Azure Boot Camp Pittsburgh
An Azure Boot Camp will be held in Pittsburgh on Jan 19-20, 2011. As of today, this event is 1/3 sold out, so if you’re thinking of coming, please make a reservation to ensure we have enough spots for everyone and that we order enough coffee and lunches.
About Azure Boot Camps
Azure Boot Camps are two days of instructor led hands-on labs. Azure Boot Camps are free events. From the Azure Boot Camp website:
Windows Azure Boot Camp is a two day deep dive class to get you up to speed on developing for Windows Azure. The class includes a trainer with deep real world experience with Azure, as well as a series of labs so you can practice what you just learned. ABC is more than just a class, it is also an event in a box. If you don't see a class near you, then throw your own. We provide all of the materials and training you need to host your own class. This can be for your company, your customers, your friends, or even your family. Please let us know so we can give you all of the details.
What to Bring
Bring a laptop with all tools installed. There is a lot of content to cover, and there isn’t a lot of time to install tools at the event..
Schedule
These are all day events. We’ll run from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM each day. We’ll supply coffee, lunch and snacks. The nearby hotels offer breakfast and there are dining options nearby as well.
Trainers
Scott Klein is a SQL Server MVP and managing partner of Blue Syntax, a training and consulting company that focuses entirely on the Azure technology. He has been working with SQL Server for nearly 20 years with companies both large and small in many different fields including medical, retail, and finance. Scott is the author of several books including Pro ADO.NET Entity Framework ADO.NET, Professional LINQ, and Professional SQL Server 2005 XML, and the soon-to-be-released Pro SQL Azure by APress. Scott is President of the South (East) Florida SQL Server User Group and the SQL PASS Azure VC Group, and runs the South Florida SQL Saturday events.
Rich Dudley is a former scientist, but these days instead of studying organisms you’ll find him working with Microsoft Visual Studio. With over 10 years of enterprise development experience, Rich has written articles and given talks relating to ASP.NET, SQL, XML, and Azure. He enjoys working with the latest technologies, and finding the potential to solve business problems. Rich is also co-author of the upcoming book "Microsoft Azure: Enterprise Application Development" from Packt Publishing.
David Makogon was one of the original Azure MVPs, but relinquished that role when he was hired by Microsoft as part of the Developer and Platform Evangelism team for Azure.
Location
The Azure Boot Camp will be held in the Microsoft office. There is a parking garage directly across the street from the offices, and a parking lot for the stadium a couple blocks away, but there is virtually no free parking in this part of town. If you’re staying at one of the nearby hotels, you can just walk. The street address is:
30 Isabella St.
Pittsburgh, PA
You’ll need to sign in at the front desk, and take the elevator to the second floor.
Travel, Lodging and Food
I didn’t expect so many people to come from as many places as they are! If you’re flying into Pittsburgh, the airport is about 30 minutes from the MS offices, but about an hour at rush hour. You can rent a car, take the bus (Google maps has the bus schedules), or grab a taxi to your hotel. If you’re interested in room share/ride share, leave a comment here or ping Rich Dudley, and we’ll try to match people. Taxis are not as common in Pittsburgh as they are in some larger cities. You may need to pre-arrange a cab if you want to go somewhere in town or back to the airport.
Two hotels are close to the Microsoft Offices; they are a Residence Inn (http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/pitrn-residence-inn-pittsburgh-north-shore/) and a Springhill Suites (http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/pitns-springhill-suites-pittsburgh-north-shore/).
If you’re driving in, map the address and know that traffic gets backed up at peak times—allow a little extra time in the morning. The parking garage is opposite West General Robinson Street from the Microsoft office.
There are a number of restaurants/sports bars close to the offices, and more dining options across the river. We’ll schedule a nerd dinner one night and go someplace classic (maybe Primanti Brothers). There is a small coffee stand in the lobby of the building, but there is not a Starbucks nearby.
About Pittsburgh
January is cold. If you’re coming from someplace warm, bring a jacket. It also gets dark rather early during the winter, dusk is about 4:00 pm in January.
The Microsoft office is midway between PNC Park and the Andy Warhol Museum, and are across the Allegheny River from downtown Pittsburgh. It is a short walk to Heinz Field and the Rivers Casino from the two hotels. If it happens to be warm, the riverwalk is a nice stroll in the evening.
Pittsburgh is a very photogenic city, so if you’re a shutterbug bring your camera and we’ll hit some cool spots one evening. At the time I’m posting this, three movies filmed in Pittsburgh are set to open. Many of the scenes in Russell Crowe’s “The Next Three Days” were filmed within a couple blocks of the ComponentOne and Microsoft offices.
MESCIUS inc.