Dr. Z's Blog

App Builder Virtual Summit, May 2 / 9am – 12:30pm PST

zxue — Thu, 02 May 2013 00:54:34 GMT

60+ million Windows licenses sold. On May 2, learn the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of designing, building and marketing an app for Windows 8 and Windows Phone. Hear from developers who have done it and find out for yourself. Sign up now!

Keynote: The Windows Opportunity

Windows 8 brings a new opportunity! Create immersive app experiences, reach more people on more devices, and make more money on your terms. With 60M Windows 8 and Windows RT licenses sold in the first three months, this is an opportunity you certainly want to capitalize on!

Steven Guggenheimer
Corporate Vice President and Chief Evangelist – Developer Platform & Evangelism.

Windows Dev Center Download the SDK

Top Apps Show and Tell: "Draw a Stickman: EPIC"

Some of the biggest consumer brands have partnered with Microsoft to create striking apps which take full advantage of the Windows 8 platform and the capabilities it offers. Learn from Hitcents, as they share their experience and best practices.

Jonathan Peppers
Lead Developer, Hitcents.

Windows Store Top Apps: Behind the Scenes videos Demystifying the Windows Store

Top Apps Show and Tell: Photon Infotech

Tune in to learn how Photon Infotech is integrated the Windows 8 and Windows Phone platforms into their portfolio as they help major consumer brands bridge the gap between the marketing and IT departments with stunning and highly engaging apps.

Yorke Rhodes
Vice-President, 72 Pixels (a Photon Company).

Windows Store Top Apps: Behind the Scenes videos Demystifying the Windows Store

Top Apps Show and Tell: Nascent Digital

Nascent Digital creates powerful digital experience for their customers. They will share their journey with the Windows and Windows Phone platforms, and how that's translated into a the wildly popular and enticing tumblr app for Windows Phone.

Shawn Konopinsky
CEO, Nascent.

"But I'm an iOS Developer..."

Are you an iOS developer? Then you'll love Evan's first party testimonial of the Windows 8 platform and his development experience. He will also share his tips on what iOS developers can expect when starting development on Windows 8.

Evan Kirchhoff
CTO, Qubop Inc.

More about Qubop Set up your Mac How to port over your existing iOS app to Windows 8

Android Developers: Expand Your Portfolio

You’re an Android developer and think Windows 8 development isn’t for you? Think again. Learn from Busy Bee Studios’ development experience on Windows and how they expanded their potential by adding the platform to their portfolio.

Susy Christiansen
Founder, Busy Bee Studios, Inc.

Windows 8 Meets YoYo Games

GameMaker Studio is now available for Windows 8 and Windows Phone! Tune in and learn how easily you can create games for Window with this game development framework. Whether you are an entry-level novice or seasoned game development professional, you will find value in this new development tool.

Malcolm Collins
Game Producer, YoYo Games.

Learn more about this game development framework for Windows 8 Start building with GameMaker Studio from YoYo Games

Numbers Talk: Monetizing your Windows 8 apps

Numbers talk. Learn how Kevin has earned over $100k with his app in store through in app purchase and advertising. If you're lucky, he'll share his learnings with you along with some tips and tricks.

Kevin Ashley
Technical Evangelist, Microsoft.

More about Kevin Read up on the key to Kevin’s success

Microsoft Build Conference 2013 San Francisco June 26-28,2013

zxue — Thu, 02 May 2013 00:35:50 GMT

The event has been sold out. However, you can sign up to join the Waiting List.

When

June 26 – 28, 2013

Where

Moscone Center
747 Howard Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
(at the corner of Third & Howard)

Where to Stay

We have negotiated discounted rates for hotels near the venue. Transportation between hotels and venue will be available as well. You will get a chance to pick a suitable hotel later in the registration process.

Pricing

Early bird: $1,595.00 (Sold Out)
Full price: $2,095.00 (Sold Out)
Academic: $995.00 (limited availability)
Please contact build@eventcore.com for information on qualifications.

How Did I Fix My Nokia Lumia 920 Gear and Blank Screen Issue

zxue — Wed, 01 May 2013 08:37:51 GMT

My Nokia Lumia 920 has been a great device since I purchased it last November. But it started to misbehave a bit lately.

The Issues

It first showed a static (non-spinning) gears screen as shown in the picture. I didn’t even know when and how it happened as I turned it off and left it in my backpack while traveling. The only thing I did differently was that I turned on Airplane mode and didn’t turn it off when the problem occurred. I waited for a day and night to let the battery drain up completely, and then recharged the phone. It rebooted and worked normally. I didn’t waste any time to back up the data on the device.

After unplugging the phone from my laptop, I didn’t notice any issue but after a while the screen went blank. This time no matter how hard I pressed the power button the device showed no emotion. I waited for a few days and thought if the battery went out I could recharge it and it the problem might go away. This didn’t happen, and I knew I had to do something. I searched the web and found a lot of good information. Thanks to wpcentral that shared a great post “Tip: How to fix a bricked Nokia Lumia 920”. It helped me solve the problem and saved me a trip to the local Nokia store. I was very happy…

The Fix

1. Plug the phone into your PC
2. Hold the Volume Down and the Power button, click RETRY on the Product Support Tools Window
3. After you feel a vibration in the phone immediately release the Volume Down and the Power button and hold the Volume up button.
4. Continue to hold the volume up button, you will see the software say "Rebooting"
5. After about 15 seconds you will see a top NOKIA logo and the software will start flashing the phone.

The blog post shows several other resolutions. Please check it out if interested.

TechEd 2013 North America and Europe Registration Open Now

zxue — Wed, 01 May 2013 08:01:40 GMT

The registration is available at http://www.msteched.com

Check out the latest news on TechEd at http://channel9.msdn.com/Blogs/TechEd

The Microsoft TechEd 2013 Content Catalog is LIVE with hundreds of Breakout Sessions, Hands-on Labs and Instructor-led Labs, delivered by Microsoft and industry experts. Check out this year's hot topics, find the instruction that's right for you, and use the Schedule Builder to create your personal session schedule for TechEd North America and TechEd Europe.

The catalog will grow between now and TechEd, so check back to see new content, including Certification Exam Prep and Foundational Sessions.

Resources for Developing Windows Store apps

zxue — Wed, 01 May 2013 01:41:05 GMT

If you are relatively new to Windows Store app development, you may find useful the resources listed below. This set of resources touches many key areas that developers will need to work with while developing Windows Store apps.

Writing code for Windows Store apps (JavaScript)

Creating a UI

Defining app resources

Responding to user interaction

Working with data and files

Connecting to networks and web services

Managing user info

Launching, resuming and multitasking

Adding multimedia

Integrating devices, printers, and sensors

Creating Windows Runtime Components

Globalizing your app

Take Up Windows Azure Developer Challenge Compete for Great Prizes

zxue — Wed, 01 May 2013 01:23:58 GMT

You can find the detail at codeproject.com Below are some highlights.

Try Windows Azure and our 5 programming challenges for a chance at spot prizes, Stage prizes and the Grand Prize.

Over $16,000 in prizes total are up for grabs with 65 chances to win. Find your silver lining in the cloud.

How do I enter?

First,Create a Trial Account on Azure! If you don't register you will not be eligible for the competition. Please ensure you sign up for your trial using this link so we can tell who's signed up.
Second, post an article in the Azure section under Windows Azure Developer Contest that outlines your ideas
Third, complete the challenges at each stage. Update your article, post some code, and keep an eye out for the spot prizes.

First Challenge: Getting Started. April 15 - May 3

The first challenge is a gimme. You need to setup a free trial Azure account (super easy) and post an article on CodeProject (in the Windows Azure Contest section) outlining your idea on what you'll build for the remaining stages. Most important: in 2 sentences or less explain how Azure might benefit or change the way you do things today. You can keep your article brief if you want to protect your ideas, or you can write up something juicy if you want to win the prize for this challenge. It's your move in this game of chess.
Update: Stage 1 has been extended due an unavoidable late start. One more week to get your ideas posted and your trial subscription setup.

Second Challenge: Build a website. May 4 - May 12

Again, not really a challenge for any webdev worth their salt. However, what about packaging it up for simple deployment? What about responsive design? What about the other 9 free sites you can setup under your free Azure account? And how will your web app tie into the next challenge? Remember to write up your work in your article on CodeProject to have a chance at the prize for this second challenge.

Third Challenge: Using SQL on Azure. May 13 - May 26

Now it starts getting interesting. Use SQL on Azure in whatever way you wish. Add a little data to season the mix or use it as a backup.recovery solution. It's not just about data access. Again, write up what you've learned, what you're doing, and how you did it.

Fourth Challenge: Virtual Machines. May 27 - Jun 9

Never used a VM before? Never spun up a virtual machine from your application? It's time to try. Maybe you want to host a Windows or Linux application, or spin up a test environment, or have your own instance of SQL Express in a VM, or you can just spin up an instance of an existing web application to sit alongside your application in a VM. We're really going to be digging into your article at this point. Is there code? Are there explanations of how you conquered challenges? Tell us your story.

Fifth Challenge: Mobile access June 10 - June 24

You're done. You've built a distributed n-tier cloud based data drive web application hosted on multiple virtual machines and you are the Master. But does it work on your Nokia, iPhone or Galaxy? I mean really work. Nicely, intuitively, seamlessly. Offline. It's up to you what you do at this point, but the judges will be testing your final masterpiece on their phones and tablets. Your CodeProject article, at this point, should be mostly complete.

What is the reward?

Each challenge will have 3 winners, with each winner receiving a 64 GB Surface RT with black Touch Cover (in the US only), or cash equivalent (outside of the US). That's $2,100 in prizes every two weeks, $10,500 in total
Each challenge will also have up to 10 spot prizes of $100 each. That's $1,000 on offer per challenge.
The Grand Prize winner will receive a cash prize of $2,500 and promotion on CodeProject and Microsoft owned and operated properties. Fame and fortune.

What sorts of applications are acceptable?

Almost anything. In any language. Use C++, use node.js, use PHP with MySQL, or C# on ASP.NET with MVC and SQL Server, Your call, as long as you complete the challenges

This competition is to help you learn about building and hosting applications on Windows Azure, so obviously applications that run on the Azure platform are required. However, not just anything will get you a winner's jersey. Be creative, be daring, over extend and over achieve. The more you show off your understanding of Azure, and the more you focus on explaining what you're doing, the better your chances.

Read the Windows Azure Developer overview for more info on what you can do on Azure then sign up for your free trial.

Windows Azure SDK 2.0 for .NET Just Released

zxue — Wed, 01 May 2013 01:02:23 GMT

ScottGu in a recent post summarizes the new features and enhancements in the latest release. These new capabilities include:

Web Sites: Visual Studio Tooling updates for Publishing, Management, and for Diagnostics
Cloud Services: Support for new high memory VM sizes, Faster Cloud Service publishing & Visual Studio Tooling for configuring and viewing diagnostics data
Storage: Storage Client 2.0 is now included in new projects & Visual Studio Server Explorer now supports working with Storage Tables
Service Bus: Updated client library with message pump programming model support, support for browsing messages, and auto-deleting idle messaging entities
PowerShell Automation: Updated support for PowerShell 3.0, and lots of new PowerShell commands for automating Web Sites, Cloud Services, VMs and more.

Install the SDK today and try the new features.

SharePoint on Windows Azure Resources

zxue — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:03:06 GMT

I recently came across a number of SharePoint on Windows Azure resources and want to share them with you. See list below.

Channel 9 Talk: SharePoint on Windows Azure (20 minutes)

http://channel9.msdn.com/Shows/Edge/SharePoint-on-Windows-Azure

TechEd: Paul Stubbs - Deploying SharePoint Farms on Windows Azure Virtual Machines

http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/TechEd/NorthAmerica/2012/AZR327

SharePoint 2013 on Windows Azure Infrastructure Services Whitepaper

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=38428

SharePoint Cost Calculator

http://bitly.com/SharePointCostCalculator

Two popular blogs:

Paul Stubbs Blog http://blogs.msdn.com/pstubbs

Michael Washam Blog http://michaelwasham.com/

Windows Azure Training Kit - April 2013 Available

zxue — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 23:53:38 GMT

The new release includes new and updated contents since last December release. Click here to download.

New Presentation: Windows Azure Mobile Services and Android
New Lab: Windows Azure Mobile Services and Android
New Lab: Windows Azure Mobile Services and Windows Phone
New Presentation: Introduction to Windows Azure HDInsight Service
New Lab: Introduction to Windows Azure HDInsight
Updated ITPro Content + Agenda
Updated Presentations for new feature support Windows Azure Overview, Windows Azure Web Sites, Windows Azure Virtual Machines & Windows Azure Mobile Services.

Windows Azure Infrastructure Services Officially Launched

zxue — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 13:32:04 GMT

As part of the new Infrastructure Services release, we’ve added in new high memory VM instances (28GB/4 core and 56 GB/8 core) to run the most demanding workloads. We’ve also added added in a number of new Microsoft validated instancesto our list including SQL Server, SharePoint, BizTalk Server, and Dynamics NAV to name a few.

More detail here.