Global Windows Azure Bootcamp SF April 27th 2013

What is it?

On April 27th, the Windows Azure community is going to have a Global Windows Azure Bootcamp. This will be a one-day hands-on deep dive class for developers in locations all over the world. Last I heard, the count was up to around 80 locations.

The local Windows Azure experts will be in attendance to run the bootcamp in each location, provide training, answer questions, and provide support with doing the labs. I heard a rumor that there is also going to be a huge rendering project that each site can run that will test the power and capability of Windows Azure. It should be a lot of fun, so please sign up and attend the one closest to you.

What about the San Francisco Bay Area?

I will be organizing and running the event in San Francisco; registration is here. The event location is the Microsoft office in San Francisco (835 Market Street, Suite 700). This is adjacent to and above the Westfield Shopping Mall, so after the event, you can go to the Microsoft Specialty Store and get a new Surface Pro tablet, because you’ll love mine so much you’ll want your own.

Each bootcamp’s agenda and material are up to the organizer, so you will be at my mercy. I mean, I will be deciding what we’re going to do. Since it’s three weeks off, and everybody knows that developers usually don’t write talks until the night before the event, I haven’t decided on the agenda yet. (Don’t worry, this time I’m not going to wait until the night before.)

I’ve attended these in the past, and always think the leaders talk too much and the developers develop too little, so I am going to try to focus on the development rather than the talking. I’ll do introductory talks with overview information, and then provide a corresponding lab that we can do to understand the topic. Since I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and there are a lot of non-Microsoft developers, my current thinking is that I will focus on Windows Azure Web Sites, Infrastructure as a Service (IAAS), and Mobile services, which can be used by everybody.

What do I need to bring?

You need to install the prerequisites BEFORE the class. It can take a couple of hours to get set up, so if you don’t do it ahead of time, you won’t get nearly as much out of the class and will probably be concentrating so hard, you will miss some of my crackling jokes and dry witty comments. Also note that your Commodore 64 will probably not work with Windows Azure’s SDK.

Here’s what you need to have on your system to make the most out of the day:

• You’ll need a Windows Azure Subscription. If you don’t have one, you can sign up for a 90 Day Trial or if you have a MSDN Subscription you can use your Azure Benefits. You will need to provide a credit card to sign up, but both the Trial and new MSDN benefit Azure Subscription have a default spending cap of $0.00, so unless you remove the cap you will not be charged. The credit card is just to verify that you’re a real person and not a bot. You’ll use this subscription while working on the hands-on labs.
• A computer or laptop with:
  • Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 (full version or Visual Studio Express 2012 for Web) or Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 with SP1 installed (full version or Visual Studio Express 2010 for Web) – do note if you use Express Edition you may not be able to complete all of the labs.
  • Install the Windows Azure Tools for Visual Studio
  • Install the Windows Azure Training Kit

This should be a lot of fun, and will be a great introduction to some of the cool things you can do with Windows Azure. (For more information about how much fun I’ve had with Windows Azure, check out this blog post.) Sign up for the event closest to you and have a great time!

Tags: Windows Azure