MIS Laboratory - Resources for Tech Faculty and Students

Microsoft Offers Grants for Student Startups

Randy Guthrie — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 18:00:45 GMT

Randy Guthrie – Microsoft Technical Evangelist
http://blogs.msdn.com/MIS_Laboratory

Microsoft’s Imagine Cup technology competition has some new twists this year that should appeal to more students than ever before. Student entrepreneurs especially should check out the US app accelerator opportunity. For those students who have a serious interest in starting a business, the United States Imagine Cup competition has an early “accelerator” program to jump start their app project and give them the resources to start a business based on their app, as well as have a head-start on a competitive entry in Microsoft’s Imagine Cup competition.

The initial grant will be an invitation to the top 20 teams to participate in an app accelerator program that includes a 1-week boot camp in the Silicon Valley and access to learning resources and live technical support for their app. The teams will be selected based on quality of the idea, student resumes, past experiences, and likelihood of making a great app, as opposed to the typical competition where the app itself is judged and prior time spent completing the app takes precedence over the overall potential of the idea. After the Accelerator, participants may either start their business immediately or continue on in the Imagine Cup competition where the top finishers can apply for up to $100K in grant funding.

The application for the US Student Accelerator program is a simple form that can be filled out in under an hour. Other than optional screen shots and other supporting documents, no other deliverables are required at this stage of the competition.

To get started, students should create an account at http://www.imaginecup.com. NOTE: MAKE SURE YOU SET THE REGION TO “UNITED STATES” in the upper right corner. Once you have created an account, then the links to apply for the App Accelerator program be available.

Cheers,

Randy

Windows 8 Student Holiday App Challenge: Microsoft Gives You $$ If You Publish an App

Randy Guthrie — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 05:16:26 GMT

Randy Guthrie – Microsoft Technical Evangelist
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/mis_laboratory

As the semester winds to a close, hopefully we all have a little time to catch our breath and relax by writing a little code for ourselves. Knowing that students now have a little more free time over the next few weeks, Microsoft has put together a promotion to encourage students to get a jump on building a Windows 8 app, and get some cash from Microsoft in the process. The Windows 8 Student Holiday App Challenge provides free software, in-depth instructional materials for students, and access to real-time support for building an app. Students who get even a simple app published to the store by January 20, 2013 will not only have learned some valuable skills and established real tech “street cred”, but will get a $100 gift card from Microsoft to help sweeten the deal.

The $100 gift card promotion is only open to students attending school in the United States, but the learning resources and tech support are available to anyone; student, faculty, or hobbyist.

The relevant links are:

Get Started: http://aka.ms/w8holidayapp

Build Your App: http://aka.ms/mswestgenapp

Publish Your App: http://bit.ly/XAoYqp

Official Terms and Conditions: http://sdrv.ms/YE5PoQ

Cheers and Happy Holidays!

Randy

How to Create a Windows 8 Virtual Hard Disk for “Boot-to-VHD”

Randy Guthrie — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 21:38:46 GMT

Randy Guthrie – Microsoft Technology Evangelist
http://blogs.msdn.com/MIS_Laboratory

Harold Wong, one of my super-knowledgeable colleagues on the Technical Evangelist team has created a very good blog post on how to create a Windows 8 Virtual Hard Disk for “Boot to VHD” scenarios. This is a great solution for enterprises (think Higher Education classes and labs) that are delayed by formal policy from making the leap to Windows 8 from Windows 7 (or Windows XP for that matter) at the present time, but would like to offer the latest tools and capabilities for students wanting to build Windows 8 and/or Windows Phone 8 apps.

Harold’s blog post containing easy-to-follow instructions and screen-shots can be found here: http://blogs.technet.com/b/haroldwong/archive/2012/08/18/how-to-create-windows-8-vhd-for-boot-to-vhd-using-simple-easy-to-follow-steps.aspx.

Hope this helps!

Cheers,

Randy

BitLocker Drive Encryption, Boot Priority and Windows to Go

Randy Guthrie — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 21:15:25 GMT

Randy Guthrie – Microsoft Technical Evangelist
http://blogs.msdn.com/MIS_Laboratory

Recently I ran into a problem with BitLocker Drive Encryption on my work laptop (Lenovo W500) where BitLocker keeps prompting me to enter the 48-character “recovery-key” every time I start the computer after undocking it from work and either starting it off of the dock, or docking it at home. I have two docking stations; one in the home office and one at my work office. After calling our internal tech support I learned something very interesting about BitLocker, BIOS boot priority settings and Windows to Go that I wanted to share.

First off, upon start-up, BitLocker looks for any suspicious changes in hardware that might indicate that someone removed a bootable hard-drive from a machine with a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) chip in an attempt to by-pass the BIOS start-up password. When BitLocker suspects this might have happened, it requires the entry of the recovery-key upon start-up as an added layer of security. This is what was happening to me.

The reason it was happening was the result of two things. First, I have changed default boot priority on my machine to look at USB fixed disks and USB hard drives, as well as the optical drive before attempting to boot from the internal hard drive. The reason I have the USB FFD and USB HDDs first in the boot priority list is because I use Windows to Go, and I want my BIOS to look for the Windows to Go drive and boot from that if it has been inserted, rather than boot from the internal drive. The second factor that contributes to BitLocker thinking something is amiss is that my docking station at home has a secondary storage hard drive unit, which the USB HDD boot priority detects upon start-up and looks to see if it is bootable. These two conditions combine to make BitLocker think I’ve taken the hard drive out of my laptop and another OS is attempting to access it.

According to my very knowledgeable help-desk technician, this isn’t a “bug” per se but the result of BitLocker actually doing what it is supposed to do, ie: making stealing data off of my laptop very, very difficult if not impossible.

Knowing why and how this works lends itself to several solutions: (1) change the boot priority back to look at the internal hard-drive first or (2) remove the secondary storage drive from my docking station (I don’t use it for anything other than occasional back-ups). Since my Lenovo laptop can provide various boot options when you press F12, including booting from a Windows to Go drive, I chose to change my boot priority so that the internal hard-drive boots first. I can always change the priority back if I’m building a bunch of Windows to Go drives for a workshop, but for now, I’m happy not having to enter the recovery-key when I switch back and forth between work and home, and I can easily boot from my Windows to Go drive by hitting F12 after pressing the start button.

Cheers,

Randy

Mounting .ISO files Directly is Awesome Feature in Windows 8 for DreamSpark and MSDN Subscribers

Randy Guthrie — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 15:35:54 GMT

Randy Guthrie – Microsoft Technical Evangelist
http://blogs.msdn.com/MIS_Laboratory

One of the small but sometimes annoying challenges of software offerings in DreamSpark and MSDN is that the software downloads are largely in .ISO format. This requires going through some extra steps to burn the software to a DVD or USB storage keys. One of the little known but very nice features in Windows 8 is the ability to “mount” .ISO files directly and run the software installation from the location where it was downloaded.

The process is essentially a “one-click” step: right-mouse click on the .ISO file and select “Mount” with a left mouse click. The extracted file list will appear. You then click the “set-up” .EXE file to install the software. Its that simple.

In pictures:

Select the .ISO file

Right-mouse click on the file, then Left-click the “Mount” option

The extracted image appear. Double left-click on “set-up.exe” to start the installation.

Enjoy!

Cheers,

Randy

Preparing a Computer to use Windows to Go

Randy Guthrie — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 23:49:12 GMT

Randy Guthrie – Microsoft Technology Evangelist
http://blogs.msdn.com/MIS_Laboratory

In my previous blog post I provided a detailed description of how to create a portable Windows 8 installation (also known as a Windows to Go Workspace) on a USB 3.0 Flash Drive that you can take with you and use on almost “any” Windows PC without changing the installed software configuration of the hardware device you “borrowing”. In this blog post I will outline the simple but essential process for preparing a computer so it will boot into your Windows to Go workspace rather than the default “C://” drive.

Basically, in order to get Windows to Go to work on a “host” computer, you have to change the boot priority in the computer BIOS settings so that it will attempt to boot from a USB hard drive before booting from the internal hard drive. There are some subtleties to this process that took me a few tries to figure out. Since I have done this now in a number of workshop-type settings, I can speak with some confidence about what has worked for 99% of the workshop attendees.

Step One: Open the BIOS settings menu

On most computers, you open the BIOS menu by interrupting normal startup by hitting an “F” key right after you hit the hardware power button. Which F-key you press depends on the motherboard chipset. F2, F10 and F12 are common, and I’ve seen F9 as well. Most hardware manufacturers tend to use the same F-key across different models, so there is some consistency within the brand. Here are the ones I know about. Please share yours in the comments to add to the list.

Dell Latitude E6400 and Dimension E521 use F12.
Lenovo W500 press the blue “ThinkVantage” button, then press F1
Acer Aspire 5750-6677 press F2
Asus ePC netbook press F2

Some computers will flash a brief message for a half-second or so telling you which key to press to get to the BIOS menu. If you have a laptop computer that is docked to an external monitor, you might have to undock your computer to see the message because it will have passed before the video port drivers get loaded.

This is what I see on my Dell Latitude e6400 after clicking F12 upon start up:

This is the screen on my Lenovo W500 that appear after pressing the “ThinkVantage” key and then pressing F1:

Step Two: Navigate to the Boot Options Menu and Change the Boot Priority

Once you hit the appropriate F-key and open the BIOS Setup menu, you’ll need to select the “Startup” or “Boot” options link and open the boot options submenu. Those menus will typically contain a list of start up devices including your computer’s hard drive, CD/DVD drive, network drive, and (hopefully) one or more USB devices.

On my Dell there is a “Boot Sequence” option under the general settings. The actual menu for changing the boot sequence is on the right side of the screen.

On my Dell, there are instructions on how to change the setting. Notice here that the menu is somewhat confusing. The list on the right is how you enable devices that can potentially be booted. The list of the left contains the actual boot order. The block of text describes how to select the item on the right-hand list and change the priority. In this case, USB Storage Device is the only USB option, so I have moved it to the top of the list.

On my Lenovo, you select the “Boot” option first…

Then you can change the boot order by selecting the device with an arrow up/down key and by then pressing F5/F6 to move the device up or down on the list.

Once the USB FDD is first on the list, you typically click F10 to save and exit the BIOS settings menu.

Different BIOS menus use different terms for the correct boot option. For example, the on the Lenovo the correct device for Windows to Go is “USB FDD”, not –USB HDD. On the Dell, there is only one option and that is USB Storage Device. You may need to experiment to find the one that works for your computer.

Step Three: Restart using Windows to Go Drive and Run Initial Set up Tasks

Power Down the computer completely (do not hibernate or sleep). Wait a few more seconds just to be sure and insert the Windows to Go drive into your fastest port. If you computer has a USB 3.0 port (look for the blue insulator in the USB port), then use that one. If all you have are USB 2.0 ports, then use the port that is your primary, full-power (500ma) port. If you don’t know which is your primary port, try the others if the first port fails to start the drive.

Turn on the power to the computer. You should see the Windows 8 Logo appear after a few seconds, then a message saying the computer is setting up drivers, etc. This step may take 3-5 minutes. If this is the first time running the drive, you will be prompted to go through several startup tasks including picking a background theme, log-on ID and password, and wireless Internet connection if available. Eventually you’ll land on the Windows 8 Modern UI screen with the tiles.

One thing that you won’t notice is that you will not be prompted to install some kind of anti-virus/anti-malware software. That is because Windows 8 comes with Forefront Client Security software built in. If you want to use another brand, just go ahead and install it; Forefront will turn itself off but you can’t delete it.

Step Four: Run Windows Update

Run Windows Update to get the latest drivers and security updates. You may have to do this every time you use a different type of computer with your drive since the peripherals won’t be the same and you might need to download a few additional drivers.

Step Five: Install Other Software

Next install Visual Studio, Microsoft Office, Zune, or any other applications you want to use with your Windows to Go workspace. You may need to get additional licenses if the software is already installed on another computer. You can also add any project files, document files, music, etc. .

At this point your drive is ready to go. If you are attending a Microsoft training workshop where Windows to Go drives will be provided, you need only complete Steps One and Two prior to arriving at the workshop. Steps Three through Five will already have been done by your workshop hosts.

Cheers,

Randy

Windows to Go takes your organizationally-managed computer to the Bleeding Edge

Randy Guthrie — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 17:07:05 GMT

Randy Guthrie – Microsoft Technology Evangelist
http://blogs.msdn.com/MIS_Laboratory

One of the challenges facing faculty in higher education who want to start teaching Windows 8 app development, is the adoption lag between when software gets released by Microsoft and when their IT Department determines the time is right to upgrade labs, classrooms, and faculty computers. Many university IT administrators prefer to wait 6 months or a year to upgrade software tools, and 1 to 2 years for operating systems in order for the “bugs” to be worked out and for drivers to be released by OEMs. While this attitude makes some sense from a “total cost of ownership” perspective, it often makes it difficult for faculty to teach leading edge technologies soon after they are publically released. With the availability of Windows 8 and Visual Studio 2012 in recent weeks on DreamSpark, STEM-D faculty and students now have access to the latest tools and platforms, but sadly the timing is probably too late for the bits to get put on university-managed computers in time for Fall instruction. Happily, a new feature in Windows 8 called “Windows to Go” provides a robust solution for teaching and using Windows 8 and Visual Studio 2012 without the need for an IT administrator to upgrade managed computers.

Stated simply, Windows to Go is a feature that creates a “portable” installation of Windows 8 on a small USB Solid State Drive that contains the full OS and any desired applications. With a small change to the BIOS setting that will look for a USB FDD before booting the default “C:/” drive, when the Windows to Go device is inserted in a USB port, the Windows to Go drive will boot up instead of the computer’s regular hard drive, and the Windows to Go installation will work just as if the computer had Windows 8 installed. Everything the user does is saved on the Windows to Go drive, making it totally portable. For example, a faculty member can simply plug his/her Windows to Go drive into any classroom computer and demo the latest programming techniques, and at the end of class power down and remove the drive and the class computer will be untouched. Likewise, a student can bring a Windows to Go installation to any school lab computer, even computers that do not have any programming software installed, insert the Windows to Go drive and be able to work on campus with a custom installation with all the necessary tools and saved project files. You can even use printers, other USB storage keys, wireless mice and keyboards, etc.

In order to create a Windows to Go drive, there are three prerequisites:

1. You need to have a computer that has Windows 8 Enterprise edition installed. For tech students and faculty this is the version that is available on DreamSpark Premium web store. This is also the version available to MSDN subscribers.

2. You need to have a Windows 8 OS .iso file that will be used to install the OS on the Windows to Go drive. DreamSpark Premium allows students and faculty to have multiple copies of the software, but for economy the default quantity on the web store is set to 1. Your department DreamSpark administrator can change the available download quantity from 1 to 2 or more upon request. For faculty members, your DreamSpark administrator has access to volume-license copies of Windows 8 and Visual Studio 2012 that will support the creation of multiple Windows to Go drives using the same file.

3. You need to have a USB 3.0 Solid State Drive (often referred to as a “Flash Drive” with at least 25GB capacity, but larger is better the same as in a regular computer. These are different than USB 3.0 storage drives in several aspects including speed, number of parallel I/O channels, caching, and the performance of the drive controller. Another difference that you will notice is the price. USB 3.0 SSD prices range from approximately $75 for a 25GB drive to $300 for 100GB. At the time of this writing, there are four devices commercially-available that are “certified” Windows to Go compatible:

Kingston Technology 32GB Data Traveller Ultimate USB Flash Drive Mfr # KW-U4132-1FA
SuperTalent 25GB USB 3.0 Express RC8 Flash Drive Mfr # ST3U25GR8S
SuperTalent 50GB USB 3.0 Express RC8 Flash Drive Mfr # ST3U50GR8S
SuperTalent 100GB USB 3.0 Express RC8 Flash Drive Mfr # ST3U100R8S

More information about Windows to Go certified hardware can be found in these excellent articles:

http://in.finance.yahoo.com/news/kingston-digital-create-certified-usb-150800431.ht

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1968/1/

http://thessdreview.com/our-reviews/super-talent-usb-3-0-express-rc8-50gb-sf-1200-ssd-flash-drive-review-the-possibilities-are-endless

I highly recommend reviewing these before purchasing one or more of these drives. They are expensive and the info will be very interesting and useful.

I have been using the Super Talent 25GB USB 3.0 Express RC8 at workshops this month, and have had a lot of success with a variety of PC laptops that attendees have brought, some of which are three and four years old. We only had one very old Dell computer that did not support boot to USB FDD that didn’t work, nor could we figure out how to get a MacBook Pro to boot to USB, but this might have just been lack of knowledge on the part of the owner.

You’ll notice in the picture above the tell-tale “blue” insulator in the USB connector indicating it is a USB 3.0 drive. Computers that support USB 3.0 have a similar blue insulator in the USB 3.0 port. Some computers have both USB 3.0 and 2.0 connectors. You don’t need to have USB 3.0 on the computer using the Windows to Go workspace, but the actual Windows to Go workspace drive does.

The Windows to Go wizard has a hyperlink in the first window that says “What are the hardware requirements”. If you follow it through several levels you end up at the Windows 7 Compatibility Center, which at the time of this writing doesn’t mention any Windows to Go compatible devices. I presume this link will be updated to point to the Windows 8 Compatibility Center before General Availability of Window 8 on October 26, 2012.

Once you have the prerequisites, creating the drive is simple and takes about ten minutes. Following is a detailed walkthrough of the process:

<<insert USB 3.0 Flash Drive>>

Step 1: (‎8/‎28/‎2012 7:29:10 PM) User right click on "Windows_8_Enterprise_VL_EN-US_x64.ISO (list item)" in "Program Manager"

Step 2: (‎8/‎28/‎2012 7:29:14 PM) User left click on "Mount (menu item)"

Step 3: (‎8/‎28/‎2012 7:29:18 PM) User left click on "Minimize (button)" in "DVD Drive (E:) HRM_CENA_X64FREV_EN-US_DV5"

Step 4: (‎8/‎28/‎2012 7:29:23 PM) User keyboard input [... Windows Key]

Step 5: (‎8/‎28/‎2012 7:29:26 PM) User keyboard input on "Start menu (pane)" in "Start menu" [...]

Step 6: (‎8/‎28/‎2012 7:29:27 PM) User keyboard input on "Search (pane)" in "Search" [...]

Step 7: (‎8/‎28/‎2012 7:29:31 PM) User left click on "Settings (text)" in "Search"

Step 8: (‎8/‎28/‎2012 7:29:33 PM) User left click on "Windows To Go (edit)" in "Settings Search"

Step 9: (‎8/‎28/‎2012 7:29:39 PM) User left click on "Next (button)" in "Create a Windows To Go workspace"

Step 10: (‎8/‎28/‎2012 7:29:42 PM) User left click on "Next (button)" in "Create a Windows To Go workspace"

Step 11: (‎8/‎28/‎2012 7:29:45 PM) User left click on "Skip (button)" in "Create a Windows To Go workspace"

Step 12: (‎8/‎28/‎2012 7:29:50 PM) User left click on "Create (button)" in "Create a Windows To Go workspace"

Step 13: (‎8/‎28/‎2012 7:48:46 PM) User left click on "Save and close (button)" in "Create a Windows To Go workspace"

Your Windows to Go workspace is now created. I will explain how to set up a computer to use a Windows to Go workspace in my next blog post.

Cheers,

Randy

Windows 8 App Workshops for Academic Audiences Scheduled for the Western US

Randy Guthrie — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 22:43:16 GMT

Randy Guthrie – Microsoft Technical Evangelist
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/MIS_Laboratory

Microsoft’s Develop and Platform Evangelism organization has scheduled a series of “train-the-trainer” type workshops specifically focused on building apps for the new Windows 8 UI. These workshops are targeted specifically for faculty who want to integrate Windows 8 app development into courses this year.

Some of the topics include:

-Windows UI Design Principals
-Windows Store, App Certification, and App Ecosystem
-Introduction to Visual Studio 2012
-Intro to HTML 5/CSS Win 8 apps
-Intro to Windows Phone
-Intro to Expression Blend
-Intro to XML and C#
-Intro to C++ app development
-Creating a student startup with Apps and BizSpark
-Helping your students win up to $100K with the Imagine Cup

The one and two-day workshops are designed to give higher-education faculty from a broad spectrum of disciplines a jump-start in adopting Windows 8 app development and Windows Phone development into the curriculum. The content covered is applicable to a variety of teaching scenarios including: introductory programming, web development, HCI, senior project/capstone, and stand-alone elective courses.

The content covered will include and extend the official app design curriculum available on Faculty Connection and will also cover additional content intended for those wanting to "go pro" and publish apps in market.

For specific location, event details and to register:

Seattle, WA                   Aug 8th-9th : http://washwin8faculty.eventbrite.com/
Mountain View, CA    Aug 14th: http://svcwin8facultyworkshop.eventbrite.com/
Denver, CO                   Aug 17th: http://denverwin8facultyworkshop.eventbrite.com/
Los Angeles, CA           Aug 21st http://lawindows8facultyworkshop.eventbrite.com/
Irvine, CA                      Aug 23rd: http://irvinewin8facultyworkshop.eventbrite.com/
Tempe, AZ                    Sept 14th: http://tempewin8facultyworkshop.eventbrite.com/
Salt Lake City, UT         Sept 21st: http://utahwin8academicworkshop.eventbrite.com/

While the workshop content is specifically designed for the use by higher-education faculty in college-level courses, the workshops are also open to K-12 faculty, teaching assistants, lab assistants, and advanced students. Seating is limited so reserve your spot today.

Cheers,

Randy

Windows 8 Release Preview Now Available

Randy Guthrie — Thu, 31 May 2012 19:03:38 GMT

Randy Guthrie – Microsoft Academic Developer Evangelist

As of 12:00pm Pacific Daylight Savings Time, the “Release Preview” version of the Windows 8 operating system is now available in 14 languages for free download at http://preview.windows.com . The official press release includes the following information:

New Apps Provide an Even Richer Experience

Windows 8 Release Preview delivers new apps from Microsoft and partners. Highlights include Bing Travel, News and Sports apps, as well as Gaming and Music Xbox apps that integrate with your Zune pass. The Windows 8 Release Preview also features notable improvements to the Mail, Photos and People apps that initially debuted with the Windows 8 Consumer Preview. In addition, Microsoft has worked closely with its partners to deliver apps from around the world through the Windows Store.

Beyond the new apps from Microsoft and partners, customers testing the Windows 8 Release Preview will also experience tens of thousands of refinements across the product, such as increased personalization options for the Start screen, improved multimonitor support, refinements to the way people find and download apps through the Windows Store, and new Family Safety features. The new Internet Explorer 10 redefines browsing, particularly for touch-enabled devices. The Web is as fast and fluid as any app, and with new capabilities in the Windows 8 Release Preview such as “flip ahead,” it is just as intuitive. A touch-friendly and power-optimized Adobe Flash Player is now integrated into Internet Explorer 10, and it is also the first browser to feature Do Not Track “on” by default, giving customers more choice and control over their privacy.

The Path to Windows 8

Beginning June 2, 2012, Microsoft will roll out the Windows Upgrade Offer in 131 markets, including the U.S. and Canada. Consumers who buy eligible Windows 7-based PCs through Jan. 31, 2013, can purchase an upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for an estimated retail price of $14.99 (U.S.) during the time of the promotion. More information about the Windows Upgrade Offer will be available June 1. In addition to the Windows Upgrade Offer designed for consumers buying new Windows 7-based PCs, Microsoft will also announce other offers in the coming months that will help consumers with existing Windows 7-based PCs upgrade to Windows 8 when it is generally available.

Additional information about the Windows 8 Release Preview can be found at these various official news channels throughout the day starting 12:00 PDT May 31, 2012:

Building Windows 8 Blog

Windows Experience Blog

Windows 8 Developer Blog

Windows for your Business Blog

Cheers,

Randy

Follow me on Twitter: @RandyGuthrie

50+ On-campus student jobs with Microsoft

Randy Guthrie — Wed, 16 May 2012 21:24:22 GMT

Randy Guthrie – Microsoft Academic Developer Evangelist

US MSP Program Job Description | 2012–2013 Academic Year

What are we looking for?

If you’re passionate about technology, love throwing fun events on campus, and aren’t shy about sharing your enthusiasm for the latest Microsoft products, you could be the perfect fit for the Microsoft Student Partners program! Whether you’re a tech junkie or a marketing guru, you could have the chance to be the Microsoft rockstar of your campus.

We’re looking for students who are addicted to posting on Facebook and Twitter, are really involved in leading in campus organizations, and have a passion for technology and for Microsoft. If you want to share your enthusiasm and develop industry-leading skills, we want to hear from you.

What will you do?

You’ll be recognized as the one and only Microsoft Student Partner on your campus! You’ll spend the year planning campus events, sharing your experiences via social media, demonstrating the latest technologies wherever you go, and working with the bookstore, clubs, organizations, and professors.

Our Microsoft Student Partners this past year:

o Built Windows Phone Apps.

o Demoed Windows features to students and faculty on campus.

o Showed off the brand new Xbox Dashboard.

o Shared Xbox games with friends including Gears of War 3, Forza 4, Gunstringer and much more!

o Recruited for Imagine Cup, the world’s premier student technology competition.

o Promoted the new social network So.cl and sent exclusive invitations to their friends and fellow students to join.

Every month we’ll have training webcasts with Microsoft leaders to enhance your learning about marketing and technology from people on the cutting edge.

What’s in it for you?

You’ll get plenty of exposure and recognition on campus with faculty and students. You’ll also have access to numerous benefits including Microsoft products, software, reference materials, training, and the inside scoop on future job opportunities. You’ll get direct interaction with Microsoft professionals and their partners. And, you’ll gain the skills that could land you that important job or internship.

What’s the fine print?

The time commitment is 5–10 hours a week. Students must be enrolled full time in an accredited academic institution within the United States. All students must have valid identification and be eligible to work in the United States from July 1, 2012, through June 30, 2013.

Participants receive competitive compensation as well as software and hardware in exchange for their active participation in the program. Students participating in the Microsoft Student Partners program are employees of a third-party, which will manage the program on behalf of Microsoft.

Application Process

Step 1: Send us your resume (usmsp@microsoft.com)

Step 2: Create a video

We want to get to know you and discover your passion for technology. Create and submit a one-minute video telling us about your favorite experience with a Microsoft technology and why you want to be an MSP on your campus.

Your entry has to be compelling. It has to be stimulating. So if you're ready, produce your video and get noticed.

Once your video is posted to YouTube, be sure to share with your friends to drive views and comments!

Step 3: Fill out the online application at http://bit.ly/USMSP13.

There are only 25 questions and it should take you about 30 minutes to complete.

Feel free to reach out with any questions to usmsp@microsoft.com.

Free Windows 8 Metro App Book: Today Only!

Randy Guthrie — Tue, 01 May 2012 18:08:51 GMT

Randy Guthrie – Microsoft Academic Developer Evangelist
http://blogs.msdn.com/MIS_Laboratory

Today until Midnight tonight, May 1st, Apress Publishers is offering a free download of “Metro Revealed: building Windows 8 apps with HTML 5 and JavaScript”. This book normally costs $10.49US, but today only you can download it free with the MET12 comp code. Perfect for your summer “prep” time. Don’t delay, download today! http://www.apress.com/events/metrorevealed

Cheers,

Randy

Microsoft Announces Top Student Software Projects for 2012

Randy Guthrie — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 23:20:33 GMT

Randy Guthrie – Microsoft Academic Developer Evangelist
http://blogs.msdn.com/MIS_Laboratory

This weekend Microsoft will host the Tenth Annual Imagine Cup software competition at the Microsoft campus in Redmond, WA. Twenty-two finalist teams from universities all over the United States will compete for cash prizes, bragging rights and a chance to represent the US at the Imagine Cup World Finals to be held in Sydney, Australia this coming July. Some of the top projects include a Kinect application that teaches math, a livestock monitoring solution that reduces the cost of milk production, and a mobile phone app that coordinates same-day deliveries of perishable food donations. Click here: http://on.fb.me/icusWest to see a brief overview of the projects competing in this year’s competition and to vote on the one that you think has the most potential to have a positive impact on the world. Is your school or Alma Mater competing this year? Then vote every day to get your team to the top of the People’s Choice competition. The team with the most votes gets a guaranteed trip to the World Finals. If your school isn’t competing this year, then it’s not too early to start planning for next year’s competition. Microsoft’s Developer and Platform Evangelism group can come to your campus and hold workshops on all the latest Microsoft technologies including Windows 8, Azure (Cloud Computing Platform), Windows Phone and Kinect. Thinking about adding one of these technologies to your curriculum? Microsoft has lots of resources including projects, hands-on labs, PowerPoint lectures, and even a free hardware loaner program for your students; and watch your in-box for announcements about our Windows 8 early-adopter grant program to be formally announced in next few weeks.

Microsoft continues to make big investments in support of technology education, and the Imagine Cup is just one of the ways your students can show “their stuff”. Check out our finalists today, and start planning for your students to bring home the big prize next year.

Cheers,

Randy

Design Principles for Metro Apps

Randy Guthrie — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 19:37:31 GMT

Randy Guthrie – Microsoft Academic Developer Evangelist

Beyond coming up with an idea for a Windows Phone or Windows 8 app, the Metro interface encourages a visual design approach for apps that reflects the OS. Design of a great-looking app is non-trivial, and while the majority of apps are created by someone with programming skills, most programmers do not have formal design training, and so there is often a lot of room for improvement when it comes to the appearance and functionality of the User Interface.

Microsoft’s Metro UI strives to excel in ease of use and intuitiveness. Apps built for Metro devices (re: Zune player, Windows Phone and forthcoming Windows 8) should mirror the Metro design principles manifested in OS. People who have used a Metro device generally agree it is a nice interface, few have the skills to recognize why (me included) without some coaching. While downloading Visual Studio 2011 beta today, I noticed some nice Metro documentation on MSDN, and thought I would share (think copy/paste) some of what I found:

Metro style design has a set of five guiding principles to help you make the best choices when designing your app. These principles are the foundation for building great Metro style apps. Consider these principles as you plan your app, and always ensure your design and development choices live up to these principles.

Show pride in craftsmanship

Devote time and energy to small things that are seen often by many of your users, and engineer the experience to be complete and polished at every stage.

Sweat the details.
Make using apps safe and reliable.
Use balance, symmetry, and hierarchy to foster trust and a sense of integrity.
Align your app layout to the grid, the classic Metro style layout for apps.

Be fast and fluid

Let people interact directly with content, and respond to actions quickly with matching energy. Bring life to the experience by creating a sense of continuity and telling a story through meaningful use of motion.

Be responsive to user interaction and ready for the next interaction.
Design for touch and intuitive interaction.
Delight your users with motion.
Create a UI that is immersive and compelling.

Be authentically digital

Take full advantage of the digital medium. Remove physical boundaries to create experiences that are more efficient and effortless than reality. Being authentically digital means embracing the fact that apps are pixels on a screen and designing with colors and images that go beyond the limits of the real world.

Connect to the cloud so that your users can stay connected to each other.
Be dynamic and alive with communication.
Use typography beautifully.
Use bold, vibrant colors.
Use motion meaningfully.

Do more with less

You can do more with less by reducing your design to its essence, and solving for distractions, not discoverability. Create a clean and purposeful experience by leaving only the most relevant elements on screen so people can be immersed in the content.

Be great at something instead of mediocre at many things.
Put content before chrome.
Be visually focused and direct, letting people get immersed in what they love, and they will explore the rest.
Inspire confidence in users.

Desktop browsers have quite a lot of chrome (menus, options, status bars, and so on) that is only sometimes useful. Typically, however, users open a browser to see a webpage, not to interact with the browser. Moving commands off the browser chrome and into the app bar or into charms helps users focus on what they care about.

Win as one

Work with other apps, devices, and the system to complete scenarios for people, like picking content from one app and sharing it with another. Take advantage of what people already know, like standard touch gestures and charms, to provide a sense of familiarity, control, and confidence.

Fit into the UI model.
Reduce redundancy in your UI.
Work with other apps to complete scenarios by participating in app contracts.
Use our tools and templates to promote consistency.

Following these five Metro style design principles will help you make the best choices when designing your app.

Cheers,

Randy
Twitter: @RandyGuthrie

The Three “True” Interview Questions

Randy Guthrie — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:44:13 GMT

Randy Guthrie – Microsoft Academic Developer Evangelist

In checking my e-mail this morning I received a LinkedIn update regarding a pretty interesting Forbes article about the only three “true” interview questions. All interview questions really boil down to these three:

Can you do the job?
Will you love the job?
Can we tolerate working with you?

Interviewers try to answer those questions by identifying a candidate’s strengths (can you do the job), motivation (will you love the job) and fit (can we tolerate working with you.

Knowing that this is really what employers are looking for, you should write your resume and cover letters to drive home your qualifications in these areas: not with unsupported statements, but with evidence and accomplishments that show that you can do the job with passion in a way that contributes holistically to the organization. But more importantly, you should prepare (think rehearsal) for interviews by mentally recalling situations where you have demonstrated the skills, motivation, and interpersonal awareness the interviewer is looking for. For tips on how to ace a job interview, check out Behavioral Interviewing Video.

Plus, check out the full article at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/georgebradt/2011/04/27/top-executive-recruiters-agree-there-are-only-three-key-job-interview-questions/

Cheers,

Randy

*follow me on twitter @RandyGuthrie

Key Imagine Cup 2012 Dates Approaching

Randy Guthrie — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:55:16 GMT

Randy Guthrie – Microsoft Academic Developer Evangelist
http://blogs.msdn.com/MIS_Laboratory

Microsoft’s Imagine Cup is one of the world’s largest student technology competitions, and this year’s events promise to be just as exciting and rewarding as last year. The Imagine Cup is a lot like the Olympics where competitors from all over the world compete in a variety of events for prestige and big prizes. Many countries (like the US) hold local eliminations for the software design category, but it’s a international smack-down for the game, phone, cloud, and Kinect events. What makes the Imagine Cup different is it’s theme: all of the projects are designed to “help solve the world’s toughest [social] problems”.

With such a wide variety of events, there is something for almost any student with a passion for technology. Getting started is easy, but some key registration and entry deadlines are approaching. This year’s Finals will be held in Sydney, Australia, and Microsoft will be covering all expenses for the finalists who are selected to compete in the final rounds (about 450 students!).

Here is a quick summary of each event, the key dates, and a link to all the details you need to register and compete:

United States Software Design Competition
Scope: create a software project based on Microsoft technology that relates in some way to the Imagine Cup theme. Great way to get extra recognition for capstone or graduate projects.

Round One: Team Formation and Draft Business Plan – February 14, 2012 4:59pm Pacific Time

Round Two: Final business plan, 5 minute video and software at beta level of completion: March 13, 2012 16:59 Pacific

details: http://www.imaginecup.us/competitions/SoftwareDesign/index.aspx#fbid=MyWo7JoClsa

United States Console/PC Game Design Competition

Scope: create a game using the XNA framework that relates in some way to the Imagine Cup theme.

Round One: Team Formation and Draft Storyboard – February 14, 2012 16:59pm Pacific
Round Two: playable game (at least one complete level), game instructions, detailed description, and video “trailer” March 13, 2012 16:59pm Pacific time

details: http://www.imaginecup.us/competitions/GameDesign/index.aspx#fbid=MyWo7JoClsa

United States Mobile Game Design Competition
Scope: create a game using the XNA framework or XMAL (Silverlight) that will run on a Windows Phone emulator or device, or the Zune music player that relates in some way to the Imagine Cup theme.

details: http://www.imaginecup.us/competitions/GameDesign/index.aspx#fbid=MyWo7JoClsa

NOTE: the United States and International Game competitions are separate competitions and student teams are highly encouraged to enter BOTH. The deliverables are the same. Students who are enter the US Game competition are not automatically entered into the International competition, nor do the winners of the US competition advance to the International finals. They are separate competitions that just provide more opportunities for students to win.

International Console/PC Game Design Competition
Scope: create a game using the XNA framework that relates in some way to the Imagine Cup theme.

Round One: Team Formation and Draft Storyboard – February 14, 2012 23:59pm GMT

details: http://www.imaginecup.com/Competition/mycompetitionportal.aspx?competitionId=61

International Mobile Game Design Competition
Scope: create a game using the XNA framework or XMAL (Silverlight) that will run on a Windows Phone emulator or device, or the Zune music player that relates in some way to the Imagine Cup theme.

Round One: Team Formation and Draft Storyboard – February 14, 2012 23:59pm GMT

details: http://www.imaginecup.com/Competition/mycompetitionportal.aspx?competitionId=62

Kinect Fun Labs Challenge
Scope: Design a Kinect for PC game that relates to the Imagine Cup theme

Live Webcast Competitor Briefing – February 14, 2012 16:00 and 23:00 GMT

Round One: Team Formation/Registration and submission of your Kinect gadget project plan March 6, 2012 23:59 GMT

The top 100 teams get FREE Kinect for PC sensors so you’ll have all you need for Round 2!

details: http://www.imaginecup.com/Competition/mycompetitionportal.aspx?competitionId=68

Windows [8] Metro Style App Challenge
Scope: Pass one quiz and design an app for Windows 8

Round One : Pass at least one quiz about Windows 8 with a score of 50% or higher (15/30) and you automatically advance to Round Two!
Quiz Start Time (00:01 GMT)

Quiz 1    31 January 2012
Quiz 2      7 February 2012
Quiz 3    14 February 2012
Quiz 4    21 February 2012
Quiz 5    28 February 2012
Quiz 6       6 March 2012

Round Two: Submit your Windows 8 app: Start date March 13, 2012 end date May 3rd 2012

details: http://www.imaginecup.com/Competition/mycompetitionportal.aspx?competitionId=70

Windows Azure (cloud) Challenge
Scope: Design a Windows Azure (cloud) app

Competitor briefing: February 16, 2012 16:00 GMT and February 17, 2012 03:00 GMT

Round One: Registration, concept and prototype design March 13, 2012 23:59 GMT
Round Two: Finished application submission May 3, 2012 23:59 GMT

details: http://www.imaginecup.com/Competition/mycompetitionportal.aspx?competitionId=69

Windows Phone Challenge
Scope: build a Windows Phone app (not a game) that relates to the Imagine Cup theme

Round One: team registration and concept design March 13, 2012 23:59 GMT
Round Two: app submission May 3, 2012 23:59 GMT

Details: http://www.imaginecup.com/Competition/mycompetitionportal.aspx?competitionId=66

Cheers,

Randy

Kinect Fun Labs Challenge Announcement

Randy Guthrie — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:41:16 GMT

Randy Guthrie – Microsoft Academic Developer Evangelist
http://blogs.msdn.com/MIS_Laboratory

I am excited to announce a new Imagine Cup challenge based on the Kinect for PC SDK that was recently released.

The Imagine Cup 2012 Kinect Fun Labs Challenge asks students to think about entertainment with a social conscience and brings the Imagine Cup into the living room. It is a unique opportunity for students to develop applications that change the world with the Fun Labs area of Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE. The Imagine Cup Kinect Fun Labs Challenge tests students’ ability to build a prototype which leverages natural user interface (NUI) features such as skeletal tracking, speech recognition, face recognition, and gestures. For this Challenge, we will provide you with state-of-the-art tools to develop Kinect Fun Labs style applications on your PC. And… the top 100 Teams that advance to Round 2 will receive a free Kinect for Windows sensor! Get started building your solution today.

Get your questions ready! Join Kinect Fun Labs Challenge Captain Dan Waters on 14 February at 16:00 or 23:30 GMT via Live Meeting and ask him about competing in the Kinect Fun Labs Challenge. Follow these instructions to join the Live Meeting. The Live Meeting sessions will be recorded and posted on this page under the Helpful Links. Find out what time these meetings take place in your country/region.

Ready to Get Started?

Take a few minutes to read the Kinect Fun Labs Challenge Rules and the Imagine Cup Official Rules and Regulations.

Next: Register and sign up to compete in the Imagine Cup 2012 student technology competition.

Read the Kinect Fun Labs Challenge Rules first but if you want to get started now, take a look below at what is required for Round 1.

Round 1
Create a Team!

It can be a team of one up to four students. All teams are required to complete and submit a Project Plan that describes your team’s gadget, the intent of your gadget, and details of the unique gadget features and how your gadget aligns to the Imagine Cup 2012 Theme - Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems. Round 1 submissions are due by 23:59 PM GMT on 06 March 2012.

Need a Little Inspiration? Not sure which one of the world’s toughest problems you want to solve? You can choose to address a global problem or something in your local community that inspires you. You can find some additional motivation through one of the eight United Nations Millennium Development Goals. While these MDGs are not required to be in your solution, the Imagine Cup offers these ambitious challenges as a guide to help you think about ways to bring about positive social change in your local community or around the world.

Get Connected. Follow the Imagine Cup Blog to gain access to new training and resources to help you with your project, read about past Imagine Cup competitors' successes, and get tips from your Captain.

Cheers,

Randy

Using the Windows 7 USB Download Tool with ANY .iso file

Randy Guthrie — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:39:44 GMT

Randy Guthrie – Microsoft Academic Developer Evangelist
http://blogs.msdn.com/MIS_Laboratory

As notebooks, netbooks and slates get thinner, smaller, and more power-conscious, optical drives that can read and write to a bootable DVD have now become a peripheral device rather than a built-in. This makes it difficult to install software from a DVD for devices that do not have an optical drive, and even more problematic when you want to wipe the device and install a new OS. For these devices, installing software that you download as a compressed .iso file from a SD card or USB flash memory device is fast and cheap and a great alternative to buying an external optical reader. This is particularly useful to developers since most (if not all) of the software available via MSDN and DreamSpark is only available for download in the .iso format. Unfortunately there are not a lot of turn-key tools out there for burning from an .iso to a USB memory device.

Microsoft has created the Windows 7 USB Download Tool which is really nice if your .iso is a Windows 7 operating system, but it fails when you try to use it with any other .iso. While searching for a work-around, I found this great blog post by Rafael Rivera with an explanation for why the Windows 7 USB Download tool won’t work with every .iso file:

It appears there are two (possibly more) “navigation buoys” within UDF-formatted ISOs that point to important chunks of the image called Anchor Volume Descriptor Pointers (AVDPs). The first AVDP is somewhere near the top of the image. The last AVDP is located in what appears to be the last logical block of the image. (My guess is this is to support bi-directional reading.)

So assuming each logical block of the image is 2048 bytes large, one could also assume the last logical block is –2048 from the end of the file, right? Well, that’s what the tool assumes. It checks for the last AVDP at the start of the last logical block, doesn’t find it, and bombs out.

Rafael wrote a tiny downloadable utility program that will “fix” any .iso file where the last logical block does not have the AVDP so that the Windows 7 USB Download tool will work. Basically, you download the .zipped utility program and extract it. Then copy the .exe file to the same directory as your iso file, then run the utility in command mode pointing to the .iso file. In a second or so, your .iso file will be “fixed” so that the last logical block is the same size as the rest and the Windows 7 Download Tool will work. I tested it with the Windows 8 Developer Preview .iso I had downloaded and it worked like a charm.

Once you have the utility unpacked and in the same directory as your .iso file, launch a command prompt and change the directory to the folder where your files are, and then run the utility pointing to the .iso file:

In a few seconds your .iso file will be fixed! Then launch the Windows 7 USB Download Tool pointing to your .iso file and your USB memory device will be formatted and your .iso file unpacked so it will act just like a DVD. If installing an application, just navigate to the setup file and double click. If you are installing an OS, then first you have to make sure your boot priority setting in your BIOS lists the USB device first, then DVD and finally your hard drive. Then restart your computing device and it should start booting from the USB device. As an added bonus, installing programs from flash memory devices, particularly USB devices goes MUCH faster than from DVDs.

Cheers!

Randy

Windows Phone 7: Personal Preparation for Attending a WP7 App Dev Workshop

Randy Guthrie — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 07:55:56 GMT

Randy Guthrie – Microsoft Academic Developer Evangelist
blogs.msdn.com/MIS_Laboratory

At most Windows Phone 7 app development workshops that I have hosted or attended, we spend the first hour or longer getting everyone set up with the proper accounts and software. A lot of time can be saved (and more other content covered) if attendees can arrive with the essential accounts set up and software installed. The following essentials can be easily accomplished in about two hours with little or no guidance in advance of your Windows Phone 7 workshop: If you get stuck on any of these steps, let your event host know, or arrive early to get help with last piece of preparation.

Personal Online Preparation: (note: this should be done in order)

1. Create AppHub Account http://create.msdn.com (student-type is free)
-a. enter or create Windows Live ID
-b. accept terms and conditions
-c. select “Student”-type account (you will be re-directed to the DreamSpark website to verify your student status)
-d. complete account registration
Note: if you have problems getting verified as a student in DreamSpark, please log a support incident with DreamSpark support ASAP
2. Create PubCenter Account http://advertising.microsoft.com/mobile-apps
3. Create Bing Maps Developer Account http://www.microsoft.com/maps/developers/mobile.aspx

Computer Hardware Preparation

Note: Visual Studio and the WP7 phone tools will only run on Windows 7 (and Windows Vista); They will not work on Windows XP. Apple/OSX users can install BootCamp or other Virtual HD software and then install and run Windows 7 and the phone SDK in dual boot mode (student Mac users can get a copy of Windows 7 from their department’s DreamSpark premium account from from your Microsoft event host). Mac users should allocate as much memory as possible to the Windows 7 VM else performance, particularly of the phone emulator, will be severely degraded.

Express Option:

Download and install Windows Phone 7 SDK https://www.dreamspark.com/Product/Product.aspx?productid=26
Download and install the Zune Client application http://www.zune.net

Pro Developer Option

Download and install Visual Studio 2010 Professional (or Ultimate)https://www.dreamspark.com/Product/Product.aspx?productid=4
Download and Install Visual Studio 2010 Service Pack 1
Download and install Expression Blend 4 Ultimate https://www.dreamspark.com/Product/Product.aspx?productid=29
Download and install Expression Studio Service Pack 1
Download and install Windows Phone 7 SDK https://www.dreamspark.com/Product/Product.aspx?productid=26
Download and install the Windows Phone toolkit from NuGet: http://www.windowsphonegeek.com/tips/How-to-install-Windows-Phone-Toolkit-Aug-2011-via-NuGet
Download and install the Zune Client application: http://www.zune.net

Cheers,

Randy

New! HTML 5 and CSS: Six Complete Lessons

Randy Guthrie — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 23:05:00 GMT

Randy Guthrie – Microsoft Academic Developer Evangelist
http://blogs.msdn.com/MIS_Laboratory

HTML 5 coupled with CSS is emerging as the new hot development language. I am delighted to announce that we have created six complete lessons that cover the most interesting and dynamic new features of HTML 5 that are ready to drop into a web development or intro programming course. Each lesson comes with instructor PowerPoint slides, a complete reading assignment with hands-on examples, including the files and assets to use in each assignment. A single lesson has enough content for a 75-100 minute class session, and the hands-on examples are great for either a lab session or homework assignment.

The six lessons are:

Lesson 1 – Defining HTML 5
Lesson 2 – Fundamentals of HTML 5, XHTML, and CSS
Lesson 3 – Introduction to CSS Layout
Lesson 4 – Using HTML 5 Markup
Lesson 5 – Working with Canvas
Lesson 6 – HTML 5 Multi-Media and Drag and Drop

This content is available to faculty (and students/hobbyist/pros) at no charge and can be downloaded from here: http://www.mis-laboratory.com/faculty/

With these lessons it is easy to update your curriculum (or resume) with the latest technology. Not faculty or a student? These lessons are a great way to self-study and get up to speed on the latest development language.

What tools can you use? Early in 2011 Microsoft Visual Studio released service packs for VS 2010 and Expression Studio 4. For more information about using Microsoft’s developer tools for HTML 5 programming, check out Brandon Satrom’s great MSDN Magazine article “Building Apps with HTML 5: What You Need to Know”: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/hh335062.aspx.

Need the tools? You can get Microsoft Webmatrix (along with some great HTML 5 learning content from here: http://www.asp.net/WebMatrix and here: http://www.asp.net .

Cheers,

Randy

Imagine a World Where You Win a Free Trip to Australia

Randy Guthrie — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 19:21:08 GMT

Randy Guthrie – Microsoft Academic Developer Evangelist
http://blogs.msdn.com/MIS_Laboratory

Microsoft’s Imagine Cup competition is one of the world’s largest student technology competitions, and while the dust is still settling from last July’s record-breaking World Finals in New York, I am happy to announce that the 2012 United States Imagine Cup competition has started and is bigger and better than ever. In 2012 the US is hosting its own Software Design, Game Design, and IT Challenge competitions in Redmond, WA, and the World Finals will be held in Sydney, Australia.

The theme for the Imagine Cup is “Imagine a World Where Technology Helps Solve the World’s Toughest Problems”. What that means is that projects have to have some kind of philanthropic spin; including the games. Some of last year’s finalists developed solutions that helped partially-blind students take notes in class, screen blood samples for malaria using a mobile phone, and help students with asthma manage their symptoms by playing a video game that requires breathing through a special tube. Some projects were developed just for the competition and others were developed primarily for research or to fill a course requirement and then were entered as a secondary objective. Either way, a good idea and some dedication can lead to a life-changing experience and maybe a trip of a lifetime to Australia for the Imagine Cup World Finals!

Fall is the Secret

The United States runs two Imagine Cup competitions per year to better align with the academic calendar; one in the Fall and one in the Spring. The Fall competition historically has about the half as many competitors than the Spring competition, and finalists are chosen from both so there is a big advantage for competing in the Fall. Fall finalists are announced by the end of November, so teams that are selected in Fall get about 4 months to polish their projects. Spring winners are announced in March and will have less than 6 weeks to polish and complete their projects, so the advantages of competing in Fall are almost overwhelming if you can get your team formed and plans submitted by the Fall Round One deadline of October 14th. Teams that are not selected as finalists in the Fall are allowed (and encouraged) to keep working on their projects, incorporate judging feedback and resubmit them in the Spring.

The Competitions

Software Design – Round One Deliverables

Team Registration
Draft Business Plan
Due October 14th at 5pm

Game Design – Round One Deliverables

Team Registration
Draft Game Storyboard
Due October 14th at 5pm

IT Challenge – Round One

Pass quiz on website with score of 15 or higher
Due TBD

As you can see it is easy to get started. The good news is that Round One for Software Design and Game Design is a project milestone date and is not judged. You can literally form a team, write a storyboard or business plan draft and submit an entry in under an hour. Your Round One entry shows your intent and automatically advances your team to Round Two. For the IT Challenge, you can take the tests as often as you like; score above 15 and you automatically advance to the next round.

The Software Design and Game Design competitions are team competitions; students can form teams of up to four students plus a faculty mentor. The IT Challenge is an individual competition that aligns with Microsoft’s IT Certifications.

Software Design – Round Two Deliverables

Updated Business Plan
Beta Code
3-5 minute video presentation (think infomercial)
Due November 14th at 5pm

Game Design – Round Two Deliverables

Playable game executable (at least one complete level)
Written game summary
Game instructions
3-5 minute game demo video
Due November 14th at 5pm

IT Challenge – Round Two

Case Study
Due TBD

The Rewards

Ten Software Design, Twenty Game Design (ten in each category) and Ten IT Challenge Competitors will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to the Imagine Cup US finals in April 2012 at the Microsoft Redmond Campus. First, Second and Third place teams will receive cash prizes. The winner of the US Software Design competition also will represent the US at the Imagine Cup World Finals at Sydney, Australia in July 2012.

Imagine Cup competitors also get invaluable experience that is highly valued by recruiters. Many Imagine Cup competitors get interviews and job offers from Microsoft. Even if you don’t get selected as a finalist, you can add your experience to your resume and may qualify for honorable mention, which can add important differentiation to your resume.

Last year the first-place team in the Software Design category not only won individual cash prizes, but they also won a $25,000 prize for their mentor’s department. This year, we are expanding the departmental sponsor grant award to include both Software Design and Game Design winners.

Resources

Besides the resources listed on the Imagine Cup web page, your school may qualify for an on-campus Imagine Cup workshop. Microsoft has fielded a team of regional developer evangelists that can come to campus, explain the details of the competition, and walk interested students through the sign-up, brainstorming, team formation, and business plan/storyboard submission; from zero to Round One in less than two hours! Interested in using Windows 7, Kinect, or Windows 8? Your school may also qualify for a technical jump-start workshop to get you from plan to code as quickly as possible. For more information send an e-mail that includes your name, school, and competition you are interest in via: Imagine Cup Contact Link.

Cheers,

Randy

Windows Phone 7 “Mango” Developer Jumpstart: Free Live Training (online)

Randy Guthrie — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 16:10:24 GMT

Randy Guthrie – Microsoft Academic Developer Evangelist
http://blogs.msdn.com/MIS_Laboratory

“Mango” Jump Start! Aug. 23-24! Pass it on…

That's right, Microsoft MVPs Rob Miles and Andy Wigley are back! Microsoft Learning hosted a Windows Phone 7 Jump Start (plus an update course) last year and it was an absolute smash. Mobile application developers raved about the fast-paced, demo-rich approach, the timeliness of real-world content on new technology, as well as the engaging and often-times humorous delivery. Now that "Mango" has made such a huge splash, they have put together another great course.

This two-day live virtual class, Building Applications for Windows Phone Mango Jump Start, is specially tailored for developers looking to build cool applications and games for the new Windows Phone Mango Platform. Academics who are planning to teach mobile development and take advantage of our academic phone loaner program can also benefit from this deep dive.

Dates: August 23-24, 2011
Time: 8:00am – 4:00pm PST
Duration: 8 hours/day, including hour lunch break
Registration Link: http://bit.ly/Mango-Jump

Mango is an important leap forward in Microsoft’s overall mobile strategy and the developer community has taken notice. Now is the time to embrace the “tile-and-app” UI and reap the rewards Mango provides your development team and user community. Here's an overview of what Rob and Andy will cover:

Day One — August 23, 2011 | 8am-5pm PDT | Live online training
• Building Windows Phone Apps with Visual Studio 2010
• Silverlight on Windows Phone – Introduction
• Silverlight on Windows Phone – Advanced
• Using Expression to Build Windows Phone Interfaces
• Windows Phone Fast Application Switching
• Windows Phone Multi-tasking & Background Tasks
• Using Windows Phone Resources (Bing Maps, Camera, etc.)

Day Two — August 24, 2011 | 8am-5pm PDT | Live online training
• Application Data Storage on Windows Phone
• Using Networks with Windows Phone
• Windows Azure and Windows Phone
• Notifications on Windows Phone
• XNA for Windows Phone
• Selling a Windows Phone Application

Want more information about our special WP7 academic resources for faculty and students including curriculum, free pro accounts, and our “loan to own” phone program? Click on the “E-mail Author” link to the left.

Update as of 4:00pm Mountain:

We’ll post the recorded sessions on Channel 9, MS Showcase and iTunes approx. 2 weeks after the event where anyone can download. It will also be made available for IT Academy account members to download and provide sessions on campus.

Cheers,

Randy

Super-Detailed First (MashUp)Windows Phone 7 App Walkthrough

Randy Guthrie — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 04:08:32 GMT

Randy Guthrie – Microsoft Academic Developer Evangelist
http://blogs.msdn.com/MIS_Laboratory

I just spend the last couple of hours writing a draft project description for college professors who what to add a mobile application development project to their courses to give students a taste of the entire “software development life-cycle” or SDLC without getting bogged down into too much programming (or in this case programming at all). In previous posts I mentioned the AppMakr browser-based development tool. In the following example I assume the student has no prior knowledge of the Windows Phone 7 ecosystem, and walk them pretty-much through the process from start to finish. Please give feedback if I’m missing something or made a mistake!

Cheers,

Randy

Project Overview

In this project students will build a simple (but unique) Windows Phone 7 mobile phone app and submit it the WP7 app marketplace.

Required Tools:

Computer (Mac or PC) with:
Web Browser
Windows 7 OS (Mac will need to dual boot to Windows via Bootcamp or Parallels)
Windows Phone 7 Developer Tools: Emulator, Deployment Tool, and Registration Tool
Zune Client Software (download at http://www.zune.com )

Step One – Create Your Pro Account/ Start Your Software Company

1. Create an account at http://www.dreamspark.com

a. Sign-in: use your Windows Live ID or create one

b. Get Verified: verify as a student > Get verified through my school > continue and use the filters on the left: US > [ your state] > [your university]> Continue > [enter your school or other requested credentials]

2. Download the Windows Phone 7 Tools if you are using your own computer (must be running Windows 7 OS to download), or skip this step if you are planning to use a school lab computer with the tools installed

a. If you are running Windows XP you can get a copy of Windows 7 via MSDNAA from your CS department if you are currently enrolled in a CS class (will require complete rebuild; upgrade not available)

b. Install the Zune client application downloadable from http://www.zune.com for PC or Mac. Note: you need the Zune software to “side load” your apps directly to your phone for testing before submitting to the marketplace.

3. Create a student “pro” account at http://create.msdn.com using the same credentials (Windows Live ID/e-mail & password) that you used to create your DreamSpark account (note: you do not have to provide financial info/SSN unless and until you submit a paid app or one with connected to an ad server) Note: in the box where it asks for your publisher name, you are in essence picking the name for your own start-up software company, so I recommend being thoughtful and use a professional-sounding name

a. http://create.msdn.com: Member Registration/Join Now > Account Type [US, Student, Select “Terms of Use”, I Accept]

b. Fill out personal details (name, address, phone, e-mail): use real information, this a real business you are starting. Publisher Name is the name of your “company”

c. Select a gamer picture and Gamer Tag

Step Two – Create Your First (“Mash Up”) App

1. Create an App Maker Account at http://www.appmakr.com/

a. Click on the “Register” button

b. Enter an E-mail Address and password (re-enter password)

2. Build Your App

a. Log in and on your dashboard click “create new app”

b. Select “Windows Phone MashUp”

c. Enter the URL, RSS/Atom Feed or Search Term of a website with the data you want to build a MashUp app for. Some good examples are news sites, sports teams, college departments, libraries, event sites, celebrity web pages, musical group web pages, etc.

i. Note: check the Windows Phone 7 app marketplace first to see if a mashup app already exists for the site you are thinking about. There isn’t a rule about having more than one “Britney Spears” app, but if you want anyone to download yours be prepared to do a better job that what is already out there. You can also check the list of apps that others have made on the AppMaker home page.

d. Work on each tab of the app makr process; you can skip the monetize part if you want.

As you select each section, you can see the results in the emulator.

i. On the Art tab you select images for the various screens and icons from images displayed on the webpage, any other webpage you know of, or you can create and upload your own special images if you have the time, talent, tools and inclination to do so.

ii. Tabs you can add more pages so you can have news, schedules, picture gallery, etc.

iii. The “Customize” tab lets you add a “header image”. You can download a picture from the website and make the header using the cropping and other tools Windows Live Photo Gallery (free photo editing)

iv. “App Info” is the name, description, your contact info, etc. in case you want to put your app on the Appmaker market in addition to Windows 7 (note, you can only install apps from the AppMakr market if you side load them and then there is time limit before you will be forced to uninstall it)

v. On the Monetize tag you can put in an ad if you create an ad account (not required)

vi. Publish will create you app and when it’s done, you’ll get a link to download your finished app. You can always go back and modify and re-download. There may be some delay from the time you click on “Publish” and when the download link will become available since you job will go into a queue. Download you app and note the location; for most Windows users your file will end up in your “Downloads” folder.

Step Three: Test Your App in the Emulator

1. Your downloaded app has a really long name starting with your app name and then a bunch of random characters with a .zip file extension. Change the name to something short and meaningful, and change the extension to .xap .

2. Click on the Start Button > All Programs > Windows Phone Developer Tools > Application Deployment

Target the Emulator, and then browse for your XAP file. Click on “Deploy” and your app will now run on your local desktop emulator. Make sure your computer has an Internet connection or the feeds to the website won’t work.

Step Four: Test Your App on a Phone (optional but recommended and very cool)

1. Unlock the phone you are going to use

a. Connect the phone to your computer using the USB cord; make sure the Zune software is installed and launched. Make sure the word “Phone” appears next to Social on the menu bar at the top

b. Select the “Windows Phone Developer Registration” tool in the Windows Phone Developer Tools collection

c. Enter the Windows Live ID and password associated with your pro Windows Phone 7 account and click “register”. If the phone is already unlocked you can skip this step (it will say “unregister” on the button), or you can change the registration to your account

2. Use the Application Deployment tool the same as in Step Three (above) but target the device instead of the emulator in the drop down. In a few seconds the app will be published the phone. Note: if there is no SIM card tied to a valid phone account with a data plan in the phone, your app won’t work unless you are connected to WIFI ( you can set up in the settings app of the phone)

Step Five: Upload Your App to the Marketplace

1. Sign in to your App Hub account at http://create.msdn.com . Click on “Submit for Windows Phone” link/button

2. Fill out each page as follows:

a. On the “Upload Tab” name your app (for you own use), you’ll pick the Marketplace name on the next tab. Then point at your .XAP file. Use version 1.0 if you don’t already have a version of this app approved in the Marketplace.

b. The “Describe” tab takes the longest to fill out, because you have to submit not only text descriptions, but also at least one screen shot (but no more than eight), and a few other images. The good news is that most of them are created; you just have to make a copy of your .XAP file, change the extension back to .ZIP, extract the file and voila! The image files you need were made by the AppMakr program and put in the .XAP file.

c. On the “Price” tab is how you would set a price if you were selling your app, but I don’t recommend selling a MashUp app (note: if you do decide to sell your app be prepared to give Microsoft your SSN and bank account info because we only do direct deposit and report your earnings to the IRS). You also pick which countries to distribute your app to (be aware it is YOUR responsibility to make sure your app doesn’t violate foreign copyright, content and privacy laws)

d. Submit your app for testing and certification. You can decide to go “Beta” and only distribute to others, wait to submit to market after passing the tests, or go live immediately after you pass certification tests. If you fail the performance tests read the comments and fix the problem; usually for mash ups you have to fix a link or make images small so they take up less memory.

e. When you pass certification give yourself a huge pat on the back and let your colleagues know so they can download and rate your app.

Step Six: Maintain Your App

1. After you app is certified and in the market, think of an improvement you can make; either add a page or change graphics, etc. Re-download your “improved” app, test it per Steps 3 and 4, and resubmit to the marketplace but change your version to 1.1 or 2.0 or whatever. Guess what? When you update your version anyone who downloaded your app will automatically be notified there is a new version and has the option of downloading it.

Free Programming e-Books from Microsoft

Randy Guthrie — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 17:12:26 GMT

Randy Guthrie – Microsoft Academic Developer Evangelist
http://blogs.msdn.com/MIS_Laboratory

Do you judge a book by it’s cover? Or at least it’s thickness? One characteristic common to many technical books is how many pages it takes to cover a subject more-or-less completely. Given the size of most programming and IT technical books bringing even one with you on a plane can really weight down your backpack, and packing more than one in checked baggage puts you at risk for being charged over weight fees. To help you travel lighter and use your airplane time more productively (I’m not saying a well-deserved nap on a plane isn’t productive) I thought I’d share a couple links to some free e-books on current hot technologies. All are available in the two most common e-book formats: ePub and MOBI (MOBI can be read with a Kindle). Download them to your favorite reader, slate, phone tablet or laptop and your favorite tech references are at your fingertips with no added weight.

Charles Petzold’s Programming Windows Phone 7 is available here as EPUB and here as MOBI.

To get Moving to Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 by Patrice Pelland, Pascal Paré, and Ken Haines download here as EPUB and here as MOBI.

Introducing Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 by Ross Mistry and Stacia Misner is here as EPUB and here as MOBI.

Introducing Windows Server 2008 R2 by Charlie Russel and Craig Zacker with the Windows Server Team at Microsoft is here as EPUB and here as MOBI.

Katherine Murray’s Own Your Future, Update Your Skills with Resouces and Career Ideas from Microsoft is here as EPUB and here as MOBI.

Cheers!

Randy

United States Teams Advance to Finals Round of Microsoft Imagine Cup 2011 World Finals

Randy Guthrie — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 20:41:23 GMT

Randy Guthrie – Microsoft Academic Developer Evangelist
http://blogs.msdn.com/MIS_Laboratory

Last night in an emotionally-charged event the teams that were advancing to the final rounds of the Imagine Cup World finals. The Note-taker team from Arizona State University (Software Design) and Team Dragon from Rice University (Mobile Game Design) both advanced to the final round. Note-taker has emerged from a field of over 67 teams to the final six, and Team Dragon is one of nine remaining teams in a field of fifteen that were invited to the finals. The teams that were eliminated in a very close race were ICsquared (Silverlight – Game) and Syntax Errors (Embedded Development). In a slightly different competition scheme, the Windows Phone 7 team (The Life Lens Project) is still in contention but will not know the results until the final award announcements at the closing ceremony.

Students from the US teams dance in front of the stage waiting for the announcements to begin

US student celebrate teams’ advancement to the final round on the stage

Syntax Errors show off their F.R.E.D unit to media in the showcase

The Life Lens Project (Univ of California – Davis, Univ of Central Florida, UCLA, and Harvard Business School) uses a tiny microscope lens attachment to a Windows Phone 7 camera to magnify blood cells so their special software can detect malaria-infected cells

Tomorrow the final presentations will be given and the judges will select the winners of this year’s Imagine Cup. The winners will be a announced at the “World Festival” awards ceremony at the Lincoln Center in New York City. Tonight, all of the contestants will be treated to a ride on the Hudson River ferry past the Statue of Liberty, followed by a private party on Ellis Island.

Cheers,

Randy

Imagine Cup 2011 World Finals: US Competitors Make Strong Start, Advance to Second Round

Randy Guthrie — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 21:37:52 GMT

Randy Guthrie – Microsoft Academic Developer Evangelist
http://blogs.msdn.com/MIS_Laboratory

The first round of competitions at the Microsoft Imagine Cup 2011 World Finals were held today at the Marriott Marquis Hotel at Times Square New York. Five teams are representing the United States: Notetaker (Software Design), Syntax Errors (Embedded Design), The Life Lens Project (Windows Phone 7), Team Dragon (Mobile Game), and IC Squared (Silverlight Game). Each of the teams presented to an international panel of four judges. The Game and Embedded competitors uniquely have a two-part presentation. This morning they gave a formal PowerPoint-type presentation. The Notetaker and Syntax Errors teams both advanced to the second round and will be presenting to a larger panel of judges (six) today (Sunday).

Team Dragon from Rice University presents their game for Asthmatic children “Azmo the Dragon”.

Syntax Errors from Santiago Canyon College in Calfornia presents their Embedded Development project “FRED”. FRED is a portable post-disaster command center.

Notetaker from Arizona State University presents their Software Design project to help blind students take notes in class.

ICsquared from Ithaca College in New York presents their game “Embryonic” to a panel of judges

Syntax Errors team minutes before the announcement about their advancing to the second round of the Embedded Competition.

The Life Lens Project team at the team advancement announcement

Notetaker reacts to advancing to the Software Design second round

Notetaker on the stage at the stage at the announcement ceremony

Cheers,

Randy

MIS Laboratory - Resources for Tech Faculty and Students

Microsoft Offers Grants for Student Startups

Windows 8 Student Holiday App Challenge: Microsoft Gives You $$ If You Publish an App

How to Create a Windows 8 Virtual Hard Disk for “Boot-to-VHD”

BitLocker Drive Encryption, Boot Priority and Windows to Go

Mounting .ISO files Directly is Awesome Feature in Windows 8 for DreamSpark and MSDN Subscribers

Preparing a Computer to use Windows to Go

Windows to Go takes your organizationally-managed computer to the Bleeding Edge

<<insert USB 3.0 Flash Drive>>

Windows 8 App Workshops for Academic Audiences Scheduled for the Western US

Windows 8 Release Preview Now Available

50+ On-campus student jobs with Microsoft

Free Windows 8 Metro App Book: Today Only!

Microsoft Announces Top Student Software Projects for 2012

Design Principles for Metro Apps

Show pride in craftsmanship

Be fast and fluid

Be authentically digital

Do more with less

Win as one

The Three “True” Interview Questions

Key Imagine Cup 2012 Dates Approaching

Kinect Fun Labs Challenge Announcement

Randy Guthrie – Microsoft Academic Developer Evangelist http://blogs.msdn.com/MIS_Laboratory

Ready to Get Started?

Using the Windows 7 USB Download Tool with ANY .iso file

Windows Phone 7: Personal Preparation for Attending a WP7 App Dev Workshop

New! HTML 5 and CSS: Six Complete Lessons

Imagine a World Where You Win a Free Trip to Australia

Windows Phone 7 “Mango” Developer Jumpstart: Free Live Training (online)

Super-Detailed First (MashUp)Windows Phone 7 App Walkthrough

Free Programming e-Books from Microsoft

United States Teams Advance to Finals Round of Microsoft Imagine Cup 2011 World Finals

Imagine Cup 2011 World Finals: US Competitors Make Strong Start, Advance to Second Round

Randy Guthrie – Microsoft Academic Developer Evangelist
http://blogs.msdn.com/MIS_Laboratory