PDC 08 Videos

Since I first heard about the PDC I have always wanted to go, its the event which Microsoft uses to promote its business and provide developers and architects with information on how the tools they use will evolve.  It is also held in Los Angeles, which is cool, imagine being sent to LA on work time!

The PDC is not a cheap event and I suspect unless you have a boss who is enlightened to how important this event is and work for a fortune 500 company you are very unlikely to be able to attend, although if you can convince your family to holiday in LA then I am sure its a good way to combine the two!

However do not fear for those of us with no holiday budget, other than a week in Skegness, and not working for fortune 500 you can still see every session at the PDC just by going to www.microsoftpdc.com.

I have spent the last couple of weeks listening to the video sessions, while working, and the videos are great most of them include a small picture of the presenter and the slide deck so nothing is loosed in not attending.  The keynotes are the best videos, especially as if you had tried to attend the event yourself you would have had to content with looking over quite a few hundred people to get a glimpse of the stage.

PDC 08 videos @ www.microsoftpdc.com

Windows Vista SP2

Service pack 2 for Vista started development not long after SP1and contains fixes created since SP1 and new enhancements, these include;

• Windows Search 4.0 integration
• Bluetooth 2.1 feature pack
• Blu-Ray enhancements
• Windows Connect Now

Vista SP2 is currently being beta tested by a number of developers but is not publicly available, however roomers suggest that Vista SP2 will be available in the first quarter of next year.

New .NET Logo

I know I am a bit behind the times, however at the end of October Microsoft released their new .NET Logo;

The release of the new logo coincided with the start of the PDC 08. 

Personally I like the new logo however I tent to be drawn to most things new, maybe because I like change when it comes to .NET.

Expect to see the wavy 'N' all over the place when it comes to .NET and associated technologies.

Check out the site re-branding and details of "Oslo" and "Dublin" @ www.microsoft.com/NET/

JQuery Intelliscene In Visual Studio 2008

As part of the process of Microsoft using JQuery for some of their new web enhancements (MVC being one and the next version of AJAX) they have decided to enhance the JQuery library to include Visual Studio code comments for JScript IntelliSense.

To get the IntelliSense enhancements there is a new file to load and a hot fix, to read the full story go to the Visual Web Developer Team Blog @ Microsoft

CodeRush Xpress for Visual Studio 2008

For those of you who have never heard of CodeRush it is a tool developed by DevExpress which provides a number of productivity enhancements in Visual Studio through automation of repeatable tasks for example it can repeat lines of code, highlight references, refactor and more.

CodeRush has gained quite a following for the enhancements it provides for .NET developers and the time saving tasks it provides.

Personally I have been a fan of the tools, but have not invested (yet), however I do use their free version called 'Refactor! for ASP.NET' which even with its limited tasks has made an impact on my development. If you are like me you have wanted Code Rush then you can come one step closer as announced at the PDC '08 DevExpress and Microsoft have teamed up again to provide CodeRush Xpress for Visual Studio 2008.

CodeRush Xpress is a cut down version of CodeRush bit still has a healthy number of tools which would enhance most developers working practices, there are 26 refactions including;

• Combine Conditionals
• Convert to Auto-implemented Property
• Convert to Initializer
• Decompose Initializer
• Decompose Parameter
• Expand Lambda Expression
• Expand Ternary Expression
• Extract Method to Type
• Flatten Conditional
• Inline Delegate
• Inline Temp
• Introduce Local
• Make Explicit
• Make Implicit
• Reverse Conditional
• Split Conditional
• Use String.Format
• Use StringBuilder

Also you will see a number if Visual elements for hints, smart tags and code layout as well as a enhanced code navigation tool.

To download this great FREE tool go here

The .NET Developer Network - December Meeting

When: Tuesday 2nd December 2008, doors open 6:00pm, meeting starts 6:30pm

Where: UWE (University of the West of England), Frenchay, Bristol - Room 2q49 (in Q block)

What: "What’s New In C# 4 ?" and "Strategic Development Methodologies Using Rock Band"

Who: Guy Smith-Ferrier, co-founder of The .NET Developer Network, MVP, author, rather dodgy singer.

Why: Because knowing what's in C# 4 allows us to know where to spend our precious R&D time and to make better long term decisions. Also because it's Chistmas and Rock Band is just a whole load of fun that everyone should be able to share.

How do I sign up for this meeting: Send an email to meetings at dotnetdevnet.com and quote your user name and the December meeting.

Abstract: What’s New In C# 4 ?
Microsoft are keeping C# 4 under wraps until PDC 08 at which point we start the roller-coaster of catch up all over again as we desperately struggle to keep up with what’s new and why we should be interested in the latest flashy feature. This session is only a month after PDC so you should be way ahead of the game this time.

Abstract: Strategic Development Methodologies Using Rock Band
Developers tend to get stuck in a rut using the same old tools over and over again. Visual Studio, C#, .NET Framework, SQL Server, NUnit, Cruise Control. It might come as a shock to learn that one of the best development tools is Rock Band on the Xbox 360. This session introduces us to Rock Band and through the use of numerous demos drawing on heavy audience participation we learn to code better, be not just better developers but better people and, most importantly to solve world hunger and develop peace and harmony for everyone. (And just so we’re clear here – this session has absolutely nothing to do with strategic development methodologies – it’s just a clever title).

Bio:

Guy is an MVP in ASP.NET. He is the author of ".NET Internationalization" published by Addison-Wesley (http://www.dotneti18n.com). He is a Microsoft Certified Professional developer, author, trainer and speaker, has spoken at many European and US conferences, is the winner of the NxtGen Best Presentation 2006/2007, has been voted best speaker three times and is an INETA Speaker. He runs The .NET Developer Network (http://www.dotnetdevnet.com), a free .NET user group in the South West of England. He is the author of C#/.NET courseware and much of the official Borland courseware including courses on COM and ADO. He has written over 50 articles for numerous magazines, has co-authored an application development book and is the author of the ADO chapter of "Mastering Delphi 6". You can read his blog at http://www.guysmithferrier.com.