Hi folks, As promised, here are the download links for SSMS in 32bit and 64bit flavors. The full download of SQL Server 2008 R2 November CTP can be found here. I’ll post some walkthroughs of SSMS in the coming days. 6 days to PDC - W00t!!!! See you there, Dave.. more »

If you're going to PDC next week, one of the sessions you don't want to miss is Jim's session on tips and tricks for Windows Azure development. It's a tools focussed session that should have plenty of interesting content no matter what level of experience you have with Windows Azure.  .. more »

Just a quick post to let you know that the long awaited build of SQL Server Management Studio with support for SQL Azure is available today for MSDN and TechNet subscribers and will be generally available for the rest of the world as of tomorrow. The download page can be found . I will post a link to the tools only install when it becomes available .. more »

We received an inquiry earlier this week about a user who was trying to access the SQL Azure Portal and was unable to log in. I want to take a quick moment to respond broadly just incase anyone else had the same experience. There were no issues with the SQL Azure Database service this week. There was, however, an availability issue with the SQL .. more »

As part of the Windows Azure CTP, we are announcing the Windows Azure Content Delivery Network (CDN) to deliver Windows Azure Blob content. Windows Azure CDN offers developers a global solution for delivering high-bandwidth content. Windows Azure CDN has 18 locations globally (United States, Europe, Asia, Australia and South America) and continues .. more »

Today we are releasing the ability to access Windows Azure Blobs using custom domain names. Windows Azure Blob storage enables applications to store and manipulate large objects and files in the cloud. The custom storage domain name feature allows you to register a custom domain name for a given storage account for anonymous blob access using that .. more »

This upcoming week, PASS (Professional Association for SQL Server) will be holding its annual summit in Seattle, WA. The summit runs from November 2nd through the 5th and, as described on the website, provides: In-depth technical sessions all focused on SQL Server Unparalleled access to the industry’s top SQL Server experts and the Mi.. more »

In October 2008 at our Professional Developer Conference we opened the Community Technology Preview (CTP) for the Windows Azure platform (Windows Azure, SQL Azure and .NET Services). The CTP has been invaluable in terms of shaping many aspects of the Windows Azure platform. PDC 2009 is an exciting event for all of us who are working on the Windows .. more »

Yesterday at the Eclipse Summit Europe in Ludwigsburg, Germany, Microsoft two exciting new open source projects that will make it easier for PHP and Java developers to work with Windows Azure. Both projects were created in collaboration with , a France-based IT solutions provider. Windows Azure Tools for Eclipse , helps PHP developers to use .. more »

A few short weeks ago we announced the SQL Azure Database August CTP. Since the announcement, tens of thousands in the community have signed up for the service and have provided us with a tremendous amount of positive feedback. Today, the SQL Azure Database October CTP (CTP 2) update is another major milestone as we get ready for the on November .. more »

At commercial launch, Windows Azure will feature an improved logging system.  The new system will give users greater flexibility over what information is logged and how it is collected. In preparation for the new logging system rollout, next week we will disable the ability to retrieve logs via the Windows Azure Portal.  Your existing ap.. more »

Check out the first CTP of SQL Azure! Read more about it here:  http://davidaiken.com/windows-azure/sql-azure-ctp-available-amp-updated-training-kit/  and find out more about SQL Azure and how to sign up at: http://blogs.msdn.com/ssds/default.aspx.  And to help you get started with SQL Azure, we recently updated the Windows Azure Platform tra.. more »

  Hats off to Dennis Palmer, who won a Netbook for winning last week’s Twilio + Windows Azure Developer Contest for his Cloud Call Me application for Facebook! Cloud Call Me allows Facebook users to call friends using Twilio and Azure, while keeping phone numbers completely private. Read more about the contest, as well as a few words from Den.. more »

We experienced a short blip in the availability of SQL Azure today and I wanted to post a quick note to let you know what happened. Inside of SQL Azure we have these automated monitoring tools called watchdogs. These watchdogs monitor every aspect of the system and if one of them notices that something is not functioning correctly, it raises an .. more »

Today, we are releasing a preview of the Windows Azure Service Management API to help you manage your deployments, hosted services and storage accounts. This is a REST-based API which users can code against in their toolset of choice to manage their services. API Details at a glance You can find the documentation (along with the rest of the .. more »

Today we are introducing a new upgrade mechanism, called “in-place upgrade,” which enables you to incrementally roll a new version of your service over the existing version without first deploying the new version to staging. With this new mechanism, you can upgrade your entire application or just a single role (e.g. web role) without disturbing the .. more »

 In a press event on Tuesday at NASA Ames Research Center in California, Federal Chief Information Officer (CIO) Vivek Kundra unveiled apps.gov, an online storefront for federal agencies to browse and purchase cloud-based IT services. The Obama administration has long touted cloud computing as an effective means to take advantage of technology for l.. more »

Want to try out Azure services but don’t want to wait for the invitation code?  No problem, we’ve made it easier – and faster - to get the token so you can start using the Windows Azure Community Technology Preview right away. Register at:  http://www.microsoft.com/azure/register.mspx  to sign up and you’ll receive your invitation code immediately.. more »

Senior Strategist for Cloud Computing and Microsoft Azure Technical Expert Steve Marx will give a presentation, “Deploying to the Cloud”, next Monday, September 14, 2009 at the XIX GeneXus International Meeting in Montevideo, Uruguay.  For more information or to register to attend, please visit:  .. more »

Window Azure is joining forces with Twilio to bring you Week #16 of the Twilio Developer contest.  For those of you who don’t know, Twilio is a web service API for making and receiving phone calls using simple HTTP requests.  We thought it would appeal to a lot of the same developers who use Windows azure, so this week we’re challenging you to bui.. more »