I don't usually make it a habit of brand-nosing in my blog entries, but this stuff's just too good not to stand up on the mountains of the blogosphere and scream at the top of my lungs about:
- In case you're not yet aware, Microsoft has given the name Silverlight to the project formerly named WPF/E. I believe this technology is going to mean the beginning of the end of Adobe Flash technology. Why? It's simple -- really -- most software developers don't really like ActionScript.
- This week Microsoft unveiled Surface (codename "Milan"), a surface computing project 5 years in the making. Basically, it's a computer in a table, which can recognize hand gestures, wi-fi enabled objects placed on the table, and more. I'd love to see this technology combined with speech recognition. We should expect to see this technology piloted at select hotels, restaurants and commercial locations later this year, after which the technology should become available to consumers. So far, pricing is said to be in the $5,000-$10,000 range, putting this concept out of reach for the bulk of us (for now).
- Last, but certainly not least, was the announcement and alpha release of Microsoft PopFly. PopFly allows software developers to create and share Web 2.0 MashUps using Visual Studio 2005. From the website:
Popfly represents a great opportunity for individuals, community sites, gadget galleries, online tools, social networks, blog engines, data providers and more to connect with millions of creators using a simple tool that practically anyone can use. The result is a richer experience for your customers, higher Web site traffic, or increased adoption of your platform services.
So, there you have it, 3 new Microsoft technologies that you're probably going to love. What I haven't figured out is what their Java counterparts will look like?