VDNUG presentation wrap-up

I was prepared for a demo or two to go wrong...but I definitely wasn't prepared for my laptop to not work at all with the projector at all !
The result was one extremely rattled and nervous presenter without any of the pre-prepared demo's.
Anyway hopefully I still got enough info on the major points across.
Here's some links to additional content on items I discussed:

• MSF 4.0 - Lots of info including the downloads for both the Agile and CMMI process guidance.
• Enterprise Library 2.0 articles, downloads and web casts
• Smart Client Architecture Toolkit only at CTP i.e. not a full release yet, but a great example of integrated guidance from Microsoft
• Code Snippets download C# and other additional Microsoft Snipetts.
• Code Snippet editor created by Bill McCarthy
• Guidelines for code analysis
• Security Guidance Checklist for .Net 2.0

Also the shortcut for code snipetts is CTL-K then X for those that asked.

If you have any questions on the areas I talked about post a comment and I will answer as soon as I can.

Want to know more about InfoPath and Managed Code

One of my team members at SDM, Ben Walters is presenting a session at CITC in Melbourne on the 5th of April on InfoPath 2003 and Managed code.
Ben is an InfoPath MVP and therefore really knows his stuff in regards to the product.
If your interested the link to register is below.
http://msevents-as.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=120468198&Culture=en-AU

VSTS released, hear about it at the Melbourne user group on the 23rd

Team foundation server has been finally released. See this blog post for more info
I think it's a great product that will save development teams a lot of time and help them create higher quality software quicker and easier than ever before.

If your interested in finding out more information I'd definitely recommend coming along to this months Melbourne Team Foundation Server user group. The main presenter is Jeff Beeler who is the Program Manager for TFS. The details of the event can be found here.

It's confirmed I'm a Modern Cool Nerd :)

Modern, Cool Nerd 56 % Nerd, 56% Geek, 21% Dork

For The Record: A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia. A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one. A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions. You scored better than half in Nerd and Geek, earning you the title of: Modern, Cool Nerd. Nerds didn't use to be cool, but in the 90's that all changed. It used to be that, if you were a computer expert, you had to wear plaid or a pocket protector or suspenders or something that announced to the world that you couldn't quite fit in. Not anymore. Now, the intelligent and geeky have eked out for themselves a modicum of respect at the very least, and "geek is chic." The Modern, Cool Nerd is intelligent, knowledgable and always the person to call in a crisis (needing computer advice/an arcane bit of trivia knowledge). They are the one you want as your lifeline in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (or the one up there, winning the million bucks)! Congratulations! Also, you might want to check out some of my other tests if you're interested in any of the following: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Professional Wrestling Love & Sexuality America/Politics Thanks Again! -- THE NERD? GEEK? OR DORK? TEST

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 49% on nerdiness You scored higher than 81% on geekosity You scored higher than 26% on dork points

Link: The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test written by donathos on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

MCSD upgrade to MCPD Enterprise developer

Late last week I sat the beta's of the upgrade exams from MCSD to the new MCPD Enterprise developer certification. Naturally the exams are covered by the usual NDA's so I can't say too much about the actual questions, also you don't get the results until 8 weeks after the beta ends so I also don't know if I passed yet.
There are two exams that you have to sit for the upgrade. They are 70-553 and 70-554.
The first one has questions about web, windows and mobile apps while the second one is all about WSE 3.0 , remoting and general solutions design questions.
I was quite impressed by the range of questions on various topics. I found most of the old MCSD exams to be relatively easy, in that you didn't necessarily need indepth knowledge on some of the topics but I found these exams quite challenging. Part of which is due to the fact that some of the topics covered are quite new, but also I think the questions were pitched at a bit of a higher level than the old exams.
They really covered a wide range of topics, in fact I think I might need to do a bit more study on some of the areas !
If your a .Net developer I'd definitely recommend having a look at some of the new certifications at http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/newgen/ some of the exams are still in beta but a few are already available and most will be out in the next couple of months.

XBOX 360 Preview

On Wednesday night I went along to the XBOX 360 VIP preview night in Melbourne at the Athenaeum theatre.
The place was decked out with about 25 XBOX 360 consoles with different games loaded up that you could jump on and play. There were many more people there than there were consoles but everyone played nice and had short goes on all the games before letting someone else have a shot which meant I got to play most of the games there.
The graphics on the majority of the games was absolutely amazing, very much looking forward to getting my own console in 11 days. However some of the games were a bit disappointing.
Most of them looked great but in some cases it seemed like they had spent way too much on the graphics and not enough on thinking about the actual game play.
Also a couple of the games involved a heap of story sequences inbetween all the bits of game play. I don't mind this at the end of a level etc but when they throw one in every 5 minutes of game play it gets pretty annoying.
The most popular game on the night was Perfect Dark Zero which I think was clearly the best game out of the lot. My second favorite is still Project Gotham Racing 3 which I think I will have to put in an order for asap. As for biggest disappointment I think that would be King Kong. There was a lot of hype about this game and the process they went through with the movies director to make it, problem is in a lot of sequences the graphics are just to dark to see where your going.