WPF Book Update and Icons

I'm almost half-way throught the Pro WPF in C# 2008 and I must say that it is well worth every penny.  WPF is not just some add-on to .NET, it is a major organ and this book gives you great insight into its workings.  I especially like the authors frequent use of the, "...you could do it this way, but here's another way and why it's better..."  So much better than just showing you one way to do everything since it gives you a much better picture of the why's and the wherefore's.

First Impressions

In order to cut the boredom while I slog through the reading, I've been playing around with icons.  Now you've probably stumbled across the limited icon editor in Visual Studio and I played around with it a while, but let me just recommend that you don't waste your time with it.  After searching around on the web, I zeroed in on Axialis IconWorkshop.  Yes, it sounds like an erectile dysfunction medication, but this application is just what the doctor ordered for creating and editing your icons.  It even comes with a plug-in for Visual Studio 2008.  There is a 30-day free trial, so you can try before you buy. I've just scratched the surface, but it appears to be top-drawer in most every respect.  First impressions are ever so important, and when it comes to applications your first impression will be the icon.

P.S: Don't try to put a 256x256 size icon in your *.ico file as this seems to make Visual Studio choke...