In partnership with Code for America, we invite you to join us on June 15-17, 2012, at Microsoft’s Chevy Chase office to solve real-life problems faced by federal and local government agencies, citizens, and businesses or to breathe a new life into existing outdated solutions. Watch how our first e-GOV event went down in Seattle, then read on to see how our event will be even better.

With DCGOV, we’re working with the City of Washington, DC and several agencies of the Federal Government to source dozens of potential ideas and problem areas where you can make an impact. Of course, any and all e-GOV ideas are welcome. Some of the directions which you may be interested in tackling include:

• making government operations more efficient
• simplifying government collaboration
• reducing barriers to access government resources
• facilitating & improving policy-making
• supporting & enhancing civic engagement

The weekend will involve hands-on collaboration with expert mentors, panels on procurement and alternative monetization options in e-government, and more! Final presentations on Sunday will be judged on validation with real-life users, practicality of the prototype, and business model (for revenue-supported products & services) or impact (for grant-supported products and services). We strongly advise considering these criteria when deciding which ideas to pitch and which ones to build during the event. One winning team will earn a spot in the finalist round of Code For America’s Civic Accelerator!

Register today to improve government, learn new skills, explore emerging opportunities in the e-gov space, and launch a startup or product that makes a serious impact in others’ lives!

Why attend Startup Weekend GOV?

Channel your passion: This is one of the first ever Gov2.0 Startup Weekends. Join other innovators and subject matter experts in making history and improving government. Impact issues you care about!

Education: Startup Weekends are all about learning through the act of creating. Don’t just listen to theory, build your own strategy and test it as you go.

Build your network: This isn't just a happy-hour. Startup Weekend attracts your community's best makers and do-ers. By spending a weekend working to build scalable companies that solve real-world problems, you will build long-lasting relationships and possibly walk away with a job, a new colleague, or even an investor.

Co-Founder Dating: We all know it's not just about the idea – it's about the team. Startup Weekend is hands down the best way to to find someone you can actually launch a startup with.

Learn a new skill: Startup Weekends are all about learning through the act of creating. Don't just listen to theory, build your own strategy and test it as you go! Step outside of your comfort zone! With a whole weekend dedicated to letting your creative juices flow, Startup Weekends is the prefect opportunity to work on a new platform, learn a new programming language, or just try something different.

Actually launch a business: Over 36% of Startup Weekend startups are still going strong after 3 months. Roughly 80% of participants plan on continuing working with their team or startup after the weekend.

Get face time with thought leaders: Area government, tech and startup leaders participate in Startup Weekends as mentors and judges. Get some one-on-one time with the movers and shakers in your community.

Join a global community: Join over 30,000 Startup Weekend alumni, all on a mission to change the world.

If your app is ready and you want to be among those developers who get to submit to the store early, simply attend one of the 100s of free Application Excellence Labs that DPE and Windows are holding around the world.  Take a minute now and read Jaime’s article as he does a great job outlining the steps to get invited to an App Excellence Lab and earning an invite token to submit your app to the Microsoft store.

During this event we’ll guide you through the process of building and deploying a large scale Azure application. Forget about “hello world”! In less than two hours we’ll build and deploy a real cloud app that leverages the Azure data center and helps make a difference in the world. Yes, in addition to building an application that will leave you with a rock-solid understanding of the Azure platform, the solution you deploy will contribute back to Stanford’s Folding@home distributed computing project. There’s no cost to you to participate in this session; each attendee will receive a temporary, self-expiring, full-access account to work with Azure for a period of 2-weeks.

For this briefing you will:

• Receive a temporary, self-expiring full-access account to work with Azure for a period of 2-weeks at no cost - accounts will be emailed to all registered attendees 24-48 hours in advance of each event.
• Build and deploy a real cloud app that leverages the Azure data center

Who should attend?

Open to developers with an interest in exploring Windows Azure through a short, hands-on workshop

*PREREQUISITES

The prerequisites are pretty straight forward and we ask that you come prepared to participate in this event by installing the required software in advance of the Live Meeting event.

1. Visual Studio 2008 or Visual Studio 2010
2. Azure Tools For Visual Studio, Feb 2010

REGISTER TODAY - 9 Events to Choose from!

Register By Phone or Online:

Click on the Event ID to register today or call 877-673-8368 and reference the Event ID below

Wednesday	April 28	11:00 AM – 01:00 PM	1032450746
Tuesday	May 04	07:00 PM – 09:00 PM	1032450869
Wednesday	May 12	11:00 AM – 01:00 PM	1032450870
Wednesday	May 19	04:00 PM – 06:00 PM	1032450871
Wednesday	May 26	11:00 AM – 01:00 PM	1032450872
Tuesday	June 01	11:00 AM – 01:00 PM	1032450876
Wednesday	June 09	04:00 PM – 06:00 PM	1032450881
Wednesday	June 16	11:00 AM – 01:00 PM	1032450882
Wednesday	June 23	07:00 PM – 09:00 PM	1032450883

Presenters:

Brian Hitney, Developer Evangelist, Microsoft

Jim O’Neil, Developer Evangelist, Microsoft

John McClelland, Partner Evangelist, Microsoft

Have your attention?  Not leveraging your benefit?  Then let’s get you pointed in the right direction to sign-up for your Azure account today.

You can sign up for an Azure account directly by selecting the My Account tab on the MSDN Subscription site at http://msdn.microsoft.com/subscriptions/default.aspx.

Or if you are on the Windows Azure site at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsazure/offers/

Look for this ad on the left hand side of the page and click on it:

You will be redirected to the Windows Azure Platform Benefits for MSDN Subscribers page on the MSDN Subscription Site.

Again you can select the My Account tab (as noted above) or click on Sign-up now located in the “Account Access” box in the upper right-hand corner of the page.

At this point, I’d recommend you watch the short 7-minute video MSDN Azure Benefits How-To-Open-an-Account.  It will step you through the process of opening an account and answer many of the questions that you may have.

Once you get started, don’t waste any time figuring out how to build and deploy your first application.  Follow along with the screencast at http://bit.ly/DeployAzureApps and you’ll have your first sample app up and running in no time.

For additional details about the Windows Azure Platform Benefits for MSDN Subscribers go here or here or watch the series of short videos on Channel 9:

• https://channel9.msdn.com/posts/Abe+Pachikara/MSDN-Azure-Benefits-How-To-1-of-3-6-mins/
• https://channel9.msdn.com/posts/Abe+Pachikara/MSDN-Azure-Benefits-How-To-Part-2-of-3-Opening-an-Account-7-mins/
• https://channel9.msdn.com/posts/Abe+Pachikara/MSDN-Azure-Benefits-How-To-Part-3-of-3-Tips-and-Training-Resources-8-mins/

MSDN premium subscribers are now able to sign up for a special introductory Windows Azure platform offer. This offer lasts 8 months from when the subscriber signs up and provides 750 hours of Windows Azure compute per month (6000 total hours) plus three SQL Azure databases, AppFabric, and bandwidth. For more information on this offer please visit: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/ee461076.aspx. Any usage each month in excess of the MSDN Premium Subscription Benefit will be charged at the MSDN Premium rates: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsazure/offers/popup.aspx?lang=en&locale=en-US&offer=MS-AZR-0005P.

Compute hours are billed based on the number of clock hours your service was deployed multiplied by the number of equivalent small compute instances included in your deployment. Partial compute instance hours (prior to conversion) are billed as full hours." We would recommend you go through the FAQ under: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsazure/faq/.

If you have two tenants deployed for a hosted service, one for staging and one for production, both will be charged as both are utilizing Windows Azure platform resources.

Members of the Microsoft Partner Network will receive a 5% discount on all Windows Azure Platform Services and offers with the exception of Windows Azure Storage and Data Transfers (bandwidth):

• MSDN® Premium Subscriptions-These subscriptions are a Microsoft Partner Network benefit for Certified, Gold Certified, and Microsoft® BizSpark™ program partners. The number of users who can access this benefit is determined by your partner level. Gold Certified and Certified Partners receive three complementary subscriptions; BizSpark partners receive 25 complementary subscriptions; and partners with paid subscriptions can have one user access the capacity per subscription. Empower for ISV subscribers with MSDN Premium for Empower do not qualify for the Windows Azure Platform benefits. (All partners that receive MSDN Subscriptions via their Microsoft Partner Network benefits should use this limited time offer to try the Windows Azure Platform before the end of FY10.)

• Windows Azure Platform Consumption -This offer is a “Pay As You Go” pricing plan that includes compute hours, storage, data transfers, SQL Azure databases, and AppFabric Service Bus connections and Access Control transactions. If you are not sure what you need, this is the simplest way to find out what works best for your business.

• Windows Azure Platform Introductory Special -This promotional offer enables you to try the Windows Azure platform at “no charge”. The subscription includes a base level of compute hours, storage, data transfers, a SQL Azure database, and AppFabric Service Bus connections and Access Control transactions. Please note that any usage over this introductory base level will be charged at standard rates.

• Windows Azure Platform Development Accelerator Core -This promotional offer provides compute hours, storage, data transfers, and AppFabric Service Bus connections and Access Control transactions at a deeply discounted monthly price. The offer is valid only for a six-month term. Customers may purchase multiple Base Units to match their development needs.

• Windows Azure Platform Development Accelerator Extended -This promotional offer provides compute hours, storage, data transfers, AppFabric Service Bus connections and Access Control transactions, and SQL Azure database at a deeply discounted monthly price. The offer is valid only for a six-month term. Customers may purchase multiple Base Units to match their development needs.

.toolbox is a structured curriculum-based program that features two core learning tracks with materials that increase in difficulty to build individuals’ knowledge and understanding. In Design Scenarios, designers and developers learn to create dynamically-rich Silverlight applications using Expression Studio. In Design Principles, designers and developers learn fundamental UX concepts (e.g., choosing the right colors) along with tips in how to apply them. Badges are earned and accumulated in both tracks upon successful completion of the evaluation found at the end of each level.

Take the time today to explore .toolbox.

Looking for more information?

• Website | http://www.microsoft.com/design/toolbox
• Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/designtoolbox
• Facebook | http://www.facebook.com/pages/toolbox/349923567926
• YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/designtoolbox
• Promo Video | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5JNwiqpGqI