We asked students from all over the world to come up with innovative uses of technology that would make the world a better place. They stepped up to the challenge, and the Imagine Cup US 2012 competition was on!

Imagine Cup is a global technology competition, enabling students worldwide to use technology to transform the world we live in. Every year, Imagine Cup inspires eager students to shine, developing skills that will power their futures, and applying what they have learned to make a positive impact in the world and build a brighter future.

Last year, over 325,000 students participated in Imagine Cup. Today, 22 teams from across the country have made it to the Imagine Cup US finals, developing solutions and providing awareness to issues that address  environmental stewardship, the worldwide obesity epidemic, and the plight of children in war-torn Africa.

Now it’s up to you: These teams need your votes to win the Imagine Cup People’s Choice award. The team with the most votes by May 19, 2012 will travel to the Imagine Cup Worldwide Finals in Sydney, Australia this July. Vote now!

Your vote is powerful. By helping select the Imagine Cup People’s Choice winner, you’ll not only be raising awareness for critical social issues, you’ll also be supporting the future of technology innovation here in the US.

And of course there’s something in it for you, too. Every time you vote, you qualify to win prizes like a laptop, an Xbox, or a Windows Phone!

Visit the Imagine Cup US Facebook page to check out our US finalists and vote for your favorite—it’s fast and easy. And remember, the more often you vote, the more often you can win, so stop by every day!

With the release of IE9 I have seen a number of both internal and external questions about the product so I thought I would come up with a quick FAQ about some of these questions.

I run 64-bit Windows, should I download the 32-bit version or the 64-bit version?

You should download the 64-bit version.  When you install the 64-bit version of IE9 the 32-bit version is also downloaded.  The 32-bit version is the Operating System default even on 64-bit versions of Windows.  This has been the case since Windows XP 64-bit and IE6 (yes there was a 64 bit version of IE6).  There are a number of reasons why 32-bit is the version you will be running (mostly because only 32-bit add-ons like Flash and Silverlight don’t work in 64-bit) but if you want to get the details see this blog post from the product team.

I develop web sites and need to test against multiple versions of IE, can I run IE9 side by side with prior versions?

No.  You can only have one version of IE installed.  However there are a number of ways to support your needs.  Within IE there are a set of developer tools that can help you understand how your site will be rendered in IE9 and prior versions.  Go into your site with IE9 and hit F12 and you will see tools to change Document Mode (rendering engine) and Browser Mode (user agent string sent to the server). 

If you are really serious about testing I recommend Expression Web SuperPreview.  This tool will allow you to test IE6, IE7, IE8, IE8 in IE7 Compatibility Mode, and IE9 renderings (against each other or against a reference rendering).  For IE testing the tool is completely free.  You can also use this tool for testing against Firefox, Chrome, and Safari but a license for Expression Web is required (which you may have as part of your MSDN subscription).

Will IE8 add-ons (Web Slices, Accelerators, Search Providers) still work?

Yes, the add-ons that worked in IE8 work great in IE9.  I know that I use the Wikipedia accelerator all of the time, it is one of my favorites.  And the Bing Translate accelerator has been great to use while watching the news of the recent tragedy in Japan.  If an end-user adds a Web Slice the Favorites bar will appear so the slice is visible.

Should I upgrade to IE9?

If you are running IE8 you should absolutely upgrade to IE9 (and are running Windows Vista or Windows 7).  It is more secure and faster than IE8.  There is plenty of coverage out there around pinning and jump lists (hint, drag the Facebook URL to the Taskbar in Windows 7 and you will see it in action). 

If you are using Firefox or Chrome (or something else) as your primary browser on Windows Vista or Windows 7 I would encourage you to upgrade to IE9 anyways and give it a try.  IE is often embedded in other apps and you should have the fastest and most secure browser on your operating system.

If you are still on Windows XP, you should upgrade to a newer version of Windows.  Windows XP is a ten year old operating system.  There have been newer versions of Windows available for over four years and there hasn’t been a major service pack in over three years. 

Once I upgrade can I go back if I need to?

Hopefully you don’t want to go back, but if for any reason you need to revert to a prior version you can uninstall IE9.  To uninstall you need to go into Programs and Features and then select “View installed updates” on the left.  Under the Windows category you will find an entry for Windows Internet Explorer 9

There is a very good event in Denver next week around the Windows Azure platform.  If you are interested in Azure but haven’t yet spent much time looking at it, I would recommend you attend.  Content will be at the 100-200 level so this isn’t a deep dive. 

Register here.

The Professional Developer’s Conference has been sold out for months but that doesn’t mean we can’t turn it into something fun here in Denver, Mountain View, and Phoenix.  Next Thursday, October 28th, we will be hosting a day at the Cable Center to watch some live streams and have some in person sessions.  We also will be providing lunch and a cocktail hour at the end of the day.

PDC Viewing Venues & Registration Info

Seating is limited. Register online or call 1-877-MSEVENT

I know many of you know Rob and just how good his presentations are.  He is back in town next month to deliver a session on Entity Framework. 

MSDN Events Presents: Entity Framework 4

You are not going to want to miss this half-day event where Rob Bagby will be illustrating how to take advantage of the Entity Framework 4 in your applications.  The event will be split across 3 sections and will be demo-driven.

Part I: Modeling, Mapping and Relationships

In part I, Rob will start with an overview of Entity Framework 4.  He will then delve into modeling and mapping with the EF.  He will cover how you can create a “conceptual” or “application-centric” model within the framework to meet the needs of your application.  He will also cover relationships in the Entity Framework, including the new Foreign Key relationships in Entity Framework 4.

Part II: Querying the Model

In part II, Rob will provide an overview of your querying options in the Entity Framework.  He will discuss your querying options in Entity Framework 4, including the following:

• Entity SQL – What, how and why you might choose to use it
• Query Builder Methods – What they are
• LINQ to Entities – LINQ to Entities Overview; Method-Based Syntax vs. Query-Based Syntax
• Stored Procedures – Read and Write
• Views, Defining Queries – Composable items

Part III: Updating the model and Real-world functionality (given time)

In Part III, Rob will discuss working with Object Services to track changes and perform persistence.  This section will include a discussion of the new templates in Entity Framework 4 aimed at working in disconnected environments: the POCO template and the Self-Tracking Entities template.  Given time, Rob will illustrate how the EF supports functionality that real-world applications require such as concurrency, validation and transactions.

Register at https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032457119&Culture=en-US.

June 4, 2010 at 2:00pm – 3:00pm Central

Title:  What’s with all the Cloud talk?
Abstract What’s the topic of today?  Cloud computing.  Everyone’s talking about it and showing that that thing they did last year or are announcing today is “Cloud Computing.”  Cloud is wonderful because it’s white and fluffy and like a rainbow, far off and mathematically pure.  Fog is in your face and around you and has all the dirty bits embedded in it.  We’ll talk about what that means to the architect as the Cloud space evolves into Fog space.  How do we scale up as our smart grid can deliver more power to us?  Scale down as processing units become unavailable due to bandwidth or contention or even just batteries running out.
Link to Register: http://bit.ly/Cloud_webcast

Presenter: Phil Wheat
Senior Architect Evangelist, Microsoft

Each month through June 2010, we’ll bring you a 60-minute Architect focused Webcast to educate on the latest trends/topics and how new technologies can align with your business needs.

March 25, 2010 at 1:00pm – 2:00pm EST

Title: Extending Your Sites Reach with IE8 Add On Features

Abstract Today's users are getting more sophisticated and they expect more features from the sites and services they use. In this session learn about how to implement low effort, high value add-ons that expand your sites reach and bring value to your customer base .

Link to Register: https://swrt.worktankseattle.com/webcast/4240/preview.aspx

Presenter:
Jim Cirone
Architect Evangelist, Microsoft
Jim Cirone is an Architect Evangelist with Microsoft's Developer and Platform Evangelism team. He joined the DPE team 3 years ago after spending 10 years in Microsoft's services group architecting and delivering complex solutions. In his current role he is focused on new and emerging web technologies.

March 26, 2010 at 1:00pm – 2:00pm EST

Title: Windows Azure Design Patterns

Abstract: One of the challenges in adopting a new platform is finding usable design patterns that work for developing effective solutions. The Catch-22 is that design patterns are discovered and not invented. Nevertheless it is important to have some guidance on what design patterns make sense early in the game.

This webcast attacks the problem through a set of application scenario contexts, Azure features and solution examples. It is unique in its approach and the fact that it includes the use of features from all components of the Windows Azure Platform including the Windows Azure OS, Windows Azure AppFabric and SQL Azure. In this webcast you will learn about the components of the Windows Azure Platform that can be used to solve specific business problems.

Link to Register: https://swrt.worktankseattle.com/webcast/4241/preview.aspx

Presenter:
Bill Zack
Architect Evangelist, Microsoft

Bill Zack is an Architect Evangelist with Microsoft. He comes to this role after serving as a Solutions Architect in the Financial Services Unit of Microsoft Consulting Services. His experience includes developing, supporting and evangelizing .NET/SOA based frameworks used to jump-start development projects for financial services companies.