MSDN Mid-Atlantic Roadshow new dates announced! Arming you with Windows 7 and Silverlight keys to success.

It was great meeting a lot of you over the past few months and I feel lucky to be part of the communities we have here.  September kicked off my first roadshow and I didn’t know what to expect.  From the open Q&A, hallway conversations, to the number of people who left ready to install Expression Studio 3 the enthusiasm was all around.  Thank you!   I was honored by the great evaluation feedback you gave me and hope to continue deliver top notch content. 

Developers live in the real world

Your feedback also confirmed what I had always thought important for these events.  Longer sessions on a single topic, real world examples, and a big picture view on why you would even want to look at the technology.  In a nutshell having speakers who have walked in your shoes and who realize developers don’t work in a bubble.  Understanding we all have to convince the very groups we work with sometimes on the benefits of a new technology before we even click that Install icon.

I was on the other side of that podium listening to a Microsoft speaker talk about the new shiny stuff mere months ago.  All fired up and then I would go back to my cubicle at work and find myself programming plain old html again.  What is wrong with this picture?  It was a vicious cycle and something I hoped to change for you by providing not just the what’s new but the how do I impress my boss/business and how do I get the technology approved at my company?

It is a theme I will continue to embrace and bring as we move to the end of the year and then into Visual Studio 2010/.NET 4.0 next year.  You can, and should, expect that same philosophy from the speakers you listen to.  It’s time we all moved beyond “hello world” and into being the IT partner the business has always asked of us.      

Windows 7 is here but are we ready?

The Windows 7 Philadelphia and Pittsburgh launches were a great time for me.  Who knew I’d have my name up in lights on the big screen some day?  The Dev tracks were packed with hundreds of people who came to get a glimpse of what was new in 7.  Many of you enjoyed the Multi-Touch demos as well as diving into how to code some of the Windows 7 specific features like trigger start services, jump lists and the new taskbar.  You also asked me if I  would be doing a local recap.  

I am proud to announce the next MSDN Mid-Atlantic Roadshow kicking off this November!  I will follow the same style I did at the previous roadshow and attempt to bring you all real world examples that go beyond hello-world.  Whether this includes commercial off the shelf software already using the great new Windows 7 features or practical applications of Multi-Touch on the web (think Silverlight for Visually impaired).  I’m hoping to give you a 105 minutes you’ll enjoy and be able to use. 

Here is how the day will pan out:

What’s new in Windows 7 for Developers

Windows 7 has many improvements in both performance and user interface that you can take advantage of in your applications.  This session will give an overview of how to code in those features users will expect such as Libraries, the new Taskbar, and Jump Lists.  We will also look at taking advantage of several performance improvements like Trigger Start services and the new Windows Troubleshooter.  Finally, we will look at adding some of the new interface options available such as Multi-Touch and the Ribbon Menu to your existing applications.

Level: 200  | Length: 1:45

My fellow road showers will also being doing the same for Silverlight.  A longer, single session with a focus this time on data and networking.

Data Access and Network Options in Silverlight

Wondering about the most effective way of getting data into your Silverlight application? Trying to sort out the different options available? Then this session is for you. We will provide an overview of the different networking and data access techniques available in Silverlight. We’ll show examples of using each of these technologies, and along the way, we’ll also look at the role these technologies can play in other .NET applications, as well as look at the Sample Data feature in Expression Blend 3, and how to transition from Sample Data to production data in your applications.

Level: 200 | Length: 1:45

Where to sign up?

You can sign up using the registration links below and  Each event will from 1pm to 5pm with refreshments being served.

City	Date	Register
Total	5 locations
Pittsburgh, PA	11/12/2009	Register
Harrisburg, PA	12/1/2009	Register
Reston, VA	12/3/2009	Register
Roanoke, VA	12/8/2009	Register
Malvern, PA	12/10/2009	Register

Hope to see you there!