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C9::GoingNative is a monthly show on Channel 9 focused on native development with an emphasis on C++. The goal is to provide entertainment, education, conversations with native developers across the company and beyond. There will always be a significant segment for programmers. From newcomers to seasoned C/C++ vets, we’ll provide content and code that matters to them with the primary goal of expanding minds. This show will focus on a variety of scenarios where going native makes the most the sense when maximum power and performance are key ingredients in your computational recipe.
You can download the Windows Phone SDK 7.1 “Beta 2 Refresh” from the ‘Mango’ Connect site, according to the Windows Phone blog post Another Helping of Mango for Devs.
The release is a genuine release candidate build, with enough code checked in and APIs locked down that this OS is close enough to RTM that, as a developer, it’s more than capable to see you through the upcoming RC drop of the tools and app submission.
The Windows Phone development team officially signed off on the release to manufacturing (RTM) build of “Mango” – the latest version of the Windows Phone operating system. Terry Myerson wrote on the Windows Phone blog, “This marks the point in the development process where we hand code to our handset and mobile operator partners to optimize Mango for their specific phone and network configurations.”
Microsoft Visual Studio LightSwitch is now available to MSDN subscribers with general availability on Thursday. LightSwitch is a simplified self-service development tool that enables you to build business applications quickly and easily for the desktop and cloud.
Visual Studio LightSwitch enables developers of all skill levels to build line of business applications for the desktop, web, and cloud quickly and easily.
The developer training kit that show you how to combine the power of both SharePoint 2010 and Windows Azure has been updated.
SharePoint 2010 provides many ways to integrate with Windows Azure. From simple SQL Azure data-centric applications to complex workflow that leverages custom Azure services, there is great potential to integrate these two growing technologies. The kit contains twelve modules that include PowerPoint decks, hands-on labs and source code that shows how the SharePoint 2010 platform and Windows Azure platform can work together.
Windows Azure Marketplace has added the capability for you to sell finished applications built on Windows Azure in US markets.
Offerings are currently available within the United States with other countries being added in the next few months.
Benefits of the Windows Azure Marketplace include:
Microsoft is participating in the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) initiative to jumpstart the adoption of cloud computing standards called Standards Acceleration to Jumpstart the Adoption of Cloud Computing, (SAJACC).The goal is to formulate a roadmap for adoption of high-quality cloud computing standards.
One way they do this is by providing working examples to show how key cloud computing use cases can be supported by interfaces implemented by various cloud services available today.
How many times have you wanted to send a project to a friend or upload it to a web site like MSDN Code Gallery only to find that your zip file has lots of stuff that you don't need to send in it making the file larger than it needs to be?
The Windows Azure Toolkit for Social Games allows you to quickly get started building new social games in Windows Azure. The toolkit includes accelerators, libraries, developer tools, and samples that you can use in your own .NET or HTML5 game.
The toolkit also enables unique capabilities for social gaming prerequisites, such as storing user profiles, maintaining leader boards, in-app purchasing, and more.
The roadmap for Windows Phone ‘Mango’ was explained in a team blog post. The announcements included these of significance to ISVs worldwide:
An iterative MapReduce runtime for Windows Azure, code-named Daytona from Microsoft Research, allows laboratories, small groups, and individual researchers to use the power of the cloud to analyze data sets on gigabytes or terabytes of data and run large-scale machine learning algorithms on dozens or hundreds of compute cores.
You can target both Microsoft Surface Hardware and Windows 7 Touch enabled PCs with a single SDK. The Surface teams calls this feature “Write once - touch anywhere”. The same binary can be used in both types of hardware.
SQL Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1(SP1) is now available for download. Highlights in the new service pack include greater supportability in "dynamic management views," improved query performance through a "ForceSeek" feature, improved upgrades via Data-tier Application Component Framework, and better disk space control for Excel’s PowerPivot.
The Microsoft Partner Network announced new incentive programs for Gold partners. The announcement made at Worldwide Partner Conference provides incentives for partners to help customers move to the public cloud on Windows Azure, private cloud on Windows Server Hyper-V, and SQL Server “Denali”.
SharePoint Conference 2011 is your only opportunity this year to see over 200 sessions focused on SharePoint 2010 and related technologies both in the cloud and on-premises. All current session content including abstracts and speakers have been posted to www.mssharepointconference.com.
The conference will be held in Anaheim, CA on October 3 – 6.
A recently Microsoft-commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting found that software partners deploying solutions on Windows Azure are generating 20 percent to 250 percent in new revenue by reaching entirely new customers.
Microsoft has announced the winners of the ninth annual Microsoft Imagine Cup, honoring student innovations that address global challenges such as improving road and fire safety, eradicating poverty, and creating a more sustainable environment.
Teams from Ireland, Taiwan, France, Poland, Brazil, Greece, Korea, Denmark and Romania today took home the nine top awards.
Register today to insure you receive the best discount for Microsoft BUILD Windows conference in Anaheim, CA September 13-16. Early registration discounts are available through August 1.
Academic and group discounts are also available on the BUILD Windows registration page.
A new SDK from Microsoft Research can help you write code to connect Kinect to robots. The Kinect Services for Robotics Developer Studio (RDS) provides sample services that use the Kinect for Windows SDK to allow access to the Depth and RGB data from a Kinect sensor. In addition to a service for a real Kinect, there is also a service for a simulated Kinect that works with the RDS simulator.
The next update of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online will be available in the fourth quarter of 2011, according to Kirill Tatarinov, president of Microsoft Business Solutions. The announcement was made at Worldwide Partner Conference.
This update will enable partners to offer enterprise customers Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online with Microsoft Office 365 and will feature enhanced social collaboration capabilities.
Andy Lees, president of Microsoft’s Windows Phone Division, unveiled a range of new benefits and opportunities for members of the Microsoft Partner Network (MPN). The unveiling came at the Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC).
Lees announced an exclusive discount program that makes it easier for MPN members worldwide to obtain and experience Windows Phone. The new discount program, which begins immediately, is available to all MPN members with at least one Microsoft competency.