As announced on Soma’s blog, Visual Studio 2010 and .NET 4 Beta 1 was made available for download to MSDN subscribers today. If you are an MSDN subscriber you can visit the download centre and download it now.
If you want to know more about what is new in Visual Studio 2010 have a look at the product page or watch some Channel 9 videos.
I have installed it on a machine with Visual Studio 2008 as well and so far it appears to play nice (though I haven’t done any extensive testing).
It will be made available for general download starting Thursday, NZ time. Beat the rush, get it now!
Nigel, Nathan and I are on the road again in May/June to talk about Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Silverlight 3.
Nathan is covering Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 from an IT Pro’s perspective with no nonsense technical sessions that cover the improvements and new features of these two products. Nigel and I are doing developer focussed sessions with Nigel talking about Silverlight 3 and covering some of the upcoming features that were announced at Mix 09. I will be talking about developing applications for Windows 7 and taking advantage of some of the new features in your own applications and how to make sure your applications are ready for Windows 7. There’s even an optional Installfest at the end if you want the Release Candidate installed on your test machine.
Once again we are visiting a good number of cities: Palmerston North, Tauranga, Hamilton, Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin and Wellington. You can find out more details and register here.
Hope to see you there!
With TechEd North America underway this week (you can visit TechEd online too) we are kicking off the 2009 TechEd season. Australia and New Zealand have ours in September (8-11th for Australia, 14-16th New Zealand). Planning is well underway for our local events and you can read more about how the event is shaping up over at Andrew Coates’ blog.
You may have noticed on Andrew’s blog there is a Call for Content. This means you can suggest a session that you would like to deliver at TechEd this year.
Here are the rules for submitting content and what we’ll cover/not cover if the track owners select your session(s).
All the way through the process you’ll be able to review your submission and track its status. This is the first time we’ve opened up the Call for Content publically like this and we’re likely to receive many more proposals than we’ve got slots to fill, so please don’t be disappointed if your submission isn’t selected.
Tips for Successful Submissions
- Write a descriptive, fun and enticing title
- Target 300-400 level technical content; 200 level content is in low demand
- Describe content that is new, unique or significantly refreshed from a previous presentation.
- Take a solution oriented approach
- Align your topic to the technologies listed for the track
- Ensure there is no marketing in your content
- Showcase your speaking experience
- Focus on currently released technologies, technologies in beta or technologies that will be released within 12 months of Tech·Ed
- Include one or more live demos. Historically, sessions with strong demos receive higher audience scores
Submitting a topic
So how do you go about submitting a session? Go to the Call for Content tool and register with your email address and the RSVP code TechEdANZ. Fill in all the details and hit submit. You can come back to the site at any time to update or review the progress of your submission.
We would like to invite you to attend the first Innovation Day for ISVs to be held in Auckland. This is your opportunity to 'get your feet on the ground, head in the clouds' and connect with Microsoft New Zealand for a day of technical sessions, compelling discussions about the exciting future of the Microsoft platform and how partnering with us can help you be more successful.
We will be covering the Microsoft Partner Program, offerings such as BizSpark, our Metro program for early adopter ISVs, InnovateOn, the ISV Royalty program and lots of other things you may not know about our ISV partner offerings.
Of course there will be technical content as well with demos of Windows 7 features for ISVs, a Silverlight 3 preview and Windows Azure.
There will also be a session on Microsoft Online Services and how Office 2010 is part of Microsoft’s Software+Service strategy.
So come along and see how Microsoft can help your ISV business be more successful. We are looking forward to seeing you there!
Wednesday 29th April
8am - 1pm
Microsoft New Zealand Offices.
For more information or registration, please email Thiloma Patabendi or register online. Places are limited so register today!
Imagine Cup is a competition which encourages students to use technology to transform great ideas into real world solutions every year. Student teams from around New Zealand have come up with solutions to the world’s toughest problems. Join them at The University of Auckland Business School as they compete in the Imagine Cup 2009 National Finals and find out which team will be the ultimate winner and represent New Zealand in the world wide finals in Cairo, Egypt.
For the first time ever, watch the finalists present and demonstrate their unique solution to a panel of influential industry judges live and decide for yourself who should take out the title of Imagine Cup 2009 NZ. Register your place at the finals now and get the chance to win awesome prizes including one of three XBOX 360 consoles at the finals. Everyone is welcome!
What: Microsoft Imagine Cup 2009 National Finals
Where: The University of Auckland Business School
When: Wednesday 29th April 2009, Kicking off at 6:30P.M.
Register Here: http://www.microsoft.com/nz/imaginecup09/Finals.aspx
Hey all you developers out there! How is your personal development plan coming along? Time to learn some new technology skills? Brush up on some existing ones?
On April 1st, 2009, be part of history and join developers from all around the world for the first ever 24 hour day of technology learning. Tech.Days 2009 is a virtual event that will feature 95 live sessions across 5 tracks on current and emerging technologies in developer tools, mobility, Windows, Office/SharePoint, and web development. Connect with Microsoft industry experts and your peers from around the world.
For more information, and to register, go here.
And if you really can’t make it to the live event, sessions will also be recorded and available on demand post-event.
We are currently working on the December Unplugged events which are going to be all about some of the announcements made at the Professional Developer Conference in Los Angeles recently. A lot of the announcements were around Microsoft’s cloud strategy so naturally we’ll be talking a lot about that. Here is the abstract and registration links:
| MSDN UNPLUGGED Developer Event: Take your Applications to the Cloud and Beyond – PDC, Visual Studio, Azure, Office 14 and Windows 7
Today we will be sharing principles, practices, patterns and tools announced at PDC in October. Come and join us to start your applications journey to the cloud and beyond.
Using computers in the cloud can make a great deal of sense. Instead of provisioning part or all of your infrastructure you can instead exploit Internet-accessible servers and let others worry about keeping systems up to scratch. But why just stop at the cloud? Some applications may have their code and data both operating in the cloud, others may run inside an organisation storing data in the cloud or relying on other cloud infrastructure services. Applications that run on desktops and mobile devices can use services in the cloud to synchronise information across many systems or in other ways. Whatever approach makes sense exploiting and extending the cloud’s capabilities can open up new choices for applications hosting, storage and interoperability. Presented by Microsoft Developer Advisor Mike Zeff and Microsoft Architect Mark Carroll. Click here for more information. We will be giving away PDC 2008 Top Session DVDs to attendees too. Registration is free. Location and dates below. Auckland 8 Dec: Register
Hamilton 8 Dec: Register
Tauranga 9 Dec: Register
Hawkes Bay 10 Dec: Register
Palmerston North 11 Dec: Register
Wellington 12 Dec: Register Note: This is a 300 Level event for Developers As you can see, Mark Carroll and I will be presenting this event and we are really looking forward to talking about the new cloud services and tools. The December events will be North Island and we will be doing South Island venues early in the New Year. We will announce venues and dates shortly. I will also be available to talk about our recently launched BizSpark programme for software start-ups which has been extremely popular in the two weeks sinced we launched in New Zealand. |
Today we launched a global programme known as BizSpark targeted at early stage software start-ups, with resources including access to Microsoft platform software and development tools with no upfront costs. The program will also provide access to technical support and marketing visibility from Microsoft, as well as support through a select group of network partners – industry associations, government agencies, university incubators and investors. Here in New Zealand, Incubators New Zealand, the New Zealand Software Association, the Angel Association New Zealand and Mindscape are among the initial network partners in the BizSpark programme. These organisations are working with software start-ups and can provide access to the BizSpark programme in addition to the other business and growth mentoring they normally provide.
If you are a software start-up that isn’t working with one of these business incubation organisations, you can still apply to the BizSpark programme here.
So what can start-ups get when they join the programme:
- Software: fast and easy access to Microsoft’s current full-featured development tools, platform technologies, and unlimited production licenses of server products for immediate use in developing and bringing to market innovative and interoperable solutions with no upfront costs and minimal requirements. Start-ups will also get access to the community technology preview (CTP) of the Microsoft Azure Services Platform.
- Support: professional technical support from Microsoft (MSDN) and community support from BizSpark Network Partners around the world who provide a wide range of support resources for software start ups. Network Partners are incubators, investors, advisors, government agencies and hosters who are vested in software-fuelled innovation and entrepreneurship.
- Visibility: a dedicated online start up directory, BizSparkDB, on the Microsoft Start up Zone website (www.microsoftstartupzone.com) which will highlight promising companies from around the world, including the “BizSpark Startup of the Day”. Through their relationship with Microsoft and BizSpark Network Partners, start-ups will achieve global visibility to an audience of potential investors, clients and partners.
This program lasts 3 years. There are no upfront costs. No Commitments. Start ups just have to pay USD100 at graduation.
Start-ups get access to BizSpark either through a Network Partner (e.g. Incubators NZ, NZ Software Association, Angel Association NZ and over 300+ entrepreneurial-focused organizations with a strong track record to helping young and promising technology companies succeed or through Microsoft BizSpark Program Leads (called “BizSpark Champs”). Start-ups can find both at Microsoft.com/bizspark.
Program Details:
Eligibility: BizSpark is available to start-ups that fit the following criteria.
- A private company building a software-based product or service
- In business for less than 3 years
- Less than $1M in revenue (2-4 local variants exist)
- Participation lasts up to three years
Availability:
- BizSpark is immediately available worldwide in most countries
- 82 countries have a BizSpark Program Lead (“BizSpark Champs”) to provide support
www.microsoftstartupzone.com/bizspark has all the detailed program information.
If you have any questions, you can contact me via the ‘Email’ link at the top of this blog.
Yesterday we released Visual Studio 2008 SP1 (bootstrapper or ISO) and Team Foundation Server 2008 SP1 (self-extractor). There is also a download available for just the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 (bootstrapper and self-extracting package). These are also available from the Subscriber Downloads area of MSDN for MSDN subscribers.
If you want to see what’s new in Visual Studio 2008 SP1 and .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 have a look at this article on MSDN.
These are the main features of Team Foundation Server 2008 SP1:
- Support for Windows Server 2008.
- Support for SQL Server 2008.
- The Add to Source Control dialogs have been improved to be easier to use and more scalable.
- Drag & Drop from Windows Explorer to add to Source Control.
- Support for Version control operations on files not in bound solutions.
- Right-click access to set Working Folder/Cloak of folders from within Source Control Explorer.
- Check in date/time column in Source Control Explorer.
- Editable path field for the Source Control Explorer.
- Email work items and queries to someone.
- A new API to download files to a stream.
- Links to Team System Web Access pages from notifications.
- Improvements to the number of projects per server.
- Performance and scale improvements.
- Improvements to the VSS converter to make it much more robust.
- Support for creating Team Projects from the command line.
I decided to install Team Foundation Server 2008 SP1 from scratch on one of my servers, so I could install it on Windows Server 2008 and the RTM version of SQL Server 2008. Patching an existing server is just a matter of running the TFS 2008 SP1 package, after backing up your database first just in case, but starting from scratch requires a few extra steps. You can find the exact process in the updated Team Foundation Server 2008 SP1 Installation document here (note the instructions on the download page about how to open downloaded CHM files for display). In a nutshell, you need to create an installation source of TFS 2008 that has SP1 merged. The installation document explains how. Once you have created the merged installation source, everything else proceeds as before.
Also note that if you are installing TFS 2008 on a server that already has Visual Studio 2008 installed, you need to apply Visual Studio 2008 SP1 first.
Update: Oh, and if you’re working with Silverlight 2 Beta 2, it has been updated so the tools now work with the RTM version of VS 2008 SP1. Download the updated version here.
We know we have some disappointed customers that missed out on TechEd NZ tickets this year due to the speed with which it sold out. An alternative may be to head to the Aussie TechEd which runs from 2-5th September in Sydney. There are many of the same tracks and speakers as TechEd NZ and we are offering a discount to New Zealand based companies (and individuals) that want to go.
To help offset some of the additional travel cost we are offering a 20% discount (usually AUD1999.00, reduced to AUD1600.00, including GST).
To take advantage of this deal register by heading to this page:
http://www.microsoft.com/nz/teched08/australia_discount.aspx
and then follow the simple steps.
The registration site for TechEd NZ 2008 has gone live and the Early Bird registrations are selling fast (and I mean very fast; you can see for yourself with the early-bird-sold-so-far-o-meter on the site) make sure you get in soon if you want to take advantage of the Early Bird Pricing.
OneNet, in association with KPMG, Microsoft and IBM have organised an event for New Zealand ISVs seeking to understand what qualifies as "an appreciable element of novelty" under the new R&D tax rules.
Successful R&D tax claims generate 15 cents tax refund for every qualifying dollar spent.
SEMINAR OBJECTIVE:
Don’t miss this highly targeted seminar series designed for the principals of independent software vendor firms (ISVs), and their tax advisors. In particular the seminar will focus on interpreting the key words every ISV leader will need to understand before any successful claim can be made – to make a successful claim as a software developer, there must be “an appreciable element of novelty”.
DATES:
The seminars will be presented by the global R&D team of the “big four” accounting firm KPMG, in the following cities:
- Christchurch 6th of May
- Wellington 7th of May
- Auckland 8th of May
REGISTRATION DETAILS:
Further information and registration details click here.
WHY SHOULD YOU ATTEND?:
Find out what does “an appreciable element of novelty” really mean for ISVs and learn how to construct a winning case.
PRIZE PACKAGE:
Each seminar attendee will be eligible for a prize with a retail value of $10,000 – click here for more details.
Event Sponsor
Our New Zealand Architect Evangelist, Mark Carroll, is organising the next round of Visual Studio Team System user group meetings for May. Richard Vowles, from specialist development tools reseller Developers Inc. will be speaking on the topic of:
How does your team manage its work?
In this talk we will be discussing how various team members can keep track of work allocations, progress and overall software project completion.
We will look at how the team’s operational roles (developers, testers, architects and DBA’s) can use Team system to receive their work stream items and report progress on them through to completion. We will also look at how Team leads, Technical project managers and Enterprise project managers can integrate with the team’s operational roles for both planning and progress reporting.
This talk will cover aspects of Team system’s work item tracking and its integration with management tools along with the other progress tracking and reporting tools available.
There is still room left at the Christchurch (Mon 5 May) and Auckland (Thu 8 May) events but you need to RSVP so head over to Mark's Blog and RSVP to the event you want to attend.
Concept to Market are running a seminar on successful technology development that will be of interest to New Zealand ISVs:
Many companies are building and marketing technology products, some quite successfully others less so. The overall business value added by technology development is less than it could be; often dramatically less. Why is this and what can we do about it?
Successful technology development is, among other things, a complex game of balancing the interests of the different groups of people. Typically this includes:
- Showing the CEO or division manager that the project aligns with the overall business strategy.
- Providing the finance department with concrete forecasts and budgets for a project that is probably a very fluid undertaking with many unknowns.
- Making sure the product being built aligns with the marketing department’s idea of how it is positioned in the market, and with the message the sales team is giving to customers.
- Ensuring that the product provides clear value to the customer, and also that it meets the needs of the end users (often not the same person as the customer).
- Finally, of course, ensuring that the development team itself is engaged and producing the goods.
With all these parties pulling in different directions, the result can be either positive creative conflict or (too often) confusion and lack of direction.
Seminar Content
This seminar will help your technology development to succeed by:
- Understanding these (often conflicting) business drivers,
- Describing the problems that can arise if they are not taken into account early in the development process.
- Presenting a set of tools that will help you to construct a solid technology strategy that integrates the different drivers.
- Showing how this technology strategy can be used to help provide each of the parties with the information they need.
About the Speaker
Stephen Fenwick is a Technology Development Specialist with Concept to Market, and is passionate about ways to increase the value that the world of “technology” can add to the world of “business”. He has a strong commercial technology background, and holds a PhD in Computer Science and a Bachelor of Commerce.
Stephen has recently worked as Engineering Manager at Navman NZ, where he was responsible for the core navigation functionality of Navman’s land navigation products. Past positions have included Software Development Manager at Sysmex NZ, Team Leader and Software Engineer at Intel NZ and Software Engineer at ECONZ.
Date
Wednesday 24 October, 2007
Time
5:15 pm Registration
5:30 pm Seminar
6:30 pm Questions, Networking and Drinks
Venue
AUT Tech Park,
Level 4,
James Fletcher House,
581 Gt. South Road,
Penrose
Cost
$25 payable by Direct Credit or Cheque in advance.
Registration
RSVP by email to admin@concepttomarket.co.nz by 19 October, including the name of your company, the name of the person(s) attending, and your contact telephone number.
Hosted By
Printable flyer:
Back in May 2007 we held a Windows Mobile and Windows Embedded mini-seminar in Christchurch where Mike Hall, Derek Snyder and Rob Tiffany all talked about various aspects of the Windows Mobile and Windows Embedded products including developing line of business applications.
We have made the presentation decks available:
Mike Hall's Windows Embedded update is here.
Derek Snyder's Windows Mobile Update is here.
Rob Tiffany's Accelerating Windows Mobile Line of Business Application Development is here.
