Bill and the gang down in Charlotte have opened up registration for their spring Code Camp on Sat May 17th. A number of people from the Raleigh area are thinking of carpooling down, and a number of us are speaking at the event. I will be presenting a session on Silverlight 2 control customization.

Code Camps are a great way to get training on a variety of topics, as well as to meet peers in the community and benefit from the energy and excitement that goes hand in hand with these events.

To attend this event you must pre-register: http://www.developersguild.org/Default.aspx?tabid=240 

The details are finally in place for the beginnings of the Raleigh/Durham Dot Net User Experience / Silverlight group. We will be meeting on Tuesday April 22, 2008 at 6:00 PM. We will be meeting at 1143 Executive circle, suite H, Cary, NC 27511.

[*****pushpin estimated may not be exact]

Please help us spread the word! If you know of people working with or interested in Silverlight/WPF in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area please forward this along.

What is the purpose of a new group?

The purpose of the group is to bring together individuals who share an interest in exploiting the Microsoft .NET platform to create Rich Interactive Applications that provide the end user with the best possible user experience. We will be focusing on  using technologies such as Silverlight, WPF, etc., as well as the related design user experience topics that are related.

Who should attend?

As suggested above, the audience really isn't limited to any type of individual; however, for the sake of providing "labels", the group is targeting Microsoft Silverlight / WPF / Expression  developer and designer audience. While we will be started off with some basics of Silverlight, the goal of the group is going to be to focus more on intermediate and advanced topics. We will be working jointly with the Triangle .Net User Group (www.trinug.org) which is starting to offer a Silverlight 101 focus group.

Where do I sign up?

There are a number of logistical issues that we need to work out getting this group going, such as a website, etc. If you are planning attend the next meeting, please leave a comment or drop me an email so that we can plan for numbers and hopefully have some discussions beforehand on what people would like to see.

What will be covered?

At the first session I will be presenting some work I have been doing relating to styling and Control Templates in  Silverlight 2 controls and have a Q&A. At that time we will also get some ideas of what we'd like to see in future events.

Why DNUX?

I met Cory Smith who has started the DNUX (www.dnux.org) groups in the Dallas Texas area and I thought the idea was brilliant. While our initial topics will likely be Silverlight related, I did not want to bind us complete to one technology. Dot Net User Experience provides a much better description of the direction I'd like to see. Hopefully I'll find him again so I can official ask to "borrow" the name idea.

I've been talking with a number of people about starting a Silverlight focused group here in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area. If you're interested, se if you can come out to the presentation I'm giving for the Triangle .Net User Group Web Applications SIG on Wednesday and we can maybe chat afterwards as well about setting another meeting up later in April. I'm thinking maybe April 22nd, 24th, or 29th?

On the topic of SIlverlight meetings.... I think there are a few of us that may soon need a local meeting more like this....

Silverlight Rehab - You're not alone

Stay out of the dark and go into the light! ;-)

If you're interested in some FREE Silverlight 2 training, on Wednesday evening (April 2, 2008 6:00 pm) I will be giving a presentation on Silverlight 2 Controls for the Triangle .Net User Group's(TRINUG) Web Application SIG. The meeting is being held at Compuware in Durham, NC. I'll be covering the controls currently included in Silverlight 2, as well as creating User Controls and Custom Controls, and also styling and skinning existing controls.

On Wednesday April 9, 2008 Brad Abrams will be presenting at the Triangle .Net User Group in Raleigh/Durham, NC. The presentation will be "Sort of think of it like Mix08 in 1.5 hours" covering Silverlight 2, the MVC Framework, and other new exciting technologies from Microsoft.

In addition to the fun of having Brad in town, our friends at FarPoint are sponsoring the event and treating us to a traditional BBQ feast! Space is limited so please register soon.

Again to rephrase, YOU MUST REGISTER TO ATTEND!

One of the fun parts of Mix08 was seeing the Code Trip bus set sail on it's voyage around the western US. It's a bunch of Microsoft DE's and prominent members of the developer community that will be holding a series of events as they travel from city to city. I look forward to seeing the bus again at it's final destination at the MVP summit in Seattle in April. 

The Code Trip site has a listing of the events taking place, real time bus GPS tracking, and a travel log. Anybody recognize the two in the preview image?

Happy trails Code Trip Team!!!

Wednesday, March 12, Chris Eargle will be presenting on Continuous Integration using MSBuild and CruiseControl at the March Meeting of TriNUG. Chris has an excellent grasp on this topic, and this presentation, while easily approachable for those new to CI, has plenty of technical depth for those more familiar with the topic. Chris is a great speaker, and this event will leave you well-versed and capable in setting up your own CI solution.

[Direct scrape from Dug's blog but I wanted to make sure we got the word out!]

Was this the Microsoft Research showing at TED that had Scoble in tears?

See the video HERE of Photosynth and related technologies that they're working on. Very cool.

Are you thinking about going to Tech Ed in Orlando this June? One of the best parts of the event are the Birds-of-a-Feather sessions put on by the INETA and Culminis communities. They're a lot of fun, and a great chance to chat face to face with peers in the community. Go ahead an submit a topic if you have some ideas, and plan to attend if you're in the neighborhood!

The official info....

Submit your ideas as topics for Birds-of-a-Feather (BOF) discussions and volunteer to be a moderator!

According to some of last year's attendees, BOFs were one of the 3 best things about Tech Ed 2007. While it may seem far in the future, it's time to start thinking about topics for the Birds of a Feather sessions at Tech Ed Developers in June.

With the conference split into two consecutive Tech Ed events for the first time this year, INETA is organizing the Birds-of-a-Feather sessions at Tech Ed 2008 Developers in Orlando June 3-6, 2008 while our sister organization, Culminis, is organizing the BOF sessions at Tech Ed IT Professionals, June 10-13.

If you're not familiar with the concept, a Birds-of-a-Feather session is an open discussion lead by a moderator who is not a Microsoft employee. The sessions are not presentations, there are no projectors. Unlike the Keynotes and Breakout sessions which are mostly one to many communication, Birds-of-a-Feather sessions are many to many communication and don't necessarily focus on Microsoft products or technology.  They are about people talking with people - connecting, sharing, networking, and creating community. It's that simple, and that's what we do best.

Over the past several years Birds of a Feather sessions have become fully integrated into the Tech Ed agenda.  This means you'll see them in the online scheduling tool and they'll be listed in the mini-guide.  There will be daytime sessions along with the other conference technical tracks, as well as an All-BOF Night on Wednesday, June 3rd from 6:30 to 9:00 PM.

As a result of this integration, BOF Submissions and Voting close on March 19th!

The BOFs are all about community participation, and community is a critical part of their success. INETA and Culminis solicit session proposals - you submit topics you would like to have discussed - your peers vote on they you want to see as BOF sessions - and then the organizers select, schedule, publicize and organize the Birds-of-a-Feather sessions.  If your BOF topic submission is selected, you are then asked to moderate the session.  You are welcome to submit more than one topic!!  Anyone attending a BOF can contribute to the discussion.

Do your part to continue the community tradition and get involved now!  Here's how you can participate:

1. Get the word out.  Blog about the Call for Topics, or post the Call in forums you participate in.  Let folks know about the voting and about your favorite topics.

2. Propose a Topic. If you're going to be at Tech Ed - if there's a topic you'd like to discuss with your peers and you'd be willing to moderate that discussion- click through and submit the topic.

3. Vote.  Check the Tech Ed Developers BOF Voting Page and as you see topics appear that interest you, vote for them!

4. Stay Tuned. As BOF session ideas come in, they will be added to the Tech Ed Developers BOF Voting Page for you to select. When the Tech Ed Schedule Builder goes live in April, mark your calendars and plan to attend and join in great discussions. We'll also have more to say about how you can volunteer to be a Host at one or more BOF sessions in the next INETA newsletter.

For Instructions check out: http://www.ineta.org/newsletters/misc/2008-02/bof_instructions.pdf

Are you thinking about going to Tech Ed in Orlando this June? One of the best parts of the event are the Birds-of-a-Feather put on by the INETA and Culminis communities. They're a lot of fun, and a great chance to chat face to face with peers in the community. Go ahead an submit a topic if you have some ideas, and plan to attend if you're in the neighborhood!

The official info....

Submit your ideas as topics for Birds-of-a-Feather (BOF) discussions and volunteer to be a moderator!

According to some of last year's attendees, BOFs were one of the 3 best things about Tech Ed 2007. While it may seem far in the future, it's time to start thinking about topics for the Birds of a Feather sessions at Tech Ed Developers in June.

With the conference split into two consecutive Tech Ed events for the first time this year, INETA is organizing the Birds-of-a-Feather sessions at Tech Ed 2008 Developers in Orlando June 3-6, 2008 while our sister organization, Culminis, is organizing the BOF sessions at Tech Ed IT Professionals, June 10-13.

If you're not familiar with the concept, a Birds-of-a-Feather session is an open discussion lead by a moderator who is not a Microsoft employee. The sessions are not presentations, there are no projectors. Unlike the Keynotes and Breakout sessions which are mostly one to many communication, Birds-of-a-Feather sessions are many to many communication and don't necessarily focus on Microsoft products or technology.  They are about people talking with people - connecting, sharing, networking, and creating community. It's that simple, and that's what we do best.

Over the past several years Birds of a Feather sessions have become fully integrated into the Tech Ed agenda.  This means you'll see them in the online scheduling tool and they'll be listed in the mini-guide.  There will be daytime sessions along with the other conference technical tracks, as well as an All-BOF Night on Wednesday, June 3rd from 6:30 to 9:00 PM.

As a result of this integration, BOF Submissions and Voting close on March 19th!

The BOFs are all about community participation, and community is a critical part of their success. INETA and Culminis solicit session proposals - you submit topics you would like to have discussed - your peers vote on they you want to see as BOF sessions - and then the organizers select, schedule, publicize and organize the Birds-of-a-Feather sessions.  If your BOF topic submission is selected, you are then asked to moderate the session.  You are welcome to submit more than one topic!!  Anyone attending a BOF can contribute to the discussion.

Do your part to continue the community tradition and get involved now!  Here's how you can participate:

1. Get the word out.  Blog about the Call for Topics, or post the Call in forums you participate in.  Let folks know about the voting and about your favorite topics.

2. Propose a Topic. If you're going to be at Tech Ed - if there's a topic you'd like to discuss with your peers and you'd be willing to moderate that discussion- click through and submit the topic.

3. Vote.  Check the Tech Ed Developers BOF Voting Page and as you see topics appear that interest you, vote for them!

4. Stay Tuned. As BOF session ideas come in, they will be added to the Tech Ed Developers BOF Voting Page for you to select. When the Tech Ed Schedule Builder goes live in April, mark your calendars and plan to attend and join in great discussions. We'll also have more to say about how you can volunteer to be a Host at one or more BOF sessions in the next INETA newsletter.

For Instructions check out: http://www.ineta.org/newsletters/misc/2008-02/bof_instructions.pdf

It's going to be an interesting week ahead, with a number of events in the developer world. On Wednesday Feb 27th, Microsoft will begin the "Global Wave" of launch events around the world, starting with a large scale event in Los Angeles. At this event we will see Windows Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008 officially launched.

One week later is the Microsoft MIX08 conference where it is anticipated that Microsoft will be showing Silverlight 2 and IE8 for the first time, as well as well as updates to Visual Studio and futures such as the MVC Framework.  (Note that it's apparently "Silverlight 2" now and not Silverlight 2.0. ScottGu has given a few preview details on his blog) I get the feeling that there are a lot of other exciting announcements in the pipe that are being held back and will be made between or during these events. (There is also the TED conference that could preview some new things from Microsoft Research)

Not to be left out of the picture, It also sounds like Adobe will be fighting for attention next week as well as they are expected to release Flex 3 and AIR. We'll save the Flash vs Silverlight debate for another day, but the important fact is that competition in this space is really heating up.

There has been a lot of debate about the future of RIA (Rich Internet Applications or Rich Interactive Applications, or as I prefer to think of it, a way to get Rich on the Internet Again), and what the impact really will be. There are some camps that feel that HTML + JavaScript will be as far as mainstream development goes within the browsers. Personally while I do not think that in the near future every html based site will cease to exist and be replaced by a Silverlight or Flash applications, I do think that these technologies represent some major opportunities for existing sites to add some dramatic enhancements without completely replacing everything that is. My hope is not that we see more of the same, but get to experience some real innovations in user interfaces and the way that information is presented to us.

While some developers/admin users have claimed that they are not willing to install the runtimes for these environments, the reality is that most end users want more interactivity and will gladly click Next, Yes, Yes, Next at the prospect of doing something cool. If the download is quick, and relatively easy they will install it.Smart developers will use ways of gradually introducing enhanced features into their sites.

I'd like to take this opportunity to say congratulations to two very deserving friends of mine that were recently awarded Regional Director status by Microsoft, Daniel Egan and Jim Duffy. Without going into all the details, (You can learn more here) but let's just say it's a pretty big deal and these guys should be feeling pretty good about their accomplishments. Good job guys! You both deserve it!

Jim received a big round of applause at the Raleigh Code Camp when our DE Brian Hitney made the big announcement. Below is Daniel after receiving the email following an INETA user group presentation he gave in Florida.

All I can say is that I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOO looking forward to attending Microsoft's MIX08 conference this year in Vegas.

One of the coolest things about MIX is how fast they get the sessions videos up online. Last year I remember downloading sessions I missed at the airport to watch on the flight home.

Some current highlights from the schedule that have me tingling are:

Microsoft Silverlight and Dynamic Languages - Learn how the Dynamic Language Runtime (DLR) works in Silverlight. Includes an introduction to Microsoft Silverlight for Python and Ruby programmers.

Effective User Interfaces in Windows Presentation Foundation and Microsoft Silverlight - Come see how customizable user interfaces were created by extending XAML in a way that integrates various content formats into a single consistent UI. Learn how to build an effective UI, extend XAML, build a Windows Presentation Foundation and Microsoft Silverlight application that can consume extended XAML, and much more.

Creating Rich, Dynamic User Interfaces with Silverlight 2 - See how to use the Microsoft Silverlight 2 control model to efficiently design and develop custom controls, style existing controls, create control templates, and package your controls for re-use to develop Rich Internet Applications. Also hear about the capabilities for localization and accessibility.

Working with Data and Web Services in Microsoft Silverlight 2 = Learn how easy it is to utilize POX, REST, RSS, ATOM, JSON, and SOAP in your Microsoft Silverlight mashup applications. Also learn how to easily access and display data with Silverlight using LINQ and databinding.

From Flash to Silverlight: A Rosetta Stone - Come learn how Cynergy Systems has been translating skills in Flash/Flex development to Microsoft Silverlight 2 with an eye for great design. Learn how to create custom animation techniques, apply popular Flash tricks to Silverlight, and more.

And there there's the MVC content and the WPF content.... OH.. And what about that IE8 thing?

Registration for Code Camp RDU on Feb 16, 2008 is almost full. If you're planning to attend this free day of .Net developer training, make sure you register over on the www.trinug.org website.

This year's event has a speaker list including Richard Campbell, Carl Franklin, Mark Dunn, Ken Spencer, Don Demsak, Miguel Castro, Steve Avery, Scott Forsyth, Jim Wooley and many more.

Topics include LINQ, SharePoint, MVC, SIlverlight, ASP.NET AJAX and more.

The last spaces will likely fill up fast so get registered if you're not already. This is an event you will not want to miss!

Jeffery Palermo has announced an open-source project to create solution that can serve as a user group CodeCamp web site. The even cooler part is that it is being built on top ASP.NET MVC Framework that was recently released.

This is a great way to get involved in doing something for the community, while sharpening your skills at the same time. Count me in!

Congratulations to everybody that received a Microsoft MVP award today. A special shout out to D'Arcy Lussier and Chris Love on their well deserved awards! Great job guys!

One of the biggest complaints of heard the the past from developers when new versions of Visual Studio comes out is that the can not take advantage of the new IDE because their company/project is still using the previous version of the .NET Framework.

A major step that was taken in Visual Studio was to separate the IDE from the framework. This means you can use the goodness of VS2008 on existing 2.0 projects. Brad Abrams links to the ASP.NET Ajax 2.0 templates that you can install in VS2008 or create new web projects targeting 2.0.

Don't let framework adoption rates prevent you from using the great new features in VS2008!

Tonight Microsoft took the covers off of the new ASP.NET 3.5 Extensions Preview and the ASP.NET MVC Toolkit

While I'm extremely excited by the new ASP.NET MVC (Model View Controller) I could not overlook the Silverlight Controls for ASP.NET that make it easy to integrate the rich behavior of Silverlight into a web application. It provides an updated MediaPlayer Server Control  and Silverlight Server control.

The MediaPlayer Server Control allows you to integrate media sources into your web project without any knowledge of XAML or Javascript using pre-built skins, or by referencing custom XAML skins.

          <
          asp:MediaPlayer
          runat
          ="server"
          AutoPlay
          ="true|false"
          ScaleMode
          ="None|Zoom|Stretch"
          EnableCaptions
          ="true|false"
          Height
          ="height"
          MediaSkin
          ="skinName"
          MediaSource
          ="URL"
          Muted
          ="true|false"
          PlaceholderImageSource
          ="URL"
          PluginBackColor
          ="color"
          Volume
          ="volume"
          Width
          ="width"
          OnClientChapterStarted
          ="functionName"
          OnClientCurrentStateChanged
          ="functionName"
          OnClientMarkerReached
          ="functionName"
          OnClientMediaEnded
          ="functionName"
          OnClientMediaFailed
          ="functionName"
          OnClientMediaOpened
          ="functionName"
          OnClientVolumeChanged
          ="functionName" <Chapters><asp:MediaChapterPosition="index"Title="title"ThumbnailImageSource="URL"/></Chapters></asp:media>

The Silverllight Server Control allows you to reference your own XAML. The control also references client JavaScript files associated with the XAML.

          <
          asp:Silverlight
          runat
          ="server"
          ClientType
          ="ClientType"
          EnableHtmlAccess
          ="true|false"
          EnableFrameRateCounter
          ="true|false"
          EnableRedrawRegios
          ="true|false"
          InitParamsters
          ="parameters"
          InstallationMode
          ="None|Inline|Linked"
          MaxFrameRate
          ="rate"
          PluginBackColor
          ="color"
          Source
          ="XamlSource"
          Version
          ="version"
          Windowless
          ="true|false"
          ScaleMode
          ="None|Zoom|Stretch"
          OnClientPluginError
          ="functionName"
          OnClientPluginResized
          ="functionName"
          OnClientPluginLoaded
          ="functionName"
          OnClientPluginFullScreenChanged
          ="functionName" </asp:Silverlight>

More on this later... now onto the MVC...

Karl sent me a note a little while ago and I've been meaning to blog about this, but in the mean time I think Karl has gone without sleep since then and along with Josh Smith has already rolled out Mole version 2! You can get it HERE

Mole 2 is

"a high performance, full featured, multifunction visualizer that allows in-depth inspection of the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) visual and logical trees. For each element in the visual or logical tree the developer can view all properties, visual image, run-time XAML or IEnumerable collection data."

If you work with WPF this, Mole is a thing of beauty! ( I wonder it would take to do this for Silverlight? )

Great work guys! For more info please see http://karlshifflett.wordpress.com/mole-visual-studio-visualizer-for-wpf/

According to the Chinese Zodiac calendar 2008 is the year of the rat, but if you ask me it should be called the year of the Microsoft conference.

Starting in March, just after the official launch of VS2008, Windows Server 2008, and SQL Server 2008, MIX08 is scheduled to take place in Las Vegas March 5-7 at the snazzy Venetian Resort Hotel Casino.

According to recent announcements by Scott Guthrie, MIX08 will likely be the the big event for Silverlight 2.0 hitting the streets in a Beta with GO-Live licensing. This is definitely the "What's Next on the Web" conference. This will be the third year in a row for MIX.

In June, down in Orlando Tech·Ed 2008 will take on a new look, extending into a two week event featuring separate back to back developer and IT professional conferences. (Developers June 3-6 and IT Pro's June 10-13). Tech-Ed is the most "Here and Now" event, focusing on doing real work released products and technologies, covering the complete spectrum. It's going to be interesting how the splitting of the two crowds changes the event, and how this will impact some of the technologies that sort of fall in the middle. Many in the Sharepoint community are not too happy with the decision, but we'll see how it goes.

2008 will also feature PDC, the Microsoft Professional Developers conference in Los Angeles. PDC only happens every few years, usually providing developers with an early look in new technologies that will take shape over the follow years. PDC05 and PDC07 previewed gave developers early looks at VS2005, Windows Vista, and .Net 3.0 (WPF, WCF, WF).

I like to compare PDC and Tech-Ed by saying that Tech-Ed is where you go to learn about technologies and PDC is where you go to see the things that you're going to have to learn in the times ahead to stay on top of things.

I if I had to choose only to attend PDC would be my first choice, followed my MIX and then Tech-Ed. (That's assuming that I was only allowed to choose from Microsoft host events and not things like Dev Connections and VS Live, then it would depend...)

Bottom line is that 2008 is going to be a very exciting year in dev land!