Frank Arrigo: Work

Zune Coming Soon

Sat, 22 Jul 2006 00:07:20 GMT

Microsoft confirms 'Zune' device to compete with Ipod
TG Daily - 2 hours ago
"Today we confirmed a new music and entertainment project called Zune," Stephenson said later in a statement released by request to reporters. ...
Microsoft confirms existence of Zune Ars Technica
Microsoft's Zune Announcement Gizmodo.com
Microsoft's Zune: Its Answer to iPod/iTunes PC World
CIO - Seattle Post Intelligencer - all 217 related »

BULLETIN: Microsoft confirms Zune music player: will be iPod rival
ZDNet - 3 hours ago
... Chris Stephenson, who is Microsoft's company's new general manager of marketing for MSN Entertainment Business,said the company sees the Zune-branded portable ...
Microsoft Confirms Zune's Existence BetaNews
Here comes Zune HardwareGeeks.com (press release)
all 3 related »

Intriguing - Former Yahoo chief takes ninemsn reins

Fri, 21 Jul 2006 07:05:12 GMT

Sydney Morning Herald

Former Yahoo chief takes ninemsn reins
Australian IT, Australia - 4 hours ago
NINEMSN has appointed former Yahoo Australia and New Zealand boss Tony Faure as its chief executive officer. Ninemsn said Mr Faure ...
ninemsn appoints new CEO ZDNet.com.au
Ninemsn appoints Tony Faure as new CEO The Age
Online veteran to run ninemsn Sydney Morning Herald
all 17 related »

NERDS FC FAN CLUB NEWSLETTER : The End

Tue, 06 Jun 2006 09:30:56 GMT

Alas, Nerds FC has come to an end. It was wonderful.

SBS will be repeating it

-----Original Message-----
From: Nerds FC Fan Club [mailto:list_nerdsfc@sbs.com.au]
Sent: Tuesday, 6 June 2006 7:39 PM
To: Frank Arrigo
Subject: Nerds FC Fan Club

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+ NERDS FC FAN CLUB NEWSLETTER +

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Greetings Fan Club Member!

Well, how good was the final episode of SBS’s smash hit series Nerds FC?

Round our way streets were deserted, the pubs were empty and the 24 hour

Laundromat/LAN computer gaming centre shut for the night because they knew

there’d be no business. Everyone was watching to see how the boys did and

hear how they’d changed from day one. You can imagine the club feels a bit

strange right now – now that it’s all over. But don’t get me all emotional,

I thought I’d cried myself out till I started writing you this exclusive

members-only newsletter. Let me concentrate on giving you the skinny on

stuff that didn’t make the show. For example:

- Before Nerds FC went on to the pitch, they were waiting in the tunnel

area of the stadium. NSW Premier Morris Iemma was just leaving and he shook

hands with a few of the boys and wished them well for their game.

- John Truong and a number of the other lads have joined local football

clubs following the series. Also, they see each other socially every few

weeks.

- After the show, the boys took on the production team who made the show. I

saw the game and can verify that it was an entertaining game to watch and

the scoreline was 6 – 4 to the production team. The boys maintained they

let the crew win but lawyers are looking into that claim…..

Okay, that’s my lot. I’ve got subscriptions to look into and next season to

consider but before I go let me say thank you for not putting me in the

automatic spam filter section of your inbox. I hope you enjoyed the show

and have found the newsletters interesting. If you see me in the street,

don’t hesitate to come up and say hello and who knows, maybe we’ll be

following the boys in blue again on another campaign.

STOP PRESS: Hold on, I’ve just found out SBS are re-running the whole Nerds

FC series every night at 8.00pm from Thursday 8th – 15th June! Now’s your

chance to re-live the whole adventure, catch any episode you foolishly

missed or get your mates to watch the show you were quacking on to them

about the first time round. Do yourself a favour: don’t miss the Nerds FC

experience!

Stay on-side.

Yours in football,

Webster

Treasurer, NFC Fan Club

http://www.nerdsfc.com.au

--------------------------------

My Memories of the late Kerry Packer

Tue, 27 Dec 2005 11:35:21 GMT

The big news of the day has been the death of Kerry Packer. I posted earlier ths morning, before anything was online about the news. By the end of the day, that's all you can find.

It's funny reading the news on all the media outlet - they are all being kind and respectful, like Australia's richest man, media mogul Kerry Packer, dead at 68

I have my own experience of Mr Packer. It happened a few years back, during my time at ninemsn. I was the CTO of the newly formed venture and I would do the rounds, meeting the executives from our parents, which were mainly PBL executives.

One project I was involved in, was setting up a demo of WebTV for Kerry Packer, back in 1998. Microsoft had just purchased WebTV and the local folks were keen to introduce it to Australia, BUT they wanted the seal of approval from the big man. I worked with engineers at both Channel 9 and WebTV. We arranged a live satelite TV feed direct from Los Angeles. We tricked a modifed WebTV box to dial a local phone number and then connect back to the WebTV servers in Mountain View. We tested this over and over again. I spent a few long hours in the executive boardroom over at Channel 9 in Willoughby getting this demo just right. We rehearsed a demo scenario and made sure the path through the demo worked flawlessly. After a few days, we were ready and a time and date was set for the demo to the big man.

The demo was set for 1pm. I arrived at 10am to make sure all the bits were in place. I connected, refreshed the electronic program guide with the latest from LA, make sure it was in sych with what we were watching (which it was). We rehearshed again and again and it was perfect. We were ready.

1pm rolled around. No Kerry Packer.

2pm. Still no Kerry. A few frantic phone calls and we had a new ETA of 3pm. OK, we adjuted our demo to included the shows that were going to be on at that time - no problem, we could cope. While we were preparing, the catering arrived, including lamingtons, a big cream sponge cake with pink icing, sandwiches, cocktail franks, tea and coffee. It was quite surreal.

3pm rolled on and still no Kerry. The phone rang. It was his driver. They were not far, and Kerry wanted a roast beef sandwich. We relayed the message to the catering folks and waited.

3.30pm and Kerry arrived with his people. He sat down at the boardroom table, put his feet on the table and tucked into his roast beef sandwich, while we introduced ourselves and started the demo. It all worked as advertised, but he seemed more interested in his sandwich and whether it had mustard or horseradish.

At the end of it, he wasn't impressed with what he and questioned the value of people being able to surf the web from their television. When I made the argument that it was about time shifted viewing of television, and putting people in control, he scoffed at the suggestion. When I said that an up to date electronic program guide (epg) would make this time shifted viewing possible, he yelled back - "Over my dead body".

He then left to go to yet another late appointment and I was left to pack up from the demo. WebTV never did launch in Australia. However a complete EPG is now a very real possibility.

Early Birthday Present for Me

Sun, 06 Nov 2005 09:47:47 GMT

I got a nice surprise this week at work. I got an early birthday present from one of my team members.

It was a signed copy of the Steve Waugh autobiography "Out Of My Comfort Zone".

Yes, it was signed by the great man himself. The dedication read:"To Frank, Come on The Saints", complete with signature.

Well, I was lost for words.

Thanks Andrew for this most thoughtful gift!

Journey home

Tue, 26 Jul 2005 07:35:46 GMT

I'm back following my trip to MGB in Atlanta. Here's my return leg

Local Time	What	Where	How Long
1500	AA1023	Atlanta to Dallas	2 Hrs
1600	Waiting		2 Hrs
1800	AA2465	Dallas to Atlanta	3 Hrs
1900	Waiting		2 Hrs 30 Min
2230	QF012	Los Angeles to Sydney	13Hrs 30 Min
0600	Transit	Get Home	2 Hrs
		Time Travelling	25 Hours

I found it a tiring trip, but a tremendous event. And after a good night sleep, all will be well.

I've written a few posts about ths trip over on my other blog:

On the way to Atlanta

Tue, 19 Jul 2005 00:09:07 GMT

I'm at the airport, getting ready to head over to Atlanta for a Microsoft event, we call MGB.

This is what my travel schedule looks like, which is worse than last year :

Local Time	What	Where	How Long
1140	QF0043	Sydney to Auckland	2 hrs 50 minutes
1630	Waiting	Auckland	1 hr 10 minutes
1755	QF0025	Auckland to Los Angeles	12 hrs
1045	Waiting	Los Angeles	4 Hrs
1400	AA2450	Los Angeles to Dallas	3 Hrs
1900	Waiting		2 Hrs
2100	AA0310	Dallas to Atlanta	2 Hrs
0015	Transit	Get To Hotel	1 Hrs
		Time Travelling	28 Hours

I'm not looking forward to 28 hours of travel and arriving at my hotel post midnight. I just got an email that my hotel has changed, so I need tio check-in, sleep, check-out and travel to the next hotel. Joy.

I don't expect any pity.

Hello FY06

Fri, 01 Jul 2005 00:35:06 GMT

One fiscal year ends, and another begins. And I'm not the only one excited by this.

ninemsn - Class of '98/'99 Catchup

Thu, 10 Feb 2005 06:50:06 GMT

My Interview with Gdayworld is online

Sat, 05 Feb 2005 11:11:02 GMT

It's taken a while, but the my OnThePod interview with Cam & Mick from G'Day World is online.

Grab it before they exceed their bandwidth!

My LinkedIn Network of Trusted Professionals

Wed, 05 Jan 2005 08:07:52 GMT

I signed up with LinkedIn many many months ago. Interestingly I have been contacted mainly for the folks I know, with people wanting me to refer them onto others.

Out of curiosity I checked my status today to see how big a network I had - apparently I can make contact with 555,100+ professionals. My summary is as follows:

Your Network of Trusted Professionals

You are at the center of your LinkedIn Network. Your connections can help you make contact with 555,100+ professionals — here’s how your network breaks down:

Your Connections
Your trusted friends and colleagues
45

Two degrees away
Friends-of-friends; each is connected to one of your connections
1,800+

Three degrees away
Reach them through a friend and one of their friends
61,600+

Four degrees away
The broadest group, reach them through a chain of referrals
491,600+

Total users contactable through a trusted referral: 555,100+

Your network also includes 42,000+ users who can be contacted without a referral. In total, you can reach 597,100+ professionals.

Xmas time goodies : USB Snowman

Fri, 19 Nov 2004 03:42:58 GMT

I'm going to continue the tradition I started last year, when I gave everyone in the team a USB Xmas Tree.

This year, the USB Snowman has tickled my fancy. I like his furry hat and scarf, and the fact that it is glows AND is multi coloured.

I bought it from an online retailer who is based in Sydney. I did a quick search and they were the lowest priced, so that appealed to me.

I would really like more comparison shopper type of services - there are some for books, cds and dvds - but i guess until there is a simple way of getting price information, rather than screen-scraping, it isnt going to happen too soon.

Anyways, I get my little fellow next week and I will surprise all the team, unless of course if they have read my blog!!

Halo 2 week one sales generate over nine million dollars in retail revenue

Fri, 19 Nov 2004 01:42:48 GMT

Wow

Halo 2 has smashed retail sales records in its first week selling over an estimated 104,000 units* since going on sale around Australia on November 9.

According to figures supplied by the official industry analysts, GfK Marketing Services, week one sales for Halo 2 have out performed the previous week one sales record by approximately 38,000 units.

Halo 2 led Australian consumer spending in the entertainment category, generating a staggering 9 million dollars, which far exceeded any blockbuster movie launched in the same week.

According to Steve Wilson, managing director EB Games, “Sales of Halo 2 have truly taken our breath away. Since opening over a hundred of our stores at 12.01 am on November 9, sales of Halo 2 have far exceeded our expectations. We anticipated it to be the biggest launch in video games history and it certainly has proven to be a huge success for us.”

According to David McLean, regional director Microsoft Home and Entertainment Division Australia and New Zealand, “we never cease to be astounded by the demand and excitement Halo 2 generates. In the first week alone roughly one in five Xbox™ owners rushed out to buy this game – so you can imagine our expectation for Christmas.”

“The enormity of the Halo 2 launch is not just good news for Xbox, but is a milestone for the entire games industry in demonstrating how mainstream video gaming is,” said McLean.

In addition, Halo 2 is creating a surge in online game play, by offering gamers yet another compelling reason to subscribe to the Xbox online gaming service Xbox Live™. Sales for Xbox Live increased a whopping ten-fold during the week commencing 8 November, based on Live sales for the week prior.

Expanding on everything that made the first Halo such a monumental success, Halo 2 is like a 20 hour action feature film where you play the lead character. Developed exclusively for Xbox by Bungie Studios, part of Microsoft Game Studios, Halo 2 is expected to exceed sales of the original Halo, which has sold more than five million copies worldwide and spawned a legion of powerful devotees spanning all walks of life.

Biztalk Australia

Mon, 13 Sep 2004 23:06:02 GMT

My friend Cameron Reilly has started a new business called The Noumenon Group.

He wants to be the leading Biztalk company in Australia. He said so on his blog.

So, its time to crank up the google juice for Biztalk Australia and here's my bit to help.

When you are looking for a Biztalk specialist in Australia, make sure you talk to The Noumenon Group.

Windows Media Player 10 is OUT!

Fri, 03 Sep 2004 00:34:53 GMT

September 2, 2004

Windows Media Player 10 Now Available

More Music. More Choices.

Download Windows Media Player 10 Today!

Windows Media Player 10 gives you more music and more choices, and for the first time makes it possible to sync high-quality music, video, and photos to the latest portable devices.

What's New?

New Streamlined Design

A whole new look giving you quicker and easier access to your favorite digital media.

Choice of Devices

Sync your music collection to over 70 different portable music devices.

Choice of Online Stores

With Windows Media Player 10, you are just a click away from the world's largest collection of digital music.

Smart Jukebox Features

Remove the hassle of organizing even the largest digital media collections.

Do More

Energize Your Music

Get the ultimate visualization for Player 10.

Watch the Trailer

Watch the stream!

Or download it in stunning WMV High Def!

To cancel your subscription to this newsletter, reply to this message with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the Subject line. You can also unsubscribe at the Microsoft.com web site. You can manage all your Microsoft.com communication preferences at this site.

Legal Information.

This newsletter was sent by the Microsoft Corporation
1 Microsoft Way
Redmond, Washington, USA
98052

Going to the the Sunshine Coast for ANZ Partner Conference

Sat, 21 Aug 2004 07:49:36 GMT

On Sunday I jump on a Jetstar flight bound for the the Sunshine Coast (Coolum in particular) for the ANZ Partner Conference 2004. Last year this event was on the Gold Coast. I am a speaker again this year.

I'm missing the game between the Lions and the Saints and I am not happy about that! Methinks it time to invest in a AM/FM radio. Lucky for me I will be able to watch online AND I also get DVD of the game from sportsdelivered.

Back from Canberra - End of TechEd

Sat, 07 Aug 2004 06:20:42 GMT

Drove home this afternoon from Canberra following a successful TechEd.

Here's a selection of my posts from the event:

Off to Canberra for TechEd

Mon, 02 Aug 2004 01:57:25 GMT

I'm about to head down the Hume Highway and make my way to Canberra for the upcoming TechEd. You can follow all the fun on TechEd Bloggers.

In the meantime, let's relive the wonders of TechEd 2003, from my previous posts.

australian teched all over

dr pete has some fans in the audience

adam cogan's suggestions to make visual studio better

teched news stories slowly growing

teched party photos

great feedback from an attendee...

Lunchtime antics at teched

The Australian .Net Mailing List

lasers, mirrors & spandex

adam cogan - a "very funny" guy?

cool smartphone applicatiion by dr neil

labs, labs and labs

Brian Keller in da house!

teched2003 hands-on lab

hello datagrid girl

dontnetdan @ teched2003

i forgot another special speaker for teched

more speaker "rock stars" at teched

Tim Huckaby on TechEd 2003

zdnet.au builder to cover teched 2003

Tech Ed 2003 in Brisbane

TechEd 2004 Blog Buttons

Fri, 30 Jul 2004 02:52:48 GMT

Movies watched

Mon, 12 Jul 2004 17:25:57 GMT

I got to watch a few movies on my little trip.

They were all entertaining. Good brainless fun.

Travellin...

Mon, 12 Jul 2004 12:16:29 GMT

My journey started 4.45am on Monday July 12. A cab came to pick me to take me to Sydney airport for a 7AM flight.

I was travelling to Atlanta for the annual Microsoft Global Briefing. After 28 elapsed hours, I am now in Atlanta sitting in my hotel room recounting the journey. This is what I looks like

Local Time	What	Where	How long
7am	QF155	Sydney to Auckland	2 Hrs 30 minutes
11.30am	Waiting	Auckland	2 Hrs 30 minutes
2pm	QF155	Auckland to Los Angeles	12 Hrs
7.30am	Waiting	Los Angeles	4 Hrs 30 minutes
12pm	DL182	Los Angeles to Atlanta	4 Hrs 30 minutes
7.30pm	Transit to Hotel	Atlanta	1 Hrs

No wonder I am feeling tired now.

When I told my kids I was going to Atlanta, they wanted to know how I was going to breathe underwater. Gotta love those wacky kids!!! They thought I said Atlantis!

Blogs and RSS come to Microsoft.com

Sat, 10 Jul 2004 13:02:25 GMT

This is a cool initiative! I'm listed in here

We just launched the Microsoft Community Blogs Portal, a searchable listing of blogs by Microsoft employees, categorized by product or technology topic. The project also makes it easier for pages across Microsoft.com to publish lists of relevant blogs and posts from those blogs.

This project was intended to answer one of the key pieces of feedback we get from customers about our blogging efforts to date. As people posted in response to Scoble's question about Microsoft blogs, it’s sometimes hard to find blogs about a particular technology or product that we make, even on a site like blogs.msdn.com which only has full time Microsoft employees blogging. Our answer to that is to ask our bloggers to categorize their RSS feeds (and to indicate whether they’re writing for a technical audience or a more general readership). The blog portal then makes those blogs available for consumption.

The project also provides ways for blog content to be automatically incorporated into pages on Microsoft.com. We’ve already been doing this, in a proof of concept way, on MSDN in the developer centers, but the process has been very manual. This should make it much easier for all our site managers to incorporate blogs.

A nice side effect of the project is the ability to search across all of the registered RSS feeds. So if you aren’t able to find something using regular Microsoft.com search but you think one of our bloggers might have written about it, you can search across all the registered posts from the portal.

Oh yeah, about RSS. A second project which launched yesterday, called Smart Components 2.0, also allows these contextually relevant lists of posts and blogs to be re-published via RSS. What’s that mean? In a nutshell, every one of the blog recent posts components contains a white on orange RSS badge linking to an RSS feed that is scoped to the same content set as the component. The one on the blog portal has an RSS feed of the fifty most recent posts from all registered Microsoft blogs. If I’m on the Exchange community site, there will now be an RSS feed that aggregates posts from registered bloggers who write about Exchange. And we aren’t just RSS-enabling blog content. With the new code that we deployed yesterday, all sorts of smart components on our sites, including lists of newsgroup content, upcoming chats and webcasts, knowledge base articles, and security bulletins now emit RSS.

Finally, what we shipped yesterday was a portal and a toolbox for our site managers to incorporate these features into their sites. We’ll point to uses of the new components as they go live and spread Microsoft blogs and RSS across Microsoft.com. We’ll also write specifics about some of the other new features in the Smart Components 2.0 release.

(Bonus: there are some interesting hidden features in the blog portal.)

Related...

[Weblogs @ ASP.NET]

Innovation Conference in Melbourne

Sat, 10 Jul 2004 07:17:31 GMT

My good buddy, and former Microsoftee, Cameron Reily has become a voracious blogger.

This morning he posted a piece about an innovation conference he wants to run in Melbourne. I think this would be a well attended event. Australia needs this kind of stuff happening. There is a lot of negative feelings around technology innovation at the moment, or it is perceived as too hard, too expensive or just fleeting.

Good luck Cam -- let me know if you need a speaker....

Sun and Microsoft resolve their differences.

Fri, 02 Apr 2004 22:09:41 GMT

Wow. Microsoft and Sun resolve their differences. No, this had nothing to do with Sun Microsystems' employee Tim Bray and me having lunch earlier this week. Just a wild coincidence.

Glad to see that we'll be working together to make our customer's lives better.

[Scobleizer: Microsoft Geek Blogger]

Windows XP SP2 Available for Download

Sat, 20 Mar 2004 00:59:25 GMT

Windows XP Service Pack 2 Release Candidate 1 is available for download from the Microsoft TechNet site. There is no signup or nomination process required to access this download.

However Customers who download Windows XP SP2 RC1 will not be eligible for support through the technical beta program. However, Microsoft has created 11 new newsgroups to foster community-based support.

Customers are encouraged to download and begin testing Windows XP SP2 in their environments through this release candidate.

The download and related information is located at this URL:

http://www.microsoft.com/sp2preview

Coming soon - Microsoft Mobile DevCon 2004

Fri, 20 Feb 2004 01:59:31 GMT

Mobile development is hot. I spent most of my time working with ISVs who are developing (or have developed) mobile solutions.

This year, we will be running the Mobile DevCon, this time in Sydney on April 20 2004. Last year's event in Melbourne was really well attended, so we are keen to see all you mobile developers get along to this free one-day event.

Keep you eye on our Mobile Developer Site for all the info.

Ahh, so that's what he does

Wed, 11 Feb 2004 11:47:24 GMT

Cameron Reilly justifies his existence

Cam - I'm just teasing. Honestly!

Dr. Neil's SMS Utils

Wed, 11 Feb 2004 11:29:50 GMT

The prolific Dr Neil Roodyn continues to develop handy tools. This time he has posted a taster for his SMS Utilities.

New Features include:

Deleting SMS messages from your device
Marking messages as Read/Unread
Support for Pocket PC for Phone
Support for Windows Mobile 2003 devices

His earlier apps - ReadSMS and SendSMS are really cool. I cant wait to have a play with this app.

Good one Dr Neil!

Tablet Developer resources

Thu, 22 Jan 2004 11:22:14 GMT

We have been nurturing Tablet PC ISVs. Late last year, we ran a series of developer workshops, and 1:1 sessions. I'm keen to see the results of these in the coming months.

The person who helped put this together is Dr Neil Roodyn, an active member of the developer community down under. Dr Neil has put together all the information on this site, which includes an ebook and a number of training courses.

Good one Dr Neil!

Microsoft sets time for cyberwatches

Wed, 17 Dec 2003 13:19:11 GMT

So Excited!!!

Wristwatches embedded with Microsoft's smart technology are expected to appear in retail stores next month, a move that comes after a delay of several months, a company spokesman said Tuesday. Microsoft's Smart Personal Objects Technology (SPOT) and its subscription-based MSN Direct service will power the wristwatches, along with other devices to be released in the future. The much-hyped technology and watches were initially set to launch in the fall. The delay will lead to Microsoft and retailers missing the lucrative holiday shopping season. more

Longhorn Readiness Program for ISVs

Thu, 11 Dec 2003 02:24:12 GMT

Now, here's a good deal.

Join the Longhorn Readiness Program for ISVs to get tools, training, and support for the next version of the Microsoft® Windows® operating system, code-named "Longhorn."

Exclusive ISV benefits include:

Limited offer: A free copy of the official Microsoft PDC 2003 Conference DVD*, a US$499 value.
A free copy of the "Developer Guide to Migration & Interoperability in 'Longhorn'.

Awesome!

The famous Spiegeltent

Wed, 10 Dec 2003 09:45:17 GMT

Christmas party coming up this week.

It's being held in the "The Famous Spiegeltent", which is described as 'A European Mirror Tent - the ultimate cabaret and music salon'.

Sounds like something out of Moulin Rouge!

Microsoft tests Web news service: ZDNet Australia: News & Tech: E-Business

Fri, 05 Dec 2003 11:59:00 GMT

oldish news, but still pretty good

"Microsoft has started testing an international news search service in competition with Google's, upping the ante in the hotly contested Web search market. " [more]

audi.com.au

Thu, 04 Dec 2003 12:12:21 GMT

So, I'm checking out the website for my new car and it's an ASP.NET site

Cool! Now I'm happy!!!!

Howard talks the IT talk in his own silicon suburb - smh.com.au

Tue, 02 Dec 2003 12:32:28 GMT

This is an interesting article, and a pretty cool map. Pity they got the location of the Microsoft office wrong! We moved 2 and a half years ago from 65 Epping Rd to 1 Epping Rd, which is part of Riverside Corporate Park.

Come on SMH - update your graphics!

Wired News: Longhorn on Sale: Only $1.58

Tue, 02 Dec 2003 11:50:54 GMT

Malaysia's brazen software pirates are hawking the next version of Microsoft's operating system years before it is supposed to be on sale. [wired]

Microsoft and Mobility

Tue, 02 Dec 2003 05:07:30 GMT

I've been talking to a few folks about development of Mobile solutions on the Microsoft platform. Lot's of questions, so here's a bunch of resources:

Sample Mobile apps

Mobile Developer community

Application Certification

http://microsoft.com/windowsmobile/information/devprograms/mobile2market/

And we are running the Smart Client Seminar for ISVs which includes Mobile Development.

.NET is here to stay

Fri, 28 Nov 2003 13:08:05 GMT

Interesting post, considering my recent chat with the metagroup analysts.

Several print magazines (ComputingWorld and PC Pro) recently said that .NET and Web Services are being pushed aside in Microsofts mass drive for Longhorn. They warn potential users of .NET to hold back and wait for the dust to settle before committing..[more]

Microsoft helping ISVs

Fri, 28 Nov 2003 12:36:06 GMT

Cam posts some info that I sent him.

I forgot one important one -- Empower.

Microsoft Empower Program
The Empower program is designed to assist ISVs, over a 12-month period, in developing a commercially-viable software product based on Microsoft technologies. It is intended to assist ISVs to become Microsoft Certified Partners.

Did you know that we have 140 companies signed up on Empower already

CBS News | The Strange World Of Web Celebs | November 20, 2003 19:40:52

Thu, 27 Nov 2003 12:17:46 GMT

I turned the TV on this morning and saw a segment on the "Today Show". They ran a segment originally produced by CBS about the Star Wars Kid:

A kid alone with a video camera waving a golfball retriever, like a Jedi warrior. A private moment of clumsy 10th grade innocence until four classmates put the tape on the Internet.

Today, as CBS News Correspondent Bob McNamara reports, this 15-year-old small town Canadian is known to tens of millions planet-wide as the "Star Wars Kid." [more]

It's quiet

Thu, 27 Nov 2003 12:05:22 GMT

I've been going through my inbox and I have noticed that there isn't as much noise as normal.

I was wondering why - and then it dawned on me -- Thanksgiving

We need some dancing turkeys to celebrate!

Thu, 27 Nov 2003 11:53:20 GMT

Sify.com: "the .NET Evangelist."

I worked for Sanjay back in 1994 & 1995 during the heady pre-dotcom, interactive tv days. He was a great boss and a good friend to me. After all these years, he is still a very approachable dude who returns my emails.

Cam Reilly liked my session!

Thu, 27 Nov 2003 10:53:30 GMT

I'm delighted to read that Cam Reilly liked my session at the partner conference!

Thx mate. I hope you are inspired and can spread the word that Microsoft really wants to help make ISVs be successful.

Travel to Melbourne

Thu, 27 Nov 2003 10:21:49 GMT

The final leg of my journey - I'm heading down to Melbourne to catch up with my team and spread some more love.

The journey didn't start so well -- we sat on the runway at Coolangatta airport for over 30 minutes, as the Qantas staff frantically searched for a passenger that had not boarded. They did a head count, went through all the luggage and then finally realized that their list was wrong! There was no missing passenger! So we finally left, late.

Time now to catch up on email

End of Partner Conference

Thu, 27 Nov 2003 10:15:40 GMT

The last day of the partner conference has come & gone.

It was a busy for me - this time I was working on one of the exhibition booths, as well as my regular 'swanning' around. I got to chat with another bunch of partners, such as managed business outcomes, expert is, ozbizweb, excom & oxon data systems. I spoke to many, many more people, but I didnt grab their cards and cant remember them at the moment..

I also had a series of "chats" with some journos - James Pearce from ZDNET and Fleur Doidge from CRN. I also had a session with 2 great guys from Meta Group. Each of these chats were fun and I'm sure I said stuff I shouldnt - oh well c'est la vie.

The evening then wrapped up with the Gala Dinner, which included a number of partner awards. Two ISVs did really well - Brookstone, won 2 awards and Wireless IP won 3. Good to see these guys doing well!

Then we danced. The band was The Gotham City Horns. And they played their standard repertoire You can hear some of their music on their download page. The lead singer thought he was Ricky Martin!

After the dancing and the singing and the awards, the party moved to the bar. A late night was had by all

Partner event - end of day

Tue, 25 Nov 2003 15:35:25 GMT

Back after a busy day at the Microsoft Australia & New Zealand Partner Conference.

My job was to 'swan around' and talk to the partners and sponsors in the exhibition area. Yes, I can do that!

I spoke to lots of people from companies, such as computercorp, eword development, informex, ems, ipex, competesolutions, thinprint, infotronics, open systems technology, pay global, dexterra, wirelessip, avanade, data3, volante systems and Magic Macros - and these are just the guys who I grab business cards from.

A funny story -- I met a guy who had saved an SMS that I had sent him over 12 months ago. He was saving it for the day he would meet me, just to show me that he had received the message. My wife tells me that this is weird. I think it's kinda sweet. I wonder how many other people have saved an SMS that I have sent them. I've got other stories, but now's not the time.

I then presented a session (PRTCM02) on the Microsoft ISV partner program. It appeared to be well attended and I got a bunch of challenging questions from the floor. I think I managed to duck them all :)

Prior to dinner, we hosted the ISVs who are attending the conference to a pre dinner (obviously) cocktail party. we even had a 4 string quartet! As one of the folks at the event said, it was quite appropriate for the evangelist to be having an event at the chapel!

We finished the night with dinner and a terrific comedy set by Vince Sorrenti.

Vince is a very funny guy with a slick routine.

I'm not going to post a transcript, as I'm sure that will contravene heaps of copyright laws! but take me word for it - he was funny.

Back from the Opening Event

Mon, 24 Nov 2003 14:55:56 GMT

Got back from the opening event of the Microsoft Australia & New Zealand Partner Conference.

The location of the event was a secret

Since we are on the Gold Coast, we went to one of the famous theme parks - Warner Brothers Movie World!

And, guess what - it rained & rained & rained & rained & rained! Guess we should check the weather next time.

Despite that, it was a good night. I got to catch up with some old friends, and met some new ones. I even to got to ride the SCOOBY-DOO SPOOKY COASTER.

The next 2 days should be fun!

Watch PDC sessions on line

Sun, 23 Nov 2003 21:35:12 GMT

ALL of the PDC sessions are on line for public viewing. Very Cool

Mobile Web Services

Sun, 23 Nov 2003 11:43:38 GMT

Enter the Mobile Web Services Developer Contest
Microsoft and Vodafone are seeking innovative developer applications that showcase the use of mobile Web services and span across PCs and mobile devices. Top prizes include a $5,000 award and round trip travel to the Microsoft Mobile Developer Conference in Spring 2004. The finalists will also have their applications featured in several Vodafone and Microsoft industry events, and as an added incentive Vodafone may deploy the winning applications into their markets. Registration is limited to the first 250 eligible entries received. If you've got what it takes, register for the Mobile Web Services Developer Contest now!

.NET Connected Logo

Thu, 20 Nov 2003 12:27:25 GMT

Promotion code:
NETCX2003

Sign up to join the .NET Connected Logo program by December 31, 2003 and receive a complimentary .NET Connected Logo test

This is really really cool. There are over 40 Australian companies that have already gotten their logo - here is the listing of .net connected logo partners.

Australia & New Zealand Partner Conference

Thu, 20 Nov 2003 12:18:51 GMT

Busy week ahead for me. I'm heading up to Brisbane to speak at the Citect User Conference on Monday and then I travel south to the Gold Coast, for Microsoft's Australia & New Zealand Partner Conference

"Mark your diaries: 24-26 November, 2003. Bringing together the best of Microsoft Australia Fusion - and Microsoft Business Solutions Partner Connect, this exciting event offers a unique opportunity to learn, network and maximise your company's potential! Joined by over 650 business leaders, marketing executives, sales professionals and solution architects from around Australia, you will have the valuable opportunity to extend your company's market and customer reach, drive profitable revenue growth, and, with Microsoft-powered business agility, turn today's accelerating pace of change into a competitive advantage."

If you are heading up, looking forward to seeing you there!

CNET : Microsoft re-explains .Net strategy

Thu, 20 Nov 2003 11:16:56 GMT

From the "here we go again" department:

CNET News.com
Microsoft re-explains .Net strategy
By David Becker

Yes, Virginia, there is a Microsoft .Net. The software giant's elusive strategy--a hot topic a few years ago but overshadowed by other Microsoft efforts lately--was declared alive and well during a panel at the Comdex trade show. While .Net was initially understood as a strategy for delivering software functionality as a Web-based service, it actually represents several major changes in direction for Microsoft, said John Montgomery, a group product manager for the software giant.

The Word Spy

Thu, 20 Nov 2003 10:54:44 GMT

I really like the word spy.

Today's word is a beauty

warm-chair attrition

(warm-chair uh.TRISH.un) n. The loss of workplace productivity due to employees who dislike their jobs and are just waiting for the right time to quit and move on to something better.

Microsoft has a similar term - "Rest and Vest". I've known a few folks like this in my time!

Microsoft to enter online music market - www.smh.com.au

Wed, 19 Nov 2003 13:20:35 GMT

finally!

The marketplace for legal online music services is about to get more crowded with tech behemoth Microsoft Corp entering the fray. [smh]

the big question is, will it be global so that us aussies can participate too?

Comdex 2003

Mon, 17 Nov 2003 12:13:32 GMT

Comdex time already!

It's seems to have come from nowhere.

BillG has had his keynote already. The transcript is posted and a webcast is online! It's all about The Era of Seamless Computing.

Time to check out the virtual pressroom and even read the critical reviews. And this is cool - Google News on Comdex 2003.

Microsoft Details First-Ever MSN Profit

Fri, 14 Nov 2003 12:56:11 GMT

This article really took my fancy - especially since I spent 5 years as part of MSN.

Reuters - Microsoft Corp.'s MSN Internet division posted its first-ever quarterly operating profit of $58 million since it was launched eight years ago, the world's largest software maker said in a regulatory filing on Thursday. The results show that four of Microsoft seven business divisions are generating an operating profit, which excludes taxes and investment charges. The other three divisions: Business Solutions, cell phone and device software business, and home and entertainment, are still posting operating losses, according to data from the latest quarter ended Sept. 30.

Smart Client Seminar for ISVs

Thu, 13 Nov 2003 13:24:21 GMT

Microsoft Smart Client Seminar for ISVs - Sydney (3-5 Dec 03) and Melbourne (9-11 Dec 03)

Seize the growing opportunities for your smart client software applications now by registering to attend the Microsoft Smart Client Seminar for ISVs near you. This unique developer event will provide you with the in-depth knowledge and training you need to start building smart client applications on Microsoft technologies.

Smart client applications present unprecedented opportunities for ISVs. By 2005 as much as 60% of all new .NET applications are expected to be designed with smart client deployment in mind. (Source: "The Return of Client/Server - or, at least, Rich Clients," Gartner)

The Microsoft Smart Client Seminar for ISVs, designed by Microsoft technologists and delivered by industry-leading trainers, will help you to seize these opportunities by providing you with technical sessions, demos, and hands-on labs.

This unique 3 day training event is being held in Melbourne on 9-11 December 03 and in Sydney on 3-5th December 03. For other states, additional sessions will be held in early 2004. No existing knowledge of Microsoft smart client technologies is required to participate, but familiarity with the Microsoft .NET platform and XML Web services will be beneficial.

Seating is limited, so register today

Get Visual Studio .NET Trial

Thu, 13 Nov 2003 10:38:10 GMT

I keep getting asked by people to provide people with the Visual Studio .NET Professional 60-Day Trial Edition .

Today I was asked by 3 different people. 3 people who should know better!

From now on - I'm going to answer with a page slap!

.NET Developer Jump Start

Thu, 13 Nov 2003 00:30:17 GMT

New to .NET? Get started with free online training & labs
Microsoft's new .NET Developer Jump Start sessions teach selected core skills for .NET Web and Windows application development, using online seminars and hands-on labs to help you practice.

Become an Office Marketplace provider

Thu, 06 Nov 2003 05:23:18 GMT

If your product or service works with Microsoft Office it should be a part of the Microsoft Office Marketplace.
The Office Marketplace is part of Microsoft Office Online, the redesigned Office Web site that serves as the online companion to the Microsoft Office System. On this site, Office users can find a directory of tools, services, smart tags, and add-ins offered by external providers that allow them to do more with Office. Office Online Australia will launch in the first half of 2004. Please visit http://www.microsoft.com/australia/office/online/ to find out more and to register your interest.

'OPERATION LONGHORN'

Wed, 05 Nov 2003 11:37:01 GMT

Microsoft opens up new Windows on the future
Last week Bill Gates unveiled the next version of his Microsoft Windows operating system, codenamed Longhorn. He did this for a group of software developers in California but everyone else got to hear what he said. more

MSR Keynote

Thu, 30 Oct 2003 00:17:57 GMT

I always love listening to Rick Rashid. His keynote speech is excellent.

I would love to see the demos!

Developer Productivity Takes Center Stage

Thu, 30 Oct 2003 00:05:55 GMT

"We are focused on making information easier to find, organize and act on, and at the same time on making developers as productive as possible building connected and information-driven applications," said Eric Rudder, senior vice president of Servers and Tools at Microsoft, at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference 2003. (PressPass)

Microsoft shows off Yukon

Wed, 29 Oct 2003 07:19:58 GMT

Microsoft's Yukon got its moment in the spotlight at the company's Professional Developers Conference with public demonstrations of the product's built-in development and debugging capabilities more

BillG keynote from PDC online

Mon, 27 Oct 2003 23:14:54 GMT

that didnt take long - billg's keynote speech

can't wait for the video....

At least I can see photos

Sun, 26 Oct 2003 23:19:49 GMT

thx to all who are posting to the PDC 2003 moblog

it kinda feels like im there.

I wont be at the PDC

Sun, 26 Oct 2003 00:40:22 GMT

As much as it pains me, I wont be attending the PDC in LA this year. Yes it's true. I wont be there, but my team is over there and they will be part of this event, attending these sessions.

I'll follow it online on the new MSDN PDC Central and MSDN Longhorn Dev Center sites.

ASP to ASP.NET Migration Assistant

Sat, 18 Oct 2003 11:19:27 GMT

The ASP to ASP.NET Migration Assistant is designed to help you convert ASP pages and applications to ASP.NET.

Give it a try!!

Try Visual Studio.NET

Sat, 18 Oct 2003 11:17:23 GMT

Ever wanted to try Visual Studio.NET for free? Here's your opportunity to try it online.

Liberty Alliance, Passport still at odds

Sat, 18 Oct 2003 06:35:29 GMT

http://news.com.com/2100-1001-840455.html

SAN JOSE, Calif.--Representatives from the two major initiatives to build a common infrastructure for verifying identity on the Internet said Tuesday that while a standard system is necessary, the sides may not be able to work together anytime soon.

big xbox news

Sat, 18 Oct 2003 06:31:56 GMT

good announcement this week for xbox games developers in victoria.

Victorian developers set sights on XBox
A scheme operated jointly by the Victorian government, Microsoft and the Victorian branch of the Games Developers Association of Australia (DGAA) will put Xbox development kits (XDK) into the hands of local games houses at no charge

Sat, 20 Sep 2003 04:10:34 GMT

eWeek: Virus masquerades as a Microsoft email.

Email worm masquerades as protector

Fri, 19 Sep 2003 22:01:13 GMT

I have been contacted by a number of folks I know about a supposed email from Microsoft support. This is generated by a virus.

More info as follows

September 20, 2003

Anti-virus companies have warned of a new computer worm circulating through email that purports to be security software from Microsoft Corp but actually tries to disable security programs that are already running.

The worm, dubbed "Swen" or "Gibe", takes advantage of a two-year-old hole in Internet Explorer and affects systems that have not installed a patch for that security hole, according to the internet security company Network Associates Inc.

The malicious program arrives as an attachment to an email pretending to contain a patch for holes in Internet Explorer, Outlook and Outlook Express and then mails itself off to addresses located on the victim's computer.

The worm also can spread over internet relay chat and the KaZaa peer-to-peer network, as well as copy itself over shared networks, Network Associates said.

When it infects a computer it alerts a website that appears to be counting the infections, according to Symantec Corp, another internet security outfit. The number of the counter was near 760,000 yesterday, Sydney time.

Network Associates rated the worm a low risk for corporate users and a medium risk for home users. The company and rival Symantec, among others, were offering anti-virus updates that detects and removes the worm.

Microsoft has cautioned customers in the past against email software updates, saying it does not distribute patches that way but rather directs them to its website.

This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/09/19/1063625215619.html

Scrap Book

Thu, 18 Sep 2003 00:35:33 GMT

I thought it would be a good idea to put a link to all the news stories I have featured in. My mother would be proud...

Developer Evangelism

Windows Media Business Development

ninemsn

Red vs. Blue

Sun, 14 Sep 2003 12:25:32 GMT

every other blog i've seen has posted a link to this -- so why not me too? Red vs. Blue

Your Connections Your trusted friends and colleagues	45
Two degrees away Friends-of-friends; each is connected to one of your connections	1,800+
Three degrees away Reach them through a friend and one of their friends	61,600+
Four degrees away The broadest group, reach them through a chain of referrals	491,600+
Total users contactable through a trusted referral:	555,100+