Microsoft Developer Evangelist
Archive for October, 2009
October DevCares – Windows 7 for Developers
Oct 28th
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UPDATE: Here is a link to the deck and demos from my talk this morning:
I�ll be presenting at the October DevCares event in Dallas on Friday, October 30 on Windows 7 for Developers. Here�s the session abstract:
Windows 7 for Developers
Windows 7 enables developers to create distinctive and intuitive applications that significantly
enhance discoverability, usability, and sheer enjoyment. New methods of desktop integration put
application functionality right at the user�s fingertips. New Touch APIs enable natural interactions
through multitouch and finger-panning gestures. Rapid advances in hardware and software
technology are also driving higher-fidelity user experiences. Windows 7 brings these advances under
developer control with new and flexible APIs that take full advantage of the technology, while
making it even easier to develop compelling applications. Join Microsoft Developer Evangelist Chris
Koenig for a tour of developing for Windows 7 to include samples for multi-touch, ribbon, superbar
integration and more!
Once the talk is over, I�ll update this post with links to the downloads for the deck and the demos.
For those of you that want to get a jumpstart on this content, there are a lot of great resources out there. I�ve got them currently scattered all over the place, but I�ll be consolidating them in my usual spot: my Delicious account! Just hit http://delicious.com/chriskoenig/windows7 for of all my references for the talk, as well as other valuable links to Windows 7 content. The great part about using Delicious is that I can update that list at any time, and � if you�re subscribed to it � you get notified via RSS of those changes.
I used to have this thing wired up that would auto-post a daily update of what links I added or deleted from my Delicious account, but that got to be incredibly annoying and filled up my blog with relatively worthless babble. Now, I write all my own babble and feel much better about it!
You can also see what else I�ve got coming up by checking my new Hear Me Speak! page on this site. Not all of the sessions are open to the public, but most are (or should be). It�s a listing by date, and by session, so it might *look* like there are some duplicates in there, but there really shouldn�t be. As always, if you have any questions, just drop me a line. Eventually, I�ll make this a fancier list, where you can get links to the events, and subscribe to changes, and all that stuff, but as you can see from that page I don�t have a lot of spare time these days 
Tulsa TechFest is almost here!
Oct 25th
Ok gang � it�s almost November 6, and you know that that means� it�s time for Tulsa TechFest! TTF is our annual tech conference featuring 13 tracks and over 60 sessions of high-quality, expert contributed content. I�m really excited about this year�s speaker line-up! Here are just some of the speaker highlights you can look forward to when you attend:
- Joe Fletcher � UX Lead for Microsoft Surface, talking about Touch Computing
- Jennifer Marsman � DE from Ann Arbor, talking about Azure, WF and Win7 Multi-touch
- Mike Benkovich � DE from Minneapolis, talking about Expression Blend, XAML and LINQ
- Chris Patterson � C# MVP from Tulsa, talking about Message-driven Architecture
- Cory Smith � Windows Client MVP from Fort Worth, talking about Click Once deployments
- Jay Smith � ASP.NET MVP from Fayetteville, AR, talking about Visual Studio 2010 and Agile Software Development
- Eric Shupps � SharePoint MVP from Fort Worth, talking about SharePoint and Visual Studio 2010
- Rob Vettor � ASP.NET MVP from Dallas , talking about ADO.NET Data Services
- Shawn Weisfeld � C# MVP from Dallas, talking Generics
- Todd Anglin � ASP.NET MVP and Chief Evangelist for Telerik from Houston, talking about Silverlight 3 and ASP.NET MVC
- Robert Boedingheimer � C# MVP talking about ASP.NET 4.0 and jQuery with Visual Studio 2010
- Chris Koenig � Developer Evangelist from Microsoft, talking about C# 4.0, Visual Studio 2010 and the .NET Service Bus
As you can see, there are a LOT of very experienced speakers delivering some AWESOME sessions. For speakers of this quality, you�d normally have to spend several hundred dollars at a paid conference, or attend a bazillion user group meetings all over the country. Luckily for you, David Walker has brought all this talent together into one FREE event!
When is this event and how do I register, you�re asking? Here�s all the important info you�ll need to share with your boss/manager/spouse/etc to get the day off to come out to Tulsa:
Tulsa TechFest
November 6th 2009
OSU-Tulsa (map)
8:00 AM � 6:30 PMPrice: FREE! Just bring 2 cans of food to donate to the Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma
More Information at http://tulsatechfest.com
Make sure you head over to http://tulsatechfest.com and register today. Even though the event is free, we would like to get an accurate count of attendees so that we can adequately estimate the amount of food and drink to get.
Here�s hoping to see you there!
Meet the Creator of Centipede!
Oct 20th
(screen shot photo courtesy of wikipedia)
Who doesn�t like the game Centipede � fast, furious action in the garden where centipedes and spiders attack you mercilessly as you dodge through toadstools trying to eliminate the unwanted pests. Ever wonder where this game came from, and who created it? Now is your chance to meet the creator of Centipede � Dona Bailey � at the upcoming Harrison .NET User Group meeting on November 3rd, 2009. Not resting on her laurels, Dona has remained busy in the software industry, and will be speaking that night on 3D modeling as well as her experiences at Atari and with creating the game Centipede.
To register for this FREE event, just visit http://www.clicktoattend.com/?id=141461 and sign up.
Oh � and did I mention the prize? The User Group will be giving away a Vintage Centipede Arcade Game as the grand prize! Here�s a picture, in case you are curious on how well it will fit in the back of your Ford Festiva:
Local Hero: Zeeshan Hirani
Oct 9th
One of our own local smart guys, Zeeshan Hirani, along with his partner Larry Tenny, have completed work on their book "Entity Framework Recipes�. This book features learning EF 4.0 through real-world samples that go beyond just basic operations the Northwind – (from the Amazon site) �Armed with this experience, you will be ready to dive deep into Entity Framework, experiment with new approaches, and develop ways to solve even the most difficult data access challenges�.
The book is available for pre-order at Amazon for 16% off the cover price, so order yours today!
The Future of C#
Oct 9th
Based on the popularity of the talk I gave recently at the North Dallas .NET User Group meeting, I�ve scheduled a special-edition MSDN Event for November 11th to go over all the new, cool features of C# 4.0 including dynamic language enhancements, named & optional paramteres, COM Interop and more!
For more info, and to register for the event, check out the event listing on CommunityMegaphone.com
New Dallas IT Pro User Group
Oct 7th
My good friend and Evangelism partner John Weston has helped the guys in the Dallas/Fort Worth area expand their online user group to offline! The newly formed DFW IT Professionals User Group will have it�s first meeting on Oct 20th at the Microsoft Office in Las Colinas. For more information, check out John�s blog post:
John Weston Stories, Information, and random thoughts. : New Dallas IT Pro User Group
John will be the featured speaker for the inaugural meeting, and the topic will be �Windows 7 Tips,Tricks and Everything Else You Wanted to Know�.
