Tuesday, December 6, 2011 – 8:00 a.m.
Keynote: Mary Jo Foley on Microsoft in 2012 and Beyond
Mary Jo Foley with Andrew Brust
Visual Studio Live! gives you plenty of coding deep dives, but kick off the show with this lively discussion on the big picture around Microsoft, its products and its place in the tech world going forward. Blue Badge Insights founder and Visual Studio Live! Co-Chair Andrew Brust will interview ZDNet’s “All About Microsoft” blogger Mary Jo Foley, covering everything from Microsoft’s future product roadmaps to its most promising research projects – and exploring how all the Redmondian dots will connect (or won’t) in the coming months and years. Audience questions and participation will be welcome and encouraged. Come with your best Microsoft-centric questions, quibbles and insights.
Mary Jo Foley has been a tech journalist for more than 25 years. She has worked for a variety of tech publications and Web sites, including PCWeek/eWeek, CRN and ZDNet. She is the editor of the "All About Microsoft" blog (allaboutmicrosoft.com) on ZDNet, and the author of the book "Microsoft 2.0: How Microsoft Plans to Stay Relevant in the Post-Gates Era" (John Wiley & Sons). She also is the co-host of the Windows Weekly show on the TWiT network and a frequent commentator and speaker on all things Microsoft-related on TV, radio, podcasts and at industry events.
Andrew Brust is Founder and CEO of Blue Badge Insights, an analysis, strategy and advisory firm serving Microsoft customers and partners. Brust also serves as CTO for Tallan, a Microsoft National Systems Integrator; is a Microsoft Regional Director and MVP; an advisor to the New York Technology Council; and co-author of "Programming Microsoft SQL Server 2008" (Microsoft Press, 2008). Brust is a frequent speaker at industry events and is a contributing editor to Visual Studio Magazine. He’s been a participant in the Microsoft ecosystem for over 15 years, and has worked closely with both Microsoft's Redmond-based corporate team and its field organization for much of the last 10. Brust is a member of the Microsoft Partner Advisory Council and several "insiders" groups that supply him with insight around important technologies out of Redmond.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011 – 8:00 a.m.
Keynote: Managing Your Software Development Career
Rockford Lhotka, Principal Technology Evangelist, Magenic
The software development industry goes through periods of stability, punctuated by moments of major change and upset. During your career it is very likely that vendors, platforms, tools, and technologies will come and go. We appear to be in one of these periods of change right now. How can you protect and leverage your existing investments in training, skills, knowledge, and experience given the rise of cloud computing, touch-based tablet clients, and other trending technologies? Based on over 24 years of experience, including living through multiple development platform shifts, Rocky will share his thoughts on how you can manage your career, enabling you to benefit from this type of major change.
Rockford Lhotka is the author of numerous books, including the new Expert C# 2008 Business Objects book. He is a Microsoft Regional Director, MVP and INETA speaker. He contributes to several major magazines and regularly presents at major conferences around the world. Rockford is the Principal Technology Evangelist for Magenic (www.magenic.com), a company focused on delivering business value through applied technology and one of the nation's premiere Microsoft Gold Certified Partners. For more information go to www.lhotka.net.