Co-Chair Letter

As we begin 2019, you’ve got to be excited about all the wonderful things happening in the software development world! As .NET developers, we’re riding the wave of .NET Core into a bright future with improved performance and cross-platform capabilities. With Windows Forms and WPF running in .NET Core 3.0, those platforms are revitalized. The front-end Web client space continues to evolve rapidly, with Angular, React, and the amazing potential offered by WebAssembly. Not to be left out, the “server” world is undergoing major renovation with the rapid adoption of container-based technologies like Docker and Kubernetes, alongside the expanding Microsoft Azure platform including serverless Azure Functions.

We’re Andrew Brust, Rockford Lhotka, and Brian Randell, and as Conference Co-Chairs for Visual Studio Live! New Orleans, we’d like to personally invite you to join us this April at the Hyatt Regency in New Orleans, LA. You need to keep up with all the exciting changes in technology. As veterans of the show and longtime speakers, we may be biased, but we firmly believe that an in-person experience, where you get to have two-way conversations about the latest tools and technology, with some of the finest expert speakers in the business—and with the chance to network with your peers—continues to deliver the highest level of value.

Visual Studio Live! in New Orleans gives you more of what you’ve asked for: pre-conference hands-on-labs, keynotes, post-conference workshops and more than 50 conference breakout sessions, covering a wide array of development technologies for everyone. From security to databases to the latest Web and mobile technologies, to Docker & Kubernetes, and DevOps, we’ve got you covered. Our speakers will present on machine learning, bots, and enterprise software solutions in-depth, based on their experience with Windows, macOS, Linux, and mobile platforms.

We have picked every workshop and session with the goal of transferring knowledge to you, so you can be a better developer and help your organization succeed in this ever-changing world.

You’ll find coverage on .NET Core, C# 8, container technologies and Power BI. If the Web is more your style, you’ll find coverage of TypeScript and Angular on the client as well as ASP.NET Core on the server. Feeling confused about .NET Core? We’ve got sessions to clear it up. Want to improve the quality of your software? We’ve got sessions on unit testing and continuous delivery. Mystified as to how you can bring DevOps to your organization? Our speakers will answer your questions with practical guidance on DevOps for the cloud, the data center and more.

Our hands-on-labs content provides coverage of Cross-Platform Mobile Development with Xamarin and Xamarin.Forms, and Building a Modern DevOps Pipeline on Microsoft Azure. If that’s not what you’re after, we’ve got great workshops on Dependency Injection, SQL Server for Developers, and Cross-Platform C# (including Kubernetes and WebAssembly). Our sessions, hands-on-labs and workshops drill deep into the subjects you need to master and the fundamentals that are always important.

Our industry continues the march toward the future. To keep up, you need to absorb rapidly and adapt. Go beyond Internet-based content to a live experience, where you get to ask questions in real-time and engage directly with the experts and your peers. Find a way to get to Visual Studio Live! New Orleans and get the tools to help yourself grow.

Come celebrate 26 years of great learning and make your own memories with us! We hope to see you there!

Visual Studio Live! Conference Co-Chairs

Andrew Brust, Founder & CEO, Blue Badge Insights
Rockford Lhotka, CTO, Magenic
Brian A. Randell, Partner, MCW Technologies