Not accidently Microsoft released a preview version of Visual Studio along with the preview version of Windows 8.1 and can be downloaded at https://preview.windows.com. Furthermore Somasegar Vice president of developer division at Microsoft has posted a blog explaining in more details what to expect from the new Visual Studio:

• .NET 4.5.1 Preview with go live support improving on diagnostics and debugging support:
• x64 support for Edit and Continue
• More enhanced experience for async operation debugging
• Same capability support for JS & C++
• C++ 11 standard support which is big thing as you know C++ is a first citizen language in building Windows 8 apps.
• Serious performance improvements to XAML developer experience (yes!) along with UI responsive toolset support and UI testing!
• A better JS debugging experience overall making VS one of the best JS debugging tools out there
• The really cool energy consumption tool, allowing you to measure how big your energy consumption is for the app you are developing

This is just the tip of the iceberg and I am sure more features will be announced later this week. You can find the full article here.

Try it out and let us know what you think about it.

But now you can accelerate your development time to build a Windows Store LOB app. A couple of days ago the Pattern & Practices team have released Prism for Windows Runtime and the associated AdventureWorks Shopper reference implementation to the Windows Dev Center.

What is Prism for Windows Runtime?

The Prism for Windows Runtime release provides you guidance to help you more easily design and build flexible and easy-to-maintain Windows Store apps using C# and XAML and the Windows Runtime.

Prism comes with the AdventureWorks Shopper reference implementation which uses the Prism library to demonstrate modern development practices such as Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM) pattern with navigation and app lifecycle management. Additionally the reference implementation demonstrates validation, application data management, accessibility, localizability, touch, search, tiles, tile notification, and multiple view states.

Where do you get started?

The Prism library source code is available with the AdventureWorks Shopper reference implementation on the MSDN Code Gallery at https://aka.ms/prism-winrt-code. The Prism binaries will also be available on NuGet starting Monday May 20. Search for Prism.  You can view the documentation at https://aka.ms/prism-winrt-doc or download a PDF version at https://aka.ms/prism-winrt-pdf.

Check also our local Apps on Windows portal for more resources on how to develop apps for Windows 8, Windows Azure and Windows Phone – you can find local trainings and events, contests and links to online training resources.

We want to give you a push in the back to develop great applications – join the Windows 8 App Race and win:

How to win

Your app(s) need to be published between April 1 and June 15, 2013. Complete the contest form(s) on https://aka.ms/race.

There is no limit to the number of entries you can submit but each entry must be substantially unique and different. The date and time of the first and fifth application as part of the entry submitted in a particular timeframe will determine the winners of the tablets. Note: this contest is only open for residents from Belgium and Luxembourg. Please read the full terms & conditions of this contest before entering. Questions? Contact us msdnbewm@microsoft.com.

We’re looking forward to see your apps shine in the Store … and who knows soon on your brand new Asus tablet!

Today we announced the general availability of our Windows Azure Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) support! With this release Azure Virtual Machines and Virtual Network move out of Preview and are now ready to use for your production apps.

With Azure Virtual Machines you can deploy and run durable VMs in the cloud, provisioned from prebuilt templates or alternatively upload your own custom-built VMs.  All this in a matter of seconds!  Azure Virtual Network allows you to securely bridge between your on-premises infrastructure and your infrastructure in the cloud. This gives you the flexibility to run your workloads where you want, but manage them all in the same way.

Whether you want to securely extend your on-premises network to Windows Azure or you want to create a virtual private network with persistent private IPs..

Let’s look in more detail into what we have announced today:

• For memory intensive scenarios, we are now introducing two high-memory compute instances: 4 core x 28GB RAM and 8 core x 56GB RAM. With these VM sizes you can run even larger workloads on Windows Azure, for example SharePoint Server or SQL Server workloads.
• We have added several new VM image templates to the Image Gallery, such as SQL Server 2012, BizTalk Server 2013 and SharePoint Server 2013 images. These images also come with hourly billing, so you don’t have to pay for an upfront license.
• We have updated the SLA for Virtual Machines and Virtual Network.  For VMs that have 2 or more instances deployed in the same availability set, we have a 99.95% SLA for external connectivity.  For Virtual Network, we guarantee a 99.9% Virtual Network Gateway availability.
• As of this announcement, Virtual Machines and Virtual Network are now supported by Microsoft Support staff, so you can confidently run your production apps on Azure.

On top of all these great features, we’re also announcing significant pricing reductions to our Windows Azure PaaS and IaaS VM pricing. You can expect to see from 20% (Virtual Machines) to 33% (Cloud Services) price reductions! These new prices are effective as of June 1.  And as of today, we’re also adding 50 hours of free memory-intensive-instance hours to our member offers and 90-day trials.

For a more detailed description of the announcement, you can check out Scott Guthrie’s blogpost.

If you don’t already have a Windows Azure account, you can sign-up for a free trial and start using all of the above features today.  Did you know that you already have a lot of free Azure resources as part of your MSDN, MPN or BizSpark membership?

If you want to learn more about our Windows Azure IaaS capabilities, don’t forget to listen in on our dedicated IaaS webcast on April 30. If you want to experience this great technology hands-on, join us for our Azure IT Camp on May 6.

It’s made easier, but now that you have more powers, you also have greater responsibilities! It means you’ll discover new APIs, new design principles, …

But one of the most important thing you have to know about Windows 8, is that you can reuse your skills ! It doesn’t matter if you are a Web developer or already familiar with Microsoft technologies. You can bring amazing apps in JavaScript/HTML as well as in XAML and C#/VB.NET or C/C++.

This MOOC (in french) is an introduction to that new environment ! It’s meant for people who want to get started quickly.

Objectives:

With those videos, you’ll learn :

• The new Windows 8 ;
• WinRT, the framework for Modern apps ;
• 8 design principles for Windows 8 ;
• What’s new for Web developers ;
• What’s new for .NET developers ;
• A few new controls…

Course :

1. Introduction :

• 1.1 – Ressources and useful links  
• 1.2 – Windows 8 for the end user
• 1.3 – WinRT, the modern framework
• 1.4 – Application lifecycle

2. Windows 8 design principles :

• 2.1 – Focus on content
• 2.2 – Be fast and fluid
• 2.3 – Responsive and scalable design
• 2.4 – Take advantage of contracts
• 2.5 – Live Tile and Roaming

3. Development’s basics :

• 3.1 – For web developers
• 3.2 – For .NET developers
• 3.3 – New controls
• 3.4 – Present data with GridView and ListView
• 3.5 – Makes your layout responsive with XAML and CSS

Resources :

Now that you’re ready to start developing your own Windows Store app, you probably want to dive into code… Here are some must-have resources :

Microsoft Belux :

The reference for every Windows developer in Belgium. Have a look at the agenda to know about all the Windows 8 events planned by Microsoft and the community.
https://www.microsoft.com/belux/msdn/apps/windows/default.aspx

Windows 8 Dev Camp In a Box :

A Hands-On KIT containing all the labs you need to learn how to build Windows Store apps. It is available in JS/HTML and in C#/XAML.
https://aka.ms/windows8campinabox

We come to your cities (4!), we bring the experts (many!), feed you with breakfast, pizza, coffee (lots!) and Red Bull, honor you with prizes and rewards (countless!). End goal: Get to Windows Store, have fun doing it, go home with prizes (to be announced soon, we promise you: you’ll really like them!). Hint hint: for the best quality app we’ll have a conference ticket…

Go ahead and reserve your spot. Join us for the Day event or the Night event or both. See the agenda setup at the bottom of this post.

• Register for the hackathon in Brussels
• Register for the hackathon in Genk
• Register for the hackahton in Kortrijk
• Register for the hackathon in MIC Mons

Superhackathon theme
Yes, winter is cosy with the snow and all – but after months of darkness we all need light. So the theme for the superhackathon is around spring, well-being, health and happiness. To be interpreted very broadly
Feel the ideas coming?

First time app? Build your first one – see how to get started here.

Design reference templates
You can use a template fully created for the Windows 8 style & experience. Just by binding the relevant data, you should have a good looking app that runs in the paradigm of Windows 8. And the good news: the templates are available as Visual Studio 2012 project in both C#/XAML and HTML/JavaScript options. So pick your template and platform and build your app in a breeze.

The template addresses App Views (Landscape, Fill, Snap and Portrait), Live Tiles, Search & Share Contract, Settings, Navigation across pages, Bottom & Top App Bar (If applicable). So get started today and finish off the app together with us!

Agenda

Day

8:30: Welcome and registration

9:00 – 9:30: Introduction and getting started

9:30 – 12:30: Coding (alone or with your group)Guidance, hands-on labs and expert advice on site

12:30 – 13:30: Lunch

13:30 – 16:00: Coding (alone or with your group)Guidance, hands-on labs and expert advice on site

16:00 – 17:00: Demo time and best app showdown for Day attendees
Publish your first finished app: prize

17:00: Break and end of the Day part

Night

17:30: Welcome and registration (or continue working for those going for the full day)

18:00 – 18:30: Introduction and getting started

18:30 – 19:30: Coding (alone or with your group)Guidance, hands-on labs and expert advice on site

19:30 – 20:30: Dinner

20:30 – 23:00: Coding (alone or with your group)Guidance, hands-on labs and expert advice on site

23:00 – 24:00: Demo time and best app showdown
Publish your first finished app: prize

24:00: End

Other confirmed speakers for developer sessions: Andrew Peters, Brad Sullivan, Dan Holme, Jim Wang, Kevin DeRudder, Lieven Iliano, Maarten Balliauw, Pieter Gheysens and Yves Goeleven. 

The preliminary agenda is available online.



TechDays 2013 is a 3 day event, taking place at Kinepolis Antwerp. On the first day (March 5) we'll be hosting a pre-conference with 4 different tracks (2 for developers and 2 for IT professionals). The main conference will be on March 6 and 7.

Don’t miss the opportunity to join thousands of technology professionals to network with peers and experts, while diving deep into Microsoft technologies at one of biggest IT events in Belgium & Luxembourg. Register now to get a 15% discount on your ticket (valid until January 1, 2013).

The app market is here to stay. Are you ready to talk Apps? Are you ready to design Apps? Are you ready to develop Apps?

Don’t miss the first Windows App Day, packed with national and international speakers to talk about App Development, User Experience and Design.

The speakers?  All actively working on apps, design & the web and ready to share learnings and best practices.

Join us and get inspired!

• All About Apps: Windows 8, Windows Azure, Windows Phone and Web Apps
• After the 100% app keynote we split into two tracks: one focused on UX, designers and web experts; a second one for developers.
• Feel free to switch tracks during the day to compose the schedule of your taste. Find detailed info on the sessions and our speakers on our Windows App Day page!
  

Don’t miss this first Windows App Day on November 23rd!

Windows Azure Mobile Services makes it incredibly easy to connect a scalable cloud backend to your client and mobile applications.  It allows you to easily store structured data in the cloud that can span both devices and users, integrate it with user authentication, as well as send out updates to clients via push notifications.

A couple of weeks ago we announced Windows Azure Mobile Services with support for Windows 8 apps. This week we delivered initial support for connecting iOS based devices (including iPhones and iPads) to Windows Azure Mobile Services.  We’ll also be adding support to enable these same scenarios for Windows Phone, and Android devices soon.

In addition, we have also released the following great improvements to Windows Azure Mobile Services:

• Facebook, Twitter and Google authentication support
• Sending emails from your Mobile Service, in partnership with SendGrid
• Sending SMS messages from your Mobile Service, in partnership with Twilio

• Support for connecting to Azure Storage and Azure Service Bus

Read this getting started tutorial to walkthrough how you can build (in less than 5 minutes) a simple iOS “Todo List” app that stores data in Windows Azure.  Then follow the below tutorials to explore how to use the iOS client libraries to store data and authenticate users.

• Get Started with data in Mobile Services for iOS
• Get Started with authentication in Mobile Services for iOS

 If you don’t already have a Windows Azure account, you can sign-up for a free trial and start using Mobile Services today. Visit the Windows Azure Mobile Developer Center to learn more about how to build apps with Mobile Services.

For more information about building applications on Windows and an overview of our local activities, visit the Apps on Windows landing page.

Eat. Drink. Code. Join us at HUB on November 10^th.

Belgium is part of the app revolution! By registering, you’ll be joining thousands of developers worldwide as we build apps for the next generation of Windows. Microsoft app experts, MEET-members, developers and trainers will be available on-site to assist your learning and coding. Learn about building Windows Store apps today – download the info, tools and resources you need now.

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 10th 2012 08:08 – 00:00 HUBrussel Warmoesberg 26 1000 Brussels Belgium SIGN UP

WIN an ASUS Vivo Tab!

At WOWZAPP, we will launch a Windows 8 apps contest, where you can WIN a brand new ASUS Vivo Tab! The contest rules will be explained during the hackathon. Be smart. Be fast. Love coding. Win a tablet!

What to expect

What to bring

Are you a developer?

• Familiarity writing either desktop apps, mobile applications or developing websites.
• Familiarity with either Javascript, C# or C++.
• Bring your own laptop: any device capable of running Windows 8 and Visual Studio (Express)
• Required software: 
  Windows 8 RTM via MSDN downloads (for MSDN subscribers) or Windows 8 RTM via Evaluation Center
  Visual Studio 2012
  Windows 8 SDK samples

Are you a (UX) Designer?

Photoshop or your familiar wireframing tool / Check out the Windows 8 UX Guidelines
+ You might want to download Windows Store Apps Design Assets

See you on November 10^th!