ebaY sidebar for Internet Explorer 8

eBay has just launched a new sidebar offering in beta. I have been collaborating with eBay on this wonderful Internet Explorer 8 sidebar. What is unique is that they are the first Internet Explorer sidebar that utilizes Silverlight™ as part of the presentation layer opening up specific UI features to make the application standard out.

Here is a screen capture of the sidebar on the left running in Internet Explorer 8 on my laptop:

The sidebar utilizes eBay’s Services to obtain real-time information about the customer’s transactions, using an internet connection. Even when the user is not running Internet Explorer, a separate notification service (located visually in the tray) informs the user about important events.

Here is a short  video  on the eBay sidebar with Jonathan Gabbai Global Innovation Manager on the functionality and technical advantages of using Silverlight and IE8 features.

The eBay sidebar is a great example of “Software-Plus-Services” strategy as there is software that runs on a computer you control in this case it is IE8 and Silverlight, plus services delivered over the internet as eBay services, working together to enable cool new rich engaging experience for the eBay user and making both software and services better than either by themselves.

For more information on the eBay IE8 Silverlight sidebard, please see the following related articles:

Case Study: Coming Soon

Channel9 Video: eBay on IE8

Esurance Delivers Key Services to Mobile Channel via Microsoft Platform

Esurance, the direct-to-consumer auto insurance company, has been offering policies online since 1999. And today, most Esurance customers still purchase their policies through the company’s user-friendly Web site. At esurance.com, customers can get free quotes and compare prices instantly, making auto insurance shopping easier. Esurance recently turned to Microsoft and its software-plus-services strategy to help launch the mobile platform, esurance.tel.

Through this implementation model, Esurance was able to utilize the Microsoft .NET Framework to migrate applications to the Windows Mobile 6.1.

Esurance also integrated 2 additional services: a text-messaging gateway and a feature that allows claims customers to access photos of their vehicles in real time as they’re being repaired. By porting its applications to run in a mobile environment, Esurance can anticipate the needs of its tech-savvy customers, which will help boost customer acquisition and retention.

As part of the rollout, Esurance will make many of its critical Web applications available on mobile phones, including claims-related functionality, quoting, policy management, and billing services. By using the software-plus-services approach, Esurance is further delivering on its brand promise to be available for their customers 24/7.

Here is the Channel9 video that I recorded with Esurance on their Mobile Services and how they utilized Microsoft platform to deliver it:

For more information on Esurance’s new mobile platform, please see the following related articles:

Case Study:Online Insurance Company Claims the Mobile Space with New Service Delivery Strategy

Press Release:Esurance Turns to Microsoft’s Software-Plus-Services Strategy to Deliver Key Services to Mobile Channel

MIX09 Big Announcements!

I just got back from the MIX09 event that happened at Las Vegas earlier this week and here are some of things that was announced at Mix09:

Announcing the Microsoft Web Platform: Web Platform Installer 2.0 Beta and Windows Web Application Gallery!

The Microsoft Web Platform has a goal to deliver the best platform to developers for building their Web applications. Microsoft is delivering the platform, tools, and applications that development organizations, communities, and developers need.  The Microsoft Web Platform offers a complete ecosystem for building and hosting web sites, services, and applications.  It is designed to interoperate with both ASP.NET and PHP, and integrate easily with community applications and products in the market today.

The Microsoft Web Platform Installer 2.0 (Web PI) is a free tool that makes it simple to download, install and keep up-to-date with the latest components of the Microsoft Web Platform, including Internet Information Services (IIS), SQL Server Express, .NET Framework and Visual Web Developer.  In addition, install popular open source ASP.NET and PHP web apps with the Web PI.

Windows Web App Gallery is a community hub of free and popular .NET and PHP applications for you to use as building blocks for creating dynamic web solutions.

Silverlight 3 Beta (Developer release).   This is a very exciting release.  Some of the interesting new features that the platform provides include:

• Support for Higher Quality Video & Audio. With support for native H.264/Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) Audio, live and on-demand IIS7 Smooth Streaming, full HD (720p+) playback, and an extensible decoder pipeline, Silverlight 3 brings rich, full-screen, stutter-free media experiences to the desktop.
• Silverlight 3 contains new 3D graphics, animation features, hardware accelerated effects and text improvements that enable designers and developers to create next generation Web visuals.
• Improved RIA Productivity. New features include:
  • Silverlight 3 is packed with over 60 high-quality, fully skinnable and customizable out-of-the-box controls
  • Deep Linking. Silverlight 3 includes support for deep linking, which enables bookmarking a page within a RIA.
  • Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
  • Enhanced Data Support: Element to Element binding, Data Forms, New features for data validation, Support for business objects
  • Improved performance through Application library caching, Enhanced Deep Zoom, Binary XML, Local Connection.
• Out of Browser Capabilities. The new out of browser experience in Silverlight 3 enables users to place their favorite Silverlight applications directly onto their PC and Mac, with links on the desktop and start menu—all without the need to download an additional runtime or browser plug-in. Also, the new offline features enables Silverlight applications to work whether the computer is connected to the Internet or not.

· Also the other major announcement at MIX was the launch of Internet Explorer (IE8). This latest version is faster than IE7 by 80% in common micro-benchmarks. In side-by-side measures of speed in opening the top 25 websites worldwide, IE8 was as fast or faster than Firefox and Chrome.

· Some of the major features of IE8 are its better tab handling, a niftier search bar, a more useful address bar, and new tools that deliver information directly from other Web pages and services. Some of the security features include the anti-malware protection, and better ways to protect your privacy and most noticeable new features are Accelerators and Web Slices.

· Additional information on the release is available at Internet Explorer 8. In addition some of the IE8 Add-ons from some of our partners is available at here. You also can see some of my previous posts on IE8 here

Free Web Hosting & Web Tools from Microsoft

Here is a excellent *FREE* offering from Microsoft and our top web hosting partners.

• Free hosting for 60 days
• Free Microsoft Expression Web ($299 value) and Microsoft Visual Web Developer 2008 Express Edition
• Free $100 Microsoft adCenter search advertising credit

The Microsoft Web Platform

Rock solid Web hosting on Microsoft’s most up-to-date Web platform, including:

• Windows Server 2008
• IIS 7
• ASP.Net
• SQL Server 2008 Web
• PHP and MySQL
• Expression Web and
  Visual Web Developer Express
• Click here for a complete list of the Microsoft Web Platform components

This is a good example of our commitment to Interop and more importantly validation of our Software Plus Sevice strategy for providing customers to building consistent rich applications and with choice of hosting with our partners or in our cloud.

So Startup(s) grab this opportunity and also for Enterprise who are at looking at ways to reducing cost or exploring new scenarios this will great to try out.

MSDN Developer Conference coming to San Francisco (Only $99.00)

The nature of software development is radically changing are you ready ?

We’re bringing the PDC to you! For just $99 you’ll get the best of the PDC in your own backyard and hear all of the exciting announcements around the Azure Services Platform and Windows 7.

Other sessions include the latest developments in .NET, Silverlight, Surface, Parallel Programming, Live Mesh, and more.
Register today so you can stay current in an ever-competitive job market, enhance your engineering skills and gain access to the next generation of tools and technology. The cost to attend is just $99. And, did we mention that attendees will get some cool giveaways? 
If you are a developer who missed the PDC but enjoys diving deep into the Microsoft platform or you are responsible for the technical strategy of your organization, then the MSDN Developer Conference is for you.
Don’t miss this premier developer event. Click the Register Now button or visit www.MSDNDevCon.com to learn more and register today!
Hope to see you at the MDC!!

SeaDragon on iPhone

 

Back in July’08 I had written a post about Deep Zoom as part of the Silverlight 2 cool features that originated from SeaDragon which is a Live labs project which provide users a new way for people to interact with content.  It allows users to explore collections of super high resolution imagery, from a 2 or 3 megapixel shot from a digital camera to gigapixel scans of museum pieces, all without waiting for huge file downloads.

The Seadragon capabilities is already made its way into TouchWall, Microsoft Surface and also available in Silverlight as can be seen at the Hardrock site.

Today Livelab brings “Seadragon Mobile” to iPhone for viewing giga-pixel images. You can browse Deep Zoom Images that you can create from your own pictures or your Photosynth collection or anybody else’s.

There is a excellent video by developer Ben Vanik about this new experience that SeaDragon Mobile can provide on mobile devices.

Seadragon Mobile is available for free at the iTunes App Store.

is really cool !

XamlFest- Free Training/Tools on Silverlight, WPF, XAML Dec 17-18, 2008

Developers, Designer come and  take advantage of a free interactive hands-on training at  “XamlFest” offered at the Microsoft, Mountain View campus from 12/17-12/18 where you’ll learn about how to build Silverlight, WPF application using Visual Studios, Expression Blend etc.

It’s a perfect opportunity to mingle with UX minded Microsoft folks as well as industry leading design integrators.  It’s also an opportunity to pick up a free copy of Visual Studio 2008 and Expression Studio 2 for you attendance.

Each XamlFest day will start with interactive sessions by Microsoft and our design partners, followed by a free lunch and a chance to network, have some fun and win prizes. Each afternoon will be geared toward assisted development with instructor-led walk throughs, or, better yet, come with your own project in mind and we’ll help kick start your very own proof of concept!

Registration

To register, please send an e-mail with the names and e-mail addresses of your attendees to xamlfest-siliconvalley@live.com.

 

Dates

Wednesday & Thursday December 17^th and 18^th

Attendees

We’re only allowing 50 attendees to this event. First come, first served.

Venue

Microsoft Technology Center: Silicon Valley

1065 La Avenida—Building One

Mountain View, CA 94043

(650) 693-1001

Agenda

Please note that each attendee will need a laptop to take part in the assisted development sessions.

Date

Time

Topic

Wednesday, December 17^th

9:00 AM – 10:30 AM

Introduction to WPF, Xaml, Expression Blend

10:30 AM – 10:45 AM

Break

10:45 AM – 12:00 PM

Building Visually Rich Applications: The role of the Integrator in building designable applications

12:00 PM – 1:00 PM

Lunch, Mingle, Prizes

1:00 PM – 3:00 PM

Instructor-led WPF walkthrough and assisted development

3:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Assisted development

Thursday, December 18^th

9:00 AM – 10:30 AM

Introduction to Silverlight, Data Binding, LINQ

10:30 AM – 10:45 AM

Break

10:45 AM – 12:00 PM

Platform Centric Design Best Practices:

Creating WPF and Silverlight XAML for Web and Local Client Solutions

12:00 PM – 1:00 PM

Lunch, Mingle, Prizes

1:00 PM – 3:00 PM

Instructor-led Silverlight walkthrough and assisted development

3:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Assisted development

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What if I don’t have Visual Studio?

A. No problem, every attendee leaves with Visual Studio 2008 Pro!

Q. What if I don’t have Expression Blend?

A. Again, no problem! Everyone leaves with Expression Studio 2.

Q. What if I don’t have an idea for a starter project?

A. We’d like you to leave with something personal, but if nothing comes to mind that’s OK too. It’s the main reason we’re planning a few guided sessions where you can fallow along with us. These sessions should take no more than two hours, so if something sparks your interest you’ll still have time left for assisted development.

Q. What if I don’t have a laptop?

A. You can still participate in the training in the mornings and lunch, but assisted development in the afternoon is a harder problem to solve. We have no problem with people pairing up, so you might want to check with friends or co-workers to see if they’re interested.

Q. Can I just come for the training and skip assisted development?

A. XamlFest is about empowering designers and developers to deliver great user experiences and we believe a key component is hands-on assisted development. If you are unable to participate in the afternoon sessions please wait until the day before the event to register. This will give others the opportunity to sign up first, and if there’s still space available you’re welcome to join us.

..

Software Startups Accelerate with Microsoft BizSpark

 

 

 

 

 

Today Microsoft announced BizSpark, an exciting new offering that will enable software startups to leverage Microsoft development and platform technologies to deliver Next Generation Web and Software-Plus-Services applications. 

The goal of BizSpark is designed to accelerate the success of early stage startups by providing access to:

• Software:  Fast and easy access to Microsoft’s current full-featured development tools, platform technologies, and production licenses of server products for immediate use in developing and bringing to market innovative and interoperable solutions with no upfront costs and minimal requirements
• Support:  Professional technical support from Microsoft (MSDN) and community support from BizSpark “Network Partners” around the world who provide a wide range of support resources for software startups (e.g., entrepreneur incubators, associations, & investors)
• Visibility:  Global visibility to an audience of potential investors, clients, and partners.

BizSpark will be available to startups that fit the following criteria:

• A private company building a software-based product or service (not intended for consultants/system integrators or customers/enterprises)
• In business for less than 3 years
• Less than $1M in revenue
• Nominated by a  Network Partner 

If you are a eligible Software Startup eager to start building your software/service please visit www.microsoft.com/BizSpark now!

 

Azure – The Microsoft Cloud Platform

 

Earlier this week at the PDC we announced our Cloud Platform Azure. The Microsoft’s Azure Services Platform is a group of cloud technologies, each providing a specific set of services to application developers.

The components of the Azure Services Platform can be used by applications running in the cloud and by local applications running on a variety of systems, including various flavors of Windows, mobile devices, and others. The key components as show in the diagram below include:

·         Windows Azure: Provides a Windows-based environment for running applications and storing data on servers in Microsoft data centers.

·         Microsoft .NET Services: Offers distributed infrastructure services to cloud-based and local applications.

·         Microsoft SQL Services: Provides data services in the cloud based on SQL Server.

·         Live Services: Through the Live Framework, provides access to data from Microsoft’s Live applications and others. The Live Framework also allows synchronizing this data across desktops and devices, finding and downloading applications, and more.

 

Azure Channel 9 videos:

· Ray Ozzie Reflections on Azure

· Introducing Windows Azure – Manuvir Das

· Windows Azure for Developers – Steve Marx

· Inside SQL Services – Dave Campbell

· Inside .NET Services – Dennis Pilarinos

Azure Services Platform Resources:

· Azure Services Platform Developer Center

· Live Framework

· Introduction to Azure Services Platform by David Chappell

PDC 2008 Highlights on Azure and other  key notes:

· http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/events/pdc/default.mspx

· http://notatpdc.com/presentations/

(this is a virtual PDC for folks who couldn’t attend the sessions)

Additional information on Azure and how to register for the Community Technical Preview is available at the following link