This is not a new resource but one which i feel we haven't done a good enough job of talking about.
Project Rosetta is a website that provides a number of tutorials and articles on relevant subjects for developers and designers looking to broaden their skills to include Silverlight.
There are articles that talk about how to use your flash skills in Silverlight as well as some good discussions on the improved developer and designer workflow offered through our tools.
Go take a look and let me know what you think.......
http://projectrosetta.com/
I work for a team called the Creative Development team; meaning we help build Partnerships with web agencies,
This is a new audience for Microsoft to start to build relationships in and some people i speak to struggle to get our position in this Market. i think these slides really help to articulate what we are about....
Another common mis-conception associated with my team is around our drive for the adoption of Silverlight; people assume we are going head to head with Flash and that Silverlight is a 'Flashkiller' - this is simply not true. Silverlight is about choice, its about giving companies who embrace our technology an alternative option that might improve the way their developers can interact with a designer and truly deliver on the brief from the Customer.
Hey, in some instances we will choose Flash over Silverlight, take my last post about Mojave: part of the brief would have been to deliver that message to as many people as possible, hence the choice of an ubiquitous browser plug-in. Had the brief been more skewed to a rich and immersive user experience, who knows...... :)
Not breaking news but well worth a post!
Microsoft just don't do enough of this kind of thing, hear say is a powerful thing....
This is a great Silverlight example from a Creative Development partner on a project for Microsoft. The Virtual launch experience is also a link that Microsoft Partners can go to for an immersive Silverlight experience and also to help them learn a little about the new wave of products launched
this year - www.microsoft.com/virtualevents. (will need a live ID :))
A Microsoft Gold Certified Partner,
Metia Software built the VLE using:
Microsoft Silverlight, Microsoft SQL Server 2008
database software, The Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 development system and Microsoft Expression Studio. It runs on the Windows Server 2008 operating system.
The VLE user interface was designed to allow visitors to easily find and gather the information that most interests them and to explore at their own pace.
Go take a look!
Chris Caposella gave an interesting talk earlier this week? in which he mentioned his views that "In five years, 50 percent of our Exchange mailboxes will be Exchange Online,". this got me thinking about an interesting presentation i once saw in which the presenter opened with a mention of a famous quote from Thomas Watson - of IBM fame - where he was quoted as saying that there is only room in the world for 5 computers (it was actually one of his sales directors saying that he could only ever see IBM selling at most 12 computers when they started their switch from punch machines to PC's - but thats besides the point :) ) anyway, this quote was met with the usual sniggers to which the presenter replied, "I think he was out by 4!. There could eventually be one cloud situated supercomputer as the large networks and systems become more and more integrated."
Interesting viewpoint, and i think its gaining speed. Highlander was right!!
With the release of .Net Framework 3.5 late last year, the teams have been working hard on some of the individual components.
Last Monday saw the beta release of the third itera
tion of Windows Presentation Foundation
there is a great post by Tim Sneath that gives you a real comprehensive overview of all the new features. There is also a great post from Adam Kinney highlighting a range of videos that have been put together to help demonstrate some of the new features.
WPF Week Schedule:
- Monday: Overview, Graphics
- Tuesday: Client Deployment
- Wednesday: Performance
- Thursday: Application Model
- Friday: Tools
Never used WPF? -
getting started with WPF
A guided tour of WPF
WPF 3.5 SP1 Download links:
One thing i am getting asked a lot lately is where Microsoft Partners can get hold of Silverlight training.
There were a number of courses ran out of Redmond that are now complete but some of the content has been opened out to the wider audience, i thought i might try and summarise some of the offerings...
Self help/tutorial training......
http://silverlight.net/Learn/
http://www.microsoft.com/silverlight/resources/default.aspx
We also have some online training delivered by Innerworkings (http://www.innerworkings.com/) and includes tutor assessment of the code produced. A summary of the modules so far on offer is below. They should be live in a couple of weeks:
- D0046C-CS: Managed Code in Silverlight 2.0
Challenges include MediaPlayer ASP.NET Control for Silverlight, Basic Controls and Layout, Handling events in Silverlight using Managed Code, and Interacting with the Web Page. (Two more challenges tbd)
- D0046D-CS: Working with Data in Silverlight 2.0
Challenges include Data binding with Silverlight 2.0, Implementing Master/Detail scenario, Accessing HTTP-based services using Silverlight 2.0, Accessing SOAP services using Silverlight 2.0, Accessing syndication feeds using Silverlight 2.0, and Isolated Storage.
Xpertise are currently running a number of training courses (Silverlight 1.0):
http://www.xpertise.co.uk/training-courses/technical-training/microsoft/microsoft-silverlight
There are some free on-demand sessions on the Partner Learning Centre:
· http://www.xpertise.co.uk/training-courses/technical-training/microsoft/microsoft-silverlight/microsoft-silverlight-10-for-designers
· https://training.partner.microsoft.com/plc/details.aspx?systemid=1791082&page=/plc/search.aspx
So there's a few to get going with....
This weekend was Radio 1's Big weekend, a festival styled event at Mote Park in Maidstone.
Billed as being Europe's largest free ticketed event there were a host of stars performing including Madonna, Usher and the Fratellis. Feedback from the event show it as being a roaring success and the BBC were keen to have an equally impressive online experience.
To achieve this the BBC enlisted the help of Microsoft and a couple of more than capable Partners - Conchango and StreamUK. The result has been a rather funky website with content being streamed using Silverlight streaming media services (compliments of StreamUK) and an awesome big zoomy picture thingy (courtesy of Conchango and Silverlight deepzoom technology)
Go have a play......
This has to be one of the best all round Silverlight demo's i have seen! built by a team here in the UK, it utilises a lot of the latest features including deepzoom in a real world scenario that almost anyone can relate to.
Microsoft Health Common User Interface.....
http://www.mscui.net/PatientJourneyDemonstrator/
Great work!
My pals at Metia Software are running the first in a series of events to the Financial sector later this month promoting a range of new ideas and thinking around some of the latest Microsoft technology.
This has caught my eye for a number of reasons, firstly i am a fan of the projects they have orchestrated in the past (checkout the Windows, SQL and Visual Studio 08 Virtual launch - all beautifully crafted in SIlverlight!) and secondly i think they are right on the money in the opportunity with Silverlight. Its not mentioned in the invite below but a part of this session will be how Silverlight can be the front end to SQL, MOSS and Performance point projects.
Business intelligence? - Sexy? Cross company collaboration and workflow? - viral and engaging? - You bet!!! - 'Rich Intranet', baby!
check out the invite below, all credit to Karthik and the team.....
Dear Sir/Madam,
At Metia we have been working with the financial services industry for over 20 years. We invite you to join us at this seminar aimed at your industry, demonstrating the features, functionality, and benefits of the Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server 2007 platform.
Learn how SharePoint 2007 can enhance collaboration, knowledge sharing, and business intelligence within your organisation, and improve the delivery of key information to your customers.
This seminar is free and is aimed at IT, Communications, and Marketing Managers or Directors wishing to gain a better insight into Microsoft’s Business Intelligence and Collaboration tools as well as Microsoft’s vision of its solutions platform for the financial services industry.
Metia Software is the technology division of Metia, with operations in London, New York, Seattle, Singapore, and Sydney.
A Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, with over 65 in-house creative professionals and developers, and 10 years of web application development experience, Metia Software has delivered a wide range of enterprise-class business applications and collaborative working solutions for leading global companies.
Thursday 22nd May 2008
08:30 to 11:00
The Grange City Hotel
8-10 Coopers Row
London EC3N 2BQ
REGISTER AND RESERVE YOUR FREE SEAT NOW!
Spaces are limited
Click here to see more details about the seminar and to register
On my last visit to the guys at LBi, Riaz Ahmed was telling me about a new publication that LBi have just launched - LBiQ - absolutely loving it!
There is some fantastic content in here and the whole publication is beautifully put together.
There is some explicit LBi content in there (of course) but it is all relevant and pretty interesting, also included are some very honest and quirky reviews and some intriguing interviews.
Volume 1 is available for download here
If nothing else it serves as an insight into the people and culture within LBi.
Pretty darn good for a volume 1!
Everyone loves a nice viral ad campaign, no one more so than me!
The Webharmony campaign was launched a few weeks back to drive awareness of the Expression and Visual Studio 2008 tools from Microsoft, more specifically how XAML is bridging the two worlds allowing developers and Designers to work in harmony!!
Thanks to some sterling work from John Allwright (Expression product manager) Microsoft has commissioned a 36-page Silverlight/Expression 2 supplement with Digital Arts magazine.
These will be in Digital Arts and Macworld magazines distributed in early May. The editorial was written by Michael Burns, a respected design journalist.
It contains Silverlight overviews, full product descriptions of Expression Studio 2 products, Case Studies incl Aston Martin, Hard Rock and Silverlight Mobile along with tutorials.
Well worth a look.......
This blog has definitely suffered from a lack of TLC in recent months.
Truth is, its all been a little up in the air of late. moving home, changing roles, blah, blah, blah.
Short version is I have a new role at Microsoft; managing our Creative development Partners or 'full service' and 'Boutique' design agencies. this Blog will still have a focus on Microsoft's Emerging Technology but I'd like to try and bring some emphasis on user experience and some insight into Microsoft's move into the creative space. There will probably be some focus on Silverlight and our Design and developer tools.
hope it gets some eyeballs......
