MSDN Flash
UK MSDN Flash
12 November 2008
Editor's Intro

Hello all,

As promised, this edition of the Flash is devoted to the great technology that was covered during the Professional Developers Conference (PDC). Attendees I have spoken to have all commented on the great buzz at the event and ... on the vast range of technologies which were covered during the four days! All sessions are available to stream or download but the trick is ...where do you start? I might be a little biased but the Technical Article this week is a great place to start, summarising the key technologies and announcements. After reading this through you may want to go straight to the recorded sessions (which are nicely tagged for navigation) or take a look at the Fresh Discovery section where I have tried to gather up a mix of content generated by Microsoft and by external authors. For the bravest of you there is always the option to actually install and play with this stuff. We have a great choice of downloads for you to explore including the Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4.0 CTP, Windows Azure SDK, Microsoft .NET Services SDK, and the Microsoft SQL Data Services SDK . Windows 7 Beta 1 is a little further off – but I have added it to my Christmas list and I plan to be very good between now and then :-)

Of all the technologies covered at PDC, I suspect the one you will be scratching your head about most is Azure. Not least because it has two contexts – the Azure Services Platform and Windows Azure. If you read just one document because of this Flash, then read this great overview by David Chappel.

Finally I have a small favour to ask. I am trying to build a stronger picture of the current state of play in the UK around VB6 applications. If you had or have VB6 applications developed by your company, could you take one minute to answer a single question. Thanks.

All the best

Eric
My Tweets

P.S. I have been skimming through a number of PDC sessions and resources this week and I was extremely pleased to see UK developers represented prominently in the Keynotes. You all rock!


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Fresh Discoveries
Articles
Book
Microsoft .NET: Architecting Applications for the Enterprise
By Esposito, D & Saltarello, A (Recieve 40% off via MSDN Flash).
Downloads
Webcast
PDC 2008 Session Videos
All the PDC videos waiting to be streamed or downloaded. Book 2 weeks off now!
Downloads
Webcast
Watch Ray Ozzie's keynote
Ray Ozzie introduces Windows Azure and the Azure Services Platform.
Articles
Case Study
Windows Azure saving lives with the RNLI
This is great work by the team, summarised perfectly by Eileen.
Articles
Case Study
Infosys Creates Cloud-Based Solution for Auto Dealers using SQL Data Services
Infosys have used SQL Data Services, part of the Azure Services Platform.
Downloads
Download
Try the community preview of Azure Services Platform
We have many SDKs to download! Does your brain hurt yet?
Articles
Article
Windows 7 on Winsupersite
Paul Thurrott has done an excellent job of summarising Windows 7 features.
Downloads
Download
Windows 7 Developer Guide
Describes developer features based on the pre-Beta version released at PDC.
Articles
Article
New Features in Visual Studio 2010 and the .NET Framework 4.0
Overview of new features in Visual Studio 2010 and the .NET Framework 4.0
Downloads
Download
Visual Studio 2010 CTP is available to download
Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4.0 on Microsoft Connect.
Articles
Article
Visual Studio 2010 CTP Adds Parallel Computing Tool
A brief summary of the new parallel computing capabilities now available in the CTP.
Articles
Article
Parallel Programming in Visual C++ 2010 CTP
The CTP build of Visual C++ 2010 includes a new library to help you write native parallel code.
Articles
Blog
The future of ORM from Microsoft
My attempt to summarise where we are post-PDC.
Articles
Blog
Visual Basic 2010 New Features
The vbteam have been busy – blogs to read and videos to watch. Enjoy
Downloads
Download
SQL Data Services Software Development Kit - Community Technology Preview
SQL Data Services is one part of the Azure Services Platform.
Articles
Article
Microsoft's Cloud-based SQL Services Redefined
SQL Server Data Services becomes SQL Data Services.
Downloads
Download
Ruby SDK for the Microsoft Cloud-Computing Platform Released
Microsoft and Thoughtworks announce the launch of a Technology Preview of Ruby SDK.
Articles
Article
Microsoft's Live Framework: A (Revised) Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words
The Live Framework as the development framework for all Live services, not just Live Mesh.
Articles
Article
First Look at Dublin, .NET for the Cloud
Dublin will be used for deploying custom .NET Framework applications on Windows Azure.
Downloads
Video
Microsoft Oslo Introduction Videos
Including a nice summary from UKs Richard Blewett.
Articles
Website
Bizspark for Start-ups - free software and support
Virtually free software, support and a vibrant ecosystem. Nice!
Articles
Website
http://www.GetSafeOnline.org
An easy internet safety guide to recommend to friends and family, even your hamster.


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Feature Article

PDC08 Highlights

Los Angeles, CA. October 27th, 2008. The lights dim, the combined voices of thousands of developers settle to a hush, the music starts, stage lights go up and Ray Ozzie, Microsoft’s Chief Software Architect, takes to the stage. It’s the start of another Professional Developers’ Conference (PDC), the first since 2005, and immediately the announcements start.

Windows Azure, Microsoft’s new cloud operating system leads the way, closely followed by the Azure Services Platform. Build .NET applications that run on Windows Azure and deploy, manage and scale them in Microsoft data centres. Included in the Azure Services Platform are .NET Services (including Access Control, Service Bus and Workflow Services) and SQL Data Services as well as the Live Services we’ve come to know and love from identity (Windows Live ID) to spatial (Virtual Earth). Applications can be architected to run on-premise, off-premise (in the cloud) or a combination of the two leading to a very flexible deployment model. In the middle of all that was UK company Sentient and their Bluehoo social networking application that runs on Windows Azure and is built using Silverlight and Windows Mobile.

Day 2’s keynote is a slew of firsts. First look at Windows 7, first look at Office web applications in Office 14, first look at Visual Studio 2010 and the enhanced code editor written in WPF, first look at the Live Framework, a unified programming model for Live Services.

The UK was again well represented in the form of the BBC and Tesco. The BBC demo’d a fantastic media player prototype built in Silverlight and Silverlight for Mobile using the Live Framework to enable offline use and synchronize recorded programmes and metadata across multiple devices and users. Tesco showed a cool WPF application, an enhanced front-end for their online store, that made extensive use of touch and even enabled you to scan barcodes using your webcam.

Beyond the keynotes, attendees got a first look at Oslo, our new modelling platform including tools, language and repository for building applications at a higher level of abstraction and Dublin, a set of Windows Server enhancements for greater scalability and manageability and extending IIS to provide a standard hosting environment for WF and WCF. All nicely rounded out by sessions drilling into Visual Studio 2010, .NET Framework 4.0, Workflow 4.0, C# 4.0, Visual Basic 10, F#, Velocity, parallel development and more. A lot to cover in just four days!

The good news is all the sessions from the PDC 2008 are available to view online and I have started to list my “Must Watch” sessions on my blog. The following links will take you to more information on specific topics; Windows Azure & the Azure Services Platform, Live Services, Windows 7, Live Framework.

Mike Ormond
Developer Evangelist

Read Mike's blog

Flash Poll Question

Results from last poll: 

Do you use 3rd party controls or libraries as part of your application?

60% Yes – including commercial
16% Yes – but only if they are free
16%Yes – but only if they include source code
8% Never!

Flash Results

Question of the fortnight

Which of the technologies covered at PDC 2008 are you most interested in finding out more about?

1. Azure Services Platform – “Cloud computing”
2. Framework futures – WF, ADO.NET, Parallelism etc.
3. Language futures - C#/VB/F#/DLR etc
4. Oslo - Modelling platform 5. Dublin – IIS/WCF/WF enhancements
6. Windows 7
7. All of them!
8. None of them – my brain hurts!

To take part in this week’s poll question please visit my blog to submit your answer.

On the Horizon
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23 March, London: Microsoft Professional Developers' Day @ DevWeek 2009 (Book by 12 Dec for £169 +VAT)
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