Tech*Ed 2008 Pre-Conference Tutorials Posted.

The pre-conference tutorials for Tech*Ed 2008 (US) have been posted online

It looks like there are some interesting tutorials this year, especially...

PRC05 Windows Embedded Platform for Developers In-Depth

This tutorial introduces the key features of the Windows Embedded platform products: Windows Embedded CE, Windows XP Embedded, Windows Embedded for Point of Service, and .NET Micro Framework. Windows Embedded CE 6 R2 includes a redesigned kernel, WSD, and other key new improvements which will impact your platform and application development. Windows XP Embedded is used to develop very robust embedded systems such as Thin Clients, point-of-service, and gaming machines. If you are new to Windows Embedded this pre-conference session and hands-on lab provides a first look at the features and tools for building and deploying a Windows Embedded image on to a device. In addition, best practices for embedded application development are also shown. The day concludes with a hands-on lab designed to reinforce the platform and application development lessons learned. You will leave with a great foundation of knowledge to take into the regular Tech·Ed conference Windows Embedded sessions that will deep dive on specific subjects.

and...

PRC13 Application Development on Windows Mobile Devices

Speaker(s): Douglas Boling

This pre-conference seminar approaches Windows Mobile application development from a holistic perspective. Instead of picking a technology and applying it, this seminar teaches the developer to look at the entire system, using the best tool for each task. For example, while the .NET Compact Framework is a great tool for the core logic, the presentation layer, and network communication, it is not the best tool for accessing personal area networks, home screen plugins, or video streaming. In addition, this seminar teaches that the system has limits, due to the low power, low RAM devices used to run the Windows Mobile system. Of course, while discussing these limits, solutions and workarounds are presented to help developers create great software for these devices. Throughout the seminar, the similarities and differences in programming desktop applications are discussed to allow desktop developers both perspective and guidance. The seminar begins with a discussion of the history and evolution of the Windows Mobile platform. Then the underlying operating system is discussed with the goal of illustrating how to avoid certain common pitfalls. Different approaches to application development are discussed covering the various tools sets that can be used to develop Windows Mobile applications. Communication to the Internet, local area networks, and personal area networks are covered to provide a foundation of the differences between the dependable, wire-based desktop communication and the intermittent, wireless communication found in mobile devices. The day concludes with coverage of the set of performance and debugging tools available to the mobile developer. The goal of this tutorial is two-fold. First, the obvious goal is to provide a foundation for developers new to mobile development so that they can get the most from the specific mobile talks they attend. The second goal is to provide an introduction to the many areas of mobile development that make mobile development different from desktop and server development. This tutorial is delivered in a lecture style with numerous examples and demonstrations that illustrate the topics covered.

Triage for the embedded track is going on right now - we should be able to give you a 'sneak peek' of the session titles fairly soon.

- Mike