As I had mentioned in a previous post, XamlFest is coming to town. This is an intense, two day in depth exploration of XAML (eXtensible Application Markup Language), the markup language used to define user interfaces in Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) and Silverlight. It will be facilitated, offering attendees a mix of instructor-led sessions as well as assisted development – that's right, you get your hands dirty in Expression and Visual Studio, designing and developing a XAML-based application. Both WPF and Silverlight will be covered.

Here's some more information to catch your interest…

Agenda
Wednesday, April 29th

Thursday, April 30th

Location
Microsoft Office
200 East Randolph Drive, Suite 200
Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 920-5600

Registration
Just like the Minneapolis event, we are tackling registration differently. It's hands-on and there is only space for 60 people, so if you would like to build some new skills around next generation user experience and design, send an email to xamlfest-chicago@live.com. And, if you end up having a conflict and can't attend, please be courteous and let us know. Space is very limited and we'd like to free up your seat to make room for others.

My colleague in the Heartland, Jeff Blankenburg, has hatched an audacious plan. What is that plan, you ask? Well, throughout April he is touring his home geography (Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee) sharing what he learned at MIX09 and culminating his tour with…

Stir Trek is a one day event on May 8, 2009 in Columbus, OH, featuring a full day of sessions across two tracks culminating with the private screening of the new Star Trek movie as the conference wraps up. For a very modest $25 registration fee, you get a full day of presentations, lunch, T-shirt, attendee bag and goodies, chances to win prizes, and, of course, the movie itself. It's an amazing, amazing deal. What's more, if you refer a friend (here's another ginsu moment from me) you get extra raffles tickets for the prizes.

But if food, prizes, and movie aren't enough, here's a quick glimpse of what you'll have the chance to learn throughout the day...

• What's New in Silverlight 3 – Tim Heuer
• .NET RIA Services: Building Data-driven Applications in ASP.NET and Silverlight – Tim Heuer
• Choosing Between ASP.NET Web Forms and MVC – Rachel Appel
• What's New in ASP.NET 4.0 – Steve Smith
• Internet Explorer 8, SuperPreview, and Web Platform Installer – Jeff Blankenburg
• Seeing Through The Clouds: Introduction to the Azure Services Platform – Brian H. Prince
• Building Microsoft Silverlight Controls – Matt Casto
• SketchFlow: From Concept To Production – Tim Hibner
• What’s New In WPF 4 – Michael Eaton
• An Overview of jQuery – Phil Japikse

I'll be there, and I hope to see you there, too!

A quick micro-post for everyone. Bill Gates announced today at the Government Leaders Forum – Americas that DreamSpark is available for university and high school students. (The third video in the playlist features Max Zuckerman interviewing Bill about DreamSpark.)

So, what's is this DreamSpark of which you mention?
Simple: it is a program that provides no-cost access to Microsoft's tools as well as training to high school (as of today) and college students. DreamSpark is supported worldwide and is designed to help students learn and develop skills in science, technology, engineering, math and design. Higher education students at the college or university level can verify their status directly and access the software straight from the site. High school students gain access to the software through their teachers, who verify their school and have access to the software, which they can then provide to students.

Cool! So what do students get?
Students get access to most of our development and design tools (Visual Studio 2008 Professional, XNA Studio, Robotics Studio, Expression Studio and more). They also get access to select server products (SQL Server 2008 Developer Edition and Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition) to help with development and testing. Training Resources are also provided (free eBooks, training videos, and more) to help students learn about Microsoft tools and technologies, as well as provide insights into product certification.

Wow! What do I do next?
This is a pretty amazing resource for students. Visit DreamSpark, learn more, and tell your high school administrators and science, math, computer, and physics teachers about it. Let's help our children learn about math, science and technology – and equip them to impact the future of all of us.

It may have snuck up on some of you, but Internet Explorer 8 released last week and is available for download. If you haven't had a chance to take a look at IE8, there are a host of great capabilities (web standards mode, improved tab browsing, improved accessibility features such as Caret Browsing, increased security such as InPrivate browsing, automatic crash recovery and performance improvements) and some compelling new features as well (visual search and search buttons, accelerators, and web slices to name a few). Review the rest of the readiness toolkit to see what else is available.

Developers and IT Professionals
Developers should review the readiness toolkit for developers. IE8's developer tools are quite useful, featuring the ability to view the HTML source in a color-coded view (like how Visual Studio does), script performance profiler, and source inspection tools and property sheet view. The navigation buttons (back and forward) honor AJAX calls now, too, so site debugging is easier. There are some pretty interesting capabilities "in the box" with IE8.

IT Professionals should review the readiness toolkit for IT professionals. It covers a wide range of management, administration, group policy and deployment features.

Learning More
If you'd like to learn more, there are heaps of resources for developers and IT professionals from videos to articles and more. Here are some virtual labs you may want to explore to learn more in a more hands-on style format.

• MSDN Virtual Lab: Building Web Slices with Internet Explorer 8
• MSDN Virtual Lab: Preparing for Internet Explorer 8 – Application Compatibility
• MSDN Virtual Lab: Using Accelerators and Web Slices in the Enterprise with Internet Explorer 8
• MSDN Virtual Lab: Creating Accelerators In Internet Explorer 8
• MSDN Virtual Lab: Internet Explorer 8 – Debugging and Application Compatibility
• MSDN Virtual Lab: Internet Explorer 8 Improved Programmability
• MSDN Virtual Lab: Using New AJAX Enhanced Layout Standards Support with Internet Explorer 8
• TechNet Virtual Lab: Preparing for Internet Explorer 8- Application Compatibility
• TechNet Virtual Lab: Using Accelerators and Web Slices in the Enterprise with Internet Explorer 8

I just heard from a colleague of mine, John O'Donnell and Architect Evangelist on our ISV Evangelism Team, about a training event happening next week for developers in the Chicago metro area and focused on Windows 7.

This is a multi-day training event and there is quite a broad range of topics being covered during this event. Here's the summary John shared with me. More event details are listed below and can be found on the registration site.

Windows 7 enables developers to build applications on a solid foundation; enable richer application experiences; and integrate the best of Windows and web services. The features and technologies of the Windows 7 operating system enable you to build the next generation of software applications. This event represents your opportunity to gain advance access to technical features and solution scenario information enabling you to build solutions on the new platforms. This is a special event organized specifically to share Microsoft's early, forward-looking plans with our closest partners and customers. You will have the opportunity to provide feedback directly with Microsoft product architects. A current Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) is required for this event.

Agenda

• Graphics Improvements
• Multi Touch and Ink
• Security
• Application Instrumentation, Diagnostic and Performance Tools
• Application Compatibility Overview
• Sensor Platform and Location
• Power Management
• Background Services and Process
• New Taskbar
• Open Packaging Conventions

Event Information
Wednesday, March 25, 2009 through Friday, March 27, 2009, 9:00am to 5:00pm all three days.
Register Online

Location
Directions Training Center
2625 Butterfield Road, Suite 209E
Chicago (Oakbrook), IL 60523
(630) 575-8900

The answer is: one of nearly two dozen items in my "to be blogged" folder. Last post there was only about a dozen items in the backlog, but I digress. So, what _is_ Thrive?

Thrive is a collection of resources for IT professionals (a developer version in the works) that will help you track down about three things:

• Advance your career – resources on career development and training as well as change management
• Enhance your skills – resources focused on technical topics like virtualization and desktop optimization
• Align IT with business – resources on driving cost savings as well as compliance and guidance

But don't take my very brief blog post for it. There's a TechNet webcast covering exactly what Thrive is tomorrow, Wednesday, March 11, 2009 10:00 AM Pacific Time. Yeah, it's short notice, but I only just found out myself. I'll amend my post with the on demand link after the webcast.

Join the webcast, check out the web site, and let me know what you think about Thrive. Is it useful and helpful? What do you like? What would you change?

Update: Fixed the registration links.

I actually owe a much longer post on recent readiness (nee training) options and events for developers, architects and IT Professionals, but available time prevents me from tacking the 15 or 16 items in my "to do for blog" folder. This one event, however, warrants a more immediate shout out for two reasons. First, it's a live event as opposed to an online resource, thus timeliness matters. Second, space is limited so you'll want to register soon. The event is the Build Your Skills: Best Practices for .NET Developers Events, hosted by Jeff Brand and several of our highly talented local speakers.

Since Jeff has a full blown post with all the details, I will summarize the salient points here. And remember, space is limited (and selling out fast) so register soon!

Agenda

• The Fine Art of Profiling (Go Faster) presented by Scott Colestock
• Building Loosely Coupled Applications presented by Shannon Braun
• Exceptional Development: Dealing With Exceptions in .NET presented by Jason Bock
• Introduction to Unit Testing presented by Kirstin Juhl
• Advanced Unit Testing presented by Raymond Lewallen

St. Louis Event – Register
March 24, 2009, 9:00am to 4:30pm at the Microsoft offices in Creve Coeur.
3 City Place Drive, Suite 1100
Creve Coeur, MO 63141

Minneapolis Event – Register
March 31, 2009, 9:00am to 4:30pm at the Microsoft offices in Bloomington.
8300 Norman Center Drive, Suite 950
Bloomington, MN 55437

I've just logged into the internet at my hotel in Minneapolis. It's the first trip I've taken with Windows 7 as the OS for my main laptop, and I just discovered something very, very useful. And especially useful for the road warrior.

When I plugged in the internet and Windows 7 fetched an IP address, an information tip appeared over the network icon in the Notification Area. The tip basically said that additional steps may be required to get on the internet and suggested I open my browser. Basically the OS realized that I needed to go through the hotel's portal to authenticate access.

How incredibly helpful is that?

Capping off my mini-series on Windows 7 things I like, I was alerted to 50 seriously useful Windows 7 tips By Mike Williams over at TechRadar.com. It's a really comprehensive list organized by new applets and features, interface tweaks, useful enhancements, and performance and productivity tips.

It's a really great read, so be sure to check it out.

As I was working on various tasks today (playing with VPC images, ISO files, and a few others), I stumbled across a couple of additional features of Windows 7 that I wanted to share. These are just some quick hits, presented in no particular order.