Web Matrix By MicroSoft.........

Hi,
Today I have gone through a new technology which is implementation by MS, it helps in developing web apps with open source technologies. The following walks you through WebMatrix...

What Is It?
WebMatrix is everything you need to build Web sites using Windows. It includes IIS Developer Express (a development Web server), ASP.NET (a Web framework), and SQL Server Compact (an embedded database). It streamlines Web site development and makes it easy to start Web sites from popular open-source apps. The skills and code you develop with WebMatrix transition seamlessly to Visual Studio and SQL Server.

Why Use It?
You will use the same powerful Web server, database engine and web framework that will run your Web site on the Internet, which makes the transition from development to product seamless. Beyond ensuring everything just works, WebMatrix includes new features that make Web development easier.

Who's it for?
WebMatrix is for developers, students, or just about anyone who just wants a small and simple way to build Web sites. Start coding, testing, and deploying your own Web sites without having to worry about configuring your own Web server, managing databases, or learning a lot of concepts. WebMatrix makes Web site development easy.

You can download it here

I will be back with more of developing environment soon...
thank you all.....

MSP selection process for this academic year(2010-2011) has been launched

The new selection process for this academic year(2010-2011) has been launched. Students are encouraged to register here. Next steps will be published on this website after July 12th,2010.

Please download this file that has some frequently asked questions. This will help in your understanding and help answer a few questions you might have.


Eligibility
To consider applying for the MSP Program, you must be:

•Over 17 years of age.
•Studying a full-time course at an officially recognized University/College in India.
•Bachelor's/Master's Degree student who will complete the course during or after May 2011.

Competencies
A good MSP is one who has the following basic qualities:

· Technical competencies
o Passionate about software
o Quick learner
o Respected by peers

· Community-building competencies
o Enthusiastic about technology
o High level of social activity, both online & offline
o Can organize college and city-level events

· Fundamental competencies
o Passionate about Microsoft
o Confident & outgoing
o Good rapport with faculty
o Willing to share knowledge & eager to uplift self and peers

Responsibilities
Your short term goals will include:
· Conduct at least 1 technical session per month in a Student Tech Club.
· Participate and drive entries for Imagine Cup
· Maintain a technology-related blog

Your long term goals will include:
· Promote and build your city-level Microsoft Student User Group
· Organize city-level events like Academic Developers’ Conference (DevCon)
· Deploy &/or maintain Live@Edu for your college
· Encourage students to leverage ELMS downloads if your college subscribes to MSDN AA
· Mentor other MSPs

Benefits
As an MSP, a host of benefits are available:
• Welcome letter
• Exclusive MSP Boot-camps conducted by Microsoft
• MSDN subscription
• Rewards & Recognition for top performers
• Networking opportunities
• Technical training & resources
• Microsoft events
• Interactions with MVPs & Microsoft Employees
• Internship & Recruitment announcements for top-performers

Five free Windows utilities you should download

Today I've got five of them for you, all Windows utilities that solve specific problems and/or make life a little easier. Best of all, not one of them will sell out.

IObit's compact, portable Advanced Uninstaller makes easy work of removing unwanted programs. And it's free!

(Credit: IObit)

1. Advanced Uninstaller A perfect addition to any flash drive, this no-installation-required uninstaller does a fine job removing all traces of unwanted software. My favorite feature? Batch uninstall. Just tick the apps you want to ditch, and AU does the rest.

2. Dual Display Mouse Manager Last year I finally pulled the trigger on a second monitor. Best. Purchase. Ever. My only complaint is that I frequently overshoot the "border" between monitors when I mouse to the edge of either one. Dual Display Mouse Manager senses my cursor's proximity to that transition point and automatically slows it down. It's a small convenience, but an essential one for anyone rocking two (or more) monitors.

3. Dexpot No room in the budget for a second monitor? No problem: Dexpot endows your single screen with two or more virtual desktops. This popular freebie's been around for a while, but the latest version adds a killer plug-in for Windows 7 users: SevenDex, which pops up thumbnail views of your desktops when you mouse over the Dexpot taskbar icon. Sounds like a minor amenity, but trust me: it's a huge perk.

4. Universal Viewer One of those utilities that really should be built into Windows, Universal Viewer lets you view the contents of just about any file. That's great for those times when someone sends you a weirdo file attachment and you don't have the program needed to read it. And like the aforementioned Advanced Uninstaller, UV is portable (no installation required), so it runs nicely from a flash drive.

5. Wizmouse Oh, Microsoft. After all these years, Windows still isn't smart enough to detect where my cursor is pointed and make the mouse wheel work there. Instead, it works only in the window that has "focus," meaning the currently selected window. That's ludicrous! Fortunately, there's WizMouse, which activates the scroll wheel in whatever window is under your cursor, plain and simple. I started using this about a year ago; I can no longer compute without it.

OK, that's my list. Any freebie utilities you'd care to recommend? Hit the comments and list your faves.