I took part in the first ever Search Mashup event last year in Q4 and enjoyed it. The event is an internal event open to everyone who works for/at Microsoft. In the first ever Mashup event, I was fortunate enough to catch the tail end of Tina Wood's (on10 host) appearance. You can catch snippets of the first ever Mashup event on10.net. So the traditional rule of thumb in software is that it generally takes a few releases (3?) before a product has matured and stabilized. Does it apply to events? Well, the V3 has definitely evolved and was "feature rich".
Since I never blogged about the first Windows Live Search Mashup Night, I am going to take this opportunity to showcase some of the Live Developer offerings. In the first Search Mashup, all the buzz was about the released Windows Live Macros (I finally blogged about it earlier this month with a comparison of Google Co-op, entry found here). So I played around with that one. However, for this entry and what most most devs focused on, I will highlight Windows Live Search Web Service API.
Windows Live Search Web Service API
The API is very simple to use and follows a thin layer web service model. You can find the API reference at: http://msdn2.Microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb266180.aspx
Your request and response is broken down into the following:
1. SearchRequest object and
2. SearchResponse object.
You can think of them as HttpWebRequest and HttpWebResponse.
The generated proxy has a MSNSearchService with one public method called Search taking in a SearchRequest object as a parameter.
The SearchRequest contains a Query property which allows you to specify your query exactly as a user would via the Live Search textbox. So while there are no properties to set where you can maintain a site specific search (or even a list of sites to search on as is available in customized search), you can essentially achieve similar behavior by providing it directly in your Query string. For example, in the scenario of a site specific search, you would just specify something like: "site:www.cs.ubc.ca robotics".
If you have also played around with an older version (MSN Search Web Service 0.60 Beta), your experience should be fairly consistent. The ease of use (although some people may want more features/granular control as mentioned above) is part of what makes it so suitable for building during a Mashup event. Generally, people will spend a couple hours at these events. Add to the time allocated for the consumption of food/desserts, and yet you are still able to create functional and creative apps.
Microsoft Knowledge Network
At tonight's Mashup, there was a table setup with an LCD Screen showcasing Microsoft Knowledge Network (Their team blog can be found here). If you haven't seen the KN tie in with Sharepoints, Outlook, Communicator, etc (other Office products).. then you should definitely check it out. It's really sexy stuff for the enterprise! I think only the Unified Communications effort edges this out in terms of what's hot in the Office Division. So yesterday, on the big screen in the cafeteria in Redmond and with Bill Gates in NYC showcasing the Vista Launch, he referenced back to Windows 95 and pointed out all the technological advances made over that time. Just go back a decade and think of the tools used in the Enterprise. What a change?
Lighting, Prizes, Aura, Music (they played one of my favorite tunes circa 2002/2003 - Motorcycle - As The Rush Comes) and Great Food/Desserts (Chocolate Fondue!). All in all, a well done event. And the main thing to get out of these events? Fun!