WhatsHappening :: Microsoft PDC09

MSDN Kicks Off Schedule of FREE Events on Cloud Computing / Windows Azure Platform

amyrc — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 18:07:47 GMT

MSDN EVENTS: Take Your Applications Sky High with Cloud Computing and the Windows Azure Platform

http://www.msdnevents.com/

Join your local MSDN Events team as we take a deep dive into Windows Azure. We’ll start with a developer-focused overview of this brave new platform and the cloud computing services that can be used either together or independently to build amazing applications. As the day unfolds, we’ll explore data storage, SQL Azure™, and the basics of deployment with Windows Azure. Register today for these free, live sessions in your local area. Visit msdnevents.com

Learn about Cloud Computing at a local MSDN Event

http://www.msdnevents.com/

Learn about the latest tools, techniques and resources for Developers. MSDN Events are free, interactive sessions that deliver hands-on technical content with lots of time to ask questions. Chat with your peers and get the skills that can help you get ahead. Register now at www.msdnevents.com.

DAY	DATE	City	REGION	VENUE
Tuesday	2/2	ST LOUIS	Central	Creve Coeur 12
Thursday	2/4	DALLAS	Central	Cinemark 17 with IMAX
Tuesday	2/9	MINNEAPOLIS	Central	TBD
Wednesday	2/10	CHICAGO	Central	Yorktown 17
Thursday	2/11	DETROIT	Central	Southfield 20
Tuesday	2/23	PHOENIX	West	Desert Ridge 18 with IMAX
Tuesday	2/23	PHILADELPHIA	East	King of Prussia 15 plus IMAX
Thursday	2/25	LOS ANGELES	West	Burbank 16 with IMAX
Thursday	2/25	WASHINGTON DC	East	Tyson's Corner 16
Tuesday	3/2	SAN FRANCISCO	West	Van Ness 14
Wednesday	3/3	RALEIGH	East	Brier Creek Stadium 14
Thursday	3/4	SEATTLE	West	Pacific Place 11
Tuesday	3/9	DENVER	West	Highlands Ranch 24 with IMAX
Tuesday	3/9	ORLANDO	East	Waterford Lakes Stadium 20 with IMAX
Thursday	3/11	FT LAUDERDALE	East	Cypress Creek Station 16

Resources to help you ‘light up the web’ with Internet Explorer 8

amyrc — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 18:59:11 GMT

GET:

ASP.NET Controls for IE8, including code: http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/WebAppToolkitIE8
Microsoft Expression Web Superpreview for Internet Explorer – visual debugging tool that makes it easier to migrate site from IE 6 to IE8: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=8e6ac106-525d-45d0-84db-dccff3fae677&displaylang=en

JOIN:

Join the Channel 9 IE community: http://channel9.msdn.com/tags/IE8/
MSDN forums: IE Developer Forum: http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/iewebdevelopment/threads

LEARN:

IE8 Developer Center: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/ie/default.aspx
IE Compatibility Center: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/ie/cc405106.aspx
IE8 Developer Tools: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd565628(VS.85).aspx
How Do I Videos: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/ie/cc304683.aspx
Free videos/training on MSDev: http://www.msdev.com/Directory/SearchResults.aspx?productId=20
Code gallery: http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/Project/ProjectDirectory.aspx?TagName=Internet%20Explorer

Get the latest Windows 7 Training Kit and API Code Pack for .NET

amyrc — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 18:44:28 GMT

Get the Windows 7 Training Kit for Developers

This is the most comprehensive Windows 7 training kit to date, including:

New look/feel to match Windows Channel 9 site
14 different modules, with a total of 32 different labs.
Links to videos, and additional resources.

Windows API Code Pack for Microsoft .NET Framework provides a source code library that can be used to access some new Windows 7 features from managed code. The individual features supported in this version (v1.0) of the library are:

Windows 7 Taskbar Jump Lists, Icon Overlay, Progress Bar, Tabbed Thumbnails, and Thumbnail Toolbars.
Windows 7 Libraries, Known Folders, non-file system containers.
Windows Shell Search API support, a hierarchy of Shell Namespace entities, and Drag and Drop functionality for Shell Objects.
Explorer Browser Control.
Sensor Platform APIs
Extended Linguistic Services APIs
Power Management APIs
Application Restart and Recovery APIs
Network List Manager APIs
Command Link control and System defined Shell icons.
Sample applications built using this library. Each sample has a C# version and a VB.NET version and has its own solution file.

Watch the Windows 7 Developer Boot Camp Online

amyrc — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:43:54 GMT

Did you miss the Windows 7 Developer Boot Camp at PDC09? We’ve got you covered – now you can watch it online!

Top Windows 7 engineers Mark Russinovich, Landy Wang, and Arun Kishan lead a full-day session covering:

(1) Kernel and architectural improvements, (2) new shell integration points: taskbar, libraries and search, and (3) applied tips for getting the most out of today’s hardware with the sensor & location platform, multitouch, and the new graphics libraries (Direct2D, DirectX 11) that take advantage of the GPU.

Whether you’re a C++, C# or Visual Basic developer, building a .NET or a Win32 application, you’ll get actionable tips for getting the most out of the Windows platform.

Watch the Boot Camp online>

Workshop Presentation Content Now Available

amyrc — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:36:13 GMT

The PDC09 workshop presentation content has been posted on the microsoftpdc.com website. Simply go to sessions page filtered by Workshops, and click into the detail page for each workshop session. The presentations can be downloaded via the supporting documents links.

Live Labs Extending Invites for Pivot

amyrc — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:06:22 GMT

The team at Live Labs in extending invites for its new experiment, Pivot, to all PDC attendees. If you missed the session by Gary Flake yesterday, fear not, you can still get a demo and receive your download card at the Live Labs booth in the big room all day Thursday. The booth is located over by the dining area towards the back of the room. If you want to see what all the hype is about, check out the video on www.getpivot.com for more details.

Channel 9 Launches Silverlight 4 Training Course Today

amyrc — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:56:49 GMT

The Silverlight 4 Training Course includes hands-on-labs, a video and a whitepaper designed to help you learn about the new features in Silverlight 4 focusing on three major areas: Enabling Business Application Development, Empowering Richer Experiences and Moving Beyond the Browser. Some of the new highly anticipated features include Printing, WebCam and Microphone support, custom right-click, rich text, HTML support and access to local files with trusted applications.

Get Steven Sinofsky’s New Book at 1:30pm Today

amyrc — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:47:42 GMT

Hot off the press - we’re giving away 100 FREE copies of Steven Sinofsky’s new book: One Strategy: Organization, Planning, and Decision Making.

Stop by and get your book and get it signed by Sinofsky at 1:30pm today in the Wiley booth (#116) in the Big Room. We only have 100, so first come-first served until they’re gone!

Surface Developer Challenge Winner Announced

amyrc — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:17:10 GMT

Congratulations to User Interface Design GmbH in Ludwigsberg, Germany! They have won The Challenge and a Microsoft Surface Developer Unit for their application submission: UID Portfolio. The Surface application was selected among 40 entries across six countries.

UID Portfolio is an interactive company presentation which provides an intuitive and innovative way to present a company’s portfolio of services just by touching the elements on the screen. UID delivered an application which introduces new gestures like drawing a circle on the Surface to sort digital content, application design which delivers an optimum 360 degree view for simultaneous multi-user capabilities, innovative use of tagged objects to initiate an action when laid on the Surface and introducing immediate user-guidance and feedback. A video of the application can be found on Touch First Developer Challenge

Runner’s up include: Vertigo (Hard Rock Worldwide Memorabilia) & Infusion Development/Serverside Group Ltd. (Financial Card Designer). The Microsoft Surface Team received over 40 entries across six difference countries representing applications designed for retail, hospitality, automotive, banking and finance as well as innovative new ways to manipulate digital content with the introduction of new gestures. We would like to thank all contestants who participated in the Touch First Developer Challenge. For more information on the contest, go to http://surface.com/partner.

Attendees Receive a FREE Acer Tablet PC Today

amyrc — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:19:12 GMT

Just announced by Steven Sinofsky at the PDC09 Day 2 keynote – PDC09 attendees will receive a FREE Acer Aspire 1420P Convertible Tablet PC – Microsoft PDC Edition!

Attendees can pick up their tablet PC at the registration area starting at 12:30pm. Every eligible attendee will receive a PC (we’ve got plenty) - no need to stand in line after the keynote and miss the great sessions today.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):

Who is eligible to receive the Acer notebook?

This personal use giveaway is for full-conference attendees who are onsite at PDC. It is not available to Microsoft attendees, members of the media, government employees, staff, speakers, crew, volunteers, day pass attendees, guests, or Workshop-only attendees.

When will eligible attendees receive the Acer notebook?

Eligible attendees may pick up their Acer notebooks at PDC Materials Distribution as follows:

Wed, November 18 12:30pm – 9:00pm
Thurs, November 19 7:30am – 4:00pm

Gary Flake Unveils the Latest Experiment from Live Labs

amyrc — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:36:08 GMT

Gary Flake of Live Labs is giving a session tomorrow (A New Approach to Exploring Information on the Web) that you won’t want to miss! Although he was a late addition to our line-up we’re expecting a crowd in Petree Hall C at 2pm on Wednesday, Nov 18 as Dr. Flake unveils the latest experiment from Live Labs.

There will be a limited number of invitation codes to participate in the project – so don’t be late! Those on staff who have seen sneak previews are still buzzing about it.

View the Channel 9 LIVE Schedule

amyrc — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:03:52 GMT

View the full Channel 9 Live at PDC09 schedule at: http://channel9.msdn.com/posts/NicFill/Channel-9-Live-at-PDC09-Schedule/

Just Released - New Training Content on Channel 9

amyrc — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:26:22 GMT

Just released today on Channel 9:

New Identity Course for ASP.NET web site+WCF web services developers. Take advantage of the Windows Identity Foundation http://r.ch9.ms/id
Windows HPC Server 2008 Training Course-get an understanding of this productive, cost-effective + high-performance solution http://r.ch9.ms/hpc
Learn how to build applications that utilize Windows Azure + SQL Azure in this self-paced course http://r.ch9.ms/azpd

Get the Bits Online!

amyrc — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:01:18 GMT

Looking for downloads, samples, references and other resources referenced at PDC09?

PDC09 speakers and Microsoft product teams have contributed this list of resources just for PDC attendees. We encourage you to download items at the event and to check back occasionally for list updates.

Subscribe to the What’s Happening RSS or follow us @pdc09 on Twitter to receive notification of new bits content.

‘Best Seats in the House’ at PDC09 Keynotes

amyrc — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:03:14 GMT

Congratulations to @pdc09 Twitter followers @KeizerAlex , @sidersdd and @larsw who are the lucky recipients of ‘Best Seats in the House’ at the PDC09 keynotes. All three winners will watch the PDC09 keynotes on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings from the comfort of their very own living room style lounge chairs. Enjoy!

Attendees Get 20% Off Online Microsoft Store

amyrc — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:22:43 GMT

Looking for Microsoft-branded merchandise? We’ve made the shopping experience even easier this year! Just access www.MicrosoftMerchandise.com for a wide range of promotional merchandise that can be shipped directly to you. And as a special offer for PDC09 attendees, you’ll receive 20% off your order!

Look for instructions and special discount codes inside the attendee bag you receive at registration.

Visit the Web Platform Pavillion for Web Chalk Talks

amyrc — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:11:53 GMT

The Web Platform Pavilion in the Big Room at PDC is hosting a series of Chalk Talks during PDC with some really exciting sessions that you won’t see anywhere else. There are talks on what’s new in IIS, the new Bing Maps Silverlight Control which just released at Tech Ed in Berlin, and deep dives on SketchFlow, how to extend Expression Encoder and a not to be missed panel discussion with Scott Hanselman, Sara Ford, Bertrand LeRoy, Glenn Block, Clemens Vasters and Shaun Walker, on Open Source Software and ASP.NET. Plus a bunch more sessions you can take a look at below. These are special sessions you won’t find in the regular PDC schedule so make a note of the date and time. You can find the Web Platform Pavilion in the Big Room in the LA Convention Center. It’s right next to the Surface Lounge. View the full schedule of Chalk Talks below.

While you are in the Web Pavilion make sure to stop by and talk to the engineers who build your favorite web platform products and technologies at Microsoft including: Silverlight, Expression Studio, Internet Explorer, Bing Maps, IIS, ASP.NET and Visual Web Developer. Plus some very special booths for Windows Presentation Foundation, Live Labs and our new partner program for Web Agencies and Hosters, WebsiteSpark.

And before you leave make sure to stop by the Information Booth in the Web Platform Lounge to get a “Make Web Not War” Microsoft Web Platform shirt and sticker for your laptop. See you there!

Web Platform Chalk Talks Schedule

11/17/09

11:00am

What's New in IIS and the Microsoft Web Platform

Raúl Eduardo González

The Microsoft Web Platform is becoming an increasingly powerful set of technologies for building Web applications and services. In this session, you will learn how to use the new Web Platform Installer to more quickly develop, deploy, and host ASP.NET and PHP Web applications. You will also see how server administrators can use IIS 7.5 in Windows Server 2008 R2 - with built-in support for .NET on Server Core - and new IIS extensions to simplify Web server configuration and management.

11/17/09

12:00pm

Extending Expression Encoder

James Clarke

An informal discussion about the experience of building apps with Expression Encoder’s SDK: Demos will include enhancing Expression Encoder with Powershell, distributed peer-to-peer encoding and publishing content to the Windows Azure CDN-enabled blob store.

11/17/09

1:00pm

Deep Dive on Bing Maps Silverlight Control

Keith Kinnan

The Bing Maps Platform has grown immensely over the past year from our Bing Maps AJAX Map Control to our Bing Maps Web Services and now our Bing Maps Silverlight Control. Come and join us as we take you on a tour of all the features and dig deep into the code to show you how to build your own Bing Maps applications in Silverlight.

11/18/09

11:00am

Deep Dive into WPF4 Multi-Touch APIs

Anson Tsao

We’ll look closely at WPF4’s multi-touch platform to build first class multi-touch user experiences. We will discuss the details of manipulation and inertia events, integrating multi-touch experience with existing controls, raw touch events and building on extensible touch devices.

11/18/09

12:00pm

SEO your Site with the IIS SEO Toolkit

Mark Brown

The IIS SEO Toolkit, is a brand new tool from Microsoft that takes the guesswork out of SEO to build the best quality and easiest to find Web sites on the Internet. We'll show features for gaining site intelligence through built in reporting and error identification for broken/invalid links, duplicate content and tag validation. Best of all, you can customize it so you can plug in your own rules and customizations to make the IIS Search Engine Optimizer the complete answer to your SEO needs.

11/18/09

1:00pm

Super Cool Microsoft Ajax Tricks & Tips

Stephen Walther

Learn some of the advanced tricks of the new Microsoft Ajax Library. In this talk, you learn how to take advantage of many of the advanced features of Microsoft Ajax such as recursive templates, dynamic templates, and dynamic placeholders.

11/18/09

2:00pm

Panel Discussion: Open Source Software + ASP.NET

Join us in this panel discussion on open source and ASP.NET. Hosted by Scott Hanselman, Sara Ford, Bertrand LeRoy, Glenn Block, Clemens Vasters, and Shaun Walker will be there to answer your questions and ask you some too.

11/19/09

10:00am

Bing Maps APIs

Chris Pendleton

Bing Maps is a cutting edge geographic-based data visualization platform with several interfaces for integrating maps into your own applications and web sites. Come learn about what’s new with the different Bing Maps APIs and gain a full overview of the platform from the penultimate Bing Maps blogger and mapping expert, Microsoft’s Chris Pendleton.

11/19/09

11:00am

Prototyping with SketchFlow

Christian Schormann

Using and extending Expression Blend and its prototyping vocabulary.

11/19/09

12:00pm

Expression Blend for Developers

DoRon Motter

See a walkthrough of how Expression Blend can be used to design rich user experiences for Silverlight and WPF.

First Time Ever! Channel 9 to Broadcast LIVE from PDC09

amyrc — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:05:44 GMT

As announced in the live broadcast of the Countdown to PDC09 Show, the Channel 9 team will be broadcasting LIVE and unscripted from the PDC Big Room for all three days of the Professional Developers Conference 2009.

The broadcast will be presented in live smooth-streaming, powered by IIS7 and Silverlight. We’ve never done anything like this before, so tune in to see what happens when we go LIVE.

The When/Where/How of Joining us LIVE at PDC09…

Starting at approximately 10:30AM PST each day (or following keynote address on Nov 17 and 18) the Channel 9 team will interview conference presenters, technical leaders, industry luminaries, partners and the Channel 9 community via live broadcast on microsoftpdc.com.

At any point throughout the broadcast, home viewers and conference attendees can contribute to and help guide the conversation by sending a tweet to @ch9live.

Schedule Updates for Wed, Nov 18

amyrc — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:05:14 GMT

Please note the keynote and sessions schedule for Wednesday, November 18th has changed. If you added Wednesday sessions to your Outlook calendar, please be sure to re-add them.

Women In Technology Networking Lunch, Nov 18

amyrc — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:13:33 GMT

The Women In Technology Networking Lunch will be held on Wednesday, Nov 18 at 12:30 – 2:00pm in Room 501. Both men and women are welcome!

Countdown to PDC09 goes LIVE and Uncensored Today!

amyrc — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:06:38 GMT

Don’t forget to tune-in the the LIVE Countdown to PDC09 show today at 12pm PST.

Jennifer and Mike will be taking your event questions live via Twitter (tweet to @ch9live) – save the technical questions for the technical experts at the PDC - and they will make a big PDC09 announcement today. You’ll have to watch to get the specifics, but let’s just say this ‘announcement’ has NEVER been done at any of our events before!

Note: You will need to install Silverlight to view the program. If you can’t make the live show, a recorded version of the show will be available on Channel 9.

Meet the WPF Team

amyrc — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:12:50 GMT

The WPF team will be at PDC ready to chat with you!

PDC is around the corner. Sessions and demos are being polished, schedules finalized, and the booth and hands-on lab machines have been shipped down to Los Angeles. The WPF team will be down at PDC available to chat with you about what is coming out with the release of .NET Framework 4 and to discuss some of the thoughts around what might come afterwards.

If you’d like to meet up with the WPF team, be sure to join us at this special event!

TUESDAY, November 17^th, 2009 @ 12.30-2.00PM, 406B

BOF Special Event: INETA BOF Community Roundtable

amyrc — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:07:12 GMT

Have you ever wished you could peek behind the curtain and get a glimpse into the future? Ever wanted to know why something is the way it is in the .NET universe? The INETA BOF Community Roundtable is your chance to ask those questions. Better yet, like all BOF sessions, you also get to hear what is on the minds of your peers in the community.

The session will be recorded as a .NET Rocks show and Carl Franklin, Microsoft Regional Director and host of .NET Rocks, will be moderating the discussion. Plus we've got some great community sponsored door prizes.

WHEN & WHERE

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

6:00 PM – 7:00 PM, Room 309

Our flagship panel currently includes:

David Chappell	Principal of Chappell & Associates http://www.davidchappell.com
Sara Ford	Program Manager, CodePlex at Microsoft http://blogs.msdn.com/saraford/
Scott Hanselman	Principal Program Manager at Microsoft http://www.hanselman.com
Patrick Hynds	Microsoft Regional Director and CTO of CriticalSites http://www.patrickhynds.com
Fritz Onion	Co-founder of Pluralsight and Microsoft Most Valuable Professional http://www.pluralsight.com/community/blogs/fritz/default.aspx
Miguel de Icaza	Co-founder and CTO of Ximian, and the father of the Mono Project http://tirania.org/blog/

Shuttle Service at PDC09

amyrc — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:49:55 GMT

PDC09 will offer free shuttle service between the hotels listed on the PDC09 site, and the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Shuttles will run approximately every 15 minutes during the following times:

Tuesday, November 17: 6:45am – 10:45am; 5:15pm – 9:15pm

Wednesday, November 18: 7:15am – 11:15am; 5:15pm – 9:15pm

Thursday, November 19: 7:15am – 11:15am

The Parallel Computing Platform at PDC09

amyrc — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:27:45 GMT

Attending PDC09? Envision building highly concurrent “many-core” applications using Visual Studio 2010? Interested in focused “chalk-talk” sessions directly with members of the PCP Team?

Avoid the crowd… contact us directly and receive an invitation to join a “PCP Tech-Talk” session.

· Engage in small group or one-on-one discussions.

· Gain architectural insight directly from Subject Matter Experts.

· Invite your entire product development team!

Experience “best practices” discussions with a focus upon…

· New Visual Studio Parallel Development, Debugging, and Profiling tools

· The .NET Parallel Extensions

· The New C++ Concurrency Runtime

· New Windows 7 and R2 Platform Technologies and how to use them.

· Start influencing the next release now; after discussing the parallel computing features of Visual Studio 2010, tell us what else is on your wish list!

· And more…

See the pre-PDC Parallel Computing Platform Video Series on MSDN Channel9.

Iron Bartender @ GeekFest

amyrc — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:13:23 GMT

Man VS machine – who’s got what it takes to be a superior cocktail? We’ll pit Clint Rutkas’s robotic bartender versus a real bartender. Five judges will decide who can pour a better drink. Both competitors will have unique advantages/challenges. Don’t miss out on the fun!

When: 8PM PST on Wed, Nov 18

Where: The Big Room, Coding4Fun lounge at GeekFest!

Judges:

1 Random Community pulled from the crowd
2 Community People: Kevin Grossnicklaus, Laurel Ruma
2 Microsoft People (…experts at drinking): Thomas Lewis, Jennifer Ritzinger
Microsoft backup/tiebreaker judge: The man, the legend Dan Fernandez

Attendee Directory Available Online

amyrc — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:03:18 GMT

The Attendee Directory is now live! During the registration process, we asked you if you’d like to share your contact information with other PDC09 attendees. If you opted-in for this service, your information has been included in the online Attendee Directory.

To access the attendee directory, go to the Registration Page and log in to your registration record via Windows Live ID. The link is at the top of the page. The Attendee Directory will remain live through November 20.

Please Note: this information is intended for distribution among registered attendees and should ONLY be used for networking opportunities associated with the PDC09 event.

John Durant on the Latest SharePoint Features

amyrc — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:08:13 GMT

In this episode of The Knowledge Chamber, Robert Hess talks to John Durant, who’s just returned from the Microsoft SharePoint Conference where a number of new SharePoint features were announced. Watch this episode and learn more about how these new features benefit developers.

John Durant is leading sessions at PDC09 which will cover some of these features:

.NET Solution Game Show ‘Rocks’ GeekFest

amyrc — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:13:18 GMT

Join .NET Rocks in the Visual Studio/.NET Lounge Theater from 8 – 8:45 pm on Wednesday, November 18 during GeekFest for a chance to win great prizes by participating in the .NET Solution Game Show.

You can also meet the developers featured on www.dotnetstories.com, enter a raffle to win a blue moon chair, and check out—or enter your own solution in—the .NET Challenge online at www.myDotNETstory.com.

Watch the Countdown to PDC09 Show Live, Nov 13

amyrc — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:29:50 GMT

Watch Jennifer and Mike as they host a very special LIVE version of the last Countdown to PDC09 Show (this Friday, Nov 13 at 12pm PST)! You never know what these two are going to say, but you can definitely count on a BIG announcement around PDC09. Tune-in this Friday and be among the first to know!

As if that weren’t enough to get you hooked, they will be taking your questions from Twitter…live! You can ask for tips and tricks for getting the most out of PDC, recommendations for favorite sessions or special events, or perhaps you’re wondering if it’s okay to wear white pants after Labor Day. Get all your burning questions answered!

To participate in the live Q&A:

Tune-in to the live stream via http://microsoftpdc.com/ at 12pm PT on Friday, Nov 13. You will need to have Silverlight installed to view the program.
Send your questions, comments and cheers to @ch9live. If there’s room, include the #pdc09 hash tag in your tweet, so people can find it in their PDC09 search.

If you can’t make the live show times, you will be able view a recorded version of the show. More details to follow for the recorded version.

New Developer Training Kits Available on Channel 9

amyrc — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:33:00 GMT

Three more training kits went live on Channel 9 this morning for Office 2010, SharePoint 2010 and Windows Server 2008 R2. Learn More>>

Windows 7 Developer Boot Camp – SOLD OUT

amyrc — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:29:18 GMT

Due to popular demand, the Windows 7 Developer Boot Camp has sold out. If you were hoping to take advantage of the extra day of in-depth content a before the PDC event, there are still a number of other full-day workshops open. Additional Workshop fees apply. >>Get more info about PDC Workshops

‘Tell Us Your Story’ and Win a Smart Car or Galapagos Island Adventure

amyrc — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:45:17 GMT

Every developer has a story! We want to know yours. How did you use the .NET Framework to create a killer app? What parts of the .NET Framework (ASP.NET, ADO.NET, WPF, WCF, WF, etc.) did you use to develop it? What other Microsoft products (SharePoint, SQL Server, Windows Server, etc.) were used in the solution? What challenge did you solve? How did you integrate your solution with other solutions and systems?

Go to www.myDotNetstory.com, and share your story by December 31, 2009. Two ways to win:

JUDGE’S CHOICE
Submit a demo and impress the panel of technology industry leaders and Microsoft gurus to win a 12-day Galapagos Islands Adventure or a Smart Car. Other prizes include the ultimate home entertainment system or a media internet tablet PC.

PEOPLE’S CHOICE
Submit your story and get friends, family, and colleagues to vote for your solution. The three developers with the most votes will win an ARCHOS 320 GB Media Internet Tablet PCs.

>> Get the ‘Tell Us Your Story’ contest details

.NET Developers - Expect the Unexpected

amyrc — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:34:02 GMT

Think there’s a “.NET Developer Type”? It might surprise you to learn that one .NET Framework developer swims with sharks. Another speaks Latin and makes homemade cheese. One dropped out of school at age 16 and started his own business. Another used to be a cop. The solutions they develop are just as diverse.

You might also be surprised to hear why they chose to use various Microsoft technologies for their solutions, and what non-Microsoft tools they were able to incorporate using the .NET Framework.

Learn about these intriguing people and their amazing solutions at www.dotnetstories.com.

Party On – It’s GeekFest, Baby!

amyrc — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:39:36 GMT

Join us on Wednesday, November 18 from 7pm – 9pm in the Big Room, for a special PDC reincarnation of GeekFest! Free drinks, food, games, music and ‘geek’ entertainment. Mingle with PDC speakers and developer rock stars in the Lounges, Pavilion stations, and the Hands-on Labs.

GeekFest Sponsor: Visual Studio

The Knowledge Chamber Talks to VSTS Workshop Presenter

amyrc — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:53:45 GMT

In this episode of The Knowledge Chamber, Robert Hess talks to Chris Tullier, about his upcoming VSTS workshop at PDC09. Chris and Todd Girvin will focus specifically on the use of Visual Studio Team System to manage software development tasks for teams of any size. Visual Studio 2010 recently released a new beta, which includes a variety of improvements for a broad spectrum of developer needs.

Watch this episode of The Knowledge Chamber on Channel 9.

Learn more about the PDC09 Workshop: Developing Quality Software Using Microsoft Visual Studio Team System 2010

Get more information about Visual Studio 2010 Beta 2

PDC09 Attendees Receive 25% Off Certification Exams

amyrc — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:39:46 GMT

Microsoft Learning is pleased to offer PDC09 attendees an exclusive discount on Microsoft Certification exams. At registration check-in, you’ll receive a Microsoft Learning discount card that includes a 25% off discount code, along with instructions for scheduling your Microsoft Certification exam. For more information on Microsoft certification, visit www.microsoft.com/learning.

This Week’s Puzzle Tweet – SOLVED!

amyrc — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:56:20 GMT

And the WINNER is @assmatt! Watch for your PDC09 swag in the mail this week! For the people playing along with today’s puzzle tweet, a little more info on the cipher…

The puzzle: My word, encrypted 4 times with the same cipher, makes DKQPHMCR, RWSNUIGH, UPYSFGJX, XNEKABOF in some order. 1st to find it wins!

Answer: ASTEROID. Encryptions, in order, are: UPYSFGJX, DKQPHMCR, XNEKABOF, RWSNUIGH.

It’s a simple substitution cipher:

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

UIOXSHMAJCN?BWGKEFPYD??RQ?

where the ?’s are L,T,V,Z in some order (doesn’t matter, since they are not used, so long as you don’t have Z->Z)

Get Direct Access to Parallel Computing SMEs at Tech-Talks

amyrc — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:54:43 GMT

Attending PDC09? Envision building highly concurrent “many-core” applications using Visual Studio 2010? Interested in focused “chalk-talk” sessions directly with members of the PCP Team?

Avoid the crowd… contact us directly and receive an invitation to join a “PCP Tech-Talk” session.

· Engage in small group or one-on-one discussions.

· Gain architectural insight directly from Subject Matter Experts.

· Invite your entire product development team!

Experience “best practices” discussions with a focus upon…

· New Visual Studio Parallel Development, Debugging, and Profiling tools

· The .NET Parallel Extensions

· The New C++ Concurrency Runtime

· New Windows 7 and R2 Platform Technologies and how to use them.

· Start influencing the next release now; after discussing the parallel computing features of Visual Studio 2010, tell us what else is on your wish list!

· And more…

See the pre-PDC Parallel Computing Platform Video Series on MSDN Channel9.

Women In Technology Networking Luncheon, Nov 18

amyrc — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:55:30 GMT

Come to the PDC09 Women in Technology Luncheon to meet and share stories with the powerful, insightful, and intelligent women attending PDC09. Take part in speed mentoring - an opportunity to gain insight from colleagues' experiences in the workplace through a confidential circle of peers - based on 'mentoring circles' design, but turbo charged for PDC. We hope you will join host Shoshanna Budzianowski, Partner Group Program Manager at Microsoft, for lunch while learning from each other's wisdom and successes!

Wednesday, November 18 - Location TBA

About Shoshanna Budzianowski… Shoshanna is a Partner Group Program Manager in the Business Platform Division. She is responsible for building a repository-based, model-driven platform and using the platform to bootstrap a major new Microsoft initiative, called Dynamic IT. Shoshanna is a fourteen year Microsoft veteran and a twenty-three year software industry veteran. Prior to joining Connected Systems Division in 2007 she served as Director of PM for Developer Division driving the Orcas and Whidbey SP1 releases. Shoshanna has contributed to the design of a range of features in Visual Studio, including Visual Studio Tools for Office and Visual Studio Tools for Application, the SQL Database Designer and Query Designer, Visual Modeler, HTML Help, and the Site Designer in Microsoft Visual InterDev.

Shoshanna has a B.S. and an M.S. in Computer Science. Her experience in the software industry, prior to Microsoft, includes software development, software testing, product management, business development, and consulting.

INETA to Host Community Roundtable on Nov 17

amyrc — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 01:31:03 GMT

Join David Chappell, Scott Hanselman, Patrick Hynds, Fritz Onion, Miguel de Icaza, and Sara Ford for an open discussion on anything technology related. Carl Franklin will moderate the discussion and be recording the event as a .NET Rocks show.

INETA BOF Community Roundtable
6 – 7pm, Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Update on Birds-of-Feather Sessions at PDC09

amyrc — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 01:28:11 GMT

It’s not to late to submit your proposal for Birds-of-a-Feather (BOF) sessions at PDC09 – proposals will be accepted through Oct 30. >> Get More Info

Confirmed BOF Sessions at PDC09:

Note: The session times will be finalized about one week before the PDC. Check back for times and locations.

BOF @Lunch Featured Sessions

ASP.NET MVC – Share Your Stories From The Trenches
Will Cloud Computing Change Your Life? Co-Hosts: Simon Guest, David Pallman, Aaron Skonnard, and Michael Stiefel

BOF Sessions

Claims-Based Identity Host: Keith Brown
Exception Management – Handling and Reporting Exceptions Effectively Host: Paul Sheriff
Shoud I Use Silverlight, MVC, or Web Forms for Web User Interface Development? Co-Hosts: Ben Hoelting and Todd Anglin
Developers on Better Design, User Experience and Why It Matters Co-Hosts: Daivd Kelly and Jason Beres

SQL Server 2008 R2 Workshop Preview on Channel 9

amyrc — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:35:49 GMT

On this episode of The Knowledge Chamber, Robert Hess talks to Omri Bahat about features in SQL Server 2008 R2 that provide a more efficient way to develop, deploy, and manage applications which rely on an integrated data tier.

>>Watch the video on Channel 9

Want a deeper-dive into the technology? Sanjay Nagamangalam and S Murali will host a full-day Workshop at PDC09 on Nov 16: Simplifying Application Packaging and Deployement with Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2. >>Learn More about PDC09 Workshops

Surface Developer Challenge Finalists Announced

amyrc — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:52:31 GMT

Congratulations to the finalists in the touch first Microsoft® Surface® Developer Challenge! The Grand Prize Winner will be announced, on or before November 1^st, 2009.

>> More about the Challenge

After-Mouse.com - Resto'Touch
After-Mouse.com - Paint'Touch
Black Marble Limited - Codename: Sneakernet
Clarity Consulting - Gift Registry Demo
Clarity Consulting - Surface Experience for Chicago's 2016 Olympic Bid
ESRI - Tag Map Magnifier
Figlo - Hawanedo on Surface
Hasso Plattner Institute - Lumino
IdentityMine, Inc. - Retail Product Selector
IdentityMine, Inc. - Event Photos
Infusion/Serverside - Financial Card Reader
Phenomblue - Moppet Mashup
RTT AG - Audi R8 V10 Realtime Configurator
User Interface Design GmbH - UID Portfolio
Vertigo - Hard Rock Worldwide Memorabilia

Channel 9 Launches Learning Center

amyrc — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:40:51 GMT

This morning (Oct 21) at 10 AM PT, Channel 9 launched an online learning center that will play host to developer focused training courses, created by developers for developers. This builds on Channel 9’s history of giving direct access to Microsoft engineers and future technologies. These videos and labs, with links to extensive training kits, allow developers to begin hands-on-learning about emerging technologies at their own pace. The first two labs, released today, include:

· Visual Studio 2010 Beta 2

The developer evangelists from the 10-4 Show are providing videos and labs to get familiar with .NET Framework 4 and Visual Studio 2010. This exclusive opportunity lets developers access courseware online in a self-paced learning experience.

· The most comprehensive Windows 7 Developer training available is now online

These videos, hands-on labs, and real-world samples are the quickest way to ramp up on the new developer features in Windows 7. The new online offerings allow developers to learn at their own pace, downloading only the modules that are relevant for them.

Is Your App Windows 7 Compliant? Get ‘Logo’d’ at PDC09!

amyrc — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:06:17 GMT

Get a jumpstart on making sure your applications run seamlessly on Windows 7. The Windows 7 Developer Center (located onsite in Room 504) is available FREE of charge to conference attendees and offers exclusive access to development experts and hands-on test environments. Experts will be available to assist participants with compatibility testing, to offer specific guidance on compatibility issues and to guide participants through the Windows 7 Software Logo Program. Interested attendees can pre-book a time-slot before the event by contacting srglabs@microsoft.com. Attendees can also book a time-slot at the event by stopping by Room 504 during conference hours.

Hotels Filling Up Fast, Discount Ends Oct 30

amyrc — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:41:36 GMT

If you’re waiting to make your PDC09 registration and hotel reservations, don’t wait too long! Many of our negotiated rate hotels have already sold out, but there are still some good rates and locations left. If you’ve already registered but have not reserved a hotel, you can still login to your registration record and add your hotel selection. Another reason not to delay – you must register by Oct 30th to receive $300 off your PDC09 conference pass.

Need help with registration or reserving a hotel? Contact the registration desk at pdc09@ustechs.com.

PDC09 to Feature Screening of Visual Studio Documentary

amyrc — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:35:39 GMT

Got plans on Monday night (Nov 16), before PDC09? Better clear your schedule. Dig this… PDC09 will host a special screening of the Visual Studio documentary on Monday, November 16th (6:30 – 7:30pm; Room 408A). The documentary tells the behind-the-scenes story of how Visual Studio was created. Watch Bill Gates, Scott Guthrie, Anders Hejlsberg, Alan Cooper and many others tell their stories of what it was like building everything from the first version of BASIC to Visual Studio 2010.

And as if that weren’t enough… Don’t miss the post-screening - filmmakers and cast will be on-hand to mingle and answer questions from the audience!

VS 2010 Beta 2 and .NET Framework 4 Beta 2 Released

amyrc — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:18:33 GMT

Visual Studio 2010 Beta 2 for download for all MSDN subscribers, with general availability to follow on October 21^st. Visual Studio 2010 Beta 2 will be released for English, Japanese and German; while NET Framework 4.0 Beta 2 will be released for English, Japanese, German, and Arabic.

[Microsoft] outlined a simplified product lineup and pricing options for Visual Studio 2010 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. >>Read the press release

New product lineup includes:

Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate with MSDN: the comprehensive suite of application lifecycle management tools for software teams to ensure quality results from design to deployment.

Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Premium with MSDN: a complete toolset for developers to deliver scalable, high quality applications.

Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Professional with MSDN: the essential tool for professional development tasks to assist developers in implementing their ideas easily. (Note: Visual Studio 2010 Professional will also be available without MSDN subscription)

‘Microsoft Technology Roadmap’ Workshop Presenter on Channel 9

amyrc — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:52:16 GMT

This year at the PDC, Michele Leroux Bustamante will walk attendees through a variety of Microsoft technologies and help them understand the value of each and how to use them to their fullest advantage in her Workshop ‘Microsoft Technology Roadmap’.

On the latest episode of The Knowledge Chamber, we have a special interview with Michele where she provides some details on what her workshop will be about. This workshop should be an excellent way to start the PDC off and help you be fully prepared for all of the seminars that will follow. Watch the video on Channel 9.