1 - Open the NuGet Package Manager Console and type:

Install-Package MSAF.GoogleAnalytics

2 - Next, register a new application / web property inside Google Analytics.

Then copy the Property ID that starts with UA-.

3 - Past that Property ID inside the App.xaml at this place.

<analytics:GoogleAnalyticsService WebPropertyId="UA-12345-6" />

That’s it. Yes, totally. And? Did you do it under the minute?

Background information

I’ve been in contact with Michael Scherotter for some time about NuGet and MSAF, thanks for the support Michael. Basically the MSAF project is really powerful and can be applied to your Windows Phone project quite easily when you know how to do this. I’ve written about it a couple of times. However when we upgraded to Mango all dlls were upgraded except the Google.WebAnalytics dll. The mismatch in versions was causing a lot of problems because some libraries were asking for a 7.0 version of System.Windows.Interactivity and some were asking for the 7.1 version. I fixed that for the NuGet release, everything is 7.1 based.

Advanced tracking

I also added the code to track a little bit of basic information. You can find that in the GoogleAnalyticsService class in the Analytics folder after applying the NuGet package. There is support for up to 5 Custom Variables. Yes I removed the AppId/ProductId that’s included by default leaving only 4 Custom Variables. You can still add the AppId Custom Variable by your own choice, but I removed it because I have one Google Analytics Web Property per App, so it was useless.

When you want to track your analytics from for example your ViewModel you do something like this.

IAnalyticsTracker tracker = new AnalyticsTracker();
tracker.Track("EventCategory","EventName","EventValue optional");

Fong, 43, joined the Windows Phone design team three years ago and has been one of the leading thinkers behind Windows Phone’s signature look and the set of design principals underlying it known as “Metro”.

Trained as an illustrator at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif., Fong says he always had an interest in combining traditional media with technology. In 1993 he won an internship at Microsoft and was assigned to work on two of the company’s early multimedia efforts aimed at kids—Creative Writer and Fine Artist. He hasn’t looked back since. 

Over the years Fong has worked on everything from an interactive gardening guide to Windows Media Center and the Zune music player, two other Microsoft products often praised for their fresh and distinctive designs. After the company made the decision to reboot its smartphone effort, Fong was tapped to help lead a team to define the look and feel of what would become Windows Phone, turning to airport and subway signage as one source of inspiration.

I caught up with Fong last week for a quick Q&A on Windows Phone and design.

###

The design of Windows Phone—and its influence on other high-profile Microsoft products like Windows 8—has been getting a lot of attention lately, including stories in Bloomberg Businessweek and the New York Times. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak also recently gushed about his “beautiful” new Windows Phone. Some folks seem genuinely surprised that Microsoft could design something like this. Are you?

A lot of people come with preconceived notions about Microsoft. There’s always been good design here. But I think the stuff that we’ve done previously has been mostly expected. The thing we did with Windows Phone is we came out with a design that is unexpected. It’s not like anything else you see out there. That change in direction is th]]> Wed, 16 May 2012 21:20:00 GMT There has been quite a lot of buzz going around about the updates and changed to Bing. So we thought it was a prime opportunity to speak to the design manager and program manager of the new release and answer some of your questions directly. You've got questions...we've got answers.

Remember Herb Sutter's great GotW post (#30, to be precise) on Name Lookup? Here's the problem from that post, to refresh your memory (Thanks to Herb for providing information like this on GotW!):

In the following code, which functions are called? Why? Analyze the implications?

namespace A {
      struct X;
      struct Y;
      void f( int );
      void g( X );
}

namespace B {
       void f( int i ) {
            f( i );   // which f()?
        }
        void g( A::X x ) {
             g( x );   // which g()?
        }
        void h( A::Y y ) {
             h( y );   // which h()?
        }
 }

We recommend you watch this entire episode before playing around with Herb's sample above (and don't read the GotW answer, either! That's cheating. Learn from STL. He's an outstanding teacher, as you know.)

Please supply feedback on this thread, especially as it relates to what you'd like STL to focus on in subsequent episodes. For part 2, STL will focus on Template Argument Deduction.

Tune in. Enjoy. Learn.

Remember Herb Sutter's great GotW post (#30, to be precise) on Name Lookup? Here's the problem from that post, to refresh your memory (Thanks to Herb for providing information like this on GotW!):

In the following code, which functions are called? Why? Analyze the implications?

namespace A {
      struct X;
      struct Y;
      void f( int );
      void g( X );
}

namespace B {
       void f( int i ) {
            f( i );   // which f()?
        }
        void g( A::X x ) {
             g( x );   // which g()?
        }
        void h( A::Y y ) {
             h( y );   // which h()?
        }
 }

We recommend you watch this entire episode before playing around with Herb's sample above (and don't read the GotW answer, either! That's cheating. Learn from STL. He's an outstanding teacher, as you know.)

Please supply feedback on this thread, especially as it relates to what you'd like STL to focus on in subsequent episodes. For part 2, STL will focus on Template Argument Deduction.

Tune in. Enjoy. Learn.

What’s the problem?

I hear you thinking “Cool, WIF takes care of all that for me”, and that is cool. But there’s also a nasty side effect, one which all web developers have encountered in a different context: sessions. If a user logs in, starts filling out some form, and then gets interrupted by a phone call, chances are that the session expires. This can lead to problems when the user submits the form, because the user has to log in again. The original posted data gets lost in the process, much to the frustration of the user. Because sessions use sliding expiration the problem is minor. But with absolute expiration, expiration can wreak havoc even if the user posts a form just a minute after the form was presented to the user.

Solving the problem

There are several ways to solve the problem outlined above:

1. Don’t use the SessionAuthenticationModule.
2. Modify the stored token to implement sliding expiration.
3. Force reacquiring a token in the background, so you can control when this happens.

Ditching the SessionAuthenticationModule
Not using the SessionAuthenticationModule appears to be simple. Just remove it from web.config and you’re done. However, if you remove it, you have to ensure a user stays logged in after receiving the token, and you need to keep track of the received claims. This means you need to use a cookie or session data to keep track of the user. Basically you would be recreating what the SessionAuthenticationModule does for you for free.

Making token expiration sliding
This is actually easier than ditching the SessionAuthenticationModule. All you have to do is handle the SessionSecurityTokenReceived event and modify the ValidTo property of the token, as shown in this MSDN Forums post.

Tip: You can hookup the event in the Application_Start event in global.asx using FederatedAuthentication.SessionAuthenticationModule to point to the module.

Force reacquiring a token
The above methods work fine, but have some drawbacks. One of these is the fact that Single Sign-On (SSO) no longer works properly if a user spends too long in a single application. This is because the login session with the Identity Provider will expire at some point. Another issue arises if you want to use delegation or impersonation when you call a web service. WS-Trust 1.4 supports delegation (ActAs) and impersonation (OnBehalfOf). Even though WIF officially implements WS-Trust 1.3, WIF does support these constructs. When calling web services from a web application, using delegation is a recommended practice, because it greatly improves the security. The reason is that in order for the web application to make the web service call on your behalf, it needs to acquire a token from the STS, based on the original token. This means a malicious user would need that token in order to make the web service call. Breaking into the web application is not enough.

So, how can you ensure you get a new token once in a while? Although the implementation is somewhat more difficult, the principle is simple: logout of the RP. That triggers the RP to re-authenticate the user by redirecting to the STS. As long as the user is still known in the STS, a new token is transparently given out. You can do this in roughly two ways: in an invisibl]]> Wed, 16 May 2012 16:14:18 GMT This morning, I am sitting at the inaugural Security Development Conference 2012 in Washington DC listening to people from a diverse set of companies, government agencies and academic institutions sharing their own experiences with adopting a Security Development Lifecycle (SDL) process or learning how to accelerate adoption within their own organizations. As I watched the keynotes and sessions yesterday and see Scott Charney step onto the stage today, I am reminded of the early days at Microsoft when our customers were faced with security threats that challenged their trust in our products and services.  Creating the SDL was an important step in combating these threats and to this day the SDL continues to help reduce the number and severity of vulnerabilities found in Microsoft’s products. 

The ThinkPad X1 Carbon weighs less than three pounds and beats Ultrabook specifications. Lenovo understands that it can be a hassle to wait for your laptop battery to charge, so they armed this Ultrabook with Lenovo RapidCharge which charges up to 80% battery in just 30 minutes. With built in 3G you have the ability to access the web from practically anywhere without being tethered to your Wi-Fi network. This laptop is a great choice for business pros who are out and about or travel frequently because it won’t break your back when being toted around in your bag and you have 24/7 access to the internet, email, and corporate networks.

The ThinkPad Classic L, X, T, and W have all been privy to some solid upgrades that are representative of the quality and care that are trademark Lenovo. Purchase one of these laptops and you will reap the benefits of your choice of the latest 3rd Generation Intel Core Processor and Lenovo Enhanced Experience 3.0 with RapidBoot technology on selected models. This innovative work from Lenovo will boot your laptop up to 40 percent faster than a typical Windows 7 computer. If web conferencing is a large component of your 9-5, then make sure you check out the advanced video and calling features.

Pictured below: Lenovo ThinkPad X230

If you are looking to take one of these laptops to the next level make sure you investigate adding a Solid State Drive (SSD). All of these ThinkPad models have the option to include a 250GB self-encrypting SSD. This is a great storage solution if you want extra protection for sensitive files and increased performance and reliability than the alternative Hard Disk Drive.

Lenovo will start to roll out these laptops for purchase starting on (insert some date). Lenovo was gracious enough to send me the gorgeous light and small ThinkPad X230 to take for a test drive, so stay tuned because I will be sharing my impressions in a future blog post. This will be my first hands on experience with a Lenovo (many of my coworkers have them), so I am anxious to be able to join club of Lenovo enthusiasts.

Enter AboutOne, a family organizer that offers a way to corral the chaos. Download it now 

The free app—currently exclusive to Windows Phone—is designed to be a one-stop family organizer and a companion to AboutOne’s web service. The app makes it easy to store notes, kids artwork, store receipts, health stats, emergency info, and all kinds of other domestic paperwork and data so it’s organized and available whenever you need it. Another nice touch: the app is password-protected in case you ever lose your phone.

I’m only scratching the surface of all the features and scenarios where AboutOne comes in handy. The AboutOne blog has more of the scoop.

Lenovo will be talking about a variety of their great product offerings today during the chat. Whether it’s their tough ThinkPad X1 or their new U310 IdeaPad, they offer a range of great PCs that suit the needs of a variety of discerning customers. If you really want thin and light PCs, then you are in luck.

During today’s chat, we’ll be giving away the Lenovo IdeaPad U310 weighing in at under 2 lbs., super slim and with up to 8 hours of battery life – it’s a great PC for someone looking for style and functionality.

To participate in the Tech Tuesday Live Twitter Chat:

1. Join us from 12-1 PT (3-4 ET) on Twitter
2. Follow the hashtag #winchat
3. Follow @windows, @kristinalibby, @brandonleblanc, @daniellaycock, and @windowsblog to make sure you get the whole picture.
4. Answer Q1-Q5 to be eligible for the grand prize. Full legal terms and conditions here.

Note we will only be talking about the outlined topic each week and we will not be answering questions outside those topics. Questions for this week may include: How much does the Lenovo U310 weigh? Where can I purchase this PC model? How much memory does it have?

The new Bing!

Disney Kinect titles & Make a Wish

Microsoft Soundwave

360's for cheap

The new Bing!  [06:14]

Disney Kinect titles & Make a Wish [02:25]

Microsoft Soundwave  [11:40]

360's for cheap  [16:00]

Earlier today Microsoft Trustworthy Computing announced the results of a study showing the security benefits U.S. small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) gain from cloud computing. In this study we found that U.S. SMBs using the cloud had a comparative advantage over U.S. SMBs not using the cloud in the area of security efficiency.

I’m pleased to announce that U.S. SMBs aren’t alone in seeing improved security efficiencies from using the cloud. New data shows SMBs in Singapore have had similar experiences

Download: What’s New with LightSwitch in Visual Studio 11

(Click the “register” button, log in, and then select “download”.)

In the session we built an application called “Media Mate” that connects to the Netflix OData source to keep track of favorite movies and music. I showed off new features around all our OData work like how to consume external OData services. I also demonstrated how LightSwitch creates its own OData services adhering to your business rules and security settings so that other clients on different platforms can access your middle-tier easily and securely. I showed off some of the new UI enhancements and business types as well as some of the new deployment enhancements. I attached the presentation slides to the bottom of this post.

One demo hiccup happened where I messed up the search ability over the Netflix data. Doh! What I ended up doing is unchecking the IsSearchable property on the Title entity in the data designer which subsequently disabled the searching on the screen. So it was user error, not a beta bug ;-). At any rate, I think folks got the point. By the way, there are a lot of things you can do to improve search query performance in LightSwitch and I’ll follow up with a post about that soon.

I also demonstrated the updated Contoso Construction sample that you can download here:

Contoso Construction - LightSwitch Advanced Sample (Visual Studio 11 Beta)

For more information on the new features I demonstrated please see:

• LightSwitch in Visual Studio 11 Beta Resources
• Enhance Your LightSwitch Applications with OData
• Creating and Consuming LightSwitch OData Services
• LightSwitch Companion Client Examples using OData
• LightSwitch Architecture: OData

• This post goes into the details around the multi-monitor experience for Windows 8. From the very first public release and demonstrations of Windows 8 we have shown improvements over Windows 7 for multi-monitor scenarios and have shown how we support new Metro style apps within a multi-monitor environment. We have continued to develop and refine features for multiple monitors and have significantly enhanced the experience as we move to our next milestone, the Release Preview. This post provides a bit of a preview of work that was not yet complete at the Consumer Preview, and serves as a reminder that the Developer Preview and Consumer Preview were works in progress. Mark Yalovsky, a lead program manager on our User Experience team, authored this post.
  --Steven

  Connecting multiple monitors to a PC is one of the easiest ways to enhance your Windows experience. Plug in a second monitor and you instantly double your working surface. I've had a multi-monitor setup for the past 10 years; once you start using multiple monitors, you’ll never want to go back to your old setup. A multi-monitor setup allows you to be more productive by having more windows across multiple screens. We’re very excited about the ease at which tablets in Windows 8 will be able to support large screen and high resolution monitors (often through HDMI connectors), as this opens up a broad range of exciting new scenarios.

  When we embarked on planning Windows 8, enhancing multi-monitor functionality was an important area to improve. A multiple monitor setup is certainly more common today than they used to be, and many technical professionals (developers, graphics professionals, architects, etc.) have started using it. Today, support for multiple monitors is standard on virtually all PC hardware, and monitor prices are at an all-time low (as of writing this post, you can purchase a 21” LED display in the $140 USD range). As a result, we continue to see increased adoption of multi-monitor configurations, both by enthusiasts and technical professionals.

  Data collected through the Windows Feedback Program indicates that approximately 14% of desktop PCs and approximately 5% of laptop PCs have run with multiple monitors.  It is important to note that this particular opt-in data set is enthusiast-leaning so represents the high end of usage (relative to previously shared measures that look at the entire universe of PCs), but we thought we would share this data set to reinforce another data source.

  Number of monitors	Desktop PC	Laptop PC
  1	85.32%	95.64%
  2	13.48%	4.36%
  3	0.85%	0.00%
  4	0.34%	0.00%

  We recognize that a key value of using multiple monitor]]> Mon, 14 May 2012 19:00:00 GMT The official LinkedIn app for Windows Phone just hit Marketplace. Download it now

  The free app lets you tap all the most popular features of the popular business social network. Search for jobs, see real-time updates from your connections, stay up-to-date with LinkedIn professional groups, and follow company and industry news.

  LinkedIn also makes great use of Windows Phone-only features: Live Tile notifications let you know about new messages, invitations, and LinkedIn Today updates. You can also stay on top of selected professional groups by pinning them as a secondary Live Tile.

  The LinkedIn blog has more on the app.

  

  ]]> Mon, 14 May 2012 18:12:00 GMT It's been way too long since Dare Obasanjo (of RSS Bandit and Carnage4Life fame) has appeared on C9. The last time was several years ago in an interview conducted by me and Scoble on a summer day outside of building 35 on the main MS campus in Redmond. What's Dare been up to since we last spoke? Turns out, quite a bit Dare works on the Live SDK team. They recently shipped the SkyDrive API. If you're not familiar with SkyDrive, it's a cloud-based personal file storage service, allowing users access to any file, anytime, anywhere... (we talk about what exactly that means and how it works in this conversation).
  
  Here we catch up and geek out a bit on SkyDrive (from a developer and consumer's perspective, with an emphasis on the latter, of course), web programming, personal file storage solutions (how do you design a SkyDrive?), the difference between SkyDrive and traditional (local) storage solutions, when to use SkyDrive verus Azure storage, and of course the SkyDrive API.
  
  Tune in. Enjoy. Welcome back to C9, Dare. We'll come see you again!
  ]]> Mon, 14 May 2012 18:00:00 GMT Posted by: Adrienne Hall, General Manager, Trustworthy Computing

  Any conversation I have with a customer that hasn't yet adopted a cloud service includes the topic of security at some point. It isn’t surprising that security frequently tops the list of cloud adoption items; yet I believe it should be on the list of top cloud adoption benefits.

  A common area explored by organizations considering the cloud, small to mid-size businesses, or SMBs, often don’t have the built-in security expertise that larger entities do. This makes it difficult for them to spend time and expertise to assess the benefits of cloud computing.

  In commissioning an independent study with groups of SMBs that both use and do not use cloud services in the U.S., Singapore, Malaysia, India and Hong Kong. We hoped to evaporate, okay – more realistically – lessen, concerns about security for prospective customers. Our goal was to see what, if any, security benefits companies that use the cloud realize, and to better understand the concerns of companies that have not yet adopted cloud services.

  ...(read more)]]> Mon, 14 May 2012 18:00:00 GMT Take a minute out of your day to learn about all the killer new features on your Windows Phone. Trust me, you'll be glad you did
  ]]> Mon, 14 May 2012 17:32:45 GMT Take a minute out of your day to learn about all the killer new features on your Windows Phone. Trust me, you'll be glad you did
  ]]> Mon, 14 May 2012 17:32:45 GMT At Lang.NEXT 2012, several conversations happened in the "social room", which was right next to the room where sessions took place. Our dear friend, Erik Meijer, led many interesting conversations, some of which we are fortunate enough to have caught on camera for C9.

  Here, Erik interviews Donna Malayeri (F# PM and Lang.NEXT speaker chair), Gilad Bracha (Dart) and Luke Hoban (ECMAScript). The conversation spans several topics, of course.
  
  Tune in. Enjoy.

  ]]> Mon, 14 May 2012 14:45:00 GMT read more)]]> Mon, 14 May 2012 02:30:35 GMT This week on Channel 9, Dan and Clint discuss the week's top developer news, including:
  • [0:28] Visual Studio 11 User Interface Updates Coming in RC (Monty Hammontree)
  • [2:05] Announcing Portable Library Tools 2 Beta for Visual Studio 2010 [Mircea] (BCL Team)
  • [3:57] Check out Hilo for Windows 8! (Thomas Petchel), http://hilo.codeplex.com
  • [4:56] Converting to Windows 8 from Windows Phone | Looking back–what would we do differently (12 of 12) (Andreas Hammar, Håkan Reis and Peter von Lochow)
  • [6:09] .NET 4.5 Baby Steps: Series Index (Robert MacLean)
  • [7:13] Visual Studio 2010: Version and update information tool, VersionInfo (Terje Sandstrom)
  • [8:07] Scott Guthrie on Cloud-Powered Revolutions (Jonathan Rozenblit and Scott Guthrie)

  Picks of the Week!

  • Clint's Pick of the Week: [9:06] Wolfenstein 3D Turns 20, iD Showers Gamers With Gratis Goodies
  • Dan's Pick of the Week: [9:50] 'TeleHuman' taps Kinect for 3D holographic videoconferencing
  ]]> Sat, 12 May 2012 02:39:56 GMT