Team Development for Everybody

The end of an era…. and a new beginning…

WilliamSalazar — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 02:01:00 GMT

In case you haven't heard, it was with mixed emotions that I decided to leave Microsoft back in January after spending over 12 years as part of the Developer Platform Evangelism (DPE) and Services teams. I am excited to now be part of Neudesic - a Microsoft national system integrator and gold certified partner with a proven track record of providing reliable, effective solutions based on Microsoft’s technology platform.

I have spent the last six months formalizing and leading the ALM Practice for Neudesic in the U.S. I see this as a natural progression and extension of the disciplines and technologies I advocated and focused on while at Microsoft. I will leverage Neudesic's in-depth experience in software delivery to continuing helping organizations to continually improve their processes, practices and tools for managing and enabling the software application lifecycle. This is sometimes referred to as the art of cultivating development intelligence - Implementing areas for improvement, setting goals, and tracking your progress toward achieving those goals. I have worked with our leadership team to assemble a great team of ALM architects at Neudesic with vast experience in Agile/Scrum development processes, Quality Assurance, TFS expertise focused on deployment, migration, integration and customization of Microsoft's flagship ALM platform.

I am still well engaged with Microsoft's Developer Platform Evangelism team and the Visual Studio Product group. So you might have seen me at the recent Visual Studio 2012 launch events or delivering an MSDN developer tools webcast.

You can find me talking about the exciting work we are doing at my new blog at http://www.williamsalazar.net .

I can be reached at my email william.salazar@neudesic.com or you can following me on Twitter @wsalazar.

I look forward to continue working with you to realize the benefits of Microsoft Application Development Platform and ALM.

Regards,

William

Take advantage of this free workshop we are offering next month in Irvine - Accelerate Testing with Lab Manager 2010

WilliamSalazar — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 18:18:00 GMT

Accelerate Testing with Lab Manager 2010

Microsoft and Sirk Technologies are proud to offer this half-day live event – during which we will demonstrate the testing and quality assurance lifecycle using Visual Studio 2010 and Team Foundation Server. Join us as we dive into the testing tools and testing process you can use to dramatically improve the effectiveness of your QA and Test efforts.

Attend this half-day event to discover:

Using Lab Manager 2010 to provide a platform to accelerate the test and development cycle by providing the rapid provisioning of virtual environments using templates.
Automated deployment of software builds and testing in virtual environments from Visual Studio Ultimate.
Using Lab Manager and Test Manager 2010 to eliminate the “No Repro” scenario.
Leveraging Lab Manager 2010 and Visual Studio Ultimate for Load Testing your web applications.

Now come see it all. In action. Today.

This training event is geared towards QA managers, technical and non-technical testers, business analysts, and quality-conscious developers working on cross-functional teams.

Register Now! Click on the event code below.

Welcome: 8:00 AM (Local Time)

Seminar: 8:30 AM-12:30 PM (Local Time)

Seating is limited. Register online with Event Code or call 1-877-MSEVENT.

Schedule

DATE	CITY, STATE	EVENT CODE
August 9, 2011	Denver, CO	1032489582
August 11, 2011	Tempe, AZ	1032489583
August 16, 2011	Irvine, CA	1032489581
August 23, 2011	Portland, OR	1032489584
August 25, 2011	Bellevue, WA	1032489586
August 30, 2011	Mountain View, CA	1032489587

Resources

Learn more about Visual Studio 2010
Deploy and adopt better Application Lifecycle Management, learn more almcatalyst.com
Download the latest Visual Studio Lab Management Datasheet
Keep up with the latest developer news through MSDN Flash

ALM Roadmap for Visual Studio vNext Announced at Tech-Ed 2011

WilliamSalazar — Mon, 16 May 2011 16:14:00 GMT

A glimpse of the future for Visual Studio's Application Lifecycle Management tools was announced today by Jason Zander, Corporate Vice President for Visual Studio, at Tech-Ed 2011.

Visual Studio vNext is another major step forward as we extend our coverage of the lifecycle and embrace additional roles critical to a projects success. We are continuing down the path of bringing the team together by creating trustworthy and transparent bridges that improve the flow of information across the entire team, eliminating the most common causes of waste. We are also focusing on ensuring the team receives continuous feedback throughout the lifecycle to encourage rich, productive and scalable interactions, which increase the productivity of the team and reduce risk. In addition, we are maintaining our focus on driving better software quality in every cycle of development, from check-in to sprint. We free the team from distractions and keep them ‘in the zone’ by automating many of the common interactions and bookkeeping activities.

Microsoft's vision for ALM can be broken down into three main themes:

Building on the momentum of Visual Studio 2010. If you haven’t tried out Visual Studio 2010, you can take it out for a test drive.
Accelerating agile adoption – you can find great existing support today with more to come.
Linking development and operations – ensuring a tight interaction between dev and ops.

The “Visual Studio vNext: Application Lifecycle Management” whitepaper is available today. This is a comprehensive whitepaper that covers these topics in much more detail. I recommend you check it out, along with the Visual Studio Roadmap.

The best way to take advantage of the benefits of ALM is to start using Visual Studio 2010 today and obtain an MSDN subscription. Additional helpful links to get you started can be found on our websites:

Visual Studio website – product information
Visual Studio Dev Center – technical and community information

A video of Jason Zander's keynote will be available on the Teched North America site:

Also check out Cameron Skinner, Brian Harry, and Amit Chatterjee’s blogs over the next couple of months for more details on ALM in Visual Studio vNext.

Announcing XAPFest LA 2011- Santa Monica, CA. All developers invited!

WilliamSalazar — Fri, 13 May 2011 17:32:00 GMT

XAPFest LA 2011
Saturday, June 4th, 2011 | 9AM – 10PM
Loews Santa Monica
1700 Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica, CA, 90401 | (310) 458-6700
REGISTER HERE
*Registration is required

About XAPFest

XAPFest is a Windows Phone 7 Hackathon for developers of every background and skill level. iOS and Android developers, .NET veterans, and curious programmers who want to try their hand at programming for Windows Phone 7 are all invited! It is a great opportunity to get to learn new technologies, meet members of the SoCal tech community, code, and have fun!

XAPFest consists of 1 full day of hacking – breakfast, lunch, dinner, plus snacks and drinks will be provided. This is a BYOL (Bring Your Own Laptop) Event. Please remember to install the free WP7 tools and SDK before the event begins, and if you don’t have a copy of Windows Vista or Windows 7 (required to install the WP7 tools), you can request a Windows 7 license. Loaner Windows Phone 7 units will be available to teams and individuals for the purposes of testing apps.

the prizes

Best App - $2000 (sponsored by Infragistics) & Windows Phone 7 device
Best Original App - $500 AMEX gift card & Windows Phone 7 device
Best Port – $500 AMEX gift card & Windows Phone 7 device
User’s Choice - XBOX 360 with Kinect & Windows Phone 7 device

rules for apps to be eligible

Applications must NOT already be in the Windows Phone 7 marketplace
Applications CAN be worked on before the event but must not be in the marketplace prior to the event
Teams CAN submit multiple applications and all CAN be submitted for the $2000 Grand Prize
Teams are limited to 3 or less members

event schedule

May 9 - June 3, 2011	Registration
	Register, install tools, and begin creating apps
June 4, 2011	XAPFest LA 2011
9:00am	Doors open
9:30am	Welcome & Announcements
9:45am	Coding begins
12:00pm	Lunch
6:00pm	Coding ends
6:30pm	Reception and Dinner; judges begin reviewing apps
9:00pm	Judging is finished, Top 10 Windows Phone 7 Apps Presentation & Awards
10:00pm	Winners are announced

Click here to see the full XAPFest event schedule. Registration is required.

REGISTER HERE

Download the VS/TFS 2010 SP1 and TFS-Project Server Integration Feature Pack

WilliamSalazar — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 09:06:00 GMT

On Tuesday March 8th, Microsoft released Visual Studio 2010 SP1 and Team Foundation Server 2010 SP1. We also released the Team Foundation Server Project Server Integration Feature Pack for MSDN subscribers.

Non-MSDN subscribers can download the VS/TFS SP1 updates using the links below:

For more details, read Brian Harry's blog post at http://blogs.msdn.com/b/bharry/archive/2011/03/08/vs-tfs-2010-sp1-and-tfs-project-server-integration-feature-pack-have-released.aspx

Mar ‘11 Team Foundation Server Power Tools are Available

WilliamSalazar — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 06:28:00 GMT

Today Microsoft released an update to the Team Foundation Server Power Tools. You can download them here:

For additional details, visit Brian Harry's blog at http://blogs.msdn.com/b/bharry/archive/2011/03/03/mar-11-team-foundation-server-power-tools-are-available.aspx?sf1144731=1

Visual Studio 2010 Build & Brew Post Event Information for San Diego & Costa Mesa, CA

WilliamSalazar — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 22:27:00 GMT

Thank you to everyone who attended the Visual Studio 2010 Build & Brew event in San Diego (1/20) and Costa Mesa (2/9) held at Karl Strauss Brewery. Based on initial feedback, it looks like these events were very well received.

As promised, I’ve posted slide decks and other links online for you to download. You can get this content from Skydrive HERE.

Also, below are some links to help jumpstart your use of TFS 2010 Build:

This is the first time we held a training event outside of the tranditional conference room venue so your feedback is greatly appreciated. Let me know what you thought of the events!

Visual Studio 2010 Build & Brew Event - San Diego, CA - 1/20/2011

WilliamSalazar — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 21:48:00 GMT

We held our Visual Studio Build & Brew event in San Diego, CA last night to a full room. Based on initial comments, it seems everyone found this event valuable and useful! As promised, I will be uploading all the content from this event, including links to valuable online resources. I expect to have a download link available on my blog by the end of day today. Make sure to check back later today or tomorrow.

Again, I want to thank everyone that attended yesterday's event. It was great seeing everyone in person.

Feel free to contact me if you have any additional questions or would like more information on our development products - wsalazar@microsoft.com

Announcing the release of Microsoft WebMatrix!

WilliamSalazar — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 21:20:00 GMT

Web Matrix is a brand new web development tool from Microsoft that includes everything you need for website development. Start from open source web applications, built-in web templates or just start writing code yourself. It’s all-inclusive, simple and best of all free. Developing websites has never been easier.

Recommend anyone looking to do web development to take a look at the free Web publishing tools released yesterday by Microsoft in a new software suite called WebMatrix.

Download and try WebMatrix for yourself!

Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate Hands-On Lab - Irvine, CA 11/17/2010

WilliamSalazar — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 22:11:00 GMT

Thank you to everyone who was able to join us for our Visual Studio 2010 Hands-On Lab in Irivne, CA yesterday. I hope everyone enjoyed this one-day hands-on experience designed to educate our customers on the new features in Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate and Team Foundation Server 2010.

Everyone in attendance received a comprehensive overview of Visual Studio 2010 and Team Foundation Server 2010, our flagship Application Life-cycle Management (ALM) system . Attendees were able to work directly with the newest enhancements in version control, testing, reporting, project management and build management.

Again, I want to thank Jeff Leite/Architect -Neudesic for co-presenting and providing technical assistance during the event. I am sure everyone came away with a better understanding of the exciting new features in Visual Studio 2010 and Team Foundation Server 2010.

As a follow-up to the event, I am posting some useful links for Visual Studio 2010 and Team Foundation Server: Here is a link to the presentation slides for this event (http://cid-e227ddf77cc91b63.skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?resid=E227DDF77CC91B63!366). Feel free to email me with any questions at wsalazar@microsoft.com .

Web Sites

West Region DPE Customer Developer Tools Portal
Team System Cafe - Team System Cafe - a great place for VSTS information.
Visual Studio Product Page - The official product page for Visual Studio.
Team System Widgets - A comprehensive list of utilities, integrations and other "widgets" for different versions of Visual Studio.
Team Team Foundation Server Power Tools September 2010 - Team Foundation Power Tools are a set of feature add-ons aimed to enable new scenarios and solutions.

Guidance/Whitepapers

VS2010 Evaluations

Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4 mark the next generation of developer tools from Microsoft.

Trials:

Visual Studio 2010 Downloads
VS Team Explorer Everywhere 2010 [Eclipse plug-in and cross-platform command-line client for Visual Studio 2010 Team Foundation Server]

Virtual Machines (Visual Studio 2010 Virtual Machines with Sample Data and Hands-on-Labs) :

· Visual Studio 2010 RTM (Hyper-V)

· Visual Studio 2010 RTM (Windows [7] Virtual PC)

· Visual Studio 2010 RTM (Virtual PC 2007 SP1)

Please see the blog post from Brian Keller for instructions for additional details.

Documentation

MSDN Product Documentation:

Team Foundation Server 2010:

Blogs:

Brian Harry
Brian Harry is "the guy" at Microsoft for Team Foundation Server.
Rob Caron
Rob Caron's blog - a great dev tools resource!
Bruno Terkaly
Bruno is the Developer Evangelist in Northern California.
William Salazar
William Salazar is the Developer Technology Specialist for Southern California and Hawaii.
Gert Drapers
Gert's blog about all things Visual Studio Database development features.
Steve Lange
Steve Lange is the Developer Technology Specialist for Colorado, Arizona, Utah, S. Nevada, New Mexico, Wyaoming, and Montana.
Brian Keller
Brian Keller is a Technical Evangelist for Microsoft Visual Studio Team System. Brian is based in Redmond, Washington.
Buck Hodges
Buck Hodges' blog
Joe Shirey
Joe Shirey is a Senior Architect Evangelist based in Denver, Colorado.
Manish Agarwal
Manish Agarwal's blog

Videos

VS2010 Launch:

This video series provides an overview of the key features of Visual Studio 2010, including new IDE features for modeling and understanding code, developer and test collaboration, team collaboration with Team Foundation Server, Project Management, and application development for Windows, Web, and SharePoint 2010.

The following are the videos from PDC 2009:

ALM & TechDays:

Learning Resources

MSDN Magazine Articles

Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate Hands-On Lab - Los Angeles, CA 11/10/2010

WilliamSalazar — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 20:24:00 GMT

Thank you to everyone who was able to join us for our Visual Studio 2010 Hands-On Lab in Los Angeles, CA on 11/10/2010. I hope everyone enjoyed this one-day hands-on experience designed to educate our customers on the new features in Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate and Team Foundation Server 2010.

Everyone in attendance received a comprehensive overview of Visual Studio 2010 and Team Foundation Server 2010, our flagship Application Life-cycle Management (ALM) system . Attendees were able to work directly with the newest enhancements in version control, testing, reporting, project management and build management.

I want to thank Jeff Leite/Architect -Neudesic for presenting and providing technical assistance during the event. I am sure everyone came away with a better understanding of the exciting new features in Visual Studio 2010 and Team Foundation Server 2010.

As a follow-up to the event, I am posting some useful links for the Team Build questions that came up from some attendees.

· Build Customization using Visual Studio 2010 (TFS 2010)

o Build Customization using Visual Studio 2010 – Explore New Features

o Build Customization using Visual Studio 2010 – Customize the Default Template

o Build Customization using Visual Studio 2010 (TFS 2010) - Creating Custom Activity

· TFS Team Build 2010: What’s New?

· Working with Build Definitions in TFS Team Build 2010

· Using MSDeploy to automate your Enterprise Application remote deployments

Also, we veirfied that there is a windows shell extension utility available for accessing Team Foundation Server. It is included as part of the power tools download (http://visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/c255a1e4-04ba-4f68-8f4e-cd473d6b971f ). I have attached a copy of the help file for this utility at the end of this blog entry.

Here is a link to the presentation slides for this event (http://cid-e227ddf77cc91b63.skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?resid=E227DDF77CC91B63!366). Feel free to email me with any questions at wsalazar@microsoft.com .

Do Development? Move up to Visual Studio 2010 Professional upgrade and save $250 !

WilliamSalazar — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 13:18:00 GMT

Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Professional will launch on April 12 but you can beat the rush and secure your copy today by pre-ordering at the affordable estimated retail price of $549, a saving of $250.

If you use a previous version of Visual Studio or any other development tool then you are eligible for this upgrade. Along with all the great new features in Visual Studio 2010 (see www.microsoft.com/visualstudio) Visual Studio 2010 Professional includes a 12-month MSDN Essentials subscription which gives you access to core Microsoft platforms: Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise, and Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Datacenter.

So visit http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio/en-us/pre-order-visual-studio-2010 to check out all the new features and sign up for this great offer.

The Ultimate Event: Visual Studio 2010 & Team Foundation Server 2010 - San Diego 3/2 , LA 3/4 & Irvine 3/9

WilliamSalazar — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 22:38:00 GMT

Thank you to everyone who was able to join us for our Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate Event Series in Southern CA. I hope you enjoyed the sneak peek of Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2010, which will be a landmark release of the premier development toolset for Windows®, Web and Cloud development.

Everyone in attendance had the opportunity to hear about Visual Studio 2010 from experts before the product is launched this year. Microsoft has made significant investments to and improvements of Modeling and Testing/QA tools in Visual Studio 2010. Our product MVPs delivered a comprehensive overview of Visual Studio 2010 and Team Foundation Server 2010, the Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) core of Team System. Attendees were able to view demos of the newest enhancements in version control, reporting, project management and build management.

I want to thank all of our rock start MVP presenters - Chris Menegay/Microsoft MVP - Notion Solutions, Michael Vincent/Microsoft MVP - Accentient, Anna Russo/Notions Solutions, Mickey Williams/VP of Technology and Jeff Leite/Architect -Neudesic. They helped articulate Microsoft’s current and long term strategy for our development tools platform. I am sure everyone came away with a better understanding of the exciting changes coming with Visual Studo 2010 Ultimate!

You can find a link to the presentation slides for this event at the end of this blog entry (http://cid-e227ddf77cc91b63.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Visual%20Studio%202010%20Ultimate%20Event?authkey=FcFc9aeIGSo%24 ). Feel free to email me with any questions at wsalazar@microsoft.com .

Maximize Your SharePoint Investment: Leverage It as a Development Platform - San Diego 2/18

WilliamSalazar — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 21:37:00 GMT

Thank you to everyone who attended our SharePoint as a Development Platform event in San Diego, CA on February 18th. We hope this event helped your organizations in further realizing the return on your existing SharePoint investment via Enterprise SharePoint Development. Enterprise Application Development on the SharePoint Platform enables a multitude of SharePoint benefits to be coupled with the power of the .NET platform. This combination allows the creation of flexible, integrated and secure line-of-business applications to be built in a fraction of the time of traditional development.

I want to thank all the presenters - Jay Schmelzer/Microsoft Group Program Manager for Visual Studio, David Gorgone/Microsoft Sharepoint TSP, and John Roe/speakTECH Technology Specialist. They helped articulate Microsoft’s current and long term strategy for the Microsoft SharePoint Platform and supporting Development Tools. I hope everyone came away with a better understanding of the exciting world of Enterprise SharePoint Development!

You can find a link to the presentation slides for this event at the end of this blog entry (http://cid-e227ddf77cc91b63.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/SharePoint%20as%20a%20Development%20Platform?authkey=RSGeVsZxhZo%24).

Feel free to email me with any questions at wsalazar@microsoft.com .

Maximize Your SharePoint Investment: Leverage It as a Development Platform!

WilliamSalazar — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 05:53:00 GMT

Thank you to everyone who attend our SharePoint as a Development Platform event in Irvine, CA today Dec 10th. We hope this event helped your organizations in further realizing the return on your existing SharePoint investment via Enterprise SharePoint Development. Enterprise Application Development on the SharePoint Platform enables a multitude of SharePoint benefits to be coupled with the power of the .NET platform. This combination allows the creation of flexible, integrated and secure line-of-business applications to be built in a fraction of the time of traditional development.

I want to thank all the presenters - Jay Schmelzer/Microsoft Group Program Manager for Visual Studio, David Gorgone/Microsoft Sharepoint TSP, John Roe/speakTECH Technology Specialist and Toby Zapf/speakTECH Solutions Architect. They helped articulate Microsoft’s current and long term strategy for the Microsoft SharePoint Platform and supporting Development Tools. I hope everyone came away with a better understanding of the exciting world of Enterprise SharePoint Development!

You can find a link to the presentation slides for this event at the end of this blog entry. Feel free to email me with any questions at wsalazar@microsoft.com .

The Underground @ PDC 2009

WilliamSalazar — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:38:00 GMT

Can’t make it to Los Angeles for The Underground @ PDC? You can still be a part of the action!

The Underground will live stream these special presentations so no matter where you are, you can to hear from Microsoft and tech community leaders announcing Microsoft's Technology roadmap and newly released developer strategies. Tune in and don’t miss our special keynote from Scott Guthrie!

Wednesday, November 18 at 7:00 PM

LIVE at www.undergroundatpdc.com

Twitter: @undergroundpdc

Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4 Beta 2 Released!

WilliamSalazar — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:47:00 GMT

We announced yesterday the immediate availability of Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Beta 2 and Microsoft .NET Framework 4 Beta 2 to MSDN subscribers; general availability will follow on Oct. 21. Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 will include a simplified product lineup and pricing options as well as new benefits for MSDN subscribers, including the Ultimate Offer, available to all active MSDN Premium subscribers at the official product launch on March 22, 2010.

In Visual Studio 2010 , customers will be able to choose from three main versions:

•	Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate with MSDN. The comprehensive suite of application life-cycle management tools for software teams to help ensure quality results from design to deployment
•	Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Premium with MSDN. A complete toolset to help developers deliver scalable, high-quality applications
•	Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Professional with MSDN. The essential tool for basic development tasks to assist developers in implementing their ideas easily

New benefits for MSDN subscribers were annouced as well, including these:

•

Unlimited access to Visual Studio Team Foundation Server 2010 (upon release), a server product that drives down the risks and costs of developing software by enhancing team collaboration

•

Azure Development, which enables MSDN Premium subscribers to develop on the Windows Azure platform (Microsoft’s cloud services platform) with compute hours, storage, data transfers, SQL Azure databases and .NET Services.

•

Complimentary e-learning, up to 40 hours per year, per subscriber

Try out Visual Studio 2010 Beta 2 today at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/dd582936.aspx .

Check out Silverlight 3 and Expression 3

WilliamSalazar — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 21:26:00 GMT

Interactive technologies are evolving quickly. Development and design are converging, collaborative workflow is a necessity, and people expect intuitive interfaces and rich experiences.

Responding to this new landscape, Microsoft is changing interactive design, development, and deployment forever with the latest release of the Microsoft® Silverlight™ platform and Microsoft® Expression® design tools—specifically engineered to help interactive professionals transform their vision, creativity, and energy into reality.

See for yourself and download the trial at - www.seethelight.com !

Join the Southern California Visual Studio Team System Users Group

WilliamSalazar — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 21:08:00 GMT

SoCal Team System is a user group focused on software application lifecycle management. We provide a forum for learning about, exchanging ideas, and using Microsoft Visual Studio Team System. If you are new to VSTS, just checking it out, want to learn more, or an experienced user wanting to share your knowledge, please join.

The group meets on the 4th Tuesday of every month in Irvine at QuickStart Intelligence 16815 Von Karman Avenue Suite 100 Irvine, CA 92606 from 6:30pm - 9:00pm.

Visit the group's website at http://www.socalteamsystem.org/ for more information.

Tomorrow, July 7th, 10AM PT/1PM ET LIVE, HD broadcast of the Michael Jackson Memorial Service

WilliamSalazar — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 07:09:00 GMT

Don't miss the Michael Jackson memorial tomorrow live via the internet using IIS Smooth Streaming and Silverlight!

Tomorrow, July 7th, 10AM PT/1PM ET – The Michael Jackson memorial will be broadcasted live in HD from the Staples Center in Los Angeles using IIS Smooth Streaming and Silverlight to the world. As you can imagine this has come together fast and should be a great experience!

Check out the LIVE, HD broadcast of the Michael Jackson memorial using IIS Smooth Streaming and Silverlight at http://inmusic.ca/news_and_features/Michael_Jackson

VSTS Rangers ship WCF Load Test tool with ASMX support!

WilliamSalazar — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:24:00 GMT

This morning, the VSTS Rangers released to Codeplex a new beta of the WCF Load Test tool adding support for ASMX web services. Download it from here.

This tool takes a WCF trace file and a WCF client proxy, or a WCF interface contract, and generates a unit test that replays the same sequence of calls found in the trace file. The code generated is easily modifiable so that data variation can be introduced for the purpose of doing performance testing.

The tool generates code for both Visual Studio 2005 and Visual Studio 2008. It also installs a wizard into both editions of Visual Studio for creating the trace and processing it from inside Visual Studio. If both editions are present the tool is installed into both editions. The source code is a Visual Studio 2005 project.

Free trials of hosted Team Foundation Server in partnership with TeamDevCentral

WilliamSalazar — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 23:51:00 GMT

Rational eyes services Inc. announced today the availability of hosted and professionally guided Microsoft Visual Studio Team System Team Foundation Server (TFS) 2008 trials through its TeamDevCentral (TDC) technology.

The free trials allow companies to ensure that TFS is the right Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) technology for them, without investing heavily in set-up or self-learning. TDC's hosted TFS environment allows trials to start immediately with available expert guidance.

Check out Brian Harry's blog post for his first impressions. More information available at the TeamDevCentral Web site

Check out 10-4 Episode 23: An Introduction to Manual Testing on Channel 9!

WilliamSalazar — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:31:00 GMT

Episode 23: An Introduction to Manual Testing

Despite all of the advances in automated testing tools and frameworks over the last decade, manual testing still constitutes the lion's share of testing effort within most software development organizations.

This episode of 10-4 will introduce the new capabilities in Visual Studio Team System 2010 for supporting manual testing. You will see how these capabilities will not only help manual testers do their jobs more effectively, but this approach also helps developers by providing detailed diagnostics information about tests when they fail.

10-4 is a weekly video podcast which gives you a look at what's coming Visual Studio 2010 and the .NET Framework 4.0. You can be the first to get these episodes by visting http://channel9.msnd.com/shows/10-4/ and subscribing to the RSS feed of your choice.

Announcing the launch of the Southern California Visual Studio Team System Users Group!

WilliamSalazar — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:21:00 GMT

Visual Studio Team System provides multi-disciplined team members with an integrated set of tools for architecture, design, development, database development, testing and building of applications. Team members can continuously collaborate and utilize a complete set of tools and guidance at every step of the application life cycle.

Come learn about Microsoft Visual Studio Team System 2008 Best Practices with Team System MVP Richard Hundhausen.

For more details visit the group's web site at http://www.socalteamsystem.org.

Upcoming Scrum Event in Southern California

WilliamSalazar — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 08:52:00 GMT

A Day in the Life of Scrum with Visual Studio Team System 2008 and Team Foundation Server

Please join Microsoft and Neudesic for a day in the life of Scrum with Visual Studio Team System 2008 and Team Foundation Server! Agile methods are a set of development processes intended to create software in a lighter, faster, more people-centric way. Many development teams have adopted "agile" methodologies to manage change and to improve software quality. These methodologies promote continuous integration as a practice to build and test software products incrementally as new features are included, bugs are fixed, and code is refactored.

If you missed the first series of Agile & Scrum Essentials last fall; here’s your chance to attend the follow-on event where we’ll briefly revisit the basics of Agile and Scrum and provide a walkthrough of how to configure Visual Studio Team System 2008 and Team Foundation Server for Scrum. Participants will be familiarized with how key artifacts are managed within this popular process template for enacting Scrum in organizations.

Join us for this interactive event as we explore a “day in the life of a Sprint,” that will give you a practical perspective of how Scrum teams leverage Visual Studio Team System for end to end management of the planning, execution and control of Scrum projects. The day will end with an overview of what’s coming in Visual Studio Team System 2010!

Register for a date & location near you!

Welcome: 8:30 PM

Seminar: 9:00 AM-4:30 PM

San Diego, CA

April 14, 2009

Click here to register with invitation code: 1A8639.

Irvine, CA

April 15, 2009

Click here to register with invitation code: E4995A.

Los Angeles, CA

April 16, 2009

Click here to register with invitation code: A61EB4.

To Register by Phone –

Call 1.877.MSEVENT (1.877.673.8368) with invitation code.