PDC was, for me, a bit too short. I wasn't originally going to attend and had booked travel accordingly. I stumbled into a pass from one of my colleagues; he had a conflict, so lucky me. I feel guilty for taking his pass... but not too much.

Many things were covered at PDC: Azure, Windows 7, Live Services, Visual Studio 2010 and a much, much more. Here are some of my favorite highlights from PDC.

Extreme Makeover: Logo Edition
Remember Year 2000? Not 'cause of the y2k bug, but because Microsoft unveiled Next Generation Windows Services. Shortly after that, Microsoft announced the Microsoft .NET Framework and revealed a logo that captured the colors of Windows, Office, and our Enterprise Server Products. It nicely captured the idea of the .NET-ification of Microsoft products, servers, technologies, and services. In fact, when I started with Microsoft in October 2000, I often joked that I spent as much time telling people what .NET _was_ as I spent telling them what it _wasn't_.

But, as in all things, the .NET logo grow a bit old and stale. New logos and product came (and, in some cases, went), and the old logo started looking a little tarnished. I felt this was especially the case when we unveiled Silverlight. What a sharp logo! And when you put both the aging .NET Logo and the new, engaging Silverlight logo on a slide together, the difference was stark. At least in my mind. Don't get me wrong, it was a great time, very exciting. I loved that old .NET logo, I loved talking about .NET (and still do).

But at PDC2008 I stumbled across something interesting, a card at the .NET Framework kiosk in the Microsoft Pavilion in the Expo Center. A nifty new .NET Logo, one that looks a little bit like the Silverlight logo, sleek and engaging. It was the first of many micro-WOW! moments for me.

Some Windows 7 Highlights
Admittedly the overview in the keynote was brief. And admittedly I chose to go to other breakout sessions (WPF Roadmap was a highlight for me, personally). But what I saw was fairly engaging, some of it especially for folks that write code, demo or present a lot, or who use a laptop.

• Multi-touch support (engaging new way to interact with your computer, using your fingers, a mouse, or what-not)
• VHD Support in Disk Management Utility
• Win+P Monitor Support (built-in support to toggle monitors)
• Default printer switching (set different default printers for different networks; your "work" default and your "home" default)
• Slider control for UAC (level of sensitiveness)

Some Visual Studio 2010 Highlights
I must admit I had to step out briefly for part of this session, but I did pick up a few nuggets that really interested me...

• Enhanced extensibility (ScottGu did a great demo extending XML comments with formatting — and integrating text from Team Foundation Server Work Items)
• IDE shell rebuilt with WPF
• Multi-monitor support

Numerous Other Highlights
There were too many highlights to count, or for me to remember. My colleagues have all blogged extensively about PDC (see the blogroll to the right). A few highlights...

	— a cloud services operating system that provides development, service hosting and service management environment for the Azure Services Platform
	— makes developing loosely coupled cloud-based applications easier
	— a set of building blocks within the Azure Services Platform for handling user data and application resources

Next Steps
PDC, for me, was short (and this post almost too far removed from the event to be relevant; perhaps my wife _is_ right, and I'm too busy), but there are load of videos on Channel 9 for you to watch.

We also have our MSDN Developer Conference (MDC) events coming up in December and January, bringing PDC (and a dozen outstanding local speakers and Microsoft Evangelists) to a city near you. Houston, TX is first up...

Attend a MDC event and you'll have a chance to win a fabulous prize, such as a LEGO Mindstorms robotics kit or a Visual Studio Team Suite with MSDN Premium Subscription. Yup, four lucky people from each event will have a chance to win the big daddy of Microsoft developer tools: Team Suite with MSDN. More details on the SWAG and prizes for MDC coming in a post, soon. I promise.

Can you tell I'm behind on posting to my blog? Two post in one day is a bit of a shock, even to me. Both posts are short, of course, so that might explain the sudden prolific posting.

Microsoft just recently — earlier this week, in fact — launched BizSpark, a program for software develop startups designed to help them get off the ground quickly and equip them with the tools and technology to help them do so. The goal of BizSpark is simple: accelerate a startup's success by providing access to Microsoft tools and technologies, including production licensing for hosted solutions.

The program includes software, like Visual Studio 2008, Team Foundation Server, Windows Server, SQL Server, Office SharePoint Server, Systems Center, and BizTalk Server, as well as access to support resources _and_ potential visibility to investors, customers, and business partners.

If you are a recently formed startup, or are thinking about forming a startup, check out BizSpark or read the program guide.

I am thrilled to share the news that the St. Louis .NET community has banded together to host the St. Louis Day of .NET on Saturday, December 13 at the Center for the Application of Information Technology at Washington University in St. Louis (here are the directions). Several people from around St. Louis and the surrounding areas will be speaking, including a couple of the folks on my team as well as my peers in Developer & Platform Evangelism.

Topics include:

• Microsoft Windows 7
• Windows Azure and Microsoft's "Cloud Computing" Initiative
• Silverlight
• SharePoint
• Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF)
• Distributed Caching using Microsoft "Velocity"
• The future of C#
• SQL Server 2008

Join the crew for an amazing event. I'll be there, and so should you!

Loads and loads of things happened this week at PDC. I'll try to blog a bit more about what I personally saw and I liked, but one thing has been brought to my attention that I'd like to share with the 8 or 9 of you that follow me.

We made Visual Studio 2010 and the .NET Framework v4.0 available at PDC 2008 this past week. In addition to making it available to attendees, a VPC is also available; download it here (as of this writing, the download is currently unavailable and will be restored soon).

The quick note part of this very short blog entry is that when you use the VPC you will encounter some software activation messages. You should largely be able to ignore the messages and still be able to use the VPC. If you'd like to read more about the activation messages, Brian Keller wrote a post on dealing with the activation messages, which is how I became aware of them.

Updated November 3, 2008 — Use RSVP code MDCEXTB when registering for the conference.

Here I sit on a Sunday evening, delaying packing for PDC2008 (if you're there, see you in LA!) and scouring through my email backlog, when I noticed that we've finally gone live with the MSDN Developer Conference. The site is up, the agenda is listed, and registration is live (register with RSVP code MDCEXTB)!

The Sovereign Republic of Texas
First up, in Central Region's own backyard, is Houston, TX on Tuesday, December 9th at the Westin Galleria Houston. If you couldn't make it to PDC, be sure to attend the MDC near _your_ backyard. Featured topics include:

• Experience Microsoft's Cloud Computing Platform — Create applications that seamlessly bridge the gaps between PC, Web, and phone
• Be among the first to see Windows 7 — See the latest advances in Multi-Touch Application Development
• Take your .NET skills to the next level — See sessions on WPF 4.0, Silverlight 2, ASP.NET 4.0, Parallel Programming, Live Mesh and more

The Rest of the Central Region Schedule
Following Houston in early 2009 we're hosting events in the following cities:

• Chicago, IL — January 13, 2009, Hyatt Regency Chicago
• Minneapolis, MN — January 13, 2009, Hilton Minneapolis
• Detroit, MI — January 22, 2009, Marriott Renaissance 
• Dallas, TX — January 26, 2009, Westin Galleria Dallas

Join Us!
So, head over to the MSDN Developer Conference site, take a look around, and if you'd like to hear more about Cloud Computing, Windows 7, the future of Visual Studio, and much more, register and join us.

It's time once again to announce our upcoming list of events for MSDN Events, MSDN Unleashed and ArcReady events. You can find registration information on my events page — and as an added bonus, I've listed the schedule below as well.

MSDN Unleashed
Join us at our MSDN Unleashed events for the latest tips, tools and technical information you need to build powerful applications and engaging user experiences. We'll show you how SQL Server 2008 delivers new development capabilities, including support for Spatial Data types, a fresh storage mechanism and more. You'll also learn how to leverage the Silverlight platform to build next generation applications for consumers and business. Don't miss these free, live sessions near you.

What's New in SQL Server 2008 for Developers
SQL Server 2008 adds numerous new capabilities for developers — from support for Spatial Data types to a storage mechanism for SQL BLOB data using the NTFS file system, and much, much more. The new release also delivers several improvements to development-related areas, from T-SQL to SQLCLR to XML. This presentation will provide a technical dive into the latest and greatest features you'll find in SQL Server 2008, while offering insight into how effectively apply them to your upcoming development projects.
 
Build next generation applications with Silverlight 2.0
Silverlight provides a powerful platform for building the next generation of rich interactive applications on the Internet. In this session, we'll take a look at the programming model and tools that developers and designers can leverage to build these true next generation experiences for consumers and businesses, and demonstrate how to build a rich interactive application (RIA) using Silverlight and Microsoft.NET. We'll explore how to use Microsoft Visual Studio to create applications, and how to create UI using XAML markup and code, controls, and File I/O. We'll also discuss networking, how to retrieve data from a Web service, and various other aspects of building Silverlight applications.

ArcReady — Professional Patterns on the Job
You're smart. You deliver. What more could your company want from you? Why don’t they come to you for the big technical decisions? Why won’t they listen to your proposals? It seems like everyone has an agenda and they’re doing everything they can to kill your great ideas.

Join us this quarter as we focus on the soft skills that architects need to master. Learning these skills will boost your emotional intelligence and help you become a more professional, well rounded contributor. You’ll gain insight into the architect’s role as leader, influencer, and business professional and learn how to leverage your position to become a positive force within your organization.

Mastering the Soft Skills
In this session, we’ll discuss key interpersonal skills and how they can affect your projects and career. We cover how to positively connect with humans, how to participate in and influence the business processes you support, and how to transcend your technical role and maximize your connections with all members of your organization.

Organizational Dynamics
This session examines the dynamic nature of large organizations — their structures, decision making processes, and political landscapes. We’ll discuss the goals of key business and technical decision makers and their influence on architects and software projects. We’ll conclude with some strategies for maximizing the soft skills from Session 1 to ensure successful outcomes for your projects and career.

Upcoming Event Schedule
Here's the quick summary of events happening in a city near you. Registration links are listed on my event site. (And for an explanation of the Heartland, Midwest and other terms, check out my glossary.)

I had the good fortune to be able to attend the inaugural Iowa Code Camp earlier this year and I am excited to  report the good folks from the Iowa .NET and Cedar Rapids INETA user groups have banded together once again to bring the developers of Iowa an amazing, community-driven conference-style experience.

This year the event moves from Cedar Rapids (where I used to live in the mid-1990s when I consulted at MCI) to Des Moines (where I lived, fresh out of college, when I worked for the Principle Financial Group). And if the success from the first event is any indication, this event will surely be a treat, featuring 20 sessions with some of the area's best presenters. Topic span enterprise themes like SharePoint and continuous integration to fun topics like XNA and high performance computing.

Although I won't be able to make it (too many trips this October), I assure you the event this past spring was amazing. I have no doubt this event will be just as amazing. And since they don't charge, you should definitely go and check it out.

Event Details

• Saturday, November 8, 2008, 8:00am to 5:00pm
• No cost for attendees
• DMACC West, West Des Moines, IA

Another micro-post (no, this isn't a trend; I'm just busy this week preparing for a Quarterly Business Review), this one on PDC 2008 and Windows 7. Not only will PDC attendees _see_ Windows 7 first, attendees will get pre-beta bits.

Now For the Cheesy Sales Pitch
But wait, that's not all! (What can I say? I'm in a cheeky mood.)

For those of you who have attended PDC, you know that "the goods" are the SWAG of choice for attendees. And for those of you who have never attended PDC, let me regale you with what "the goods" are. This is the stuff we all get, the SWAG, the bits we all want. The last PDC I attended, "the goods" were Visual Studio Code Named Whidbey (VS2005) and all manner of nifty samples, Frameworks, and software. A collection of DVDs laden with things developers crave.

This year, "the good" come on a 160GB external hard drive. I've seen it referenced as a "Hard Drive Chock Full o' Bits" (seriously, here's the post). This is even better than getting "the goods": you get all the bits on a supremely useful, and reasonably sizable, hard drive.

And that's the SWAG every attendee will get. Too bad I'm not actually _attending_ the conference. I'll be in LA, but just for side meetings and dinners, and other fancy, pseudo-LA stuff.

But I Digress
Also now announced are more sessions as well as a larger lineup of speakers, with Bob Muglia, Scott Guthrie, and David Treadwell joining Ray Ozzie on stage for keynotes, demos, and all things of interest to developers.

If you haven't registered, there's still time to register. And if you do go, drop me a note on my blog and perhaps we can meet up!

Here's a quick post for you... The slides and demo code from the September 2008 MSDN Unleashed events are now available. ArcReady slides are also available. Get 'em while they're hot.

EDIT: I apparently cannot spell, so I'm cleaning this up using Live Writer. Plus I forgot my tags. Poor form.

Here's another training resource that I cannot possibly believe I missed: Ramp Up. It's been available for a while now, and I only just became aware of it when I got a laptop sticker from Brian Gorbett a couple of weeks ago. And while I slapped that nifty looking laptop sticker on my M1330, it took me those extra couple of weeks to follow the link and see what Ramp Up is all about.

What Ramp Up Is All About
Put simply, Ramp Up is a training resource. To be fair, it's probably more accurate to call it a readiness resource, or a learning resource, but that's me just mincing words.

Now, admittedly, it looks a bit outdated — a lot of the content currently on the site is focused on Visual Studio 2005 and the .NET Framework v2.0 — though I would expect some more Visual Studio 2008 content to be coming along soon. (There is already some VS2008 content on the site, based on some TechEd materials posted earlier this year; there is both a Visual Basic 2008 learning plan and a C# 3.0 plan, each with over 10 steps.)

The learning plans on the site follow four core "routes":

• Aspiring Developer — focused on fundamentals, helps people get started in programming
• Java Developer — a Java-to-.NET learning plan focused on C# and the .NET Framework
• Visual Basic 6.0 — a learning plan for experienced VB6 developers interested in learning about .NET
• VS2002/2003 — a learning plan for .NET Framework v1.x developers interested in moving to .NET v2.0

Each of these four core tracks has four, five or more levels of resources, with several supporting resources linked from them. The Aspiring Developer route, for example, covers topics such as programming fundamentals, an introduction to the language of your choice (VB or C#), an introduction to the .NET Framework, an introduction to handling data and security, and an introduction to both Windows web development basics. The programming fundamentals section is further broken down into four sub-sections detailing how to design solutions and solve problems, OO design, how computers process and store data, and how computers "think" and make decisions.

Each course has technical articles, videos, and other resources to help you learn. So if you're in the learning mood, check out Ramp Up, and let me know what you think.