Visual Studio 2010 - Fresh Look

A fresh and new VS2010 UIs were revealed on the web which were built on WPF in .NET 4.0.

Courtesy: VS2010

Microsoft Recite

Microsoft Recite
Just record and you can search your voice texts, an easy way to remember and to retrieve notes and reminders... Just two buttons make you to remember and search what you have remembered.

A really good initiative for Windows Mobile phones to use this Recite technology.
Download this cool app @ Microsoft Recite

Microsoft's My Phone

My Phone
Microsoft has started a beta initiative to sync your phone contacts to Web.
More details @ MyPhone

Microsoft Semblio

Microsoft Semblio

Explaining something with images is a bit easy instead of explaining complete context. But explaining with a presentation, makes one to understand easily and very quickly. Microsoft came up with a new tool which leverages the beauty & wonderful features of WPF to create this Semblio. Semblio can be used to create rich, nice interactive multimedia learning material that teachers can customize, and promote collaboration.

Semblio takes a platform approach to content creation, leveraging the flexibility of Microsoft .NET Framework to work across software, services and learning management systems. It allows you to meet the demand for more cusotmized solutions, providing you with control over how your material is adapted.

For More Info and to download SDK: Microsoft Semblio

Microsoft Solver Foundation

Microsoft is very proud to announce the first 360 degree platform and framework for adaptive business insight and planning, providing a set tools, services, and engines to aid companies. Solver foundation helps business to make optimal and strategic decisions.





Solver Foundation is a pure, managed code runtime for Mathematical Programming, modelling and optimization. Designed to run on NETfx 3.5+ and is completely implemented in C#, by supporting modern MS operating systems and work especially well on 64 bit editions of Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.






Solver Foundation is a declarative model embedded in familiar NETfx design patterns and development environments like VS 2008.

For more Info, http://www.solverfoundation.com/

Download Windows 7 Beta

Hi friends,
Below is the URL for downloading Windows 7 Beta.

Register/Login with your MSN Passport and get the Evaluation Key.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/beta-download.aspx

Njoy Windows 7

CES 2009 - First keynote of Steve Ballmer

Yes. For the first time Steve Ballmer honoured his first key note in CES 2009. BillGates has honoured 15 Years back for the first CES conference...

Here is the full keynote...

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/silverlightApps/videoplayer2/standalone.aspx?contentId=fullKeynote&src=/presspass/events/ces/channel.xml&WT.cg_n=CES&WT.z_convert=embed

My first hands on Windows7

Hi friends...!
A quick update...!
Microsoft’s Ballmer Announces Availability of Windows 7 Beta and Windows Live
http://www.microsoft.com/windows7.
http://www.windowslive.com/explore,

The beta version of Windows 7, Microsoft’s next-generation PC operating system, can be downloaded today by MSDN, TechBeta and TechNet customers. Consumers who want to test-drive the beta will be able to download it beginning Jan. 9

Very happy to share with you my first hands on Windows 7 Beta 7.0000 build. Below are the complete screenshots from installation screen to shutdown screen...
To be frank, this build is really well improved one with all excellent graphics and networking issues. It has just taken 40 minutes for installing on my Dell XPS M1530 with 2.2GHz Core 2 duo processor, Virtual PC 2004 with 20GB memory space and 800MB RAM capacity.

Thank you friends...! See you in another blog...! Take care..

Next wave in .NET Platform: Dublin

Dublin. The next wave to build and manage composite applications...

Microsoft .NET 4.0 added new significant functionality to the next version of WCF and WWF. A new set of enhanced Windows Server application server capablities code named, Dublin, to offer greater scalability and easier manageability which extends IIS to provide a standard host for applications that use workflow or communications.

Dublin will initially be made available for download and use by Windows server customers. Dublin will first become available after the release of the .NET FW 4.0 and VS 2010.

Dublin will continue to provide backward compatibility for existing WWF and WCF applications. Customers can confidently start building applications on top Windows server 2008 and .NET 3.5., with assurances that those application will enjoy the benefits of Dublin when it becomes available.

Dublin will be the first Microsoft Server product to support for Oslo Modelling platform. It doesn't require Oslo to operate and provide benefits of hosting .NET applications, however, admins will be able to deploy the applications from Oslo repository directly to Dublin application server.

Dublin provides model-drivern Oslo applications with powerful runtime environment out of the box.

The integration server and application server workloads are distinct and complementary. Customer that need to connect heterogenous systems across an enterprise, like with BizTalk, but don't need to develop and run custom application logic, will deploy BizTalk Server. When customers need both capabilities, BizTalk server and Dublin will work together.

Dublin has prebuilt developer services and greater scalability and easier manageability.

Common Web Application Vulnerabilities...

Common Web Application Vulnerabilities:
By examining common vulnerabilities that have appeared in other applications, we can learn from previous mistakes. OWASP The Open Web Application Security Project(OWASP) is an open community dedicated to enabling organizations to develop, purchase, and maintian applications that can be trusted. OWASP has tools, documents, forums, and local chapters all dedicated to the advancement of web application security. All the resources are free and open to anyone interested in improving application security.

OWASP Top 10:
1. Unvalidated input: Information from web requests is not validated before being used by a web application. Attackers can use these flaws to attach backend components through a web application.
2. Broken access control: Restrictions on what authenticated users are allowed to do are not properly enforced. Attackers can exploit these flaws to access others users' accounts, view sensitive files, or use unauthorized functions.
3. Broken authentication and session management: Account credentials and session tokens are not properly protected. Attackers that can compromise passwords, keys, session cookies, or other tokens can defeat authentication restrictions and assume other user's identities.
4. Cross-Site scripting: The web application can be used as a mechanism to transport an attach to an end user's browser. A successful attack can disclose the end user's session token, attach the local machine, or spoof content to fool the user.
5. Buffer overflow: Web application components in some languages that do not properly vlaidate input can be crashed and, in some cases, used to take control of process. These components can include CGI, libraries, drivers and web application server components.
6. Injection Flaws: Web applications pass parameters when they access external systems or the local operating system. If an attacker can embed malicious commands in these parameters, the external system may execute those commands on behalf of the web application.
7. Improper error handling: Error conditions that occur during normal operation are not handled properly. If an attacker can cause errors to occur that web application does not handle, he can gain detailed system information, deny service, cause secuirty mechanisms to fail, or crash the server.
8. Insecure Storage: Web applications frequently use cryptographic functions to protect information and credentials. These functions and the code to integrate them have proven difficult to code properly, frequently resulting in weak protection.
9. Application denial of Service: Attackers can consule web application resources to a point where other legitimate users can no longer access or use the application. Attackers can also lock users out of their accounts or evven cause the entire application to fail.
10. Insecure configuration management: Having a strong server configuration standard is critical to secure web application. These servers have many configuration options that affect security and are not secure out of the box.