Billings .NET Users Group http://billingsusersgroup.com Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:34:03 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 February Meeting – Introduction to Windows 8 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/billingsdotnet/~3/iOrNR67A2Zg/ http://billingsusersgroup.com/2012/02/02/february-meeting-introduction-to-windows-8/#comments Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:34:03 +0000 John Clayton http://billingsusersgroup.com/?p=236 This month’s presentation will cover some introductory concepts coming in Window 8 and .net 4.5. Windows 8 was debuted last September at the MSBuild conference, and the consumer preview will be available towards the end of February. Windows 8 represents a major paradigm shift for Windows both in the desktop experience, and in how applications will be created and delivered. At this session we will cover concepts such as:

  • What is a metro app?
  • What is the driving force behind a metro app?  Why would I create a metro app?  Why wouldn’t I create a metro app?
  • What is  WinRT?
  • What is the new await and async keywords coming in .net 4.5.  How do they improve asynchronous programming?
  • Demos of Windows 8 devices

The presenter for this talk will be Larry Miller of Computers Unlimited.  Larry attended the MSBuild conference last September where many of these topics were introduced.

Recommended Audience:

  • .Net developers wanting a sneak peak at what is coming for both Windows 8 and .net 4.5
  • Individuals curious about what Windows 8 is, why it was created, and why you would want it

All examples will be done using Visual Studio 11 and .net 4.5. This is due to this being the only environment that supports Metro development. So if you wish to follow along, you will need to download and install Visual Studio 11 from Microsoft.

If you plan to attend please leave a comment or drop a note on the contact form.

Location: McCormick Conference Center, 2419 Montana Ave (Please use the side entrance).

Date: Thursday February 9th, 5:30pm

Speaker: Larry Miller

]]> http://billingsusersgroup.com/2012/02/02/february-meeting-introduction-to-windows-8/feed/ 0 http://billingsusersgroup.com/2012/02/02/february-meeting-introduction-to-windows-8/ January Meeting – MSBuild http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/billingsdotnet/~3/Hf5DY3fSNQc/ http://billingsusersgroup.com/2012/01/06/january-meeting-msbuild/#comments Sat, 07 Jan 2012 04:42:20 +0000 John Clayton http://billingsusersgroup.com/?p=221 This month’s presentation highlights Microsoft’s Build Platform known as MSBuild. MSBuild, introduced with Visual Studio 2005, is an XML-Based Scripting Language similar to Apache’s Ant (or its .NET equivalent NAnt) that is used throughout the Visual Studio ecosystem including Team Foundation Server. MSBuild also has support in continuous integration suites such as CruiseControl.NET and limited Mono Support.  Join us as Ace Olszowka (Computers Unlimited) presents an introduction to MSBuild scripting covering the basics of the language, including simple batching and interoperability with the .NET Framework via Custom Task Programming.

Recommended Audience:

  • .NET Developers wanting to understand VS Build System Under the Hood
  • Build Maters/Developers Interested in Scripting their build system.
  • Those looking to learn another Scripting Language that comes as a free rider with most .NET Framework installations.

It is recommended that you bring a laptop to follow along in the fun as we’ll have interactive demos. Requirements include installation of the .NET Framework (preferably 4.0, but I’ll strive to make the examples 2.0 compatible). Visual Studio is recommended because of its excellent XML code completion capabilities, but any text editor that can edit XML files can be used.

If you plan to attend please leave a comment or drop a note on the contact form.

Location: McCormick Conference Center, 2419 Montana Ave (Please use the side entrance).

Date: Thursday January 12th, 5:30pm

Speaker: Ace Olszowka

]]> http://billingsusersgroup.com/2012/01/06/january-meeting-msbuild/feed/ 0 http://billingsusersgroup.com/2012/01/06/january-meeting-msbuild/ December Meeting – All about SQL 2012 and Azure http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/billingsdotnet/~3/_K6VLdcHExI/ http://billingsusersgroup.com/2011/12/05/december-meeting-all-about-sql-2012-and-azure/#comments Mon, 05 Dec 2011 15:18:14 +0000 John Clayton http://billingsusersgroup.com/?p=211 SQL 2012 (formerly code named Denali) introduces hundreds of enhancements to provide better performance, reduced storage, easier security, and many more features.

It is widely known that the Cloud can ease your data storage problems, but it also contains a wealth of information that you can use with your proprietary data.

If you plan to attend please leave a comment or drop a note on the contact form.

Location: McCormick Conference Center, 2419 Montana Ave (Please use the side entrance).

Date: Thursday December 8th, 5:30pm

Speaker: Andrew Baker

]]> http://billingsusersgroup.com/2011/12/05/december-meeting-all-about-sql-2012-and-azure/feed/ 0 http://billingsusersgroup.com/2011/12/05/december-meeting-all-about-sql-2012-and-azure/ November Meeting – Introduction to Parallel Programming http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/billingsdotnet/~3/Vghdkp_3JVA/ http://billingsusersgroup.com/2011/11/04/november-meeting-introduction-to-parallel-programming/#comments Fri, 04 Nov 2011 15:25:12 +0000 John Clayton http://billingsusersgroup.com/?p=200 Parallel Programming is a great way to write programs that scale as processors add more cores. In the past these types of programs were very hard to write, requiring programmers to explicitly manage threads and locks. Microsoft’s Parallel Task Library provides many powerful abstractions that allow you to write your programs at a higher level.

We will examine the fundamentals of Parallel Programming, including the difference between Parallel and Concurrent or Asynchronous Programming, expected speedup from parallelism (Amndahl’s Law), and common parallel patterns and techniques.

Lastly we will look at some real world examples of Parallelism, and discuss tips and ideas for incorporating parallelism in to existing code.

If you plan to attend please leave a comment or drop a note on the contact form.

Location: McCormick Conference Center, 2419 Montana Ave (Please use the side entrance).

Date: Thursday November 10th, 5:30pm

Speaker: John Atwood

]]> http://billingsusersgroup.com/2011/11/04/november-meeting-introduction-to-parallel-programming/feed/ 0 http://billingsusersgroup.com/2011/11/04/november-meeting-introduction-to-parallel-programming/ October Meeting – Bleeding Edge Web http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/billingsdotnet/~3/YYG-nGvmtG0/ http://billingsusersgroup.com/2011/10/14/october-meeting-bleeding-edge-web/#comments Sat, 15 Oct 2011 04:27:00 +0000 John Clayton http://billingsusersgroup.com/?p=190 It wasn’t long ago that a desktop application was the de facto way to get your software in front of users. Then you got to repeat the process to reach users on different platforms. The rise of smart phones added even more platforms to develop for. Why do we go through all this trouble to reach users? There is a better way  - the web!

Built into every modern browser (yes, even IE) are powerful capabilities that allow you write your application once and instantly reach every user, on every platform, and on nearly any device. This month we’ll be taking a look at some of the features of HTML5 that allow you to build the next generation applications that simply run in your browser!

We’ll be playing a hilarious, real-time multiplayer game as part of the presentation. If you have a laptop please bring it along to join in the fun!

If you plan to attend please leave a comment or drop a note on the contact form.

Location: McCormick Conference Center, 2419 Montana Ave (Please use the side entrance).

Date: Thursday October 20th, 6:00pm

Speaker: Justin Bozonier (@darkxanthos) & Matt Mirande (@b_sted)

Update (10/21/2011)

Slides from the presentation can be found here.

]]> http://billingsusersgroup.com/2011/10/14/october-meeting-bleeding-edge-web/feed/ 0 http://billingsusersgroup.com/2011/10/14/october-meeting-bleeding-edge-web/ September Meeting – All About Search http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/billingsdotnet/~3/U_G4hyageZk/ http://billingsusersgroup.com/2011/09/12/september-meeting-all-about-search/#comments Mon, 12 Sep 2011 14:47:57 +0000 John Clayton http://billingsusersgroup.com/?p=185 How do users find content in your application? Do they have to know exactly what they’re looking for in order to find it? Adding full-text searching to your application is easier than you might think, and that is the topic of this month’s meeting. We’ll take a look at the basics of indexing and searching content, and look at a few different technology choices you can implement.

If you plan to attend please leave a comment or drop a note on the contact form.

Location: McCormick Conference Center, 2419 Montana Ave (Please use the side entrance).

Date: Thursday September 15th, 5:30pm

Speaker: John Clayton

]]> http://billingsusersgroup.com/2011/09/12/september-meeting-all-about-search/feed/ 0 http://billingsusersgroup.com/2011/09/12/september-meeting-all-about-search/ August Meeting – Fluent APIs http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/billingsdotnet/~3/x-rxDGFZH0Q/ http://billingsusersgroup.com/2011/08/10/august-meeting-fluent-apis/#comments Thu, 11 Aug 2011 02:58:16 +0000 John Clayton http://billingsusersgroup.com/?p=172 Learn to create fluent APIs.  I have been searching for techniques for creating fluent APIs over the last couple years. We will review some successful fluent APIs. Learn popular techniques for creating your own fluent APIs. Learn when fluent APIs are appropriate and what makes a good API.

If you plan to attend please leave a comment or drop a note on the contact form.

Location: McCormick Conference Center, 2419 Montana Ave.

Date: Thursday August 18th, 5:30pm

Speaker: Adam Dockter

]]> http://billingsusersgroup.com/2011/08/10/august-meeting-fluent-apis/feed/ 0 http://billingsusersgroup.com/2011/08/10/august-meeting-fluent-apis/ July Meeting – An Introduction to F# http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/billingsdotnet/~3/qEDlWB3jRxw/ http://billingsusersgroup.com/2011/07/08/july-meeting-an-introduction-to-f/#comments Fri, 08 Jul 2011 14:28:57 +0000 John Clayton http://billingsusersgroup.com/?p=163 This month we will have a gentle introduction to F# for object oriented programmers. Starting with a basic overview of functional programming, continuing to highlight some of the differences between object oriented, and finally functional approaches to solving problems. We will look at cases where functional programming techniques are potentially simpler than or more productive than object oriented approaches.

Specifically we will be looking at:
- F# scripting, and REPL based development
- Basic functional data structures and patterns
- Some examples of asynchronous programming in F#

We will have pizza and refreshments at the meeting. If you plan to attend please leave a comment or drop a note on the contact form.

Location: College of Education, Room 122, MSU Billings (Map)

Date: Thursday July 14th, 5:30pm

Speaker: John Atwood

]]> http://billingsusersgroup.com/2011/07/08/july-meeting-an-introduction-to-f/feed/ 0 http://billingsusersgroup.com/2011/07/08/july-meeting-an-introduction-to-f/ June Meeting – We’ve Got Robots http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/billingsdotnet/~3/JQow9-d1L8U/ http://billingsusersgroup.com/2011/06/02/june-meeting-weve-got-robots/#comments Fri, 03 Jun 2011 03:51:37 +0000 John Clayton http://billingsusersgroup.com/2011/06/02/june-meeting-weve-got-robots/ Yeah, I said robots.

Want a fun, intellectual, challenging evening? This month we’re going to be building and programming robots using the LEGO Mindstorms robotics kits and Microsoft Robotics Studio.

Since this is an interactive meeting this month, if you have one, please bring a laptop with the Robotics Studio installed.

We will have pizza and refreshments at the meeting. If you plan to attend please leave a comment or drop a note on the contact form.

Location: College of Education, Room 122, MSU Billings (Map)

Date: Thursday June 9, 5:30pm

Speaker: Regina Cain

]]> http://billingsusersgroup.com/2011/06/02/june-meeting-weve-got-robots/feed/ 0 http://billingsusersgroup.com/2011/06/02/june-meeting-weve-got-robots/ May Meeting – Getting Started with Windows Phone 7 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/billingsdotnet/~3/CUk-tG7H29w/ http://billingsusersgroup.com/2011/05/16/may-meeting-getting-started-with-windows-phone-7/#comments Mon, 16 May 2011 15:19:12 +0000 John Clayton http://billingsusersgroup.com/2011/05/16/may-meeting-getting-started-with-windows-phone-7/ Learn how to setup your development environment and create simple phone applications using both Silverlight and XNA. Explore some of the native windows phone libraries for screen navigation, providing a custom application tile and more!

We will have pizza and refreshments at the meeting, and have a fresh supply of prizes. If you plan to attend please leave a comment or drop a note on the contact form.

Location: College of Education, Room 122, MSU Billings (Map)

Date: Thursday May 19, 5:30pm

Speaker: Adam Dockter

]]> http://billingsusersgroup.com/2011/05/16/may-meeting-getting-started-with-windows-phone-7/feed/ 0 http://billingsusersgroup.com/2011/05/16/may-meeting-getting-started-with-windows-phone-7/