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!

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:·

• Microsoft Expression Web SuperPreview Beta http://blogs.msdn.com/xweb/archive/2009/03/18/Microsoft-Expression-Web-SuperPreview-for-Windows-Internet-Explorer.aspx: Preview and debug your Expression Web projects in Firefox, Safari, IE6, IE7 or IE8 at the same time, even if you don’t have them installed on your local machine!·
  
• Silverlight 3 Beta
  http://silverlight.net/getstarted/silverlight3/default.aspx: The latest release of Silverlight contains more than 50 new features and brings the beauty of Silverlight to the forefront once again. The new features will improve productivity of developers and include enhanced video capabilities and the ability to run Silverlight applications out of the browser on both Windows and OSX.·
  
• Microsoft Web Platform Installer 2.0 Beta http://www.microsoft.com/web/downloads/default.aspx: Allows simpler, more efficient installations and updates of Microsoft’s free web products and components. Works with PHP and the final release of ASP.Net MVC 1.0 <http://www.asp.net/> .

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?

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!

MSDN Movies - Azure, .NET, and Live Framework

Microsoft has posted instructional videos for developers that we would like to share with you regarding Windows Azure, .NET, and Live Framework.


Get Started Developing on Windows Azure?
If you’re a developer and you’re new to Windows Azure, start here! You’ll see what you need to download and install, and how to create a simple “Hello World” Windows Azure application.
Deploy a Windows Azure Application
You’ll see what it takes to move your application into the cloud – you’ll see how to request and register a token, how to upload your Windows Azure application and how to move it between staging and production in the cloud.
Store Blobs in Windows Azure Storage?
Learn how to leverage Windows Azure storage to store data as blobs. You’ll learn about blob storage, containers and the API that makes it easy to manage everything from managed code.
Leverage Queues in Windows Azure?
Learn how to use queues to facilitate communication between Web and Worker roles in Windows Azure.
Debugging Tips for Windows Azure Applications
The Windows Azure SDK includes a development fabric that provides a "cloud on your desktop." In this screencast, learn how to debug your Windows Azure applications in this environment.
Get Started with .NET Services?
.NET Services are a set of highly scalable building blocks for programming in the cloud. In this brief screencast, you'll learn about the registration process, the SDK and the built-in samples - everything you need to know in order to get started.
Harness the Microsoft .NET Service Bus?
The .NET Service Bus makes it easy to access your Web services no matter where they are. In this brief screencast, you'll see how to take a basic Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) service and expose it to the Internet with the .NET Service Bus.
Get Started with the Live Framework?
If you are looking to get started developing with the Live Framework, this is the place to start! In this screencast you'll learn how to get a Live Services token and what you need to download in order to start writing Live Framework applications.
Use the Microsoft Live Framework Resource Browser?
The Live Framework Resource Model is a simple, straightforward information model based on entities, collections and relationships. In this brief screencast you'll learn how to navigate the relationships between entities by using the Live Framework Resource Browser, which is a tool that ships with the Live Framework SDK.

nsquared Microsoft Surface Training goes world wide!

So far we have delivered training to a select group of Microsoft partners in the UK, Paris, and this week in Munich. This is the first time any external Surface training has been delivered outside of the USA (and probably outside of Redmond).

The agenda covers a wide range of topics, with focus on the non-technical issues of building magical applications for Microsoft Surface. We cover the following topics:

• The Surface Vision
• The Architecture of Surface applications
• Setting up a Surface device and the out of the box applications
• Working with the Simulator
• Integrating with the Surface Shell
• Designing Surface experiences
• Using the Surface Controls
• Vision Recognition with Surface
• End to end building a Surface application

The course is 50% seminar and discussion, and 50% hands on, with Surface units available to test the code written during the course. It is great to engage with so many Microsoft partners who are getting involved with this new technology. If you are interested in helping to build a Surface application and have it delivered to market, feel free to contact us.