Friday, December 10, 2010 9:00 AM

North Carolina State University - Jane S. McKimmon Conference & Training Cntr
1101 Gorman St
Raleigh North Carolina 27606
United States

Register Online

Event Overview

Join your Microsoft Developer Evangelists for this free, all-day event that will get you up to speed with ASP.NET web development, going from zero to sixty in one day.

Whether you’re just starting out or are already on the web and looking for the latest developments, join us for this full day of technical content as we take you through a progression of sessions, all focused on developing with the Microsoft Web Platform.

By the end of the day, you’ll be familiar with latest advances and have a solid understanding of ASP.NET web development options.

Agenda:

· 8:30 – Registration

· 9:00 –  To the Web with ASP.NET 4 Web Forms

o The tried-and-true approach for creating effective and robust websites, ASP.NET 4 Web Forms offers powerful abstractions and rapid application development features.  Add in recent advances in ASP.NET 4 and Visual Studio 2010 and you’ll be crafting amazing sites in no time.

· 10:30 – Looking at ASP.NET MVC

o ASP.NET MVC (Model View Controller) is a relatively new option, offering a variety of potential benefits such as separation of concerns, flexibility, control, and testability.  In this session, you’ll learn the essentials, along with the latest advances, so you can get started right away.

· 12:00 –The Web Platform Smorgasbord

o Grab a bite to eat and join us for this relaxed but rapid-fire lunchtime look at a variety of web topics, including tools and tech that you’ll surely find appetizing.

· 12:45 – Introducing WebMatrix

o WebMatrix is a new option that provides a simple but powerful way to create web applications.  You can create sites based on existing open-source applications, or dive right in and create from scratch.  From code and testing to data and deployment, we’ll introduce WebMatrix and show you how it can make your life easier.

· 1:40 – Evaluating Your Web Options

o You’re up to speed with the latest in ASP.NET MVC, Web Forms, and WebMatrix, but you may be wondering how and when to choose between them.  The great news is you don’t always have to choose just one.  In this session we’ll talk about factors to consider, options for adoption/migration, and ways to combine ASP.NET Web Forms and MVC in the same web application.

· 2:40 – Creating Effective Websites with ASP.NET

o Knowing how to create websites with ASP.NET is important, but making them effective is the key.  This final session dives into additional options and techniques that apply to both Web Forms and ASP.NET MVC applications.  From scripting with jQuery and AJAX, design with CSS, markup and validation techniques, and tools for testing, you’ll learn how to set your sites (and skills) apart from the rest.

· 4:00 – Wrap-up, Evals, and Giveaways

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As announced ad PDC10, a number of new features were scheduled to be released before the end of the year…. Well they’re here! (Well.. actually you can Download the new Azure 1.3 SDK here)

New for version 1.3:

• Virtual Machine (VM) Roll (Beta): Allows you to create a custom VHD image using Windows Server 2008 R2 and host it in the cloud. Virtual Machine (VM) Role (Beta): Allows you to create a custom VHD image using Windows Server 2008 R2 and host it in the cloud.
• Remote Desktop Access: Enables connecting to individual service instances using the Remote Desktop client. Remote Desktop Access: Enables connecting to individual service instances using a Remote Desktop client.
• Full Support in IIS Web role: Enables Windows Azure web hosting roles in the IIS hosting environment. Full IIS Support in a Web role: Enables hosting Windows Azure web roles in a IIS hosting environment.
• Elevated Privileges: Enables performing tasks with elevated privileges Within the service instance. Elevated Privileges: Enables performing tasks with elevated privileges within a service instance.
• Virtual Network (CTP): Enables support for Windows Azure Connect, Which Provides IP-level connectivity and on-premises Between Windows Azure resources. Virtual Network (CTP): Enables support for Windows Azure Connect, which provides IP-level connectivity between on-premises and Windows Azure resources.
• Diagnostics: Enhancements to Windows Azure Diagnostics diagnostics enable collection of data in more error conditions. Diagnostics: Enhancements to Windows Azure Diagnostics enable collection of diagnostics data in more error conditions.
• Networking Enhancements: Enables roles to restrict inter-roll traffic, fixed ports on InputEndpoints. Networking Enhancements: Enables roles to restrict inter-role traffic, fixed ports on InputEndpoints.
• Performance Improvement: Significant performance improvement local machine deployment. Performance Improvement: Significant performance improvement local machine deployment.

• C # and VB Project support for creation Creating the Windows Azure Cloud application solution with multiple roles. C# and VB Project creation support for creating a Windows Azure Cloud application solution with multiple roles.
• Tools to add and remove roles from the Windows Azure application. Tools to add and remove roles from the Windows Azure application.
• Tools to configure each role. Tools to configure each role.
• Integrated local development via the compute and storage emulator emulator services. Integrated local development via the compute emulator and storage emulator services.
• Running and Debugging a Cloud Service Development in the Fabric. Running and Debugging a Cloud Service in the Development Fabric.
• Browsing through the Cloud Storage Server Explorer. Browsing cloud storage through the Server Explorer.
• Building and packaging of Windows Azure application projects. Building and packaging of Windows Azure application projects.
• Deploying to Windows Azure. Deploying to Windows Azure.
• Monitoring the state of your services through the Server Explorer. Monitoring the state of your services through the Server Explorer.
• Debugging in the cloud by retrieving IntelliTrace logs through the Server Explorer. Debugging in the cloud by retrieving IntelliTrace logs through the Server Explorer.

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Save a spot on your calendar for the Silverlight Firestarter event on December 2,2010. This LIVE event in Redmond, WA is being broadcast live “Everywhere”. We’re working in arranging a venue in the Raleigh/Durham area to get together an view the event, bringing together some of the local Silverlight community. If you’re interested (or have a venue to host us) drop me a note or watch for details here.

For more info, or to register for the LIVE Streaming event please visit the Silverlight Firestarter site

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As the November 8 launch date for the new Windows Phone 7 in the US the advertising campaign is getting ramped up.

Really!

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In a show of support for Silverlight and it’s future at Microsoft, Bob Muglia, President of the Server and Tools Division at Microsoft provided a blog post on the Team Silverlight blog. In his post Mr. Muglia better explained the context of some of his comments.

Among other key points, he very clearly states:

“Make no mistake; we’ll continue to invest in Silverlight and enable developers to build great apps and experiences with it in the future”

In the post he also outlines some key trends the Silverlight targets:

“Customers are demanding the richest possible client experiences, and developers are increasingly looking to build premium, tailored experiences optimized for specific devices.” 

“Customers want to be able to deliver client experiences that are optimized for specific form factors.”

“Media delivery across the Internet continues to accelerate dramatically.  Customers want HD, studio quality, premium media content.” 

“Lastly, there has been massive growth in the breadth and diversity of devices made by a wide variety of vendors providing both open and closed systems.”

And lastly, relating to the positioning of Silverlight and HTML(5)

“The purpose of Silverlight has never been to replace HTML, but rather to do the things that HTML (and other technologies) can’t, and to do so in a way that’s easy for developers to use.  Silverlight enables great client app and media experiences”

These echo some of the comments made by Steve Ballmer about Microsoft wanting to fully support HTML but also using Silverlight to go beyond those capabilities in a variety of client and application solutions.

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