Windows Phone Thoughts - Daily News, Views, Rants and Raves

"An international trade group representing wireless device makers has announced it was backing a drive to standardize audio and USB plugs for laptops and other mobile gadgets. CTIA Wireless Association said it is behind an initiative to make 3.5mm plugs the standard for earphones, headphones and micro-USB connections in mobile devices introduced to the market after January 2012."

Assuming manufacturers get behind this initiative, perhaps, finally, we can wave goodbye to the loathed ExtUSB and 2.5 mm, and welcome 3.5 mm with open arms.

"Resco, a supplier of advanced developer tools and components for mobile devices, today announced availability of Resco Audio for .NET CF Beta. A library that allows the developers to record and play music and sound files in different file formats. The supported file formats include .ogg, .wav, .raf, .spx. The full version will also include .mp3 support. "Multimedia has undoubtedly become a part of modern software applications" said Peter Sartoris, product manager of Resco, Enterprise Solutions."By releasing Resco Audio for .NET, we are providing a library using which you can easily enhance mobile applications by making use of the built-in microphone and speakers."

Audio can be a tricky to properly implement in an application - and with a multitude of codecs and formats to choose from, conversion to the proper format can also be a bit hairy. If you're working on an audio app, Resco's new components may help you get by a nasty issue or two.