MSDN Flash - Volume 17, Number 1: January 14, 2013
Top Stories
The Windows Startup Challenge - Registration Ends January 29th
This challenge will test your startup’s ability to prototype a Windows Store app, quickly iterate to design, and bring your app to life. The Windows Startup Challenge winner will receive a spot to launch their Windows Store app at DEMO Mobile event on April 17, 2013 in front of top press, seed investors and VCs. You can find more info on DEMO Mobile.
Make an App and Win a Chance to Visit Microsoft Studios - Ends February 28th
Want to win the chance to visit Microsoft Studios, meet the Windows 8 Games Studios team, and join the developers in a coding session? Publish your app(s) in the Windows Store and/or Windows Phone Store and fill out the form at Generationapp.com/ultimateexperience to enter.
Upgrade to Visual Studio 2012 Premium with MSDN at a 30% Discount
Through March 31st, eligible Visual Studio 2012 Professional with MSDN licensees can upgrade to Visual Studio 2012 Premium with MSDN at a 30% discount from estimated retail pricing.
Your Featured Content
Free eBook: Programming Windows 8 Apps with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
Now with new, updated companion content, this free ebook provides comprehensive coverage of the platform for Windows Store apps. We've added chapters on live tiles, notifications, background tasks and transfers, networking, devices, printing, WinRT, accessibility, localization, and the Windows Store itself. All of the earlier chapters have been reviewed and refined - over 800 pages in total.
Access Online Services with the Windows Runtime and OAuth
Mashups allow developers to access rich content libraries without the overhead of housing the data in their server rooms. With the Windows Runtime (WinRT), you can bring the power of mashups to your next Windows Store app.
Version Control in the TFS Client Object Model
As with many features within TFS, the version control subsystem is accessible via the TFS object model. This accessibility provides you with an extensibility model that you can leverage within your own custom tools and processes.
HTML5 Data Input Validation
Functionality that once required JavaScript, like making a field required, can now be embedded into the HTML markup you write.
Windows Store App Development for iOS Developers
Learn the ins and outs of the Windows platform from iOS developers who are now building Windows apps. Online sessions follow a low-key, interactive format where iOS terms and concepts mapped to Windows alternates.
New Windows Azure Hands-on Lab Online Training Events
Want to get hands-on with Windows Azure? Attend an upcoming Windows Azure Hands-on Lab Online (HOLO) training event to hear a live presentation and get one-on-one assistance while you work on lab exercises. Topics include Introduction to Windows Azure SQL Database, Building and Publishing ASP.NET Apps, Debugging Apps, Connecting a PaaS Application to an IaaS Application, and more. Try the Windows Azure 90-day free trial.
Practical Azure with Jim O'Neil - Table Storage Overview
Windows Azure Table Storage provides massively scalable, durable storage in the cloud with NoSQL and RESTful semantics... and it's up to 28% cheaper. Jim O'Neil points out some notable differences from the more traditional notion of a database table. Try the free Azure 90-day trial today.
Creating Games for Windows 8 and Windows Phone using GameMaker Studio from YoYo Games
Jeremy Foster welcomes Mike Dailly, Head of Development at YoYo Games, to discuss GameMaker Studio and how you can easily create games for Windows 8 and Windows Phone. Download GameMaker Studio here. Sign up to receive 30 days of help creating and publishing your own game with Generation App.
Your Win 8 App Could Be Featured on Generation App
From start to finish, Generation App provides what you need to make coding Windows 8 apps or games a snap. Richard Bagdonas, Founder and CTO of SubtleData, describes his experience building the SubtleData app with Azure for Windows 8.
Learn How to Create Your First App for Windows Phone
Visit the Windows Phone Dev Center to get step-by-step instructions to help you create your first app for Windows Phone or dig deeper with day-by-day resources at Generation App.
Microsoft Imagine Cup 2013 | St. Petersburg, Russia
Do you know a student technologist who inspires you? One who could use US$50,000? If you answered yes to either question, take a minute to learn more about Microsoft's premier global student technology competition, Imagine Cup. There are opportunities for you to get involved with the community or even take part as a team mentor. Get all the details at imaginecup.com.
Killer Bots - It's a fresh chance to win with Rock Paper Azure.
We've re-launched the challenge for six short weeks and the stakes have never been higher. Get your Windows Azure account, build and test a bot, and start playing. Once you upload your bot and tweet about it with #AzureRPS, you'll be automatically entered.
TypeScript: Making .NET Developers Comfortable with JavaScript
This article covers the basic concepts of TypeScript in the form of classes, modules and types, to show how a .NET developer can become more comfortable with a JavaScript project.
Building a Windows 8 App with HTML5
Tutorial on how to build a small RSS reader with HTML5, CSS3 and the Microsoft JavaScript framework for Windows 8.
Free HTML5 Development Exam Voucher and Jump Start
Get your new year off to a great start with a free voucher for Exam 70-480: Programming in HTML5 with JavaScript and CSS3. Prep for the exam and sharpen your skills by taking a free online Jump Start course for an accelerated introduction.
New Windows 8 Hands-on Lab Training Events
Want to learn how to create and customize interesting Windows 8 applications using existing skills? Attend an upcoming Windows 8 Hands-on Lab Online (HOLO) training event to hear a live presentation and get one-on-one assistance while you work on lab exercises. Sign up for in-depth training on how to create a Windows 8 App Using Javascript, how to Control Access with AppLocker, or Orientation, Snapping and Semantic Zoom. Sign up for Generation App to get 30 days of help to build your own app today.
Build Mobile Apps Fast with Tiggzi
Tiggzi is the only cloud-based app platform with integrated development tools and back-end services to create, deploy, and run mobile apps from anywhere. Build apps for Windows 8, Windows Phone, the mobile web and other platforms fast. Develop in the cloud - nothing to download.
Microsoft DevRadio: Creating Games for Windows 8 using GameSalad Creator
Technical Evangelist Ryan Joy welcomes Matthew Lyon-House, Adrian Glover, and Billy Garretsen from GameSalad as they demo their game creation engine, GameSalad Creator. Learn how to create games for Windows 8 and what games they've created in the Windows Store. Download GameSalad Creator.Sign up for free help to build your own app.
Community Corner - How I Wrote and Deployed a Cloud-Powered Windows 8 App in Six Days
Jennifer Marsman welcomes Patrick Godwin as they discuss how Patrick wrote and deployed a Windows 8 app in just six days with the help of Windows Azure Mobile Services. Tune in as he demos his "Would You Rather ..." app and then shows us how he used Windows Azure Mobile Services to get it done.
Build Apps for the New Marketplace
Attend a Microsoft Tech Showcase event for an introduction on how to use Visual Studio 2012 to build apps for Windows using HTML5, and Windows Store applications using C#.
Building Back-End Data and Services for Windows 8 Apps: ASP.NET Web API
Microsoft Technical Evangelist G. Andrew Duthie explores using the new ASP.NET Web API, running in a Windows Azure Web Site, showing how to build a simple game leaderboard service that provides a RESTful interface using the OData protocol.
New Getting Started Video Series: Developing Connected Windows Store Apps with Windows Azure Mobile Services
Windows Azure Mobile Services provides a powerful turnkey back-end service for your Windows Store, Windows Phone and iOS apps (Android coming soon). Learn how to store data in the cloud, light up your apps with push notifications, easily implement authentication and perform background work with scheduled scripts using Mobile Services.
Build Connected Windows Store Apps with Free Windows Azure Mobile Services
Mobile Services now supports executing backend, scheduled jobs that you can easily author as scripts. Get started today with 10 free mobile services. Quickly connect your Windows Store apps to data, use push notifications, and integrate authentication using Windows Azure Mobile Services.