.NET Reflector Add-Ins

Lutz Roeder's .NET Reflector was revolutionary when it first come out, however as we are all now very used to the fact that our code can be re-read once complied to a binary (when not obfuscated) it does slightly loose the original 'WOW' factor.

Since .NET Reflectors release it gained a huge following including my own, but like all good applications there are always ways to enhance it and give it your own spin and Lutz Roeder was very aware that he, as one man, could not be the creator of an application which would satisfy everyone's needs which is why he give the application extensibility points.  Since that point a community has grown around this application and many new add-ins have appeared.

Some of the add-ins allow you to take the code from a dll or exe and extract to a file in the language of your choice, or create Sequence diagrams from existing code (a great way for post implementation documentation) you can even have reflector appear as a tool within Visual Studio.

If the extensive list of add-ins for reflector still does not add your own required functionality there are documents on how to create your own.

Download Lutz Roeder's .NET Reflector here.

View the community add-ins here and information on creating your own add-ins.

This application is a great example of taking a really simple idea and making available to everyone, the longevity of this application is purely down to its simplicity and extensibility.  Things to keep in mind when writing any application.

IIS 7.0 Bit Rate Throttling

Do you serve video to users of your web site or wish you could but cannot afford the possible bandwidth costs, well the new module from the IIS development team maybe able to help. 

The new IIS 7.0 module can allow you to control the amount of data sent to a user so that only the data needed to watch part of the video or the entire video is send, possibly saving you bandwidth costs.

To get a full explanation see Scott Guthrie's blog

Silverlight 2 For The Developer

I know that almost all professional blogers say that if you aggregate then what's the point of your blog! Well I want to record this information as much for myself as for anyone who reads this;

For an introduction to Silverlight 2 with an 8 part step-by-step tutorial read Scott's blog.

For a further look at developing Silverlight 2 applications but this time using Expression Blend with an overview of how to use Blend read Scott's Blog.

Silverlight 2 Developer Poster

Need something else geeky to stick on the wall next to your desk, then I have the answer.  Microsoft have created a poster which details some of the key new features in Silverlight 2.

To get your copy go to Brad Abrams blog.

Top-10 Application-Design Mistakes

When I first started designing applications I would take the current look and feel of a Microsoft app and try and replicate it, keeping the same metaphors. Unless you a full time interaction designer, this approach tends to result in software providing the functionality your created in code to your users but does not always aid them in their process.

Recently I have seen push in the community to drive better GUIs, we are now talking about unit testing the interface and getting user involved from the very first time the screen is created and even talking them through hand drawn diagrams.  This best practice of highlighting the GUIs absolute importance in good application adoption has helped me highlight an area of my application development I have sometimes overlooked, or only briefly looked at.

If you are in need of some direction in the GUI design and some of the mistakes to avoid you should read Jakob Nielsens's Top-10 Application-Design Mistakes.