The Windows 8 Store is Open for Business!!

September 11, 2012, 6:10 am

≫ Next: MonkeySpace @ NERD – the official cross platform and open-source .NET conference

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Windows Store app submission is now open to all registered Store developers – individuals and companies. Create your Store developer account and submit your apps today!

With more than 630 million Windows 7 licenses sold to date, across 200+ countries and regions around the world, Windows has an unrivaled global reach. Combined with the flexibility of monetization options that the Windows 8 Store provides, Windows 8 represents the single biggest developer opportunity for any platform.

For more information on building apps for Windows 8 visit the Windows 8 Developer Portal and Generation App.

Technorati Tags: Windows 8,Windows Store,Win8,GenApp,Surface,Microsoft,Visual Studio

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MonkeySpace @ NERD – the official cross platform and open-source .NET conference

October 11, 2012, 1:02 am

≫ Next: Windows 8 App Development: Resources for iOS Developers

≪ Previous: The Windows 8 Store is Open for Business!!

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MonkeySpace, formerly known as Monospace, is the official cross platform and open-source .NET conference. Want to learn more about developing for the iPhone, Android, Mac, and *nix platforms using .NET technologies? How about developing games or learning more about open-source projects using .NET technologies? MonkeySpace has provided an annual venue to collaborate, share, and socialize around these topics and more.

MonkeySpace will be held at the Microsoft NERD Center located in Boston, MA one of the most historic cities in the United States. We also negotiated a group rate at the Boston Marriott Cambridge to allow everybody who attends to stay at the same hotel.

I will be presenting on the topic of using MonoGame to create games for Windows 8 and what you have to do to meet the criteria to get your game into the Windows 8 store. For some background you can read these posts:

• Windows 8, XNA and MonoGame – Part 1, Overview
• Windows 8, XNA and MonoGame - Part 2, Getting Started
• Windows 8, XNA and MonoGame - Part 3, Getting Windows 8 Store Ready

Hope to see you there! –bob

Technorati Tags: Mono,MonoGame,MonkeySpace,Monospace,C#,Cross Platform,Visual Studio,XNA,Game Development

Windows 8 App Development: Resources for iOS Developers

October 26, 2012, 7:02 am

≫ Next: Building Windows Store Games with Unity

≪ Previous: MonkeySpace @ NERD – the official cross platform and open-source .NET conference

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Windows 8 provides a great opportunity for mobile developers to expand their audience and reach a new user base. Now is the time to get your app into the Windows 8 Store and being reaping the benefits of being an early adopter.

To make the migration easy for iOS developers, we recently launched content to help you get started with Visual Studio and migrate both your design and your objective-C code to Windows 8. You can visit the Windows 8 Store home page and click on iOS Developers link on the tab menu or use the handy links below to get started.

• Resources for iOS Developers
• Design case study: iPad to Windows Store app
• XCode and Visual Studio Comparison
• Design guidance for Windows Store apps

Whether you are creating a game or an app, you may also be interested in checking out the cross platform approach from some of our partners such as Xamarin, AppMobi, MonoGame, GameSalad, GameMaker or Scirra.

Technorati Tags: Windows8,iOS,VisualStudio,WindowsStore,XCode,Objective-C,C#,Xamarin,appMobi,GameSalad,GameMaker

Building Windows Store Games with Unity

November 9, 2012, 3:34 am

≫ Next: Windows Store App Development for iOS Developers

≪ Previous: Windows 8 App Development: Resources for iOS Developers

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Event Dates Camp: Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012 Hackathon: Friday, Nov. 30, 2012        Event Location Microsoft Silicon Valley Campus Galileo Room SVC Conference Center 1065 La Avenida Mountain View, California 94043 United States Live Stream If you can’t attend in person, watch the live stream of the event at https://channel9.msdn.com You do not have to register for the live stream, just point your browser to Channel 9 or to our registration site on the day of the event.

Join Unity and Microsoft for this free, all-day training designed to jumpstart your Windows Store game app development with the Unity engine. You will learn from Unity and Microsoft experts in a low-key, interactive way and then get hands-on time to apply what you’ve learned. What’s the agenda? Day1 Overview and Introduction to the Windows 8 platform and the Windows Store, with an introduction to the Unity engine Unity + Windows 8 global business opportunities Learn to build your app and game in Unity 4 and deploy to Windows 8 Project Set-up, core engine tutorial, including physics, FX, and other cool Unity features Learn how to tweak an existing Unity game to target the Windows Store Learn to optimize and deploy your Unity project for Windows 8, Windows RT, and Windows Phone 8. Learn about features to differentiate your games with Windows 8 integration, such as tiles and contracts Tips & tricks for designing, reusing, and sharing code between Windows Phone and Windows 8 Case studies and Shared examples from Unity, Microsoft, and expert 3rd party developers Discussions and Q&A from Microsoft and Unity engineering and product specialists Day 2 Bring your hardware and software and immerse yourself and your team into a full day of Windows Store game development using Unity platforms in a casual environment. Meet other Unity Windows 8 developers, share experiences, and grow your development capabilities. Meet members of the Unity and Windows evangelism team and get great advice on developing great Windows Store games. How do I register? To secure your seat in this event, please register at https://aka.ms/unitywindowscamp Live Stream If you can’t attend in person, watch the live stream of the event at https://channel9.msdn.com. You do not have to register for the live stream; just point your browser to Channel 9 or to our registration site on the day of the event. Notes This event is brought to you by the Microsoft Developer Platform Evangelism group and is free of charge. Attendees are responsible for booking and paying for their own travel and accommodations. Questions Email your questions to windevcamps@microsoft.com

Technorati Tags: Windows 8,Unity,Windows store,Game,Game Development,Visual Studio

Windows Store App Development for iOS Developers

November 9, 2012, 3:44 am

≫ Next: Building Apps for Windows Phone 8 Jump Start

≪ Previous: Building Windows Store Games with Unity

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Event Date Thursday December 13, 2012 Friday December 14, 2011 Welcome Time: 8:30 AM Event Time: 9 AM – 4:30 PM Evening Social: Thursday December 13, 6 PM – 8 PM Event Location Microsoft Silicon Valley Campus Galileo Room SVC Conference Center 1065 La Avenida Mountain View, California 94043 United States Live Stream If you can’t attend in person, watch the live stream of the event at https://channel9.msdn.com You do not have to register for the live stream, just point your browser to Channel 9 or to our registration site on the day of the event.

Join the Big Nerd Ranch and Microsoft for this free, two-day training designed to jumpstart your Windows Store app development. You will learn the ins-and-outs of the Windows platform from iOS developers who are now building Windows apps. Sessions will follow a low-key, interactive format where iOS terms and concepts will be mapped to Windows alternates. You will also get hands-on time to apply what you’ve learned. What’s the agenda? Times need to be finalized, but we’ll cover the following topics in sessions that are 30 to 60 minutes long: Day 1 Introduction to the platform and the Windows Store Design differences between iOS and Windows 8 Tooling: Visual Studio and Blend C# for Objective-C developers Asynchronous programming Consuming web services Intro to building Windows Store apps with XAML (controls, layout and styling) Advanced UI development with XAML (data binding, templates, and collections) Contracts and extensions Ask the Experts panel InstallFest Day 2 Process Lifecycle Management and State Management Notifications and Live tiles Bing Maps, SkyDrive, and Microsoft Account integration C++ for Objective-C developers Reusing code with Windows Phone Hands-on-labs How do I register? To secure your seat in this event, please register at https://aka.ms/iostowindowscamp Live Stream If you can’t attend in person, watch the live stream of the event at https://channel9.msdn.com. You do not have to register for the live stream; just point your browser to Channel 9 or to our registration site on the day of the event. Notes Any iOS developer will benefit from this training, but we will focus more on those apps that are not games. For this event, there will be no deep game/graphics coverage (no OpenGL ES and no DirectX deep-dives). Questions Email your questions to windevcamps@microsoft.com

Technorati Tags: Windows 8,iOS,Apple,Microsoft,Visual Studio,Windows Store

Building Apps for Windows Phone 8 Jump Start

November 16, 2012, 2:04 am

≫ Next: Achieve 2013 – EduTech Family Summit, Boston January 26th

≪ Previous: Windows Store App Development for iOS Developers

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Building Apps for Windows Phone 8 Jump Start

This two-day online course is specially tailored for developers looking to leverage C#/XAML to build cool apps and games for Windows Phone 8. Clearly, this platform is another leap forward in Microsoft’s overall mobile strategy and the developer community has taken notice. Now is the time to embrace your opportunity and start building Windows Phone apps.

This fast-paced, demo-rich online course features Andy Wigley, one of the most sought-after mobile app developers on the planet. If you’re a developer or architect who needs to move beyond the hype and come face-to-face with what’s real, you will love this experience.

Details

Date/Time: November 28-29, 2012 (2 days)

• Day 1: 7:00am – 5:00pm PST
• Day 2: 7:00am – 5:00pm PST

 

Technorati Tags: Windows Phone 8,WP8,XAML,C#,Developer,Apps,Windows,Microsoft

Achieve 2013 – EduTech Family Summit, Boston January 26th

January 14, 2013, 11:46 pm

≫ Next: Building Windows Games with Unity

≪ Previous: Building Apps for Windows Phone 8 Jump Start

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I wanted to let you know about an upcoming event in Boston that colleagues, students, staff, and families are encouraged to attend. The EduTech Summit is a Microsoft YouthSpark program intended to provide information and access about tools and resources to help today’s youth and the adults who work with them to achieve success. The theme for the Summit is Achieve. The keynote speaker, Victor Ortiz – a protégée of Oscar de La Hoya and one of the brightest stars in boxing today – exemplifies what it means to Achieve. Overcoming a difficult childhood, Victor aims to inspire, mentor and support our youth to believe they can achieve great things.

TRACKS

EDUCATOR TRACK	In our tailored Educator Track, you will explore the newest tools, trends and technology strategies to inspire and engage students
PARENT & STUDENT TRACK	In our Parent & Student Track, get a sneak peak of college life while checking out the latest in technology and education programs that you can start using today to drive results in the classroom and at home!
LEADER TRACK	The Leader Track which will explore skills that will equip students to lead successful and fulfilling lives. With the Windows in the Classroom seminar, you’ll explore tools and technologies that energize and engage students.

 

LOGISTICS

DATE	SATURDAY, JANUARY 26th, 2013
7:30am – 8:00am	Registration
8:00am – 8:45am	Keynote & welcome
9:00am – 11:45am	Break-out sessions & EduTech Fair
12:00pm – 2:00pm	EduTech Fair
LOCATION	University of Massachusetts Boston Campus Center 100 William T Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, MA 02125          (617) 287-6000 ‎
GETTING THERE	PARKING Parking is available in the South Lot. BY BUS The campus is accessible by Route 8 and Route 16. SUBWAY Take the MBTA’s Red Line to the JFK/UMass subway station and then hop on one of the free shuttle buses. Buses run every 20 minutes and will drop you off right in front of the Campus Center.
Questions about this event?	Email us: EduTech2013@microsoft.com

We hope that you can join us for this exciting event. Don’t miss out!

 

Technorati Tags: education,leadership,microsoft,students,edutech,youthspark

Building Windows Games with Unity

March 10, 2013, 6:05 am

≫ Next: Windows 8 Game and App Mashup Series

≪ Previous: Achieve 2013 – EduTech Family Summit, Boston January 26th

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Event Dates Pre-Event: Monday, April 8 Main Event: Tuesday, April 9 Game Jam: Wed, April 10 Event Location Microsoft Silicon Valley Campus Galileo Room SVC Conference Center 1065 La Avenida Mountain View, California 94043 United States Live Stream If you can’t attend in person, watch the live stream at https://channel9.msdn.com

Windows offers the broadest platform reach for game developers. From PCs to laptops to tablets to phones, Windows is there. With the new Windows Store offering global distribution and the new Unity 4 support for Windows Store apps, it has never been easier for Unity developers to capitalize on this huge opportunity! Join Unity and Microsoft for this free, two-day training designed to help you port your Unity games to the Windows Store and the Windows Phone Store. Learn from experts in a low-key, interactive way and then get hands-on time to apply what you’ve learned. Pre-event Training Pre-event runs from 6:30 to 9:00 PM on Monday April 8th. For in-person attendees, we will have an introduction to Unity game development on the evening before the main event. If you’re an experienced Unity developer, feel free to skip this session. · Registration and pizza (6:30-7:00PM) · Introduction to game development with Unity (7:00 to 9:00 PM) Main Event Agenda Event runs from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM Evening Social from 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM · Introduction to the Windows 8 platform and the Windows Store. · End-to-End: Develop, debug and deploy a Unity game for the Windows Store. · Deep dive: Tips & tricks for porting games from other platforms to Windows 8. · Differentiate: Integrate your game with Windows 8 platform features (such as contracts, notifications, and live tiles). · Sharing code: Learn how to reuse all this new knowledge on the Windows Phone platform. · Partner sessions: Hear the lessons learned from those that have already done it. · Discussions and Q&A with Microsoft and Unity engineering and product specialists · Evening social: Appetizers, beer, wine and gaming. Post Event, Game Jam Event runs from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM · Bring your laptop and software and immerse yourself in a full day of Windows game development using the Unity platform in a casual environment. · Meet other Unity Windows 8 developers, share experiences. · Meet members of the Unity and Windows evangelism team and get expert advice. · Play with Windows phones and tablets and see how your games work on production hardware. Registration To secure your seat in this event, please register at http://unitywindowsgames.eventbrite.com Live Stream If you can’t attend in person, watch the live stream of the event at https://channel9.msdn.com. You do not have to register for the live stream - simply point your browser to Channel 9 on the day of the event. Only the main event (April 9th) will be streamed live. Notes This event is brought to you by the Microsoft and Unity and is free of charge. Attendees are responsible for booking and paying for their own travel and accommodations. Questions Email your questions to windevcamps@microsoft.com

Technorati Tags: Windows 8,Unity3D,Game Development,Gamedev,Visual Studio,C#,Mono,Win8

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Windows 8 Game and App Mashup Series

April 25, 2013, 4:28 am

≫ Next: Bob’s Blog Has Moved

≪ Previous: Building Windows Games with Unity

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Please join us at a FREE Windows 8 Developer Workshop near you!

Check out the sessions below and select the workshop that best fits your needs — or join us for both events. The choice is yours. Keep in mind, separate registration is required.

Game Development for Beginners

In this beginner level workshop we will cover the basics of game design, programming and publication. We will build a casual game and publish it to the Windows Store. This workshop is great for students, hobbyists and professional developers who want to learn the basics of game development and publish their first app to the store as no programming skills are required!

Windows 8 App Mashup Series

In this workshop you will learn how to develop Windows 8 apps based on well-known web service API's such as Twitter, Bing Maps, Meetup, Singly and APIs from Mashery such as ESPN, Rotten Tomatoes and Active.com. Your app could entertain or even change the world. This workshop is great for students, hobbyists and professional developers who want to learn the basics of app development and publish their first app to the store.

For more information or to register, visit > www.msdnevents.com OR CALL 1-877-MSEVENT

 

Topic	Location	Date	Time	Driving Directions	Registration
Game Development for Beginners
	Farmington, CT	Saturday, May 4th	10am – 2pm	Get driving directions	Register
	Farmington, CT	Saturday, June 1st	10am – 2pm	Get driving directions	Register
	Farmington, CT	Saturday, June 15th	10am – 2pm	Get driving directions	Register
	Farmington, CT	Saturday, June 29th	10am – 2pm	Get driving directions	Register
	Cambridge, MA	Saturday, May 18th	10am – 2pm	Get driving directions	Register
	Cambridge, MA	Saturday, June 8th	10am – 2pm	Get driving directions	Register
	Cambridge, MA	Saturday, June 22nd	10am – 2pm	Get driving directions	Register
Windows 8 App Mashup Series
API: Stackoverflow	Farmington, CT	Saturday, May 11th	10am – 2pm	Get driving directions	Register
API: Rotten Tomatoes	Farmington, CT	Saturday, June 8th	10am – 2pm	Get driving directions	Register
API: Yelp	Farmington, CT	Saturday, June 22nd	10am – 2pm	Get driving directions	Register
API: Untapped	Cambridge, MA	Saturday, May 11th	10am – 2pm	Get driving directions	Register
API: Stackoverflow	Cambridge, MA	Saturday, June 1st	10am – 2pm	Get driving directions	Register
API: Tom-Tom	Cambridge, MA	Saturday, June 15th	10am – 2pm	Get driving directions	Register
API: Active	New York City, NY	Saturday, May 11th	10am – 2pm	Get driving directions	Register
API: Stackoverflow	New York City, NY	Saturday, May 18th	10am – 2pm	Get driving directions	Register
API: Edmunds	New York City, NY	Saturday, June 1st	10am – 2pm	Get driving directions	Register
API: Tumblr	New York City, NY	Saturday, June 8th	10am – 2pm	Get driving directions	Register
API: Twitter and Meetup	New York City, NY	Saturday, June 15th	10am – 2pm	Get driving directions	Register
API: Tom-Tom	New York City, NY	Saturday, June 22nd	10am – 2pm	Get driving directions	Register
API: Tumblr	New York City, NY	Saturday, June 29th	10am – 2pm	Get driving directions	Register

In addition to the API’s listed we will be providing an complete portfolio of starter kits covering these API’s:

• Univision
• GeoNames + Wikipedia
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Meetup
• Worldwide Telescope
• Earthquakes and Bing Maps
• World of Warcraft
• Active.
• Scoreroid
• Untapped
• Yelp
• Tom-Tom
• Stackoverflow
• Edmunds
• Rotten Tomatoes
• Tumblr
• Chuck Norris

Getting Ready for the Game Workshops

This workshop is hands-on, so to get the most out of the event we strongly encourage you to bring your laptop configured with the following:

1. Mac users only: Boot Camp, Parallels Desktop, VirtualBox or VMWare Fusion

2. Windows 8 (a 90-day evaluation version available here)

3. Visual Studio 2012 Express for Windows 8 (free)

4. Scirra Construct 2 (free version)

To publish to the Windows Store you will also need a Windows Store developer account:

1. If you are a student, use the DreamSpark benefits for a free account

2. If you are an MSDN Subscriber, use the one-time free account benefit associated with MSDN

3. Otherwise, the account is $49 per annum, but with your first published app, your cost is covered via the Keep The Cash promotion (subject to Terms and Conditions)!

Lastly, for continued learning and access to other programs focused on Windows 8 and Windows Phone development, we highly recommend signing up for the free App Builder program.

 

Getting Ready for the API Mash Workshops

This workshop is hands-on, so to get the most out of the event we strongly encourage you to bring your laptop configured with the following:

1. Mac users only: Boot Camp, Parallels Desktop, VirtualBox or VMWare Fusion

2. Windows 8 (a 90-day evaluation version available here)

3. Visual Studio 2012 Express for Windows 8 (free)

To publish to the Windows Store you will also need a Windows Store developer account:

1. If you are a student, use the DreamSpark benefits for a free account

2. If you are an MSDN Subscriber, use the one-time free account benefit associated with MSDN

3. Otherwise, the account is $49 per annum, but with your first published app, your cost is covered via the Keep The Cash promotion (subject to Terms and Conditions)!

Lastly, for continued learning and access to other programs focused on Windows 8 and Windows Phone development, we highly recommend signing up for the free App Builder program.

Don't forget to check out the "Keep the Cash Rewards" offer to see how you can get $100 for publishing your app(s) in the Windows Store and/or Windows Phone Store. Publish your app before June 30, 2013 and you can get a $100 virtual Visa card for every qualified app you enter (up to $2000*). Learn more.

Technorati Tags: Windows 8,Game Development,Construct 2,Visual Studio,Apps,Games,Mashup,API,Mashery,Singly

Bob’s Blog Has Moved

May 25, 2013, 6:47 am

≪ Previous: Windows 8 Game and App Mashup Series

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Bob’s blog has moved to this site: http://theundocumentedapi.com

Please update your bookmarks. Thanks! –bob