Building Awesome Apps for Windows 7 Community Tour

As a developer, I’ll admit that I have built a number of applications that didn’t integrate as well as they could have with Windows. In these scenarios, the user’s experience was non-optimal because they would be left wanting for particular capabilities or features. For example, integration with the Windows shell or support auto-recovery in the event of a crash. The challenge I faced was the combination of not knowing of these capabilities in the first place along with lack of an easy and intuitive means of integration. With technologies like Windows 7 and the Windows API Code Pack for the .NET Framework, I believe that the technical challenge has been largely addressed for developers building apps in managed code. The need to address education and experience certainly remains. That’s why I’m happy to announce the Building Awesome Apps for Windows 7 Community Tour. The purpose of this tour is to provide YOU with the knowledge and insight about building apps for Windows 7; not “good enough” apps or apps deemed to be “sufficient” but rather, apps that your users classify as “stunning” or “awesome”. That is, apps that look and behave as first-class citizens of Windows 7; integrating with the rich capabilities of Windows 7.

Building Awesome Apps for Windows 7 Community Tour

Windows 7 represents an amazing opportunity for application developers. Since shipping just one year ago, more than 240 million licenses of Windows 7 have been sold. Windows 7 is also an amazing platform. Through integrated capabilities through the Windows Taskbar, sensors, text, and speech, it blends the best technology, innovation, and creativity to empower developers to create awesome apps. As part of the Building Awesome Apps for Windows 7 Community Tour, you’ll hear how you can start taking advantage of the capabilities of Windows 7 in your new/existing applications TODAY.

Of course, any tour that shows developers how to build awesome apps for Windows 7 needs awesome presenters. We’ve reached out two of our top minds in the Canadian developer community; Kate Gregory and Richard Campbell:

Kate Gregory Kate Gregory is in her fourth decade of being paid to program. Her firm, Gregory Consulting Limited, is based in rural Ontario, Canada and helps clients adopt new technologies and adjust to the changing business environment. Current work makes heavy use of .NET and Visual C++ along with SharePoint and both client and web development. Managing, mentoring, technical writing, and technical speaking occupy much of her time, but she still writes code every week. Kate is the author of over a dozen books and speaks at DevDays, DevTeach, TechEd (USA, Europe, Africa), and TechDays, among others. Kate is a C++ MVP, the founder of the East of Toronto .NET Users group, a member of the INETA speakers bureau, and a member of adjunct faculty at Trent University in Peterborough. Since January 2002 she has been Microsoft Regional Director for Toronto and since January 2004 she has been awarded the Microsoft MVP designation for Visual C++.

Richard Campbell Richard Campbell is one of the co-founders of Strangeloop Networks and today serves as product evangelist, introducing the company's unique story to advisors, investors, patent attorneys, beta-customer candidates, potential employees, etc. Richard has more than 30 years of high-tech experience and is both a Microsoft Regional Director and Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP). He has consulted with a number of leading North American organizations; Barnes&Noble.com, Dow Chemical, Johnson & Johnson Health Care Services, Reuters, Subaru/Isuzu and the U.S. Air Force. In addition to speaking at conferences around the world, Richard is co-host of the ".NET Rocks!, the Internet Audio Talk Show for .NET Developers" (www.dotnetrocks.com) podcast and the host of "RunAs Radio, the Internet Audio Talk Show for IT Professionals" (www.runasradio.com) podcast.

Here’s the breakdown of the tour:

Each event will feature two unique sessions, designed to provide you with the technical information you need to target Windows 7:

Session #1: A Lap Around the Windows API Code Pack
The Windows API Code Pack for the .NET Framework is a managed library for building applications that light up on Windows 7. It provides access to new user interface features (taskbar jump lists, libraries, sensor platform and more) as well as "behind the scenes" features that make your applications more aware and responsive (restart and recovery, power management and more). This is a must-have library for developers targeting Windows 7 with managed code. In this session, you’ll learn how to quickly incorporate the Windows API Code Pack into your applications to take advantage of features in Windows 7.

Session #2: Building Touch-First Applications for Windows 7
In Windows 7, innovative touch and gesture support enable a rich and natural interaction with applications. Are your applications ready to support this new wave of PC form factors? Are they finger-friendly to support interactions and gestures on Windows 7? This session highlights the new multi-touch gesture APIs and explains how you can leverage them in your applications.

“Really? Only five cities?”

One challenge we faced when planning this tour was the fact that - due to time and budget constraints - we simply couldn’t visit every city we wanted. Planning a tour for a country the size of Canada is really tough; coordinating everything with speakers and local user groups isn’t easy. That stated, we really want to ensure that everyone across Canada has an opportunity to learn about building awesome apps for Windows 7. As a result, I’m happy to let you know that we’ll be hosting a simulcast of Kate Gregory’s presentation on Wednesday, November 24:

» REGISTER NOW FOR THE BUILDING AWESOME APPS FOR WINDOWS 7 SIMULCAST

These events will help you understand what’s possible on Windows 7 while showing you how to leverage its capabilities in managed code. These events are a great investment in your learning and definitely worth your time! Register for the Building Awesome Apps for Windows 7 Community Tour TODAY!