Ian Moulster's blog
A Microsoft employee translating Microsoft technology into plain English
Software for launch event attendees (physical event)
A number of people have been asking the following quite reasonable question: We know that we're...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 01/09/2007
Read this if you're planning on doing the day 2 assignment for the developer launch
As you may already know, our UK developer launch event is held over 2 days, with day 1 a series of...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 01/09/2007
Yes we really are giving away 1000 free copies of Windows Vista and Office 2007 to UK developers
A while ago, I posted a blog entry about a free software giveaway we were planning for the UK online...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 01/05/2007
UK developer launch full!
Wow that was quick. We sent an email last night about the launch (but of course readers of this blog...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 12/14/2006
Launch tour UK - we'll come to you
Although we're keen on making sure that the UK developer launch of Windows Vista and Office 2007 is...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 12/12/2006
Developer launch of Vista and Office in the UK – Register now
As I’ve hinted previously, we’re planning a developer launch event in the UK for 19th and 20th...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 12/08/2006
Free trial of 2007 Microsoft Office system (UK and Ireland)
If you want to get your hands on a fully-working trial of Office 2007, you can download it here:...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 12/07/2006
Make your application a real Windows Vista app
As you're no doubt aware, while the the .NET Framework 3.0 is installed by default on Windows Vista...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 11/15/2006
3d mapping for Virtual Earth
We've just launched a 3D version of Virtual Earth, take a look at http://maps.live.com. It's pretty...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 11/07/2006
Free copies of the released versions of Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007 (if you're in the UK, plus some other caveats)
UPDATE: Just to correct a few misquotes I've seen, I'm not predicting release dates, just saying...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 11/03/2006
Want to learn how to build a mashup using Windows Live?
In my last post I talked about Windows Live and what's in it for developers. If you want to see this...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 10/24/2006
What is Windows Live anyway?
Every time I meet someone external to Microsoft these days I ask them about Windows Live: what does...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 10/23/2006
Your own search engine
I'm been playing around with one of the quite cool features of Live.com search: the ability to...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 09/19/2006
"So when can I get Windows Vista RC1?"
...is a question I keep getting asked*. Now that we've announced that it's finished, people...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 09/06/2006
Want to develop a .NET product but can't justify the cost of an MSDN subscription?
One of my colleagues from the ISV team was talking to me recently about the difficulties many...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 08/15/2006
Create your own games for XBOX 360 (somewhat off topic)
In case you missed it, we have just announced a great new way for developers across the world to...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 08/14/2006
MSDE not supported on Vista or LH Server
This probably won't come as a major surprise: MSDE won't be supported on Windows Vista or "Longhorn"...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 08/04/2006
Virtual PC now free.....and Virtual Server...get them now
I don't often talk about Virtual PC in this blog (well, never actually) but I thought it worth...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 07/13/2006
There's just too much technology - how can I learn this stuff?
There's always been a lot to learn but at the moment there seems to be more than ever. I was taking...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 07/05/2006
It's closed
Further to my earlier post, the Customer Preview Program for Windows Vista beta 2 is now closed. If...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 06/30/2006
Get Vista beta 2 before we stop downloads/orders
Update: The program will close on Friday June 30th 2006 In case you weren't aware, we are only...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 06/29/2006
Write a bot and win big
See www.britbot.co.uk Although an increasing number of developers have come across the concept of an...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 06/19/2006
Developer event for Office 2007 in London
While Office has had something to offer to developers for some time, the upcoming release really...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 05/25/2006
Cool new designer event in London on May 10th
We're running a really cool event in association with Computer Arts magazine in London on May 10th....
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 04/25/2006
Would you fall for www.paypa1.com?
It might be slightly off topic for this blog, but as phishing attacks are such unpleasant things I...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 04/24/2006
What is WinFX anyway?
I've been having a discussion with some of my colleagues regarding how good a job we've done (and...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 04/19/2006
Getting a beta copy of Vista and/or Office 2007
One of the questions I get asked a lot, even in social situations, is "can you get me a beta copy of...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 04/10/2006
WinFX team touring in UK
We have some of the US WinFX product team guys running an event at our Reading offices in the UK on...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 04/10/2006
SuperFetch, ReadyBoost and ReadyDrive: some new feature names for you
Although feature names aren't the most exciting thing to talk about, I do like to get them right if...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 04/06/2006
(off topic) Some mind-reading fun
This is a lot of fun: http://trunks.secondfoundation.org/files/psychic.swf It seems to read your...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 04/05/2006
Click to support NSPCC
I like this idea - MSN search has teamed up with the NSPCC (national society for prevention of...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 04/05/2006
UK developer roadshow coming to a town near you in May and June
Microsoft UK will be running a series of developer focused events at 5 locations in the UK, starting...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 04/03/2006
Nice WPF/E article
Tim Anderson has written this piece on WPF/E ("Windows Presentation Foundation / Everywhere") that's...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 03/28/2006
Making sense of Visual Studio 2005 versions
I have been made aware of the following tool that helps you decide on which VS 2005 product is right...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 03/22/2006
Would you like an XBox 360 with all the trimmings?
A few weeks ago I published this article. Although we got some responses we've decided to up the...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 02/22/2006
Reach vs Fidelity: WinFX, Atlas, WPF/E, XBAP and ASP.NET
In the world of application delivery there has long been a choice between reach and fidelity: either...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 02/15/2006
Will we go beyond gaming on XBOX 360?
Having just got hold of an XBOX 360 I spent the weekend having fun with HD gaming. A couple of...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 02/05/2006
Tim Sneath presenting at upcoming WinFX event
I'm very pleased to report that my most eminent colleague, Tim Sneath, will be presenting at our...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 01/27/2006
Are you a developer with a security story?
A slight aside from the normal topics... We're looking for developers who have an experience with...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 01/25/2006
Get Sparkle now!
We have just announced availability of the first CTP of Expression Interactive Designer (previously...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 01/24/2006
January CTP for WinFX - and new go-live licenses for WCF and WWF!
We have just released the WinFX Runtime Components January CTP. This includes a CTP for Orcas, the...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 01/18/2006
Web 2.0 site roundup and Mix06
As "web 2.0" is grabbing so much of the news these days it's worth taking a look at this roundup of...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 01/18/2006
Trial versions of Visual Studio 2005 available in EMEA
If you're in EMEA and have been looking for a way to get your hands on trial versions of Visual...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 01/17/2006
New nugget gadget on live.com
I've had www.live.com as my homepage for a while now and one of the things that I've found is that I...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 01/12/2006
Two WinFX developer events in UK
We have two developer events scheduled in the UK for WinFX, one in Reading and one in London. These...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 01/03/2006
Products disappearing from MSDN Subscriber downloads at end of December
In case you missed it, we are removing a number of products from MSDN Subscriber downloads late...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 12/15/2005
A richer web experience with WPF and XBAPs
If you already know what an XBAP is, jump to the samples (eg a clock, a blackjack game, etc) at the...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 12/12/2005
What are the Expressions products and how do they fit with Visual Studio?
I’ve been asked this question a couple of times recently, so thought it worth trying to clarify....
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 12/02/2005
The Power of CSS
Playing around with WPF makes one thing clear: Applications are about to become a whole lot...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 11/13/2005
Finding UK-specific information for Microsoft developers
While us lot at Microsoft are pretty much aware of where to find things on the ms.com website, it's...
Author: Ian Moulster Date: 11/11/2005