Join us for an afternoon of tech talk with Mark Blomsma.

We'll focus on two topics: NuGet and Entity Framework 5.

Session 1: What's New in Entity Framework 5?

An introduction to all the changes and new features available in Entity Framework 5: Enum support, geography data types, DbContext and more.

Session 2: Using NuGet and creating packages

A look at what NuGet is, how to use it, and how to create your own NuGet packages.

When?

Monday February 25th, 2013 at 1pm.

Where?

51 Commerce Drive

August, ME

Room: Champlain Conference Room

About Mark Blomsma

Mark runs his own consulting firm Develop-One Inc. He is a regular speaker at usergroups, co-organizer of the Maine Developer Network, author, software architect and freelance instructor for DevelopMentor.

Please RSVP at http://www.maine-devnet.org/Home/SignUpForEvent.aspx

We hope to see you all there!

Mark & Shawn

PS. We're always looking people interested in presenting, contact Mark or Shawn if you're interested.

Join us for a morning of tech talk with Chris Bowen!

What’s New in Windows 8 for Developers?

This meeting will get you up to speed with what's new in Windows 8 and what it means to you as a developer, from new features and user experiences to developer opportunities and options.  Much of the time will focus on demos, showing how to get started developing Windows Store apps and using Windows 8 capabilities such as live tiles, notifications, sharing, search, and more.  We'll also look at what's new with Visual Studio 2012 and Blend to help make your life as a developer and designer easier. 

When?
November 28, 2012 from 9am to 12pm.

Location
51 Commerce Dr.
Augusta, ME
In: Area 51, Room 317

About Chris Bowen
Chris is a Microsoft Developer Evangalist with a passion for new technology, exotic beers and XNA Game Development. He's a frequent speaker at user groups in New England and is a Maine Developer Network regular :).

Please RSVP at http://www.maine-devnet.org/Home/SignUpForEvent.aspx

We hope to see you all there!

Mark & Shawn

Just a quick service announcement:

Winxnet has started hosting the first Maine based SharePoint User Group.

For more information visit: www.winxnet.com/spugme

The next Maine Developer Network meeting will be in Augusta on Wednesday November 16th, starting at 9:00am finishing at 12:00 pm.

It is going to be a unique event about Windows Azure: "Playing Games in the Cloud" and will be hosted by Jim O'Neil, Microsoft Developer Evangelist.

Here is a chance to learn about AND apply your Windows Azure skills during one of our events so nring your laptop (Windows Vista or Windows 7)*. Make sure to:
1. Install Visual Studio 2010 Pro (or higher) or Visual Web Developer Express 2010 (a free download)
2. Install the Windows Azure SDK (http://bit.ly/SDK4Azure)
3. Provision a Windows Azure trial account (http://bit.ly/Trial4Azure) – see the Channel 9 video for a walkthrough (http://channel9.msdn.com/posts/RockPaperAzure-Azure-Trial-Offer)
If you have questions or problems installing items, contact Jim at jim.oneil@microsoft.com. We’ll cover the rest at the meeting.

By now you’ve heard about Windows Azure, Microsoft’s Cloud Computing platform, but perhaps you haven’t yet kicked the tires and tried it out yourself. Well, here’s your chance. With this session on the RockPaperAzure Challenge, you’ll get an overview of the Windows Azure Platform and have a chance to try it out in a fun (and potentially profitable) way – by playing a variation of the playground favorite - Rock, Paper, Scissors - in the cloud!

Door prizes will be awesome: There’s a Kinect, Visual Studio 2010 license, and a $50 Best Buy gift card – so get ready to Rock (PaperAzure)!

*If you don’t have Windows Vista or Windows 7, don’t let that stop you from coming! You’ll still be able to participate, we just may buddy you up with someone!

Location:
Room 103
111 Sewall Street
Augusta, ME

Free pizza and soda will be provided by Microsoft, starting at 12:00 pm. Please RSVP via http://www.maine-devnet.org/Home/SignUpForEvent.aspx.

Here is a video impresion of Maine Code Camp #2:

Join us for a weekend of code, camping and fun at Mount Blue State Park. The park has plenty to offer for the whole family, so no need to leave loved ones at home. Everyone is welcome. Enclosed is a schedule of events offered by the park. Plus as a special event there will be bat-hunting on Saturday evening, we'll run our sessions around that :)

The address is:

Mt. Blue State Park

299 Center Hill Road

Weld, ME 04285

Ask for the Equestrian Campsite when you get to the ranger house. That's where we'll be. Oh, and it's been confirmed that we’ll have electricity this year :)

We still have tenting sites available so let us know if you plan on coming!

The agenda for the code camp is as follows:

-- [ CODE CAMP EVENTS ON FRIDAY ] --

ARRIVAL:

Shawn, John & Mark will be at the campground at around 1pm. So run setup and deploy your gear!

THE CODE CAMPFIRE EXPERIENCE (FRIDAY EVENING):

This session is about sharing experiences, so come prepared to let everyone connect to your database of knowledge and share at least one good learning experience from a project you've done in the last year. We're interested in challenges and victories! Everyone is encouraged to ask questions and have a discussion/debate about the merits of each victory.

Friday night is also when we discuss/schedule presentations for Saturday evening.

-- [ CODE CAMP EVENTS ON SATURDAY ] --

DAY OF FUN:

The daytime is reserved for outdoor fun and/or relaxing time. See attached schedule for available events.

DEVELOPMENTOR BBQ:

We'll have a BBQ at the end of the afternoon. DevelopMentor is sponsoring hot dogs and hamburgers.

Feel free to bring your own food & drinks plus other BBQ necessities as well!

EVENING (AFTER DINNER):

We'll do presentations at the amphitheater. You're encouraged to do a 30 minute session on anything you want to share. We're looking for presentations consisting of just 2 or 3 slides with a demo and some sample code. It will all be pretty informal so we hope everyone will feel comfortable enough to a presentation. The more the merrier!

I'm pretty sure we're the only code camp in the world with amphitheater presentations, so come and join the fun!

-- [ CODE CAMP EVENTS ON SUNDAY ] --

Camp site refactoring, garbage collection and zipping things back up in your vehicle.

A special thanks to our sponsors:

•             Mount Blue State Park for donating access to the Amphitheater and all the effort they put in to accommodate us;

•             Develop-One for covering the cost of the campground;

•             DevelopMentor for the hot dogs & burgers;

•             Microsoft for donating door prizes!

See you at Code Camp!

Time for the HTML5 showdown! Chris Bowen will present on the following topics:

1. Introduction to HTML5 – A look at what HTML5 is and what’s new, including semantic tags, audio, video and more.
2. Graphics and UI with Canvas, SVG, and CSS – Using what’s new in CSS3 and applying HTML5 Canvas and SVG to improve web application UI.
3. HTML5 Adoption Practices – Best practices and tools for adopting HTML5 today, while accounting for users who aren’t using modern browsers that support the new technologies.

Location:
41 Anthony Ave
Augusta, ME

Time:
12pm to 4pm.

Sign up:
http://www.maine-devnet.org/Home/SignUpForEvent.aspx

The dates are set and confirmed! We have the Mt. Blue Campground booked for July 29th and July 31st (Friday to Sunday). We'll be tenting, presenting and hanging out! If you're interested in speaking or attending the second Maine Code Camp then please email: mark.blomsma@maine-devnet.org. We'll be tenting, presenting and hanging out! More information to follow!

One of our members just put up a new Silverlight site: www.silverlightmadam.com.

“Silverlight Madam is the creation of Carolyn Smith. For many years Carolyn's preferred medium was watercolors. Then she discovered computer graphics and now she specialises in creating art in Silverlight.”

Note: Carolyn also runs the site www.pixycolors.com.

On April 28th the Maine Developer Network will be hosting the first Augusta Developer Event in 2011.
The event will start at 12:30 and finish around 4:30pm.
Go to http://www.maine-devnet.org/Home/SignUpForEvent.aspx to register.

We have the following presentations in store:

Better Code through Code Contracts
by Mark Blomsma, Develop-One Inc.
This presentation will explain what code contracts are all about and demonstrate how the use of code contracts can make you a better developer. Don't we all want to better developers?

Taking .NET 4.0 to Task
by Mark Blomsma, Develop-One Inc.
You may not have noticed but there is a brand new Task API that is available in the .NET 4.0 Framework. Parallel programming is taking on a new dimension by abstracting threads away in tasks. One thing less to worry about, one more thing to learn. This presentation will provide an overview of the new Task API as well as include an extensive demo of the API.

Visual Studio 2010 Productivity Power Tools
by Mark Blomsma, Develop-One Inc.
Microsoft is releasing a number of cool add-ons to Visual Studio 2010 in an add-on called the "Visual Studio 2010 Productivity Power Tools". Some of these add-ons are may or may not be incorporated permanently into a future version of the Visual Studio, but why wait for vNext? This presentation focuses on my 5 favorite features in this add-on.

We'll be meeting at:
41 Anthony Ave
Augusta, ME

INETA is organizing a Code Challenge, challenging you to build .NET applications with reusable components.

The prize is a scholarship to Tech·Ed 2011 in Atlanta!.

For more information: http://ineta.org/CodeChallenge/Default.aspx.

      Editor: This is a submitted item, written by M. P. Rouse.

Will you get advantages from the new easy to get SQL server professional qualification? 
 
In my opinion the very best DB platforms are Microsoft and Oracle. I have come to realize that MySQL is widely used in start-up companies and DB people who know this platform might make higher salaries, but I honestly rarely ever come across MySQL in job searches.
 
One reason why I favor MS SQL Server is because it also includes the SSRS BI platform that is powerful and popular. DB people who know SSRS (SQL Server Reporting Services) have become very sought-after candidates in several companies. In many instances, companies end up needing to buy licenses for third-party BI (Business Intelligence) applications that may cost a lot of extra money. 
 
With SQL Server, BI and ETL (extract, transform, load) tools come with the initial license. I realize that maybe the eye in databases is mainly to understand DB construction, but you never know when or if you choose to branch out and learn more.
 
An advantage of SQL would be that the language is fairly universal. I only say fairly because each vendor has added their own functions and syntax. Microsoft and Sybase both use T-SQL, Oracle uses PL/SQL and MySQL uses ANSI-SQL. Ultimately that which you learn on one platform might be used on other platforms. 
 
To become a SQL Server Microsoft Certified Master (MCM) is a small task now. Less than 1 percent of certified professionals hold a Master certification, and for good reason: In addition to having difficult minimum competencies (5 years SQL Server experience and deep knowledge in most issues with SQL Server), training for a SQL Server MCM has always come at a significant cost. In fact, that cost have been about $18,500, when you accumulate the necessary three week training and four exams.
 
The SQL Server MCM certification is the highest technical certification that Microsoft offers to SQL Server professionals. It is suitable for those with five or more years of hands-on SQL Server experience in critical environments. Competencies include designing and implementing high-performance, scalable enterprise environments and troubleshooting the most challenging SQL Server issues. 
 
Well, at PASS (The Professional Association for SQL Server) this week, Microsoft announced all of that is changing. According to the company, the changes will be in reply to requests from experienced SQL Server professionals who want to earn MCM's but (go figure) don't possess $18,500.
 
Now, candidates can earn the certification by passing just two exams: the four-hour Knowledge Exam, along with a six-hour hands-on Lab Exam, which will be obtainable in early 2011.
 
Fortunately, Microsoft has made some significant changes for the program, including:
 
 * The 3-week in-person training is not required. So, if you believe like you have what it takes, it is possible to march right up and take the certification exams. You only pay the price of the exams, that is about $2,500.
 * Nowadays there are only two exams instead of four: 88-970 (Knowledge Exam) and 88-971 (Lab Exam).
 * To assist SQL Server professionals prepare for the exams at a lower cost, Microsoft now offers some free MCM videos. 
 
So you? Do you consider the new MS SQL Certification will assist you in your job?
 
About me:
M. P. Rouse is writing for the sql certification online blog, her personal and non-commercial in nature hobby blog directed at recommendations to offer free info for data base beginners/professionals to enable them to get a new profession.

You are here by invited for the Augusta Developer Event on December 16th in Augusta, ME.

Location:
41 Anthony Ave
Augusta, ME.

Date:
December 16th, 2010.

Time:
Everyone is welcome starting at 9am, sessions will start at 9:30am.
Lunch will be at 12pm, pizza will be provided.
Sessions will resume at 12:30pm.
Door prizes will be drawn at 3:45pm.
End of event at 4pm.

Speakers:
We have two confirmed speakers at this time:
- Chris Bowen, developer evangelist for Microsoft and friend of the Maine Developer Network
- Mark Blomsma, software architect for Develop-One and co-organizer of the Maine Developer Network

Sessions:
The exact session descriptions are still a little up in the air,
but we expect to cover the following topics:
- ASP.NET MVC 3
- C# 4.0
- Silverlight
- Cloud Computing
- Windows Azure
- SQL Azure
- HTML 5
And most likely some more topics, but we're still working on the exact agenda
(which will be posted on the site as soon as we have it).

Register:
Please let us know if you plan to attend (so we can ensure seating and pizzas!):
http://www.maine-devnet.org/Home/SignUpForEvent.aspx

When:  August 27th, 28th, 29th, 2010

Where:  Mt. Blue State Park, Weld, Maine (Link to offical site)

When:  August 27th, 28th, 29th, 2010

Where:  Mt. Blue State Park, Weld, Maine (Link to offical site)

Sign up: http://www.maine-devnet.org/Home/SignUpForEvent.aspx


Greetings Fellow .NET enthusiasts! 

The time for the long awaited much anticipated first ever code camp with actual camping is upon us!  Please join us for an amazing coding adventure at one of the most coveted parks in Maine.  Camping will begin at 1:00 p.m. Friday and continue through 11:00 a.m. Sunday. Daytime will bring outdoor activities, the evenings will be filled with code! Bring just yourself or your entire family, because this weekend of camping is totally free. 

We have tremendous activities available for coders and non-coders alike.  We have included the short list below for your reference. We are even going to attempt a real life version of Conway's Game of Life!

Activities:
ATV Riding (outside the campground only)
Picnicking
Boating (Canoe and kayak rentals available)
Fishing (Be sure to purchase a Maine fishing license)
Horseback riding
Off-road biking
Swimming
Watching Wildlife
Nature Center
Gold Panning
Junior Ranger Program (Ages 6-12)
Eagle/Loon Watching from a Canoe
Movie at the Amphitheater (Watch The Aristocrats under the stars)
Geocaching

What you will need to bring:
* Camping equipment 
* Enough food and drinks to last the weekend.
* Officially, alcohol is prohibited from the park.  So don't strap a 30 pack to your roof while driving through the park gate.  Unofficially, no one is going to question what that bubbly mystery liquid is in your travel mug.

Presenters:
If you are interested in presenting please include the Topic you wish to present along with the day you would like to present when you register.  A projector and questionable power source will be provided.

We are very excited to kick off this one of a kind camping experience.  If you can't make it for the whole weekend feel free to drop by for a day visit.  We will post a schedule of events Thursday evening.

See you all soon!

-The MDN Team

Directions to the park:

From Portland (South)

' Come up Interstate 95 North

' Take Exit 75 ' Lewiston/ Auburn Exit go to light, take a left will be on (Rt. 100 + Rt. 4 North).

' Drive approximately 24.8 miles Rt. 4 North toward Livermore

' Take a left on to Rt. 108 West

' Drive approximately 18 miles

' In West Peru you will take a right

' Drive approximately 3/10ths of a mile

' Stop turn right on to Rt 2, drive approximately 3/10ths of a mile

' You want to be in the left lane at the light.

' Turn left on to 142 North

' Drive approximately 8.4 miles to Carthage

' Take a left after Bradbury's Market on to the West Side Road

' Drive 4 miles, Mt Blue State Park (Webb Beach) campground is on the right

Directions From Augusta

' Take Rt. 27 to Rt 2 west

' At light in Farmington turn left (Rt. 2 and 4) South

' Drive approximately

' In Wilton take a right on 156 West to Weld

' Drive approximately 1 mile at stop sign turn left

' Drive 1/10 of a mile

' Turn right 156 to Weld, drive 13.5 miles to stop sign in Weld

' Drive straight through intersection

' Drive 2.4 miles

' Take a left on to the West Side Road

' Drive 4 miles

' Mount Blue State Park campground is on the left. About 1 mile down in you will come to the entrance booth

From Phillips

Take 142 South toward Weld

Drive approximately 10 miles

Take a right on to the West Side Rd

Drive 4 miles

Take a left, drive approximately 1 mile to entrance booth

Directions From Lewiston/Auburn

' Take Rt. 4 North to Wilton. Rt. 4 will connect with Rt. 2.

' Drive approximately 1 mile take a left onto Rt. 156 West

' Drive approximately 1 mile stop turn left.

' Drive approximately 1/10 of a mile.

' Turn right drive approximately 13.5 miles.

' Stop in Weld village go straight . (Now on 142 North)

' Drive approx. 2.4 miles

' Take a left on the West Side Road

' Drive 4 miles, campground entrance is on the left.

Time for the first Augusta Developer Event of 2010. Join us for a morning filled with information about Silverlight. Shawn, Chris and Mark will present a variety of topics and we've planned a group discussion, so make sure you come prepared with questions, examples and your experiences.

When
February 24th, 2010 at 9:00am to 1:00pm.

What is Silverlight?
Shawn Robichaud – 30 min
Introduction to Silverlight for decision makers, architects and developers.

Choosing the right technology
Mark Blomsma - 30 min
Silverlight vs. WFP vs. Windows Forms vs. ASP.NET. A session for decision makers, architects and developers. Which technology to use for which scenario?

Choosing the right technology – group discussion
Everyone - 30 min
Silverlight vs. WFP vs. Windows Forms vs. ASP.NET. A session for decision makers, architects and developers. Which technology would YOU use for which scenario? Please come prepared with questions, examples and ready to share your experiences.

Silverlight and Section 508 compliance
Mark Blomsma – 30 min
“Section 508 requires that all Web site content be equally accessible to people with disabilities. This applies to Web applications, Web pages and all attached files. It applies to intranet as well as public-facing Web pages.” (http://usability.gov).

Silverlight architecture overview
Chris Bowen – 30 min
Introduction to XAML, Silverlight assemblies, n-tier development, asynchronous behavior, …

Silverlight + Windows Communication Foundation overview
Chris Bowen - 30 min
Introduction to WCF based on a Silverlight demo.

Silverlight + RIA Service overview
Chris Bowen - 30 min
Introduction to RIA Services based on a Silverlight demo.

Q&A
30 minutes.

Location
The event will be held at:
State of Maine Offices
Harlow Building
First floor conference room
18 Elkins Ave
Augusta, ME 
Marquardt Building, 1st Floor Conference room 1B
Old AMHI Campus
32 Blossom Lane
Augusta, ME

RSVP
Please register so we can make sure we have sufficient room.
Register here: http://www.maine-devnet.org/Home/SignUpForEvent.aspx.

The MDN meeting on the 27th of August, 2009 will be an INETA sponsored event. INETA will make arrangements for Kathleen Dollard to be able to speak to our group. Kathleen is a great speaker and authority on the subject of code generation and software composability. We're very happy and lucky to have her come up and present two sessions at our meeting. A third session, also on code generation will be done by Mark Blomsma.

We'll start the meeting with free pizza at 12pm. With the first session starting at 12:30pm. We aim to finish around 5pm.

Code Generation
by Kathleen Dollard
Code generation is undergoing a renaissance as Microsoft jumps into the picture and converges with our increasing understanding of code generation. You’ll learn core code generation principles that transcend all code generation tools. Building on this you’ll get a dip into template languages seeing both T4 which is part of Visual Studio and VB9 XML literal templates in order to understand the strength of each approach. Once you understand how templates work, you’ll dive into metadata – the part of the system that uniquely describes the specific application your building. You’ll see two approaches to protecting handcrafted code on the .NET platform. And you’ll see how to hook generation into your development process. The overall process of application generation has not matured and is rapidly changing – this talk doesn’t promise silver bullets. Instead you’ll leave with a good understanding of the latest code generation techniques and how you can fit them into your unique development environment.

Introduction to Visual Studio T4
by Mark Blomsma
An introduction to a somewhat hidden feature in Visual Studio: Text Template Transformation Toolkit or T4 for short. You will learn about using T4 and the statement, expressions and declarations needed to succesfully use T4 in your software projects.

Composable Applications with MEF
by Kathleen Dollard
Decoupling portions of your application has tremendous payback during both development and maintenance. Your application becomes more testable and flexible and can more easily evolve to meet changing demands. Decoupling your application also allows a new level of partnership with external groups because you can safely incorporate their code in your application without recompiling or releasing source code – effectively creating ecosystems supported by your application. Over the years Microsoft has released several different provider models in different areas of the framework, libraries, and supporting tools. This year several teams at Microsoft moved toward consolidating these efforts with the Managed Extensibility Framework, or MEF. This tool differs from an IoC (Inversion of Control) container because focuses directly at application composability, extensibility, and discover. MEF supports Microsoft efforts like Visual Studio 2010, but it can also play a role in your current applications.

Kathleen Dollard is a consultant, author, trainer, and speaker. She’s been a Microsoft MVP for over ten years and has spoken about .NET in 28 states and 5 countries. She’s written dozens of articles including the “Ask Kathleen” column in Visual Studio Magazine. She also wrote “Code Generation in Microsoft .NET” (Apress). Her passion is helping programmers be smarter in how they develop by learning to better use .NET languages, libraries and platforms. She works with WPF, WF, as well as core technologies including System.AddIn. She’s currently creating template infrastructure for code generation using VB XML literals. After working on the problem of capturing business intent in metadata and test definitions for years, she’s working with industry improvements in these areas. She’s also working on full life cycle improvements, such as unit testing, better debugging and static analysis (FxCop). When not working, she enjoys woodworking, snowshoeing, and kayaking depending on the outdoor temperature.

Mark Blomsma is a consultant, author, trainer and speaker. He's been a Microsoft MVP for 6 years and has spoken at our meeting many time. He runs a consulting business up in Lincoln, ME.

Location
The event will be held at:
State of Maine Offices
Harlow Building
First floor conference room
18 Elkins Ave
Augusta

RSVP
Please register so we can accommodate accordingly and make sure we have enough pizza.
Register here: http://www.maine-devnet.org/Home/SignUpForEvent.aspx

Thanks to the efforts of John Gagnon the MSDN Northeast Roadshow will once again make a stop in Augusta, ME.

Mark your calendars for June 18th is the day you can enjoy a day of free learning with Microsoft's New England Dream Team: Chris, Bob & Jim.

More info and sign up info: http://tinyurl.com/Summer09Roadshow

The Maine Microsoft Certification Study Group is a group focused at developers helping eachother get their Microsoft certification. Are you looking to get certified and would like to have help and help others? Then signup today at http://ms-study-group.groups.live.com.

The first virtual group will start studying soon!

The show is on! You are invited to join us on Thursday afternoon, the 16th of April as the Maine Developer Network will host the Augusta Developer Event.
Learn all you need to know about LINQ to SQL, DevForce Entity Framework, SQL Server Client Side Reporting and hot stuff from the patterns & practices group!

LINQ and LINQ to SQL
by Mark Blomsma
The number one topic requested at our previous meeting: LINQ and LINQ to SQL. This session will take a close look at one the biggest additions to the C# and VB.NET language: LINQ and LINQ to SQL. How does Language INtegrated Query work, what are lambda expressions and expression trees and how do they get translated into SQL statement? [60 min.]

Introduction to DevForce Entity Framework
By Scott Woodruff
Entity Framework is a cornerstone product that shipped in .NET 3.5 SP1. The company IdeaBlade has been working on enhancing this product from the very first CTP and betas that have been available.
In this session Scott will talk and demonstrate what Entity Framework is and how DevForce EF enhances the basic mechanics of Entity Framework. [30 min.]

SQL Server Client Side Reporting and LINQ
by Mark Blomsma
SQL Server Reporting Server has created a client side reporting control which allows you to use SQL Server reports, even without having a SQL Server! This session is all about using the control and hooking up data to it using LINQ queries. [45 min.]

What’s new from Microsoft Patterns & Practices?
by Shawn Robichaud & Mark Blomsma
The Microsoft Patterns & Practices group offers guidance in various forms.
Recently the Composite Application Guidance for WPF and Silverlight (Prism) has been made available.
Shawn will take you on a tour what this package has to offer for you.
After which Mark will offer a look at what the Community Technology Preview (CTP) of the Application Architecture Guide 2.0. [45 min.]

Location
The event will be held at:
State of Maine Offices
Harlow Building
First floor conference room
18 Elkins Ave
Augusta 

Time
We'll start at 13:00 and plan to finish by 16:30.
Please use the Register form on the website to RSVP:
http://www.maine-devnet.org/Home/SignUpForEvent.aspx.

See you there!

Mark Blomsma
Maine Developer Network
 

Once again the Maine Developer Network (thanks to John, Shawn and the State of Maine Government) is happy to help out Chris, Bob and Jim with finding a location to hold the MSDN Northeast Roadshow.

On March 19th the Roadshow will hit the Central Maine Commerce Center in Augusta. Go here to sign up today!

Location
Central Main Commerce Center
Florian Auditorium
500 Civic Center Drive Augusta Maine 04330
United States

Date
Thursday, March 19, 2009 8:30 AM - Thursday, March 19, 2009 4:00 PM Eastern Time (US & Canada)
Welcome Time: 8:00 AM

The Maine Developer Network is proud to announce that the Northeast MSDN Roadshow by Chris Bowen and Jim O'Neil will once again make it as far north as Augusta!

Don't hesitate: sign up today!

It took a little while, but we're ready to rumble. The Main Developer Network is organizing the Visual Studio 2008 Community Launch Event. A whole afternoon of sessions all about the recently released Visual Studio 2008. We've got the following sessions lined up:

The Business Analyst Perspective
by Shawn Robichaud
The focus for this session is on requirements gathering and techniques to help capture and manage requirements throughout the lifecycle. The session explains some of the challenges associated with deciding precisely what to build and it presents techniques for capturing and evolving requirements to ensure that requirements stay current throughout the software development lifecycle. [40 min.]
 
Value-up software development
by Shawn Robichaud
This session introduces the notion of value-up software development. It compares and contrasts core value-up principles and practices with conventional work-down approaches. The latter have proved over the years, largely ineffectual for team-based software development and are part of the reason why only 30% of software projects succeed. [40 min.]

Enabling Offline with SQL Server Compact and Sync Services for ADO.NET
by Scott Woodruff
Synchronization Services allows you to maintain a local, synchronizable copy of your data regardless of connection reliability or availability. This session will introduce synchronization services and how you can build applications that use the services. [75 min.]

LINQ and LINQ to SQL
by Mark Blomsma
The number one topic requested at our previous meeting: LINQ and LINQ to SQL. This session will take a close look at one the biggest additions to the C# and VB.NET language: LINQ and LINQ to SQL. How does Language INtegrated Query work, what are lambda expressions and expression trees and how do they get translated into SQL statement? [75 min.]

The session will be held at:
State of Maine Offices
Harlow Building
First floor conference room
18 Elkins Ave
Augusta 

We'll start at 12:30 and plan to finish by 17:00. Please use the Register form on the website to RSVP: http://www.maine-devnet.org/Home/SignUpForEvent.aspx.

The event data on the left of the homepage has been replaced with a live RSS aggregation of Maine developer blogs. The RSS subscription for the Maine Developer Network will also include all recent posts of listed people. If you blog and wish to be included in this feed, please email me at mark.blomsma@maine-devnet.org.

Our lunch meeting with Chris Bowen as a speaker was well attended and the feedback on the evaluation forms indicates, very well received.

Chris did a session: Introduction to LINQ & Language Improvements in C# 3.0/VB 9

LINQ (Language Integrated Query) is a unified approach for querying data using coding syntax that remains consistent regardless of the data source. It WILL change the way you work as a developer and architect and this session will help you on your way to using it effectively. To understand how LINQ works, we'll first navigate the new features of C# 3.0 and VB 9.0 that enable LINQ functionality. Then, we'll dive into .NET 3.5 and Visual Studio 2008 to explore the various realms of LINQ: Datasets, XML, Database/SQL, in-memory objects, and more. By the end of this session, you'll have a solid understanding of how LINQ works and what it can do for your applications.

Download the slides here:

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