Allan's Best Week Ever

Will Cloud Computing Change Your Life?

allandcp_ms — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 03:45:00 GMT

eek! Finally the wait is over and the Microsoft PDC gets into full gear next week in LA. I’m one of the fortunate ones able to attend in person – meet new folks, rekindle old friendships and forge partnerships with the various Microsoft product teams. I plan to attend as many sessions as I can but plan not to miss the Birds of a Feather session at Lunch: Will Cloud Computing Change Your Life?

See you there! Oh, and the answer to the question is a resounding YES…now the trick is whether the change will be positive :)

SharePoint 2010 Tree of Life – Resource Roundup

allandcp_ms — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 01:00:00 GMT

eek! I stumbled upon this neat mind map of the SharePoint 2010 developer platform:

From the website:

The SharePoint 2010 Developer Platform wall poster shows a colorful view of SharePoint 2010 developer tools, community ecosystem, execution environment, Sharepoint Server 2010 workloads, and target application types.

Great learning resource for folks architecting/developing for SharePoint. For example:

Under execution environment branch, you have the option to run SharePoint on Premise, Hosted and/or via SharePoint online.

For application types, in SharePoint 2010, you have multiple targets (I’ve seen great demos using Visual Studio 2010).

Hey Erika, I want the 2010 version of this 2007 coolness. I said Tree of Life; but somebody said the poster looked like dandelions…oh well, perhaps it is the product’s team subtle way of getting folks to read the docs on Governance :)

Resource Round Up

Start here for the easy to read, definitive post on SharePoint 2010 – what it is and what is new.
Check out the video versions of the new features and what is new for Developers.
My boss (!) is blogging, check his post on the very cool Free SharePoint 2010 Training (a must have!)
Our Innovation Showcase is highlighting a David Chappell White Paper on SharePoint as a Developer Platform – always a good read.

Happy SharePoint!

PowerShell Happy from Windows 7 to Windows Azure

allandcp_ms — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

eek! Say hello to the Windows Management Framework starring our dear friend PowerShell 2.0. Read more here. Why is this cool/important? You now have the power with PowerShell to manage all your favorite Windows flavors (XP to 7 to Server 2008 R2) and (wait for it)…the Cloud! Yes, with the Windows Azure Service Management CmdLets, you can start to exert service management control on your Windows Azure assets.

In the screenshot below, I’m using the built in - on Windows 7 - GUI for PowerShell aka ISE to run these new CmdLets. Break, Debug and Run…effortlessly!

These CmdLets are using the RESTful Service Management API under the covers (I used the makecert business from that blog post to test the Get-HostedServices CmdLet which requires a cert).

Happy Day! PowerShell to the People as I always say!

WPF 4 making Windows 7 Applications shine!

allandcp_ms — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 01:15:00 GMT

eek! I really dig Scott Guthrie’s latest blog post on the WPF 4 Improvements and Lighting Up Windows 7 applications planned for Visual Studio 2010 and .NET 4. With all the excitement around Windows 7, its time to jumpstart that killer application and now you have the tools – the Ribbon, Multitouch support, UI shell integration, and more with Visual Studio 2010.

So what will you build? Let us know we’d love to show it off at the Innovation Showcase (because customers make it real)!

Local happenings to get Smarter on ASP.NET, F#, LINQ and More!

allandcp_ms — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:00:00 GMT

eek! A couple of local (from my perspective) community run events that are usually a good deal in terms of mind expansion. Got a Saturday to get smarter? Join your peers for the 3rd annual Fairfield/Westchester Code Camp on Saturday November 7, 2009. 24 sessions, 4 tracks at the unbeatable price of FREE!

Registration and other details here.

Also, the next CT .NET Developers’s meetup is on November 10, 2009 with a session on the newest language in the Visual Studio 2010 box – F#. This is a great venue to meet new and old friends.

Finding Gems – Visual Studio 2010 Training Kit

allandcp_ms — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 01:00:00 GMT

eek! You know I’m a fan of the Training Kits – neatly packaged smarts across an array of Microsoft technologies – Windows 7, Windows 2008 R2, ASP.NET MVC, etc. The latest revision to the Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4 beta training kit does not disappoint. For all the details on what’s inside, I’d check out the Managed World blog from one of the heroes behind the Training Kit(s). Also there is a Training Course that complements this kit.

a good starter for what’s new

For me, this is a great way for developers and architects to quickly get a 200-300 level understanding of what is new/changed and allow them to focus on areas that may hold promise for their next great thing. Focus areas include:

Get it!

Customers make it real! Notes from our Innovation Showcase

allandcp_ms — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:00:00 GMT

eek! A personal thank you to Iconics for showing off their very cool Windows 7 application at our Innovation Showcase over the past few weeks. Iconics’s application was designed to exploit several features of Windows 7 – the Taskbar, Jump Lists, Windows Ribbon, Multi-touch – making it both functional and fun (yes, fun!) to use. Having a real world application and customer explain their challenges, their architectural choices, and their success is always a treat and it was great to hear this recurring feedback from several attendees. Customers make it real!

Iconics showing multi-touch gestures on Windows 7.

Attendees at our Farmington, CT event viewing the Iconics multitouch demo.

Got a great application that exploits cutting edge technologies like Windows 7, Silverlight 3, Internet Explorer 8 and/or Windows Azure? Then let us know! Join the conversation and let us know if you would like us to showcase your software innovation!

P.S. If you missed the New Efficiency Launch of Windows 7, check out the virtual event starting tomorrow at 12 pm US Eastern time.

Happy Feel Good Friday - How Would You Change the World?

allandcp_ms — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Hope you are having a great week and welcome to another feel good friday! Have you seen the new 7 ways to change the world with Windows 7 contest? How would you change the world?

From the site:

Open only to legal residents of the 50 United States (and D. of C.) who are 14+. Eligible Organizations must meet the Microsoft donation eligibility criteria listed here. See Official Rules for details.

The New Efficiency Resources for Windows Server 2008 R2 Developer Sessions

allandcp_ms — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

eek! To the attendees at our New Efficiency launch events in Boston and New York – thank you for your time and attention. Here are the slides from the sessions and a brief recap:

Windows Server 2008 R2, Build Solutions that Scale Beyond 64 Processors

Slides (if you don’t have Office 2007, you’ll need the free PowerPoint 2007 viewer).

The thesis of the session was how do you take a problem statement such as this…

…and convert it to a solution that scales well linearly without a lot of infrastructure code on a 256 processor system like this – supported by Windows Server 2008 R2:

For the demo code and additional background, I would recommend one of the folks who worked tirelessly to get all the content and code in to shape – rob bagby!

Windows Server 2008 R2, Enterprise Network Solutions

Slides (if you don’t have Office 2007, you’ll need the free PowerPoint 2007 viewer).

We talked about 3 smart moves in R2 for developers and spent a majority of the time on IIS 7.5 and what R2 adds.

Finally, we talked about the Training Kit to learn more about Windows Server 2008 R2 from a developer/architect perspective. Enjoy!

So what will you build? Visit our Innovation Showcase and we’ll tell your story!

I love the new MSDN – Happy Birthday to me!

allandcp_ms — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 02:00:00 GMT

eek! I know it’s been a hectic few days if you develop on the Microsoft platform. The SharePoint team is enjoying a lot of oohs and aahs from IT pros and developers, as they unveil features of SharePoint 2010. Visual Studio 2010 Beta 2 and .NET Framework 4 are ready for MSDN subscribers and the rest of the planet in a few days. And the new MSDN is here!

I’m a little biased but I do love the layout. I was able to discover a ton of architect resources right off the front page (check out the Architect webcast on Silverlight 3 next week):

…and the front page seemed to anticipate that I would be searching for SharePoint 2010 info:

Do take the new MSDN for a spin and don’t forget to scroll to the bottom of the front page where you’ll find true gold…

What do you think? Have you tried any virtual labs lately or added a webcast to your calendar?

P.S. My real birthday isn’t until March, but I just celebrated my 10 year Microsoft birthday. I joined Microsoft when Windows 2000 was all the rage :) and MSDN looked like this (thank you Internet Archive, you make memory lane memorable!)

Mark your calendars for an Azure Ninja – Oct 22 in Cambridge, MA

allandcp_ms — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:45:00 GMT

eek! I guess that Windows 7 thing isn’t the only cool thing to blossom on Oct 22, 2009. You can join the kickoff to the first Boston Azure Users Group on Oct 22, 2009 from 6:30 – 8:30 pm @ the Microsoft NERD in Cambridge, MA.

Azure Ninja? Judging from the blurb of the talk, I think everyone will be in for a treat. Details and sign up on here. The speaker is Brian Lambert.

This session might be for you if…

you want to become an Azure Ninja
you are just starting out with Azure
you are thinking about scaling your ASP.NET MVC application to the clouds
you’ve never heard of Azure - it will become part of your development fabric :)

P.S. The event is free but parking can be a pain, so plan accordingly!

The 30/30 for students and recent graduates starting October 21

allandcp_ms — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:15:00 GMT

eek! Looking for 30 minutes of technical training and 30 minutes of soft skills training? You’ll probably want to catch the Microsoft Students to Business Fall Webcasts.

First in the fall session is Microsoft Azure - An introduction to Cloud Computing and Microsoft Certifications 101 on October 21 @ 2:30 pm US Eastern time. Additional details and registration here.

Shhh, SharePoint Secrets Revealed

allandcp_ms — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:00:00 GMT

eek! If you are like me, you’ve probably been waiting too! I wasn’t lucky enough to make it to the SharePoint Conference 2009 but I’ll be watching the keynote (streamed live!) that happens today at noon US Eastern time!

I’ve heard a lot of rumors about secrets being revealed and other cool announcements, so I’ll be watching to get the scoop. See you there.

The New Efficiency – Meet the Windows Server 2008 R2 Developer Training Kit

allandcp_ms — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 05:15:00 GMT

eek! Welcome to the new efficiency and our launch party for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. If you are like me and want to get your head around what’s new from a software developer’s perspective, look no further than the recent Windows Server 2008 R2 Developer Training Kit.

Like the rest of the training kits this one comes packed with presentation, labs and demo code.

New to the Training Kits? Visit my page where I try and keep a tab on all the released training kits – including Visual Studio 2008, ASP.NET MVC 1.0, Windows 7, SQL Server 2008 and more!

Dig in!

Somewhere over the rainbow with Silverlight Smooth Streaming

allandcp_ms — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 04:15:00 GMT

eek! David Sayed (good blog for Silverlight + Media) just announced a great new experience coming this week courtesy of Netflix and Silverlight Smooth Streaming. There’s no place like home and you’ll be able to enjoy the experience right from the comfort of your own home and favorite web browser.

P.S. If you are looking to revamp how your company deals with media and sink your teeth into Smooth Streaming, you’ll want to check out these recent Innovation Showcase blog entries:

Got a story you want to showcase to architects and developers, holler!