Got this email from Markus Egger, of Code Magazine fame, and thought I would share. Very cool!
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We have deployed our first released version of Xamalot (www.Xamalot.com). Xamalot is basically a site for XAML based art assets, in particular – currently – cliparts. (We will add skins and templates and Shaders and… later as well).
Basically, this effort is meant to give developers and designers access to assets in a format they need. In theory, everyone is always told to use vector based graphics in WPF and Silverlight applications. In the real world, most people do not know where to get this from or how to convert existing vector art from formats like AI or SVG. As a result, most of the WPF and Silverlight apps I see use bitmap images for just about everything. Not good. Hopefully, we can help fix this.
So what we currently have on Xamalot.com is a collection of cliparts available in XAML Canvas and XAML Brush formats. (In addition clipart can also usually be downloaded in SVG format, as well as various bitmap formats, which are created on the fly, allowing for high-quality scaling). We currently have some 13,000 cliparts, and we are working with various partners (in particular OpenClipart.org but we are working on adding others, and we are also creating original content ourselves) and are importing more. The goal is to get to 30,000+ in the not too distant future (all free).
So one of the things that is unusual about Xamalot is that we natively deal in XAML and not some other format. The second thing that is unusual is that we also provide some tools around the art. For instance, if you want a XAML Canvas but would rather have it usable as a UserControl, then you can simply pick this option. Or if you want a DrawingBrush, but want to make sure it is properly formatted for resource dictionary use, with various secondary resources broken out, you can do that too. Don’t like how a brush stretches? The site’s tools allow you to change it on the fly. Need a PNG for some reason and need it at a certain size? We will create it on the fly at high quality based on the vector information we have.
So I think that is cool and already very valuable for a lot of people. But we have a lot more plans for the future. We will do a lot more with animations in our art and provide tools to pick what kinds of animations are desired. For instance a clipart may have 5 animations associated with itself, but you want only 3 and you want different triggers or no automatic triggers. We will give you tools for that. We will also improve our color handling capabilities. So if you see an icon you like but it is red and all your icons follow a blue theme, then we will make it easy for you to a) change the colors and b) pick up color resources you already have. We are also planning better sizing operations directly on the art, so you don’t always have to transform canvases, which can be a pain.
Furthermore, we plan to extend what we offer by adding control templates, entire skins, LighSwitch skins, and Shaders ready to use in WPF and Silverlight.
Also, at some point, not everything will be free. The clipart that is currently there will always remain free, but we may add premium options later. In fact, we want to allow people to upload and sell their stuff on our site. So we want to turn this into a XAML marketplace. Have a cool skin? Make it available on Xamalot.com and make a buck or two. That’s the basic idea. We may also add some premium tooling options. So while the clipart will always remain free, it is not out of the question that we may take a small fee (I am thinking $9.99 or $19.99 a year or something inexpensive like that) for some real funky tooling. For instance, we may create a Visual Studio AddIn that allows you to add assets right to your projects, and that would be reserved for premium members. But anyway: That’s down the road.
So there you have it! I’d be interested to hear your thoughts. Also, we are trying to spread the word about this. So if you can tweet or blog about this or help us spread the love in any other way, it would be greatly appreciated! J
BTW: We also have a Facebook page: www.Facebook.com/Xamalot
Regards,
Markus
Markus Egger
President and CSA, EPS Software Corp. - www.eps-software.com
Publisher, CODE Magazine - www.codemag.com
CSA, Tower48 Software Escrow – www.tower48.com
CSA, Xiine - www.xiine.com
Microsoft Regional Director (RD)
Microsoft MVP since 1995
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