This week we’ll be bringing another installment of BenkoTips Live & On Demand with a webcast that will introduce Windows 7 for Developers. You can register at:
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032417600&Culture=en-US
I’ve uploaded the code from this quarter’s MSDN events to http://www.benkotips.com/code. If you’re interested here’s the links from this quarter’s session on IE8 …
…and Win7 for Developers…
I’m back in the field for another installment of the SharePoint for Developers Roadshow. Last time we talked about configuring a development workstation, workflow, customizing the master pages and the collaborative features of Windows SharePoint Server 3.0.This time we’ll be taking a look at Web Parts and how they fit into SharePoint. Specifically using them for the Silverlight and SharePoint Story, and then we talk about SharePoint Designer and the Data View Web Part.
SharePoint Designer and the Data Form Web Part
Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2007 is a powerful tool for customizing the look and feel of your SharePoint sites. However, did you know that SharePoint Designer can also help you to build interactive dashboards? During this session we look at the magical Data Form Web Part and how you can use it to display SharePoint data in all new ways. We also look at how to display data from external data sources and how to create custom new and edit forms without writing any code.
SharePoint Designer and Silverlight
Rich User Experience is getting easier to create with the release of Silverlight. In this session we show how Silverlight takes advantage of XAML and provides an easy way to build compelling user interfaces. We will demonstrate using Silverlight to allow the developer and designer to collaborate to build exciting new applications and how these new tools can be leveraged within the SharePoint environment. We will cover the basics of Silverlight as well as what configuration steps need to be taken to deploy it.
I know it’s short notice and seating is limited, but if you're interested here are the links to register:
Some links of interest for this session:
BenkoTIPS Live & On Demand continues to roll with more webcasts scheduled in May. The current sessions include:
See you online!
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ArcReady – Brain Food for the Architect
The client (or presentation) tier of our applications is taking on an increasingly important role. Users are expecting more compelling user interfaces, but they also want more functionality from their applications. In this ArcReady we examine how to design and deliver well architected client applications that will be easy to maintain and extend.
Topic 1: Trends and Patterns on the Client Tier
In our first topic we will take a vendor and platform neutral look at some of the trends and emerging technologies that can be used on the client tier. We will look at techniques like Mashups, technologies like Natural User Interfaces (NUI) and the increasing importance of the mobile platform. We will also look at some common patterns that can be used in the architecture of the client tier.
Topic 2: Applying Microsoft Technology on the Client Tier
In our second topic we will take some look at how we can use Microsoft technologies to create well architected and compelling client applications. We will look at technologies like Silverlight and WPF that can be used to create compelling clients. We will also look at technologies that can be used to make your applications more extensible for future development. We will also examine some architectural guidance developed by the Microsoft Patterns and Practices group.
MSDN Events Unleashed – Get Your Dev On
Internet Explorer 8 recently released to the web, and with that release comes a wide range of new capabilities that developers can exploit. Of even more impact to developers everywhere is the upcoming release of Windows 7, also bringing with it several new capabilities for consumers and developers.
Topic 1: Internet Explorer 8 for Developers
The Windows Internet Explorer 8 browser makes it easier to explore and interact with the web. Did you know that there will be a new standards mode by default? While it can easily be turned off, knowing the potential to impact this may have on many sites that have been crafted around various features in past versions is a good idea. Attend this session to learn which current practices you need to change and how the new standards mode affects your development techniques and your existing sites. We review tools that are built into Internet Explorer 8 to help developers debug and create Web pages. We also discuss Web Slices, Accelerators, and Search Suggestion – all of which are key new features in this latest release.
Topic 2: Developing on Microsoft Windows 7
Building applications that are easy to use, visually appealing, and offer high performance is a challenge that developers face every day. Innovative applications can greatly improve the user experience, empowering companies to differentiate their services and solutions. However, developers are increasingly asked to do more in less time, while also optimizing the power and performance requirements of their applications. The Windows 7 platform makes it easy for developers to create engaging, user-friendly applications by providing familiar tools and rich development features that allow them to take advantage of the latest PC capabilities. In this session we will explore the new Taskbar and Jump Lists, the Scenic Ribbon, file management with Libraries, and Windows Web Services among many other enhancements to the new operating system.
TechNet Events Unleashed – Supporting the Backbone of the Industry
Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 7, and Internet Explorer 8 represent both a wave of change and disruption to IT operations as well as an opportunity for IT professionals to have a big impact on their organizations.
Topic 1: Windows Server 2008 R2 – Optimize Your Time
Get a jump start on your peers with Windows Server 2008 R2 by joining us for this no nonsense technical session, where we will discuss the critical improvements in the next version of Windows Server. Some have argued that, given the impressive scope of new functionality in Windows Server 2008 R2, it should not be an “R2” release, but rather should be given a completely new name. They point to features such as Direct Access, Branch Caching, Live Migration, Powershell 2.0, and VDI that will help you cut down on the amount of time you spend doing mundane tasks, reduce end user frustration and support headaches, and give your mobile workforce a competitive edge through ubiquitous access to company data. There’s a good chance that by attending this session you’ll find a way to save time and money with Windows Server 2008 R2, and so you’ll get the time you spend with us back many times over.
Topic 2: Windows 7 – Maximize Your Potential
In designing Windows 7, the engineering team had a clear focus on what we call ‘the fundamentals': performance, application compatibility, device compatibility, reliability, security and battery life. Early reviews of Windows 7 seem to indicate that the choice to focus on the fundamentals is resonating well with many users and professionals. And, IT professionals will further benefit from the enhancements to manageability and security. You’ll also learn how your investments in testing and evaluating Windows Vista will pay off in the transition to Windows 7. Come see firsthand what all the buzz is about in this demo-intensive session where we explore the UI improvements, performance gains, and manageability enhancements in the next client operating system from Microsoft.
Topic 3: Internet Explorer 8 – Get Excited About the Browser Again
Internet Explorer is currently the most widely used browser in business, and while we’ve seen nice incremental improvements to IE in recent history, we haven’t seen as many truly earth shattering changes. Well, many agree that the next release of IE, Internet Explorer 8, provides the most compelling upgrade to IE in many years. In a typical day, users spend 2 hours or more per day in the browser, so significant improvements here can have tremendous impact on productivity and the way we work. The browser needs to be thought of in the same terms as an operating system—it has to be rich, robust, interoperable, easy to use and secure. Internet Explorer 8 is a browser that meets these needs and more for users, enterprises, IT professionals and developers alike. Come learn how the new improvements, too numerous to mention here, are driving many to get excited about the browser again.
Event Schedule
Here is a quick summary of the events scheduled this spring, starting in late April and concluding in mid-June.
| ArcReady | MSDN Events Unleashed | TechNet Events Unleashed |
| Waukesha, WI – April 28, 2009 at 9:00am | Waukesha, WI – April 28, 2009 at 1:00pm | Waukesha, WI – April 28, 2009 at 3:10pm |
| Austin, TX – April 28, 2009 at 9:00am | Austin, TX – April 28, 2009 at 1:00pm | Austin, TX – April 28, 2009 at 3:10pm |
| Bloomington, MN – April 30, 2009 at 9:00am | Bloomington, MN – April 30, 2009 at 1:00pm | Bloomington, MN – April 30, 2009 at 3:10pm |
| Cleveland, OH – April 30, 2009 at 9:00am | Cleveland, OH – April 30, 2009 at 1:00pm | Cleveland, OH – April 30, 2009 at 3:10pm |
| Indianapolis, IN – May 4, 2009 at 9:00am | Indianapolis, IN – May 4, 2009 at 1:00pm | Indianapolis, IN – May 4, 2009 at 3:10pm |
| Chicago, IL – May 5, 2009 at 9:00am | Chicago, IL – May 5, 2009 at 1:00pm | Chicago, IL – May 5, 2009 at 3:10pm |
| Columbus, OH – May 12, 2009 at 9:00am | Columbus, OH – May 12, 2009 at 1:00pm | Columbus, OH – May 12, 2009 at 3:10pm |
| Houston, TX – May 12, 2009 at 9:00am | Houston, TX – May 12, 2009 at 1:00pm | Houston, TX – May 12, 2009 at 3:10pm |
| Mason, OH – May 14, 2009 at 9:00am | Mason, OH – May 14, 2009 at 1:00pm | Mason, OH – May 14, 2009 at 3:10pm |
| Overland Park, KS – May 14, 2009 at 9:00am | Overland Park, KS – May 14, 2009 at 1:00pm | Overland Park, KS – May 14, 2009 at 3:10pm |
| Dallas, TX – May 19, 2009 at 9:00am | Dallas, TX – May 19, 2009 at 1:00pm | Dallas, TX – May 19, 2009 at 3:10pm |
| Southfield, MI – May 20, 2009 at 9:00am | Southfield, MI – May 20, 2009 at 1:00pm | Southfield, MI – May 20, 2009 at 3:10pm |
| Downers Grove, IL – May 20, 2009 at 9:00am | Downers Grove, IL – May 20, 2009 at 1:00pm | Downers Grove, IL – May 20, 2009 at 3:10pm |
| St. Louis, MO – May 21, 2009 at 9:00am | St. Louis, MO – May 21, 2009 at 1:00pm | St. Louis, MO – May 21, 2009 at 3:10pm |
| Nashville, TN – June 11, 2009 at 9:00am | Nashville, TN – June 11, 2009 at 1:00pm | Nashville, TN – June 11, 2009 at 3:10pm |
| Knoxville, TN – June 12, 2009 at 9:00am | Knoxville, TN – June 12, 2009 at 1:00pm | Knoxville, TN – June 12, 2009 at 3:10pm |
I know it sounds like a breakfast cereal (Code Posted) and maybe I need to find a better way to say it, but I wanted to let you know I've uploaded the code samples from this month's events onto http://www.benkotips.com/code. It's been a pretty busy month with many different topics including Windows Mobile, Debugging tips & tricks, Visual Studio Team Data, SharePoint and Silverlight, Silverlight Demystified, and what's new with Visual Studio 2008 sp1 to name a few.
Next month in April I'll be continuing with some more webcasts and a couple conferences including one in India. I've been invited to speak at the "Great Indian Developer Summit" in Bangalore, where I will be delivering 4 sessions on how to use the new tools & technologies to build modern web applications, as well as the Minnesota Web Developer Conference - MinneWebCon where I will be speaking on Hacker Tricks and Security Exploits and how to prevent them. One other place you might find me is the Twin Cities Code Camp on April 4.
On the webcast show BenkoTips Live and On Demand I've got a couple more webcasts scheduled before we take a break including topics on IE8 for Developers with a good friend and MVP Robert Boedingheimer and one on the future of Programming with ADO.NET Data Services where we explore new ways of working with data.
Hope to see you live or online. If you can make it be sure to stop by and say hi.
Enjoy!
Thank you to everyone who joined me in KC and Chicago this week...I've posted the code from the sessions on the downloads page of my site. These include the sample code from the Windows Mobile session as well as the SharePoint and Silverlight examples.
Enjoy!
In this week's edition of BenkoTips Live & On Demand we talked about the WPF Toolkit and the Office Ribbon UI. We covered a lot of material and wrote a lot of code. To help out I'm providing a link here to both the webcast and the code so you can try it out. As usual there were a few links of interest that may help you get going including:
We're delivering some sessions this quarter on how to build applications with Windows Mobile 6 and I wanted to provide some links to help you get started. Although I will be doing my development with Visual Studio 2008 you can also use VS 2005 with the Mobile 5 SDK as well. To build a development environment here are some links:
Some related links with additional resources include
By the way, look for some QuickTip Screencasts coming soon to help you get started. Stay Tuned!
I’ve been asked a few times for the update, so here is the list of upcoming webcast topics in the series “BenkoTips Live & On Demand” as well as the links for registering.
See you online!
It's been a long time coming, but we finally have our event plans locked in for March 2009. And we have an exciting addition to our event plans – we've added TechNet Events Unleashed to our rotation in a handful of cities for interested IT Professionals. Let's start with those new events. And if you want to skip the details, just take a look at the event schedule.
TechNet Events Unleashed
Working in partnership with our IT Professional Evangelists, we're very excited to introduce TechNet Events Unleashed to our schedule, and the first topic digs into Windows Server 2008.
Windows Server 2008
In this session we will look at Windows Server 2008 and the improvements that have been made to Microsoft’s premier server operating system. Microsoft Windows Server 2008 is the most advanced Windows Server operating system yet, designed to power the next generation of networks, applications, and Web services. With Windows Server 2008 you can develop, deliver, and manage rich user experiences and applications, provide a highly secure network infrastructure, and increase technological efficiency and value within your organization.
Windows Server 2008 introduces several new capabilities including 64bit virtualization, a robust web and development platform, improvements in networking, security, high availability and disaster recovery. In addition, there is a new “Core” installation option that reduces the operating system overhead by removing the graphical user interface thus freeing resources and lowering the potential security attack surface. Come see demonstrations on many of the features in a technical deep dive you won’t want to miss!
After we discuss Windows Server 2008, we’ll briefly discuss the improvements coming in Windows Server 2008 R2 which is in development and now available for beta testing.
ArcReady
For our next ArcReady, we will explore a topic on everyone’s mind: Cloud computing. Several industry companies have announced cloud computing services . In October 2008 at the Professional Developers Conference, Microsoft announced the next phase of our Software + Services vision: the Azure Services Platform. The Azure Services Platforms provides a wide range of internet services that can be consumed from both on premises environments or the internet.
Session 1: Cloud Services
In our first session we will explore the current state of cloud services. We will then look at how applications should be architected for the cloud and explore a reference application deployed on Windows Azure. We will also look at the services that can be built for on premise application, using .NET Services. We will also address some of the concerns that enterprises have about cloud services, such as regulatory and compliance issues.
Session 2: Mesh and Live Services
In our second session we will take a slightly different look at cloud based services by exploring Live Mesh and Live Services. Live Mesh is a data synchronization client that has a rich API to build applications on. Live services are a collection of APIs that can be used to create rich applications for your customers. Live Services are based on internet standard protocols and data formats.
MSDN Events Unleashed
Enhance your coding capabilities with new tools, tips, and inside secrets from MSDN Events. You’ll see how developing for a Windows Mobile phone leverages your current coding skills and can make it simple to build, deploy and debug cool new devices. Additionally, we’ll be showing you how to take full advantage of the Visual Studio debugger. We’ll offer some great tips and tricks to help you debug faster and more efficiently, while applying fresh techniques to ramp up your problem solving abilities.
Session 1: Tips & Tricks for the Visual Studio 2008 Debugger
The Visual Studio debugger is a highly underutilized tool for many developers. In this session, you’ll learn how to use it like a pro, while picking up new techniques to fast-forward your problem solving and debugging abilities. We’ll show you how to use advanced breakpoints, advanced watch window / Expression evaluator tricks, modifiers, assertions on the fly, remote debugging, and more. Whether you’re writing C#, VB, WPF, ASP.NET, Windows Forms, or services, we’ll provide tips and tricks that will have you debugging faster and much more efficiently. The debugger is your primary tool for finding bugs, so join us and learn how to make the most of it.
Session 2: Developing for Windows Mobile Devices
Mobile development is growing fast, and Windows Mobile is at the forefront with over 18 million phones shipped last year and many more cutting-edge devices on the way. Visual Studio developers have tremendous opportunities in this space. Why? Developing for a Windows Mobile phone leverages your existing coding experience and takes it to new heights. In this session, we’ll look at some of the coolest new devices, you’ll learn how to set up Visual Studio with the latest SDK and device emulators, and you’ll see how to build, deploy and debug Windows Mobile applications. We’ll also explore how Internet Explorer Mobile 6 provides new AJAX capabilities that offer the richness of the desktop with pan and zoom features tuned for mobile devices.
Event Schedule
Here is a quick summary of the events scheduled in March.
| ArcReady | MSDN Events Unleashed | TechNet Events Unleashed |
| St. Louis, MO – March 5, 2009 9:00 AM | St. Louis, MO – March 5, 2009 1:00 PM | St. Louis, MO – March 5, 2009 3:00 PM |
| Downers Grove, IL – March 9, 2009 9:00 AM | Downers Grove, IL – March 9, 2009 1:00 PM | Downers Grove, IL – March 9, 2009 3:00 PM |
| Austin, TX – March 10, 2009 9:00 AM | Austin, TX – March 10, 2009 1:00 PM | Austin, TX – March 10, 2009 3:00 PM |
| Knoxville, TN – March 10, 2009 9:00 AM | Overland Park, KS – March 10, 2009 1:00 PM | Indianapolis, IN – March 12, 2009 3:00 PM |
| Overland Park, KS – March 10, 2009 9:00 AM | Indianapolis, IN – March 12, 2009 1:00 PM | Irving, TX – March 19, 2009 3:00 PM |
| Indianapolis, IN – March 12, 2009 9:00 AM | Irving, TX – March 19, 2009 1:00 PM | Chicago, IL – March 23, 2009 3:00 PM |
| Nashville, TN – March 13, 2009 9:00 AM | Columbus, OH – March 20, 2009 1:00 PM | Houston, TX – March 24, 2009 3:00 PM |
| Irving, TX – March 19, 2009 9:00 AM | Chicago, IL – March 23, 2009 1:00 PM | Detroit, MI – March 31, 2009 3:00 PM |
| Columbus, OH – March 20, 2009 9:00 AM | Houston, TX – March 24, 2009 1:00 PM | |
| Chicago, IL – March 23, 2009 9:00 AM | Mason, OH – March 27, 2009 1:00 PM | |
| Houston, TX – March 24, 2009 9:00 AM | Detroit, MI – March 31, 2009 1:00 PM | |
| Bloomington, MN – March 25, 2009 9:00 AM | Waukesha, WI – March 31, 2009 1:00 PM | |
| Cleveland, OH – March 26, 2009 9:00 AM | | |
| Mason, OH – March 27, 2009 9:00 AM | | |
| Detroit, MI – March 31, 2009 9:00 AM | | |
| Waukesha, WI – March 31, 2009 9:00 AM | | |
This morning we delivered the 15th webcast in the BenkoTips Live & On Demand series. We talked about changes in the architecture of IIS 7.0, security, custom modules and how to configure IIS 7.0 for PHP applications.
We showed how the configuration works, including the ApplicationHost.config file for server settings and Web.config for application specific settings.
The custom module we wrote translates the language from French to English by use of a simple dictionary with some phrases defined. I've posted the code to the download section for registered users.
Some links we talked about during the webcast that might be helpful in getting the most out of this tool include:
Next week we'll have special guest Raymond Mitchell on to show us how to take advantage of the SharePoint Data Driven Web Part to build some very cool data integration with SharePoint Designer.
As requested I've posted the code from today's webcast on Application Services. We covered how to take advantage of the membership and profile providers and leverage the login controls that come as part of the .NET framework. We also looked at how AJAX and WinForms applications can build off the same provider database.
If you're interested in diving deeper into Application Services and/or have suggestions of topics you'd like to see covered in this webcast series, click the "Talk to me" link in the left hand pane of www.BenkoTips.com to send me an email with your ideas. I'm always looking for your feedback.
Thanks!
