2007/2008 Here We Come!

Greetings everyone! And welcome to another season of presentation, projects, and study groups aimed at helping you reach your .NET development potential. We’re happy to say that MSDN Canada, RHT Technologies, and CTE Solutions will be continuing to support the Ottawa .NET Community in the 2007/2008 season and with their help we’re going to make every effort to make this a memorable season for all concerned. Here are some of the things that are in the works….

2007/2008 Season Kick-Off: Building Next Generation Web Applications with Silverlight
On the top of our list we have the 2007/2008 Kick-Off Event which takes place on Wednesday September 19th. Jason Beres will be doing a presentation on “Building Next Generation Web Applications with Silverlight”. Here’s your chance to learn more about how Silverlight is going to change web application development as we know it. For full details pertaining to this event click here and/or register for this presentation by sending an email request to events@OttawaCommunity.Net. MCTS 70-526

Study Group: Windows-Based Client Development
The 2007/2008 study season has begun and a good number of us met for our first study session last Tuesday. Our objective is to cover all the material associated with the MCTS 70-526 exam between now and Christmas. We’ll be covering approximately one chapter per week and though our classroom is full, you may want to study along-side us on your own. Download a copy of the Info Session slide deck here and keep an eye on the ODNC web site for study group resources and forum discussions. If you’re interested in working alongside us then send an email to Info@OttawaCommunity.Net and well take it from there.

Lunch & Learn Presentations
Last year’s Luncheon presentations were a great success. They provided developers in the downtown core with the opportunity to lunch, learn, and network. Our plan is to continue with these presentations and were accepting proposals for topics and speakers so, if there is anything in particular that you want to hear about or give a talk on then let us know asap.

ODNC Code Camp
The Ottawa .NET Community has been toying with the idea of hosting a code camp for quite some time now and we’re hoping that the developers in the community step up to the challenge this season. For those of you that may not know about code camps; they are full day events for developers by developers. The events usually take place on a Saturday and involve 2 or 3 tracks. To make this event happen were going to need people to help organize and execute the event. If you’re interested in getting involved then get in-touch with us asap.

Special Interest Focus Groups
Focus Groups are a great way to attack complex or time consuming projects. A simplified model involving a specific objective and running for a limited amount of time may be just the ticket for establishing some good peer-to-peer development in the community. Possible topics of interest include Web Development, Team Systems, the CSLA Framework and/or the IdeaBlade Framework. The options are endless. What’s required are keen individuals that are interested in spearheading these groups. If you’re interested in setting something up then let us know and we’ll help as best we can by getting the community involved.

ODNC Administration
The ODNC is run by volunteers and believe us, there’s a lot that needs to be done. As a member of the community you have a pretty good idea of what is going on and you probably have some pretty good ideas as to what we can do to make things better. Come share your ideas at one of our steering committee meetings and help build a strong and vibrant .NET community in the Ottawa area. Please contact Orest@OttawaCommunity.Net to make your interest known.

That’s it for now. Thanks for taking the time to work your way through this note. We hope to see you at our upcoming events and we’re looking forward to working with you in the 2007/2008 season.

Regards,
Orest Hirniak,
Chief Coordinator,
The Ottawa .NET Community