Planet SCM

Just found some really cool content on the Microsoft profile on Facebook for those learning to create applications for the Web and Windows using the free Visual Studio 2008 Express products. Sam used to work with me on my previous team. It looks like he's really enjoying his new gig.

Free Software, Free Learning: Visual Studio 2008 Express

At Microsoft the word 'Express' equates to 'Free' and Express Editions can be downloaded and used by anyone. With Visual Studio Express, you don’t need to be a seasoned programmer to explore your creativity. Check out the Coding4Fun blog for ideas…
Watch and Discuss

Podcast
Sam Gazitt discusses his favorite features of Visual Studio 2008 Express. This is the overview of VS but contains features that are not in the Express editions…there should be a non-pro version of this on the podcast site. I also cover popfly and samples that we ship as part of Coding4Fun.
(WMA 2MB) | MP3 (6 MB)

Getting Started
Jacqueline Russell walks through step-by-step instructions for downloading, installing and first project.My First Windows Application Video (WMA) or My First Web Application Video (WMA)

Program Now: Video How Tos
Create a C# WPF Application Video (WMV) | Article
Create a C# Windows Form Application Video (WMV) | Article
Create a C# Console Applcation Video (WMV) | Article
Writing Queries in C# (LINQ) Video (WMV) | Article

Facebook | Microsoft

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Andrew Cook just tipped me to this webcast coming later this month. It's always refreshing to see a webcast presented by someone outside of Microsoft. It feels less like an echo chamber, and I'm more likely to hear something I haven't already heard. I'm registered.

The term Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) is attracting significant attention from tool vendors, research groups, and industry thought leaders. Although proactively managing your application throughout the life cycle seems to be a simple concept, in fact there are seemingly innumerable ways to accomplish the goals of ALM. Coordinated toolsets, the Capability Maturity Model, innovative modeling techniques, and commercially available processes all provide pieces of this frequently misunderstood and often complex puzzle. In this webcast, we discuss the basic tenets of Application Lifecycle Management, describe what kinds of projects benefit most from ALM, explain how the Microsoft Visual Studio Team System supports this initiative, and examine why a repeatable, pragmatic software development process cannot be overlooked when implementing ALM.

Presenter: William F. Nazzaro, Chief Technical Officer, IconATG, Inc.

William F. Nazzaro is the vice president and chief technical officer of IconATG and has over 18 years of success in delivering enterprise software solutions for Fortune 100 companies. He has provided unparalleled services in organizational and project assessments, use-case training, use-case modeling, Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) adoption, Unified Process development, Agile Scrum development, service-oriented architecture, application architecture, project mentoring, and technical curriculum development and delivery. William has an accessible and down-to-earth speaking style, and he has provided in-depth talks on service-oriented architecture, Unified Process development, software development life cycle, agility, use-case modeling, and object technology.

Momentum Webcast: Can Process Improvement and Application Lifecycle Management Really Improve Your Business? (Level 100)

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One of the books I added to my permanent collection earlier this year is Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery (Voices That Matter) by Garr Reynolds. This was around the time I attended VizThink, which filled my head with ideas of how presentations can be more compelling and engaging experiences. In March, Reynolds spoke at Google and the video of that presentation is available for online viewing (Found via a blog I was reading last night, but I can't remember which one).

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On March 20th there's a webcast scheduled on the topic of Assessing Your Current Development Capabilities. Adopting a product like Team System can be a great opportunity to assess and optimize your current development capabilities. However, before you can improve anything, you need to know what your current development capabilities are. This webcast will show you how to develop a baseline using a new, vendor-neutral resource that's available. Once you have that baseline you can identify opportunities for improvement and measure the impact of those improvements.

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Adam Gallant from Microsoft Canada is hosting a series of Team System Webcasts that will run between now and June with multiple repeats available for each Webcast. See Adam's blog post on the topic (New VSTS WebCasts) for links to particular sessions.

• Visual Studio Team System and MSDN Licensing Demystified
• Integrated Team Development with Visual Studio Team System
• Visual Studio Team Foundation Server
• Visual Studio Team Edition for Database Professionals
• Visual Studio Team Edition for Software Testers

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