Multiple Windows Live IDs and Windows Azure

[updated 7/21: added Wade’s tip as Tactic 4]

I have multiple Windows Live IDs (WLID), which has caused some confusion when I try to use the Windows Azure portal as I may have already signed in using another WLID, one that is not linked to my Azure account. I know this won’t be a common problem out there, but I am sure other people are in the same situation, so I thought I’d do a blog post about how to make this easier.

Tactic 1: Co-admin

[Thanks to David Aiken for this simple and effective approach, this is the one I will use from here on in]

A portal update earlier this year allowed have multiple administrators for a Windows Azure account. All you have to do is add the second WLID as a co-admin, and you’re done. This is seamless, transparent and elegant.

Tactic 2: In-private Browsing

Open a new instance of Internet Explorer, enable in-private browsing (Ctrl-Shift-P). When you go to the Azure portal you will be asked for a WLID (even if you are logged in outside that browser session with another WLID.

Tactic 3: Use a VM

I am a huge fan of VMs anyhow, and cringe when I install developer tools on my host/productivity machine. As these are separate machines, you can obviously use whichever WLID you want in either machine. However, even though I do development in a VM whenever possible, sometimes I won’t have a VM running and want to jump into the portal for something, in which case I will use Tactic 1.

Tactic 4: Use –nomerge

[Thanks to Wade Wegner for telling me about this one]

You can also use the –nomerge switch with Internet Explorer:

“C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe” -nomerge

Windows Azure Toolkit for Social Games!

Just released yesterday folks… imagine… here’s a rough plan:

• write a game, sell it for $2 each
• sell 20 million copies
• go shopping in your brand new Lamborghini

Enjoy!

http://watgames.codeplex.com/

Camp Time in San Diego, Cloud Camp and Code Camp this week

[updated: San Diego CodeCamp is June 25/26]

We have two camps happening this week and next week in San Diego (and they’re pretty much guaranteed to be “bear free”, unlike this).

I will be speaking at both of them.

Tuesday June 14th, Cloud Camp, Hyatt Regency Mission Bay, 6:00PM, details here. This is the second Cloud Camp in San Diego this year, the first one was extremely well attended, and there was great feedback. This is an “un-conference” with no pre-designated session agenda, but, it’s a safe bet I’ll be in an Azure session.

Then, this NEXT weekend (Saturday and Sunday) brings the annual Code Camp. It will be held at UCSD at 9600 N. Torrey Pines Rd., La Jolla, CA 92037, and you can register for Code Camp here.

I will be doing three sessions (follow the links for details and registration):

• Windows Azure Overview
• Windows Azure- What’s in it for Startups and ISVs?
• Windows Azure Architectural Patterns

The good news is that my three sessions are all on Saturday, in the order shown, in room 111. The bad news is that this means I’ll be speaking for 4 hours non-stop, so there will be Red Bull involved and perhaps throat lozenges. But, if you’ve been wondering about Azure, or using it, this is a great way to get a solid dose of it!

Windows Azure Appliance to Ship in August

Well, it’s almost here folks. The “datacenter in a box”. Had someone used those words in a a sentence a decade ago, I would have laughed, but now, it’s reality. This is a private cloud, running the Windows Azure platform, in a box. The first one will be from Fujitsu, and will be available this August.

Official Microsoft press release: http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/press/2011/jun11/06-07MSFujitsuWApAPR.mspx

Official Fujitsu press release: http://www.fujitsu.com/global/news/pr/archives/month/2011/20110607-01.html

Commentary by Mary-Jo Foley: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/microsoft/fujitsu-to-deliver-first-windows-azure-appliance-in-august/9629

This is a HUGE leap forward, and… this is only the beginning.

The Three Bears

I was doing some photo/video/blog housekeeping, and found to my horror that I had not done a post about what was rather “unusual” experience. my son and I were backpacking in pretty remote backcountry Yosemite. No, there were no snakes involved. However, there were bears, THREE of them.

I put together a pretty funny 4 minute video, which you can see here. It was back in 2007, before I got into ultra-light backpacking, so we actually had a video camera with us, and, because of that, we were able to capture this once-in-a-lifetime footage. This was an experience neither of us will ever forget.

Here’s a few photos, but you really should watch the video, it makes it all so much more real.

Here’s pictures of us and one of the bears. At this point I was starting to get concerned that they were getting a little too friendly. Steven, as you can see, was going through his Vietnam phase

Steven’s all excited because the bear is on the trail, leading us out. I was SOOOOO hoping we’d run into hikers going the other way, and would have said something like “Where’s your bear? Didn’t you get a guide?”

Getting the Powered by Windows Azure Logo

Have you deployed an app on Windows Azure? Would you like to possibly be featured in a case study, or get a cool “Powered by Windows Azure” logo for your human-facing site(s)?

Well, now you can! Follow the instructions found here and you can get the logo.

FREE Western US Azure Bootcamps

If you’re looking for a quick way to get started with Windows Azure, we’re running a series of “bootcamps” in the western US.

There is no charge for these events, and if you’ve wanted to learn more about Windows Azure, this is a great way to do it.

Space is limited, register today (links are below)!

DATE	LOCATION	TIME	LINK
May 31, 2011	San Francisco, CA	8:30 AM – 6:00 PM PST	1032486466
June 2, 2011	Los Angeles, CA	8:30 AM – 6:00 PM PST	1032486471
June 3, 2011	Mountain View, CA	8:30 AM – 6:00 PM PST	1032486469
June 6, 2011	Irvine, CA	8:30 AM – 6:00 PM PST	1032486473
June 7, 2011	San Diego, CA	8:30 AM – 5:30 PM PST	1032486472
June 14, 2011	Bellevue, WA	8:30 AM – 6:00 PM PST	1032486474
June 16, 2011	Portland, OR	8:30 AM – 6:00 PM PST	1032486475
June 20, 2011	Denver, CO	8:30 AM – 6:00 PM GMT	1032487656
June 21, 2011	Salt Lake City, UT	8:30 AM – 5:00 PM GMT	1032486470