We're just about ready to launch the new version of
silverlight.net. Here's the
posting I put on the forums today:
Announcement - Silverlight.NET site will switch to the
new design by July end. NOTE: 3 Calls to Action
below!
For some time now, you have given us feedback on how to make the
Silverlight site better - make it easier to find the right
content, make it easier to learn by supporting
different learning styles, and highlight community
content more prominently on the site. We addressed
this by creating a new type of site for
Silverlight and released a beta version at MIX 2011, http://beta.silverlight.net.
This new design has been in Beta for few months and we have
received good feedback from many of you.
Now, it's time to switch over the Silverlight site (www.silverlight.net) to this
new design and we plan to do this migration in the week of
July 18. This means that the Beta site (http://beta.silverlight.net/)
will be retired and current site (www.silverlight.net) will
switch to the new design. NOTE: The site URL will remain the
same, just the design and navigation will change. This change has a
few minor implications to users, so we are giving you advance
notice to familiarize yourself with the changes and take the
necessary actions called out below.
What will I get with the new design?
· Simplified look and feel that will also be used across other
developer sites in the months to come
· Simplified "Getting Started" resources and steps for new
users
· Richer Community info (Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Events,
News)
· Scalable and more usable information architecture in the
"Learn" section
- Experience Level tags on all Learn content (Beginner, Novice,
Intermediate, Professional) so that you can understand how
technical the content is before you start reading it
- Richer meta data for all Learn content (author bios, related
content, view counts and more) so that it will be faster and easier
for you to find the content you need
- Integrated MSDN Code Gallery so that you can find and share
samples with people from all over the world
- Mark content items you've "completed" so that you can keep
track of what you have read
- Mark content items as favorites - eventually we'll make it
easier for you to find your favorite articles
· Faster page loads and performance all around
· Site-wide search improvements
· New advertising types and layout
What happens to Sign In - Call to
Action!
- Note, you only need to sign-in to participate in Forums or
Community activities, you don't need to sign-in to browse the
forums, community or learn pages on the site.
- To sign-in to the new site, you must use a Windows Live
ID. This streamlines the sign in process to a single
method and provides a unified MSDN
profile that can be used across MSDN, TechNet, and Expression
websites.
- If you use an existing Windows Live ID to sign into MSDN, we
recommend you use that or you can create a new one using an
existing email address.
- NOTE: If you do not currently login using a Windows Live ID, we
recommend you get a new one associated to your account before the
switch occurs on the week of 7/18/11
What happens to my profile and User-specific
data
- If you have a current profile and sign-in with a Windows Live
ID, then you do not have to do anything. We will migrate your data
to the new site automatically.
- If you have a current profile and sign-in with a Silverlight
ID, then we encourage you to create and sign-in with a new Windows
Live ID before the switch. This will ensure that your existing
profile data will be migrated to the new system.
- If you do not have a Windows Live ID or a profile that you care
to save, you can sign-in with a Windows Live ID at any time and we
will create a new profile for you at that time.
- NOTE: If you do not sign-in with a WLID before the switch, a
small part of your profile data (bio and web address) will be lost,
but points & awards will still be retained.
What happens to Forums content:
- All Forums threads/posts/comments/activity will be migrated to
the new site
- Most URLs will remain the same, but some will be redirected to
the correct place on the new site
What happens to Community Blogs & News
- Most recent Community content (Blogs, News, Events, Podcasts,
etc.) will be migrated to the new site
- Most URLs will remain the same, but some will be redirected to
the correct place on the new site
What happens to Community Code Samples -
Call to Action!
- As you can see on the Beta site now, we are moving to a new
& improved Samples page based on the MSDN Code Samples
platform.
- The new Samples page requires that all samples must be full VS
solutions.
- We will contact the Community Sample owners to migrate the top
samples into the MSDN Code Gallery by launch.
- If you have a code sample that was not migrated to the new
site, we encourage you to re-submit your sample to the MSDN Code
Gallery at any time.
What happens to Showcase - Call to
Action!
- We are updating the current Showcase application with a new
& improved one as part of the new design.
- We will migrate the most recent and top rated Showcase entries
to the new site.
- If you have a showcase item that was not migrated to the
new site, we encourage you to re-submit your showcase at any
time.
Thanks
MSDN Silverlight Team
I'm really excited about the new site, and all the work the MSDN
and Developer Guidance teams, along with our partners, have put
into it. I think you'll find it easier to learn the technology and
easier to find the answers you're looking for when you visit our
dev centers. You may even recognize some of the content
organization from a certain
popular Silverlight book :)
The most important thing you can do now, as a member of
Silverlight.net, is go in and associated your windows live id so
your account migrates cleanly. As mentioned above, after the
migration, you will still be able to do the association, but your
profile will not port over 100%.