LCNUG News

January Meeting on NHibernate follow-up

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

We had our January meeting on NHibernate, with about 20 people (our largest turnout so far).

You can see the abstract, and download the presentation here:�http://www.lcnug.org/events/08-12-19/January_Meeting_NHibernate.aspx

LCNUG Oct 14: Touch Interfaces on Windows Platforms

Tue, 28 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Abstract:
We've come a long way since the DOS command prompts when they were the most popular way to interact with your computer... Once the mouse went mainstream in the 1980s, we started interacting with our computers in a whole new way. I believe that multi-touch is the next big step in our user experience with machines. Microsoft has given us development tools and libraries to build engaging user experiences for our applications. Manufacturers are shipping devices with multi-touch features built-in. For my presentation, I'm going to talk about the touch interfaces on Windows platforms including Windows 7, Windows Phone, Zune HD, and .NET Micro Framework. I'll show you how to write code to access the touch events in your .NET applications.
�
Bio:
Travis Feirtag is a senior .NET consultant working in the MidWest for over ten years. He lives with his wife and four kids in Lake Mills, WI. He is known online as: http://therobotgeek.net . When he's not spending time with his family, he enjoys writing code, tech articles, blogging, robotics and multi-touch projects.

LCNUG Oct 13: Visio 2010 Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN)

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT

ROOM: T326-328

ABSTRACT:
"Using Visio 2010 Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) to design, model, and document BizTalk Solutions"
The target audience is not limited to those involved with BizTalk. Both technical and non-technical will benefit from the content.

The session will consist of a PowerPoint Presentation.
*       Why do we need to standardize how we design and model BizTalk Solutions
*       Traditional design and modeling methodology does not work for BizTalk
*       Introduction to Business Process Modeling Notation 1.2
*       How BPMN Shapes and Attributes relate to BizTalk Artifacts.
*       Q&A

BIO:
Howard S. Edidin specializes in using BizTalk to align IT with Business. Howard has over eight years' experience Architecting and Developing BizTalk Solutions for many industries. For the last few years his prime focus has been to provide Guidance and Training to companies implementing BizTalk for the first time.

Implementing BizTalk can be a complicated process for most companies. Migrating legacy repositories and Business Services can be a lengthy and costly affair. Most companies have limited documentation available. Several years ago, Howard discovered Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN).

Besides providing guidance and training for BizTalk, he introduced BPMN to his clients. They soon discovered that they have the ability to create documentation for their legacy systems that both IT and Business could easily understand. Their newly trained BizTalk Developers found that the documentation made developing BizTalk Applications much easier and took less time.

Howard is MCTS Certified in BizTalk 2010 and has been an MCP for over thirteen years.

LCNUG June 9: Async and Parallel Programming in .NET 4

Mon, 30 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT

ABSTRACT:
Need to make your apps more responsive?� Run faster?� On today's multicore hardware, async and parallel programming may be the answer.� This talk will introduce the new Task-oriented programming model in .NET 4, discuss its underlying execution model, and demonstrate some of the higher-level constructs and patterns supported by the Task Parallel Library.� A number of examples will be presented; and if time permits, we'll compare and contrast parallel programming in C# (imperative) vs. F# (functional).�
�
BIO:
Joe is a member of the technical staff at Pluralsight, where he focuses on High Performance Computing. He has been specializing in Microsoft technologies since 1992 (the days of VB3), and is well-versed in Microsoft's High-Performance Computing initiative:� Windows HPC Server, Compute Cluster Server, multicore (TPL, PPL, OpenMP), GPU (CUDA), and cluster (MPI, SOA, Dryad, Azure).� Joe has a PhD in Computer Science from the U. of California, Irvine, where he is currently a visiting professor and researching HPC in the cloud.� Joe resides in Chicago with his wife, daughter, and sailboat.��
�

LCNUG Nov 10: Advanced jQuery

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT

ROOM: T323

ABSTRACT:

You already know jQuery and you use it to interact with your page elements and easily add Ajax to your project. Well, that's only the meat and potatoes of working with jQuery.

It may be time for you to kick it up a notch and add a few more jQuery tricks to your utility belt. Come and see what other features are packed in jQuery that can solve some of your problems.

Here's a sampling of what we will look at:

* When to create your own plugins

* Custom events

* The Deferred object

* $.Callbacks()

* data attributes

BIO:

Sergio Pereira (http://sergiopereira.com/blog) is a Lead Software Engineer with Thomson Reuters (http://thomsonreuters.com/) developing software for the Legal industry. For the longest time Sergio has had his eyes in the development of richer and more usable web sites. He believes in using the most basic tools to create web applications, while at the same time not giving up productivity.

�

For those times where a break from programming is needed, you'll find Sergio hanging out with his wife or watching a good soccer game - often both things at the same time.

LCNUG Site has been relaunched

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Thanks to a generous donation from Sitefinity�and DiscountASP.NET, we have been able to migrate the site to something that meets our needs a lot better than the custom solution we used since early this summer. The only reason that things took so long is that we were all busy up until now.

If you have a news item you would like to post, just let us know and we'll put things together!

Cancelled - LCNUG Feb 25 - PDC User Group Tour

Sun, 14 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The Feb 25 meeting is cancelled.

We look forward to meeting next March, and apologize for any inconvenience.

--------

Abstract:

For all those that didn't make it out to the Professional Developers Conference 2009 (PDC) we're very fortunate to have Microsoft provide the PDC User Group Tour

Some fantastic new Technologies were unveiled at PDC and the following highlights that will be covered:

Silverlight 4
"3 Screens and a Cloud"
Azure
WCF RIA Services
Visual Studio 2010 and .NET 4
Parallelism

Bio: Senior Technical Architect for SAVO Group (http://www.savogroup.com). He has written four books, most recently as co-author of Effective REST Services via .NET. When not sitting behind a keyboard, Scott can be found in northern Illinois spending time with his wonderful wife, three kids, two dogs, two frogs, and whatever other animals happen to be in the house

�

LCNUG Jan 12: Windows Azure for Developers

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT

REGISTER: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2684538527

ROOM: TEC T130 - TEC T131� (note this is not the 3rd floor we usually have)

ABSTRACT:

Cloud computing is one of the most significant shifts for our industry in many years. Many technology companies have Cloud solutions, but understanding the offerings can be challenging. This session will help you understand the capabilities and components that make up Microsoft's Windows Azure Platform. We will do a lap around the Windows Azure platform and explore the business considerations and common application scenarios for using Windows Azure. Next we will walk through how to get started using Windows Azure and we will walk through creating and deploying a web app to Windows Azure. Finally, we will dive into the Windows Azure specific classes and configuration that you will use and need to know.

What you will learn:

.�Overview of Windows Azure

.�How to Get Started with Windows Azure

.�How to Create and Deploy Apps to Windows Azure

BIO:

Eric D. Boyd is a Director for Centare (www.centare.com) and is responsible for their Chicago business and Cloud Computing Practice. Eric began his technology career by starting a web development firm in the 90's and has served in multiple roles since including developer, consultant, business owner and technology executive. Today, he primarily helps Fortune 500 companies with software development practices and cloud computing in the Chicago-Milwaukee area. You can find him blogging at http://www.ericdboyd.com and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EricDBoyd.�

An Evening in the Cloud with David Chappell and Cumulux

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Join cloud experts David Chappell, Paddy Srinivasan for an evening diving into Windows AzureT - Microsoft's platform for building and deploying cloud based applications.� David will talk about the Cloud Computing environments available today, specifically focusing on Windows AzureT, while Paddy will provide many demonstrations of�Windows AzureT including:

�

�� The fundamentals of building and deploying applications to Windows AzureT

�� When to use Windows AzureT Table and Blob storage vs. SQL Azure Database

�� How to reuse your existing SQL Server skills and programming approaches with SQL Azure

�� How to expose data SQL Azure in a RESTful manner using �Windows AzureT + ADO.NET Data Services

�� How to connect on-premise and cloud applications using .NET Services

�

And much more! �

�

No prior knowledge of cloud computing or experience using Windows AzureT is required, and this *free* event is open to the public.

�

Date & Time

Monday, September 21, 2009

6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

�

Location

Microsoft Office

200 East Randolph Drive

Suite 200

Chicago, IL 60601

�

Registration Options

By web - http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032425433&Culture=en-US�

By phone - 1-877-673-8368 and reference Event ID: 1032425433

�

Pizza and refreshments will be provided.

�

We hope you'll join us!

January 29: NHibernate

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

ABSTRACT
We'll be introducing NHibernate from the ground up.
The problem of O/R Impedance Mismatching.
The benefits of utilizing a transparent object persistance framework such as NHibernate.
How to get started with NHibernate with an example class library and the mapping files required for NHibernate.
Some best practices regarding persisting and retrieving objects along with code examples.

BIO:�Robert Dusek

I began programming in various incarnations of BASIC at a young age, but began my career in IT Operations as a network administrator. About 4 years ago, I stumbled onto .NET in order to solve various development tasks that my employer needed, eventually choosing to transition into C# Software Development full-time. I currently work with Hudson at GFX International building client-facing applications using MVC.Net and NHibernate. Recently Hudson and I along with Ricardo Borges have taken over as maintainers for Ayende's NHibernate Query Analyzer.

BIO:�Hudson Akridge
My early career was as a Database Developer, turning my attention towards .NET the last 3 years. I currently work at GFX Int. as a Corporate Dev writing both internal and external production applications relating to Manufacturing and Client management processes utilizing Alt.NET technologies such as MVC.NET and NHibernate.

February Meeting on CodeSmith follow-up

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Last night's LCNUG meeting on CodeSmith attracted almost 20 people, including several new people. Dan Souk, from Centric Consulting explain about CodeSmith, and it's practical application to many development processes such as the data access layer. We were able to give away several books and two CodeSmith licenses.

LCNUG Mar 25: Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 2008

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

ABSTRACT: Microsoft� Robotics Developer Studio 2008 enables hobbyists, academics and commercial developers to create robotics applications targeting entertainment, educational, home, commercial, or industrial segments.

This presentation specifically focuses on the Microsoft Visual Programming Language in conjunction with Robotics Studio.

Microsoft Visual Programming Language (VPL) is an application development environment designed on a graphical dataflow-based programming mode. Rather than series of imperative commands sequentially executed, a dataflow program is more like a series of workers on an assembly line who do their assigned task as the materials arrive. As a result, VPL is well suited to programming a variety of concurrent or distributed processing scenarios.

VPL is targeted for beginning programmers with a basic understanding of concepts like variables and logic. However, VPL is not limited to novices. The compositional nature of the programming language appeals to more advanced programmers for rapid prototyping or code development. In addition, while its toolbox is tailored developing robot applications, the underlying architecture can be applied to other applications. As a result, VPL may appeal to a wide audience of users including students, enthusiasts/hobbyists, as well as professional programmers.

BIO: Lance Larsen ( www.lancelarsen.com )

Lance is an enthusiastic and knowledgeable independent consultant focusing on the latest Microsoft technologies. Lance balances his career, hobbies ( such as Robotics ) and his family life, including raising his two beautiful and way too smart for his own good, 5 and 8 year old daughters.

Always fascinated with Robotics, this has driven him educationally to get his bachelors in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and followed that up with a Masters in Computer Science ( with a focus in Artificial Intelligence ).

Combining both his educational background with Microsoft's Robotic Studio minimally gives him the ability to realize his ambitions to create an unstoppable robotic hoard to take over the world.. errr. sorry was that my outside voice again?

Focus Group for Web Developers in Chicago

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

A company will be conducting some focus groups in Chicago on June 2nd for Web Developers that use Visual Stud io as well as other products.

The group will be held at Michigan and Ontario in Chicago.� The participants will receive a $200 or $225 honorairum for two hours of their time.

Could you please have interested parties call me at 312/593-1723.

Sincerely,

Patrick Murray

Developers who use a Visual Stduio Competitive Product� 5:30 PM
Devleopers who use a Visual Studio product from companies with 2 to 499 employees 12:00 NOON
MSDN Subscribers any size company 7:45 PM

The 12:00 NOON group pays $225.� The others $200

Silverlight Tour in Chicago

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

For the Silverlight fans out there, there is a Silverlight Tour coming to Chicago. You can find more details at: http://silverlight-tour.com/. This will also be offering classes on the new Silverlight 3.

We are now part of INETA!!!

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

You may have noticed a change to the site. On January 23, 2009, after 8 months of meetings, we have been welcomed into INETA! Much thanks to�Chris Williams�of INETA�for helping us through the process.

April 30: A Roundup from MIX09

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Join us on April 30th as the MIXITUP! TOUR makes it's stop at the Lake County .NET Users' Group.

Microsoft MVP, Anthony Handley will offer a roundup of Microsoft's major announcements from MIX09, which include information about Internet Explorer 8, ASP.NET MVC 1.0, Silverlight 3, Expression Blend 3, WebPI, Azure, and .NET RIA Services.

Anthony is a User Experience Specialist at Magenic in Chicago where he focuses on rich interactive solutions for the desktop and the web. In the technology community, Anthony evangelizes the value of better designer/developer collaboration and co-created and The Chicago Designers & Developers user group.

Upcoming MSDN Events

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Come spend a day with us to explore Windows AzureT - Microsoft's platform for building and deploying cloud based applications - from a real world point of view!

�

During this event, we'll review critical lessons Microsoft IT has learned migrating internal line-of-business applications to Windows AzureT.

�

What is Windows AzureT? When should I use it? How does it apply to my job?� Whether you're an IT Professional, Developer or Architect, we'll address your top of mind questions about cloud computing.

�

TechNet Presents - for the IT Professional from 8:30am to noon

In this session, we will discuss:

�

�� Azure architecture from the IT professional's point of view

�� Why an IT operations team would want to pursue Azure as an extension to the data center

�� Configuration, deployment and scaling Azure-based applications

�� The Azure roles (web, web service and worker)

�� Azure storage options

�� Azure security and identity options

�� How Azure-based applications can be integrated with on-premises applications

�� How operations teams can manage and monitor Azure-based applications

�

TechNet - Date/Location/Registration
8/18/2009	Columbus, OH	9/24/2009	Waukesha, WI
8/19/2009	Mason, OH	9/24/2009	Austin, TX
8/19/2009	Downers Grove, IL	9/29/2009	St. Louis, MO
8/20/2009	Indianapolis, IN	9/29/2009	Nashville, TN
8/20/2009	Dallas, TX	9/30/2009	Knoxville, TN
9/16/2009	Grand Rapids, MI	10/1/2009	Chicago, IL
9/17/2009	Southfield, MI	10/27/2009	Bloomington, MN
9/17/2009	Overland Park, KS	�	�
9/17/2009	Houston, TX	�	�
9/22/2009	Cleveland, OH	�	�
		�	�

�

MSDN Presents - for the Developer & Architect from 1:00pm to 5:00pm

In this session, we will discuss:

�

�� Cloud computing architectures in general and the Azure architecture in particular

�� Several aspects of Azure from the developer's and architect's perspective

�� Azure roles (web, web service and worker)

�� Azure storage options

�� Azure security and identity options

�� How Azure-based applications can be integrated with on-premise applications

�� Configuration, deployment and scaling Azure-based applications

�� How development teams can optimize their applications for better management and monitoring

�

MSDN - Date/Location/Registration
8/18/2009	Columbus, OH	9/24/2009	Waukesha, WI
8/19/2009	Mason, OH	9/24/2009	Austin, TX
8/19/2009	Downers Grove, IL	9/29/2009	St. Louis, MO
8/20/2009	Indianapolis, IN	9/29/2009	Nashville, TN
8/20/2009	Dallas, TX	9/30/2009	Knoxville, TN
9/16/2009	Grand Rapids, MI	10/1/2009	Chicago, IL
9/17/2009	Southfield, MI	10/27/2009	Bloomington, MN
9/17/2009	Overland Park, KS	�	�
9/17/2009	Houston, TX	�	�
9/22/2009	Cleveland, OH	�	�
		�	�

�

LCNUG April 14: .Net Memory Management and Garbage Collection

Sun, 20 Mar 2011 00:00:00 GMT

ABSTRACT:
Managing memory in .NET is something that most developers ignore until they're assigned to investigating OutOfMemory exceptions.� Learn how .NET handles memory behind the scenes, the internals of the GC, best practices, patterns to avoid and how to investigate memory problems.

BIO:
Dave Black | http://dave-black.blogspot.com
Black Box Solutions, Inc. | Owner, .NET Solutions Architect
Dave has been writing software since 1994 and became an independent consultant in 2006, opening Black Box Solutions, Inc. Dave is MCPD certified and enjoys learning about and teaching best practices, the internals of the CLR, performance tuning, finding and fixing memory leaks and playing with WinDbg. He's a graduate of Northern Illinois University with a B.S. degree in Mathematics.� Dave has worked and consulted for several large corporate clients:� Microsoft Consulting Services, Motorola, CDW, Mercer, ULine and Allstate Insurance Company as well as several smaller companies.� He recently started a blog - http://dave-black.blogspot.com.� Dave resides in Lindenhurst with his wife and two children.� He is also a speed freak who loves driving (and drag-racing) his 700hp daily-driver Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4.

LCNUG Sept 8: Programming WCF Services

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT

ABSTRACT:
Basic WCF programming has changed over the years and moved the dial to simpler, easier to implement services. In this talk, we cover the overall architecture of WCF so that you know how all the building blocks fit together. Using this knowledge, you will be able to enhance your messaging environment in whatever ways you see fit. Even if you have been using WCF for a while, you are sure to pick up something new about the WCF stack.

BIO:
Scott Seely is the president of Friseton, LLC, www.friseton.com. From 2002 to 2006, Scott was a developer on the WCF/Indigo team at Microsoft. Today, he is a Microsoft Regional Director in Chicago where he helps lead the Lake County .NET Users' Group, organize Code Camps, and speaks at user groups throughout the region. His community involvement has earned him a Microsoft MVP Award for Connected Systems.

Follow up - September meeting on C Sharp 4

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Mike Stall's presentation on C# 4.0 drew our biggest crowd yet - 32 people! There was a lot of interactive discussion, and question and answer, about the new language features. Thanks to our various sponsors, we had free pizza, pop, and gave away some books as raffle prizes.

LCNUG Mar 10: Introduction to SharePoint Development with Visual Studio 2010

Sat, 26 Feb 2011 00:00:00 GMT

ROOM: T332

Abstract:
Microsoft SharePoint 2010 has evolved into a great developer platform with new tools, services and APIs. Visual Studio 2010 now provides a first class development environment for building SharePoint 2010 solutions.� This session will provide an overview of the new project and item templates, flexible packaging and deployment, and many other development features and tools.� If you're a SharePoint developer, or an ASP.NET developer planning to do SharePoint development, you won't want to miss this session.

Bio:
Paul Schaeflein (MVP, MCT, MCPD) is an application developer with experience in all versions of the SharePoint platform. Paul has presented at user groups, as well as the Microsoft SharePoint Conference and the Best Practices conference. Paul is also a writer, providing contributions to books, periodicals, CodePlex projects and his weblog. Paul has more than two decades experience in architecting, designing and developing software solutions. This experience covers a vast range of technologies, languages and industries. Having developed many line-of-business applications, Paul has a firm grasp on the challenges that corporate developers face when integrating them into a corporate portal.

�

LCNUG Dec 8: .Net Memory Management PART 2

Sat, 26 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Follow up - April meeting on Mix09 Roundup

Fri, 01 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Yesterday's LCNUG on a roundup from Mix09, by Larry Clarkin (who filled in for Anthony Handley), drew about 20 people. It was a lively presentation, with a lot of discussions afterwards.

We were lucky to be able to give away a lot of swag, including a license from Nevron (a data visualization tool), and another license from NDepend (a static code analyzer and more). We also had tons of books (including a copy of Effective REST Services via .NET from our own Scott Seely), copies of Windows 7 Vista, a squishy ball. Literally every attendee got something.

LCNUG Dec 16: Package Management with NuGet

Mon, 29 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT

NOTE: Due to a schedule conflict, Clark Sell will be presenting, not Dave Bost on WP7.

Abstract:
NuGet (formerly known as NuPack) is a free, open source developer focused package management system for the .NET platform intent on simplifying the process of incorporating third party libraries into a .NET application during development. NuGet is a member of the ASP.NET Gallery in the Outercurve Foundation.

BIO:
Clark Sell� | http://csell.net
Microsoft | Senior Developer Evangelist
Name a role in the software industry, and Clark has probably played it. He started as a Y2K tester and has since worked as a developer, lead, "build monkey," solutions architect and product manager. His professional sweet spot however, lies in designing and building software solutions that make life easier - there's no chance for boredom and constant opportunities for growth. Clark is MCSD certified and received top Microsoft honors with the Circle of Excellence Award. He's a graduate of Western Illinois University and before joining Microsoft in 2005, he served as a solutions architect at Allstate Insurance Company. As a senior developer evangelist and Visual Studio team system ranger, Clark brings a good dose of humor and a zest for life to the podium. You can hear Clark's technical musings on "The Smackdown" at DeveloperSmackdown.com and The Thirsty Developer podcast - or find him getting grease under his nails in the garage. Clark's a muscle car fanatic who's currently finishing a body-off restoration of his 1970 Chevrolet Camaro while driving his 1968 Camaro SS.�

LCNUG May 12: .NET MonoDroid Does

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMT

ABSTRACT:
With the recent release of the MonoDroid project by Novell, .Net developers now have the ability to target the fastest growing mobile platform on the market using C# and the core .Net APIs.
This presentation is intended to introduce developers to the Android platform and show how MonoDroid enables .Net developers to develop for the platform.
Topics covered include:
Android Architecture
What is MonoDroid
How MonoDroid works
MonoDroid vs. Native Android SDK
Android App Basics and Sample Apps

BIO:
Kevin McMahon is a software developer based in Chicago.� When he is not writing code for a financial services company, you can probably find him developing apps for iOS and Android devices or teaching mobile development to high school kids for the 21st Century Youth Project. He blogs at http://blog.kevfoo.com and can be found on Twitter at @klmcmahon.

�

Check out the job postings on the LCNUG job board

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Check out the job postings on the LCNUG job board (http://www.lcnug.org/Jobs.aspx). We have two postings so far. One is for standard .Net development, another has an emphasis on SharePoint. If you'd like to post a job, please contact tstall@lcnug.org.

Follow up - July meeting on ExtJS

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Yesterday's LCNUG meeting on ExtJS, by Arthur Kay of GFX, drew about a dozen people. As always, there were lots of questions from the crowd, new people, and lively conversations afterwards. We gave away some books and copies of Windows 7 Vista.

LCNUG Feb 10: ALM Features of Visual Studio and TFS 2010

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Abstract:
Visual Studio and its companion Team Foundation Server underwent significant reorganization and rebranding for the 2010 release.� We'll explore the changes since the 2008 product line in terms of high level features and provide an overview of the ALM features present in the tools.� For those of you using 2008 or prior, this talk will help you to understand where you can find old and new features a like.� We'll demonstrate a few of the more high profile ones.

Bio:
Chris Kadel is a Principal with Polaris Solutions, LLC (http://www.polarissolutions.com) - a leading ALM focused consultancy based out of Chicago, IL.� Chris has been in the IT industry for 13 years and has been both a corporate IT developer as well as consultant.� Since founding Polaris Solutions, Chris has been most excited about Application Lifecycle Management and Agile methodologies.� Chris works his days at his clients as a solution architect and sometimes a developer.� Lately, Chris has started the Chicago Visual Studio ALM User Group (http://chicagoalmug.org) where the focus of that group is the topics surrounding Visual Studio and TFS.

�

MADdotNET news - Windows 7 event and speaking options

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

This is a news item from the MADdotNET group that may interest LCNUG members:

1) This coming Saturday, October 24th -- MADdotNET (the Madison .NET User Group) is co-sponsoring an a huge event with Microsoft for Madison!�� "MADcamp & 7 fest" - A full day of Windows 7 and .NET - IT Pro & Development Presentations!

If you hadn't heard, the Chicago Windows 7 launch event sold out in under 2 hours!

But we were fortunate enough to get Microsoft to bring the majority of the presentations out to us - and only two places in all of the Mid-West have a SevenFest - Madison, WI and Indianapolis, IN - so unless you're planning on driving down to Indiana - sign up for quickly for the Madison SevenFest / MADcamp.

Space is limited! Reserve your tickets on the site today.

Great prizes as well to raffle!

See more info on http://www.maddotnet.com/!

2) We have a couple prime speaker slots open -- and we'd love to give other User Group members the chance to speak to a great group of people -- if you're interested in speaking, drop me a line ( mail@lancelarsen.com ) an email asap!

Speakers get an extra ticket for the raffle as well as other thank you gifts provided by our sponsors.

LCNUG May 27: Introduction to the Microsoft WCF RIA Services

Thu, 06 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Abstract

Microsoft Silverlight provides a strong foundation for building Rich Internet Applications (RIA). WCF RIA Services introduced in this further simplify Line of Business (LoB) RIA development. It complements the existing Data Access Layer and presentation components in the .NET framework and Silverlight. They build on the foundation of ASP.NET and codify, evolve and support some of the common patterns in web applications. .NET RIA Services address the complexity of building n-tier applications through framework, tools and services. Framework components support prescriptive patterns for writing application logic and validation so that it can be easily used on the presentation tier. In this talk, we will look at the key aspects of .NET RIA Services preview. We will introduce the challenges of building an n-tier RIA and the approach taken to address the challenges.

Bio

Chris Woodruff or Woody to friends has a degree in Computer Science from Michigan State University College of Engineering. Woody has been developing and architecting software solutions for almost 15 years and has worked in many different platforms and tools. He is a community leader helping such events as Day of .NET Ann Arbor, West Michigan Day of .NET and CodeMash. As a speaker and podcaster, Woody has spoken and discussed topics from databases to open source. He is a Microsoft MVP in Data Platform Development.

Woody is the co-host of the popular podcast Deep Fried Bytes and blogs at www.cloudsocket.com. He is the President of the West Michigan .NET User Group, an INETA Membership mentor for Michigan and Ohio and also is a co-founder of nPlus1.com site.

Woody has worked in many industries through the years including medical, manufacturing, publishing, promotion execution and automotive. He has experience with starting and running new ventures from his past work with technology startups.

�
http://www.chriswoodruff.com

LCNUG Apr 22: Re-MIX, MIX redux. or just plain MIXed Up

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

ABSTRACT
Did you miss the Microsoft MIX 2010 conference?� Well let's have a fun chat about MIX.� With so much stuff covered in those 72 hours, it's just impossible to try and cover it all in less than 2 hours. If you're looking for slides then this isn't the session for you.� We are going to take a technology tour for a few of the technologies that were making all the buzz on the floors of the MIX conference.

� Introduction to MEF
� ASP.NET MVC
� OData
� Silverlight 4
� Windows Phone 7 Series
� IE9

As if that wasn't good enough, I have a Zune HD to give away.

BIO: Clark Sell�
http://csell.net
Microsoft | Senior Developer Evangelist

Name a role in the software industry, and Clark has probably played it. He started as a Y2K tester and has since worked as a developer, lead, "build monkey," solutions architect and product manager. His professional sweet spot however, lies in designing and building software solutions that make life easier - there's no chance for boredom and constant opportunities for growth. Clark is MCSD certified and received top Microsoft honors with the Circle of Excellence Award. He's a graduate of Western Illinois University and before joining Microsoft in 2005, he served as a solutions architect at Allstate Insurance Company. As a senior developer evangelist and Visual Studio team system ranger, Clark brings a good dose of humor and a zest for life to the podium. You can hear Clark's technical musings on "The Smackdown" at DeveloperSmackdown.com and The Thirsty Developer podcast - or find him getting grease under his nails in the garage. Clark's a muscle car fanatic who's currently finishing a body-off restoration of his 1970 Chevrolet Camaro.�

LCNUG: July 14 - An Introduction to Practical Unit Testing

Sun, 26 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Download: http://www.timstall.com/2011/07/presentation-introduction-to-practical.html

Abstract:
Unit testing is one of those buzzwords that every developer hears about, but relatively few projects actually do in a way that adds value. Many developers view unit tests as some "tax" imposed by management. This presentation will show how to start using free tools to write unit tests that add immediate value, as well as dispel several common myths and abuses of unit testing. We'll touch on more advanced topics such as mocking, IOC, code coverage, integration into the development life cycle, and writing tests for legacy vs. new code. It will explain how unit tests fit with other types of automated tests (integration, functional, database, UI, performance), as well as how unit tests are but one technique in a developers' tool belt to craft better code.

Bio:
Tim Stall is an Application Architect at CDW.� He specializes in .Net, has a passion for software craftsmanship, ALM, developer process, tools, continual education, and enjoys writing blogs and developing side projects.� Tim resides in Chicago with his wife and three kids.

October 29: The Windows Azure Platform

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

What is the Windows Azure Platform? How can I take advantage of the Windows Azure Platform to scale my applications? We will answer these questions and more as we dive into the parts of the Windows Azure Platform and why it is the best cloud computing platform for .NET developers. We will discuss how to take advantage of Web and Worker roles to expose your application to your customers and to scale your computing power with a flip of a switch. We will also dive into the storage options found in the Windows Azure Platform including Table, Blob, Queues and the recently announced SQL Azure.

�

Dave Bost is a Developer Evangelist with Microsoft and co-host of the Thirsty Developer Podcast. Dave has been a Software Developer and Solution Architect for over 15-years. Prior to joining Microsoft, Dave cut his technical teeth working with many Fortune-500 companies as a technical mentor and consultant.

Dave started his technical passion back in the days of the Commodore-64 when he wrote his first assembly-language program that produced a hot-air balloon which sailed across his Commodore 1701 Video Monitor. From there, he was hooked. This led to a Computer Science degree at Northern Illinois University, where he soon started his professional career in the Unix/C world and a short time later, starting his Microsoft developer career. For the past decade, Dave has spent most of his time building web-based applications for the Microsoft platform. As a technologist, Dave doesn't spend all his time in the Microsoft world as he likes to spend his time dabbling with the latest technologies, tools and movements coming out of the software industry.

Outside of his professional life, Dave enjoys discovering new music with his Zune Pass, defending the universe against 13-year olds on box Live, and playing golf (whenever his wife lets him). You can read Dave's blog at http://davebost.com/blog or listen to the Thirsty Developer Podcast at http://thirstydeveloper.com.

March Meeting on Layered Design - follow up

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Yesterday's LCNUG meeting on Layered Design, by Kurt Schroeder, attracted more than 20 people. As the group continues to grow, we had several new faces.

We also gave away good raffle prizes - several books and software licenses from CodeZone, and three software monitoring licenses from GurockSoftware. Afterwards, people hung out and discussed various development issues with their peers.

LCNUG July 30: Using ExtJS to create an n-Tier UI

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Abstract:

Quality multi-tier web applications have clear separation between the Presentation, Logic, and Data layers; however, the Presentation (or UI) layer is often a tiny afterthought in the application's blueprint. Web applications relying heavily on AJAX are especially vulnerable to poor organization, a fact which severely impacts the developer's ability to maintain and debug their code. ExtJS, a leading JavaScript framework, provides developers with a stable library of objects and widgets which we will use to create a strong UI layer with eye-catching effects.

Speaker Bio:�
Arthur Kay is currently working as Senior Web Developer at GFX International and spends much of his free time completing freelance development work. His expertise includes web technologies like ASP.NET, PHP, JavaScript and AJAX, as well as search engine optimization, online marketing and usability. Arthur studied computer science at Loyola University Chicago, and has been working in web development for more than ten years.

Level: 200

No December LCNUG meeting

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

There will be no December LCNUG meeting.

Happy Holidays!

June 25: F#, a functional programming language

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

�

Register: �http://www.eventbrite.com/event/357061982

Abstract:

F#, a new functional programming language from Microsoft Research, is making its debut in Visual Studio 2010. What is it, why should developers care about "yet another language", and why would my boss care? Learn what F# is, how it works, and what problems it solves.

Learn why there is a good chance that, as a .NET developer, functional programming will be part of your future.

Bio:

Aaron Erickson is a technology writer, enthusiast, and practitioner based out of Chicago, IL. His life's work is to help convert the human intellectual capital into results for companies that empower both the knowledge workers who produce software, and the people for whom that software is designed to serve. He frequently speaks at events such as TechEd, VSLive, and .NET user groups - with a goal of furthering the exchange of ideas - be they technology contributions - or observations about the technology consulting business. He is the author of the upcoming book, "The Nomadic Developer", a career guide for technology consultants, which will be published in May of 2009. In his spare time he likes to buy random ingredients at the store and have "iron chef"

night with his wife, play video games with his kids, and on occasion - spend time on Lord of The Rings Online or XBOX Live. He also cuts a mean axe on Rock Band.

LCNUG Sept 9: WebMatrix

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Abstract:
WebMatrix is everything you need to build Web sites using Windows. It includes IIS Developer Express (a development Web server), ASP.NET (a Web framework), and SQL Server Compact (an embedded database). It streamlines Web site development and makes it easy to start Web sites from popular open-source apps. The skills and code you develop with WebMatrix transition seamlessly to Visual Studio and SQL Server. Learn how to use the new MVC engine, Razor, and the WebMatrix IDE.

Bio
Clark Sell - Name a role in the software industry, and Clark has probably played it. He started as a Y2K tester and has since worked as a developer, lead, "build monkey," solutions architect and product manager. His professional sweet spot however, lies in designing and building software solutions that make life easier - there's no chance for boredom and constant opportunities for growth. Clark is MCSD certified and received top Microsoft honors with the Circle of Excellence Award. He's a graduate of Western Illinois University and before joining Microsoft in 2005, he served as a solutions architect at Allstate Insurance Company. As a senior developer evangelist and Visual Studio team system ranger, Clark brings a good dose of humor and a zest for life to the podium. You can hear Clark's technical musings on "The Smackdown" at DeveloperSmackdown.com and The Thirsty Developer podcast - or find him getting grease under his nails in the garage. Clark's a muscle car fanatic who's currently finishing a body-off restoration of his 1970 Chevrolet Camaro.�

February 26: Code Generation with CodeSmith

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

ABSTRACT

Many developers are familiar with CodeSmith, Eric Smith's template-based code generation engine that has become extremely popular in the last several years. It's a great way to stamp out boilerplate code, and it has templates for many popular frameworks. In this working session - which will be very light on PowerPoint - we'll take a walk through automating code generation usingCodeSmith's API. Starting with an EntityMap, we'll build several layers of a real application (no Northwind stuff here), from stored procedures to DALs to base Business Objects. We'll also take a look at incorporating this into an automated/daily build. Code that writes code - there's nothing like it!

BIO:�Dan Souk

Dan has been designing and building custom software for fifteen years on the Microsoft platform for a variety of industries and customers. He has broad experience as a developer, architect and technical PM with large-scale .Net software projects, and believes strongly in the potential for automation of the software development process. After spending much of the last five years on the road, four with Avanade and one with Blackbaud, he is now building an IT consulting business in Chicago with Centric Consulting.

LCNUG September 24: C Sharp 4.0

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Abstract:� Mike Stall will present on the new features in C# 4.0, including named and optional parameters, dynamic support, scripting, office interop and No-PIA (Primary-Interop-Assemblies) support.

Bio: Mike Stall is a� Principle Software Developer at Microsoft. He worked on the .NET Runtime (CLR) since before the initial 1.0 version up through 4.0, mainly focusing on the debugging services. He switched to the Visual Studio Languages (VSL) team, which includes the C#, VB, Iron Python, F#, and Iron Ruby. Mike was a cofounder for the "Building Development and Diagnostic Tools for .NET" forum, and has a blog at http://blogs.msdn.com/jmstall.

LCNUG moving to the second Thursday of each month

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The LCNUG will be moving to the second Thursday of each month. We're still at CLC. We hope to see you there!

UPDATE - June 25 meeting topic switched to "Introduction to AOP with PostSharp"

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

TITLE: Introduction to AOP with PostSharp

ABSTRACT:
Starting with an example of how things are done using normal techniques. Then install PostSharp and then step by step refactor to using Aspects to replace things like logging, validation, security and/or transactions. Finally give a brief history of the PostSharp product and references to more info and alternative toolsets.

DOWNLOAD presentation:�http://just3ws.pbworks.com/Introduction-to-AOP-with-PostSharp

BIO:
Mike Hall aka just3ws is a software developer with nearly 10 years of experience developing on the Microsoft platform. Despite getting a TRS-80 Color Computer III for First Communion his love for computers just got deeper and weirder. When the bubble hit in the late 90's he jumped on the web and wrote horrible looking websites. (Hey, really? You read this far? Cool. Okay, here's the deal. I'm Mike, nice to meet you. I assume you like being a software developer too. I don't really care which platform either. How about we grab a beer or overpriced coffee and shoot the breeze. Alright? Later.) In ole '99 Mike took his show on the road and convinced someone to hire him as a sysadmin full-time, but soon realized that he was spending more time writing scripts than fixing network issues. Serendipity introduced him to a master programmer and he got his first junior programming gig a short while later. Mike jumped on ASP.NET back when it was XSP and has working up and down the .NET stack ever since. Now Mike is venturing out into the world of user-groups and conferences. Say "Hi", Mike likes meeting you, learning new stuff, clean code, warm socks, mocking OS fanatics, long walks on the beach, beer and the software industry. Mike hopes that he can say something that you find useful for your chosen profession most of all. He can be found on nearly all the usual social-networking sites with the handle, just3ws. And, yes, just3ws means "www".

Architecture event on Monday Dec 7

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

There is an Architecture Summit taking place on Monday (12/7/2009)�that LCNUG members might be interested in.

https://www.clicktoattend.com/invitation.aspx?code=142763

nPlus1.org is hosting its fifth Architecture Summit on December�7th at the Microsoft MTC�in Chicago, IL. The topic of this summit will be Patterns and Principles.

Morning Session (Optional): An Introduction to Object Oriented Programming

10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Are you new to OOP? Do you want a refresher on the benefits of Interfaces and the differences between implements and extends? The morning session is a two hour introductory course of Object Oriented Programming. If you are new to OOP the lessons in this session will prepare you for the more advanced topics in the afternoon.

If you are already well versed in OOP then feel free to come have a refresher, or simply join us for lunch and the advanced sessions in the afternoon. The morning session is completely optional.

Afternoon sessions:

Session One: Software Patterns

Patterns are an important tool to use as architects and developers. They provide a common vocabulary for us to design with, as well as a common approach to a common problem. Come learn about useful patterns, and how to use them in your everyday code.

Session Two: How I Learned To Love Dependency Injection

Dependency Injection is one of those scary topics that most developers avoid. It sounds all 'high-falootin' and complex. It's not. Really. We wouldn't lie. It's a great way to manage complexity in your system, and a great way to make your system so much more testable. And isn't that what we all want?

Each session will be followed by open discussions periods.

A catered lunch will be provided starting at noon. This will divide the morning introductory sessions from the advanced sessions. Register once for all session and choose to attend the morning, the afternoon or both! Lunch is provided for attendees for any of the sessions.

About nPlus1.org

nPlus1.org is a site dedicated to helping Architects, aspiring Architects and Lead Developers learn, connect and contribute. At nplu1.org�you have access to great first party content written by some of the most skilled and experienced Architects working today. You also have access to a nexus of content from around the Internet aimed at keeping Architects up to date on all the new developments in their fields of interest.

LCNUG Aug 11: Mango WP7

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT

ABSTRACT:
You have the Mango bits now let's learn how to light up your apps on Windows Phone Codename "Mango". Prepare yourself for the upcoming release of "Mango" as Dave Bost, Microsoft Developer Evangelist, comes to the Lake County .NET Users Group to discuss new features found in the Windows Phone 7.1 SDK including multitasking, sockets, XNA+Silverlight and enhancements in the Windows Phone developer tools.

BIO:
Dave Bost is a Technical Evangelist in Microsoft's Developer and Platform Evangelism (DPE) Division. In this role, Dave works with the broad developer community to help them succeed on the Microsoft Platform. Prior to joining Microsoft, he was a Software Developer and Solution Architect working with many Fortune 500 companies as a technical mentor and consultant. Dave started his technical passion when he wrote his first assembly-language program out of a Commodore-64 manual that produced a hot-air balloon to sail across his Commodore 1701 Video Monitor. From there, he was hooked on creating something from nothing with software. More recently, Dave's passion and drive falls into helping other's succeed in building apps for the Windows Phone Platform. You can contact Dave at http://davebost.com, listen to him on the Thirsty Developer Podcast, or follow him at http://twitter.com/davebost.

March 26: Layered design and normalized behavior vs. "The other way"

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The next LCNUG meeting is March 26, starting at 6:30pm.

ABSTRACT

We will look at two versions of the snap shot section of a stock market system based on point and figure charting. I want to show how well thought out inheritance and using polymorphism can make the above manageable as well as understandable. Above all else I want us to have some fun doing this.

System one was created with a 2 layered approach using sqldatasource with analysis divided between, the data and the UI layer. Originally, all function and analysis was intended occurred in the data layer. As time went by, this became impractical. In its current form the source code both sql and vb is a "marvel" to behold! As I said lets have fun with it.

System two is a redesign following a design pattern outlined in an article series by Imar Spaanjaars, "N-Layered Web Applications with ASP.NET 3.5". Included is an interesting method of validation using custom attributes.

BIO: Kurt Schroeder

LCNUG Nov 18: Introduction to PowerShell for Developers

Wed, 27 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT

NOTE: For November only, we will host this the THIRD Thursday (Nov 18) instead of the second Thursday of the month.

Abstract

PowerShell is the new object-oriented automation framework from Microsoft.� PowerShell was released to web on October 16th, 2006 and has become a part of the Common Engineering Criteria for 2009.� This means that every server based product released from the Microsoft fiscal year of 2009 must support PowerShell.� Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 have PowerShell as their default command line environment.� PowerShell is baked in to a number of server products, ranging from Exchange to IIS to SharePoint to Systems Center: Virtual Machine Manager.

IT Pro's have been quickly learning PowerShell as current and upcoming Microsoft and ISV's products include PowerShell support or focus on PowerShell for their management and automation. PowerShell also provides a great framework for developers, allowing them to tap into WMI, COM, as well as the .NET Framework to accomplish various tasks like testing, build/deploy, provisioning/configuration, systems monitoring, and troubleshooting. PowerShell also exposes a framework for building a consistent management API and allows for the hosting of the runtime to provide your applications a scriptable engine.

Bio - Steven Murawski is a rabid PowerShell enthusiast who spends his free time contributing to open source projects, helping grow the PowerShell community both locally (through the Greater Milwaukee Script Club) and worldwide (through PowerShellCommunity.Org), and carrying the message of developing manageable and automate-able applications to all that will listen.

�

LCNUG Feb 9: Developing with REST & LINQ in Microsoft SharePoint 2010

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

ABSTRACT:

SharePoint 2010 has new and improved ways to work with data. LINQ to SharePoint lets a developer work with data from SharePoint lists in a strongly typed way that preserves relationships between lists. Integration of ADO.NET Data Services provides a way to get data from SharePoint remotely using REST-style Web services. This session demonstrates how to write code that uses each of these new data-oriented features and shows some new SharePoint platform data-oriented features along the way. We also explain how to choose which data access technology is best for different custom development scenarios.

BIO:

Paul Schaeflein (MVP, MCT, MCPD) is an application developer with experience in all versions of the SharePoint platform. Paul has presented at user groups, as well as the Microsoft SharePoint Conference and the Best Practices conference. Paul is also a writer, providing contributions to books, periodicals, CodePlex projects and his weblog. Paul has more than two decades experience in architecting, designing and developing software solutions. This experience covers a vast range of technologies, languages and industries. Having developed many line-of-business applications, Paul has a firm grasp on the challenges that corporate developers face when integrating them into a corporate portal.

�

LCNUG Aug 26: WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation)

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Abstract
WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation) is most commonly used to query for hard drives, find out what services are running, and other basic Windows functions. But, did you know that you can make your own objects queryable in WMI as well, as well as send custom events? We'll go over how to query machine state with WMI, and then how to instrument your own applications with WMI as well. Finally, I'll show how to make a custom MMC plugin powered with WMI.

Bio:
Nick Schweitzer is a Milwaukee Area Software Consultant with more than 12 years of experience. He is a Senior Consultant at SpiderLogic (http://www.spiderlogic.com) in Milwaukee and has worked with clients ranging from medium size firms, to Fortune 500 companies. He sometimes blogs at The Coding Monkey (http://www.thecodingmonkey.net) and is active on Twitter (@NickSchweitzer).

�

May 28: Dependency Inversion

Wed, 06 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Break free from the shackles in your code by learning how to utilize Dependency Inversion to loosely couple your code.

REGISTER:�http://www.eventbrite.com/event/340783292

It is no secret that highly coupled code causes developers pain and suffering every day.� Highly coupled code is hard to maintain, painful to read and darn near impossible to test with any degree of confidence.� Yet knowing these facts developers still insist on writing highly couple code.

In this session we will take a look examples of highly coupled code and lean how we can utilize the Dependency Inversion principle (part of the SOLID principles) to help free your code from these dependencies.� We will do this by evolving an existing codebase which is highly coupled to one which is very loosely coupled.� By the end of this session you will be armed with the ability to spot tightly couple code from a mile away along with the knowledge on how to start breaking free from the shackles of coupled code.

Bio:

Derik is a software developer currently working with AllscriptsMisys Healthcare.� Derik has over 9 years of experience developing, mentoring and leading Microsoft based products for a wide variety of different professional fields.�

Derik is a C# MVP and is a member of the ASPInsiders group.� He has been working exclusively with .Net since its inception and has professional experience in both VB.net as well as C#.� He is also a follower and believer in the Agile methodologies and has wide array of experience using various Agile techniques in the real world.� You can catch Derik online as a member of the blogging group Devlicio.us (http://devlicio.us/blogs/derik_whittaker/) or over at www.DimeCasts.Net.

Outside of his day job you can find Derik hanging out with his wife and 2 son's.� He also enjoys all things sports (go Braves) and can be found at the local climbing gym on most weekends.

LCNUG July 29: Microsoft Extensibility Framework (MEF)

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Abstract:
"The Managed Extensibility Framework (MEF) is a new library in .NET that enables greater reuse of applications and components. Using MEF, .NET applications can make the shift from being statically compiled to dynamically composed. If you are building extensible applications, extensible frameworks and application extensions, then MEF is for you." (http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/mef)

Bio:
Damon Payne is a life-long geek, Microsoft MVP, father, husband, audio/videonut, atheist, philosopher, wine drinker, and short order cook who lives inthe unexplored swamps near Milwaukee. Damon works mostly in the areas ofSmart Client software (including Silverlight, WPF, and Windows Phone 7) ,visual tools, and Solution Architecture; he also does web programming andhas professional interests in parallel programming, agile processes, andrequirements gathering. Damon is currently the Principal Software Architect at Big Hammer Data. Youcan find steady updates and detailed articles at www.damonpayne.com.

�

LCNUG Nov 19: F Sharp

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Abstract:

Learn why there is a good chance that, as a .NET developer, functional programming will be part of your future.

Bio:

Aaron Erickson is a technology writer, enthusiast, and practitioner based out of Chicago, IL.� His life's work is to help convert the human intellectual capital into results for companies that empower both the knowledge workers who produce software, and the people for whom that software is designed to serve.� He frequently speaks at events such as TechEd, VSLive, and .NET user groups - with a goal of furthering the exchange of ideas - be they technology contributions - or observations about the technology consulting business.� He is the author of the book, "The Nomadic Developer", a career guide for technology consultants.� In his spare time he likes to buy random ingredients at the store and have "iron chef" night with his wife, play video games with his kids, and on occasion - spend time on Lord of The Rings Online or XBOX Live.� He also cuts a mean axe on Rock Band.

�

Follow up - August meeting on Expression Blend 3

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Last Thursday's LCNUG meeting on Expression Blend 3 had about 20 people, including several first-timers again. MVP Anthony Handley gave a dynamic presentation, with a lot of discussion afterwards. Thanks to our sponsors, we had free pizza and swag.

New Sponsor: Gurock Software

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The LCNUG is pleased to add a new sponsor: Gurock Software.

Gurock Software specializes in tools for software development teams and quality assurance departments. Gurock's first product SmartInspect is a Delphi, Java and .NET logging tool for debugging and monitoring software applications. Gurock's second product TestRail is a test management software that helps managing software testing efforts and quality assurance departments.

LCNUG Jan 13: LightSwitch

Tue, 04 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT

ABSTRACT:
Many tools are available to create forms over data applications.� LightSwitch introduces the next evolution by making it easy enough for a typical business analyst to create their own applications without the assistance of developers.� LightSwitch allows rapid development and deployment of simple applications with the capability to integrate with larger systems by masking the complex Silverlight 4, XAML, LingQ, Entity Framework 4, and C# that would typically be required.� Based on Silverlight 4, solutions can be quickly deployed as either web-based applications or standalone client installations.

BIO:
Erin Rakickas began coding at a young age on a Tandy Model 4P and has loved coding ever since.� Erin collects hobbies:� including model railroading, photography, and gaming.� He's always looking for a way to improve his hobbies through technology.� He lives in Grayslake, IL with his wife and two children.

�

LCNUG Jan 28 - Introduction to Rake with Albacore.NET

Mon, 28 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Ruby and Rake isn't just for Rubyinst or Alphageeks anymore. Albacore.NET makes setting up a build automation stack for .NET amazingly easy. Using the Albacore.NET Rake tasks it's never been easier to handle database migrations, build automation, test execution and continuous integration.

BIO: Mike Hall
http://www.just3ws.com

LCNUG August 27: Expression Blend 3

Sat, 08 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Microsoft MVP, Anthony Handley will be talking about Expression Blend 3. He'll cover some of Blend's newest features and show how SketchFlow can help designers and developers easily create interactive prototypes for desktop and web applications.

uxconfidential.com
cd2ug.org

CANCELLED - LCNUG June 24: Leverage Open XML To Write Powerful Document Gen

Sun, 06 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Due to a family emergency, the speaker cannot make it, and we need to cancel this event.
We apologize for the inconvenience.

Abstract

Document generation can be a powerful tool for developing products such as marketing aid or contacts. At the same time it can be challenging to develop applications that give you full control of the Office object model and do not require huge server farms to run. Open XML offers a solution to both of these problems. This talk will give details that will give you a head start using Open XML SDK 2.0 to customer ready PowerPoint and Word documents.

Bio

Tim Murphy is a Technical Specialist at PSC Group, LLC (www.psclistens.com). He has been an IT Consultant for the past eleven years specializing in Microsoft technologies and Software Architecture. Tim is a co-leader of the Chicago Architects Group as well as a contributing author of the book The Definitive Guide to the Microsoft Enterprise Library. Recently he has also spoken at the nPlus1 ArcSummit in Chicago and appeared on the Thirsty Developer podcast.

http://geekswithblogs.net/tmurphy