Track overview

Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Architecture	Architecture	Java
.NET	.NET	Agile
Java	Agile	Smart phone
Smart phone	Excellence	Excellence
Excellence	Test	Test
Collaboration	User Experience	Cool Languages
Web	Entrepreneurship	Web
Xtra(ck)	Xtra(ck)	Windows 8

Track: Windows 8

Regardless if you use Windows or not, you can’t dismiss the fact that the most installed operating system of all time is getting a major face lift. Changes have been made from the deepest core of the system all the way out to the touch optimized Metro UI. Changes that makes it possible for a Web developer, C++ developer or .NET developer to create native applications that run on slates as well as PC:s. Changes that urge any and all developers to focus on a user friendly and content focused user interface – the era of battleship grey applications is finally at its end. Come and learn what Windows 8 means to you and what possibilities they open up for all of us.

Friday

10:00-10:50

Intro to the Future of the Microsoft Application Development Platform: Building HTML5 Applications with Visual Studio 11 for Windows 8

One of the most notable advances in the Developer preview releases of both Windows 8 and Visual Studio 11 is the ability to create consumer-focused, Windows Metro style apps using HTML5. Visual Studio 11 provides end-to-end support for building HTML5 apps, spanning the development, debugging, and deployment lifecycle.

Tim Huckaby

Tim Huckaby is focused on the Natural User Interface (NUI)- Touch, Gesture, and Neural in Rich Client Technologies like HTML5, Silverlight, WPF, & IOS on a broad spectrum of devices that include computers, tablets, the Surface, the Kinect, and mobile devices. Tim has been called a “Pioneer of the Smart Client Revolution” by the press. Tim has been awarded many times for the highest rated technical presentations and keynotes for Microsoft and many other technology conferences around the world. Tim is consistently rated in the top 10% of all speakers at these events. Tim has been on stage with, and done numerous keynote demos for many Microsoft executives including Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer. Tim founded InterKnowlogy, experts in .NET and Microsoft Platforms in 1999 and Actus Interactive Software in 2011 and has over 30 years of experience including serving on a Microsoft product team as a development lead on an architecture team on a Server Product. Tim is a Microsoft Regional Director, a Microsoft MVP and serves on many Microsoft councils and boards like the Microsoft .NET Partner Advisory Council.

11:10-12:00

The Next Generation of Software: Delivering Improved User Experience with Metro Style Windows 8 Applications and Leveraging the Natural User Interface

Metro is a pillar of the upcoming Windows 8 OS. Microsoft has received numerous awards and accolades on their Metro implementation in Windows Phone 7: “The innovation here is the fluidity of experience and focus on the data, without using tradition user interface conventions of windows and frames. Data becomes the visual elements and controls. Simple gestures and transitions guide the user deeper into content. A truly elegant and unique experience.” Now, with Windows 8, we have the start of the new age of software focused in Metro Style Applications that leverage the Natural User Experience (NUI).

Tim Huckaby

13:00-13:50

Moving your XAML applications to Metro

By now you know what Metro is, what the Windows Runtime (WinRT) is, and that C# and VB.NET can access the WinRT via an interop layer. The big question: What's involved in moving my Silverlight (or WPF) application over to Metro? In this session Carl Franklin goes through the pain points and gives you a real idea of what it will take to port your application.

Carl Franklin

I started as a musician for fun, and a software developer for money. I started a hands-on training company in 1999 (www.franklins.net) which is still doing well to this day. In 2002 I started recording an hour-long talk show for .NET software developers and publishing it as an mp3 file. When podcasting became a "thing" in 2004 we jumped on that bandwagon. That show had 3.7 million downloads in 2006! In 2005 I started Pwop Productions (www.pwop.com) to bring our expertise in recording and producing online media into the market. We produce podcasts for Microsoft, Eastern Mountain Sports, Nintendo of America, Filemaker, Inc., Blackwell Publishing, and have other private relationships with Fortune 100 companies. Now I am finally going back to my first love, Music. I am producing bands and artists at Pwop Studios in New London, CT. Currently looking for more contacts in the music industry. I recorded, produced, and played on Ray Lamontagne's "missing" first album, One Lonesome Saddle, which turned into his demo for Trouble.

15:15-16:05

.NET Rocks Live Panel Discussion on WinRT

Join Carl Franklin and Richard Campbell for a panel discussion on the WinRT, the new run time for Windows 8. Is this the death of Silverlight? What about .NET? Do we all have to develop in HTML 5 now? Bring your questions and get the scoop on what’s really happening with Windows 8 and what some of the best and brightest in the Microsoft development space are planning to do around Windows 8. You’ll be part of a .NET Rocks Live show!

Richard Campbell

Richard Campbell is one of the co-founders of Strangeloop Networks and today serves as product evangelist, introducing the company's unique story to advisors, investors, patent attorneys, beta-customer candidates, potential employees, etc. Richard has more than 30 years of high-tech experience and is both a Microsoft Regional Director and Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP). He has consulted with a number of leading North American organizations; Barnes&Noble.com, Dow Chemical, Johnson & Johnson Health Care Services, Reuters, Subaru/Isuzu and the U.S. Air Force. In addition to speaking at conferences around the world, Richard is co-host of the ".NET Rocks!, the Internet Audio Talk Show for .NET Developers" (www.dotnetrocks.com) podcast and the host of "RunAs Radio, the Internet Audio Talk Show for IT Professionals" (www.runasradio.com)