The new Developer marketing boy. : Developer

MSDN LinkedIn Group

chlong — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:27:00 GMT

Most of the Aussie DPE Team are on LinkedIn and I thought I’d create a local MSDN group for Australian Developers to enable some discussion.

Click here to join.

We’re going to use LinkedIn to ask Developers if there’s interest in participating in the Azure platform community technology preview (with the launch scheduled for March). If you receive a message via LinkedIn, please let me know what you think.

If you would like a token to join the Windows Azure and SQL Azure CTP let me know.

Visual Studio 2010 and .NET 4 Update

chlong — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 09:13:00 GMT

Big news today from ScottGu’s blog is that there will be another public preview release of VS2010 and .NET 4 before shipping the final product. Read on for an excerpt from Scott's blog for why…

In October we shipped the public Beta 2 release of Visual Studio 2010 and .NET 4. The feedback on the new features in VS 2010 and .NET 4 has been really great. I’ve been working on a blog series about some of them (lots more posts to go!) and have also had a chance to present them to a broad range of audiences – and it has been great hearing the excitement people have about them.
At the same time, though, we’ve also received feedback that the performance and virtual memory usage of VS 2010 Beta 2 is not where people need it to be before we ship.

We’ve been doing an intensive performance optimization push the last two months that is delivering significant performance and virtual memory usage improvements across the product. The early feedback from a small set of customers testing interim builds since Beta2 has been positive about these improvements. We still have several big performance fixes in the process of being checked in that will improve things even further.

Public Release Candidate

In order to make sure that these fixes truly address the performance issues reported, and to help validate them across the broadest number of scenarios and machine configurations, we’ve decided to ship another public preview release of VS 2010 and .NET 4 before we ship. Specifically, we plan to make a Release Candidate build available in February that everyone will be able to download and test. It will be a public build and include a broad “go live” license that supports production deployment.

The goal behind the Release Candidate is to get broad feedback on the readiness of the product. In order to ensure that we are able to receive and react to this feedback, we will also be moving the launch of Visual Studio 2010 and .NET 4 back a few weeks.

Please continue to send us your feedback about the product, as well as details on issues you encounter with the current Beta 2 release. Your feedback is invaluable, and really helps ensure we deliver the right product. Feel free to send me email (scottgu@microsoft.com) if you have a specific issue you are running into that you don’t think has already been reported.

Hope this helps,

Scott

scottgu

Are you a Hero? Sign up for AU$150

chlong — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:07:25 GMT

The Search is on... we are looking for Australia’s Certification Heroes!

We want to hear from you if becoming Microsoft Certified has helped change your career by making you more valuable in your current role or by helping you gain a promotion.

Every month we will be showcasing a new Australia Certification Hero as well as furnishing the lucky person with $150 credit to spend with Microsoft Press!

There are only 12 spaces available so make sure that you become one of our 12 Certification Heroes by filling out the 6 simple questions in our survey today...

Innovation Day Tour 2009

chlong — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:17:39 GMT

Sarah in the Partner Team is organising a lap around the map for a series of Innovation Days.

The morning sessions is on emerging opportunities for the web, mobile and beyond:

To deliver innovative experiences to attract and retain loyal customers.
To create products and services that are integral to customers' lives - from social experiences with Microsoft Surface to mobile experiences on Windows Phone.
To learn how Silverlight is enabling Australian companies to deliver unique, compelling and most of all interactive services on the web.
To learn more about game-changing tools like Expression Blend, Sketchflow and Visual Studio 2010 which will allow you to envision, design and deliver your ideas faster and cheaper - driving down costs and time-to-market.
To drive revenue and manage traffic with Microsoft's range of advertising platforms and tools, from Microsoft Advertising, to Bing and beyond.

This session is designed to inspire you, demonstrate latent opportunity, and make partnering with Microsoft simple.

Please visit our site at

https://partner.microsoft.com/Australia/40047632

In the afternoon we are running sessions for ISVs covering:

Professional Developers Conference (PDC) Highlights
xRM (Anything Relationship Management) - understand Microsoft's CRM strategy and how you get to market first with world class business solutions.
Windows 7 and Windows Server Application Compatibility
Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 and Microsoft Office 2010 - what's new for developers including the tooling in Visual Studio 2010 and simplified debugging & integration with Team Foundation Server.
Windows Azure - Understand the new platform announcements from the PDC
Windows Marketplace for Mobile – how to manage and distribute your applications, and directly connect with millions of Windows Mobile users worldwide

Please visit our site at

https://partner.microsoft.com/Australia/40047632

and register for the morning session only, or for just the afternoon, or come along for the full day. Places are limited.

City	Date	Time	Venue
Adelaide	1-Dec-09	8.30am - 5pm	Microsoft Adelaide, Level 2
Perth	3-Dec-09	8.30am - 5pm	Level 2, QV1 Building Perth
Brisbane	8-Dec-09	8.30am - 5pm	Microsoft Brisbane Theatre 1 & 2
Melbourne	10-Dec-09	8.30am - 5pm	Microsoft Melbourne Exhibition Room
Sydney	15-Dec-09	8.30am - 5pm	Microsoft Sydney Theatres

Windows Server 2008 R2 Developer Training

chlong — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:26:45 GMT

Check out this set of nifty Windows Server 2008 R2 training tidbits for developers:

New R2 Learning Center

Explore this significant Windows Server release via a self-paced training course of videos and hands-on-labs with a focus on performance, web, management, and other server solution scenarios. Learn about developing applications for “many-core” scale, enable efficient “trigger-started” services, explore new Windows PowerShell features, create integrated solutions with the File Classification Infrastructure, and build Web Platform extensions.

New R2 Developer Training Kit – Learning Center Edition

Download and share the Developer Training Kit. The kit includes self-paced hands-on-lab exercises with corresponding video resources on the new Channel9 Learning Center. Topics include:

“Many-Core” Application Scale
VHD and Hyper-V API’s
Designed for Efficiency
Extreme Web Services
The Extensible Web Platform

Visual Studio 2010 Beta 2 is Here

chlong — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:23:00 GMT

Microsoft announced today the immediate availability of Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Beta 2 and Microsoft .NET Framework 4 Beta 2 to MSDN subscribers with general availability following on 21 October.

Check out and download Beta 2

Featured overviews and walkthroughs

Tell us what you think so far

Submit a bug

Ask our product manager a hard question

We also announced a simplified product lineup and pricing options for Visual Studio 2010 as well as new benefits for MSDN subscribers, including the Ultimate Offer, available to all active MSDN Premium subscribers at the official product launch on March 22, 2010.

What’s new?

New testing options will help ensure quality code
Enhancements to the integrated development environment mean that whether modeling, coding, testing or debugging, developers can use existing skills to deploy a growing number of application types
Built-in tools for Windows 7 and Microsoft SharePoint 2010
New drag and drop bindings for Silverlight and Windows Presentation Foundation
interoperability with innovative technologies (such as those for the database, ASP.NET model view controller, unified modeling language, Expression, and multicore) allow developers to bring their visions to life

But wait! There’s more:

With the .NET Framework 4, developers can experience immensely smaller deployments with up to an 81 percent reduction in the framework size when using the Client Profile. Other .NET Framework 4 developer benefits include additional support for industry standards, inclusion of the Dynamic Language Runtime for more language choice, new support for high-performance middle-tier applications (including parallel programming, workflow and service-oriented applications) and backward compatibility through side-by-side installation with .NET Framework 3.5.

How do I get “the Ultimate Offer?”

Active MSDN Premium subscribers will be transitioned to a higher-level Visual Studio 2010 with MSDN subscription at launch. This provides access to an unprecedented amount of resources, including test and development rights for Microsoft server software (including Windows Server 2008 R2 and Microsoft SQL Server 2008), Microsoft Office, and premium Visual Studio tools.

What’s the new line up look like?

In the next version, customers will be able to choose from three main versions of Visual Studio 2010:

Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate with MSDN
The comprehensive suite of application life-cycle management tools for software teams to help ensure quality results from design to deployment
Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Premium with MSDN
A complete toolset to help developers deliver scalable, high-quality applications
Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Professional with MSDN
The essential tool for basic development tasks to assist developers in implementing their ideas easily

Also today, Microsoft unveiled new benefits for MSDN subscribers, including these:

Unlimited access to Visual Studio Team Foundation Server 2010 (upon release)
a server product that drives down the risks and costs of developing software by enhancing team collaboration
Azure Development
which enables MSDN Premium subscribers to develop on the Windows Azure platform (Microsoft’s cloud services platform) with compute hours, storage, data transfers, SQL Azure databases and .NET Services
Complimentary e-learning
up to 40 hours per year, per subscriber to help developers access the wealth of online resources in a more streamlined fashion, Microsoft has also updated the MSDN Web site, which now features an updated user interface, a faster version of the MSDN Library and more community resources.

Video from our PR statement:

Next steps:

Want to be the first to know?

Get the Visual Studio 2010 datasheet

This 11-page datasheet gives you an insider's view of the next generation of Visual Studio.

Download now: XPS | PDF

Follow Jono

Jono Wells is twittering away about what’s going on with Visual Studio 2010.

Follow @onojw on Twitter

#vs10 RSS

3 weeks to submit your AIMIA Amy nomination

chlong — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:22:43 GMT

AIMIA is calling for entries into the 16th Annual AIMIA Awards, which celebrate the very best examples of digital media in Australia and New Zealand. Known affectionately as “The Amys” by the industry, the awards showcase work undertaken by Australia’s Interactive Media and Digital Content sectors across a broad range of consumer, business, government and not-for-profit categories.

There are loads of categories including 3 new ones:

Best Sport: Given to the best sports-based interactive media or digital content which demonstrates best practice, innovation and excellence in promoting and covering a sport, sports brand, product, service or event.
Best Online Video: Awarded to the entry that shows appropriate, relevant and best use of digital video as a creative and distribution medium in the application.
People’s Choice: This award is voted for by AIMIA members. The most voted entry from the total pool of 16th Annual AIMIA Awards category finalists will determine the winner of the category.

Awards are now open and close at 5pm AEST on Wednesday 4 November 2009. Finalists will be announced in mid-January. Entries must be submitted via the AIMIA website. For more details and entry criteria, please visit www.aimia.com.au/awards.

Visit www.aimia.com.au/awards or email awards@aimia.com.au for more details!

BizSpark: calling all startups

chlong — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 16:36:14 GMT

Video: Steve Ballmer announcing BizSpark at the Developer Liberation Day, Thursday 6 November, Sydney, Australia (click here for the official video)

Steve Ballmer announced Microsoft BizSpark during his visit to Australia, following the success of DreamSpark, which allows students to download our developer and design tools at no charge.

What is a startup to Microsoft? Do I qualify?

There are four pre-requisites for a startup to join BizSpark. These are:

be building a software based product,
have been in existence for less than 3 years,
make less than USD 1 million and,
be privately held.

BizSpark is ideal for companies building Web applications, or delivering Web based services. A startup can be a part of the program for three years (and will have to renew their membership annually), unless they are disqualified because they have gone public (or have been acquired by a company that does not qualify for BizSpark) or if their revenue is greater than USD$1 million.

What kind of software is BizSpark offering?

We are offering development tools as well as production licenses of our server products.
For development, testing and demonstration, startups can download the software included in the Visual Studio Team System Team Suite (VSTS) with MSDN Premium, plus VSTS Team Foundation Server (Standard Edition).
For production use (that is, to deploy and host an application over the internet), startups can download and use Windows Server, SQL Server, BizTalk Server, and Office SharePoint Server for Internet Sites hosting, as well as Systems Center for managing hosting server operations
(please refer to the BizSpark Startup Program Guide for full details)

"No up-front cost" - do I pay when I leave the program?

Yes, there is a $100 fee when a startup exits the program.

What happens after three years of participation in BizSpark?

After three years in BizSpark, a startup will exit the program. A startup can continue to use the development tools although if updates are required to the development tools however, the MSDN subscription at usual rates and terms. apply. Or you can join the Microsoft Partner Program and receive complimentary tools as an Independent Software Vendor (ISV).

To continue using the production licenses, a startup may choose to take advantage of a licensing program like Microsoft’s Services Provider License Agreement program (or other Microsoft licensing programs that may be available at the time) but is in no way obligated to do so.

How do I join BizSpark?

Via a BizSpark Network Partner. This ecosystem will comprise of academic institutions, entrepreneurial organisations, business accelerators and investors who will help startups enrol. Find a Network Partner near you.

How does this help me, a startup?

Software - via the program
Support - via MSDN (two support incidents per startup) and the resources that the Network Partner has to offer for startups
Visibility - via BizSparkDB. Startups can profile themselves on BizSparkDB.

Is Azure going to be a part of the BizSpark offering?

Windows Azure, announced at PDC last week, is a natural platform choice for early stage companies.

While Azure is appealing to everyone from large enterprises to hobbyists, it is going to be particularly interesting to startups and Web 2.0 companies as well who want to take advantage of a rich, highly versatile web-based platform to build scalable applications for the web.

BizSpark program startups will receive preferential access to the Azure Community Technology Preview. To sign up for the CTP, BizSpark participants should enrol on the Azure site and profile with the same Windows Live ID they used to enrol in BizSpark. During the CTP, access will be assessed and assigned on a company-by-company basis and will be confirmed as capacity becomes available.

Where does Empower or Action Pack for Web Developers fit?

Click here to download this image as a pdf. Some information is specific to Australia only.

Where can I get more information?

http://www.microsoft.com/BizSpark

or http://microsoftstartupzone.com/ and the blogs from that page, like Anand Iyer's.

DevSta Winners Announced

chlong — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 01:29:47 GMT

The winners for DevSta 2008 have been decided! Congratulations to Michael Minutillo and Jarred Sargent!
You can view their entry and find out more about the top 5 winning entries on the DevSta website now!

Want to join Steve Ballmer?

chlong — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 03:22:00 GMT

Our CEO, Steve Ballmer, is in town on 6 November. If you would like to join us, please email me for details on how to register.

Intermec Developers Conference

chlong — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 02:48:25 GMT

Do you have any developers who need the latest information on creating mobile applications?

Attended this conference to receive:

Virtual machine software for use in the conference labs
Access to all presentations and codes for 30 days after the event
Conference gifts - including registration gift, a gift for completing our survey and will be eligible for donated gifts from our sponsor partners.

When? 11-12 November 2008

Where? Stamford Plaza, 111 Little Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3000

What? Lots of mobile developer content including

Top 20 Developer Questions
Developing Camera Applications
Thinking Green: Programming for Long-life Power
Building a Smart Mobile Web Application
Fixed and Mobile Printer Application Development Tools
RFID: Optimizing for Performance, the Basics and Beyond

Registration free is $699 (early bird discount is $499 before 30 October).

RDN Dev Days

chlong — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 14:44:21 GMT

This must be event season, with the rush to get in before Christmas. Readify have published their latest RDN road show all about .NET; TFS; Silverlight etc. David Burela is also being interviewed for the keynote, who is the Imagine Cup 2008 Winner.

What? RDN Dev Days typically have three of Readify’s best developer consultants presenting on various topics and you will have a choice varying tracks to choose from.

8:30am: Event Registration
9.00am: Welcome and Key Note
10.00am: Morning Tea
10:15am: Breakout Sessions
5.15pm: Close

Full agenda here.

Where and When?

SYDNEY: Thursday 30 October 2008, 8:30am – 5:30pm | Cliftons, 190 George Street, Sydney
MELBOURNE: Friday 31 October 2008, 8:30am – 5:30pm | Cliftons, 440 Collins Street, Melbourne
BRISBANE: Friday 7 November 2008, 8:30am – 5:30pm | Cliftons, 288 Edward Street, Brisbane
PERTH: Tuesday 11 November 2008, 8:30am – 5:30pm | Cliftons, 191 St George’s Terrace, Perth

Investment: $315 + GST

Click here to register; here for more information and here for the full agenda.

Innovation Days 2008

chlong — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 05:16:00 GMT

The dates for our ISV road show have now been published and we’re coming to a city near you.

What? “Get your feet on the ground, head in the clouds”

The day will concentrate on important announcements released at October’s Professional Developer's Conference, and will focus on our Software plus Services paradigm. This is Microsoft's vision for the next generation of computing that brings together the best of cloud-based services and traditional client computing software to deliver a richer experience to your customers.

When? 8.30am breakfast until 4pm

Canberra: 18 Nov
Sydney: 19 Nov
Brisbane: 21 Nov
Melbourne: 24 Nov
Perth: 27 Nov
Adelaide: 28 Nov

Who? Business/Technical Decision Makers in the morning… to become a little more detailed in the afternoon.
Click here to Register

Innovation Days, November 2008

chlong — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 13:50:33 GMT

We are about to announce our next ISV Innovation Day road show across Australia scheduled for the end of November 2008. The main theme this year is Software plus Services, which I’m sure won’t surprise many of you. We’ll be using content from the Professional Developers Conference (PDC) which is in LA at the end of October and whilst we’re waiting for the slide decks Craig Bailey from Elcom has been window shopping at the agenda tags:

“…Six sessions on Oslo (ie BizTalk) and seven on Parallelism should tell you something about the focus Microsoft is giving them. But 27 on Cloud services is the real give away. The buzz around Cloud, Identity, SQL Data Services and the Live/Mesh platforms is very high.”

Our Delicate Genius and Dave Glover are both attending PDC and will hopefully redeliver all the juicy content from the conference.

I’m really interested in what you want though, so in what is slowly becoming a tradition, please use this poll or leave a comment to help us create the agenda.

If you can’t make it to PDC, then try and attend another one of the Microsoft technical conferences in the diary as it’s going to be the year of big announcements. Just as the PDC is focused on the future of the Platform and technical strategy, there’s the world wide annual Tech-Ed Developers Conference (3-6 June in Orlando) which offers in-depth technical training on our current products. Then there’s the annual MIX Conference (18-20 March 2009 in Las Vegas) which is aimed at developers, designers and business decision makers who build next generation consumer web sites.

Credit to Steve for the graphic and for the great definition of what Software plus Services is…

DEVSTA: Code your way to Vegas

chlong — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 12:15:46 GMT