Message from M$ regarding Node.js Boot Camp - Phoenix, AZ Saturday, June 1, 2013 from 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM

[chrismatthieu]

Hey all,

My name is Felix Rieseberg, I’m a Startup Developer Evangelist with Microsoft in San Francisco. This weekend, I’ll join my colleague Timothy Strimple in Tempe to host the Node.js Bootcamp you’ve signed up for! This e-mail contains some last minute information to ensure that y’all happy and have all the tools you need. During the boot camp, we’ll introduce you to the fundamentals of Node.js and acquaint you with the “Lego” pieces that you can use to build your first Node.js app on Windows Azure. Watch this teaser video by the founder of Node.js:http://www.youtube.co.... That said, we would like to get everyone prepared and ready for the boot camp so we don’t spend too much time with setting up your laptops for development, etc.

Before we dive in - please follow us on Twitter (@felixrieseberg, @tstrimple) and let me know if there are similar boot camps (Windows 8? Windows Azure?) that you would like to see. You can also ping me for information about the startup support we provide – we grant free software and hosting to help out new companies.
Getting Started

You're going to need a couple of things to get set up to follow along and start to build your very first Node.JS web app. There are obviously a plethora of alternatives to choose from, but we have listed tools that we love, have found useful, and will use for the boot camp.

CODING

You are going to need to need a good tool to do the actual coding. We recommend using Sublime Text 2. Here're the direct download links:

· download for OS X

· download for PC

For PC users who love to work with a GUI (Graphic User Interface) development tool, we highly recommend WebMatrix from Microsoft.

WebMatrix
NODE.JS RUNTIME

You will be using your laptop or desktop to do the majority of the coding and testing it periodically locally on your machine before deploying it to the cloud. This means that your machine will need the files needed to execute and run Node.js files locally. Here're the direct download links:

· download for OS X

· download for PC

(Go to Nodejs.org for other downloads, such as the 64-bit version.)

DEPLOYING YOUR PROJECT

Obviously, your Node.js project is a web app, and a web app will need to be deployed to the cloud. In this boot camp, we are using Windows Azure from Microsoft. In order to deploy to Azure, you will need an Azure Subscription. There are several ways to get an Azure subscription:

· MSDN Subscription - If you have an active MSDN subscription, you have a year of free Azure.

· BizSpark - If you have BizSpark, you have MSDN. In fact, you have 3 years of free MSDN through BizSpark. If you are a privately-held startup, under 5 years old, and making less than $1m in revenue, you qualify for BizSpark. Ask me about this or read about it here: www.BizSpark.com 

· 90-day trial - You can go to Azure.com and sign up for a trial account. Direct download links:

Windows Azure Free Trial

Special event passes - For this boot camp, we have prepared special event passes that goes anywhere from 7 to 30 days. Obviously, this is not meant to be a long-term subscription, but meant for learning or demo purposes. I will have enough of these passes. All you have to do is go to the Azure portal and log in with the LiveID credentials we give you. These will be given out on Saturday.
SDK - SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT KIT

In order for your Node.js app to be deployed from your machine to Windows Azure, you are going to need the Node.js SDK for Windows Azure. Here's the direct download links:

· download for OS X

· download for PC

MANAGING AND STORING YOUR PROJECTS

GIT is a distributed revision control and source code management system. It helps you manage your project, and does it well.

Read about Version Control
You will need to install GIT into your development machine:

· download for OS X

· download for PC

IMPORTANT for PC Users: During the installation of Git, choose the option that states "Run Git from the Windows Command Prompt".

If you do not already have a GitHub account, create one. GitHub is a web-based hosting for your project. It's free and it integrates with a lot of development tools. Check out the walkthrough on their main page for a quick orientation.

GitHub website
GitHub has some really nifty tools you can install on your laptop to help you manage your project files. We highly recommend them. Here're the direct download links:

· download for OS X (for 10.7+)

· download for PC

USEFUL THINGS TO BRING

· Feel free to bring along a power strip just in case the venue doesn’t have enough power outlets. There will be Internet connectivity, but a Mi-Fi like devices might come in handy as well. We tried our best to get breakfast and lunch that will accommodate most folks, but feel free to bring your own food and snacks if you have any dietary restrictions. If your laptop doesn’t have a VGA port built in, don’t forget to bring the dongle that comes with it (because you will be showing off your work at the end of the day).

See you this Saturday!

Felix Rieseberg

[Kevin Larsen]

This is exactly the type of event I would have liked to attend, bummer I'm just finding out about it now.

Does anyone body have the links for that email below?

Does anyone have presentation materials from this even that they could share?

Thanks