frankarr - an aussie microsoft blogger

Tech.Ed 2006 - Are you into IT?

Late last week, we posted an update to the Tech.Ed 2006 site and revealled some of our faces of Tech.Ed 2006, including Damien "Tech.Ed" Edwards

Peter Ward was one of the first to notice the update

Head on over to the Tech.Ed 2006 site for Pricing & Early Bird Registraton and try and spot some of the other faces. Leave me a comment if you recognize these folks : 1, 2, 3

BTW - Like the pun?

[ Currently Playing : Zjarr E Ftohte (Albania) - Luiz Ejlli - Eurovision Song Contest-Athens 2006 (03:10) ]

What does Gnoos think is important?

I like meme trackers.

The front page of Beta Gnoos today has some interest thought floating about which I feel compelled to comment on.

2 of the Top Searches are about the recent resignation of ninemsn CEO, Martin Hoffman

2 of the Hot Tags are about the recent Eurovision Song Content

What an interesting juxtaposition.

[ Currently Playing : No No Never (Germany) - Texas Lightning - Eurovision Song Contest-Athens 2006 (03:01) ]

TechTalkBlog's new Host Blogger gets the Vista Vibe

One lesser appeciated element of Tech Talk Blogs is the guest blogger section.

We kicked it off back in February with Rocky Heckman, Security MVP, who did a great job over the past few months.

Now, the baton has been passed.

Over the weekend, we saw our next host come online - Darren Neimke, who will be focusing on Windows Vista.

Darren is one of the speakers from the upcoming Innovations 2006, as well as Vista Touchdown and User Group Events, Over the coming weeks, he will be sharing his experiences in getting ready for these events, as well as what is happening once he goes on the road. He gets the conversation going with a series he calls Vista Vibes, and guess who he first victim guest is? Yup, it's me!!

So, if you are interested in Windows Vista, and wantt to get the "real skinny" from folks who are using it in anger, make sure you subscribe to the feed.

[ Currently Playing : Hard Rock Hallelujah (Finland) - Lordi - Eurovision Song Contest-Athens 2006 (03:02) ]

15 years at Microsoft

Today is the anniversary of when I started my career at Microsoft - 15 years!

As I said last year, I've been really lucky, as I have done lots of different things, been exposed to different parts of the business, and seen it from different parts of the world. I have been very fortunate to work with some amazing people within Microsoft, as well as some outstanding organisations & people outside of Microsoft.

Quicky chronology:

May 1991	Sep 1993	Microsoft Canberra, working as a Systems Engineer
Sep 1993	Aug 1994	Microsoft Corp, @ Executive Briefing Center
Aug 1994	Oct 1995	Microsoft Corp, in the Advanced Technology Group, working on Interactive TV
Nov 1995	May 1997	Microsoft Australia, MSN Technical Director
Jun 1997	Jun 1999	ninemsn CTO
Jun 1999	May 2001	Microsoft Region, Digital Media dude
May 2001	now	Microsoft Australia, Developer & Platform Evangelism

For more details, you can look here, as well as read some of the stuff I've said in the press.

During the week I got an email from the President of Microsoft International - Jean-Philippe Courtois

CONGRATULATIONS! - 15 years at Microsoft - Dear Frank, This is a special month - you have been with Microsoft for 15 Years! I wanted to take this opportunity to express my personal gratitude for your contribution and your continued commitment. As an important member of the Microsoft team you have helped the company grow and deliver innovative products from Windows 95 to the Xbox 360. You have been, and continue to be, an integral part of our success.  Looking back since 1991 we've significantly expanded our portfolio of products and have grown to be a company with more than 60.000 employees.  Today, I see so much future potential for the company. Every day, I'm continually impressed by the great work and progress we're making. I want to thank you for your hard work and innovation, for your willingness to take on big challenges, and for your commitment to driving real value for our customers. Microsoft is a great company because of you, and Im proud to be part of it with you. I sincerely hope you will celebrate this special occasion with your team. Best Regards, Jean-Philippe Courtois President, Microsoft International Senior Vice President, Microsoft Corporation "YOU WIN IN LIFE WITH PEOPLE"

I also got nice little award.

So where to now for me?

I'm looking after all the technical folks within the team and the team is growing. The challenges are growing too, as Microsoft faces a series of strong challenges.

The future looks bright. I'm really bullish on Windows Vista  I took home a recent build and I am amazed watching my kids playing with it. They tell me that they love it. My eldest has been a Firefox fan, but he's loving the combo of Vista and IE7.  He wants to upgrade all the PCs in the house. My kids are a good barometer. I have a feeling that the folks who go along to Innovation 2006 will be impressed.

So 15 years down. Lot's more ahead

[ Currently Playing : Super Star (Turkey) - A. Sibel Tuzun - Eurovision Song Contest-Athens 2006 (03:01) ]

Sleet Geek 06

What is Rory proposing??

<subliminalAdvertising>Sleet Geek 06</subliminalAdversting>

A Geek Retreat to the snow???

[ Currently Playing : Boonika Bate Doba - Zdob Si Zdub - Eurovision Song Contest 2005 K (03:03) ]

Webstock Final Countdown

I got a reminder for Webstock from the lovely Hayley. It's on next week in Wellington, and I will be joining the Microsoft NZ team at the event.

We' re onto the final countdown of days until Webstock! And we can't wait ! Here are some final details you'll need to know.....

On arrival to the Wellington Town Hall, visit the Webstock team at the registration desk which will be located in the Town Hall foyer. The team will kit you out with your Webstock gear, including your name badge which will be a permanent accessory until Friday evening! Coats and bags can be left at the registration area, and tea and coffee will be available on arrival to warm you up!

Feel free to bring along your laptops, as we'll have Wifi internet access through out the venue. Make sure you have a wireless connection to be able to access this free of charge! The Webstock Handbook, which you' ll get when you register, will have instructions for connecting to the network.

A highlight of Webstock will be the Exhibition area. Here is some insider knowledge on what to expect!

Three significant reasons to visit the SIGNIFY stand at Webstock:

• Score a gadget you'll actually use - 100 free 256MB pocket USB Pens to be given away (and you won't be spammed afterwards).  Just use the magic word - "Significant"!
• Check your email - for free, courtesy of the nice guys of Internet Development.  Laptops available with internet access.
• Meet and chat with the nice guys and girls of web development, who produce some of New Zealand's highest profile standards compliant websites (latest site launched courtsofnz.govt.nz).

Look for SIGNIFY Ltd - in the West Court - signify.co.nz

The Intergen Experience

Look out for Intergen who will be running a competition at their stand. The prizes will be 2 x Official 7's Rugby balls signed by the New Zealand 7's team. The competition will based on using a remote controlled fork lift to set the quickest time through a set course!! 

Visit Intergen - located in the Ilott Theatre foyer - intergen.co.nz

Don't forget to vote for your favourite exhibition at the Webstock. 

There are still some tickets available to the Friday night post-conference shakedown! So if you'd like to bring along your partner, friend or colleague along email me as soon as possible.

See you soon! 
Hayley
For the Webstock Team 

webstock

[ Currently Playing : I've Been Everywhere - Johnny Cash - The Legend of Johnny Cash (03:16) ]

Northern Beaches Career Expo

I spent the morning at thr Northern Beaches Career Expo held at Northern Beaches Indoor Sports Centre

We had over 2,400 high school students from Years 10, 11 and 12

Freshwater	150
Mackellar Girls	140
Killarney Heights	100
St Luke's	150
Mater Maria Y12	110
Barrenjoey	150
Mosman	140
St Paul's	70
Mater Maria Y10	130
Ballgowlah Boys	48
Manly	140
Covenant Christian	120
St Augustine's	200
Pittwater	250
Narrabeen Sports	150
Forest	140
Davidson	200
HASG	80

We even had bait!

Everyone I asked had a computer and almost everyone say yes!

I also asked what they did with the PC - a lot said they used myspace, and even more said they used msn messenger. A few were coders. None had blogs (even though they were using myspace).

Looking around the area, I saw lots of white ear buds in the ears of the students as they were walking around

All in all, a good day. We have a lot of work to do to make IT exciting to the next generation of graduates

[ Currently Playing : Get Rhythm - Johnny Cash - The Legend of Johnny Cash (02:14) ]

I'm on Tailrank!!

I made it to the front page of Tailrank today

w00t!!

next stop : tech.memeorandum

[ Currently Playing : Dress You Up - Madonna - Like a Virgin (05:17) ]

TechTalk Blogs : +83 days

Time to check in on the health of TechTalkBlogs. It's been alive 83 days. Feb 24 was when I first posted about it, so that is the date I am using for day 0. I've added a new row which counts the Days Alive. I used a handy little function in Excel called DateDif() to do the maths. (BTW -- I love what is said about this function - DATEDIF has, for whatever reason, been treated as one of the drunk cousins of the Function Family.  Excel knows he lives a happy and useful existence, and will acknowledge his existence when you ask, but will never mention him in "polite" conversation.)

Anyways, for the first time since we launched this, there have been no new feeds added in over a week. Have we reached a plateau??

System Summary
	May 18	May 9	May 3	Apr 10	Apr 3	Mar 27	Mar 20	Mar 13	Mar 6	Feb 27
Days Alive:	83	74	68	45	38	31	24	17	10	3
Active Feeds:	248	248	245	223	222	219	218	214	196	183
Feed Items:	7,135	6,446	5,497	4,052	3,329	3,030	2,290	1,805	1,486	1,174
Votes:	1,786	1,663	1,633	1,398	1,331	1,178	989	883	1,068	762

The feed items are coming in at a great rate but the votes are struggling.

We have some changes coming to the site which hopefully will see a change in the voting system. We will count clicks and treat them as a vote (though weighted less than a thumbs up). Other changes include search, pagination and some UI improvements which were suggested by passionate readers.

Another observation - 5 members of TTB have exceeding 200 posts, and one has over 300!! That's a lot of posts

My question to you all - are you finding TechTalkBlogs useful? What else do you want to see?

[ Currently Playing : Sing for the Moment - Eminem - Curtain Call: The Hits (05:40) ]

Corporate Search Gets Serious : Windows Live Search

Annoucement overnight on regsarding Enterprise Search Solutions.

Lot's of BUZZ around this annoucement:

• CNN : Microsoft rolls-out corporate search tool
• Reuters : Microsoft unveils new search tools for businesses
• Australian IT : Microsoft searches enterprise
• Microsoft hopes to outshine Google in biz network search 

[ Currently Playing : Cleanin' out My Closet - Eminem - Curtain Call: The Hits (04:59) ]

Looking for a User Experience Evangelist (UxE) to join my team

The products are here : EGD, EID, EWD

The job is posted

I'm waiting for resumes now

WMP 11 : It Just Rocks

I grabbed the beta of Windows Media Player 11 last night and gave it a spin.

It just looks beautiful. The library is just so useful now, and creating playlists is a piece of cake!

Even the reviews in the press are positive :

• Ten reasons to love Windows Media Player 11 (CNET).
• The Windows Media Ecosystem (CNET).
• Windows Media Player 11 Review (WinSuperSite). 
• Windows Media Player 11 (PC World). 

I still remember launching Windows Media Player 7 way back in 2000. Things have definitely changed since then!

Now I need to get my hands on to an iRiver Clix

[ Currently Playing : Role Model [*] - Eminem - Curtain Call: The Hits [Deluxe Edition] Disc 2 (03:25) ]

Learn how to create classic arcade games using Express

Those wacky folks at Coding4Fun have really outdone themselves this time. They have kicked off a series focusing on those classic arcade games we all grew up with, and how to develop them using Express

Learn how to create classic arcade games using Express

The year was 1972, bell bottoms were all the rage, the US was in Vietnam, The Price is Right premiered on CBS, the Dallas Cowboys had just won Superbowl VI, the Godfather was the top grossing film, and on November 29th, Atari released a game called Pong. With Pong and Atari, the game industry was born.

33 years later, computer games are as popular as ever and since we all have an "inner child" that loves gaming we recently released three new Starter Kits, source code, documentation, and videos so you can learn how to build your own game using Visual Studio Express.

The games are available in both VB and C# and include:

• Tiny Tennis (Pong clone) in VB or C#
• Space Blitz (Space Invaders clone) in VB or C#
• Crusader (2D Adventure game) in VB or C#

The games show the fundamental steps needed to create your own games like a game loop, collision detection, movement, and more.

To learn more, visit UpgradeYourGame.com

[ Currently Playing : A Boy Named Sue [Live] - Johnny Cash - The Legend of Johnny Cash (03:46) ]

Software as a Service Seminar in Sydney

Software as a Service Seminar in Sydney - That's one mean piece of alliteration!

Anyways, we are running a seminar in Sydney that covers the hot topic of the moment, Software as a Service.

Topics include:

• The Software As a Service Opportunity
• Architecting Your Application For Software As a Service
• The Microsoft Solution For Windows-based Hosting For Applications
• Microsoft' s Pay-As-You-Go Licensing Program (Service Provider License Agreement)

Interested???

Event Details:

May 23
Hilton Sydney
488 George Street,
Sydney, NSW 2000 Australia
Location: Level 4 - Room One
Registration

[ Currently Playing : One Piece at a Time - Johnny Cash - The Legend of Johnny Cash (04:02) ]

Come and grab Expression Web Designer CTP

w00t!

We have released the first community technology preview (CTP) of Microsoft Expression Web Designer (EWD), a professional design tool for creating standards-based web sites and applications.

EWD is the third tool from the Microsoft Expression family following Expression Graphic Designer and Expression Interactive Designer.

The CTP is available as a free download on the Microsoft Expression website.

There's been lots coverage on the product todate, including in the Aussie press (which is the same article from the newswires, but it's good to see it covered locally):

• Beta News : Microsoft Tests New Web Design Tool
• CNET : Early look at Microsoft Web design tool
• Computerworld : Microsoft releases first preview of pro Web design tool
• Digital Media Designer : Microsoft's Expression Web Designer vs. Adobe's Dreamweaver
• eWeek : Microsoft Releases Expression Web Designer Preview 
• IDG : Microsoft ready to test Dreamweaver rival
• internetnews.com : Adieu FrontPage, Hello Expression
• PC World: Microsoft Readies Dreamweaver Rival
• PC World Australia: Microsoft Readies Dreamweaver Rival
• Computerworld Australia: Microsoft finally tests Dreamweaver rival
• ARNnet: Microsoft finally tests Dreamweaver rival 

[ Currently Playing : See you much later - paulmac - 3000 feet high (03:46) ]