Roadmap for Major Technology announced at TechEd

Thanks to Network World for their article, Microsoft’s software pipeline set to burst. The product roadmaps for the coming year were announced at TechEd this past week.

• Windows 7 offers key features for developers: Windows Touch, Taskbar, Scenic Ribbon, Scenic Animation, Sensor and Location Platform, Windows Installer 5.0, Internet Explorer 8, PowerShell 2.0. The release candidate is currently available publicly.
• Windows Server 2008 R2 offers new group policy features that will help with power management and cost cutting, Hyper-V improvements, File Classification Infrastructure, Server Core, APIs and tools to help your tune your parallel applications using NUMA, PowerShell 2.0, Windows Web Services, background services and tasks, Background Intelligence Transfer. The release candidate is currently available publicly..
• Exchange 2010 designed and developed to work on-premises and as an online service, and introduces a new integrated e-mail archive and features to reduce costs and improve the user experience. The public beta is currently available publicly.
• Microsoft Code-named ‘Geneva’ is an identity federation platform that simplifies user access and secure collaboration across organizational boundaries. The beta 2 version is currently available publicly.
• Microsoft Code-named ‘Dublin’ will be an Application extend Internet Information Services (IIS) to provide a standard host for applications that use workflow or communications. For more information, see Overview of WF 4.0, WCF 4.0, and Windows Server “Dublin”.
• Microsoft Code-named ‘Stirling’ is an integrated security suite that coordinates protection and visibility across desktops, servers, applications and the network edge a client console for Forefront security software. The beta 2 version is publicly available.
• Microsoft Project Code Named “Velocity” is a distributed in-memory application cache platform for developing scalable, high-performance applications. Community technology preview 3 (CTP3) is currently available publicly.
• Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4.0 is being designed inside and out to give developers and development teams every advantage in getting groundbreaking applications to market—faster and easier than ever. The beta 1 release will be available soon.
• Windows Mobile 6.5 with Windows Mobile Marketplace, Windows Phone
• Windows Azure is a cloud services operating system that serves as the development, service hosting and service management environment for the Azure Services Platform. Windows Azure provides developers with on-demand compute and storage to host, scale, and manage Web applications on the Internet through Microsoft® data centers. Commercial availability for Windows Azure will likely be at the end of calendar year 2009. Currently available as community preview publicly.
• Microsoft Hyper-V™ Server 2008 R2 is addition of new features such as live migration and expanded processor and memory support for host systems, it allows organizations to consolidate workloads onto a single physical server. Publicly available as a release candidate.Will continue to be free.

• Office 2010 — including Office Web applications, SharePoint Server 2010, Visio 2010 and Project 2010 — will enter a technical preview in July 2009 and will release to manufacturing in the first half of 2010. Nominate yourself for the preview at Office The Movie.

• SQL Server 2008 R2 will empower end users to make better decisions through self services analysis (‘Gemini’) and self-service business intelligence code-named “Kilimanjaro.” It will help IT drive greater efficiency and reduce costs through new capabilities such as multi-server management and Master Data Services. The community preview is due by the end of 2009.
• Microsoft Code-Name ‘Madison’ is an appliance version of the database for massively parallel processing. It will be able to handle the most demanding data warehousing workloads spanning hundreds of terabytes of data and thousands of concurrent users at the low total cost of ownership (TCO) businesses have come to expect from SQL Server.

• Silverlight 3. introducing more than 50 new features, including support for running Silverlight applications out of the browser, dramatic video performance and quality improvements, and features that radically improve developer productivity. Currently in publicly available beta. Also includes Microsoft Expression Blend 3 Preview, Silverlight Toolkit, and .NET RIA Services.

For more details on the roadmaps, see

• Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 Anticipated for Holiday Release
• Simplify User Access, Secure Collaboration Across Organizational Boundaries with ‘Geneva’ Beta 2
• How to Get Started Leveraging Windows Server 2008 R2 Features
• ‘Velocity’ Preview Updates In-Memory Caching Platform
• Top 10 Scenarios; ISVs Add Customer Value with Windows 7 Features
• First Look of Visual Studio 2010, .NET Framework 4.0 Available On Demand During May, June
• Walkthrough to Get Your Applications Ready for Windows 7
• Opportunities for ISVs to Step-up, Subscribe, Upgrade, Switch to Visual Studio, MSDN
• Exchange 2010 Beta Highlights S+S
• Alpha Version of Windows Logo Testing Kit Ready April 14

Students can get current Microsoft technologies at Dreamspark.

Startup businesses can get current Microsoft technologies at BizSpark.

Architect Council | The Importance of the Client March 25-26, 2009, Mountain View & San Francisco

 

Over the last couple of years, there has been a lot of innovation around of technologies that make it easier for the end user of an application to interact with systems.  This innovation has been a boon for the end user because it has provided them a more natural interface with systems that span the web, computer, and phone.  However, this has caused the complexity of systems architecture and development to increase.  The focus of this session will be on how to prepare and manage this complexity within your organization.

Facilitated by Microsoft, the premise of this event is to provide an open forum where architects can meet to discuss technologies with their peers.  This forum will provide first-hand experience and best practices that will enable its members to learn from each other and transfer knowledge.

Please join us for this *FREE* event which will provide great opportunity to learn, share and network with your peers and other company leaders. Also don’t forget there will be free give aways (hint..hint..Zune)

EVENT SUMMARY

The Value of the Client – In the past, the choice of how an end user interacts with an application has been dictated by IT and often without regards to the usage.  Recently, as the population has become more tech savvy and are experiencing interactions on the web, computer, and the phone their expectations have increased tremendously.  Many organizations now have to support multiple standards and technologies to accommodate their user base.  We will discuss the opportunities and challenges this presents.

The Changing Face of the Web – The web has changed from a static collection of data to an application platform.  In many cases, JavaScript and AJAX have enhanced the experience to enable more advance application scenarios.  In other cases, the Rich Internet Application using technologies such as Silverlight and Flash can bring the experience to a new level.  In this session we will discuss the web and in particular the investments Microsoft is making in this technology.

Creating Powerful Applications on Computers and Devices – The web has been a boon to application development and deployment, but it doesn’t always fit every scenario.  There are certain classes of applications which provide a better experience when running on a device and utilizing local hardware.  The ubiquity of the mobile device has also extended the expectations of users with anytime/anywhere access. 

The Future of the Client – The pace of change in client technologies over the past few years has been tremendous and is expected to continue to evolve.  From support of new device types such as tables and walls, to continued improvements in interactions on the web, client, and the phone the client will become more and more important from a technology perspective and more strategic to the organization.

AGENDA

12:15 PM  Arrival

12:30 PM  Lunch and announcements

01:00 PM  The Value of the Client

01:45 PM  The Changing Face of the Web

02:45 PM  Creating Powerful Applications on Computers and Devices

03:45 PM  The Future of the Client

04:15 PM  Raffle and close

REGISTER

To register, please click on the link below or call 1.877.MSEVENT (1.877.673.8368).

March 25, 2009 | Mountain View, CA

Microsoft Corporation

1065 La Avenida St.
Building 1 Mountain View California 94043

Registration Link:

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032399662&Culture=en-US

Event ID: 1032399662

March 26, 2009 |San Francisco, CA

Microsoft Corporation

835 Market Street #700
San Francisco California 94103-1901

Registration Link:

 http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032399663&Culture=en-US

 

Event ID: 1032399663

*Referral code not required to register.*

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!!

Windows 7 Beta 1 Announced at CES 2009

Microsoft at the CES2009, announced advances in Windows 7 beta, Windows Mobile, Windows Live – all designed to help consumers connect and live a ‘life without walls.’ Over the past few years customers have asked to make some changes to Windows and we listened closely. Now it’s time to share an early look at how we we’ve used your feedback. Windows 7 is faster, more reliable, and makes it easier to do what you want to do.

I have Windows 7 installed on my PC at home and I love it. Some of my favorite features are the new UI innovations that make navigation easier; “Playto” which lets me enjoy all of the my family media on my PC anywhere in my home and “HomeGroup” which makes it easier to share files and printers across my home network with my other PCs.

And remember—this is just a preview. There’s more to come…

To get more information Windows 7 go to the following resources:

· Steve Ballmer Windows 7 Beta 1 CES09 announcement

· Windows 7 key features

· Channel 9 and Channel 10 tag pages for all videos on Windows 7

· Engineering Windows 7 post

· Windows 7 Developer Guide post

· Windows 7 Beta Download, Scenarios videos on Cool things to try at download (available starting 1/9/09)