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News from the PDC…

Microsoft’s BizSpark Fires Up Startups, Ignites a Community: Marking its one-year anniversary at PDC 2009, BizSpark continues to gain momentum, expand its reach with new offers, and put partners at the center of the equation to turn startups into successful businesses.

Microsoft’s BizSpark Fires Up Startups, Ignites a Community

REDMOND, Wash. — Nov. 17, 2009 — For thousands of entrepreneurs huddling in coffee shops to thrash out business plans or tinkering in garages to build innovative applications, Microsoft’s BizSpark program has not only accelerated their software development process but also fine-tuned the equation for startup success by providing access to business acumen and mentorship.

Almost exactly a year ago, Microsoft launched BizSpark, a global program designed to catalyze the success of entrepreneurs by making Microsoft’s end-to-end software solutions available to early-stage startups with no upfront costs. In creating BizSpark, Microsoft realized that the startup community requires more than the right technology tools to succeed. Startups also need access to marketing channels, creative partnerships and coaching from industry experts. BizSpark was developed with that perspective in mind — to deliver a holistic infrastructure that supports startups and the entrepreneurial community on a worldwide basis.

I wanted to pass along information about these Azure events in the East in December.

We’ve all heard about the industry shift to the Cloud, but are you jumpstarting your Windows Azure business to be a part of it?

You are cordially invited to attend the fall Professional Developer Partner Briefing. You will not just hear the usual, but you will hear new insights and points of views from Microsoft’s well-known industry experts and a perspective from a leading edge partner company on what the Windows Azure opportunity means for your organization. We will demonstrate how you will be able to change the face of your business and introduce new revenue streams for building solutions for our customers.

Seating is limited, so register now by clicking on a city “near you” below.

Optionally call 1-877-MSEVENTS or visit http://msevents.microsoft.com and provide the event ID.

For more information on this event and other partner communications visit the Partner Evangelism team blog at http://blogs.msdn.com/usdevpartners.

Sanjay has a nice writeup on the final day of Incubation Week in Atlanta last week. Sounds like it was very productive for everyone.

 

Evangelism for Microsoft ISVs, BizSpark Startups & Network Partners : Day5: Microsoft BizSpark Incubation Week for Azure @ Atlanta 13Nov09

I’ll be at this event in Boston on December 9th. Check out the details and the registration link below.

Elite Web Optimization Event

New England Research and Development Center (NERD)
1 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA 02142

December 9^th 2009 10:00AM-6:00PM

Come spend a day with us to explore the Microsoft Windows Web Platform and the many managed hosting services provided by NaviSite, Inc., based in Andover, MA!

During this event, we’ll review what’s new in the Microsoft Web Platform and tools, the interoperability improvements in the Microsoft Web platform and the value that NaviSite Managed Hosting can add to your project/business.

We will discuss:

• MS Web Platform – IIS management Console, Hyper – V and the Dynamic Data Center, SQL Server 2008 Web Edition, IISMedia Services3.0
• MS Interoperability – PHP on Windows, Web-PI, PHP Drivers in MS SQL Server 2008
• MS Web Tools – Visual Studio, Expression, Silverlight
• (Hosting Partner) services and value add
• WebsiteSpark Program
• The Great PHP on Windows Contest
• Microsoft Partner Evangelism Initiative

All attendees will be entered into a drawing to win one of the following:

• Copy of Win7
• Xbox360 Elite
• ZuneHD
• 8GB Zune
• FREE NaviSite Windows Dedicated Server for 2 Months

http://microsoftandnavisite.eventbrite.com

For more info: call NaviSite at: 1-866-322-1905

Visit us at: www.navisite.com/smb

Cool. Interview with Murray Gordon about BizSpark Incubation Week next week in Atlanta from TechDrawl. We’ll try to keep everyone posted with information about that event on the blogs and through Twitter next week.

Microsoft BizSpark Incubation Week for Entrepreneurs

by Ben Dyer on November 5, 2009

We had the pleasure on interviewing Murray Gordon of Microsoft on the date on the Windows 7 launch. Mr. Gordon, a West Point graduate, talks in this video about the BizSpark Incubation Week for Windows Azure, a session that begins in Atlanta Monday November 9 and concludes on Friday November 13.  This week is intended to advance five start-ups from prototype to code using daily seminars and overnight coding services in India.  A number of local notable entrepreneurs will be presenting to the teams, and yours truly and others will be judging the results on Friday.

TechDrawl - Technology Startups from D.C. to Texas

Mark Brown and I built out a Fan Page for Web Platform Installer this morning. Check it out and add yourself, if you’re so inclined.

Web Platform Installer | Facebook

The Microsoft Web Platform Installer 2.0 (Web PI) is a free tool that makes getting the latest components of the Microsoft Web Platform, including Internet Information Services (IIS), SQL Server Express, .NET Framework and Visual Web Developer easy.

You can get the Web Platform Installer from http://microsoft.com/web.

I haven’t tried this yet, but I’m pretty happy to see it up there. The help file is available on the Microsoft Store site here.

Microsoft's Official USB/DVD Download Tool Helps you Upgrade Netbooks to Windows 7

One of the best new products in Microsoft’s newly revamped online store (store.microsoft.com) is the USB/DVD Download Tool. When you purchase a copy of Windows 7 from the store, you have the option to download an ISO file. With this tool, you can create a copy of that ISO file on a USB flash drive or DVD.

I’m always on the lookout for cool PHP applications that people have running on IIS. If have one, let me know.

Also, this is a contest sponsored by Microsoft and AI for PHP applications running on IIS. Be sure to check out the free hosting from AI as part of this contest.

Welcome To The Great PHP on Windows Contest

Try your hand at PHP on Windows and win a complete 52" HDTV home entertainment system and the opportunity to present your creation to the crowd at php|tek 2010 in Chicago with an all-expenses paid trip!

Have you tried to run PHP on Windows? No? We thought so.

That's why we're hosting the Great PHP on Windows® Contest! The basics of the contest are simple:

• Write a new application designed to run in PHP on Windows using IIS—or make a significant contribution to an existing open-source project along the same lines
• The best application, selected jointly by a panel of experts and by our readers, will win a grand prize composed of a 52" Digital HD home entertainment system, as well as an all-expenses paid trip to php|tek 2010 in Chicago. Runner-up prizes include 2 XBox 360 Ultimate and subscriptions to php|architect.
• Not familiar with Windows? No worries—we have partnered with Applied Innovations to give you absolutely free hosting on a pre-configured virtual machine for the duration of the contest.
• The contest is open to residents of the United States only—but you can still win by voting, no matter where you are.

Should start at about 11:00 AM EST.

More at the Windows 7 Virtual Press Kit site.

New free book from Microsoft Research. I really can’t wait to dig into this. 

The Fourth Paradigm: Data-Intensive Scientific Discovery - Microsoft Research

Presenting the first broad look at the rapidly emerging field of data-intensive science

Increasingly, scientific breakthroughs will be powered by advanced computing capabilities that help researchers manipulate and explore massive datasets.

The speed at which any given scientific discipline advances will depend on how well its researchers collaborate with one another, and with technologists, in areas of eScience such as databases, workflow management, visualization, and cloud computing technologies.

SocialGrow was one of the BizSpark companies that participated in our BizSpark Incubation Week in Boston last week.  (See Sanjay’s blog for a recap.)

SocialGrow has produced a cool promo video that includes some of the pictures from Incubation Week.

Definitely looking forward to seeing more from SocialGrow in the future. 

Sanjay has some nice coverage of Incubation Week in Boston . Check it out below.

Microsoft Dynamics ISV Architect Evangelism : Day1: Microsoft BizSpark Incubation Week @ Boston 05Oct09

Day1 coverage from Microsoft BizSpark Incubation Week for Windows 7 at Boston. Check out the live tweeter-coverage (#MBIWk) here.

Today we kicked-off the event with 5 high-energy BizSpark Startups. I started with event overview, goals, logistics, and BizSpark offerings, immediately followed by a four-hours training covering various new and unique features of Windows 7. During break we had a fun tour of Microsoft Surface.

Our next Incubation Week is scheduled for November in Atlanta. If you’re interested in getting a startup nominated for this, just drop a note to brianjo@microsoft.com and I’ll connect you with Sanjay.

Via Engadget.

Latest Connected Show from Peter and Dmitry. Good stuff, and the audio quality is impressive. :)

Connected Show Podcast: Please Pass the Duct Tape | The US DPE East Media Blog | Channel 9

In the latest episode of the Connected Show, guest Joe Stagner joins Peter to discuss the future of ASP.NET, what it means to be the Misfit Geek at Microsoft, what Plan 9 means for web developers and some comparisons to PHP.
Dmitry and Peter also discuss the news with Windows Azure management, Courier tablet rumors, the new WebsiteSpark program, and duct tape programming.

One of the projects I’ve been working on for the last few months has gone live today. Building on the success of the BizSpark program, we’ve launched a new program for professional Web developers and designers called WebsiteSpark. WebsiteSpark gives professional Web developers access to some select Microsoft servers and tools in order to build their sites, along with a load of other benefits.

Where the BizSpark program is designed for startup companies building their own Web application products, the WebsiteSpark program is designed for companies building Web sites for others as a business.  

For full details on what the program is, who qualifies, and what one gets from the program, check out the program FAQ. If you have any questions about WebsiteSpark, please feel free to drop a note to brianjo@microsoft.com. We also have a Twitter account to follow @websitespark.

We’ve updated the tools and applications available at Microsoft.com/web, so you’ll want to check that out also.

WebsiteSpark – Home

Visibility, support and software for professional Web Developers and Designers - at no upfront cost!

Does your company have 10 or fewer employees?
Receive Windows Web Server and SQL Server Web Edition at no cost to host new websites. Learn More