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...and as you can see, no funky ??? insertion (this post also posted using Alt-S.

I've installed and started using IE9, and the behavior went away, but I was getting it in both Chrome and FF, seemingly when I'd use Alt-S to post, instead of clicking the Post button.  But I'm using Alt-S to post this...

I have Crytonomicon, but haven't read it yet.  Will have to give it a go.

Also, just finished an oldie but a goodie:  a scifi novel by Gerard Klein entitled "Starmaster's Gambit."

I like the "Head First" series, by O'Reilly.

C# coders can play with it and adapt it

The included Card class is quite useful. It'll work with any game that uses the standard 52-card deck of playing cards, and could easily be adapted to other card games. The class can take any size canvas image of 52 playing cards (so long as they're in the same arrangement as the one included as a project resource) and will correctly crop out individual cards. However, I'd recommend that you err on the side of larger images. You can use the "Zoom" SizeMode property for your PictureBoxes, and they'll make a larger image look pretty good, even in a smaller PictureBox; however, trying to "Zoom" small images "up" to fit larger PictureBox width x height doesn't yield such good results.  The best practice is to make your PictureBoxes the exact dimensions that each cropped-out individual card will be.  In my app, this was 119x100, or something close to that.

Here's the canvas pic I used:

[attach=1]

P.S.  I'm using Chrome (but downloading IE9 as I type).  Is Chrome responsible for inserting question marks into my posts?  Or is this some glitch from the migration?  Been noticing this behavior all day.

My pleasure to provide source code.  I may use this project to do a series of C# web-lessons, showing the incremental development of the project, from start to completed app.

Mouser, I carefully went through the source code, and refactored.  If you look at my latest post under Assignment 5, you'll see a summary of changes I've made.  

Thanks, Shades, I fixed the entry under "requirements".

Super stuff, guys!

[NANY 2011 Entry Information]

NANY 2011 Entry Information

Application Name	BlackJack
Version	1.1
Short Description	my implementation of the classic Black Jack card game
Supported OSes	Windows XP forward
Download Link	A link to the game executable (no setup) {won't function if you don't have .NET Framework 4.0 installed} (~117 Kb)
Setup File	A link to the Setup program {will check for absence of .NET Framework 4.0 and download if needed} (419 Kb)
System Requirements	.NET Framework 4.0 installed

Author kyrathaba

Profile page

Kyrathaba DC page

Description
This was a project I did for C# Programming School

Destined to replace those oh-too-flashy Black Jack derivatives that have come out over the years, this minimalist implementation is a breath of fresh air! -- PC Magazine.

What!  This program is FREE!??  A crime, that's what it is!  Someone slap the developer around until he starts showing some sense and charging for this gem of genius! -- Gamasutra


Features


+ a smart-ass card Dealer
+ a functional card Class in the source code
+ ability to place bets of differing amounts based upon the first card you're dealt
+ intuitive GUI
+ source code: download link

Planned Features

+ I may add option for Vegas casino music
+ May add option to change starting Max cash available to player
+ Add ability to whip out a pistol and waste the smart-ass Dealer
+ An option for the Dealer to cheat by using a marked deck of playing cards.

I would appreciate suggestions for future features of the program.

Screenshots

[attachthumb=1]


Usage

Installation

Download and run the Setup installer. Alternatively, download the ZIP file and extract BlackJack.exe wherever you wish. Keep the directory structure intact when unzipping.  Run the program.

Using the Application

The GUI is super-intuitive.

Uninstallation

Use the uninstall Program Files menuitem; or, if you didn't use the setup installer, just delete the extracted file.

No registry entries or INI files are written by the Black Jack program itself.

Known Issues

None.

Nice pic, cthorpe   Reminds me of winters when I was a kid...

What if you like WoW but you don't like the PvP part of it?

MMOs still aren't doing it right, IMO.

+1.  Never enjoyed PvP.  I've always been more oriented to PvE.

It's a bit more than skill though (and I know from wanting the same goal... at least to an extent).  That's the discouraging part... that you can do it forever and still never have a break (just like acting and other entertainment arts).  You have to have an audience, and that's daunting.

Even authors who are now highly successful will generally admit to hundreds of rejected submissions before they achieved recognition.  "I just don't know if I can handle that sort of rejection!" (spoken with the voice of Sheriff Woody from the first Buzz Lightyear movie).

he market is glutted with tons of self-published technical e-books. About 30% are good. The remaining 70% are pitiful and have had the unfortunate effect of damaging the reputation of the entire tech e-book market.

So unless you can interest a publisher (Que, O'Reilly, SAMS, Wrox, Prentice-Hall, APress, etc.) to sign you on, it's going to be a tough sell to the consumer since they don't know you.

Absolutely true!  I can't tell you how frustrating it is to sift through the thousands of free eBooks (PDF, mobi, Kindle, etc.), only to discover that most of what you've downloaded is rubbish.

Sounds like my kind of novel.  I've added it to my wish list.

I've heard Adobe AIR mentioned a lot lately.  What code does it use?  Java?

Been following your progress on this thread, Stoic.  I have to say it:  I'm awed by you C++ gurus.  I'm just now finally starting to understand events and delegates in C#.  Tried delving into C++ a couple years ago, but was quickly overwhelmed and ran whimpering  back into my C# Cave

Hmm, I have some background with QuickBASIC, so I think I could pick up RealBASIC pretty easily.  Especially now that I have some OOP background with C#.  I'm just wondering if the cost would be worth it, to me personally.  It looks like you have to get at least the "Pro" version in order to be able to deploy to all three major platforms.  Not sure I want to layout the cash right now.  Carol, I'd be interested in hearing your impressions if you do pursue this avenue of development.

From JavaJones: Wikileaks is showing that the people and organizations we have entrusted with maintaining the structure of our society and the sanctity of our lives and rights have abused that trust, time and again.

Agree!

From Renegade: "...with enough "tattling"...companies would be forced to behave more ethically."

Agree!!

My dream is to be a novelist.  Sit at home in my underwear (well, okay, add a bathrobe when family members are home with me) and write books for a living.  Trouble is, to make enough as an author to live comfortably, you've got to be quite popular which, in turn, probably requires skills above the level of those I possess.

But wow, don't those ads sound like something you'd see in xxx spam?

"1 ridiculously huge [????] a day."
"Watch as this woman is mercilessly [????] to her limits!"

LMAO!

Unfortunately, we're living in a time where accountability is selectively rather than universally enforced.  I myself am held accountable at my place of work, but our CEO is protected by the corrupt chairman of the board.  Same thing in government.  The little guy gets the shaft, but wherever accountability would adversely affect the truly wealthy or politically powerful, it is conveniently subverted.

Mind-boggling!

National Public Radio, when I have the time.  Otherwise, I catch about 10 minutes a week of "nightly news" when my wife channel-surfs to one of the major networks to catch the weather.

I lean toward the NANY version being Free / Donationware for its life (no time-limit, no nag screen after a period of time).

There is nothing stopping further development happening after NANY and a paid version(s) released at a later date.

+1.

My wife and I are managing to live within our means, even beneath our means.  So money matters aren't particularly stressful.  But I would dearly love to have the kind of freedom that the article in the OP talks about.

Is the minimalist lifestyle described in this Lifehacker article really attainable?  Anyone here successfully doing it?