The Official Site of the MSDN Tiki Hut Roadshow

What the tikihut is a msdn roadshow?

MSDN Roadshows (ala the tiki hut version) are relaxed presentations around whatever topics we are excited about in a particular quarter. The MSDN Roadshows will be going where there are NOT the regular MSDN Quartlerly briefings. The roadshows are lower key. A few MSDN umbrellas, hawaiian shirts, shorts, sandals, peanuts, diet cokes, and some beverages. Prizes awarded for the best hawaiian shirts. Less glitz but still some bang up content and a chance to talk with Joe Healy, Russ Fustino, and Jeff Barnes about whatever the tiki hut special is that quarter. Grassroots, back to basics, simple chats with some cool technology demos. Drinks out of a 120 quart igloo cooler and peanuts from SAM's club. Basically just Technology overviews "Tiki-Hut Style" for an afternoon.

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Menu at the Hut

Session 1: Developing on Microsoft Windows 7

Building applications that are easy to use, visually appealing, and offer high performance is a challenge that developers face every day. Innovative applications can greatly improve the user experience, empowering companies to differentiate their services and solutions. However, developers are increasingly asked to do more in less time, while also optimizing the power and performance requirements of their applications. The Windows 7 platform makes it easy for developers to create engaging, user-friendly applications by providing familiar tools and rich development features that allow them to take advantage of the latest PC capabilities. In this session we will explore the new Taskbar and Jump Lists, the Scenic Ribbon, file management with Libraries, and Windows Web Services among many other enhancements to the new operating system.

Session 2: What’s New in Internet Explorer 8 for Developers

With any new browser release, there are two questions of interest to most web developers:
1.Will this release break my site, and if so, how do I fix it?
2. What shiny new features does it offer to add value for my visitors?

In this session, we’ll address both of these questions, first showing how developers and users both benefit from improved standards-based rendering in Internet Explorer 8, and how developers can ensure that their sites will render properly for users using IE8. Additionally, we’ll take a look at some of the new features of Internet Explorer 8 that open up new possibilities for web developers, including Accelerators, Web Slices, and Search Providers, as well as AJAX and DOM improvements. Accelerators are helpers added to the browser that allow users to access your web-based services from anywhere, via a simple right-click on any page. Web Slices allow you to designate parts of your application for the user to consume and keep up-to-date in the browser without having to visit the full site. You can leverage these features to add value to your site and make it easier than ever for users to take advantage of the services and content you have to offer.

We'll also look at the new Internet Explorer 8 Developer Tools, which provides you with killer tools for examining and debugging your HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, all without ever leaving the page, plus profiling for finding and fixing the performance bottlenecks in your client-side code. The IE 8 Developer Tools also aid in compatibility testing, by allowing you to change the layout and compatibility modes on the fly. Lastly we’ll look at some best practices.

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Event Dates and Registration

Tampa - Tuesday, June 9, 2009, 1:00 - 5:00 PM
Microsoft Tampa Office
5426 Bay center Dr., Suite 700
Tampa, FL 33609
Event ID: 1032415091

Register NOW: https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032415091&culture=en-US

Ft. Lauderdale - Monday, June 15, 2009, 1:00 - 5:00 PM
Microsoft Ft. Lauderdale Office
6750 North Andrews Ave., Suite 400
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309
Event ID: 1032415092

Register NOW: https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032415092&culture=en-US

Naples / Ft. Myers - Wednesday, June 17, 6:30-9:30 pm
via SW FL .NET User Group
www.swfldev.net

Register NOW: http://www.swfldev.net

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Your Tiki Tour Guides

Joe Healy ( www.devfish.net ) is the Developer Evangelist for Microsoft Gulf States Accounts, based out of Tampa Florida. Joe�s geographical responsibility is to provide �developer care� for the Gulf States District for the East Region Developer team. As such, he has responsibilities to bring .NET development to the masses in Florida. Joe serves a multitude of clients, from corporate accounts to broad reach events and User Groups. He lectures on various development and architectural topics focused around the .Net Frameworks, Visual Studio.NET, and associated servers. Joe worked previously for Microsoft Consulting Services in the custom Application Development arena, focusing on Internet, Web Services, Rich Client, B2B, and browser delivered systems for Microsoft Consulting Services. Joe has also served time with eAngler.com, Arthur Andersen, Cap Gemini, EDS, and IBM in various capacities. On a personal level Joe enjoys spending time trying to coax Redfish, Snook, and Trout from various nooks and crannies in Tampa Bay, with an occasional game of poker at Derby Lane. He is married to wife Anne, with two little girls, Ryan and Morgan, who will also grow up to be great "fisher-ladies" one day.

Russ Fustino ( Russ's Tool Shed ) Russ wisely shelved dreams of rock and roll stardom in order to share his vast knowledge with developers nationwide. Given that he can�t sing or play an instrument, other than in Guitar Hero, we�re all very grateful. Russ has more than 25 years of software development. He�s the creator of the Russ' Tool Shed developer seminar series and has donned his trademark suspenders, hardhat and tool belt in presentations for over 75,000 developers at 1,700 events. Russ also has expertise in developing Visual Basic and Web-based solutions using Microsoft tools. Before joining Microsoft eleven years ago, Russ worked as a VB instructor, headed up a development department, and created several client/server applications and system software products. His specialties include development with VB.NET, XML Web services, ASP.NET, XNA, Silverlight, Development Tools and debugging. But make no mistake � Russ is not all brains. His big heart led him to establish Take a Swing at Cancer, Inc., a non-profit organization that holds softball and golf-based fundraisers to battle cancer. You have to know the code to get in the shed. KNOW THE CODE!

Jeff Barnes ( Architecture: The Harmony of Mathematical Precision ) is the Microsoft Architect Evangelist for the Gulf States District where he engages with the local Architect community to help solve tough business problems with leading-edge technology. Jeff has been with Microsoft for over 10 years and has spent over 7 of those years as an architect in the Microsoft Consulting Services organization working with large enterprise customers throughout North America.
Prior to Microsoft, Jeff worked for several large insurance, manufacturing, and retail companies in South Florida. Jeff has a passion around the discipline and challenges of software engineering, recognizing that architecture has as much of a social context as a technical one. He especially enjoys the freedom and flexibility that .NET brings to the table in order solve the next generation of tough technical challenges.

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