MIS Laboratory - Resources for Tech Faculty and Students

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

Imagine Cup World Finals–Steve Ballmer’s

Randy Guthrie — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 05:47:50 GMT

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

The student tee shirt for this year’s Imagine Cup

Today July 8th was the first day of the 2011 Microsoft Imagine Cup World Finals. For the first time the finals are being held in the United States. Previous years have been held in locations that include Japan, Brazil, India, France, Korea, Egypt, and Poland. Our day started at 7am with press briefings that included some of the student teams CNN, BBC, Reuters and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer meets with the Notetaker Team representing the United States in the Software Design Competition

Throughout the the day most of the 425 student competitors arrived at the various New York area airports and were brought by bus to the Marriott Marquis Hotel on Times Square; the venue for this year’s event.

Marriott Marquis Times Square – Venue for the Imagine Cup World Finals

The first event of the week is the “Opening Ceremony”. The highlight of the opening ceremonies was a high-energy keynote by Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft. The student competitors were especially excited with his announcement that they would all be receiving a Kinect to take home. This was Steve’s first Imagine Cup. The closer was Dennis Crowley, founder and CEO of Four Square.

Steve Ballmer gives a high-energy keynote at the Opening Ceremonies

Dennis Crowley, founder of Four Square was the final speaker at the Imagine Cup opening ceremonies

US Windows Phone 7 competitors The Life Lens Project shows a little pride after the Opening Ceremony

Tomorrow at 8am the formal competition begins. More to follow…

Cheers,

Randy

XBox Kinect Software Development Kit SDK Beta Released to Public

Randy Guthrie — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 05:33:08 GMT

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

On June 16, 2011 Microsoft Research in cooperation with Microsoft Game Studios released the beta version of the Kinect SDK for hobbyists and academics. Of course the professional SDK has been out for quite a while, since that is the only way the big studios could have developed the games you can buy at the store. The launch event included a 24 hour “hack-a-thon” at Microsoft’s Redmond campus, followed by a series of Channel 9 broadcast demonstrating various aspects of the SDK.

This SDK is for building apps for the PC, rather than games for the XBox console. Since the greatest interest in the hobby and academic space is around building applications, MSR and MGS decided to release the PC SDK first. A game SDK is being considered but no details or time frame has been announced.

The Kinect SDK license agreement allows the use of the SDK and resulting applications with a Kinect device and is in addition to the license that came with the your Kinect. In other words, you don’t void the warranty of your Kinect while using this SDK. Use of any other drivers or development kits void the Kinect warranty. The SDK license is for non-commercial use only.

The Kinect supports both C++ and C# programming languages, and uses Visual Studio 2010 as programming tool.

Some of the system requirements are:

-Windows 7 (x86 or x64) running natively (virtual machine installations won’t work)
-Visual Studio 2010 Express or higher
-dual-core 2.66 or faster processor
-2GB of RAM

You can download the Kinect SDK, documentation, code walk-throughs, and other content at http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/redmond/projects/kinectsdk/.

Good luck and have fun!

Cheers,

Randy

Get Cloud Computing Experience During Summer Break with a Free Cloud Account

Randy Guthrie — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 18:19:44 GMT

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

For many Microsoft employees, the slower business rhythm allows time for training and learning the latest technologies. This is also true for students and faculty who are on summer break. We notice that downloads of developer tools and SDK does not slow down during the summer because students are out of class and have time to work on personal projects. For students and faculty wanting to learn about Cloud Computing, Microsoft is offering free 30-day (extendable to 45 days) Windows Azure accounts to faculty and students. To create your account go to http://windowsazurepass.com/ and enter the promotion code WRAC11.

Microsoft has two basic kinds of cloud offerings. Windows Azure is an application hosting framework (think web apps) similar to web hosting. SQL Azure is a cloud-based relational database framework. These free accounts include both. The cloud applications and databases can be created using the Visual Studio after the Azure SDK has been installed.

Learning cloud computing is easy with Microsoft’s free account, tools and learning resources. Here is how to get started:

1. Set up your account at http://windowsazurepass.com/ and enter the promotion code WRAC11

2. Download and install the Azure SDK from http://www.microsoft.com/windowsazure/sdk/ . I suggest using the All-In-One installation.

3. Try out the code samples and hands-on labs at: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsazure/tutorials/ .

4. Now build your own basic apps and databases and link them together

5. Add cloud computing and Windows Azure to your resume. Resume tips can be found at http://www.mis-laboratory.com/student/.

6. Apply for a job at Microsoft at: http://www.microsoft.com/career

Cheers!

Randy

Students: Buy a Computer, Get a Free XBox 360

Randy Guthrie — Wed, 25 May 2011 16:41:01 GMT

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

Microsoft is helping students upgrade to the latest technology by sponsoring a program with a variety of computer hardware manufacturers. The essence of the deal is this: Buy a computer valued at $699 or higher and get a free XBox 360 “Slim” for free. Students can buy on line but will need a .edu e-mail address, or you can go into your nearest Best Buy or Microsoft Store, flash your student ID and walk out with the goods on the spot.

You can buy any kind of PC or notebook, but eligible units will vary by participating retailer or location but include hardware by Samsung, HP and Dell. For complete details, visit the Windows Steam Blog at: http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/b/windowsexperience/archive/2011/05/19/students-we-ve-got-you-covered.aspx

Cheers,

Randy

Plugging Directly into the Internet Backbone at Tech Ed

Randy Guthrie — Wed, 18 May 2011 18:14:29 GMT

Technorati Tags: Tech Ed,Internet,Speedtest.net,Backbone,Blogger

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

I am attending the Microsoft Tech Ed event for IT this week in Atlanta, Georgia. The event is being attended by over 10,000 IT Pro’s and software developers. I am here as the chaperone for eight exemplary student technologists including member of two top US Imagine Cup teams; Team Bear Paw from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, and Team Note Taker from Arizona State University in Tempe and four Student Insider bloggers: Angela Fox from University of North Texas, Tom Ziegmann from Arizona State University, Steven Nowak from Wheeling Jesuit University and Billy O’Neal from Case Western Reserve University.

Angela Fox working at her dedicated workspace with rockin’ Internet connection

The Imagine Cup student have a booth in the expo right next to the blogger corner, where our four student bloggers have dedicated stations. One of the unexpected characteristics of our location is that the hardwired Internet connections appear to be very close to the Internet backbone. The reason I say that is that John Alexander from geekswithblogs.net, who is facilitating the blogger zone here says he just ordered wired Internet, and isn’t paying anything special for the 400MB / sec plus upload/download speeds were seeing!

This kind of once-in-a-lifetime connection speed begs testing. So I tried downloading Expression 4 suite (which I needed on my rebuilt machine) from MSDNAA, and we saw 7.8MB/second download speeds! The 500MB ISO downloaded in under 90 seconds including error checking! (by the way, when you get slow download speeds from MSDN or MSDNAA, its NOT them… it’s you).

Cheers,

Randy

Students: Want a Job with Microsoft? Part Time? On Campus?

Randy Guthrie — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 17:49:16 GMT

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

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, develop industry-leading skills, and get a big name on your resume, 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, the student government, clubs, and professors.

Our Microsoft Student Partners this past year:

Created amazing presentations with the new Microsoft Office 2010 suite of products.
Demoed Kinect for Xbox 360 to their friends just as it came off the shelves.
Showed off the amazing features of the brand new Windows Phone 7.
Promoted Imagine Cup, the world’s premier student technology competition.
Created excitement around DreamSpark, where Microsoft gives professional tools to students for free.

Every month we’ll have training webcasts with leaders within Microsoft 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, 2011, through June 30, 2012.

Application Process – due April 15, 2011

Step 1: Fill out the online application at http://bit.ly/USMSPApp. There are only 25 questions and it should take you about 30 minutes to complete.
Step 2: Create a YouTube video and submit the link to http://bit.ly/USMSPVideo.
We want to get to know you and discover your passion for technology and how it could help solve the world’s toughest problems. Create and submit a one-minute YouTube video about your big idea that could enlighten others around the world about major global issues. Use the theme: Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems.
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!

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

Cheers!

Randy

AppMakr: Another “First” Windows Phone 7 App Project

Randy Guthrie — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 23:54:02 GMT

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

If the MySchoolApp project I wrote about last week was a little too challenging, then the AppMakr might be just what you are looking for to get your feet wet creating a first Windows Phone 7 app and getting it into the marketplace. Both MySchoolApp and AppMakr repackage content from a source website and present it via feeds to an app you submit. Clearly the risk here is that hundreds of students from the same university create carbon-copy apps for their school, but with a little creativity and judgment, there is room for everyone.

Bob Familiar, Director of Academic Developer and Platform Evangelism [US-East] has put together a step-by-step handbook for using AppMakr. I’ll share some highlights so you get the idea:

Step One: Log into the AppMakr website and select “Windows Phone 7 MashUp”:

Step Two: You select the URL that you want to use as the source of your project ie: your school, business, organization, etc.

Step Three: (this is the really cool part) AppMakr searches the site and collects feeds, photos, content, links,etc. and makes a first pass at building your app using what it finds.

Then AppMakr gives you a screen where you can select titles and icons from the content that it found; you literally build your app on their simulator in a drag-and drop manner: “what you see is what you get”. Can it get easier than this?

You iterate through this process on the various pages you want to include in your app. Then you pick an overall color scheme for your app and do a little more customization. There are some constraints that you have to follow; the handbook explains all this in detail.

Once you are done you “publish” your app, and AppMakr creates a compressed “.xap” file that you will upload to the marketplace for (1) certification testing and then (2) distribution to the marketplace.

When you get the .xap file you have a couple more simple tasks to complete:

Required screen shots for the marketplace
Description
Tile images, etc.

From there you go to your developer marketplace account, and follow the instructions to upload and publish your app. Note: if your content used without permission from the owners of the website you are linking to, then you probably want to distribute your app for free. If you charge anything, even less than a dollar, you can expect a very quick and painful lesson in intellectual property law from the site owner’s attorneys.

Good luck! Let me know what you think. Also, check out my Windows Phone 7 Cheat Sheet. A one-page reference to most of the learning content for the Windows Phone 7.

Cheers,

Randy

Free Training and Microsoft Certification Exams for Students

Randy Guthrie — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 21:32:08 GMT

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

I just received information about this great offer for students. I took a certification exam last week and the cost of the exam was $125. This is a great deal, and anything that adds differentiation to your resume helps you get to the “short pile” as I like to call it. You are already getting the knowledge, why not get recognized for it.

Cheers,

Randy

STUDENTS! Get a FREE Microsoft Certification Exam Voucher Code –and a head start on your IT career. While supplies last!

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MIS Laboratory - Resources for Tech Faculty and Students

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

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AppMakr: Another “First” Windows Phone 7 App Project

Free Training and Microsoft Certification Exams for Students

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