Murray Gordon

Phil Lieberman from Lieberman Software talked with us at PDC 2009 about their business, being a Microsoft partner and also the benefits of getting your product certified. Be sure to watch to the end to hear the great comment Phil makes about Windows XP and Windows 7.

Video Link - http://channel9.msdn.com/posts/jodonnell/Lieberman-Software-talks-about-being-a-Microsoft-partner-at-PDC-2009/

Thanks for checking out this post!

Cheers,

Murray Gordon ISV Architect Evangelist Microsoft Corporation  My Blog @ MSDN  My Blog @ GeeksWithBlogs US ISV Team Blog

Video Link - http://channel9.msdn.com/posts/jodonnell/Talking-with-NewsGator-at-PDC-2009/

At PDC this year, our team spoke to Glenn Berry of NewsGator Technologies, an RSS platform company, about their work with Microsoft development technologies.

This is  a great video about Sharepoint, Silverlight and SQL 2008, shot by Warren Wilbee. Definitely worth checking out.

Thanks for checking out this post!

Cheers,

Murray Gordon ISV Architect Evangelist Microsoft Corporation  My Blog @ MSDN  My Blog @ GeeksWithBlogs US ISV Team Blog

Microsoft Previews Tool to Ease Migration from MySQL to SQL Server

Microsoft has released a new preview version of a tool that enables users of the MySQL database to migrate to Microsoft's SQL Server.

On Jan. 11, Microsoft released a Community Technology Preview (CTP) of the Microsoft SQL Server Migration Assistant (SSMA) for MySQL toolkit. This tool dramatically cuts the effort, cost and risk of migrating to SQL Server.

A new addition to the SSMA family is the CTP version 1.0 for MySQL that provides an assessment of migration efforts as well as automates schema and data migration from MySQL to SQL Server. Freely download and preview this tool now.

The tool comes in two versions: One for migrating from MySQL to SQL Server 2005 and another for migrating to SQL Server 2008 and SQL Azure -- Microsoft's cloud-based relational database service built on SQL Server technologies.

The tool is supported on Windows 7; Windows Server 2003; Windows Server 2008; Windows Server 2008 R2; Windows.

You can check out the original post I’m referring to on TechNet at  http://blogs.technet.com/dataplatforminsider/archive/2010/01/11/free-download-microsoft-sql-server-migration-assistant.aspx

Thanks for checking out this post!

Cheers,

Murray Gordon ISV Architect Evangelist Microsoft Corporation  My Blog @ MSDN  My Blog @ GeeksWithBlogs US ISV Team Blog

Interesting take on the possible move by Oracle to gain a real stake in the virtualization space.

http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/server-virtualization/oracle-citrix-acquisition-hits-the-rumor-mill/

Definitely worth a read.

Thanks for checking out this post!

Cheers,

Murray Gordon ISV Architect Evangelist Microsoft Corporation  My Blog @ MSDN  My Blog @ GeeksWithBlogs US ISV Team Blog

Just read about this new “Fact or Fiction?” ad campaign for PHP developers that Wintellect completed for Microsoft.

These pages are navigated to via banner ads from a media buy that will target PHP developers (see attached image examples).  The idea is to draw PHP developers into the ASP.NET and VSTS platforms.

A big media buy went along with this to post these banners around the web…

So we should be seeing these ads around the internet soon.

I love these ads. You get the Fiction, then the Fact, then a link to get the software.

Here’s the first 3 of this series:

FICTION - “Microsoft doesn’t provide any tools that a PHP Developer can use.”

http://www.factorfictionphp.com/tools-for-php-developers.php

FICTION - “PHP doesn’t run well on Windows.”

http://www.factorfictionphp.com/install-php-web-apps.php

FICTION – “Downloading Silverlight will break my machine.”

http://www.factorfictionphp.com/php-create-web-desktop-mobile-apps.php

Thanks for checking out this post!

Cheers,

Murray Gordon ISV Architect Evangelist Microsoft Corporation  My Blog @ MSDN  My Blog @ GeeksWithBlogs US ISV Team Blog

Normally I don’t spend a lot of time reading about the browser wars, but one of my colleagues, Bruce Kyle – prolific blogger on the Microsoft US ISV Team Blog, pointed me to this article called

Microsoft IE's downfall 'far fetched,' says researcher
Lock on enterprise ensures long life for IE; Firefox in danger of being replaced by Chrome
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9143918/Microsoft_IE_s_downfall_far_fetched_says_researcher

It’s definitely worth a read.

Love this quote:

That leaves Firefox the odd browser out. "If anyone is going to get their lunch eaten, it's Firefox," Barth said. "It isn't the part of the big picture for anybody."

Thanks for checking out this post!

Cheers,

Murray Gordon ISV Architect Evangelist Microsoft Corporation  My Blog @ MSDN  My Blog @ GeeksWithBlogs US ISV Team Blog

Here’s a great blog post from Sean Gerety on how to make a business case for attending conferences. 

I’m guessing there are a lot of us who have had to go through this exercise with our companies. With the conference season about to heat up, this is very timely.

Check out Sean’s post at http://ideakitchn.com/blogs/sean/archive/2010/01/04/so-you-want-to-go-to-a-conference.aspx 

He’s also thinking about adding a spreadsheet that you can download to help figure costs.

Here’s some added goodness from Doug Turnure at Microsoft to help skin Sean’s suggestions.

You could enumerate some actionable carats as well, for the employer… for example:

• Prior to attending, I will work with the team to determine a few sessions that they see as critical to attend, and will attend those sessions.
• Upon return, I’ll build out a half-page summation of each session, with links to available collateral, so that everyone can benefit from the session.
• 1 week after returning, I’ll give a de-brief to the team.
• After the event, we’ll set up a discussion group, and once/twice a week at lunch, we’ll go through one of the sessions and talk about the important points.
• While there, I’ll set up a side meeting with <insert expert or MS/Corporate liaison) to discuss a specific problem we are having with our application.
• While there, I’ll find Microsoft employees and get a bunch of free meals off them :-)

Thanks for checking out this post!

Cheers,

Murray Gordon ISV Architect Evangelist Microsoft Corporation  My Blog @ MSDN  My Blog @ GeeksWithBlogs US ISV Team Blog

Jared Bienz just launched a great video on creating RIA prototypes with SketchFlow. If you are interested in SketchFlow and how to build real RIA apps using SketchFlow, this is worth a look.

Here’s the URL - http://channel9.msdn.com/posts/jbienz/Acorn-Software-Prototypes-RIA-with-SketchFlow/

Description

Steve Allen from Acorn Systems talks about their recent experience using SketchFlow to prototype a new RIA offering for their customers. Acorns new recursive costing tool was built using Silverlight 3 and RIA Services, but before the first line of code was written a ‘living’ functional spec was created. SketchFlow helped the Acorn dev team catch and address misunderstandings in the product requirements early on. It helped them convey ideas, and it ensured that both Acorn and their customers understood the full scope of the project before development began. The process even helped Acorn and their customers settle on a common set of naming conventions and terms before the product shipped.

To learn more about Acorn Systems visit AcornSys.com, and to learn more about SketchFlow visit the Expression Blend website at Microsoft.com/Expression.

Thanks for checking out this post!

Cheers,

Murray Gordon ISV Architect Evangelist Microsoft Corporation  My MSDN Blog  US ISV Team Blog  My GeeksWithBlogs Blog

Phizzpop 2010 contest site http://www.phizzpop.com/ launched today, and a MSFT Press Pass article also went out $50,000 PhizzPop Design Challenge: Agencies Called to Design New Web Site for Boys & Girls Clubs of America. 

The more official launch email will go out to agencies after Wednesday, but I wanted to make sure you are aware so you can please inform you all. 

Partners will need to submit their Design Challenge entry (up to 10 page PDF) by February 19, 2010 – so get your submissions in quickly. 

The Webby’s will be doing demand generation to their audience by the end of the week. 

Here's the details you will need for your submissions:

$50,000 PHIZZPOP DESIGN CHALLENGE: AGENCIES CALLED TO DESIGN NEW WEBSITE FOR BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF AMERICA

Winning agency will also receive trip for two to 14^th Annual Webby Awards in NYC;

Deadline for entries is February 19, 2010

www.phizzpop.com

New York, NY (January 11, 2010) – Microsoft Corp. and The Webby Awards today kicked off the Microsoft PhizzPop Boys & Girls Clubs of America Design Challenge, giving interactive design agencies of all sizes a chance to showcase their ingenuity and expertise to help Boys & Girls Clubs of America redesign its Website for the new decade.

Microsoft and The Webby Awards selected Boys & Girls Clubs of America as the contest’s beneficiary because they believe a more powerful Website combining the latest Microsoft tools and technologies with the latest design trends will help the 104-year old organization better communicate its mission of helping all youth reach their full potential.

Three finalist teams will win travel and hotel accommodations to MIX10, Microsoft’s annual conference for web designers and developers, in Las Vegas (March 15–17). At MIX, finalists will pitch their concepts live before a panel of judges from Microsoft, Boys & Girls Club of America and the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences, which judges the Webby Awards.

The winning agency will receive $50,000 towards delivery of their design strategy and plan to Boys & Girls Clubs America, as well as a trip for two to the 14^th Annual Webby Awards on June 14, 2010 in New York City, including travel and hotel accommodation. The winning design will be announced during MIX10 and showcased on www.phizzpop.com.

To enter the PhizzPop Design Challenge, go to www.phizzpop.com for guidelines and official rules. Deadline for entries is February 19, 2010.

Participants in the PhizzPop Design Challenge will use the Microsoft Web Platform and Microsoft software tools to develop a proposal for the new Website design for Boys & Girls Clubs of America that could help them better engage donors, parents, volunteers and the media.

Entries will be evaluated based on five criteria: content and communication plan, structure and navigation, visual design, integration of Microsoft technology, and scope of interactivity. High marks will be given to entries that propose a more visually appealing and interactive site reflecting contemporary design trends, and that incorporate the web’s best practices in areas such as social media and video.

“For 10 years, we’ve had the privilege of working closely with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America to witness the incredible work they do in transforming the lives of children,” said Jon Roskill, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s U.S. Business and Marketing Organization and King County Boys & Girls Club board member. “As more tech-savvy kids connect through the Web, it’s critical the Clubs bolster their online presence to engage and inform people of their critical services. The PhizzPop Challenge is one step toward achieving this goal, bringing together the best design talent and the very latest Web technologies from Microsoft to help the Clubs continue supporting millions of kids across the country.”

“The Webby Awards are thrilled to join forces with Microsoft in challenging agencies to push the envelope in developing new and engaging interactive experiences,” said David-Michel Davies, executive director of The Webby Awards. “Our goal is to not only support the vital work of Boys & Girls Clubs of America, but to also identify new best practices that can enhance the online efforts of all organizations.”

“We are grateful for the opportunity to benefit from some of the brightest and most innovative design talent, especially as it relates to the Web and interactive media,” said Boys & Girls Clubs of America President and CEO Roxanne Spillett. “In an increasingly competitive marketplace, nonprofits must meet donors and the general public where they live and the Web cuts across all socio-economic dynamics.”

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

About MIX10

MIX10 is a three-day conference for designers and developers who build innovative consumer Web sites, held in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay on March 15–17, 2010. Attendees are coders, strategists, information architects, visual designers, user experience professionals and digital marketers. They represent top Web sites, Web start-ups, interactive agencies and other organizations that do business on the Web. To learn more or register, visit http://live.visitmix.com.

About The Webby Awards:

Hailed as the "Internet's highest honor" by the New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including Websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile web sites. Established in 1996, the 13th Annual Webby Awards received nearly 10,000 entries from all 50 states and over 60 countries worldwide. The Webby Awards is presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Sponsors and Partners of The Webby Awards include: Microsoft Silverlight; The Creative Group; .ORG; YouTube; Getty Images; Wieden + Kennedy; The Barbarian Group; The New York Times Company; Behance; Limelight Networks; IDG; PricewaterhouseCoopers; 2advanced.Net; KobeMail and Museum of the Moving Image.

About Boys & Girls Clubs of America

For more than 100 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (www.bgca.org) has helped kids BE GREAT providing hope and opportunity for those who need it most. Today, some 4,300 Clubs serve some 4.5 million young people through Club membership and community outreach. Boys & Girls Clubs can be found throughout the country and on U.S. military bases worldwide, providing young people 6-18 years old with guidance-oriented character development programs conducted by trained, professional staff. Clubs positively impact lives and help young people reach their full potential as productive, caring citizens. Key programs emphasize leadership development; education and career exploration; community service; technology training; financial literacy; health and life skills; the arts; sports, fitness and recreation; and family outreach. In a recent Harris Survey of Club alumni, 57 percent said the Club saved their lives. National headquarters are located in Atlanta.

Thanks for checking out this post!

Cheers,

Murray Gordon ISV Architect Evangelist Microsoft Corporation       http://blogs.msdn.com/MurrayG US ISV Team Blog  My GeeksWithBlogs Blog

I have always been a fan of Dolly Parton. I love it when pop culture and technology come together. If you love Dolly Parton and IE8, here’s some great things to check out.

Check out how Dolly Parton promotes Microsoft, IE8 and Web slices!!!

The Story

One of the most-honored female country performers of all time, the ageless Dolly Parton is an international music icon.  In conjunction with today’s international release of Dolly’s new CD/DVD set, Live From London, Dolly has added a Silverlight-based IE8 web slice to her web site, www.dollypartonmusic.net.

Be sure to check out the web slice and let us know what you think!  This is a 3 tab web slice with the options of:

• Video Diary – see Dolly’s latest thoughts on video, with the beauty of Silverlight
• News – see the latest news, fan club announcements, and Dollyisms (like "It costs a lot of money to look this cheap”)
• Buy Now – view the latest deal from Dolly’s online store, Trinkets & Treasures

Also, Dolly has created a YouTube video about IE8 web slices.  This is a must see!!  Her southern charm comes through with warm and light hearted comments about Microsoft, IE8, and web slices. There will be several new Dollyism’s that come from this video. We’d love to quote some of this, but we don’t want to spoil your upcoming laugh.

Check it out

• Install the web slice for your demo’s, either from the Dolly page in the IE8 gallery or www.dollypartonmusic.net.
• Visit the gallery and submit a rating on Dolly’s web slice.
• Point your friends to follow @IE, where there are related trivia contests

Other Dolly facts (from Dolly’s Wikipedia page):

• The Record Industry Association of America has certified 25 of her single or album releases as either Gold Record, Platinum Record or Multi-Platinum Record.
• She has had 26 songs reach number one on the Billboard country charts, a record for a female artist.
• She has 42 career-top-10 country albums, a record for any artist, and 110 career-charted singles over the past 40 years.
• All inclusive sales of singles, albums, hits collections, paid digital downloads and compilation usage during Parton's career have reportedly topped 100 million records around the world.^[50]
• She has received seven Grammy Awards and a total of 42 Grammy Award nominations.
• At the American Music Awards she has won three awards, but has received 18 nominations.
• At the Country Music Association, she has received 10 awards and 42 nominations.
• At the Academy of Country Music, she has won seven awards and 39 nominations.
• She is one of only five female artists (including Reba McEntire, Barbara Mandrell, Shania Twain and Loretta Lynn), to win the Country Music Association's highest honor, Entertainer of the Year (1978).
• She has also been nominated for two Academy Awards and a Tony Award.

Other references promoting the Dolly / IE8 video and web slice:

• www.dollypartonmusic.net
• http://ieaddons.com/en/details/music/Dolly_Parton_News_and_Video_Diary/
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iH4fl0iZQo
• www.facebook.com/dollyparton
• www.myspace.com/dollyparton
• www.youtube.com/dollypartonmusic
• www.bebo.com/dollyparton
• www.ilike.com/artist/Dolly+Parton/

Thanks for checking out this post!

Cheers,

Murray Gordon ISV Architect Evangelist Microsoft Corporation       http://blogs.msdn.com/MurrayG US ISV Team Blog  My GeeksWithBlogs Blog

Rob Bagby has started a new series (blog posts and screencasts) on Patterns-Based Development with Silverlight.  The series illustrates various design patterns while building a sample application (see screenshot below).  The patterns covered include the Repository, the Pipeline, the Service Agent and Model View ViewModel.

Thanks for checking out this post!

Cheers,

Murray Gordon ISV Architect Evangelist Microsoft Corporation       http://blogs.msdn.com/MurrayG US ISV Team Blog  My GeeksWithBlogs Blog

Researchers continue to challenge Apple’s security by obscurity position and highlights that Windows Vista and Windows 7 are more secure than the recently released Mac OS X Snow Leopard.

I always love perspectives like these from top researchers that are not in the tank for Microsoft.

Check out these articles:

Apple missed security boat with Snow Leopard, says researcher

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9137992/Apple_missed_security_boat_with_Snow_Leopard_says_researcher?taxonomyId=17&pageNumber=1

Vista, Windows 7 Are More Secure than Snow Leopard

http://www.pcworld.com/article/172197/vista_windows_7_are_more_secure_than_snow_leopard.html?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a41:g26:r29:c0.013546:b27795694:z0

Thanks for checking out this post!

Cheers,

Murray Gordon ISV Architect Evangelist Microsoft Corporation       http://blogs.msdn.com/MurrayG US ISV Team Blog  My GeeksWithBlogs Blog

With several successful Microsoft BizSpark Incubation Weeks (Win7 Boston, Win7 Reston, CRM Reston, CRM Boston, Win 7 Irvine, Mobility Mountain View,), we are pleased to announce Microsoft BizSpark Incubation Week for Windows Azure at Atlanta, GA during week of 9^th Nov’09.

The current economic downturn is putting many entrepreneurs under increasing pressure, making it critical to find new resources and ways to reduce costs and inefficiencies. Microsoft BizSpark Incubation Week for Windows Azure is designed to offer following assistance to entrepreneurs.

· Learning and building new applications in the cloud or use interoperable services that run on Microsoft infrastructure to extend and enhance your existing applications with help of on-site advisors and off-shore development team

· Getting entrepreneurs coaching from guest speakers and a panel of industry experts

· Generating marketing buzz for your brand

· Creating opportunity to be highlighted at upcoming launch

We are inviting nominations from BizSpark Startups interested in Windows Azure Platform that target one or more of the following:

• Windows Azure
• Microsoft .Net Services
• Microsoft SQL Azure
• Live Services
• Microsoft SharePoint Services
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM Services

The Microsoft BizSpark Incubation Week for Windows Azure will be held at Microsoft Technology Center, Atlanta, GA from Mon 11/09/2009 to Fri 11/13/2009. This event consists of ½ day of training, 3 ½ days of active prototype/development time, and a final day for packaging/finishing and reporting out to a panel of judges for various prizes.

This event is a no-fee event (plan your own travel expenses) and each team can bring 3 participants (1 business and 1-2 technical). To nominate your team, please submit the following details to Murray Gordon (preferably via your BizSpark Sponsor). Nominations will be judged according to the strength of the founding team, originality and creativity of the idea, and ability to leverage Windows Azure Scenarios.

You may want to enroll into Microsoft BizSpark, an exciting new offering that enables software startups to leverage Microsoft development and platform technologies to deliver next generation web and Software + Services applications. For details see here.

Thanks for checking out this post!

Cheers,

Murray Gordon ISV Architect Evangelist Microsoft Corporation       http://blogs.msdn.com/MurrayG US ISV Team Blog  My GeeksWithBlogs Blog

Windows 7 has broken the Amazon UK pre-order volume record, ousting Harry Potter.

Just read this post from Vladislav Savov on engadget.com. Here’s what they said:

“Take it from us, your London-based sleuths, when anything sells faster than Harry Potter books or DVDs in the UK, it's scorching hot. Case in point is Microsoft's Vista successor, which has sold so well that it has beaten the Amazon UK pre-order record previously held by J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. In fact, Windows 7 was able to tally up more sales in the first 8 hours of pre-order availability than Vista was able to collect altogether. Now that's what we call an upgrade.”

I love the picture that went with the post. Steve Ballmer is the reflection in Harry’s glasses. Classic.

Check out the original post at http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/21/windows-7-breaks-amazon-uk-pre-order-volume-record-ousts-harry/

Thanks for checking out this post!

Cheers,

Murray Gordon ISV Architect Evangelist Microsoft Corporation       http://blogs.msdn.com/MurrayG US ISV Team Blog  My GeeksWithBlogs Blog

The October Service Update for Microsoft Online Services includes several new features and enhancements designed to improve the service experience for both administrators and users. The Service Update is currently being deployed into production data centers.

Many of these service enhancements are the result of customer and partner feedback. The following features and capabilities are included in the October Service Update:

Bulk Activation of Users

PowerShell commandlets will be added to streamline the activation process, enabling administrators to easily automate the activation of a set of users. Most commonly, these commandlets will be used to activate a set of users that have been migrated from an Active Directory forest to Microsoft Online Services via the Directory Synchronization Tool. Previously, administrators were required to activate users one-by-one with the User Administration tools in the Microsoft Online Services Administration Center.
Commandlets added in this Service Update are:

• Enable-MSOnlineUser
• Get-MSOnlineSubscription
• Set-MSOnlineUserPassword

A new version of the Microsoft Online Services Transporter Tool supporting these commandlets will be available for download at the Microsoft Download Center upon completion of the deployment of the October Service Update into production data centers for all regions.

POP Mail Clients

Supported e-mail clients for Exchange Online are being expanded to include POP-based clients. Previously, Exchange Online supported only Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 and 2007.

To enable POP e-mail client support for your organization, have your administrator contact Microsoft Online Services Technical Support to open a Service Request.

Please note: Service Requests for POP enablement will be accepted upon completion of the deployment of the October Service Update into production data centers for all regions. Please reference the Microsoft Online Services Team Blog for deployment updates.

Support for 30,000 Users

The Microsoft Online Services Administration Center will support as many as 30,000 users, improving management and administration for larger organizations. Previously, Microsoft Online Services supported up to 10,000 users.

Please note that SharePoint Online will retain previously established limits (e.g., 20 sites per site collection, 50 gigabytes (GB) per site, and 1 terabyte (TB) per company).

Enhanced Support for Mac OS

The October Service Update includes several enhancements that will provide a more efficient communication and collaboration experience for organizations with Mac users.

A new Sign-In Client for the Mac OS provides a single sign-in experience and auto-configuration of Office for Mac applications and the Safari browser for use with Microsoft Online Services.

Other Mac features in this Service Update include:

• Support for Entourage 2008 Exchange Web Services (EWS), including Global Address List (GAL), Calendar Free/Busy Lookup, and Out-of-Office notifications
• Global Address List support for Entourage 2004 and 2008 when using the Sign-In Client for Mac
• SharePoint Online support for Document Connection for Mac to improve the collaboration experience for users
• Improved Firefox and Safari support for My Company Portal

The Sign-In Client for Mac will be available for download at the Microsoft Download Center upon completion of the deployment of the October Service Update into production data centers for all regions. Please reference the Microsoft Online Services Team Blog for updates on the availability of the Sign-In Client for Mac.

Timeline

Deployment of the October Service Update into production data centers has started, with deployment to all regions anticipated to be complete by mid-October.

The deployment schedule is subject to change. Updates to the deployment schedule will be announced via the Microsoft Online Services Team Blog as well as the RSS Feed from the Microsoft Online Services Administration Center.

Additional Information
All service upgrades in the October Service Update will be performed on your behalf. These changes are a mandatory upgrade for all users, so it is important that you are aware of them and understand how they may impact you.

If you have additional questions, there are several resources at your disposal. Click here for information about how to contact Microsoft Online Services Support. You can also read the Microsoft Online Services Team Blog for the latest news about the October Service Update, or participate in technical discussions on the Microsoft Online Services TechNet Forums.

Thanks for checking out this post!

Cheers,

Murray Gordon ISV Architect Evangelist Microsoft Corporation       http://blogs.msdn.com/MurrayG US ISV Team Blog  My GeeksWithBlogs Blog