Mix09 News & Articles

SQL Data Services (SDS) has been on the radar since MIX08, when it was first announced as an online data storage and query processing service that could be accessed using the standard internet protocols. It has come a long way since then. At MIX09, Microsoft demonstrated some of the newest capabilities of SDS -- specifically its new relational database capabilities.

That's right, Microsoft will offer a relational database in the Azure cloud.

MIX09 is now over, but many of the sessions are still available to view. Of particular note are the ASP.NET MVC tutorials that will help you better understand this new development framework.

Phil Haack, a Senior Program Manager with the ASP.NET team who has been an integral part of the ASP.NET MVC Framework, did two of these sessions:

• ASP.NET MVC: America’s Next Top Model View Controller Framework: The building of a simple application that demonstrates some of the key capabilities of the MVC framework. You'll also see some new tooling features that should help you develop apps based on the MVC framework more easily.
• ASP.NET MVC Ninjas on Fire Black Belt Tips: Get some good tips and tricks on making the most of the MVC framework.

Phil indicates on his blog that he intends to offer these demos in blog format in the near future, so keep an eye out for those.

In addition to these sessions, Jared Eischen and John Stockton of Ascentium did a session on using MVC to build mobile device views of your website. And you'll find some sessions covering the future of ASP.NET. All sessions are available on a special website that contains many of MIX09 sessions.

Sessions are downloadable as PPT, Zune Video or Windows Media Video.

You can get ASP.NET MVC 1.0 using the Web Platform Installer, download a free eBook covering the first chapter of the Wrox book on the subject and find a newly updated MSDN section telling you everything you need to know about ASP.NET MVC.

It is clear that Microsoft is excited about this new framework and wants to ensure you have everything you need to get up to speed quickly.

As you may remember, Windows Azure got some serious play late last year when Open Text announced their records management and archiving capabilities designed specifically for the cloud-based operating system.

Continuing on the path to clear (cloudy) skies, and perhaps in order to attract even more big names from the enterprise content management world, Microsoft recently announced some upgrades to the platform.

Revealed alongside Silverlight 3 beta at the MIX09 conference, Azure’s new capabilities include non-.NET language support via FastCGI, and geolocation. The new features are aimed directly at the hearts of developers who dream of being able to host data and code across more than one US-based center.

Gartner predicted cloud computing to be one of the top 10 strategic technologies for 2009, and so far it looks like they were right. Besides appealing to developers, the Cloud route means customers too can store data in multiple locations without IT involvement, and for significantly less money. And as much as we’d hate to see ECM trampled into oblivion, we must admit that benefits like that are hard to beat.

Follow Open Text’s continued efforts to stay afloat here, or check out more details on Azure here.

No doubt you’ve heard of, and even anticipated, the release of Microsoft Silverlight 3. The third version of the runtime comes a mere eighteen months after the initial launch in 2007.

Such a quick turnover has understandably made a few folks skeptical, as has the rumor that this will be the only beta before the official Silverlight 3 ships later this year. But so far positive reviews are coming in by the truckload, securing Silverlight in the ring with Adobe Flash for what will likely be a pretty good fight.

There was a lot of interesting news coming out of MIX09 yesterday. A new beta release for the Microsoft Web Platform Installer was one of them. What's new in Beta 2? And what's this we hear about the Web PI now installing PHP and some popular open source content management applications?