Canadian User Experience : MSDN

PDC – The Devil’s Guide To PDC

Mark Relph — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 21:57:19 GMT

Heading to LA for PDC – this is a good read to get the most of the show.

http://thespiderking.com/wordpress/?p=42

“If you are reading this, you know Microsoft’s Professional Developers Conference is on and is coming up in mere days. I am fortunate enough to be a part of the PDC Core Team; we are responsible for your experience at the event.

I am sure that you have been checking the site, the sessions, the feed and keeping your eye on the blogosphere for scoops and hints of what is to come. There is only one problem; they are not giving you everything you need so I want to provide insider advice on how you can make the most of your trip.”

Technorati Tags: PDC,PDC08,PDC2008,Microsoft

Cross-posted from: http://blogs.msdn.com/mark_relph/default.aspx

OPML File of Microsoft Canada Bloggers

Mark Relph — Sat, 26 Nov 2005 00:25:49 GMT

We have posted an OPML file you can download to get a list of all the blogs from our team. Enjoy!

http://geeksuave.com/MSDNCanadaBloggers.xml

Too Quiet On The Blogging Front - News From The Road

Mark Relph — Fri, 25 Nov 2005 14:16:00 GMT

It has been a busy few weeks since we left Toronto and the first event on the tour. Since then we have been to Ottawa, Edmonton, Calgary, Victoria and Vancouver.

The team has been keeping the blogsphere up-to-date and we wanted to point you to some of what they have had to say.

Jerome tells us that "Some have reported trouble in finding the source files for the Web and Smart Client session for the launch 2005 event DVDs. They should be in a folder entitled WhidbeyRocks" (http://blogs.msdn.com/jcarron/archive/2005/11/14/492455.aspx)

He also has a list of some of the questions they have received while in the various cities. Check it out as they might answer a question of yours!

On The Road - Notes From Ottawa

Mark Relph — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 03:34:00 GMT

A few posts from the crew on the road in Ottawa.

Sasha reports a very full house: http://www.geekswithblogs.net/sashak/archive/2005/11/10/59685.aspx

John talks about arriving in the Nation's Capital - http://blogs.msdn.com/jbristowe/archive/2005/11/10/491259.aspx

Jerome Posts The Answers To The Most Asked Day 1 Questions

Mark Relph — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 03:20:00 GMT

Check out Jerome's Blog for some of the answers to the questions we were asked the most in Toronto:

Thank-You Toronto!

Mark Relph — Wed, 09 Nov 2005 23:06:00 GMT

Yesterday the Launch Tour kicked off in Toronto. On behalf of the entire team here at Microsoft we want to thank everyone who attended for spending their day with us.

It was a great day and we hope everyone got something out of the presentations, the expert talks and the partner booths. We listened to your feedback and we will make some minor changes in the other cities. Let us know what you thought if you haven't already.

John, Jerome, Barry, Barnaby and Damir had so much fun on stage. If you had a question for them, please do contact them via their blogs.

Many have asked about the presentations. Watch your inbox for an email pointing you to the location of the downloads.

Many people didn't take full advantage of the experts area. For those of you coming to the other cities - be sure to stop by the cabana to ask you questions and to have those deeper conversations with the experts.

Some pictures from the day:

All the photos are here - http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/launch2005/

Blog Reviews (So Far):

Rob Windsor - The Toronto Visual Studio 2005 Launch Rocked! http://msmvps.com/windsor/archive/2005/11/09/74959.aspx
Dennis Forbes - Multi-Part Review - http://www.yafla.com/dforbes/ (he makes a good point about the Q&A)
Joel and what the launch means to him - http://weblogs.asp.net/jsemeniuk/archive/2005/11/05/429655.aspx
Barry - Hello 2.0 - http://objectsharp.com/blogs/barry/archive/2005/11/06/3570.aspx
John Bristowe - http://blogs.msdn.com/jbristowe/archive/2005/11/08/490662.aspx
Jerome Carron - http://blogs.msdn.com/jcarron/archive/2005/11/09/490771.aspx
Mark will be posting soon at http://blogs.msdn.com/mark_relph

Get the picture feed - http://www.flickr.com/groups/launch2005/pool/feed/?format=rss_200

Be sure to tag your post - http://www.technorati.com/blogs/Launch2005

The team is on the way to Ottawa as we speak! 1 city down, 9 to go!!!

Thanks Toronto!

Sneak Peak @ The Software

Mark Relph — Fri, 04 Nov 2005 18:46:00 GMT

Mark has posted some sneak-peak photos on his blog! :-)

http://blogs.msdn.com/mark_relph/archive/2005/11/04/489083.aspx

Launch2005

We want to hear from you! Blog about the tour you may win a prize!

Mark Relph — Fri, 04 Nov 2005 17:02:00 GMT

Previously, Barnaby posted asking if anyone out there is going to blog about the Canadian Tour - http://blogs.technet.com/barnaby_jeans/archive/2005/10/28/413240.aspx

We really want to see what the blogsphere thinks of the launch. Blog about your experience during the Canadian Tour and about any of the products we are launching and you may win a prize (whether your post is positive or not is completely up to you!)

All you have to do is reply to this post with a link to your blog entry. We will head over and check it out. We will then select a few winners to receive a prize. Most of all, we will be listening to your comments and feedback.

Launch2005

Launch Tour Contest - Wear Your Old Swag And Win A Prize!

Mark Relph — Fri, 04 Nov 2005 16:52:00 GMT

With just 4 days to go before the kick-off of the cross-Canada tour we have come up with a contest for our faithful blog readers! Our theme this year is "Ready To Rock" and while we don't want to give away any surprises, you can just imagine what we might have in store for you at the event. So, just as people wear their favorite band t-shirt to a rock concert, we want to see you in your favorite gear from previous Microsoft launches. So - reach back into the closet and dust off that old VB4 t-shirt, your NT3.5 hat or your Windows 95 "start me up" swag and wear it to your local event.

The blogging crew will be on the lookout for the best (and oldest!) Microsoft gear in the crowd! If you get spotted we will award you with a fabulous prize (and we have some good stuff to give away, trust us).

See you in 4 days at the kick-off in Toronto!

Launch2005

John starts giving a "behind the scenes" view of the launch

Mark Relph — Thu, 03 Nov 2005 22:27:00 GMT

Check out John's post as he starts to talk about the behind-the-scenes work going into preparing for the Launch Tour.

http://blogs.msdn.com/jbristowe/archive/2005/11/01/487722.aspx

Launch2005

Plumbers @ Work - A New Developer Podcast

Mark Relph — Thu, 03 Nov 2005 22:20:09 GMT

Plumbers @ Work is a new developer podcast featuring one of our launch speakers John Bristowe as well as Dan Sellers from the MSDN team.

Check it out - http://blogs.msdn.com/jbristowe/archive/2005/11/01/487491.aspx

Toronto Registration Has Been Extended!

Mark Relph — Wed, 26 Oct 2005 05:19:26 GMT

As a result of the great interest in the Nov 8^th Toronto Ready Launch Tour event, we have extended our capacity so that you have the opportunity to join us. Don’t miss out, register now!

www.microsoft.ca/launch2005/

Now Available - ReadyBuzz Audio!

Mark Relph — Tue, 25 Oct 2005 17:56:00 GMT

ReadyBuzz is here! The Launch Crew have created a series of short audio/video shows to give you a behind the scenes view to the all of the Launch activities. We will introduce you to the speakers, give you an preview of the content and let you know how the preparations are going!

Subscribe to the RSS for the ReadyBuzz shows - http://feeds.feedburner.com/Readybuzz

We will also publish entries on the main launch blog each time we update the content.

Diaries from my Roku SoundBridge - Windows Media Connect

Mark Relph — Mon, 24 Oct 2005 20:40:09 GMT

Jerome once again writes about his ongoing development project with his Roku and dives into Windows Media Connect v2.

Diaries from my Roku SoundBridge - Windows Media Connect

So what does SQL 2005 mean to an ISV? Part 2

Mark Relph — Mon, 24 Oct 2005 20:38:27 GMT

Ryan Storgaard has posted part 2 of his entry on the importance of SQL Server 2005 to ISVs:

http://blogs.msdn.com/stoey/archive/2005/10/19/482964.aspx

"Folks, if you really want to seize an opportunity to drive some demand for your products you have to take a serious look at embedding some Business Intelligence into your product. Don't believe me? Have a look at this Gartner survey of 1,300 CIO's for 2005. "