The fact the we shipped pixel shader support in WPF 3.5SP1 was very cool… the fact that you get free software emulation of these effects is even cooler: the HLSL code you write to run super fast on the GPU is JIT compiled and can run nicely on the CPU with no extra effort (even SSE2 optimized).  There is a tutorial on writing pixel shader effects here.

We have build an open source library of effects.  Wickedness incarnate.  Once we are done crunching out Expression Encoder 2 SP1 I can’t wait to play with this stuff and write some effects.  Who knows where it might lead.

The Standout Beta is finally out..  Get it from here:

http://www.erain.com/products/standout/publicbeta/Download.asp

Slowly but surely developers are realizing you can build industrial strength applications on WPF (not just demo eye candy).  The Microsoft Expression family of products are good examples.

Standout, from Electric Rain is another; it has been on the way for a while and has been billed by some as the killer 3rd party WPF application:

StandOut is a software solution enabling business professionals to enter the new era of visually compelling and highly effective presentations.

StandOut brings together the simplicity of editing a slideshow with the impact of a custom presentation that uses motion graphics, professional design and artistic creativity. StandOut helps presenters deliver remarkable communication experiences that get results.

Checkout this walkthrough video: StandOut Walkthrough

My next presentation will be made with this software.

Xceed is releasing a free Datagrid control for WPF.  If you have Dotnet 3.0 installed or are running Vista, you can view an example of the coolness on their website by going here.  As Michael Swanson says, "It's great to see someone moving the Datagrid from the battleship gray days into something that feels designed".  I agree!

Something great happened to me this week.. my free trial of Photoshop expired.  After becoming mildly annoyed, I realized that it presented the perfect opportunity to thunk over to the new order that is WPF.  In the process, I've moved over to Expression Blend and Vectors forever.  I ain't never going back to that nasty bitmap world.

WPF is pretty broad and deep.  If you are putting a toe in the water I'd recommend checking out Lee Brimelow's WPF site: ContentPresenter.com.  He has some great video tutorials up there.

Want to see a real-world WPF App?  Check this out.. a version of Yahoo Messenger written in WPF.  There is a video and you can sign up for availability notifications.