April HERO Newsletter for Developers and IT Professionals

Issue 4           Welcome to another edition of the Hero Newsletter. Through this, we hope to bring you anything and everything IT-related happening around the region. This time’s newsletter is not only about IT Pro news on all the latest in Microsoft products and services but also about ideas, innovations, excellence, cool new tools, releases, announcements, exciting sessions and much more. Prepare yourself for a deep dive into this exciting and rewarding world of information. Enjoy!The Hero Team     Microsoft Innovate4Good event – April 8th and 9th at Movenpick Dream it, Learn it, Live it… from Seattle to Cairo! With the backdrop of an eventful year that showcased to the world the dormant yet unlimited potential of Arab youth, Egypt was fittingly host to a gathering of top talented young change makers, bringing together 120 promising young faces from each corner of the Arab world (Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Oman, Yemen, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, and Egypt). Innovate4Good was launched by Microsoft this year in the form of events around the world to support youth groups in designing and scaling their own ideas and building their networks for positive societal change. Ali Faramawy, Corporate Vice President of the Middle East and Africa region, delivered a powerful keynote, followed by an interactive showcase of innovative projects that youth attendees have created, leveraging the power of technology to solve the world’s toughest problems. From a wheelchair controlled by a Kinect senor, to a social network for NGOs, youth are showing that they are taking the future into their own hands, and dreaming, learning and living with more hope than ever before. You can check out more of these inspirational and innovative projects in this year’s Local Imagine Cup Finals on April 28th.     TOOLS FOR DEVELOPERS & I.T. PROS • Web App Gallery -Create websites the easier way • Windows Phone SDK link – All you need to write world-class mobile apps • Azure SDK - Get the tools and learn how to develop Cloud apps RESOURCES FOR DEVELOPERS AND I.T. PROS • Microsoft virtual academy – Free e-courses on Virtualization and Management • TechNet Portal – The essential portal for IT Professionals • TechNet Wiki – Collective knowledge from Microsoft experts and your peers • TechNet Downloads – Download free trials and betas of the latest Microsoft software • IT Skills for the cloud – All you need to set the sky as the limit for your career in a cloud IT environment • MSDN link – The key portal to knowledge base and free tools • MSDN Virtual Labs – It’s like a big full scale data-center but for your experiments and creativity only • MSDN News Flash – Subscribe for key news and special offers       You might be asking, "OK, so what are Metro style apps and how do they differ from desktop apps?" Metro style apps are immersive and chromeless, filling the entire screen so there are no distractions. Metro style apps work together, making it easy to search, share, and send content between them. When users are connected to the internet, their apps show them the latest content so that they can stay up to date. With a connected account, users can download apps and use them on any Windows device. You can create Metro style apps using the languages you're most familiar with, like JavaScript, C#, Visual Basic, or C++. And Windows Store delivers everything you need to sell your apps and everything your users need to get apps.           The wait is over. Get Visual Studio 11 Beta today and start preparing for the next generation of development. You can't predict the future, but you can get there first. Now, you can develop and build your own metro-style apps for Windows 8! Discover Visual Studio 11 Beta.   Microsoft’s private cloud solutions are built for the future, ready now.Futurize yourself and learn more.     Now, check the latest published content in the Office 2010Resource KitWith Office 2010, you’re in control, getting things done and producing amazing results however and wherever you work best.Join our Office IT Pro Blog Microsoft has changed as a company and is becoming more open in the way that we work with and collaborate with others in the industry, in how we listen to customers, and in our approach to the cloud.We contribute to and partner with open source communities and promote interoperability to make it easier and less costly for customers to develop and manage mixed IT environments. We actively participate in the standards setting process and support established and emerging standards in our products.In the cloud, we support key standards that provide the building blocks for open, interoperable cloud services, and we support developer choice of programming languages. We support data portability and believe customers own and control their data, no matter where it resides         Microsoft respects your privacy. Please read our online Privacy Statement.If you would prefer not to receive future promotional emails from Microsoft Corporation please click here. These settings will not affect any newsletters you've requested or any mandatory service communications that are considered part of certain Microsoft services.To set your contact preferences for Microsoft Communications, click here.%%Member_Busname%%%%Member_Addr%%%%Member_City%%, %%Member_State%% %%Member_PostalCode%% %%Member_Country%%