- New CodePlex site: Silverlight Blueprint for SharePoint now live!
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The new CodePlex site for the Sliverlight Blueprint for Sharepoint is now live!
Currently the code for this S+S Blueprint is in beta and we are actively revising it to work with the recently released Silverlight 2 Beta 2.
Head on over to http://www.codeplex.com/SL4SP for an FAQ, a link to a screencast about installation and discussion forums where you can ask questions to the developers and make suggestions.
- Got myself a cool new gig - Senior Architect for S+S Blueprints and Software Factories!
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Just after I joined Microsoft, nearly 4 years ago, I had the opportunity to learn about a super exciting brand new(at least to me) concept called Software Factories. At the time I was fortunate to be working in a group that enabled me to spend a small portion of my time digging in to the factories concept. In October 2004 I got the chance to work on a full-day OOPSLA tutorial with Jack Greenfield and Keith Short who, along with Steve Cook and Stuart Kent, wrote the definitive book on the subject, and found that while there was a strong theoretical foundation there was very little implementation. After OOPSLA I started a small "skunk works" project to try to build something concrete but then put that on hold when I moved to Seattle in March of 2005.
For the past 3 years I have been on the Platform Evangelism Team as a Technical Evangelist and have been on-point for an interesting stream of technologies and audiences:
- VSTA - Visual Studio Tools for Applications (the C#/VB next gen app scripting engine)
- VSTS - Visual Studio Team System
- Compilers targeted at the CLR
- Shareware/MicroISV developers
- Software-plus-Services Blueprints
as well as on-going work as part of the Channel9 team doing audio and video podcasting.
As part of the work I did as the MicroISV evangelist I created Project "Glidepath", a lightweight Software Factory system which delivered guidance, code and tools helping developers move their applications to Windows Vista. While this was a fun thing to do, building Software Factories wasn't really part of my job description!
A year ago I got the opportunity to lead an effort to create something we eventually named Software-plus-Services Blueprints. For this I adapted the Project "Glidepath" engine to enable a rich UX for delivery of the blueprint contents, essentially creating a branded collection of Software Factories helping people build S+S applications.
Now, due to a fortunate series of serendipitous events, (including Jack moving to the Platform Architecture Team, an unexpected re-org, etc.), this week I moved to the Platform Architecture Team and will finally be working directly with Jack responsible for both S+S Blueprints and Software Factories!
Final note, I am still the guy on-point for MicroISVs. I'll see everyone, as I have for the past 3 years, at the Software Industry Conference in Boston this July and at the European Software Conference in Berlin come November.
- You are invited to the S+S Blueprints and Software Factories Focus Groups at TechEd 2008
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Next week, June 5th and 6th, I will be holding two focus group sessions at TechEd 2008 in Orlando. If you are interested in S+S Blueprints and/or Software Factories and would like to help Microsoft chart the future direction in either of these areas, please click on the email link and let me know which session you would like join.
YOU WILL GET SCHWAG YOU CAN'T GET ANYWHERE ELSE AT TechEd!
Here's the description and details for each group:
S+S Blueprints Focus Group (max 20 attendees)
Orange County Convention Center N329
Thursday June 5, 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Building Software-plus-Services applications involves combining multiple platforms and technologies. As new technologies and architectures evolve Microsoft is building more Software-plus-Services Blueprints to help bridge the gap between vision and technologies, reduce friction and show you how to build great S+S applications. We will also be sharing our expanded plans for Software Factories and how they relate to S+S Blueprints.
Software Factories Focus Group (max 20 attendees)
Orange County Convention Center N329
Friday June 6, 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Software Factories help reduce the cost, time and risk in building complex applications. Designed to help harvest and reapply development knowledge, provide patterns and apply best practices they deliver guidance, code and tools.
Microsoft is expanding its Software Factories Initiative to cover more of the application life cycle, to include more guidance and tools to help in building factories as well as developing more factories to help build Software-plus-Services applications. We will also be sharing our plans for new Software-plus-Services Blueprints and discussing how they relate to Software Factories
Hope to see you there!
- Planning for TechEd Developers US - June 3-6
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UPDATE: S+S Blueprints and Software Factories Focus Groups annoucement. Come help us plan the future!
Today I'm finalizing my plans to bring S+S Blueprints to the US version of TechEd 2008 for Developers which will be in Orlando, Florida on June 3rd through June 6th. It will be one of your last chances to see Bill Gates before he moves on to working full-time at the Gates Foundation starting July 1st.
There will be two new blueprints (and maybe more) to introduce at TechEd and I'd love to connect with developers and architects who have used the existing S+S Blueprints and talk about what you like, don't like and would like to see in future blueprints.
Use the email link to contact me to setup a meeting.
See you in Orlando!
- Steve Gillmor thinks out loud about Live Mesh
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My long time friend and co-conspirator in the software business for almost 20 years, Steve Gillmor, comments about Live Mesh and it's implications.
I think he got it partially right and, of course, based on his limited publically available information, partially wrong.
The future will be, as always, interesting.
- RoboChamps is Live!
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Marc Mercuri, one of the hardest working and smartest people I know, just launched www.RoboChamps.com
RoboChamps is, in Marc's own word:
"...a league, and like sports leagues, will have a regular season comprised of a series of challenges. As RoboChamps is based in simulation, we can provide you with access to environments and robots most people could never get access to - from a trapped filled maze, to city populated with driving cars and working trffic lights, to a city struck by an earthquake, a huge soccer stadium - even the surface of the planet Mars! We'll conclude the season with a single elimination tournament, where we'll continue until we've found four finalist and.... well, I'll talk about that more later in the season, but I'll give you a hint, it involves real robots and a major event."
Check it out!
- Live Mesh application development
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Today at Web 2.0 Expo, Ori Amiga presented the first public view of the Live Mesh developer experience.
Writing code in Iron Python as well as C#, Ori demonstrated, as in his Channel9 video, how easy it is to write apps against the Mesh Operating Environment (MOE).
- Live Mesh coverage from the Webware blog
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Martin LaMonica posted some great information about Live Mesh on the Webware group blog: Microsoft Live Mesh platform takes on Google, Adobe
- More Live Mesh - Follow the Live Mesh group blog
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For great on-going information about Live Mesh follow the Live Mesh group blog.
In particular, I'm keen on the Live Mesh as a Platform post.
- Live Mesh rocks! - Technical Preview Opens Tomorrow
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Last night @ 9PM Microsoft announced the existence of and first technical preview of Live Mesh!
Both Scoble (Ray Ozzie Delivers with Live Mesh) and Mary Jo Foley (Ten Things to know about Microsoft's Live Mesh) are excited and, in my opinion, justifyably so.
The first preview of the combination platform/service opens tomorrow and the developer story/kits will come later which will enable a whole raft of interesting application scenarios.
There a a bunch of videos on Channel9 as well as an interesting walkthrough of the technology from a developer's point of view narrated by Jeremy Mazner you can watch now.
The official announcement also included this list of links:
For more information, go to LiveMesh.com.
You'll be hearing much more about Live Mesh on this blog in the future
- Web 2.0 - Scoble, Community and Sunshine
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For me, Day 1 of Web 2.0 is in the books. Last night and this morning included some quality time hanging out with Robert Scoble talking about the state of startups, mobile apps, and his thoughts on Microsoft's upcoming offerings (more after 9PM Pacific time tonight, especially on Channel9).
In addition, I caught some presentations about search engines and social media, mobile web app design, Web 2.0 "best practices". Interesting, thought provoking stuff that I don't get much exposure to in my current role driving Software+Services Blueprints.
- Headed out to Web 2.0 Expo San Francisco
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I'm working on the next wave Software+Services Blueprints and I want to understand both the developers who will use them and the kinds of applications they build so tomorrow I'm headed to San Francisco to attend the Web 2.0 Expo.
If you're going to be at Web 2.0 and want to help influence the content of our Software+Services Blueprints drop me an email.
- MIX08 Day 1 - Recap
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Yesterday, I watched the opening keynotes for MIX08 in the BlogZone with about 10 other people, both Microsoft and attendees. Ray Ozzie's part was well received but both Scott and Dean's part rocked the house. All the IE8 demos and Silverlight2 demos were awesome and we only had one interruption in the stream.
After the keynote, I went down to the hall where I ran into an old friend who is generally conservative in his reactions to these sorts of things and he was enthusiastic in his reaction to the technologies and announcements. In fact, he said "This stuff is really cool!", something I'd been waiting to hear for a long time, especially from him!
Last night at the attendee party, at the TAO club, it was great to hang with attendees and hear their similar reactions. I even got the chance to hand out some copies of the Silverlight Blueprint for SharePoint to some consultants who were itching to take it for a test drive!
- The Silverlight Blueprint for Sharepoint - samples/docs/videos now live!
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The Silverlight Blueprint for Sharepoint was announced on Monday but we had to hold back the sample source code and videos until today when Scott Guthrie announced the Silverlight 2 SDK.
You can now head over to http://www.ssblueprints.net/sharepoint and download the sample source code, documentation and screencasts and also head over to Channel9 and watch the interview with Rob Barker, the Technical Evangelist who drove the creation of this blueprint. Why not give it a whirl!
In the coming weeks we will also be releasing the full Silverlight Bluepring for Sharepoint in S+S Blueprint format (including VS2008 templates, integrated guidance, etc.) which you can get either via the S+S Blueprints Manager (a free Visual Studio add-in) or by downloading it from Codeplex (http://www.codeplex.com/blueprints).
- Software-plus-Services Blueprints presentation @ MIX08
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On Thursday (6-Mar), I'll be giving a talk @ MIX08 in the Open Space Theater showcasing the Software-plus-Services Blueprints including a demo of the very latest S+S Blueprint, the Silverlight Blueprint for Sharepoint!
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