Today was the second last day of the Microsoft TechEd Australia 2008 conference so a closing party was held at the Sydney Exhibition Center. It’s got nothing compared to the previous year’s party at Warner Brothers Movie World theme park but it was still a pretty fun event with some unusual entertainment following the “carnival” theme.

At the Microsoft TechEd Australia 2008 conference keynote this morning, Dr. Neil and Amit Mital teased a very quick preview of the Live Mesh application running on a Windows Mobile Palm Treo Pro which should be publically available in the coming months.

During the short demonstration, Dr. Neil took a photo of Amit on stage with his mobile phone which then wireless synced with the Live Mesh computer.

In the broader picture syncing of data is just one of three components to the Live Mesh platform. They envision unified device management to remotely manage health, status, location and capability of devices; unified application deployment with synced configurations and settings for those applications; and finally unified data management across any device.

Imagine putting a Zune on the Live Mesh and allowing it to sync with your unified music library that spans across different computers, different devices and even different platforms.

If the standard Microsoft Surface demo applications doesn’t cut it for you anymore then check out this custom application built by an Aussie Readify consultant Tatham Oddie in just two days who hadn’t seen a Surface until a day ago (sponsored by Amnesia actually).

Since all TechEd badges are RFID-enabled A special sticker was placed on the back of the TechEd badge, he took advantage of this to build a TechEd sessions scheduler that works by placing the badge on the Surface. He also mentioned that if you had two badges on the Surface at once you could even share sessions by dragging it from one badge to the other.

Video credit Edward Hooper.

Amongst all the presentations, Joe Wilson - the academic evangelist for Microsoft had the most interesting one technically. Instead of Powerpoint, Joe used a custom-built WPF application that mashed together pre-rendered video and live-rendered animations. The photos doesn’t do it justice. Joe also officially announced DreamSpark for Australian students.

If you’re from down under and want a Palm Treo Pro but aren’t the biggest fan of the dollar-thirsty telephone operator known as Telstra, then you don’t have to wait too long now before getting your hands on a vanilla Treo Pro in the shops. Speaking to some Palm representatives at TechEd Australia, they’ve told me that the Treo Pro will officially be available via electronic retailers as a vanilla unlocked phone on Sunday, 16th of November for AU$900.

At the same time I also asked about why hasn’t Palm developed or customized the Windows Mobile shell much for the device - the “bread and butter” of HTC. The representative said that this decision was on purpose and believes that fancy shells usually consume too much memory resources slowing down the user experience, whereas the Treo Pro idles at only around 30-40% memory usage compared to as high as 70% on a HTC Touch Diamond. Whether or not this tradeoff between fanciness and resource usage will pay off for Palm remains to be seen.

Side by side, there’s an impressive 18,000 applications (hopefully at least a 1:5 gem-to-crap ratio) for Windows Mobile compared to just over 2,000 for the iPhone. The exception being there’s only one iPhone marketplace and about a bazillion WM marketplaces. Personally I’ve avoided purchasing any WM applications because of this.

Probably realizing they’ve been down the wrong path and missing out on a couple of millions from revenue sharing, Microsoft is looking to roll out its own centralized marketplace codenamed “Skymarket” as soon as 2009 with the release of Windows Mobile 7 as a couple of job postings indicate.

Job Title: Senior Product Manager - Skymarket
This is a unique opportunity and time of rapid change in the mobile industry for a Senior Product Manager in the Mobile Communications Services team to drive the launch of a v1 marketplace service for Windows Mobile.

Key Responsibilities include the following:

• Definition of the product offering, pricing, business model and policies that will make the Windows Mobile marketplace “the place to be” for developers wishing to distribute and monetize their Windows Mobile applications
• Responsibility for the business model and key elements that will drive the optimal experience for developers and monetization of the service by Microsoft
• Preparation and driving the cross group collaboration for the initial launch of the marketplace offering to the developer community this fall
• Preparation and driving the cross group collaboration with stakeholders in the commercial launch of the marketplace service with the launch of WM 7
• Define and mange the consumer, developer and mobile operator value proposition and supporting materials for use by PR, MCB’s developer outreach organization, and other teams across Microsoft
• Working with multiple stakeholders (product team, product planning, developer outreach, business operations, legal and more) in definition on the process, policies and terms of use through which developers and consumers take part in the marketplace
• Work closely with product planning on prioritization of consumer, developer, and mobile operator scenarios
• Support business development on engagements with mobile operators and integration of the marketplace offering into broader Microsoft services offerings or discussions
• Work closely with the Mobile Communication Business developer outreach organization
• Management of KPI’s for the service post launch

Product Manager - Commercial Integration

This is a unique opportunity for a Product Manager in the Mobile Communications Services team to drive the commercial operations and infrastructure integration for the v1 launch of an applications marketplace service for Windows Mobile 7.

Key Responsibilities include the following:

• Drive the commercial operations and infrastructure integration that will enable the Skymarket service and enable revenue collection from consumers of the service and payments to 3rd party developers selling applications/content through the marketplace
• Drive the cross group collaboration for the commercial operations and infrastructure that enable initial launch of the marketplace with the launch of WM 7
• Benchmarking 3rd party mobile marketplaces for commercial integration options for consumers and developers, generating a set of best practices as input for the app market planner
• Working closely with product teams and potentially 3rd parties on mobile operator commercial integration
• Define the processes and KPI’s for measurement of the performance of the business
• Define processes for the on-going operation of the business including unds collection, payment, reporting requirements
• Oversight of 3rd party developer payments, tax issues, and funds management
• Work closely with product planning on prioritization of consumer, developer, mobile operator integration, and internal commerce integration scenarios
• Preparation and driving the cross group collaboration for the commercial operations and infrastructure that enable initial launch of the marketplace with the launch of WM 7
• Working with multiple stakeholders (product team, product planning, developer outreach, legal and more) in definition on the process, policies and terms of use through which developers and consumers take part in the marketplace
• Support business development on engagements with mobile operators and integration of the marketplace offering into broader Microsoft services offerings or discussions

If global warming hasn’t yet screwed up our seasons then “this fall” would translate to the next couple of months - when developers should get an early look at the marketplace and hopefully to start adopting like newly-wed Hollywood couples. As of last sighting on a blurry HTC PowerPoint slide, Windows Mobile 7 along with “Skymarket” should be an early 2009 release.

In the spirit of fun, there is also another video parody of a classical documentary on the subject of “slicing” which serves as a analogy for WebSlices. Even features “awesomeness of samurai words”.

Finally, they’ve also published a series of showcase videos which demonstrates how Internet Explorer 8 can be used in various scenarios. In comparison to most “product demos”, they’re quite upbeat with a pretty out-there rock soundtrack. This one is titled “Keeping up with the Election 2008″.

The Internet Explorer 8 is definitely on a roll with this second beta.

I’ve been looking for a new mobile phone for a while now - from iPhone 3G to Samsung i780 and even the almighty HTC Touch Diamond - but whenever it came the moment to buy, I could never go through with it because of some particular shortcoming. Touch typing on the iPhone, bulky style of the i780 and again touch typing on the Diamond. After a couple days’ worth of playing with Palm’s recently announced Palm Treo Pro which is not only QWERTY but also stylish, I don’t think I’ll need to look any further.

First off, some basic specifications:

• OS: Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional Edition
• Processor: Qualcomm MSM7201 dual-core 400MHz
• Memory: 256MB (128MB system memory, 100MB user available)
• Display: 2.5″ 320×320 transflective colour TFT flush touchscreen
• Radio: HSDPA (3.6mbps)/UMTS (tri)/EDGE/GPRS/GSM (quad)
• Wireless: WiFi 802.11b/g (WPA, WPA2, 801.1x) & Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR & Infrared 1.0
• GPS: Assisted GPS
• Camera: 2.0mp with 8x digital zoom and video capture (no flash)
• Expansion: microSDHC
• Connection: 3.5mm audio jack (headfone included), MicroUSB 2.0
• Battery: Removable 1500mAh lithium-ion battery
• Dimensions: 60mm (W) x 114mm (L) x 13.5mm (D) 133 grams

If you’re into manuals and such, I’ve uploaded the User Guide to Scribd so you can have a peek too.

Now if you’re looking for some photos of the box and the very elegant unboxing process, you can find some on Engadget but I couldn’t wait so I’ll start off with the device out of the box and in my anxious little hands - which you can see fits comfortably in.

It is very possible to hold and use the device on one hand but you’d run into a few awkward cramps as you try to navigate with your thumb. With two hands, there’s no problems whatsoever.

In terms of size, it’s nearly identical to a Zune which in turn is almost like a 80GB iPod Classic. The rounded corners however makes it appear much sleeker and smooth curves much easier and comfortable to hold.

On the left are two buttons, one volume control and another shortcut button which defaults to camera.

On the right is the infrared port and a button on top which turns on the WiFi connection on-demand. Extremely handy since the WiFi turns off automatically when the phone is inactive or in standby.

On the bottom are the miniUSB and audio connectors which sits on an extrusion. Whilst you can’t notice it from the front it does ruin the aesthetics a little.

On top a ringer/silence switch and the power button. On back, the camera and the loudspeaker.

A quick note about the speaker, due to the obvious deficient “hole” for the speaker, sounds appear “muffled” as if it was covered up with a hole that is not wider than a grain of rice. Oh wait, it is. Placing the phone down on a table seems to improve the quality considerably.

A quick note about the screen. Like most phones now it is a reflective screen so the colors are vivid at the cost of reflections and glare. At default brightness it is more than usable outside but less so if you tilt it ever so slightly.

Finally, the crown jewels of the device - the QWERTY keyboard. To be honest, all mobile keyboards are small to begin with and this is not much different so it really comes down to feel. Besides the very generous spacebar, most buttons are pretty wide but the gap between keys is not that forgiving. If you pay attention to your fingers it’s not hard to type without just a couple mistakes but say if you’re trying to touch type you’re going to accidentally press quite a few adjacent keys. Of course, my accuracy is improving as I use it.

Whilst there are obvious physical advantages to a QWERTY keyboard than a virtual keyboard, the catch is however there’s no “smarts” when it comes to mistakes on a QWERTY keyboard. As far as I know, no QWERTY mobiles autocorrect mistakes. It assumes everything you typed is intentional. I hope at least one vendor realizes this potential adds some software magic to the QWERTY keys too, if they can do it for virtual keys than why not real keys.

A final note about the hardware, it looks pretty at night

Nuff said about hardware, software time. Before I dive into the software I must admit I was a Windows Mobile virgin before using this device. Sure I’ve seen and played with Windows Mobile around the place but never “owned” a Windows Mobile phone. Needless to say I was aware of the bad perception around WM but dived in anyway.

Here’s some screenshots with Palm’s “Lumen” theme.

As you can see for the most part this is a very standard Windows Mobile 6.1 experience. If you were to ask me for a single criticism of this device it would be that Palm didn’t invest nearly as much into the software experience (as they did hardware).

Overall I’m rather positive about Windows Mobile because it is both an opportunity to standardize and customize the mobile platform. By standardization I mean the fact that software developers (and hardware vendors) can write one software that is deployable to thousands of devices without any investment in per-device compatibility - a gain for users. On the other hand WM is also extremely customizable for both users and vendors to make it a truly unique experience. HTC shows how this can be done with their impressive TouchFlo 3D shell. Obviously you can’t deny the fact that WM is still plagued with utterly crap user interfaces both native and from third parties. There’s no excuse why icons are still aliased.

Besides a few slightly varied screens, Palm missed out on the exciting opportunity to offer some unique software experiences that can’t be found on other Windows Mobiles. Hopefully as they become more familiar with WM they’ll do something more exciting.

To say Palm didn’t do anything wouldn’t be fair either. It does come with this “My Treo” app which amongst other things tells you how to use the phone on the phone.

The device’s internal memory isn’t very large so 100MB of RAM is a precious resource not to be taken for granted. After a fresh boot it idles at a comfortably 36% but rises pretty steeply every application you pile on. If you make friends with the task manager and there’s no real problems.

A quite note about the GPS. The device by default has a link to Garmin’s webpage which unfortunately at the time of writing does not have a compatible software ready. Alternatively I loaded up Google Maps which worked perfectly fine with the GPS. Takes approximately 5 seconds to lock on to the position. A HTC tool called “QuickGPS” is also included which is designed to speed up the GPS initialization time by prefetching some satellite orbit data, but you have to resync at least every 7 days.

In terms of camera picture quality this is no replacement for a digital camera. Above is a comparison against a dSLR showing incorrect color balance and loss of finer detail but you can still make out most of the details which is perfectly fine for “snaps”. In addition, the camera application offers a standard range of settings and controls.

Finally, a note about the resolution. WM 6.1 introduced support for the square resolution of 320×320 which for some reason vendors have quickly adopted. On the plus side it’s an advantage in terms of extra vertical space compared to the standard 320×240 resolution but due to its recent adoption some third-party applications can have rendering issues like Skype. This however isn’t a road-blocker as there is simply a “gap” and won’t inhibit from doing any tasks.

I haven’t been able to properly test out battery life yet but I’m predicting about a good 3 days worth in one charge with a couple calls a day and moderate wireless usage.

Last but not least, a few words about the phone and data capabilities. The phone quality is pretty stock standard - nothing too impressive but nothing noticeably bad either. I found the phone earpiece rather loud at the lowest volume setting but that’s not really an issue. Unfortunately because I’m currently in an area without 3G coverage I haven’t been able to test the 3G speeds at all. However on WiFi, it blazes up to a cool 677kbit/s with equivalent coverage to my notebook PC.

In conclusion, this is an impressive touchscreen and QWERTY Windows Mobile phone that has the hardware style of a Lexus but the interior fittings of a Toyota. Obviously when you have really strong competitors like HTC who can skin Windows Mobile like an iPhone, other vendors are going to have a pretty hard time staying competitive but I think Palm is on the right path. For roughly the same recommended retail price as the HTC Touch Diamond, the Treo Pro is a pretty good competitor - there’s a lot of value to a QWERTY keyboard but it lacks some next-generation features like capacitive multitouch and an accelerometer - non-essentials but cool to have for futureproofing. I would have no regrets owning this over a Touch Diamond.

I should also give some credit to Palm for trying to be competitive at least in the United States by selling the device directly without network locks. Unfortunately in Australia, Palm has confirmed that it is a Telstra exclusive and network-locked for the time being. (Lucky for me this review unit was unlocked so I could use my Vodafone SIM.) I guess I’m going to have to look for unlocked ones on eBay.

Understandably all uni students are broke so Microsoft is not only hosting a free half-day event from 1-4pm packed with XNA game development, robotics, web development, Olympics and some career advice (no event is complete without), but there’s also a female geek celebrity called Ms Megabyte (apparently not her real name) and the worldwide Imagine Cup winners. The rumor is apparently they’re from Australia and one member even writes some inconspicuous blog.

On the day, Joe Wilson of Microsoft Academic Evangelism will also be officially launching Microsoft Dreamspark in Australia - the program for full-time tertiary students to own a wide range of Microsoft developer and designer tools for the best price of free.

To get in, you’ll need to register first on the Microsoft website. You can also stalk some of the other attendees on the event’s Facebook page. Finally a pro tip - if you see me on the day, please don’t ask me to link to your blog. Harsh but fair.

For proof, take a look at this wicked synth of the Halo 3 multiplayer map “Zanzibar” made by AlexOpposite.

Inspired by the above, I decided to take my own stab at making a synth of a virtual world. My weapon of choice was the classic Team Fortress 2 map “2fort”. To get the clean screenshots, I used a few console commands from this machinima tutorial.

Whilst mine has a slightly higher “synthy score” of 100%, the result isn’t as impressive as the Halo one but still looks pretty extraordinary. What I found is that Photosynth was sometimes confused by some extreme angles you can achieve in video games you might not otherwise. Game screenshots also lacked EXIF data like focal length which Photosynth otherwise would have used to make more accurate models.

I’m definitely going to try synth some other game maps, but for fun I’d love to see someone try synthesizing a side-scroller like Super Mario.