The Midweek Download: June 15th Edition–New Windows Phone Tools for Android Devs plus Windows Azure, HealthVault, IE9 and Dynamics CRM

This week in The Midweek Download, check out stories on how Windows Azure helps fight disease, new tools for Android developers looking to port their apps over to Windows Phone and a host of other news bits.

Unfolding the protein mystery. Cloud computing is helping biologists uncloud one of nature’s biggest mysteries: proteins. Microsoft has partnered with the University of Washington’s Baker Laboratory, one of the world’s top computational biology labs, to give scientists access to some high-caliber computing power. That, in turn, helps them explore and understand proteins, which could eventually lead to thwarting everything from Alzheimer’s to Malaria, and from cancer to salmonella. For more on how Windows Azure is being used to fight disease, read this feature story on the Microsoft News Center.

New tools for Android devs interested in Windows Phone. Following up with the Windows Phone guidance and API mapping tool for iPhone developers announced a few weeks ago, Microsoft released a comprehensive package for Android developers on June 9th to easily learn Windows Phone and port their app to Microsoft’s phone platform. Read this post on the Windows Phone Developer Blog for more detail on the new tools.

Mobile health. Yes, there is such a thing. “Health and Fitness” is one of the hottest categories in the Windows Phone Marketplace, and developers have contributed hugely to the breadth and quality of those apps. Microsoft is super-excited to announce that it’s just enabled Microsoft HealthVault, an online service that helps consumers manage, store and share their health information, for mobile development— so developers can be part of the mHealth Revolution. Check out this June 8th post on the Windows Phone Developer Blog for the whole story.

Eighteen reasons to live HTML5 and the winners of Dev Unplugged. When Microsoft launched Dev Unplugged on March 1st, we knew what we were hoping for: amazing Web experiences that pushed the limits of modern browsers, particularly in the genre of gaming and music. We set the bar extremely high and challenged developers to show everyone where they thought the Web was going. We are now happy to put an end to the suspense, and announce the winners of the first Dev Unplugged contest! And the grand prize goes to…read this June 9th post on the Exploring IE Blog to find out.

Mobile purchases to total $119B by 2015 – infographic. In this Monday post, Next at Microsoft Blog Editor Steve Clayton pointed out an infographic put together by the Microsoft Tag team, which has some heady prediction regarding the future size of the mobile commerce market. Check it out below:

Mobile Commerce Market Infographic

Meanwhile, down in the IE laboratory…Internet Explorer now gives users more control over the data that websites store on their computers. This includes Flash Player’s Local Shared Objects (LSOs). We’ve worked closely with Adobe to integrate Flash LSO deletion directly into Internet Explorer, making it easier for users to manage their online privacy with the latest version of Adobe Flash and IE9 (as well as IE8.) Read this June 10th post on the IEBlog for more information.

Don’t miss the Windows Azure Jump Start video series. If you’re looking for help making the right decisions with regard to cloud technology and the Windows Azure platform, then you won’t want to miss an episode of the new Windows Azure Jump Start video series. Designed for architects and developers interested in designing, developing and delivering cloud-based applications leveraging the Windows Azure Platform, this 12-part course provides a comprehensive overview of the Windows Azure environment and application lifecycle, storage options, diagnostics, security and scalability. Read this Monday post on the Windows Azure Blog for all the details on how to get started.

Why is Salesforce.com so worried about Microsoft? Want to know why Salesforce.com is so worried about Microsoft Dynamics CRM, one of the fastest-growing customer relationship management products available today? Read this June 9th post on the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Blog to find out.

Thanks for reading this edition of The Midweek Download. See you back here next Wednesday!

Posted by Jeff Meisner
Editor, The Official Microsoft Blog

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