From the Editor -
News and Notes from Developer Evangelist Bruno Terkaly
Volume 13, Number 8: April 13, 2009
Juval Lowy is a passionate communicator. He is also a software visionary. If you are
concerned about the economy and concerned about staying busy as a developer, architect, tester,
or in any other software-related employment, then this is a chance to get the inside scoop on
opportunities in Silicon Valley and California in general. This is a rare opportunity to see
author and software legend, Juval Lowy at work in downtown San Francisco. The title of our talk
is "Survive and Thrive in the Energy Economy - Half-Day Seminar," on April 21st at the Microsoft
Office in downtown San Francisco. Space is limited, so I recommend you sign up now. The Golden
Gate rooms at Microsoft are limited to 100 persons.
The world of software and the world of energy are on a collision course. The result is an
explosion of opportunities for software development professionals, akin to the dot-coms in the
early '90s. Nowhere is this more pronounced than in the Silicon Valley as the tectonic plates
are shifting, and the high tech industry is aligning itself with the next boom. Scores of startups
sprout virtually everywhere, and the smart investors shamelessly shift their focus from high tech
to alternative energy and the smart grid. Bay Area cities invest billions in new infrastructure,
and the tycoons and symbols of the dot-com era and the Internet are jumping in. In short, the
Valley is experiencing a new gold rush, while the rest of the world economy is unraveling.
In fact, to avert a depression, Juval believes the government and private industry will invest
in and promote a huge range of alternative energy and smart systems. These include new and improved
energy production and distribution - micro renewable-source energy producers, new power grids,
infrastructure upgrades and charging stations; increased efficiency via new cars, upgraded homes
and commercial buildings; and other improvements, including integrated billing systems, and
automated and vertically integrated energy trading, production, and consumption. The key for
making all that work is great software.
Juval terms this massive new software system the Energynet, and the analogy to the Internet is
a good one: instead of packets and requests the Energynet transfers watts and usage data, connecting
anything and everything in the energy market.
Juval Lowy understands both sides of this equation while being deeply grounded in software
development and communication technologies.
Juval conducts this unique seminar worldwide to standing-room-only audiences, demonstrating why
software developers should care and how they can become engaged in this exciting new field.
The seminar starts with Juval sharing his personal observations and perspectives on the current
trends in the industry and where the high tech sector is heading, followed by an analysis of the
underlying economic and political forces driving the change, and the implications for every software
professional. Juval ends the seminar by pointing out the skills and expertise required of developers
that want to not only survive but thrive in the next boom in software.
Now Available - Visual Basic QuickStarts and How-Tos for Creating Modular Applications using
WPF and Silverlight
The Composite Application Guidance for WPF and Silverlight is designed to help you more easily
build enterprise-level Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) and Silverlight client applications.
It will help you design and build enterprise-level composite WPF client applications - composite
applications use loosely coupled, independently evolvable pieces that work together in the overall
application.
Download the Visual Basic version
or the C# version.
Azure .NET Services - The Service Bus
The Service Bus is arguably one of the most important aspects of the Azure Services Platform.
Juval Lowy just released an
excellent description of its inner workings in the latest issue of MSDN Magazine. Understanding
the Service Bus is critical. You can think of it as BizTalk in the cloud. It will have a crucial
role in connecting on-premise applications to the cloud, allowing companies to communicate across
NATs and firewalls.
Local Events
SmartGrid Event - Juval Lowy - April 21st - Opportunity Is Knocking
Mark this date (April 21) on your calendar. Juval and I are hosting a 4-hour event in San Francisco at the Microsoft
office. I talked about this in the last issue. Juval and I are passionate about the upcoming breakthroughs happening in
Silicon Valley. This is where the developer jobs will be available. Just type smart grid into a search engine. Keep your
eye on the business pages and you'll see technology giants like Google, Microsoft, and IBM tripping over each other to
announce their latest "smart" technology for tracking energy and emissions from businesses and homes. The economic stimulus
package that won approval in the Senate includes $4.5 billion for smart grid technology and billions more for energy
efficiency. I'm working on an upcoming series with the Bay .NET User Group.
Sign up and start getting announcements. My goal is start educating my brethren about Azure, cloud technologies and how to
apply smart-grid principles. Go to your calendars and mark the date, April 21, San Francisco. That will be your chance to
get ready for the future opportunities. Shoot me an e-mail and let me know your opinion at
bterkaly@microsoft.com.
April 28, Mountain View, CA - Register with invitation code 80D459.
How do you take an idea from conception to completion? How can you truly do more with less? Please join us for this
invitation-only event to discover how both product and processes help your organization succeed in today's environment.
We will explore how Team System assists teams across the board to be successful in today's tough times. This breakthrough
event will not only provide you with best practices around development and testing, but will demonstrate key capabilities of
both Visual Studio Team System 2008 and the upcoming 2010 release. It's a day that promises to have something for everyone!
The following online classes in C# will be available at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, CA for the spring term
(April 6 - June 26). The cost is approximately $100 (for CA residents, more for non-residents).
Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) (CIS-019M), Silverlight (CAST-080), Windows Powershell Scripting (CNET-060K), Develop
Web Applications using ASP.NET 3.5 (CIS-019W), Introduction to Programming in C# (CIS-019A), Windows applications using C#.
As always, I welcome your feedback. Please send me your thoughts at
bterkaly@microsoft.com.
Cheers!
Bruno
Subscribe to the MSDN bi-monthly newsletter.
Meet Your Local Microsoft Evangelists