Just in case you are available to speak in Denver on May 20 you might want to check this out:

FRONT RANGE CODE CAMP

SATURDAY, MAY 20, 2006 / DENVER, CO

 

Front Range Code Camp is a one day Developer community building event being presented by everyone in the developer community on development focused topics. It is by pre-registration only and someone may register as a speaker or an attendee. Please visit http://www.frontrangecodecamp.com to register to attend and feel free to invite others.

We expect 100-150 to attend the Code Camp.

 

Microsoft is graciously hosting the Code Camp at their Denver Tech Center offices. They’ve opened six multi-media classrooms for our use.

 

Code Camp sessions are 1 hour long, to the point, and filled with code and actual hands-on demonstrations. Each session is kept to an hour so we can pack several sessions into the day. These sessions are about showing your favorite flavor or development tools. A successful session will go deep into a single topic. 

 

This is a GREAT opportunity to get noticed in the Denver developer community for all (both experienced and none experienced presenters).

 

Because these sessions are different than the standard conference sessions, there will be a mandatory speaker preparation meeting about a week before the code camp. For those of you flying in there will be a meeting the night before and you will have a chance to test your hardware.

 

You must bring your own laptop for your presentation. You’ll have a chance to test the video connections during the speaker prep meeting. There will be a room on site for speaker prep during the day of Code Camp.

 

Any code samples you show must be made available for download from Code Camp web site.  The code must be emailed no later than May 15^th.

 

We are not covering travel and expenses for speakers, but you will receive a way cool shirt and some swag.

 

If you’re interested please submit a session title, abstract, and bio at http://www.frontrangecodecamp.com/Presenters.aspx

or send email to Richard Lawrence at richardl@frontrangecodecamp.com

It appears that Microsoft has announced the versions for Windows Vista. There is an article on engadget that lists 6 different versions. I don't know how much of these new versions are the result of market surveys and how much it is the result of lawsuits over the bundling of tools but I think it will be confusing for some people. I suspect that the big box retailers will have just one or maybe two different versions that they sell and it will pretty much boil down to you buying that one but I can see problems for programmers if we have to remember what version of the OS has what tools installed on it and more especially if certain functionality is disabled because you don't have the right version.

I just read an opinion piece at http://www.onstrategies.com/filesnew/perspectives/perspectivescurrent.html that has a quote about the Open Source Software business model and likens it to the Internet bubble that we experienced not that long ago. The relevant quote is:

Does mean that open source has finally become a viable business?
 
According to a Forbes online filing, the answer's no. Likening the open source rush to
the dot com bubble, Forbes says that this time around, customers are also placing
themselves at risk. According to an eWeek account of an elite CIO panel last fall, few
considered open source technology or business models adequately proven.
 
The Forbes article added that open source wasn't such a great deal for vendors either.
"Problem is, most people just take the free stuff and run." Exhibit A? Barely 3% to 5% of
JBoss customers buy support contracts.

The article then goes on to talk about 3 different OSS models. I found it very interesting reading.

The February Geek Dinner is coming up next Wednesday night. It will be held at the Miller Business Innovation Center at 6 PM. Here is a description that came in my e-mail with a link at the bottom to sign up for the event.

**EVENT SUMMARY**
DevUtah's February Geek Dinner will be held at the Miller Business
Innovation Center on Wednesday February 22 at 6 PM.

David Spann and Alistair Cockburn will lead a discussion on “Introducing
Agile to the Organization”. If you’ve heard of Agile methodologies but
can’t get others in your organization interested; or if you’ve been a
member of a high performing Agile team but can’t find the right words to
convince upper management to spread the “gospel”, this discussion may be
helpful. David and Alistair will take your questions before they begin
and will respond to as many as possible. Being agile by nature, they
want to meet your (the customer’s) interest. If you’ve only heard about
Agile, feel free to do a little research and post beginner questions as
well.

**SPEAKERS**
David Spann is high-tech management consultant who focuses teams on
making a reasonable return on investment while exceeding customer
expectations. David has helped conduct each of the annual Agile Software
Conferences since the first one held at Westminster College in 2002 and
is currently involved with Alistair Cockburn in developing Utah's Agile
Project Leadership Network.

Alistair Cockburn is an internationally known project witchdoctor and
strategist. He co-authored the 2001 Manifesto for Agile Software
Development and the 2005 project management "Declaration of
Inter-Dependence" and has written several best-selling books.

**MENU**
A build-your-own taco buffet will be catered by Megan Faulkner Brown.

The meal cost is $12. You can prepay from the wiki or just bring cash to
pay at the door.

Please RSVP:
http://www.phil801.com/devutah/index.php?title=2006_February_Event

Fellow Regional Director and all around nice guy J. Michael Palermo IV has done it again. He has written a valentine day love story that geeks can truly appreciate. You can read it at http://weblogs.asp.net/palermo4/archive/2006/02/14/DotNetLovePartII.aspx

It looks like the folks in Boise are planning on having a code camp next month. It is on March 18. If you would like to attend or even better speak at this event you can get more information at http://www.boisecodecamp.org.

I have never attended a code camp but from everything that I hear they are a lot of fun. It is also a wonderful opportunity for people who are thinking that they might want to get into speaking to start to get some experience talking about something that is interesting to them.

I was catching up on some old e-mail and saw that .NET-2-The-Max site at http://www.dotnet2themax.com/ is back in operation. I haven't spent a lot of time looking over their newly designed site but I loved the original version. I am looking forward to lots of good articles, tips, and code from them.

On March 20-22 Microsoft will be holding the MIX conference at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas. If you want to go but can't get your company to pay for it, or you work for yourself and can't convince the boss to let you go :) you still have a chance to attend. You can enter a contest to redesign the MIX homepage. 3 lucky winners will get a pass to the show. You can get the full details at http://blog.mix06.com/blog/archive/2006/02/05/154.aspx or register for the conference at http://www.mix06.com.

I just registered so I will plan on seeing you there.

I just read an editorial at http://www.osnews.com/story.php?news_id=13568 entitled UNIX Security: Don't Believe the Truth. Aside from the authors assertion that UNIX is more secure than Windows and his refusal to entertain any other opinion (for the record I think it is somewhat akin to saying Orem, UT is safer than New York, NY because there are fewer crimes) I thought it was a good piece. The main point is that even though most users do not run with sufficent privileges to allow the OS to be damaged by a virus, the stuff the user cares about can be damaged. The exact same thing is possible when running Windows as a non-administrative user. I had an experience where not being an administrator saved me from a virus infection.

One other interesting tidbit was the advertisement that was playing along with the article. I normally ignore the ads but this one was for the Microsoft sponsored "Get the Facts" campaign on whether Linux or Windows Server 2003 is a better purchase for enterprises. It seemed ironic to me.

I will be teaching a class on ASP .NET 2.0 in the Microsoft offices in Salt Lake on February 14 & 15. I promise that we will be done early enough on the 14th to let you get home to your sweetheart. Here are the details from Microsoft.

You are invited to attend a ASP 2.0 Web Applications training class.  Microsoft is pleased to offer this training at no charge

Developing Microsoft ASP.NET 2.0 Web Applications

 

REGISTRATION ENDS February 10, 2006 by 12 noon

Elements of this syllabus are subject to change.

This two-day course provides students with the knowledge and skills to create ASP.NET 2.0 applications. It will show the advancements from ASP.NET 1.x to

ASP.NET 2.0 in creating applications. The course focuses on the new features and functionality of ASP.NET. The course includes sample code in both Microsoft® Visual Basic® .NET and Microsoft Visual C#®.

Audience

This course is intended for experienced, professional Web application developers, including those employed by software companies or working on corporate development teams.

At Seminar Completion

After completing this seminar, students will be able to:

§       Describe advancements from ASP.NET 1.x to ASP.NET 2.0 in creating applications.

§       Develop new Web solutions using ASP.NET 2.0 features and functionality.

§       Creating ASP 2.0 Applications

§       Using Master Pages

§       Working with Data and the new source model

§       Handling State Management

§       Working with Web Parts

§       Personalizing web pages using Profiles and Themes

§       Implementing ASP 2.0 Security

 

Prerequisites

Before attending this course, students must have:

§         Experience developing .NET Web applications using ASP.NET 1.0/1.1

§         HTML

§         XML

§         ADO.NET (1.0/1.1)

 

Lunch

In appreciation for your attendance to this seminar, Microsoft will be providing lunch for the duration of the event.

 

Seminar Dates and Location:

February 14^th and 15^th, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Microsoft Corporation

123 Wright Brothers Drive, Suite 100

Salt Lake City, UT 84116

801-257-6400

http://www.microsoft.com/mscorp/info/usaoffices/rockymtn/saltlakecity.mspx

 

Register today at: http://www.microsofttraining.com/devonsites

Class/Invitation ID 304420 or click here