WOW! Sometimes, it really pays off to read my email...look what I found:

Not only that, but also...

Go on, feed your wild side!

-Mithun Dhar

Have you taken a peek at Skydrive recently? one word describes it best - Fabulous! Not only is the service Bigger, Better and Faster but it is also Free! Available now in 38 countries/regions. In addition to Great Britain, India, and the U.S., we’re live in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Finland, France, Guatemala, Honduras, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, and Turkey.

To be very honest, I've not been super impressed by most of the Live Services but the new Skydrive just blows my mind away. Very Simple and very efficient! Just what you want in any product...

Here's a quick guide to help you get started:

1. Go to: http://skydrive.live.com/ --> click Get Started

2. Click on 'Sign up' on the left hand --> Click Sign Up on the left side (Login with you Live/Hotmail/any other email id) --> Fill up relevant information

3. Enjoy 5 GB of unadulterated, ad free space! Your storage on the web!

Really! It's that simple...and oh, we are pretty sure with our quality...it's not Beta any more!

Get Started! 

-Mithun Dhar

OK! The event is sold out and you couldn't register on time! No bad! You can still experience the launch events as it unfolds, live...Just click on the picture below!

Enjoy sneak-peeking!

-Mithun Dhar

PS:

There is something really serene about this picture...very hard to believe that it is downtown LA! :))

Recently, I was just frustrated and agitated at work! I was complaining about it to a good friend of mine. He then sent me this awesome tidbit! I think I've read and reread it about a 100 times in the past two days. It makes so much sense...we worry about so many trivial things that won't matter in a week's time, let alone 3 or 5 years from now. It's great if we slow down a bit, stop and savor the moment and learn to enjoy life as it comes! For sake of sanity, it's important that we Don't sweat the small stuff and it's all small stuff. I know every one of us is going through some sort of a conundrum right now...our life is in constant flux and we are perpetually battling the odds. When I was a kid my biggest worry was about getting that video game or that glowing red bicycle...as I grew it was about my grades or getting into a good school or that heartache from high school...then it was about getting that awesome job...soon after it was that much needed promotion...there's no end to life's trivial struggles. But there in lies the joy! I mean, in retrospect...these things look so trivial. Life always has a way of working itself out...as my dad paraphrased some Internet article, everything is fine in the end, if it's not - then it's not the end.

Since then, I've been thinking about it and it's so true!...I mean there is no need to take things to heart and get worked up! In the end...it's all gonna work itself out! It's good to take everything in perspective! Here's what my friend sent to me...

-Mithun Dhar

I've been following the news about how the US plans to blow up the malfunctioning satellite from the very first day they announced. And, so they did last evening! I just came across this video...and it's really nice to see it done in such pin point precision. Although, this proves a point, it also shows you how vulnerable we can become in the event of a war. Can you imagine? If it's *this* easy to blow up a satellite then I don't want to imagine the consequences in the event of a war...no cable, no GPS, crippled telephone lines, and a slew of other monstrosities! Anyway, it's still really cool to watch this video...

-Mithun Dhar

I am very pleased to announce that Microsoft will be making its developer and designer tools available at no charge to college students in 10 countries around the world – in the first phase of the new Microsoft DreamSpark™ program. DreamSpark will be live as of Feb 19 in United States, the United Kingdom, China, Germany, France, Finland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Belgium. Additional country rollouts are planned throughout the year with full availability expected within 12 months. While this is initially an offer for university students, we might expand this on a broader basis. Watch this space for more information!

Students will be able to download any of the following software products via Channel 8 (channel8.msdn.com) and will have to go through a quick online third party-driven authentication process to validate their student status. Once this is done, they will be able to download the software of their choice– one title or all. Here's the current set of downloads...

Microsoft developer tools.

· Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition

· Visual Studio 2005 Professional Edition

· XNA Game Studio 2.0

· 12-month free membership in the XNA Creators Club

Microsoft designer tools.

Expression Studio, including:

· Expression Web

· Expression Blend

· Expression Design

· Expression Media

Microsoft platform resources.

· Windows Server, Standard Edition

· SQL Server 2005 Developer Edition

For more information you can go HERE!

 
Bill Gates talks about Free Software, Students, and Technology

Get Started NOW by clicking HERE!

FAQ's

Students

Administrators

We believe that today's Students  have the ability to shape tomorrow's world! And, we would love to help out in anyway possible! After all, Your Potential Is Our Passion!

-Mithun Dhar

Earlier today, one of my colleagues bought this to my notice - http://www.nba.com/allstar2008/video/ 

The NBA all star videos are now in Silverlight!

What a slam dunk!

-Mithun Dhar

Sweet! The title says it all...block a day or two out of your busy schedules and check out these really cool Instructor Led Labs. Very informative...

First Look: Visual Studio 2008

Check out this one-day instructor-led clinic to learn about new development features available in Visual Studio 2008. The clinic introduces features that can be used to create and consume application services, build ASP.NET Web sites, create engaging desktop applications, design workflows, expose services, and enhance Microsoft Office applications.

Visit MS Learning for more information.

First Look: What's New in SQL Server 2008

This series of hands-on labs focuses on new features in SQL 2008 and components in the relational database, business intelligence and development environment. It is intended for SQL Server administrators and developers who have experience working with previous editions of SQL Server 2008.

Visit MS Learning for more information.

-Mithun Dhar

I was just sifting through my daily mail and I came across this awesome compile of Webcasts/training's on High Performance Computing. I can't stress how important a milestone this is in the history of computing. It doesn't matter if you a Developer or an IT Pro, it will definitely pay off to understand and know about HPC. I think Windows has made some sweeping changes and is better able to fend off Linux. Don't believe me? Check it for yourself at the Windows Compare Website...

Mark your calendars and get ready to get smarter!

Upcoming Webcast on Windows Compare:
High-Performance Computing with Windows (Level 200)

Tuesday, March 25, 2008 - 11:30 A.M.–1:00 P.M. Pacific Time

In this webcast, we discuss HPC in Windows compared to a Linux solution. We first look at what comes built in to Windows Compute Cluster Server, compared to what you get with a Linux solution. We then examine demanding workloads and show how to configure a HPC solution.

Visit Windows Compare website for more information.

Recorded Windows Compare Sessions

Configuring Web Proxy Servers

In this pair of screencasts we will examine how you can configure and monitor a web proxy server on both Windows Server 2003 and Ubuntu Linux.
View the Windows Screencast
View the Linux Screencast

Learn about the Server Core installation option of Windows Server 2008
In this TechNet Radio session we will discuss the Server Core architecture, functionality and how it compares to Linux

WMA | MP3 High | MP3 Low

Monitoring Performance: Windows Vista and Ubuntu Linux

In this screencast series we will examine how you can monitor real time CPU and memory performance using Windows Vista and Ubuntu Linux.
View the Windows Screencast
View the Linux Screencast

Managing a Virtualized Environment today and in the future

Hear this radio show to learn more about the features and benefits of using Windows Server Virtualization and System Center working together and look at competitive differentiators for the current virtualization offerings.

WMA | MP3 High | MP3 Low

Visit Windows Compare website for more information.

-Mithun Dhar

Here's the good news - geekSpeak is now available not only a webcast but also as a podcast. You can download these in either WMA or MP3 formats and port em' over to your favorite media player to listen to it anywhere/anytime.

While you are at it, you might want to take a peek and register for the next geekSpeak session...

As if that were not enough, you can find us on Channel 9 as well...

See, we make sure you hear geek's speak! In more than one way...

Come join us in tomorrow's geekSpeak with Reza Madani while he geekSpeaks on Extending SQL Server Integration Services!

-Mithun Dhar

PS:

I'll soon co-host with my awesome colleagues Glen Gordon and Lynn Langit!