It's something amazing to be writing this welcome letter in the Fall of 2017.
2018 will be the 25th year for Visual Studio Live!, a show that started with a focus on classic Visual Basic on the desktop, that now covers a wide range of languages including, but far from limited to: C#, Visual Basic .NET, F#, Python, SQL on platforms from Apple, Google, and Microsoft (to name a few), in your hand, on your desk, on-premises in your data center and in the cloud.
We're Andrew Brust, Rockford Lhotka, and Brian Randell, and as Conference Co-Chairs for Visual Studio Live! Las Vegas, we'd like to personally invite you to join us this March at Bally's in Las Vegas, NV. 2018 promises to be an awesome year for new technology mixed with tried and true knowhow. As veterans of the show and longtime speakers, we may be biased, but we firmly believe that an in-person experience, where you get to have two-way conversations about the latest tools and technology, with some of the finest expert speakers in the business—and with the chance to network with your peers—continues to deliver a high level of value.
Visual Studio Live! in Las Vegas gives you more of what you've asked for: full-day hands-on labs, 75-minute breakout sessions, 20-minute lighting talks, and full-day pre-and post-conference workshops covering an wide array of development technology for everyone. From security, to databases, to the latest Web technologies, we've got you covered. Our speakers cover AI, mixed reality, bots, and enterprise software solutions in-depth, with experience on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Our team has picked every workshop and session with the goal of transferring knowledge to you, so you can be a better developer and help your organization succeed in this ever-changing world.
You'll find coverage on Microsoft Visual Studio 2017, the full .NET Framework and .NET Core, WPF, and UWP. If the Web is more your style, you'll find coverage of JavaScript, TypeScript, Angular, WebAssembly on the client as well as ASP.NET and ASP.NET Core on the server. Feeling confused on .NET? We've got sessions to clear it up. Want to improve the quality of your software? We've got sessions on unit testing, writing testable code, and how to version your packages. Mystified as to how you can bring DevOps to your organization? Our speakers will answer your questions with practical guidance on mobile development, Web, database and more.
Our workshop content provides coverage of Cross-Platform Distributed Application Architecture, SQL Server, UX design, mixed reality, AI, Bots, and DevOps. We've even got two full-day hands-on labs on Angular 2 and mobile development with Xamarin, and a special two-day security hands-on lab. Our sessions, workshops, and hand-on labs drill deep into the subjects you need to master and the fundamentals that are always important.
Microsoft continues the march toward the future. To keep up, you need to rapidly absorb and adapt. Go beyond Internet-based content to a live experience, where you get to ask questions in real-time and engage directly with the experts and your peers. Find a way to get to Visual Studio Live! Las Vegas and get the tools to help yourself grow.
Come celebrate 25 years of great learning with us! We hope to see you there!
Andrew Brust
Founder & CEO, Blue Badge Insights
Rockford Lhotka
CTO, Magenic
Brian A. Randell
Partner, MCW Technologies