I've been using a Zebra QL240 Plus printer today to generate pallet labels.

This has saved me a tonne of time.   I've been creating my labels using Label Vista,   the bundled software that comes with Zebra printers.

Get the labels looking nice.   Test print them by hooking up a printer on your PC using USB.

Now here comes the time saving bit.    Save the label file in Label Vista.    Now add the resultant LBL file as content to your compact framework application's project file.    Then simply read the file in code and send it to the appropriate com port.

This way you get all the speed of a nice WYSIWYG environment, with all of the benefit of being able to then use these label format as is, in a mobile line of business solution.

I made a further refinement which searches and replaces any text field on my label to substitute in my own values.   so xxBARCODE becomes the barcode we want etc.

Please notice,  that I've added an instant messaging link on the front page of my blog.  

I'm using one of the new features of Live.    Link is Here.

I'm not sure if this is a good idea yet or not...  

-41.241987 174.796904 TO 51.4420 0.75462

Thanks to my good friend Gareth Purchas,   the SQL Compact sync mission,   has just stepped up a gear.  

Tonight we did a SQL Compact sync, to Wellington in New Zealand.    That's a new record.

You can see the Virtual Earth Map by clicking here

I've been on a bit of a mission for the past few days.    A friend of mine asked how easy it would be to build a system that accepted text messages and was able to respond back to the sender.   So I got thinking,   radio stations and TV do this all the time.   Text "VOTE BOB",  to 83232332 to evict Bob from the Big Brother House.    Or nightclubs let you text the DJ for what to play next.     So how could you build a simple desktop application that could process and respond to text messages?     I'm going to take the next few posts to cover a solution to this problem.

I'm sure, you can see where this all going; doing windows mobile line of business we have all the pieces.    Firstly using SMS message interception,  we are able to capture any incoming text message and process it ourselves.    So first job was to build a Windows Mobile Line Of Business application to listen to the incoming texts.   Here's one that I prepared earlier -

This application captures any incoming text message with the magic bit of Compact Framework code -

            interceptor = new MessageInterceptor();
            interceptor.InterceptionAction = InterceptionAction.NotifyAndDelete;
            interceptor.MessageReceived += new MessageInterceptorEventHandler(interceptor_MessageReceived);

Next step we need to pass the contents of any text message over to a desktop PC for processing.    Now I now this isn't truly in the spirit of mobile line of business, where we normally do everything on the device,  but at 2am in a crowded nightclub, its probably better to pass the messages over to a desktop PC for handling.   Of course their are many ways to achieve the Windows Mobile to desktop connectivity.  I opted in the end for raw TCP/IP socket programming, which lets me use the setup either over an ActiveSync/Windows Mobile Device Centre with a cable from the mobile device or  a wireless connection.    

Here's the desktop side of things,    listening for incoming messages.

Now its not pretty 'yet'  and I haven't got it displaying a bar graph or counting votes,  but the mechanism for collecting and responding to text messages is all in place.

So lets give it a run.    Now being frugal  I thought I'd save myself lots of cash and use the Windows Mobile 6 SDK, Cellular emulator to send fake text messages to my phone emulator.    So I've sent "Vote Bob", to my phone.       I get an text message response back to me, saying "Thank you for you're vote".   

The desktop application just for proof of concept also pops up each received text message, as follows -

More over the next few posts.  Send me a mail if you are interested in the complete source of this application.

Nick Randolph (fellow device dev MVP) and I have just achieved something this evening/morning (depending on timezone).

We have used SQL Compact to synchronise a database all the way from Sidney Australia to the Sheerness UK.   That's a distance of 10,527 miles.

Here's the screenshot showing the synchronisation completing perfectly.

Thanks to Capespan's Kevin Cracknell's database that provided the sync. target.

You can see the Virtual Earth Map by clicking here

So just to recap,   this shows that a partially connected database application can be used with a back-end database running 10,527 miles away.

So,  like a lot of developers I know I have a failing.   I suffer from the if I didn't write it then I can't be bothered to go investigate someone else's code.   This rather selfish trait   was kicked into sharp focus this week when I saw Rob Tiffany demonstrate the Windows Mobile 2008 Accelerator.   He showed a nice clean set of building blocks for building some very cool mobile line of business applications.

Look at Rob's Blog Here

Download the accelerator Here

I'm battling my failings and I can clearly see that this is a great set of starting tools for anyone doing Mobile LOB.

I'm sorry, the names are not even mentioned to protect the not so innocent..

So,   after a few glasses of Microsoft provided free wine,  I’m going to present what I think is the ultimate in geek story.

I’m sitting around a square boardroom table with the great and the good from both Microsoft and the MVP camp.   We’re discussing the lower level details of SQL Compact.   The large American fellow in front of me proceeds to effectively set up what can only be described as a ‘DataCentre’ in front of my very eyes.

First he unloads two laptops (top of the range Vaio and Dell Brick)

Followed by an ESata 2TB Raid array.

Followed by 5 USB external hard-drives

Plugs in Esata card to laptop

Plugs in USB hub

He is then asked if he has enough kit on the table (by a joking and scared) moderator for our group.

Oh no.  This is just the beginning.

Power supplies start getting plugged in.

Low voltage flight adapters, USB cables...

Jawbone headsets gets put into this guys ears.

He then caps the whole experience when the question gets raised in the session about Mac compatibility by offering to present the MacBook in his bag.

There’s me sitting just lapping it up, with my black and red book and an Anglia pen.

Big respect...  You know who you are....

So,  I'm in Seattle at the MVP summit.    This is a big event with some 3000 MVP's travelling in  worldwide.

This is the first hotel I've ever stayed in with a Starbucks coffee machine in the room...