Windows Vista: Beta 2, RC1, and RC2 Set to Expire

After Today i.e. May 31, 2007, pre-release versions of Windows Vista will expire. To avoid work disruption and the loss of data, PC users running any of these pre-release versions of Windows Vista migrate their PCs to the final version of Windows Vista .
After May 31, 2007, users that continue to use pre-release versions of Windows Vista will be able to log in for 2-hour sessions to retrieve data. After 2 hours of use, the PC will automatically reboot without providing the opportunity to save data. The opportunity to log in normally for these 2 hour sessions will only be available for a limited time.
Find answers to frequently asked questions on the Windows Vista blog.

8 Tips And Tricks For Better BizTalk Programming

A gr8 article on MSDN
the tips are as follows
1. Always Use Multi-Part Message Types
2. Always Try to Design Orchestrations with Direct-Bound Ports
3. Always Use Separate Internal and External Schemas
4. Never Expose Your Internal Schemas Directly in WSDL
5. Always Optimize the BizTalk Registry for Web Services
6. Always Set the Assembly Key File with a Relative Path
7. Never Overlook Free Sample Code
8. Debug XSLT in Visual Studio

O2 OBA Challenge

"Create an Office Business Application (OBA) using the complementary technologies of the 2007 Microsoft® Office system and Oracle® Applications. The company that builds the best solution wins $25,000 to implement the OBA, and a unique opportunity to protect the air we share."
you can read more details here

Pakistan Developer Conference 2007 is here :)

Guys it’s here again. The event I look forward to attend and present in. it is the best way to gain knowledge and insight from the technology gurus. I think it’s a gr8 opportunity for us Pakistanis (who can’t go to Europe and US every year for tech events). I'll be presenting on 1- Integrating Microsoft Office InfoPath 2007 Forms with Workflow Solutions and Business Processes 2- Choosing the Right Technology for Integrating Systems: BizTalk, SQL Server, SOA and WCF So looking forward to meet you guys

Architect Journal -12th edition

MS Architect journal is one of the best journals if you are a Microsoft Architect. Its 12th edition just came out. go get it from here.

Microsoft PopFly

Popfly is the fun, easy way for anyone to build and share mashups, gadgets, Web pages, and applications. Popfly consists of two parts:
1. Popfly Creator is a set of online visual tools for building Web pages and mashups.
2. Popfly Space is an online community of creators where you can host, share, rate, comment and even remix creations from other Popfly users.
See the video here for how to easily use online services like Flickr, Digg, and even World of Warcraft without writing code.

Judging Imagine cup 2007 , pakistan

The Imagine Cup is one way Microsoft is encouraging young people to apply their imagination, their passion and their creativity to technology innovations that can make a difference in the world – today. Now in its fifth year, the Imagine Cup has grown to be a truly global competition focused on finding solutions to real world issues.
The 2007 Theme is Education. This year, Microsoft is calling on young programmers, artists and technologists around the world to "imagine a world where technology enables a better education for all." We’re challenging students to bring their ideas to life in a multifaceted competition that comprises nine categories, each catering to a different technological or artistic affinity. Students’ work will reflect valuable, real world solutions, while giving them the opportunity to compete for cash prizes. When coupled with the power of technology the potential of young people is unlimited and the ideas they develop for the Imagine Cup could significantly improve the lives of millions of people around the world. In this competition, everyone wins.

I was asked to be one of the judges at the project evaluation for the best project from pakistan for the imagine up in the Software Design category. We had some great projects and the competition was very good. the best project came from LUMS lahore it was a class recording software with some very cool features. the project whch can 2nd came from a very remote place of pakistan, nawabshah. It was great to see someone from such remote location to bring up such a good software. the software was a grid computing software.

TechEd US 2007: SOA and Web Services Track Schedule

The complete abstract can be found on the TechEd site.