Sam Stokes on Research in your life and studies

Like the Windows 8 30 days to launch but for the Current phone or future Windows 8 Phone, but no in person labs and some material that will be changing as time goes on

http://aka.ms/socal_academic_30DayToLaunchPhone

GenApp HomePage:

Windows 8 app ideas, community and other stuff!

http://aka.ms/socal_academic_GenApps

First Prize in Imagine Cup: $50,000

Surf4Fun — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 22:15:44 GMT

Get signed up at http://www.imaginecup.com NOW. And it’s THREE, that’s right 3 $50,000 first prizes for Game, Innovation and the World Citizenship. You don’t get to read the rules till you register, but if you are a real software person, you know how to sign up for things before you sign up if you get my meaning.

Also, you and your team, if you win, will also get a free round trip to St. Petersburg, Not St. Petersburg Florida, but St. Petersburg, RUSSIA! I am thinking major party! Well for you, if I get to go, I have to work. As always.

Don’t waste time, get over there and sign up, then get building that $50,000 app. NOW!

Rich Interactive Narratives

Surf4Fun — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 17:27:52 GMT

Check out this paper on Rich Interactive Narratives:

An Interactive Multimedia Framework for Digital Heritage Narratives paper can be found at:

http://research.microsoft.com/pubs/144312/art23119s-adabala.pdf

This is an excellent paper, only one image, and no code or math, but is a great start for a paper for an Advanced Placement class, or even a non-CS Master’s Thesis. This paper can be a basis for a number of interesting project ideas on Windows or Macs.

Last Minute Paper Rating: ***** of 5

If you are looking for a paper idea because it is 4 AM and the paper is due at 9 AM on the same day, this one is definitely for you. Even if you are feeling poorly, it should take about 30 minutes to knock out a synthesis of this paper for a design class, etc.

NoReplyAll Outlook 2007/2010/2013 Add-in: Nifty stuff from Microsoft Research

Surf4Fun — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 19:01:10 GMT

Don’t know about you, but I have clicked the NoReplyAll and made some serious career mistakes, so this button is now on my outlook bar.

When you click on the Ribbon then the receiver will be unable to reply all. This is NOT DRM, rather a lightweight way to keep someone from replying all when it isn’t necessary.

Kind of cool and an example of what you can do quickly and easily with VSTO. Click on image to transport to this magical download.

Windows 8 Development using DryadLINQ toolkit for information retrieval

Surf4Fun — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 17:42:41 GMT

It’s that time of year, back to school, end of summer heat, and surf is surf. And that means you are likely thinking about how to write a great Windows 8 program. I know I am. Any great software application has to be able to front end interesting information. For instance let’s say you want to collect data from CERN, many people are these days you know (just kidding) in search of the Higgs-Bozos, oops, I mean Higgs Bosons.

To do this you need great ways to collect data, here is a toolkit that uses the DryadLINQ for Data-Parallel information. So if you are working for companies like Boeing, or Schools like UC, Irvine, it’s time to think about how to tie in the Windows 8 products. For the shop floor or for researchers, after all your research needs to be used by someone with money.

Check it out at (it’s a link, click on it):

A Data Parallel toolkit for Information Retrieval

Likely it will need some work, but worth it.

Free Online Hackathon! This is a first

Surf4Fun — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 23:48:42 GMT

Hey sign up for this free Hackathon, win prizes (as described in the link):

Free Online Hackathon!

Build that Windows 8 application and make big money!

But I like this process, no spending long hours on Saturday in a room away from home. You can drink your own coffee and use your own bathroom. Nice, very nice.

So join us online! Learn, program, make money.

Free Development tool for the phone where you use the phone as the development tool!

Surf4Fun — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 15:58:26 GMT

Check out Touch Develop at:

http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/projects/touchdevelop/

This is a totally cool way to program your phone and lead to you building apps for Windows 8.

Kinect: Motion capture for all using the KinÊtre system

Surf4Fun — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 15:28:01 GMT

Check this video out, it’s amazing! Trying to figure if the library is available for use:

Simplifying Cloud Computing with Orleans

Surf4Fun — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 19:28:00 GMT

Check out the Orleans project at: http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/projects/orleans/

A paper on this advance concept can be found at:

http://research.microsoft.com/apps/pubs/default.aspx?id=141999

The Olympics, Mars Rover, and more with Kodu for your students

Surf4Fun — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 19:21:30 GMT

Either you are a student or you have relatives that are students or what the heck I declare everyone a student. I can do that you know, since I am a technology evangelist that is focused on Education!

Check out the Kodu Game Lab where your students or just the student in you can build and play games. Be nice when you are the site and if you are a bad actor (and you know who you are) just stay away. But if you are a everyone else, then you are definitely invited to join in with the fun!

http://www.kodugamelab.com/

It doesn’t get any better then this. OR does it? There might be a new thing coming.

Coming soon.

Game Design: Tools you need to get familiar with, a bunch of downloads and installs

Surf4Fun — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 15:43:00 GMT

In the current environment of game design you can get away with flash and dash game design, that is rapidly put together your game post it and make your money then move on to another project. Many technologies go this way from time to time and then they move back to design, design, build, maintain and modify. Technologies that are innovative allow this type of environment and teamwork.

If you write a quick game engine and then are unable to maintain it, because one or two of your workers leave without documentation, then you will lose money. If you use a robust version control like GitHub (is it really worth $100,000,000? Wasn’t Digg worth something like that figure a few years ago? It just sold for $500,000), that’s good for source control and build. But what if you really want to graduate to a total design package that allows you to view the total design situation?

Enter Team Foundation Services, which has cleaned up nicely, I will tell you now that I could never get that to work without a silly amount of work. That has all changed, Team Foundation Server is available at:

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=29918 (this will load the TF server on your system, this is not cloud based)

For the online server go to: https://tfspreview.com/en-us/ and sign up, either works with Android, Eclipse, etc.

What about other tools, etc. You will need to also install Visual Studio 12 RC on your system:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=4D74E784-4D26-40A8-9DFB-D6500355A67F&displaylang=zh-cn&displaylang=en

You will need the Visual Studio Premium 2012 RC so that you can create team projects

Once you install both of them, get the Office 2013, whatever version you want to try, I used the Home Premium, and go ahead set up the skydrive functionality.

http://www.microsoft.com/office/preview/en?WT.mc_id=MSCOM_EN_US_HP_FEATUREWORK_131L1ENUS21367

You can use PowerPoint 2010 with storyboarding, but I will use the PowerPoint2013

Then you will need Visio and Project, so get the Visio 2013 and Project 2013 at:

Visio:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-US/evalcenter/hh973399

Project:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-US/evalcenter/hh973401.aspx?wt.mc_id=TEC_119_1_33

Does the Math add-in for MS Word and OneNote work in Office 2013/Office 15

Surf4Fun — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 22:43:58 GMT

Yep. Oh, maybe you haven’t heard about this great tool that has been quietly released by Research, not sure why they are so quiet about it. If you are student or even engineer or researcher, this tool is freaking awesome.

And it is unfortunate but Live Writer works with the Microsoft blogsite but not MS Word. Oh well.

Anyway to download this cool math tool go to:

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=17786

For more tools like that see: http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/collaboration/tools/officeaddins.aspx

Microsoft Research and Office Labs

Surf4Fun — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:51:10 GMT

Well as far as I can tell have little to do with each other. I liked Office Labs when they had some community outreach and did cool things like Community Clips, one of the best ways to show others how to do things. Now the Office Lab site is pretty with nice twirling icons and interesting navigation, but kind of strange that on July 16 they didn’t have anything about Office 2013. Weird. Not real exciting. No toys for 2013, things to do, or etc. just a bunch of the same thing.

Now what about Microsoft Research in contrast? Lot’s of exciting new stuff and exciting older stuff too. In fact once you have installed the New and Awesome Office 2013, you need to make sure to check Microsoft Research.

It appears that much of the work done in Microsoft Research has been added to Office 2013, for instance the work done with OfficeSword appears to be directly applied to the seamless ability of Office to connect with Skydrive!

Climate change? Using Office? Maybe. More tomorrow.

C++ Security Practices in Visual Studio 2012

Surf4Fun — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 15:30:00 GMT

This is whining blog so you might want to come back later

Sorry.

Do you want some cheese with that Whine?

HTML5/JavaScript security practices are one thing and most developers in HTML5 can safely ignore them. They shouldn’t but come on, media stuff has to get done. On the other hand where do you go to find C++ Security Best Practices? Here is the article for you:

Security Best Practices for C++, in general:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/k3a3hzw7(v=vs.110).aspx

What about Windows 8? There is an rather odd article at the following link, on reading this is a general document but isn’t for Windows 8. If you are a student or someone starting with C++ programming for Windows, then the article is of interest, but no focus on Windows 8 or the improved requirements. What is odd is that this document comes up in the search for Windows 8 Security.

Games for Windows Technical Requirements: Best Practices for Games on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ee417691(v=vs.85).aspx

Not to be grumpy, but wouldn’t it be nice to have a well written security document for Windows 8 Developers? And by this I mean that if I enter the phrase into the search engine: “Windows 8 Security” this article would appear in the first 100 entries on the Dev Center Desktop which is usually used by Windows 8 Security.

Ok, finally, let me end on a non-grumpy note, make sure you review these Security Features and Privacy Features:

Windows 8: New and Improved Security and Privacy Features

List of 5 modes of Web Use

Surf4Fun — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 15:41:00 GMT

What are the top 5 ways people use search engines and the web for?

Purposeful Use

When users wish to accomplish a task quickly and efficiently. They may fire up a laptop or turn on their mobile phone in order to do so.

Opportunistic Use

Using the Web as a form of past time. Rather than going online to accomplish some task, users look for things to do ‘while they are there’, calling to mind curiosities and interests.

Orienting

When users browse a routine set of sites to ‘warm up’ for the day or settle in at work, for example. This tends to involve looking through roughly the same sites in the same order at the same times during the day.

Respite

When users look to a core set of sites, such as the news, webmail or social networks, for a short period of time (maybe only seconds), as a way of breaking from other activities.

Lean-Back Internet

Using the Web as a conduitto stream media, such as radio, video or games.

For more information see: http://aka.ms/zpask3

Socio-Digital Systems: Making complex lives less complex!

Surf4Fun — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 15:16:00 GMT

Microsoft has a whole group of PhDs that are working on the idea of elegant technologies for you to use to make your life less complex. This fits into the philosophy of the Windows Phone 7: Use it less and get more out of the phone.

The mission of the Socio=Digital Systems is to bring together social science, design and computer science. The goal is to find new ways to improve the human-computer interaction. These are people who are definitely fighting against the Lords of Complexity.

http://aka.ms/qtk5j5

If you are a student this is a rich source of paper ideas with solid references. If you are not a student, this is a great way to get up to speed on the future of technology, there is even a free magazine.

Forza Motorsport game engine: Drivatar AI

Surf4Fun — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 15:36:00 GMT

If you wonder about how the AI works in the Forza Motorsport game, this link is the one to read a brief article on how it works. Check out this overview article in case you need to justify your purchase of that new Xbox to someone. Or if you having that familiar argument that your brain is turning to mush with all of the game play you are doing (which isn’t true, with proof!).

So check out this article, it is one of those good ones that you could use for a better understanding of Physics, Artificial Intelligence, Geometry, and Digital Media. If you aren’t interested in writing a paper for a class, this is simply an interesting article.

http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/projects/drivatar/theory.aspx

FREE! An Amazing Panorama Editor

Surf4Fun — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 20:57:59 GMT

You got that cheap camera or a phone cam and there you are standing in front of an amazing vista. Seems that no way are you going to be able to capture it with those kinds of cameras.

Image Composite Editor

http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/redmond/groups/ivm/ice/

Forum: http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/ice/threads

Latest features:

Stitch directly from a video (only on Windows 7, all though give it a try in Windows 8)
Automatic lens vignette removal
Improved blending engine
Options dialog to control memory usage and scratch disk locations

Preparing for Windows 8 App Review

Surf4Fun — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 15:31:10 GMT

I recently went through the Windows 8 App Review for a game I am working on. What I found out:

WACK

The application passed the WACK test, an automatic test that tests the inner workings of you project. What I round is that the fails are not “linear” so look for things that cause other errors, don’t do the list from top to bottom or bottom to top. Read the list of fails first and then try to figure out the connected errors.

Snap View

Ok, I didn’t get this working, turns out that all I had to do was have a little form show up that said that the app doesn’t support the snap view. I had a fancy thing designed but didn’t get it to work.

No Chrome

This isn’t about the browser, keep the user interaction simple and clean. You might ask: “What does that mean?” This is a vague thing, but it takes a long time to write so read the other design text.

Dumb things that I should have caught:

Full Screen, there very few reasons an app shouldn’t run full screen in Windows 8

Resume, Suspend and Save: Really I hadn’t put that code in, dumb, WHY!? No good reason.

Things I didn’t think about but should have:

Tile, yeah, the tile, that really needs to be beautiful, if you have to hire someone to make a good looking tile, then hire them

Secondary Tile: For a causal 2D game not needed.

App Bar

App Bar good, but… Do NOT PUT navigation into the App Bar, not that I did, but don’t. So to be clear: Do not put Navigation into the App Bar. App Bars are easily implement and for a game could hold your treasures, etc. If you are using an App Bar you should follow the Metro Design no matter what, unless it looks good.

Touch, Mouse and Keyboard

This is a big deal, all three should appear to have a good experience and I had made an error on the arrow keys that they didn’t replicate the touch and mouse functionality.

Memory Recycles

If you are building a game, make sure to stop image generation at the end of the game. If you don’t understand this issue then talk to someone who does. If you do nothing else, destroy anything that goes off screen

Portrait, Landscape, on your head

Games don’t really have to switch, so if they don’t, don’t sweat it.

Microsoft Research creates Mayhem, you could win $1000!

Surf4Fun — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 21:52:50 GMT

Check out this new open source application that let’s you control all kinds of things. Say you are doing a Power Point presentation and you want the lights to dim. If the lights are on the internet and you have a connection, then your power point slide could trigger the lights to go down with only a simple command.

And just how would you hook up that light with your power point? Insteon would be the go to place:
http://www.smarthome.com/pr12-06.html

You can download the Mayhem code at: http://makemayhem.com/www/ (and yes that is the URL, weird)

If you hurry you might be able to earn $1,000 with the Mayhem code. I can’t since I work for Microsoft.

All of this can be done with no programming, although you will likely need some of the tools from insteon (see web site above)

Build something cool and you could win $1,000!

Oh if this doesn’t make sense, check out this video:

**************

Kinect Launches a Surgical Revolution. Will someone define a revolution?

Surf4Fun — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 18:31:42 GMT

Link: Kinect Launches a Surgical Revolution

I don’t know, is this a revolution or an innovation?

President Obama’s Healthcare plan is definitely revolutionary, whether you agree with it or not. In fact that is usually a way to tell if something is revolutionary: Lot’s of disagreement. Everyone who uses a Kinect thinks it is COOL! Even the open source innovators. So revolutionary with that definition? You decide.

But whether or not President Obama or Mitt Romney will face off via Dance Central, the use of Kinect in sterile environments is a good idea!

This article compares the Kinect the movie “Fantastic Voyage” wonder if anyone actually watched this movie? (Raquel Welch, one of her best roles I think as the assistant to a Brain Surgeon, she should have been the Brain Surgeon, not Stephen Boyd, Isaac Asimov wrote the novelization of the movie and hated everything about it except for the royalty check and meeting Raquel Welch, who in my opinion could still do the same role now!)

I think the better comparison, and a better movie would have been Michael Crichton’s Andromeda Strain, the book and movie, but then you had a better women scientist in that movie then Fantastic Voyage, stronger and more real. Anyway, in the movie the computer responded to voice input as well, and drove images.

Back to the Kinect as a revolutionary device: Maybe, if you are trying to capture media attention. Which with this blog I am clearly not trying to do. I think that the Kinect is an innovation device, designers are innovating like crazy with it!

To me revolutionary would the creation of XRays, but an MRI wasn’t revolutionary since it extended the capabilities of the ability to view the inside of soft tissue and XRays work for hard tissue. Kinect works with existing imaging systems, innovation and invention. Revolutionary? Maybe.

I think of revolutions as cutting off the heads of old ideas and processes, think “what went before”. Innovation expands or creates anew. A revolution creates new paradigms or re-establishes old paradigms. Raquel Welch was revolutionary, one of the first people of South American descent (Father was an immigrant from Bolivia) to play major roles in movies. Now that is revolutionary on her part. It helps to look good to the camera and to be on time. Anyway…

In the article:

Although still being tested, the Kinect for Windows sensor, Mentis said, works well in the surgical suite. It’s able to track and follow multiple people, something other camera-based gestural systems cannot do.

Note the phrase: “…works well in the surgical suite….” That is not what revolutions do.

Working well with others is what Microsoft does well. And that is the better story that in a regulated environment like the surgery theater, the Kinect has been able to slip into it.

So now, get a Windows Kinect, download the Kinect tools and get started programming. No excuses.

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=29866

But if you take a look at this picture, maybe they were using Kinect in the Fantastic Voyage:

HTML 5 Games: Irate Dolphins returns

Surf4Fun — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 21:34:00 GMT

Ok, I copyright the idea of Irate Dolphins as a game series as of today: Irate Dolphins @2012. So now I will describe the game:

Top Line:

A pod of dolphins decide to fight the land based caused pollution of the plastic garbage, noise, sewage, and cigarette butts with special tools that are adopted to the watery environments. As the pod fights the pollution they discover what the effects of the plastic is on the environment.

See my next post for the short story of the game and some sketches.

What is the mood of the social networks?

Surf4Fun — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 19:03:32 GMT

Microsoft Research, using Infer.net have worked out a process to take the “pulse” of the emotions of the social networks. This is important, especially with the Presidential election coming up. For example some of the exit surveys for big races will show one thing and then the voters do something else. In the US, the 1948 election between Truman and Dewey was thought to be close (but not by Truman who was able to state almost to the single vote his actually majority win). Truman was able to infer correctly the feeling of the US voter, who was clearly not happy with him as president but decided to give him another chance.

Take a look at this article, if you are in marketing, managing, etc. For example you might be using something like office talk inside your corp and this would help you find out how everyone is feeling.

In the Mood for Social Media