Back in April I presented at the Pan Arab Web Awards, this has to be one of the strangest events I've attended to date.

The event was held in the Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai (Seven Stars!) This is a weird place full of men and women desperately trying to look ten years younger, which apparently means too much fake tan and hairspray. The hotel decor was like something out of cribs and the swirly carpets made you feel quite sea sick.

After getting into an argument with a queue jumper (the stupid women had the misconception that her wealth meant she didn't have to queue, god I hate people like that). I made my way to the ballroom where the event was to be held, I was met by the event organiser who showed me to where I could set-up my laptop. Now for months they have been aware that I will be demoing a number of WPF projects, and yet the distance between where they would like me to place my laptop and where they want me to stand is a good 15ft!!! I explain this issue to a number of people on the event team and am met with blank faces, luckily the Microsoft guy who invited me to present takes up the issue and manages to find a solution, phew problems over - oh no. The next two hours which I am due to spend setting up are instead met with; your presentation now needs to be an hour  long, no half an hour, no ten minutes, no you can't demo that, and by the way we've changed the agenda. By now I am totally confused, but we eventually decide that my presentation will now take place at Midnight, and there will be an interlude before so I have time to set-up.

Finally the guests begin to arrive (an hour late) and my MS colleague who moved to Dubai from New York tells me how all business in Dubai in conducted in English, so this is very much an English speaking event - great I think, my Arabic is a bit rusty :-)

The event eventually gets underway and we are all asked to rise for the National Anthem - yes, I don't know the words either. The next three hours are then spent delivering speeches and handing out awards all in arabic, somebody shoot me now, no please. Don't get me wrong it is a lovely language but when you can't understand a word it becomes rather dull. On the brink of falling into a coma I am awoken by my colleague, who tells me the interlude will be next when I can set-up my laptop. Ready and waiting for the music to start I hear 'I would now like to welcome to the stage Carrie Longson from Microsoft' - oh sh*t. We quickly explain to the DJ but still the music doesn't start and now I have a spot light and two hundred people staring at me. I walk to the stage and apologise for the mistake, I quickly attempt to set-up my machine and begin the demo, however the event team aren't switching my monitor to the full screen, repeatedly we explain that no-one can see my demo. Eventually after 10 minutes of humiliation I can begin my presentation, luckily all the demos work.

Following my presentation I endure another hour of arabic until the final award is handed out to Cliff's well known track Celebrations. The perfect end to a totally bizarre night :-)

Web 2.0

An overview of Web 2.0

 

Q: What is Web 2.0?

 

A: “Web 2.0” is any web-based software which is continually and collaboratively updated, basically the more people who consume and remix it the more useful it becomes.

 

Q: So what would be an example of a 'Web 2.0' website?

 

A: Well as remixing is at the heart of Web 2.0 we are primarily seeing music and/or video. People taking existing content and mixing in their own by that video taken at a concert adding to the original music video or remixing an old song with a new fresh vibe.

 

Q: So who is using 'Web 2.0'

 

A: Obviously this is a growing market, however we are already seeing companies from General Motors to Chanel taking advantage of Web 2.0 capabilities. I'm also aware of a number of Media companies currently trialling ideas.

 

Q: So what technology do I use to design/develop a Web 2.0 site?

 

A: We have recently seen 'web' technologies expand, with AJAX being used to make the web experience faster and richer, offering drag-and-drop, resizing, and partial-page refreshes. XAML and Silverlight are enabling richer graphics and interactions. (Keep an eye on my Silverlight page for some interesting updates shortly).

 

 

Here is a brief overview of Silverlight, I will announce more details shortly.

 

Q: What is Microsoft Silverlight?

 

A:  Microsoft Silverlight is a cross-browser, cross-platform plug-in for delivering the next generation of media experiences and rich interactive applications (RIAs) for the Web. Silverlight integrates with existing Web applications.

 

Q: Can I use Silverlight on all browsers?

 

A: Yes, Silverlight media capabilities include fast, cost-effective delivery of high-quality audio and video to all major browsers including Firefox, Safari and Internet Explorer running on the Mac or on Windows.

 

Q: How to I design/develop for Silverlight?

 

A: By using Expression Studio and Visual Studio, designers and developers can collaborate more effectively using the skills they have today to light up the Web of tomorrow.

Hi,

So last week I completed my DevDays/TechDays European tour in Zurich. As usual my trip didn't go without it's problems.

On my third trip to Zurich this year and for the second time I managed to arrive the day before my luggage! This is so annoying and stressful as the airline didn't even know where my luggage was, with an important meeting to get to I simply had to hope that my luggage would arrive before my presentation - luckily it did.

This was the smallest audience I delivered to but in some ways I felt the most engaged, they reacted (positively) to the demos and to the app I built, and seemed very excited asking questions after the presentation. It's always great to know that your presentation resonated with the audience, I hate to feel that I have bored someone for an hour but it's always difficult to get it right for everyone.

I have essentially delivered the same presentation (apart from a few tweaks) at each event, I had hoped to adapt it further but each event asked for something similar and with the time constraints I am under it was a case of 'if it isn't broke don't fix it'. That said I am delivering a presentation to a slightly different audience in Dubai this week and am looking forward to changing my presentation material.

Will upload pictures as soon as I receive some.

Yesterday I delivered two presentations at the DevDays in Belgium. So following on from my nightmare presentation in Helsinki I was hoping Belgium would be better. Having checked in to my surprisingly nice hotel and having a lovely dinner (surprising once again for room service) and finding BBC One on the TV (sad I know, I don't even watch much TV but I feel happy when away from home, if BBC is on the TV) I was feeling fairly relaxed, after practicing a couple of times I was confident all would be well with my presentations.

So another early start, I check out and bump into a few other presenters in the taxi queue, refusing to wear my horrible Microsoft presenters shirt until the last possible moment I'm not easily recognisable as an MS presenter, which the others find amusing - I think it must be developers humour :-)

I decide to set-up early to ensure everything is working on the main screen before anyone arrives. Eventually the attendees begin to fill up the room, with only standing room left they still keep coming. I decide to start and all is going well, no-one has left and the demo I build on-the-fly actually worked. I move on and begin showing some other demos I previously built, suddenly there is a gasp from the audience, thinking it was a strange part of the demo to get excited about but nevertheless feeling pretty cool that they like it, I continue, until I look up and realise the gasp was actually due to the projector exploding! Ok so I only have demos to talk about, so without a projector this is quite hard, with the IT team frantically trying to resolve the problem, I desperately try to think of something to say. I try asking how many people have built WPF apps so far but only see a few tentative hands, with a few hundred people staring back at you waiting to see what you will do, I try to continue talking about the demo but this is in-vain, I then try thinking of any jokes which won't offend - damn don't know any of those. Then just before this turns in to a total nightmare there was light, finally I was back up and running. I manage to finish the presentation without anymore explosions and finish with a queue of people asking questions, contact details, etc - phew.

After grabbing a quick lunch I'm on to my next presentation, arriving to set-up I introduce myself to the IT team, and receive a 'oh you are the one with the exploding projector' - erm yes, yes that was me! Not quite what I had hoped to be remembered for but oh well.

 

Will upload a link to a video of the presentation soon.

 

Hi,

I have just returned from Helsinki where I presented at the Microsoft DevDays event. This is primarily a developer event, however this year they had added a design agenda, of which I was one of the presenters.

So after my half hour journey from the airport to the hotel listening to Lordi (not my favourite) I check in at the hotel, only to realise I'd forgotten my travel adapter, meaning I had to venture into a Finnish shopping mall in the hope I would stumble over a PC World - I didn't, and proceeded to get very lost, eventually some kind soul took pity on me and guided me to the shop I needed, then pointed me in the right direction of the hotel. Retuning to my room in one piece I order room service which is as disgusting as expected (anyone know of a hotel that has good room service?) and begin practicing my demos, time and time again the demos work perfectly, feeling suitably confident and having just realised I would have to wake-up at 5am (UK time, Finland is two hours ahead), I decide to go to bed.

Laden with bags and having got lost yet again I eventually find my way to the venue and to the VIP suite (helpfully located three stories up a spiral staircase). Arriving at the top I try to compose myself as I am introduced to the other speakers, totally out of breath I replace speaking for enthusiastic nodding, and hope no-one will notice. I settle down and yet again begin to rehearse my demos, after an hour or so I'm summonsed to an interview with the local IT magazine, the venue for the event is the local cinema, at first I have my picture taken and am told by the photographer she normally photographs celebrities visiting to promote their films, being shallow I felt quite pleased and proceeded to throw some of my best poses.

The journalist begin asking questions, my colleague concerned he'd been misquoted and looking more and more panicked repeatedly clarifies his point around Microsoft interfaces, the article should be out next week so I will wait and see. Leaning from his mistake I attempt to keep my answers as clear as possible, I'm always very honest about our software, I genuinely believe that Expression Blend is a great product, and try to highlight to the journalist that Expression Design is not a replacement for PhotoShop, it really isn't, this was never our aim.

Unfortunately there is no time for me to check my demos, etc work on the big screen, and before I know it I have a mic on and am ready to go. I run through my initial slides and things are going well, then I get to the first demo, I open it up and immediately things begin to go wrong, some of the elements I want to build are already on the screen (first time that has happened), I clear the screen and talk through the application tools, I manage to build my demo on the fly and thankfully it all works. At this point I'm hoping for some applause - nothing - oh well I carry on, I then show a video, I'd already fast-forwarded the video and hit play, it begins from the start! I attempt to fast forward but it won't work, realising I would have to show an extra five minutes of the video which was only likely to confuse the audience I have to apologise and move on. I finish with a demo built in Blend on WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation), which thankfully works. I'd been pre-warned that the Finnish don't tend to ask questions, however with fingers crossed I complete the demo and ask for questions, I get two, both developer focused but luckily I know the answers. So my presentation comes to an end, feeling very disappointed with the errors that occurred and exhausted from my early start I collect my thinks and make my way to the airport, I'm waiting for feedback from the event and will update my blog, hopefully with some kind links.

April 30 — May 2nd, The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas

MIX is Microsoft’s conference for Web designers, developers and decision-makers who make their living at the forefront of the consumer Web. Join the conversation with Microsoft and others on how to harness the latest technologies, unlock new revenue opportunities, reduce development costs and improve customer experience. MIX is for cutting-edge Web professionals designing and building next-generation experiences.

To register or just to find out more Visit MIX

In October myself and three developers produced a WPF demo showcasing education in 2012. Watch the videos to see the demo and get an insite into how we produced it.

 

Watch the showcase and hear how we made it.

 

 

Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) provides the foundation for building applications and high fidelity experiences in Windows Vista and Windows XP SP2, blending together application UI, documents, and media content, while exploiting the full power of your computer’s hardware.

Over the past year I have worked with a number of customers producing WPF demos, from fashion to education. All of the design work was created using Expression Blend.