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Vista and Office “12” Beta Experience Newsletter Number 1, February 10, 2006
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Editorial
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Welcome to the first edition of the Vista and Office “12” Beta Experience newsletter!
In each edition we will focus on Windows Vista and Office “12” for developers. Together with Dave Webster, chief editor for Office “12” content, Alex Holy, chief editor for Windows Vista content and all the Beta Experience team we are very excited to bring you the information you need on these new technologies. Please also check out the local content at the end of this newsletter with information regarding the TechDays06 and the Strategy Briefings for ISVs where Windows Vista and Office “12” will be key topics - and more!
As we move toward the first public beta of Office “12” in the spring we will bring you more in depth content on all aspects of development for client and server. Then will continue that momentum towards launch. Look out for in-depth articles, videos, demos and sample code around:  The new UI Document Format Office Live Business Intelligence Document Management VSTO 3.0 ‘Better together’ (Vista and Office “12”) And much more.
In this edition we leave you a taste of things to come with some video overviews. We will as well have a look at WinFX, Windows Presentation Foundation and User Interface work in Vista. Sascha Corti
Systems Engineer
Developer & Platforms Group
Microsoft Switzerland Ltd Liab. Co Rolf Krebser
Audience Marketing Manager
Microsoft Switzerland Ltd Liab. Co
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What's new?
There are many new things for developers and users in Office “12”. In coming editions we will go into depth on all of these.
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A New UI
The first thing you will notice about Office “12” is the redesigned User Interface. For the core apps menus and toolbars are OUT and the Ribbon interface is IN. The full functionality of Office is now much easier to find for end users.  Click here for an User Interface Demo
Changes to the file format
Particularly exiting is the new file format for Office “12” applications: Word, PowerPoint, and Excel documents are now zipped files containing separate XML components. This format has just been released to ECMA and can be used royalty free. This means that you can build robust server side processes that manipulate and create office documents without ever needing the client apps running on the server.
The openness of the file format means that ISVs can access the full semantic content of their documents without relying on Microsoft code to extract strings. Click here for an Electronic Content Management Demo
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Office “12” Server
Office “12” matures into a full server side platform with significant enhancements to SharePoint. Office Server (the successor to SharePoint Portal Server) is now built on Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) in the same way as any other application. WSS in turn is built on ASP.Net 2.0. Significantly this architecture means that WSS uses the membership and roles providers from ASP.Net 2.0. So for the first time WSS sites can use forms based authentication and be hosted on the internet. This opens the door for outsourcing document management for small and medium businesses – a great opportunity for ISVs and Application Service Providers alike.
We introduce Workflow to the server with Office “12”. You will be able to develop for adhoc human workflows as well as fully prescriptive automatic workflows. Click here for an Info Platform Demo
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What's new?
As part of the Beta Experience we want to highlight both new features unique to the forthcoming Vista operating system, as well as features being part of WinFX.
WinFX
WinFX is the set of next-generation managed APIs provided by Microsoft. It is building on and extending the .NET Framework. WinFX offers both practical solutions to today's software challenges and new opportunities to create software and services not possible now. A primary goal of WinFX is to make it simple for developers to build a broad variety of applications more quickly than they can today, whether they are part of a big team or in a small ISV. Read more…
Windows Presentation Foundation and XAML
Windows Presentation Foundation is Microsoft's unified presentation subsystem for Windows, and is exposed through WinFX. It consists of a display engine and a managed-code framework. Windows Presentation Foundation unifies how Windows creates, displays, and manipulates documents, media, and user interface (UI), enabling developers and designers to create visually stunning, differentiated user experiences. XAML is an XML-based markup language that can be used to declaratively program the Windows Presentation Foundation object model. It is especially useful for implementing your application's UI. Read more…
User Experience
By using the technologies available in Windows Vista, developers and designers will create visually appealing applications to improve usability. Windows Vista's new visuals and display technologies, such as Windows Presentation Foundation and XAML, make it simpler to create breakthrough user interfaces with less effort than ever before.
Follow the Windows Vista User Experience Guidelines (“UX Guide“ for short) to build your application's user interface so that it takes advantage of all the new features of Windows Vista Click here for the guidelines.
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Views from the community
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Andrew Filev, Vice President and Microsoft Certified Architect at Murano Software, gives us a broad overview of Windows Communication Foundation.
Read his article!
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Read what Corrado Cavalli, senior .NET consultant and trainer at Managed Designs and .NET MVP in Bergamo, Italy, wrote about Avalon. Corrado is a frequent speaker at Microsoft events in Italy and also a Visual Basic .NET MVP. Join his blog!
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MSDN Switzerland
For Developers. From Microsoft.
Events, webcasts, services, information and more. From Microsoft Switzerland. Just for you. Check it out and benefit from the different offers. And watch out for more! Coming soon to Switzerland: MSDN Connection providing you with personalized content to help you find what you want when you need it.
Codeduel III: Compete and win with your own Web service
After the two previous successful editions of our Web service competition “Codeduel”, we have launched the third edition with the finals to be played on 15th February 2006. Program your own Web service and play against your fellow competitors. Win an Xbox and other fantastic prizes. Register now!German SwitzerlandFrench Switzerland
Strategy Briefing for ISVs: Windows Vista and Office “12”
Get exclusive insight on the next generation Operating System and Office Suite! As an ISV you can learn already today about the benefits and advantages of these coming technologies for your solution development. This 1/2 Day will give you the essential information needed to endorse your strategic development decisions. Register today for the ISV Strategy Briefing on February 7th at the Swiss Software Solution Center! All sessions only available in German.
Next issue...
Don't miss the next issue! You will learn about Vista User Interface and Office “12” Client User Interface News!
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