Sessions

  • End to End Web Sites - Part 1

    Scott Guthrie

    In part one of this double header talk, Scott will show how to build a Web site from end to end, using IIS7, Visual Studio 2005, ASP.NET and ASP.NET AJAX.

  • Microformats - HTML to API

    Glenn Jones

    Over the last year microformats have become the new rallying cry of the web standards community. They promise an elegant method to add simple open data formats directly into HTML. This session will walk you through real-world examples, exploring how you can add microformats to your sites and will show how microformats can be used to help build mash-ups and simple publishing APIs.

  • Expression Web

    Jon Harris

    A new name, a new product, a new focus. Expression Web is Microsoft’s new standards based visual web authoring tool and in what is probably a first for Microsoft has been getting glowing reports over both its CSS handling and code quality from the design community. In this session we’ll be kicking the tyres, checking under the bonnet and taking Expression Web for a test drive. Let’s see how it handles!

  • End to End Web Sites - Part 2

    Scott Guthrie

    In the second part of this double header talk, Scott concludes the building of a Web site from end to end, using IIS7, Visual Studio 2005, ASP.NET and ASP.NET AJAX.

  • Web Accessibility: What, Why, How, and Who Cares?

    Bruce Lawson

    A whistlestop tour around how to use Web Standards to make sites that are accessible to disabled people, usable for all and profitable for your client. Warning: contains topless photography.

  • Doing it in style: creating beautiful sites, the web standards way

    Patrick Lauke

    Who said that accessible, standards-compliant, semantic sites have to look boxy and boring? After a quick introduction to the fundamentals, this session will look at some of the current ways in which designers and developers can use CSS to add visual impact to their sites, from simple forms to entire page layouts.

  • Quick and dirty Usability tests - one week, no budget, and no usability facility

    Zhivko Dimitrov

    Usability tests are controlled studies that measure the ease of use of web-sites and applications. While there is a broad consensus about the benefits of usability testing, most companies shy away from tests fearing high costs and lack of internal expertise. Remote online testing is a more affordable, easier alternative to traditional methods that makes usability testing easier, faster, and more approachable for the organization. This lecture will focus on the practical side of online usability tests - where to find the right users online, how to carry out all tests from your office, and how to make the results accessible for the whole organization.

  • Expression Blend and Design

    Jon Harris

    Expression Blend, the tool formally known as Interactive Designer, which was formally known as Sparkle! Designers can now leverage all the skills they’ve built up over the years using rich web technologies, on the desktop with Expression Blend. We’ll be looking at how XAML is going to redefine the way designers and developers interact, on the desktop using WPF and on the web using WPFe, and following this we’ll dive into the freedom and power Expression Blend allows the designer to have when building next generation applications.

  • Sneak Peek at "Orcas"

    Scott Guthrie

    The next version of Visual Studio is codenamed "Orcas" and in this session Scott will give a preview of the changes and new features in the next version of the development tool.

  • Connecting Design to Real Business Value

    Brandon Schauer

    Design is an activity where one recombines elements in a way that creates something more valuable than what was there before — it's a natural value creation activity. So why do we as design and user experience professionals struggle to connect our work to what organizations value, and how can we improve? We'll traverse research by Adaptive Path and others to uncover the relationships between design and business, then examine some practical methods for integrating design thinking with business thinking.

  • Developing ASP.NET AJAX Components

    Hristo Deshev

    Are you ready to bring your JavaScript code to the next level? Want to create complex, dynamic user interfaces that go beyond form data validation? Enter ASP.NET AJAX! The new framework extends the JavaScript language and brings support for creating isolated components that interact in a standardized way. Our primary goal is to show how to develop reusable, UpdatePanel-friendly script controls and behaviors. We will then link the client-side story to the server-side one by introducing the new .NET API that allows us to build both standalone controls having rich client functionality and extenders that provide such functionality to existing controls.

  • Ruby On Rails for .NET Developers

    Dave Verwer

    This session gives a first look at Ruby on Rails for .NET developers. With all of the hype surrounding this technology, this session cuts through it to give a realistic overview of what both Ruby (the language) and Rails (the framework) are all about as well as getting details of how some of the Rails "magic" happens. You will leave with a knowledge of what this technology is and even if you have no intention of using Rails itself you’ll be aware of how the concepts used in Rails can help you in building any web application.

  • WPF/e

    Scott Guthrie

    “WPF/E” is the Microsoft solution for delivering rich, cross-platform, interactive experiences including animation, graphics, audio, and video for the Web and beyond. Utilizing a subset of XAML (eXtensible Application Markup Language)-based Windows Presentation Foundation technology, “WPF/E” will enable the creation of content and applications that run within multiple browsers and operating systems (Windows and Macintosh) using Web standards for programmability. Consistent with Web architecture, the XAML markup is programmable using JavaScript and works well with ASP.NET AJAX.

  • Windows CardSpace

    Barry Dorrans

    Windows CardSpace is a framework developed by Microsoft which securely stores digital identities of a person, and provides a unified interface for choosing the identity for a particular transaction, such as logging in to a website. This talk will cover how CardSpace works, how it can be used within ASP.NET applications and how you can implement your own trusted cards.

  • Unobtrusive Javascript with Rails

    Dave Verwer

    With the rise of Ajax and web sites that rely heavily on JavaScript what happens when a user comes along using a screen reader or mobile device that wouldn't know an alert(); from a banana. This session will explain the issues that we face in this area and discusses techniques to ensure that you can still serve up rich content without excluding users, all from one code base. Note: While the discussion of the issues and techniques surrounding this topic are not specific to any language, all demonstrations and server side code in this session will be using Ruby on Rails and while it is not necessary to be an expert, a passing knowledge of Rails would be helpful.