Hey all,

There's a great event coming up in DC on Live Services.  There's a few seats left, so catch it if you can!

We have 80 people registered for this event next week in Washington, DC but still have a few seats open.  If you want to get a Jumpstart on Live Services, take a minute now to register for next weeks free training event.

Want to build traffic, drive user engagement and influence behavior through your Web applications?

Want to ride the social networking and mobility wave in the consumer market?

Join us at the Live Services Jumpstart event in Washington, DC on November 13th to explore the full breadth of the consumer components of the Microsoft ‘Software + Services’ Services – Live Services – in several in-depth technical sessions, hands-on code labs and informal Q&A. Microsoft's top engineers and Web development experts will lead you through 2 days of level 300-400 discussions on the latest technologies and upcoming offerings.

Jumpstart your business with Live Services. Register today!

About Live Services
Live Services enables developers to engage large audiences with rich social sharing embedded experiences, and to connect the power and scale of the Web to rich client experiences across a world of digital devices. Live Services:

1. Provides access to over 400M users and the experiences, relationships and data they care about.
2. Uses an open standards programming interface and resource model that spans the PC, phone and Web (cloud).
3. Enables data synchronization and local accessibility across many end points, including PC, phone and Web.
4. Enables Windows applications and technologies to locally access Web data, enabling new and rich Web experiences.

We kicked off our first MSDN Freedom Roadshow in Pittsburgh on September 19^th.  Great crowd! Great sessions! And the freedom keeps ringing on in a town near you soon! Stay tuned to our blogs and join our Facebook Group: search for MSDN Freedom Roadshow.

Upcoming MSDN Freedom Roadshows:

October 17^th – Newark, DE
Register at: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032389500

October 20^th – Center Valley, PA
Register at: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032389492

A few other upcoming events:

MSDN Event (WPF, Silverlight 2, Visual Studio Tools for Office) – Gettysburg, PA
Registration and Information: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032388495

ASP.NET MVC Firestarter – Malvern, PA
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032391157

What is a Firestarter? Well, it’s where we take one topic and explore it from the ground up. We start in the morning with an overview and build on it throughout the day, so that by the time you leave you’ll be very familiar with the technology we’re covering.  Model-View-Controller is a seminal design pattern with significant real-world value to developers.  You don't want to miss this one.

Lindsay, Dani and I are kicking off our Roadshow series in Pittsburgh September 19th.  This first MSDN Freedom roadshow will focus on building the Next web with Microsoft technologies.  Space is limited so register now!

Microsoft invites you to attend:

MSDN Freedom Roadshow

Creating Web Applications with Microsoft Web Technologies

Freedom from diverse toolsets that don’t work well together!  Freedom from oppressive busy work that can and should be automated!  Freedom to build exciting, engaging solutions in a first-class environment!  The MSDN Freedom Roadshow is  a series of local Microsoft MSDN events held here in the region where our nation’s freedom was born.   They are for developers, architects and to some extent designers and database professionals.  These events are delivered by your local Microsoft evangelists and sometimes Microsoft MVPs and influentials.  Sessions and contents range from overview for beginners to in-depth discussions for intermediate audience and all share the same goal: to free the technology professional to do the best work they can do.

Our first series focuses on web development and Microsoft web technologies. Future events will cover client application development (Forms and WFP), Windows and Office development, mobile application development, business intelligence and data services, Software plus Services, and the Windows Live platform. Please come on over to join us in this full-day event, and let us know how we can best serve you in the near future.

Topics:

· The Fundamentals of Liberty: Web Development Basics

· The Framer’s Intentions: What’s New in .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 for Web Developers and ASP.NET MVC

· Liberating the Browser: AJAX Development and Troubleshooting

· True Freedom of Assembly: How Design, Development, Architecture and Implementation Come Together to Build the Next Web

Agenda:

8:30-9:00              Registration and Welcome

9:00-10:15           Web Development Basics

10:15-10:30         Morning Break

10:30-11:45         What's New in the .NET 3.5 Framework for Web Developers and Intro to ASP.NET MVC

11:45-12:30         Lunch Break

12:30-1:45           Building the Next Web

1:45-2:00              Afternoon Break

2:00-3:15              AJAX Development and Troubleshooting

3:15-4:00              Q/A and Wrap Up

Register NOW!!!

Location

Microsoft Office

30 Isabella Street, Second Floor

Alcoa Business Services Center

Pittsburgh, PA 15212

412-323-6700

September 19, 2008

9:00 AM–4:00 PM

Click here to register or call 877.673.8368 with event ID 1032388335

If you have questions, please contact Jana Underwood at

v-janau@microsoft.com.

Lindsay Rutter's Blog:

http://blogs.microsoft.com/lindsay

Dani Diaz Blog:

http://www.smallandmighty.com

David Solivan's Blog:

http://blogs.msdn.com/beaudreaux

© 2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. If you prefer not to receive further e-mails from me, please let me know. You may still receive previously initiated promotional communications from Microsoft. Review our Privacy Statement. This e-mail is intended for distribution within the United States. Please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary for availability of similar offerings outside the U.S. Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052

Vista has taken a lot of bashing from....well, a lot of people.  There are those funny Apple ads that portray Vista as a kindhearted doofus; not someone you would hate, but rather roll your eyes at as he screws up again.  Then, of course there are the usual suspects: devotees to competing platforms and people who dislike Microsoft SO much that I'm convinced that they saw their parents killed by our software at an impressionable age. 

If you're one of the people who feel like Vista didn't really deliver the goods, Check out Microsoft's project "Mojave".

As an architect, it warmed my heart that Bill Gates chose to feature architecture tools at his last TechEd keynote as a full-time Microsoft employee.  Our modeling strategy, code named "Oslo", will provide architects and developers with improved visualization and governance.  Some of the key features:

• Object modeling in UML 
  FINALLY!  While I have understood our reluctance to support UML for more complex application abstractions, it's the best choice for object modeling and I am delighted to see we are behind it here.
• Architecture Explorer
  Get a project you've never touched before and use this tool to parse it and show you the architectural model.
• Architecture Layer Diagram
  Make changes to your model that are synchronously updated in code.  Also, validate those changes against the design.
• Create a check-in policy that automatically validates code against the architectural design
  This is huge!  One of the things architects lose the most sleep over is whether or not their painstakingly crafted design is even being used.  Here a simple policy can reduce time spent in code review meetings.  Unless of course you really like those meetings.  (Sometimes I get donuts!)

Take a look at the video yourself and get as excited as I am.

I got a chance to cover the world premiere of Microsoft Surface and talk with the executives who planned the launch.  See the worlds first production deployment of Microsoft Surface at the Madison Avenue AT&T Store.  Hear Surface Product Group Marketing Manager explain what Surface is, how it works and the 4 Reinheitsgebot-like laws of Surface.

Check out this video interview of Wachovia's Gunhan Tatman at Microsoft's 6th Annual Financial Services Developer Conference.  The BFED application his team build is pretty impressive and there's an announcement about a special treat we'll have for customers at the upcoming Health & Life Sciences Developer Conference in Atlantic City, NJ. 

REGISTER NOW before seats are gone!

Hong & Ben are on the road at to the HLS DevCon as well.  Check out their adventure at HIMSS.

MSN Video

Here, in the middle of day 2, the IDesign Master Architect Class with the god-like Juval Lowy is proving to be a worth time investment.  If you are a .NET architect, or aspiring to be one, this class is a must.  You will not hear anything dramatically different from what you have learned in other classes on solution architecture, but Juval's approach is fresh and engaging.  And most importantly, it is built on a foundation of real world experience.  Not a single chart in the class has a made up number.  It all comes from real world implementations.

Without giving too much of the class away (you really should take it if you're still reading this), Juval shows how we got to the current state of affairs in solution architecture; where SOA is a god term and Groupthink keeps organizations from doing the right thing.  He also shows that:

• WCF is really the next version of .NET
• OO was the most monumental failure in computing history
• Effectively naming products is not Microsoft's strength.  :) 

More goodness and light to come.

IDesign: .NET Design and Process Solutions

Flying in to San Jose airport to attend the "Architect's Master Class" taught by Juval Lowy from IDesign, I met one of the great comic deconstructionists of our time, Gallagher while waiting for my luggage.  This highly sought-after class promises to be an intense 5 days of intellectual exploration.  Juval is a legend in the architecture community and as I sit here listening to the first part of day 1, I am realizing that this will not be an ordinary class. 

So, it's interesting to me that, on my way to this class, I happen to meet the man who invented the food processor that smashes watermelons into small tiny pieces while splattering the juice on onlookers.  As we begin to dig into the material, I have a feeling that old perceptions of architecture, design and engineering will get the same treatment.  I'm ready to soak up the juice!  :)

I just posted the first in a series of short videos leading up to our DevCons.  This one covers a special event hosted by Microsoft for Financial Services executives in Manhattan.  Future posts will talk to DevCon speakers and give sneak peeks into some of the surprises in store for attendees.  Take a look at the video and remember to REGISTER NOW, as seats fill up quickly.

The price for the HD-DVD attachment for the XBox 360 has been cut AGAIN.  You can now get one of these babies for $129.

Happy Holiday Season to  all!

Xbox 360 HD DVD player stoops to $129 - Engadget

All sessions, decks and transcripts from the 2007 Strategic Architecture Forum are now available to the public. So, grab your laptop, a cup of cocoa and your favorite holiday sweater and enjoy some "you" time.

Day 1

Changing the World with Software and Services

Dr. Donald Ferguson (Microsoft)

[Video] . [Slides] . [Transcript]

Project Astoria: Data Services for the Web

Pablo Castro (Microsoft)

[Video] . [Slides] . [Transcript]

Anatomy of An S+S Application

Eugenio Pace (Microsoft)

[Video] . [Slides] . [Transcript]

Unified Communications: Breaking VoIP Barriers

Gurdeep Pall (Microsoft)

[Video] . [Slides] . [Transcript]

Composite Application Architectures Using the 2007 Office System

Scott Jamison (Microsoft)

[Video] . [Slides] . [Transcript]

A Data-driven Approach To Distributed, Concurrent Software

George Chrysanthakopoulos (Microsoft)

[Video] . [Slides] . [Transcript]

Day 2

A Look Into Microsoft Research

Behrooz Chitsaz (Microsoft)

[Video] . [Slides] . [Transcript]

Claims-Based Identity Layer For The "New Internet"

Slava Kavsan (Microsoft)

[Video] . [Slides] . [Transcript]

The Reality Of The Cloud And The Future Of The Datacenter

Debra Chrapaty (Microsoft)

[Video] . [Slides] . [Transcript]

Day 2 (cont.)

Mining Lightning For The Cloud

John Dwyer (Microsoft)

[Video] . [Slides] . [Transcript]

User Experience for Architects

Simon Guest (Microsoft)

[Video] . [Slides] . [Transcript]

Windows Live Platform: Making Better End User Experiences

David Dumler (Microsoft)
Angus Logan (Microsoft)

[Video] . [Slides] . [Transcript]

Duet: An Enterprise S+S Offering From Microsoft And SAP

Chris Keyser (Microsoft)
Burra Gopal (Microsoft)
Adi Kavaler (SAP)

[Video] . [Slides] . [Transcript]

Dynamic IT

Neil Leslie (Microsoft)
Barry Briggs (Microsoft)

[Video] . [Slides] . [Transcript]

Amazon.com's Simple Storage Service, Elastic Compute Cloud, and Simple Queue Service

Charlie Bell (Amazon)

[Video] . [Slides] . [Transcript]

Day 3

Lessons Learned from the Web's Edge: MySpace

Aber Whitcomb (MySpace)
Jim Benedetto (MySpace)

[Video] . [Slides] . [Transcript]

Leading Geeks: How to Manage and Lead People Who Deliver Technology

Paul Glen (C2 Consulting)

[Video] . [Slides] . [Transcript]

SAF 2007 - Recorded Sessions