.NET MVP KenLin's Blog : Windows Live

Windows Azure Services

kenlin — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 03:26:00 GMT

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?

[Microsoft Live Labs] Volta: Web Development Using Only the Materials in the Room

kenlin — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 03:07:00 GMT

Today, Microsoft Live Labs is announcing the Volta technology preview, a developer toolset for building multi-tier web applications using existing and familiar tools, techniques and patterns. Volta’s declarative tier-splitting enables developers to postpone architectural decisions about distribution until the last possible responsible moment. Also, thanks to a shared programming model across multiple-tiers, Volta enables new end-to-end profiling and testing for higher levels of application performance, robustness, and reliability. Using the declarative tier-splitting, developers can refine architectural decisions based on this profiling data. This saves time and costs associated with manual refactoring. In effect, Volta extends the .NET platform to further enable the development of software+services applications, using existing and familiar tools and techniques.

You architect and build your application as a .NET client application, assigning the portions of the application that run on the server tier and client tier late in the development process. You can target either web browsers or the CLR as clients and Volta handles the complexities of tier-splitting. The compiler creates cross-browser JavaScript for the client tier, web services for the server tier, and all communication, serialization, synchronization, security, and other boilerplate code to tie the tiers together. In effect, Volta offers a best-effort experience in multiple environments without requiring tailoring of the application.

New Build of WLMD Available! Come and Get It!

kenlin — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 02:04:00 GMT

The following message can also be found at WLMD team blog site:
http://morethanmail.spaces.live.com/

Thanks!

*******************************************************************

Well, there's been a lot going on since last posting - so I wanted to take a
moment to make sure we keep you all up to date on the latest happenings.

New Build Available for download!

Of course the most exciting thing to mention is that we have a new build
available for your downloading pleasure!
In this new build you'll see some major improvements! Right off the bat,
the most noticeable change will likely be the updates we've made to our User
Interface.
In addition to UI changes, here are just a few of the MANY improvements that
we've made:

-Lots of work on performance
-AutoDetect for adding email accounts
-Contacts and RSS management improvements
-New search folders for RSS and Newsgroups

Please grab it and give it a whirl! We're very anxious to hear what you
have to say!
And speaking of which.

Revamped Feedback Plan

Not too long ago, we blogged about ways to send feedback to the WLMd team.
Since then we've spent some time coming up with more comprehensive ways to
hear what you all have to say.

Support Site
Same spot as before! This is a great place to send any issues/bugs that you're
running into. Just go to this site and submit a ticket for any issue you
might be experiencing.

Newsgroup
We have created a new NG (Microsoft.public.windows.live.mail.desktop) just
for WLMd that you can view both through newsreaders and through the web.
This is a great place to go and discuss your issues/suggestions with others,
and to filter through the posts to see if maybe someone else has hit the
same problems.

Help Links
In the latest build of WLMd, you'll see a couple new options for sending
feedback on WLMd through the Help option in the Toolbar.

Send Feedback (web) - Navigates to http://feedback.live.com/. Just search
through the list, find Windows Live Mail desktop, click on it - and send us
feedback!

Send Feedback (email) - Launches a compose page with our team's internal
feedback alias.

Blog Comments
Well, it's been a good run - but I'm going to have to close down the
Comments feature for this Blog. You have all been sending so much feedback
through this site and it's been really hard to keep up! The feedback loops
that I've discussed above are much better ways for us to get the information
that you're sending and be able to filter it appropriately.

That's about it for now! Hope you all take the time to install the latest
build - and send us your thoughts!

Windows Live Favorites - Beta No More!

kenlin — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 03:43:00 GMT

This is an old news, I just found it out when browsing around. In 15th, June 2006, the Live Favorites Team, are happy to announce that as of today Live Favorites is officially released as a V1 product... Beta No more!

A little while ago we put into production our final V1 service and web site.

Check it out: Windows Live Favoties Blog

Microsoft's Domain Service Goes 'Live' !!!

kenlin — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 05:49:00 GMT

Microsoft said late Tuesday that its Custom Domains service had officially launched, making it the third Windows Live project to come out of beta. The service allows a customer to use a custom domain name with Windows Live Mail and Hotmail.

Windows Live Custom Domains is a free service, just like other Live offerings from the company. Additionally, with the final debut, Microsoft has launched a new feature called "open membership."

More Windows Live services are expected to come out of beta through the rest of the summer. Microsoft has said over 20 new services are currently planned for the Live platform( Windows Live Ideas).

Windows Live Custom Domains

Do you own an Internet domain name? Custom Domains provides free hosted e-mail for your domain.

E-mail accounts for everyone. Create an unlimited number of accounts in your domain.
New e-mail features. Everyone at your domain will get an MSN Hotmail account. These accounts can upgrade for free to the new Windows Live Mail beta, which offers 2GB of storage and enhanced security features.
Use it for Windows Live Messenger and more. E-mail addresses at your domain can also be used for instant messaging and other services on the MSN and Windows Live network.
No hassle or fuss. Your e-mail is hosted by Microsoft, so there is no need to buy or manage e-mail servers.
Flexibility. The optional software development kit lets you choose how Custom Domains works with your website or application.

First hand on Windows Live Mail Desktop (Beta)

kenlin — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 05:48:00 GMT

Well, I have been approved to download and try the Windows Live Mail Desktop, the build I downloaded is v8.0.0774. I installed and try to login by using my Windows Live ID and I got a lot of error, including cannot migrate my OE6 folders/files to WLMD, and also cannot find my Microsoft Live ID, and also cannot synchronize my folders/files from Windows Live(same as Hotmail).

And the outlook of WLMD is cool, much like Office Outlook, and also I can access Newsgroup from WLMD. However, I found out that I cannot adjust the width of the right panel. And I found it out that it is the area for Advertisement. If you are a paid user in Hotmail or later the Windows Live, then you have choose to disable the Advertisement panel.

As it is still in Beta, so error sometimes come up.

Windows Live Spaces is coming!

kenlin — Sun, 25 Jun 2006 05:45:00 GMT

Reading from MSN Spaces Team Official blog, found out that MSN Spaces will also change into Windows Live Spaces, and they will add some new and exciting functionality to yoru spaces. I specially love their new Friends Module which allow me to add more friends. Here is their original detail,

Hey Spaces fans,

Windows Live Spaces is arriving soon! Not only will your Space adopt the cool new Windows Live look & feel, but you will also be able to add new and exciting functionality to your space. With the addition of the Friends Module, you can create a place to hang out with your friends.

The Friends Explorer, which will be integrated with and accessible through Windows Live Messenger, will enable you and your friends to explore others and create new friendships.

You’ll notice some changes we’ve made to the header, including the replacement of the current text ad links with banner ads across the top. Of course, as always, if you prefer to see no ads at all in your space, remember you always have the option to switch them off as a subscriber.

In addition, your title and tagline will no longer be limited to the Spaces header. Instead, you can choose to display the title and tagline of your space as a module and have it appear wherever you want it to in your space. Removing the title from the header means you have more freedom and control over things like your space title and navigation to stuff in your space. Instead of always being stuck at the top, you can place them wherever you want.

The introduction of breadcrumbing and an optional new navigation module will enable you and your visitors to easily navigate through your space.

We are also going to offer many new ways to express yourself and customize your space. You’ll be able to add mini-applications called Windows Live Gadgets developed by the community for the community. Can’t find headlines, games, or other gadgets that reflect YOUR personality? Build your own gadget or bribe a techie friend to do it for you!

Of course with all this great stuff, we also have to make some changes to our URL structure. As Greg Phipps blogged about last month, your URL will be changing one final time with the switchover to Windows Live Spaces. Don’t worry though, we are working hard to make this as seamless as possible for you and the visitors to your space.

Here’s a glimpse of what the new Windows Live Spaces will look like:

* Note text & UI may change.

Thanks for making Spaces your home. We’re working hard to get this created for you and we hope you’re as excited as we are!

As always, we look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks,
The Spaces Team