Dave Bost

Start Dreaming. Start Building.

There has been a tremendous amount of buzz and excitement in the developer community as we get ready to launch Windows Phone 7. There have been over 300,000+ downloads of the Windows Phone 7 developer tools as developers are eager to take advantage of this next wave of computing. To help you along the way, my team is sponsoring a number of *free* Windows Phone 7 Boot Camp training events across the area. The purpose of these boot camps is to provide guidance around building apps and games that target Windows Phone 7 and lead  you down the path to start earning money in the Windows Marketplace.

Training and Hands-on Labs

Throughout the day, we’ll dive deep into the Windows Phone developer tools along with the services and components that allow you to light up your apps on Windows Phone 7. Bring your laptop! In the afternoon, we’ve set aside time for people to walk through various hands-on labs and give them an opportunity to get their hands dirty with the tools. We’ll have experts on hand to answer your questions as well.

Prerequisites for the Hands-on Labs

Unfortunately training machines will not be provided. You are welcome to bring your own machine with WiFi capability. To prepare for the labs, please download the Windows Phone Developer Tools and Windows Phone 7 Training Kit prior to the event. (Note: please check the system requirements on the Windows Phone Developer Tools download page)

App Testing – Bring your XAP!

Have you been working hard over the past few months building the next Angry Birds or the next great Social App? Bring your XAP and we’ll provide an opportunity for you to test it on a real device!

Windows Phone 7 Boot Camp

8:00 am – 8:30: Registration Opens

8:30 – 12:00pm:

• Overview of the Windows Phone 7 Platform
• An In-Depth View of Building Applications for Windows Phone 7 with Microsoft Silverlight
• WP7 + Data

12:00 – 12:30pm: Lunch

12:30 – 2:30pm:

• Building Games for Windows Phone 7 with XNA
• Making Money with the Windows Marketplace

2:30pm – 5:00pm:

• Hands-on Labs and App testing

And before you ask, we’re planning something special for Chicago, so stay tuned.

My colleagues over on the East Coast are running a series of Windows Phone training events as well. Check them out!

• Glen Gordon – Windows Phone 7 developers – free training and app building workshops!
• Joe Healy – Windows Phone Garage East Coast Tour – Fall 2010

Windows Phone, training

Have you wanted to check out all the technical goodness that the Windows Azure Platform gives you but didn’t want to pluck down a credit card? Have no fear!

You can get a 1-month *free* pass to kick the tires of Windows Azure and SQL Azure.

Once you’ve requested your pass, there is a plethora of training material to lead you down the Windows Azure path, including:

• Learning all about Windows Azure as a cloud computing platform
• Great tutorials to get you publishing your first Windows Azure application
• Watch videos about SQL Azure
• Learn how to publish your PHP Apps on Windows Azure
• Read up on how to Develop a Windows Azure Application
• Watch a series of Web Casts to lead you down the path of Windows Azure
• And by all means… download the Windows Azure Training Kit!

Azure, SQL Azure, training

Two of our MVP’s and future MS Press authors, Andy Wigley and Rob Miles, will be presenting a 12-hour online course on Windows Phone development spread over two days. This course is organized into four virtual instructor-led sessions to give you the jump start needed to start building your phone applications.

• July 20 – 8am: Session One: Getting Started with Microsoft Windows Phone and Silverlight
• July 20 – 1pm: Session Two: Programming Game Applications with XNA
• July 22 – 8am: Session Three: Programming Applications with Silverlight
• July 22 – 1pm: Session Four: Review and Wrap up

All times are Pacific Daylight Time (PDT)

Get Registered!

Windows Phone, training

If you want to build games for the upcoming Windows Phone 7 like I do, learn everything you need to know from our very own Rob Cameron during the AT&T Developer Webcast, XNA Game Development for Windows Phone 7.

This webcast is designed to provide a developer overview of how to build games for Windows Phone 7 with Microsoft XNA Game Studio 4. Learn about the developer tools, the XNA Framework, and the resources available to build interactive, compelling, games with Windows Phone 7.

When: Thursday, July 15, 10-11 AM Pacific Time

Registration is required

Windows Phone, training

We’re bringing the Windows Phone 7 Hands-on Labs to Indianapolis!

In this instructor-led lab, we will spend the day walking through the facets of building applications for Windows Phone 7 using Silverlight and XNA.

What: Hands-On-Lab Series: Windows Phone 7
When: Tuesday, June 29, 2010, 9:00AM – 4:00PM
Where: Microsoft, 500 E. 96th Street, Suite 460, Indianapolis, IN

This is a BYOM Lab. Bring-Your-Own-Machine. You’ll get more out of this if you can follow along with the labs.

You should come prepared with the Windows Phone 7 Developer Tools loaded and ready to go. We’ll use the Windows Phone 7 Training Kit as the basis of our content for the labs.

Here is a  list of links to everything you need…

Windows Phone Developer Tools CTP – April Refresh

Windows Phone 7 Training Kit

(Optional)

Microsoft Expression Blend® 4 Release Candidate (RC)

Expression Blend Add-in Preview 2 for Windows Phone

Expression Blend Software Development Kit (SDK) Preview 2 for Windows Phone

You can read Rob Cameron’s blog post for help on getting the latest tools (April Refresh) installed.  Specifically if you’ve installed prior versions of the Phone Developer Tools.

Please note, as dictated in the Release Notes – No, you can’t install the environment in VPC. However, with Windows 7, I have set up a Boot-to-VHD environment that works very well. Scott Hanselman has a great post on getting a Boot-to-VHD environment up and running.

Windows Phone, training