Hey! What are you waiting for? Have you tried SQL Azure?

It has been out for quite some time. If you have not tried, perhaps you should. If you already know SQL Server you are already knowing a lot. It is time to pick up and move.

Microsoft has come out with this 'How to use SQL Azure' which will put you on the right track. Well after getting on the track you need to run. This is where my book will come in handy. It's comprehensive with tons of information. Send an email to mysorian@gmail.com with'SQL Azure' in the subject line and you can enter a raffle to get either a hardcopy or an ebook details of which are here.

Microsoft Lightswitch Training in Bengaluru

A hands-on, instructor-lead, one-day introductory  course will be offered on the following dates:

Feb 5, 7, 9 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 Noon and 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM in Sadashiva Nagar, Bengaluru to guide students step-by-step in the use of Microsoft LightSwitch - the latest Microsoft Rapid Application Development tool.

Dr. Jayaram Krishnaswamy, course instructor and author of numerous articles and books on Microsoft BI will provide the hands-on guidance.

Upon completion of this course students will be able to :

Describe features of Microsoft LightSwitch and where it can be used
Understand features of Microsoft LightSwitch IDE and Architecture
Access data on servers from a VSLS Application
Effectively use various built-in screens
Understand and Work with Entities
Query and Filter Data
Writing Code in Microsoft LightSwitch
Understand and workwith Authentication and Authorization in Microsoft LightSwitch
Deploy LightSwitch Applications to desktop, web and the Cloud
Troubleshoo and Debug applications
Create Custom Controls and learn the use of Extensions


Target Audiences and Prerequisites

The target audiencs for this class are developers who want to learn creating Microsoft Lightswitch applications; small business users who are using MS Access planning to move to this new program; and job seekers who want to jump start and learn this new programming tool.

It is recommended that students have a basic understanding of Windows OS (use of keyboard; mouse; web browsers); basic ideas of front-end and backend; ASP.net web applications and some knowledge of databases including SQL Servers, Windows Azure and SQL queries. Some advanced features require knowledge of XAML. Students will bring their own laptops.

Training Structure and Cost:

Please send enquiries to hodentek@live.com with subject-line text 'Training-VSLS' for details. Corporate discount rates are available for a group of 3 or more attending.

Wishing you all a very Happy 2012

I wish all my readers a very happy New Year. 2011 was a very mixed year with so many things happening all at the same time.

I decided to move out of New Jersey but was unable to sell the house due to the downturn in the housing market. It has become more of a distress sale. The writing of my 4th book took a very longtime, rewriting - after each announcement of a new beta. Microsoft rapidly announced the RTM soon after Beta 2.

Due to lack of time, I wrote fewer articles and made fewer posts to my blogs. I hope I will be able to correct this in 2012 and that will be my New Year resolution.

On the positive side I visited India and in particular my beloved city, Mysore where I grew up. I will blog about this city, a mysorian writing about Mysore, a bit of bragging; a lot of complaints and a bit of nostalgia. I also visited some famous cities in the North, Delhi, Jaipur and Agra. I hope to return to Hawaii soon where I am likely to spend a major part of my next few years.

Another thing I have been following in India is the cry of the masses against the all pervading corruption. It looks like the judicial system is tainted as well by this c word.

My best wishes to the activists who are trying to get the blessings of the constitution to put anti-corruption measures on a firmer ground through legislation.

Winners of Bengaluru Web Camp 2011 raffle

Here is the list of winners of the raffle and the eBooks they will be receiving from Packt Publisher Inc.  Please visit Packt Publishing Technical & IT Book and eBook Store and review a wide range of books on cutting edge IT and web related books. Duane Moraes, Packt's Senior Marketing Research Executive sent me an email informing that the winners have been contacted.

Gautham Shetty : gauthamshetty86@gmail.com
Beginners Guide to SQL Server Integration Services Using Visual Studio 2005

Praveen Gowda : bnpraveen2020@gmail.com   
Microsoft Visual Studio LightSwitch Business Application Development

Venkatanarasimhan:   venkat.kl@live.com
Learning SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services

guru98_btg@yahoo.com: Gururaj B        
Microsoft SQL Azure Enterprise Application Development
 

The Abandoned Angels of Bengaluru, India.

 LETS LIVE TOGETHER, A non profit organization seeking shelter for street dogs. 



This photo was taken in the recent fund raising event to provide homes for street dogs. A calender was released as a part of 
this campaign, to raise the awareness of the plight of street dogs which are often mistaken for dogs that would spread rabies.

Here is a picture of a beautiful dog that was recently adopted through the efforts of this organization.

There is nothing more beautiful than the innocent face of this puppy.

Pictures contributed by my nieces Sriraksha and Sridevi

Leo Loves Getting Massaged :)

This appears to be a non-stop activity with Leo.

Microsoft Web Camps-Bengaluru Nov 3_2011

I managed to attend this event in Bengaluru and it was quite interesting. The Microsoft staff who made the presentations did quite a good job. The presentations were around HTML5 and Web Matrix. Deploying a web matrix application to Windows Azure was presented quite effectively. However I am not sure how many in the audience worked with Windows Azure. Here are some msdn blogs of those who presented:

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/saranyas/archive/2011/10/12/deploying-a-webmatrix-application-to-windows-azure-part-1-using-command-line.aspx

http://geekswithblogs.net/ranganh/Default.aspx

I also took the opportunity to introduce myself briefly. I wanted to raffle one copy each (eBook version) to the audience but this practice does not appear common. In any case I spoke for a few minutes and explained that the audience could participate in a raffle.

Here is how you can enter the raffle:

Send me an email here (mysorian@gmail.com). In the subject line write one of the following:
SSIS
SSRS
SQLAzure
Lightswitch

If you want to check out the books you may follow the links:

Microsoft Visual Studio LightSwitch Business Application Development



Microsoft SQL Azure Enterprise Application Development




Learning SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services



Beginners Guide to SQL Server Integration Services Using Visual Studio 2005









Apart from the above, if you are interested you can buy the books at deep discounts. I believe there is a deadline.Use the following:
Discount Codes:
      Print book : qdecpri
      E Book : qdecebk
The Packt web site is here:
http://www.packtpub.com/

That's all, thanks.