Windows® Azure is a cloud services operating system that serves as the development, service hosting and service management environment for the Azure Services Platform. Windows Azure provides developers with on-demand compute and storage to host, scale, and manage Web applications on the Internet through Microsoft® data centers.

To build these applications and services, developers can use their existing Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2008 expertise. In addition, Windows Azure supports popular standards and protocols including SOAP, REST, and XML. Windows Azure is an open platform that will support both Microsoft and non-Microsoft languages and environments.

 What is the Azure Services Platform?

Why did we do it?

We needed a logo that was in sync with the key values that we want .NET to stand for: consistency, robustness and great user experiences. We also wanted a logo that conformed to the design principles that are driving Microsoft’s brand identity evolution and is reflected in newer brands such as Silverlight, Surface and more.  Finally, we needed a logo that is more strongly aligned with the portfolio of brands that .NET is most strongly aligned with: Silverlight, Visual Studio and the AppPlat server products.

The result is a design we refer to as the “wave.”  The design is strong, simple and distinctive. The suggestion of the letter ‘N’ in the design will become instantly recognizable over time as shorthand for the .NET brand name.

It’s one of many things we’re actively doing to renew our commitment to the future around the overall Rich Platforms we have today.

Hope all have fun at PDC2008 and you’ll see glimpses of what I mean there 😉

Onwards and embrace the new .NET logo!

People who are registered in the Imagine Cup I.T Challenge-this starts tonight/today [10/10/2008] (In a Few hours actually)

Wish me luck!

Round One Quizzes are during the following times (don’t miss out!!)

EDIT: Round One Quizzes have finished-Round 2 Begins on 6/11/2008 with Quiz 2A… I better Start Studying!!!

Browsing through the blogosphere today I realised that no one has really mentioned the beginning of the 2009 Imagine cup that’s run by Microsoft consecutively every year.

Imagine cup started back in 2003 when it made its debut in Brazil. From there it wen to Japan, India, Korea and France (last year). This time round (Imagine Cup 2009) the competition is to be held in the land of Civilization-Cairo, Egypt.

This competitions primary focus is to solve a real life problem (this years topic [although broad] is “Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems facing us today.“).

The software Development challenge is the Competitions main focal point, but it also caters for people from various other backgrounds, including:

Compared to the years past Imagine Cup 2009 is quite different from its predecessors…
Last years Imagine cup consisted of 9 competitions in total. Imagine Cup 2009 has only 8 competitions, coupled with some dramatic changes.

Project Hoshimi/Interface design and Algorithms have been removed completely to be replaced by two new competitions:

• Mashup-Idea is to create a new and useful Web 2.0 application that is connected to the Imagine Cup theme (using technologies such as PopFly).
• Robotics-This competition is a mathematical obstacle course where students must navigate a series of brain teasers, code challenges and algorithmic puzzles to demonstrate their ability to understand the potential of robots in our world.

• First Category:
  • Software design.
  • Embedded Development.
  • Game Development.
• Second Category:
  • Robotics & Algorithms.
  • IT Challenge.
  • Mashup.
• Third Category:
  • Photo Story.
  • Short Film.

Good luck to all those participating this year…
And if you are a student that has not signed up check out http://www.imaginecup.com to sign up.

By the way-congrats KenLin for the 1000th post on MSBLOG (the previous one 😛 )

Microsoft opened up the kimono today on Press Pass.

The next release of Visual Studio is Visual Studio 2010 and the .NET Framework 4.0.

In addition, if you go down the page here, you find some juicy goodness:

“Better Together – Visual Studio Team System Development Edition and Database Edition
In recognition of the increased need to integrate more of the lifecycle members together, we will provide a unified Development and Database product in Visual Studio Team System 2010. Beginning October 1, 2008 Development Edition and Database Edition MSDN subscribers will have access to both products.”

Great news!