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2007 Microsoft Office release
Yes folks we now have a real name for Office “12”.
Back in January Dave Webster had the good fortune to interview Richard McAniff, VP of Office Data and Business Intelligence in Microsoft. Richard shows off some of his favourite UI features in Office Excel 2007 and gives some insight on where we are going with the product, how we build it and our commitment to Access as a product and to VBA. Click here for the video.
Later this spring we expect to ship Beta 2 which will be our first widespread public beta. As soon as the bits are available to you we will ramp up the content of our newsletter to include sample code you can try for yourself, and more in depth scenarios. In the meantime enjoy the video and as soon as Beta 2 comes out we will let you know.
Windows Vista sessions and demos
You might be wondering what's in it for you, when your organization should start evaluating Windows Vista and when you should set up a pilot. This session will give you an introduction and overview of the features that Windows Vista will offer. You will get a clear picture where the big changes are and what direction Windows client operating system is taking.
So you did not find time to install a Beta yet? You are wondering what all the talk about the new User Experience is? How working with Windows Vista will differ from using XP today? Tony Krijnen demonstrates Vista key features from a User perspective: Windows Vista Demo Part 1, 36 minutesWindows Vista Demo Part 2, 24 minutesMore Resources for Windows Vista UI Design
Make your applications look good on Aero
If you have seen or tested Windows Vista builds, no doubt you will have noticed the distinctive Aero look. It’s creators describe 'Aero' as an acronym for 'Authentic, Energetic, Reflective, Open & approachable'.
Developers and software vendors are asking how they can ensure that their applications look as good as the new OS itself. Read more...
Resources
Windows Vista and WinFX Betas
The most recent available Build is 5308 (February CTP, available for download to MSDN subscribers).
You can develop WinFX applactions on Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2 or Windows Server Server 2003 SP1. The most recent WinFX Build is the January CTP. You can install it both on the 5308 build of Windows Vista as well as on Windows XP SP2 or Windows Server 2003 SP1.
In order to setup up these componets, first install the WinFX runtime, then install Visual Studio 2005 or the free Visual Studio 2005 Express Edition.
In order to develop WinFX application you will have to download and install the Windows SDK. If you want graphical support for Windows Presentation Foundation in Visual Studio, you have to install Visual Studio Extensions for WinFX (optional). If you want to develop for Windows Workflow Foundation, install the Visual Studio 2005 Extensions for Windows Workflow Foundation (optional).
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Books
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Programming Windows Presentation Foundation is the first book on building Windows XP/Vista User Interfaces using Windows Presentation Foundation (aka WPF, aka “Avalon”). And it might as well be the only book you need on WPF. Read more...
As author Chris Sells points out in his Blog, the book now ships in Japanese as well!
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Monad (Monad Shell, MSH) is the name of the next generation command interpreter for Microsoft operating systems. If all your previous scripting experience is cmd.exe, the book has excellent examples how to apply familiar constructs to MSH. But MSH goes far beyond what you can do with today’s command environment. It handles the registry (accessible like a file system) equally well as XML files. Read more...
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Guess the Launch Date Contest
From December 2005 until end of February 2006 people from various countries in Europe and Middle East could participate at a contest where they had to guess the Launch date of Windows Vista. Most people guessed that Windows Vista will be launched on December 1st, on the second place is November 11th and the third most popular guess is November 2nd 2006. As soon as the official launch date is published we will notify the winners. A big thank you to all of the UK participants!
From the Community
Microsoft Windows Vista offers significantly enhanced User Experience or UX which, in addition to a far superior look and feel aesthetics, also encompasses a new means of managing and searching for information stored on the hard-drive. This article would discuss some of the new and exciting features offered by the Windows Vista UX.
Adnan Hashmi is a Windows SDK MVP, and an INETA (International .NET Association) Pakistan speaker. He is also Founder and Director of Voicability, a Speech Technology startup. Read his blog.
2007 Office system Developer Event
New! Windows Vista Nugget (short video)
WinFX Tour
The WinFX Tour is coming to Europe. WinFX is our next-generation developer platform and will be released with Windows Vista later this year. Developers that want to build visually stunning and connected applications will want to use WinFX to differentiate their apps from their competitors and create greater brand awareness. The main components of WinFX are Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) and Windows Workflow Foundation (WF).
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Attend the Mobile & Embedded DevCon MEDC 2006 Europe and get the latest on building and bringing to market the next wave of devices, applications, content, and services for the Windows Mobile and Windows Embedded platforms.
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Missed the previous issue?
Look for previous issues in our archive. Next issue...
Don't miss the next issue! Among other things you will learn about RSS and get a Microsoft Office release overview. We will also feature an interview with Kurt DelBene Corporate VP Office Server for a discussion on Sharepoint Server version 3.0.
Do you have any comments or feedback? Write us! thebeta@microsoft.com
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