Microsoft Web Technologies Unveiled at MIX09

Today at MIX09, Microsoft Corp. announced a set of platform investments to help companies more efficiently and affordably engage with their customers through a rich, interactive presence on the Web. This includes the release of Microsoft Silverlight 3 Beta and Expression Blend 3 Preview, and continued progress in the cloud with updates to the Azure Services Platform. The company also pointed to strong momentum in platform adoption and demonstrated a number of solutions from key partners including Netflix Inc., Bondi Digital Publishing, StackOverflow.com and KEXP. In addition, building on the success of Silverlight during the Beijing Games, NBC Universal has again chosen Silverlight to deliver the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games on its official Web site, NBCOlympics.com.

The Business Imperative of a Return on Experience
Organizations that create more intuitive, more engaging experiences on the Web are able to reduce costs and increase sales. Their visitors find the information they want faster, their customers make fewer calls to support help desks, and the number of impulse purchases made by customers generated grows dramatically. The integrated and interoperable offerings from Microsoft, composed of software and services for desktop, datacenters and the cloud, help organizations deliver richer, more compelling experiences that they require both in and out of the browser, and give them enhanced “return on experience” that the current economic climate demands.

Silverlight 3 Beta Released
Silverlight 3 empowers Web developers and designers to build the best experiences for their customers through the creation of cutting-edge Web applications. Silverlight 3 helps rich Internet application (RIA) developers work faster with new graphics, animation and 3-D features, and more than 60 controls. Silverlight 3 also ushers in a new generation of high-quality and high-definition video experiences with true high-definition video in full-screen mode, with stutter-free live and on-demand video. Silverlight 3 also gives users more video format choices than ever before, including H.264, along with enhancements such as deep linking, to improve navigation in Silverlight content and automate search engine optimization (SEO) tasks. Finally, Silverlight 3 enables developers to create lightweight Web application experiences that can exist outside the browser. This enables Web sites to deliver more persistent relationships with their customers.

Microsoft also announced Expression Blend 3 Preview, designed to dramatically improve designer and developer workflow and productivity. In the MIX09 keynote address, Microsoft demonstrated SketchFlow, a new capability that allows designers to quickly prototype the flow and composition of applications. Now, for the first time, designers can easily receive annotated feedback on prototypes from stakeholders and rapidly iterate on a project from concept to completion. In addition, Expression Blend directly supports the import of Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator files (including layers and paths), integration of live preview sample data, and a comprehensive set of rich behaviors.

“In the short time since we launched Silverlight and Expression Blend, Microsoft has rapidly introduced new features and functionality that enable customers to deliver outstanding Web sites,” said Scott Guthrie, corporate vice president of the .NET Developer Platform at Microsoft. “We are working closely with the community to deliver software that helps businesses provide customer experiences on the Web that go beyond ‘good enough’ and drive real business results.”
Microsoft also announced that Soyatec, a France-based IT solutions provider and Eclipse Foundation member, is making available a community technology preview (CTP) of Eclipse Tools for Silverlight (Eclipse4SL) support for Macintosh. With this Eclipse plug-in, Mac developers can create RIAs for the Silverlight platform. This project is funded by Microsoft as part of Microsoft’s continued commitment to openness and interoperability.

Silverlight Customer Adoption
Silverlight has made significant progress since it was launched at MIX07. Hundreds of thousands of developers and designers are using Silverlight, and leading organizations such as AOL LLC, eBay Inc., BSkyB Ltd., Netflix Inc., CBS Sports Online, the European Commission, CareerBuilder.com, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Yahoo! Japan are building their next-generation rich applications and media experiences using Silverlight.
“Netflix chose Silverlight because it makes a faster and more agile development environment possible, allowing Netflix to quickly deliver a superior instant watching experience to our subscribers,” said Steve Swasey, vice president of corporate communications at Netflix. “When Netflix deployed Silverlight last fall, Netflix members realized a richer experience of access and quality to instantly watch movies and TV episodes from Netflix on their PCs and, for the first time, were able to instantly watch the same content on their Intel-based Macintosh computers.”
At Microsoft, more than 200 products and Web sites are now using Silverlight, including Microsoft.com, MSN, Live Search, Windows Live, Microsoft Office Online, Virtual Earth and the live preview release of the Silverlight-based WorldWide Telescope application.

Easier Access to Developer Tools, Platforms, and Applications
Today, Microsoft also released several components of the Microsoft Web Platform, an integrated set of tools, servers and frameworks that work seamlessly together and interoperate with popular open source applications and products that are used in the community. Included in the Microsoft Web Platform vision is the Web Platform Installer 2.0 Beta, a tool that simplifies the installation and update of Microsoft’s free Web products and other free Web components. This release allows users to download both PHP and the final release of ASP.NET MVC 1.0. Microsoft also launched the Windows Web Application Gallery, which allows developers to discover, explore and download applications and components that will help them build Web applications. Developers can submit free applications into the Gallery, offering communities, partners and independent software vendors access to millions of Windows developers worldwide for promoting their Web solutions. The Gallery includes links to popular applications such as Acquia Drupal, DotNetNuke and WordPress.

Finally, Microsoft also announced the availability of Microsoft Commerce Server 2009, which allows businesses to create improved user experiences across e-commerce channels.
Deepening Cloud Investments With the Azure Services Platform

In addition to platform investments to enable front-end experiences, enhancements to the back-end platform include updates to the Azure Services Platform. Today Microsoft announced new capabilities in Windows Azure including support for full trust to increase the level of flexibility for developers through support of native code, non-.NET language support via FastCGI, and geolocation to provide developers with the capability to host data and code across two U.S.-based datacenters; this enables customers to store data in multiple locations while helping ensure business continuity, and delivers enhanced performance benefits through reduced network latency.

Download Silverlight 3 beta here:  http://silverlight.net/getstarted/silverlight3/default.aspx

Download Expression Blend 3 Preview here: http://expression.microsoft.com/en-us/dd565875.aspx 

Microsoft Announces Conference Call With Scott Guthrie

Microsoft Corp. will hold a teleconference with Scott Guthrie, corporate vice president of the .NET Developer Division at Microsoft. Guthrie will make a significant announcement related to Microsoft Silverlight. A recording of the call and additional information will be available for 30 days on the Microsoft Silverlight PressPass Web site: http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/presskits/silverlight/default.mspx

When:
Monday, Oct. 13, 2008, at 9 a.m. PDT
Special Instructions:
Participants will need to speak the passcode “Silverlight” when prompted after dialing into the call.

Domestic participants: 888-617-1526

International participants:
Argentina: 0800-777-0466
Australia: 1-800-098-380
Austria: 0800-677-286
Belgium: 0800-4-9718
Brazil: 0800-8911991
Chile: 1230-020-0323
China: 10800-712-1296 or 10800-120-1296
Colombia: 01800-9-156436
Czech Republic: 800-700-224
Denmark: 8088-5430
Finland: 0-800-1-12828
France: 080-510-0983
Germany: 0800-12-6809
Greece: 00800-12-6809
Hong Kong: 800-908-208
Hungary: 06-800-17568
India: 000-800-852-1228
Indonesia: 001-803-011-3651
Ireland: 1800-932-053
Israel: 1-80-9214710
Italy: 800-906-460
Japan: 0034-800-400651
Malaysia: 1-800-81-2060
Mexico: 001-866-839-3438
Netherlands: 0800-343-4364
New Zealand: 0800-441-333
Norway: 800-11118
Panama: 011-001-800-5072132
Poland: 00-800-1211774
Portugal: 8008-60134
Russia: 8-10-8002-0074011
Singapore: 800-120-4247
South Africa: 080-09-92283
South Korea: 00798-14800-6607
Spain: 800-099-387
Sweden: 0200-893-409
Switzerland: 0800-001-214
Taiwan: 00801-137-661
Thailand: 001-800-1206-65426
United Kingdom: 0800-279-9630
Uruguay: 000-413-598-3416
Venezuela: 0800-1-00-3211

Download ASP.NET MVC Preview 2, Silverlight 2 Beta 1 and Silverlight 2 SDK tools for Visual Studio 2008

Download the second preview of ASP.NET MVC and the first Beta of Silverlight 2
Also download the first Beta of Silverlight 2 SDK tools for Visual Studio 2008
Enjoy

Yahoo Launches Silverlight Developer Center

Yahoo launches Silverlight Developer Center! The URL is below :-)

http://developer.yahoo.com/dotnet/silverlight/

Silverlight - What, Where and How? - 3 Part Screencast

Channel 9 has posted a three part silverlight screencast. What is covered in this series?

- Why Silverlight? What is Microsoft up to?
- Web Development today - the need for User Experience
- What is this XAML stuff? WPF?
- Good Overview and hands on with Expression Blend
- What you need to get started today and where you can get it. Does it cost anything?
- Demos sprinkled throughout to help reinforce concepts
- I take you step by step in creating your first Silverlight application (yes I used 2.0 this time).
- Storyboards, Images, setting properties, firing/capturing events, using the VS2008 Tools, even adding Ink support.
- Just for giggles I also show how easy it is to put the new control inside a Vista Gadget.
- Lots of links to additional resources and where you can get more help.

Part 1: Watch the screencast(WMV)
Part 2: Watch the screencast(WMV)
Part 3: Watch the screencast(WMV)

Scott Guthrie is THE man, he released 8 Silverlight 2.0 Tutorials

Scott Guthrie released 8 tutorials about Silverlight 2.0

Part 1: Creating "Hello World" with Silverlight 2 and VS 2008
Part 2: Using Layout Management
Part 3: Using Networking to Retrieve Data and Populate a DataGrid
Part 4: Using Style Elements to Better Encapsulate Look and Feel
Part 5: Using the ListBox and DataBinding to Display List Data
Part 6: Using User Controls to Implement Master/Details Scenarios
Part 7: Using Templates to Customize Control Look and Feel
Part 8: Creating a Digg Desktop Version of our Application using WPF

Have fun

NBA to Use Microsoft Silverlight Applications on NBA.com

The National Basketball Association (NBA) will employ Microsoft Silverlight on NBA.com to further enhance the online video experience for NBA fans around the world. Microsoft Silverlight, a cross-browser, multiplatform plug-in for delivering the next generation of media experiences and rich interactive applications for the Web, will also be utilized on WNBA.com and NBADevelopmentLeague.com.

NBA.com will feature a full-screen NBA photo gallery, offer video highlights and deliver additional interactive applications throughout the site using Microsoft Silverlight. Through the use of Microsoft Corp.’s new application, the NBA will be able to provide further access to its extensive digital video library, integrate the video experience seamlessly into the site, and ultimately provide fans with access to more online video features.

Microsoft Silverlight enables the fast delivery of high-quality video to all major browsers running on the Mac OS or Windows operating system. As a part of its relationship with Microsoft, the NBA will continue to explore additional opportunities to display video and photos throughout the site.

“As NBA.com’s usage continues to soar, Microsoft’s innovative Silverlight will provide our fans with access to more multimedia and video highlights than ever before,” said Steve Grimes, vice president of interactive services for NBA Entertainment. “This will be a great application for us to further showcase both historic and current NBA photos and video on NBA.com.”

“As we enter a new NBA season, we’re thrilled to partner with the NBA to bring that courtside experience through,” said Scott Guthrie, general manager in the Developer Division at Microsoft. “Silverlight is focused on delivering rich media scenarios in a browser that provide a more consistent viewing experience, and because it supports the VC-1 codec, the NBA is able to provide fans with access to hours and hours of archived games. Fans can catch up or relive their favorite moments whenever they want.”

This season, NBA.com is once again providing fans with access to a full season of live NBA game webcasts with NBA LEAGUE PASS Broadband and is offering more broadband highlights than ever before through NBA TV Broadband. In addition, throughout the 2007–08 NBA season the new Download Store on NBA.com will allow fans to download to their computer full NBA game broadcasts shortly after games conclude.

Overall, NBA.com continues to establish new traffic records for video usage on the site. During November — the first month of the 2007–08 NBA season — NBA.com set the all-time monthly record for video streams, with more than 38 million, representing an increase of 95 percent compared with the same month last season. The previous all-time monthly record, of more than 30 million video streams, was established in February 2007.

About the NBA

The NBA, founded in 1946, is a global sports and entertainment brand that features 30 teams in the United States and Canada. During the 2007–08 season, the NBA will distribute games and programming to 215 countries and territories in 41 languages. The league’s worldwide reach can also be seen with 76 international players from 30 countries and territories on NBA rosters. Domestically, the NBA broadcasted 142 games on national television last season on ABC, TNT, ESPN and ESPN2, and eclipsed attendance records for the fourth consecutive season.

NBA TV, launched in 1999 as the first 24-hour television channel created and operated by a professional sports league, is distributed to 80 countries. NBA merchandise is sold in more than 100,000 stores in 100 countries on six continents; NBA.com gets more than half of its visitors from outside the United States.

As fans witness tremendous performances on the court, some of the NBA’s most significant efforts occur off the court. NBA Cares is the league’s social responsibility initiative that builds on the NBA’s long tradition of addressing important social issues in the United States and around the world. During the first year of NBA Cares, teams, current and former players, and the league office contributed 205,000 hours of hands-on volunteer service, raised more than $32 million for charity, and created 109 places where kids and families can live, learn or play. NBA Cares works with internationally recognized youth-serving programs that support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes, including UNICEF, Reading Is Fundamental, Habitat for Humanity, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Feed the Children, Special Olympics, KaBoom!, Make-A-Wish Foundation and many others.

ASP.NET MVC CTP Available AS Part Of Microsoft ASP.NET 3.5 Extensions Preview

The ASP.NET 3.5 Extensions Preview is a new release that provides new functionality being added to ASP.NET 3.5 and ADO.NET in 2008. This release delivers a set of new features that target:

Enabling High Productivity Data Scenarios - including MVC, Entity Framework, ADO.NET Data Services and dynamic data
Supporting Test Driven Development - including a powerful and extensible MVC framework
Creating the best server for Rich Clients - including Ajax history support and Silverlight controls for ASP.NET

What’s in the Extensions Release?
ASP.NET MVC

ASP.NET MVC provides model-view-controller (MVC) support to the existing ASP.NET 3.5 runtime, which enables developers to more easily take advantage of this design pattern. Benefits include the ability to achieve and maintain a clear separation of concerns, as well as facilitate test driven development (TDD).

The ASP.NET MVC Toolkit provides HTML rendering helpers and dynamic data support for MVC.

ASP.NET Dynamic Data

ASP.NET Dynamic Data helps developers build a fully customizable, data-driven app quickly. It provides a rich scaffolding framework that allows rapid data driven development without writing code, yet it is easily extendible using the traditional ASP.NET programming model.

ASP.NET AJAX

New additions to ASP.NET AJAX include support for managing browser history (Back button support).

ADO.NET Entity Framework

ADO.NET Entity Framework is a new modeling framework that enables developers to define a conceptual model of a database schema that closely aligns to a real world view of the information. Benefits include easier to understand and easier to maintain application code that is shielded from underlying database schema changes.

ADO.NET Data Services

ADO.NET Data Services provide new services that find, manipulate and deliver data over the web using simple URIs. Benefits include an easy and flexible way to access data over the web, while enabling the separation of presentation and data access code.

Silverlight Controls for ASP.NET

You can integrate the rich behavior of Microsoft Silverlight into your Web application by using two new ASP.NET server controls: a MediaPlayer server control that enables easy integration of media sources such as audio (WMA) and video (WMV) into your Web application, and a Silverlight server control that allows an ASP.NET page to reference both XAML objects and their event handlers.


Download it here: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=105029

NAnt Version 0.86 Beta 1 Supports Visual Studio 2008 and Silverlight

NAnt Version 0.86 Beta 1 Supports Visual Studio 2008 and Silverlight

NET Framework 3.5
Support for targeting .NET Framework 3.5 and Mono 3.5 Profile is now available.
Note: this does not apply to the solution task.
Silverlight 2.0
Added experimental support for targeting Silverlight 2.0 and Moonlight 2.0.
Note: this does not apply to the solution task.

Download the file directly here: http://downloads.sourceforge.net/nant/nant-0.86-beta1-bin.zip?modtime=1197127968&big_mirror=0

Visit the NAnt home page here: http://nant.sourceforge.net/

VS2008 Training Kit: Introduction to ASP.NET AJAX

This session was presented by Steve Marx and is from the Visual Studio 2008 training kit available from http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=7602397.

In this session, you'll learn how to use ASP.NET AJAX to build a richer, more responsive user experience. Topics include partial rendering, web services, structured scripting, and integration with Silverlight.


Download it here: http://channel9.msdn.com/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=359706#359706

VS2008 Training Kit: Introduction to Silverlight

This session was presented by Adam Kinney and is from the Visual Studio 2008 training kit available from http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=7602397.

Silverlight is a cross platform UI framework for creating compelling Web experiences. Come learn the high-level architecture of Silverlight and the tools that are available to build Silverlight applications.

Download it here: http://channel9.msdn.com/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=359712#359712

Microsoft Delivers Silverlight 1.0, Extends Support to Linux

Microsoft Corp. today released to the Web (RTW) Silverlight™ 1.0, a cross-browser, cross-platform plug-in for delivering richer user experiences on the Web. In addition, Microsoft will work with Novell Inc. to deliver Silverlight support for Linux, called Moonlight, and based on the project started on mono-project.com..

Silverlight significantly reduces development and deployment costs and provides enhanced Web audio and video streaming and playback using industry-leading Windows Media® Technologies. Microsoft unveiled new Silverlight customer experiences on “Entertainment Tonight,” HSN and World Wrestling Entertainment, and also launched the Silverlight Partner Initiative, a program designed to foster collaboration among solution providers, content delivery networks, tools vendors and design agencies.

“Our expectations for compelling, immersive experiences on the Web are increasing daily,” said Ray Ozzie, Microsoft’s chief software architect. “With today’s release of Silverlight 1.0, we’re making it possible for developers and designers to deliver to individuals the kind of high-def experiences they crave by integrating data and services in rich and unique ways. Silverlight will further accelerate the growth in rich interactive applications by giving developers and designers new options for delivering great experiences that span the Web, PC, phone and other devices.”

Microsoft, Novell Respond to Shared Customer Demand for Silverlight and .NET

Microsoft is committed to ensuring that organizations have the best tools and resources to begin building Silverlight-based solutions with the broadest possible reach. The decision to work with Novell to offer Silverlight support for the Linux platform is in direct response to customer feedback, and both companies are optimistic about the impact this extended partnership will have in the industry.

“Silverlight is a popular new way to build and deliver cross-browser, cross-platform experiences on the Web,” said Miguel de Icaza, vice president of Developer Platforms and leader of the Mono project at Novell. “Novell is excited to work with Microsoft to extend Silverlight beyond Windows® and Macintosh to Linux with Moonlight, so Linux users everywhere can enhance their rich media and interactive experiences on the Web.”

Leading Broadcast, Online Content Providers Light up the Web With Silverlight

“Entertainment Tonight,” HSN and World Wrestling Entertainment as well as several Microsoft Web initiatives including the “Halo® 3” preview, Tafiti.com and The Podium ’08 are just a few of the brands already demonstrating the power of Silverlight. “Entertainment Tonight,” the No. 1 entertainment newsmagazine, worked with interactive design agencies REZN8 and IdentityMine Inc. to build a complete minisite dedicated to Emmy Award coverage linked from ETOnline.com and TheInsiderOnline.com. This is the first phase in ET’s long-term commitment to build Silverlight-powered minisites to cover high-profile entertainment events.

“When ‘Entertainment Tonight’ was launched 27 years ago, we changed the way the world saw celebrity news. I’m thrilled to be partnering with Microsoft® Silverlight to put ‘Entertainment Tonight’ on the leading edge again and give our viewers a virtual front-row seat at Hollywood’s biggest events,” said Linda Bell Blue, executive producer of Entertainment Tonight. “‘ET’ is the first stop for the stars at the 59th annual Emmy Awards, and with Microsoft’s revolutionary new technology we will create a truly unique interactive experience — from the red carpet for all the fashions and backstage with Mary Hart and the winners to going inside our exclusive after-party that all of Hollywood is talking about. This is going to be fun.”

To foster greater involvement and collaboration within the interactive media industry, Microsoft is rolling out the Silverlight Partner Initiative. More than 35 companies have already signed up to support Silverlight and take advantage of a broad range of marketing and technical benefits enabling them to be more successful. The current list of Silverlight Initiative partners by category follows:

• Content delivery networks, infrastructure providers: Advection, Akamai Technologies Inc., CacheLogic, Edgecast Networks Inc., Internap Network Services Corp., iStreamPlanet Co., Level3 and Limelight Networks

• Design agencies: Avenue ARazorfish, BLITZ, Cynergy Systems Inc., frog design inc., IdentityMine Inc., Lightmaker Group Ltd., Metaliq, Resolute Solutions Corp., REZN8, Schematic and VML Inc.

• ISVs/IHVs: Anystream Inc., DayPort Inc., Electric Rain Inc., Inlet Technologies Inc., Pinnacle Systems Inc., Rhozet, Sonic Solutions, Tarari Inc., Telestream Inc. and Winnov LP

• Solution providers, systems integrators: BUYDRM, Liquid Compass, MPS Broadband AB, Narrowstep Inc., Skinkers, Swarmcast and Twofour Digital



With its portfolio of application platform technology capabilities and products, Microsoft is both a longtime leader in development tools and a pioneer in enhancing user experiences on the Web and desktop. The tight integration between Visual Studio® and Expression Studio allows developers and designers to easily share projects, designs and code to create stunning, high-quality applications faster and in a more cost-effective manner.

In addition to the release of Silverlight 1.0, Microsoft released Expression Encoder 1.0 (formerly Expression Media Encoder), a tool that makes it simple for professionals to encode, enhance and publish rich media content to Silverlight. The intuitive interface allows users to rapidly encode a wide array of file-based media content formats into a Silverlight experience. Expression Encoder also eases production of live events using sought-after features such as multisource switching and publishing of content to services including Silverlight Streaming by Windows Live™.

Product Information and Availability

Those wanting more information or to download Microsoft Silverlight 1.0 and Expression Encoder should visit http://www.silverlight.net. At IBC2007 in Amsterdam Sept. 7–11, Microsoft will provide demonstrations of Silverlight 1.0, and Expression Encoder at the Topaz stand. More details about today’s announcements can be found in the online press room at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/presskits/silverlight/default.mspx.

Screencast: Cider Beta 2 : Styling a WPF application with Blend and Cider

Brief walkthrough on using Blend to style a WPF application originally created with VS 2008 Cider designer; see how you can seamlessly go back and forth between the two tools to get the best out of a developer (intellisense, code wiring, etc.) and designer ( styling, templating) tools for creating WPF applications. This is part 2 in a 2 part series, part 1 is available here: Cider Beta 2 : Feature walkthrough

Watch the screencast(WMV)

Silverlight Virtual Earth Viewer

Virtual Earth now has a viewer in Silverlight, you can download it here:
http://silverlight.net/themes/silverlight/community/gallerydetail.aspx?cat=4

Video: The .NET Show: Silverlight

On this final episode of the .NET Show, Scott Guthrie, general manager for .NET Platform technologies, and Jason Zander, general manager for the .NET Framework, join host Robert Hess to discuss and demonstrate Silverlight, Microsoft's new cross-browser, cross-platform plug-in for delivering the next generation of .NET-based media experiences and rich interactive applications for the Web.

Watch it here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/theshow/episode.aspx?xml=theshow/en/episode063/manifest.xml

Bunch Of Silverlight Links

A couple of Silverlight links

Introduction to Microsoft Silverlight for Developers (Webcast)
Silverlight Error Codes explained
How to show a line being drawn
Setting up a Silverlight development environment
Encoding Silverlight Video with GPS coordinates
Silverlight and Camtasia

Video: S. Somasegar (Soma) and Scott Guthrie on Orcas Beta 2: What's in it?

Channel 9 has posted their latest video:
Visual Studio 2008 Code Name "Orcas" Beta 2 has just hit the wire and, since it's Beta 2, this means VS2008 is feature complete (oh, and it's GoLive! as well)!!!

"Orcas" represents a major evolution for Visual Studio and our suite of .NET languages. Who better to talk about what's new in "Orcas" than our friends S. Somasegar (Everybody calls him Soma), VP of the Developer Division (the group that makes all of our development technologies), and Scott Guthrie, General Manager and one of Microsoft's most prolific employees (now a senior manager, but he keeps his hands in the technologies he and team build and innovate).

Here, we talk about what's new, exactly, why you (the developer) should care about it, what's changed from Beta 1 to Beta 2, what's the general process of building "Orcas" (we will dig deeper into this with the folks who drive the new, improved development process in the Developer Division), how feature cut decisions are made.

In this conversation, Scott makes a very interesting comment about the state of .NET languages like VB9 and C# 3.0: In his mind, they represent the most dramatic change since .NET 1.0 in terms of power and productivity.

As always, it's great to chat with Soma and Scott. DevDiv is loaded with talent, from top to bottom.

Play with Beta 2!

Enjoy.


Listen to the podcast(MP3)
Listen to the podcast(WMA)
Download the Video
Watch the Video

Screencast: Preparing for Silverlight Release Candidate

A quick screencast showing some simple steps in preparing your Silverlight 1.0 applications for the release candiate. We walk through 2 samples on silverlight.net and prep them for RC.

This is a very simple screencast demonstrating some of the more required steps. Every preparation for your sample may vary depending on the amount of code, but this is intended to show you some quick steps.

Watch the screencast(WMV)

Podcast: CSLA with Rockford Lhotka

DotNetRocks has published their latest podcast: CSLA with Rockford Lhotka

Rocky Lhotka talks about CSLA 3.0, the relationship with WPF and Silverlight, "paranoid" code, publishing and his experience with ebooks.
Rockford Lhotka is the author of numerous books, including the Expert Visual Basic .NET & C# Business Objects books. He is a Microsoft Software Legend, Regional Director, MVP and INETA speaker. Rockford speaks at many conferences and user groups around the world and is a columnist for MSDN Online. Rockford is the Principal Technology Evangelist for Magenic Technologies, one of the nation's premiere Microsoft Gold Certified Partners dedicated to solving today's most challenging business problems using 100% Microsoft tools and technology.

Download it here: http://dotnetrocks.com/default.aspx?showID=257

Silverlight: Creating Video with Timed Overlays

Channel 9 has published their latest Silverlight screen cast, from the site:

In this screencast, we look at Expression Media Encoder and Expression Blend 2
Preview together, demonstrating encoding a file with media markers and then
using Silverlight to monitor when those markers are triggered, then perform some
animation.

This technique can be useful when re-using media elements
across advertising for example, but displaying different messaging, promotional
offers, links, languages, or whatever

Watch the screencast(WMV)