robmiles.com

If you want to target real hardware with your .NET Micro Framework programs you will need to obtain a device. I pulled this information from the .NET Micro Framework pages on MSDN.

Developer Kits

Crossbow Technology WSN Developer Kit

The Imote2.Builder Kit includes everything you need to create wireless sensor networking applications, including three development boards with embedded radios and two sensor boards.

Digi Connect ME JumpStart Kit for Microsoft .NET Micro Framework

The industry’s first Ethernet networking solution for .NET Micro Framework. Digi JumpStart Kits are a new breed of development kits that make it easy, fast, and economical for engineers to develop network-connected devices.

Device Solutions Tahoe Development Kit

The Tahoe Development kit, featuring the Meridan CPU, allows for experimentation, evaluation and just plain fun, while slashing the time it takes to transition from prototype into production.

Freescale i.MXS Development Kit for SideShow

Freescale's high performance i.MXS Development Kit supports .NET Micro Framework applications.

GHI Embedded Master Development System

The Embedded Master includes FAT file system and USB host support, in addition to Ethernet, CAN, and other connectivity options, to provide everything you need to get started developing small devices.

SJJ Embedded Micro Solutions EDK

Includes a multipurpose development board with the .NET Micro Framework installed and ready to run C# applications. Suitable for a wide variety of embedded applications, the EDK is ideal for engineering students, hobbyists, and OEMs of small devices.

Today I went down to the Hands On Lab area at TechEd and had a go at the Micro Framework lab, just to see what it was like. The first exercise was to drive an LCD panel from a Micro Framework device....

Shameless .NET Micro Framework promotion....

Then it was on to building a little burglar alarm controller. Great fun. And the lab section was enormous.

We think our labs are quite large at the university in Hull, but this is just silly....

In fact the conference itself is just plain enormous. This is one part of one part.

If you want to find out more about the .NET Micro Framework, including devices and how to get hold of the development kit you can go to their site on MSDN. They also have a very active blog.

There is already one superb .NET Micro Framework book available (the one wot I helped to write) but now there is another.

Expert .NET Micro Framework by Jens Kuhner is excellent. It is written for those who want to really find out how to use all the features of the framework.

Whereas our book is more of an introduction to the field the Expert book, as the name implies, goes into more detail on the various class libraries and how you can use them. It also has the benefit of having been published a year or so later, and so has more up to date detail on the platforms that are now available. The people "lucky" enough to be at my session yesterday all got a free copy of the book (which really put a spring in their step) and they will find it very useful.

If you are serious about the framework you should get this book. If you are not serous about the framework you should this book and become serious about it.

My .NET Micro Framework talk seemed to go well. Got a good sized audience, and of course I took their picture.

I'm sorry I didn't have any hardware to show you. If I come back next year I'll try and find space in my carry on for some toys.

A couple of weeks ago, at the TechEd 2007 sessions in Barcelona I was giving with Dave Baker of Microsoft, I promised that I'd be putting up the sample code that we used. Apologies for the delay folks, but they are now here: http://www.robmiles.com/storage/teched-2007/TechEd%20Demos.zip

If you are into the .NET Micro Framework (and if you aren't, you should be) then take a look at their blog. There is some really good stuff on there about hardware interfacing. I'm not just linking to it because it mentions me. Oh no.

http://blogs.msdn.com/netmfteam/