Guy Barrette

Visual Studio 2010 Beta 1 now available

Soma announced earlier today that Visual Studio 2010 Beta 1 and the .NET Framework 4.0 Beta 1 are now available for download from the MSDN Subscribers site.

http://blogs.msdn.com/somasegar/archive/2009/05/18/visual-studio-2010-and-net-fx-4-beta-1-ships.aspx

I downloaded the bits but I’m waiting to double-click on Setup.exe since I can’t find any info at this moment on the compatibility of the Silverlight and Azure Beta bits with 2010 Beta.  Patience  ;-)

Montreal .NET Community: Data Access Hacks and Shortcuts with Stephen Forte

Stephen Forte will speak at the Montreal .NET Community this Tuesday May 19th 2009. 

Data Access Hacks and Shortcuts
Struggling with Data Access? Who isn’t? Come and see some Data Access hacks and shortcuts that will make your life easier! In a high energy demo-only session, Stephen shows: how a mere mortal can pass a custom .Net collection to a stored procedure, improve your LINQ (to SQL, Entities, and 3rd party ORM) queries by eavesdropping on the server and understanding deferred execution, making complex data models easier to manage in the Entity Framework, creative Sliverlight databinding, and transforming your database back end to get enormous performance and productivity enhancements no matter what data access methodology you use. This is data access for the 21st century! Stephen will also provide guidance along the way about ORMs, LINQ to SQL, and the Entity Framework and will encourage Q&A.

Demos:
ADO.NET: Passing a Custom Collection to a Stored Proc
LINQ: Using SQL Server Profiler for eavesdropping on the conversation between your data access components and SQL Server
Entity Framework: Model Complex Relationships with Views
Astoria: Binding to Sliverlight
Database Architecture: Transform Data for Faster Performance

Stephen Forte is the Chief Strategy Officer of Telerik, a leading vendor in .NET components. He sits on the board of several start-ups including Triton Works and is also a certified scrum master. Prior he was the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and co-founder of Corzen, Inc, a New York based provider of online market research data for Wall Street Firms. Corzen was acquired by Wanted Technologies (TXV: WAN) in 2007. Stephen is also the Microsoft Regional Director for the NY Metro region and speaks regularly at industry conferences around the world. He has written several books on application and database development including Programming SQL Server 2008 (MS Press). Prior to Corzen, Stephen served as the CTO of Zagat Survey in New York City and also was co-founder of the New York based software consulting firm The Aurora Development Group. He currently an MVP, INETA speaker and is the co-moderator and founder of the NYC .NET Developer User Group. Stephen has an MBA from the City University of New York.

Yeah, sounds good but the real question is: do you really want to spend an evening listening to this guy?

Seriously, Stephen is a killer presenter.  Don’t miss his talk!  More info here: http://www.dotnetmontreal.com/dnn

Sponsored by DevTeach

SQL Server 2008 Developer Training Kit

[From Éric Moreau]

Microsoft just released the SQL Server 2008 Developer Training Kit.  Here’s the overview:

SQL Server 2008 offers an impressive array of capabilities for developers that build upon key innovations introduced in SQL Server 2005. The SQL Server 2008 Developer Training Kit will help you understand how to build web applications which deeply exploit the rich data types, programming models and new development paradigms in SQL Server 2008. The training kit is brought to you by Microsoft Developer and Platform Evangelism.

In that kit you’ll find PowerPoint decks, demos and hands-on-labs on the new SQL Server 2008 features for developers.

Download it here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=e9c68e1b-1e0e-4299-b498-6ab3ca72a6d7

Code Camp Montreal 2009 – Sold Out

I’m happy to announce that we closed the registration for Code Camp Montreal 2009 because we’re Sold Out! (350 registrations)

Mac Elimination

The message

In it’s Elimination ad, Apple is implying that there are no viruses on Macs.

http://www.apple.com/getamac/ads/

The reality

http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=3346&tag=nl.e550

I wonder if Mac users will at some point launch a class action lawsuit against Apple for false advertising.

Ignite Your Career: Honing Your Experience And Skills For Uncertain Times

I was a panellist on a MSDN Canada’s Ignite Your Career Webcast titled “Honing Your Experience And Skills For Uncertain Times” and targeted at Architects.  Along me was Kent Weare from Calgary and Scott Howlett from Toronto.  The moderator was David Remmer from Microsoft Canada.

Throughout the hour, we covered a wide range of topics like:

• What are the 3 top skills an architect should have? (hint: none of them are technical!)
• Should an architect still code?
• Is there any values in getting a certification?
• Architect, Solutions Architect, Software Architect, Enterprise Architect, Urban Planner...What the heck?!!
• Should an architect learn how to manage projects?
• Should an software architect know about infrastructure and networks?
• Career paths for architects

You can listen to the Webcast by registering here:
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?culture=en-CA&EventID=1032403866&CountryCode=CA

Here are the Webcast details:

* This event was Recorded on May 12, 2009. *

Language(s):
English.

Product(s):
Microsoft Office,Microsoft Office SharePoint Server,Microsoft Visual Studio,Windows,Windows Server.

Audience(s):
Architect,BDM,Business PC User,Business Professional,Developer,Education,Government,Home PC Users,IT Professional,Partners,Student,Technology Decision Maker.

Duration:
60 Minutes

Event Overview

Session 2 of 4: Making the commitment to continually develop experience and skills is one of the best ways to help secure your future in the IT industry and further your career progression. In this session, our panel of leading IT architects will provide guidance on helping you invest in your future by developing the experience and skills that are essential to your being successful in your IT architecture career. REGISTER NOW FOR THIS WEBCAST.

IGNITE YOUR CAREER: IT Architecture Career Webcast Series Overview

With the economy experiencing challenges it is more important than ever for IT architects to manage their career growth and skills – and one excellent way of doing this is to learn and discuss with our peers as well as mentors. The purpose of the Architect Webcast series is to share with architects and other technical decision makers experiences and insights from a panel of leading architects in the IT industry across Canada.

For more information on all webcasts within this series, register now for the May 2009 webcasts at:
www.microsoft.ca/technet/ignite

Visual Studio Talk Show #98 is now online (French)

http://www.visualstudiotalkshow.com

Bernard Fedotoff: ALM: Gestion du cycle de vie des applications

En direct de Seattle, dans le cadre du MVP Summit, nous discutons avec Bernard Fedotoff de la gestion du cycle de vie des applications. Entre autres, nous discutons de ce que les américains appellent le "Application Lifecycle Management".

Bernard Fedotoff est Microsoft Regional Director depuis 1996 ; il a animé les Devdays et Techdays en Suisse et en France depuis 1997. Il a été fondateur et PDG de PSEngineering depuis 1990, société qu’il a revendue en 2004. En 2005, il a fondé la société Agilcom. Bernard a mené auprès de clients français, suisses, et d'afrique du nord de nombreuses missions en technologie .Net, d'architecture et de coaching d'équipes de dévoppement. Son passé de Pdg et son expertise technologique apportent aux projets qu'il accompagne deux points de vue riches d'expériences et de convictions. Il a aussi accompagné la mise en place de plateaux offshores vers la Tunisie, en implémentant des approches Agile avec Team Foundation Server. Enfin, il est aussi co-auteur de nombreux ateliers des coachs publiés sur le site MSDN de Microsoft France. Bernard est titulaire d’un diplôme d’ingénieur ainsi que d’un troisième cycle universitaire en robotique. Il consacre ses quelques minutes de temps libre à la montagne.

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Managed Services Engine – Have you used it?

Hey services gurus!

I saw someone from Microsoft demo Managed Services Engine last week.  It wasn’t aware of that project before so I’m curious to see if any of you looked or used it.  Is it useful?  Benefits and drawbacks?  How can it be positioned against Dublin?

http://servicesengine.codeplex.com/

I’m surprised that the download numbers are so low and that it is still in CTP.

Your Facebook fix on Windows Mobile

Hey Crackbook addicts!  You can now have your fix on Windows Mobile.  Microsoft has released a free app that brings the Facebook experience to your mobile device.

• Send messages to any of the people in your Friends list.

• Take pictures and videos on your phone, then upload them right to Facebook.

• Send messages or call people in your Friends list.

• Manage your profile and post anytime, anywhere.

Download it here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/en-us/downloads/facebook.mspx

Code Camp Montreal – Sessions are now online

Code Camp Montreal sessions are now online.  Here’s the agenda: