Anith Gopal

Post written by Mark Reynolds , Schools Business Manager (South) Microsoft does a lot of good things for its staff, which is probably why in 2011 we were named as the best multinational company to work for in the “ Great Place To Work ” survey (beating McDonalds, Google and Coca Cola, to name but a few). Of all the things Microsoft does well, my favourite is the volunteering days. Every year, we get 3 full days volunteering time, to spend on projects in our local communities.

The Shared Learning Group (SLG) consists of a group of UK local authorities working in collaboration with Microsoft’s Public Sector Division to share best practice and knowledge where all participants of the group receive the benefits of the collective experience within the group. They jointly deliver business-driven innovative solutions with ICT as the key enabler, to improve council services and consequently the experience of the citizen.

If you can squeeze in some time to explore the area, there are endless attractions and activities. Our beautiful mountains are only an hour away

Here’s the deck for my talk at University of California, Irvine next week – enjoy! Microsoft Developer Tools NOW for Kids and Adults View more presentations from Lynn Langit .

, I like to play games against game artificial intelligence, mainly because I hate getting my posterior kicked in Halo Reach by a 12 year old.  In fact I don’t even like to game with anyone under 18, not because they aren’t worthy competitors, but our society has set up pretty strict safety zones around younger adults. For many people, playing against an AI, for instance, Solitaire, is the way they like to play games.  This is the importance of the PathFinder example, it allows you to add…( read more )

On Saturday, I worked with a group to teach more kids to program.  We had around 20 kids and 5 adults in our session.  QuickStart was kind enough to provide a training room and to preload SmallBasic and our extensions onto the computers for the kids.  Because this was our largest and longest session to date (5 hours of coding vs. a maximum of 2 hours sessions previously), we learned lots and want to share here.

Introduction This walkthrough shows how to use Bing search as a Web service in an ASP.NET Web application. The Bing search features are invoked by the ASP.NET Web application using SOAP protocol over HTTP. You can also use XML and JSON to invoke the service

“Clocks slay time… time is dead as long as it is being clicked off by little wheels; only when the clock stops does time come to life.” – William Faulkner Article by Zen Habits contributor Jonathan Mead ; follow him on twitter .

“The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.” – Albert Einstein Post written by Leo Babauta .

Watch Xbox MVP James McCormick as he discusses gaming, his MVP Award and his community website, http://www.pregamelobby.com on the SignOnSanDiego.com website! Sign on San Diego, features a video demonstrating the trend of gaming among adults and highlights a diverse group of adult gamers who debunk the stereotype, that gaming is a ‘teen-only hobby’. Overall, a great video though if you want to see James discuss his MVP Award you will need to fast forward, to 1:53.  Watch the entire video by clicking here . Technorati Tags: MVP Award Program , MVP James McCormick , Xbox Share this post :

Petition is here: http://twtpoll.com/iuz95p and closes Aug 5. When I was 3 years old, I invented the “Koala bear game.” You hide the Koala bear behind your back, then run up to the adults asking them “guess what i’ve got behind my back?” I played night after night after night, until I discovered this thing called “memory.” The next time when the adults answered “your Koala bear”, I said “nope, i got a flashlight.” It was absolutely the funniest thing I had ever encountered in my life. It’s my childhood dream to visit the homeland of the Koala’s, even more so now that Hurricane Katrina destroyed my childhood bear.

Post written by Leo Babauta . Follow me on Twitter .