The Midweek Download: June 1st Edition–Computex is where it’s at, plus Windows Phone and Internet Explorer 9

This week, Microsoft has a major presence at Computex, where it has shown off a bevy of new Windows devices. Also, check out a few news bits on the continued growth of Internet Explorer 9 and a closer look at IE9 Mobile, coming to Windows Phone this fall.

Computex is where it’s at. During its ninth year at COMPUTEX, Microsoft is showing off more than 130 new, innovative Windows-based devices brought to market by more than 50 of its hardware partners. In its booth, Microsoft showed off nearly 100 PCs, either newly available or soon-to-be-released, ranging from ultraportable thin and light notebooks as well as small and always-connected companions to secure business laptops, high-performance entertainment notebooks and high-end gaming rigs. Check out this feature story on the Microsoft News Center, which includes a 19-image slideshow of some of the Windows devices on display at the show. Not enough to sate your Computex jones? Then watch this video of a guided tour of Microsoft’s Computex booth plus this transcript of the keynote by Steve Guggenheimer, corporate vice president of the original equipment manufacturer division at Microsoft.

IE9 for Windows Phone “Mango” in the spotlight. IE9 Mobile represents a huge jump forward for Microsoft on the mobile platform, effectively unifying the company’s underlying code base for the browser with the desktop version. In this Tuesday post on the Windows Phone Developer Blog, blogger Joe Marini outlines some of the main principles Microsoft is following as it builds IE9 Mobile.

IE9 usage on Windows 7 continues to grow. Microsoft continues to see good momentum around Internet Explorer 9 on Windows 7 this month. In the U.S., IE9 has now passed 17 percent usage share on Windows 7 as of the last few days in May. As mentioned last month, Microsoft built IE9 to help developers unleash faster and richer web experiences by tapping into the capabilities of Windows 7 and modern PC hardware. For Windows 7 customers, the best browser for experiencing these web experiences is IE9. For more details, read this Wednesday post on the Exploring IE Blog.

The EastWest Institute Cybersecurity Summit. The EastWest Institute (EWI) Worldwide Cybersecurity Summit brings together government and business leaders from around the world to discuss emerging issues. Scott Charney, corporate vice president of Trustworthy Computing, spearheads the discussion for Microsoft across a range of critical areas including cyberthreats, adoption of a public health model for Internet security, and broad-based efforts to promote or use collective defense to help protect consumers. Read this feature story and this Tuesday post on the Microsoft on the Issues Blog for more on this important security story.

Why desktop IT pros should care about the cloud. IT pros typically look at a three- to five-year cycle when deciding what equipment and technologies will be essential to helping their companies continue to grow. Making the right choices can be challenging, especially when considering the technology on the horizon. The next Springboard Series Virtual Roundtable will look at the relationship between cloud technologies and the desktop. Join in on June 22nd at 9 am PST here. Participants are encouraged to ask your questions live during the event with our online tool – or submit questions in advance to [email protected].

Windows Azure SDK for PHP 3.0. From the floor of the PHP Tek Conference in Chicago, Microsoft announced the availability of the Windows Azure SDK for PHP version 3.0. This Open Source SDK gives PHP developers a “speed dial” library to take full advantage of Windows Azure’s coolest features. Want more detail? Read this May 26th post on the Interoperability@Microsoft Blog.

That’s it for the Midweek Download. Stop by again Friday for the Weekend Reading roundup of Microsoft news, which will include coverage of Microsoft’s presence at the D9 conference in California.

Posted by Jeff Meisner
Editor, The Official Microsoft Blog

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