Today I read a commentary out of the San Francisco Bay Area, that discussed the fact that in the Bay Area they are not feeling the effects of the 8.9% Unemployment rate due to the overwhelming need for technologists and the growth of technology companies.   In fact, the article from Market Watch (that can be read here), noted that in the technology industry in the Bay area it seems to be the opposite of most industries which “there are far more employees than employers.” In the Bay Area, home of Silicon Valley, the article notes it is “quite the reverse.”

Well that translates to me that it is also a GREAT time to be a Student Developer studying Computer Science, Computer/Software Engineering, and Technology related majors.  What is so fun is that I have the unique opportunity to expose them to all the great development technologies we have at Microsoft.

Kinect for Windows just was released on February 2nd ( http://www.kinectforwindows.org ) and the Developer Preview of Windows 8 is available from the BUILD conference at (http://dev.windows.com/ ) and, of course, Windows Phone (http://create.msdn.com/ ) is available which means it’s a very FUN time to be a Developer especially a Student Developer with creative ideas that could be the next BIG thing.

To help get students started with their own applications, we have Hands-On Coding labs on University Campuses called appLabs. 

The Upcoming appLabs in the Southeast Area are:

Feb. 22: Georgia State University – Kinect for Windows appLab

Feb. 29: Georgia Institute of Technology (GA Tech) – Kinect for Windows appLab

March 10: Georgia Institute of Technology (GA Tech) – Kinect for Windows Hackathon

More  Development Sessions are on the way!!

Take advantage of the Coding Camps/appLabs on your Campus and get prepared for the job market that is ripe for “coders”.

Hopefully by now if you are a student at any College or University, You have heard about the Big Apps on Campus contest and the upcoming Hackathons being held on various campuses across the US.

Big App on Campus (BAOC) is open to US College and University students who build apps for Windows Phone. Each app created from August 1st, 2011 until February 14th, 2012 can be entered and students can submit multiple entries.

Win big cash (15k) or a trip to South by Southwest.  More Details: http://on.fb.me/wT7vSm

So, How do you start?

- First register and verify as a student with DreamSpark: https://www.dreamspark.com/Account/CreateAccount.aspx

- Second, get Visual Studio Professional from DreamSpark and Windows Phone SDK for free: VS Pro - https://www.dreamspark.com/Product/Product.aspx?productid=4 Windows Phone 7.1 SDK: http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=27570

- Register for a FREE App Hub Student account in the Windows Phone Marketplace at  http://create.msdn.com  Need Help registering? http://create.msdn.com/en-US/home/about/developer_registration_walkthrough

All Set to Code? How about Some Help.

Take some tips from the BAOC rollout at Georgia Tech and University of Florida, and grab these cool coding samples to get started:

On Georgia Tech’s campus, Thomas Fennel, MS Program Manager for Windows Phone Development Tools demoed his Windows Phone TankBot application which controls the movement of his automated TankBot by playing sounds and tilting his Windows Phone.

Cool Huh! ..And Thomas is even willing to share; Get the full code for his TankBot Windows Phone app here: http://bit.ly/w9jox2

At University of Florida, I showed students how to build quick a Windows Phone Twitter client going against the Twitter API, Get the code files for this quick app here: http://bit.ly/w9jox2

Find more samples are at the links above or on my previous blog posts to assist you with building your BIG App on Campus and go for the Big prizes. 

Good LUCK on your Big App Journey!!

Many of you have attended a HTML5 and JavaScript Web/Game Camps we’ve conducted in the East Region and/or are very interested in HTML5, JavaScript and the associated tools.   In addition, many of you may have attended one of the Windows Phone 7 Camps we’ve conducted up and down the East Coast as well.  Well this Post is for you!

As a presenter at some of these camps, most of you that have been in attendance noted to me that you were very interested in getting the Resources, PowerPoints, and/or Code Samples that we’ve presented.   Therefore, I collected many of the presentations and resources from the presenters and provided them below. 

Windows Phone Camp Resources:

SkyDrive with Presentation Resources:   
Windows Phone SkyDrive folder share

More Windows Phone Code Samples from my Blog:    
My Blog with Windows Phone Code Sample Links

MSDN Windows Phone Code Samples:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff431744(v=VS.92).aspx

 

HTML5 Camp Resources:

SkyDrive with Presentation Resources:
HTML5 SkyDrive folder share

More HTML5/JavaScript Samples from teammate, Rachel Appel: http://www.rachelappel.com/html5-web-camps-content-downloads

HTML5/JavaScript links from teammate, Chris Bowen: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/cbowen/archive/2011/07/13/list-of-html5-presentation-resources.aspx

What about you guys that missed the camps all together?  Well have no fear, if you are interested in HTML5 and JavaScript, Lindsay Lindstrom (http://blogs.msdn.com/lindsay) and I are doing a Webcast Series on HTML5 that you can attend live or view the recordings on-demand.  See schedule below:

MSDN Webcast: A Lap Around HTML5: Meet the Players (Level 200) – December 13th

https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032501451&Culture=en-US

http://aka.ms/hvxrnw

MSDN Webcast: A Lap Around HTML5: Adding Fun(ctionality) and Style with JavaScript and CSS3 (Level 200) – December 15th

https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032501453&Culture=en-US

http://aka.ms/fojcaz

MSDN Webcast:A Lap Around HTML5: HTML5 Graphics (Level 200) – December 20th

https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032501477&Culture=en-US

http://aka.ms/ydz3f1

MSDN Webcast: A Lap Around HTML5: Bringing it Together - Creating an HTML5 Game (Level 200) – December 22nd

https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032501480&Culture=en-US

http://aka.ms/jcidyl

I hope you all enjoy getting deeper into HTML5 and Windows Phone 7, and as much as we as speakers enjoyed participating in the Camps, as well as, checking out the cool apps created at the Hackathons conducted at each camp.   

I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving.  I am thankful for the great experiences of being an Developer Evangelist.  Why?  This story is a superb example:

On last week, during my XBOX Gaming applab session (XNA) at Atlanta University (Spelman College, Morehouse College, Clark Atlanta University) , I asked one of the really astute, very bright, & sharp students how old he was & what year in school. ....Turns out that he (Stephen) is 15 YEARS old (yes 15) and is a JUNIOR at Morehouse College. He started taking College classes in Morehouse at the age of 11 years old, and was officially taking full coursework at 13 years as a Sophomore.

He was AMAZING...HE was figuring out and writing the code along with me and sometimes before I could even get out the coding task he had already inferred the next step.  He was answering all of the coding questions, helping others with their code and quite frankly blowing the 18 - 21 year olds in the class away.   I soon came to find that I wasn’t the only one amazed by his genius, as he had previously been interviewed by multiple Media Outlets as a Child Prodigy.  Stephen Stafford was Home Schooled by his parents into what seems to be the Right Stuff!

Check out interviews with Stephen and his Mother when he was between 11 – 13 and just starting college.

Whiz Kid Stephen Stafford

Meet Stephen Stafford

          

Guys this kid INSPIRED ME to step up MY game and push harder to gain more knowledge on….umm I don’t know, I guess gain more knowledge on EVERYTHING!  So my son (ironically named Stephen) should beware, he’s 12 and is going to have to step up his game too!

So, I say again for opportunity to gain these types of experiences being a Developer Evangelist; I am Thankful.

For those of you interested in building an Windows Phone app or putting the finishing touches on your Windows Phone applications  Let me offer a little assistance so you can make a SPLASH and become the Big App on Campus and Win some COOL PRIZES.  Check out my blog for more details on the contest.

I am providing a LOT of Windows Phone Resources below, but I have outlined them in such a way that you should be able to pick and choose what resources are best needed to assist in completing your first app or apps. 

As always if you want to have a Windows Phone 7 appLab (Hands-On Windows Phone Coding & Learning Session) on YOUR Campus.

  Email me directly to get it started.

Windows Phone 7 Resources – Getting Started:

• Windows Phone for Absolute Beginners Series:For true beginners http://channel9.msdn.com/Series/Windows-Phone-7-Development-for-Absolute-Beginners/Series-Introduction
• Windows Phone Development Quick Starts: Code Walkthroughs & samples of the dev. features/scenarios for creating Windows Phone applications: http://create.msdn.com/en-us/education/quickstarts
• Create your first Game for Windows Phone:Code Walkthrough for building a simple game on Windows Phone: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff472340(v=VS.92).aspx
• Developing a Windows Phone Application from Start to Finish Walkthrough: Complete walkthrough with downloadable companion application full code solution for those who want to see what steps were taking to complete this app and follow along with code: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg680270(v=PandP.11).aspx
• Getting Started with MVVM: Students that attended the appLabs are aware of the Model-View-View Model pattern that we implemented when building our Twitter app, but this link provides good practice for those who are not aware of this pattern: http://weblogs.asp.net/dwahlin/archive/2009/12/08/getting-started-with-the-mvvm-pattern-in-silverlight-applications.aspx

Code Samples for Common Tasks:

Panorama/Pivot View Sample:

• Instructions/Pivot: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff941123(v=VS.92).aspx
• Instructions/Panorama: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff941092(v=VS.92).aspx
• Code: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=229124

Location Service/GPS Sample:

• Instructions: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff431782(v=VS.92).aspx
• Code: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=229128

Use Sensor Data Sample (Accelerometer/Gyroscope/Compass:

• Instructions/Accelerometer: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff431810(v=VS.92).aspx
• Instructions/Gyroscope: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh202943(v=VS.92).aspx
• Instructions/Compass: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh202974(v=VS.92).aspx
• Instructions/Combined: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh202984(v=VS.92).aspx
• Code: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=219085

Process and Use RSS Feeds in Win Phone:

• Instructions: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh487167(v=VS.92).aspx
• Code: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=229151
• NOTE: If a student attended an appLab, a simpler example is Twitter app built during lab also showing MVVM.

Isolated Storage (3 Scenarios):

• Instructions/Settings Page: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff769510(v=VS.92).aspx
• Instructions/Files & Folders: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff626519(v=VS.92).aspx
• Instructions/Relational Data (non-MVVM): http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh202876(v=VS.92).aspx

Local Database App w/MVVM for Win Phone:

• Instructions: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh286405(v=VS.92).aspx

• Code (C#): http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=219066

AD Control Sample: For those students who want to make money on their Phone app via including advertising in their apps:

• AD Control Explanation/Walkthrough: Instructions/Using Visual Studio Designer: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/advertising-mobile-windows-phone-7-visual-studio-designer(v=MSADS.20).aspx
• Instructions/Using Silverlight Ad API for WP: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/advertising-mobile-windows-phone-7-silverlight-adcontrol-csharp(v=MSADS.20).aspx
• Instructions/Using XNA Ad API (Win Phone Game): http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/advertising-mobile-windows-phone-7-xna-api(v=MSADS.20).aspx
• Code: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=229112