It’s that time again…another Visual Studio Live!  I will be presenting 2 sessions at Visual Studio Live! in Las Vegas this March 16-20.  The conference is a full 5 day event and there’s still time to register.  For this event, I’ll be presenting:

W23 Building Games for Windows and Windows Phone Using Unity and Other Frameworks
Date: Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Time: 3:00pm – 4:15pm
Level: Introductory

There are a variety of platforms and frameworks which can be used to build games on both Windows and Windows Phone depending on the complexity of the game and the developer's skill level. In this session, we will delve into the many options available to developers, including DirectX, Unity, MonoGame, and more!

VSH10 Building Your First Universal Application for Windows Phone and Windows Store
Date: Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Time: 1:30pm - 2:45pm
Level: Introductory

Universal Apps enable developers to build apps for Windows Store and Windows Phone simultaneously while …

I will be presenting 3 sessions at Visual Studio Live! in Orlando this November 17-21.  The conference is a full 5 day event, and part of the Live! 360 conference, covering SharePoint, SQL Server, Modern Apps and more.  Plus, there’s still time to register and save $600 if you register before 10/15/14!  For this event, I’ll be presenting:

VSH03 Games Development with Unity and Other Frameworks for Windows and Windows Phone
Date: Thursday, November 20, 2014
Time: 8:00am – 9:15pm
Level: Introductory

There are a variety of platforms and frameworks which can be used to build games on both Windows and Windows Phone depending on the complexity of the game and the developer's skill level. In this session, we will delve into the many options available to developers, including DirectX, Unity, MonoGame, and more!

VSH08 Writing Asynchronous Code using .NET 4.5 and C# 5.0
Date: Thursday, November 20, 2014
Time: 9:30am – 10:45pm
Level: Introductory

A variety of new features were …

I will be presenting 2 sessions at Visual Studio Live! in Washington DC this October 6-9.  The conference is a full 4 day event and there’s still time to register and save $400 if you register before 9/10/14!  For this event, I’ll be presenting:

TH07 Building Your First Windows Phone 8.1 Application
Date: Thursday, October 9, 2014
Time: 9:30am – 10:45pm
Level: Introductory

Expand your mobile horizons with Windows Phone! Developing applications for the phone is quite similar to building XAML applications for other platforms. In this session, Brian will demonstrate the fundamentals of Windows Phone development while building a very simple application which covers all of the important points of the new platform's architecture, including the developer tools, device emulator and touch input. We will also discuss what's new with the Windows Phone 8.1 update and how you can use it to build better apps.

TH11 Building Games for Windows and Windows Phone
Date: Thursday, October 9, …

I will be presenting 2 sessions at Visual Studio Live! in Redmond this August 18-22.  The conference is a full 4 day event and there’s still time to register and save $500 if you register before 6/11/14!  For this event, I’ll be presenting:

TH15 Performance and Diagnostics Hub in Visual Studio 2013
Date: Thursday, August 22, 2014
Time: 11:00am – 12:15pm
Level: Intermediate

Visual Studio 2013 has introduced a new Performance and Diagnostics hub which encompasses a variety of new and old tools to profile your Windows Store applications. In this session, we will take a detailed look at all of the tools that the Performance and Diagnostics Hub has to offer with both XAML and HTML/JavaScript Windows Store apps.

TH25 Writing Asynchronous Code Using .NET 4.5 and C# 5.0
Date: Thursday, August 22, 2014
Time: 3:45pm – 5:00pm
Level: Introductory

A variety of new features were added to the .NET 4.5 Framework, including support for easily writing asynchronous code. This session will …

I will be presenting 2 sessions and speaking on the closing panel at Visual Studio Live! in Chicago this May 5-8.  The conference is a full 4 day event and there’s still time to register and save $200 if you register before 4/16/14!  For this event, I’ll be presenting:

TH10 Performance and Diagnostics Hub in Visual Studio 2013
Date: Thursday, May 8, 2014
Time: 11:00am – 12:15pm
Level: Intermediate

Visual Studio 2013 has introduced a new Performance and Diagnostics hub which encompasses a variety of new and old tools to profile your Windows Store applications. In this session, we will take a detailed look at all of the tools that the Performance and Diagnostics Hub has to offer with both XAML and HTML/JavaScript Windows Store apps.

TH20 Writing Asynchronous Code Using .NET 4.5 and C# 5.0
Date: Thursday, May 8, 2014
Time: 3:00pm – 4:15pm
Level: Introductory

A variety of new features were added to the .NET 4.5 Framework, including support for easily writing asynchronous code. …

I will be presenting 3 sessions at Visual Studio Live! in Las Vegas this March 10-14.  The conference is a full 5 day event and there’s still time to register and save $500 if you register before 1/22/14!  For this event, I’ll be presenting:

LT20 Controlling Hardware using Windows 8.1
Date: Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Time: 4:15pm – 5:30pm
Level: Introductory

Windows 8.1 allows developers to communicate with a variety of devices through several interfaces. In this session, we will look at how to talk to hardware connected via USB and Bluetooth, as well as some of the new APIs which allow Windows 8.1 to talk to Point of Sale (POS) devices, scanners, and even 3D printers using real examples with real hardware!

LT27 Performance and Diagnostics Hub in Visual Studio 2013
Date: Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Time: 1:15pm – 2:30pm
Level: Intermediate

Visual Studio 2013 has introduced a new Performance and Diagnostics hub which encompasses a variety of new and old tools to profile your Windows …

Update: Make that 3 sessions!

I will be presenting 3 sessions at Visual Studio Live! in Orlando this November 18-22.  The conference is a full 5 day event and there’s still time to register and save some cash!  For this event, I’ll be presenting:

VST01 What's New in Windows 8.1 for Developers
Date: Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Time: 9:30 am – 10:45 am
Level: Introductory

Windows 8.1 contains thousands of new APIs which can make your application even better. In this session, you will get an overview of what’s new to developers in Windows 8.1, and how to use these features to make your apps even better. From new XAML controls to PDF support to text-to-speech, you won’t want to miss this session if you’re a Windows 8 developer!

VST05 Controlling Hardware using Windows 8.1
Date: Tuesday, November 19, 2013 
Time: 11:00 am – 12:15 pm
Level: Introductory

Windows 8.1 allows developers to communicate with a variety of devices through …

Update: Slides and code are now available over on the Events page!

I will be presenting 2 sessions at Visual Studio Live! in Redmond on the Microsoft campus this August 19 – 23.  The conference is a full 5 day event and there’s still time to register and save some cash!  For this event, I’ll be presenting:

T20 Windows Store Application Contracts and Extensibility
Date: Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Time: 4:15 pm – 5:30 pm
Level: Introductory

In this session, we will explore these contracts and how they can be used in any Windows Store application to provide a seamless, integrated experience for users.  Contracts are a new feature of Windows 8 Store applications that allow interaction with the operating system and other Store applications in a standard way. With contracts, applications can implement interfaces to allow searching, sharing, settings, app-to-app file picking, and more.

TH03 Building Your First Windows Phone 8 Application …

I will be presenting a session at Visual Studio Live! in Chicago this May 13-17 at the Hilton Chicago.  The conference is a full 5 day event and there’s still time to register and save $400!

W01 Building Your First Windows Phone 8 Application
Date: Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Time: 9:15 am - 10:30 am
Level: Introductory

Expand your mobile horizons with Windows Phone 8!  Developing applications for the phone is extremely similar to building a XAML application for the desktop.  In this session, I will demonstrate the fundamentals of Windows Phone development while building a very simple application which covers all of the important points of the new platforms architecture, including the developer tools and device emulator and touch input.

W13 Windows Store Application Contracts and Extensibility
Date: Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Time: 3:00 pm – 4:15 pm
Level: Intermediate

In this session, we will explore these contracts and how …

Update: Slides and code are now available over on the Events page!

I will be presenting a session at Visual Studio Live! in Las Vegas this March 25-29 at the MGM Grand.  The conference is a full 5 day event and there’s still time to register!

W01 Building Your First Windows Phone 8 Application
Date: Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Time: 9:15 am - 10:30 am
Level: Introductory

Expand your mobile horizons with Windows Phone 8!  Developing applications for the phone is extremely similar to building a XAML application for the desktop.  In this session, I will demonstrate the fundamentals of Windows Phone development while building a very simple application which covers all of the important points of the new platforms architecture, including the developer tools and device emulator and touch input.

W20 Building a Windows Runtime Component with C#
Date: Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Time: 4:15 pm - 5:30 pm
Level: Intermediate

A properly written Windows Runtime components can be …

I will be presenting a session at Visual Studio Live! in New York this August 6-10 hosted on the Microsoft Campus.  The conference is a full 5 day event and there’s still time to register!

T13 - Writing Asynchronous Code Using .NET 4.5 and C# 5.0
Date: Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Time: 2:30 PM – 3:45 PM 
Level: Introductory

A variety of new features were added to the .NET 4.5 Framework, including support for easily writing asynchronous code. This session will introduce the concepts of asynchronous programming, .NET Tasks, how to ensure your UI remains responsive, and how to do all of this properly in your own applications using the new async and await keywords. If you’re looking for ways to provide a better, smoother experience for your users, don’t miss this session!

Get more information on the conference at:

• VSLive! Website
• Twitter
• Facebook
• LinkedIn

Hope to see you all there!

I will be speaking at Visual Studio Live! in New York this May 14-17.  The conference is a full 4 day event and there’s still time to register!  The three sessions I’m presenting are:

W01 – Get Connected with Kinect 
Date: Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Time: 9:15 AM – 10:30 AM 
Level: Introductory

By now we’ve all probably tried Kinect, Microsoft’s revolutionary motion control device for the Xbox 360. But what about developing software to use the device? With the release of the official Kinect for Windows SDK from Microsoft, developers can now use this device like any other hardware peripheral from code. This session will introduce developers to the Kinect device itself, how it works, and will offer an overview of the API provided by Microsoft to retrieve image, depth, skeletal, audio, and audio position information from the device. The session will also cover some interesting uses for this information, and how it can be used in …

I will be speaking at Visual Studio Live! in Las Vegas this March 26-30.  The conference is a full 5 day event and there’s still time to register!  If you use code VLSPK21, you can save a nice chunk of cash off the all-access Best Value Conference Package. The three sessions I’m presenting are:

T05 - Windows 8 Metro-style Application Contracts and Extensibility
Date: Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Time: 10:45 AM – 12:00 PM 
Level: Intermediate

Contracts are a new feature of Windows 8 Metro-style applications that allow applications to interact with the operating system and other Metro-style applications in a standard way. With contracts, applications can implement interfaces to allow searching, sharing, settings, app-to-app file picking, and more. In this session, we will explore these contracts and how they can be used in any Windows 8 Metro-style application to provide a seamless, integrated experience for users.

W04 - XNA Games for Windows Phone
Date: …

I will be speaking at Visual Studio Live! in Orlando this December 5-9.  The conference is a full 5 day event and there’s still time to register!  The two sessions I’m presenting are:

TH2 - XNA Games for Windows Phone 7
Date: Thursday, December 8, 2011
Time: 8:00 AM – 9:15 AM 
Level: Introductory to Intermediate

You have Silverlight on Windows Phone 7 under control, but what about XNA? If you're looking to create a more advanced game with better performance than Silverlight, XNA is the platform for you. In this session, developers will learn how to build an XNA game targeted for Windows Phone 7. The basics of the platform will be demonstrated while building a simple Space Invaders-type game that would be Marketplace acceptable. Specifically, this session will cover how to deal with user input, play sound effects and music, display animated 2D graphics, and how to create a game that's ready to be sold on the Marketplace.

TH12 - Multi-touch Madness! …

I will be speaking at Visual Studio Live! in Las Vegas this April 18-22.  The conference this year is being held at the Rio All Suites Hotel and Casino (to quote Penn Jillette directly) and is a full 5 day event.  The two sessions I’m presenting are:

TH1 - Multi-touch Madness!
Date: Thursday, April 21, 2011
Time: 8:00 AM - 9:15 AM
Level: Introductory to Intermediate

Multi-touch technology is popping up everywhere, most recently in Windows 7 and various .NET technologies. Windows 7 has been designed from the ground-up with multi-touch in mind, and the newest versions of WPF and Silverlight are multi-touch capable as well. In this session I will take you through the 4 biggest areas of Microsoft multi-touch technology: Windows 7, WPF 4, Silverlight, and Surface, including the forthcoming Surface Toolkit for Windows Touch. You will learn how to make your applications multi-touch aware and capable using each of these platforms, how to handle gestures and …

Update: Slides and source for my sessions are posted over on my Events page.  Have a look!  Thanks to everyone that came to my sessions!  Comments and critiques are welcome.

I have been selected to speak at the Visual Studio Live! conference in Orlando.  In addition to presenting two sessions at the conference, I’m also coordinating a special event on Tuesday night which we’re calling Devopalozza.  I have created and will host a team Jeopardy! style game-show which will pit three teams of speakers and attendees against each other for fabulous prizes.  I previously created the hardware and software for the Visual Studio Live Redmond conference, which turned into an article on Coding4Fun for those that might want to create a game-show at home or the office.

The two sessions I’m presenting are:

M15 What's New in Visual Studio 2010 Debugging
Date: Monday, November 15, 2010 
Time:  3:00 PM – 4:15 PM
Level: Intermediate

Visual …

Tonight I hosted the Devapalooza event for Visual Studio Live in Redmond.  For the event, we played a Jeopardy-like game using software and hardware I created.  You can find an article on how the software was created, how to build the hardware, and full source/binary downloads over at Coding4Fun and CodePlex  This can be a fun way to host training at your office, or a way to liven up a user group.

A huge thanks to Dan Waters and Clemens Vasters from Microsoft, VSLive speakers Rocky Lhotka, Deborah Kurata, and David Platt, and our three attendees who played the game.  I think it was a great time.  Hopefully you did too if you were in attendance.

After playing the game tonight for real, I have a few ways to fix up the software and make it a bit easier to use, especially on the scoring side.  Also note that the code isn’t the best example of great coding.  With this being a side project and the deadline looming, I took a few dirty shortcuts.  But, …

Thanks to all who attended my first session today, and a thank you in advance to those attending Thursday’s session on multi-touch.  I’m going to post my slide deck for the What’s New in VS2010 Debugging session now and I will update this post on Thursday/Friday with the source and slides for the multi-touch session.  Feel free to contact me with any comments or suggestions, good or bad.

• Download What’s New in VS2010 Debugging
• Download Multitouch Madness!

Enjoy!

I have been selected to speak at this year’s VSLive! conference on the Microsoft Campus in Redmond.  I’m very excited about this conference for a couple of reasons.  First, it’s on campus, which will allow me to get together with my Coding4Fun/Channel 9  friends to do some planning.  Secondly, VSLive! attendees are also allowed to spend some of their own cash at the Microsoft store.  And finally, in addition to presenting two sessions at the conference, I’m also coordinating a special event on Wednesday night which we’re calling Devopalozza.  I am creating a team Jeopardy! style game-show which will pit Microsoft Speakers against VSLive! Speakers against VSLive! Attendees.  I’m currently creating both hardware and software to drive the game, which will later turn into an article on Coding4Fun for those that might want to create a game-show at home or the office.  And, I’ll even be hosting the show at the event.

The two sessions I’m presenting …

Thanks to everyone who came out to my two VSLive sessions today.  You can find the slide decks and full source code posted in my download section.  Please note that in order to save some bandwidth, I didn’t include the 125MB video file I used in my examples, but you can download that separately here.  Just unzip and copy to the Media and GPUAcceleration sample directories and build the project.

I welcome any and all questions, and especially comments/critiques.  As a speaker, I rarely, if ever, receive any formalized feedback from the session organizers, so I’d love to hear what those in attendance thought of my sessions.  Good or bad, please send it along!  Thanks!

Anyone out there heading to VSLive! Orlando this week?  I will be giving two introductory sessions on Silverlight as listed below:

Getting Started with Silverlight
Tuesday, October 6, 10:30am

Microsoft Silverlight allows developers and designers to build rich cross-browser and cross-platform applications for the Web using the same tools and technologies that are familiar to .NET developers.  This session will cover the basics of Silverlight, including basic XAML, the tools that can be used to create Silverlight applications, the controls available in the Silverlight framework, and pros and cons of Silverlight vs. other web technologies, all while building a few very simple applications demonstrating the power of the framework.

Silverlight Controls and Animations
Tuesday, October 6, 12:00pm

The Microsoft Silverlight framework contains an assortment of pre-built controls that can be used directly by your applications.  Developers can also create their own …

Thanks to everyone that attended my VSLive NY session.  I hope it was informative.  I have posted the slide-decks and source code for both of my sessions so you can tinker with the projects on your own.

• Creating a Simple 2D Game Using XNA Game Studio to Run on a PC, Xbox 360, or Microsoft Zune
• Interfacing External Hardware Using Managed Code

Questions and comments welcome, as always.  Thanks!