Canadian Developer Connection

Canada Does Windows Azure: Connect2Fans

Jonathan Rozenblit — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 03:08:22 GMT

I believe that the best way to learn is to learn from each other, so I’m always on the search for stories of Canadian developers who have either built new applications using Windows Azure services or have migrated existing applications to Windows Azure. This is the story of Connect2Fans.

Points of Interest

[02:06] Looking underneath the covers of Connect2Fans
[02:27] Commentary on using MongoDB running in Windows Azure worker roles rather than using SQL Azure
[02:53] How Windows Azure allows Connect2Fans to exist
[03:05] Background on being in the ticketing space and needing resources to handle the type of loads the industry deals with, the financial requirements, and why the Cloud is an obvious fit for this type of business.
[04:50] Development and technical advantages of Windows Azure as well as a comparison of Windows Azure and Amazon Web Services
[05:15] Discussion around developers focusing on writing code rather than attempting to be “ad-hoc network admins”
[06:24] Pros of Platform-as-a-Service and Windows Azure
[07:03] Misconceptions of a product with “Microsoft” and “Windows” in its name not being able to host PHP
[08:00] Running WordPress (PHP) on Windows Azure with no problems
[09:10] PHP and the Windows Azure development experience
[09:52] Working with different platforms (Facebook, iOS, Android, Windows Phone) consuming web APIs in Windows Azure
[12:08] Interesting architecture considerations for communications between devices and Cloud services
[12:50] Getting started with Windows Azure/Ramp up process using MSDN and StackOverflow
[14:28] Gotchas encountered while ramping up and developing Connect2Fans
[15:40] Architecture considerations – knowing the differences between apps on-premises and apps in the Cloud
[17:43] Tips and tricks for getting started/learning path to get into the Cloud
[19:48] Tips and tricks for migrating existing applications to the Cloud
[22:10] Jason’s thoughts about the Cloud and advice to developers

Architecture

PHP-based WordPress front end website
.NET-based APIs consumed from various platforms
Storage for digital assets in Windows Azure Storage
Data stored in MongoDB databases on Windows Azure Worker Roles
Scaled infrastructure to support real-time synchronization between scanner devices

CONNECT2FANS
Connect2Fans set its mission to create a platform which artists, athletes, entertainers, organizations and teams of all sizes can use to sell a variety of products directly to their fans. Using a PayPal account, any individual or small entertainment enterprise can enjoy the power of the Web to sell event tickets, CDs, MP3s, and other memorabilia directly to their fans. This direct-to-fan sales approach dramatically reduces the present day costs for both buyers and sellers. C2F only charges the seller a very modest fee for this transaction service. What the buyer sees is what the buyer pays; no more annoying add-ons.

JASON LAVIGNE
Jason Lavigne is the Lead Software Architect for Connect2Fans and a co-founder of the company. He has been developing software on various technologies, including Microsoft, for over 25 years and most recently in the event ticketing segment of the entertainment industry.

Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto Windows 8 Codapalooza

Susan Ibach — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 19:43:00 GMT

For anyone in Ottawa, Montreal or Toronto trying to get those Windows 8 app ready for the excellence labs, come code with company

The app excellence labs to get your app into the Windows 8 store first are upon us! Build an application now, go to an App Excellence Lab and you could deploy your application in the Windows 8 store before everybody else (and get two years free). There are also virtual labs available.

In Montreal

Frederic Harper and Ramez Debbas have two days where they will help you build your application to give you the possibility to register for the App Excellence Lab. On the 7th, and 9th of June, we’ll be available from 09h00 to 17h00 to help you build your application, in French or English, from HTML/JavaScript/CSS, or from C#/XAML. Details on where and how to register at the bottom of this post.

In Ottawa

You can join me, Susan Ibach, Thursday the 7th of June as I spend the day coding her app and helping you with your Windows 8 apps wherever possible from 9:00 to 9:00! My French isn’t as good as Ramez & Frederic but if you’ll put up with my Acadian accent I’ll try! Details on where and how to register at the bottom of this post.

In Toronto

Paul Laberge will be hosting a day-long Codeapalooza on June 6th at Microsoft's downtown Toronto office (222 Bay Street, 12th Floor) from 9:00AM to 5:00PM in the MPR Room just beside the reception area. Specific details are at the bottom of this post.

What is a Windows 8 Codapalooza

We’ll be there coding our own application and games, but also we are there to help you build yours. We’ll have French, and English support in the lab, and some expertise around HTML/CSS/JavaScript, and C#/XAML. Join us when you can! We think being able to publish your application to the Windows 8 store before everyone is an amazing opportunity, we don’t want you to miss this chance. It’s going to be an informal event, where coding and fun will be on the schedule! No presentations, just coding, as the goal is to get at least 60% of our application ready so we are set for the App Excellence Lab.

What if I don’t have any app ideas?

No worries, we have plenty of ideas. Stop by and we’ll brainstorm until we find something you like.

Are you crazy, we can’t build a full application in one or two days?

Well Fred is a bit crazy, but that’s not the point, one day can make a difference!

You don’t have to finish the application to attend the Excellence lab and get the magic token so you can deploy your app to the store before everybody else. If you can get about 60% of app done, you can still register.
You don’t have to build Photoshop or AutoCAD for Windows 8. This is your first Windows 8 app, Use it as a learning opportunity to build a simple yet useful app, an RSS reader for your favourite blog, or a pace calculator for runners.
You can port existing HTML5 application or games you have for Windows 8. See the resources part of this FAQ to help you get started.
If you have experience in HTML, DotNet, or C++ you don’t have to learn a new language, just the APIs!

So yes, we do think you can get an app ready for the lab in one or two Codapalooza days.

Why should I develop with you guys instead of coding in the comfort of my home?

I know, it’s nice to develop at home with the fridge nearby, but there are reasons to come code with us:

You’ll have access to a Microsoft employee to help you.
It’s not always easy to concentrate at home with all those distractiacagastions (sorry my cat just walked over my keyboard, case in point)
Free beers! Yes, we like coding with a beer. (Okay that was Fred in Montreal promising free beer, I can’t guarantee free beer in Ottawa, we’ll see what we can do )

Do I need to pack a lunch?

Absolutely… not! We need to eat too! We’ll have some food. You need to be there before 11:00 to get this royal treatment, as we’ll order with people there to be sure we have everything to satisfy all tastes. In Ottawa same deal for lunch, and please be there by 5 if you want in on dinner.

What do I need for the event?

A computer with Windows 8 installed (you can download it from here) on it (primary, dual-boot or in a virtual machine). You’ll also need the SDK/Visual Studio 11 installed on your Windows 8 machine (you can download it from here). Last, but not least, your coding skills to build your next amazing application..

If I want to start now, what are resources?

Here are some steps you can follow to help you in the building process.

Read Planning Metro style apps. It’s always easier if you plan before attacking the coding part. Use this to sketch out the concepts of your app and figure out functionality.
Read Design guidance for Metro style apps.
Find the right scenario via the End-to-end apps and gamesdocumentation.
1. Web Sites to Windows 8– This is not very difficult at all and is a pretty minimal effort if you use the HTML5 programming model in Windows 8.
2. Porting web-based Games to Windows 8– Specifically games that were built with HTML5 <canvas> or those that used a library such as CreateJS or easier to port to Windows 8. An example that has been done in HTML5 and converted to a Windows 8 app is Cut the Rope and Pirates Love Daisies.
3. Developing Reader/Content Aggregation Apps – These are simple to build and I have seen them built in a day at Hackathons and can go from design to production very quickly.

If I already built my app, or don’t need your help, what can I do?

Perfect, register for the App Excellence Lab to get all the benefits of having build an application now. You can read this blog post to get more information on the lab, and you can send an email to win8cdn@microsoft.com and include the following information:

Your Name
Your city
The date you want to do in-person or virtual lab
A brief application description (no binary, optional screenshot, but only send if the screenshot is not confidential)

OK, how can I register?

As this event is open only to people that really want to build an application during one or two days with the goal of going to the App Excellence Lab, registration needs to be done by e-mail. Here is the simple process,

For Montreal: send me an email at fredh@microsoft.com with your full name, the day you want to join it, and the time you’ll be there. The event will be held at our Montreal office at 2000 McGill College (corner Maisonneuve, and McGill subway station). Only people that had sent me an e-mail will be able to join the event. I highly recommend you to be there as soon as possible so you’ll have plenty of time to build your application.

For Ottawa: send me an email at Susan.ibach@microsoft.com with your full name, and the time you’ll be there. I have limited spots, if you decide to join at the last minute, email me ahead of time and give me a tentative yes. The event will be held at CTE Solutions, at 11 Holland Avenue just across from Tunney’s Pasture, Thursday June 7th from 9AM to 9PM. A big thanks to CTE Solutions for letting me use one of their classrooms for the day! The more time you can spare, the more of your code you can finish. I’m hoping to make some big progress on my app.

For Toronto: send Paul Laberge an email at paul.laberge@microsoft.com with your full name, and the time you’ll be there. The event will be held at Microsoft's downtown Toronto office at 222 Bay Street on the 12th floor. Once you enter reception, the MPR room is right there. The Toronto date will be held on Wednesday, June 6th from 9AM to 5PM.

Feel free to forward this to friends, and co-workers. I hope to see you there!

Think You Know Windows Azure? Think Again.

Jonathan Rozenblit — Wed, 30 May 2012 05:01:01 GMT

Throughout the weeks, you’ve read various posts here on the Canadian Developer Connection about Windows Azure. Each one is geared to get you familiar with the platform and help you understand when and where you can use the Cloud, and ultimately, Windows Azure. But just when you thought you that you had it all down packed – think again!

What?!?!?

That’s right. I did say “think again”. That’s not to say that you have to forget what you’ve learned thus far. It’s to say that now, there’s much more to learn! (like the motto for TechDays and TechDays Online – “Because there’s always more to learn…”). Over the next month, I invite you to spend some time exploring the latest innovations in the platform and discover the opportunities you can take advantage of.

Meet Windows Azure

Scott Guthrie will walk you through the latest features in Windows Azure online, streaming LIVE from San Francisco. You’ll hear about additional platform features, language support, as well as about building highly scalable web applications that enable great developer and end-user experiences.

June 7, 2012 | 1:00 PM PT
Learn more >>

Learn Windows Azure at TechEd North America

Streaming LIVE from TechEd 2012 in Orlando. take what you’ll hear about on June 7 one level deeper to learn how to use the latest Windows Azure features and services to build, deploy, and manage applications in the cloud with sessions delivered by Microsoft technical leaders Scott Guthrie, Mark Russinovich, Quentin Clark, and Bill Staples!

June 11, 2012 | 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM PT
Add to your calendar >>
Session details >>

Windows Azure DevCamp

Last but not least, at the Windows Azure DevCamp in Toronto, ON, you’ll dive deep into technical goodness with yours truly, Canada’s original Windows Azure MVP (who now works at Microsoft in Redmond) Cory Fowler, and Microsoft Windows Azure Evangelism Senior Director James Conard. You’ll learn how to:

Build and quickly deploy web sites to Windows Azure
Migrate, integrate, and extend existing code and applications with Windows Azure
Build flexible, multi-tier applications
Consume Windows Azure services within your application such as Windows Azure
Storage, SQL Azure, and the Service Bus
Architect highly scalable and fast applications using cloud services
Build Web APIs that power mobile devices
Use the latest Visual Studio tools and SDKs for the cloud

We’re working behind the scenes on the final agenda and session details. As soon as I have them, rest assured you’ll know about it – that is if you stay tuned to the blog, sync using the Canadian Developer Connection Windows Phone app, connect with us in the Canadian Developer Connection LinkedIn group, follow cdnazure (or cdndevs) on Twitter, or subscribe to the MSDN eNews Newsletter.

The DevCamp is completely FREE, but seating is limited. Register today before it sells out.

June 20, 2012 | 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM ET
Register >>

As you can see, there’s lots of exciting stuff coming up in June! If there’s ever a time to get excited about the Cloud and Windows Azure, now would be that time. If you haven’t delved into Windows Azure yet, now’s your time to do that. Think that there’s nothing in Windows Azure for you? I challenge you – participate in these and I guarantee you, you’ll think otherwise.

Calling all Windows 8 developers who DO NOT live in Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto

Susan Ibach — Fri, 25 May 2012 15:52:34 GMT

Great news! You can do the app excellence labs remotely and get your apps into the store early! If you are in Ottawa, added bonus: stop by Saturday May 26th for a Windows 8 camp to get you rolling!

Remote App Excellence Labs

I wrote a post earlier this week talking about the app excellence labs. If you want to get your Windows 8 app to the store, you should be working on your code now and then registering for a timeslot during one of the labs. When I wrote the blog post I shared the dates for the labs in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. I found out today, that we have made arrangements to allow Canadian developers outside those cities to do app excellence labs remotely using Lync or Skype. You will need to request a time slot during one of the lab weeks in Montreal, Toronto, or Vancouver. Don’t wait until the last minute! Schedule your time slot now, for two reasons: 1 - It will force you to put aside some time and work on that app because you will have a deadline! 2 – You don’t want to wait until the last minute and then find out there are no slots left. You don’t have to bring a 100% Complete app to the lab, but do make sure it is functional.

When are the labs?

Toronto May 22-25; May 28- June 1

Montreal June 4 – 8

Vancouver June 11-15; June 18-22

To register email win8cdn@microsoft.com and include the following information:

Your Name
Your Address information
A brief application description (no binary, optional screenshot, but only send if the screenshot is not confidential)

Ottawa Windows 8 Workshop

If you live in or near Ottawa, there are still a few spots left for the Ottawa Windows 8 camp to help you get that app ready for the lab. Heck we’ll even throw in lunch

When: Saturday May 26th, 2012 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Where do I register and get more information: Here

Cost: Free

What will I learn?

The Windows 8 Platform for Metro style apps
The Developer Opportunity: Introducing the Windows Store
Everything Web Developers Must Know to Build Metro Style Apps
Building Metro style apps with XAML
Integrating with Windows 8 experiences

I live in Ottawa and grew up in Fredericton, New Brunswick, and I have met amazing developers from St John’s, Regina, Chicoutimi, and Fort McMurray, let’s show those big city folk the incredible talent across Canada!

On the Next D³: LIVE & INTERACTiVE – Change is an Opportunity

Jonathan Rozenblit — Thu, 24 May 2012 13:56:04 GMT

June 6, 2012 | 12:00 PM ET | Add to Outlook >>

According to Richard Campbell, there are big changes in the development world on the horizon, and while potentially scary, change is a great opportunity for developers. Hear about the history of how we got here and why the things you know now will stay valuable when you add a bit more in. Plus: Richard shares his advice on embracing change to propel you forward.

Richard Campbell
Richard Campbell has been involved with microcomputers and software since 1977. His career has spanned the industry both on the hardware and software sides, from manufacturing to sales, service, game development, line-of-business software and large scale systems. He's been deeply involved in creating new businesses around software, hardware, services and products in a huge range of roles, including technical, management and financing. During the halcyon days of the DotComBoom he was a consultant to venture capital firms providing technical due diligence and architectural direction.

Today Richard is on the board of directors for Telerik, a leading vendor of development, team productivity, automated testing tools, UI components and content management solutions in the Microsoft space. He is one of the co-founders of Strangeloop Networks, developing an appliance for web site performance. He's a partner in PWOP Productions, creating a variety of multimedia programs including ".NET Rocks!, the Internet Audio Talk Show for .NET Developers," a podcast produced twice a week for more than 150,000 listeners in 120 countries and The Tablet Show, a podcast focused on tablet and mobile development across all platforms. In addition he's the host of RunAs Radio, a podcast for the IT Professional using Microsoft technologies. Richard also serves as a technical director for Penton Media, planning the content of magazines and conferences that engage technology professionals all over the world.

D³: LIVE & INTERACTiVE
In case you haven't heard about the show, Developers, Developers, Developers: LIVE & INTERACTIVE (D³) is a monthly show hosted by yours truly. The show airs live every first Wednesday of the month at 12:00 PM ET and features the latest updates on what's new and exciting in the world of development; featured presentations; and guests. LIVE and INTERACTIVE means that you'll be part of the show – You're invited to interact with us; ask questions and get them answered; and share your thoughts and opinions.

Join the Canadian Developer Connection LinkedIn group
Follow @devsdevdevs
Like D³ on Facebook
Subscribe to podcasts via iTunes, Zune, or RSS

More D³: LIVE & INTERACTIVE >>

How can a Canadian get a Windows 8 app to the store?

Susan Ibach — Tue, 22 May 2012 13:23:00 GMT

If you want a token to put your app in the Windows 8 store, you need to attend an app excellence lab.

The Windows 8 store is a significant opportunity, getting in early will improve the chance of your app getting noticed. In Canada, your first chance to get a token to put your app in the store is by completing an app excellence lab.

In this post I’ll explain

What is an app excellence lab?
How do I register for a lab?
Where can I learn more about building Windows 8 apps?
When are the app excellence labs?
What if I don’t live in a city with an app excellence lab?
Does my app have to be 100% complete to attend a lab?

What is an app excellence lab?

When you schedule your slot, you receive a detailed survey with questions about your app, useful advice, links to guidelines, etc. The survey is not the only criteria we use at the labs, but if you follow the guidance in the survey, you will likely have a high-level, great app.

If your app meets the criteria, you will receive a token to register your developer account. Once verified, you will be able to submit your app to the Windows store. If your app does not meet the criteria, nothing is lost. You still finish the day with a better app and you will be able to submit it when registration opens for all developers.

How do I register for a lab?

Attend a Windows 8 Developer Camp, Windows 8 Design Clinic or Windows 8 Hackathon (upcoming cities and dates at the bottom of this blog post)

AND/OR

Review the app-building content from the Windows Developer Centre to learn the fundamentals of building a great Metro-style Windows 8 App.

Create a Windows 8 Metro-style app (or game) TODAY. Get the app up and running so you can demonstrate the functionality.

Read through all of the great UX Guidelines online in the design section of the Windows Developer Centre.

Contact win8cdn@microsoft.com and include the following information:

Your Name
Your Address information
A brief application description (no binary, optional screenshot, but only send if the screenshot is not confidential)
Wait for Thomas Lewis to respond letting you know where and when the closest lab will be, at which point we’ll schedule a time slot that is mutually beneficial.

Where can I learn more about building Windows 8 apps?

Vancouver

Windows 8 Hackathon Event June 4, 2012
Windows 8 Mini Camp, June 16, 2012

Montreal

Windows 8 Design Clinic May 24, 2012
Windows 8 Hackathon Event May 24, 2012

Ottawa

Windows 8 Mini-Camp May 26, 2012

if you can’t attend one of the Windows 8 events, you can still learn about how to build Windows 8 apps online at the Windows developer center and bring your app to the labs.

When are the app excellence labs?

Toronto May 22-25; May 28- June 1

Montreal June 4 – 8

Vancouver June 11-15; June 18-22

What if I don’t live in a city where there’s an app excellence lab?

Excellent question, well if you live nearby, your best bet is to drive to the nearest city where there is a lab, Ottawa to Montreal isn’t that far. But, if you live in Halifax or Edmonton that could be a challenge, let alone Yellowknife or St John’s. But don't worry, you won't miss out. You can do the labs remotely using Lync or Skype! Just email us at win8cdn@microsoft.com as described above so we can schedule you for a session during one of the labs in Montreal, Toronto, or Vancouver. Register now before we run out of slots!

Does my app have to be 100% complete to attend a lab?

Another good question. If your app is 100% complete then there is much higher chance that you will get a store token when you leave the lab. But there is still value in attending the labs with an app that is not completely finished. Up to 4 hours with a Microsoft engineer is sure going to help you figure out what little thing you need to add to finish up your application with the confidence that when you are finished it will be store ready. So, no your app doesn’t have to be 100% complete, but the closer to finished you have your app, the more you will get out of the app excellence lab.

So what are you waiting for? Get coding Canada! I can’t wait to see what you build!

TOMORROW on TechDays TV: Double Header– Windows Phone and .NET 4.5

Jonathan Rozenblit — Mon, 21 May 2012 17:55:57 GMT

I hope you’ve taken some time out this weekend to relax and enjoy the beautiful weather. Having said that though, Tuesday is back to work for most of us, but just because you’ve had an extra day off, it doesn’t mean that there isn’t something new to learn. This week it’s a double header, with two back to back sessions on TechDays TV.

Tomorrow at 12:00 PM ET on TechDays TV:

May

Watch LIVE >>

WIN280 – Metro (Windows 8 + Mobile) – Part 2
Atley Hunter
Continuation of previous session

The Metro interface has the potential to change how a lot of people use computers. You've already seen a little of it in the Windows Phone. More if you have downloaded the Windows 8 consumer preview. In this session, we will demonstrate how the power exposed by Metro (through live tiles, push notifications, immersive user experiences, etc.) can be harnessed to provide a usable and intuitive application.

DEV281 – Visual Studio 11 and .NET 4.5
Colin Bowern
Recorded Live at ObjectSharp’s At The Movies 2012

We're still a few months away from its release, but the beta version of Visual Studio 11 and .NET 4.5 is available and with a Go-Live license too. With Visual Studio, reduction and simplification are the keywords. For .NET, assistance with parallelism this session is the big topic. Between these and other topics, the tools that will make your development life easier are covered.

TechDays TV brings you live TechDays sessions on the very latest in technical training topics. Developer-focused episodes are featured every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month. These sessions are LIVE - watch the session, ask questions, and have them answered by the expert presenters. Sessions will then be available on-demand on TechDays Online after the live presentation.

Missed Part 1 of WIN280 or any previous TechDays TV sessions?

TechDays TV sessions are always available on-demand on TechDays Online on Channel 9 within a few hours of the live show.

See you online tomorrow!

Save the Date: June 20

Jonathan Rozenblit — Sat, 19 May 2012 22:29:05 GMT

Exactly a month ago, in my post Cloud: A Skill and Career Building Opportunity, I told you about the Windows Azure Developer Workshops – the one-day free workshop I was doing (with help from community experts Jef King, Jaime Bueza, Wouter van Eck, Atley Hunter, Mariusz Kolodziej, Bruce Johnson, Barry Gervin, and Jerold Xing) that covered everything from basic Cloud Computing concepts to designing, developing, and deploying applications using Windows Azure. The response was amazing (thanks for that!) and the feedback from the workshops that have already happened has been exceptional (thanks for that as well!)

So what’s happening on June 20?

The next step in your Windows Azure learning journey (even if you didn’t attend one of the Windows Azure Developer Workshops). I can’t share too much right now, but here’s what I can tell you:

It will be a Windows Azure DevCamp format training event
It will be a full-day experience
It will be in Toronto
There will be Microsoft experts in attendance
You’ll want to bring your laptop because we will doing hands-on work
You’ll want to register as soon as registration is available because seats are limited

Until then, block off June 20 on your calendar.

If you have any questions, feel free to let me know. Send me an email at cdnazure@microsoft.com.

(For those of you who can’t make it to Toronto on June 20, don’t worry. We haven’t and won’t forget about you. Stay tuned.)

Geek out at DevTeach Vancouver!

Susan Ibach — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:15:24 GMT

Monday May 28th to June 1st DevTeach comes to Vancouver with sessions on everything from Agile, to web, to SQL, to the cloud!

DevTeach visits Vancouver every other year. The event is designed for developers and features lots of familiar names and great speakers! There is nothing quite like a conference by developers for developers!

Interested in Agile? How about sessions on Scrum, or dealing with non functional requirements, or testing. Is Architecture your world? How about sessions on Service Design Patterns or OData. Curious about the newest tools and platforms? try a session on Visual Studio11 or check out the Keynote on Windows 8 by our own Thomas Lewis!

There are pre and post-conference workshops Monday May 28th on T-SQL by SQL guru Itzik Ben-Gan, as well as tracks on ALM, iOS, and Ruby. Friday June 1st you’ll find workshops on SharePoint 2010, Agile Scrum, and an Android Boot camp.

The early bird discounts have passed, but you can use this Rebate code: BC00VANNET2 for $100 off.

Whatever your flavour of development check out the sessions at DevTeach, you are sure to find something to geek out on! Register today!

Canadian Developers, be first in the Windows 8 Store

Tommy Lee — Wed, 16 May 2012 20:48:39 GMT

Microsoft announced that the Windows 8 Store will be expanding to new markets. So now there is no excuse not to start building your cool Windows 8 app.We also announced that our next Windows 8 milestone, the Windows Release Preview, will be made available the first week of June. We want to help developers building great apps in these markets take advantage of the momentum of Windows 8. Windows Consumer Preview has already been downloaded millions of times by people in more than 200 markets. Release Preview next month is your chance to get your app in front of all of those early adopters – and here’s how you can!

How can I submit my app?

We’ve worked hard to make it simple and to ensure that we help you to build a high-quality application. If your app is complete or is functional and you want to be among those developers with the ability to submit to the store before the rest of the general public, you simply need to attend one of the FREE Application Excellence Labs that the Developer and Platform Evangelism and Windows teams are holding here in Canada. We’ll provide you an invitation “token” to register and submit your app to the pre-release of Windows 8.

How Do I Receive an Invitation to the App Excellence Lab?

Follow these steps:

Create a really great Windows 8 Metro-style app (or game) TODAY.
Contact win8cdn@microsoft.com and include the following information:
- Your Name
- Your Address information
- A brief application description (no binary, optional screenshot, but only send if the screenshot is not confidential)

We will respond and let you know where and when the closest lab will be.

Important note: While the lab will run similar tests to the Store, it is not a replacement for the Store certification process. That still happens when you ultimately submit your app.

So what happens at the AE Lab?

The lab is an up to 4-hour engagement with a trained Microsoft Services Engineer. This engineer will run your app through a series of tests based on a quality checklist to ensure your app is (or will be) in top-notch shape when you submit. You will also get a chance discuss ways to make your app even better and you will get answers to any questions you might have. You will receive a token to register your developer account and you will be able to submit your app to the Windows store.

When Are The Labs?

Toronto: May 28 – June 1 and June 4– 8
Montreal: June 4 – 8
Vancouver: June 11 – 15 and June 18 – 22

Are There Any Events to Attend Before the Labs?

Yes! Check out Hackathons in your area:

Montreal, May 24 (Register now)
Vancouver, June 4 (Register now)

For more information about the Hackathons, check out Jonathan’s great post.

Any Questions?

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us directly at win8cdn@microsoft.com and look forward to seeing you at the labs!

Hack Your Art Out–Windows 8 Hackathons

Jonathan Rozenblit — Mon, 07 May 2012 03:44:34 GMT

“Art” in this case referring to the masterpieces you’re going to be writing for Windows 8 – Metro-style apps! Sometimes an artist needs company in order to create their masterpieces. Now I’m not sure what those are called in the Painter’s world, but in the developer world, those are what we admirably call “hackathons” and there’s a few of them coming to help get your Metro juices flowing!

Each Windows 8 hackathon is a one-day, low-key, informal day of coding and testing (a few Windows 8 touch devices will be on hand for testing), starting off with introductions and then quickly going into “hack mode” working away on your app. At the end of the day, you’ll show off your app (it’s ok if you don’t finish everything!) and then find out how to get your app into the Windows Store.

BONUS!
Please note that attendees of a Windows 8 Hackathon will be given priority for registration to the Windows 8 Application Excellence Labs. You will need to attend an Application Excellence Lab in order for your Windows 8 Metro Style app to be one of the first from Canada in the Windows Store!

Where

Toronto – May 11
Montreal – May 24
Vancouver – June 4

Registration is free, but space is limited. Register today.

What Do I need to bring?

A Metro Style Application Idea
If you haven’t already started coding your app, please come prepared with at least one idea for a Windows 8 Metro Style application. Take full advantage of the experts that will be on hand!

Hardware
Any device capable of running Windows 8 Consumer Preview and Visual Studio Express. We recommend that you install the necessary software prior to the hackathon. If it is not already installed, you will need a partition with ~30 GB of free space to install the bits.

Software

Questions?
Need more info on one of the hackathons? Have a question? Let us know. If you’re building a Windows 8 application, make sure to also let us know so we can see how we can help!

Original photo by Lachlan Hardy

Scott Guthrie on Cloud-Powered Revolutions

Jonathan Rozenblit — Fri, 04 May 2012 16:00:00 GMT

From Episode 6 – Cloud-Powered Revolutions | May 2, 2012

Recorded live on location at Vancouver TechFest 2012, Scott talks about revolutions that are made possible by the Cloud. Plus: Scott dives deep into how Windows Azure enables developers to drive those revolutions.

Questions? Comments?
Due to a crazy schedule, unfortunately, Scott could not join us for the live show to answer your questions. However, that doesn’t mean that you won’t get answers. Start a new discussion in the Canadian Developer Connection group on LinkedIn with “Question For Scott”.

Scott Guthrie
Scott Guthrie is a corporate vice president in Microsoft's Server and Tools Business division, where he leads the development teams that build the developer platform for Windows Azure, Windows AppFabric Server, BizTalk Server, IIS, ASP.NET, WCF, WF and the Web, and Web Service and Workflow features of Visual Studio.

D³: LIVE & INTERACTiVE
Developers, Developers, Developers: LIVE & INTERACTIVE (D³) is a monthly show hosted by yours truly. The show airs live every first Wednesday of the month at 12:00 PM ET and features the latest updates on what's new and exciting in the world of development; featured presentations; and guests. LIVE and INTERACTIVE means that you'll be part of the show – You're invited to interact with us; ask questions and get them answered; and share your thoughts and opinions.

Join the Canadian Developer Connection LinkedIn group
Follow @devsdevdevs
Like D³ on Facebook
Subscribe to podcasts via iTunes, Zune, or RSS

More D³: LIVE & INTERACTIVE >>

May Edition

Jonathan Rozenblit — Fri, 04 May 2012 10:00:00 GMT

As always, as you’re winding down for the weekend, take a few minutes to catch up on May’s developer news as seen on this month’s D³: LIVE & INTERACTiVE (this past Wednesday).

Links

Join the Canadian Developer Connection LinkedIn group
Follow @devsdevdevs
Like D³ on Facebook
Subscribe to podcasts via iTunes, Zune, or RSS

More D³: LIVE & INTERACTIVE >>

Coming Up on TechDays TV

Jonathan Rozenblit — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:00:00 GMT

It’s that time of the month again where I get to fill you in on what’s coming up on TechDays TV in May. Don’t forget – these sessions are LIVE and INTERACTIVE, bring the TechDays experience online. Ask questions and get them answered as if the expert was right there in the room with you! If you’re not able to tune in, the sessions will be available on-demand after the live show. Make sure you connect with us using the social networks below to get the updates of when the sessions are available on-demand.

By the way, you can bookmark the schedule on TechDays Online and keep checking to get all of the latest TechDays TV episode info.

May

Save the Date >>

WIN280 – Metro (Windows 8 + Mobile) – Part 1
Bruce Johnson, Atley Hunter
Recorded Live at ObjectSharp’s At The Movies 2012

The Metro interface has the potential to change how a lot of people use computers. You've already seen a little of it in the Windows Phone. More if you have downloaded the Windows 8 consumer preview. In this session, we will demonstrate how the power exposed by Metro (through live tiles, push notifications, immersive user experiences, etc.) can be harnessed to provide a usable and intuitive application.

NOTE: This extended TechDays TV session will continue on May 22.

May

Save the Date >>

WIN280 – Metro (Windows 8 + Mobile) – Part 2
Bruce Johnson, Atley Hunter
Continuation of previous session

DEV281 – Visual Studio 11 and .NET 4.5
Colin Bowern, Bruce Johnson
Recorded Live at ObjectSharp’s At The Movies 2012

and just because the first June episode is already confirmed as well, might as well include it so that you can save the date!

June

Save the Date >>

DEV282 – What’s New in TFS11 and Test Manager 11
Dave Lloyd, Deb Forsyth
Recorded Live at ObjectSharp’s At The Movies 2012

The word in the TFS/Test manager world for 2012 is "Agile". Lightweight requirements gathering through PowerPoint Storyboarding. Additional reporting, including a task board, in TFS and exploratory/agile testing through Test Manager. Lots of new features to delve into and they will be in this session.

Connect with TechDays Online

Join the Canadian Developer Connection LinkedIn group
Follow @techdays_ca
Like TechDays on Facebook

Topic Suggestions, Feedback, Etc.

If you have any suggestions for topics that you’d like to see on TechDays TV or want to share feedback, please let us know!

If you have any suggestions for topics that you’d like to see on TechDays TV, start a new conversation on LinkedIn and see if others are interested as well!
If you have feedback on the show, by all means, please let us know! We want to hear it! Start a new conversation on LinkedIn or send us an email at td_can@microsoft.com.
If you’re interested in presenting a session on TechDays TV, please send the topic you’d like to present with a short abstract to td_can@microsoft.com. We’re always looking for experts to feature on TechDays TV.

On the Next D³: LIVE & INTERACTiVE – A Look at Industry Trends

Jonathan Rozenblit — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 11:00:00 GMT

May 2, 2012 | 12:00 PM ET | Add to Outlook >>

The D³ crew goes on location to Vancouver to bring you Scott Guthrie’s keynote from TechFest 2012, Scott takes a step away from specific technologies and looks at industry trends for the developer. Plus: Scott provides a behind the scenes look at building a Cloud engineering team.

Due to crazy delivery and travel schedules, Scott Guthrie will not be able to join the show live on May 2. Scott will answer your questions in a discussion in the Canadian Developer Connection group on LinkedIn as soon as possible after the show.

Join the Canadian Developer Connection LinkedIn group
Follow @devsdevdevs
Like D³ on Facebook
Subscribe to podcasts via iTunes, Zune, or RSS

More D³: LIVE & INTERACTIVE >>

Windows Phone Welcomes the Canadian Developer Connection

Jonathan Rozenblit — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 20:19:40 GMT

The Canadian Developer Connection experience as you know it today consists of the blog and corresponding Twitter and Facebook pages. It also has a very active discussion group on LinkedIn where some of you are already networking and sharing your thoughts (if you’re not a member of the group yet, you’re invited! Join us.) and a monthly show, D³: LIVE & INTERACTIVE, with news, feature presentations, and live guests.

You can now enhance that experience by taking the Canadian Developer Connection on the go with you with the brand new Windows Phone app released into the Windows Phone Marketplace yesterday.

Get the app >>

These screenshots will give you a teaser of the app:

In this first version, you can:

Get the latest developer news from our news feed
Read posts on the Canadian Developer Connection online or offline
Download and watch episodes of D³: LIVE & INTERACTIVE videos while on the go
Share or email post and videos links to your friends
Get to know us, the team behind the Canadian Developer Connection by checking out our bios, social networks, recent posts, tweets, etc. You can even pin one (or more of us) to your Start Menu for quick access to us!

There are more features to come but we were so excited about the app, that we just couldn’t wait to get it out there!

Go ahead, get the app and get tuned in. Then, join the conversation on LinkedIn to share your feedback and ideas for new features. Also, don’t forget to share the news with your colleagues and friends on Twitter and Facebook!

Special thanks to the man that made the app possible, Sébastien Lachance!

Sébastien Lachance is a developer with 12 years of experience and 18 months of Windows Phone programming. For less than a month, Sébastien is working at the new Montreal office of Mirego, a company innovating in mobile development, looking to bring his Microsoft development expertise to the company. Sébastien is passionate about Microsoft technologies especially about Windows Phone/Windows 8 and the new Metro design. When he’s not in front on a computer, he’s playing bridge (he’s even written an app for that), biking, and reading technical books.

More apps by Sébastien >>

TUESDAY on TechDays TV: WIN380 - Push Notifications and Live Tiles in Windows Phone

Jonathan Rozenblit — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 16:00:00 GMT

Join me on Tuesday at 12:00 PM ET for:

April

Watch >>

WIN380 - Push Notifications and Live Tiles in Windows Phone
Erez Harari

In Windows Phone, an application does not have to run in order to communicate with the user, rather the Push Notifications and Live Tiles features can be used in order to present live and dynamic information to the user over the pinned applications’ tiles and by prompting pop-up notifications over the phone screen. In this session we will go through the concepts of Push Notifications and Live Tiles in Windows Phone applications and see how easy it is to create and use them from your own code.

“You Complete Me” Says SharePoint to Windows Azure

Jonathan Rozenblit — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 20:18:26 GMT

While I could probably turn this into a love story using people to metaphorically represent technologies, I’ll spare you from having to read that. But the story behind SharePoint and Windows Azure is truly one of those “better together" stories. They can each work (and work well) on their own, but when put together, the doors open for developers to extend the features of SharePoint by leveraging the infrastructure that is the Cloud.

Let’s take a look at scenarios that were previously “constraints” and now are opportunities for expansion:

Large Data Sets

You can store and work with data in SharePoint using lists. But the more complex the data becomes, the more inefficient lists become as storage mechanisms and the more difficult it becomes to work with the data – not to mention the larger your content databases become and the more difficult it becomes to maintain their SQL Servers.

With Windows Azure in the mix, you can outsource your data needs to Azure, specifically SQL Azure.

From a storage mechanism perspective, using SQL Azure gives you the power of SQL Server with the elasticity needed to keep databases growing with data and prevent performance degradation of your SharePoint cluster.
From an ease of use perspective, using SQL Azure also allows you to work with the data as you would with SQL Server, no longer needing complicated code and interactions with SharePoint’s APIs to get at and work with the complex data. Once the data is in SQL Azure, you can connect it to your SharePoint solution either through direct calls to the SQL Azure database, or through a web service hosted in a Windows Azure Web Role connected to SharePoint via BCS.

Storage

SharePoint document libraries can store files. But just because they can, doesn’t mean they should store all of your files, or every type of file. For example, a document library is not an ideal home for video files that are 500MB+ each. Such files are better suited for a hard drive or a file system (rather than the data, again, being in the content database). Further, the premise of document libraries in SharePoint is to share and as a result, the more users there are using SharePoint, the more they are sharing, and subsequently, the more files accumulate.

The more files that accumulate the more room they take up. Whether it is because of an accumulation of files or because files are large, you’ll find you encounter a need to be able to store data on an infrastructure that can keep up with your growing data needs and shrink when files are removed. This need is easily serviced by Windows Azure’s Storage Services, specifically blob storage. Rather than using SharePoint to store files, Blob Storage can do the job, expanding and shrinking as your demand requires. As an added bonus (and piece of mind), Blob Storage is also ensuring that your files are stored secured and are replicated to another datacentre in the unlikely event of a datacentre disaster.

Similarly, and this is especially true for companies that are dispersed around the world and don’t have SharePoint implementations in each geographic area (close to users). The closer the file is to the user, the faster the user can reach and consume it, and therefore, better performance for the user. You can imagine that with all of the files that end up being shared on SharePoint, this would become quite crucial to users. Enabling the Content Deliver Network allows Windows Azure to cache files in nodes (servers) located around the world, closest to the locations from which users are requesting them, reducing the distance files travel in order to get to the users, and therefore increasing the performance of your SharePoint infrastructure.

Code Execution

Chances are your SharePoint environment is locked down pretty well in order for your IT folks to keep the environment highly performant, scalable, and secure. But being locked down can also limit the type of solutions you can build for SharePoint. Let’s say you wanted to build a solution that uses SharePoint as a front end, but then takes the actions and data from the user and goes off to do something else, or perhaps feed the information into different systems. That code needs to run somewhere. A natural inclination would be to have SharePoint run the code within a solution. However, if you’re environment is locked down, and let’s say you’re only able to deploy Sandboxed solutions (or in the case of SharePoint Online, Sandbox solutions are the only type of customization that is permitted), you’ll be constrained as to what you will be able to do.

Working with Windows Azure as a backend system also allows you to work with the restrictions (not around) imposed by sandboxed environments. To do so, you outsource the “work”, your code that does stuff, to a web or worker role in Windows Azure, have those instances run the code for you, and then expose the result via web services that can then be read back into SharePoint or SharePoint Online.

Keep in mind that this can be two-way. By using SharePoint or SharePoint Online’s web services or client-side object model, you can reach into SharePoint to return or save data.

Integrating with SharePoint Online

There’s also a great story of SharePoint Online and Windows Azure working together to enable working with internal systems and/or protecting sensitive data that you don’t feel comfortable storing in SharePoint Online (but do feel comfortable having it in your own data centers). A hybrid solution is in order here. Have SharePoint Online as your front end. It will then talk to a Windows Azure service that will then communicate with your internal systems (via Windows Azure Connect or Windows Azure Service Bus) and securely transfer the result/information back to SharePoint Online.

The Love Story

As you can see there’s a natural fit between the two technologies to fill in gaps and make solutions possible – a ying/yang, a …. whatever other metaphor you want to use. These, and I’m sure other scenarios not discussed here, are the reasons why SharePoint says to Windows Azure “You complete me.”

Deeper Dives

I’ve just touched the tip of the iceberg on the relationship between SharePoint and Windows Azure. For a more in-depth look, check out:

Bruce Johnson’s TechDays 2011 CLD304 - To the Cloud and Back - Hybrid Applications with Windows Azure and SPO demonstrates implementation techniques of the above solutions.
SharePoint 2010 and Windows Azure Training Course helps you ramp up on different ways to integrate SharePoint and Windows Azure. The kit contains twelve modules that include PowerPoint decks, hands-on labs and source code that shows how the SharePoint 2010 platform and Windows Azure platform can work together.
BOOK: Developing SharePoint Applications Using Windows Azure by Steve Fox - By applying hands-on techniques from Microsoft cloud development expert Steve Fox, you'll learn how to increase the reach, resource capability, and reusability of your apps. Get the practical code exercises and solid advice you need—whether you're planning to build complete data-driven applications or hybrid solutions with simple Web parts.

Disclaimer: The above architectural solutions are just an example of a multitude of different architectural solutions for the same technical challenges. Before implementing, you’ll need to ensure that the architectural solution you choose is right for your needs and IT environment.

Your Personal Brand as a Developer: Implementing (Part 2 of 2)

Jonathan Rozenblit — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 10:00:00 GMT

Guest post by D³: LIVE & INTERACTIVE guest Sue Varty.

Have you done your homework? If not, download the worksheet and read Part 1 – it will help you complete the five steps below to implement your personal brand. Do you see any common threads or themes about what you’re all about in Part 1? This theme is important to keep in mind when you need to be consistent with everything you do online and off. Let’s get to work.

Step 1

Write down your long-term vision for your software development career. Do you want to focus on architecture behind the scenes? Lead a team or become CTO? Do you want to start a developer community around a specific technology? Imagine your retirement party and all of the kind of accomplishments you would like have and write it down.

Step 2

Find out how people describe you. Think about how you introduce others and how they might introduce you. Be straight up – ask some people close to you what they think you are known for. Request some references on LinkedIn. This will give you insight as to what people remember about you and your skills. Is it what you want? Will their descriptions help you achieve your long-term vision?

Step 3

Write three statements about what problems you solve for non-technical people. For example, “I make it easy for our clients to access our software from any mobile device”. Have others read them and provide you with feedback. Which one did they like the most? Adjust your favourite statement or “pitch” accordingly to ensure it fits your long-term vision from step one.

Step 4

Now it's time for a plan of action. You have a long-term vision, you are more aware about how others describe you – plus – you are now armed with statements that help tell the story of what you're all about. Whether it is blogging, participating in social media, writing a book, lighting talks, creating a series of YouTube videos on a topic or interest – what will you do to tell others about your brand? The key is to participate – and participate consistently. Use the themes and topics from Part 1 as a guide to plan what you’re going to talk about.

Step 5

Do it. Use the plan created in Step 4 and showcase your interests and strengths through the channels you selected. By getting your brand “out there” people will start understanding (directly and indirectly) what you are all about. In time, your personal brand will grow. When you position your skills and interests on your terms – you won’t have to work so hard to prove to others you’re perfect for that next role.

Examples: 5 Steps to Implementing Your Personal Brand

Have a long-term vision about your career management, business – not just about having the latest skill-set or service/product.

Your long-term vision:

Become a team lead and eventually a CTO in a start-up or post-start-up focusing on cloud computing/SaaS product.

Find out how others describe you.

How do people describe you?

“Frank helped me with Azure. He got it done fast - before our target due date.”

Look at other’s Twitter lists (categories where they feel you belong).

Ask someone to introduce you to someone else or provide a recommendation – what do they say? Is it what you want?

Refine your pitch (or how you introduce yourself) to focus on the “pain points” you solve for others.

What problems can you solve for others?

“I can take any website and turn it into a mobile app.”

“I streamline our code so people can access our software on any device.”

“I’m a developer who also studies web browser accessibility standards to help the blind.”

Develop a plan of execution using traditional and self-publishing channels, such as books, websites, blogging, social media, speaking engagements, workshops.

Plan of Execution (Monthly)

Blogging

Speaking

Twitter

GitHub

Goal (Yearly)

Build a following of experts to generate interest in an open source project you’d like to start.

Deploy/establish your expertise (speaking, GitHub, blogging, tips, LinkedIn Groups, StackOverflow Answers, micro-blogging on Facebook, Twitter).

What can you showcase and how/through what channel?

Code sharing/fork on GitHub

StackOverflow

SpeakerDeck

Question

Before this blog series, how much of the above did you already have figured out? How much of it did you already have implemented?

Comments?

Share them with myself, Sue, and the larger Canadian developer community – start a conversation in the Canadian Developer Connection group on LinkedIn.

Sue Varty
Susan Varty, Director of Digital Strategy for HeadStart Solutions, is a social media and career development educator, non-traditional marketer, and an established blogger. She spoke recently about Personal Branding at ConFoo, a developer’s conference in Montreal and is the co-founder of HeadStart Social.

Cloud: A Skill and Career Building Opportunity

Jonathan Rozenblit — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 20:24:43 GMT

A recently released IDC study talks about how the Cloud will deliver more than 70,000 jobs in Canada by 2015. Similarly, the D³: LIVE & INTERACTiVE special entitled Current IT Market Conditions and Hiring Trends in 2012 discussed the increasing need for developers to have Cloud Computing knowledge and skills here in Canada.

The Cloud is where our industry is heading and with so much opportunity on the horizon‚ now is the time to get onboard‚ stay ahead of the curve and invest in training. Whether you’re new to development or a seasoned developer, I’d like to invite you to attend a Windows Azure Developer Workshop in a city near you (or LIVE online if you prefer June 4). The workshop is a full day hands-on training workshop that will cover everything from basic Cloud Computing concepts to designing‚ developing‚ and deploying applications using Windows Azure. You will learn from experts in an interactive way and get hands-on time to apply what you’ve learned. You can find the workshop details including session information and what to bring with you here.

By the way, if you’re not currently using or don’t have plans to use Windows Azure in the near future, that’s just fine. The workshop is about developing new skills and career development. Have to convince your boss? Tell him or her you’re attending a cost-effective, training opportunity to support your career development!

Location	Date	Time
Toronto	May 16, 2012	9:00 - 5:00 PM
Vancouver	May 16, 2012	9:00 - 5:00 PM
Calgary	May 23, 2012	9:00 - 5:00 PM
Montreal	May 28, 2012	9:00 - 5:00 PM
Mississauga	June 4, 2012	9:00 - 5:00 PM
LIVE Virtual Learning	June 4, 2012	9:00 - 5:00 PM

Registration is free and seating is limited, so make sure you register as soon as possible to ensure your enrolment.

I look forward to seeing you at one of the workshops!

Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems

Susan Ibach — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 15:21:38 GMT

The Imagine Cup is a world wide Microsoft competition where we ask students to address problems faced around the world and use technology to help. Monday April 30th in Waterloo the top Canadian entries will be competing on stage at the Canadian Imagine Cup Finals! Come out and be inspired!

It starts with an idea, a problem that inspires a student. It could be poverty, healthcare, the environment, hunger, any problem that has a negative impact on others. Now the student puts together a team and they try to use technology to solve those problems. There are lots of different categories: Kinect, Metro, Windows Phone, Azure, Game Design, and Software Design.

This year in Canada we decided to host Canadian Finals in Windows Phone game design and Software Design. The students have been working hard, and our judges (which included a couple of Microsoft MVPs from the community, thank you for your help guys!) selected the top 3 teams in each Canada. Those teams are now coming to Waterloo Monday April 30th to present their solutions on stage to a panel of judges. The Phone Game teams could win mentorship, Xboxs, phones, and interviews. The Software Design teams could win the opportunity to represent Canada at the World Wide finals in Sydney, Australia this July.

The students, the guest speakers and the judges are sure to leave you feeling inspired and empowered! This is a day to celebrate what happens when you combine passion, creativity and technology. We want you to be there!

Who: You!

What: Canadian Imagine Cup Finals

Where: University of Waterloo, Kitchener, Ontario

When: Monday April 30, 2012

Why: because this is going to be one of those days where you walk away feeling energized, inspired and empowered! Two great speaker keynotes, amazing ideas from students as they present to our celebrity/invited experts panel, even a showcase area to see the entries up close or check out the latest Microsoft technologies.

How: Register today!

Price: Free! but space is limited make sure you register!

Take a look at the incredible speakers and judges you will see at the finals!

In order of appearance:

Welcome and opening keynote by Gladstone Grant the Vice President of the Developer and Platform Group at Microsoft Canada.

The Developer & Platform Evangelism Group (DPE) mission is to “Secure the Future of the Microsoft Platform” by ensuring that students, startups, developers, IT Pros, and ISVs choose Microsoft platforms. This group’s mission is critical to the long term success of Microsoft. It is a unique group that combines product marketing, audience marketing, sales, business development and technology evangelism

Presentations by our teams in Software design and Windows Phone game design will be judged by an accomplished celebrity panel!

Carol Leaman

Carol Leaman is the CEO of Axonify, a software company that uses technology to identify, measure and close critical knowledge gaps in employees. Using principles of behavioural psychology the company provides an interval reinforcement platform that quickly and easily enhances knowledge retention of key policies and procedures.

Prior to Axonify, Carol was CEO of PostRank a software company that tracked where and when online audiences were interacting with content in the social sphere. After receiving acquisition interest from a number of parties Carol sold PostRank to Google in June 2011.

Carol has also been CEO of RSS Solutions and Fakespace, two other tech companies that she sold to strategic acquirers in North America. She has a finance background and a Master of Accounting from the University of Waterloo.

Carol was recently recognized for her contributions with an Entrepreneur Hall of Fame Intrepid Award for being an entrepreneur who is a strong leader and has great promise for future contribution. She loves all things technology, and sits on the boards of several organizations.

Michael Furdyk

Michael Furdyk is the Co-founder of TakingITGlobal, which provides innovative global education programs that empower youth to understand and act on the world's greatest challenges.

In the past, he turned his interest in technology into several successful online companies, including MyDesktop.com, which sold to Internet.com in 1999. In 2008, he was named by Contribute Magazine as one of 10 Tech Revolutionaries Redefining the Power and Face of Philanthropy.

Michael has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show, presented at TED, and was named one of Teen People's "Twenty Teens that will Change the World". Over the last decade, he has keynoted over 100 events across sectors, sharing his social media expertise and insights on youth engagement and educational reform to audiences in over 30 countries. He sits on several non-profit boards, including the Re-Inventing Schools Coalition, and on the International Advisory Council for Microsoft's Partners in Learning program

Marc Saltzman

Marc Saltzman has reported on the high-tech industry since 1996 as a freelance journalist, author, lecturer, consultant, and radio and TV personality. His specialties lie in consumer electronics, computers, Internet trends, video games and DVD/Blu-ray reviews.

Along with his weekly syndicated columns with Gannett ContentOne (formerly Gannett News Service), CNN.com and USAToday.com, Marc currently contributes to more than 50 prominent publications, including USA Today, CNN.com, AARP - The Magazine, The Costco Connection (U.S. and Canada), MSN, Yahoo!, Sympatico, Toronto Star, PostMedia (CanWest), Connected (Rogers Publishing), Telus Talks Business, IT Insider Online, Common Sense Media, Inc.com, Playboy, Movie Entertainment, Chill, Homefront, and others.

We’ll wrap up the day with an inspiring keynote from Tim Jackson, someone who is living the theme of Imagine Cup “Making a Difference” as a founder and partner of Social Venture Partners of Waterloo Region, a venture fund that blends volunteerism and philanthropy together to invest in social/community initiatives.

Tim has a long history as an entrepreneur and business leader. A founder and partner of Tech Capital Partners, he was earlier CFO and CEO at PixStream. He has also acted as CFO, CEO, or board member for numerous other technology companies. Tim is a frequent speaker on innovation, corporate culture, leadership, community building, acquisitions and investing, and related topics.

Active for many years in the not-for-profit sector, in 2009 Tim was awarded the inaugural annual Barnraiser Award for “inspirational, collaborative achievement” in Waterloo Region. In 2007, he was honoured with the Legacy of Leaders Award from the City of Waterloo and the Leadership Award from the Volunteer Action Center.

JOIN US AT THE CANADIAN IMAGINE CUP FINALS APRIL 30TH AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO!

Summer Isn’t Summer Without Going to Camp

Jonathan Rozenblit — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 19:28:00 GMT

For many children, summer is not summer without going to camp – day camp, overnight camp, science camp, etc. Who’s with me when I say that it shouldn’t be any different for us adults?

Clear your calendars because camp registration for Windows 8 mini-camps is now open! Choose a date that works best for you!

The Windows 8 Mini-Camps are workshops full of technical sessions that dive into building Windows 8 Metro-style apps. You'll learn everything you need to know in order to start building awesome Metro-style apps. Better yet, you’ll spend sometime deep in code and actually write an app yourself!

Registration

Toronto, May 5th (hosted by East Toronto .NET UG)
Montreal, May 12th (hosted by Montreal .NET Community. En Français)
Calgary, May 12th (hosted by Calgary .NET User Group)
Victoria, May 17th (hosted by Victoria .NET Developers Association)
Ottawa, May 26th (hosted by Ottawa IT Community)

More are coming so check back often.

Here’s What You Need

Notebook computers! You’ll need them to do the hands-on activities.
Hardware - Any device capable of running Windows 8 and Visual Studio Express. We recommend that you install the necessary software prior to the event. If the software is not already installed, you will need a partition with ~30 GB of free space to install the bits.
Windows 8 Consumer Preview
Visual Studio 11 Beta
Download the Windows 8 SDK samples

If you have any questions, please reach out to us at Win8CDN@microsoft.com. If you’re building a Windows 8 application, we would love to hear all about it!

Enjoy the summer!

The Curious Process of Web Standards

Tommy Lee — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 23:07:25 GMT

Its interesting to note that many folks don’t really know what it takes to get a feature in a browser and how all the browsers align with how a feature will work. You would think there is a cabal of browser vendors sitting in a smoke-filled room coming up with how features will work.

That is not the case. In fact, the process is interesting. A browser feature can come from a variety of places but most efforts start at a standards body like the W3C. The W3C is an organization that handles a lot of the standards we use such as HTML and CSS, but there are also other standards bodies like ECMA responsible for things like JavaScript. Usually the first draft of a specification starts out as a working draft that can be authored by members of browser vendors and/or folks from the community. Then it is discussed in an open manner and goes through a series of changes so that it works for almost everyone. This is one of the reasons folks like using web standards as it takes into account the needs of the whole and not just a specific browser vendor.

Then, when a specification has been discussed and worked out, typically browsers will begin to support it and then when it has had some real-world testing, then it will reach its final destination in the process which is considered a Candidate Recommendation.

A WRINKLE

Now, this doesn’t always necessarily work in a waterfall-like model. Sometimes a browser vendor will go ahead and do an implementation even though a specification has not gone through the full process. There is nothing that stipulates that a browser vendor must wait for a specification to reach Candidate Recommendation. In these instances, browsers will typically implement a feature with a vendor-prefix but still work through the web standards process and even change its implementation.

NEXT STEPS

If you are intrigued by this process (as you can imagine, it is much more complex than my simple explanation) of how a feature becomes a standard, I recommend checking out the FAQ at the Web Standards Project.

Also, I would be remiss to not also let you know that we have a great write-up of how you can set up your site to take advantage of web standards. Also, make sure that you check out the latest Internet Explorer 9 as well as the upcoming Internet Explorer 10 that continues to implement web standards on par or even surpasses other browsers.

Your Personal Brand as a Developer: Defining (Part 1 of 2)

Jonathan Rozenblit — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 12:00:00 GMT

Guest post by D³: LIVE & INTERACTIVE guest Sue Varty.

Developers are often personally identified by the technology they use (or don't use). Also, people make assumptions about their skills and abilities based on their employer's brand. Whether you are full-time or on a contract, don't let people make assumptions about your skill-set. Start “positioning yourself” within your organization to influence how others describe your skills and the problems you solve for others. This is known as personal branding and it can work well as a long-term strategy to reach your career and life goals.

Use the table below to define your interests and strengths (2 sets per category). Examples have been included but you can download the original worksheet. Your homework is to fill this out before next week when we evaluate and “position” these interests and strengths to implement your personal brand message.

Define what you are passionate about

Category	Topic	Write down two topics per category.
Personal Interest	A	Hiking, Biking, Sailing, Cricket
Personal Interest	B	Mad Men, Game of Thrones, CBC Podcasts
Career/Business Focused	C	Windows Azure, ASP.NET, PHP, JavaScript
Career/Business Focused	D	Project Management, Team Leadership, Agile, Extreme Programming, Pair Programming
Events/Workshops /Speaking Engagements	E	ConFoo, JavaScript Conference, Demo for Lunch and Learn
Events/Workshops /Speaking Engagements	F	Start-up or Developer Social Event, @devsdevsdevs Lighting Talk

Tune in next week for Part 2!

Comments? Questions?
Share them with myself, Sue, and the larger Canadian developer community – start a conversation in the Canadian Developer Connection group on LinkedIn.

The Cloud Is Strong In This One

Jonathan Rozenblit — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 14:22:54 GMT

You always here people say that what you wear says something about you – which of course is why developers love getting geeky t-shirts at events and workshops. I’m not ashamed to admit that I have a whole collection of them from which I strategically pick t-shirts to wear depending on where I’m going and with whom I may potentially chat. Such a great conversation starter or statement maker, don’t you think? (unless of course it makes you uncomfortable that people are checking you out…).

Anyway, here’s an opportunity to add one more to your collection. Unlike others though, this one actually makes a bold statement about you, which is why I absolutely love it.

To understand why, first, a bit of background.

Background on the Windows Azure Developer Movement
In March’s episode of D³: LIVE & INTERACTIVE, I announced that the Developer Movement has expanded, inviting developers to join the movement and to check out and build apps using Windows Azure. If you missed the announcement, you can watch it on-demand, but in a nutshell – the developer movement is all about developers coming together to build awesome applications on Windows Azure and/or Windows Phone. With the Windows Azure movement, you can enjoy rewards as follows:

The Cloud Is Strong In This One Collectors T-Shirt - Check out the platform by giving it a try. Deploy a hands-on lab, send us your screenshot, and the t-shirt is yours.
$20 gift certificate to ThinkGeek.com – Build an app (or maybe a proof of concept, demo project, hands-on lab, etc) using one Windows Azure service, and geek out at ThinkGeek.com.
Additional $15 gift certificate to ThinkGeek.com – Take your initial app and add another Windows service (a database to a website? more instances?) and get an additional $15 with which to geek out.
The ultimate – Additional $50 gift certificate to ThinkGeek.com – Add a third service and enjoy even more goodies.

That’s a total of $85 with which to geek out just by using Windows Azure services in your application!

Making the statement

If what you wear is going to make a statement about you, wearing this shirt should make you proud! First it tells people that you took that step, invested the time to learn something new, and you actually started something. But you didn’t just start anything, you started working with the platform that will take whatever you’re building or your career to the next level. If you’re building an app for yourself (perhaps your start-up) or your company, using Windows Azure will allow your app to scale to heights that could not be explored before (I mean that! It’s not just marketing fluff!). If you’re using this opportunity to build your skills and grow your career, getting up to speed on Cloud Computing and Windows Azure will propel you to the front of the lines to take advantage of the job opportunities out there with companies looking for developers with cloud skills.

Regardless of your reasons, the t-shirt makes the statement about you.

With rewards like the t-shirt and up to $85 in goodies, how can you say no? Join the Developer Movement (it’s free), deploy the lab, and wear the t-shirt proudly! (Make sure you check out the full contest rules on the Developer Movement site for the nitty-gritty details.)

Canadian Developer Connection

Canada Does Windows Azure: Connect2Fans

Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto Windows 8 Codapalooza

Think You Know Windows Azure? Think Again.

Calling all Windows 8 developers who DO NOT live in Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto

Remote App Excellence Labs

Ottawa Windows 8 Workshop

On the Next D³: LIVE & INTERACTiVE – Change is an Opportunity

How can a Canadian get a Windows 8 app to the store?

If you want a token to put your app in the Windows 8 store, you need to attend an app excellence lab.

What is an app excellence lab?

How do I register for a lab?

Where can I learn more about building Windows 8 apps?

When are the app excellence labs?

What if I don’t live in a city where there’s an app excellence lab?

Does my app have to be 100% complete to attend a lab?

TOMORROW on TechDays TV: Double Header– Windows Phone and .NET 4.5

Save the Date: June 20

Geek out at DevTeach Vancouver!

Canadian Developers, be first in the Windows 8 Store

How can I submit my app?

How Do I Receive an Invitation to the App Excellence Lab?

So what happens at the AE Lab?

When Are The Labs?

Are There Any Events to Attend Before the Labs?

Any Questions?

Hack Your Art Out–Windows 8 Hackathons

Questions? Need more info on one of the hackathons? Have a question? Let us know. If you’re building a Windows 8 application, make sure to also let us know so we can see how we can help!

Scott Guthrie on Cloud-Powered Revolutions

May Edition

Coming Up on TechDays TV

On the Next D³: LIVE & INTERACTiVE – A Look at Industry Trends

Windows Phone Welcomes the Canadian Developer Connection

TUESDAY on TechDays TV: WIN380 - Push Notifications and Live Tiles in Windows Phone

“You Complete Me” Says SharePoint to Windows Azure

Your Personal Brand as a Developer: Implementing (Part 2 of 2)

Cloud: A Skill and Career Building Opportunity

Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems

Summer Isn’t Summer Without Going to Camp

The Curious Process of Web Standards

A WRINKLE

NEXT STEPS

Your Personal Brand as a Developer: Defining (Part 1 of 2)

The Cloud Is Strong In This One

Questions?
Need more info on one of the hackathons? Have a question? Let us know. If you’re building a Windows 8 application, make sure to also let us know so we can see how we can help!