A few weeks ago I recorded a series of bite-sized podcasts about new features in Visual Studio 2008. These short audio clips provide a quick and easy way to sink your teeth into some of the goodness of Visual Studio without spending an entire hour in front of your computer.
You can download or listen to the series here:
http://www.microsoft.com/events/series/msdnvs2008.aspx?tab=podcasts
I had a blast recording these with Lindsay Rutter, developer evangelist, and all around great gal. :)
Let me start off by confessing that I (thankfully) don't have any children of my own. I do have three very cute nieces, however, that love spending more time with their virtual pets with each passing day. This seems to be a common enough trend that it's worth mentioning that there is an alternative to this addiction; creating games with Popfly!
Check out this great post by Michael Leonard, an engineer on the Popfly team, about helping kids explore their creativity.
http://thesoftwarestories.com/blogger/2008/05/creating-computer-game-with-my.html
Popfly Game Creator | May 2nd 2008 | 12:01PM | 7lbs, 4oz | 20 inches | Proud Parents- The Popfly Team
Starting today, game creation is now officially accessible to everyone. You don’t have to be a physics major or hard-core coder to create your own personalized game using the Popfly Game Creator. In fact, you can create your first game in three easy steps through Popfly’s intuitive interface.
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1. Select your actors: Choose from nearly 400 pre-built actors in categories like people, vehicles, power-ups, and more. Can’t find what you’re looking for? Import and create your own.
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2. Set the scene: Pick a background, select some sounds, and position your actors through a visual designer.
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3. Bring your game to life: This is where the magic happens. Using Popfly, you can specify behaviors on your actors and scenes that define how they should interact. Use Popfly’s intuitive user interface to define events, set properties, and specify actions without writing a single line of code! If you want more control, define a custom behavior in JavaScript.
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Creating games has never been easier!
To learn more and build your first game head over to www.popfly.com
I'm really excited about the launch event happening on the 27th of this month. Not so much because it's the biggest developer-focused launch event in the History of the World (with apologies to Mel Brooks), but more so because I'm giving a chalk talk. :) I'm always thrilled to speak about Visual Studio but this is the first time I'll be talking about writing code for fun. Check out my talk "Building a Peer-to-Peer Application in Just 30 minutes" if you're going to the event.
Those of you that are sitting in the audience right now can download (and install via ClickOnce) the completed P2P application here (you'll need Windows Vista or Windows XP SP2 + .NET Framework 3.5):
Click here to download!
Feel free to ask me questions through the chat feature durning the talk.
[update: In order to share video and audio files with me, you'll need to run the application with Administrator privileges... you should be able to track down the binary files in a hidden folder created by ClickOnce here: c:\users\<user name>\appdata\local\apps\ and then simply right click and choose "Run as Administrator".]
Today the MSDN Reader was released to the brand new MSDN Code Gallery. The reader provides an excellent viewing experience that features offline caching, annotation, and sharing of articles. We've even posted the code for you to poke through! Check it out and tell me what you think---> http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=8189967
Here is a preview of the reader...
Have you seen the new Visual Studio advertising campaign? It's actually pretty cool:
Want to be part of the advertising campaign? Do it at TechEd!
Drop by the developer area in the Technical Learning Center to put together machinima clips and record a voiceover. The best videos will be posted to
Virtual TechEd each day and the video with the highest rating will go on to live in infamy as part of the campaign!
A few days ago I was sitting in my office, minding my own business, when the phone rang. On the other end was a gruff and shadowy voice (sorry Steven) telling me that we're recording a TechEd video for Channel9 in a few minutes. Not knowing that "we" meant "you" I unwittingly agreed to participate. :) When I got there the cameras started rolling and here is the outcome:
http://channel9.msdn.com/showpost.aspx?postid=306856
I actually had a blast doing this and I'm really grateful for the opportunity. Thanks Steven and Ryan!
First off, I really enjoyed the "Orcas" overview keynote given by Jay Schmelzer and the LINQ talk given by Amanda Silver. Check out the VB team blog for details. If you missed these guys in Orlando I have good news; the Jay and Amanda tour features an encore presentation in Orlando this year. Come check them out at Teched.
One of my favorite parts of the keynote was watching Jay switch over to an "_Complete" version of his demo when things didn't exactly go as planned. Let it be known that I'm officially stealing this phrase...demo gods do your worst!
I presented my first full breakout session yesterday on Vista development at VSLive! Orlando. How did it go you may ask? Honestly, it probably wasn't my best performance. In retrospect I probably should have prepared more detailed demos that showed how to take advantage of multiple features at once (a live preview sidebar gadget was something I considered but dropped for example). In any case, it was great to get up in front of a room full of developers and hopefully a few people got something out of it so I'll still chalk this up as a win. I should have a copy of the deck posted shortly.
If you happened to catch my talk, I'd love to get your feedback. I'm always interested in finding ways to improve so if you have any suggestions don't be shy. If you enjoyed some parts more than others, have a few tips, or simply want to rant, please feel free to do so.
As promised, my presentation (in Office 2007 format) can be found here.
I'm pleased to announce that those of you who will be attending TechEd this year are in for a great surprise. We've been lucky enough to bring over Rafal Lukawiecki to speak in Orlando this year. For those of you not fortunate enough to hear Rafal's presentations in TechEd EMEA I've included a link at the bottom of this post so you can sample the goodness. :) He is consistently one of the highest rated speakers at the event and never fails to mesmerize audiences worldwide.
Don't miss the opportunity to catch one (or all) of Rafal's talks this year as he is sure to be one of the most riveting and informative speakers at the event. Be sure to add the following sessions to your schedule:
Microsoft Windows Vista Security for Developers - Monday 1:15-2:30pm
New Cryptography: Algorithms, APIs, and Architecture - Thursday 9:45-11am
Microsoft Solutions Framework 4.0 Core and its Families - Wednesday 3:45-5pm
Next Generation Networking in Windows Vista - Friday 10:45-12pm
http://www.mseventseurope.com/teched/06/Pre/Live/VideoDev12.aspx?id=3#an3
Are you as excited about TechEd as I am? Already counting down the days in your head? Do it in style. :) [Download]
As mentioned by Rob Caron, today marked my first conference presentation. The combination of nervousness, excitement, and adrenaline makes for quite the cocktail! The twenty minute demo in the VSLive! Keynote (Prashant Sridharan: Windows Vista, the 2007 Office System, and ASP.NET Ajax) was an end-to-end tour of all the development opportunities available using these technologies. So far the feedback has been mostly positive but I would love to hear your take. If you're currently attending the conference, please stop by the Microsoft booth in the exhibition hall and ask me questions. I'm open to talking about anything so come to the 2nd floor hall and help me pass the time. :)
I forgot to include the WEB labs:
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Introduction to "WPF/E" |
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Building IIS7 Extensions |
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Developing & Deploying Web Applications with IIS7 in Windows Vista |
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ASP.NET AJAX: Part 1 - The Update Panel Control |
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ASP.NET AJAX: Part 2 - Client-Side Data Binding |
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Building a Connected "WPF/E" web application |
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ASP.NET 2.0: Part 1 - Creating a Web Site |
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ASP.NET 2.0: Part 3 - Membership, Login Controls, and Role Management |
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ASP.NET AJAX: Part 3 - VirtualEarthMap Control |
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ASP.NET 2.0: Part 2 - User Interface Enhancements: Master Pages, Themes, and Controls |
Keep in mind that some of these may not make the cut so your feedback will make a difference!
In case anyone is interested, here is a sneak peak of the DEV and WEB HOL titles:
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Managing Change with Visual Studio Team Edition for Database Professionals |
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Creating a Great Looking WPF Button with Microsoft Expression Blend and Expression Design |
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Writing Gadgets for Windows SideShow (C#) |
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Simplifying .NET Smart Client Development with the .NET Client Futures Framework |
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Introducing new features and improvements for Smart Clients in Orcas |
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Code Analysis and Unit Testing with Visual Studio Team Edition for Developers |
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Using Version Control with Visual Studio Team System |
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Advanced Scenarios for Visual Studio Team Edition for Software Testers |
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Creating Rich 2D and 3D Content with Windows Presentation Foundation |
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Developing .NET Applications that leverage Vista Application Enhancements |
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Customizing Project and Process Templates for Visual Studio Team System |
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Developing .NET Applications that use Vista UI & Printing Enhancements |
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Integrating the Software Development Lifecycle with Visual Studio Team Edition for Database Professional |
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Building WPF Applications using VB .NET |
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Comparing Database Schemas and Deploying Changes with Visual Studio Team Edition for Database Professionals |
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Reading and Aggregating RSS/Atom Feeds with LINQ to XML |
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Getting Started with Visual Studio Team Edition for Database Professionals
Developing .NET Applications that leverage Windows Vista Communication and Internet Enhancements |
Anything missing from the list? Are the titles descriptive enough? As always, all feedback is welcome.
Hello world!
Ok, maybe those words weren't the best choice but I've always envisioned my first post starting the same way as the output of my first program. I definitely feel like the guy that shows up late to the party and tries to play catch up the whole night. In any case, I'm really excited to write about life here at Microsoft for a recent college grad. I know there are a ton of seniors out there wondering what their first step off the commencement podium will feel like...I know I was. Now that I've been here for nearly eight months I'm starting to forget all about the tests, textbooks, and projects that dominated my thoughts. Now I mostly think about TechEd. :) Enter this blog...
You can expect to hear all about working with fellow track owners to put together a great show for you guys in Orlando this June. We've got a ton of great sessions for you in the pipeline and I'd like to use this blog to vet a few ideas. The first order of business, session tiles. We've released a preliminary list of titles and I want to know what you guys think. Check out the DEV and WEB tracks and reply with your comments. I really would love to hear your uncensored opinions and will do everything I can to incorporate your feedback.
http://www.msteched.com/public/sessions.aspx
Cheers!
-Sam
