We are running the First 30 Fast Start program in a variety of different countries.  The first WebsiteSpark members who deploy a Windows Server 2008 site will win – each country has slightly different terms and conditions so please review them carefully.  The steps are super easy. All you have to do is report the URL you created!

Any questions please comment or contact your local Developer Platform Evangelism representative.

Good luck and we are excited to see your creations!

Saudi Arabia

Win the most luxurious prize – 300 SR gift vouchers

United Arab Emirates

Win free 110Dhs shopping vouchers at the Mall of Emirates just for reporting Windows Server 2008 websites

Lebanon

Win Shopping Vouchers!Report a Windows Server 2008 site in exchange for a shopping spree.

South Africa

WinshoX mini speaker – share your music wherever you are!

 

Turkey

WebsiteSpark Üyelerine Çok Özel Kampanya!  Win gift certificates worth 50 Turkish Lira!

Windows Server 2008 kullanın, daha çok kazanın!Free music or templates for one year!

If not a member, please visit http://www.websitespark.com and click "Join the WebsiteSpark "
to continue the enrolment process.

If already a WebsiteSpark Member, please follow these steps to report site on WebsiteSpark Portal

Go to http://www.websitespark.com

Login using credentials

Enter the URL of a website you have deployed here Note: Validation of site is optional

My colleague, Goksin Bakir, who owns the Cloud priority for my organization provides a short, and easy to understand synopsis of why a business should invest in the Cloud, how to get started, and how to find out more tomorrow at TechEd Middle East, beginning with our full day of pre-conference sessions!

“Computing is undergoing a significant shift from conventional methods like client server to the cloud. Just like the transition to multi-tiered applications. The best way to find your place in the cloud is to make sure you learn about the technologies and offerings. Are you in a developer, an ITpro, Infra person or architect for solutions? Teched ME will demonstrate you how the Cloud will make life much easier and open up new opportunities in your life;

The cloud space has basically 3 main layers to host your business;

• Software as a Service (SaaS) – Packaged software products delivered over the Internet as a finished service. The back-end of a SaaS app can be hosted on any number of architectures, including PaaS, IaaS, and traditional client-server. For this reason, SaaS is primarily a description of the delivery model of an application.

• Platform as a Service (PaaS) – PaaS is a software platform that aids in the development, distribution, provisioning, management, maintenance, or monetization of an application. This platform is managed by a third party (i.e., not the developer or the end user) as a service.

• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) – Infrastructure as a service offers simple virtual server infrastructure hosting. Users rent virtual machines for as long as they are needed from a third party IaaS provider, who manages only the physical infrastructure and virtual machine deployment software.

On the platform as a Service Azure is the most advanced and inclusive offering on the cloud; it that lets you focus on solving business problems and addressing customer needs. With Windows Azure; we get the compute and storage long with the fabric controller. With SQL azure we get the Relational database and reporting on the cloud, With Azure AppFabric we get the Service bus, Access control and caching. For small and large solutions we can use Windows Azure connect to form a virtual network. Please check the Azure site for more details

Want to get started? Here is how:

• Make sure you are a member of the community; INETA user groups have Azure specialized user groups that focus on Azure technologies. Or register your Usergroup if you have one!

• Use the Azure in Visual Studio which has an Azure Simulator to test your applications,

• Be one of the lucky ones to get and use one of the free 1 month trial accounts that will be given out in Teched MEA Azure sessions and deploy your applications.

Make sure you become of the new transition of the cloud by attending the Teched Cloud”

Under the patronage of Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, we will kick off a Web Platform series on March 8thin Dubai at Microsoft Tech·Ed Middle East 2011 . The session formats will be varied – a mix of classroom, interactive, conversational, and traditional lecture. To best prepare for the IE9 for Developerssession, please walk through some of the exercises below.  We welcome your comments and look to you for inspiration on customizing this session in advance to meet your needs.

 

Getting Started with Internet Explorer 9

Internet Explorer 9 release is planned for the first half of calendar year 2011. This is a short list of helpful resources for developers planning on getting their sites and add-on’s ready for IE9.

· Internet Explorer Cookbook - Developer Compatibility Guidance

· IE9 Release Notes

· IE9 Developers Guide

· IE9 Users Guide

· IE Blog (announcements and developer guidance)

Testing Your Site - IE 9 Platform Preview 7

The IE9 platform preview allows site developers to get a head start testing for IE9, and can be used side-by-side with IE8 without having to download the full RC version of IE9. Platform previews have the latest updates to the rendering and scripting engines. If you are testing or developing site content, platform preview is the best choice for testing.

For testing site compatibility, the best choice is to download IE9 Platform Preview.

To open a file or URL, use the Page | Open menu.

Testing Your Add-on’s or Pinning – IE 9 RC

If you need to test add-ons such as BHO’s or toolbars, you can install the IE 9 RC. The IE9 RC is the full browser including the navigation menus and tabs. The IE9 RC can also be used to develop and test the new site “pinning” of your site to the Windows 7 taskbar.

For more information, see: IE Blog: Putting sites at the center of the browsing experience, using the whole PC: IE9 RC Available for Download

For testing add-ons and pinning, the best choice is to download IE9 RC.

Note: IE9 RC will replace IE8 on the installed machine. You will need to uninstall IE9 RC to revert back to IE8.

Getting Started with Built-in Developer Tools:

IE9 Platform Preview and IE9 RC include the IE built-in developer tools. While either the IE9 Platform Preview or IE9 RC window is active, press F12 to access the developer tools.

· For debugging JavaScript, click the Script tab. Click the “Start Debugging” button.

· For debugging HTML and CSS, quickly find the page area of interest by using Find | Select element by click. View / modify HTML or CSS in the appropriate tab.

For more information on debugging with developer tools, see: Developer Tools Overviews and Tutorials

IE9 Standards Mode

IE9 defaults to IE9 Standards mode. This is the fastest and most standards compliant mode. The goal is to enable site developers to be able to code their sites with the same markup and avoid browser detection.

For more information, see: Running today’s different markup

IE9 Cross-browser Best Practices

IE9 reduces the differences between browsers and enables developers to use the same markup across browsers. The goal is to allow developers to use the same HTML, JavaScript, and CSS and reduce the need for code and markup specific to a browser. The following links provide guidance on moving your site to using the same markup across browsers:

· Update Existing Code to Work Across Browsers

· Use Feature and Behavior Detection

· IE Blog: Same Markup: Writing Cross-Browser Code

Compatibility Features for Developers:

As IE changes and supports new technologies, in some scenarios, you may still need IE’s legacy behavior. There are many different technologies that enable developers to adjust how IE displays their site’s markup.

For more information, see:

· IE Blog: IE’s Compatibility Features for Site Developers

· IE9’s faster, more capable Compatibility View List