John and Golnaz are back from their holiday vacations and they sure know how to party! (NOT.) We've got great news for anyone worried about the January 15 deadline to pass an Imagine Cup Challenge quiz, a peek at a new video about the adventures of our Imagine Cup Grants winners, a look at the January Brain Games, and what country just shot to the top of the Big Board? Find out!

Abstract:
Jennifer Marsman welcomes Patrick Godwin to the show as they discuss how Patrick wrote and deployed a Windows 8 app in just six days with the help of Windows Azure Mobile Services. Tune in as he demos his “Would You Rather…” app and then shows us how he used Windows Azure Mobile Services to get it done.

After watching this video, follow these next steps:

Step #1 – Try Windows Azure: No cost. No obligation. 90-Day FREE trial.
Step #2 – Download the Tools for Windows 8 App Development
Step #3 – Start building your own Apps for Windows 8

Subscribe to our podcast via iTunes, Zune, or RSS

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:

Websites:

• Getting started with Windows 8 Apps
• How to Sell Your Apps and Make Money in the Windows Store
• Attend a Windows 8 Developer Camp and Hackathon in your area!

Blogs & Articles:

• Jennifer Marsman’s Blog
• Patrick Godwin’s Blog
• Check out Patrick’s app in the Windows Store!
• Article: “Common certification errors when submitting to the Windows Store”

Videos:

• Microsoft DevRadio: Reasons Why You Should Develop a Windows 8 App
• Microsoft DevRadio: Community Corner - Developing My App for Windows 8

Virtual Labs:

• Windows 8 Release Preview Virtual Labs
• MSDN Virtual Labs: Windows Azure

edit on WOWZAPP information: there were actually 3000 apps created and the event took place in 120 locations around the world!

As an instructor you are faced with the challenge of preparing your students to be thought leaders when they graduate in 1-5 years. You need to be aware of the disruptive technologies that are shaping the workplace, such as the Cloud. Integrate cloud computing concepts into your existing courses and prepare your students accordingly. In this session you will learn about Microsoft's cloud platform, Windows Azure, and the resources available to you as an instructor to leverage Windows Azure.

Resources

In the Classroom

• Faculty Connection: Suggested Resources for Introduction to Cloud Computing
• Faculty Connection Resource Kit
• Windows Azure Training Kit
• Grants for Educators looking to use Windows Azure

Outside of the Classroom

• an Developer Connection blog
• Canadian Developer Connection group on LinkedIn
• TechDays Online
• CdnAzure on Twitter
• Windows Azure on Facebook

2012 marks the 10th Anniversary of students using technical innovation to solve some of the world's toughest problems and this year the Worldwide Finals will be in Sydney, Australia. Discover more at www.imaginecup.com

Developing a full-fledged Windows Phone app in one week – that's pretty ambitious, right?

Last week, at the Academy of Interactive Entertainment (AIE)'s weekly Summer Cyber Camp, a team of talented high and middle school students set out to do just that. I followed them for one week, documenting the process of creating their 3D game for Windows Phone 7 (WP7), called Color Break. Some of the students began with minimal programming experience while others had been using C# for a few years. At the end of the week, however, they were all capable of writing code, creating graphics, and incorporating more advanced concepts such as physics into the game.  By Friday, they'd finished and ported the application to the phone - just five days later (check out the app in action in the video)! It just goes to show that whether you're an absolute beginner or a seasoned expert, developing for the WP can be a simple, fun, and extremely educational process. One student, who had never even coded in C# before, began developing a first person shooter. As a college student myself, I was impressed.

So, how do you get started? Well it's simple – check out http://create.msdn.com to access the plethora of resources, downloads, and tutorials. If you're a student, there are also a ton of free, easy-to-use WP-related development tools available, including:

- Dreamspark (http://dreamspark.microsoft.com), to get access to Visual Studio 2010 Professional, the IDE that the students are using in this video.
- The Windows Phone Student Developer page (http://www.microsoft.com/student/en/us/techstudent/handson/phone-development.aspx) for resources as well as a student developer account to get started.

Alice Lee

The deal is currently being featured on www.microsoft.com/student, which is a valuable resource for finding great deals on Microsoft software, with links to Office 2010 for $79.95, all the student deals on the Microsoft Store site, all the free downloads from Dreamspark (professional development tools), and more. This almost makes me want to go back to school myself. Well, almost.

Since the contest’s launch, 131 teams submitted applications. From those, a winner (the “rockstar”) was chosen plus two-runners up. The winning team gets a free trip to Poland for the Imagine Cup, plus $8000 USD. The first runner up earns $4000 USB and the second runner up gets $3000 USD. All winners receive a new Windows Phone, too.

So who won? An app called “Droid,” as it turns out. The app is a game that involves controlling a machine that destroys other machines using the accelerometer. Players can shoot, repair and defend themselves using the provided controls, while making sure their health doesn’t run out.

One of the runners up also built a game, this one with a funny littel guy that moves about a forest, and another built a comic book reader. All of the winners (and other submitters) have impressive offerings, especially considering these are not professionally built games, but those built by students, 16 years or older currently attending either high school or college.

Another fun way to browse through the photos comes by way of Bing’s Visual Search gallery. Here, you can sort through the top entries, filter them by state, school, theme, etc. As for me, I’m happy to see that my home state, Florida,  is a finalist with an entry featuring the Everglades. I think that will be my pick. 

Besides the grand prize, the top winners from four age groups (ages 5-10, 11-13, 14-17 and 18+) will also win a trip to Microsoft where they get to participate in a Bing editorial meeting where they pick future homepage images. All winners will also receive equipment from HP and Canon. Specifically, HP will be providing the winners with HP Pavilion desktops and a monitor.

In addition to the contest participants, those voting on the images can win, too. From April 13th to the 19th, Bing will give a $5.00 GivingCard for DonorsChoose.org to the first 20,000 people who vote each day. This money can be spent on classroom projects (like math, science, art, reading) at local schools. In total, Bing will donate up to $100,000 a day to help schools across the U.S.

You can find out more about the contest, its requirements, and the submission information here: http://earthdayphotocontest.com.

Given Microsoft’s plans to include SharePoint in the Live@edu program as of next year, the Business Edition’s SharePoint support is sure to come in handy. Colleges participating in Live@edu will let students create, host, and edit their documents “in the cloud” using Office Web Applications or they can be saved and worked on offline using Office desktop software. When files are ready to be shared with classmates or teachers, they can then be added to the appropriate Sharepoint sites.

Students who are non-Mac users aren’t out of luck for getting a bargain, too - they can find discounts from Microsoft and other retailers on the Microsoft Students page.

“Blackboard Learn for Bing” will work in both Internet Explorer and Firefox, says the company, and updates will appear in real-time. No word yet on when this toolbar integration will be made available.

Why middle school? According to Ken Perlin, an NYU professor of computer science, in middle school many students “become discouraged or uninterested and pour their time at home into gaming. We think gaming is our starting point to draw them into math, science, and technology-based programs.”

The research study will be called the “Games for Learning Institute.” The budget is $3 million. Microsoft will be paying half with the universities chipping in for the other portion. The study hopes to discover what makes games compelling and playable and what elements make them effective for learning…that is, even they are effective for learning. The games used in testing will be deployed along with curricula to 19 NYC area schools where results in the classroom will be tracked. (via Wired Campus)

As soon as we opened the floor we were packed out! It was splendid to see plenty of girls attending too - gaming is not just for blokes you know! Well done to Clare who won herself an Xbox Elite.

Kit and Jam from the UK Fragdolls also joined us for the event and competed in the Perfect Dark Zero team competition.

Shout outs to the three amigos (you know who you are!), Trent Uni Computing Society and the Paladin thief catchers of Derby University!