February 1, 2011 By 106 Comments

I need your help to get to Microsoft MIX 2011

mix_2011_vote_miguel_carrasco

Microsoft Mix is one of my favorite conferences that I haven’t been to. What do I mean? Well every year I head to the MVP Summit, and every year I hear how amazing Mix was last year, and how much more amazing the upcoming MIX is going to be!

This year I thought I would take a stab at submitting two entries to Microsoft Mix, and I was pleased to have been selected for the final round of voting.  There are some pretty amazing speakers in the running for open call spots, so I’m excited just to be on the same list with some of these guys and gals.

If you have time, please click on the links below to take you to my MIX sessions.  You will be able to vote for me, and hopefully when the dust settles, you will be able to download and watch my MIX 2011 talk live!

Mobile First Design – Laser Focus on User Experience

Mobile is taking the world by storm. Your clients demand beautiful experiences on mobile devices, as well as the desktop. However for many developers and designers, the mobile application is the last piece you think about when developing solutions. What if you could design your solutions by starting with the mobile? Could this approach actually benefit applications written for the desktop? By laser focusing on the most important aspects of the application, and designing for mobile devices first, you ensure your application allows users to perform tasks quickly and with grace.

Please vote here

Building Engaging User Experiences with SharePoint 2010 and Expression Studio

The world of software and web development has changed. If users aren’t drawn in and engaged with your web sites, applications, or internal portals, they will go elsewhere… fast. Never before has it been so important for SharePoint developers to focus on the user experience. During this session, you will learn 10 practical ways to customize SharePoint to ensure you capture your customer’s attention, make things easy to do, and ensure they never leave. Based on real world experiences, this session is sure to give you some practical tips, tricks, and advice you can use immediately. Learn to leverage SharePoint 2010 tools to customize your experiences, and make them unique.

Please vote here

Filed Under: Events, Microsoft, User Experience
April 27, 2010 By 114 Comments

Winnipeg Visual Studio 2010 Launch

imax 
Visual Studio 2010 from Microsoft is definitely a game changer for software developers. On May 11th, 2010, Anvil Digital, Microsoft, ImagiNET, and Protegra are happy to bring you the Winnipeg Visual Studio 2010 Launch event at The Imax Theatre!

I’m really excited about this event because it features some of the best presenters in Winnipeg presenting on some really awesome topics! Make sure you register today as spaces are limited. There should be some pretty good prizes, food, presentations, and just a phenomenal opportunity to network with other people in the field. There are a few pretty good surprise draws as well, so bring your co-workers and friends.

Check out the agenda for the Visual Studio 2010 Launch Even below, or download the PDF File and post the invite at your office. We look forward to seeing you at the event!

Agenda

8:00 – 9:00     Registration and Continental Breakfast
9:00 – 9:15     Welcome
9:15 – 10:30   VS.NET 2010 Team Foundation Testing Tools – Aaron Kowall
10:45 – 12:00  Architecting Apps with VS.NET 2010  – Miguel Carrasco & Dylan Smith
1:30 – 2:45     What’s New for Teams in Visual Studio 2010 – Steve Porter
3:00 – 4:15     Developing Web Applications Using ASP.NET
                     with VS.NET 2010 – D’Arcy Lussier & Jason Klassen
4:15 – 4:30     Prize Giveaways

Sponsors

Microsoft ImagiNET Anvil Digital Protegra

Register for Visual Studio 2010 Launch Event – Tuesday May 11th, 2010

Download Official Invitation and Agenda

Filed Under: Events, Microsoft, Visual Studio
December 12, 2009 By 185 Comments

Tech Days 2009

Tech Days 2009 Things have been super busy at Anvil Digital so all I’ve had time for is twitter these days.  If you don’t follow me yet, make sure you add me http://www.twitter.com/miguelcarrasco as I will more than likely save blog posts for deep discussions and thoughts over the next year.

That said, if you are a Winnipeg Software Developer or IT Pro, make sure you sign up for Tech Days 2009.  Time is almost up to sign up for this insane show packed with real world deep dive content!  I will be presenting on Expression Blend 3.0, the world best user interface design application on the market.  Don’t believe me? come check it out! With forty 200+ level sessions, Tech Days is the learning conference on both current technologies and new products like Windows 7, Exchange 2010 and much more.

Expression Blend for Developers

Not a designer? Overwhelmed by Expression Blend? Not a problem! We’ll show you how to use Expression Blend to create advanced and polished user interfaces for business applications, consumer applications, multimedia projects, games or anything in between. We’ll cover features of Expression Blend from a developer’s perspective and show how it works in tandem with Visual Studio throughout the development process. You’ll learn how to create professional-looking user interfaces and visual elements – even if you don’t think of yourself as an interface designer.

Filed Under: Events, Microsoft, Microsoft Expression, Software Development, TechDays 2009, User Experience Tagged With: , ,
April 16, 2009 By 117 Comments

Battle of the Titans: The Silverlight and Flash SmackDown

Silverlight-vs-Flash-Smackdown 

See Adobe Flash go head to head with Microsoft Silverlight, maybe walk away with an XBOX 360.

Finally, SmackDown has come back to Winnipeg on May 19th, 2009!  For the first time under one roof, New Media Manitoba, Flash in the Peg, and the Winnipeg .net User Group bring you The Silverlight and Flash SmackDown!  This is, without a doubt the most electrifying topic in web development today!  We are about to shake things up and end the fall season with a bang! Developers and Designers finally under one roof!  A merger of design and development, with one lucky attendee walking away with an XBOX 360! Register here today, spaces will fill up fast! We now have over $12,000 in prizes to give away!

The Silverlight Story

What is Silverlight anyway?  Microsoft MVP Miguel Carrasco will walk you through 5 powerful scenarios that will leave you going “I didn’t know you could do that with Silverlight”.  Learn how Sketch Flow will forever change the way you build your application prototypes. See how powerful enterprise application development tools like Visual Studio Team Systems integrate directly with Expression Blend and Silverlight.  Learn how important Designer and Developer Workflow is and how Microsoft Silverlight uses the most advanced Adobe Photoshop Importer you have ever seen.  If that wasn’t enough, learn how the next generation of video on the web is being powered by Microsoft’s Silverlight H.264 Video Streaming support.

The Flash Platform

Think Flash is good for just pretty animations? Think again! Adobe Flash is the heart of the Flash Platform, a set of tools and technologies that provide everything you need to create exciting Rich Internet Applications and content, from the browser to the desktop to mobile. Darren Osadchuk from Flash in the Peg, Winnipeg’s Adobe User Group, will introduce you to the Flash Platform. He’ll show you some of the new animation tools in Flash CS4, how Flash integrates with other Adobe Creative Suite 4 applications, and what the Flash Platform brings to RIA development for the web and the desktop.

This is the event of the year you won’t want to miss!  Flash, Silverlight, Adobe, Microsoft.  Who knows what could happen, so come out and meet your other half!  After all designers need developers, and developers need designers!  Two immovable objects are about to collide, and hopefully everyone will be enlightened to the Flash and Silverlight Connection!  Stick around till the end, and you could win an XBOX 360!

It’s gonna be a slobberknocker! Don’t miss it! May 19th, 2009 @ 6pm at Carol Shields Auditorium on the 2nd floor of the Millennium Library. 
Register Today! 

We have moved the event to the Millennium Library to accommodate the crazy response! Just go to the Carol Shields Auditorium on the 2nd floor of the Millennium Library. Parking is super easy now!  Spaces are still limited!

Millennium Library - Carol Shields Auditorium - Second FloorView PDF (Floor Plans | Map of Parking & Bus Stops Near Millennium Library)

Miguel Carrasco – Anvil Digital
Miguel Carrasco is a Microsoft MVP in Expression Studio.  Miguel has spoken at various technology events including recently TechDays 2008.  He was also recently a judge on the Microsoft Ignite IT 2009 panel and recently selected as Web Development Track co-lead for Microsoft TechDays 2009.  Miguel works with an impressive team of developers and designers at Anvil Digital that create impressive applications using ASP.net AJAX, Silverlight, WPF, Flash, and FLEX.  An enthusiastic speaker, Miguel loves getting the crowd involved and creating excitement about the tools, technology, and best practices to building amazing applications.

Darren Osadchuks – Ludicrous Software
Darren Osadchuk owns and operates Ludicrous Software. In business since 2005, Ludicrous Software develops games and interactive content for the web and mobile platforms. Until recently, Darren was a civil servant for the Manitoba government, but is much, much happier now. Darren is an Adobe Certified Expert in Flash Lite, and was a speaker at Adobe MAX 2008. Darren also manages Flash in the Peg, Winnipeg, Manitoba’s Adobe User Group.

Event Sponsors

   nmm_logo   DNWlogo2   flashinthepeg-logo

Anvil Digital    microsoftProtegrawrox  O'Reilly apress - The Expert's Voice

 

Technorati Tags: ,,,
Filed Under: Adobe, Events, Flash, Microsoft, Silverlight Tagged With: , , ,
March 9, 2009 By 42 Comments

EnergizeIT coming to a city near you

EnergizeIT

EnergizeIT 2009 is making its way across Canada!  Microsoft is making huge investments in the community, trying to make sure that everyone has the best skills and training possible. I was recently at the MVP Summit in Redmond and had a chance to learn firsthand about Windows 7, Windows 2008 R2, and Windows Azure.  Now you will get the chance to hear what is coming in the next few months from Microsoft.

EnergizeIT 2009 is a national series of events that are intended to spread technology to everyone and let you know “What’s Possible!”. Come out and share your success stories, learn from other people, and connect with local experts in the fields of technology and software development. EnergizeIT will be coming to Winnipeg with a series of events occurring from April 14th to April 16th.

Winnipeg – April 14th, 2009 – User Group Connection: Future of the Platform

In this complimentary session we will discuss Windows 7, Windows Server® 2008 R2, and show you how they can be integrated into your current environment and help solve some of today’s challenges around application compatibility, remote access and branch offices. You’ll learn how you can help reduce bandwidth costs between your head office and the branch, how to leverage new virtualization technologies to solve application compatibility issues and discover how you can finally eliminate the VPN. Join your local user group and Microsoft for an evening of exploration and demonstration of the future of the Windows-based platform and understand how to make use of the Springboard resources (http://www.microsoft.ca/springboard). Register Today!

Winnipeg – April 15th, 2009 – EnergizeIT: From the Client to the Cloud

This session will allow you to understand Microsoft’s Software+Services vision through a combination of presentation, demonstration, and discussion. Learn how you can collaborate more effectively and take your small and mid-sized business to the next level and accessible from virtually anywhere using the Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite. You will see Windows 7 in action and gain insight into how you can harness it in your environment. We will demonstrate how Windows 7 and Windows Live allow you to connect and collaborate with friends and family in ways you may not have thought of before. Find out how to develop applications that take advantage of Windows Azure Services providing new levels of scalability. Finally, discover how bringing together the power the Desktop with the flexibility of the Cloud will provide amazing opportunities for you to solve some difficult challenges ahead. Register Today!

Winnipeg – April 16th, 2009 – Install Fest for Windows 7

Have you been wanting to try Windows 7 yourself but hesitant to take the plunge alone? Come join your peers in the local community to re-discover the client. Rediscover Windows and see what all the fuss is about. See for yourself how Windows 7 will make your life better at work and at home.
Connect with your peers and exchange stories about how they’re looking to take advantage of what Windows 7 has to offer. Bring your own notebook, netbook, or desktop to install the latest available build of Windows 7 and re-ignite your passion for the PC. Register Today!

Filed Under: Events, Microsoft Tagged With:
« Older Posts