Encrypting connection strings in Windows Azure web applications

You may not want your connection strings embedded in your web.config in plaintext – that will expose your database credentials to all the world. This blog post shows how to secure the connection strings. It is ugly, but quite doable. Note: SQL Azure team has posted a four-part series on this in September 2010. Some […]

June 12, 2013 · Jouni Heikniemi · 66 Comments
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A Windows Azure infographic (and some new blogging structure)

Windows Azure is now great. And please welcome Redmond Recap. The substance I have posted an infographic describing Windows Azure’s latest incarnation. (seriously, go check it out; it’s more info than graphic, but still!) Umm where? Then a short explanation on the posting forum. After living with my current blogging arrangements for the last 8 […]

June 18, 2012 · Jouni Heikniemi · No Comments
Tags:  Â· Posted in: Cloud, General

Scott Guthrie moves on to lead the Azure Application Platform team

What could be important enough to interrupt the flow of posts on practical project experience? It is the reorganization that will throw every .NET developer’s favorite ĂĽbergeek to a new position. Yes, Scott Guthrie is leaving his post as the head honcho for many things such as IIS, ASP.NET, Silverlight and a slew of other […]

May 3, 2011 · Jouni Heikniemi · No Comments
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MIX’11 keynote summary, day 1

It’s time for MIX again! Microsoft’s number one conference for web and phone enthusiasts kicked off in Las Vegas. The first keynote day covered web development, the second one will zero in on phone thingies. Here are the highlights from the first day’s keynotes. Internet Explorer Dean Hachamovitch kicks off the keynote – and he’s […]

April 12, 2011 · Jouni Heikniemi · 2 Comments
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Devs vs. IT pros: Who runs all these Azure apps?

Last night’s PDC10 keynote sparked a few ideas overnight. One of them is a concern regarding the IT professionals’ role in running Windows Azure based software. This idea was born of the fact that PDC, traditionally and so statedly a Developer conference, announced technology that was reasonably deep in the IT Professional space. I mean, […]

October 29, 2010 · Jouni Heikniemi · 3 Comments
Tags:  Â· Posted in: Cloud, Windows IT

PDC10 keynote summary

PDC10 conference kicked off today in Seattle – but really, Microsoft wanted to define the conference as global, having hundreds of local streamwatching events around the world. Unfortunately, as many have suspected, running PDCs every year tends to wear out some of the glamour around them. Even with all the Microsoft’s development resources, they have […]

October 28, 2010 · Jouni Heikniemi · No Comments
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Windows Azure Appliance – Your private corner of the Microsoft cloud

The “private cloud” concept (i.e. the idea of running the cloud-designed applications on your premises) can be implemented in a variety of ways. Not surprisingly, each cloud vendor also provides its own notion of “private cloud”. Now Microsoft adds yet another approach to the mix by launching Windows Azure Appliance. Before looking into the appliance […]

July 13, 2010 · Jouni Heikniemi · 2 Comments
Tags: ,  Â· Posted in: Cloud, Windows IT

Windows Azure CDN now priced and available!

Last November, Microsoft rolled out Windows Azure Content Delivery Network, allowing you to cache your blobs near your users. It was in free CTP for a while, but starting in July, there will be official support – and a price tag attached. In a recent post on the Windows Azure team blog, the team laid […]

June 2, 2010 · Jouni Heikniemi · 2 Comments
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Get your Azure ideas out (and vote for Mini-Azure)

The Azure team launched a new product feedback site, and I’m lobbying for one idea on it: Give me mini-sites at a mini-price. www.mygreatwindowsazureidea.com A few days ago the director of Windows Azure Planning, Mike Wickstrand, posted about the launch of a new feedback site with a slightly odd name but with quite a decent […]

November 27, 2009 · Jouni Heikniemi · 7 Comments
Tags: ,  Â· Posted in: Cloud, Web

Summary of PDC09 announcements

The two keynote days of PDC09 are behind, and the crowd has mixed reactions. At any rate, the most substantial launches seem to be over now, so it’s a safe time to write up some quick notes. Later on, it’ll be time to delve into each of these in more detail. The following list is […]

November 19, 2009 · Jouni Heikniemi · 2 Comments
Tags: , , , , , , ,  Â· Posted in: .NET, Cloud, Web, Windows IT