Kurt Shintaku's Blog

Previously there was a request on the Microsoft Teams UserVoice site that read:

Code snippets

I would like code snippets with highlighting based on code language. And for snippets longer than X lines, a “show more” button (like slack)

Well, the other day, a response was posted:

AdminWarren (Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Teams) responded  ·  July 30, 2018

This feature request has been completed and is available to the public. Thank you for the suggestion and feedback!
-Warren

INTRODUCING CODE SNIPPETS FOR MICROSOFT TEAMS
This has been a long awaited feature and i’m excited to see the 1.0 of it available in Microsoft Teams.  It was somewhat quietly announced here:

• July 17, 2018 – What’s new in Microsoft Teams
  https://support.office.com/en-us/article/What-s-new-in-Microsoft-Teams-d7092a6d-c896-424c-b362-a472d5f105de

HOW IT WORKS
In order to include code snippets in messages you send within Microsoft Teams, follow the steps below:

1. Click FORMAT in the message text box toolbar.
2. In the FORMAT toolbar, click the Code Snippet icon.
3. In the dialog window, select the programming language you’re using from the list down box.
4. Paste your code.

Supported features:

• syntax highlighting
• auto-indentation
• text wrapping control
• support for 45+ programming languages like C#, Go, Dart, Swift, F#, etc.

The only documentation on the feature appears to be here:

• SUPPORT: Send code snippets in a message in Teams
  https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Send-code-snippets-in-a-message-in-Teams-5406fe2b-2771-4b9a-bd73-656914f6ab3c

A blogger named “Dennis” wrote a quick post and a video on Expiscornovus demonstrating the code snippets feature here:

.NET Conf is a free, 3 day virtual developer event co-organized by the .NET community and Microsoft.

Over the course of the three days you have a wide selection of live sessions that feature speakers from the community and .NET product teams. These are the experts in their field and it is a chance to learn, ask questions live, and get inspired for your next software project.

You will learn to build for web, mobile, desktop, games, services, libraries and more for a variety of platforms and devices all with .NET. We have sessions for everyone, no matter if you are just beginning or are a seasoned engineer. We’ll have presentations on .NET Core and ASP.NET Core, C#, F#, Azure, Visual Studio, Xamarin, and much more.

(Watch all the sessions from 2017 on demand on Channel 9)

Agenda

This year we’re trying something new with the format of our online conference. The last 24 hours will feature speakers in their local time zones and languages. Our partners are also hosting a virtual attendee party after the last session ends on Day 1 where you can win prizes!

Day 1 – September 12

• 8:00 – 9:30
  Keynote broadcasted from Microsoft Channel 9 Studios
• 9:30 – 17:00
  Sessions broadcasted from Microsoft Channel 9 Studios
• 17:00 – 18:30
  Virtual Attendee Party! Engage with our partners on Twitter and win prizes!

Day 2 – September 13

• 9:00 – 17:00
  Sessions broadcasted from Microsoft Channel 9 Studios
• 17:00 – 23:59
  Community Sessions in local languages & time zones around the world

Day 3 – September 14

• 0:00 – 17:00
  Community Sessions in local languages & time zones around the world
• All times listed in Pacific Daylight Time (UTC -7).

Register for the event here:

• EVENT: Microsoft .NET Conf 2018 – Sept 12-14, 2018
  https://www.dotnetconf.net/

————

Attend a .NET Conf local event!
But wait, it doesn’t end here! Put the skills you learn into practice and attend a local event in your area organized by .NET community influencers all over the world.

New announcement in Electronic Design Automation space:

Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CDNS) today announced a collaboration with Microsoft to facilitate electronic systems and semiconductor design with the Cadence^® Cloud portfolio. Through the collaboration, customers can access the Cadence Cloud-Hosted Design Solution, a Cadence-managed and EDA-optimized design environment that is built on the Microsoft Azure cloud platform and customized for company-specific infrastructure requirements. The collaboration also enables customers who manage their own IT and business relationships with Microsoft to use the Cadence Cloud Passport model to access cloud-ready software tools for use on Azure. The Cadence and Microsoft collaboration enables design engineers to address growing design complexity and get to market faster via the scalability of Azure.

…

Read more of the press release here:

• Cadence and Microsoft Collaborate to Facilitate Semiconductor and System Design on the Microsoft Azure Cloud Platform
  https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180625005339/en/Cadence-Microsoft-Collaborate-Facilitate-Semiconductor-System-Design

For folks looking for Industry-focused high-performance computing solutions, including media & entertainment, life sciences, education, oil and gas, financial services, manufacturing, you might want to check this out from Jason Zander, Microsoft’s CVP of Azure:

Today, I am pleased to share that Microsoft has signed an agreement to acquire Avere Systems, a leading provider of high-performance NFS and SMB file-based storage for Linux and Windows clients running in cloud, hybrid and on-premises environments.

Avere uses an innovative combination of file system and caching technologies to support the performance requirements for customers who run large-scale compute workloads. In the media and entertainment industry, Avere has worked with global brands including Sony Pictures Imageworks, animation studio Illumination Mac Guff and Moving Picture Company (MPC) to decrease production time and lower costs in a world where innovation and time to market is more critical than ever.

High performance computing needs however do not stop there. Customers in life sciences, education, oil and gas, financial services, manufacturing and more are increasingly looking for these types of solutions to help transform their businesses. The Library of Congress, Johns Hopkins University and Teradyne, a developer and supplier of automatic test equipment for the semiconductor industry, are great examples where Avere has helped scale datacenter performance and capacity, and optimize infrastructure placement.

Read more here:

• Microsoft to acquire Avere Systems, accelerating high-performance computing innovation for media and entertainment industry and beyond
  https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2018/01/03/microsoft-to-acquire-avere-systems-accelerating-high-performance-computing-innovation-for-media-and-entertainment-industry-and-beyond/

Dive in and learn how to start building intelligence into your solutions with the Microsoft AI platform, including pre-trained AI services like Cognitive Services and Bot Framework, as well as deep learning tools like Azure Machine Learning, Visual Studio Code Tools for AI, and Cognitive Toolkit.

Our platform enables any developer to code in any language and infuse AI into your apps. Whether your solutions are existing or new, this is the intelligence platform to build on.

There are over 30 multi-module courses that you can take to learn how to use Microsoft’s AI platform including:

• Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
• Introduction to Machine Learning with Azure ML
• AI Developer Bootcamp
• Building an Intelligent Bot
• Build a Predictive Maintenance Solution using Deep Learning
• Text Analytics
• Video Indexer
• Optical Character Recognition
• Object recognition using a custom Deep Neural Network model
• Image classification
• Azure Machine Learning Real-world Examples
• Learn Analytics
• Deep Learning Explained
• Building Your Azure Skills Toolkit
• Python Data Science Notebook
• Getting Started with Bot Framework
• Facial Recognition

Start learning by visiting:

• INFO: Microsoft AI School (FREE)
  https://aischool.microsoft.com/learning-paths

Create your first intelligent bot with Microsoft AI.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is accelerating the digital transformation for every industry, with examples spanning manufacturing, retail, finance, healthcare and many others. At this rate, every industry will be able to use AI to amplify human ingenuity. In this eBook, Anand Raman and Wee Hyong Tok from Microsoft provide a comprehensive roadmap for developers to build their first AI-infused application.

Using a Conference Buddy as an example, you’ll learn the key ingredients needed to develop an intelligent chatbot that helps conference participants interact with speakers. This eBook provides a gentle introduction to the tools, infrastructure and services on the Microsoft AI Platform, and teaches you how to create powerful, intelligent applications.

• Understand how the intersection of cloud, data and AI is enabling organisations to build intelligent systems.
• Learn the tools, infrastructure and services available as part of the Microsoft AI Platform for developing AI applications.
• Teach the Conference Buddy application new AI skills, using pre-built AI capabilities such as vision, translation and speech.
• Learn about the Open Neural Network Exchange.

Download the eBook through this site.

• DOWNLOAD: Free eBook, “A Developer’s Guide to Building AI Applications”
  https://info.microsoft.com/ww-landing-ai-developers-bot-ebook.html

Today, we’re excited to announce the general availability of Microsoft 365 usage analytics in Power BI, with new data and reports for Microsoft Teams. You can get started with usage analytics in Power BI right away, or read on for more details.

New data and reports for Teams and Groups
Microsoft Teams is the hub for teamwork that integrates all the people, content, and tools your organization needs to be more engaged and effective. Usage analytics for Microsoft 365 includes information about how your organization is using Teams to help your users create, collaborate, and communicate more effectively.

The Teams Usage report provides an overview of how your organization is using Teams, including a view on how they use the various functions like chat, channels, and meetings.

…

(Read more about Teams Overall Usage, Teams User Activity, Teams inclusion in Product Usage, and more.)

• Realize the full value of your IT investment with Microsoft 365 usage analytics in Power BI
  https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Microsoft-365-Blog/Realize-the-full-value-of-your-IT-investment-with-Microsoft-365/ba-p/215521

Did you know that you can leverage Azure Cognitive Services without writing a single line of code?

Microsoft Flow has dozens of GUI-based templates for common tasks. Just add your subscription keys, connect your accounts, and go!

WHAT IS MICROSOFT FLOW?
Microsoft Flow is a codeless automation environment that enables end users to orchestrate multi-step workflows that allow them to execute repetitive tasks or trigger automated processes.

And anyone is licensed to use Microsoft Flow via the “Free” version – especially if they have Office 365 subscriptions for its employees, in which case they have “Flow for Office 365”. (https://flow.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/)

WHAT CAN COGNITIVE SERVICES DO?
Cognitive Services includes things like text analytics that can scan text content for “whether a Tweet is positive or negative” or “whether a person is happy or sad”.  These can act as triggers for other actions that Flow can automate.

Here’s some Microsoft Flows using:

• Text Analytics” from Azure Cognitive Services:
  https://flow.microsoft.com/en-us/connectors/shared_cognitiveservicestextanalytics/text-analytics/
• Face Recognition API:
  https://flow.microsoft.com/en-us/connectors/shared_faceapi/face-api/
• Computer Vision API:
  https://flow.microsoft.com/en-us/connectors/shared_cognitiveservicescomputervision/computer-vision-api/

…and there are Connectors to use the Bot Service, QnA Maker Service, Custom Vision API, and more!

For a brief tutorial on how to use Microsoft Flow & how to incorporate Cognitive Services:

• Microsoft Flow Tutorial – Cognitive Services – Hot Dog, Not Hot Dog
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5Oe0Yjmu-k

There are two calculators that everyone using Azure should know:

Azure Pricing Calculator
Estimate your expected monthly bill using our Pricing Calculator, and track your actual account usage and bill at any time using the billing portal. Set up automatic email billing alerts to be notified if your spend goes above an amount you configure.

• https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/calculator/

Azure TCO Calculator
Quickly compare the total cost of ownership (TCO) of your on-premises infrastructure with a comparable Azure deployment using our TCO Calculator and estimate savings you can realize by moving to Azure.

• https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/tco/

For a quick tutorial on how to use the Azure Pricing Calculator, check out this video:

• VIDEO: Using the Azure Pricing Calculator to price out a simple VM based solution

https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/uspartner_ts2team/2018/02/06/using-the-azure-pricing-calculator-to-price-out-a-simple-vm-based-solution/