Students and developers–it’s time to rock Windows 8
Posted: May 15, 2012 Filed under: Store, Students, Windows 8 | Tags: bat-shit-crazy, Metro, Quality Lab, Windows 8 Leave a comment »
The Windows 8 Consumer Preview has been around for a while now, this means that you can go and download it on your machine and be … you guessed it be amazed! As a developer, the first thing I was looking for was creating Windows 8 apps and launching them off to the store. You can imagine my disappointment when I realized that I can’t do that – I apologize for everyone around me at that point, the rant-monster went a bit bat-shit-crazy.
Well now I bring good news! It’s time to rock that Windows 8! We’re inviting certain partners to join us at the Windows 8 Quality Labs. “What the freck is that?!” – you think. It’s a lab where you bring your Windows 8 app and we go through it together making sure it’s a “quality app”.
Please note, this applies for Finnish developers, contact your local Developer Platform Evangelism team for details on how it works in your country.
And here are the Finnish Windows Phone Challenge finalists for Imagine Cup
Posted: April 10, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment »![316678_235360403195710_220994504632300_633559_142574340_n[1]](http://diggthedrazen.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/316678_235360403195710_220994504632300_633559_142574340_n1.jpg "316678_235360403195710_220994504632300_633559_142574340_n[1]")
Last week the finalists for the Windows Phone Challenge were announced. It was extremely exciting to see that seven Finnish teams proceeded to Round 2! That’s really…you guessed it amazing!
As you know we also organized local qualifications for the Windows Phone Challenge. Through this local addition we try to identify, reward and help the top teams get their apps our there to the public. I’m happy to announce the top 3 Windows Phone Challenge teams that will join the Software Design finalists for the Finnish Imagine Cup finals on the 25th of April!
Finnish Imagine Cup 2012–Software Design finalists announced!
Posted: March 30, 2012 Filed under: Contest, Imagine Cup, Students | Tags: Imagine Cup 2 Comments »
It’s been really great to see so many students get excited about Imagine Cup this year! Especially the Windows Phone Challenge has been intersting for interesting for many students around Finland. We’ve had tons of seminars, hackathons, codecamps and courses around the subject during the last couple of months. I want to thank all the MSPs, faculty members and partners who have been involved in providing our students with the best possible training. Who knew 24H events would be so much fun 
But now.. something that everyone has been waiting for, the top 3 teams for Software Design who will proceed to the second round and attend the Finnish finals in Taitaja 2012. From there one team will be chosen to represent Finland in the Imagine Cup worldwide finals in Sydney, Australia!
Free webservers for Finnish students! Setup your new website and reward yourself with free movie tickets!
Posted: March 27, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment »
It’s a good day to be a geek! Microsoft & Nebula are offering free virtual webservers for Finnish students! Things like this don’t come around so often, so you should definitely head over to www.microsoft.fi/TakeOverTheWeb and request free access of your own! Quick before they run out of servers!
Oh, we’re also giving out free movie tickets for the first 200 who gets their site up and running before 1.5.2012…You know for those rainy summer days
Code on the wild side with Nokia–Exclusive Hackathon and summer interships through Imagine Cup!
Posted: March 1, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized 1 Comment »
There’s been a lot of buzz around Imagine Cup lately and especially around our local twist of the Windows Phone Challenge. Here’s the short summary, if you’ve been living under a rock and haven’t heard about it yet:
Microsoft and Nokia are organizing local finals of the Windows Phone Challenge with amazing prizes, internships and an exclusive hackathon!
By participating in Imagine Cup, you’ll get the chance to win some cool devices, get a trip to Australia and perhaps work at the most amazing summer internship ever at Nokia! If that wasn’t enough, 40 students will be invited to an exclusive hackathon event.
What’s Imagine Cup?
Imagine Cup is a innovation/technology competition for students, it’s basically Microsofts way of encouraging students to challenge themselves and innovate on new ways of using technology to solve some of the worlds biggest problems.
You can read more about Imagine Cup here:
- The official ImagineCup website
- Time to save the world–Now with extra kangaroos! (this blog)
- Get ready for Imagine Cup 2012 (this blog)
Alright.. so what’s a Hackathon?
We’ve been organizing these small events around Windows Phone for a while now. We gather up for 24H and create some kickass Windows Phone apps. It’s been pretty amazing to see people come to the event without any previous experience and then leave with a cool app prototype!
This time the hackathon will be filled with students who already have experience with Windows Phone, so we expect to see some really amazing things come out of it! We’ll head out to Hotelli Aavaranta and spend two days over there (11 – 12th of April).
During the two days you’ll get to chance to meet some of the representatives from Nokia and Microsoft and hear what’s it really like to work over there. You’ll also get feedback on your projects, make new contacts and learn from one of the best. We’ll also enjoy some nice food, drinks and party..in true geekstyle
During this hackathon you’ll also get a chance to talk to the Nokia representatives and apply for summer internships for their awesome positions. This is a great chance to connect with those guys and really show what you know…and amaze them with your Windows Phone apps!
Oh my…that’s really HUGE
Yeah, I know.. So now you’re wondering how can you take part in all of this awesomeness? It’s easy, all you need to do is participate in Imagine Cup’s Windows Phone Challenge and show us what you got! We’ll then choose 40 students to participate in the hackathon. Over there you can show the Nokia guys what you’re made of and hopefully get a awesome summer internship!
Oh..and don’t forget about the phones, trip to Australia and other prizes that are already related to Imagine Cup 
Now what are you waiting for, go and register for the competition and join us at Aavaranta!
Get ready for Imagine Cup 2012
Posted: February 28, 2012 Filed under: Contest, Imagine Cup, Students, Windows Phone 7 | Tags: "Software Design", "Windows Phone 7", Imagine Cup 1 Comment »
It’s time to start polishing your SketchFlow-prototypes and writing up that “Imma change the world“-document! Yes, you guessed it.. It’s time for Imagine Cup! Actually Round 1 ends in just a few days and I wanted to give you some tips and tricks, before the D-Day!
So you got your team, you got your idea and are ready to take over the world? To participate in Imagine Cup you’ll need to register to www.imaginecup.com and submit your files by the 13th of March.
You’ll need to rock the judges socks with…
A SketchFlow-prototype
This is extremely important! Please keep in mind that SketchFlow is the actual tool that you’ll need to use to mockup your application. As a student you can get SketchFlow for free through www.dreamspark.com And drop me an email if you have difficulties with DreamSpark veritification (for example, your school is not listed).
If you are completely new to SketchFlow then I’d suggest checking out this 90-second video from Channel 9
http://channel9.msdn.com/Blogs/LauraFoy/Sketchflow-in-90-seconds/player?w=512&h=288
You can find more great resources for SketchFlow from:
Videos
- http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/MIX/MIX09/C01F
- http://channel9.msdn.com/events/MIX/MIX10/CL03
- http://channel9.msdn.com/events/MIX/MIX11/DES02
Articles
- http://electricbeach.org/?p=302
- http://www.silverlightshow.net/items/Sketchflow-from-a-developer-point-of-view-part-I-Basics.aspx
and of course the always popular MSDN Library http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee341458(v=Expression.40).aspx
The document
Well, not much to say about this…fill out the document and you’re ready to go! Make sure you read the rules carefully and keep in mind the judging criteria, when writing filling up your document.
Listen to the Captain
You should also listen through the call with Jukka Wallasvaara, the Imagine Cup Windows Phone Challenge-captain! Listen to it here. In that call you’ll get some insight on how the competition will proceed and especially how Round 1 works
F.A.Q.
Q: I already have a Windows Phone application ready, do I need to create a SketchFlow-prototype?
A: Yes, for the first round you’ll need to submit a SketchFlow-prototype and the document describing your idea.
Q: Can I just sketch my application on paper?
A: Nope, you’ll need to create a SketchFlow-prototype
Q: Can I convert my Windows Phone application to a SketchFlow-prototype?
A: No. You can convert your SketchFlow-prototype to a Windows Phone application, but not the other way around. You can apply the “sketchy-styles” to your controls, but won’t make it a SketchFlow-application.
Q: SketchFlow is not a part of Windows Phone tools, do I have to pay for it?!
A: No. SketchFlow is included in Expression Studio Ultimate that you can get for free as a student. You can download it from www.dreamspark.com
You can read more about Imagine Cup on the official website and read more about the Finnish local finals right here on DiggTheDrazen.
Now go, run, get ready to see some amazing koalas and kangaroos!
Time to get your hands dirty and shake ya’ booty! It’s time for a 24H Kinect hackathon with Luxus!
Posted: January 26, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment »
We’ve had a lot of hackathons lately but one thing that we’ve been missing is a Kinect-hackathon! Have no fear, the hackathon is here! Together with Luxus we’ll organize a 24H Kinect hackathon during their “Luxus Digital Week”. It’s time to join, develop on Kinect and have fun!
What: A 24h Kinect hackathon
Where: Puristamo Sali, Kaapelitehdas Tallberginkatu 1 C 15, 00180 Helsinki
When: 4. – 5.2.2012
Why: www.luxus.fi/digitalweek
What’s a Kinect hackathon?
The Kinect Hackathon is a free event where you’ll get the chance to go explore new ideas and the possibilities of Xbox Kinect. Whether you’re a student just starting out or an experienced developer, we’ll share tips and tricks and all-around Kinect development know-how.
The event is aimed for different types of people and is available for students, companies and individuals
- Developers will get support and the opportunity to learn Kinect development. Our Kinect mentors will help you around programming and the tools.
- Designers get a chance to explore the new possibilities of natural user interfaces.
- Innovators & business minds can see their ideas come to life on a fresh new platform. Learn about the different ways of support you can get for your new ideas, apps and startups.
The questions is: What kind of possibilities does this platform bring to you?
The hackathon challenge is different from other workshops because it’s 24-hours long and is aimed for developers, innovators, designers and business-minds. We’re excited to help you start the Kinect-journey. Are you ready to take on the challenge and create something cool? Sign up now at http://www.luxus.fi/digitalweek/ Deadline for registration is 1.2.2012
What to do before you come?
To develop on Kinect you’ll need a Windows 7 machine, Visual Studio 2010 (Express) and the Kinect SDK. Please install these tools on your machine, before the event.
The event starts at 12am so please be there in time. The address is Tallberginkatu 1 C 15, 00180 Helsinki. Food and beverages are on the house.
On the day of the workshop, bring your Windows 7 laptop computer!
Imagine Cup 2012 is here!
Posted: December 19, 2011 Filed under: Imagine Cup, Students, Windows Phone 7 | Tags: "Windows Phone 7", Imagine Cup 5 Comments »
It’s that time again! It’s time to change the world..yep you heard me, change the world! Every year thousands of students take on this challenge and create something new that would solve some of the worlds biggest problems. I’m talking about Imagine Cup, one of the coolest competitions out there. This year we’ll be heading to Sydney, Australia for the worldwide finals, but before that we’ll have some kickass semi-finals right here in Finland!
Geeks on Wheels–Are YOU ready?
Posted: November 11, 2011 Filed under: Contest, Geeks on Wheels, Students, Windows Phone 7 | Tags: "Windows Phone 7", Nokia, WPGOW Leave a comment »
We’re geeks and we’re heading your way! We’re ready, the question is.. are you ready? Dramatic, eh?
The plan is to take the whole country by storm and show you what makes Windows Phone the amazing platform that it is. We’ll be going through 12 different universities across Finland and help local students, faculty members and companies with their Windows Phone-journey. The whole trip will be done in a pimped out RV, this is a must see!
Time to save the world–Now with extra kangaroos!
Posted: October 21, 2011 Filed under: Contest, Imagine Cup, Metro, Students, Windows Phone 7 | Tags: "Windows Phone 7", Australia, Imagine Cup, Metro, Xbox, XNA 2 Comments »
We all share one same dirty little secret, we want to be superheroes. We want to save the world, cruise around in a batmobile and feel like we’re making the world a better place.
What does it take to be a superhero? It takes determination, passion, talent and courage. Of course having a kickass persona and a cool costume doesn’t hurt your case either. Imagine Cup is a student technology competition that aims to help students chase their dreams and change the world. Read the rest of this entry »
