24/07/2012

A date has been set for the MS Communities summit and AGM – it will be held on Saturday 8^th September in the Microsoft Office at Level 5/22 Viaduct Harbour Avenue, starting at lunchtime (exact time to be decided). This is the weekend after Tech-Ed, and the afternoon before the Auckland Code Camp (see http://www.mscommunities.co.nz/Events/CodeCamp.aspx for details of the Code Camp).

18/06/2012

We have the course for you!!

Learn how to

- Plan and engaging technical presentation

- Wow your audience with power point

- Transform yourself from a shaking wreck to a confident presenter

- Come across as an engaging and confident speaker

This speaker academy, presented by Olivia Mitchell and Tony Burns of Effective Speaking, has had many technical experts participate with stellar reviews

"The course is challenging and very well designed. Tony and Olivia are thoroughly dedicated, professional and experienced. Their 'tandem' training technique, and after-course support, works really well." Andrew Watson, Account Manager, Intergen

"The quality of the instructors and their execution of this course, including the in-course coaching is at the highest level. I didn't think I could be substantially changed in this space but 2 days made a huge difference." Philip Plimmer, Practice Lead, Intergen

“Without a doubt, this has to be the best speaking/presentation course in the country!" Dave Fellows, CTO, Green Button

Tony and Olivia have been training and coaching people in presentation skills for over a decade, being up to date and knowledgeable in all aspects of presenting. They have both completed an ‘Improv for Speakers’ course in Las Vegas, a ‘Story Theater Retreat’ in Colerado Spings and Dr Rich Allen has personally coached them in delivering a course in real-time.

This is a course offered free of charge!! All we ask for is your time

If chosen to participate in the Speaker Academy we in turn would like you to deliver 3 speaker sessions at various User Groups and submit a topic for ‘Code Camp’

Sign up here if you are interested.

5/04/2012

JavaScript allows an administrator to enhance the functionality of Dynamics CRM 2011 in order to better fit your business processes.

This Lunch and Learn session delivers an introduction to JavaScript development and will cover the following topics:

Setting up your development environment
Introduction to the form editor
Using web resources
CRM form events
JavaScript basics
CRM 2011 JavaScript object model
Common CRM JavaScript methods

When:
Friday, April 13, 2012 from 2:00PM to 3:15PM (Auckland)

Class Duration:

1 hour, 15 minutes

Cost Per Attendee:

$99USD

What to Expect:

At the end of this session, you should at least understand basics of how to write JavaScript and how to utilize the Dynamics CRM 2011 object model to perform the most operations commonly performed by a developer.

Additionally, since this is not a full class, you'll receive homework to be completed on your own, at your own pace.

More info

5/03/2012

MS Communities is where Microsoft users, practitioners and developers come together to collaborate, share knowledge and develop the community skill base. An independent organisation, MSC’s mission is to help its members create personal and business growth through the improved use of Microsoft technologies. Come and see us at SPC2102 and find out how getting involved in MSC can help your business or career.

5/03/2012

Media Release
5 February 2012

TradeMe ‘Database Dave’ Leading Microsoft SQL Server User Group in Wellington

David Curlewis is the guy to go to when you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place when using SQL Server.

As the SQL Server Database lead from TradeMe, Curlewis found the right fit as the new SQL Server User Group leader for the Wellington region.

The SQL Server User Groups are forums for local developers and IT Pros to network and share ideas.

Although the catering is sponsored by Microsoft, the community groups are run on an entirely volunteer basis, in the free time of the group members.

Leadership of these groups is generally taken on by individuals with the expertise and experience to facilitate discussions.

For Curlewis, accepting this role, despite the challenges, was an easy choice.

“It was a next step to network and improve my skills. I’m very busy at the moment with work but I wouldn’t have taken it on if it wasn’t something I enjoyed. So you kind of make those things work.”

Microsoft SQL Server Product Manager, Corina Oliver, says Curlewis is a perfect fit for the role.

“The community user groups are thriving in NZ and it’s exciting for us to have someone of such a high calibre leading the way in Wellington. TradeMe is an early adopter of the SQL 2012, which launches soon, and this gives the group great access to information about the new features available.”

Curlewis has a few tips for using Microsoft SQL Server 2012 that he shares at the user group meetings.

“It’s looking pretty promising. There are several features we are interested in, especially around the high availability areas, disaster recovery and archiving and purging.”

Curlewis is excited about the future of the group and is on the lookout for new speakers to come on board.

“Bigger name speakers are always a draw card. We always get a good turnout when we have local speakers from local, well-known companies in New Zealand that discuss real world scenarios. It’s like a voyeuristic peek behind the curtains.”

Curlewis also hopes to increase the communication between groups in other parts of New Zealand including Auckland.

“I’m interested in getting more collaboration with user groups across the country and making it possible to travel more between different cities and user groups. I want the user groups to be one central place where everyone can catch up with what’s going on.”

Once a month the Intergen headquarters in Wellington are taken over by this group but they also have room for more members.

“It’s just about getting free access to regular meetings and information. Free pizza, free beer and free training, all it costs is an hour or two on a Thursday evening” Curlewis says.

So, for pizza, beer and a chat with ‘Database Dave’ and other high calibre speakers, join the Wellington SQL Server User Group on the third Thursday of every month.

For further information please visit the Wellington SQL Server User Group here.

About Microsoft:

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realise their full potential.

For more information, press only:

Lucy Powell, Microsoft New Zealand, +64 9 362 5813, lpowell@microsoft.com

Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass on Microsoft’s corporate information pages. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may since have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/contactpr.mspx.

22/02/2012

Auckland, New Zealand, September 29 2011 - Codemania today announced the launch of a new conference for software developers. The conference focuses purely on the art of creating great software, regardless of language or platform. This is the first conference of its kind in New Zealand.

"We love the New Zealand software development community, but couldn't find a conference that just let developers of all sorts nerd-out together," says Ben Gracewood, co-creator of Codemania. "So, we decided to make one."

Codemania aims to bring together developers from all walks of life, to learn how fellow coders are solving tricky problems and advancing their platforms. New Zealand's technology sector is strong and growing, with a lot of that growth predicated on software development. A conference like Codemania offers the opportunity for any software developers (and companies that hire developers) to learn, grow, and gain new enthusiasm.

The conference will include international speakers at the top of their game, along with inspiration from non-developers. Speakers include:

- Michael Koziarski (Wellington): a core team member behind Rails, the hugely popular web development framework.

- Phil Haack (USA): former Program Manager at Microsoft, now "Windows Badass" at GitHub.

- Karl von Randow (Auckland): iPhone and web developer, co-founder of Catcuslab, and developer of the world-famous Camera+ iPhone app.

- Mike Brown (Wellington): co-founder of the hugely popular Webstock conference.

- Damian Edwards (USA): Senior Program Manager on the ASP.NET team from Microsoft USA.

- Ivan Towlson (Wellington): developer at Mindscape, a Wellington based developer tools company.

The principle behind Codemania is one that many developers will be familiar with: good code is good code, regardless of where it comes from and where it is used. "I was sitting in a development session at another conference, having my mind blown by incredibly interesting code, and thought: why can't we have a conference that's nothing but great speakers talking about code?" says Ian Randall, co-creator of Codemania.

"Our aim is to create a high-quality, sustainable conference for the Auckland software development community, but we think it's going to be attractive to developers throughout New Zealand and beyond," says Randall.

Codemania have worked with development partners Lee ter Wal to create the unique look and feel of the conference which you can see at http://codemania.co.nz.

Codemania is a full-day conference being held at Rendezvous Hotel Auckland on 30th March 2012.

15/02/2012

With the introduction of the new website it makes sense to give away some prizes to all you community folk. So if you want to go into the draw to win a Cisco Flip 4GB Video Camera valued at over $230 or a new intel wireless mouse then register as a community member or log in and get all you details up to date by the 30th of March 2012. We will be drawing & notifying winners on the 31st.Get registered here

Thanks to our prize sponsor Silicon Direct for the great toys check Silicon Direct out at www.silicondirect.co.nz

****To enter the prize draw you must have a valid new Zealand shipping address to enter the draw, all judges decisions are final. Entries close 30/03/2012.

9/02/2012

Join Microsoft for the 2012 Windows Phone Community Roadshow.

Microsoft’s Developer & Platform Evangelism Group will be running this 3-hour hands-on workshop across eleven towns and cities in New Zealand. Event timing varies by location, but workshops will run from 4/5pm until 7/8pm – select your city using the tiles below to find out.

The event is designed to be hands-on, so bring your laptops with the Windows Phone Tools installed, and start building your own Windows Phone apps. The team will run through hands-on demonstrations, showing you some of the features within Visual Studio and Expression Blend you can use to deliver great-looking fully-functional applications.

And of course, this being Microsoft, we have loads of prizes to give away.*

We have a competition with three prize categories, that we are offering to roadshow attendees. Submit your app by emailing msdnnz@microsoft.com with a brief description and a link to your app on the Windows Phone Marketplace, by 31st March 2012.

Be Lucky ::
Win 1 of 3 Samsung Omnia W (Focus Flash) Windows Phones!*
Each and every app submitted will go in the draw to win 1 of 3 Samsung Omnia W (Focus Flash) Windows Phones. This is purely a game of chance so, as long as your app is published (passes through the certification process to become available on the Windows Phone Marketplace!) then you have as good a chance as any.

Be Great ::
Win 1 of 3 Samsung Focus S Windows Phones!*
The three best apps submitted to the competition (as judged by Microsoft) can each win a Samsung Focus S Windows Phone. So if you're not happy with the random draw described above, make sure to spend some time on your app to create something that will really impress the panel of judges!

Be Creative ::
Win 1 of 3 Nokia Lumia 800 Windows Phones!*
If you want to win Nokia's highly-anticipated first Windows Phone, simply submit FIVE apps to the competition, and you're in the draw to win one of three Nokia Lumia 800s. Given how amazing this prize is, not just any app will make the cut. Don't worry, we won't be asking the impossible but put your thinking caps on! Note that your five apps can't include follow-my-feed, app-maker or other online-tool-created apps. So if you choose to include an RSS reader or Twitter feed app in your five submissions, it better be a good one!

And as if you needed another reason to start developing for Windows Phone, email a screenshot of your ready-to-publish app to msdnnz@microsoft.com, to receive a complimentary one-year Windows Phone Developer Account valued at NZD$149!* This one-year Marketplace subscription lets you publish free, paid, or ad-funded apps and games. You can submit unlimited paid apps to Windows Phone Marketplace, and up to 100 free apps. Note that we can only gift free Marketplace accounts while stocks last, so get working on your first app now!

There you have it.

The 2012 Windows Phone Community Roadshow.

Hands-on demos at the event, and three prize categories to inspire you.

So what are you waiting for? Register your seat today...

* Windows Phone Community Roadshow 2012 Competition
Terms and Conditions available to view on this blog post.

16/11/2011

Welcome to the new MS Communities site.

The site is designed as a central point for users to meet and discuss current technology as well as keep up todate with the latest news, events and activities of the MS Communities user groups.

If you have any problems or questions please do not hesitate to contact the site administrator using the "Contact us" link at the top of the page.

If you would like to get involved with the development and on going support of the MS Communities website please do not hesitate to contact the site administrator with a short email outlining your availability and the skills you can bring to ther MS Communities development team.

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