The MSDN Australia Blog

Exclusive Announcement: Steve Ballmer coming to Sydney and wants to speak with the Australian Developer community!!

Well dear Developers, it's not often that I get an exclusive on anything this big but Steve Ballmer will visit us in Sydney on 6th and 7th of November and has specifically requested time with the Australian developer community!  At this point, my team and I are working on how best to leverage the time Steve has got for us (Devlopers!) in his busy schedule so, "watch this space" - whatever it is we will ensure you all get to hear what he has to say to us!  I'm excited!!  Fin :-)

Keep up to date with what's going on at Tech Ed08 in Sydney and learn how to score a coveted Tech Ed back pack soon!!

Well guys, there are only 1,000 Developers coming to Tech Ed (along with around another 2,000 less code focussed IT Professionals) so, there are another 60,000+ of you out there in Australia not here so, I hope I'll be able to share the goodness of whats going on here over the next few days. I'll share any "ground breaking" announcements that are made in the keynotes, links to resources that I learn of, pics (via Flickr) that "capture the moment" and of course, I have my eye on any left over Tech Ed bags (they are awesome this year!) to share we you on my return so, "pay attention!".  I am going to quiz you up in order to give you a chance to score these coveted "carry alls" in the coming days and weeks.  In the meantime, thanks for keeping the coding country going while we soak up all the goodness of Tech Ed!! Fin

Surface shows it's face at Tech Ed Sydney!!!

Well folks, I have the "inside track" with this one... (rare but true!!).  The MSDN Lounge at Tech Ed will play host to a Microsoft Surface at Tech Ed.  And, as I am running the lounge, I'm looking forward to getting up close and personal with said "device".  Don't worry, if you are not going to Tech Ed, I intend to point the camera in Surface's "face" and get the low down on what this much talked about machine has to offer Developers going forward.  I'll post this and anything else going on at Tech Ed next week to this blog.  Have a great weekend!  Fin

Winners of Microsoft Lifecams for their Top Tips for Becomming a Great Developer....!!

Hey Guys, thanks to all who contributed further "top tips" to becomming a great developer - I think we could publish a book at this stage!! 

Thanks for your patience with my announcement of the winners... mia culpa but, I "thought" I had done this properly before I left for a month of leave in July  but of course, I did a crap job of it and you guys are still waiting to know if your comment hit a note with our judges.... so.... DRUM ROLL!!

Top 3 Winners (plus one additional lifecam for comedic skills...!!)

Eddie de Bear
Ben (and that's the "Ben" who wrote the 12 top tips...)
TK (who actually refuted one of Ben's top tips but I love a good argument... ;-))

And, Douglas Lim whose advice to "wear clean undies" seemed like a good place to start if you want to become a great developer...!! 

Can all 4 winners pleas pop me an email containing your postal details so that I can send you off your Lifecams today to finulac@microsoft.com

Cheers!

Fin

New Social Bookmarking on MSDN increases traffic to your sites and blogs and allows you to better connect with people in your industry!!

PREVIEW: v 1.0 of Social Bookmarking on MSDN and TechNet

Microsoft is opening up the MSDN, TechNet, and Expression sites to the community, so that technical professionals can better connect with each other, share knowledge, and succeed. Tagging - and especially social bookmarking - are essential ingredients for making this happen.

Back in May, just before TechEd North America, we released a preview version of our new social bookmarking app for MSDN, for TechNet, and for Expression. Since then, thousands of technical professionals from around the world have begun using it to save their web favorites online, share them with others, see what other technical pros are favoriting, and connect with others.

We also got a lot of great feedback on the app itself (thank you!) and I'm happy to say that in early September, we plan on releasing a full version of the app - v 1.0. Here are some new things to look for:

• Subscribe to Tags or People: Find a tag you want to follow? Or a fellow bookmarker that bookmarks really good stuff? With the new app, it will be easy to get an RSS subscription for that tag or person (as in, click the orange button).
• Browse & Find Users: Search or browse to find people by their display name (e.g., mine is "johmar") and other criteria.
• Import Tools: Recognizing that a lot of people already have favorites saved in their browsers or in other social bookmarking sites, the new app will provide a tool for importing your favorites from Microsoft Internet Explorer and from Delicious.
• Bookmarking Widget: If you have your own blog or other website, our new bookmarking widget will make it easy for people to bookmark your pages directly to their social bookmarks on MSDN, TechNet, or Expression. You'll get traffic from Microsoft when your bookmarked page is published in "social feeds" on our global sites.

• Availability in 12 Languages: With the September release, the social bookmarking application will be available in Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Czech, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.

Here is a screenshot of the v 1.0 home page for MSDN:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Questions? Comments? Feedback?

Let us know by commenting on this blog or in the Social Bookmarks Discussion Forum.

August de los Reyes, the Surface Architect confirmed to keynote at Web Driections in Sydney 23-26th September and you get a Discount!

Hi folks.  Microsoft is a key sponsor at Web Directions again this year and August de los Reyes - Principal Experience Architect, Microsoft Surface will be making the trip from Redmond to keynote!  Also our good friends at Web Directions have offered MSDN Blog readers a $55 discount (so it's $895 for the 2 day conference if you buy an "early bird" before Sept 7th and $995 after that).  All you need is the "magic code": WDS08MS  That'll pay for a few drinks at the bar at least ;-).  Find out more about the 30 sessions, 10 international speakers, 3 tracks, 5 workshops, 4 very full days covering the technologies, techniques and strategies you need to build the best possible web sites and applications.  See you there if you are going! Fin

 

Readify Developer Network presents free session on Integrating your Site with IE8!

Hi Folks!  Well I am back from my month long trip around the world where I travelled over 3 continents and visited Microsoft UK and Dublin!  I'm just wading through the thousands of emails I received while I was away but, there was one about the upcoming free sessions presented by Readify that I felt were worth checking out.  There's one on the new "bells and whistles" in IE8 by Damien Edwards in Sydney tomorrow night but, check out their site for other sessions coming up around the country over the coming weeks including those on Sharepoint.  They take place in most major cities around Australia and they're free!  http://www.readify.net/rdn.aspx  Cheers. Fin

Look who's coming to TechEd Australia

TechEd is a big deal for us here in Microsoft Australia. Every year it gets bigger and hopefully better.The event has grown from around 600 delegates a few years ago to one that will attract close to 3,000 this year. In fact, outside the US this is the biggest single country TechEd in the World. This year we decided to ask our attendees to tell us a little bit more about themselves so we could tailor the experience more. So thought I would share a few findings.

Firstly, there is diverse geographic attendance. There is a nice little virtual earth tool that maps people to Australia by job role (just click the role you are interested in seeing on the menu). Eventually we hope to be able to get people to connect with each other by adding social functionality.

And people are pretty diverse in other ways too. Great mix of Devs, IT Professionals and IT Managers.

And some interesting lifestyle responses too ...

Deeps, has done some more analysis on his technet blog too - so if you are going to TechEd this year you can see the kind of people you will be hanging out with :)

All the best, Ben

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 RTM

SQLServer 2008 officially releases to manufacture today. This is a major release of the product and there is a lot of innovation to get developers interested. A couple of things worth mentioning are T-SQL statements, SQL IntelliSense, Geo-location and File stream support.

The latest press release is here or you can go to Channel9 here for more detailed information.

Visit the msdn site to download the trial software: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-au/sqlserver/default.aspx

 

Mesh Technology Preview

Hi all, I was very excited to see that Australia is now on the technology preview program for Live Mesh. This is a solution I have been waiting for! I have 5 machines in my Mesh all syncing beautifully - it has made my USB keys redundant. Mesh is one of those technologies that you wondered how you ever managed without it :). Having sat through some recent presentations on the roadmap I have become even more impressed by this solution. We are fortunate to have Amit Mital, the General Manager for Live Mesh, to present the keynote for TechEd this year. While he will be talking more broadly on our Software + Services strategy, I am sure mesh will get a mention and what it will mean for developers

 

Check out the Dev Live Blog for some more insights into Live Mesh and a video on Deep's TechNet Blog

 All the best, Ben

Top Tips for Becoming A GREAT Developer and... your chance to win one of 3 Microsoft Lifecams when you share yours!!

Hi Folks.  If you read last Friday's MSDN Flash you will have seen these "Pearls of Wisdom" from some very successful Developers but, they're so good I want to ensure my Blog "followers" got them AND there's a chance to win a web cam when you share yours!!  So here they are...

Andrew Parsons, MVP, Education Evangelist, Readify
"Be Humble"
A successful developer realises and recognises their limitations and doesn't impose themselves on others. They don't approach programming with arrogance. I'm quite happy to say "I don't know", but I'm also prepared to say "but I'll try to find out". This is often followed by the cry of "help!!!" with the people I work with.

Dr Neil Roodyn, Regional Director, Independent Internet Consultant, Trainer & Author
"Learn the fundamentals and build on them"
To even consider calling yourself a computer programmer, learn how a computer works. Learn how to place values in a register and call machine instructions to manipulate them. Learn how to optimise the memory management in your code and how to increase performance at a fundamental level. Learn how to serialize data in and out of ports. Once you have a strong understanding of the fundamentals, start learning the basics of abstraction, data hiding, responsibility partitioning and polymorphism. Once you have these basic programming skills, learn to work with other people. Software is an output of the team working on it. A solid team builds solid software.

Andy Coates, Developer Evangelist, Microsoft
"Have an Insatiable thirst for Knowledge"
For me, the most important characteristic of a successful developer is an insatiable thirst for knowledge. Take the time to deeply understand the tools and technologies you use. Read blogs from the people who develop and maintain the tools. Take a course from a visiting expert. Ask questions in online forums. Read in-depth books about the field.

Craig Bailey, MVP and Technical Director, Elcom
"Practice! Practice! Practice!"
Craig went all philosophical on me and really researched the answer to this question. He points to some fantastic blogs that also contemplate this question, but inspired by the blog post of Jeff Atwood (Coding Horror) it all boiled down to:
"Successful developers are people who practice."

Mitch Denny, MVP and Principal Consultant, Readify
"Learn Something New Everyday"
Be part of the Developer Community: It comes in blogs, in user groups, in person. Attend, present and communicate.

Roger Lawrence, Group Manager for Developer Evangelism, Microsoft
"It's not a Technology Project, It's a Business Project!"
Successful Developers remember that there is no such thing as "an IT Project" but a "Business Project that relies upon great technology. When programming, always think about the impact your solution will have on the business and the people who will use it.

Bronwen Zande, MVP and Director, Soul Solutions
"Love Learning"
We can't always be on the most exciting project with the latest and greatest technology so look for the learning opportunity in every project be it a new technical skill, a new business domain, or an interpersonal skill.

Tatham Oddie, Developer Consultant
"Learn through sharing"
If you haven't already, contribute to your local user group, and start a blog. To find out why I think these are all important, read why on my blog.

Dr Greg Lowe, Regional Director, Managing Director, SolidQ
"Learn from Other People's Code!"
I think the most important thing that a developer needs to do is to read other people's code. Just like an author doesn't get much better without reading other people's books, a developer can take an awfully long time to learn things the hard way. Reading other people's code can make all sorts of little ideas pop into their heads.

Finula Crowe, Marketing Manager - Designer & Developer Community Microsoft
"Keep reading MSDN Flash - the best way to stay on top of all that is going on at Microsoft for Developers". (Shameless "plug" for MSDN Flash, I know! ;-))

If you have a "tip" you would like to share, post it here and I will award the three most original tips a fabulous Microsoft LifeCam. Entries must be posted by 5 July. Winners will be notified by 7th July.

Good luck!!  Fin

Fancy a Trip to New Zealand that combines learning about new Web Technologies with Skiing??? Web on The Piste is open for registrations now!! Aussies Welcome :-)

One of our Web partners, Gruden, approched me recently about sponsoring their second annual "Web on the Piste" conference, to be held in NZ in August.  We sponsored it last year and whilst I didn't manage to get it past my Manager to attend... by all reports from my Microsoft NZ counterparts, it was a great event - on and off the slopes.  I'm not sure that I'll get along this year either - Web Evangelist Mike Kordahi is scheduled to present, but, why spoil the fun for everyone else just because I can't go?? 

It's not all skiing though, there will be a 2 day conference packed with content about creating Rich Internet Applications, usability and most importantly - Microsoft and Adobe playing happily together :-)  awww!!  When don't we??  Presenting 24 top local and international speakers, an amazing location and great social events, Web on the Piste is shaping up to be the must-attend conference of the year.

Of course it's no coincidence that it's being held in the height of the ski season in picturesque Queenstown NZ, where there are numerous ski fields, jet boat rides, bungee jumping, paragliding and many more fun activities to do prior and post conference. Visit www.webonthepiste.com for more information and to register. Might event see you there ;-)!  Fin

 

 

 

Virtual Earth Event: New Link to Register... the other one was "troublesome", apologies to those who were unable to register:

Hi Guys, Some of you contacted me as you had trouble registering for the upcoming free Virtual Earth event.  We have created a new registration site which is working 100% of the time and there are still some spaces left.  Should be a great event so, register now for Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane: https://www.local.microsoft.com.au/australia/events/register/home.aspx?levent=629506&linvitation  Cheers, Fin

A nice Little UTube video on Silverlight 101!

Try as you might, you're probably hearing a lot about Silverlight.  If you haven't already had a play with it or, indeed like many, have no idea what it is, this is a nice little video produced by a Microsoft partner in the US to explain what Silverlight can do.  It's nice branding for the 352 Media Group :-) but I think they deserve a wrap for putting this high level overview together where none of the rest of us could! (including me ;-)).  So, if you want to be up with the latest "jargon", this is a good investment of 2 minues of your time!  Enjoy here!  And, if you want to create any little 101 videos of your own which demystify any Microsoft technology, post it to me and I'll be sure to get it around ensuring you're world famous within minutes!  Fin

TechEd08 Australia: The Early Bird Catches the Worm!! (or at least you'll catch a saving of $250 if you register NOW!)

With a very exciting TechEd08 in Orlando, US just completed, the Australian team are pleased to announce another great Australian Tech Ed is just around the corner taking place at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Center from 2-5 Sept.  We have dozens of Microsoft US speakers including Trika Harms zum Spreckel and Scott Hansleman as well as local experts lined up to bring you an unsurpassed learning experience covering the new innovations released by Microsoft over the last 12 months and a sneak peak at what's to come!

Tech Ed US kicked off with an announcement packed keynote from Bill Gates himself including the Beta 2 releases of Silverlight 2 and IE8.  These products will be even closer to release by September when Tech Ed Australia takes place so, it'll be a great chance to be the first to see these products in action.

 I'll continue to bring you exciting updates and opportunities to give feedback on Tech Ed 08 in Sydney so, keep watching out and DON"T FORGET, Early Bird offer is closing on June 27th so it's another good reason to have a chat with your boss about going along or to register right now!