Neil Hutson - Focused on Emerging Technologies for Microsoft https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/neilhut/feed.xml I am responsible for the adoption of emerging technology platforms by developers and it professionals at Microsoft Tue, 16 Apr 2019 05:22:00 GMT en-US hourly 1 Released : Windows Azure Mobile Services https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/neilhut/released-windows-azure-mobile-services Tue, 28 Aug 2012 11:33:36 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/neilhut/2012/08/28/released-windows-azure-mobile-services/ Today were excited to share that the Windows Azure Mobile Services public preview is now available. Windows Azure Mobile Services is a turnkey backend solution to accelerate your connected client app development for common application scenarios such as structured storage, user authentication and push notifications all within minutes.

The best way to get a view is to watch this short introduction and demo from Scott Guthrie.

 

More details can be found on Scott’s Blog ( https://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2012/08/28/announcing-windows-azure-mobile-services.aspx )

]]> Released : Windows Azure Training Kit June 2012 https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/neilhut/released-windows-azure-training-kit-june-2012 Tue, 19 Jun 2012 12:29:49 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/neilhut/2012/06/19/released-windows-azure-training-kit-june-2012/  

Today we shipped the  Windows Azure Training Kit June 2012 Update .   The June 2012 update includes 42 step-by-step hands-on labs and 20 presentations covering the new Windows Azure features, in particular Windows Azure Web Sites and Windows Azure Virtual Machines which we announced two weeks ago. 

Some of the highlights of this update include:

  1. 12 new hands-on labs for Windows Azure Virtual Machines
  2. 11 new hands-on labs for Windows Azure Web Sites
  3. 2 new hands-on labs that demonstrate Windows Azure with Windows 8 Metro-style applications
  4. New hands-on labs for Node.js and PHP using Mac OS X
  5. Updated content for the latest Windows Azure SDKs, tools, and new Windows Azure Management Portal
  6. New and updated presentations designed to support individual sessions to a full 3 day training workshops

Download Now

You can download the training kit from the download center here:  https://bit.ly/WATKJune2012

Just like past releases, the full training kit package (213MB) is a self-extracting exe that will unpack all of the hands-on labs and presentations to your local machine.  You can then browse through the hands-on labs as HTML or the PowerPoint presentations locally.  Alternatively, you can download the Training Kit Web Installer (2.4MB) and selectively choose individual hands-on labs or presentations. 

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]]> Learn Windows Azure Event https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/neilhut/learn-windows-azure-event Thu, 08 Dec 2011 09:08:36 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/neilhut/2011/12/08/learn-windows-azure-event/ Next week on Redmond Campus we are running a Windows Azure event hosted by Microsoft technical leaders Scott Guthrie, Dave Campbell, and Mark Russinovich.

This will provide a great recap of where we are on the Windows Azure Platform and you can either register to visit physically, on register to watch the stream on-line at the following location.

 

https://www.learnwindowsazureevent.com/

]]> Windows Azure Tookkit for Social Games 1.1 RELEASED https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/neilhut/windows-azure-tookkit-for-social-games-1-1-released Wed, 16 Nov 2011 15:33:49 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/neilhut/2011/11/16/windows-azure-tookkit-for-social-games-1-1-released/ Nathan on the team has just updated the Windows Azure Toolkit for Social Games to version 1.1. This version is a significant step forward and enables developers to more easily and quickly build out their social games on the Windows Azure Platform.

The other big change he made in this release was to separate the core toolkit from the Tankster game based on your feedback and replace with 2 needed simpler samples,  Tic-Tac-Toe and Four in a Row. The Tankster game is now available separately as a sample built on top of the toolkit.

 

clip_image004Key features of the kit include

  • Sample Games: Tic-Tac-Toe and Four in a Row
  • Game Invitations
  • Leaderboards
  • Game Friends
  • User Profile
  • Tests for both server and client code
  • Reusable JavaScript libraries
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]]> Windows Azure SDK ( November Update ) https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/neilhut/windows-azure-sdk-november-update Tue, 15 Nov 2011 16:57:32 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/neilhut/2011/11/15/windows-azure-sdk-november-update/ Today we released a simplified version of the Windows Azure SDK, with a number of new features, a HPC Scheduler SDK  and finally a Windows Azure Platform Training Kit which aligns with the new changes.

The major updates are as follows

  • Streamlined publishing: This allows you to configure all aspects of deployments, such as Remote Desktop (RDP), without ever leaving Visual Studio.
  • Multiple profiles: Your publish settings, build config, and cloud config choices will be stored in one or more publish profile MSBuild files.
  • Team Build: The Windows Azure Tools for Visual Studio 2010 now offer MSBuild command-line support to package your application and pass in properties.
  • In-Place Updates: Visual Studio now allows you to make improved in-place updates to deployed services in Windows Azure.
  • Enhanced Publishing Wizard: Overhaul of publishing experience to sign-in, configure the deployment, and review the summary of changes
  • Automatic Credential Management Configuration: No longer need to manually create or manage a cert
  • Multiple Subscription Deployment Management: Makes it easier to use multiple Windows Azure subscriptions by selecting the subscription you want to use when publishing within Visual Studio.
  • Hosted Service Creation: Create new hosted services within Visual Studio, without having to visit the Windows Azure Portal.
  • Storage Accounts: Create and configure appropriate storage accounts within Visual Studio (no longer need to do this manually)
  • Remote Desktop Workflow: Enable by clicking a checkbox and providing a username/password – no need to create or upload a cert
  • Deployment Configurations: Manage multiple deployment environment configurations
  • Azure Activity Log: More information about the publish and virtual machine initialization status

 

The Windows Azure HPC Scheduler also allows for job scheduling and resource management, web-based job submission, parallel runtimes with support for MPI applications and WCF services and persistent state management of job queue and resource configuration.

 

For more details, please download the Windows Azure Platform Training Kit to get the details which now includes an option through Web Installer to make the download easier.

]]> Windows Azure Umbraco Accelerator https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/neilhut/windows-azure-umbraco-accelerator Tue, 14 Jun 2011 21:27:44 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/neilhut/2011/06/14/windows-azure-umbraco-accelerator/ We have just published a point release of the “Windows Azure Accelerator for Umbraco” which is designed to enable Umbraco applications to be easily deployed into the Windows Azure.

The accelerator has been designed to enable you to rapidly deploy Umbraco applications and updates to your application without redeploying a full Windows Azure Service Package. Included with the accelerator is a simple deployment client that can upload and a start an Umbraco site within Windows Azure in a matter of minutes.

You can get all the details and download the Accelerator at the following location

https://waacceleratorumbraco.codeplex.com/

]]> SQLServer “Denali” keynote at TechED 2011 https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/neilhut/sqlserver-denali-keynote-at-teched-2011 Wed, 18 May 2011 13:46:44 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/neilhut/2011/05/18/sqlserver-denali-keynote-at-teched-2011/  

On Monday, Quentin Clark ( GM of SQL Engineering) presented a foundational session at TechED which focused on the Microsoft Data Platform with SQL Server “Denali” and took a look into some of our latest data tools with “Juneau”.

Juneau is pretty exciting because you can install it as a stand alone component, through the integrated VS 2010 installation, through web via Web Platform Installer (WebPI )or with the next release of Visual Studio. The Web PI option is pretty exciting. This means you can get your hands on just our tools without having to install SQL Server or Visual Studio, which should be really popular with web developers.

The second key piece of news is the new lite version of the database which is the “Denali” Express version. Top things include the ability to install as a small shared component instead of a service, it can be bundled with an app, fully supports T-SQL and is all combined within a single file.

A pointer to the foundational session can be found here.

https://channel9.msdn.com/Events/TechEd/NorthAmerica/2011/FDN04

]]> Visual Studio V.NEXT features shown at TechED 2011 https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/neilhut/visual-studio-v-next-features-shown-at-teched-2011 Tue, 17 May 2011 10:09:49 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/neilhut/2011/05/17/visual-studio-v-next-features-shown-at-teched-2011/ Yesterday during the TechED 2011 North America Keynote, Cameron Skinner showed off a number of the new features which are coming in the next release of Visual Studio. In particular he drilled down into a number of new ALM capabilities and code editing features such as “Code Clone”.

During the foundational session which immediately followed the keynote Cameron went into a lot more details after the next release. Check out his session here

https://channel9.msdn.com/Events/TechEd/NorthAmerica/2011/FDN03

You can also double click on the player below to see it full screen.

 

]]> Windows Azure Toolkit for iOS https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/neilhut/windows-azure-toolkit-for-ios Tue, 10 May 2011 10:08:38 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/neilhut/2011/05/10/windows-azure-toolkit-for-ios/  

If you every wanted to build iPhone applications which connected to the cloud to access storage services, your wish has been granted.

On Monday we released the “Windows Azure Toolkit for iOS” which is a toolkit for developers to make it easy to access Windows Azure storage services from native iOS applications. The toolkit can be used for both iPhone and iPad applications, developed using Objective-C and XCode.

The toolkit works in two ways – the toolkit can be used to access Windows Azure storage directly, or alternatively, can go through a proxy server. The proxy server code is the same code as used in the WP7 toolkit for Windows Azure (found here) and negates the need for the developer to store the Azure storage credentials locally on the device. If you are planning to test using the proxy server, you’ll need to download and deploy the server controls hosted on CodePlex.

The Windows Azure Toolkit for iOS is made available as an open source product under the Apache License, Version 2.0. You can get all the details here.

 

A Windows Azure  Toolkit for Windows Phone 7 is also available and can be found here.

]]> Microsoft Office 365 for IT Professionals Jump Start https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/neilhut/microsoft-office-365-for-it-professionals-jump-start Tue, 03 May 2011 08:53:39 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/neilhut/2011/05/03/microsoft-office-365-for-it-professionals-jump-start/  

 https://bit.ly/Office365-JUMP

On May 24-26  we are hosting a free 3-day Jump Start training designed for IT Pros interested in learning more about preparing for and deploying Office 365. This is the first public training for IT Pros on Office 365.

The course will be streamed live from 10:00-am-4:00pm on all 3 days, and the recordings will be published later on TechNet Edge for later viewing.

This will provide an overview of Office 365, Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and Lync Online and top subject matter experts for each technology will be delivering the content.

You can register Now https://bit.ly/Office365-JUMP

The full agenda:

Day One — “Office 365 Platform” | May 24, 2011 | 10am-4pm PDT
Microsoft Office 365 Overview for IT Pros
Deploying Clients for Office 365
Administration & Automation using PowerShell
Identity and Access Solutions
Directory Synchronization

Day Two — “Exchange Online” | May 25, 2011 | 10am-4pm PDT
Exchange Online Overview for IT Pros
Exchange Online Administration
Staged Exchange Online Migration
Hybrid Options with Exchange Server & Exchange Online
Exchange Online Archiving & Compliance

Day Three — “Lync & SharePoint Online” | May 26, 2011 | 10am-4pm PDT
Lync Online Overview & Configuration for IT Pros
SharePoint Online Overview
SharePoint Online Administration
SharePoint Online Extensibility & Customization
Office 365 Deployment Overview

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