Sandy has a great piece about the story behind the application blocks for the .NET Compact Framework. When Sandy first approached us about collaborating on the application blocks, it was a no-brainer. The need for a .NET Compact Framework version of the application blocks was something that was certainly on our radar, but as is usually the case with a volunteer-driven project like OpenNETCF.org, our resource pool (both in terms of man-power and time) is more constrained than the devices we work on. So when patterns & practices came along with the proposal, we jumped at the opportunity. To my knowledge, the collaborative effort was a first for Microsoft and we are proud to be a part of this.
Now it’s down to us & you to build on this v1.0 release and make the application blocks great. If you encounter any bugs, please do log them in your online bug tracking system; if you have problems using the blocks, post a mail to our new mailing list or to the Forums on the OpenNETCF site. If you want to join the team and contribute to the blocks, drop me a line and I’ll see what I can do to hook you up. Please keep in mind that we only have a limited number of licenses for access to our source code control server, so only contact me if you are serious about contributing.