Windows Phone 7 Hackfest in Ajax This Saturday!

Guest post by Atley Hunter (@atleyhunter)

Hackfest?

If you’re in the Toronto area and you’ve been meaning to write apps for Windows Phone 7, there’s a Hackfest near you this coming Saturday, May 14th! 

· If you have an idea for an app but don’t know how to build apps for Windows Phone, this event is for you! We’ll have experts and tutors on hand to show you how to write your first Windows Phone app, and it’s easier than you think.

· If you have the skills to build apps for Windows Phone but don’t have any ideas for an app, this event is also for you! If you’ve got C#, .NET, Silverlight or XNA skills but can’t think of what to write, the Hackfests are a great place to brainstorm with other people and come up with ideas for apps.

· If you’re looking for a job or clients, this event is also for you! Okay, Hackfests aren’t actually job fairs, but they’re excellent networking opportunities, and these days, 80% of the tech jobs out there are found by networking.

Find The Hackfest

Ajax’s Hackfest takes place this Saturday, May 14th from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the McLean Community Center (95 Magill Drive, Ajax, ON).

This event is free – click here to register!

Get the Tools

If you’re coming to the Hackfests, you’ll want to bring a computer (preferably a laptop, unless you’re into heavy lifting), and to make the best use of the time, you should install the Windows Phone developer tools beforehand.

You can download the tools from the App Hub (create.msdn.com). They’re free-as-in-beer and they’re awesome.

You’ll want to do it in this order:

1. Download and install the Windows Phone Developer Tools (Release Notes)

2. Download and install the Windows Phone Developer Tools January 2011 Update (Release Notes) [Note: Installation may take several minutes and is complete when the install dialog box closes.]

3. Download and install the Windows Phone Developer Tools Fix