Dan Rigsby – Coding Up Style

If you haven’t heard by now, Microsoft is hosting a little event out in LA next week called “Microsoft Professional Developer Conference” (PDC).  Not everyone can afford this event or can take the time out to make the trip.  Microsoft has recognized this and is going to be streaming all of the keynotes  live.  They will also be recording of all the sessions and making them viewable online sometime after PDC.  However, many people like to hear the content, ask questions, and learn more.  To make up for this, Microsoft has also just announced the MSDN Developer Conference (MDC) series. 

What is the MDC

“We deliver the core message, content and experience of the PDC in a one day, multi-track event to multiple cities across the United States”

The MDC is a day long, 12 city tour in the US that will deliver the key information from PDC in a cheaper, more concise, and streamlined form. MDC is a glimpse into the future of the Microsoft Application Platform. Some of the major areas of discussion will be Windows 7, Cloud Computing, Internet services platform, Silverlight, .Net additions, Live Mesh, and other PDC surprises.  You will miss much of the excitement, depth, and social aspects of PDC, but for the price and convenience, this event will be one that you won’t want to miss.

Even if you did attend PDC, you may want to register for a MDC event near you as well.  You can use this time to brush up on things you missed, ask new questions, or hear about how development and feedback has been going since PDC.

The main MDC website is: http://www.msdndevcon.com/

Registration

Registration opens Monday October 20th for all locations.  Space is limited, but each venue will be able accommodate between 300-1000 attendees depending on the location.

Register here: http://www.msdndevcon.com/Pages/register.aspx

Cost

Unlike some other community events, the MSDN Dev Conference is priced at $99.  It’s a lot less than the $2400 cost of PDC + travel, hotel, etc. The content alone is worth the cost, and it is a small price to pay for what is delivered and available.  It does include sessions, lunch, swag, social interaction, and other surprises.

Speakers

The speaker line up varies from city to city, but each of the sessions will be delivered by Microsoft team members, local Microsoft Evangelists, local community leaders, Regional Directors, and MVPs.

Tentatively, I will be presenting the Developing and Deploying Your First Cloud Services session at the Chicago event. More details about this will unfold in the coming weeks.

Agenda

You can view all of the session descriptions here: http://www.msdndevcon.com/Pages/sessions.aspx.

Dates & Locations

You can catch me at the Chicago location, but get out there and register for the location closest to you!

Open Spaces

Each event will feature a dedicated room for Open Spaces.  Open Spaces will run parallel to the main tracks, and will offer attendees a chance to dive deeper into a topic area or talk about topics not included in the MDC agenda.  At some conferences, the Open Space area is empty and often forgotten. At the MDC, thiswon’t be the case. The room will be manned by a coordinator with  local MVPs and other experts.

Social

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