In case you missed it, Microsoft just released some great new downloads, specifically new versions of VS 2008, Silverlight, and Expression Blend.

As someone who started writing what are now called AJAX apps since 2000, I *really* appreciate how Silverlight and Blend make RIAs much easier to develop.

Links to all the bits-

• Visual Studio 2008 Beta 2
• Visual Studio Extensions for Silverlight
• Silverlight 1.0 SDK / Silverlight 1.1 SDK
• ASP.NET Futures CTP
• Silverlight 1.0 RC1 / Windows (direct link)
• Silverlight 1.0 RC1 / Mac (direct link)
• Silverlight 1.1 Alpha Refresh / Windows (direct link)
• Silverlight 1.1 Alpha Refresh / Mac (direct link)
• Expression Blend August Preview
• Expression Media Encoder Template Updater

When I wrote my new book, Beginning Information Cards and CardSpace: From Novice to Professional, I wanted the reader to go beyond building just 'Hello World' applications that just focused on learning features. Instead, I wanted to have the readers build practical, usable code.

In an effort to let you see what you'll be getting when you buy the book, I thought I'd do some screencasts to highlight what you'll build out.

I'm going to start with Chapter 13, which focuses on automating the issuance of managed cards with Workflow Foundation.

In that chapter, you'll create a number of Workflow Foundation custom activities that can help you automate the issuance of managed cards, complete with email delivery.

Also included is a sample application will calls the workflow and generates a card based on data provided.

Click on the image below to see the video:

I'd mentioned that the BPEL for Windows Workflow Foundation was about to be released, and now it has.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=6d0daf00-f689-4e61-88e6-cbe6f668e6a3&displaylang=en

Check it out.

Speaking of folks that I got to work with last year, I had the opportunity to work with Alberto Arias on a major WF project in the UK (the first Fortune 500 WF project in production, I believe).  Earlier this fiscal year, Alberto crossed the pond and took a job over in the Connected Systems Division.

He's been working on activities for BPEL (Business Process Execution Language) for awhile now, and while chatting with him tonight, he told me that with today's announcement on Paul Andrews blog, it was now cool to talk about the BPEL support externally. He and I then booted up Meeting Space in Vista (if you've not used it, check it out, it's quite cool), and he stepped me through how it works. 

Having spent alot of time with customers and partners last year, I regularly heard requests for BPEL support. The implementation is very clean, very straightforward, with capabilities to import and export BPEL. BPEL 1.1 wil be supported in the March CTP, and 2.0 will be supported after it is ratified by OASIS.  I think people are going to be happy with it, it's very cool stuff - hats off to Alberto and team! 

Going through my email this morning, I received my official Mix07 confirmation.  Last year, I had a number of customer commitments so was really not in the loop on Mix, this year, though, I've had some overlap with some of the things I've been working on and have had a chance to get involved in various aspects of the event.

Earlier this year I went to another web conference(which shall remain nameless), and was so dissapointed I left the conference (and Vegas) a day early. (Me, leaving Vegas early? unheard of, I know). 

Mix, though, is a different story. From what I've seen of the sessions, this is actually an event I'd pay out of pocket to go to. It's got a good mix of folks from MS, as well as from third parties.  I may or may not be delivering a session, that's something that'll get decided in the next month or so, but will be onsite either working in certain areas of the event, or attending sessions.

One of the great things about conferences is that I get a chance to meet up with former colleagues and people I've chatted with via email and blogs. If you're going to be in Vegas the 29th - 2nd and want to chat about WCF, CardSpace, Mashups, or whatever - shoot me an email and we'll make some plans to sync up.

I was just on Amazon and it looks like the follow up to Windows Communication Foundation: Hands On! is now available for pre-order.

This book contains all of the content updated for RTM, plus 200+ more pages than the original. You'll also see that we've got a new co-author, Matt Winkler.

For those unfamiliar with Matt, he's the technical evangelist for Windows Workflow Foundation here in Redmond, and he's added some great WF content to the book.

If you want to get more details, you can find it here:

http://www.amazon.com/Windows-Communication-Foundation-Unleashed-WCF/dp/0672329484/sr=1-3/qid=1170008872/ref=sr_1_3/002-4228351-3336016?ie=UTF8&s=books

If you've read the blog for awhile, you'll know that I moved over to the incubation team in Microsoft's Platform Strategy Group back in August.

My old team is still looking for my replacement, and they're now expanding their search. if you're passionate about CardSpace, Windows Communication Foundation, and Workflow Foundation and working with large Enterprise customers you might be interested in this.

In addition to working with some great technologies, you'll be surrounded by a great group of folks on the Longhorn Server evangelism team, many of whom are authors (or authoring) books on .NETFX 3 or other topics.

James has the full scoop on his blog, check out the link below for details:

http://blogs.msdn.com/jamescon/archive/2006/09/19/761696.aspx

Looking for another one stop shop for your WCF, WF, WPF, and CardSpace (formerly InfoCard) needs?

http://netfx3.com/ was launched with the rebranding of winfx to netfx3, and now you can find info, demos, and forums on CardSpace and all your favorite foundation technologies there.  This site consolidates what was windowsworkflow.net and windowscommunication.net.

Definately worth checking out, particularly as there were a number of new samples and demos uploaded that weren't on the old sites.

.NET Framework 3.0 - June CTP has been released and can be found here.

WCF and WF in Public Sector.PPT (2.16 MB)

I did a webcast today on WCF, WF, and Infocard in Public Sector today.  For the Retail and Fin Serv webcasts I'd done previously, I'd had great scores (>8/9 in some cases), but there were always requests for additional vertical content after the fact.

I tried switching it up today for the pub sector session (more vertical, less core wcf/wf/identity), but the presentation just didn't click. I think I'll re-record and post a link to it when it's available, I'm pleased with the InfoCard demo, though, as I think it provides additional value. 

I've attached my deck to the start of this post, as I wanted people to see the legacy empowerment section that we didn't get to review.

If you're new to the blog, I wanted to point you to some of the demos I've got online, including:

http://www.marcmercuri.com/ct.ashx?id=d0cffe95-b683-4f7c-b883-44feeb0afd43&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.marcmercuri.com%2fDownloads%2fFinServDevCon.zip

As well as a syllabus for learning InfoCard:

http://www.marcmercuri.com/PermaLink.aspx?guid=eae5a6ef-a12e-4cfd-bd65-56fdf0b103f4

Cheers,

Marc

You can now get Windows Vista Beta 2 and a new drop of WinFx (Beta 2/RC0).

This version of WinFX has a new Go Live license attached (the first since January). There's enough new since January that you'll want to make the jump to the May bits.

If you want to use Infocard, this is also the drop for you. This is the first broadly available build that has Infocard bits that work with IE7.

Find both Vista and WinFX  here.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/windowsvista/downloads/products/getthebeta/default.aspx#developWinFXApps

While I'm very good about posting the WF webcasts I'm doing, Paul Andrew keeps his list up to date with everyone's WF presentations.

He's got a good list going, check it out here -

http://blogs.msdn.com/pandrew/articles/460630.aspx

Podcasts. I'd been interested in them before, but because my old mp3 player was a bit dodgy, I'd really only listened in on my desktop. As a result I'd stuck mostly to screencasts, and largely bypassed podcasts altogether.

Knowing I had alot of traveling coming up, I recently upgraded to a new portable music device. I loaded it up before I left, downloaded some technology content, some news podcasts(Meet the Press, and Wall St Journal Tech Week), as well as some comedy (Ricky Gervais - the guy who created The Office - is hiliarious) 

Loaded up, I listened to podcasts as I went from Seattle->Denmark->London and back again.  Annoying lines at customs that were 4 rows deep didn't seem so bad. The 2 block line to get through security in Denmark, no worries - I was being entertained and educated with an interview of a tech legend. Podcasts are a beautiful thing.

I was looking forward to this before, but even more so now - I'm sitting don with Ron Jacobs next week to record a few ARCast sessions. Ron is part of our Architecture Strategy Team and does some great podcast work that's posted up on Channel 9. 

If you've not come across the ARCasts yet, I'd definately recommend checking them out.  You can find them here: http://channel9.msdn.com/shows/ARCast_with_Ron_Jacobs

If you're like me and wanted to go but missed it - good news.  The sessions have just been posted online for free view/download.

Sessions here: http://sessions.mix06.com/

NGW034 - From "Username and Password" to InfoCard

DIS003 - Today's Identity Crisis, and the Identity Metasystem

For those unfamiliar with MIX, here's the pitch -

“If you do business on the Web today, it's likely that more than 90% of your customers reach you via Microsoft® Internet Explorer and/or Microsoft Windows®. Come to MIX and learn how the next versions of these products, due later this year, are going to dramatically improve your customers' experience. Explore a wide range of new Web technologies that Microsoft is delivering to help you unlock new revenue opportunities and lower development costs. Learn about the future of Internet Explorer and join us in a discussion about how we can build the ideal Web surfing platform to meet your needs and those of your customers.

“

Anyone going to the Advisor Media conference at the JW Marriot in Vegas (April 9 - 13th)?

My teammate and Notes guy extroardinaire, Gary Devendorf, has invited me to participate in a number of sessions in the Notes2.NET track. I'll be bringing with me some interesting demos and presentations on how to utilize two of the great technologies inside of WinFX - WCF and WF - with Lotus Notes and Domino.

I'll be involed in the following sessions -

Schedule: 04/10/2006 11:15 AM
What is .NET?
Marc Mercuri & Gary Devendorf
Explore the parallels and similarities between .NET technology and Lotus Notes/Domino -- you may be surprised. In this session, you'll learn the fundamentals of .NET, presented in Notes/Domino terms. You'll look at .NET's vocabulary and workings. Finally, a .NET session aimed at the Notes/Domino developer. You don't want to miss this one.

Schedule: 04/10/2006 04:45 PM
Integrating Lotus Domino and Visual Studio .NET Web Services
Gary Devendorf & Marc Mercuri
You can host Web services on a Domino 7 server. But did you know you can also host them on Domino 6 or 5? Also, hosting Web services is only half the story. You must have a Web service client to make a Web service useful. In this session, you'll see how to create and host a Domino Web service. And you'll learn how to create a VS.NET Web service client to use your Web service. You won't believe how easy this is!

Schedule: 04/11/2006 11:15 AM
Integrate Domino Objects and Managed .NET Code Using COM
Gary Devendorf & Marc Mercuri
The Domino objects expose functionality of Lotus Notes/Domino applications to LotusScript, Java, COM, and more. In this session you'll see how you can call the Domino objects from .NET applications using Visual Studio.NET. Also, you'll see examples of LotusScript calling Managed code

Schedule: 04/12/2006 08:00 AM
Microsoft Workflow Linked to Lotus Notes
Marc Mercuri
You know about Lotus Notes workflow, but did you know that Microsoft has a new technology for workflow called Windows Workflow Foundation (WF)? See how WF works and how you can use it from Lotus Notes. You'll even see how to link a Notes workflow to a Windows workflow -- this is all new! You'll see VB.NET and LotusScript in the examples.

For those that know me, I come from an Enterprise background, and know there's a big need out there for info on how to do interop.  With Notes and Domino in particular there are some great opportunities to leverage .NET, Windows Communication Foundation, and Windows Workflow Foundation to provide great functionality and new opportunities to your existing applications.

I'll be in town the whole week, if you want to talk about how to leverage WCF, WF, or InfoCard in your projects, I'm happy to chat with folks 1:1 - just contact me via email to set something up (mmercuri@microsoft.com)

MSDN TV has a new episode focusing on the hosting model in WF.  The episode features the WF team's Israel Hilerio.

Check it out here:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdntv/episode.aspx?xml=episodes/en/20060323WWFIH/manifest.xml

MSDN TV has a new episode focusing on the hosting model in WF.  The episode features the WF team's Israel Hilerio.

Check it out here:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdntv/episode.aspx?xml=episodes/en/20060323WWFIH/manifest.xml

I know there are a number of readers from both Germany and Japan, so wanted to make sure to publish links to the Feb CTP for those languages as well:

German

Page: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=A2151993-991D-4F58-A707-5883FF4C1DC2&displaylang=de

Install Guide: http://download.microsoft.com/download/1/8/8/188168e6-4881-4c9d-94a7-34742390f9a0/WFBeta2_Install_Instructions.htm

ReadMe: http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/1/b/51b24af7-8d77-47c0-8947-5768f728237e/VS2005Extensions_for_WF_Beta2_Readme.htm

Download: http://download.microsoft.com/download/3/0/9/30929765-ad9c-4494-b9a4-072b5d553b7c/Visual Studio 2005 Extensions for Windows Workflow Foundation Beta 2(DE).exe 

Japanese

Page: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=A2151993-991D-4F58-A707-5883FF4C1DC2&displaylang=ja

Install Guide: http://download.microsoft.com/download/6/6/f/66ff81ee-e089-4db5-9da8-ae1d67badf86/WFBeta2_Install_Instructions.htm

ReadMe: http://download.microsoft.com/download/8/4/9/84975e78-5f80-4552-ac18-6463a7a3af38/VS2005Extensions_for_WF_Beta2_Readme.htm

Download:  http://download.microsoft.com/download/e/3/d/e3d477c5-8ca6-47fc-8fe6-d98a10ba651e/Visual Studio 2005 Extensions for Windows Workflow Foundation Beta 2(JA).exe

We had a training last week in Redmond, and with the release of Feb CTP bits this week my inbox is being flooded with the question “Should I use the Jan bits or the Feb bits?”

You can tell I used to be a consultant when I say 'Depends'.

Omri Gazitt puts it best when he discusses the trade-off. If you want something closer to the object model that will be released, go Feb CTP. If you want bits that have gone through more quality testing, go with Jan CTP.

Ed Pinto put together a collection of the changes and posted them on WindowsCommication.Net, I'd recommend checking it out and making the right choice based on your specific instance. As the OM is different, existing labs or materials you might be using for training would also need to be updated to work.

Find the list of WCF changes here:
http://windowscommunication.net/collateral/pages/BreakingChangesJanCTPToFebCTP.htm

On the workflow side, Mark Schmidt has a link to the Hands on Labs released with the JanCTP listed with the links to the Feb CTP bits, this meshes with what I'd been told that the Feb CTP would not see big OM changes for WF. 

 If you're looking for the WF labs, find them here

The WinFX Runtime Components February CTP has been published.

For February, Vista will also be releasing a CTP which is sync’d with WinFX Runtime Components.  The build of Vista (5308.17) will be available only to MSDN Subscribers, while WinFX RC, the SDK, and tools will be available to everyone via the MSDN Download Center.

WinFX Runtime Components:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=F51C4D96-9AEA-474F-86D3-172BFA3B828B&displaylang=en

Windows SDK: 

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=9BE1FC7F-0542-47F1-88DD-61E3EF88C402&displaylang=en

Microsoft Visual Studio Code Name “Orcas” Community Technology Preview - Development Tools for WinFX® (aka Fidalgo):  

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=AD0CE56E-D7B6-44BC-910D-E91F3E370477&displaylang=en

VS Extensions for WorkFlow:  

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=A2151993-991D-4F58-A707-5883FF4C1DC2&displaylang=en

WinFX RC February CTP “Readme”: 

http://msdn.microsoft.com/windowsvista/support/relnotes/winfxfebctp/default.aspx

The WinFX Runtime Components February CTP has been published.

For February, Vista will also be releasing a CTP which is sync’d with WinFX Runtime Components.  The build of Vista (5308.17) will be available only to MSDN Subscribers, while WinFX RC, the SDK, and tools will be available to everyone via the MSDN Download Center.

WinFX Runtime Components:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=F51C4D96-9AEA-474F-86D3-172BFA3B828B&displaylang=en

Windows SDK: 

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=9BE1FC7F-0542-47F1-88DD-61E3EF88C402&displaylang=en

Microsoft Visual Studio Code Name “Orcas” Community Technology Preview - Development Tools for WinFX® (aka Fidalgo):  

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=AD0CE56E-D7B6-44BC-910D-E91F3E370477&displaylang=en

VS Extensions for WorkFlow:  

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=A2151993-991D-4F58-A707-5883FF4C1DC2&displaylang=en

WinFX RC February CTP “Readme”: 

http://msdn.microsoft.com/windowsvista/support/relnotes/winfxfebctp/default.aspx

The WinFX Runtime Components February CTP has been published.

For February, Vista will also be releasing a CTP which is sync’d with WinFX Runtime Components.  The build of Vista (5308.17) will be available only to MSDN Subscribers, while WinFX RC, the SDK, and tools will be available to everyone via the MSDN Download Center.

WinFX Runtime Components:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=F51C4D96-9AEA-474F-86D3-172BFA3B828B&displaylang=en

Windows SDK: 

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=9BE1FC7F-0542-47F1-88DD-61E3EF88C402&displaylang=en

Microsoft Visual Studio Code Name “Orcas” Community Technology Preview - Development Tools for WinFX® (aka Fidalgo):  

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=AD0CE56E-D7B6-44BC-910D-E91F3E370477&displaylang=en

VS Extensions for WorkFlow:  

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=A2151993-991D-4F58-A707-5883FF4C1DC2&displaylang=en

WinFX RC February CTP “Readme”: 

http://msdn.microsoft.com/windowsvista/support/relnotes/winfxfebctp/default.aspx

The WinFX Runtime Components February CTP has been published.

For February, Vista will also be releasing a CTP which is sync’d with WinFX Runtime Components.  The build of Vista (5308.17) will be available only to MSDN Subscribers, while WinFX RC, the SDK, and tools will be available to everyone via the MSDN Download Center.

WinFX Runtime Components:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=F51C4D96-9AEA-474F-86D3-172BFA3B828B&displaylang=en

Windows SDK: 

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=9BE1FC7F-0542-47F1-88DD-61E3EF88C402&displaylang=en

Microsoft Visual Studio Code Name “Orcas” Community Technology Preview - Development Tools for WinFX® (aka Fidalgo):  

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=AD0CE56E-D7B6-44BC-910D-E91F3E370477&displaylang=en

VS Extensions for WorkFlow:  

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=A2151993-991D-4F58-A707-5883FF4C1DC2&displaylang=en

WinFX RC February CTP “Readme”: 

http://msdn.microsoft.com/windowsvista/support/relnotes/winfxfebctp/default.aspx

Demos from my WCF/WF session on MSDN are posted.

You can find them here:

www.marcmercuri.com/downloads/netunwrappedwfwcf.zip

Please respect the copyrights on the demos, as some of these were MS samples.

If you're looking for more samples, please check out our community sites at:

http://www.windowsworkflow.net

http://www.windowscommunication.net

Demos from my WCF/WF session on MSDN are posted.

You can find them here:

www.marcmercuri.com/downloads/netunwrappedwfwcf.zip

Please respect the copyrights on the demos, as some of these were MS samples.

If you're looking for more samples, please check out our community sites at:

http://www.windowsworkflow.net

http://www.windowscommunication.net

Demos from my WCF/WF session on MSDN are posted.

You can find them here:

www.marcmercuri.com/downloads/netunwrappedwfwcf.zip

Please respect the copyrights on the demos, as some of these were MS samples.

If you're looking for more samples, please check out our community sites at:

http://www.windowsworkflow.net

http://www.windowscommunication.net

Demos from my WCF/WF session on MSDN are posted.

You can find them here:

www.marcmercuri.com/downloads/netunwrappedwfwcf.zip

Please respect the copyrights on the demos, as some of these were MS samples.

If you're looking for more samples, please check out our community sites at:

http://www.windowsworkflow.net

http://www.windowscommunication.net

I recently did a session with my colleague Gary Devendorf on using Lotus Notes and WCF.

Check out the video for this here:

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032285633&EventCategory=5&culture=en-US&CountryCode=US

I'll also be presenting with Gary at the Notes 2.NET conference in Las Vegas (April). Details on specific sessions will be posted shortly. If you're a Notes person looking to develop in .NET - definately check out Gary's blog as well. (See blog roll to right)

I recently did a session with my colleague Gary Devendorf on using Lotus Notes and WCF.

Check out the video for this here:

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032285633&EventCategory=5&culture=en-US&CountryCode=US

I'll also be presenting with Gary at the Notes 2.NET conference in Las Vegas (April). Details on specific sessions will be posted shortly. If you're a Notes person looking to develop in .NET - definately check out Gary's blog as well. (See blog roll to right)

I recently did a session with my colleague Gary Devendorf on using Lotus Notes and WCF.

Check out the video for this here:

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032285633&EventCategory=5&culture=en-US&CountryCode=US

I'll also be presenting with Gary at the Notes 2.NET conference in Las Vegas (April). Details on specific sessions will be posted shortly. If you're a Notes person looking to develop in .NET - definately check out Gary's blog as well. (See blog roll to right)