Check out the Small Basic blog for details on the update they’ve release to Small Basic. Coolest new feature is being able to publish to the Web. This is just the fractal sample, but the possibilities with this are pretty wild. I’ve been looking for a good way to model simple stuff in Web pages for years and this might just do the trick.

Free Live Meeting on February 25. Check out the link for details and to register. Should be a good event.

CSD24CAL: Is Azure Right for my Business?

Microsoft Partners are cordially invited to attend an online Live Meeting briefing to hear new insights and points-of-views from well-known industry experts and leading edge partner companies on what the Windows Azure opportunity means for your organization. We will demonstrate how you will be able to change the face of your business and introduce new revenue streams for building solutions for our customers.

Have you pondered the business opportunity behind Azure?
Do you want to know how to:

• Leverage the opportunity and get started / engage your customer?
• Assess an organization for Azure and help them determine their S+S strategy?
• Compute cloud charges and determine the ROI of migrating to the cloud?
• Determine what best practices to apply in migrating applications to Azure?

At this briefing you will:

• Hear from a leading Azure partner on how to get-started identifying and developing Azure opportunities
• Hear from peers within your network about real projects and business development initiatives

Who should attend?

This is a business development briefing for Microsoft Partners, specifically system integrators, who build custom developed solutions. Partner attendees most likely to benefit from this briefing include:

• Executive Technology/ Business Liaisons
• Technology Decision Makers
• Development and Architecture Leaders

This is an audio interview I posted to Channel 9 today. SummitCloud is working through the Microsoft Partner Network to drive and find new business opportunities.

Partner Interview: SummitCloud

Posted By: Brian Johnson | Today @ 9:14 AM | 58 Views | 0 Comments

SummitCloud is a BizSpark startup that produces analysis and compliance software used by suppliers and retailers. Microsoft Partner Evangelist John McClelland     and I sat down with SummitCloud CEO David Leibowitz to talk about SummitCloud, BizSpark, and the Microsoft Partner Network.

Partner Interview: SummitCloud | brianjo | Channel 9

The Microsoft in the Cloud events are coming to cities in the US East Coast in February and March. Stops include Washington DC, Atlanta, New York, Charlotte, and Boston. Check out the link below for details.

Microsoft in the Cloud

...For Today, Tomorrow and Beyond.

Are you evaluating cloud technologies and wondering where Microsoft fits in? Did you know that Microsoft has over 15 years of experience delivering services like Hotmail and more recently Xbox Live through the cloud to millions of users? Do you want to know more about what Microsoft’s annual investment in the cloud – a significant portion of its $9.5B R&D budget means to you and your company?

Companies everywhere are looking to leverage cloud technology to:

• Drive greater efficiency in IT systems and cut costs out of IT infrastructure

• Increase the scalability and agility of IT infrastructure

• Reduce IT carbon footprints

• Help developers respond more quickly to business requirements

• Address lost productivity and user frustration with disconnected IT experiences

Join us to discover how Microsoft Cloud Computing enables organizations like yours:

• Have the Flexibility of choosing whether your applications will run locally, in the cloud, or a combination of the two based on your business needs

• Remain confident in the Security and availability of your data and services as you harness the efficiency, cost, and environmental benefits of the cloud

• Maintain Control while increasing end-user satisfaction and productivity via the enablement of seamless experiences across the PC, Web, and phone.

Great resource for those working with PHP and other F/OSS tech on Windows and IIS.  Lots of projects and labs to explore here. (I wish I had been aware of the a couple of weeks ago.)

Interoperability Bridges & Labs Center

The Center is dedicated to technical collaborative work to improve interoperability between Microsoft and non-Microsoft technologies. In this site, you will find a live directory of freely downloadable technical interoperability Bridges & Labs and related content such as demos, technical guidance and articles. The vast majority of the projects are Open Source. The Center is run by the Microsoft Interoperability Strategy Group working with the community at large.

News from the PDC…

Microsoft’s BizSpark Fires Up Startups, Ignites a Community: Marking its one-year anniversary at PDC 2009, BizSpark continues to gain momentum, expand its reach with new offers, and put partners at the center of the equation to turn startups into successful businesses.

Microsoft’s BizSpark Fires Up Startups, Ignites a Community

REDMOND, Wash. — Nov. 17, 2009 — For thousands of entrepreneurs huddling in coffee shops to thrash out business plans or tinkering in garages to build innovative applications, Microsoft’s BizSpark program has not only accelerated their software development process but also fine-tuned the equation for startup success by providing access to business acumen and mentorship.

Almost exactly a year ago, Microsoft launched BizSpark, a global program designed to catalyze the success of entrepreneurs by making Microsoft’s end-to-end software solutions available to early-stage startups with no upfront costs. In creating BizSpark, Microsoft realized that the startup community requires more than the right technology tools to succeed. Startups also need access to marketing channels, creative partnerships and coaching from industry experts. BizSpark was developed with that perspective in mind — to deliver a holistic infrastructure that supports startups and the entrepreneurial community on a worldwide basis.

I wanted to pass along information about these Azure events in the East in December.

We’ve all heard about the industry shift to the Cloud, but are you jumpstarting your Windows Azure business to be a part of it?

You are cordially invited to attend the fall Professional Developer Partner Briefing. You will not just hear the usual, but you will hear new insights and points of views from Microsoft’s well-known industry experts and a perspective from a leading edge partner company on what the Windows Azure opportunity means for your organization. We will demonstrate how you will be able to change the face of your business and introduce new revenue streams for building solutions for our customers.

Seating is limited, so register now by clicking on a city “near you” below.

Optionally call 1-877-MSEVENTS or visit http://msevents.microsoft.com and provide the event ID.

For more information on this event and other partner communications visit the Partner Evangelism team blog at http://blogs.msdn.com/usdevpartners.

Sanjay has a nice writeup on the final day of Incubation Week in Atlanta last week. Sounds like it was very productive for everyone.

 

Evangelism for Microsoft ISVs, BizSpark Startups & Network Partners : Day5: Microsoft BizSpark Incubation Week for Azure @ Atlanta 13Nov09

I’ll be at this event in Boston on December 9th. Check out the details and the registration link below.

Elite Web Optimization Event

New England Research and Development Center (NERD)
1 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA 02142

December 9^th 2009 10:00AM-6:00PM

Come spend a day with us to explore the Microsoft Windows Web Platform and the many managed hosting services provided by NaviSite, Inc., based in Andover, MA!

During this event, we’ll review what’s new in the Microsoft Web Platform and tools, the interoperability improvements in the Microsoft Web platform and the value that NaviSite Managed Hosting can add to your project/business.

We will discuss:

• MS Web Platform – IIS management Console, Hyper – V and the Dynamic Data Center, SQL Server 2008 Web Edition, IISMedia Services3.0
• MS Interoperability – PHP on Windows, Web-PI, PHP Drivers in MS SQL Server 2008
• MS Web Tools – Visual Studio, Expression, Silverlight
• (Hosting Partner) services and value add
• WebsiteSpark Program
• The Great PHP on Windows Contest
• Microsoft Partner Evangelism Initiative

All attendees will be entered into a drawing to win one of the following:

• Copy of Win7
• Xbox360 Elite
• ZuneHD
• 8GB Zune
• FREE NaviSite Windows Dedicated Server for 2 Months

http://microsoftandnavisite.eventbrite.com

For more info: call NaviSite at: 1-866-322-1905

Visit us at: www.navisite.com/smb

Cool. Interview with Murray Gordon about BizSpark Incubation Week next week in Atlanta from TechDrawl. We’ll try to keep everyone posted with information about that event on the blogs and through Twitter next week.

Microsoft BizSpark Incubation Week for Entrepreneurs

by Ben Dyer on November 5, 2009

We had the pleasure on interviewing Murray Gordon of Microsoft on the date on the Windows 7 launch. Mr. Gordon, a West Point graduate, talks in this video about the BizSpark Incubation Week for Windows Azure, a session that begins in Atlanta Monday November 9 and concludes on Friday November 13.  This week is intended to advance five start-ups from prototype to code using daily seminars and overnight coding services in India.  A number of local notable entrepreneurs will be presenting to the teams, and yours truly and others will be judging the results on Friday.

TechDrawl - Technology Startups from D.C. to Texas