For a lot of us WPF is still a new technology. There are a few commercial applications out there, a few component suites... but it is still not common in the "typical windows app".

I was looking for blog entries by MSFT staff to find out when the first releases were published. And it looks like it was around 2003/2004. The interesting question would be: When did the development process for WPF start? I don't know when the whole process started but you can look for when the implementation of the real thing (not counting first test releases) started in BamlRecordReader.cs (available via .net 3.5 source code in VS 2008):

/*****************************************\
*
* File: BamlRecordReader.cs
*
* Purpose: Main class to handle reading a Baml file
*
* History:
* 6/06/01: [...] Created
* [...]
\*****************************************/

Baml is the binary representation of XAML. As there were two different "compiled" versions of XAML (CAML & BAML) available in the first bits of WPF we can assume that the Baml classes were one of the first classes (I don't know if CAML was used before BAML but as I don't have any reference source for CAML [CAML was discontinued after the first bits] I cannot event check the dates in there).

Looks like the WPF project was well underway in mid-2001 (to get a feeling: XP was release 10/25/2001).

Was the WPF project already started in the 90's? If yes, it would be more than interessting to see what's currently developed within MSFT...

Don't take the dates for sure. This is just guessing from the external world and could be all wrong.

 - tobias

The SDK used to create the New York Times Reader (as an example) fomerly known as "Reader SDK" is now available as "Syndicated Client Starter Kit" from windowsclient.net: http://windowsclient.net/wpf/starter-kits/sce.aspx.

Get more information concerning the SDK from Tim Sneath: http://blogs.msdn.com/tims/archive/2008/01/16/we-ve-released-the-news-reader-sdk.aspx

I've tried the MSDN reader sample and was fairly impressed. Besides some problems in getting the content to my pc (might be based on problems with the Subscription Center) the reader worked very well and the layout is WPF par excellence.

Let me save you some time ;).

I had a hard time of finding all the information I needed to create a really usable wpf custom control (user defined templates etc.). Looks like Charles Petzold had to go the same way and was keen enough to write an article for MSDN mag.

So if you want to go the custom control route, read the article at http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/08/01/Foundations/default.aspx before you start. It's quite easy once you got all the information in place.

Another interesting links, even if you are looking for tipps on how to integrate your new control nicely into all the editors out there (VS 2008, Blend, etc.): http://forums.microsoft.com/MSDN/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=2125195&SiteID=1

BTW: Never set

within your custom control just because your Bindings within the generic.xaml template doesn't work. Take the proper approach:

Microsoft's server are getting a personality. As Windows Server 2008 entered ESCROW a few weeks ago it looks like the bits are getting ready. Microsoft.com being one of the largest web pages in today's Internet (in case of unique hits) one can say that it might be its own testbed for new servers.

Check out the new ad from MSFT: Loneserver (http://www.loneserver.com). The interesting part -besides all the fun- is that a build of longhorn was already used in '05 for hosting parts of Microsoft.com.

What would be the first step of getting ready for .net 3.5? 
Correct: Update your posters!

Get rid of the old types & classes posters now and replace it with a freshly printed version 3.5 poster. Even the visualization of the red/green and blue bits has changed so be prepared for the next wave...

 Poster download: http://download.microsoft.com/download/4/a/3/4a3c7c55-84ab-4588-84a4-f96424a7d82d/NET35_Namespaces_Poster_LORES.pdf

 Source: http://blogs.msdn.com/pandrew/archive/2007/11/02/announcing-the-net-framework-3-5-commonly-used-types-and-namespaces-poster.aspx.