Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Microsoft Ignite 2017;  Developing for Surface Dial and Surface Studio

Have you thought about how designers might use computers in the future? 

Last week at Microsoft Ignite, the Gold Coast Tech conference, nsquared director Dr Neil Roodyn gave a series of talks about some of the latest developments in computing. 

Over 20 years after Bill Buxton envisioned Active Desk, we have the Surface Dial and Surface Studio. The Surface Dial can be used on its own or with the Surface Studio, the super high resolution screen which makes graphics look amazing. 

In this talk Developing for Surface Dial and Surface Studio Neil takes us through some detailed code for customisable menus, some art demonstrations, and examples of where the Surface Dial and Surface Studio have already been used.  


Monday, February 20, 2017

Microsoft Ignite Australia 2017 - Conversations as a Platform

Have you ever wondered how a computer can learn to speak to a human? Siri and Cortana are recent examples of conversation bots, but the technology has been around for decades in different forms. Last week Dr Neil Roodyn from nsquared presented talks at Microsoft’s Australian tech conference, Ignite. His first two talks were about building bots that can hold a conversation with a customer, and potential ways in which this process could be used for business.

Click on the links below to watch the presentations.   

Conversation as a Platform Part 1 
Neil discusses the ways in which conversations have evolved in contemporary life through the use of various forms of technology. He explains how to code a conversational bot in Microsoft Visual Studio, using the example of ordering food online. Neil talks about how developers can create a good structure for the code, and explains the complex steps of chaining dialogs.

   

Conversation as a Platform Part 2 
In Part 2 Neil discusses ways in which we can create richer conversations between customers and applications. He discusses ways in which programs can make devices seem more intelligent, and how they can use data and ‘machine learning’ to gather information to make accurate predictions about customers. He talks in depth about LUIS – Language Understanding Intelligent Service, which allows apps to understand language. 

Thursday, February 9, 2017

Microsoft Ignite Australia

Developers, IT professionals and curious minds across Australia are heading to the Gold Coast next week (14-17 Feb) for Microsoft's Australian Conference, Ignite. Attendees are expected to walk away with new connections and new ideas about how to do things faster, smarter and better.

At nsquared we're most excited about Dr Neil Roodyn's six presentations.
Come and say hello, and remember nsquared is hiring developers.

Conversation As a Platform Part 1
Tue 14 Feb, 4:15 PM
Speak to me, make your app conversational. In this session you will learn how to integrate Cortana, speech, and the Microsoft Bot Framework into your applications.

Building apps for Surface Hub - 30 minutes of tips, tricks and q&a on Surface Hub dev.
Wed 15 Feb, 1:00 PM
In this session come and find out about building apps for Microsoft’s biggest most stunning screen.

Conversation As a Platform Part 2
Wed 15 Feb, 6:30 PM
Enlighten me, make your app smarter. In this session you will learn how to integrate cognitive services and machine learning into your conversational applications.

Developing for Surface Dial and Surface Studio
Thu 16 Feb, 11:30 AM
If building great software for really cool hardware is what gets you up in the morning, this session is for you!

Building apps for Surface Hub - 30 minutes of tips, tricks and q&a on Surface Hub dev.
Thu 16 Feb, 3:00 PM
In this session come and find out about building apps for Microsoft’s biggest most stunning screen.

Building apps for Surface Hub - 30 minutes of tips, tricks and q&a on Surface Hub dev.
Fri 17 Feb, 9:45 AM
In this session come and find out about building apps for Microsoft’s biggest most stunning screen.