An updated list of user groups. While I don't think there will ever be a holistic list of user groups in Southern California as this is a moving target I hope to post a list like this about once a quarter or so. This is a list of Microsoft Developer focused user groups that I know if.

I hope all of the groups on this list are registered on codezone.com so that can be more of a central place to get a holistic list. By the way the nice thing about codezone.com is that there are some (but there needs to be more) non-MS focused groups listed there as well.

If you know of any other groups in SoCal please let me know.

Central California .Net User Group  http://www.centralcaldotnet.com/
San Luis Obispo .NET User Group http://www.slodotnet.org/
Community TJ.NET    http://www.tjnet.org
Hawaii Dot Net Users Group  http://www.hawaiidotnet.org/
Inland Empire .NET User's Group http://www.iedotnetug.org/
LA C# Developers Group  http://www.lacsharp.org/
Los Angeles .NET Developers Group   http://www.ladotnet.org/
Los Angeles SQL Server Professionals Group  http://www.sql.la/
Orange County .NET User Group   http://www.ocdotnet.org
Orange County C# Developers Group   http://www.occsharp.org/
San Diego .NET Developers Group http://sddotnetdg.org/
San Diego .NET User Group   http://www.sandiegodotnet.com/
San Diego SQL Server Users Group    http://sdsqlug.org/
San Gabriel Valley .NET Developers Group    http://www.sgvdotnet.org/
Santa Barbara .NET Developer Group  http://www.sbdotnetug.org
SoCal DotNetNuke Users Group    http://www.socaldug.org/
South Bay .NET User Group   http://southbaynet.org/
Southern California .Net Architecture Users Group   http://www.SoCalDotNetArchitecture.org
Southern California .Net Developer's Group  http://www.socaldotnet.org/
LA Fox  http://www.lafox.org
Orange County FoxPro Developers Group   http://www.ocfox.org/
The FoxPro Developers Network of San Diego  http://www.foxdevsd.org/

OK I work for Microsoft but I don't work at Microsoft because it's a great place to work... Wait what did he just say? That is correct I don't work for Microsoft because it's a great place to work... It is a great place to work but like any place there are frustrations and issues but what keeps me going is one simple reason! The value proposition of the software Microsoft makes. The problem we (Microsoft) as a company has is that we use way too many ways to try to describe this but finally we have a resource that lays this out for developers quite well.

Check out the Why learn about .NET you will find some of the arguments about why developers should consider .NET for their next project and it lays out some good resources for them get started with.

We just now need more resources that talk about how and why rest of out products save time and money. For a start you can go to the Compare site on Microsoft.com.

Are you going to the Central Coast Code Camp on September 22nd & 23rd and coming from San Diego or LA? Well I am and I have decide to take the train up. It's a long ride but can be fun.

On 9/21/2007 I will be taking the Amtrak:

Pacific Surfliner #763 from Oceanside (7:02 am) to Los Angeles - Union Station (8:50)
Coast Starlight #14 from Los Angeles - Union Station (10:15 am) to San Luis Obispo (3:30 pm)

I will be hanging out in the Sightseer car (the big glass bubble).

And on 9/24/2007 I will be taking the Amtrak:

Pacific Surfliner #774 from San Luis Obispo (6:45 am) to Oceanside (2:13 pm)

A San Diego IT Architect Regional Conference is coming!

October 15 & 16 2007 at the Sheraton Marina in San Diego, CA (great location for a conference)

The only problem is that the early bird registration is about to end. You need to get registered by September 14 (this Friday) or you will pay $100 more than you needed to.

Not sure you need to go? Well look at the Topics and Speakers that will be talking there... (Simon Guest, Ted Neward and may other rock stars)

I know this has been covered by many others but I feel I need to jump on the band wagon...

For the official news go to the press release Microsoft Delivers Silverlight 1.0, Extends Support to Linux WTF? Yes we have made a deal with Novel to do a bunch of legal stuff that will let people use the Moonlight project from Mono to run Silverlight applications without worry of getting in trouble with intellectual property issues.

I think this a great for every one concerned! I know it will help Mono and Microsoft in the short and long term! I hope we do more of this type of stuff!

I was at a local users group last night and was confirmed in the suspicion that September 25th will be a day where a lot of fellow geeks will be calling in sick. I was also pointed to this article in Wired Halo 3: How Microsoft Labs Invented a New Science of Play it's a long read but quite interesting.

I just found out that Microsoft has just opened the beta of the Sky Drive service on Live.com. For free you get 500meg of storage, you can install an ActiveX component so you can drag and drop files. I love having some storage that I can access easily, while this service dose not have an API to it I hope we will get that soon.

By the way if you are looking for more space, a better client and better integration for a backup solution check out Elephantdrive they have a cool client that will keep files and\or folders that you specify backed up.

Southern California SharePoint User Group August Meeting

The Southern California SharePoint User Group is created as a free resource for the purpose of exchanging ideas and information related to Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, and related technologies.  Our meetings cover topics on Microsoft Office in general, and SharePoint in particular, that are of interest to Application Developers, Business Information Workers and System Engineers. 

In short, we encompass all aspects of Microsoft Office Server 2007.  The group is run exclusively by volunteers.  Our meetings are designed specifically to provide information that is of practical benefit to developers of any level of knowledge, from novice to expert.  Each meeting is normally structured with two presentations for a greater variety of information.  We also attempt to help with specific problems and questions outside of the main presentations in a one-on-one meeting with a knowledgeable volunteer. 

Meetings are held on the 3rd Wednesday of every month starting at 6:30 pm, and ending at 9:00 pm. 

Agenda for the August 15th meeting:

The August meeting is a special joint meeting of the San Diego SQL Server user Group and the Southern California SharePoint User Group featuring Bill Vaughn

Time
6:30 - 7:00 pm      Arrival, User Group Announcements, Networking, Pizza
7:00 - 7:50 pm      Part 1 of Bill's presentation
7:50 - 8:00 pm      Break
8:00 - 8:50 pm      Part 2 of Bill's presentation

The meeting will be held at the San Diego Microsoft Office:
9255 Towne Center Drive
Suite 400
San Diego, CA 92121