Today we are 15 attendees in Toronto for the Windows phone 7 boot camp. Now I can’t wait to get my WP7 because I have some idea on applications I like to do.  Even better, tonight I will attend a WP7 Word press Blogger event and meet with other developers. This event is organized by Microsoft and the gold is to give a chance to show off what developers are working on for this new platform.  The WP7 applications showed tonight are not from Microsoft, there are from independent companies or student.  This will be interesting.  

I am writing this from the Windows Phone 7 (WP7) Boot Camp in Montreal. We are having a blast here. I was familiar with Silverlight so the first section is not new to me but Colin is not just showing how to use Silverlight with WP7. He covers very well other important topics like LINQ, WCF, Entity Framework, WCF Data services and OData. Colin prepared over 40 projects of sample code.  Most are focused examples of individual build blocks so it very easy to understand.  The Boot Camp concept is a training of 3 days condensed into 2 and is meant to be presented to a small group.  In day 2 we are covering specifics of WP7 like GPS, Maps API and all the other goodies.  This was very fun.  Still 3 more locations left for this Boot Camp.  The next one is Vancouver on August 30-31^st then it will be presented on Ottawa on September 2 – 3^rd and the last one is in Toronto on September 6-7^th.  Check out the details at this link: http://www.devteach.com/SpecialEvent.aspx

According to most sources, Windows Phone 7 devices will not be available to purchase by the public or even developers until October. The Marketplace for WP7 apps will likely open for Windows Phone 7 app submissions in October. This is a very good opportunity for .Net developers to get ahead of this wave, and trust me, it will be a BIG wave. Check out the YouTube video Windows Phone 7 Gold Rush at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZaybLKetuA

If you are a DBA and have not yet look at MS Entity Framework, Well you need to check out ODNC event on Thursday night. Has a DBA you will see  this data layer more and  more in the year to come.  Jonathan Aneja is coming from Redmond to present on LINQ and Entity Framework 4.0. If you have not registered as of yet then you can do so by sending an email request to Events@OttawaCommunity.Net . We look forward to seeing you soon.

Date: Thursday, August 12^th, 2010
Registration: 5:30 PM - 5:45 PM
Presentation: 5:45 PM - 8:00 PM
Refreshments: Pizza & Pop will be served
Location: Microsoft's Glacier Room
               100 Queen Street, Suite 500
               World Exchange Plaza, Ottawa

A new Silverlight user group has been created in Vancouver named VanSLUG. In Order to help bring awareness to this new User Group, DevTeach is giving a free registration (Value of $999.00) to its popular Windows Phone 7 Boot Camp ( August 30-31) to the User Group for a draw.  So you have a chance to win this registration by simply joining VanSLUG at this link: http://vanslug.net. You register to the group by clicking on the login link on the top right-hand-side of the home page and creating an account. VanSLUG will announce the winner on August 16^th.

If you’re a developer on the .NET platform and the only way you have to make money is to invest your time in developing an app., the Windows Phone 7 App Store could be your gold rush. Why? Because the app store will open with 90 000 potential customers.  Yes, Microsoft just announced that all fulltime employees will be getting a free Windows Phone 7 when the device is released.  So if you are among the first to have an application in this app store, you have a strong chance to make money. The rumor is that 1 million devices will be sold by Christmas.  Even if it’s 500 000 sold, that’s still a chance to make a lot of money with your own application that you can test on a device at DevTeach before the stores open! 

If you are into this new gold rush, you must check out the DevTeach Windows Phone 7 Boot Camp. It’s 3 days of training presented in two days in 4 cities. Colin Melia will have a device on site and if you’ve already started an application, you’ll be able to test it on the device during the Boot Camp.  Check out the details of this boot camp at this link: 

Now you have everything you need to start developing Windows Phone 7 app with this Developer tools. According to Brandon Watson blog the Beta version is very cause to the release version. To have an app in the store ready for the holiday you need to start creating the application. Our boot camp is the perfect opportunity for you to reduce the learning curve.

This is a very good opportunity for .Net developers to get ahead of this wave,  and trust me, it will be a BIG wave. Just think of all the IPhone apps you can recreate for this new platform in a fraction of time it takes on the IPhone platform. Here is the Windows Phone 7 rebate code: WP7BOOTCAM - good for $100 off the 2-day boot camp. This rebate code has no time limit.

Colin Melia from DreamDigial is creating and presenting the material. When you leave this boot camp, you will have the knowledge and sample to build a Windows Phone 7 application. BTW, DevTeach is the first organization to provide a boot camp on Windows Phone 7 in Canada. Do not miss this chance.

.Net developpers that know Silverlight can now take advantage of the next gold rush wave with the Windows Phone 7 series.  And trust me; it will be a BIG wave. Just think of all the iPhone apps you can recreate for this new platform in a fraction of time it takes on the iPhone platform.  Now if you are not convinced take a look at the video below. I am an iPhone user for the past 2 years and after seeing that video, I was ready to tease my iPhone for the Windows Phone 7.

Microsoft Windows Phone 7 Screenshots and Live Demo Video Walkthrough Preview

Last week I was giving sessions about XML. I did it before at the Ottawa IT Day and the Toronto Code Camp. But this time I enhance it with some code simple that output XML that I was using back in year 2000. This example was interesting because 2000 was when this buzz work hit all developer like a brick. Now, to know what this is all about you need to be there. The good news is that all the code from this demo fest can be downloaded right here.  If you have questions call or email me