Microsoft is holding the inaugural launch for a new product, Microsoft WebMatrix at the CodeMash event in Sandusky, Ohio on January 13, 2011. Register to attend the event online at http://web.ms/enter

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Teams around the world have begun testing applications to certify them on Windows Server 2008 R2. Earning the certification will get you the Works With Windows Server 2008 R2 logo that you place on your marketing materials and Website.

Earning the logo also qualifies you for a significant step in earning the Silver ISV Competency in the Microsoft Partner Network. Earning the Silver Competency earns you tons of benefits, including a software grant you can use in your business.

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Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, the cloud version of the new Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, launches today. It delivers new levels of productivity to sales, service and marketing organizations. ISVs provide customization to CRM that can be applied both online and on premises.

You can sign for a free trial of Dynamics CRM Online. No credit card. No software to install.

 

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  This update includes a rich new set of content designed for developers who want to learn how to build their first Microsoft Business Intelligence solution with SQL Server 2008 R2.   Microsoft BI solutions leverage your existing technology investments in .NET, SQL Server and Office to develop rich integrated reporting and analytics experiences that empower users to gain access to accurate, up-to-date information for better, more relevant decision making. This content is a complete...

Microsoft Silverlight team announced the community of Silverlight developers and designers is one million. The was among the Silverlight Top 10 posted on the team’s blog atSilverlight Top 10 of 2010, A Year in Review.

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Last weekend, my team used WebMatrix to write a Website that included user registration, admin pages, user sign up/profile pages, and some dynamic content.

Find out how we limited the access of certain data to site administrators.

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This is a software-development kit (SDK) for the creation of Windows Phone 7 (WP7) applications that leverage research services not yet available to the general public. The primary goal of this SDK is to support the efforts of Project Hawaii , a student-focused initiative for exploration of how cloud-based services can be used to enhance the WP7 experience. The first two services were made available today and the developer preview of the Windows Phone 7 + Cloud Services SDK can be downloaded here...

SQL Server 2005 SP4 is available on Microsoft Update and on Windows Software Update Services (WSUS).  Customers may find the SQL Server 2005 SP4 upgrade packages for Standard, Workgroup, Developer and Enterprise Editions is available as an optional update on the Microsoft Update website and visible after performing a custom scan.  The packages will be offered for each language and platform we support.  All of these updates will also be available through Windows Software Update Services...

.NET Framework 4 will be supported as a Server Core installation option on Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1. Availability has bee publicly been stated to release in Q1.

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I recently received the Windows Phone Marketplace Developer Newsletter and found a cool list of top 10 WP7 App development tips. These tips are posted on the Windows Phone 7 Developer Blog . The first 7 have been listed below and please visit the Windows Phone 7 Developer Blog for the remaining tips. How to Make Your Start Tiles and Splash Screens Great Make sure your buttons are visible even when the keyboard is displayed Managing themes on WP7. Or how to build your application to respect system...

Thanks to the Born to Learn blog for posting the  “Building Cloud Applications using the Windows Azure Platform” .  These HD videos are a 12 session in-depth illustration on how to leverage the Cloud using the Windows Azure Platform. All of these HD-quality videos are both available on Zune and iTunes for free (also subscribe to the Zune RSS Feed ). You can watch each of these sessions here as well. If you’re new to the Windows Azure platform you can get a no cost 30 day trail by visiting...

Microsoft has released a set of new developer tools to help in your Web development. Scott Guthrie, Vice President in Microsoft Developer Division, announced the set of products on his blog at Announcing release of ASP.NET MVC 3, IIS Express, SQL CE 4, Web Farm Framework, Orchard, WebMatrix. The tools build on .NET 4 and VS 2010 and add value to ASP.NET (both Web Forms and MVC) and Microsoft Web Server stack.

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If you missed the Silverlight Firestarter event back in December here’s a couple of links to get you started. If you are asking what’s Silverlight Firestarter, here’s a brief description: The Silverlight Firestarter is a one day, global, live streamed and on-demand event keynoted by Scott Guthrie on Dec 2nd 2010. You can watch the Firestarter keynote that introduces Silverlight 5 and the Firestarter session videos from this page . New Content: During the Silverlight Firestarter , the Silverlight...

Here are 12 great HD Windows Azure platform videos posted out on Channel 9. These are recordings from the “Building Cloud Applications using the Windows Azure Platform” virtual training event. If you missed here are session recordings below: Session 01: Windows Azure Overview Session 02: Introduction to Compute Session 03: Windows Azure Lifecycle, Part 1 Session 04: Windows Azure Lifecycle, Part 2 Session 05: Windows Azure Storage, Part 1 Session 06: Windows Azure Storage, Part 2 Session 07: Introduction...

WebMatrix is a brand new web development tool from Microsoft that includes everything you need for Website development. Start from open source web applications, built-in web templates or just start writing code yourself. It’s all-inclusive, simple and best of all free. Developing websites has never been easier. Learn More about WebMatrix Install WebMatrix Here Here are a several links to get started: Web Development 101 using WebMatrix Web Development 101- Part 1, Getting Started with WebMatrix Web...

MSDEV presents a series of videos on security of your application on Windows Azure. Graham Calladine, Security Architect with Microsoft Services, describes the issues, the shared responsibility, and what you need to do to secure your application.

The Windows Azure Platform Security Essentials Series includes six free on-demand videos.

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Colleagues on my team have put together some great blog posts to help you in your work on Windows Azure.

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This is part 6 in a weekly series of blog post created by my office mate and Academic Evangelist @kennyspade. In this weeks tutorial, Kenny will be adding basic AI, and then showing how easily you can scale out more enemies in the Triangle Shooter Game. The previous tutorials covered an introduction to XNA, using multi-touch, and basic collision. If you missed the previous steps or want to drill deeper into this tutorial please visit Kenny’s blog   For more information about getting started...

  Microsoft, K2, BA-Insight, Adlib Software, AvePoint, and many more Microsoft partners have teamed up to bring a complimentary event to your area filled with subject matter experts, insightful presentations, demos, food, fun, and prizes! You are invited to a FREE all day event focused on extending the power of SharePoint in your organization. Featuring presentations by Microsoft, and leading Microsoft Partners like K2, learn about innovative solutions that drive value and cost savings for your...

Microsoft announced that the next version of Windows will support System on a Chip (SoC) architectures including ARM-based systems from partners NVIDIA, Qualcomm and Texas Instruments. Intel and AMD continue their work on low-power SoC designs on the x86 architecture that fully support Windows, including support for millions of x86 applications worldwide.

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Developing Applications for the Cloud – Hands on Labs This series of Hands-On Labs is related to the guide "Developing Applications for the Cloud on the Microsoft Windows Azure™ Platform" available from http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff966499.aspx. The individual labs correlate with the chapters of the guide, and demonstrate or expand upon the techniques shown in the guide. The Labs are designed to enhance your understanding of the Windows Azure platform through practical, hands...

Microsoft has released Attack Surface Analyzer. It is a Software Development Lifecycle verification tool for developers and IT professionals to identify whether newly developed or installed applications inadvertently change the attack surface of a Microsoft operating system.

Attack Surface Analyzer is the same tool used by Microsoft's internal product teams to catalogue changes made to the operating system by the installation of new software.

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Quickly evaluate or learn how to build great applications for Windows Phone through a series of guided, hands-on labs for which can be completed in 90 minutes or less. The best part is, the MSDN Virtual Labs don’t require any installation and are available to you immediately for FREE. Start by selecting the lab you’re interested in from the list below. MSDN Virtual Lab: Building your First Windows Phone 7 Application New! MSDN Virtual Lab: Hello Windows Phone New! MSDN Virtual Lab: Launchers and...

Join us Thursday January 27 where Microsoft is hosting the SharePoint 2010 FireStarter event in Redmond, WA. The entire event will be Streamed Live online. Be sure to Register to attend in-person or watch the action unfold Live online.

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Video Link - http://channel9.msdn.com/posts/Demonstration-of-Assistance-PSA-for-Microsoft-Dynamics-CRM-2011-with-Assistance-Software In this video we see a demonstration of Assistance PSA for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 You know the story if you work in Professional Services. Once the next big deal is won the resulting project is taken into the company ERP system to start tracking time and billing against the project. What would it look like if your CRM system could continue to track the project...