Paul Sterling's Bloghttp://www.motusconnect.comumbracoA blog from Motus Connect principal Paul Sterling - occasionally interesting, almost always about Umbraco http://www.motusconnect.com/media/198/motusconnect-logo-sm.png Paul Sterling's Motus Connect Blog http://www.motusconnect.com/blog enUmbraco Courses in Austin April 6-9 2010http://www.motusconnect.com/blog/2010/3/1/umbraco-courses-in-austin-april-6-9-2010Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:57:00 GMThttp://www.motusconnect.com/blog/2010/3/1/umbraco-courses-in-austin-april-6-9-2010We are very excited to offer the the Umbraco master class Level 1 and Level 2 training courses in Austin, Texas on April 6-9 2010. info@motusconnect.com (Paul Sterling) We are very excited to offer the the Umbraco master class Level 1 and Level 2 training courses in Austin, Texas on April 6-9 2010.  The courses are open to anyone who wishes to get a better understanding of Umbraco and is interested in becoming Umbraco certified.  The course specifics are ( register here or send a message to us here with "Umbraco Course" in the message ).

Discount Available!  (use code:  UMBRACO) 

Due to the fantastic response from the community and a great deal on the training venue we are passing along a 25% discount to all attendees.  The discount iis good until all seats are gone, so don't wait - Register now.

Level 1 - Register Here

Teacher: Paul Sterling
Target Audience: Designers, Web Developers
Language: English
Date: April 6-7 2010 at 9.00 - 16.30
Price: USD 1200 with certification (save USD 275 with this bundle)
Location: St. David's Center ( map )
Requirements: To get the most of out the course, we recommend that you bring your own laptop. If you can't let us know.

Learn how to implement websites fast without compromising designs. This two-day course will go through the basics of umbraco from a designer/developer point of view. You'll learn best practices on multi-lingual sites, creation of re-usable navigations and lists, input via the AutoForm and even end up loving XSLT. We'll also go through some of the popular packages and other productivity tricks.

Agenda - updated to cover Umbraco 4.1 functionality:

  • New 4.1 Features:  spell checking, syntax highlighting, new tree model, preview content, and lots more!
  • Understanding the umbraco basics - Runway/Modules, Document Types, Templates and Macros (including usage of the new Masterpages functionality)
  • Creating a simple website from scratch
  • Understanding XSLT - creating a news "module"
  • Creating multi-language websites including coverage of Dictionary Items and Languages
  • Advanced properties: Re-use of properties and recursive usage of properties
  • Two-way feedback using AutoForms and Notifications
  • Optimizing markup for Canvas Editing
  • Great Packages: Implementing full-text searching and mail forms

In other words, after two hard days in the dojo, you'll be able to create multi-lingual websites, blogs, news sites and even two-way communication without any need for .NET skills

This course covers everything you'll need to know to pass the Umbraco Developer Level 1 Certification

Level 2 - Register Here

Teacher: Paul Sterling
Target Audience: .NET Developers
Language: English
Date: April 8-9 2010 at 9.00 - 16.30
Price: USD 1200 with certification (save USD 275 with this bundle)
Location: St. David's Center ( map )
Requirements: To get the most of out the course, we recommend that you bring your own laptop. If you can't let us know.

Learn how to integrate existing .NET applications into umbraco and how to customize umbraco using Microsoft Visual Studio. This two-day course will cover the usage of .NET controls in macros, event-programming in umbraco through the new Event model and how to integrate your own applications and logic directly in the umbraco interface.

Agenda - updated to cover Umbraco 4.1 functionality:

  • New 4.1 Features:  preview content, new events, updated tree models, Umbraco Examine, LINQ to Umbraco, and mush more!
  • Usage of .NET User Controls with umbraco
  • Debugging XSLT and .NET Controls with umbraco and Visual Studio
  • In-depth explanation of the umbraco object model and usage of the umbraco presentation APIs
  • Creating, importing and modifying content from .NET using the API
  • Usage of AJAX and umbraco
  • Extending XSLT with custom .NET classes
  • Custom event handling in umbraco using the brand new event handlers in Umbraco 4
  • How to integrate legacy authentication systems using Membership and Role Providers

In other words, after two sweating days with umbraco, you'll learn that umbraco is a developer's best friend.

This course covers everything you'll need to know to pass the Umbraco Developer Level 2 Certification.

Questions

If you have any questions please contact Paul here.

]]>Umbraco Courses in St Louis January 18-21http://www.motusconnect.com/blog/2009/12/17/umbraco-courses-in-st-louis-january-18-21Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:50:18 GMThttp://www.motusconnect.com/blog/2009/12/17/umbraco-courses-in-st-louis-january-18-21We are very excited to offer the the Umbraco master class Level 1 and Level 2 training courses in St Louis January 18-21 2010. info@motusconnect.com (Paul Sterling) We are very excited to offer the the Umbraco master class Level 1 and Level 2 training courses in St Louis in January 2010.  The courses are open to anyone who wishes to get a better understanding of Umbraco and is interested in becoming Umbraco certified.  We are coordinating the course dates to coincide with courses being delivered in London and Copenhagen so you can expect for exciting mash-ups to emerge as Umbraco course attendees in different time zones interact.

We are thrilled to offer these courses in cooperation with Roundedcube who are hosting the courses at their excellent facilty.  

The course specifics are ( register here or send a message to us here with "Umbraco Course" in the message ):

Level 1 - Register Here

Teacher: Paul Sterling
Target Audience: Designers, Web Developers
Language: English
Date: January 18-19 2010 at 9.00 - 16.30
Price: USD 1200 with certification (save USD 275 with this bundle)
Location: Roundedcube Offices ( map )
Requirements: To get the most of out the course, we recommend that you bring your own laptop. If you can't let us know.

Learn how to implement websites fast without compromising designs. This two-day course will go through the basics of umbraco from a designer/developer point of view. You'll learn best practices on multi-lingual sites, creation of re-usable navigations and lists, input via the AutoForm and even end up loving XSLT. We'll also go through some of the popular packages and other productivity tricks.

Agenda - updated to cover Umbraco 4 functionality:

  • Understanding the umbraco basics - Runway/Modules, Document Types, Templates and Macros (including usage of the new Masterpages functionality)
  • Creating a simple website from scratch
  • Understanding XSLT - creating a news "module"
  • Creating multi-language websites including coverage of Dictionary Items and Languages
  • Advanced properties: Re-use of properties and recursive usage of properties
  • Two-way feedback using AutoForms and Notifications
  • Optimizing markup for Canvas Editing
  • Great Packages: Implementing full-text searching and mail forms

In other words, after two hard days in the dojo, you'll be able to create multi-lingual websites, blogs, news sites and even two-way communication without any need for .NET skills

This course covers everything you'll need to know to pass the Umbraco Developer Level 1 Certification

Level 2 - Register Here

Teacher: Paul Sterling
Target Audience: .NET Developers
Language: English
Date: January 20-21 2010 at 9.00 - 16.30
Price: USD 1200 with certification (save USD 275 with this bundle)
Location: Roundedcube Offices ( map )
Requirements: To get the most of out the course, we recommend that you bring your own laptop. If you can't let us know.

Learn how to integrate existing .NET applications into umbraco and how to customize umbraco using Microsoft Visual Studio. This two-day course will cover the usage of .NET controls in macros, event-programming in umbraco through the new Event model and how to integrate your own applications and logic directly in the umbraco interface.

Agenda - updated to cover Umbraco 4 functionality:

  • Usage of .NET User Controls with umbraco
  • Debugging XSLT and .NET Controls with umbraco and Visual Studio
  • In-depth explanation of the umbraco object model and usage of the umbraco presentation APIs
  • Creating, importing and modifying content from .NET using the API
  • Usage of AJAX and umbraco
  • Extending XSLT with custom .NET classes
  • Custom event handling in umbraco using the brand new event handlers in Umbraco 4
  • How to integrate legacy authentication systems using Membership and Role Providers

In other words, after two sweating days with umbraco, you'll learn that umbraco is a developer's best friend.

This course covers everything you'll need to know to pass the Umbraco Developer Level 2 Certification.

Questions

If you have any questions please contact Paul here.

]]>Umbraco Courses in Seattle – October 19-22 2009http://www.motusconnect.com/blog/2009/8/21/umbraco-courses-in-seattle-–-october-19-22-2009Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:01:49 GMThttp://www.motusconnect.com/blog/2009/8/21/umbraco-courses-in-seattle-–-october-19-22-2009We are very excited to offer the the Umbraco master class Level 1 and Level 2 training courses in Seattle this October 19-22 2009. info@motusconnect.com (Paul Sterling) We are very excited to offer the the Umbraco master class Level 1 and Level 2 training courses in Seattle this October.  The courses are open to any one who wishes to get a better understanding of Umbraco and is interested in becoming Umbraco certified.  We are coordinating the course dates to coincide with courses being delivered in London and Copenhagen so you can expect for exciting mash-ups to emerge as Umbraco course attendees in different time zones interact.

Seattle is a great place to visit in the Fall and we have secured a great facility at the Seattle Public Library in central Seattle.  We've found flights from places such as Denver, Chicago, and Houston for less that $200 round-trip and there are lodging options to fit every budget in Seattle.  Come a few days early (or stay on) and check out the Geeks Guide to Seattle or just enjoy our 'special' weather.

The course specifics are ( register here or send a message to us here with "Umbraco Course" in the message ):

Level 1 - Register Here

Teacher: Paul Sterling
Target Audience: Designers, Web Developers
Language: English
Date: October 19-20 2009 at 9.00 - 16.30
Price: USD 1200 with certification (save USD 275 with this bundle)
Location: Seattle Public Library ( map )
Requirements: To get the most of out the course, we recommend that you bring your own laptop. If you can't let us know.

Learn how to implement websites fast without compromising designs. This two-day course will go through the basics of umbraco from a designer/developer point of view. You'll learn best practices on multi-lingual sites, creation of re-usable navigations and lists, input via the AutoForm and even end up loving XSLT. We'll also go through some of the popular packages and other productivity tricks.

Agenda - updated to cover Umbraco 4 functionality:

  • Understanding the umbraco basics - Runway/Modules, Document Types, Templates and Macros (including usage of the new Masterpages functionality)
  • Creating a simple website from scratch
  • Understanding XSLT - creating a news "module"
  • Creating multi-language websites including coverage of Dictionary Items and Languages
  • Advanced properties: Re-use of properties and recursive usage of properties
  • Two-way feedback using AutoForms and Notifications
  • Optimizing markup for Canvas Editing
  • Great Packages: Implementing full-text searching and mail forms

In other word, after two hard days in the dojo, you'll be able to create multi-lingual websites, blogs, news sites and even two-way communication without any need for .NET skills

This course covers everything you'll need to know to pass the Umbraco Developer Level 1 Certification

Level 2 - Register Here

Teacher: Paul Sterling
Target Audience: .NET Developers
Language: English
Date: October 21-22 2009 at 9.00 - 16.30
Price: USD 1200 with certification (save USD 275 with this bundle)
Location: Seattle Public Library ( map )
Requirements: To get the most of out the course, we recommend that you bring your own laptop. If you can't let us know.

Learn how to integrate existing .NET applications into umbraco and how to customize umbraco using Microsoft Visual Studio. This two-day course will cover the usage of .NET controls in macros, event-programming in umbraco through the new Event model and how to integrate your own applications and logic directly in the umbraco interface.

Agenda - updated to cover Umbraco 4 functionality:

  • Usage of .NET User Controls with umbraco
  • Debugging XSLT and .NET Controls with umbraco and Visual Studio
  • In-depth explanation of the umbraco object model and usage of the umbraco presentation APIs
  • Creating, importing and modifying content from .NET using the API
  • Usage of AJAX and umbraco
  • Extending XSLT with custom .NET classes
  • Custom event handling in umbraco using the brand new event handlers in Umbraco 4
  • How to integrate legacy authentication systems using Membership and Role Providers

In other word, after two sweating days with umbraco, you'll learn that umbraco is a developer's best friend.

This course covers everything you'll need to know to pass the Umbraco Developer Level 2 Certification.

Questions

If you have any questions please contact Paul here.

]]>Tom Kraak Interviews Paul Sterlinghttp://www.motusconnect.com/blog/2009/7/27/tom-kraak-interviews-paul-sterlingMon, 27 Jul 2009 11:54:05 GMThttp://www.motusconnect.com/blog/2009/7/27/tom-kraak-interviews-paul-sterlingTom Kraak and I recently chatted about my thoughts on Umbraco vs. DNN, open-source, and a few other topics that may be of interest to one or two of you. The interview can be found on Tom's blog. info@motusconnect.com (Paul Sterling) Tom Kraak and I recently chatted about my thoughts on Umbraco vs. DNN, open-source, and a few other topics that may be of interest to one or two of you. The interview can be found on Tom's blog.

]]>Umbraco Codegarden09 Wrap Uphttp://www.motusconnect.com/blog/2009/6/25/umbraco-codegarden09-wrap-upThu, 25 Jun 2009 08:33:44 GMThttp://www.motusconnect.com/blog/2009/6/25/umbraco-codegarden09-wrap-upThis year's Codegarden had 174 attendees, loads of speakers, 36 open space sessions, 1,000's of lines of code, 100's of liters of beer, and some - one of a kind - bed sheets printed with a goofy picture of the Umbraco Core Team and MVPs taken home by the lucky Umbraco bingo winner. info@motusconnect.com (Paul Sterling) There are lots of words used to describe Umbraco Codegarden09, my two favorite being Ole Erling!  This year's Codegarden had 174 attendees, loads of speakers, 36 open space sessions, 1,000's of lines of code, 100's of liters of beer, and some - one of a kind - bed sheets printed with a goofy picture of the Umbraco Core Team and MVPs taken home by the lucky Umbraco bingo winner.

3651210817_9e24d2cf8c_m[1]

Venue

The venue this year in Copenhagen was Kedelhallen and it was fantastic - plenty of space to interact and collaborate, a cozy cafe, lawns filled with chairs, and the weather was absolutely perfect (a Codegarden tradition).  Personally, I had a fantastic experience meeting many new people in the community and (finally) meeting people I interact with daily in Twitter and the Umbraco Forum.  I never had a minute where I thought 'what should I do now?' as friendly Umbraco people were eager to share, discuss, and chat - this is one of the things that makes Umbraco Codegarden unique among conferences. 

Real Time Input

Between the Core Team retreat and Codegarden the week spent with Umbraco people was exhausting, inspiring, and extraordinarily productive.  As many know already, one of my main projects is Commerce for Umbraco and I received excellent and relevant feedback from a number of attendees regarding items that work well and items that don't work as well.  This type of feedback is the most valuable for an open source project as it gives us a direction.  Based on the feedback and experiences of the project's users we expect a full release in approximately 60-days - hurray!

Umbraco Store

Another area that I focus some of my time and money in is the development of the Umbraco Store (http://store.umbraco.org/) and this received feedback as well.  During an open space session we discussed integrating the three current package repositories (projects on our.umbraco.org, package repository, and the Umbraco Store) into a  more unified user experience.  From this session we created very clear, actionable items with assigned owners and, with some luck and a bit of work, we'll have prototype of the integrated experience in a few weeks.  Look for more posts from me on this topic as we continue to develop it.  One interesting item is that the reluctance to commercialize one's work by selling packages in the Umbraco Store was noticeably absent in discussions this year.

Our Umbraco

As you no doubt already know, the new Umbraco community site was unveiled at Codegarden09 (http://our.umbraco.org/).  This site sets the standard for a much higher level of collaboration between members of the Umbraco community.  If you haven't seen it yet, go check it out now.

Umbraco ASP.NET MVC

Some of the biggest news is the announcement of Umbraco's adoption of the ASP.NET MVC framework for the v5 release.  At Codegarden this was the announcement that generated the greatest buzz.  At the Core Team retreat this was the focus of our discussions and some prototypes were created to prove the proof of concept.  This is a very exciting direction for Umbraco and one that you'll no doubt see many more posts and discussions about in the coming year.

Scale and Momentum

Finally, as an attendee of past Codegardens one could not miss that the scale of the event was actually, well, big.  I think this year (2009) marks the point at which the Umbraco Project is bigger than Niels, or the Core Team, it is truly a community project that is made by, and for, the people that use it.  I see this as a tremendous accomplishment and one that is irreversible. 

  See you next year!

]]>Umbraco Core Team and MVP’s Gone Wildhttp://www.motusconnect.com/blog/2009/6/20/umbraco-core-team-and-mvp’s-gone-wildSat, 20 Jun 2009 03:20:10 GMThttp://www.motusconnect.com/blog/2009/6/20/umbraco-core-team-and-mvp’s-gone-wildHere's a cheeky video made at the Core Team planning retreat at the end of a long day spent discussing v.Next of Umbraco. info@motusconnect.com (Paul Sterling) Here's a cheeky video made at the Core Team planning retreat at the end of a long day spent discussing v.Next of Umbraco.

Hope to see you at CodeGarden 09 on Monday!

-Paul

]]>Commerce for Umbraco – Better, Laterhttp://www.motusconnect.com/blog/2009/6/1/commerce-for-umbraco-–-better,-laterMon, 01 Jun 2009 18:48:57 GMThttp://www.motusconnect.com/blog/2009/6/1/commerce-for-umbraco-–-better,-laterWe are committed to releasing an high-quality, very-usable project that will enable Umbraco users to create commerce solutions easily and without requiring .NET-skills, recompiling our commerce assemblies, or a great deal of configuration. info@motusconnect.com (Paul Sterling)  

It is with a degree of regret that we announce the v1.0 release of Commerce for Umbraco will not be concurrent with Umbraco CodeGarden 09.  We have taken into consideration the feedback received at the project's issue tracker, the Umbraco Forum, and directly via Twitter and email in reaching this decision. 

 

The Good News

 

We are committed to releasing an high-quality, very-usable project that will enable Umbraco users to create commerce solutions easily and without requiring .NET-skills, recompiling our commerce assemblies, or a great deal of configuration.  With that in mind, we have set the following goals for the v1.0 release:

 

  • An installer that accommodates a variety of installation scenarios - but only Umbraco v4.*
  • Support for PayPal Standard payments - this is the 'free' account type
  • Much better support for non-US/Canada address and tax schemes

 

We will continue to address the issues we are aware of and those that are identified in the Issue Tracker.  A huge thanks (!!) to all those who've taken the time to log issues.

 

See you at CodeGarden!

-Paul

]]>Commerce for Umbraco Alpha Releasehttp://www.motusconnect.com/blog/2009/5/9/commerce-for-umbraco-alpha-releaseSat, 09 May 2009 23:29:15 GMThttp://www.motusconnect.com/blog/2009/5/9/commerce-for-umbraco-alpha-release info@motusconnect.com (Paul Sterling) We are excited to announce that we released the v1.0 Alpha package on 8 May 2008.  You can find it at the project's home on CodePlex.  We'd be thrilled if you would take the time to evaluate the package and provide us your feedback, either in the form of very useful issue and bug reports or in the also useful (but not quite as) general feedback.  Please take two-minutes and read through the brief document we've provided so you know what to expect - this being an Alpha release and all.

We are quite proud of Commerce for Umbraco and feel that it provides a viable choice for commerce scenarios on Umbraco. 

Kudos go to Tim Geyssens and Matt Perry for significant (and excellent) contributions to the project. 

Look for the Beta release on 22 May 2009 and we'll see you at Umbraco Codegarden 2009 in Copenhagen for the v1.0 release.

-Paul

]]>Commerce For Umbraco – Feature Previewhttp://www.motusconnect.com/blog/2009/5/2/commerce-for-umbraco-–-feature-previewSat, 02 May 2009 00:39:30 GMThttp://www.motusconnect.com/blog/2009/5/2/commerce-for-umbraco-–-feature-previewAt the end of this very productive week I made a quick screencast overview of some of the cool features coming with Commerce For Umbraco v1.0. Check it out here: http://screencast.com/t/8IFJSXl6nF At the current pace we plan to have an Alpha Package ready in one-week, and a Beta Package in three weeks. Thanks to everyone who has provided constructive support for this project over the last year. info@motusconnect.com (Paul Sterling) At the end of this very productive week I made a quick screencast overview of some of the cool features coming with Commerce For Umbraco v1.0.

Check it out here:

http://screencast.com/t/8IFJSXl6nF

At the current pace we plan to have an Alpha Package ready in one-week, and a Beta Package in three weeks.

Thanks to everyone who has provided constructive support for this project over the last year.

-Paul

]]>Installing Umbraco Using the Web Platform Installerhttp://www.motusconnect.com/blog/2009/4/29/installing-umbraco-using-the-web-platform-installerWed, 29 Apr 2009 18:39:46 GMThttp://www.motusconnect.com/blog/2009/4/29/installing-umbraco-using-the-web-platform-installerMai-lan from the IIS7 team created this very nice video overview of using the Web Platform Installer to install required components (SQL Express in this case) and Umbraco. Check it out, shows just how easy getting up and running with Umbraco can be. info@motusconnect.com (Paul Sterling) Mai-lan from the IIS7 team created this very nice video overview of using the Web Platform Installer to install required components (SQL Express in this case) and Umbraco.  Check it out, shows just how easy getting up and running with Umbraco can be.

 


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