Hi all,

I re-wired my blog to another set of social communities and added some pretty cool features like firefly ! Try using firefly by clicking on the flash app in the top right corner. I’ve upgraded my wordpress to the latest version.

Thanks for your pattience and more upgrade will come!

Hi all,

Few days ago I had to speak with someone who knows a lot of architecture and services orientation (an architect… yes I was brave but it doesn’t matter the bravery only if you won in the end) about Software plus Services and my talk wasn’t as good as I liked it to be. Because I don’t lose a “battle” two times in a row I started to make a deeper study about Software plus Services. In this matter, by the way, I don’t have the knowledge needed… YET!!! Hope someday I’ll have it… I’ll work for it, that’s for sure…

Anyway, in this quest (if you have good information, please, send it for me…) I’ve stumbled across a challenge made by Gianpaolo Carraro (Director, Architecture Strategy at Microsoft): “Help us spread the word about Software-plus-Services. All you need is a video camera, this script, and lots of creativity!”

You need to read the story that Gianpaolo made to make clear what S+S is all about and make a movie of it. The win prizes are: S+S t-shirt, Microsoft LifeCam, the top 10 viewed videos will be shown at Tech-Ed SEA and the winner a weekend in Macau!!! Death line 31 of July.

I’m not very good as a “movie maker” L If you need any help you be my guest and mailme!!!

The link is here: http://www.bringitalltogether.asia/

Hi all,

Today Microsoft announced that will buy Mobicomp a Portuguese company created in 2000 in Braga that develops software for mobile devices.

Mobicomp portfolio of products is:

Protect it:

MobileKeeper™ Backup & Restore is the most comprehensive ‘over the air’ mobile backup and restore solution in the marketplace. It can protect any kind of content held on a mobile device from contacts, calendars, text messages, photos, videos, music, bookmarks,
ring tones and applications to business files like Microsoft Word and Excel. The backup takes place automatically, direct to a secure web site, so that data can be easily recovered - and managed - via a simple, secure web interface.

Share it:
MobileKeeper™ Sharing & Communities is the perfect tool for the burgeoning trend of mobile social networking. Users can create, share and download content, while building their personal communities and networks or publish content direct to blogs and social networking sites such as Flickr and Hi5 on the move, with ease.

Discover it:
Mobilekeeper™ Service Discovery includes the latest product in the suite, the Active mTicker™ - a zero-click application that pushes aggregated, personalised information at subscribers via an always-on, scrolling ‘ticker’ that runs along the bottom of the screen when the device is in idle mode. It’s a win-win that provides a direct and powerful channel for:

• Operators to push personalised, high-value content and services (as well as advertising) direct to customers;
• Customers to discover and subscribe to new services and products - from RSS feeds to blogs.

In addition, MobiComp offers Active mTicker, “a mobile, “zero-click” application that pushes personalised information at subscribers via an always-on, scrolling ticker that runs along the bottom of the screen when the device is in idle mode”.

Source: http://www.liveside.net/blogs/main/archive/2008/06/26/microsoft-plans-acquisition-of-mobicomp-portugese-mobile-services-company.aspx

My opinion!!!

I’ve posted last 24 of June that “Microsoft announce the biggest direct foreign investment in Portugal” and this is the outcome.

I don’t have any kind of inside information whatsoever but I bet that it has relationship with Internet or Yahoo nom acquisition. It was awesome if Microsoft builds a datacenter in Portugal or maybe a webteam for livemesh/live. And if it both…

I was clearly wrong. My wishes for an enormous infrastructure and staff for Portugal fogged up my pragmatic vision.

Microsoft tend centralize all the development and big decisions on the Corp and the subsidiaries just have to deliver and implement. Microsoft Portugal is a great example how to be a big subsidiary with a small market. They are implementing the “Blue Ocean Strategy”. From a “red ocean” they created their “blue ocean” with high level of results. This “blue ocean” has the operational results, MLDC (Microsoft Language Development Center) the only outside the Corp and now a Mobicomp with mobile solution.

Mobicomp with all directs and indirects outcomes will be a cheap and profitable business because Microsoft will integrate a good portfolio of products and costumers will be largely appreciated by Portuguese government and great branding in Portugal and in the world.

Great job!

The official link is

http://www.microsoft.com/portugal/presspass/imprensavirtual/investimento.mspx

Other links:

http://www.webware.com/8301-1_109-9978036-2.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=Webware

http://mashable.com/2008/06/26/microsoft-mobicomp/

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/microsoft_to_acquire_mobicomp.php

Dear all,

I very glad to announce, for all that didn’t know of course, that I’m getting happier everyday with Microsoft, because they are getting lighter and understanding what will be the future. It was and it will be a difficult path for them to cross but I think that it will worth it.

Another step was made by starting to not ignore enterprise 2.0 (and maybe other buzz 2.0). They first started to put SharePoint, SQL Server and BizTalk on the “Cloud”. Now, with Microsoft Office Labs they are building (testing the prototype) an internal Facebook-like social network that will be deployed with SharePoint plus office. SharePoint already have wikis and other social apps but it was not a true social Intranet and it wasn’t very used – at least in Portugal.

I know some cases that the organizations stopped buying Intranets and started to use “Facebooks” (a business model Platform as a Service) because more than 80% of their employees were using FaceBook. But the “Cloud” services have some handicaps and one of the biggest is security (can I trust on the Cloud?!?). Organizations are using FaceBook as an Intranet but the files are still staying on the shell (not in the Cloud). I think that is for now and Microsoft too! For the time being Microsoft will upgrade all (all that are possible) their products toward Software plus Services business model.

For internal marketing this “tool” will be great, because big organizations already understood that knowing their employees brings fantastic inputs to the chain of value and ultimately to the leadership and motivation field.

I promise to approach Software plus Services, Marketing 2.0, Enterprise 2.0, etc 2.0 more deeply soon!!!

Viva a todos,

Dia 24 de Junho estará aí o XNA Pizza Night! Já desenvolveste o teu jogo/demo?

Se eventualmente estás com dificuldades não hesistes em contactar-me para o e-mail (caso o tenhas) ou comentando este post (não publicarei os comentários).

Então aparece no XNA Pizza Night, no dia 24 de Junho pelas 18h e deixa os outros testarem o teu jogo,  jogando-o!

As pizzas e as bebidas serão oferecidas pela Microsoft, o divertimento fica por tua conta!!

Regista-te já e participa… no final daremos prémios XBOX aos jogos mais votados!!

Mais que nos prémios, estamos a falar em apresentar um jogo feito por vocês na sede da Microsoft Portugal, não é todos os dias que se tem uma oportunidade destas.

Para quem gosta de fazer jogos é uma oportunidade a não perder!

Atenção: Não esquecer de seguir os passos no mail de confirmação para enviar o projecto do jogo, é obrigatório para conseguir lugar para participar.

Fica o post inicial: XNA Pizza Night - 24 Junho 2008

Viva a todos,

Mais uma boa oportunidade de brilhares e ganhares uns trocos extra fazendo algo divertido como produzir um jogo com XNA!

In Dream-Build-Play 2008 you can build your dream game to compete with other game developers around the world.  This year’s contest will feature Xbox360 development only and to ensure that everyone has access we will be giving away one free 12-Month XNA Creators Club Trial membership to everyone that registers.  Contestants will compete for $75,000 in prizes and the bragging rights to say their game was the best.  Additionally, one of the top ten finalists will win an opportunity for an Xbox LIVE publishing contract.  For more information log on to www.dreambuildplay.com

Se estiveres com dúvidas ou problemas com o desenvolvimento do teu jogo usa os comentários deste post para comunicares comigo.

Participa!!!!

Viva a todos,

No dia 20 de Maio, no Dia da Inovação na CulturGest a Microsoft Portugal lançou um novo programa de incentivo à inovação e ao empreendedorismo: Boost - Acelerador de Inovação.

O programa está bem desenhado e agrega alguns dos programas já existentes da Microsoft Portugal dando-lhe um ainda maior significado.

Programa Boost: Innovation Accelerator
Boost - Innovation Accelerator é um programa da Microsoft que visa tornar mais rápido o processo de criação de empresas de tecnologia inovadoras em Portugal. O Acelerador é constituído por quatro fases nas quais a Microsoft e os seus parceiros intervêm como promotores e catalizadores : Estímulo – Formação – Suporte - Promoção.
O Programa Boost abrange as iniciativas da Microsoft que potenciam a Economia de Software Nacional, tornando-a mais competitiva e com um maior potencial de exportação. Este posicionamento é decorrente do facto do programa ter como intenção a melhoria das condições para a criação de empresas no mercado nacional.

São 4 os macro objectivos da Microsoft para o primeiro ano de operação do Programa Boost:

• Recolher cerca de 100 projectos/ideias inovadoras com potencial empresarial, no domínio da tecnologia;
• Completar o ciclo de formação em gestão e empreendedorismo para cerca de 150 jovens de elevado potencial;
• Inclubar 20 produtos inovadores nos MIC – Microsoft Innovation Centers e estimular os seus criadores a formarem as suas próprias empresas;
• Criar pelo menos 10 novas empresas portuguesas na área de tecnologia.

Fica link para informações mais precisas:

http://www.microsoft.com/portugal/boost/default.mspx

Eu já faço parte do Boost sendo um Microsoft Student Partner. E tu… queres aproveitar o Boost???

Viva a todos

O Curso de Tecnologias da Computação Gráfica, da Escola Superior de Tecnologia e Gestão do IPVC, promoveu no dia 4 de Junho o “3Eixos - I Seminário da Produção Audiovisual, Multimédia e Interactividade”.

Este evento, tem como principal objectivo apresentar o projecto anual dos alunos finalistas do curso de TCGM que contempla trabalhos a nível interno à Escola e trabalhos a nível externo com empresas ou instituições nacionais.

Neste âmbito foi convidado a apresentar o XNA sobre a óptica da interactividade e como tal desenvolvi um demo on-fly que demonstrou o potencial do XNA no que toca ao domínio quer estrutural quer comportamental da interactividade.

Foi um enorme prazer estar na ESTG a apresentação correu muito bem. O feedback foi também ele muito bom.

Deixei ainda um CALL FOR ACTION para o XNA Pizza Night. Espero que apareçam para demonstrarem o vosso trabalho!

PS: uma palavra de apreço pela organização e uma especial palavra ao Leonel Serra que foi a pessoa com quem mais comuniquei.

Viva,

Eu, Bruno Silva, Marco Silva  e o Vitor Santos (Microsoft) a convite da Universidade Lusófona demos dia 30 de Maio  um workshop sobre Microsoft XNA - “Hands-on - Microsoft XNA Game Development” - afecto ao evento “X Semana Audiovisual e Multimédia“.

Estiveram presentes no workshop mais de 40 participantes e confesso que no inicio assustou um pouco porque todos estavam entusiasmados com o XNA! Mas o workshop lá arrancou e tudo correu muito bem e conseguimos em 1.30m iniciar 2D e 3D!

Passamos uma tarde fantástica com todos O feedback no final foi muito bom e estaremos sempre disponíveis para ir à U. Lusófona!

Espero ver várias participante no XNA Pizza Night

HI all,

The final of ImagineCup 2008 was 20 of May in CulturGest. It were presented 7 teams with lots of imagination and good projects. The team that I supported was the fantastic team of ISEP the r-Ecycled (http://www.r-ecycled.com). However, my team didn’t win the final, instead, they stayed on second place and win the sapo award. It was very good for us and for next year I’m hoping that more teams of ISEP will be at the final and who knows: WIN it!!!

The r-Ecycled project was a social network that interacts with the citizens and the authorities in order to announce when something bad to the environment was happening. They build a mobile solution to make it easy to take a picture and write a post about the founded issue.

The project that won the final was Smart Containers (http://smartcontainers.utad.pt/ ) from UTAD and it was an awesome project. I know one of the members of the team, André Sousa (AKA Xipopo) a very good friend that deserved the full success. They will represent Portugal at the ImagineCup 2008 final at France. Maybe they win the final… It will be great for Portugal.

List of the projects and the ranking: Click here!!!

Interview of all teams: Click Here!!!

All the press stuff of ImagineCup Portugal: Click here!!!