Today, during the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2009 an important announcement was made about the Microsoft Windows Azure Platform.   

The article on the Windows Azure blog provides details of the commercial pricing model and availability of the Windows Azure platform.    The Microsoft Press Pass article describes the future opportunities for Microsoft partners.  

Listen to Doug Hauger, General Manager for Windows Azure at Microsoft Corp., share details of the business and channel model and pricing for Windows Azure, SQL Azure, and .NET Services at WPC09.

Visit the Microsoft Windows Azure Website for general information, if you are a developer visit the Azure Services Platform Developer Center (on MSDN), or visit the Windows Azure Team Blogs for detailed insight.

The following list summarises the recent articles since the beginning of the year on this important development from Microsoft:

Software and Web Development Cloud Computing  

Azure Cloud Computing Tools  Website | RSS Feed
Windows Azure FastCGI Project Template  - 12-Jul-2009
Now Available: May 2009 CTP of the Windows Azure Tools and SDK  - 28-May-2009
Adding an https endpoint to a Windows Azure Web Role  - 12-May-2009
Using the Web Platform Installer to install Pre-reqs for the Windows Azure Tools/SDK  - 21-Apr-2009
Windows Azure Service Packages Revealed  - 16-Apr-2009
Azure Mix '09 Videos  - 22-Mar-2009
Just released - Windows Azure Tools and SDK March 2009 CTP  - 18-Mar-2009
Hotfix for VS Crash with ASP.Net MVC in a Windows Azure Cloud Service Project  - 28-Feb-2009
Upcoming Azure Services Platform Webcasts  - 24-Feb-2009
Deploy a Service Package from the Cloud  - 13-Feb-2009
Windows Azure "How Do I" Videos  - 12-Feb-2009
Using an existing Web App as a Windows Azure Web Role  - 06-Feb-2009
Packaging up files for the cloud  - 28-Jan-2009
Silverlight Debugging in a Windows Azure Web Role  - 17-Jan-2009
January 2009 CTP of the Windows Azure Tools and SDK Released  - 15-Jan-2009

Azure dotNET Services  Website | RSS Feed
Microsoft .NET Services July 2009 CTP Release  - 07-Jul-2009
.NET Services July 2009 CTP Breaking Changes Announcement and Scheduled Maintenance  - 30-Jun-2009
.NET Services June 18th 2009 QFE Pre-Announcement and Scheduled Maintenance  - 12-Jun-2009
Upcoming Important Changes to Microsoft .NET Workflow Service  - 12-Jun-2009
.Net Services: Microsoft’s Key to Cloud Security and Java Interoperability  - 30-Apr-2009
.NET Services March 2009 CTP Is Released  - 01-Apr-2009

Azure SQL Data Services  Website | RSS Feed
Start with SQL Express?  - 13-Jul-2009
SQL Azure - Same great platform, just a better aligned name  - 10-Jul-2009
TSQL Support in SQL Data Services  - 07-Jul-2009
Exchange Hosted Archive - A True Testament of Scalability  - 08-Jun-2009
One more TechEd Video - The New Face of Microsoft SQL Data Services  - 08-Jun-2009
Scaling Out with SQL Data Services  - 27-May-2009
The Role of a DBA with SQL Data Services  - 23-May-2009
Provisioning an SDS Database  - 21-May-2009
Accessing SDS from C# and Java  - 30-Mar-2009
Accessing SDS From PHP  - 27-Mar-2009
Mix ’09 Update #2  - 20-Mar-2009
Accessing the New Relational SDS with REST  - 20-Mar-2009
Update from MIX ‘09  - 19-Mar-2009
First round of Questions and Answers  - 12-Mar-2009
SDS @ Mix09  - 11-Mar-2009
The no spin details on the new SDS features  - 10-Mar-2009
Interview posted of Nigel Ellis and Niraj Nagrani from PDC 08  - 25-Feb-2009
SQL Data Services – What’s with the silence?  - 24-Feb-2009

Live Framework  Website | RSS Feed
Notifications and Subscriptions  - 16-Apr-2009
New Live Framework Samples  - 20-Mar-2009
Live Framework Updated!  - 11-Mar-2009
Start Programming with the Live Framework in 5 Minutes  - 02-Mar-2009
Live Framework Tools January CTP  - 02-Feb-2009
Delegated Authentication, Part II: Managing Tokens  - 12-Jan-2009

Live Services Developer News  Website | RSS Feed
Photobucket builds a rich and social visual search with Windows Live Messenger  - 23-Jun-2009
Windows Live Messenger Hackathon in San Francisco: May 27th!  - 19-May-2009
The Social Web and Windows Live  - 21-Apr-2009
Windows Live Users Can Now Easily Sign Up for Sites Using RPX  - 03-Apr-2009
MIX 09 Roundup: 8 Sessions on Live Services Available Now  - 23-Mar-2009
Reach your people everywhere, in real time!  - 18-Mar-2009
Live Framework Update Released  - 12-Mar-2009
Two Web Controls Being Retired, New Stuff on the Way  - 16-Feb-2009
Making the Internet a Safer Place  - 11-Feb-2009
Live Framework Tools January CTP Released  - 02-Feb-2009
Windows Live Messenger IM Control Module for Drupal CMS  - 27-Jan-2009
Live Mesh Awarded Best Technology Innovation Crunchie   - 10-Jan-2009

Windows Azure  Website | RSS Feed
Changes to Alerts, Analytics, and Windows Live ID Integration  - 29-May-2009
New Windows Azure Storage Features – May 2009  - 28-May-2009
May CTP of Windows Azure SDK Released, Including Visual Studio 2010 Support  - 28-May-2009
CTP of the PHP SDK for Windows Azure Released  - 16-May-2009
Windows Azure Geo-location Live  - 30-Apr-2009
New Azure Training Kit Available  - 10-Apr-2009
Application Accessibility Restored  - 03-Apr-2009
Windows Azure Delivers New CTP Capabilities  - 18-Mar-2009
Using 3rd Party Programming Languages via FastCGI  - 18-Mar-2009
Hosting Roles Under .NET Full Trust  - 18-Mar-2009
Geo Location Enables Developers To Choose Data Centers and Group Applications & Storage  - 18-Mar-2009
The Windows Azure Malfunction This Weekend  - 18-Mar-2009
SQL Data Services announces plans to accelerate core relational database features   - 11-Mar-2009
Moving to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) starting this Sunday  - 07-Mar-2009