I am involved in a number of first-party events from Microsoft over the next few weeks. Many people have contributed to the content of these events and they should be very educational. All events are free and last a full day. The dates and registration links are below:

Below are the official descriptions of these events.

Enterprise Developer Camp

Do you have existing .NET client line of business (LOB) applications? Join Microsoft developer experts, and see how to modernize these applications and move them forward. Learn what the Microsoft devices and services strategy is and how existing applications fit in. See demos, and work through hands-on labs to learn how and why to move your LOB applications to Windows Azure, how to use third-party controls to add a modern look and feel, and how to provide your users the ability to use LOB apps on a variety of devices, including Windows 8 and Windows Phone. And do all of this using Visual Studio 2013 and your existing XAML skills!

Agenda Topics:

· Overview

o Get an overview of the Microsoft platform, and discover the main reasons why developers (and businesses) should build on it. Learn what we mean when we talk about devices and services and the opportunities they present.

· Adopt a Services Architecture

o Learn about best practices for building WPF LOB applications that are based on a services architecture. Review the Expenses app that serves as foundation for the session, and explore a number of coding topics.

· Move to the Cloud

o Find out how to cloud-enable the Expenses app so users can access expense data on-premises and off-premises. Walk through the steps, including configuring the WCF service to use SQL Azure, deploying the WCF service to an Azure Web Site, and configuring the Expenses app to use the cloud service.

· Lunch

· Modernize Your App

o Explore new features in Visual Studio 2013 that make XAML development easier. Learn about controls provided by third-party vendors, and see how they can be used to build WPF apps that have a more modern look and feel.

· Build for Multiple Devices

o See how you can take your existing skills and build Windows 8 and Windows Phone apps. Get a basic overview, and then see how to build an Expenses app for both of these platforms to provide users the ability to manage their expenses on additional devices.

Dev Days 2014

Microsoft’s Refactor Your Dev Skills at Dev Days 2014 is a conference where Microsoft shares the latest Operating System, cloud, device, development and developer tools. Much of the material is inspired from the 2014 Build Conference, with exciting announcements expected in all of the categories above. If you didn’t have time to view as many build sessions as you would have liked, and didn’t have time to pull together the key developments, this is the conference for you. These events are meant to distill an overview of the latest developments on Microsoft platforms and highlight some of the best new capabilities coming in each areas below:

Agenda

• An overview of what was announced at Build
• What’s new in the cloud platform?
• What’s new in building web technology native apps?
• What’s new in .NET Language apps?
• What’s new in Visual Studio and Application Lifecycle Management?
• How to get started using new capabilities.

Windows Azure Developer Camp: Make It Happen In The Cloud

Join a Microsoft Azure Developer Camp and leave with code running in the cloud! This is a free, one-day Microsoft Azure Instructor led Workshop where you roll up your sleeves and get hands-on with the latest Microsoft Azure development tools and technologies.
We will start with the basics and build on to more advanced topics, featuring instructor led
hands-on labs for:
-  Learn how to build infrastructure at the speed of code with Virtual Machines in the cloud
-  Build your first cloud native application, and deploy it into an auto-management environment
-  Easily configure single sign-on for your ASP.NET application, and learn how to extend your corporate identity store to apps in the cloud.
Throughout the day, you’ll hear from local Microsoft Azure Partner specialists and Microsoft product team members. We’ll talk about how Microsoft Azure, Microsoft’s open and flexible cloud platform, enables you to quickly build, deploy or move existing applications to the cloud. And don't worry, we speak your development language, .NET, node.js, PHP, Python, and all developers are welcome!
Be fully prepared for this hands-on day of coding by bringing your laptop and signing up for the free Microsoft Azure trial