Dave is a Principal Technical Evangelist for Microsoft focused on Windows, Windows Phone, Windows Azure and the Web. Based out of the Greater Philadelphia Area.
I became a father of two early Tuesday evening. My second daughter, Ava Rose, was born at 5:25 am. 8 lbs 7 oz, 21.5 inches long and a solid bundle of joy! The women officially outnumber me 3 to 1 in my house now - hehe.
It is amazing how something that happens all over the world everyday is no less a miracle when you experience it yourself. Welcome to the world, Ava!
Expect my blogging to be pretty light over the next two weeks or so as I get used to a newborn schedule and less sleep. =)
Thanks,Dave
One of the ideas we are floating around for this year's Health & Life Sciences Developer and Solutions Conference is "Open Spaces Technology" or OST.
"Open Space Technology (OST) is a way to convene people for a conference, retreat or meeting. "Technology" in this case means 'tool' - a process; a method. Attendees are asked to generate the meeting agenda as well as participate by leading small group break-out sessions during the meeting time. There is usually a facilitator, but no official meeting leader who demands compliance."
I am a big fan of OST. =) One of the draws for me at conferences is always the networking aspects. It is great to get insight on how other developers are tackling the same issues I am but sometimes in completely different ways, not to mention completely different companies and cultures. OST really enables that. Think you got a really good solution you want to share with your peers? Volunteer it as a topic! See something happening in your industry that you want to get others' insights on? Write it up on the board!
We are running a poll up on the HLSDevCon site now where you can select a list of topics. Feel free to write your own ideas up there and don't be afraid to shoot me some Feedback on what your thoughts are on this. OST is about making the conference center around what is important to you, instead of what we decided to put on an agenda. Make sure you are heard!
We're not the only ones either.. Mix 08 is also going OST!
With all of the Silverlight Training resources I posted recently it is now time for some WPF love. =)
Be sure to check out the WPF Bootcamp at Mix University.
With over 20 hours of hands on labs, customer examples, and a plethora of topics it will take you through WPF inside and out from start to finish. Here is just a sample:
Keynote: Windows Presentation FoundationIan Ellison-TaylorA Lap Around Windows Presentation FoundationRob RelyeaA Lap Around Microsoft Expression BlendPete FaradayBuilding WPF Applications Part IIan GriffithsBuilding WPF Applications Part IIIan GriffithsLAB: Building WPF Applications LAB: Building WPF XAML Browser Applications LAB: Interactive Fabrikam Catalog in Blend Controls, Styles and TemplatesKevin MooreLAB: Creating a Button with Expression Blend and Design LAB: Creating a Glass Button in Blend Data Binding with WPFBeatriz de Oliveira CostaWPF Partner ShowcaseTim SneathDocuments, Text and the Reading Experience Kevin GjerstadLAB: Using Data Binding in WPF LAB: Reading Experience Windows Forms InteroperabilityScott MorrisonVisual Studio Orcas Enhancements for WPF Mark Wilson-Thomas, Mark Boulter
Keynote: Windows Presentation FoundationIan Ellison-TaylorA Lap Around Windows Presentation FoundationRob RelyeaA Lap Around Microsoft Expression BlendPete FaradayBuilding WPF Applications Part IIan GriffithsBuilding WPF Applications Part IIIan GriffithsLAB: Building WPF Applications
LAB: Building WPF XAML Browser Applications
LAB: Interactive Fabrikam Catalog in Blend
Controls, Styles and TemplatesKevin MooreLAB: Creating a Button with Expression Blend and Design
LAB: Creating a Glass Button in Blend
Data Binding with WPFBeatriz de Oliveira CostaWPF Partner ShowcaseTim SneathDocuments, Text and the Reading Experience Kevin GjerstadLAB: Using Data Binding in WPF
LAB: Reading Experience
Windows Forms InteroperabilityScott MorrisonVisual Studio Orcas Enhancements for WPF Mark Wilson-Thomas, Mark Boulter
Grab all the content here today!
Also don't forgot about WindowsClient.NET. There is entire learning section around WPF filled with short 15-20 minute digestible videos around various WPF topics.
Check it out here!
There is a new training series from MIX University out around Silverlight. The entire application is written in Silverlight itself and really well done. You even get access to the source code if you want to see how they did it!
There are a lot of training videos out there on the web for Silverlight but what I like about the Fire Starter Kit is that it gives a holistic approach that builds upon a conceptual foundation first.
" Want to learn more about Microsoft's newest technology powering several popular rich media web sites? We just published the Silverlight 1.0 Fire Starter, an excellent introduction to Silverlight 1.0 development. Unlike many of the available tutorials which jump right into code and implementation, this series of 8 lessons takes time to cover the introductory conceptual level before stepping into code. This is a great starting place for someone to learn what Silverlight is, why it's important, and how to get started building sites. And when you're finished watching the lessons, you can try tweaking the source code for the site! "
Check it out today!