November 11, 2011 By 29 Comments

Microsoft TechDays 2011 in Vancouver

I’m excited to be presenting at Microsoft TechDays 2011 in Vancouver on November 15th and 16th 2011. If you are a software developer that loves staying up to speed on the latest trends, tools, and strategies for developing software effectively, you need to attend TechDasy 2011.  I’ve been doing the Microsoft TechDays tour since they started a few years ago, and every year they continue to get better and better. This year in Vancouver will be no exception with the likes of Scott Hanselman, Mary-Jo Foley and others presenting live.

My sessions are focused around my passions. User Experience, and Windows Phone. I strongly believe that as a software developer, you need to be focusing on honing your user experience skills and expanding your wings. With the consumerization of information technology, users of the software you develop are no longer just expecting applications that function.  They are also expecting beautiful user experiences that capture and engage them. If you are in Vancouver, and have a chance to come to TechDays 2011, make sure you head over to my sessions that are sure to keep you entertained, and also provide you with some real world tips and strategies you can take back with you and use immediately. Here are the two sessions I will be presenting. Don’t miss them!

Windows Phone User Experience Design Using SketchFlow

This session is an instructor-led lab where you get to roll up your sleeves and get your hands on the software. In this lab, you discover principles of good user experience design and you start to build a prototype for an application using the SketchFlow Template for Windows Phone and Expression Blend. Prototyping in Sketchflow allows you to add sample data, customize the look and feel of your data, and add interactivity with objects that you create right in Expression Blend, or that are imported from other sources, such as Adobe Illustrator. There will be a limited number of machines provided to complete the lab for those who are unable to complete the exercises on their own laptops.

Windows Phone 7.5: An Overview and Architecture Deep Dive

Windows Phone is a different kind of phone, architected to put the focus on end users while enabling developers to build compelling, connected experiences that enhance the phone. Peer under the covers to see how the architecture evolved to deliver powerful functionality for users and developers: enabling rapid seamless transitions between applications; delivering continuous user experiences in the background; combined Silverlight/XNA in a unified UI; sharing data between phone and applications; sensor fusion for integration of the physical and virtual worlds; and many more. Along the way, we will demonstrate how Microsoft brought together these features to deliver experiences that are responsive and battery efficient.

Make sure you take the time to register today for TechDays 2011 in Vancouver at the beautiful Vancouver Convention Centre

[This Article Also Appears on Miguel Carrasco.com - Where Marketing and Technology Intersect]

Filed Under: Microsoft, Microsoft Expression, Windows Phone 7 Tagged With: , , , , ,
October 1, 2011 By 92 Comments

Microsoft Releases Official Windows Phone 7.5 Development Tools

Windows Phone 7.5 is now being released across the globe, and it is a smoking new operating system that brings the feature set of Windows Phone up to the iOS/Android level.  With that, Microsoft has released Windows Phone 7.1 SDK which allows developers to code for the Windows Phone 7.5 Mango without the need of using beta tools. The Windows Phone 7.1 SDK provides software developers all the tools they need to build amazing Windows Phone 7.5 Mango applications, as well as games. The list of new features in Windows Phone 7.5 is incredibly impressive, so why not sit back and watch a quick 10 minute video that shows you all the fantastic features the Windows Phone 7.5 provides to consumers. While you watch, download the new SDK here.

For more details of how Windows Phone 7.5 can help you get control of social media, make sure you read the detailed article on Miguel Carrasco dot Com.

Filed Under: Microsoft, Windows Phone 7 Tagged With: , , ,
September 21, 2011 By 77 Comments

Windows 8 and Software Developers

As a Software Developer, I was stunned at what I saw at Microsoft Build last week. And it was a stunned look of excitement. Last week Microsoft unveiled Windows 8, a revolutionary new touch centric operating system that will change the way you work forever.

I was lucky enough to take part in Microsoft Build, and was able to record a full demo of Windows 8 Slate Device, be interviewed by Telerik TV on my thoughts of Microsoft Build and Windows 8 and what it means to software developers, and also record a podcast with Windows Observer! Here are the links to those videos and podcasts, because they are way more fun to watch and listen to!

Listen to the Windows Observer PodCast

Filed Under: Microsoft Expression, Videos, Windows Phone 7, WPF, XAML
October 10, 2010 By 98 Comments

Windows Phone 7 Launches Tomorrow

windows_phone_7_launch_eventMark the date in your calendar, October 11th, 2010.  Microsoft is ready to take the wrapping off their newly designed mobile platform.  I’ve been lucky enough to get access to the phone earlier than most thanks to Imaginet and Microsoft, and I have to say: It’s a winner and going to change the game!

There are a couple of reasons I love the phone and strongly believe you will see Microsoft gain incredible market share in the first year.  Watch the live event on October 11th, 2010 at 8:30am CST, and for now check out the 10 reasons I love the phone:

  1. Enterprise class phone.  Multiple Exchange and other email accounts.  Calendars that work flawlessly and ridiculously easy to read.
  2. Metro UI.  Did you know it was designed by a Canadian?  Anyway Metro UI is so easy to use, so easy to read, it’s the interface you always wanted for a phone.
  3. Beautiful Phones!  It’s all about options!  Some people like slide-out keyboards, some don’t.  Some like HTC, some like SAMSUNG.  Windows Phone is truly YOUR phone.
  4. Hubs.  They rule and save you from loading 7 applications to do a simple task.  The People hub is by far mu favorite, and is basically contacts done right!  You’ll see what I mean tomorrow.
  5. Unique. The entire “experience”, from the hardware, the UI, the development story, the complete experience is unlike anything you will experience with any other phone.  Microsoft has taken a huge risk, and completely reinvented the Mobile OS.
  6. Developers, Developers, Developers, Developers! There are millions of .net developers that can easily learn to create applications that run on the Windows Phone 7 Platform.
  7. Games Games Games.  XBOX Live is on the phone.  There are so many high quality games coming to this phone it’s ridiculous.  Stay tuned.
  8. Microsoft Controlled Updates.  When Microsoft pushes out an update, everyone gets an update!  This is just not so with Android.  On the Android phone’s you are forced to wait until your carrier updates your phone.
  9. Marketplace and ZUNE.  The Microsoft Marketplace is freaking awesome. You get one place to easily manage your media
  10. Central Hub!  If you run Windows 7, have a PC, have an XBOX 360, use exchange at the office, have a ton of Music and Videos, and maybe even have Media Center, this is the phone for you!  It truly centralizes all your content in one easy to use device.

So anyway, people can write all the articles they want praising the phone, or slamming it.  The truth is in the pudding.  That journey starts tomorrow.  Watch it live at 8:30AM CST

Watch the Windows Phone 7 Launch Event Live Tomorrow!

I will be tweeting the event as well, so make sure you let me know what you think! @miguelcarrasco

Filed Under: Microsoft, Windows Phone 7