inside out - Channel 9

PreEmptive: Feature Monitoring, Usage Expiry and Tamper Defense in Visual Studio 2010

Charles — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:12:00 GMT

PreEmptive Solutions produces the Dotfuscator and DashO instrumentation and obfuscation product families and the Runtime Intelligence application analytics service. With more than 3,000 corporate clients, 40,000 registered installations in 100+ countries and inclusion with Microsoft’s 6,000,000+ Visual Studio seats, PreEmptive Solutions has become the clear choice for every organization that is serious about source code protection, application security and IT governance.

Here, Gabriel Torok of PreEmptive sits down with us to discuss what's new in Visual Studio 2010 with respect to PreEmptive's best in class tooling features that will ship as part of VS 2010. Dotfuscator Community Edition™ (CE) will be included in Microsoft Visual Studio 2010. Dotfuscator CE, which has been included with every version of Visual Studio starting with Visual Studio 2003, prevents the reverse engineering of .NET applications. The Visual Studio 2010 version, renamed Dotfuscator Software Services Community Edition™, has been extended with instrumentation capabilities including tamper detection and defense, feature level application monitoring and automatic time limits on .NET application use.

Blue Star Infotech

Charles — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 19:46:00 GMT

The week of PDC, Channel 9 was busy making lots of connections with ISVs. Here’s a great interview with Mehul Shah, the Senior Solutions Architect for Blue Star Infotech (BSI). BSI specializes in providing product services encompassing the entire product lifecycle through its global delivery model. The company has extensive experience in working with ISVs—from product design and development to implementation and rollout—and has devised its own methodologies for reverse-engineering and application migration. Through its Microsoft Center of Excellence, it helps ISVs revitalize their products using latest Microsoft Technologies like the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0, Microsoft Office 2007, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Microsoft SQL Server 2005. For its product implementation expertise on the Microsoft platform, BSI has many achievements, one of which was being awarded the "Best Dynamics Partner of the Year" by Microsoft for 2006. Check out this PDC interview with Mehul Shah to hear more about their technologies and their experience at PDC ‘08.

Check out the Microsoft ISV site for more information about ISVs working with Microsoft.

E-conomic: ERP as SaaS

Charles — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:00:00 GMT

e-conomic is Danish ISV developing an ERP SaaS solution using ASP and ASP.NET. In this Inside out cast, Senior Developer Ole Hyldahl Hansen takes us around common challenges of integrating ASP and ASP.NET and still maintain and access state. Besides technology challenges, it’s interesting to see how an ERP system can be exposed as a SaaS solution. API documentation are here and WSDL is exposed here.

Composite: Innovating CMS with .NET 3.5

Charles — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 18:39:00 GMT

Composite is a Danish ISV who has developed a CMS entirely on .NET 3.5. Composite positions their CMS as being developed for end users with a marketing background, enabling those to efficiently run a website, not requiring a developer in the process. In this interview you will get a good look into how Composite relies heavily on LINQ in order to make a flexible and dynamic data store. In the end, this make up a very dynamic model, giving enormous flexibility for the end user, and a very easy to use programming model for developers at Composite. Mikkel Sørensen (Composite Evangelist) and Lead Dev Martin Ingvar Kofoed Jensen takes you on the guided tour.

Planet Technologies – Award Winning Systems Integrator

Charles — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 18:53:00 GMT

Planet Technologies, an international IT consulting and services company, has been awarded the Microsoft Federal Partner of the Year for 2008, the fourth straight year they have received this. How do they do it? As a company with a 100% focus on the deployment, architecture and integration of Microsoft technologies, Planet Technologies is a systems integrator. They specialize in taking the different pieces of the Microsoft technology stack, combining and augmenting them to deliver business solutions to a broad range of customers. Watch this interview with Andy Norris, Planet Technologies’ Vice President, where he talks more about their award winning relationship with Microsoft.

Check out the Microsoft ISV site for more information related to partnering with Microsoft.

CoroWare Technologies: Mobile Robotics Integrator

Charles — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 18:01:00 GMT

CoroWare Technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary of CoroWare, Inc. (CROE.OB), is a systems and mobile robotics integrator. They’ve recently been awarded Microsoft Certified Gold Partner status. CoroWare has made their mark on Microsoft platforms through developing software and solutions for mobile service robotics and business automation. Here, we meet David Hyams, CTO for Coroware and learn more about how this company is shaping the future through technology developments to improve and simplify our lives.

Check out the Microsoft ISV site for more information related to partnering with Microsoft.

ESRI: Green Computing

Charles — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 17:34:00 GMT

ESRI, a Global ISV partner, is pushing the envelope on technology adoption and environmental issues. In this interview, I talk with Senior Product Managers Rob Elkins and John Baleja about technology advancements, development needs and what the Microsoft partnership means to ESRI. Through personal experiences, customer examples and a unique environmental perspective, Rob and John give us a look into the world of geospatial analysis and the importance of Microsoft technologies in their customer’s applications. SQL Server 2008 (new spatial types), Windows Server and Client, Visual Studio 2008 (AJAX), WPF/Silverlight and Virtual Earth are highlighted in this discussion. As is the importance of the balance between managed and native code.

ESRI (Environmental Systems Research Institute) is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner dedicated to helping people to make better decisions that affect the world around us. In “an age of Software plus Services”, ESRI and Microsoft give application developers, analysts and consumers a platform that adapts to varying needs. Many examples are cited, including land use planning, home site selection, police in-vehicle crime statistics and drive time analysis.

More information
www.microsoft.com/isv/esri
www.microsoft.com/environment

SQLSoft+: Teaching the Microsoft Platform

Charles — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 20:52:00 GMT

SQLSoft+ is all about training for technologies Microsoft is releasing to the world. They are a Microsoft Certified Partner, and thrive by putting themselves in front of the Microsoft train. Often their work requires building training about a product before it is released. How do they do it? SQLSoft+ was the first IT training company to gain the designation Microsoft Partner Solutions Center (MPSC) Sponsor Partner. In addition, they also work with other IT companies to develop trainings for their software offerings. Here, we meet Mark Scott, CTO for SQLSoft+ and learn more about how this small company is helping developers embrace new technologies at rapid speeds.

Check out the Microsoft ISV site for more information related to partnering with Microsoft.

Citrix - Understanding Machine Virtualization

Charles — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 19:07:00 GMT

Citrix is all about virtualization. They have a suite of tools that enable IT departments to virtualize almost everything. Citrix is a Microsoft Certified Partner and, to some extent, a competitor. How does this Partner Competitor relationship work? Microsoft is very interested in virtualization technologies and with the advent of our hypervisor technology, HyperV, and application virtualization software, SoftGrid, you can bet that we'll compete hard with other virtualization vendors.

Here, we meet Simon Crosby, formerly CTO of XenSource now working as the CTO of Citrix Systems (NSDQ: CTXS)' virtualization and management division(Citrix purchased XenSource). We discuss the relationship between Microsoft and Citrix, the complexities of building scalable, sercure, reliable and performant virtualization technologies and the future of virtualization. It's a very interesting conversation and Simon is quite the conversationalist. Enjoy.

Autodesk, SQL Server 2008, and Spatial Data

Charles — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 22:45:00 GMT

We recently sat down with Peter Rieks, who is the product manager for Autodesk’s Geospatial products. Autodesk is a global ISV known for design technology, allowing their customers to visualize, simulate, and analyze designs. While you may know them by their flagship product, AutoCAD, they provide leadership in manufacturing, media and entertainment, and architecture/engineering/construction markets. It’s fascinating to find out how they have created a constructive platform to utilize spatial data in an open environment that impacts how people design buildings, roads, and physical infrastructure. Autodesk’s main theme is “See it Before it’s Real,” and you’ll glimpse how they are delivering that vision, and the impact of SQL Server 2008 in this market.

You can also find out more at http://www.microsoft.com/isv/Autodesk/default.aspx.

Danny Kim: On FullArmor and Partnering with Microsoft

Charles — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 19:12:29 GMT

When FullArmor took up residence in the Microsoft Partner Solutions Center, their relationship with Microsoft rose to a whole new level.

This is a candid interview with FullArmor CTO and founding partner, Danny Kim, as he discusses Group Policy security software, how FullArmor partners with Microsoft beyond the norm, and what insights Danny has for other ISVs who are making their best efforts to work with Microsoft, and perhaps not generating the inroads they’d like to be seeing. Danny’s conversation with us highlights several inventive ways to take your relationship to the next level.

FullArmor is the first company to create and deploy altruistic viruses as a means of securing systems. Very interesting indeed!

Enjoy!

Low res download file.

Check out the Microsoft ISV site for more information related to partnering with Microsoft.

Gabriel Torok: PreEmptive Software

Charles — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 21:21:27 GMT

I caught up with Gabriel Torok, President of PreEmptive Software (you all know DotFuscator, right? That's PreEmptive's baby...) at TechEd 2007 (Yeah, this is coming to you late, but the video was shot by pros and pros take time to deliver pro stuff. I think it turned out great! Thanks, pros!)

Here we talk about how PreEmptive's IL refactoring and anlaytics technology works.

Enjoy.
C

Cepa Mobility: CepaCom Demo

Charles — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 19:06:30 GMT

While in Copenhagen, Denmark recently I had the pleasure to meet and chat with Niels Virring Martensen and Per Rasmussen of Cepa Mobility, a small company dedicated to making mobile products for people with Disabilities. Niels is the managing director and Per is the lead software developer/architect. Per is disabled and with one hand (via a joystick on his wheelchair) he is able to produce the great code that runs CepaCom.

Here, Per demos the CepaCom application.

See the discussion with Per and Niels Cepa Mobility, a small company dedicated to making mobile products for people with Disabilities. Niels is the managing director and Per is the lead software developer/architect. Per is disabled and with one hand (via a joystick on his wheelchair) he is able to produce the great code that runs CepaCom.

From Cepa's website:

CepaCom is a discrete mobile communicator which has been designed for people with special needs.

Even though you might be highly motor disabled, you now have the opportunity to communicate on your own - anytime, anywhere.

With CepaCom you are able to choose between these features: Speech machine (Text-to-Speech)
Contact your family and friends using the phone functionality.
Text Messages Keep track of your contacts
Media Player: Listen to E-books and music

The different "modules" can be purchased seperately. If you only need the Speech Machine and Media Player, this is what you pay for and recieve.

It was an honor a pleasure to meet such innovative and capable people. They are doing great things at Cepa and really changing the world for people with disabilities by producing software and systems that enable independence and communication freedom.

See the CepaCom demo Tobii Technology is an incredibly innovative company. Based in Stockholm, Sweden, this small ISV makes eye tracking hardware and software that enables people with disabilities to interact with a computing device using only their eyes. There are no peripheral hardware requirements for communicating with the My Tobii P10 device: all that is needed are eyes. Of course, there are many applications for this type of eye-controlled user interaction technology (as discussed in the interview, this area is rife with possibility). Tobii devices are also used in scientific research. In fact, Microsoft is a Tobii customer. We use their devices in our user interaction research programs.

Here, we meet the CEO of the company along with the My Tobii application lead software developer and development manager. Of course we get a demo and talk about some nuts and bolts. I'm really impressed with this small company. So innovative! In fact, Tobii was one of the winners in the recent Ingenuity Point worldwide ISV contest.

Follow the eyes...

Tobii Technology Eye Tracking: Follow the eyes

Charles — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 07:03:05 GMT

Tobii Technology is an incredibly innovative company. Based in Stockholm, Sweden, they make eye tracking hardware and software that enables physically impaired people to interact with a computing device using only their eyes. There are no peripheral hardware requirements for communicating with the My Tobii P10 device: all that is needed are eyes. Of course, there are many applications for this type of eye-controlled user interaction (as discussed in the interview, this area is rife with possibility). Tobii devices are also used in scientific research. In fact, Microsoft is a Tobii customer. We use their devices in our user interaction research programs.

Here, we meet the CEO of the company along with the My Tobii application lead software developer and development manager. Of course we get a demo and talk about some nuts and bolts. I'm really impressed with this small company. So innovative!

Follow the eyes...

TechFest 2007: TrustPilot

Charles — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 01:52:30 GMT

The Microsoft Development Center in Copenhagen (MDCC) recently held it's second TechFest. Each year (this is year two of TechcFest) the good folks at MDCC put on a show where local (Denmark and other northern European countries) innovators show off their wares. I was lucky enough to spend a day learning about some of the great things small ISVs and scholars are creating on Microsoft and non-Microsoft development platform stacks.

Here, we learn about an innovative community-based trust scoring system for websites: TrustPilot. Ever wondered how you can trust that a site is legitimate (in addition to using phishing filters, etc) and not out to steal your money or personal data? What if you could vote on the trustworthiness of a site and share this information with other human web surfers? How would this system work? Can you trust anonymous peers? Tune in. Find out...

TechFest 2007: .NET in the Bio Lab

Charles — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 19:46:01 GMT

The Microsoft Development Center in Copenhagen (MDCC) recently held it's second TechFest. Each year (this is year two of TechcFest) the good folks at MDCC put on a show where local (Denmark and other northern European countries) innovators show off their wares. I was lucky enough to spend a day learning about some of the great things small ISVs and scholars are creating on Microsoft and non-Microsoft development platform stacks.

Here, we learn about an innovative use of .NET for developing a complex information management system in a bioresearch lab that focuses on the development of vaccines (you can imagine how much data they need to organize, retrieve, evaluate...). These two researchers are not developers, but they managed to build a powerful information storage and retrireval system using VS Express! Very cool.

TechFest 2007: CrimeScener

Charles — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 22:34:53 GMT

TechFest 2007: gBeta

Charles — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 18:45:23 GMT

The Microsoft Development Center in Copenhagen (MDCC) recently held it's second TechFest. Each year (this is year two of TechcFest) the good folks at MDCC put on a show where local (Denmark and other northern European countries) innovators show off their wares. I was lucky enough to spend a day learning about some of the great things small ISVs and scholars are creating on Microsoft and non-Microsoft development platform stacks.

Here, we learn about a very interesting programming language called gBeta. gBeta is an extension of the BETA language.

From the gBeta team:

"In gbeta, object metamorphosis coexists with strict, static type-checking: It is possible to take an existing object and modify its structure until it is an instance of a given class, which is possibly only known or even constructed at run-time. Still, the static analysis ensures that message-not-understood errors can never occur at run-time.

It is possible to define relations between classes, e.g., to specify that the class MyPoint must be a subclass of YourPoint (without committing to exactly what classes they are). This makes it possible to define a kind of constraint graph of classes. It ensures that certain relations hold, such that one inheritance operation may give rise to a complex but orderly propagation of type changes in a framework of classes."

Tune in. Very interesting stuff!

Conversation with Siemens' Scott Carney - Developing Medical Software

Charles — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 19:05:22 GMT

Scott Carney, Director of Development for Siemens Medical has a balancing act in developing workflow applications for hospitals; data and processes are aggregated from different platform applications but need to be ultimately seamless , secure and ready available for the end user. Scott discusses Siemens Medical development methodology and challenges such as backward compatibility issues and debugging software that needs to be available 24/7.

Scott and team implement a Scrum model of development with the customer involved in all aspects of the process, from start to finish. That's a great model!

Conversation with Epicor's Bart Elia - Partnering with Microsoft

Charles — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 18:52:19 GMT

Epicor has been a long time partner of Microsoft, and with multiple product lines distributed across industries has garnered a wealth of experience in delivering joint solutions with Microsoft technologies. Bart Elia, Software Architect for Epicor chats openly with Channel 9 on how the partnership has evolved, including the shift from Microsoft to make development tools and processes more open and integrated and what the future holds for Silverlight and SAAS.

Casey Rayl and Scott McAndrew: Silverlight and Terralever's Zero Gravity

Charles — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 21:51:08 GMT

Casey Rayl and Scott McAndrew were in town recently (meaning Redmond, Washington, USA). They work for a company called Terralever and have produced a really cool interactive game using Silverlight 1.1 Alpha, Zero Gravity. They were nice enough to stop by my office for a chat about the game. Of course, if they come to my office to talk about technology then I am going to film it and put it up on Channel 9.

Here, we learn from Casey, the lead interactive developer on the Zero Gravity project, about how the game is composed, his experience with Silverlight 1.1 and, of course, his feedback for the Silverlight people (Channel 9 has always been about Authentic Transparent Communication...).

Scott used to work in DPE as a Design (or I guess it's called UX now) Evangelist. Now, he's a big shot at Terralever, running their product strategy group.

Zero Gravity is an addictive game. It's really cool that it was written in Silverlight 1.1 Alpha to boot!

Enjoy!

Cakewalk: Making Music with Sonar

Charles — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 17:47:51 GMT

The guys at Cakewalk are passionate about music and providing the technology that enables audio enthusiasts & professionals to create great music. Noel Borthwick, Cakewalk CTO and Carl Jacobson, Woldwide Marketing Director, spend some time with Inside Out talking about their lessons learned as an early Vista adopter for their audio application Sonar, which also is the only application of its kind for the 64-bit platform.

They also talk candidly about the development process and experiences with managed code, certification documentation and virtualization.

Verdiem: Using Software to Curb Energy Abuse

Charles — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 17:46:53 GMT

Global carbon regulation is arguably the largest risk and opportunity most corporations will face in the beginning of the 21st century. It has been estimated that turnover in the global carbon marketplace could exceed a trillion dollars in the next five to ten years. Voluntary and mandatory reporting protocols are emerging. How can an organization know its true carbon footprint and exposure? What options are available to manage corporate carbon risk? What impact can energy efficiency programs have on reducing a corporation’s carbon footprint?

Verdiem provides power management software for PC networks; their Surveyor software provides measurable energy and cost savings through network level control over pc and monitor power settings administered via windows services that to date translates to:

over US$32 million in customer ROI
over 324,500,000 in kwh saved
energy saved by Verdiem customers is equal to taking 34,00 cars off the road and reducing Greenhouse emissions by 277,555.44 tons

Verdiem really puts into perspective how we are all effecting the world around us, and how the global marketplace is shaping up to address these issues.

Here, we chat with Bruce Twito, Verdiem CTO and VP of Product Development about how Surveyor works, the impact Surveyor has on global carbon reduction, and we get unfiltered feedback for the Microsoft technologies that Verdiem relies upon for their core business offerings.