Updated batch installer for Telerik products

As you may recall, with the Q3 2010 release, I created a simple but useful PowerShell script that automates the process of updating your complete Telerik Ultimate Collection toolbox. In short, the script automatically uninstalls all old Telerik installs and then silently runs the MSI installers for all of the new bits. I have updated the script to now work with the Q1 2011 bits!

Usage Reminder

You can review the full overview in the original script post as the core behavior of this PowerShell script has not changed much to support Q1. To use this batch installer, simply:

1. Download all of the Q1 2011 MSI installers
• Place them in a single folder (by default, I expect a path of "C:\Program Files (x86)\Telerik\Downloads\Q1 2011\")
2. Download the latest PowerShell script updated for Q1
3. Run the script!
• All pre-Q1 Telerik installs will be removed and all Q1 MSIs that you have downloaded will be installed

You can also always re-run the script and it will only uninstall pre-Q1 installs and only install Q1 bits that are not already installed. In other words, rerunning the script won't uninstall everything and reinstall everything (unless you force it to do that, which is an option when editing the script). This is useful if, for example, an uninstaller fails the first time. Just re-run the batch script to try the uninstaller again.

Download the Script

That's pretty much all there is to it. This is a manual, repetitive task time saver for those of you that, like me, want to update your system or VMs to have all of the latest and great Telerik bits. If you have a clean system with no installs, you can also use this script to quickly string together installs of all Ultimate Collection tools.

Download the updated Q1 2011 batch installer script

Q1 2011 Overview Video on Telerik TV

In case you missed the epic Q1 2011 What's New release overview video, I bring it to you directly for your viewing pleasure. Get a quick 4-minute snapshot of what's new in Q1 so you know where to start looking when you download the new bits. And witness my first travel via a Star Trek-esque transporter.

Watch the Q1 2011 overview video in full HD on Telerik TV

Join the Q1 2011 Webinar Week

Hot on the heels of today's release news, I want to invite you to join the Telerik Evangelists next week for another info-packed release week webinar series. With 10 updated products to review in your Telerik Ultimate Collection, we know you need some help figuring-out which of the updates will be the most beneficial to your daily work. The Release Week Webinars are your guide.

Registrations are already very high for next week's event- I fully expect we'll hit the 1,000 person attendee limit of GoToWebinar- but don't let that discourage you. There are lots of events next week (March 21 - 25) you can attend live:

• MONDAY
  What's New in Telerik Web Tools (AJAX/MVC/Silverlight)
  
• TUESDAY
  What's New in Telerik Desktop/Phone Tools (WinForms/WPF/Windows Phone)
  
• WEDNESDAY
  What's New in Telerik Power Tools (JustCode/JustMock)
  
• THURSDAY - 2 events!
  What's New in Telerik Reporting (11 AM)
  What's New in Telerik Data Tools (2 PM)
  
• FRIDAY - Grand Finale
  Making the Most of the Telerik Toolbox (integration)

The webinars on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday will be done live twice each day: once at 11 AM Eastern (for US and European customers) and once at 10 PM Eastern (for India/Asia-Pacific...or night owls in the US). To convert the local event time to your timezone, try this handy online timezone conversion.

And we've got prizes! For each webinar, we will be giving away a Telerik Ultimate Collection (our $2,000 bundle) to a randomly selected live attendee.

Finally, let me urge you to join us for the special Friday event. We've expanded the "Conference Tracker" integration app to feature the Telerik controls for WIndows Phone, ASP.NET MVC, ASP.NET AJAX, Silverlight, OpenAccess ORM, Telerik Reporting, WebUI Test Studio, TeamPulse, Sitefinity...pretty much everything in the Telerik portfolio to show you how the tools work great together for building applications. Friday's event will walk you through it all!

Register for the Q1 Release Week Webinar series!

Q1 2011 available today

It's time for the first Telerik release of 2011, and I'm confident you won't be disappointed with the new things you'll find in today's bits. Q1 2011 is available today, delivering updates to 10 (10!) Telerik products. If you have a Telerik subscription (and really, you should with Telerik delivering 3 major releases every year), point your download managers at Telerik.com, start pulling the new bits, and then we can continue. I'll wait.

There are so many things happening in Q1 that I can't even begin to highlight them all, but I will attempt to call a few "big" things to your attention. First, let's start with the "headline" release news:

• RadControls for Windows Phone - With Q1, we are shipping the official v1 RadControls for WinPhone, which now include data visualization and a set of UI tools that have been built from scratch and heavily optimized for phone performance. To welcome the release, you can buy the RadControls for WinPhone (if you don't have a Premium or Ultimate bundle) for just $99!
• JustCode Decompiler - This feature is incredible (and fun!). In Q1, JustCode adds a built-in decompiling feature that makes it easy to browse to the source of any assembly just as easily as you go to definition for your own types. No more need for a separate program. No more need for losing focus or context. Just go to definition and decompile with JustCode.
• OpenAccess ORM Designer - OpenAccess ORM continues to evolve in Q1 with the goal of making the process of working with your data as easy as possible without taking away your options for optimization and configuration. To do that, we're shipping an all new designer that is more polished and more powerful; we're shipping a new Entity Framework converter to make it easy to move to OpenAccess; we're shipping an OpenAccess upgrade tool to help you move your old OpenAccess projects to new OpenAccess; and we're adding FULL (i.e. not Express) SQL Server support to OpenAccess ORM Free Edition!

Those highlights alone are huge, but they are not even the full tip of the allegorical iceberg. Let's look at some of the other cool things available in today's release:

• RadControls for Silverlight Tons of new controls come to Silverlight Q1, including new DataForm, DomainDataSource, Masked Input, and Spell Checker, plus major improvements in performance.
• RadControls for ASP.NET AJAX The AJAX controls also get new controls in Q1, such as the big new RadRibbonBar, and also add useful touch-and-drag support so all controls can work on mobile devices.
• RadControls for WinForms While WinForms may not be the newest technology in the .NET shed, we know you love it, use it, and want better tools for it. And Telerik continues to deliver in Q1, adding a new RadWizard control, Backstage view to RadRibbonBar, and full MSAA support to all RadControls for WinForms.
• RadControls for WPF Obviously, many of the updates for WPF are echos of what's new in Silverlight (shared code base), but uniquely new in Q1 is the official release of RadRichTextBox for WPF. If you've not checked this control out, you should. It does an incredible job of delivering a Word-like editing experience you can integrate in to your WPF app.

And there is still more. The Telerik Extensions for ASP.NET MVC, Telerik Reporting, and JustMock are also being updated in Q1 with new controls/features/improvements. Huge release. Huge value. Q1 2011.

Download the bits today and start enjoying the improvements. Why today? Because we have even more value coming in April with the WebUI Test Studio and TeamPulse releases, and a few top secret products preparing to debut! Stay tuned...

Join me at DevConnections for HTML5

Looking to get a better grasp on HTML5 and CSS3? I hope so! If you've only casually looked at these technologies, 2011 needs to be the year you start to get more in-depth. With the impending release of IE9, the soon to arrive Firefox 4 (and the expected FF 5, 6, and 7 this year), and the near constant updates of Chrome, the world of HTML5-enabled browsers is hitting critical mass. Don't get left behind in the next major wave of web development technologies!

You can jumpstart your HTML5/CSS3 learning by joining me at the upcoming DevConnections conference in Orlando. I'll be doing a half-day HTML5/CSS3 pre-conference workshop, and two sessions during the conference on these topics. It's the perfect way to learn HTML5, enjoy some sunny Florida heat, and maybe visit some famous Orlando destinations (work hard, play hard).

What do you need to do?

Register for DevConnections. Book a quick trip to Orlando. And join my workshop and sessions for some fun HTML5/CSS3 learning.