borge3000

Business Intelligence for architectures

Børge Hansen — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 10:59:10 +0000

There is an interesting issue of Architecture Journal out with a special focus on BI architecture…

So if you need some nice food for thoughts as we enter the holidays check it out here: Taking Business Intelligence beyond the business analyst

Topics are as follows:

Enterprise BI strategy—Dinesh Kumar (Microsoft) introduces the notion of business infrastructure, which—together with capability models that are described in previous issues of The Architecture Journal—help organizations not only gain business insight, but act upon it, too.

Also, Sundararajan PA et al. (Infosys) propose a semantic enterprise data model for interoperability—adaptable for evolution through its life cycle.

Embedding business insights into our applications—Traditionally, the final output of BI is considered to be scorecards and reports that are used as strategic decision support. Using implementation examples, Razvan Grigoroiu (Epicor) tells us how to put these outcomes within the reach of line-of-business (LOB) applications.

Infrastructure and performance—Charles Fichter (Microsoft) explains the design principles for supporting a global data-warehouse architecture, with effectiveness and performance in mind.

End-user and self-service BI—BI projects typically fall short in allowing users who have basic experience to handle how results are exposed, without any dependence on IT specialists. Ken Withee (Hitachi Consulting) shows multiple ways to tackle this issue by using facilities that are already available throughout the Microsoft platform.

Enjoy!

Self service Business Intelligence

Børge Hansen — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:44:00 +0000

For developers and others working with business managers and such the term “Business Intelligence” may often seem as an oxymoron. And “Self Service Business Intelligence” even more so.

But if you are in the business of creating information out of data, I think this self service BI is one of the biggest game changers.

So, what is it? Well, we’ve dreamt of having our powerusers creating their own reports for years. We’ve tried making different Report applications and tried to teach them how to use these. Only to find that they don’t use these at all. It is too complicated for the random user, they say.

The final nail in the coffin is when your users request an “Export to Excel” feature so that they can copy/paste the data into Excel and work with it there.

So let them have it all! Let them stay in Excel and work with the data there. But let them do it in a more managed way, so that you can stay in somewhat control of what happens.

Enter PowerPivot for Excel, formerly known as Project Gemini.

What do you say about creating having a 100 million rows of data in several tables, slicing and dicing and creating conditional formatted tables and charts. All within seconds !!

It is all possible because PowerPivoit for Excel is really an in memory version of Analysis services. It lets you build (without knowing that you do) a datawarehouse solution that is lightning fast.

And if you want to share with others, without redistributing the Excel sheet, you just upload to sharepoint and get IT supported resources for it as well.

Imagine that! And it comes free with your SQL Server 2008 R2!

Download PowerPivot for Excel & Office 2010 BETA

Learn about PowerPivot for Excel 2010 from www.powerpivot.com

Enjoy

MSDN Live – whats cooking

Børge Hansen — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:35:19 +0000

Rune Grothaug, MSDN Live champ skriver på bloggen sin:

Allerede onsdag 16 september kliner vi til med MSDN Live. Nesten 600 utviklere har allerede meldt seg på, men vi har selvsagt plass til flere. Stavanger har virkelig begynt å markere seg som en by med et sterkt utviklingsmiljø, med nesten 100 påmeldte. Ikke uventet er Oslo størst med sin 300 påmeldte, men også Bergen og Trondheim ligger på rundt 100 deltakere hittl, så dette blir en fest av dimensjoner med motiverte og engasjerte utviklere.

Så hva skal du forvente deg av foredragene denne gangen? Jeg har utfordret våre tre foredragsholdere til å stramme strikken litt. Dermed vil sesjonene sitte stramt som en gymsokk for de fleste, enten du er superfaren eller litt fersk.

Les hele bloggposten hans og hvorfor jeg er skyldig han en øl: http://blogs.msdn.com/grothaug/pages/msdn-live-2009-what-s-cooking.aspx

back in business…

Børge Hansen — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 11:30:05 +0000

After a long, long summer vacation I am finally ready to start getting things done again.

I have decided to start working as an independent contractor with special focus on software development.

I will try to engage in the different aspects of software development; all from working as a developer in projects, dev lead/architect, coaching/tutoring/mentoring to working as an influencer on technologies.

I have even created a company for myself. But it is hard to come up with a name, but a while back I registered the domain devPartner.no and I will stick to this as a company name as well. Hopefully this is a reasonable name for the activities that I will engage in. Any thoughts on the name?

I will will start this September by doing a couple of presentations on MSDN Live this September. In October I will start giving some courses for Programutvikling, which will be cool to do.

The rest is work in progress..

TTL

ARCast.TV – Kevin Hazzard on Dynamic Languages

Børge Hansen — Thu, 14 May 2009 08:25:34 +0000

In this interview Kevin Hazzard, C# MVP based in Richmond, Virginia, discusses with Zhiming Xue dynamic languages like Python and Ruby, the Dynamic Language Runtime (DLR) from Microsoft and the next generation of C# that’s becoming a dynamic language. He explains that the DLR as “the language of languages” defines the boundaries between languages and what’s required for those languages to interoperate with each other and that the DLR as a centerpiece of the .NET Framework 4.0 provides a dynamic dispatch mechanism that elegantly addresses the interoperability problems that we’ve been working hard to solve since the days of RPC and COM.

LINK: http://channel9.msdn.com/shows/ARCast.TV/ARCastTV-Kevin-Hazzard-on-Dynamic-Languages/

It is the worst of times, It is the best of times.

Børge Hansen — Mon, 11 May 2009 11:49:40 +0000

There is an old joke among economists that states: A recession is when your neighbor loses his job. A depression is when you lose your job.

What’s a recession? How do we know if we’re in one?

Well for starters you’ll have to check your neighbors. Are they still getting up in the morning and going to work? Well I don’t know about my neighbors, but I do know several people that more or less voluntary have changed positions the last few months.

Of course it is not equal for all countries or even all industries. In the US we can see that most industries have been hit pretty hard. While in Norway we can read that retail, construction and the likes have had a much harder impact of the economic crisis than my industry, IT.

Is this about to change? For the first time in the 35 year long history of Microsoft the company is not growing revenue anymore. At least on a global level. However, being a company where the stock price is partly based on growth, this is alarming news to both the management and the market. Bear in mind that the company is not losing money (yet), it is just not growing its income as much as it used to.

There is a reason for why Microsoft has managed so well over the years, and this is the amazing ability to change and adapt to the markets. Not always being a market leader, and sometimes playing it safe. But when a change in the market is recognized by the company, it is pretty aggressive on tackling these changes.

So it is with the current economics as well. Seen with traditional Norwegian social-democratic eyes it seems odd to let people go when still making money. But this is the fact even in Norway. The Norwegian subsidiary had to let 12 people go.

I was one of these 12.

Sad, but true. Well, I could start a rant on how pissed I am on the company and the decision to get rid of me… But I won’t. I’ll make it clear that I disagree on the choices that Microsoft have made around evangelizing and creating architectural guidance to Architects, which partly resulted in my position as an Architect Evangelist being dropped. Now that that is said, I have had a tremendous time in my time working for Microsoft. I have worked with, and learned from some of the best minds in the industry in Norway, Western Europe and even in the world. For this I am very grateful. (Thanks for the opportunity, guys)

So what’s next for yours truly? Truth be told, I don’t know yet. I will (probably) not start working as a carpenter, or take up a career as a florist. That would probably be a stupid move, at least with my talents and in these times. I will stick to being a software developer of some sort. But whether I will seek a career and fortune in a software company, in a consulting company or simply as a contractor is yet to be decided. I just got the news a few days ago, and have to let it sink in.

One thing I know for sure is that being an architect evangelist has taught me to appreciate the impulses and feedback from others. I will engage with the communities, give talks now and then if anybody will listen and try to contribute to the developer population.

After all is recession a crisis or an opportunity? I think the latter.

You haven’t seen the last of me.

Thanks,

Børge

BTW: If you got any great ideas for cool stuff we could do together give me a ping.

Walkthrough on Windows 7 Readiness

Børge Hansen — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 11:09:15 +0000

Bruce has pulled together features, resources, and next steps for developers in supporting Windows 7. The blog posting provides an overview of most of the key features on Windows 7, where to get more information, videos on how to see the feature in action, and gives next steps on what developers can do to implement the key features. The posting includes information about compatibility labs that are available in the US. For those of you in other subsidiaries, please add what labs are available in your areas in your own posting.

http://blogs.msdn.com/usisvde/archive/2009/04/25/walkthrough-to-get-your-applications-ready-for-windows-7.aspx

This is a fairly comprehensive posting that serves as an introduction to what developers can do today on Windows 7.

ARCast.TV – Brian Noyes on Selecting the Correct Client Technology

Børge Hansen — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 20:18:35 +0000

The one thing architects don’t have a shortage of these days are options, especially when it comes down to choosing the client technology that best suits their current project. Is it a web applications, or would be better to have it run natively on the desktop? Or perhaps a hybrid approach? In this episode of ARCast.tv, Denny Boynton talks with Brian Noyes, Chief Architect at iDesign, about what architects should consider when making decisions about which client technology to use

Link: http://channel9.msdn.com/shows/ARCast.TV/ARCastTV-Brian-Noyes-on-Selecting-the-Correct-Client-Technology/

ARCast.TV – Enabling Web Slices on Your Web Site

Børge Hansen — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:36:37 +0000

Web Slices are a new IE8 feature that allows users to subscribe to some parts of a web page and receive updates automatically. In this screen cast, Zhiming Xue (Dr. “Z”), Microsoft Architect Evangelist, demonstrates through two simple examples how developers can easily create web applications that enable users to subscribe to select contents on a web page using the new IE8 feature, Web Slices. For additional resources about web slices are available at IE8 Readiness Toolkit and IE Developer Center.

Link

http://channel9.msdn.com/shows/ARCast.TV/ARCastTV-Enabling-Web-Slices-on-Your-Web-Site/

ARCast.TV – Enabling Accelerators on Your Web Site

Børge Hansen — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 09:54:37 +0000

Accelerators are a new IE8 feature that enables users to find and access information without leaving the web page. In this screen cast, Zhiming Xue (Dr. “Z”), Microsoft Architect Evangelist, demonstrates how developers can make an accelerator available in web applications so that users can install and use it. For additional resources about web slices are available at IE8 Readiness Toolkit and OpenService Accelerators Developer Guide.

http://channel9.msdn.com/shows/ARCast.TV/ARCastTV-Enabling-Accelerators-on-Your-Web-Site/

ARCast.TV – Jeffrey Palermo on ASP.NET MVC

Børge Hansen — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 09:19:30 +0000

This interview focuses on architectural concerns when using the MVC Framework. Dependency Injection can help decouple the application and make your code more maintainable and testable, but how do you enable this? Join Jeffrey Palermo and Bob Familiar for a boots-on-the-ground talk about how to fit ASP.NET MVC into your Web application architecture while avoiding some of the pitfalls common with Web Forms. We’ll cover the following in depth: designing for testability, loose coupling, separation of concerns, automated testing of controller actions, dependency injection, and leveraging IoC container support from the MvcContrib open source project.

Link

http://channel9.msdn.com/shows/ARCast.TV/ARCastTV-Jeffrey-Palermo-on-ASPNET-MVC/

Azure April Updates

Børge Hansen — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 08:07:22 +0000

Azure Services Training Kit – April Update

We have released an updated version of the Azure Services Training Kit. The first Azure Services Training Kit was released during the week of PDC and it contained all of the PDC hands-on labs. Since then, the Azure Services Evangelism team has been creating new content covering new features in the platform.

The Azure Services Training Kit April update now includes the following content covering Windows Azure, .NET Services, SQL Services, and Live Services:

· 11 hands-on labs – including new hands-on labs for PHP and Native Code on Windows Azure.

· 18 demo scripts – These demo scripts are designed to provide detailed walkthroughs of key features so that someone can easily give a demo of a service

· 9 presentations – the presentations used for our 3 day training workshops including speaker notes.

The training kit is available as an installable package on the Microsoft Download Center. You can download it from http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=130354

Azure Services Management Tools – April Update

The Azure Services Management Tools include an MMC SnapIn and Windows PowerShell cmdlets that enable a user to configure and manage several Azure Services including .NET Access Control Services, and the .NET Workflow Service. These tools can be helpful when developing and testing applications that use Azure Services. For instance, using these tools you can view and change .NET Access Control Rules, and deploy and view workflows.

The November release of the management tools was downloaded 2190 times.

You can download the latest management tools from http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/AzureManagementTools.

AT&T Uses Silverlight for Live Streaming of Masters Tournament, Exclusive Three-Screen Coverage includes Mosaic U-Verse Application

Børge Hansen — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 08:03:22 +0000

AT&T Uses Silverlight for Live Streaming of Masters Tournament, Exclusive Three-Screen Coverage includes Mosaic U-Verse Application.

Yesterday, AT&T began its live coverage of the 73rd Masters Tournament from August, GA. – http://fanzone.att.net/s/s.dll?ep=25049&only=y&ch=go&s1=ma&s2=le It’s choice of technology? Silverlight. It’s another great example of how large companies are using Silverlight for major online video events like March Madness and the Olympics.

Live coverage of the tournament online will be available through Sunday. For times and schedules please visit – http://fanzone.att.net/s/editorial.dll?bfromind=5168&eeid=6443667&_sitecat=1425&dcatid=0&eetype=article&render=y&ac=-2&ch=go&site=FanZone

Additional Resources –

iStreamPlanet News – http://www.istreamplanet.com/Press.aspx

AT&T Press Release – Exclusive 3-Screen Coverage

Just Released – Visual Basic QuickStarts and How-to Topics for PrismV2 (Composite Application Guidance for WPF and Silverlight)

Børge Hansen — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 11:23:32 +0000

Just Released – Visual Basic QuickStarts and How-to Topics for PrismV2 (Composite Application Guidance for WPF and Silverlight)

This release is provided to help Visual Basic developers use the Composite Application Library. The release includes QuickStarts, the Composite Application Library (only provided in C#), and documentation. The documentation includes:

Visual Basic Content for Composite Application Guidance for WPF and Silverlight – February 2009.chm: The QuickStarts, Hands-On Labs, and How-to Topics in Visual Basic.
Composite Application Guidance for WPF and Silverlight – February 2009.chm: Complete documentation in C#.
Composite Application Library Reference February 2009.chm: Library reference API.

The Composite Application Guidance for WPF and Silverlight is designed to help you more easily build enterprise-level Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) and Silverlight client applications. It will help you design and build enterprise-level composite WPF client applications—composite applications use loosely coupled, independently evolvable pieces that work together in the overall application.

ARCast.TV – Improving User Experience in Digital Signage Solutions with Silverlight

Børge Hansen — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 10:44:00 +0000

In this interview, Tim Meinhardt, Colin Ploscaru, and Juan Calcagno at TTSS discuss with Zhiming Xue why they became interested in adopting new technologies like Silverlight, and what they had to do to re-architect and migrate one of their existing digital signage solutions. Tim, Colin and Juan share what their experience was like with their prototyping effort and why they felt confident that their customers would respond positively to their commitments in improving user experience with Silverlight since past technology choices have been quite challenging.

http://channel9.msdn.com/shows/ARCast.TV/ARCastTV-Improving-User-Experience-in-Digital-Signage-Solutions-with-Silverlight/

ClemensV on ServicesBus

Børge Hansen — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 12:16:45 +0000

Lars Wilhelmsen, Tore Vestues and I met with Clemens Vaster and talked about .Net Services and Service Bus.

Watch the interview here:

http://blogs.msdn.com/grothaug/pages/norske-utviklere-intervjuer-clemens-vasters-om-cloud-computing.aspx

How do I…. Azure

Børge Hansen — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 18:57:52 +0000

Overall Page	Visit here for the full summary of videos
	*How Do I…*
	Get Started Developing on Windows Azure?	If you’re a developer and you’re new to Windows Azure, start here! You’ll see what you need to download and install, and how to create a simple “Hello World” Windows Azure application.
Deploy a Windows Azure Application	You’ll see what it takes to move your application into the cloud – you’ll see how to request and register a token, how to upload your Windows Azure application and how to move it between staging and production in the cloud.
Store Blobs in Windows Azure Storage?	Learn how to leverage Windows Azure storage to store data as blobs. You’ll learn about blob storage, containers and the API that makes it easy to manage everything from managed code.
Leverage Queues in Windows Azure?	Learn how to use queues to facilitate communication between Web and Worker roles in Windows Azure.
Debugging Tips for Windows Azure Applications	The Windows Azure SDK includes a development fabric that provides a "cloud on your desktop." In this screencast, learn how to debug your Windows Azure applications in this environment.
	Get Started with .NET Services?	.NET Services are a set of highly scalable building blocks for programming in the cloud. In this brief screencast, you’ll learn about the registration process, the SDK and the built-in samples – everything you need to know in order to get started.
Harness the Microsoft .NET Service Bus?	The .NET Service Bus makes it easy to access your Web services no matter where they are. In this brief screencast, you’ll see how to take a basic Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) service and expose it to the Internet with the .NET Service Bus.
	Get Started with the Live Framework?	If you are looking to get started developing with the Live Framework, this is the place to start! In this screencast you’ll learn how to get a Live Services token and what you need to download in order to start writing Live Framework applications.
Use the Microsoft Live Framework Resource Browser?	The Live Framework Resource Model is a simple, straightforward information model based on entities, collections and relationships. In this brief screencast you’ll learn how to navigate the relationships between entities by using the Live Framework Resource Browser, which is a tool that ships with the Live Framework SDK.
	Stay tuned!

Internet Explorer 8 "How Do I" Video Series

Børge Hansen — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 09:19:34 +0000

Internet Explorer 8 "How Do I" Video Series
Short YouTube-style videos around key features and functionality in IE8. Includes relevant code samples and corresponding fact sheets.

Internet Explorer 8 "How Do I" Video Series

How to become IE8 compliant?

Børge Hansen — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 09:40:33 +0000

This is a guide on how to prepare your webserver for IE8.

This is a guide on how to use WebSlices, Accelerators and Visual Search in IE8.

Hope this helps!

Nå koster MSDN Live penger – hvorfor det?

Børge Hansen — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 15:06:47 +0000

Som dere vet har Microsoft har i mange år arrangert MSDN Live som et gratis tilbud til utviklersamfunnet. Det har vært en arena hvor vi har vist frem en del aktuelle og nye teknologier og samtidig snakket om beste praksis for å løse de utfordringene man har som utvikler.

Men nå har også Microsoft Norge blitt rammet av den finansielle uroen og må redusere kostnader. Vi har støttet mange ulike grupper og aktiviteter. Men en runde med MSDN Live koster mye penger og når vi har arrangert to runder i året sier det seg selv at dette er veldig kostnadskrevende.

Vi vet at det er mange som setter pris på dette arrangementet og bruker det som en vesentlig del av sitt opplegg for å holde vedlike kompetansen sin. Derfor har vi valgt å fortsette å arrangere MSDN Live. Men vi er nødt til å ta et påmeldingsgebyr for å sikre at arrangementet kan overleve og at dette ikke stjeler midler fra andre viktige aktiviteter for våre utviklere. Samtidig er fokuset på faglig innhold og relevans enda tydeligere.

Vi håper jo at mange synes at det er en billig investering i egen kompetanse. Vi tror at for en hel dag med aktuelle fagsesjoner, nettverksbygging og lunch er dette billig sammenlignet med andre tilsvarende alternativer.

Meld deg på MSDN Live her

Se agenda og innhold her:

ARCast.TV – Bob Pearson on The Business Benefits of Social Networking

Børge Hansen — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 13:35:51 +0000

When you think of the phrase “Social Computing,” you probably think of teenagers sharing pictures with their BFFs or folks “micro-blogging” on Twitter, but if you think that’s all social computing is all about, you’re wrong. There can be tangible business benefits to embracing the principles of social computing. Providing community forums where your customers can talk about your products, provide service information to each other and provide direct, candid feedback about how you can make your products better is exactly what Denny Boynton talks to Bob Pearson, VP of Communities and Conversations at Dell Corporation, about in this episode.

Link: http://channel9.msdn.com/shows/ARCast.TV/ARCastTV-Bob-Pearson-on-The-Business-Benefits-of-Social-Networking/

Why Silverlight is the future

Børge Hansen — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 11:53:52 +0000

Rockford Lhotka has written a blog on why he thinks Silverlight is the future.

Basically it comes down to: What is the next OS?

Is it the browser that becomes the dominant application platform, or do runtimes like Silverlight and Air wash away the border between the desktop and the web.

Read it here: http://www.lhotka.net/weblog/WhySilverlightIsTheFuture.aspx

Update to the Windows® Azure™ SDK and Visual Studio Tools

Børge Hansen — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 07:46:13 +0000

You might have seen this but the Azure team released an update to the Windows® Azure SDK and Visual Studio Tools. These latest releases are available here:

Windows Azure SDK: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=130232
Windows Azure Tools for Visual Studio: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=128752

These newly released SDK and Tools include:

Bug and performance fixes
Improved integration with Visual Studio
Performance improvements with execution and debugging scenarios
Improvements to Storage Client and ASP.Net provider samples
Added support to debug Silverlight in a web role

Microsoft Code Name ‘Geneva’ Moves Identity to the Cloud

Børge Hansen — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 07:45:10 +0000

Identity is a key issue for software developers. The ability to identify a user and provide the correct details for that user is a challenge all developers face. Developers need a federated identity, an identity that you can get from your customers. You need to be able to use that identity regardless of whether it comes from Active Directory or some other provider.

The article provides a summary of our emerging identity technologies that help developers solve issues around identity. It describes how the various Microsoft identity offerings fit together and how developers can get started using them. The article provides the value for developers in using Geneva Framework and how it integrates with Geneva Server and Geneva CardSpace. In addition, the article describes how .NET Services Access Control can be used to integrate identities in the cloud. You’ll find links to key white papers that provide in-depth architectural overviews, how to get access to the betas, and how developers can get additional information on the technologies of interest.

http://blogs.msdn.com/usisvde/archive/2008/12/26/microsoft-code-name-geneva-moves-identity-to-the-cloud.aspx

ARCast.TV – Ron Jacobs on SOAP and RESTful Services

Børge Hansen — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 12:29:07 +0000

ARCast.TV – Ron Jacobs on SOAP and RESTful Services

Ron Jacobs discusses REST and SOAP with Bob Familiar: the differences, the similarities, and how Windows Communication Foundation supports these distributed networking protocols.

http://channel9.msdn.com/shows/ARCast.TV/ARCastTV-Ron-Jacobs-on-SOAP-and-RESTful-Services/

Web Platform and Application Installer

Børge Hansen — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 08:49:54 +0000

The Microsoft Web Platform Installer is a free tool that makes it simple to download and install the latest components of the Microsoft Web Platform, including Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 and 7.0, SQL Server 2008 Express, .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 and Visual Web Developer 2008 Express SP1. The Web Platform Installer offers a single installer to help you obtain the software you need to build and run a complete Web solution on the Microsoft Web platform, whether you are using Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, or Windows Server 2008. In addition, the Web Platform Installer checks online to ensure the most current versions and new additions to the Microsoft Web Platform are downloaded

More information:

http://www.microsoft.com/web/channel/products/WebPlatformInstaller.aspx

The Web Application Installer Beta helps you get up and running with the most widely used Web Applications freely available for your Windows Server. Web AI provides support for popular ASP.Net and PHP Web applications including Graffiti, DotNetNuke, WordPress, Drupal, OSCommerce and more. With just a few simple clicks, Web AI will check your machine for the necessary pre-requisites, download these applications from their source location in the community, walk you through basic configuration items and then install them on your computer.

http://www.microsoft.com/web/channel/products/WebApplicationInstaller.aspx

Windows 7 Logo program

Børge Hansen — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 08:39:07 +0000

Something cool has happened with logo testing. It’s simpler and easier than ever before to test your app for Windows 7 compatibility. You can now get Windows 7 logo for your application with a self test. And testing for Windows Server 2008 R2 starts with self testing. And it’s free. The Windows 7 logo should be on every real application.

Check out:

· Cookbook, Guide Can Assist Windows 7 Application Compatibility Tests at http://blogs.msdn.com/usisvde/archive/2009/01/20/cookbook-guide-can-assist-in-windows-7-application-compatibility-tests.aspx describes the Windows 7 Application Compatibility Cookbook tells you what to look for and what regarding Windows 7 compatibility.

· App Certification Gets Easier for Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 at http://blogs.msdn.com/usisvde/archive/2009/01/09/app-certification-gets-easier-for-windows-7-windows-server-2008-r2.aspx explains what it takes to do the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 tests.

Also includes links to where you can get Windows 7 Beta and each article provides resources where you can get help. The logo programs are still in beta themselves, and you can provide feedback too.

The Bumper List of Windows 7 Secrets

Børge Hansen — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 11:31:21 +0000

From Tim Sneaths blog:

It’s great to see Windows 7 Beta finally released to the world! We’re very proud of what has been accomplished over the last months; in many ways, it sets a new quality bar for a beta operating system release. Building on top of the Windows Vista foundation, Windows 7 adds a great deal of polish and refinement to both the user interface and the underlying architecture, while at the same time introducing many new features and improvements that support new hardware, give power users and casual users alike better tools to manage their digital lives, and enable new classes of application experience.

Read the rest here

Clemens Vasters presentation on Windows Azure (.Net Services)

Børge Hansen — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 12:46:33 +0000

After our Introduction to Windows Azure on the 9th of December you have also requested Clemens presentation.

You can find it here (on Skydrive) :

.Net Services overview: https://cid-88b5769d9bbdf846.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/Offentlig/NETServicesOverview-v2.pptx

.NetServices Drilldown https://cid-88b5769d9bbdf846.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/Offentlig/NETServicesDrilldown-v2.pptx

Another good blogpost about the Azure Platform

Børge Hansen — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 08:52:00 +0000

Jon Tørresdal has written a pretty good post about the Microsoft Windows Azure Services Platform.

Read the post here: http://blog.torresdal.net/2008/12/14/MicrosoftAzureServicesPlatform.aspx

I think he has done a good job summarizing the current offering and the opportunities you have on this platform.

But Jon asks (and answers the question)

Can I take my existing application and deploy it to the cloud using Azure Services Platform?

Jon says no! I say it depends. I do agree that if you have a database driven application you will need to migrate the databaseschema and your app to fit to Azure SQL Services.

But in a Web 2.0 world we see lots of mashups and applications getting their data from other sources or via other interfaces than the tradiotional database interface. REST and SOAP are commonly used interfaces to access data that totally agrees with the Azure programming model.

If your app utilizes these sources you are good to go. Right now

Jon, any thoughts?