I know many of you know Rob and just how good his presentations are.  He is back in town next month to deliver a session on Entity Framework. 

MSDN Events Presents: Entity Framework 4

You are not going to want to miss this half-day event where Rob Bagby will be illustrating how to take advantage of the Entity Framework 4 in your applications.  The event will be split across 3 sections and will be demo-driven.

Part I: Modeling, Mapping and Relationships

In part I, Rob will start with an overview of Entity Framework 4.  He will then delve into modeling and mapping with the EF.  He will cover how you can create a “conceptual” or “application-centric” model within the framework to meet the needs of your application.  He will also cover relationships in the Entity Framework, including the new Foreign Key relationships in Entity Framework 4.

Part II: Querying the Model

In part II, Rob will provide an overview of your querying options in the Entity Framework.  He will discuss your querying options in Entity Framework 4, including the following:

• Entity SQL – What, how and why you might choose to use it
• Query Builder Methods – What they are
• LINQ to Entities – LINQ to Entities Overview; Method-Based Syntax vs. Query-Based Syntax
• Stored Procedures – Read and Write
• Views, Defining Queries – Composable items

Part III: Updating the model and Real-world functionality (given time)

In Part III, Rob will discuss working with Object Services to track changes and perform persistence.  This section will include a discussion of the new templates in Entity Framework 4 aimed at working in disconnected environments: the POCO template and the Self-Tracking Entities template.  Given time, Rob will illustrate how the EF supports functionality that real-world applications require such as concurrency, validation and transactions.

Register at https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032457119&Culture=en-US.

June 4, 2010 at 2:00pm – 3:00pm Central

Title:  What’s with all the Cloud talk?
Abstract What’s the topic of today?  Cloud computing.  Everyone’s talking about it and showing that that thing they did last year or are announcing today is “Cloud Computing.”  Cloud is wonderful because it’s white and fluffy and like a rainbow, far off and mathematically pure.  Fog is in your face and around you and has all the dirty bits embedded in it.  We’ll talk about what that means to the architect as the Cloud space evolves into Fog space.  How do we scale up as our smart grid can deliver more power to us?  Scale down as processing units become unavailable due to bandwidth or contention or even just batteries running out.
Link to Register: http://bit.ly/Cloud_webcast

Presenter: Phil Wheat
Senior Architect Evangelist, Microsoft

Each month through June 2010, we’ll bring you a 60-minute Architect focused Webcast to educate on the latest trends/topics and how new technologies can align with your business needs.

March 25, 2010 at 1:00pm – 2:00pm EST

Title: Extending Your Sites Reach with IE8 Add On Features

Abstract Today's users are getting more sophisticated and they expect more features from the sites and services they use. In this session learn about how to implement low effort, high value add-ons that expand your sites reach and bring value to your customer base .

Link to Register: https://swrt.worktankseattle.com/webcast/4240/preview.aspx

Presenter:
Jim Cirone
Architect Evangelist, Microsoft
Jim Cirone is an Architect Evangelist with Microsoft's Developer and Platform Evangelism team. He joined the DPE team 3 years ago after spending 10 years in Microsoft's services group architecting and delivering complex solutions. In his current role he is focused on new and emerging web technologies.

March 26, 2010 at 1:00pm – 2:00pm EST

Title: Windows Azure Design Patterns

Abstract: One of the challenges in adopting a new platform is finding usable design patterns that work for developing effective solutions. The Catch-22 is that design patterns are discovered and not invented. Nevertheless it is important to have some guidance on what design patterns make sense early in the game.

This webcast attacks the problem through a set of application scenario contexts, Azure features and solution examples. It is unique in its approach and the fact that it includes the use of features from all components of the Windows Azure Platform including the Windows Azure OS, Windows Azure AppFabric and SQL Azure. In this webcast you will learn about the components of the Windows Azure Platform that can be used to solve specific business problems.

Link to Register: https://swrt.worktankseattle.com/webcast/4241/preview.aspx

Presenter:
Bill Zack
Architect Evangelist, Microsoft

Bill Zack is an Architect Evangelist with Microsoft. He comes to this role after serving as a Solutions Architect in the Financial Services Unit of Microsoft Consulting Services. His experience includes developing, supporting and evangelizing .NET/SOA based frameworks used to jump-start development projects for financial services companies.

The forecast for 2010 is looking very cloudy, with every technology company delivering some type of cloud offering, and analysts estimating that almost everyone will try some form of cloud computing. But from a practical stand point, how should organizations leverage cloud computing effectively? Is it to simply host existing and legacy assets somewhere else, or to create next-generation applications that enable differentiated capabilities? In addition, what role does SOA play in the age of cloud computing? And does this impact the way we manage and interact with data?

Facilitated by Microsoft, the premise of this half-day event is to provide an open forum where architects can meet to discuss technologies and insights with peers. This forum will provide first-hand experiences and best practices intended to help the community to collectively discover and generate knowledge. Please join us for this opportunity to learn, share and network with your peers and other thought leaders.

Event Summary

• Provide a clear and profound understanding of Microsoft’s cloud strategy and roadmap, and latest updates on the Windows Azure Platform
• Discuss the state of SOA, and its relevance in the age of cloud computing
• Review case studies and models of cloud usage, and examine approaches to build next-generation capabilities leveraging the cloud
• Explore trade-offs, best practices, and guidance on today’s myriad of data storage options
• Explain the differences and patterns of using various data interaction frameworks

Who Should Attend

Technology and business stakeholders, including CTOs, CIOs, VPs, Directors, Program and Product Managers, Architects, Lead Engineers, and IT Managers

Agenda

12:45PM: Introduction and Announcements

01:00PM: Windows Azure Platform – Overview of the Microsoft Cloud

01:30PM: SOA and Cloud Computing

02:00PM: Architecting Solutions Leveraging the Cloud

02:30PM: Making Sense of the Expanding Range of Data Storage Solutions

03:15PM: Best Practices with Data Interaction Frameworks

04:00PM: Groupthink

When & Where

Location: Denver, CO

Event ID: 1032350832

Event URL: http://wweventstest.one.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032350832&Culture=en-US

Hosts

David Chou

Architect, Microsoft

http://blogs.msdn.com/dachou

David Chou is a technical architect at Microsoft, focused on collaborating with enterprises and organizations in areas such as cloud computing, SOA, Web, distributed systems, security, etc., and supporting decision makers on defining evolutionary strategies in architecture. Drawing on experiences from his previous jobs at Sun Microsystems and Accenture, David enjoys helping customers create value from using objective and pragmatic approaches to define IT strategies, roadmaps, and solution architectures.

Joe Shirey

Architect, Microsoft

http://www.joeshirey.com

Joe Shirey is a Senior Architect Evangelist for Microsoft based in the Denver area. In this role, Joe works closely with customers and the community to help them understand where Microsoft technologies fit into the architecture of their solutions. Prior to joining Microsoft, Joe was a Vice President at Interlink group where he was responsible for service and delivery for Interlink's Denver market. In the past, Joe was a Microsoft Regional Director, a member of the Microsoft Architect Advisory Board, and sat on the .NET Partner Advisory Council. Joe has more than eighteen years of hands-on technical and functional experience in project management, systems analysis, design, development, and implementation. Joe attained his Microsoft Certified Architect award in 2005.

Recently I did a number of IE8 presentations, but nothing as wide reaching or humorous as Dolly Parton’s explanation of them on YouTube.  If you are a fan of Dolly, you can download the web slice from the IE8 add-on gallery.

One of the best things about any job is the personal and professional relationships you get to make.  Recently Rob Bagby announced that he was leaving our team (and potentially Microsoft).  While I am disappointed to lose a great teammate and a friend that I get to work with quite a bit, I am very excited for Rob and his family as they begin this new adventure in their lives.  Rob is one of those guys that is just fun to be around – he is smart, witty, and always willing to help out.  Going to miss having him on the team.

Recently, Rob has been putting a lot of effort into a series of post/webcasts on Pattern Based Development with Silverlight.  It is an excellent series that you should check out if you are doing anything with Silverlight or just want to learn some common patterns like Repository or Model View ViewModel.

DAY 1 – September 28, 2009 at Noon PST
From the Trenches: Using Architectural Skills to Increase Solution Adoption Success Rates
Jim Wilt
Products, Solution Frameworks, and Development Tools are too often touted by vendors and development teams as solutions to customer business problems. Why do development teams, customers, and users seek products to fill this gap? When solutions fail is it too easy to blame a given platform than for those really responsible to take responsibility? It more often has to do with one's level of problem solving skills, planning, and ability to align technology with business strategy. This session introduces proven field architectural practices in leadership, communication, and some strategy tools that will assist stakeholders in becoming owners of their solutions--taking responsibility for their outcomes. This results in greater customer satisfaction, as the focus is all about enabling problem solvers (not expecting products) to deliver successful solutions.

REGISTER HERE | Add to Outlook Calendar

DAY 2 – September 29, 2009 at Noon PST
Software as a Service in the Cloud
Michael Stiefel
Architecting and building a Software as a Service application requires solving a series of problems that are independent of a particular software platform. First, a SaaS architecture follows directly from the fundamental principles of the business model. Second, a series of difficult technical problems must be solved in addition to providing the business functionality. These include certificate security, low-IT-capable clients, business continuity when connectivity is lost, provisioning of services, scalability as the number of clients increase, database design for clients, how to use virtualization, and how to integrate and release service functionality over several different client applications. Third, you have to effectively use the platform technology such as WCF and ASP.NET. If you approach building a SaaS application on these three levels, you can then leverage your work into new platforms such as Windows Azure.

REGISTER HERE | Add to Outlook Calendar

For up-to-date details and registration of the September 2009 series, please visit http://blogs.msdn.com/sac/pages/cafe-2009-09.aspx.

For information on other events part of the Architect Cafe series, please visit http://blogs.msdn.com/sac/pages/architect-cafe.aspx.