Join all the local .NET area user groups, the SQL Server related PASS groups, and the Windows Server user groups for one great geek extravaganza Feb 21st in Denver called the Rocky Mountain Tech Trifecta.

Details at  http://rmtechtrifecta.pbwiki.com/ 

51 separate tech topics related to .NET, SQL Server, Windows Server.

7 rooms

150 free pizzas

500 goodie bags

20,000+ lines of code

Rock star technology geeks from all over with names like Hanselman, Huckaby, Nielson, Jones, Milroy, Massi, Dollard. 

Learn a lot and take a picture with your favorite tech geek to put up on your Facebook page.

tri⋅fect⋅a   /ˈtraɪˌfɛktə/ [trahy-fek-tuh] –noun 1. a type of bet on horse races in which the bettor must select the first 3 finishers in exact order. 2. a whole lot of geeks just as rowdy as at the horse races who really don't care in which order the speaking events occur just as long as they learn massive amounts, eat free pizza, and obtain swaggage.

This meeting will be held at Configuresoft. This meeting will be held from 5:30 PM -8:15 PM- see here for more location and time details.

Kathleen Dollard : Rethinking Object Orientation 

Decades after object orientation design altered programming, it’s still evolving, and we’re still learning to use it better. Many changes in the tools we use and how we write applications affect the approach we take to OOD. Some of these changes relate to architecture where new approaches like SOA alter the place of traditional OOD within the bigger picture of architecture. Other changes are language improvements that alter the very meaning of the phrase “object” from a design point of view. While touching on architecture, this talk focuses primarily on the effect of language features like generics, extension methods, partial classes/methods, reflection, anonymous types, and declarative programming. Basic OOD principles are still valid within a niche, and you’ll come away with a better understanding of that niche and how to design leveraging new features retaining solid overall design.

Kathleen Dollard is a consultant, author, trainer, and speaker. She’s been a Microsoft MVP for over ten years and has spoken about .NET in 28 states and 5 countries. She’s written dozens of articles including the “Ask Kathleen” column in Visual Studio Magazine. She also wrote “Code Generation in Microsoft .NET” (Apress). Her passion is helping programmers be smarter in how they develop by learning to better use .NET languages, libraries and platforms. She works with WPF, WF, as well as core technologies including System.AddIn. She’s currently creating template infrastructure for code generation using VB XML literals. After working on the problem of capturing business intent in metadata and test definitions for years, she’s working with industry improvements in these areas. She’s also working on full life cycle improvements, such as unit testing, better debugging and static analysis (FxCop). When not working, she enjoys woodworking, snowshoeing, and kayaking depending on the outdoor temperature.

The schedules for the "Best of the PDC" are out for the Rocky Mountain Region.

Colorado Springs - Mon, Jan. 26, 2009, 1:00-5:00pm at Configuresoft - Registration Link

For more information on content of the event and other locations planned, see Rob Bagby's blog.  Topics to be covered include "What's New in C#4.0", "Demystifying Azure", "WCF and REST", and "Silverlight Control Toolkit".

Just wanted to thank everyone for attending last nights meeting!  We also wanted to pass on a couple of upcoming events.

• Denver Cloud Computing User Group - This is a brand new group.  In fact the first meeting ever is next Tuesday 12/9.  Click here for more details and to register.
• IASA Denver Chapter - This is a relativiely new group that focuses primarily on software architecture.  Thier next meeting is next monday 12/8.  Click here for more details and to RSVP.
• Rocky Mountain Tech Trifecta - Feb 21st in Denver.  Many rock star speakers are coming from out of town for this one day free event.  Just save the date for now so you don't miss out on some great content.
• The Best of PDC Roadshow - Currently this is scheduled for many cities accross the US.  No cities in Colorado are currently on the list.  However, if we can prove that there is interest the show might stop by.  So, please send a msg to Rob.Bagby@microsoft.com and type "Best of PDC Feedback" in the subject if you would be interested in attending an event that would cover all the highlights of the PDC that took place in Oct.

Both the Denver and South Colorado user groups are taking the next couple months off for the Holidays.  So enjoy the Season and we will catch up with you next year!

This meeting will be held at Configuresoft. This meeting will be held from 5:30 PM -8:15 PM- see here for more location and time details.

Ben Hoelting: WPF\XAML Databinding

A 200-300 level session. Data binding in WPF is considerably different from what most developers are used to in Win Forms and ASP.NET. This session will help you get over that learning curve and prepare you for some more advanced WPF data binding. We will begin by creating a basic ADO.Net Entity Framework model of a SQL Server Database. Once we have that model built, we will create a WPF application and use some Data Templates to bind to that model in some creative ways. What a developer being creative? Yes it does happen sometimes.

Ben Hoelting: Software Developer, Colorado Technology Consultants, Inc. Graduated from Colorado State University in 1997 with a BS in Computer Information Systems and a Minor in Computer Science. Been in the IT industry since 1996. Worked for the Gates Corporation (formally the Gates Rubber Company) from 2000 - 2005. Left Gates to pursue a consulting career. Currently works for Colorado Technology Consultants, Inc. in Colorado Springs. Most recent projects include a Windows forms Smart Client that requires offline support, an ASP.Net tracking system for the floral industry and Microsoft CRM customizations using ASP.Net. Ben is also a MCP, certified in both CRM Customizations and .NET Framework Application Development.