After the huge success of SQLBits in October 2007, the return (the Sequel as it is known) is being held on the 1st of March 2008.
Sessions have been submitted, like all good community conferences, session selection is by means of a voting process!
Please vote for the sessions that you would like to see on the agenda via this link:
http://www.sqlbits.com/information/PublicSessions.aspx
Technorati Tags: SQLBits
If you attended DDD6 last November, and you haven’t already submitted your feedback, could I ask you to take a few minutes to submit your feedback here:
Welcome to podcast#41. Microsoft MVP John O’Brien takes time out to catch up with me whilst I was in Brisbane! We’re chatting about Windows Live, Microsoft Virtual Earth and Community in Australia.
Podcast feed – subscribe here!
This podcast: http://www.craigmurphy.com/podcasts/041-John-OBrien.mp3
Resources
Soul Solutions
ViaWindowsLive
Technorati Tags: John O’Brien, SoulSolutions, soul solutions, MVP, Microsoft MVP, Windows Live, Windows Live Developer, Virtual Earth, Community, Microsoft
The sixth DeveloperDeveloperDeveloper took place last Saturday, the 24th of November. 307 attendees enjoyed a good mix of topics, caffeine, chocolate and an excellent geek dinner afterwards.
As organisers we are grateful to all those folks who attended and those parties who played a part in making it happen. We are especially grateful to Microsoft who provided an unparalleled level of support: they provided the venue free of charge, the catering, the attendee management system, the lovely event staff who have the ability to smile all day long and the security. However, special thanks need to go to Clare Burgess for all her efforts in making DDD6 happen too. And that’s not to say the DPEs don’t deserve thanks too – their presence lends weight to the community spirit that DDD has to offer, they get involved, they wear the DDD polo shirts, they mingle, they chat: in this instance, Dan, Martin, Mike, gracias!
We should have made this notice of appreciation on the day itself, however I failed to write it down on the closing remarks sheet that I wrote minutes before it was required (thanks to the event staff for copying it!) Apologies for that, it was my oversight. Will do better next time.
Technorati Tags: DDD6, Microsoft, Dan Moth, Martin Parry, Mike Taulty, Clare Burgess
Craig Murphy (wearing a DCon polo shirt!), Mark Miller
Welcome to podcast#40. Microsoft MVP and DevExpress IDE Architect, Mark Miller gets vocal about CodeRush and Refactor – IDE productivity tools from Developer Express. Over the course of 30 or so minutes, we discuss Mark’s favourite refactorings for WinForms/desktop code and for ASP.NET code. We also touch on how DevExpress choose which refactorings make it into the product.
The use of CodeRush is covered, as is the clever use of Gina and Sara – two models who could type but had never coded before. DevExpress ran a competition at DevConnections whereby attendees could win some cash if they could beat the models in a coding competition. The models had CodeRush and Refactor available to them, the attendees did not! I’ll be writing more about this competition later this month, but in the meantime, consider this – the story of an attendee who used a competing refactoring tool, and lost!
Recorded live in the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas, there is some background noise, apologies for that.
“I did not steal a dollar bill, no sir!”
Podcast feed – subscribe here!
This podcast: http://www.craigmurphy.com/podcasts/040-DevExpress-TechSummit-Mark-Miller.mp3
Resources
Mark’s Blog
Developer Express
Technorati Tags: Mark Miller, Developer Express, DevExpress, CodeRush, Refactor, Refactor Pro, Refactor!Pro, DevConnections
We’re taking all that grunt work of creating a new application out of the whole thing and that’s the most important idea really.
Welcome to podcast#39. Oliver Sturm, community evangelist, Microsoft MVP and DDD speaker takes some time out to talk to me about the eXpress Application Framework, eXpress Persistent Objects, the DevConnections challenge. Oliver crams a lot into this podcast and does so very eloquently.
Ironically, Oliver lives “just down the road” from me – I could have popped down and recorded this podcast with him at his home. Instead, we both found ourselves over 7,000 miles from home…such is our dedication!
Recorded live in the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas, there is some background noise, mainly from the bar, the slot machines and the general ambiance associated with the surroundings.
Podcast feed – subscribe here!
This podcast: http://www.craigmurphy.com/podcasts/039-DevExpress-TechSummit-Oliver-Sturm.mp3
Resources
Oliver’s Blog
Developer Express
Technorati Tags: Oliver Sturm, Developer Express, DevExpress, eXpress Application Framework, XAF, eXpress Persistent Objects, XPO, DevConnections, CodeRush, Refactor
I’m not sure how successful this is going to be, but I have great faith in the power of Twitter!
Via Chris Dalby [blog], I’m pleased to have discovered http://twitter.com/eventtrack
How does this work? Well, if you’re at DDD6 and have a suitably featured mobile device, you can Twitter live whilst in sessions (remembering of course to have your device on vibrate or silent!) Others who are following the eventtrack feed for DDD6 will be able to read your comments, etc. And if you’re not able to attend DDD6, hopefully the eventtrack feed for DDD6 will give you a near live feed of what you’re missing!
If anyone wants to join the conversation, follow the steps below:
1. On Twitter, follow the user eventtrack
2. At the start of the event, tweet @eventtrack start*DDD6
3. Start twittering like normal, everything you Twitter from now on will be grouped into the DDD6 event
4. After the event you can send a tweet @eventtrack stop*DDD6
5. Now the system will no longer pay attention to you
Simple and easy and for those of you not attending or those that are you’ll be able to follow the collective conversation via here:
http://www.webaura.info/eventtrack/?t_event=DDD6
This is the first time we’ve tried something like this, so please do try and make use of it! Thanks!
Of course, it does assume that you’re signed up for Twitter! Find me here: http://twitter.com/CAMURPHY, and find DDD here: http://twitter.com/developerday
Technorati Tags: DDD6, Twitter, eventtrack
I’ll be speaking at the NxtGenUG meeting in Birmingham on the 21st of January 2008, more details here.
I’ll also be speaking at the DotNetDevNet meeting in Bristol that week, more details is available here.
An Introduction to Test-Driven Development
With Test-Driven Development (TDD) now entering the mainstream via such tools as NUnit and more recently xUnit.net. If you are wondering how to “get more” from TDD, code coverage could well be part of the answer. Craig believes that we can improve the quality of our application by using a combination of TDD and code coverage. Over the course of 60-75 minutes Craig will introduce the benefits of code coverage using both manual methods and automated tools. He will briefly introduce TDD and will go on to demonstrate the benefits of using code coverage tools against your unit tests, i.e. how well do your tests exercise your classes/application?Automating Your Build Process …
For non-trivial applications, having a managed build process is essential. However, if that build process is irksome to use and requires a series of fiddly steps in order to complete it, developers/build folks will not been too keen to run it frequently. This is a shame because a repeatable, fast and easy to use build process increases confidence and product quality. Automating the build involves scripting every action that you need in order to compile, test, deploy and re-test your application. Using FinalBuilder as an example, Craig will show you how this is done. Craig has no connection personal, financial, marital or otherwise with the makers of FinalBuilder, he just likes it and uses it …
Technorati Tags: NxtGenUG, DotNetDevNet, FinalBuilder, VSoft, NUnit, xUnit.net, TDD, Birmingham, Bristol, swag
For any Media Centre PCs, I would put an NVidia 8600 GT in and specifically a passively cooled one…
Welcome to podcast#37. Andrew Cherry, Media Center MVP takes time out from mingling to chat to me about the Windows Media Center, developing applications for it and the uses you might put it to in the home. During this podcast, MILAF gets mentioned – I think it might have shocked Andrew – you’ll have to listen to hear how long Andrew was shocked for and to see if it’ll shock you!
Recorded live in the Novotel, there is some background noise, mainly from the 40 or so MVP’s who were enjoying the chance to catch up.
The MVP Open Day is a mechanism provided by Microsoft to bring together their MVP’s. Meeting each other is one of the key goals, however it also provides a mechanism for Microsoft to share information with MVP’s in a face-to-face scenario. It’s also an excellent vehicle for MVP’s to deliver presentations to fellow MVP’s – recursive sharing.
Photos of the MVP Open Day can be found at these locations:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/craigmurphy/tags/mvpopendayoctober2007/
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=17182&l=73fc4&id=580259551
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=17215&id=580259551
Podcast feed – subscribe here!
This podcast: http://www.craigmurphy.com/podcasts/037-MVP-OpenDay-Andrew-Cherry.mp3
Andrew’s web site: http://www.digitallivingsolutions.co.uk/
Resources mentioned in this podcast
Media Center Sandbox
HP TouchSmart
Niveus Media
ConvergeX
SideShow
NetGear
Technorati Tags: Andrew Cherry, Windows Media Center, NVidia, Silverlight, controls, tool support, expression, xaml, expression blend, HP, TouchSmart, Media Center, remote control PC, remote control, ConvergeX, The Green Button, the gadget show, Microsoft MVP, Microsoft MVP Programme
There are still some places available for the TechNet events across the country at the end of November and early December. Particularly in Newcastle and Falkirk.
There are three separate sessions:
Register here: http://www.microsoft.com/uk/technet/training/events.mspx
The Dates
22 November 2007
London: Eight Reasons to migrate to SQL Server 2008
27 November 2007
Falkirk: Beyond SharePoint: Advanced Solutions in Business Intelligence and Enterprise Search
Falkirk: How to take online backups of running applications via System Center Data Protection Manager AND how to provide secure remote access to applications via Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services
Falkirk: Eight reasons to migrate to SQL Server 2008
29 November 2007
Manchester: Beyond SharePoint: Advanced Solutions in Business Intelligence and Enterprise Search
Manchester: How to take online backups of running applications via System Center Data Protection Manager AND how to provide secure remote access to applications via Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services
Manchester: Eight reasons to migrate to SQL Server 2008
4 December 2007
Newcastle: Beyond SharePoint: Advanced Solutions in Business Intelligence and Enterprise Search
Newcastle: How to take online backups of running applications via System Center Data Protection Manager AND how to provide secure remote access to applications via Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services
Newcastle: Eight reasons to migrate to SQL Server 2008
5 December 2007
London: Beyond SharePoint: Advanced Solutions in Business Intelligence and Enterprise Search
London: How to take online backups of running applications via System Center Data Protection Manager AND how to provide secure remote access to applications via Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services
7 December 2007
Reading: Beyond SharePoint: Advanced Solutions in Business Intelligence and Enterprise Search
Reading: How to take online backups of running applications via System Center Data Protection Manager AND how to provide secure remote access to applications via Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services
Register here: http://www.microsoft.com/uk/technet/training/events.mspx
Technorati Tags: UK IT Community, TechNet, events, Falkirk, Newcastle, Reading, London, Manchester
Over the course of 5 minutes, Kent Alstad chats about our time at the first DevExpress TechSummit, held in the Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas.
Video: Developer Express TechSummit – Kent's view
The video closes rather quickly – we were going to chat about Kent’s product however this was conference setup time, so a technical issue relating to the speaker system meant we had to wrap up! I will catch up with Kent at some point in the future to “continue the conversation”!
Technorati Tags: strangeloop, kent alstad, devexpress, developer express, las vegas, tech summit, control vendors, influencer, influencer, coderush, refactor, refactor!pro, refactor pro
Folks – Zi has done it again – this time it’s in the form of a car sharing wiki!
If you are travelling to DDD6 (on November 24th) and are willing to share your car with a like-minded technical person, please make the offer known via the wiki.
Similarly, if you are looking for a lift, please use the request section to make that known to others!
Here it is: http://www.zimakki.com/wiki/DDD6Travel.ashx
And if you missed the post about the coaches, it’s here. The coaches are sponsored by SQLBits.
Technorati Tags: DDD, DDD6, car sharing, zi makki