Today we are proud to announce that we have just released Web.Maps.VE v3.0!

Download FREE Edition!

One of the most notable things about this new version release is that it's completely FREE to use for Non-Commercial purposes.

There are a few new things in this latest release, but the most significant are the following performance updates:

• Microsoft CDN (Content Delivery Network) Support Added. This helps improve the Bing Maps content delivery speed by up to 82%
• JavaScript Performance Optimizations. All the JavaScript code internally within the control has been optimized to increase the overall speed of the Web.Maps.VE Map controls functionality.

Check out the following link to see what has all been included in this release:
https://simplovation.com/page/webmapsve30/roadmap.aspx

Also, this new version release is a completely FREE upgrade to all existing customers who have already purchased Web.Maps.VE v2.0. If you have previously purchased v2.0, then there is nothing required to obtain your v3.0 license other than going to the "My Licenses" page to download the DLL and License Activation File. If for some reason you have trouble obtaining your Free Upgrade to v3.0, please let us know and we'll get it activated as soon as possible.

Thank you for your continued support in Web.Maps.VE and Simplovation!

Chris Pietschmann
Owner, Simplovation LLC
Microsoft MVP - Windows Live Platform
http://simplovation.com
http://pietschsoft.com

Since both Web.Maps.VE v2.0 and the AjaxControlToolkit are both built on top of ASP.NET AJAX, they compliment each other very well when used together to easily create some very dynamic user experiences. One of the requests we've gotten a few times is to give an example of how to show a Popup over the Map when a user clicks on a specific pushpin. This example demonstrates just such an example using both Web.Maps.VE v2.0 and the AjaxControlToolkit's ModalPopupExtender control.

Download Source Code: WebMapsVE_2.0_PopupWindowDemo.zip (753.58 kb)

This demo website also allows you to easily manipulate the Pushpins/Shapes on the Map in the following ways:

1. Left Click an Existing Pushpin to Edit it's Title and Description using a Popup Dialog
   
2. Left Click to Add a New Pushpin and enter the Pushpins Title and Description using a Popup Dialog 
3. Hold the Control (Ctrl) Key while Left Clicking on an Existing Pushpin to Delete it from the Map

The total source code for this example is pretty short, and it demonstrates how to perform the above mentioned actions all from within Server-Side .NET code. There is actually No JavaScript written to wire everything up with this example.

Also, once you download this demo website, you'll need to do the following 2 things before you can Hit Run within Visual Studio:

1. Download Web.Maps.VE v2.0 from http://simplovation.com/download
2. Copy the "Simplovation.Web.Maps.VE.dll" file into the "Bin"
   folder within this demo website.
   

 

We just updated the Simplovation Support Forums to use the jHtmlArea HTML WYSIWYG Editor instead of FreeTextBox for posting new threads and replies. The jHtmlArea editor is written on top of jQuery and is a really lightweight HTML WYSIWYG editor that turns any HTML TextArea into a nice HTML WYSIWYG Editor with only one line of code.

Yesterday, Microsoft announced that its Live Search, Live Search Maps and Virtual Earth products will be rebranded to be under the "Bing" product name / branding. Live Search Maps will now be called Bing Maps, and Microsoft Virtual Earth will now be called "Bing Maps for Enterprise."

How does this relate to Simplovation and Web.Maps.VE?

Simply put, the transition from "Virtual Earth" to "Bing Maps for Enterprise" will be seamless. You will not need to download any updates from us to keep your maps working after the branding has changed. The Bing Maps for Enteprise JavaScript API will be downloaded from the existing URL that it is toda; the only difference is they will be changing the logo displayed on the map from "Virtual Earth" to say "Bing Maps" or "Bing Maps for Enterprise".

Also, we will not be making any breaking changes to Web.Maps.VE like changing the namespaces or product name. Web.Maps.VE v1.0 and v2.0 will remain "Web.Maps.VE" and the namespace will remain "Simplovation.Web.Maps.VE."

More Information:

Rebranding Microsoft Virtual Earth To...

The Simplovation Support Services will be closed April 24th until May 4th, 2009. You are still free to post questions/answers in the Forums, but we will be unable to post answers and reply to emails during this time. Support will resume again on May 4th; at which time we will work to get back to your questions as soon as we can. Also, all sales inquiries will not be replied to until on or after May 4th.

Thanks for your patients and understanding during this time.

Chris Pietschmann
Owner, Simplovation LLC
Microsoft MVP - Windows Live Platform

We have just launched a new Simplovation Company Blog, and it will replace the existing blog. The new blog utilizes the awesome BlogEngine.NET open source blogging engine software, and will allow us to better provide news, content and other support related articles to our customers.

New Url: http://blog.simplovation.com

Rss Feed: http://feeds2.feedburner.com/simplovation

The Simplovation Support Services will be closed Feb. 27th through Mar. 6th. You are still free to post questions/answers in the Forums, but we will be unable to post answers and reply to emails during this time. Support will resume again on Mar. 9th; at which time we will work to get back to your questions as soon as we can. Also, all sales inquiries will not be replied to until on or after Mar. 9th.

The reason support will be closed is because I (Chris Pietschmann) will be attending the 2009 MVP Global Summit out in Seattle, WA.

Thanks for your patients and understanding during this time.

Chris Pietschmann
Owner, Simplovation LLC
Microsoft MVP - Windows Live Platform

To make it even easier to keep up to date on the latest Simplovation company/product news we have created a Twitter account.

You can follow us here: http://twitter.com/simplovation

Notice to all customers, Simplovation Support services will be closed April 8 - 17, 2008. The Simplovation website will still be available during this time, but we will not be able to respond to any support questions and inquiries during this time. We will work to respond to any support questions and inquiries as soon as possible after the 17th.

We thank you for your cooperation during this time.

Chris Pietschmann
Owner, Simplovation LLC
Microsoft MVP - Virtual Earth

Today, we launched the new Simplovation Product News and Announcements Blog. This blog will consolidate all Simplovation news and product announcements into one place. Also, since it's a blog, you can subscribe to the RSS feed to always stay up to date on the latest news.