MSDN Flash - Volume 13, Number 2: January 19, 2009
Volume 13, Number 2: January 19, 2009
From the Editor
Greetings,
At Microsoft, we take the New Year's "in with the new" promise very literally. While our user community is slamming our registration capacity for the Windows 7 beta download, this also is a great opportunity for developers to get a jump on building the next generation of applications. To that end, we invite you to check out the MSDN Evaluation Center's Windows 7 Beta Customer Preview Program. In addition to the Windows 7 beta bits, there is also a wealth of info for developers, including:
• A primer on device support and testing for Windows 7
• Windows Client OS Team's blog entry
Speaking of new stuff for developers, I hope you've been following the news about Visual Studio 2010 release. The latest posting of Somasegar's Weblog looks at Office client developer enhancements with VS 2010. Also know that Channel 9 offers a weekly video podcast on Visual Studio 2010 and the .NET Framework 4.0.
Thanks for reading,
Editor
MSDN Flash
A Note from Your Student Developer Team
With all the news about the economy, jobs are top of mind with most students I talk to. Microsoft recruiting has a number of resources available to help you find the right job for you, at Microsoft and beyond. Here are some of the tips from the best here at Microsoft.
JobsBlog, the Dear Abby of Microsoft Recruiting
• Modifying your resume isn't always the answer.
Dear JobsBlog: Would you recommend I tailor my resume when applying for a job? Does this help or hinder my chances of getting the position?
Dear "Resume Riled:" As with many areas of recruiting, it depends. It can definitely be valuable to tailor your resume for a specific position and, generally, I would tell my friends to do so. Read more...
• What is your greatest weakness?
The interview question everyone dreads is unmasked by Microsoft Recruiting.
• Workin' It at Microsoft
Recruiting goes to Facebook
• What's your best interview tip?
Employers and interviewees spill the beans.
Students to Business
Students to Business brings Microsoft partners and students together in an online community. New addition: get a .NET mentor.
Resume Boosters
The countdown is on, with only a few days left to finish up your U.S. Imagine Cup Software Design Projects. The U.S. Imagine Cup is offering a free Xbox game to anyone who submits an entry in the first round. See the Imagine Cup Site for rules and details. Get your Software Design submission in before the deadline: Thursday, January 22 at 11:59 P.M. Pacific Time.
If you're looking for a more unconventional project, check out some of the newest entries on Coding4Fun:
• Holiday lights powered by C#
• Georgia Tech students play pool developer-style
• Coding4Fun holiday gift guide
• Coding4Fun book: 10 .NET Programming Projects for Wiimote, World of Warcraft, YouTube, and More
Your Featured Content
Ensure that the content most relevant to you is presented in this section.
SDL Series Article: the Microsoft Security Org Chart
This article examines how Microsoft uses defense-in-depth at an organization level to ensure that there are many opportunities to detect and remove software vulnerabilities. You'll see how security responsibilities are assigned from individual developers, up through the global security team.
SDL Series Article: Threat Modeling at Microsoft
Security doesn't start with coding, it starts with secure design. In this article, you'll see how Microsoft uses threat modeling to ensure secure design and prevent vulnerabilities that could not be fixed with simple coding changes.
Energy Management to Video Conversion to Internet-on-a-Bus - It's All Here
Some technologies that Microsoft has just made available for licensing might make developers really sit up and take notice. Check out these exciting new areas:
• Cell2Notify - cell phone energy management architecture
• Microsoft Research Deinterlacer - convert interlaced video
• Microsoft Research Frame Interpolator - change the frame rate of videos
• Wi-fi hand-off to diversified base stations - seamless Internet and VoIP to vehicles by hops to multiple base stations simultaneously for improved network stability
• High-performance connectivity on buses - high-performance Internet access on-board moving vehicles by combining multiple wide-area wireless paths.
• Undelivered or delayed e-mail notification system - notification system to make intended recipients aware of e-mail they might be missing
Front Runner for Innovate On: User Experience Is Here
If you're looking at evaluating the latest user experience technologies (Silverlight, WPF) and platforms (Vista, Internet Explorer 8), Front Runner for Innovate On: User Experience offers a set of technical benefits to help you through the process.
Jump-Start Your Enterprise Application Development with Enterprise Library
Do you build complex, enterprise-level applications using the Microsoft .NET Framework? This Microsoft patterns & practices guidance is a collection of application blocks (re-usable software components), services, and quick-starts designed to assist with common enterprise development challenges.
Step Up to Visual Studio Team System
Visual Studio Professional with MSDN Premium users can now save 30% when stepping up to any Visual Studio Team System edition. In addition, you can now get the Database Edition at no extra cost with the Development Edition with MSDN Premium.
Complete SharePoint 2007 Online Learning Library for Just US$495
Java Developers Expand Your Skills to Visual Studio 2005
This Ramp Up learning track has been tailored specifically to provide you with the core information you need to start successfully developing with Microsoft Visual C# 2005 on the Microsoft .NET Framework.
Government Resources
Microsoft Designer Dinner: Presenting WPF and Silverlight Animation 101
January 27, Reston, VA
Join James Chittenden, Microsoft Public Sector Evangelist, for an evening session over dinner to learn about the power of WPF on the desktop and Silverlight on the Internet to provide your audience with big-impact, high-performance user experiences.
PDC Content at the MSDN Developer Conference
It's coming to a city near you, so register today. For just US$99 you'll get the best of the PDC in your own back yard and hear all of the exciting announcements about the Azure Services Platform and Windows 7. Other sessions include the latest developments in .NET, Silverlight, Surface, parallel programming, Live Mesh, and more.
Developer Webcasts
Learn about the latest Microsoft development tools for public sector developers. Be sure to check out the upcoming webcast schedule.
On-Demand Developer Webcasts
Missed a webcast that you wanted to attend? Check out our on-demand webcasts.
Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Streamlines Processes, Lowers Costs with Consistent Desktop Environment
Seeking to improve productivity and streamline processes, the agency implemented the 2007 Microsoft Office release, including Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. In addition, the agency deployed a simple, customized user interface and a powerful Office business application that provides access to a vital line-of-business solution. Now, office-based and mobile employees alike can access and track documents far more easily. The agency's grant-approval process is more efficient and provides greater accountability and transparency. And IT costs are down by more than US$1 million yearly. Moreover, the agency is now viewed as a technology leader by other governmental entities.
Santa Barbara Police Department Boosts PC Management, Security, and User Productivity with Optimized PC Desktop
The Santa Barbara Police Department's IT department deployed Windows Vista Enterprise and other Microsoft software, including Microsoft Office Enterprise 2007, Microsoft Forefront client security products, and Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager. The result is cost and time savings due to an easy-to-administer IT environment, along with greater productivity for police officers and increased safety for the department's data and IT assets.
.NET KB Articles
RSS Feeds
.NET Framework 2.0 | .NET Framework 1.1
Visual Studio 2008, Visual Studio 2005, and Visual Studio .NET KB Articles
Cumulative Update for Visual Studio 2008 SP1 debugging and breakpoints
RSS Feeds
Visual Studio 2008 | Visual Studio 2005 | Visual Studio 2005 Team Edition | Visual Studio .NET 2003 | Visual Studio .NET 2002
SQL Server and Data Access KB Articles
Microsoft Security Advisory: Vulnerability in SQL Server could allow remote code execution
RSS Feeds
SQL Server 2005 | SQL Server 2000 | SQL Server 2000 Analysis Services
Team Development, Source Control, and Testing KB Articles
RSS Feeds
Visual Studio 2005 Team Edition | Visual SourceSafe 2005
Web Resources
Software Plus Services Concepts and Methodology Series
In this series of Web seminars, you'll learn the critical concepts behind S+S, and learn how to get started on the road to a successful S+S implementation.
Video: How to Consume a Data Service in WPF
Learn how to consume an ADO.NET Data Service from within a WPF application. ADO.NET Data Services provide a way to query and extract data from a data store. We will see how LINQ gets translated into the required RESTful service request to return a subset of data.
Video: How to Use Data Templates in WPF
See how to bind data to WPF controls in data templates. We will use the Binding markup extension to describe which class members are bound to which control properties. We'll also see how these data templates can be reused for multiple controls.
On Demand Series: Create Dynamic Web Applications with ASP.NET 3.5
Discover how to use ASP.NET Dynamic Data to create data-driven Web applications or build model view controller (MVC) applications with the ASP.NET page framework. Test-drive the AJAX features of ASP.NET 3.5 in a virtual lab or watch an on-demand webcast.
On Demand: Learn to Develop Internet Sites with SharePoint Server 2007
See how to use .COM branding to brand your Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 site. Create and use master pages to add search functionality to your site, in addition to social networking content, including blogs, wikis, and personal profiles.
On Demand: Internet Explorer 8 Developer Features
We explore the built-in Internet Explorer 8 features that help developers build standards-based Web applications. By exposing how the browser interprets a Web page, the developer tools provide many opportunities to research and resolve problems faster than has been possible with the previous versions of Internet Explorer.
Game Programming in DarkGDK and C++ (Part 6 of 6): Finalizing Levels, Testing, and Polish
Learn how to set the difficulty curve of the game and make levels. We also discuss testing the game, making final adjustments to the game, and getting it ready for release. We explore how to take the game further with simple expansion possibilities.
SharePoint Products and Technologies for Internet Site Development: Authentication
In this webcast, we focus on the necessary process and steps to configure all the elements of enabling forms-based authentication. We explain how this has been achieved in our development environment, Adventure Works.
Virtual Lab: Visual Studio 2008, Windows Communication Foundation, and REST
This lab will serve as an introduction to creating Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) services. It will also illustrate how a WCF service can easily be adopted to meet the ever-changing needs of service-based software by adapting the service we create to use REST.
Virtual Lab: Using LINQ to SQL with the .NET Framework 3.5 and Visual Studio 2008
After completing this lab, you will be better able to implement a resource access layer that interacts with an existing Microsoft SQL Server database, use the LINQ to SQL Designer to create LINQ to SQL entity classes and associations (relationships) based on tables in a database, manage the DataContext and use where clauses, perform joins, order the results, and handle conflict detection.
Virtual Lab: Building Web Applications with Visual Studio 2008
In this lab you will use the powerful new CSS editor in Visual Studio 2008 to manage styles sheets in Web pages. You will also try out other new tools like the new DataPager control and the new LINQ Data Source.
Security for Developers
Video Roundup (Martin Johns and More!)
Check out Martin's excellent talk at Microsoft Research, Secure Code Generation for Web Applications, plus three more security-related videos.
Gary McGraw's Reality Check Security Podcast
Current Memory Limitations of CAT.NET
Training
Help Your Career Thrive in Any Economy with Second Shot
Increase your marketability and job security by earning your Microsoft Certification. Now when you register for Second Shot, you will receive one free retake for each paid exam if you don't pass on your first attempt.
Take a Class and Get a Free Copy of SQL Server 2008
Receive a free copy of SQL Server 2008 when you attend select SQL Server 2008 courses with Microsoft Certified Partners for Learning Solutions. Limited-time offer.
Explore the Visual Studio 2008 Learning Portal
Visit the Learning Portal to find all Microsoft Learning products that support Visual Studio 2008. You'll find certification information, free Learning Snacks, and special offers on books, e-learning, classroom training, and more.
Written by industry experts, Understanding Microsoft Virtualization Solutions will teach you about the benefits of the latest virtualization technologies and how to plan, implement, and manage virtual infrastructure solutions.
SQL Server 2008 Promotion - Get on the Case
Begin training now and become a master of Microsoft SQL Server 2008. Your efforts will be rewarded. Prove your heroic new abilities in our game, and you could win an incredible prize. You'll need dedication, intelligence, and intuition. Are you up to the challenge?
Build Your Database Development, Administration, or Business Intelligence Career
Help your organization manage any data, any place, any time. Promote your abilities to store, manage, and optimize this data with a certification on Microsoft SQL Server 2008. Study the SQL Server 2008 certification roadmap. Contact Prometric to learn what times are available for MCTS and MCITP exams in your area.
Case Studies
Video: Leading Game Publisher Selects Windows HPC Server to Scale to One Million Players
CCP, the publisher of the massively multiplayer game EVE Online, is turning to Windows HPC Server 2008 to improve performance, enable scaling to more computers, and facilitate easier management of a supercomputing environment.
University Extends HPC Capabilities with New Operating System
The Katholieke Universiteit Leuven used to rely solely on a Linux-based high-performance computing (HPC) environment to process research data, but several researchers were unfamiliar with Linux or already used applications that were not compatible with that system.
Aerospace Firm Speeds Analysis Time from Months to Days with High-Performance Solution
Aerospace engineering firm a.i. solutions, Inc. adopted Windows HPC Server 2008 to keep up with the increasingly complex computational needs of its customers.
Partner News
Evaluate Online: Productivity Tools for Scientists and Engineers
Download a free 30-day evaluation of NI Measurement Studio or try it online in minutes.
Telerik Products for the Community
Telerik now offers four of its products for free: OpenAccess ORM Express, Sitefinity CMS Community edition, RadEditor Lite for MOSS, and RadFormDecorator for ASP.NET AJAX.
Download SpreadsheetGear for .NET: Free Fully Functional 30-Day Evaluation
Add Excel-compatible reporting, dashboards, charts, calculations and more to your ASP.NET and Windows Forms applications.