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Connected Service for Azure IoT Hub Extension for Visual Studio currently not working for ARM projects (V 1.2.0) – Workaround

I am a frequent user of the great “Connected Service for Azure IoT Hub” Extension for Visual Studio to add support for sending messages to Azure IoT Hub to my IoT client projects.

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I am using Visual Studio 2015 Enterprise with Update 2

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Observation

In the latest build, the tool now defaults to using AMQP instead of HTTP as transport protocol and adds a slew of new NUGet references to the project.

The Output window of Visual Studio lists them as:

[4/27/2016 4:06:36.687 PM] Adding Azure IoT Hub to the project.
[4/27/2016 4:06:40.266 PM] Installing NuGet package ‘Newtonsoft.Json’ version 6.0.8.
[4/27/2016 4:06:40.333 PM] Installing NuGet package ‘Microsoft.Azure.Amqp’ version 1.1.1.
[4/27/2016 4:06:40.344 PM] Installing NuGet package ‘PCLCrypto’ version 2.0.147.
[4/27/2016 4:06:40.366 PM] Installing NuGet package ‘PInvoke.BCrypt’ version 0.3.2.
[4/27/2016 4:06:40.377 PM] Installing NuGet package ‘PInvoke.Kernel32’ version 0.3.2.
[4/27/2016 4:06:40.391 PM] Installing NuGet package ‘PInvoke.NCrypt’ version 0.3.2.
[4/27/2016 4:06:40.413 PM] Installing NuGet package ‘PInvoke.Windows.Core’ version 0.3.2.
[4/27/2016 4:06:40.432 PM] Installing NuGet package ‘Validation’ version 2.2.8.

[4/27/2016 4:06:49.846 PM] New service instance IoTMonitoring created
[4/27/2016 4:06:49.894 PM] Successfully added Azure IoT Hub to the project.

Problem 

Trying to compile the project yields the following errors:

Error        File C:\Users\xxx\Documents\Visual Studio 2015\Projects\Tests\Win10IoT Thermo IoTSuite %28Start%29\Win10IoT Thermo\obj\ARM\Debug\Validation\en\Validation.Strings.resw not found.    Win10IoT Thermo    C:\Users\xxx\Documents\Visual Studio 2015\Projects\Tests\Win10IoT Thermo IoTSuite (Start)\Win10IoT Thermo\MakePRI       

Error        Processing Resources failed with error: The system cannot find the file specified.    Win10IoT Thermo    C:\Users\xxx\Documents\Visual Studio 2015\Projects\Tests\Win10IoT Thermo IoTSuite (Start)\Win10IoT Thermo\MakePri       

Workaround

The workaround is to switch the protocol used to talk to IoT Hub from AMQP to HTTP by editing the generated “AzureIoTHub.cs” class:

From:

var deviceClient = DeviceClient.CreateFromConnectionString(deviceConnectionString, TransportType.Amqp);

To:

var deviceClient = DeviceClient.CreateFromConnectionString(deviceConnectionString, TransportType.Http1);

And remove all the references added by the Connected Service for Azure IoT Hub Extension except for Newtonsoft.Json:

Remove NuGet package ‘Microsoft.Azure.Amqp’ version 1.1.1.
Remove NuGet package ‘PCLCrypto’ version 2.0.147.
Remove NuGet package ‘PInvoke.BCrypt’ version 0.3.2.
Remove NuGet package ‘PInvoke.Kernel32’ version 0.3.2.
Remove NuGet package ‘PInvoke.NCrypt’ version 0.3.2.
Remove NuGet package ‘PInvoke.Windows.Core’ version 0.3.2.
Remove NuGet package ‘Validation’ version 2.2.8.

After these steps, the project compiles again and successfully sends messages (HTTP) to the Azure IoT Hub.

Watch free online trainings in March and get a chance to win cool prizes every day!

This month, our team is running a cool competition!

Get a head start on Microsoft technology know-how with Microsoft’s free online learning platforms.

In March 2016 you will have a chance to win daily prizes: just watch selected top online trainings for developers, IT and database professionals and students and you might be a winner!

Every day, we are raffling off one Microsoft Office 365 Home Edition and one of the following prizes: Microsoft Surface 3 Tablets, Nokia Lumia 830, Microsoft Azure backpacks, Microsoft Arc mice, Microsoft universal foldable keyboards and various Xbox One games.

Visit our “31 Days of Learning” page on http://aka.ms/learnandwin.

To see all of our training offerings, visit Channel9 and the Microsoft Virtual Academy. To learn more about the various formats and where to find the training that suits you best, visit this post.

Dying Light Spotlight Edition

I really loved the game Dying Light. If you haven’t had a chance to play it, this may be a chance to pick it up: A single copy of a new “Spotlight Edition” has just gone on sale.

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You get 4 copies of the game, pro acting lessons, a supporting role in the coming Dying Light movie, you can live in a camper on the set and have the FX crew give you a complete Zombie makeup.

The only downside: Its price tag is $ 10’000’000.

Swiss //Publish/ event on Friday, May 16 – bring your project and join the hackathon!

Date:
Geneva, Switzerland / May 16, 2014

Location:
blue-infinity SA
Route des Jeunes 35
Geneva, 1227 Switzerland

Agenda:
10:00 AM -10:30 AM Registration/Event Welcome
10:30 AM – 11:30 AM Keynote – new features, converged apps…
11:30 AM – 13:00 AM Open Coding Session with Expert(-s) Support
13:00 PM – 14:00 PM Lunch/Webcast
14:00 PM – 17:30 PM Open Coding Session with Expert(-s) Support
17:30 PM – 18:00 PM App Showcase/Judging & Awards
18:00 PM – 19:00 PM Dinner/ Webcast
19:00 PM – 22:00 PM Open Coding Session with Expert(-s) Support

Registration:
https://publishwindows.com/view/705a4018c335408f97cf0bdddca3e1f9

Bring your existing app and game projects to Microsoft’s //publish/ event to code with developers from around the world. Collaborate and get help with app design, performance, testing, publishing, porting from Unity – you name it.

Receive onsite support from community experts to remove blockers and add the finishing touches to your project.

Join a testing group of your peers and try your app out on a range of devices.

Connect online with developers and Microsoft product specialists from all over the globe in simultaneous worldwide events. Show off your completed project at the App Showcase.

Heads up! Elder Scrolls Online on PC installer can delete your files if a custom folder is selected.

If you don’t stick to the default installation directory, you HAVE to create an empty folder somewhere and point to that as the Elder Scrolls Online installer will erase anything it finds in the folder that it is given for installation instead of creating a subfolder itself.

dead pc elder scrolls online

So I wanted to install the “Elder Scrolls Online” on PC yesterday which ended up with me restoring large portions of my PC for several hours. And a lot of foul language was included. So here is what happened.

By default, the installer wants to install the game into “%systemdrive%\Program Files\Zenimax Online”. If you plan not to change this, you are OK.

But if you are crazy enough – like I am obviously – to have games installed to a custom folder, “%systemdrive%\Games” in my case, the installer lets you select a different folder.

I picked my “%systemdrive%\Games” folder at which point the installer said: “%systemdrive%\Games” – but not “%systemdrive%\Games\Zenimax Online”. This got me thinking for a split second, but then I pressed “Install”.

At this point, the installer created “%systemdrive%\Games\Elder Scrolls Online” and all seemed good.

But then my Steam client crashed and the Origin client started to show weird errors.

I soon noticed, that besides creating the new folder, the installer had completely erased everything inside “%systemdrive%\Games”, including the Steam client, Origin and the Blizzard launcher.

It sure seems like I failed the first quest of the Elder Scrolls Online miserably Winking smile

Project the Windows Phone 8.1 screen to your PC using USB

Windows Phone 8 devices that have been updated to Windows Phone 8.1 using the developer preview can now project their screens to a computer connected via USB.

The first step is to download and install this desktop driver and client app.

it’s enough to just connect the phone to the PC using USB and start the “Project My Screen App” on the PC.

The phone will ask for permission to activate screen projection.

project 2

Tap “Yes” and the desktop app shows the screen.

project 1

Use “F1” to see all key bindings and “ESC” to exit full-screen mode.

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If you have problems, getting it to work, Monkey Slaps has a debugging guide posted.

Some nice facts on how Windows Phone 8.1 handles files.

One of the new features of Windows Phone 8.1 is sharing, very much like the share charm in Windows 8, and the new file picker.

The share contract allows apps to share freely with no limitations on the content type. Text, links, HTML, images, files, or even custom file types.

The new file picker goes a step further. Apps can use it to open and save files in the phone’s storage, SD card, or OneDrive.

If an app wants to load pictures, the user will be presented with the photos app. But if you need to get to a photo in another location (like your SD card or OneDrive), you can select ‘Choose location’ on the Photos app’s app bar and access the file picker.

A very nice twist: custom apps can be file providers too and allow their files/data to be accessed by the user using other apps.

This works in both Windows Runtime apps (i.e. Universal Apps) and Silverlight 8.1 apps.

To learn more on the topic, have a look at The Build 2014 session: “Contracts and Pickers: Building Apps that Work Together on Windows”

Also, Internet Explorer 11 now allows to download/save files when tapping on a link on a webpage.

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You can then immediately access the downloaded file using IE:

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…or you can connect your phone to your computer, access it’s folders and find a new subfolder “Downloads” containing the downloaded files.

Desktop

Also, the newly available “Field Medic” App, a premier diagnostic application for Windows Phone that allows easy collection of device information and ETW logs right from your device, adds its own, user accessible folder where collected logs are stored.

Desktop2

Very nice, indeed!

Hands-On Lab: Building your first App for Windows 8.1 and publishing it to the Windows Store.

I recently created this hands-on lab and ran it in  an on-site event here at Microsoft Switzerland. People gave me very good feedback so I decided to publish it in full.

The lab contains everything you need to complete the exercise, including a detailed, 50 page step-by-step manual as Word- or PDF document. Every step is well explained so you don’t need prior Windows App development experience.

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In it, you will be creating a YouTube video player app from scratch (File, new Project) for a specific YouTube channel and publish it to the Microsoft store. The final app will look something like the following, but you can tailor it to your YouTube channel of choice.

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The lab also makes use of some of the new Windows 8.1 controls like the Hub and the Microsoft Player Framework to play back streaming video.

Windows 8 features like the App bar, asynchronous programming and sharing videos through the Share Charm are all covered.

Also, all the sometimes confusing publishing steps are explained in detail, including how to optimally create properly sized screen-shots using the simulator in Visual Studio 2013…

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…how to properly describe the app select the right category and markets…

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…and test the app using the “Windows App Certification Kit”, so publishing is as smooth as possible.

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Prerequisites

All you need to complete the lab is a computer running Windows 8.1 and a version of Visual Studio 2013, that can create XAML/C# based Windows store apps. The free “Visual Studio Express 2013 for Windows” edition will do just fine.

To publish the lab, you will need an active Windows Store account, details how to sign up can be found here and here. Pricing per year is CHF 17 for individuals and CHF 90 for companies

Give me the Files!

You can download the whole lab from: http://corti.ch/w81-store-hol

Get productive with the “Windows 8.1 Power User Guide for Business”. Fast.

Learn from this Windows 8.1 Power User Guide about the advanced, new  features of Windows 8.1, such as the enhancements to the file explorer, the new task manager, Internet Explorer 11, the mobility center, Windows To Go and SkyDrive Pro.

The best part: It’s one short and well structured PDF document.

Download it here.