reduce or limit IT spending
• 37% are cutting IT staff, third-party consultants, or both

The InformationWeek report titled, "Recession And You" for IT professionals is currently available as a free download.