Chris Dufour's Weblog

DevTeach is coming to Toronto in just a few more weeks!

Chris Dufour — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 12:06:10 GMT

I copied this blog post from Rob Windsor's blog. Rob copied it from Julie Lerman's blog. Julie copied it from Guy Barrette's blog. I'm sure someone will copy it from me and add their own little flair.

If you live in Toronto and don't attend DevTeach, Guy Barrette is going to make you code in Clipper for the remainder of your career (BTW - that's Clipper development with no Multi Edit and no Norton Guides. Ah, there, now you're shaking). Seriously, DevTeach has a great lineup of speakers from Toronto and across the globe. Where else can you hear, see, ~~touch, feel~~, talk to, describe your problems (IT/Dev related or not) and have a beer with these guys/gals?

And that's only half of them!!!

Need more reasons?

Keynote by Scott Hanselman
Scott is one of the most prolific, renowned and respected bloggers (http://www.hanselman.com) and podcasters (http://www.hanselminutes.com) in the .NET world. Scott is a hands-on thinker, a renowned speaker and writer. He has written a few books, most recently with Bill Evjen and Devin Rader on Professional ASP.NET. In July 2007, he joined Microsoft as a Senior Program Manager in the Developer Division. In his new role he'll continue to explore and explain a broad portfolio of technologies, both inside and outside Microsoft. He aims to spread the good word about developing software, most often on the Microsoft stack. Before this he was the Chief Architect at Corillian Corporation, now a part of Checkfree, for 6+ years and before that he was a Principal Consultant at STEP Technology for nearly 7 years.
http://www.devteach.com/keynote.aspx

Silverlight 2.0 Workshop
For the first time an independent conference is having a workshop on Building Business Applications with Silverlight 2.0. Join Rod Paddock and Jim Duffy as they give you a head start down the road to developing business-oriented Rich Internet Applications (RIA) with Microsoft Silverlight 2.0. Microsoft Silverlight 2.0 is a cross-browser, cross-platform, and cross-device plug-in positioned to revolutionize the way next generation Rich Internet Applications are developed. Microsoft’s commitment to providing an extensive platform for developers and designers to collaborate on creating the next generation of RIAs is very clear and its name is Silverlight 2.0. In this intensive, full-day workshop, Rod and Jim will share their insight and experience building business applications with Silverlight 2.0 including a review of some of the Internet’s more visible Silverlight web applications. This workshop is happening on Friday May 16 at the Hilton Toronto.
http://www.devteach.com/PostConference.aspx#PreSP

Bonus session: .NET Rocks hosts a panel May 14th at 18:00
This year the bonus session (Wednesday May 14 at 18:00) will be a panel of speakers debating the Future of .NET. Where is .NET going? How will new development influence .NET and be influenced by .NET? Join Carl Franklin and Richard Campbell from .NET Rocks as they moderate a discussion on the future directions of .NET. The panellists include individuals who have strong visions of the future of software development and the role that .NET can play in that future. Attend this session and bring your questions to get some insight into the potential future of .NET! This bonus session is free for everyone. Panelists are: Ted Neward,Oren Eini ,Scott Bellware
http://www.devteach.com/BonusSession.aspx

Party with Palermo, DevTeach Toronto Edition
Jeffrey Palermo (MVP) is hosting Monday May 12th in Toronto is acclaimed "Party with Palermo". This is the official social event kicking off DevTeach Toronto. The event is not just for the attendees of Toronto it’s a free event for everyone. It’s a unique chance for the attendees, speakers and locals to meet and talk with a free beer. The event will be held at the Menage club location and you need to RSVP to attend. Get all the details at this link:
http://www.partywithpalermo.com/

DevTeach Toronto is going to be a lot of fun and a great chance to learn from the best minds in the industry. Register now - you don't want to miss out.

Toronto Code Camp 2008

Chris Dufour — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 19:51:28 GMT

Date:
Saturday March 1st, 2008

Event Description:
In case you aren't familiar with Code Camps, they are designed to provide a forum for the developer community to speak, network and share ideas. In recent years, many user groups had lost the participation of their members for presentations. This core principle has been overshadowed by commercial aspects and user groups have really drifted from their fundamental purpose. The main tenets of a Code Camp are:

By and For the Developer Community: Code Camps are about the developer community at large. They are meant to be a place for developers to come and learn from their peers. Topics are always based on community interest and never determined by anyone other than the community.
Always Free: Code Camps are always free for attendees.
Community Developed Material: The materials of a Code Camps are always developed by the community. Only original content is accepted. All presentation content must be provided completely (including code) without any restrictions.
No Fluff - only Code: Code Camps are code & demo centric, not marketing materials and management overviews.
Community Ownership: All are welcome to attend and speak and do so without expectation of payment or any other compensation other than their participation in the community.
Never occurs during work hours: Code Camps always occur on weekends. This is to increase participation without impacting “work hours”.

Our last event was a huge success with over 350 attendees, 25 sessions, 24 speakers, 20+ volunteers and contributors including Manulife Financial, Microsoft, ObjectSharp Consulting, Infusion, Navantis, DevTeach, etc. This year we will continue to build on the success of the prior Code Camps and increase the number of attendees and make the event an even greater critical and logistical success.

[Details and Registration on www.torontocodecamp.net]

Directions in IT and Christmas Party

Chris Dufour — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 05:43:07 GMT

[Details and Registration on gtaeast.torontoug.net]

Visual Studio 2008 has been released

Chris Dufour — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 20:05:35 GMT

MSDN Subscribers: Get Visual Studio 2008 RTM Now
Get it here first! With Visual Studio 2008, you can develop connected, compelling applications for Windows Vista, the 2007 Office system, mobile devices, and the Web.

Visual Studio 2008 Beta 2 VPC images will expire on November 1, 2007

Chris Dufour — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 19:54:23 GMT

We know many of you have been testing the Visual Studio 2008 Beta 2 VPC images, http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/default.aspx. It has been brought to our attention that the current Visual Studio 2008 Beta 2 VPC images will expire on November 1, 2007, rather than March 15, 2008 as originally announced. It is strongly encouraged that you take all necessary steps before November 1, 2007 to back up all your projects and move your Team Foundation Server data to an alternate location. For instructions on moving your TFS data please refer to the article Moving Team Foundation Server, http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms404879(vs.90).aspx, located on the MSDN Library.

Building Next Generation Web applications using Silverlight

Chris Dufour — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 11:36:10 GMT

Date:
Thursday September 20th, 2007

Event Description:
Silverlight is arguably the biggest shift in Microsoft strategy on the web since IE was introduced over 10 years ago. With the reach of cross platform and the richness of the .NET framework, the future of building Rich Internet Applications (RIA’s) has never been more exciting. In this talk, you will learn about Silverlight, the platforms, tools and technologies you can use to build Silverlight applications, and how it differs from the full Windows Presentation Foundation platform in .NET 3.0 and how Silverlight can be used in conjunction with other technologies, such as ASP.NET Ajax, Web Services and Visual Studio 2008.

Speaker Biography
Jason Beres, Director of Product Management for Infragistics

Jason Beres is the Director of Product Management for Infragistics, the world’s leading publisher of presentation layer tools. Jason is one of the founders of Florida .NET User Groups, he is the founder of the New Jersey .NET User Group, he is a Visual Basic .NET MVP, and he is on the INETA Speakers Bureau. Jason is the author of several books on .NET development, he is a national and international speaker conference speaker, he is a frequent columnist for several .NET publications, and keeps very active in the .NET community.

[Details and Registration on gtaeast.torontoug.net]

Extended SQL Data Access Block

Chris Dufour — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 19:11:41 GMT

I am now a member of the EntLib Contrib project and have created the Extended SQL Data Access Block.

This data access application block extends the SQL Data Access Block provided by Enterprise Library. It provides additional overloads for the UpdateDataSet method so that a collection of rows or a table can be passed to the DataAdapter for update. These methods were developed to support updating datasets that have multiple tables and cascading hierarchies.

For more information goto Extended SQL Data Access Block.

For the latest release goto Extended SQL Data Access Block 3.1

Windows Vista Beta 2, RC1 and RC2 set to expire

Chris Dufour — Fri, 04 May 2007 12:06:01 GMT

I was just reading the following from the Windows Vista Blog that I thought I would share...

On 31 May 2007, all Customer Preview Program (CPP) pre-release versions of Windows Vista will expire. If you are running a pre-release version of Windows Vista (Beta 2, RC1 or RC2), you will begin to receive warning notifications about the upcoming expiration on 18 May. To avoid work disruption and loss of data, we strongly recommend that customers running any of these pre-release versions of Windows Vista migrate their PCs to the final version of Windows Vista prior to 31 May.

For further details http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsvista/archive/2007/04/24/windows-vista-beta-2-rc1-and-rc2-set-to-expire.aspx

Microsoft SQL Server SP2 is out

Chris Dufour — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 17:15:00 GMT

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2 (SP2) enables all editions of SQL Server 2005 to take advantage of the enhancements within Windows Vista and the 2007 Office System including SQL Server Analysis Services and Reporting Services improvements for Office 2007; increased interoperability; and enhanced manageability and data compression.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=d07219b2-1e23-49c8-8f0c-63fa18f26d3a&DisplayLang=en

Another MVP joins the ranks...

Chris Dufour — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 01:16:00 GMT

I have just learned that I have been awarded MVP status for the first time! I am extremely exited and honored to receive this award and can't think of a better way to start the new year!

Toronto Code Camp 2007 March 31st, 2007

Chris Dufour — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 13:45:00 GMT

Registration is now open for the Second Annual Toronto Code Camp! Check it out at www.torontocodecamp.net

Visual Studio Team System and Team Foundation Server Service Pack 1 Available for Download

Chris Dufour — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 13:40:00 GMT

Visual Studio Team System and Team Foundation Server SP1 are now available for download, but be prepared for a long installation time.

Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2005 Service Pack 1 - Team Suite

Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2005 Service Pack 1 - Team Foundation Server

A New Day - Community Launch Event

Chris Dufour — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 12:38:00 GMT

Last night I attended the Community Launch Event for Windows Vista, the 2007 Office System and Exchange Server 2007 in Toronto!

This was a special kick-off party for VIPs the day before the official launch. When we arrived at the Bier Market we were presented with our "Backstage Pass" and two drink tickets. Not to worry though extra tickets were easy to come by:) Everyone had a blast and it was great meeting up with old friends and making new ones. After the party was over a bunch of from the East of Toronto .NET User Group had on our own little party on the GO train.

Welcome to my Blog!

Chris Dufour — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 21:21:00 GMT

Hello all!

Kicking and screaming I am entering the world of blogging! In case you don’t know me I am the leader of the East of Toronto .NET User Group and co-founder and organizer of the Toronto Code Camp.