We had a good turnout of 12 people at this month's meeting.
Pizza and cola was provided by Keller Schroeder - thanks!
Bill Steele gave an overview of new features in Visual Studio 2010 and .Net Framework 4.0.
Notably -
- dynamic data typing to support languages such as Python, Ruby, etc
- built-in support for parallel programming
- in-the-box support for javascript, jquery, silverlight, F#, dynamic data, MVC, etc, etc.
- improved garbage collection
- improved profiling/tracing
- improved COM interoperability
- developer + database editions merged into one package
The Beta 1 is out now, Beta 2 is expected next year (slide said 2010H2 = 2nd half?), and the RTM to follow.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb386063(VS.100).aspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd409230(VS.100).aspx
And then we were treated to the video of him flying a P-51D WWII fighter plane which was fun to watch. Check it out -> http://blogs.msdn.com/wsteele/archive/2009/06/24/the-thrill-of-a-lifetime-i-flew-a-p-51.aspx
Bill is a very entertaining speaker - he's a pilot, his company designs and manufactures a Heads Up Display for aircraft, he is into all kinds of technology, and has lots of interesting stories to share.