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by Peter Galli on August 21, 2009 06:00am
Today, the DPE Interop team at Microsoft released a new open source project that bridges PHP and .NET using REST.
Specifically, the PHP Toolkit for ADO.NET Data Services was made available, which makes it easier for PHP developers to take advantage of the ADO.NET Data Services, a set of features recently added to the .NET Framework.
The PHP Toolkit for ADO.NET Data Services is an open source project funded by Microsoft and developed by Persistent Systems. It is available on CodePlex today.
These services, which were previously referred to by the codename Project Astoria, expose a wide range of data sources through a RESTful service interface.
There is full support for ADO.NET Data Services in Visual Studio 2008 SP1 as well as in the upcoming Visual Studio 2010, which includes direct support for both creating and consuming data services directly from the development environment.
Read more about all this on the Interoperability blog, and watch the Channel 9 video interview with Claudio Caldato, Senior Program Manager in the Interoperability Technical Strategy team, and Pablo Castro, software architect of ADO.NET Data Services.
This is yet another example of Microsoft's continued commitment to openness and interoperability as well as of its embrace of Web standards in its technologies.
by Aaron Fulkerson on August 04, 2009 01:05pm
It has been a while since I last guest wrote at Port25, which is always a pleasure.
Today, I am writing about the latest MindTouch software release, codename Minneopa, which introduces three new innovative capabilities: the ability to capture and collaboratively edit video, the easy packaging of applications built on MindTouch for distribution, and the new capability to stage content.
However, if you are new to MindTouch, allow me to introduce the product. The canned statement reads as follows:
MindTouch Inc. is changing the way businesses share information, consume content, and collaborate. The company's open source platform, MindTouch 2009, combines the ease of use of a wiki with the scalability, security and integration capabilities of an enterprise portal, connecting enterprise systems, databases, web services, and Web 2.0 apps to create collaborative networks.
The gist, however, is that MindTouch offers an easy to use platform that looks a lot like a wiki, but behaves more like a portal with rapid application development capabilities. The architecture is unique and quite innovative because MindTouch is implemented in C# on .NET (or Mono) and consists of the following components:
To really appreciate the capabilities of MindTouch it is best to watch a demo as we' are truly defining a new category in collaboration.
This new Minneopa release of MindTouch buoy's our efforts to help those who are building collaborative networks on MindTouch. This is especially useful for developers, IT workers and business users to package their enterprise dashboards, composite applications and mashups for distribution.
For the collaborative video capabilities, we partnered with Kaltura, the developer of the world's first open source online video platform. The integration with Kaltura gives MindTouch users the built-in ability to collaborate, edit, publish and syndicate video directly within MindTouch. End users can record video and have multiple parties edit while retaining a complete version history -- all within a MindTouch page.
Download MindTouch Core, the free and open source edition that runs on Windows Server with IIS, Linux or even with a VMware virtual image, which should run in hypervisor without issue. Or download the native Windows Server version of MindTouch 2009, which is packaged in an easy to install Microsoft Installer (MSI) and supports Windows Server 2003/2008.
With the commercial edition, MindTouch 2009, users also benefit from a rich set of desktop tools, more features and a collection of adapters to popular enterprise systems and databases.
by Peter Galli on August 10, 2009 07:00pm
Jason Perlow, a columnist over at ZDNet, has written a comprehensive review on virtualizing free Linux distributions in Windows Server 2008 R2.
In his Tech Broiler column, Perlow notes that the updated Hyper-V bare-metal hypervisor virtualization layer in Microsoft's upcoming Windows Server 2008 R2, which is due to be released August 14th to MSDN and Technet customers, now has support for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3.
"Additionally, Linux support and performance has greatly improved over the initial Hyper-V release. Microsoft also recently released its Hyper-V Linux Integration Components (Linux ICs) under the GPLv2 Open Source License," Perlow says.
The Linux ICs for Hyper-V, which are in Release Candidate status, provide synthetic device drivers that enhance I/O and networking performance when Linux OSes are virtualized under Hyper-V.
"The source code for the Linux IC's were accepted into the Linux Driver Project and should become part of the Linux Kernel within two subsequent releases and code merges - 2.6.32 is expected to be when they will be integrated, and all Linux distributions using that kernel code base going forward should be Hyper-V enabled out of the box. Yes, you heard that correctly, Microsoft is now an official Linux Kernel contributor," Perlow says.
You can read the rest of Perlow's column here.
by Peter Galli on August 26, 2009 07:21am
Tuxera, a Finnish company that develops NTFS drivers, has entered into a file system IP agreement with Microsoft in the area of data portability for devices
The agreement gives Tuxera access to the exFAT specifications and source code, as well as testing and verification tools, and the company will develop exFAT drivers for host device manufacturers. The company will also join the Interoperability Vendor Alliance.
While this is also the first-ever file system IP agreement that Microsoft has signed with an independent software vendor, Tuxera joins a growing number of companies entering into the exFAT Program.
The Extended File Allocation Table (exFAT) is a new file system that is better adapted to the growing needs of mobile personal storage. It allows a common file system to be used across all platform and devices that implement exFAT, which allows for data portability.
It also handles not only large files, such as those used for media storage, but also enables seamless interoperability between desktop PCs and devices like portable media devices, cameras or even kitchen devices so that files can easily be copied between desktop and device.
"Adding exFAT into our product portfolio is the logical step to help our customers to solve their interoperable file systems needs. Microsoft supports exFAT as the first-choice for many Windows interoperability needs including flash memories in consumer devices. exFAT is for example an integral part of SDXC formats, and the driver is good for flash drives, including devices that use SDXC cards," says Tuxera CTO Szabolcs Szakacsits
"We were the first to offer exFAT drivers based on our first-hand access to specifications and source code.We are also licensing exFAT drivers to device manufacturers, we are joining Microsoft's partner program, and have also announced a new product: Tuxera exFAT for Embedded Systems, which will be first available for Linux, but we can also port the product to proprietary platforms," he says.
The IP agreement the company has signed with Microsoft is consistent with Tuxera's business model, which is to integrate and license commercial, high-performance versions of its file system drivers to customers, as well as to provide support, maintenance, and product updates, Välimäki says.
by Peter Galli on August 17, 2009 08:09am
David Starr, a Most Valuable Professional for Visual Studio Team System and who runs ElegantCode Cast, a podcast series off his Website, recently conducted an interview with Sam Ramji and me.
It is a comprehensive interview about all things open source at Microsoft. As David says: "Sam explains that the open source community within Microsoft is thriving and goes far beyond CodePlex or EntLib source code. Who knew developers in Redmond wrote Java code? Or that Windows runs PHP like a champ? Or that Microsoft has contributed code to Linux?"
You can find more information on the interview - and download it - here.