Developing UX

Last month (November 4th, 2009), I had the privilege of speaking at Microsoft’s “The New Efficiency” Launch for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 in Dallas. While no one was there to record *my sessions* specifically, Microsoft has posted similar session from other parts of the country. I wish I could link (or embed) them directly since it takes some clicking to get to them. Instead, here’s a quick walkthrough. Enjoy!

1. Go to Microsoft’s “The New Efficiency” website http://thenewefficiency.com *

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While I was out at the MVP Summit this summer I had a chance to catch up with Brian Prince from Microsoft and we talked about using Dependency Injection for better code level architecture.  Check out the full video on Microsoft’s ARCCast.

When you’re done. Check out my Dependency Injection on Silverlight presentation.

I was recently working on another blog post (coming soon) when it occurred to me how much Improving (my employer) does in the .NET / Java / Agile and other technical communities. I thought that it would be nice to summarize some of that work here.

A different kind of COE.

It’s good to give back.

I personally think that Improving does more to support the growth of technical communities than any other consulting company in the world. That might just be me, but seriously, check out this list:

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In June I’ll be the local Silverlight expert, leading a technology track on Rich Internet Applications (RIA) at a Microsoft’s BizSpark event, SparkStart.

From the official announcement:

SparkStart is a full day of business and technology discussion (open format) and learning event for startups (“startup bootcamp”). This event will also be a networking opportunity for those startups who are new to the BizSpark program and not yet enrolled in the program and would like to mingle and learn from key business and technology influencers. It will also be an event for those startups who are recently enrolled and need to keep the momentum going by learning key strategies for success, both in business, and in technology.

I’m looking forward to checking out Microsoft’s new Technology Center in Las Colinas, TX – It’s an amazing building!

It’s going to be an incredible event for startups and entrepreneurs to learn, network and get to know some of the incredible technologies that are now available. I’m especially looking forward to hanging out with some of the other people that will be presenting at the event. (too name a few)

• Local start up expert, Alex Muse
• Social Media Expert, Giovanni Gallucci
• Blake Burris of Facebook development and CoHabitat fame
• Angel investment and venture consulting mastermind Marc Nathan
• Microsoft User Experience Architect Christian Thilmany
• Microsoft Architect Brian Gorbett

Check out SparkStart on twitter and read some of Christian’s other related posts. Be sure to register. It’s going to be an amazing day!

I’ll be speaking at the Big Design Conference in Dallas. From the website:

The Big Design Conference is an intense day of learning within the scope of Strategy, Social Media, User Experience, and Code Development. Experts from across the country will gather to present theories, research, experiences, and best practices to students, professionals, and executives looking to stay on the bleeding edge.

My 1pm topic is “Bring Back the Sexy: What’s New in Silverlight 3 and Why Everyone Should Care”. Basically I’m going to be walking through some of the awesome goodness that’s been added to Silverlight 3 like 3D Support, hardware acceleration, custom shaders and behaviors, offline/out of browser integration, Blend 3, plus the new line of business features like data forms and WCF integrations. You know, all the awesome Silverlight sexy that I can get in to my allotted hour. it’s gonna be awesome.

Be sure to register today (tickets are selling fast!) – See you there!

• Big (D)esign Conference
• Big (D)esign After Party
• (Free) Style & Travelocity Design Challenge

This week I will be at the Microsoft MVP Summit in Seattle, while I’m there I will take the time to present at the local .NET User Group. If you are in the area be sure to stop by. It’s going to be a “double feature” between my “Developing Loosely Coupled Applications” talk and my friend, and fellow MVP, Dennis Bottjer will be giving his amazing talk on SharePoint Performance. It’s gonna be awesome!

Next week I’ll be attending the 2009 MVP Summit in Seattle with fellow MVP and Improving’er David O’Hara.  I’m especially looking forward to the sessions on the up and coming new technologies and to catch up with the various product teams and other MVPs! If you’ll be in the in the Seattle area next week look me up!

My great friend and Social Media genius, Giovanni Gallucci is putting together an amazing event to help spread his knowledge and expertise in social media marketing to the masses and we’re hosting it!. Here’s the info from Giovanni’s announcement:

Social Media Has Changed The Landscape Forever

Social media has turned advertising, marketing and public relations upside down. Giovanni Gallucci is one of the most well-respected and well-known social media experts in the industry. He’s delivered social marketing solutions to some of the world’s best known brands and garnered media exposure for clients that would make any marketing & communications professional envious.

Extreme Social Media Marketing Workshop

In Dallas on March 10, 2009 you’ll be able to learn his techniques, developed over ten years as an online community developer, search engine programmer and online marketing consultant to help utilize these tools and platforms for yourself.
This one day social media training workshop will train you to utilize the new media marketing tools of twitter, blogs, videos, photos, social networks and other social media related websites in your online marketing efforts.

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Microsoft has put on several of these events all over the US. If you missed the Microsoft PDC Conference then the Dallas event on Monday is the best local place to get a lot of the same information on what’s new with .NET and the future roadmap of the Microsoft Platform. (Rich UX, RIA’s, Cloud Computing , Visual Studio 2010, etc…)

From the official site:

Missed the PDC? Catch the content LIVE at the MSDN Developer Conference. Register Today!

We’re bringing the PDC to you!

I’ll be there speaking about Developing Data-Centric Applications Using the WPF DataGrid and the new WPF Ribbon Controls with Visual Studio 2010. (I know… that’s a mouthful!) 

I’m looking forward to it and hope to see you there!

I always like going up to the North Dallas DNUG. The first (pilot) CommunityCast.tv episode was shot there… and the last time that I was there Jason Alexander showed of Graffiti before Telligent had it released (CommunityCast episode 6).

Side Note: I just realized that Jason updates his blog less than I update  CommunityCast.   – go follow his twitter instead

Tonight I’ll be talking about Microsoft Silverlight, specifically some of the Data Binding and Visual Template features. This is a fun talk, but there is a lot to cover! We’ll start with data binding to business objects and then move to creating visual templates with Microsoft Expression Blend. I’ll also bring my camera so be prepared to chat about what you are doing later in the night!

If you’re in the Dallas area, be sure to stop by and check it out!