Selected build sessions. Part 7 of 9. Microsoft Build 2011 - Windows 8

There were a lot of sessions at build, and many more sessions than there were timeslots. Once the schedule was finally made available (after Tuesday’s keynote), my first step was to start figuring out what to see, and what conflicts there were. I think the fewest number of simultaneous sessions that I wanted to see was four, and it went as high as eight for one block. Needless to say, the fact that all the sessions are posted online is quite handy, since it means being able to catch up post-conference on what I wasn’t able to see in Anaheim. If you’re looking for something to watch over lunch, here are some suggestions (note, some of these are only interesting if you’re a developer):

• Building real-time web apps with WebSockets using IIS, ASP.NET and WCF-websockets is a great emerging technology that will allow an http (request/response) connection to be upgraded to a TCP socket (full duplex). Essential for real-time web apps.
  
  
• 8 traits of great Metro style apps-A good overview of what makes a metro application “metro”
  
  
• Fundamentals of Metro style apps: how and when your app will run-Summarizes the new application lifecycle, and how metro apps are suspended, resumed, and killed.
  
  
• Future directions for C# and Visual Basic-a quick overview of what’s new in .net 4.5, and language features coming in a future release by the creator of the C# language.
  
  
• Using tiles and notifications-A deep dive on how applications can and should use and update tiles.
  
  
• Writing modern C++ code: how C++ has evolved over the years-This session explains some of the new C++ 11X standards, and helps to justify the C++ renaissance that’s starting to happen. Never write delete again!
  
  
• Real time communication: keep your Metro style app connected whether it is running or suspended-not only a long session title, but a great overview of how to write lock screen apps in metro. Essential for creating VoIP or IM apps.