As developers we can’t have enough documentation at our hands, right? However, I am very curious to find out what kind of documentation works best for you. Should we just document all API’s extensively or does it make more sense to provide you with a lot of sample code? After all, even though Windows Mobile devices are small, you can create large and sometimes also complex applications for those devices. With technology moving faster and faster, it is not that much of a deal to create videos actually showing you how to develop applications, or highlight some new technology. We are doing exactly that in the How-Do-I videos for devices series. Of course we also have the possibility to create a large series of webcasts for you, targeting specific challenges Windows Mobile developers have to deal with. The advantage of webcasts is that you can attend them live and thus ask your questions immediately to the presenter. There is also the possibility to create a number of white papers, documenting how to create certain applications, as Microsoft nicely did with the new Windows Mobile LOB Solution Accelerator 2008. However, I would love for us to come with a brand new approach to documentation. Something different, something fun to work on and something fun to learn from. This started me thinking. What if there is a way in which we can combine all kinds of documentation together. What if we can combine the strength of MSDN, Channel 9, Facebook and maybe more cool websites, products and technologies. I can’t wait to have some sort of interactive documentation of high quality available that can really help you create better applications for Windows Mobile devices. Over the upcoming weeks I will continue thinking about this and hopefully talk to lots of people. The most important goal is to provide you with the best documentation you have ever seen around one single technology. My personal goal is of course that it is fun to work on something ambitious like this. And in the end, everybody will hopefully benefit, making our platform the best ever, not just to run applications and give end users a great experience, but also to enable you to create new, innovative killer applications for Windows Mobile devices.

Maarten Struys