vNext (Windows, Office, Visual Studio and More)

Other Area Heroes Happen Here Launch Events

Frank — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 17:01:00 GMT

In case you missed the Heroes Happen Here Launch event in DC, you can catch the same show at other locations in the area.

May 13
Reston, VA
Register now
May 20
Richmond, VA
Register now
May 23
Baltimore, MD
Register now

If you're interested in volunteering at the INETA booth for any of these events, please let me know.

For a full list of cities and dates, check out the Heroes Happen Here registration page.

Technorati Tags: Heroes Happen Here,Reston,Richmond,Baltimore,Microsoft,Launch Event,INETA

Data Visualization in Silverlight and WPF

Frank — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 15:02:00 GMT

Combined with some feature requests from clients and this post from Adam Kinney on creating bar charts in Silverlight 1.0, I've been doing a lot of thinking about Rich Data Visualization and what WPF/Silverlight can do for it.

Maybe the area of growth beyond RIA will be RDV, a new TLA for Rich Data Visualization scenarios.

RDV would make the various charting kits of today look pathetic by comparison.

Instead of static bar and pie charts, we'll be able to see data come to life: from simple animations (ie, animating charts over time) to fully immersive environments.

Who would've thought that the cool work would ever come from the reporting side of projects?

Technorati Tags: WPF,RDV,RIA,Silverlight,Data,Data Visualization

Expression Blend 2 December Preview Now Available

Frank — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 14:17:00 GMT

Mike Ormond points out some of the new features of Expression Blend 2's December Preview:

Visual Studio 2008 support
Silverlight Support
Synchronized File Changes
Making Controls from Existing Objects
Split View and XAML Editor Improvements
Storyboard Picker
Storyboard and Keyframe Properties
Key Spline Editor
Vertex Animation
Clip Path Editing and Animating
Breadcrumb Bar
Font Embedding
Build Options
Copying Projects
Adding Multiple Projects to a Single Solution
Drag and Drop
Support for New 3D Objects
Object Manipulation
Keyboard Shortcuts
Close Buttons on Panels
Search Text Boxes

Technorati tags: Silverlight, WPF, Expression Blend

Silverlight/ASP.NET/IIS7 Product Roadmap

Frank — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 15:36:00 GMT

Scott Guthrie just announced the product roadmap for Silverlight, ASP.NET and IIS7.

Of particular interest to me is the Silverlight portion of the announcement.

From the blog post:

Silverlight 2.0 Release

Next year we will be releasing a major update of Silverlight that focuses on enabling rich Internet applications. This release will include a cross-platform, cross-browser version of the .NET Framework, and will enable a rich .NET development platform in the browser. Earlier this year we shipped an early Alpha containing some of the basic functionality of the release. Our next public preview will add considerably to this feature set. Some of the new .NET specific features in the next public Silverlight preview will include:

WPF UI Framework: The current Silverlight Alpha release only includes basic controls support and a managed API for UI drawing. The next public Silverlight preview will add support for the higher level features of the WPF UI framework. These include: the extensible control framework model, layout manager support, two-way data-binding support, and control template and skinning support. The WPF UI Framework features in Silverlight will be a compatible subset of the WPF UI Framework features in last week's .NET Framework 3.5 release.

Rich Controls: Silverlight will deliver a rich set of controls that make building Rich Internet Applications much easier. The next Silverlight preview release will add support for core form controls (textbox, checkbox, radiobutton, etc), built-in layout management controls (StackPanel, Grid , etc), common functionality controls (TabControl, Slider, ScrollViewer, ProgressBar, etc) and data manipulation controls (DataGrid, etc).

Rich Networking Support: Silverlight will deliver rich networking support. The next Silverlight preview release will add support for REST, POX, RSS, and WS* communication. It will also add support for cross domain network access (so that Silverlight clients can access resources and data from any trusted source on the web).

Rich Base Class Library Support: Silverlight will include a rich .NET base class library of functionality (collections, IO, generics, threading, globalization, XML, local storage, etc). The next Silverlight preview release will also add built-in support for LINQ to XML and richer HTML DOM API integration.

Previously we've been referring to this .NET-enabled Silverlight release as "Silverlight V1.1". After stepping back and looking at all the new features in it (the above list is only a subset - there are many more we aren't sharing yet), we've realized that calling it a point release doesn't really reflect the true nature of it. Consequently we have decided to change the name and refer to it as "Silverlight V2.0" going forward.

So, Silverlight will have controls, skinning, networking stack support, and a rich BCL. For hardcore Silverlight geeks, Christmas came early this year.

Now the real question on everyone's mind: when can we get our hands on the bits?

We will be releasing a Beta of Silverlight 2.0 in Q1 of 2008. This Beta will support a Go-Live license that enables developers to begin building and deploying Silverlight 2.0 applications.

Hmm, isn't Mix '08 taking place around the same time? Coincidence? ;)

Technorati tags: Silverlight, Scott Guthrie

SQL Server 2008 July CTP

Frank — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 16:11:00 GMT

The July of SQL Server 2008 is now available for download on Microsoft Connect.

[found via Davy Knuysen]

Technorati tags: SQL Server 2008

Free Training on What's New in SQL Server 2008

Frank — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 23:54:00 GMT

Microsoft Learning has a free self-paced training course covering What's New in SQL Server 2008.

Details below:

Title: Clinic 7045: What's New in Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2008
Course Type: Self-paced Course
Available Offline: Yes
Estimated Time of Completion: 2 Hours
Description:
In this clinic, you will learn about the new and enhanced features included in SQL Server 2008. You will explore the new data types and the data management features. Additionally, you will learn about the enhanced Integration Services, Analysis Services, and Reporting Services included in SQL Server 2008. This online clinic is composed of a rich multimedia experience.

To get the most out of this clinic, it is recommended that you have:

Knowledge of general SQL database concepts that are largely independent of a specific version of SQL Server.
Knowledge of Microsoft SQL Server 2005 features.
Knowledge of deploying and upgrading database solutions.
Knowledge of how to solve performance issues related to SQL Server hardware.
Performed the job role of a SQL Server 2005 database administrator or database developer.
Product or technology experience in Microsoft SQL Server 2000 or SQL Server 2005.

Objectives:
At the end of the course, students will be able to:

Describe the features of SQL Server 2008 and their benefits.
Describe the features of enterprise data platform that help you to secure data in applications.
Describe the dynamic development features that facilitate the development of database applications.
Describe the features of SQL Server 2008 that provide data storage solutions beyond relational databases.
Describe the enhanced features in SSIS that help you to integrate data effectively.
Describe the enhanced features in SSAS that help you to improve the BI infrastructure.
Describe the enhanced features in SSRS that help you to improve the scalability of the reporting engine.

[found via Davy Knuysen]

Technorati tags: SQL Server 2008, SQL, Training, Microsoft, Microsoft Learning

Next Version of Windows To Support 32 Bit?

Frank — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 19:17:00 GMT

This article on ZDNet sheds some light on the next major release of Windows, due out in about three years.

"Windows 7 was previously known by the code name Vienna. A Microsoft representative confirmed that Windows 7 is the internal code name for the next client release of Windows."

And, more interestingly,

"Like Vista, Windows 7 will ship in consumer and business versions, and in 32-bit and 64-bit versions."

I was under the impression that Microsoft was going exclusively 64-bit after Vista.

Apparently not.

[Found via Andrew MacNeill]

Technorati tags: Vienna, Windows 7, 64-Bit

VS 2008 Beta 2 Released

Frank — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 19:00:00 GMT

Visual Studio 2008 (aka Orcas) Beta 2 is now available and Scott Guthrie has information, tips and pointers on installing it.

At 3gb, it's not exactly a small download. If you don't want to hog that much bandwidth, the Express Editions of Visual Studio are a quite a bit smaller.

As for me, I've already got it downloaded and installing on my 64 bit Vista machine right now.

Expect screenshots and more coverage on VS2008's WPF features.

Technorati tags: Visual Studio 2008, Orcas, Scott Guthrie, WPF

Enter Windows Server 2008

Frank — Tue, 15 May 2007 16:13:00 GMT

Windows Server Codename Longhorn, or simply Longhorn Server, now has an official ready-to-ship name: Windows Server 2008.

Even the logo has been designed.

So, now that the next version of Windows Server has a name and a potential release year, it's time to learn more about the new server OS.

Juan, a co-worker of mine, has put together a list of training resources on WS2008, the OS formerly known as Longhorn Server.

Technorati tags: Windows Server 2008, Longhorn Server, Windows