Thursday, March 26, 2009

Translate this! übersetzen Sie dies! Traduzir isto!

nsquared recently completed a project with Microsoft helping launch the new Windows Live Translator. We wrote two white papers (Getting Started and Getting Started for PHP Developers) and the hands-on lab, and developed a few different sample applications for the product launch.

“Why would I want to use the Microsoft Translator instead of one of the many other translators that are already out there?” you might ask...

The Microsoft Translator is different because:
· It offers four different APIs (Web widget, AJAX, HTTP, and SOAP) that are all simple to use and apply to your web pages or applications.
· The Web Widget is free and can be added to any site, even commercial sites.
· The AJAX API allows greater customization and can easily be added to applications.
· The HTTP API exposes HTTP GET & POST methods, and is technology agnostic.
· The SOAP API enables information to be returned to a third party and you can use your chosen development method.
· The functionality is built on over 10 years of translation research resulting in the most accurate tool available today.


We’ve enjoyed working on this exciting project and hope to see many people benefit from it. Have fun! Amusez-vous bien ! Vermaken!

Code Camp, MultiPoint, and More…

nsquared’s very own Nick Randolph will be presenting at this year’s Code Camp, an event designed for developers to join together and learn about topics related to the .NET platform. Nick’s session is entitled “Two Heads are Better than One, Building Multi-User (Multi-Touch) Software” and focuses on the methods and various benefits of developing software based on this exciting technology.

Interestingly, Microsoft has just released the MultiPoint SDK 1.1 available for download here. Because of nsquared’s focus on education, MultiPoint is close to our hearts. The tool enables multiple students to interact with just one computer making technology available to classrooms that can’t provide a computer to each individual student. Check it out get inspired to build your own educational application!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

MIX Day 2 Keynote

Today brings another full room of web developers (and designers). Two main topics held the stage: The release of IE 8 and a talk on User Experience.

Internet Explorer 8 is shipping and it is safer and faster than previous versions (at least according to the people that make it). IE8 is more standards compliant and contains a many features including slices and accelerators. IE8 – go get it now – unless you are on a Mac. :(

Deborah Adler in her address titled “Changing Behavior by Design” has a great story to tell http://pressroom.target.com/pr/news/health-wellness/clearrx/bio.aspx. Her speaking skills can fortunately by compensated for by her academic prowess. While attending the School of Visual Arts in New York she created a packaging and labeling system for prescription drugs as her Master’s thesis. US doctors write 3 billion medical prescriptions per year and for a population of 300 million, that’s pretty steep! At MIX she spoke of creating an experience for the customer and employing design to make that experience comfortable. You must understand your customer. That is the secret to great user experience design.

Based on her research, Deborah pointed out that a good concept of primary and secondary information is where there is a clear and intuitive hierarchy. When communicating, select up to five points of primary information and keep this in an obvious location. The secondary information can be pushed down out of the way until the user needs to access it. More information on these concepts can be found at: http://nymag.com/nymetro/health/features/11700/ and http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/adlerd.html.

Stay tuned for more information out of MIX!

nsquared magic gets MIXed in!

Day one of MIX 09Announcements made at the keynote address presented by Bill Buxton and Scott Guthrie brought joy to the guests at the standing room only event. Our favorites were:·

This year at MIX, nsquared is running demos on two Surface units, and tomorrow Dr. Neil presents the results of one of the projects we have been working on with Microsoft Research. The presentation will culminate in a grand example of the new technology. Will you be there? Vous y sera ? Werden Sie es? ¿Usted estará allí? Lei ci saranno?

Monday, March 16, 2009

Dr. Neil presents new Microsoft Surface apps


Microsoft Surface continues to be at the forefront of nsquared's projects. See Dr. Neil talks about some new educational proof-of-concept applications in another short video with the Microsoft Surface team. The applications highlight the multi-user, multi-touch, three-dimensional world of Microsoft Surface. Watch and be inspired to create your own!