Abstract: There was a time when everything was moving towards the desktop. This “Internet” thing was new and cool, but there was no way it would ever last. And no one knew how to code for the web, so to make web development easy and familiar, they made ASP.NET to be just like coding for a desktop. It used the same patterns, the same event-based model, and the same stateful approach. But the web isn't stateful, its only events are GET and POST, and it is nothing like a desktop, so we tortured ourselves for years forcing a square peg through a round hole. The time has come for redemption, and its name is ASP.NET MVC. This session will cover how to write and test an application in MVC, how it differs from ASP.NET, and will discuss some of the new features of ASP.NET MVC 3. Spend an hour discovering how coding for the web is supposed to be--how it is today--and end your misery. Salvation awaits.

Abstract: Drawing from person experience and research from leading behavioural psychologists, this session aims to empower developers to explore themselves and their craft. Helping them to establish confidence in their career, establish their voice in a highly competitive market, manage conflicts healthfully and communicate more effectively with others. No matter where you happen to be on your journey of continual improvement, reflecting on yourself and the effects of interpersonal relationships can provide valuable insight towards achieving your goals technically and emotionally. Learn to leverage the wisdom of those around you to cultivate powerful positive relationships without sacrificing the most important asset in your toolkit: yourself.

Abstract: In this no slides, workshop style session, follow along as we build an entire website using the latest HTML and CSS techniques. Starting with a provided design, you will learn how to structure your page using the latest HTML tags and attributes, style your content using purely CSS and no images, and add in neat features like advanced form fields and embedded audio and video. We will also discuss browser support, fallbacks, and workarounds to help you decide what features to start using right away.

Abstract: As a developer, you end up wearing a lot of different hats: researcher, designer, janitor, mediator, teacher, student… the list can go on. Likely, you juggle these hats almost every day... and we haven't even mentioned writing a line of code yet. If you want to become a better developer you'll have to learn how to switch these hats easily and what it means to wear each one well. Most talks focus on a given technology or tool: some resource that you can use. This talks focuses on how to improve the best resource you have: YOU. Come hear how you can improve yourself by learning, teaching - and yes - even being lazy.

Abstract: We’ve all been there; poor project management leads to poor decisions by team members which finally leads to...well, an end. Usually, that end is viewed as a success by some and a failure by others. This is a story about a project that has nothing to do with software, yet somehow sounds strangely familiar. Join us as we try to figure out why the Swamp King and his retinue of experts made one disastrous decision after another and what we can learn from their missteps to improve our real-world software projects.

Abstract: Thats It, I've had enough, I'm starting my own company Have you ever thought to yourself while sitting in your cubical how much different your current job would be if you could call the shots? Did you know, 30% of small business fail within their first year of operation? Thoughts of starting your own company can be caused by many reasons. From thinking you can do a better job than your current manager to a spirt of entrepreneurship deep within yourself. What ever the reason maybe, you need to ensure you are going out on your own for the right reasons, not just an impulse. Once you have decided that working for yourself is what you want to do, there are hundreds of more descitions that need to be made. In this session we will discuss as many of these reasons as possible in the allocated time. Discussions such as what type of insurance is needed, should contracts be given to all clients, I don't have enough work what do I do, and I have to much work what do I do?

Abstract: If you are interested in Windows Phone 7 development but aren’t quite sure where to start, this is the session for you. We will discuss several topics including development tools, XNA vs. Silverlight, metro and new UI controls, input and sensors, device integration, and deployment to the marketplace. When you leave this session you should have a good introduction to the API’s and tools necessary to get started writing code for Windows Phone 7.

Abstract: In this session, we’ll discuss strategies for working more effectively with a diverse population of people. This includes the obvious candidates (such as different genders and different cultures) as well as some less obvious traits (introverts vs. extroverts, remote workers, etc.). You will walk away understanding the benefit of diversity and with some solid strategies for creating an inclusive work environment and maximizing the impact of a variety of different workers

Abstract: Moving to WPF from Winforms can be a daunting task, even for the most experienced developers. WPF is an extremely powerful and flexible framework, but almost averything you've come to understand about developing windows applications has changed. While the learning curve can be steep, the changes are absolutely worth the effort. This session will help reduce the learning curve by addressing the top 10 pain points developers new to WPF experience.

Abstract: In this session, we quickly review the history of JavaScript on the web and how jQuery fits into the JavaScript ecosystem. More that just an introduction, we’ll take a look at what jQuery is and what’s it’s not. How to compose reusable libraries of code that avoid some common pitfalls. As well as answer any real world questions that you may have having implemented solutions that leverage this powerful library.

Abstract: Last year the Windows Azure Platform, Microsoft's Platform as Service offering in the cloud, went live. You might find this platform of interest for one or more of the following reasons: the ability to scale to handle unpredictable loads, a robust global deployment or reducing your overall solution costs. No matter what your reason for going to the cloud is, you should find this presentation valuable as we cover topics such as: · What do I need to do get my application running in the cloud? · How do I maintain an application in an environment I don't own? · How do I maximize my costs savings? The presentation will provide a brief overview of the Azure platform and a checklist of things to think about as you plan to move your solutions to the cloud.

Abstract: Visual Studio may be an excellent tool for development, but the reality is that you probably have many more tools open on your taskbar throughout the day. Join in on this dicussion with these highly productive developers as they discuss the tools they use every day to get their job done.