MSOZACADEMIC

Student Microsoft Certification Offer

2009-11-09T22:25:18Z

How would you spend $81

Clothing? Music? A night out?

Or…

Become Microsoft Certified today to increase your chances of finding your dream job?

In this day and age, business is about differentiation.

By gaining a Microsoft Certification you are differentiating yourself from the crowd!

Don’t settle for the status quo, gain your certification today to help you gain your dream job.

If you are considering certification and want to sit a practice exam, check out the Measure Up website www.measureup.com.

To register for a Microsoft exam, check out the Prometric website www.prometric.com/microsoft/student

Intern & MACH positions at Microsoft Australia NOW OPEN

2009-11-05T06:42:00Z

The HR Team at Microsoft Australia have started the recruitment process for 2010 Intern and MACH hires. Positions include Marketing, Finance, HR and Sales and are available in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Assessments are commencing in November so make sure you get your application in immediately.

I got a hot tip from our HR team. They told me that they are expecting hundreds of applications and will use the “Tell us why” section on the application (screenshot below) for the initial round of filtering. Make sure you use this section to really demonstrated your passion and enthusiasm for the role.

For more details, including how to apply, check out the post on SEEK

What is a MACH?

The Microsoft Academy for College Hires (MACH) is a 2 year accelerated career development program designed to recruit and hire top performing graduates across a broad range of roles, and aims to cultivate your talent utilising training, mentoring and community support.

What’s the Internship all about?

The Microsoft Intern Program is a flexible program of up to 12 months, for full-time students currently completing their penultimate year at an Australian University in either an undergraduate or post-graduate course. Interns may be studying one of many tertiary disciplines including Marketing, Economics and Business or more technical subjects. Good grades are important, but the most important talents we seek from our Intern applicants are genuine passion and curiosity about technology, creative thinking and the desire to work hard alongside some great minds in the industry.

Windows 7 Student Offer Now available in Australia

2009-10-22T05:21:35Z

Windows 7 was officially launched in Australia today. The new operating system has received world wide praise for its stability, simplicity and performance. With Australia being the first country in the world to launch Windows 7, students now have the opportunity to be amongst the first in the world to experience the awesomeness that is Windows 7.

Students (TAFE & University) can purchase Windows 7 Home Premium for $49.95 as an upgrade from Vista or XP. For more info and to order check out the student offer website

Visual Studio 2010 Beta 2 and .Net Framework 4 Beta 2 available for download

2009-10-20T00:06:49Z

As we approach the final product release date of VS 2010 (March 22, 2010), Microsoft announced today the availability of Visual Studio 2010 Beta 2 and Microsoft .Net Framework 4 Beta 2. Both Beta’s are only available to MSDN subscribers for today only and will be made available to the general public in a couple days (21st of October 2009).

Microsoft has also simplified the product lineup for Visual Studio 2010 and announced pricing details. 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

For a detailed look into VS 2010 and .Net Framework 4 features and Beta downloads, check out the Visual Studio website

The complete press release is also available on the MS Press website website

Students- if you are interested in downloading VS 2008 (VS2010 when released) and other great software for free, go to www.dreamspark.com

-Karo

Imagine Cup 2010- New Country, New Categories, New Prizes

2009-08-18T08:42:00Z

The Imagine Cup 2010 registrations are now open. The 2010 Worldwide Finals will be held in Poland. The theme to the 2010 competition remains the same as last year, “Solve the world’s toughest problems”. The UN Millennium goals are encourage as a good place to start, check out the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

The Imagine Cup categories have also been downsized to 3 major categories, Software Design, Game Design and Digital Media. Check out the Competition overview for more info.

To register for the competition, please visit www.imaginecup.com. Start putting your team together ASAP to allow yourself the best chance of succeeding!

Stay tuned for more info on The Australian Imagine Cup summer camp and Australian Imagine Cup website being launched later this year.

Below- Video from the worldwide Imagine Cup finals in Egypt

Imagine Cup 2009

Technorati Tags: Imagine Cup competition,Imagine Cup worldwide finals,student competition,technology competition

Win a VIP Ticket to the Halo 3 ODST Bungie event @ Cockatoo Island in Sydney!

2009-07-31T04:42:15Z

WOW, WOW, WOW… The Warthog is in Sydney!

The Orbital Drop Shock Troopers from Halo 3: ODST have landed on Cockatoo Island with The Xbox Warthog. 200 VIP guests will get the chance to go toe to toe with The Xbox Warthog at an exclusive showcase. Guests will see a presentation by Bungie’s very own Curtis Creamer and get hands on with the much anticipated Halo 3: ODST out on September 22^nd 2009.

MSOZACADEMIC is giving away 2 VIP tickets to the event which will be held on Thursday the 6^thof August 2009 at Cockatoo Island at 6:30pm. Read below for competition details!

Check out the trailer for Halo 3 ODST

MSOZACADEMIC COMPETITION GUIDELINES:

In 65 words or less, tell us why you think HALO is the best first person shooter game ever released.

Terms and Conditions

1. All entries must be submitted via email to i-karoes@microsoft.com by Tuesday the 4th of August, 5:00pm EST. Entries must include your student number and the name of the institution that you are currently enrolled in. The best 2 entries will win a VIP Ticket to the Halo 3 ODST event of Thursday the 6^thof August 2009 at Cockatoo Island at 6:30pm. Winners will be notified via email on the 5th of August.

2. The competition is open to full time or part time undergraduate or post graduate students over the age of 16 years of age living in Australia who are enrolled in study at any university or accredited higher education establishment in Australia.

3. Employees of the Promoter or its affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising or promotional agencies are not eligible to enter the competition nor are members of these employees' families (defined as parents, children, siblings, spouse and life partners). Microsoft Student Partners are eligible to enter.

4. The promoter of this competition is Microsoft Pty Limited, 1 Epping Rd, North Ryde, Sydney, New South Wales 2113, Australia.

Technorati Tags: Halo,halo 3,bungie,Xbox 360

Windows Mobile APPrentice Competition! Bring your mobile APP to Life!

2009-07-29T06:25:00Z

Do you have a great idea for a phone app? Want to win some amazing prizes by simply bringing your idea to life? Well the APPrentice competition has been specifically designed to help Australian students do just that! The application you create can be for the mass public or something that students would benefit from only. Regardless, get your creativity going and enter a submission!

What type of Applications?

You can submit an application related to various categories, including games, education, entertainment, travel, music, and many more…

What’s up for grabs?

The two successful applicants will win:

A full pass to attend Microsoft Tech.Ed on the Gold Coast, from September 8–11, 2009 (which includes a complimentary HP Mini 2140 Notebook PC, worth $990 (recommended retail price))
A return adult economy airfare to the Gold Coast from your nearest capital city
3 nights accommodation at The Crown Plaza Gold Towers on the Gold Coast in a standard room
A session with a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) mentor during Tech.Ed
Tickets to Smackdown on September 11, 2009, where the best Windows Mobile app will be awarded to the overall winner!

Entry Details

Submissions must be in by the 17th of August 2009. Please visit the APPrentice website for more information. You will require Visual Studio to create your applications. Visual Studio can be downloaded from www.dreamspark.com.

Win $10,000 in IE8 Treasure Hunt!

2009-06-18T03:59:58Z

IE8 is offering $10,000 for the first Australian resident who can find a hidden website on the internet! The treasure hunt style competition named, ‘Ten Grand Is Buried Here’ will start with its first clues on Friday the 18th of of June.

What's the catch? The website and clues can only be viewed in IE8, Microsoft’s latest browser.

Download IE8, follow all the clues on twitter (www.twitter.com/tengrand_IE8) and use your treasure hunting skills to find the loot!!

Good Luck!

Technorati Tags: IE8,treasurer hunt,$10,000

Microsoft US Internships Open for Australian Students - APPLY NOW

2009-06-05T05:10:18Z

Options are Good. In life and in your career.

A Real World Experience like No Other. As an intern at Microsoft, you’ll have real responsibility, real work, and real opportunities to jumpstart your career. (You’ll get paid, too!) It’s an experience you’ll never find in a classroom. You’ll be given manageable assignments that you can complete while you’re here, and your efforts will likely take shape in Microsoft products—or be used by Microsoft teams—long after you return to school. And imagine millions of customers, not to mention your classmates, seeing your work! Some interns even parlay their experience into a job offer.

An Opportunity to Shine. Our interns make a real difference. Not by filing paperwork or running errands, but by developing real products. Here, you’ll run your own projects and put your skills to work. This is why our internship program is one of the most successful in the industry. You’ll learn more in 12 weeks than you would in a whole school year. It’s the kind of work that gets noticed by millions of people all over the world. Kind of redefines the whole concept of internships, don’t you think?

“An internship allowed me to identify areas in which I needed to grow and helped to validate that I am working in the right field.” - John, Software Development Lead, Windows Server Performance

Current Internship opportunities with Microsoft:

1) Software Design Engineer (SDE) Intern

Work at the Core of Every Product We Build
This internship is where the fun begins for code gurus like you. As a hands-on Software Design Engineer intern, you’ll learn how to make decisions about design and feature implementation, using your mastery of technical tools to help make a product vision a reality. If you would like to write code and design efficient data structures and algorithms to develop next-generation applications or operating systems, listen up. This internship shows you how SDEs bring products to life by working with Program Managers to ensure strong design and Software Design Engineers in Test to ensure quality through testing. Ultimately for the SDE, it’s your code that turns concepts into new technologies and services.

Qualifications:

· Fluency in C/C++/C# and a passion for writing quality code using computer science fundamentals

· Ability to derive creative and innovative solutions by thinking "outside the box"

· Ability to solve complex problems, sometimes by testing and debugging code

· Expertise in feature definition, design, and feasibility

· Demonstrated skill in estimating development time

· Be available to relocate to our corporate headquarters in Redmond, Washington, U.S.A for a 12 week internship (Microsoft Corporation pays all costs associated with relocation)

· Functional level English Language skills, written and spoken requirement

2) Software Design Engineer in Test (SDET) Intern

Discover Life on the Last Line of Defense
As an intern Software Design Engineer in Test (SDET), you’ll own it, break it, fix it, and own it again. You’ll ensure a product’s quality by making sure it performs as users expect it to. Part of the fun is how creative you can be devising ways to manipulate, crush, and sabotage software into submission—while creating innovative testing technologies along the way. Ultimately, as an SDET intern it’s your input that can help make the difference between joy and frustration for the customers. Since you’re keen on how things work, and making them work better, you’ll work hand in hand with the Program Managers and Software Design Engineers to design, develop, and maintain automation systems for use in development and testing cycles. Using the tools you create, you’ll help pour over source code for trouble spots, debugging and isolating problems, and executing creative tests to find new bugs while regression testing recent fixes.

Qualifications:

· Fluency in C/C++/C#/VB.NET and experience designing and developing tool architecture

· Ability to solve complex problems and write automation systems and device drivers

· Ability to author test plans and cases, conduct security and stress tests, and debug at source level after identifying, investigating, and prioritizing bugs

· Demonstrated skills in negotiation and conflict management

· Demonstrated interest in customer advocacy derived from a holistic understanding of the product from the code level to delivery

· Be available to relocate to our corporate headquarters in Redmond, Washington, U.S.A for a 12 week internship (Microsoft Corporation pays all costs associated with relocation and helps with housing)

· Functional level English Language skills, written and spoken requirement

Whatever position you choose, you’ll make a real impact in the dynamic world of product development at Microsoft. All positions are12 weeks and located in the United States at our corporate headquarters in Redmond, Washington.

Send Us Your Resume
Submitting a resume is the only way to get to the next stage of consideration, the interview. Our recruiting team travels to Australia regularly to meet bright and enthusiastic people like you, and we look forward to receiving your resume. Here are a few things to keep in mind when you are updating your resume to send to us:

· Clearly state your graduation date, degree/major and the university are attending

· Specify your technical skills (including programming languages and other development tools you know well), project details (both within university and at any jobs or internships you have held), and technologies you have used on those projects

· Describe your role in the projects that you worked on, and what you personally achieved

· Provide an active e-mail address, physical address, and current phone number where we can reach you

If interested, please send your resume by July 22 to: ausrec@microsoft.com

A recruiter will review it, and if interested will set up a phone interview as a first step. And, by the way, we have many positions available, so if there is someone else you think we should know about; please share this information with them.

If we invite you to interview, we will cover your travel expenses. If you receive an offer, we will cover costs for visa processing and provide help with relocation. Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer and supports workforce diversity.

Why Certification is important and how to prepare for exams- Live Meeting this Friday

2009-06-02T06:37:24Z

[Why are certifications important? How to get ready for your certification exam? ]

We can guide you!

Microsoft Students to Business program together with Excom Education

Bring you the opportunity to clarify this and many questions you might have

Just join our Live Meeting session, this Friday 5th of June at

12 pm Singapore, Malaysia and Philippines

11 am Indonesia

2 pm (EST) Australia

4 pm (NZST) New Zealand

9:45 am Nepal

Join the meeting

AUDIO INFORMATION

Computer Audio

To use computer audio, you need speakers and a microphone, or a headset.

FIRST-TIME USERS

To save time before the meeting, check your system to make sure it is ready to use Office Live Meeting.

TROUBLESHOOTING

Unable to join the meeting? Follow these steps:

1. Copy this address and paste into your web browser:

https://www112.livemeeting.com/cc/_XML/microsoft/join

2. Copy and paste the required information:

Meeting ID: s2bapac

NOTICE

Office Live Meeting can be used to record meetings. By participating in this meeting, you agree that your communications may be monitored or recorded at any time during the meeting.

By attending to this conference you will qualify for a chance to receive a complimentary copy of Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium. (1 participant will be randomly selected*)

Want to know more about S2B? register today!

Any questions please contact s2bapac@microsoft.com

XBOX Announces Project Natal- Revolutionary Gaming Experience

2009-06-02T03:24:33Z

Project Natal was announced at E3 overnight. Project Natal is an add-on that will be released for the XBOX 360 Console. ‘The device will allow users to play and interact with video games by using their whole bodies’. Natal has 3D motion sensing and full facial and voice recognition.

Check out demo below

Technorati Tags: xbox 360,gaming,motion sensors,voice recognition,project natal,e3

50% off all books on MS Press Online Bookstore

2009-05-26T08:05:05Z

MS Press Online Bookstore is turning 1 and to celebrate MS Press are offering 50% off all books at www.mspress.com.au Until June 30th, 2009 when you enter this exclusive code MSPRESS1.

MS Press has an Amazon Price Match Promise on all books. If you find a cheaper priced book on Amazon – MS Press will match it. For more details visit the website.

Australian Imagine Cup Finals- Join Us!

2009-05-25T03:05:52Z

Its that time of year again, the Australian Imagine Cup Finals will be held this week and we want you to join us in celebrating the winners!! The local finals play a crucial role in determining the best team/project that will represent Australia in the world finals in July.

The local finals will be held at the Microsoft Ryde office in Sydney this Wednesday, the 27th May, from 6 to 9pm, with the top 5 teams in the software design category delivering their presentations to a panel of judges selected from academia, the press, industry and Microsoft as well as an audience made up of journalists, faculty, students, and friends and family of the competitor, and the winning team will be determined on the night, receiving their prizes and a giant boarding pass representing their all-inclusive trip to the world finals in Cairo, Egypt in July.

We have Plenty of Prizes for the audience, including XBOX Elite packages, XBOX games, Web Cams and more. Simply register your attendance and be in the running to win!!

Register by emailing ausic@microsoft.com and include your name, phone number and how many people you are registering for you if you are bringing extras. We will email you back with details on the event and venue information.

The five finalist teams are:

Team Xtreme – from University of Western Sydney, this team has come up with a creative solution for managing bush fire situations.
Team deCarbonate – from University of Canberra, deCarbonate wants to highlight our carbon footprint and help us manage it better and make the world a cleaner place to live in.
Team IWork – another team from University of Canberra who are trying to help those people out of work or who are finding it difficult to find jobs.
Team Firefighters – this team from University of Technology, Sydney is also bringing us a bushfire management/warning system.
Team eGreen – amazingly, the third team from University of Canberra brings us a creative way of looking at environmental sustainability – helping consumers understand the environmental impact of the products they buy.

Announcing the DeepZoomPix Technology Demo!

2009-04-16T05:10:23Z

Today Microsoft announced the go live of DeepZoomPix technology demo . DeepZoomPix is a Technology demonstration of of Microsoft® Silverlight™, Deep Zoom and the Azure™ Services Platform.

Using Silverlight’s exclusive Deep Zoom technology, DeepZoomPix enables you to interactively explore and share photos like never before:

Enable a seamless experience for navigating large numbers of images regardless of Internet connection quality.
Make possible a “tactile” way of exploring and interacting with photographic images on the web.
Empower users to dynamically zoom in on photos without having to navigate to higher resolution versions.

Directly access photos from Facebook, Flickr or any photo RSS feed and share your DeepZoomPix creation with the world through your blog or website.

DeepZoomPix is a technology showcase that enables end-users to see something familiar yet exciting. It shows designers the capabilities of Silverlight for creating rich user experiences. Finally, it shows developers how they can use various Microsoft technologies to create compelling and scalable systems.

DeepZoomPix is a technology demonstration that will run until December 31^st.

For more information, please read our FAQ and the DeepZoomPix developer story.

Try it! Go to www.deepzoompix.com, sign in with your Live ID and create an account. Then upload some pictures.
Tell the DeepZoomPix developer story
Join our Facebook group

-Karo

Don’t know what to expect of your IT career? Join the Microsoft Students to Business live meeting

2009-04-16T03:43:43Z

[ Are you graduating soon? And do not know what to expect from your IT career]

We can help!

Microsoft Students to Business program together with Excom Education

Bring you the opportunity to clarify this and many questions you might have

Just join our Live Meeting session, this Thursday 23th of April at

2 pm (EST) Australia

4 pm (NZST) New Zealand

To join just click on the link bellow

Join the meeting

AUDIO INFORMATION

Computer Audio

To use computer audio, you need speakers and a microphone, or a headset.

Telephone Conferencing

Choose one of the following:

· Start the Office Live Meeting client, and then in the Voice & Video pane, click Join Conference. The conferencing service will call you at the number you specify. (Recommended)

· Dial the conferencing service directly, and enter the participant code shown below:

Australia: 1800202713

New Zealand: 0800448997

Participant Code: 2758513

FIRST-TIME USERS

To save time before the meeting, check your system to make sure it is ready to use Office Live Meeting.

TROUBLESHOOTING

Unable to join the meeting? Follow these steps:

1. Copy this address and paste into your web browser:

https://www112.livemeeting.com/cc/_XML/microsoft/join

2. Copy and paste the required information:

Meeting ID: 29JJ8P

Entry Code: S~[x38<&F

Location: https://www112.livemeeting.com/cc/_XML/microsoft

If you still cannot enter the meeting, contact support.

NOTICE

Office Live Meeting can be used to record meetings. By participating in this meeting, you agree that your communications may be monitored or recorded at any time during the meeting.

By attending to this conference you will qualify for a chance to receive a complimentary copy of Microsoft Office Professional 2007. (1 participant will be randomly selected*)

Want to know more about S2B? register today!

Any questions please contact s2bapac@microsoft.com

MSOZACADEMIC

Student Microsoft Certification Offer

Intern &amp; MACH positions at Microsoft Australia NOW OPEN

What’s the Internship all about?

Windows 7 Student Offer Now available in Australia

Visual Studio 2010 Beta 2 and .Net Framework 4 Beta 2 available for download

Imagine Cup 2010- New Country, New Categories, New Prizes

Win a VIP Ticket to the Halo 3 ODST Bungie event @ Cockatoo Island in Sydney!

Windows Mobile APPrentice Competition! Bring your mobile APP to Life!

Win $10,000 in IE8 Treasure Hunt!

Microsoft US Internships Open for Australian Students - APPLY NOW

1) Software Design Engineer (SDE) Intern

2) Software Design Engineer in Test (SDET) Intern

Why Certification is important and how to prepare for exams- Live Meeting this Friday

XBOX Announces Project Natal- Revolutionary Gaming Experience

50% off all books on MS Press Online Bookstore

Australian Imagine Cup Finals- Join Us!

Announcing the DeepZoomPix Technology Demo!

Don’t know what to expect of your IT career? Join the Microsoft Students to Business live meeting

Intern & MACH positions at Microsoft Australia NOW OPEN