For people who live outside of the US, we have been running MIX08 "ReMIX" events in several countries.  The season of ReMIXes is almost over, but we have another 9 countries to go.  If you are located in the UK, Germany, South Korea, Hong Kong, or one of the other countries with future ReMIX events, be sure to sign up!

It was a tough choice on the night of Thursday, March 6, 2008. I was in the garage of the Venetian Hotel with Greg Visscher and my team mates Laurence Moroney and Arthur Yasinski and a tour bus (rumored to have been used by the band STYX). Could I stow away and travel for 45 days for a Code Trip adventure with seven Microsoft evangelists traveling the West promoting Microsoft technologies?  It was tempting, especially as the tour goes through some of the cities I have lived in.  (I am pointing to Missoula in the picture where I lived while studying at the University of Montana).  With one more day of MIX and the finalists of Rock Band to be seen perform, I decided to live vicariously through the blog entries at:  www.thecodetrip.com. 

I heard that the bus may do a cross-country tour for PDC2008.  Now that would be fun!  Find me at PDC and I'll tell you stories of living on a bus for 18 months in Europe and North America.

The Fallen Angels won the Rock Band event at MIX08 on Thursday night with 992,204 points! The Angels formed here at MIX08 and practiced pretty much every break between sessions.  They actually picked a song they’d never played together at the last minute after the band leader Rich got a tip from his 10 year old son that the song The Outlaws - “Green Grass & High Tides” had the best scoring opportunity.  They were actually 1 note away from 1M points on the final solo!  Whoa!  And that was on Medium difficulty!  They drew straws and Ben, the drummer, walked away with the Strat.  He mentioned “I guess I’ll need to take lessons!”.

During the encore performance on Friday morning the Fallen Angels broke their award-winning record with over 1,000,000 points!

Thanks for playing!

1. Crayon Physics Deluxe by Petri Purho
2. Real Time Physics in Silverlight by Bill Reiss, Andy Beaulieu and Jeff Webber
3. Wii Data Visualization and Multipoint Nonsense by Matthias Shapiro

Congratulations to our winners who will each receive a $500 gift card. Watch for all of the videos on www.visitmix.com soon.

A note for our friends outside of the United States… the first phase of this technology preview is not available internationally.  However, please complete the sign-up process and we will notify you as soon as this offering is available in your country.

MIX08 attendees will inspire you with their unique software, tips, tools, techniques, animations, or anything else they thought of. Each entry is a short, 3-minute-or-less video demonstrating what they wanted to show off.

Three winners will walk with $500 USD Visa Gift Cards.

Zumobi’s widgets are called “Tiles”, and as a sponsor of this year’s MIX conference they’ve created a special download for the event which includes the exclusive MIX Slot Machine Tile.  There are also Tiles for Yelp, Accuweather, AP News, MTVNews, Channel 10 and more; so check it out and enjoy these “snack-sized” bits of information and entertainment between sessions and keynotes! 

You can get Zumobi directly from Pocket IE while on your Windows Mobile phone by going to http://www.zumobi.com/mix08/ , or download the installation file to your desktop directly from here.  If you like what you see be sure to check out the Zumobi session on Friday morning, “Take Your Content Mobile with Windows Mobile, Microsoft Expression, and Zumobi."

Repeat sessions for 5:45 to 7:00 PM Thursday, March 6th as follows:

RTC01–Building Rich Internet Applications Using Microsoft Silverlight 2 (Delfino 4003)
RBT05–Introducing SQL Server Data Services (Delfino 4005)
RT20–Creating Rich, Dynamic User Interfaces with Silverlight 2 Controls (Delfino 4105)
RBCT07–Encoding Video for Microsoft Silverlight Delivery Scenarios (Delfino 4001A)
RCT04–Crossing the Usability Chasm – Advanced and Adaptive User Interfaces (Delfino 4101A)

Stay tuned for 3 additional repeats which will run on Friday at 11:45am.
We will announce these sessions Friday morning. Check http://visitmix.com and CommNet for details!

• BCT08 - Welcome to Internet Explorer 8  Wed March 5 at 1:30 PM to 2:45 PM (Right after lunch!)
• CT07 - Cross-Browser Layout with Internet Explorer 8  Wed March 5 at 3:00 PM to 4:15 PM
• T21 - Integrating Your Site With Internet Explorer 8  Thursday March 6 at 8:30 AM to 9:45 AM
• T04 - Developing Cutting Edge Web Applications With Internet Explorer 8  Friday March 7 at 8:30 AM to 9:45 AM

Additionally there 5 new sessions for MIX 08, starting with 1 session immediately after lunch:

• T12 - Mobile Devices and Microsoft Silverlight:  A Primer on the New Technology Wed March 5 at 1:30 PM to 2:45 PM (Right after lunch!)
• BT05 - Introducing SQL Server Data Services  Thur March 6 at 8:30 AM to 9:45 AM
• C02 - Using Microsoft Silverlight for Creating Rich Mobile User Experiences  Thur March 6 at 2:30 PM to 3:45 PM
• T23 - Hard Rock: Behind the Music with Deep Zoom  Fri March 7 at 8:30 AM to 9:45 AM
• T09 - Overview of Expression Encoder 2  Fri March 7 at 8:30 AM to 9:45 AM

All the above sessions are now in the CommNet session tool.  Log into the session tool to view the session details and add them to your session schedule.

Additionally, the following sessions are also available: 

• T03 - Adding Instant Messaging to Any Site  Wed March 5 at 4:30 PM to 5:45 PM
• T19 - Accessing Windows Live Services via AtomPub Friday March 7 at 8:30 AM to 9:45 AM

Ozzie was joined onstage by Scott Guthrie, who discussed advances in Silverlight and Expression Studio that bridge the developer/designer workflow and provide a common development model, making it easier to deliver richer, more interactive Web experiences. Also on stage wasDean Hachamovitch, who demonstrated Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1, highlighting new features and functionality.

Demonstrating their support for Silverlight, customers and partners also took part in the keynote, including AOL, Aston Martin, Cirque du Soleil, DoubleClick, Hard Rock, Move Networks and NBCOlympics.com on MSN.
 

Download Internet Explorer 8, Silverlight 2 and Expression Studio 2 today and join the discussion here, on Twitter, Facebook and elsewhere on the Web.

I just posted the official rules and regulations and wanted to let you know that the fun is yours to be had at MIX08!

The crew just tested the equipment. Check out the stage on the 4th Floor of the MIX08 conference area at the Venetian Hotel.

• Unsportsmanlike conduct
• Swearing or threats
• Screaming Harassment
• Lewdness
• Any other type of conduct deemed inappropriate
• Cheating of any sort through various means including devices to add gameplay
• Any other known or unknown way of tampering with gameplay

WINNER NOTIFICATION:   If you are the Overall Champion:  

• You will be  notified on-site at the Event;
• You may be required to sign and return an Affidavit of Eligibility/Liability/Publicity release, unless prohibited by law, within ten (10) days of date of prize notification. 

If you are an Overall Champion  and you: (i) do not reply to such notification, or the notification is undeliverable, (ii) do not return the Affidavit of Eligibility/Liability/Publicity release completed and signed within ten (10) days of date of prize notification; or (iii) you are otherwise not in compliance with these Official Rules, you will be disqualified and, we may, at our discretion, notify a runner-up.  

If you accept a prize, you agree that we and our designees shall have the right to use your name, city and state of residence in any and all media now or hereafter known worldwide in perpetuity, without additional compensation, notification or permission, unless prohibited by law.   

PRIZES:  One Overall Champion Prize.  A prize package consisting of the following items:

• A Fender Highway One Stratocaster Electric Guitar (Estimated Retail Value (“ERV”): US$749;
  • The Fender guitar will be awarded to the Band Leader, who is responsible for determining prize dispersal amongst the Band. 
    Microsoft is not responsible for any disputes arising between Band members regarding prize dispersal.
• and For each qualifying member of the Band, a Xbox 360 Elite console (ERV, $479).

PRIZE CONDITIONS:  
If a Band is the prize winner:  

• Contestant may not exchange their prize for cash or other merchandise;
• If Contestant does not wish to or cannot accept the prize, it will be forfeited and we may, at our discretion, award it to a runner-up.  We may, however, award a prize of comparable or greater value, at our discretion;
• Contestant is  responsible for all federal, state, and local taxes (including income and withholding taxes) as well as any other costs and expenses associated with accepting and/or using the prize that are not included above as being part of the prize award;
• Contestant understands that the prize is provided “as is” with no warranty or guarantee, either express or implied by us; and
• Contestant understands that all prize details shall be determined by us.

LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY:
The Promotion Parties (as hereinafter defined) are not responsible for any liability, cost or injury incurred by Contestants/Bands arising out of or in connection with this Competition, including, without limitation, the following.

• lost, late, incomplete, inaccurate, stolen, fraudulent, misdirected, undelivered, interrupted, damaged, delayed entries, or other information;
• any incorrect or inaccurate information or error or defect of any kind regardless of who it is caused by, or the means by which it occurred; or
• equipment, software, network or systems that fail, have viruses or other problems, are breached or that cause injury or damage to participants or their property

By entering this Competition, either individually or as a member of a Band, you agree to, and hereby release and hold harmless Microsoft, its parent company, affiliates, subsidiaries, and advertising or promotion agencies, and anyone working directly or indirectly on this program, product and promotion, and all of their respective officers, directors, employees and representatives (which for the purpose of these Official Rules will be referred to together as the “Promotion Parties”) from any and all liability or any injuries, loss or damage of any kind arising from or in connection with this Competition or acceptance and use of any prize.

GENERAL CONDITIONS:   
This Tournament is governed by Washington law.  You agree that the jurisdiction and venue for the handling of any disputes or actions arising out of this Tournament shall be in the courts of the State of Washington.   

If, for any reason, this Tournament is not capable of running as planned for any reason, including, without limitation, the reasons set forth above, we reserve the right at our sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Tournament.  If a solution cannot be found to restore the integrity of the Tournament, we may, at our sole discretion, determine the winners of this Tournament using all non-suspect, eligible entries received before we had to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend this Tournament.  

We may disqualify you from participating in the Tournament or winning a prize if, in our sole discretion, we determine you are attempting to undermine the legitimate operation of this Tournament by cheating, deception or other unfair playing practices, or intending to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass us, any other entrant or our representatives or if you are otherwise not in compliance with the terms of these Official Rules.  CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT BY YOU OR ANY OTHER INDIVIDUAL TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THIS TOURNAMENT IS A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FROM YOU TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.  

PRIVACY:   At Microsoft, we are committed to protecting your privacy.  Microsoft uses the information you provide to notify prize winners, and to send you information about other Microsoft products and services, if requested by you.  Microsoft will not share the information you provide with third parties without your permission except where necessary to complete the services or transactions you have requested, or as required by law. Microsoft is committed to protecting the security of your personal information. We use a variety of security technologies and procedures to help protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. Your personal information is never shared outside the company without your permission, except under conditions explained above. 

If you believe that Microsoft has not adhered to this statement, please contact Microsoft by sending email to mixtalk@microsoft.com or postal mail Microsoft MIX08 Event Team, 18/2457, Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA  98052 and we will use commercially reasonable efforts to remedy the situation.

SPONSOR:   The Sponsor of this Tournament is Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, Washington, 98052-6399.

WINNERS LIST:     For a list of winners, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to Microsoft MIX08 Event Team, 18/2457, Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA  98052. Requests received more than one month following winner confirmation will not be fulfilled.

Adding Instant Messaging to Any Site
Wednesday, March 5 4:30 PM - 5:45 PM in Delfino 4003
Speaker(s): Keiji Kanazawa, Nikhil Kothari
Learn how your web site visitors can engage with Windows Live Messenger users by taking advantage of the Windows Live Messenger control and library. This session covers how to code with the Messenger Library in JavaScript or C# (using Script#), and we also show how you can drive Microsoft Silverlight UI with the Messenger Library.

Accessing Windows Live Services via AtomPub
Friday, March 7 8:30 AM - 9:45 AM in Delfino 4105
Speaker: Pablo Castro
Come learn how Microsoft is moving towards a unified approach for accessing online services based on AtomPub. We cover how all Windows Live services can be accessed using AtomPub as well as how integrated Microsoft Visual Studio support including ADO.NET Data Services Framework (aka Project "Astoria") allows anyone to easily develop, deploy, and access online services using AtopPub.

Good news! We've secured a wonderful discount offer of 20% off regular price tickets for all MIX08 attendees for 3 of the Cirque Du Soleil Shows in Las Vegas. The limited offer is available for performances of KÀ, Mystère, and Zumanity from March 4 - 7, 2008.  This discount is only available by phone.  Please use the 1-800 number and the discount booking code below.   The 20% off is good for tickets in price categories 1 – 3 depending on the show.  (This offer does not include children’s pricing).

• KÀ price categories 1-3.
• Mystère price categories 1 & 2.
• Zumanity price categories 1-3.

Discount Booking Codes for all shows is: MCRO.

Phone Number for Booking: 800-963-9634

I am a huge fan of Cirque Du Soleil and I am looking forward to going to see KA! I've seen the other two shows and really have been entertained by the amazing performances of Cirque Du Soleil. Hope you enjoy this offer!

Take advantage of their creative schedule management alternative by downloading it here.  Additionally, they have created a companion application called Continuum which integrates MSN Messenger into the sidebar. Both applications take advantage of the Aero glass look of Vista in a most pleasing manner.

T-1 week until MIX08 registration opens at 4:00 PM Pacific Time (UTC/GMT -8 hours) at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas.

Let us provide you with all the amenities you would expect to experience at MIX in true blogging fashion: Massive bandwidth connectivity, food and drinks (steady caffeine stream), Plasma Screens, Xbox 360s with games such as Rock Band, Halo 3 and more. Come mingle with fellow bloggers and interact with Microsoft spokespeople, Microsoft customers/partners and session speakers as they casually drop in.

Hours of Operation: 

Location:  A Suite in the Venetian Tower, 3^rd Floor  Room: TBD  (there will be signs)

Microsoft Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie, Vice President of the .NET Developer Platform Scott Guthrie and Internet Explorer General Manager Dean Hachamovitch will kickoff the sold out MIX08 agenda with a keynote at 9:30 AM on Wednesday, March 5th.  The focus is Microsoft's continued investment across the platform to deliver world class Web technologies and tools. The keynote will be streamed live from www.visitmix.com. 

Yes. It's true. All the passes to MIX have been sold. If you didn't get a chance to register in time we have good news.  All the sessions will be recorded and posted to www.visitmix.com.  Check back for additional details.

Social Networking sites are popping up all over the place. How many networks do we want to have? Should there be one network to rule them all? What is the future of Social Networks? Is it a ubiquitous site? Is it an application? What are the platform opportunities for making money in social networks? Hear David Morin, Garret Camp, Guy Kawasaki, John Richards, Joseph Smarr explore the details in this session at MIX08. 

This panel session will be offered at MIX08 on Thursday, March 6 from 2:30 PM - 3:45 PM.