by Alvin Ashcraft

Last week we published another session from last November's TechBash 2019 event in the Poconos. Subscribe to our channel today to get notified when we publish new videos.

Gene Gotimer - Get to Green: How to safely refactor legacy code

For many of us, legacy code is a fact of life. Code without tests -- no safe way to make changes, no safety net, no hope of untangling the web of accumulated ugliness, an incomplete understanding (or less) of how it really behaves. And your next set of changes is just going to add to the garbage pile and make it worse. You need tests so you can safely make changes, but you can't add tests without changing the code. It is a chicken-and-egg problem.

So how do you turn legacy code into code you can change confidently? Slowly, one step at a time. Join Gene as he shares his experiences working with a monolithic codebase that was so bad it made national news. He'll go over the steps he and his team used to refactor the code safely by using mocking frameworks, mutation testing, and patience to build an understanding of how the code worked so that they could change it confidently.

This talk is for anyone that has inherited legacy code that they aren't confident in and wants to make it something they can work on and improve. You'll leave with some tools and techniques that will help you change your legacy code into something maintainable.

by Alvin Ashcraft

Hello speakers! We're happy to inform you that our call for speakers for TechBash 2020 is now open here.

We are hosting our CFP on Sessionize once again this year, and you can submit proposals for standard sessions or full-day workshops through April 15th.

TechBash 2020 will be happening on October 13-16 at the Kalahari Resort and Convention Center in the Poconos. This location is still the largest indoor waterpark in the U.S. Tuesday, Oct 13th will be our optional day of workshops for attendees. Head over to our home page for more information about TechBash or email our speaker committee with any questions.

Please tell your friends! We want to make this the biggest, most diverse TechBash developer conference yet.

We hope to see you this fall!

- Your TechBash Organizers

by Alvin Ashcraft

Catch four new TechBash 2019 session recordings on the TechBash Dev Conference YouTube channel today. Here's what you've missed if you aren't subscribed to our channel:

7 Habits of Highly Effective Developers - Gaines Kergosien

Software and website developers are in extremely high demand and rates continue to climb, but many developers have not yet realized their potential. Being good at what you do is important, but it's equally important that you can communicate the value you bring to an organization and build a reputation that will provide opportunities for growth, both professionally and financially. We will work together to measure your accomplishments, establish a personal brand, and walk away with a resume that conveys your true value!

From Razor to Blazor with ASP.NET Core - Bill Wolff

ASP.NET keeps adding exciting new features. See the progression from web forms to MVC, WebAPI, SignalR, and Razor Pages. The newest trend is client-side C# web development with Blazor and Web Assembly.

.NET: Past, Present, and Future - Scott Kay

.NET is a proven platform for building every conceivable category of software with an exciting and transformative future still ahead.

Impostor Syndrome: Slaying the Beast - 'Tine Zekis

Impostor Syndrome is a nasty beast that preys on us at all levels of our careers. But there are times when we are particularly vulnerable to its lures. Learn how to recognize the beast when it starts to sneak up on you, and more importantly, what to do about it! You will leave this talk armed with tools for fighting off Impostor Syndrome, and the confidence to strut into your next meeting, standup, or job interview. Once you’ve learned to slay the beast, you’ll be ready to just slay, in general.

Happy viewing, and keep an eye out for our call for speakers in the coming days!

by Alvin Ashcraft

The TechBash 2019 Keynote is now available to watch on our YouTube channel.

Learning at Lightspeed - Jeffrey T. Fritz

Is the speak of Open Source frameworks stressing you out? Do you need to be watching all of the podcasts and reading every blog about your favorite technology or else your career will be left behind? Distractions are everywhere in our community. We’ll learn how to focus our projects on the technologies they’re built on to manage the pace of change for our organization while still maintaining support where available.

Let's learn from Microsoft's open source journey over the last 5 years and how to interact with developers and ensure they get the latest updates without overwhelming them.

Stay tuned for another recorded session later this week!

by Alvin Ashcraft

It's that time again. The next TechBash 2019 recorded session is now available on our YouTube channel!

Getting Started with Docker - Tim Corey

Docker is everywhere but maybe you aren't quite up to speed yet. You can talk about it or at least fake your way through a conversation but you haven't had time to get started actually using it yet. If that sounds like you, this is your session. We will walk through Docker from the beginning. Don't be fooled though. This isn't a PowerPoint session. We won't be doing fun pictures and abstract concepts. We will be taking code and putting it into containers. Then we will look at how to use those containers, how to communicate with them, how to manage them, and more. After we cover the basics, we will get into orchestration and other more complicated topics. While this is a language-agnostic talk, we will use the Visual Studio tools for some sites and situations.

Check it out and subscribe to our channel to get notified when new sessions are posted each week.

by Alvin Ashcraft

We have another great TechBash 2019 recorded session now available on our YouTube channel, plus a TechBash 2020 promo!

Our Journey to DevOps at Microsoft - Dan Redman

Learn how Microsoft has taken in its journey to DevOps over the past 8 years and completely changed their approach to building software and services. You’ll learn about Microsoft’s 90,000 engineers working in the public cloud delivering into production multiple times per day and how some products handle the different cadences of several feature teams while maintaining a single coherent and continuously integrated source of the truth. Paul explains how his team in Microsoft works and leads a live demo of Microsoft’s internal engineering systems; he’ll also spend significant time talking through the harder cultural change issues that were encountered and discuss how Microsoft has gone about building a new, much more sharing-focused culture inside the company. Join in to discover what Microsoft has learned so far and the next areas it will focus on.

Check it out today and don't forget to subscribe to our channel to get notified when new sessions are posted.

Happy learning!

by Alvin Ashcraft

Our second TechBash 2019 recorded session is now available on the TechBash YouTube channel!

Full Stack Development with ASP.NET Core 3.1 - Jeff Fritz

ASP.NET Core 3.1 shipped in November 2019, and has updated features for building modern web applications and services. In this session, we'll show you how to use ASP.NET Core 3.1 to build beautiful and interactive client-side web UI with Blazor backed by high-performance gRPC microservices and long-running worker service processes. We’ll show you how to use SignalR for client-to-server streaming and take advantage of the latest performance improvements.

Check it out today and don't forget to subscribe to our channel to get notified when new sessions are posted.

Happy learning!

by Alvin Ashcraft

The first of our TechBash 2019 recorded sessions is now available on our YouTube channel!

The Impact of Diversity - Rachel Beard, Danica Pascavage, Anna Bateman, & ‘Tine Zekis

The news is rife with articles on diversity in technology, but what does this mean to our everyday lives? Why should diversity matter to me? What can I do to help foster a more diverse environment? What are some of the experiences of minorities in the workplace?

Check it out and subscribe to our channel to get notified when new sessions are posted. (Hint: You'll get one tomorrow.)

by Alvin Ashcraft

Save the date! TechBash 2020 will return to the Poconos on October 13-16, 2020.

The event will mark the 5th annual TechBash Developer Conference at the Kalahari Resort and Convention Center in Pocono Manor, PA. Attendees can expect more of the great content, speakers, and activities they have come to expect from TechBash. Our newsletter is the best way to find out the day that Early Bird tickets go on sale. Don't miss out!

Speakers can watch for our call for presentations to open early in 2020. Are you interested in speaking? Sign up for our newsletter to be among the first to find out when the CFP is launched. Do you know somebody who should be speaking at TechBash? Send them our way!

Thanks to all of our speakers, sponsors, staff, and attendees for making TechBash 2019 a huge success! We can't wait to see you in October!

- Your TechBash Organizers

by Alvin Ashcraft

Go check out our 2019 schedule and start planning your week at the Kalahari Resort and Convention Center. From the full-day workshops on Tuesday, Nov 12, to the keynote on Wednesday, to the family day sessions and loads more on Friday, we have an amazing week of top-notch content on tap. It's not too late to register and reserve your spot at the best dev conference in the Northeast today! We're just a short drive from Philadelphia, New York City, Northern NJ, and Baltimore.

Can't join us for 3 or 4 days? We now have single-day tickets available for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Choose your favorite one or two days of content on the schedule, and get tickets for any day of sessions for only $199! Each single day registration still includes breakfast, lunch, coffee, and snacks for each day you attend, plus all other activities happening on that day.

  • Wednesday - Keynote with Jeffrey T. Fritz & Evening Welcome Reception
  • Thursday - Game Night
  • Friday - Family Day Learning and Activities

Stay tuned for more exciting news! We can't wait to see you next month in the Poconos!

- Your TechBash Organizers