Devhammer on MSDN https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/gduthie/feed.xml Just what IS a Technical Evangelist, anyway? Wed, 17 Apr 2019 03:20:39 GMT en-US hourly 1 The Next Adventure https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/gduthie/the-next-adventure Mon, 09 Dec 2013 14:05:12 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/gduthie/2013/12/09/the-next-adventure/ This is a tough post to write. After 9+ years, and some of the best times I've had in my career, I've decided it's time to move on to my next adventure. This Friday will be my last day at Microsoft.

Thank You!

During my stay at Microsoft, first as a developer evangelist, and later as a technical evangelist (same role, different titles), I have often said to people that I had the best job at Microsoft. I had the privilege of working with extraordinary folks in the local developer community here in Mid-Atlantic. I got to teach people how to use all sorts of developer technologies, and to constantly learn new tools and techniques, everything from LOB apps using .NET to HTML5 client development, and building apps for Windows Phone and Windows 8.

Over the years, I've had great managers, from Kim Matlock, who helped me learn what evangelism is about, to Bill Zentmayer, who was unfailingly patient, even when we "poked the bear," and my current manager, Brett Wolfe, who has been supportive and understanding of my decision to move on.

I've worked with so many great folks in the community, it is impossible to list them all, and I know that I'll forget some (please forgive me if I've left anyone out – lots on my mind at the moment), but a few I want to give a shout-out to: Robin Edwards, Scott Lock, Hal Hayes, Dean Fiala, Darrell Norton, Kevin Hazzard, Steve Presley Susan Lennon, Steve Bodnar, Sara Faatz, Ed Mullin, Chris Steen, Randy Hayes, Pete Brown, Rich Dudley, Justin Etheredge, Stuart Leitch, Brian Noyes, Vishwas Lele, Matt Cuba, Ganesan Muthaiah, Kevin Griffin, Chris Stone, Michael Wolf, Stephen Ritchie, and many more. So many code camps, user groups, and meetups that it's almost a blur. More pizza, diet cokes, and name tags than I can count.

And there are many folks internally at Microsoft who've helped me learn and grow, including all of my fellow Technical Evangelists, in particular my east region peers (and former peers) Doug Turnure, Joe Healy, Brian Hitney, Jim O'Neil, Rachel Appel, Peter Laudati, Dave Isbitski, Tara Walker, Yung Chou, Tommy Patterson, and too many more to mention. You all have been like another family (complete with the sibling rivalry <g>), and you've inspired me to keep pushing myself.

It's been a pleasure and a privilege to work with all of you over the years in my role at Microsoft, and my community work is certainly not at an end by any means.

What's Next?

So if you're wondering what's next, the short answer is that I'll be freelancing (so if you have interesting work, please feel free to get in touch <g>), starting with some video training for WintellectNOW (I hear they're looking for authors, if you're good at such things).

But first, I'll be taking some time to enjoy the holidays with my family, and reflect on how blessed I've been to have the opportunity to work in a great role, in a great organization, in one of the most influential companies in the world.

My sincere thanks to everyone who has played a role in my professional life over the last 9 and a half years. It's been a fantastic ride, and I consider myself very fortunate to have had the opportunities I've had. Looking forward to what the future brings!

Want to keep in touch? You can follow my ongoing adventures on my Devhammer blog, and drop me a note there as well.

]]> Upcoming Events For November 5th, 2013 https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/gduthie/upcoming-events-for-november-5th-2013 Tue, 05 Nov 2013 12:16:25 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/gduthie/2013/11/05/upcoming-events-for-november-5th-2013/ Here are the events listed in Community Megaphone for the next week (or so) for the Mid-Atlantic area, as well as webcasts of interest…this list includes events imported from the UGSS event calendar, and user group events entered in Community Megaphone are also automatically synced to the UGSS event calendar:

MD

CMAP Main Meeting - Build Data-Centric HTML 5 Single Page Applications with Breeze - Brian Noyes
Tuesday, November 05, 2013 6:30 PM, Columbia, MD
View CMAP Main Meeting - Build Data-Centric HTML 5 Single Page Applications with Breeze - Brian Noyes on Bing Maps Topic: Build Data-Centric HTML 5 Single Page Applications with Breeze

In this session you will learn how Breeze simplifies data access and management via services in HTML/JS client apps. BreezeJS is a Javascript library that lets you easily retrieve and update data via RESTful and OData services. In this session you will learn how Breeze can help you with your data-bound HTML UIs to load and save data, cache it on the client side, track changes to that data and send updates to the server in batches or individually. You will see how to combine Breeze with the KnockoutJS library for the data binding, as well as see what the services you need to have on the back end look like.

Presenter: Brian Noyes
Brian is CTO at Solliance, a Microsoft Regional Director, Microsoft MVP, and Pluralsight author. He specializes in building maintainable client applications in XAML and HTML 5, as well as building the services that back them with WCF, ASP.NET Web API, and Windows Azure. Brian has authored several books including Developer’s Guide to Microsoft Prism 4, Data Binding with Windows Forms 2.0, and Smart Client Deployment with ClickOnce. He publishes articles frequently in a variety of publications and speaks at conferences worldwide including Microsoft TechEd, DevConnections, DevIntersection, VSLive!, DevTeach and others. Brian got started programming as a hobby while flying F-14 Tomcats in the U.S. Navy, later turning his passion for software into his current career. You can reach Brian on Twitter @briannoyes or through his blog at http://briannoyes.net  
[ Event Details | Map & Directions | Add To Calendar ]



RockNUG Release 7.5
Wednesday, November 13, 2013 6:30 PM, Rockville, MD
View RockNUG Release 7.5 on Bing Maps Continuous Integration: Blueprint, Toolbox, Master Craft
- Stephen Ritchie

The practice of continuous integration (CI) has the ability to transform software development from a set of manual processes to a logical series of reproducible, automated processes. There are three concepts that are key to continuous integration; the blueprint, the toolbox, and the master craft. This session presents the CI lifecycle as a blueprint. You will see and understand the series of development processes that establish an effective, automated progression from source code to a packaged deliverable. You will learn about the CI server, which is the fundamental tool that initiates, performs, coordinates, and reports throughout the CI phases. The toolbox includes both the CI server and the combination of technologies that support CI. Continuous integration is a master craft of Agile engineering. To help you be effective with continuous integration, this talk demonstrates both the knowledge and skills needed to achieve the desired results of CI and to maximize its value.

Stephen Ritchie is the author of Pro .NET Best Practices and the organizer of the DC ALT .NET group. He has been writing software professionally for over 20 years. Stephen works as a software development consultant at Excella Consulting in the Washington, D.C. area. His passion for following best practices has taught him to appreciate the value of experience, practical know-how, and continuous learning. Stephen is the .NET best practices steward at Excella Consulting, working with .NET project teams to facilitate and sort out the helpful practices from the unhelpful ones, the practicable from the impracticable, and the "sounds good" from the "it really is good" practices and principles.

6:30 - 7:00 n00b Presentation: SQL Database Migration Scripting with RedGate SQL Source Control - Pouya Yousefi
7:00 - 7:30 Pizza/Announcements
7:30 - 9:00 CI: Blueprint, Toolbox, Master Craft! - Stephen
[ Event Details | Map & Directions | Add To Calendar ]


Online

PASS-DataArch VC: Challenges to designing financial warehouses, lessons learned
Thursday, November 14, 2013 12:00 PM, Online
Online Event Icon Abstract
In today’s rapidly changing financial world, designing robust and durable data warehouses can be a challenge that does not always stand the test of time. In this presentation, we shall look at some of the challenges and design issues that were encountered whilst designing two custom warehouses and the steps that were required to cope with ongoing requirement changes, indecision from management, and shrinking budgets; all of which affected the progress of moving these projects from the design board to a profitable production stage.

Bio
Steve Simon is a SQL Server MVP and a senior BI Development Engineer with Atrion Networking. He has been involved with database design and analysis for over 25 years. Steve has presented papers at eight PASS Summits and one at PASS Europe 2009 and 2010. He has just recently presented a Master Data Services presentation at the PASS Amsterdam Rally. Steve has also presented 5 papers at the Information Builders' (IBI) International Summits. He is a PASS regional mentor & chair of the Oracle/SQL Server VC.
[ Event Details | Add To Calendar ]


VA

November 2013 :: Bootstrapping your own business
Tuesday, November 12, 2013 6:00 PM, Virginia Beach, VA
View November 2013 :: Bootstrapping your own business on Bing Maps Have you ever wanted to bootstrap your own software business, but ended up giving up before you began? Did self-doubt ? "No one will buy", "I don't know how to sell this", "I can't do this alone" ? keep you from moving ahead? Brennan Dunn, a local bootstrapper, has launched a number of products over the last two years, most notably his SaaS, Planscope. From start to finish, he'll walk you through what you need to do to find a problem, create a solution, and sell it to lots of people who've never met you. If you're looking to minimize risk and bootstrapping something that's guaranteed to sell, you won't want to miss this talk.
Presented by: Brennan Dunn
Brennan Dunn is an author, teacher, startup founder, podcast host, and newsletter junkie.
He's written two books, "Double Your Freelancing Rate" and "Sell Yourself Online: The Blueprint", which have helped thousands make more money and get more clients. Brennan also teaches the Consultancy Masterclass workshop and hosts a weekly newsletter read by over 6,000 freelancers. He's also the founder of Planscope, a project management tool for freelancers and small teams.
In a past life, Brennan quit his full-time job as the CTO of a large agency and went out on his own. Within in a few years, he had scaled up his consulting company to 11 full-time employees with an international portfolio of clients. He has since stopped running the company to focus on Planscope and his other products.
Brennan lives in Chesapeake, VA with his wife and two daughters. You can follow him on Twitter @brennandunn, or see what he's working on at http://brennandunn.com  

Event venue: InfoTec
Hosted by: Hampton Roads .NET Users Group
[ Event Details | Map & Directions | Add To Calendar ]



Windows App Workshop
Wednesday, November 13, 2013 1:00 PM, Reston, VA
View Windows App Workshop on Bing Maps IMPORTANT: Please register at https://aka.ms/fallw8app3 so we can have an accurate headcount for attendance.

In this app workshop, attendees will be introduced to the concepts of using a publicly-available API as the basis for a Windows Store or Windows Phone app. We'll walk through one of the APIMASH starter kits (kit TBA).
We'll also discuss the concepts of rapidly building a minimum viable product, getting it published, taking feedback, iterating on the idea, and updating the app. And we'll also discuss the basics of marketing your app, and available resources for that purpose.

This event will include both lecture and hands-on time. This is the third of three events in the series. You may attend any or all of the events, as each will cover a different starter kit.

IMPORTANT
To participate in the hands-on portion of these events you MUST bring a PC with the following installed:
- Windows 8 (any x86 or x64 version will work fine)
- Visual Studio 2012 (for Windows Store apps, you'll need Visual Studio 2012 Express for Windows 8, or higher. For Windows Phone apps, you'll need Visual Studio 2012 Express for Windows Phone, or higher)

We will NOT have PCs available for attendee use, so please come prepared if you want to work hands-on. If you need a copy of either Windows 8 or Visual Studio 2012, head over to http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/apps/br229516/.

For Mac users, there are a variety of boot and virtualization options you can use to run Windows 8 and Visual Studio, which are documented here:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/jj945492.aspx
 
Please visit http://bit.ly/18E7IRz for more details on this event and the other workshops in the series.

Event venue: Microsoft - Reston
Hosted by: DC/Baltimore Windows App Developers
[ Event Details | Map & Directions | Add To Calendar ]

Want your events listed? You can add them here.

You can also add your events via the Community Megaphone web service API. You can get more information on the API, and how to sign up, at http://www.communitymegaphone.com/API.aspx. You can also email me for more information.

]]> The MoDev $10K App Contest https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/gduthie/the-modev-10k-app-contest Fri, 01 Nov 2013 14:38:21 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/gduthie/2013/11/01/the-modev-10k-app-contest/ Great news for Windows Phone and Windows 8 developers! If you develop a new app or game for the Windows Store or Windows Phone Store, submitted between October 1st and December 31st, 2013, you can enter the MoDev $10K App Contest, and compete for up to $2,500 for a first-place finish!

There are two categories of winners, one set selected by a judging panel, and another set selected by public voting on qualifying apps. For each category, first place gets $2,500, second place gets $1,500, and third place gets $1,000. Full details here.

And to celebrate the kickoff of the contest, I'll be doing a special presentation at the MoDevDC meetup this Monday, November 4th at 8pm, in McLean, VA. I'll be providing an overview of the Windows Store development platform, and both Microsoft and 3rd-party tools you can use to develop compelling apps and games for the Windows Store, including demos.

So if you could use some extra cash around the holidays, or just want to find out more about developing for the Windows Store, RSVP for the meetup.

]]> Friday App Shout-Out: 101 American Recipes https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/gduthie/friday-app-shout-out-101-american-recipes Fri, 01 Nov 2013 14:15:57 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/gduthie/2013/11/01/friday-app-shout-out-101-american-recipes/ This week, the Friday App Shout-Out features a colorful and fun recipe app…read on for details!

101 American Recipes

101AmericanRecipes

101 American Recipes, developed by Ramya BM, features pretty much what you'd expect, classic American recipes, broken into categories including Appetizers, Breakfast, Main Dishes, Dessert, etc. The app provides detailed ingredients and directions for each recipe, and supports semantic zoom for faster navigation across different categories.

The app is available in the Windows Store for $1.49, but includes a free trial mode if you'd like to kick the tires first. Download it now!

Office Hours

I offer weekly Office Hours, alternating between the Microsoft Store in Tyson's Corner, VA, and our Reston, VA office. If you're working on an app for Windows Phone, or Windows Store, or you need help integrating Windows Azure services into your solutions, I can help.

You can check out my current Office Hours schedule at:

http://usdpe.ohours.org/devhammer

I also usually post my next upcoming Office Hours session on the DC/Baltimore Windows App Developers Meetup group, which also happens to be a great resource for other app development related events, so you should join the group.

Who's Next?

Would you like to be the next recipient of a shout-out for your app? You can get links, videos, and more for free at App Builder. Sign up takes only a few seconds, and the resources can help make you the next app rockstar. And don't miss the newly-launched App Builder rewards program. Build apps and earn rewards, at your pace.

Drop me a note if you're working on a Windows 8 app and have questions or need advice, or if you've published your app already, let me know so I can spread the word!

]]> Upcoming Events for October 21st, 2013 https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/gduthie/upcoming-events-for-october-21st-2013 Mon, 21 Oct 2013 07:00:14 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/gduthie/2013/10/21/upcoming-events-for-october-21st-2013/ Here are the events listed in Community Megaphone for the next couple of weeks for the Mid-Atlantic area, as well as webcasts of interest:

DC

WebSharper Intro: Exploring HTML5 Visualization in F#
Wednesday, October 23, 2013 6:30 PM, Washington, DC
View WebSharper Intro: Exploring HTML5 Visualization in F# on Bing MapsWhat: Today's browsers are capable of executing complicated graphical programs. Let us explore what we can make the browser do in our favorite language, F#!

In this hands-on session we will learn to develop HTML5 apps in F# with WebSharper, with a focus on visualization. We will quickly look at a few examples covering:

• Doing raster graphics with Canvas
• Doing vector graphics with SVG via Raphael JS
• Programming user interaction with visual objects
• Interactive planar graph layout
• Modelling simple physics and writing "fast enough" code
• Creating interactive timelines
• Going 3D with WebGL in the browser

For our main in-depth example we will be programming boids[1], a simple model of bird flocking, showcasing 2D/SVG programming, user interaction and optimizing code by vectorizing computations.

[1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boids

*Bonus*: CloudSharper Preview
Bring a laptop and a browser for the session - besides Visual Studio, we will have the option of using CloudSharper, the yet-unreleased cloud-based F#/WebSharper IDE from IntelliFactory.

Who: Anton (@t0yv0) has 5 years experience of writing F#, primarily involving developing and maintaining WebSharper.
Together with colleagues from IntelliFactory, Anton has successfully
used SVG-based HTML5 visualization to develop a tool for exploring bacterial genomes for the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Anton's professional interests revolve around typed functional programming (F#, Haskell, OCaml, SML, Racket), and, more recently, type theory (Coq).
[ Event Details | Map & Directions | Add To Calendar ]


PA

IT Con Pittsburgh-Meadow Lands
Saturday, October 26, 2013 8:00 AM, Washington, PA
View IT Con Pittsburgh-Meadow Lands on Bing Maps Half day event with presentations on Windows Server 2012 R2; Windows 8.1; and The Importance of IT Certification.
[ Event Details | Map & Directions | Add To Calendar ]


TECHbash 2013
Saturday, November 02, 2013 8:00 AM, Dallas, PA
View TECHbash 2013 on Bing Maps On Saturday, November 2nd, 2013, you want to be at TECHbash. Where else are you going to find top-notch training, peer interaction, and great giveaways for free?

Whether you are an IT professional, a software developer, or a web designer, we have something for you. Check back soon for more details and don't forget to follow us on Twitter.
[ Event Details | Map & Directions | Add To Calendar ]


2013 Harrisburg .Net Code Camp
Saturday, November 02, 2013 8:00 AM, Harrisburg, PA
View 2013 Harrisburg .Net Code Camp on Bing Maps Code Camps have been wildly successful throughout the country, and we?re happy to bring that success to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Code Camp is a community event where developers learn from featured authors and fellow developers. All are welcome to attend and speak.
For session and speaker information check out our site: www.central-penn.net
Event registration starts at 8:00 AM, sessions start at 8:30
Session tracks: WEB, Tools, SQL, Architecture + Framework, TFS
Our Four Star lineup of Speakers: Brian Minisi, Chris Gomez, Daniel Clark, Douglas Finke, Douglas Finke, Joel Cochran, John Petersen, Justin Rusbatch, Kevin Goff, Rusty Green, Scott Allen, Steve Michelotti

Sessions will cover a variety of topics related to Visual Studio and companion tools. Our schedule is currently in development, so please check back regularly for updates on presenters, sessions, and contributors.

Registration is now open. You must be registered to attend.

Code Camp is:
- By and for the developer community
- Always free
- Community developed material
- No fluff, only code
- Never during working hours
- Plenty of SWAG at our end of event raffle.

For information on volunteering to speak, please contact Rajeev Nair at rajeevg.nair@gmail.com. For information on sponsorship, please contact Lance Wulfers at Lance.Wulfers@gmail.com

Event venue: ITT Technical Institute - Harrisburg Campus
Hosted by: Central Penn .Net User Group
[ Event Details | Map & Directions | Add To Calendar ]


VA

Windows App Workshop
Wednesday, October 30, 2013 1:00 PM, Reston, VA
View Windows App Workshop on Bing Maps IMPORTANT: Please register at https://aka.ms/fallw8app2 so we can have an accurate headcount for attendance.
In this app workshop, attendees will be introduced to the concepts of using a publicly-available API as the basis for a Windows Store or Windows Phone app. We'll walk through one of the APIMASH starter kits.

We'll also discuss the concepts of rapidly building a minimum viable product, getting it published, taking feedback, iterating on the idea, and updating the app. And we'll also discuss the basics of marketing your app, and available resources for that purpose.

This event will include both lecture and hands-on time. This is the second of three events in the series. You may attend any or all of the events, as each will cover a different starter kit.

IMPORTANT
To participate in the hands-on portion of these events you MUST bring a PC with the following installed:
- Windows 8 (any x86 or x64 version will work fine)
- Visual Studio 2012 (or 2013) (for Windows Store apps, you'll need Visual Studio 2012 Express for Windows 8, or higher. For Windows Phone apps, you'll need Visual Studio 2012 Express for Windows Phone, or higher)

We will NOT have PCs available for attendee use, so please come prepared if you want to work hands-on. If you need a copy of either Windows 8 or Visual Studio 2012, head over to http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/apps/br229516/  

For Mac users, there are a variety of boot and virtualization options you can use to run Windows 8 and Visual Studio, which are documented here:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/jj945492.aspx

Please visit http://bit.ly/18E7IRz for more details on this event and the other workshops in the series.

Event venue: Microsoft - Reston
Hosted by: DC/Baltimore Windows App Developers
[ Event Details | Map & Directions | Add To Calendar ]

Want your events listed? You can add them here.

You can also add your events via the Community Megaphone web service API. You can get more information on the API, and how to sign up, at http://www.communitymegaphone.com/API.aspx. You can also email me for more information.

]]> Upcoming Events for October 16th, 2013 https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/gduthie/upcoming-events-for-october-16th-2013 Wed, 16 Oct 2013 09:13:52 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/gduthie/2013/10/16/upcoming-events-for-october-16th-2013/ Here are the events listed in Community Megaphone for the next couple of weeks for the Mid-Atlantic area, as well as webcasts of interest:

DC

WebSharper Intro: Exploring HTML5 Visualization in F#
Wednesday, October 23, 2013 6:30 PM, Washington, DC
View WebSharper Intro: Exploring HTML5 Visualization in F# on Bing Maps What: Today's browsers are capable of executing complicated graphical programs. Let us explore what we can make the browser do in our favorite language, F#!

In this hands-on session we will learn to develop HTML5 apps in F# with WebSharper, with a focus on visualization. We will quickly look at a few examples covering:
• Doing raster graphics with Canvas
• Doing vector graphics with SVG via Raphael JS
• Programming user interaction with visual objects
• Interactive planar graph layout
• Modelling simple physics and writing "fast enough" code
• Creating interactive timelines
• Going 3D with WebGL in the browser

For our main in-depth example we will be programming boids[1], a simple model of bird flocking, showcasing 2D/SVG programming, user interaction and optimizing code by vectorizing computations.

[1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boids

*Bonus*: CloudSharper Preview
Bring a laptop and a browser for the session - besides Visual Studio, we will have the option of using CloudSharper, the yet-unreleased cloud-based F#/WebSharper IDE from IntelliFactory.

Who: Anton (@t0yv0) has 5 years experience of writing F#, primarily involving developing and maintaining WebSharper.
Together with colleagues from IntelliFactory, Anton has successfully
used SVG-based HTML5 visualization to develop a tool for exploring bacterial genomes for the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Anton's professional interests revolve around typed functional programming (F#, Haskell, OCaml, SML, Racket), and, more recently, type theory (Coq).
[ Event Details | Map & Directions | Add To Calendar ]
                   

MD

Baltimore GiveCamp
Friday, October 18, 2013 5:00 PM, Baltimore, MD
View Baltimore GiveCamp on Bing Maps A GiveCamp is a weekend of "coding for charity," where teams of Project Managers, Business Analysts, Team Leads, Developers, DBA's and Designers come together to make technical dreams a reality for local MD non-profits. Most projects are new website builds, website redesigns, and database builds. Technologies used for these projects include: WordPress, .NET, PHP, SQL, Access, Site Finity, and others.

The projects kick off Friday night, and teams are working until Sunday afternoon. While some people stay all weekend, most go home and sleep, and the space and food is provided all weekend.

This is our 3rd GiveCamp event, and in the last 2 years, we've helped over 30 non-profits thus far, saving them over $500,000!

If interested in being a part of our 2013 efforts, please register via the website.  
[ Event Details | Map & Directions | Add To Calendar ]
                   

PA

IT Con Pittsburgh-Meadow Lands
Saturday, October 26, 2013 8:00 AM, Washington, PA
View IT Con Pittsburgh-Meadow Lands on Bing Maps Half day event with presentations on Windows Server 2012 R2; Windows 8.1; and The Importance of IT Certification.
                       
[ Event Details | Map & Directions | Add To Calendar ]
                   

VA

Windows Store Game Development Workshop
Saturday, October 19, 2013 10:00 AM, Reston, VA
View Windows Store Game Development Workshop on Bing Maps Important! Please register for this event at https://aka.ms/fallw8game2 so we can have an accurate headcount for the event.
This workshop will introduce higher-level game development tools that produce HTML5 games, including Construct 2 and GameMaker. If time allows, we'll look at additional tools.
The workshop will start with a presentation by Technical Evangelist G. Andrew Duthie, and will also provide hands-on time for you to start working with the technologies covered during the lecture portion.
Note that this is the second of 3 game development workshops, and you can attend just one, or all three.

IMPORTANT
To participate in the hands-on portion of these events you MUST bring a PC with the following installed:
- Windows 8 (any x86 or x64 version will work fine)
- Visual Studio 2012 (for Windows Store apps, you'll need Visual Studio 2012 Express for Windows 8, or higher. For Windows Phone apps, you'll need Visual Studio 2012 Express for Windows Phone, or higher)

We will NOT have PCs available for attendee use, so please come prepared if you want to work hands-on. If you need a copy of either Windows 8 or Visual Studio 2012, head over to http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/apps/br229516/

For Mac users, there are a variety of boot and virtualization options you can use to run Windows 8 and Visual Studio, which are documented here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/jj945492.aspx

Please visit http://bit.ly/18E7IRz for more details on this event and the other workshops in the series.

Event venue: Microsoft - Reston
Hosted by: DC/Baltimore Windows App Developers
[ Event Details | Map & Directions | Add To Calendar ]


Windows App Workshop
Wednesday, October 30, 2013 1:00 PM, Reston, VA
View Windows App Workshop on Bing Maps IMPORTANT: Please register at https://aka.ms/fallw8app2 so we can have an accurate headcount for attendance.
In this app workshop, attendees will be introduced to the concepts of using a publicly-available API as the basis for a Windows Store or Windows Phone app. We'll walk through one of the APIMASH starter kits (kit TBA).
We'll also discuss the concepts of rapidly building a minimum viable product, getting it published, taking feedback, iterating on the idea, and updating the app. And we'll also discuss the basics of marketing your app, and available resources for that purpose.
This event will include both lecture and hands-on time. This is the second of three events in the series. You may attend any or all of the events, as each will cover a different starter kit.

IMPORTANT
To participate in the hands-on portion of these events you MUST bring a PC with the following installed:
- Windows 8 (any x86 or x64 version will work fine)
- Visual Studio 2012 (for Windows Store apps, you'll need Visual Studio 2012 Express for Windows 8, or higher. For Windows Phone apps, you'll need Visual Studio 2012 Express for Windows Phone, or higher)

We will NOT have PCs available for attendee use, so please come prepared if you want to work hands-on. If you need a copy of either Windows 8 or Visual Studio 2012, head over to http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/apps/br229516/

For Mac users, there are a variety of boot and virtualization options you can use to run Windows 8 and Visual Studio, which are documented here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/jj945492.aspx

Please visit http://bit.ly/18E7IRz for more details on this event and the other workshops in the series.

Event venue: Microsoft - Reston
Hosted by: DC/Baltimore Windows App Developers
[ Event Details | Map & Directions | Add To Calendar ]

Want your events listed? You can add them here.

You can also add your events via the Community Megaphone web service API. You can get more information on the API, and how to sign up, at http://www.communitymegaphone.com/API.aspx. You can also email me for more information.

]]> Friday App Shout-Out: The Wandering Wizard https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/gduthie/friday-app-shout-out-the-wandering-wizard Fri, 11 Oct 2013 17:54:45 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/gduthie/2013/10/11/friday-app-shout-out-the-wandering-wizard/ The Friday App Shout-Out is BACK, and this week, we've got a game built with Unity 3D, by recent Towson University grad Matthew Holzem.

The Wandering Wizard

TheWanderingWizard

Read the rest on Devhammer's Den…

]]> Weekly East Region Roundup: Vol. 9 https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/gduthie/weekly-east-region-roundup-vol-9 Wed, 09 Oct 2013 10:24:05 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/gduthie/2013/10/09/weekly-east-region-roundup-vol-9/ Here are some resources and blog posts from my fellow Technical Evangelists here in East Region:

Developer

IT Pro

That's all I've got for this week. I'll have more next week...

]]> Upcoming Events for October 9th, 2013 https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/gduthie/upcoming-events-for-october-9th-2013 Wed, 09 Oct 2013 07:10:53 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/gduthie/2013/10/09/upcoming-events-for-october-9th-2013/ Here are the events listed in Community Megaphone for the next couple of weeks for the Mid-Atlantic area, as well as webcasts of interest:

MD

RockNUG Release 7.3
Wednesday, October 09, 2013 6:30 PM, Rockville, MD
View RockNUG Release 7.3 on Bing Maps Polyglot Persistence!
- David Makogon

Picture this: You're working on a storage problem, wondering how you're going to shoe-horn something into your database. Maybe it's SQL Server. Maybe it's MongoDB or some other NoSQL variant. No matter which database option you choose, there always seem to be situations where data simply doesn't fit right, and it becomes more of a code exercise than a storage exercise.

In this talk, we'll eschew the single-database tradition and look at a new approach gathering steam: Polyglot persistence, which simply means using multiple data storage mechanisms based on particular needs of your application. While polyglot persistence certainly includes both SQL and NoSQL variants (or even NewSQL), this demo-centric talk will cover NoSQL specifically.

We'll look at four fundamental NoSQL types: Key/Value, Document, Column Family, and Graph, and see where their sweet-spots are. We'll also work through a sample e-Commerce shopping site architecture and see an example of how multiple databases could be combined in the real world.

David Makogon has been a software creationist and architect for over 25 years. He’s currently a Senior Cloud Architect at Microsoft specializing in Windows Azure, and has the dubious title of World’s First Former Windows Azure MVP. David is also a member of the MongoDB Masters group. Outside of computing, David is an avid photographer and family man, with a penchant for puns and an uncanny ability to read backwards.

6:30 - 7:00 n00b Presentation: NuGet and Chocolatey - Scott Lawrence
7:00 - 7:30 Pizza/Announcements
7:30 - 9:00 Polyglot Persistence! - David Makogon
[ Event Details | Map & Directions | Add To Calendar ]


Baltimore SQL Server User Group Meeting
Tuesday, October 15, 2013 6:30 PM, Columbia, MD
View Baltimore SQL Server User Group Meeting on Bing Maps Introduction to SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) Tabular Model by Ray Barley, Principal Architect, RDA Corporation
                       
[ Event Details | Map & Directions | Add To Calendar ]


Baltimore GiveCamp
Friday, October 18, 2013 5:00 PM, Baltimore, MD
View Baltimore GiveCamp on Bing Maps A GiveCamp is a weekend of "coding for charity," where teams of Project Managers, Business Analysts, Team Leads, Developers, DBA's and Designers come together to make technical dreams a reality for local MD non-profits. Most projects are new website builds, website redesigns, and database builds. Technologies used for these projects include: WordPress, .NET, PHP, SQL, Access, Site Finity, and others.

The projects kick off Friday night, and teams are working until Sunday afternoon. While some people stay all weekend, most go home and sleep, and the space and food is provided all weekend.

This is our 3rd GiveCamp event, and in the last 2 years, we've helped over 30 non-profits thus far, saving them over $500,000!

If interested in being a part of our 2013 efforts, please register via the website.  
[ Event Details | Map & Directions | Add To Calendar ]


VA

Windows Store Game Development Workshop
Saturday, October 19, 2013 10:00 AM, Reston, VA
View Windows Store Game Development Workshop on Bing Maps Important! Please register for this event at https://aka.ms/fallw8game2 so we can have an accurate headcount for the event.
This workshop will introduce higher-level game development tools that produce HTML5 games, including Construct 2 and GameMaker. If time allows, we'll look at additional tools.
The workshop will start with a presentation by Technical Evangelist G. Andrew Duthie, and will also provide hands-on time for you to start working with the technologies covered during the lecture portion.
Note that this is the second of 3 game development workshops, and you can attend just one, or all three.

IMPORTANT
To participate in the hands-on portion of these events you MUST bring a PC with the following installed:
- Windows 8 (any x86 or x64 version will work fine)
- Visual Studio 2012 (for Windows Store apps, you'll need Visual Studio 2012 Express for Windows 8, or higher. For Windows Phone apps, you'll need Visual Studio 2012 Express for Windows Phone, or higher)

We will NOT have PCs available for attendee use, so please come prepared if you want to work hands-on. If you need a copy of either Windows 8 or Visual Studio 2012, head over to http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/apps/br229516/  

For Mac users, there are a variety of boot and virtualization options you can use to run Windows 8 and Visual Studio, which are documented here:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/jj945492.aspx

Please visit http://bit.ly/18E7IRz for more details on this event and the other workshops in the series.

Event venue: Microsoft - Reston
Hosted by: DC/Baltimore Windows App Developers
[ Event Details | Map & Directions | Add To Calendar ]

Want your events listed? You can add them here.

You can also add your events via the Community Megaphone web service API. You can get more information on the API, and how to sign up, at http://www.communitymegaphone.com/API.aspx. You can also email me for more information.

]]> Slides for 10/2 App Workshop https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/gduthie/slides-for-102-app-workshop Tue, 08 Oct 2013 09:04:16 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/gduthie/2013/10/08/slides-for-102-app-workshop/ Brief follow-up from last Wednesday's App Workshop...

Thanks again to all who attended the workshop. The slide decks are now available at:

http://sdrv.ms/16PLOk4

If you missed out, and would like to run through the workbooks, they're available at:

https://github.com/winappkits/WindowsAppLabWorkbooks

The Windows App starter kits themselves (both Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8) are available at:

https://github.com/winappkits

There are 2 more app workshops, and 2 game dev workshops left in the event series this fall. They're all listed on the Meetup site, and summarized on my blog at:

http://devhammer.net/fall-mid-atlantic-windows-app-and-game-development-event-series

When you're ready for some 1:1 time to review your app before publishing, sign up for an office hours slot at:

http://usdpe.ohours.org/devhammer

Last, but not least, don't forget that there's $10,000 in prizes available for apps published before the end of the year, via the MoDev $10k Windows App Challenge:

http://gomodev.com/windows-10k-contest/

Go forth and Make Apps!

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