Learning by sharing

Windows Server 8

2011-09-22T09:47:00.001+05:00

Windows Server 8 brings the experience from building and operating public clouds to delivering the most dynamic, available, and cost-effective server platform for the private cloud. It offers businesses and hosting providers a scalable, dynamic, and multitenant-aware cloud infrastructure that securely connects across premises and allows IT to respond to business needs faster and more efficiently.

Server and Tools Business President Satya Nadella introduced Windows Server 8, the new management features, development tools, and new capabilities on the Windows Azure platform that enable a cloud-optimized infrastructure.

LINQ for JavaScript

2011-09-16T15:42:00.001+05:00

Well, I believe either you love LINQ or JavaScript; or you are here to learn LINQ and JavaScript. Be happy to know that Linq.js is complete implementation (almost) of LINQ for JavaScript.

See the cool features below:

Features

implement all .NET 4.0 methods and many extra methods (inspiration from Rx, Achiral, Haskell, Ruby, etc...)

complete lazy evaluation

full IntelliSense support for VisualStudio

two versions - linq.js and jquery.linq.js (jQuery plugin)

support Windows Script Host

binding for Reactive Extensions for JavaScript(RxJS) and IntelliSense Generator -> see documentation

NuGet install support(linq.js, linq.js-jQuery, linq.js-Bindings)

Get the Most out of WebGrid in ASP.NET MVC

2011-07-07T21:17:00.002+05:00

In this article on MSDN Magazine, Stuart Leeks introduces WebGrid and shows how it can be used in ASP.NET MVC 3, then takes a look at how to really get the most out of it in an ASP.NET MVC solution.
This article looks at how to fit the WebGrid component into an ASP.NET MVC environment to enable developers to be more productive while rendering tabular data. Focus is on WebGrid from an ASP.NET MVC aspect:

creating a strongly typed version of WebGrid with full IntelliSense
hooking into the WebGrid support for server-side paging
adding AJAX functionality that degrades gracefully when scripting is disabled

The working samples build on top of a service that provides access to the AdventureWorksLT database via the Entity Framework. If you’re interested in the data-access code, it’s available in the code download, and you might also want to check out Julie Lerman’s article, “Server-Side Paging with the Entity Framework and ASP.NET MVC 3,” in the March 2011 issue(msdn.microsoft.com/magazine/gg650669).

Read the entire article on MSDN

Windows Phone Learning Zone

2010-12-17T14:12:00.001+05:00

CodeProject has started another series on Window Phone 7 development where you can find everything you need to start building applications for WP7. Microsoft's free development tools WP7 work in the familiar Visual Studio IDE.

You can download the free tools and learn how to use the different tools and controls, the application architecture and how to design for the Rich Mobile Web.
Find it all, including a free SDK, in the Windows Phone Learning Zone.

Download the Windows Phone 7 Developer Toolkit	Designing and Developing for the Rich Mobile Web	Windows Phone in 7 Minutes	Getting Started with Windows Phone 7
The Windows Phone 7 Application Architecture	Windows Phone 7 Controls	Understanding the Windows Phone 7 Development Tools	Introducing Windows Phone 7

Understanding Microsoft Virtualization Solutions

2010-11-04T13:30:00.001+05:00

Mitch Tulloch, lead author for the Windows 7 Resource Kit, is a widely recognized expert on Windows administration, networking, and security and has been repeatedly awarded Most Valuable Professional (MVP) status by Microsoft for his outstanding contributions in supporting users who deploy Microsoft platforms, products, and solutions.

Now you can download Understanding Microsoft Virtualization Solutions Second edition by Mitch Tulloch for free. The book discusses following points:

Why Virtualization?

Server Virtualization

Local Desktop Virtualization

Remote Desktop Virtualization

Virtualization Management

Cloud Computing

This is 480 Page eBook. Download the eBook in PDF format or XPS format

Free eBook: Moving to Microsoft Visual Studio 2010

2010-10-26T19:22:00.001+05:00

Well for those of you who want to learn about MS Visual Studio 2010 and are used to earlier versions, here is another great effort from Microsoft and it is free. Moving to Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 (Microsoft Press, 2011; 336 pages), written by Patrice Pelland, Pascal Paré, and Ken Haines.

The book is not a language primer, a language reference, or a single technology book. It’s a book that will help professional developers move from previous versions of Visual Studio (starting with 2003 and on up). It will cover the features of Visual Studio 2010 through an application. It will go through a lot of the exciting new language features and new versions of the most popular technologies without putting the emphasis on the technologies themselves. It will instead put the emphasis on how you would get to those new tools and features from Visual Studio 2010.

If you are expecting this book to thoroughly cover the new Entity Framework or ASP.NET MVC 2, this is not the book for you. If you want to read a book where the focus is on Visual Studio 2010 and on the reasons for moving to Visual Studio 2010, this is the book for you.

The book is written having three audiences in mind:

Part I is for developers moving from Visual Studio 2003 to Visual Studio 2010
Part II is for developers moving from Visual Studio 2005
And Part III is for developers moving from Visual Studio 2008

You can download a PDF of the book here and can help Microsoft by filling out a survey at http://www.microsoft.com/learning/booksurvey.

ASP.NET Developer Guidance Map

2010-10-26T15:05:00.001+05:00

J.D. Meier has introduced to a comprehensive resource for (new) ASP.Net Developers, guiding them to the road to learn ASP.Net. The developer guidance is available in the form of Code Samples, How Tos, Videos, and Training.

The ASP.NET Developer Guidance Map helps you kill two birds with one stone:

It show you the key sources of ASP.NET content and where to look (“teach you how to fish”)
It gives you an index of the main content collections (Code Samples, How Tos, Videos, and Training)

Mental Model of the Map
The map is a simple collection of content types from multiple sources, organized by common tasks, common topics, and ASP.NET features:

Download the ASP.NET Developer Guidance Map

Download the ASP.NET Developer Guidance Map (PDF)

Migrate to SQL Server 2008 R2 and Manage

2010-10-21T20:12:00.002+05:00

So if you have decided to migrate your SQL Server database to SQL Server 2008 R2, Microsoft TechNet has collected resources for you to easily accomplish the job.

There are many scenarios during an upgrade where you’ll want to migrate a SQL Server installation. We've collected a series of articles and resources that describe the processes and tools to make the task easier.

This set of topics includes information on how to migrate a reporting services installation, how to migrate integration services packages, and how to migrate data transformation services packages.

Introducing Microsoft Office 365!

2010-10-20T10:17:00.001+05:00

Office 365 is a new brand and a new way to think about productivity in the cloud. It is the next step in the future of productivity, bringing together Office, SharePoint, Exchange, and Lync in an always up-to-date cloud service. With Office 365, customers get the best productivity solutions on the planet for a predictable monthly cost, and their employees don’t have to change the way they work because they can use familiar applications like Office that they already know and love.

Office 365 builds on the foundation and investment our Microsoft Online Services partners have already made in the cloud business. For all Microsoft partners, it provides new and additional revenue opportunities. Here’s how:

With Office 365, Microsoft is offering a new class of applications and scenarios scenarios that meet the needs of organizations of all sizes
Office 365 provides increased opportunities for partners to develop complete customer solutions
Office 365 provides the opportunity to broaden and deepen your engagement with SMB customers with new offerings
Office 365 enables a familiar connection point, Office, to start your cloud conversations
Office 365 provides new platform capabilities to improve deployment and reduce migration overhead, and provides you continuous management of customer accounts

Visit the Microsoft Office 365 at the Partner Network site! http://bit.ly/8DOKBk

.NET Development for OS X

2010-10-18T10:52:00.002+05:00

Rabi Satter, blogged about starting .Net development for OS X or other Apple devices; an excellent step by step article to start with. According to him:

Yes you read that right. This entry will show you the basics of building a Mac application in .NET. How can this be .NET is a Microsoft Windows technology? … I mean the Mono Project a Novell project that has ported .NET to Linux and other platforms including Mac OS X. What follows is a step by step guide to using .NET and no PCs were killed in the writing of this blog entry.

The tutorial leads you from setting up your machine to HelloMac application. Here you can find the entire article.

Free eBook: Petzold’s Programming Windows Phone 7

2010-10-13T12:17:00.001+05:00

Just in time for VSLive in Redmond, here’s a second draft preview eBook of Charles Petzold’s upcoming Programming Windows Phone 7! The first preview eBook contained six chapters. This one contains eleven chapters (and 265 pages):

Part I   The Basics
Chapter 1   Hello, Windows Phone 7
Chapter 2   Getting Oriented
Chapter 3   An Introduction to Touch
Chapter 4   Bitmaps, Also Known as Textures
Chapter 5   Sensors and Services
Chapter 6   Issues in Application Architecture
Part II   Silverlight
Chapter 7   XAML Power and Limitations
Chapter 8   Elements and Properties
Part III   XNA
Chapter 20   Principles of Movement
Chapter 21   Textures and Sprites
Chapter 22   Touch and Play

You can download a PDF here (38.6 MB) and you can download the ebook’s sample code here (5.03 MB).

Free Windows 7 E-learning

2010-10-07T23:27:00.001+05:00

Whether you're interested in basic Windows 7 deployment, compatibility, or configuration, these free videos are likely to have your answers! Check out the entire Window 7 e-learning video series today.

You can explore product features, common applications, usage scenarios, then enhance your IT skills around tasks such as deployment, administration, and management.

Windows 7 E-Learning Series

Upgrade your blog to WordPress.com!

2010-09-29T00:50:00.000+05:00

Nearly six years after launching its own blog publishing platform, Microsoft is effectively ending development of Windows Live Spaces and announcing a partnership to upgrade users of the service to WordPress.com.

Spaces users will have six months to move their blogs to WordPress.com using a specially developed migration tool that will shift their posts, photos and other media to WordPress blogs. The migration will also redirect existing Spaces URLs to new addresses on the free WordPress.com platform. The companies will offer a service called Messenger Connect for WordPress.com users to share posts with their Windows Live contacts, attempting to take the place of the existing integration between Spaces and other Windows Live services.

It is however, still unclear, that how to migrate and merge your spaces feeds to WordPress, if you already have a WordPress blog?

Internet Explorer 9 Beta

2010-09-16T01:19:00.000+05:00

Deliver the Beauty of the Web

It's no secret: just having a presence on the Web is not enough. The new Windows Internet Explorer 9 Beta browser leverages the power of the PC to deliver rich Web experiences, together with unparalleled performance.

What sets Internet Explorer 9 apart? It saves development time and effort through HTML5 compatibility and deeper compliance with industry standards. It will delight your customers with performance that matches the apps on their PCs. It delivers enhanced integration with the Windows 7 operating system. And it is safer than ever.

Ready to start?

Explore Internet Explorer 9 features, then try it yourself.
Register now for the September 22 webcast.
Find product information and development resources.
Learn more about the beta release and the Internet Explorer opportunity.

Couple of fixes for Visual Studio

2010-09-01T13:56:00.000+05:00

Microsoft Connect site collected all (OK most of ) the fixes for Visual Studio. You can download them as per your need from this link, however, you should pay attention to the Terms of Use, since you cannot redistribute them.

Facebook and Windows Live Messenger Integration for Outlook

2010-08-24T04:34:00.001+05:00

Here is another update regarding Microsoft Office Outlook Social Networking Connectors, now available for Windows Live Messenger and Facebook.

If you’re not familiar with the Microsoft Outlook Social Connector – it’s a free plug-in for Microsoft Outlook 2010 that allows you to keep track of your friends and colleagues activities on Social Networking sites such as LinkedIn and MySpace, from within Outlook itself. There’s a great blog article over at MSDN talking about the benefits of the Outlook Social Connector and how to set it up.
The Facebook connector (available for download here), once installed, adds the ability to see Facebook Status Updates for your contacts directly from within the Microsoft Outlook e-mail pane – you can expand or minimise the “More Information” panel from any e-mail as you like.
Although the installation process is straight and easy, here is a how to where Doug Thomas has the answers to all of your Outlook Social Connector questions! Check out this helpful video on configuring the OSC and if you still have questions afterward head over to the Office blog to post them: http://bit.ly/d4qkXp

DevArt's CodeCompare, Code comparison tool

2010-08-12T23:19:00.000+05:00

CodeCompare is a totally free tool and an absolutely new way of source code comparison. It offers enhanced Visual Studio Editor, IntelliSense and syntax highlighting, code folding, advanced code comparing and merging functionality, and simple source control system integration - these are the features you were looking for all the time and finally they are at your fingertips!

Devart offers two products for source code comparison:

CodeCompare provides basic functionality and solves most of the tasks referred to the source comparing.
CodeCompare Pro provides additional features: Structure Comparison and Difference Explorer. Structure Comparison helps you to trace actual changes, even if methods are moved to another location. Difference Explorer helps you to review changes in the code structure and navigate between them.

5 Trillion Digits of Pi

2010-08-07T11:39:00.000+05:00

A new world record is achieved by Alexander J. Yee & Shigeru Kondo, who calculated value of Pi up to five Trillion digits.

3.

1415926535 8979323846 2643383279 5028841971 6939937510 : 50

5820974944 5923078164 0628620899 8628034825 3421170679 : 100

2962457053 9070959679 6673211870 6342459769 2128529850 : 999,999,999,950

2976735807 0882130902 2460461146 5810642210 6680122702 : 1,000,000,000,000

9354516713 6069123212 1286195062 3408400370 1793492657 : 1,999,999,999,950

8386341797 9368318191 5708299469 1313121384 3887908330 : 2,000,000,000,000

3840840269 5893047555 2627475826 8598006396 3215856883 : 2,699,999,989,950

9256371619 3901058063 3448436720 6294374587 7597230153 : 2,699,999,990,000

8012497961 5892988915 6174704230 3863302264 3931687863 : 2,699,999,990,050

3126006397 8582637253 6739664083 9716870851 0983536511 : 2,699,999,990,100

5628334110 5221005309 8638608325 4364661745 5833914321 : 2,999,999,999,950

9150024270 6285788691 0228572752 8179710957 7137931530 : 3,000,000,000,000

5209957313 0955102183 1080456596 1489168093 0578494464 : 3,999,999,999,950

3638467628 3610607856 5071920145 5255995193 8577295739 : 4,000,000,000,000

2597691971 6538537682 7963082950 0909387733 3987211875 : 4,999,999,999,950

6399906735 0873400641 7497120374 4023826421 9484283852 : 5,000,000,000,000

The hardware/OS used to calculated such a huge number was:

Hardware: Shigeru Kondo's Desktop

Shigeru Kondo's computer had the following specifications:

Processor: 2 x Intel Xeon X5680 @ 3.33 GHz - (12 physical cores, 24 hyperthreaded)
Memory: 96 GB DDR3 @ 1066 MHz - (12 x 8 GB - 6 channels) - Samsung (M393B1K70BH1)
Motherboard: Asus Z8PE-D12
Hard Drives: 1 TB SATA II (Boot drive) - Hitachi (HDS721010CLA332) 3 x 2 TB SATA II (Store Pi Output) - Seagate (ST32000542AS) 16 x 2 TB SATA II (Computation) - Seagate (ST32000641AS)
Raid Controller: 2 x LSI MegaRaid SAS 9260-8i
Operating System: Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise x64

Introducing MSVS LightSwitch™

2010-08-04T10:25:00.000+05:00

Microsoft is launching Visual Studio® LightSwitch™, the simplest way to build business applications for the desktop and cloud. LightSwitch is a new member of the Visual Studio family focused on making it easy to develop line of business applications. LightSwitch helps you solve specific business needs by enabling you to quickly create professional-quality business applications, regardless of your development skills.

LightSwitch is optimized to combine data+screens idea by providing developers with tools to not only connect to an existing database, but also create database, tables and associated screens.

Visual Studio LightSwitch Beta will be available on August 23. Come back at that time to download it, plus check back before then for additional LightSwitch videos.

However, a very good preview/introduction is blogged by Jason Zander detailing development using LightSwitch.

12 Absolutely and Insanely Essential Utilities For Programmers

2010-08-01T15:25:00.000+05:00

Jesse Liberty is a Senior Community Program Manager for Microsoft, focused on Silverlight and Windows Phone 7. He has collected 12 Absolutely and Insanely Essential Utilities For Programmers and listed them on his blog.

50 Useful Tools and Resources For Web Designers

2010-07-28T12:13:00.000+05:00

Smashing Magazine, once again collected 50 most useful tools for you if you are a web developer/designer. This is another great effort by Vitaly Friedman, editor-in-chief of Smashing Magazine.

Authenticate ASP.Net application using Social Sites Credentials

2010-07-16T11:11:00.000+05:00

James Senior's blog details the new social API Web Application Toolkit for .NET web developers. If you’re not familiar with Web Application Toolkits (WATs) then here’s a summary:

FREE Web App Toolkits help ASP.NET web developers complete common web development tasks and quickly add new features to your apps. Whether it’s Bing Maps integration or adding social capabilities to your site, there’s a toolkit for you. For the full list of Web Application Toolkits check out this website.

Here is a summary of the work they've done in this release:

Added a new Social API Web Application Toolkit
Updated all the WATs to be compatible with Visual Studio 2010

The code examples can be found here.

WebMatrix and a PHP tutorial

2010-07-14T14:49:00.000+05:00

During the last week, MS announced the launch of all new tools for developers to ease them creating and deploying websites.

IIS Developer Express: A lightweight web-server that is simple to setup, free, works with all versions of Windows, and is compatible with the full IIS 7.5.
SQL Server Compact Edition: A lightweight file-based database that is simple to setup, free, can be embedded within your ASP.NET applications, supports low-cost hosting environments, and enables databases to be optionally migrated to SQL Server.
ASP.NET “Razor”: A new view-engine option for ASP.NET that enables a code-focused templating syntax optimized around HTML generation. You can use “Razor” to easily embed VB or C# within HTML. It’s syntax is easy to write, simple to learn, and works with any text editor.

Together they are termed as WebMatrix, the all new tool for development and deployment integrating the above mentioned technologies. This new tool, WebMatrix, and the first preview beta of it is now available for download.

As usual ScottGu's blog is detailing the use of WebMatrix and creating simple applications utilizing these tools. While Brian Swan is leveraging the power of WebMatrix to another step by explaining how to create PHP websites using WebMatrix.

jQuery Essentials

2010-06-17T10:15:00.001+05:00

An excellent presentation addressing jQuery Essentials by Marc Grabanski.

jQuery Essentials

View more presentations from Marc Grabanski.

Worldwide Launch: ‘Make it Great’ with Microsoft Office 2010

2010-06-16T02:03:00.000+05:00

Input from 9 million beta downloads went into creating Office 2010, now available on new computers and in more than 35,000 retail outlets around the world.

Virtual Press Kit: Office 2010

Feature: Top 7 Reasons to Try

Try or Buy: Make It Great Website

Here are seven features, Office 2010, would offer you:

Outlook Social Connector
Linked Notes in OneNote
Sparklines in Excel
Photo editing in Word
Video and broadcast capabilities in PowerPoint
Office Web Apps
A Ribbon you can personalize

These are just to name a few, I'll also update you with the latest for Developers.