Cloud computing is already changing how IT delivers economic value to countries, cities, industries, and businesses. IDC estimates that in 2011 alone, IT cloud services helped businesses around the world generate more than US$600 billion in revenue and 1.5 million new jobs. Further, the spending on public cloud IT services in 2011 stood at US$28 billion, while the total spending on IT products and services was US$1.7 trillion..

The study also indicates that countries investing in key cloud infrastructure will experience greater job growth. The factors determining the number of jobs that might be created in a particular country include projected level of spending on IT, degree of automation, workforce size amongst others.

?For most organizations, cloud computing is a no-brainer when considering it enables massive return on investment and flexibility,? said John F. Gantz, Chief Research Officer and Senior Vice President at IDC. ?A common misperception is cloud computing is a job eliminator, but in truth it will be a job creator ? a major one. And job growth will occur across continents and throughout organizations of all sizes because emerging markets, small cities and small businesses have the same access to cloud benefits as large enterprises or developed nations.?

While sharing the findings of the study, Mr. Floris van Heist, General Manager, Business & Marketing, Microsoft Corporation India Pvt. Ltd, said, ?Cloud computing poses a compelling opportunity for businesses and governments around the world. India is uniquely poised to leverage this opportunity with factors like an unparalleled ecosystem of developers, ISVs and SIs, no legacy IT systems and a high growth rate of economy contributing towards growth of cloud computing. Microsoft is playing a key role in the cloud space to help businesses realize their full potential and move governments closer to their vision.?

Microsoft offers comprehensive services across all three service layers of the cloud, viz. infrastructure, platform and software as services. Microsoft?s offerings have seen great momentum in India and across the world. Office 365, Microsoft?s enterprise-class cloud productivity suite and Dynamics CRM Online have been adopted widely by organizations of all sizes across the country. Windows Azure, Microsoft?s platform in the cloud, is fostering innovation and entrepreneurship on a wide spectrum in addition to providing a compelling option to businesses to develop, host and render applications from the cloud. Similarly, private cloud services from Microsoft are seeing good momentum with enterprises.

With all of Microsoft?s key products having a cloud offering, it is uniquely positioned to provide unmatched flexibility ? from a complete on-premise solution to one completely in the cloud to any mix of the two in-between. Further, with the option to evolve this mix in any manner, Microsoft is empowering customers to move to the cloud on their terms. Embedded within is the trust of customers in Microsoft as a provider of enterprise-class services with no compromises to availability, reliability or security.

Says CV Prakash, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Gradatim, a specialist in technology solutions for businesses that offer microfinance products and services, and uses Azure: “In 2010, we evaluated a number of shared services platforms and zeroed in upon Windows Azure. We realised soon enough the Microsoft cloud edge. Azure not only gave us stronger support for geographic expansion, saved us about $2 million in operating expenses, shortened customer deployment cycles from three months to two weeks and even improved our ability to reach out to new customers, and speeded up our ability to bring solutions to market. The overall Azure experience for us was phenomenal.”

The latest research confirms India?s unique opportunity to benefit from the cloud with the following key factors favoring cloud-based job creation:

1. Infrastructure challenges will help spur investment in private IT cloud services;
2. In an emerging market, spending on IT cloud services will be subject to less ?legacy drag? than in developing regions.

It is also projected that by enterprise size class, jobs will be split down the middle ? between companies with 500 or fewer employees and companies with 500+ employees.

“A new era in entertainment begins where all your entertainment is together in one place — your games, movies, TV shows, music and sports,” said Don Mattrick, president of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. “With this update, Xbox 360 system owners will experience Kinect voice control integrated with Bing search, making your TV and entertainment experiences more social and personal than ever.”

“Microsoft has just built and delivered it: A single box that ties together all the content you want, made easily accessible through a universal, natural, voice-directed search. This is now the benchmark against which all other living room initiatives should be compared,” said James McQuivey of Forrester Research in “Engaged TV: Xbox 360 Leads The Way To A New Video Product Experience,”* Sunday, Dec. 4. “…with more than 57 million people worldwide already sitting on a box that’s about to be upgraded for free, Microsoft has not only built the right experience, it has ensured that it will spread quickly and with devastating effect.”

You Say It, Xbox Finds It

How long does it take you to search and find your favorite movie or TV show? Do you find yourself searching hundreds of channels and multiple services and TV inputs? What if the entertainment you craved was simple, discoverable and exactly what you wanted at that particular moment?

Now, finding your favorite entertainment is easier than ever. Last year, Kinect for Xbox 360 revolutionized controller-free entertainment by letting you use your body and voice to play your favorite games and entertainment, turning you into the controller. The power of Kinect combined with the intelligence of Bing search is turning your voice into the ultimate remote control. With Bing on Xbox, you can use your voice to effortlessly find the games, movies, TV shows and music you want and discover the best offerings on Xbox LIVE, by simply saying what you’re searching for. You say it, Xbox finds it. Beginning tomorrow and over the coming weeks, Bing on Xbox voice search will initially be available in English in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. for Zune video, Xbox LIVE Marketplace and select content partners. For those who do not have a Kinect for Xbox 360, text search will be available in Xbox LIVE markets.

All Your Entertainment, All in One Box

This holiday, in addition to offering the best blockbuster and Kinect games, Xbox 360 consoles are set to deliver live and on-demand TV shows, movies, videos, sports, music and news, becoming the best device to experience all your entertainment. TV and movie fans can instantly stream their favorite episodes of current television shows all season long, as well as past favorites and new-release movies.

Xbox 360 is building on its expansive catalog of movies, sports, television and music available through Hulu Plus, Last.fm, Netflix, Zune music and video and ESPN®, as well as on its existing lineup of great TV providers, such as AT&T U-verse® TV in the U.S., TELUS in Canada, BSkyB in the U.K., CANAL+ in France, Vodafone Portugal, VimpelCom in Russia and FOXTEL in Australia, by also now rolling out the following new entertainment partners and apps.

Microsoft and Skype will remain focused on their shared goal of connecting all people across all devices and accelerating both companies’ efforts to transform real-time communications for consumers and enterprise customers. The completion of the acquisition also marks the official introduction of Skype as a new business division within Microsoft.

“Skype is a phenomenal product and brand that is loved by hundreds of millions of people around the world,” said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. “We look forward to working with the Skype team to create new ways for people to stay connected to family, friends, clients and colleagues — anytime, anywhere.”

Skype CEO Tony Bates will assume the title of president of the Skype Division of Microsoft immediately, reporting directly to Ballmer. The Skype division will continue to offer its current products to millions of users globally. Longer term, Skype will also be integrated across an array of Microsoft products to broaden Skype’s reach and accelerate its growth as a fundamental way people communicate online. Skype employees will continue to be located around the world in offices including Estonia, the Czech Republic, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the United States.

“By bringing together the best of Microsoft and the best of Skype, we are committed to empowering consumers and businesses around the globe to connect in new ways,” Bates said. “Together, we will be able to accelerate Skype’s goal to reach 1 billion users daily,” Bates said.

Founded in 2003, Skype was acquired by eBay in September 2005, and then acquired by an investment group led by Silver Lake in November 2009. Skype has made impressive progress, developing new products and revenue streams, strategic acquisitions, acquiring the intellectual property powering its peer-to-peer network, and recruiting an outstanding senior management team.

Other members of the selling investor group led by Silver Lake include eBay International AG, CPP Investment Board, Joltid Ltd. in partnership with Europlay Capital Advisors; and Andreessen Horowitz.

The acquisition remains under review in a few countries, and will be completed in those countries when such reviews are closed.

To learn more about Microsoft and Skype, click here.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

For further information regarding risks and uncertainties associated with Microsoft’s business, please refer to the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Risk Factors” sections of Microsoft’s SEC filings, including, but not limited to, its annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, copies of which may be obtained by contacting Microsoft’s Investor Relations department at (800) 285-7772 or at Microsoft’s Investor Relations website.

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012

“Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 is a new generation of business applications. It’s the ERP solution that sets customers free and puts them in control of their business,” Ballmer said. “Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 helps companies be more agile, simplify decision-making and succeed in any environment.”

The flexible architecture of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, which includes built-in capabilities for multiple industries and geographic regions, lets people make quick and easy changes to processes and personal experiences to fulfill the shifting needs of their business, no matter how complex the organization. The simplicity of the Microsoft Dynamics RoleTailored experience gives people across the company the information they need to do their job, access to the Microsoft productivity tools they use every day, and built-in, contextual business intelligence, empowering better decisions. And because Windows Azure-based cloud services, such as Rapid Start, Site, Payment and Commerce services, are directly accessible from within Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, companies can immediately realize the benefits of public cloud services from within their private cloud or on-premises deployment.

“When the CEO tells me about his new business idea and how he wants it done in two weeks, I know I can do it in one week with Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012,” said Rif Kiamil, chief information officer of JJ Food Services Ltd., a U.K.-based food service distribution company. “Microsoft has really thought about what ERP should be.”

As enterprise organizations recognize the limitations of legacy ERP solutions to enable their dynamic businesses, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 serves as a highly scalable, yet cost-effective, solution for their operations, subsidiaries or divisions to maintain a competitive edge, while retaining their legacy investment to cover administrative ERP needs at the corporate level.

At the same time, large and midsize companies are looking to Microsoft as a safe haven from current ERP vendors that may not offer clear product road maps or commitment to long-term innovation. One such customer is the City of Redmond, which chose to replace its JD Edwards system because it couldn’t support the city’s operations, was hard to use and caused concerns about continued support. The City of Redmond implemented Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, significantly improving operations, user satisfaction and efficiency. City employees are now provided with transparent, relevant and rich information so that they can provide innovative services to their citizens.

To help businesses transition to Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 more easily, Microsoft will offer a range of incentives. The first of those is a 50 percent license discount on Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 for eligible customers with valid Lawson S3 or M3 licenses who make the switch. In addition, qualifying partners can receive a revenue credit for each Lawson-certified consultant that obtains Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 certification. These offers are valid from Sept. 8, 2011, until June 22, 2012. Customers and partners can learn more at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics/switch-to-ax.aspx.

While all customers and partners benefit from the prebuilt industry capabilities in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, global independent software vendors, such as Aldata, Ferranti, Harris and LexisNexis, take things a step further, embracing Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 as the core foundation they offer to customers, complemented with their own unique solutions across a wide range of verticals and industries, such as retail, utilities, professional services and legal services, to name a few.

The new Microsoft Touch Mouse combines the virtues of the old familiar mouse – which has been continually optimized since the 1960s – with multi-touch gestures. Now available online and in retail stores in late September, the new mouse offers the millions of people who use Windows 7 a natural way to navigate the operating system, said Scott Rockfeld, director of product management for Microsoft Hardware.

“This is the first time we’ve married the control and precision of a mouse with the interactivity that touch delivers on your PC,” he said. “We give you control of your PC that you can feel in your fingertips.”

The Touch Mouse lets users do everything they’re used to doing with a mouse, such as point and click, but adds multi-touch functionality that helps them navigate Windows 7 easier and faster with a flick of their fingers, said Hrvoje Benko, a researcher with Microsoft Research (MSR) Redmond who helped develop the Touch Mouse.

“This mouse is designed to optimize your experience with Windows 7,” he said. “The tasks you do every day – minimizing and maximizing windows, scrolling through Web pages – all that functionality is available right at the top of the mouse with a touch of a finger.”

Or two or three fingers. As shown in this video, users can navigate with Touch Mouse in a variety of ways:
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One finger allows users to scroll 360 degrees through the document they’re in.
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Two fingers allow them to manage the active window they’re using and perform tasks such as maximizing and minimizing windows or snapping them left or right.
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Three fingers allow users to manage their whole desktop by switching between different tasks or clearing all open windows.
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A flick of the thumb allows users to move forward and back in programs such as Internet Explorer, PowerPoint, and Windows Photo Viewer.

Building Mouse 2.0

Hidden inside the Touch Mouse’s deceptively simple design is more than two years of cross-company research. The product evolved from the Mouse 2.0 project, a joint effort started in 2008 by Microsoft Research teams in Redmond and Cambridge and the Applied Sciences Group from Microsoft Hardware. Their goal was to combine the standard capabilities of a mouse with multi-touch sensing.

“We were looking at how to merge the excitement of the multi-touch gestures that were just starting to infiltrate computing devices with the flexibility and control of the mouse, which essentially has been optimized for two-plus decades,” Benko said. “We wanted to bring these rich new interactions to the desktop without losing the tried and true mouse.”

The team initially explored a wide range of technologies and interaction models, relying heavily on user feedback. They ended up with five different research prototypes representing different types of multi-touch sensors: camera-based; articulated, meaning they stitched together three mouse sensors; and capacitive, which have functionality similar to a laptop’s track pad.
Microsoft Hardware’s portfolio of touch products, including the Arc Touch Mouse that flattens for portability, aim to bring multi-touch computing to millions of Windows 7 users.
Microsoft Hardware’s portfolio of touch products, including the Arc Touch Mouse that flattens for portability, aim to bring multi-touch computing to millions of Windows 7 users.

After careful consideration of the technological tradeoffs, the team decided on the capacitive-sensing model because it allowed for multi-touch gestures without abandoning the familiar mouse shape. They wrestled long and hard with the shape – it had to be comfortable in the hand and yet provide the right surface for natural gestures with all five fingers. The team conducted extensive user research and tested hundreds of forms and models before settling on a mouse with a 23 degree slope, a “sweet spot that gives you the comfortable shape and enough flatness to perform gestures,” Benko said.

Over several months, they continued to refine the sensor design and tweak functionality. The result became the Touch Mouse, which lets PC owners use natural gestures to access the features in Windows 7 they want to use most.

Benko said he was excited to bring touch to a much broader range of devices. Touch is an increasingly popular way of interacting with technology, but it’s primarily taken hold in small handheld devices. “For desktop scenarios with large, vertical screens, you’d need gorilla arms to go longer than 10 minutes through touch alone,” he said. “In terms of optimizing the effort of controlling the real estate you have on large screens, it’s really hard to beat the mouse.”
The Touch Mouse emerged out of a Microsoft Research effort to reimagine the mouse. The Mouse 2.0 project initially produced the five prototypes of multi-touch mice above.
The Touch Mouse emerged out of a Microsoft Research effort to reimagine the mouse. The Mouse 2.0 project initially produced the five prototypes of multi-touch mice above.

That’s why the Touch Mouse is a happy marriage, Rockfeld said. Direct touch technology is good for some things but not for others, he points out. It makes scrolling and flicking through digital pictures a breeze, but clicking in a small cell in Excel – not so much. “Desktop users need the precision and control of a mouse, but they also want that feeling of power that touch gives them,” he said. “With the Touch Mouse, without taking your hand off the mouse, we can deliver both to the millions of Windows 7 users.”

Only a fraction of Windows 7 users have touch enabled natively in the hardware. Touch Mouse is part of Microsoft Hardware’s effort to bring touch to millions of Windows 7 users. Other examples are the Explorer Touch Mouse, the Arc Touch Mouse, and the soon-to-be-released Touch Mouse Artist Edition.

“The Touch Mouse is our stake in the ground with multi-touch PC input devices, and it’s really just the beginning of things to come,” Benko said.

The product highlights the value Microsoft Research can deliver, Benko added. “This is a good example of how the algorithms and ideas and prototypes developed in research directly translate and make certain things possible for product teams that wouldn’t have been possible,” he said. “You could not make this mouse without the software.”

The service was introduced in beta last year with enthusiastic response and, in a few months, more than 200,000 organizations signed up and began testing it. Businesses using Office 365 are already reporting impressive results and reducing IT costs by up to an estimated 50 percent while boosting productivity.

Today, more than 20 service providers around the globe also shared plans to bring Office 365 to their customers this year. Bell Canada, Intuit Inc., NTT Communications Corp., Telefonica S.A., Telstra Corp. and Vodafone Group Plc, among others, will package and sell Office 365 with their own services for small and midsize businesses.

“Great collaboration is critical to business growth, and because it’s so important, we believe the best collaboration technology should be available to everyone,” said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. “With a few clicks, Office 365 levels the playing field, giving small and midsize businesses powerful collaboration tools that have given big businesses an edge for years.”

A Game Changer for Businesses of All Sizes

Office 365 is available in a wide range of service plans designed to meet the needs of businesses of all sizes, ranging from the largest to the smallest.

With Office 365, people can stay on the “same page” using instant messaging and virtual meetings with people who are just down the hall or across the world. They can work on files and documents at the same time and share ideas as easily as they can share calendars. Office 365 gives people new ways to work together with ease, on virtually any device.

Microsoft Office applications are at the heart of Office 365. Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, OneNote, Outlook and other Office applications connect to Microsoft Exchange, SharePoint and Lync to deliver a world-class solution for communication and collaboration.

“When I saw Office 365, I knew this was the way businesses would work in the future,” said Elia Wallen, owner of fast-growing temporary housing provider Travelers Haven. “With Office 365, I’m going to save $100,000 a year and cut 30 hours of work a day across my 35 employees, but most importantly, my team is going to be able to work together better — no matter where they are.”

The technical demonstration also highlighted the new operating system’s ability to work across both x86 and ARM-based architectures, with a variety of early prototypes shown running the new operating system. Microsoft and silicon chip makers AMD, Intel Corporation, NVIDIA Corp., Qualcomm Inc. and Texas Instruments Inc. initially announced plans in January to work together on the next version of Windows.

“Our aim with ‘Windows 8’ is to make the user experience a natural extension of the device, from the time you turn on your PC through how you interact with the applications you know and love,” Angiulo said. “This represents a fundamental shift in Windows design that we haven’t attempted since the days of Windows 95, presenting huge opportunities for our hardware partners to innovate with new PC designs.”

The new user experience also extends to how applications will run on “Windows 8,” with controls naturally fitting into the device experience. Developers also will be able to use common Web technologies, such as HTML5 and JavaScript, to create applications for the PC, further easing integration and adoption.

Fly through the Web with the DROID X2, which boasts Verizon Wireless’ first dual-core 1GHz processor for fast webpage loading and Adobe® Flash® Player, allowing customers to experience rich content online. The 4.3-inch scratch-resistant and anti-reflective qHD display delivers a sharp, clear view ideal for watching movies, typing emails and playing your favorite games. Never miss a moment using the 8-megapixel camera with continuous autofocus and stunning HD video capture. Use the new Gallery app to view, tag and post photos on sites like Flickr® and Facebook®, all from one place.

Additional features:

• Powered by Android 2.2, to be updated to Android 2.3
• Mirror Mode allows you to view and share your photos, videos and downloaded movies on a larger TV via HDMI output
• Enterprise-ready with security and IT-grade policies, allowing you to use your DROID X2 for work and play
• Support for Google™ Mobile Services, including Gmail™, YouTube™, Google Talk™, Google Search™, and Google Maps™, as well as access to more than 200,000 apps available to download from Android Market™
• Mobile Hotspot capability, allowing you to share your 3G connection with up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices
• Virtual QWERTY keyboard featuring SWYPE technology for quick and easy typing of messages and emails

Pricing and availability:

• The DROID X2 will be available online at www.verizonwireless.com on May 19 and in Verizon Wireless Communication Stores on May 26for $199.99 with a new two-year customer agreement.
• DROID X2 customers will need to subscribe to a Verizon Wireless Nationwide Talk plan and a smartphone data package. Nationwide Talk plans begin at $39.99 for monthly access and an unlimited smartphone data plan is $29.99 for monthly access.

With 170 million connected users and over 207 billion minutes of voice and video conversations in 2010, Skype has been a pioneer in creating rich, meaningful connections among friends, families and business colleagues globally. Microsoft has a long-standing focus and investment in real-time communications across its various platforms, including Lync (which saw 30 percent revenue growth in Q3), Outlook, Messenger, Hotmail and Xbox LIVE.

Skype will support Microsoft devices like Xbox and Kinect, Windows Phone and a wide array of Windows devices, and Microsoft will connect Skype users with Lync, Outlook, Xbox Live and other communities. Microsoft will continue to invest in and support Skype clients on non-Microsoft platforms.

“Skype is a phenomenal service that is loved by millions of people around the world,” said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. “Together we will create the future of real-time communications so people can easily stay connected to family, friends, clients and colleagues anywhere in the world.”

Skype will become a new business division within Microsoft, and Skype CEO Tony Bates will assume the title of president of the Microsoft Skype Division, reporting directly to Ballmer.

“Microsoft and Skype share the vision of bringing software innovation and products to our customers,” said Tony Bates. “Together, we will be able to accelerate Skype’s plans to extend our global community and introduce new ways for everyone to communicate and collaborate,” Bates said.

“Tony Bates has a great track record as a leader and will strengthen the Microsoft management team. I’m looking forward to Skype’s talented global workforce bringing its insights, ideas and experience to Microsoft,” Ballmer said.

Speaking on behalf of the investor group that sold Skype to Microsoft, Egon Durban, managing director of Silver Lake, said: “We are thrilled with Skype’s transformation during the period of our ownership and grateful for the extraordinary commitment of its management team and employees. We are excited about Skype’s long-term future with Microsoft, as it is poised to become one of the world’s most dynamic and comprehensive communications platforms.”

Founded in 2003, Skype was acquired by eBay in September 2005, and then acquired by an investment group led by Silver Lake in November 2009. Skype has made impressive progress over the past 18 months under Silver Lake’s leadership, increasing monthly calling minutes by 150 percent, developing new revenue streams and strategic partnerships, acquiring the intellectual property powering its peer-to-peer network, and recruiting an outstanding senior management team.

Other members of the selling investor group led by Silver Lake include eBay International AG, CPP Investment Board, Joltid Limited in partnership with Europlay Capital Advisors; and Andreessen Horowitz.

The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. The parties hope to obtain all required regulatory clearances during the course of this calendar year.

Taking Advantage of Modern Hardware With HTML5

Consumers and developers face an important technology challenge today: With the majority of consumers using multiple devices, the performance and rich experience of native applications demand the time and investment of re-writing applications from device to device. As a result, technology standards such as HTML5, which deliver superior performance through Web-connected devices, play an increasingly important role. This dynamic creates a clear catalyst for developers to gravitate toward technologies that not only comply with standards, but also exploit the power of the local device to offer rich, immersive, next-generation Web experiences.

Internet Explorer 9 is the only browser with hardware-accelerated HTML5 spanning all graphics, text, audio and video. It was the first browser to introduce innovations, such as hardware acceleration, built on deep HTML5 support, to enable fast and immersive Web experiences. The first platform preview of Internet Explorer 10 builds on these innovations and includes support for additional standards, such as CSS3 Gradients on background images and CSS3 Flexible Box Layout.

Developers can download the Internet Explorer 10 Platform Preview at http://www.IETestDrive.com and provide direct feedback through new code refreshes approximately every 12 weeks.

Internet Explorer is designed to bring sites to the forefront, enabling a more immersive, more beautiful Web experience. At MIX11, Microsoft demoed sites and applications from many leading companies, including foursquare, Namco, and Sparkart Group Inc.’s new site for Bon Jovi, to demonstrate how companies are using Internet Explorer to create richer experiences.

“We love foursquare playground because it combines our API with interesting new technologies like HTML5 and Internet Explorer 9 to extend foursquare to the desktop and deliver beautiful visualizations of where users are gathering,” said Holger Luedorf, vice president of Mobile and Partnerships for foursquare. “We are excited to unveil new features in the experience, including an ‘add venue’ function and photo sharing.”

Examples of these rich demos can be seen at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/events/mix.

Increasing Interoperability With Standards and the Cloud

Microsoft is leading the adoption of Web standards with its long-term commitment to the HTML5 standards process and platform investments spanning Internet Explorer, Windows Phone and Windows 7. Hachamovitch highlighted projects from the Microsoft HTML5 Labs site (http://www.html5labs.com), where the company provides prototypes of early specifications from standards bodies, such as the W3C.

Microsoft also is focusing on standards and cloud development, helping developers more easily scale their apps to multiple devices and platforms. In his keynote, Scott Guthrie, corporate vice president, .NET Developer Platform, discussed how the Windows Azure platform empowers developers to use their existing skills to build, host and scale Web applications in the cloud.

Microsoft announced the commercial availability of new Windows Azure capabilities, including services that accelerate application performance and enable secure and open access to Web applications through popular identity providers, including Microsoft, Facebook and Google. A new community technology preview of traffic management capability for Windows Azure is also available today, enabling developers to more easily balance application performance across multiple geographies. Guthrie also announced a preview of Windows Azure content delivery network for media-streaming capabilities, available at the end of June. More information about these updates is available at http://blogs.msdn.com/b/windowsazure.

In addition to its commitment to HTML5, Web standards and cloud interoperability, Microsoft discussed its commitment to sponsoring open source projects, such as the Orchard project, a free CMS project in the Outercurve Foundation’s ASP.NET Open Source Gallery. Orchard 1.1 is available today, along with new Amazon.com Inc., UserVoice Inc. and DISQUS modules that contribute to the growing number of community-authored extensions for Orchard. Microsoft also announced an refresh of ASP.NET MVC 3 Tools Update, which enables Web developers to innovate quickly and easily via new HTML 5 markup support, Entity Framework 4.1 with Entity Code First now built in for easier database Web solution development, and expanded NuGet capabilities for finding and installing community components.