Two Locations – Houston & Dallas

• Dallas:   Tuesday, May 24, 2011  1:30 – 4:30 PM
  Microsoft Dallas Office -  7000 SR-161 (George Bush Turnpike), Irving, TX 75039
• Houston: Thursday, May 26, 2011  1:30 – 4:30 PM
  Microsoft Houston Office – 2000 W Sam Houston Parkway S, Houston, TX 77042

Brought to you by Microsoft, CODE Training & EPS Software, this free afternoon event presents an unbiased look at the current and future development with .NET. Join Microsoft Regional Director and MVP Markus Egger, for an afternoon of free and independent information about current Microsoft development technologies! What is the state of .NET today? Which of the many .NET technologies have gained traction? Which ones can you ignore for now? What other Microsoft technologies should you include in your development efforts? This event is completely free of charge and is designed for developers as well as IT decision makers. Specific prior knowledge is not required. Attendees of this event will come away with a clear understanding of which technologies to use for various technical challenges.

Topics will include:

• Cloud (Azure & others)
• The State of Services
• IE9
• HTML 5
• Windows Phone 7 and other devices
• ASP.NET MVC, Razor and jQuery
• Visual Studio Async
• Productivity Power Tools
• Various .NET Framework Topics
• Visual Studio LightSwitch
• and more!

Dallas Signup Link- Tuesday, May 24, 2011  1:30 – 4:30
Houston Signup Link- Thursday, May 26, 2011  1:30 – 4:30

The Office 365 Beta is now open to the public!  Office 365 provides a cloud-based subscription service that includes Office 2010 Professional Plus, SharePoint Online, Exchange Online and Lync Online. 

Office 365 also provides developers and ISVs a platform for building cloud-based collaboration and communication solutions for the cloud.  To help developers make the transition to building solutions for the cloud with Office 365, I’m pleased to announce the release of the Office 365 Training Course for Public Beta.  The kit includes 7 sessions, over 10 hours of video, and 16 labs as both an offline training kit as well as an online training course on MSDN.

For more details on the Office 365 Public Beta and the new training kit, please see this blog post.

Training Resources

The Office 365 Developer Training Kit includes the following training units:

• Developing in the Cloud with Office 365
  • Office 365 provides a communication and collaboration service in the cloud that
    you can leverage to build custom solutions for SharePoint Online, Exchange
    Online and Lync Online. In this session, you’ll learn about this new cloud
    service and the breadth of solutions that can be developed using the same
    skills, tools and SDKs you use today when building on-premises solutions.
• Developing for SharePoint Online with Sandbox Solutions
  • Sandboxed Solutions are the development paradigm for SharePoint Online. In this
    session, you’ll learn about sandboxed solutions including how to develop, debug
    and deploy solutions. You’ll also learn the breadth of solutions that can be
    developed in the sandbox and strategies for developing common scenarios that are
    not enabled in the sandbox.
• Building Workflow Solutions for SharePoint Online
  • Building Workflow solutions for SharePoint Online allows you to automate
    collaboration-centric business processes and surface them to your users via
    SharePoint Online. In this session, you’ll learn the differences between
    declarative and code-based workflows, design a workflow using Visio 2010,
    implement that workflow in SharePoint Designer 2010 and customize the workflow
    using Visual Studio 2010 and custom actions.
• Developing SharePoint Online Solutions with the Client Object Model
  • The SharePoint Client Object Model provides libraries for programmatically
    accessing SharePoint Online via Silverlight and JavaScript. In this session,
    we’ll go deep into the Client Object Model and show you how to develop solutions
    using both Silverlight and JavaScript.
• Leveraging Excel and Access Services in SharePoint Online
  • Excel and Access Services provide powerful features for building SharePoint
    Online solutions. In this session, you’ll get an inside look at both Excel and
    Access services and how each can be accessed programmatically when building
    SharePoint Online solutions.
• Developing Communication Solutions for Lync Online
  • In this session, you learn how to integrate Lync features into your WPF and
    Silverlight clients much in the same way that Office and SharePoint do,
    including presence, contact lists and click-to-communicate features. You will
    also learn how to extend Lync communications to include data and features from
    your client applications much in the same way that Outlook 2010 does with the
    "IM" and "Call" features within an email.
• Developing Messaging Solutions for Exchange Online
  • In this session, you'll learn how to integrate Exchange Online mailbox data such
    as mail, calendar and task items as well as Exchange Online services such as the
    free-busy service into your applications using an easy to discover and easy to
    use managed API.

Getting Started

To use this kit as self-paced training and customer demos, you’ll need to do the following:

1. Download and configure the Information Worker VMs (2010-9) to provide you a local development environment.
2. Download and install the Office 365 Developer Training Kit onto the 2010a VM.
3. Request access to either the Office 365 Beta or SharePoint Online Dogfood to provide you access to the service.
4. Visit the Office 365 Training Course on MSDN to watch the videos and get started with the labs and demos.

Windows Azure is Microsoft’s cloud platform, and a lot of developers are excited to try it out. To help you try it out, we have started a program called “Windows Azure Pass.” You can register a Live ID for a Pass and receive 30 days of free cloud computing. Just enough time to dip your toes in the cloud and see how easy it really is. NO credit card required. Do this before your boss comes over and expects you to have answers about ‘this cloud thing.’

Just go to www.WindowsAzurePass.com, and enter the promo code DPCE01. Your Pass will be activated within a few days, and you can start deploying code all day long.

Once you get a pass you can attend a two day boot camp to learn more about Windows Azure, try some hands on labs on your own time, or join us online during office hours to get all of your questions answered.

What exactly do you get for free?

The Windows Azure platform 30 day pass includes the following resources :

Windows Azure

• 3 Small Compute Instances
• 3 GB of Storage
• 250,000 Storage Transactions

SQL Azure

• Two 1 GB Web Edition Database

AppFabric

• 100,000 Access Control Transactions
• 2 Bus Service Connections

Data Transfers

• 3 GB In
• 3 GB Out

This toolkit is designed to make it easier for phone developers to leverage cloud services running in Windows Azure.  The toolkit includes Visual Studio project templates for Windows Phone 7 and Windows Azure, class libraries optimized for use on the phone, sample applications, and documentation.

Get the bits on CodePlex here: http://watoolkitwp7.codeplex.com/

The toolkit contains the following resources:

• Binaries – These are the main bits you can add to your WP7 project that make it easy to work with Windows Azure (e.g. a full storage client library for blobs and tables).
• Docs – Documentation is also provided that covers setup and configuration, a review of the toolkit content, getting started, and some troubleshooting tips.
• Dependency Checker – This really cool (and handy) dependency checker ensures that you have all the bits required in order to successfully install and use the toolkit.
• Project Templates – The toolkit also provides project templates that make it easy for you to build brand new applications.
• Samples – We have a sample application that fully leverages the toolkit, both available in C# and VB.NET.  The sample application is also built into one of the two project templates created by the toolkit.

For more information & coverage, please take a look at these resources:

• Getting Started Wiki: http://watoolkitwp7.codeplex.com/wikipage?title=Getting%20Started&referringTitle=Documentation
• Wade Wegner’s blog: http://www.wadewegner.com/2011/03/windows-azure-toolkit-for-windows-phone-7/
• Windows Azure team blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/windowsazure/archive/2011/03/23/now-available-windows-azure-toolkit-for-windows-phone-7.aspx
• Mary Jo Foley’s blog: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/microsoft/microsoft-delivers-toolkit-for-using-windows-azure-to-build-windows-phone-7-apps/8993

My teammate Hanu Kommalapati has put together a really nice summary of things to think about related to capacity planning for hosting your applications in Windows Azure.  Among the topics he covers in his article are

• Bandwidth
• CPU
• Memory
• Storage
• Concurrency

It’s a short, but valuable read for anyone working with Windows Azure or planning to deploy something in the future.

Windows Azure Caacity Assessment – Hanuk’s Blog

This year at MIX11 the team is hosting a series of BootCamp events to help jumpstart and supercharge your development skillz. For a mere $350, you can get in-depth knowledge about some of the latest technologies from some of the smartest folks on the planet.  Here’s the schedule for Monday, April 11:

• HTML5/CSS3 Boot Camp – Stephanie Sullivan (W3Conversions)
• Design, Content, Code: Start-to-finish – Roman Blagovirnyy , Tony Walt, Chad Bakeman, Anthony Franco, and Cindy Vanover (Effective UI)
• Silverlight 5 Boot Camp – John Papa (Microsoft), Mike Taulty (Microsoft)
• Cloud Boot Camp – To Be Announced
• jQuery Boot Camp – Joe Marini (Microsoft)
• HTML5 Canvas Mastery – Lanny McNie (Microsoft), Shawn Blais (Microsoft)
• Windows Phone 7 Boot Camp – Grant Hinkson (Microsoft), Adam Kinney (Pixel Lab)
• Silverlight for SharePoint Boot Camp – Paul Stubbs (Microsoft)

For more information about the BootCamps, or anything else about MIX11, visit the website at http://live.visitmix.com/

I’m still not sure if I’m going to be able to make it to MIX this year, but if I do, I’ll definitely be attending the sessions. Of particular interest to me are the HTML5/CSS2 and Silverlight 5 sessions…

Windows Azure Boot Camp is a two day deep dive class to get you up to speed on developing for Windows Azure. The class includes a trainer with deep, real world experience with Azure, as well as a series of labs so you can practice what you just learned.

Agenda

1. Intro to Cloud Computing and Azure
2. Web Roles
3. Messages and Queues
4. Using Azure Tables
5. Using BLOB Storage
6. Worker Roles
7. Diagnostics and Service Management
8. SQL Azure
9. Connecting with AppFabric
10. Cloud Computing Scenarios
11. Available Resources

What do I need to bring?

During the boot camp you will have opportunities to practice what you learn with labs. Having all of your software ready will make it easier to dive into the yummy goodness of exploring the labs. The lab files package will be given to you during the event .If you want to have everything loaded into a virtual PC that would be even better

In order to run these labs you will need to bring:

• Power strip or extension cord
• A computer or laptop:
  • Operating Systems Supported: Windows 7; Windows Server 2008; Windows Server 2008 R2; Windows Vista Service Pack 1; Windows Vista Service Pack 2
  • Microsoft Visual Studio 2010
  • SQL Server 2005 Express Edition (or above)
  • Install the SDK and Tools

Windows Azure Boot Camp Schedule

• Cleveland, OH – January 19, 2011 at 8:30am EDT
• Austin, TX – January 19, 2011 at 8:30am CDT
• Waukesha, WI – January 25, 2011 at 8:30am CDT
• Cincinnati, OH – January 25, 2011 at 8:30am EDT
• Chattanooga, TN – February 1, 2011 at 8:30am EDT
• Tulsa, OK – February 8, 2011 at 8:30am CDT
• Columbus, OH – February 8, 2011 at 8:30am EDT
• Grand Rapids, MI – February 15, 2011 at 8:30am EDT
• Dallas, TX – February 16, 2011 at 8:30am CDT
• Little Rock, AR – February 23, 2011 at 8:30am CDT
• Chicago, IL – February 23, 2011 at 8:30am CDT
• Minneapolis, MN – March 9, 2011 at 8:30am CDT
• Indianapolis, IN – March 9, 2011 at 8:30am CDT
• Houston, TX – March 16, 2011 at 8:30am CDT
• Memphis, TN – March 23, 2011 at 8:30am CDT
• Overland Park, KS – March 30, 2011 at 8:30am CDT
• Nashville, TN – April 6, 2011 at 8:30am CDT
• Southfield, MI – April 13, 2011 at 8:30am EDT
• Downers Grove, IL – April 20, 2011 at 8:30am CDT
• Des Moines, IA – April 26, 2011 at 8:30am CDT
• St. Louis, MO – May 4, 2011 at 8:30am CDT
• Bloomington, MN – May 9, 2011 at 8:30am CDT

If you can’t make it to the in-person events, there are a number of online resources to help with your Azure studies:

• Introduction to Cloud Computing and Windows Azure – originally aired November 29, 2010
• Windows Azure and Web Roles – scheduled for December 6, 2010 at 11am PDT
• Worker Roles – scheduled for December 13, 2010 at 11am PDT
• Working with Messaging and Queues – scheduled for January 3, 2011 at 11am PDT
• Using Windows Azure Tables – scheduled for January 10, 2011 at 11am PDT
• Diving into BLOB Storage – scheduled for January 17, 2011 at 11am PDT
• Diagnostics and Service Management – scheduled for January 24, 2011 at 11am PDT
• SQL Azure – scheduled for January 31, 2011 at 11am PDT
• Connecting with AppFabric – scheduled for February 7, 2011 at 11am PDT
• Cloud Computing Scenarios – scheduled for February 14, 2011 at 11am PDT

I’m pleased to share with all of you an exciting announcement around a new (hopefully) annual technical event here in Dallas.  On March 4 & 5, 2011, Dallas will host the first ever Dallas Day of Dot Net!  DDDN is a 2-day conference featuring the top local technical talent as well as a special guest travelling all the way from Israel – that’s right Ayende Rahien (a.k.a. Oren Eini) will be featured in one of the three scheduled tracks.

• Beginner track featuring Windows Phone 7 and Windows Azure
• Intermediate track
• Expert track featuring Ayende presenting every other session across both days!

For more details, you can visit the event website at http://jointechies.com and register today at http://jointechies.eventbrite.com/.  Registration will be capped at 300 so please register ASAP!

If you use the discount code “ChrisKoenig” before December 7, you’ll get $50 off the early bird entry fee!

All proceeds from the event will be donated to a local area cancer patient – see the http://jointechies.com website for more information.

I just learned about two cool announcements coming from our friends at MSDN related to availability of Office for Mac 2011 and Windows Azure:

Office for Mac 2011 Home and Business Inclusion in MSDN

Office for Mac 2011 Home and Business, and Communicator for Mac 2011 will be included in all MSDN Premium and Ultimate Subscription Levels as of October 26. It will ship simultaneously in all languages.

Windows Azure Platform MSDN Offer Extension

We are extending the availability of our current Windows Azure Platform MSDN offer through March 31, 2011. Anyone signing up for this offer is guaranteed to receive the current monthly benefit for 16 months from the date of their enrollment. As the monthly level of benefits is greater than what was previously being considered for this offer’s replacement, we believe this is a win for our MSDN subscribers.

Below is an overview of what customers will receive each month:

Windows Azure	750 hours of a small compute instance / month 10 GB of storage 1,000,000 storage transactions / month
SQL Azure	3 Web Edition databases (up to 1 GB of relational data per database)
Windows Azure AppFabric	1,000,000 Access Control transactions / month 1 pack of 5 Service Bus connections / month
Data Transfers	North America and Europe (per region / month) 7 GBs in 14 GBs out Asia Pacific Region 2.5 GB in 5 GB out

For more information, see MSDN Subscriptions – Azure Benefits Overview

The next Cloud Computing User Group Meeting for Dallas will be on Thursday, September 2^nd from 6:00pm – 8:00pm at Microsoft (Las Colinas Office, Building LC1). The presentation will be done by Derek Martin and Trent Foley and will cover Windows Phone 7 and Azure.

	September 2nd, 2010 6:00pm – 8:00pm
	Microsoft Corporation 7000 SR-161 (George Bush Turnpike) Irving, TX 75039

REGISTER TODAY!

Who should attend? Cloud computing has huge implications for both developers and business people.  This is your chance to get in on the ground floor and be part of the community that helps pioneer this exciting new area.

Please take a moment to register here so we can plan appropriately.  Pizza will be served at 6:00 and the presentation / demo will begin shortly after.

For any questions, please email Mike Holdorf at Mike.Holdorf@neudesic.com.