1. Microsoft tripled maximum size of SQL Azure from 50GB to 150GB at no additional cost,
On the wire
Getting Started with Windows Azure
Technology Preview of Hadoop-Based Service for Windows Azure Now Available
Experience Improvements for Windows Azure
Interested - may request CTP access by filling out a survey.
Windows Azure Marketplace is upgraded with self-service publishing wizard,
Service Bus EAI and EDI Labs Released
ISO certification from the British Standards Institute
Signing up for the labs is easy and free of charge
Microsoft Codename “Cloud Numerics”
Open Source Updates for Windows Azure:
a complete solution for writing and developing distributed applications
delivering new and improved experiences for Node.js, MongoDB, Hadoop, Solr and Memcached on Windows Azure
Windows Azure SDK for Node.js
announcement about Apache Hadoop,
MongoDb 10gb
revamped Eclipse plugin.
MemcacheScaffolder,
Open Scalable federations
Channel 9 Learn Windows Azure Event
New Frameworks
“Data Explorer” samples
Social Analytics - Finding Top Handles
Data Transfer

2. The fluff Cloud Storage Providers Industry Benchmark Report
Two CSPs emerged as top performers in the Nasuni study: Amazon S3 and Microsoft Azure, with Amazon S3 being the standout across all evaluation areas.
January 10, 2012
Feds Refine Cloud Security Standards
More than 150 security controls in 16 categories have now been defined for the Federal Risk Assessment Program
January 12, 2012
PHP Developer survey shows dominance of mobile, social media and cloud
6% plan to use Microsoft Azure
January 1, 2012
Cloud cost saving are not high as expected with 23% of organizations and 45% of SMBs in the US reporting no cost savings, as per the survey by CSC and TNS - Source
Microsoft to enable Linux on its Windows Azure cloud in 2012
“The new persistent VM support also will allow customers to run SQL Server or SharePoint Server in VMs”

3. Tips n trix One Azure Web Role, Multiple Websites
Accessing Federations in SQL Azure using Entity Framework
Run Lokad.CQRS code natively on Windows Azure
SCOM Walter Myers in past 3 weeks
Resolving Windows Azure Diagnostics Connection String Issues with SCOM 2007 R2
Testing Windows Azure Web Apps with Synthetic Transactions in SCOM 2007 R2
Grooming Collected Diagnostics Data from Windows Azure Storage in SCOM 2007 R2
With Azure SDK 1.6, Azure Diagnostics is enabled by default – switch it off?
Combine your #Windows #Azure Worker Role and Web Role using MVC 4.0 into a single instance:
How to Automatically Utilize Multicore Servers with Node on Windows Azure
SQL Azure Performance and Elasticity Guide:
Book: "To The Cloud: Cloud Powering an Enterprise"
Video : Cloud Fundamentals Video Series

4. Tools "SQL Azure Compatibility Assessment" Tutorial
Azure Diagnostics Manager 2 ( )
ACS 1.0 Migration Tool
Enables customers with Windows Azure Access Control Service 1.0 namespaces to migrate them to Access Control Service 2.0
Azure Monitor for Windows Phone 7
manage your Windows Azure subscriptions from your mobile device
Quest® Cloud Cost Manager / Desktop
helps you analyze your account usage and find underutilized resources

5. Local lads Romiko D – Profiling Azure applications
Slow HttpWebRequest.GetResponse()
Mick B - Azure AppFabric Labs–EAI, Service Bus in the Cloud
Tom H - Building and Deploying with Azure 1.6 SDK:
ETSA Utilities get agile with Azure delivering “Power at my Place”
Harvey Norman peddles GST-free computer games