Microsoft Talk

Developers get new tools and a glimpse into future of robotics, Surface, other Microsoft innovations designed to address societal issues and change the computing experience.

Microsoft Surface SDK

Microsoft Surface is a computing platform that opens a new chapter in the way people interact with computers by connectng them to digital content through natural gestures, touch, and devices such as wireless phones or even tagged drink glasses. The platform is being opened up to the developer community for the first time at PDC2008 with the limited release of the Microsoft Surface software development kit (SDK). The SDK enables developers to build groundbreaking applications that take advantage of the attributes of Microsoft Surface, which include:

• Direct interaction: the ability to execute commands through gesture or touch, rather than via a mouse or keyboard.

• Multi –touch: the ability to manipulate multiple on-screen items at once. Surface can read more than 52 individual touches.

• Multi-user: new collaborative computing scenarios made possible by Surface’s horizontal form factor.

• Object recognition: digital responses to objects placed on Surface – functionality that will ultimately permit the transfer of digital content.

WorldWide Telescope

Developed by Microsoft Research, WorldWide Telescope is a “Web browser for the sky”, bringing together images from the best ground- and space-based telescopes so people can explore the cosmos from their PC screen. Since its launch in May 2008, more than one million people have downloaded the web application. Several new features are now available for WorldWide Telescope, including a 3-D Solar System, more than 1,000 new images, and a tool that allows people to upload and share their own images of space. Existing users will be prompted to download the new features the next time they open the program. Others can download WorldWide Telescope at www.worldwidetelescope.org

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With no upfront costs, the program provides easy access to software development tools and technologies to build solutions spanning the PC, Web and phone.

Building Startup Success Through Software Access, Market Support and Global Visibility

As part of BizSpark, Microsoft is providing startups with a three-year Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) Professional subscription, which makes available for download a broad set of development tools needed to build, test and maintain an application on the Microsoft platform, including Microsoft Visual Studio and the Microsoft .NET Framework. Through MSDN, BizSpark also provides professional support services and expert information resources. For startups building hosted software, BizSpark includes production licenses for application hosting and management servers including Windows Server, Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server, BizTalk Server and Systems Center, with Microsoft Dynamics CRM to be added soon. The program also will provide a worldwide network of hosting partners, offering discounted hosting services to startups that would like to take their business or product online using their BizSpark licenses. Finally, startups will have the opportunity to be profiled and promoted on the BizSparkDB, an online startup directory, where Microsoft will promote promising startups from around the world every day.

In addition to the core BizSpark offering, BizSpark startups will be eligible for other Microsoft offerings, such as Microsoft cloud services technologies, including the following:

• Access to the community technology preview (CTP) of the Azure Services Platform, a new computing platform that will help developers build the next generation of applications that will span from the cloud to the enterprise datacenter and deliver compelling new experiences across the PC, Web and phone. The Azure Services Platform was announced last month at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference 2008 (PDC2008).

• Access to the community technical preview (CTP) of the Live Framework, a simple, open and interoperable framework for developers to access and consume Live Services. Live Services is a set of building blocks within the Azure Services Platform for handling user data and application resources, which includes Live Mesh technologies for synchronizing users’ data and extending Web applications across multiple devices.

Microsoft will also ensure that BizSpark members are notified of all programs of particular interest to startups, such as the Microsoft Web Platform Installer and Microsoft Web Application Installer. These offerings, make it easier for developers to bring compelling PHP and .NET Web applications to market faster with a streamlined download, install and configure experience, as well as design and development integration and pre-packaged open source applications that run well on the Microsoft Web Platform.