Events for Developers....

The new Visual Studio is here, the new Visual Studio is here...

Steve Loethen — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 03:59:52 GMT

For those of you living under a rock, let me clue you in. This morning, VS 2008, formally called Orcas, was released to the MSDN subscription download service. If you have a subscription, run, do not walk, to get it.

It was a bit of a struggle this morning. The servers were getting hammered pretty hard, but I finally got in. Okay, you say, Steve, you work for Microsoft, couldn't you just call up Bill and ask for a copy? Trust me, the MSDN server's got the bits before the internal download sites did. And MSDN downloads quicker. :)

Pulled it down, burned a dvd, and installed it on my freshly built Vista 64 bit box. Tomorrow, the fun begins.

Technorati Tags: codetolive

Get your game on....

Steve Loethen — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 14:00:55 GMT

Dream of writing the next Halo? Want to retire to a tropical island on the revenue from selling your independent game company? Or do you want to write and share your vision of gaming with the world? Then check this out:

http://www.imgdc.com

What is IMGDC?

The Indie MMO Game Developers Conference was an incredible success last year, full of passionate designers and developers. The excitement and pure dedication to the art of building virtual worlds was apparent and astounding. A strong focus on networking at IMGDC allows Indie developers to gain a massive amount of invaluable connections and information relevant to the size of project they are working on. Eric Rhea stated last year that IMGDC allowed for over $30,000 in free consultations with industry professionals.

IMGDC is a venue for Independent designers and developers to come together to share ideas and learn in all areas related to MMOGs. IMGDC 2.0 has positioned itself to be an even larger venue with three fantastic tracks covering design, development and business aspects of Indie MMOGs. The present is a time of MMOG giants, but the future lies in the hands of the passionate Indie developers. Do you have the passion?

Where/When is IMGDC?

Minneapolis Convention Center, March 29th & 30th, 2008.

Hope to see you there...

Technorati Tags: codetolive , xbox , games

TV and Reality move farther apart...

Steve Loethen — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 12:58:16 GMT

Seems CSI NY has invaded Second Life...

I wonder what the rules of evidence are in a virtual reality...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59YzI4yUgGY

HDC Scenes version 1.0

Steve Loethen — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 08:45:44 GMT

Here are some of the scenes from the Heartland Developers Conference Last week in Omaha NE. Where 500 of our closest friends met and learned...

The podcast booth set up to capture some of the interesting bits at the conference..

The CodeToLive Roadking sitting on the trade show floor. It was wet and cold getting it there, but I look good in leather... :)

Me chatting on the show floor, wanting to take the bike out for a ride...

Technorati Tags: codetolive, HDC

CodeToLive Podcast from the Heartland Developers Conference...

Steve Loethen — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 10:59:16 GMT

Last week I journeyed to the sunny (okay, soggy) environs of Omaha Nebraska to attend and present at the Heartland Developers Conference. Along with my sparkling personality, I took the CodeToLive Harley and a good presentation on an introduction to WF. Some in my session asked for a link to the Hands on Labs for WF and Orcas.

WorkFlow Hands on labs...

Enjoy. Takes a couple of hours.

While there, we conducted a few podcast recording, and I was interviewed on one of them. Go have a listen and see what you think. It might give you some insight into what codetolive is and what we are trying to achieve.

http://geekswithblogs.net/jjulian/archive/2007/10/18/116138.aspx

Technorati Tags: codetolive, HDC, WF

MOSSCamp in Chicago....

Steve Loethen — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 10:15:25 GMT

One of my peers/friends in the Chicago area announced a new community event in November. Go check out Larry Clarkin's post about a MOSSCamp coming up in a couple of weeks.

http://larryclarkin.com/MarkYourCalendarsMOSSCampOnNovember9th.aspx

Let me know if you are going.

Technorati Tags: MOSS, Sharepoint, .NET

New MSDN tester resource...

Steve Loethen — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 09:58:10 GMT

A new resource for those lonely testers. Announced this morning.

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/testing/default.aspx

Go take a look as see if it has value. Let me know what you think. If any of my tester friends out there want to take a look and do a video interview about what your thoughts are, let me know. I would be happy to help get the interview done, and get it published on the CodeToLive show on Channel 9.

Technorati Tags: .net, testing, codetolive

» Microsoft Tech Summit: The ‘non-fanboys’ descend on Redmond | All about Microsoft | ZDNet.com

Steve Loethen — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 14:56:00 GMT

Looks like MTS is generating some significant press...

Link to » Microsoft Tech Summit: The ‘non-fanboys’ descend on Redmond | All about Microsoft | ZDNet.com

This event, in it's third year, has become a very interesting endeavor. As a Microsoft associate, it is often hard not to get defensive about the company that you love and pays your bills. But in each of the last three years, we have found a venue that we can have frank, not rhetoric filled discussions. All of you that came as guests and were willing to get in our face in a constructive way, thank you.

I can't promise anything I say will change Microsoft (I hope, but hope and promise are two different things), but I can tell you each of the blogs, the reply emails, the reviews of the speakers are being taken very seriously by folk at Redmond.

Free Online Training...

Steve Loethen — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 16:36:00 GMT

If there is anyone out there that reads this, I have a opportunity for you.

I want to offer you free access to four courses of your choice from our premium E-Learning Course Collections.

This is a $159 provided free to you.

Whether you are interested in creating Windows forms, building Web applications, implementing Data Access, or finding out about Visual Studio Team System, you can access the e-learning topic you want, when you want it, and learn at your own pace. Each lesson includes hands-on virtual labs and offline functionality.

Taking advantage of this offer is easy. Each Microsoft E-Learning Collection includes several individual courses and/or workshops. Follow the Course Collection links below to determine the right course(s) for your learning needs. Then follow these activation instructions below.

This offer expires June 30, 2007. Be sure to access your free e-learning today!

Instructions to Access Free Microsoft E-Learning

1) Go http://www.microsoft.com/learning/access

2) Input your access code: (The code is case sensitive) (and it is now correct, the training folk gave me the wrong number)

ACCESS CODE: 6691-USDPENC-9594

3) You will be prompted to sign-in using a valid Microsoft Passport ID (this will be the username and password you will use to access the site each time you log in). If you already have a profile on microsoft.com, use that Passport ID. If you do not have a Passport ID click “Register” to create one.

4) From the “Thank You” page, click on My Learning to see the list of available courses.

5) For E-Learning, click on a course title to launch the offering.

o You will then be presented with a description tab and a content tab. Read all the course requirements and description.

o Please note: Review the “system requirements” tab to be sure your computer is properly configured to access virtual labs.

o From the “Content Tab”, click on a lesson to begin training.

6) When you return to the site, please click on the following link: http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mylearning and sign in using your Microsoft Passport ID. Then click on “My Learning” to access content and continue your learning path.

If you have problems accessing the E-Learning, please contact the Microsoft e-learning support center at: 1-877-383-2829.

MTS 2007 is here

Steve Loethen — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 15:20:00 GMT

I don't know how many folks are familiar with Microsoft Technology Summit. We are in our 3rd year, once again I find myself sitting in the conference center in Redmond. Interesting crowd once again.

The basic premise is this. We (the Microsoft Developer field) research and seek out influential IT folk in the world, with a focus on those that may not deal with us or even like us. And we invite them to campus in Redmond, and spend 3 days have a conversation. Some of lead lead architects, lead researchers, scientists, come in, and have a conversation about what Microsoft is doing and planning on doing in the future. And not just the what, but the why. And I feel the why is often more important than the what.

This year we have 50 people from all over the world, a mixture of corporate and community folk. No NDA is signed. They can talk about, blog about, and report on anything they hear. Go seek out the blogs. There is usually a significant number of people blogging during the event.

We are in our first talk right now, Bill Hilf. More later on the audience...