a. Some samples don’t work! Do I have to install additional software?

Yes, there are three important libraries that have to be installed before you can run the samples:

- Windows .NET 3.5 framework and .NET 4.0 framework

Microsoft issued many versions of its .NET framework. Some versions are backward compatible, the others are not. There is a major difference between .NET 3.5 and .NET 4.0 frameworks. .NET 3.5 framework is needed to run applications that are based in older 32-bit program libraries, mostly DirectX 9.0. .NET 4.0 framework or above have to be installed for applications that are based on newer libraries. Both frameworks can coexist therefore there you can install them both from the Microsoft MSDN websites: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/vstudio/w0x726c2(v=vs.90).aspx and http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Search/en-US?query=.NET&ac=4.

- Microsoft DirectX 9.0 and above

Most Windows already have DirectX 9.0 or above installed. You can check the DirectX version by running dxdiag.exe application from the Windows system folder (ex. C:\Windows\System32). If there is no such file, DirectX is probably not installed. You can install it from the Microsoft support website: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/179113

- Windows SDK runtime and Visual Studio 2010 redistributable pack

Windows Software Development Kit (SDK) is a comprehensive program library with reach functionalities though it is no uncommon for some application to require the library installation prior their installation. You can download Windows SDK from Microsoft MSDN website: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/bb980924. To run the applications it is enough to install just the runtime environment. Note that there are different Windows SDK versions for different Windows versions (especially 32-bit and 64-bit versions). Not all SDK versions are compatible with all Window versions. Samples from this website that make use of TCP/IP communications were developed with Visual Studio 2010 redistributable pack, which you can also install from Window 7 SDK.

If you are using Windows 7, you can also download an ISO file containing both Windows 7 SDK and .NET 4.0.