This week I’ve been working on the Background Agents for PictureMe Universe on Windows Phone 7. I had some interesting issues with the Isolated Storage not acting the way I had hoped with regard to being global through my app. That said, this week the “global Isolated Storage” issue went away by loading a fresh version of PictureMe Universe (app) onto the device and stopping the debugger, then testing. Isolated Storage seems to “reset” once I stop debugging. So for example, if you have an application where you’d like the user to “sign up” and then save some data for a persistent login every time the user returns to the app, I recommend stopping the debugger (once you have the other nuances smoothed out already) to test the persistent login functionality. Hope this helps someone experiencing the same issue.

For more information on Windows Phone 7 Isolated Storage see: Isolated Storage Tutorial

For more information on Windows Phone 7 Background Agents see: Background Agents Tutorial

I thought I’d post quick about what I’ve been working on the past week.

PictureMe Universe

I started working on PictureMe Universe as it’s been an ongoing project and it’d be great to see it completed through “Phase 1″.

On the back of my mind is my project for the Dream.Build.Play competition which I need to have completed next month. That said, I wanted to take a break from it simply to think of some fresh functionality ideas.

Cora is also on the back of my mind for now as I’m still working on perfecting “her” algorithm.

Are you creating an app for Windows Phone 7 that will have a login functionality (client to server (yes/no) to client)? If yes, then you likely want to allow the user to store their credentials so the loginpage.xaml doesn’t appear each time the user opens the app on the phone. Peter Torr, Microsoft, has posted a nice example of how to achieve this desired functionality. See: Redirecting an initial navigation (login example)

- How to add vertical level scrolling for each level of the XNA 4.0 Platformer Starter Kit – Windows Phone 7

- How to add horizontal level scrolling for each level of the XNA 4.0 Platformer Starter Kit – Windows Phone 7

- How to customize a level designer application to create levels faster for the XNA 4.0 Platformer Starter Kit – Windows Phone 7

- How to create custom level tiles in Adobe Photoshop for the XNA 4.0 Platformer Starter Kit – Windows Phone 7

- How to merge the Game State Management Starter Kit with the XNA 4.0 Platformer Starter Kit – Windows Phone 7

- How to add custom splash screens for the XNA 4.0 Platformer Starter Kit – Windows Phone 7

- How to add custom touch input buttons to the phone screen for the XNA 4.0 Platformer Starter Kit – Windows Phone 7

- How to create custom sprite animations to the XNA 4.0 Platformer Starter Kit – Windows Phone 7

- How to add a double jump character feature to the XNA 4.0 Platformer Starter Kit – Windows Phone 7

- How to add a power up for the player to the XNA 4.0 Platformer Starter Kit – Windows Phone 7

- How to create a parallax scrolling effect for the level backgrounds in the XNA 4.0 Platformer Starter Kit – Windows Phone 7

- How to create custom level backgrounds in Adobe Photoshop for the XNA 4.0 Platformer Starter Kit – Windows Phone 7

In this video, I share how to add independent level background music to further enhance the Platformer Starter Kit.

In this video, I share how to enhance the out of the box Platformer Starter Kit by adding additional levels.

In this video, I share how to download the Platformer Starter Kit that will be used in my video tutorials on enhancing the Platformer Starter Kit.

I have found that when I submit, certify, and publish app updates from App Hub (Windows Phone 7 area) that they don’t always appear on the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace website immediately. That said, if you’re eager to confirm that your update truly went to market but do not have a Windows Phone 7 (yet), use the link below and run the app. Note: You will not be able to download your app, only view it in the Marketplace.

Download here: Marketplace Emulator Solution (Visual Studio 2010)

I am very excited about the Windows 8 store. As a developer this means that you will have an opportunity for your app reach a larger population of potential users than that of Apple Inc. and Google’s Android users combined.

The great news doesn’t end there; the extra icing on the cake shows up once your app has sold $25,000 worth of app downloads. With Microsoft’s Windows 8 store, instead of the typical 70% rate you’d get from the iTunes app store or the Android Market, you’re boosted to 80% returns on each sale moving forward.