Topic: Rosario - The Next Version of Visual Studio Team System
The phrase "drive quality upstream" has been abused so badly by ALM software vendors that it has to be relegated to the platitude junk pile along with such all time favorites as "work smarter not harder," "think outside the box," and "synergistic leveraging of code reuse."  Before we drive quality anywhere, we need to give quality a seat at the table. VSTS Rosario release will do this by automatically gathering critical information about the project and code and making that data available when, where and to whom it is needed. During this discussion we will examine how Rosario impacts quality across the application lifecycle by:

• Allowing testers to provide developers with details about what the code did instead of just providing the details about what the tester did.
• Allowing development leads and architects to visualize and understand their current code (not the code they wish they had, but the code they really have) so that they can minimize the impact of changes; and
• Allowing developers to understand the impact of their changes in terms of affected tests, concurrency and bounds checking. 

The Rosario release of VSTS will bring all project stakeholders together to allow richer information to be shared across every role to make software quality accessible and achievable.

Speaker: Mark Mydland
Mark Mydland is a Group Manager for the Visual Studio Team Edition for Software Testers product at Microsoft.  In the past 12 years, Mark has worked as a developer and consultant across a wide variety of applications and industries.  Mark first joined Microsoft in 2001 working as a member of the Natural Interactive Services Division (NISD).  During his time in that group, Mark was the development manager for a team focused on analytics for assessing the efficacy of natural language interpreters with a particular emphasis on driving authoring simplification and relevance quality for user assistance.  Based on this work, Mark filed numerous patents and coauthored a paper for the SIGIR journal.  In 2004, Mark left Microsoft to work as a Director of Development at Getty Images where he led a change in process from a traditional waterfall methodology to a scrum-based agile approach which brought the release frequency from 12-18 months down to 1 month.  Since Getty made extensive use of VSTS, it seemed a natural fit for Mark to join VSTS on his return to Microsoft in 2006.  Mark received his B.S. from West Point in 1991.  He has also held positions with USWeb/marchFirst and Andersen Consulting/Accenture. 

New Horizons is offering Special Savings to .Net User Group Members for these upcoming classes….

Course 6464A: Visual Studio 2008: ADO.NET 3.5 (Oct 29)
$200 Off .NET User Group Members!

ASP.NET Using Visual Basic 2005 (Nov 3)
$200 Off .NET User Group Members!

Course 4994A: Introduction to Programming Microsoft .NET Framework Applications with Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 (Nov 10)
$500 Off .NET User Group Members!

For More information call…

Tenelle Jones
(Sales Manager)
901-328-2151
tjones@nhmemphis.com
www.nhmemphis.com

Topic: Introduction to Silverlight 2
Silverlight 2 brings the power of .NET to the browser by combining a powerful UI rendering engine with a programming model that Microsoft developers are already familiar with. In this presentation, we will explore the capabilities of Silverlight along with an overview of how Silverlight applications are developed.

Speaker: Colin Neller
Colin Neller is a Software Engineer with Memphis-based ServiceU Corporation. He has a wide variety of development experience including hosting Internet Explorer, P/Invoke & COM Interop, business application design and implementation, and various client-side technologies. Colin is an enthusiastic supporter of the .NET community, a frequent presenter at regional events, and president of the Memphis .NET User Group. Check out his blog at http://colinneller.com/blog/.

New Horizons of Memphis has some Visual Studio 2008 training classes coming up.  Mention this blog or the .NET User Group and receive a special discount.    Below are the classes:

• Course 6460A: Visual Studio 2008: Windows Presentation Foundation (3 days)  Sept 22
• Course 6463A: Visual Studio 2008: ASP.NET 3.5  Oct 16
• Collection 6464: Visual Studio 2008 ADO.NET 3.5  Oct 29

For more information on these classes please contact Tenelle Jones, 901-328-2151, or tjones@nhmemphis.com.  Thank you.

Topic: Windows PowerShell
Windows PowerShell is a command-line shell with associated scripting language that brings the power of the .NET Framework to the command line. It provides features that can benefit both system administrators and developers. We'll introduce PowerShell and go over why developers should be interested in the command line and we'll also cover the benefits that scripting can provide, whether that be through efficiency or automating repetitive tasks.

Speaker: David Mohundro
David Mohundro is a software developer at Data-Tronics, Corp. in Fort Smith, AR and a of the co-founder/leader of the Fort Smith, AR .NET User Group (at http://www.fsdnug.org). He has over 5 years of experience developing software using technologies ranging from classic ASP and JavaScript to Windows Forms and WPF. David is enthusiastic about building decoupled and maintainable applications using practices such as Test Driven Development and he strives to be a lifelong learner. You can contact David through his blog at http://www.mohundro.com/blog/.

Topic: Microsoft Business Intelligence - What's new in SQL 2008
The ultimate goal of business intelligence (BI) is to provide people with access to the information they need in the tools they use every day. This enables them to make better decisions, share insights with others, collaborate throughout the organization, and, ultimately, improve its bottom line.

Come hear how Business Intelligence (BI) is becoming the number one IT initiative and how Microsoft is responding to this need. The session will highlight the Microsoft BI 'stack' and related components, with an emphasis on the new features in SQL 2008 that support this approach. Leave with a better understanding on what BI is, how it will impact your future projects, and what you can do to prepare.

Speaker: Dan Evans
Dan Evans benefits from more than 15 years in information technology management in data analysis, design, development, testing, deployment, strategy, and consulting. Daniel's key interests are in business intelligence, data warehousing, executive information strategy, and IT governance/compliance. His work crosses several industries such as retail, insurance, health services, manufacturing, marketing, logistics, telecommunications, and professional services. Daniel promotes technology for business use through various channels by sponsoring user groups like The Data Warehousing Institute (TDWI) Mid-South Chapter and the Mid-South Data Management Association (DAMA) chapter.

The newly forming Memphis SharePoint Users' Group is encouraging all interested parties to attend the first meeting on September 9, 2008.
This is a first, and organizational meeting for Memphis.

Topic: Microsoft Office SharePoint Server as a Development Platform.
Speaker: Matt Smith
Matt is Microsoft's SharePoint Technical Solution Specialist for Tennessee and was formerly a Program Manager for Microsoft's Office Live Platform working with a team in Redmond.

Date: SEPTEMBER 9, 2008
Time: 4PM to 6PM CST
Venue:  New Horizons Computer Learning Center of Memphis
4775 American Way • Memphis, TN • 38118

Agenda:
4:00 Introductions
4:10 Open Discussion of User Group Organization
4:30 Matt Smith – MOSS as a Development Platform
5:30 Survey of the Group's Interest in Future Meeting Topics

Registration:
There is no cost to join or attend.
Click to register for this meeting and register for the Memphis SharePoint Users Group.

Directions:
If you have not been to New Horizons, Take I-240 to Exit 18; South on Perkins, Left on American Way; New Horizons is on the right.  4775 American Way.

Information and updates:
Please visit http://www.sharepointusersgroup.net/.

Topic: Care About Your Craft – Adventures in the art of software development
Whether you are writing your application in C# or Javascript, we are always looking for continuous improvement and to take a more pragmatic approach to our craft. These are lessons learned from past applications and projects, with an influence from the Pragmatic Programmer and many mentors, that will help build a positive culture around your projects.

Speaker: Tim Wingfield
Tim has been involved in web design and development for over 10 years. For the last three years Tim has been a developer with the Business Solutions Group at Quick Solutions Inc. in Columbus, OH. Tim has a wide range of knowledge in .Net but focuses on the user interface and the user experience in ASP.Net applications. He has been involved with many successful projects for clients in health care, government, and consumer services, among others. In what time is left over, Tim enjoys coaching his sons' hockey teams, playing a little hockey himself, and traveling with his family.

If you're not already planning to attend devLink in Nashville, I would HIGHLY recommend that you consider it. It's a two day conference in Nashville (August 22 – 23) and the cost is incredibly low: $50 before July 4 and $75 after. In order to cut costs further, some of our fellow .NETters in Arkansas are considering getting a bus together and picking some of us up on the way to the conference, so if you're interested in riding that bus, let me know at cneller@mnug.net

I hope to see you there!

From Tenelle Jones at New Horizons:

I have the following .NET class coming next Monday, July 7^th, and we need more registrations for this class.  We are having a "fire sell" on this particular date in order to try and get more folks.  I know this is an older technology but if you have anyone interested I will sell it to them for $2500-$1000= $1499!  For questions regarding this class you can connect with Tenelle Jones, Sales Manager for New Horizons, 901-328-2151 or tjones@nhmemphis.com.  Thanks!

Course 2555: Developing Microsoft .NET Applications for Windows (Visual C# .NET)

Published on: 1/20/2006, Classroom Training 

This five-day, instructor-led course provides students with the skills required to build Microsoft Windows Forms applications by using the Microsoft .NET Framework. This course is a part of the Microsoft Visual C# .NET curriculum and is intended to provide C# programmers with the skills required to create Windows Forms applications by using the .NET Framework. The course will cover the major topics for Windows client application programming on the .NET Framework. These topics include: Windows Forms, GDI+, simple data access, interoperating with unmanaged code, threading and asynchronous programming issues, simple remoting, Web access, Web Services consumption, debugging, security, and deployment issues for desktop applications.

Topic: Discovering C# 3.0 and LINQ
Gain an understanding of some of the many features C# 3.0 has to offer. Learn how you can leverage Language Integrated Query (LINQ) in your applications. This presentation will demonstrate practical uses of the new C# 3.0 features along with overviews of LINQ to Objects, LINQ to SQL and LINQ to XML

Speaker: John Kellar
John Kellar is the Founder and Chairman of the devLink Technical Conference. He is a Technical Consultant with Compuware Corporation and owner of Anvil Systems in Nashville, TN. John is also a member of the Nashville .NET User Group Board of Directors and an occasional speaker at technical events. John has developed solutions in several markets including healthcare, government, financial services and manufacturing.

Topic: Windows Workflow Foundation
Mark will cover a brief introduction to workflow to explain where it fits and why you would interested in this new toy as a developer.

Windows Workflow Foundation also includes the ability to define rule driven workflows with a powerful rules engine. Mark will dig into the rules engine and explain how forward chaining works, how you can take control of rule evaluation yourself and how to use the various attributes that control how the rules engine makes its decisions. You'll also learn the secret of making dynamic changes to rules for a running workflow.

Speaker: Mark Dunn
Mark has over 20 years of experience in the disciplines of software engineering, database administration, and project management. Software that Mark developed for the radio industry is still in use today. He was a lead developer on the team that created Tapscan, a well-known Arbritron ratings analysis package that has dominated that industry for many years. He is the president of DUNN Training and Consulting, Inc. a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner based in Atlanta, GA.

For the past four years, Mark has been awarded MVP status for his contributions to the Visual Studio .Net community and he serves as Microsoft's Regional Director covering the Southeast United States. Mark also co-founded .Net Rocks, an Internet radio program for .Net developers recognized in over 80 countries and now hosted by Microsoft on the MSDN site. He is a popular speaker at conferences such as TechEd and DevConnections as well as a member of the INETA speakers bureau.

Mark is also a Microsoft Certified Trainer, Application Developer, Solution Developer for .Net, and Database Administrator.

Topic: Introduction to Test Driven Development with the ASP.NET MVC Framework
In this session, we will introduce the ASP.NET MVC Framework (MVC Framework) architecture and development style. One of the core requirements for the design of the MVC Framework is to enable effective Test Driven Development. We'll introduce the core principles and practices of Test Driven Development (TDD).

Because this is an introductory talk, we will limit our demonstration of TDD to exclude mock objects and dependency injection frameworks. This talk will focus on understanding the concepts behind the MVC Framework architecture and the practice of TDD.

Speaker: Alan Stevens
Alan Stevens is a passionate and experienced software developer living in Knoxville, TN. Alan has had a lifelong love affair with technologies of all sorts. Alan regularly speaks at industry conferences and user groups. Alan is the President of the East Tennessee .NET Users Group. When Alan is not playing with his kids, enjoying a fine cigar, singing or playing his acoustic guitar, he occasionally updates his blog at http://netcave.org.

See the following message from Ravi Nangunoori:

I would like to share community news with users of your group. I launched a multimedia content website www.dotnetvideos.net. I have over 100+ videos on the site right now with an additional 200+ videos in the pipeline ready to be added. Just added 11 more videos today. Many more videos are in the pipeline. I created this website as a community 'give back'. Every registered user of my website will receive a FREE 6-month subscription to asp.net PRO magazine. I would appreciate it, if you can announce the launch to the members of your blog readers or a .net user group you are associated with or any other .net developers. You may be instrumental in making your blog readers or visitors to receive a premier asp.netPRO magazine.

Please look at Scott Mitchell's (www.4guysfromrolla.com creator) comments on his website about www.dotnetvideos.net at http://scottonwriting.net/sowblog/posts/13074.aspx

If any of your user group members interested in contributing visual articles to my website, please drop an e-mail.

Topic: Reach End-Users with Next Generation Web Applications
Visual Studio 2008 enables developers and IT operators to dramatically reduce the amount of time, effort and code required to develop and deploy real-world Web applications. ASP.NET 3.5, Visual Studio 2008 and IIS 7 each provide much improved administration and management support, on top of dramatically improved performance. Also covered is support for ASP.NET AJAX, JavaScript enhancements, rich support for CSS standards and rapid development of data-bound Web pages.

Speaker: Jeff Blankenburg
Jeff Blankenburg is a Developer Evangelist for the Microsoft Corporation. Over the past 10 years, Jeff has successfully implemented his technology expertise in numerous industries including retail, education, and healthcare. Jeff has exceptional proficiency in user-interface design, Web Standards, and web application development. He is a contributor to the O'Reilly title Windows Developer Power Tools on the subject of code validation services. Jeff is also an organizer of the CodeMash conference. Jeff holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio.