After watching this video, follow these next steps:

Step #1 – Download Windows Server 2012
Step #2 – Download Your FREE Copy of Hyper-V Server 2012

If you're interested in learning more about the products or solutions discussed in this episode, click on any of the below links for free, in-depth information:

Resources:

• Microsoft Virtual Academy
• Download Microsoft Private Cloud Evaluation Software
• Get the Book! PowerShell 3.0 Step-by-Step

Websites & Blogs:

• Blain Barton’s Blog
• The Script Center
• Hey, Scripting Guy! Blog
• Learn Windows PowerShell

Videos:

• TechNet Radio: IT Time - The Scripting Guy’s Top 5 PowerShell 3.0 Tips and Tricks
• TechNet Radio: IT Time - PowerShell 3.0 Step-by-Step with the Scripting Guy
• TechNet Radio: IT Time – Get Your Script on! Check out PowerShell Saturdays
• TechNet Radio: IT Time – PowerShell 3.0 Integrated Scripting Environment Overview
• TechNet Radio: IT Time - Automating and Managing tasks in Windows Azure with PowerShell
• TechNet Radio: Top 10 Reasons NOT to Fear PowerShell 3.0

Virtual Labs:

• TechNet Virtual Labs: System Center 2012

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Other webcasts from the series: 

• Part One
• Part Two 

Beyond the v1 update, he also provided the narration of his upgrade...

Updated AutoCAD + Kinect for Windows samples

While attending the recent hackathon, I spent a fair amount of time porting my AutoCAD-Kinect integration samples from the Beta 2 of the Microsoft Kinect SDK (for the Kinect for Xbox 360 sensor) to the released SDK for the Kinect for Windows.

It was pretty impressive just how many of the Kinect APIs were broken between Beta 2 SDK and the final release (you can hear some additional commentary on this in this .NET Rocks episode). I understand the desire to get the API in shape prior to release – you really want to minimise any messy, legacy dependencies – but the full extent of the changes certainly took me by surprise. The good news is that there are a number of APIs that make point cloud creation simpler, for instance, so I was able to pull out some of the more icky code from the samples.

Anyway, here are the updated samples. If you’d like to diff the changes with the original version for the Beta 2 SDK, here these are, too, although be warned that I did take the opportunity to do some refactoring, particularly with respect to the speech recognition capability (I’ve now added some events to allow derived classes to add words to be recognized – previously it was all munged into base KinectJig class).

Aside from the complexity of the migration (which was thankfully minimized due to the fact I’d previously implemented a base class with much of the needed functionality), there were a few behaviors that still seem a little quirky: once started, the sensor now never seems to turn off, even after it has been stopped. You can unplug it, of course, but that doesn’t seem quite right. And having the red light stay on makes me feel like I’m being watched – it reminds me of the glowing red eyes in Terminator 2 (gulp).

...

Project Information URL: http://through-the-interface.typepad.com/through_the_interface/2012/03/updated-autocad-kinect-for-windows-samples.html

Project Source URL: http://through-the-interface.typepad.com/files/KinectSamples-v1.zip

Contact Information:

• Blog: http://through-the-interface.typepad.com/
• Twitter: @keanw

If you rely on manual interventions to scale your application, you may not always achieve the optimal balance between costs and performance. An autoscaling solution reduces the amount of manual work involved in scaling an application dynamically.  In this video, we demo how this can be accomplished with WASABi (the Windows Azure Application Block) in two different ways: either by preemptively adjusting the number of role instances based on a timetable, or reactively by adjusting the number of role instances in response to some metric that you can collect from your application or Windows Azure environment.

The first WASABi preview is available via NuGet (just search for 'wasabi' from the NuGet Package Manager within Microsoft Visual Studio).

We provide an overview of WASABi scenarios and the block's architecture. If you want to jump straight to the demo, skip to 15:43.

For more information, see

• Autoscaling scenarios overview
• WASABi home page
• Product backlog

If you’re not aware of Ford SYNC, it’s Ford’s next generation in car entertainment and communication system, which includes in car 3G Wi-Fi (via USB dongle or smartphone tether via Bluetooth). It’s been available in the US for some time and now looks to be heading to Europe. 

It’s controlled via an 8” colour display that’s a world away from your current in-dash display, and is used to manage climate controls, mobile phone calls and contacts, satellite navigation and in car entertainment. You’ll also find a web browser with tabbed page navigation, Adobe Flash support and bookmarks.

With regard to music, you can play music from CDs (but who still does that, right?), smartphones, MP3 players and USB drives attached to one of two ports in the centre console. You’ll be able to hit up the cloud courtesy of a link to Spotify, as well as play video from YouTube and BBC iPlayer (when the car is stationary, of course).

Many of the in car controls are voice activated (even current Fords have an amazing voice recognition system) and according to Crave, you’ll be able to have text messages read out to you whilst on the move, with abbreviations and emoticons read out to you – “gf” becomes girlfriend and is translated as “happy smiley”.

The new Ford Focus with SYNC is expected to land in April next year. 

Ford cars with the software installed will help drivers know when they need to recharge their cars, suggesting times when it’s best to charge based on the usage patterns and loads of the nearby utilities.

Drivers will be told at what hours they can save the most money when charging and utilities can better manage the increasing demands for electricity through the use of this Internet-connected, in-car software. Combined efforts between Microsoft, Ford and the utilities (Microsoft partners with five utilities so far), will help make the transition from gas to electric easier for all involved.

The “Map” refers to the easy-to-author-and-deliver interactive process guidance features provided in the Feature Builder. 

With Feature Builder you can deliver much more than just a “ReadMe” with your code and tools.  Ranging anywhere from simply an “Overview” to step-by-step instructions with decisions and parallel tasks, you use the UML activity designer to create interactive guidance and related documentation or links to relevant websites… which is then delivered to your use when they expand your code all from within Visual Studio.  In addition, if you choose, you can include hyperlinks within the documentation files which invoke Visual Studio automation you supply in your Feature Extension (see Using Feature Builder – The “Tools”).

On-going hints-and-tips along with FAQs can be found on Michael Lehman’s MSDN blog: Adventures in SoftwareLand.

The “Code” refers to the easy-to-package-and-deploy Visual Studio template features provided in the Feature Builder. 

With Feature Builder you can package one or more project and/or item templates within a single VSIX which, when expanded into a developers solution, also display interactive guidance with related documentation and links to relevant websites… all from within Visual Studio.

On-going hints-and-tips along with FAQs can be found on Michael Lehman’s MSDN blog: Adventures in SoftwareLand.

The “Tools” refers to the easy-to-author Visual Studio extensibility features provided in the Feature Builder. 

With Feature Builder you can add menu items to any Visual Studio menu, including context menus, as well as add context menu items to UML and DSL model designers and even support drag/drop operations between models.

On-going hints-and-tips along with FAQs can be found on Michael Lehman’s MSDN blog: Adventures in SoftwareLand.

Feature Builder is an official Power Tool from the Architecture Tools team within the Visual Studio Product Group enabling the rapid construction of Visual Studio Extensions (VSIXs) that combine VS Extensibility (menus, etc.) , Project/Item/T4 templates and step-by-step guidance/documentation.

The output VSIX, called a Feature Extension, delivers all these things, including the guidance, directly within Visual Studio.

This screencast provides both a short conceptual introduction to the Feature Builder and a short demo which starts at 5 minutes, 30 seconds in.

After watching this screencast, check out these screencasts, in order:
Creating The "Tools"
Creating The "Code"
Creating The "Map"

On-going hints-and-tips along with FAQs can be found on Michael Lehman’s MSDN blog: Adventures in SoftwareLand.

Note:  This Power Tool requires VS2010 RTM and is not designed to run on earlier builds of Visual Studio.  V1.0 supports running Feature Extensions on VS2010 Pro.

I used this feature to check out the Volvo C30, the car we’re thinking of getting next year (and no, not because Edward drives one). This Volvo practically drives itself! But the 19 miles per gallon (city) displayed in the instant answer has me reconsidering. Maybe I such search for hybrids instead. Suggestions?

The FactoryTalk suite extends the Rockwell Automation Integrated Architecture™ by providing an information tier

of software applications and services for production and performance management. Tight integration with the

Rockwell Automation Logix control platform, as well as connectivity to third-party and legacy systems can help deliver a seamless flow of high-fidelity data across your enterprise.  Check out the interview to learn more about how Factory Talk provides flexible, scalable, and extensible solutions to a wide variety of today’s manufacturing challenges.