In this screencast, I show how to create an Azure Virtual Machine.

In this screencast, I show how to create an Azure Virtual Machine.

In this screencast, I show 3 ways to create a Windows Azure web site.

Episode 244

Josh Harrison on Azure Access Control service

Episode 243

Mark Bostleman on an Azure Proof of Concept

Azure In Action by Brian Prince and Chris Hay has something for everyone. It provides a good overview of the use cases for Windows Azure and a high-level overview of the Azure architecture, which is useful for those new to the platform. It also provides many in-depth examples of Azure features, such as web roles, worker roles, and storage options.

The book also benefits from the light-hearted style of Prince and Ray, who are as entertaining in print as they are in person.

The only downside is that newer Azure features are not covered in this book and Microsoft is adding new features at a startling rate. As far as I know, no updated edition is in the works to cover these new features.

Still, the book remains relevant because of its focus on the uses of cloud computing and on the still-relevant core features.

If you are new to Windows Azure, this book is a good starting point.

Episode 228

Jeff Nuckolls on Infrastructure as a Service

Episode 227

Michael Collier on New Azure Features

I recently delivered a presentation titled “Persistence in the Cloud: How to Use Azure Storage” at the aspconf online conference. A recording of this presentation is available at http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/aspConf/aspConf/Persistence-In-The-Cloud-How-to-use-Azure-Storage.

Here is a video of the Azure Q&A Experts Panel at the 2012 Detroit Day of Azure.

Here is a video of Dennis Burton's Single Page, Real Time Web Apps Using Node.js And Windows Azure presentation at the 2012 Detroit Day of Azure.

Here is a video of Eric Boyd's BI In The Cloud With SQL Azure Reporting presentation at the 2012 Detroit Day of Azure.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of presenting at the aspconf online conference. I delivered 2 presentations: HTML5 is the Future of the Web; and Using Windows Azure Storage.

As promised, my slides and demos are available by clicking the links below.

Here is a video of Jason Follas's Using Geospatial Data With SQL Azure presentation at the 2012 Detroit Day of Azure.

Here is a video of Michael Collier's Windows Phone 7 And Windows Azure – A Match Made In The Cloud presentation at the 2012 Detroit Day of Azure.

Here is a video of Mark Stanislav's Cloud Disaster Recovery presentation at the 2012 Detroit Day of Azure.

Here is a video of Brian Prince's Architectural Patterns For The Cloud presentation at the 2012 Detroit Day of Azure.

Here is a video of Michael Collier's "The Hybrid Windows Azure Application" presentation at the 2012 Detroit Day of Azure.

Here is a video of Joe Kunk "Windows Azure Data Marketplace" presentation at the 2012 Detroit Day of Azure.

Here is a video of John Ferringer's "Office 365" presentation at the 2012 Detroit Day of Azure.

Here is a video of Jennifer Marsman's "Writing Your First Azure App" presentation at the 2012 Detroit Day of Azure.

Here is a video of Jennifer Marsman's "Azure 101" presentation at the 2012 Detroit Day of Azure.

Here is a recording of Brent Stineman’s keynote presentation at the 2012 Detroit Day of Azure.

Episode 210

Brent Stineman on Azure as a Financial Institution

Episode 205

Clemens Vasters on Azure Service Bus

Cloud computing has been a hot topic in the software industry for the past couple years. Many of us hear about cloud technologies such as Windows Azure, but don't know how to get started.

I wanted to make it easy to find that information, so I'm organizing a 1-day conference to teach people about Windows Azure.

The Detroit Day of Azure will take place Saturday March 24 from 8AM to 6PM at the Microsoft office in Southfield, MI.

14 speakers from 8 different states have agreed to deliver 19 presentations at this event. The speakers (listed below) are among the foremost Azure experts in the region. The list includes MVPs, Microsoft insiders, book authors, and people delivering real Azure solutions for their customers.

Dennis Burton
Michael Collier
Jason Follas
John Ferringer
David Giard
Joe Kunk
Jennifer Marsman
Jeff Nuckolls
Brian Prince
Mark Stanislav
Brent Stineman
Mike Wood
Chander Dhall
Eric Boyd

Azure MVP and Sogeti National Cloud Computing Lead Brent Stineman will deliver the keynote; then we will split into 3 rooms for the rest of the day, where you can choose from several great topics and speakers. Our plans are to record at least some of the conference on video. We may even live stream some of it, but that is still in the planning phase.

We will designate one room for programmers to build Azure applications. Attendees can bring a laptop and either work on their own project or work through the Azure labs, which we will provide for you. Many smart people will be around if you get stuck. Remember to download and install the Azure SDK and sign up for a free Azure Trial before you arrive!

Download Azure SDK
Sign Up for Free Azure Trial

As with any successful event, many people helped out. Onorio Catenacci, Jamie Altizer, Matt Ruma, Shelly Noll, Sukhdev Tur, Justin Baker, Akhil Mahajan, Brian Korzynski, Jelard Macalino, Jim Priore, and Falicia Starr have volunteered their time to help; while Microsoft, Sogeti, The Epitec Group, Telerik, and RIIS donated their money; while Pluralsight, Wrox, and O'Reilly donated products to give away.

If you have been attending the Great Lakes Area .NET User Group (where I was president the last two years), you won't be surprised to learn that we are serving some excellent food at this event. Included in the $20 admission cost is a continental breakfast and a buffet lunch from Lockhart’s barbeque in Royal Oak. We will also have some door prizes to give away at the end of the day.

More information on the Detroit Day of Azure is available at http://DetroitDayOfAzure.com. You can register at http://DayOfAzure.eventbrite.com/.

Space is limited and only a few tickets remain.

I'm very excited about this event and looking forward to it as an organizer, as a speaker, and as an attendee.

Episode 190

Glenn Block on node.js

At the June 15 meeting of the Great Lakes Area .Net Users Group, Microsoft Developer Evangelist Brian Prince delivered a presentation titled “A Lap Around Windows Azure”.

Here is that presentation:

Episode 147

Brent Stineman on Azure Design Patterns

Episode 111

Mike Wood on Moving to the Cloud

Episode 32

In this video, author and speaker Josef Finsel describes moving databases to "The Cloud" using Azure Table storage.  You can read more of his thoughts on the subject at http://azuredba.com/blog.aspx

11 mins, 9 secs

Episode 27

In this interview, Microsoft Developer Evangelist Jennifer Marsman describes Windows Azure and tells how to get started developing applications using this platform.

14 mins, 35 secs