November, 2011

Thanks Pierre for this post… Hello folks, Today started very very early, we were leaving the hotel for the conference center a 5:30am…  yes, 5:30am.  however we had a great view from the hotel window. we were onsite at the Montreal Palais des Congres, to put the finishing touches on our Keynote presentation.  This morning, we tried something a little different.  we put together...

I’ve been on the road for the better part of the month of November, meeting with developers and IT Pros across the country and it’s been a blast.  Because I’m the guy on the MS Canada evangelism team most focused on Windows Phone, more often than not those conversations trend towards mobile.  One of the really neat things about these conversations is the fact that that one of the more popular...

Choosing a browser is also a choice around security. Most of what we do on the computer today is in the browser: we read some news site, learn a new technology, chat with our friends, watch funny videos… As a big part of our online life in inside the browser, we need one that will protect us, protect our computer and our data. When you look at the security of your browser, you need to give a closer...

Last week, I mentioned that Windows Azure is setting up camp online and in cities near you . With TechDays coming to Montreal next week, Windows Azure Camp is coming along with it! Join me, Jonathan Rozenblit , as well as TechDays speakers and Windows Azure experts Tyler Doerksen ( @tyler_gd ) and Steve Syfuhs ( @stevesyfuhs ) on November 29 from 6:00pm to 10:00pm for Windows Azure Camp. Register now...

Each big conference attendee who’s signed up for conferences is looking for a Keynote. TechDays Montreal is no exception. After batting around a number of ideas over the last while, the team decided that it would be a GREAT idea to find a local superstar and personality who is well versed in Microsoft technologies to present – ALSO who’s a native of Montreal! It’s with great pleasure that we can announce...

Over the last few months, you’ve been telling us a lot about what you’d like to see and what you need in order to be connected and stay relevant with your skills and career. You told us you wanted video content because learning is a lot more enjoyable and a lot more engaging when you can see something rather than just reading something. You also told us that you wanted to get the content on your terms...

Yes – you can have this feeling of accomplishment these two guys are feeling when we took this picture. Do you want to have that feeling of fulfillment and spontaneous celebration like these two dudes? You can get it after you take the leap of faith and attend one of our Hands On Labs at TechDays Montreal in order to know that you have maximized your time and experience at TechDays! As we...

After having the pleasure of talking about technology and connecting with people in Toronto and Vancouver – it’s now Montreal’s turn. Techdays Montreal is coming quickly and the whole team is giving 200% effort to finish things up with a Bang. This year – lots of diverse sessions are on hand to choose from. If you are interested in Agile, Cloud Computing, Application Testing...

Do you know HTML5? We heard about this everywhere, and I have to admit that I am a fan. I know that in Montreal, I’m not the only one. After we saw a real enthusiast from people in our hometown, and from places like Toronto and Vancouver , where there is also HTML5 user group, Benoît Piette , Mathieu Chartier and myself decide to create one here . At this time, the information on the...

If you’re looking to start learning Windows Phone 7.5 development, this could be the perfect place for you to start!  Jeff Blankenburg from Microsoft has compiled (or rather, at the time of publication of this post is compiling ) a series of 31 tutorials on how to implement Windows Phone 7.5 Apps. The tutorials are “snack-sized”, meaning they won’t take you three hours to go through and they have...

QA is an essential part of the development lifecycle. The QA team tests your code and then the bugs they report return to you to get fixed. Sometimes that relationship can be a challenge as we argue over what is really a bug, try to reproduce the defects identified during QA, and determine the severity of each defect. Improving the relationship between QA and development will help your application...

Brrrrr! It’s starting to get cold outside, which means it’s time to leave the outdoor activities behind and get some learning done! Isn’t that what the winter is for? If you’re like me, your summer is spent relaxing (or slacking off), being outside, soaking in the rays, vacations, etc, and the winter is spent catching up on the latest and greatest and taking the time to sit...

I spent years working as a Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), MCTs have an incredible wealth of knowledge on a variety of topics and they know how to explain both the value of a feature as well as how to use it. Haven’t you always wanted to have access to an expert? Well, I decided to take advantage of my network of trainer buddies and ask a few of them to share something they felt was either undervalued...

A presenter at the front of the room, a projector, looks like just another session at TechDays doesn’t it? But this session is a hands on lab. If you take a step back you notice a room full of computers and lots of attendees writing code This is the hands on lab area at TechDays Vancouver, something we are trying for the very first time this year at TechDays. It’s great to see everyone getting a little...

What a keynote, eh? Whether you were in person or watching live online, surely you felt Scott’s energy and the passion as he walked us through the “Web Stack of Love”. Since he went through so many cool things, I’m going to assume that you have questions. Bring them on! Here’s how you can get your questions answered: Between now and next Monday , share your questions and thoughts in this TechDays LinkedIn...

Looking for TechDays content before it gets to TechDays Online? Prairie Dev Con is a perfect place to get it! Join myself, Jonathan Rozenblit , fellow developer evangelist Thomas Lewis , and TechDays speakers Tyler Doerksen ( @tyler_gd ) and Miguel Carrasco ( @miguelcarrasco ) on November 21st and 22nd, 2011 in Winnipeg, MB for Prairie Dev Con Winnipeg . If you haven’t already registered for Prairie...

TechDays Vancouver is just a handful of days away. As we are always looking to incorporate your feedback into what we do, we have added more HTML5 sessions to the already-packed agenda. Currently we have sessions about HTML5 such as Application Development with HTML5 (DEV302) and HTML5 and CSS3 Techniques You Can Use Today (DEV334). Of course we have other sessions that will have HTML5 as a part of...

Although many of the attendees from TechDays Toronto already know this, for those of you attending TechDays in Vancouver or Montreal (or maybe this is added incentive to register for Techdays in those cities…), our great partner Telerik has generously supplied every attendee with a free license for their Telerik Rad Controls for Windows Phone suite. This is a truly world-class set of controls...

  With just under a week to go before TechDays Vancouver , I know that the team here is going through all our prep lists to make sure that we have everything to ensure an amazing experience for you. While we’re doing that, you can get started on your TechDays prep with this “everything I need for TechDays” prep list – Vancouver Edition! There’s lots to do and so this post is a bit of a long read...

You’re probably wondering what the PowerPoint slide is all about. Well let me tell you. This is the story of the TechDays Vancouver keynote. A week from today, I have the distinct pleasure and honour (and stress!) of introducing   the keynote speaker. As you heard from Damir a little while ago, that speaker is none other than Mr. Scott Hanselman . How do you introduce someone that needs no introduction...

Welcome to your one stop shop for links to all the online resources and references from a TechDays 2011 event.  By now – you have been back to work, eager to apply / learn more about the things you saw while attending TechDays . But you still have to wait a little longer to get access to the PowerPoints and recorded Videos from Toronto or Montreal – they will be up by the end of November / early...

SQL Server Denali, so many great features for reporting, high availability, business intelligence, and more . If you haven’t had time to sit down and start learning about what’s new in the latest release of SQL Server, join Microsoft Canada for a weekly webcast series to help discover and understand the benefits of the latest release of SQL Server. Starting on November 9th and continuing every week...

A few days ago I posted the resources for the TechDays 2011 Communications and Collaboration track.  This post is intended to provide those who attended session in the Data Platform track to be able to continue their learning with the resources listed for each of the sessions delivered at TechDays 2011 in Toronto, as well as overall resources for the track.  As was evident from the content...

I don’t know for you, but each time I go to a conference, I always want to put my hands into the new technology I just learn. I’m sure that it’s the case for you, so I wanted to give you a one-stop place where you’ll be able to get everything you need to do this with the sessions you saw, or you will see in the Developers Tools, Languages and Framework track at TechDays. ...

Scores of fabulous speakers are working their way from Toronto to Vancouver to Montreal as part of TechDays delivering great content to technical professionals. Whether it’s TechDays, a client meeting, or a lunch and learn with co-workers, all of us are called upon to present from time to time . When we put together a presentation it can be tricky to deliver the information the audience needs in a...