“Keeping up the Joneses” is generally associated with materialistic goods (i.e. your neighbor purchases a [insert shiny new item here] so you do as well) but now that same metaphor can be easily related to technology. In today’s ever...

While the Team Foundation Service (previously known as TFS Azure) is still in preview mode that doesn’t mean that guidance and best practices should not be addressed. I’ve created quite a few blog posts on the features and capabilities that...

If you’ve ever used an instant messaging (IM) client then you’re probably familiar with the functionality that such software provides. What you most likely don’t know is that Microsoft has released a new enterprise-ready unified communications...

Marketing is not easy. Companies spend billions of dollars a year trying to sell their products and while some are very successful, others fail miserably. Recently I attended a talk by Chief Marketing Officer, Chris Capossela and he addressed how his...

It seems nowadays that nothing ever goes down but rather quite the opposite. So when I learned that not only Windows Azure pricing was reduced but also Office 365 I just had to spread the good news. That said, Microsoft has halved the price of its entry...

Even though the Team Foundation Service can be updated more frequently than a typical boxed product (current updates are scheduled approximately every 3 weeks), there were some gaps between this service and Team Foundation Server . One of which was building...

If you’re doing a lot of Windows Phone (WP) development then you’re certainly going to be happy to know that the release of the Windows Phone SDK 7.1.1 Update is now available for immediate download on the Microsoft Download Center. The...

The Visual Studio Beta has been released and if you think it’s just a new skin think again. I’ll leave it to the VS team’s blog to list all of the new features although I will provide my color commentary on some of them. First...

Visual Studio ALM Rangers always produce some incredible content and this latest round is no exception. 70 v olunteer Rangers worked together with product group members to create 20 Ranger solutions. This number broke all their past records and is a great...

I enjoy learning by doing as opposed to a lecture based format so having access to a free lab environment via Microsoft Virtual Labs is too good to pass up. Combine this with SQL Server 2012 RTM and it’s the perfect time to learn about some of the...

The wait is over and the Windows 8 Consumer Preview (CP) is available and can be downloaded here . The Developer Preview (DP) which has been available since last year made a tremendous impact at the Build conference and now the CP continues that momentum...

If you’re a developer who has been trying to get your organization on the TFS band wagon and the stumbling block has always been cost/budgetary constraints, nirvana is almost here. With the soon to be released Visual Studio (VS) / Team Foundation...

Over a year ago the Microsoft patterns & practices (p&p) team released the Windows Phone Developer Guide as part of a series on Windows Azure service and client application development. The guide described a scenario concerning a fictitious company...

For those that aren’t familiar with ASP.NET Web API it represents the joint efforts of the WCF and ASP.NET teams to create an integrated web API framework. You can get the bits and find articles, tutorials, samples and videos on the new ASP.NET...

I remember when creating reports were a daunting task and one that I generally left for last to complete. I think almost every developer I’ve come in contact with throughout the years is under the same impression (although there are exceptions to...

Microsoft has not so suddenly introduced the Metro style user interface (UI) to the masses via the Windows Phone, updated Xbox menu navigation and the soon to be released Windows 8 CTP (the developer preview is available here ). A few things come to mind...

Fortunately I’ve had the chance to attend many events dealing with technology but my favorite, for a number of reasons has to be a semi-annual internal Microsoft conference held in Seattle that brings together all ‘softies from all over the...

Cirrus clouds are certainly beautiful but “the cloud” within technology is truly a wonderful thing. It offers so much versatility and almost limitless possibility that it’s now become a focal point when talking about development (new...

Some think certifications are just revenue generating schemes created by companies to push more of their product. Others think no certification in the world can replace years of experience “in the trenches” business acumen. While both of these...

It’s no surprise that I’m a big proponent of Microsoft’s Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) toolset which means that I’m always on the lookout for great content be it video, podcasts, hands on labs, virtual machines, etc. Therefore...

I’ve recently embarked on a somewhat new endeavor as a trainer albeit it's only temporary. I’m certainly not new to this type of role as I’m always evangelizing Microsoft technology and helping customers understand and use these products...

The ALM Summit in November 2011 reaffirmed Microsoft’s position of thought leadership in Application Lifecycle Management and Agile Practices. Luminaries from across the software industry presented, covering the evolution of practices across both...

Creating an architecture review has many benefits not only to an enterprise application but also to the multiple levels of people within an organization. This can be seen by decomposing the design into 3 general areas which ultimately reduces the failure...

Using Windows Server AppFabric makes it easier to build, scale and manage Web and composite applications that run on IIS but when it comes to error logging, tracing and performance analysis, things can get a bit tricky. Therefore let’s discuss how...

Even though TFS is still a preview I’ve been thoroughly impressed with the work that’s been done to migrate what the server product offers to the cloud. Recently there was an update to this service and while not a major overhaul there’s...