Windows Azure at PDC 2009

[UPDATE 11/24]: PDC is over!  I’ve updated the below to include the sessions that were previously kept secret.  Now all of the links point to videos of the sessions.  Enjoy!

PDC 2009 is just around the corner, and Windows Azure has a lot of coverage throughout the event.  Over the past two weeks, I’ve been lucky enough to see previews of every session presented by a Windows Azure team member.  I can tell you there’s a lot of great content you won’t want to miss.

If you want to view all the published sessions relating to Windows Azure, you can search for “Windows Azure” on microsoftpdc.com.  Below, I’ve listed only the sessions about Windows Azure presented by Windows Azure team members (and my commentary on them).

• Windows Azure Present and Future (Manuvir Das)
  Even if you’ve already seen Manuvir present an overview of the platform (at PDC08 or at MIX09), you’ll want to hear from him again.  He’s going to give an overview of the new features and a peak at what’s coming next year.  If you see only one Windows Azure talk at PDC, this is the one to see.
• Introduction to Building Applications with Windows Azure (David Lemphers)
  If you want to understand the developer perspective on Windows Azure, you should attend David’s talk.  You’ll get to learn the high-level concepts you need as well as see hands-on demos, all from someone with a cool Australian accent.
• Developing Advanced Applications with Windows Azure (Steve Marx)
  This is my session.  I’ve graduated from being the king of “Hello, World!” and will show you some advanced techniques using the new features we’re announcing at PDC.  This will be one of those build-up-an-app-throughout-the-session talks.
• Building Java Applications with Windows Azure (Steve Marx)
  I have another session which hasn’t been published yet, because it would spoil a bit of the news at PDC.  This will also be a code-heavy session, but you’ll have to wait until PDC to find out exactly what it’s all about.  I dusted off my Java and Eclipse skills and wrote some Java code to run in the cloud, including using the new Java storage client library.
• Patterns for Building Scalable and Reliable Applications with Windows Azure (Brad Calder)
  Come prepared to think, because Brad’s taking on some of the more complex topics in building scalable apps.  The content in this session is deep, but really important if you’re serious about designing for scale on Windows Azure.
• Windows Azure Blob and Drive Deep Dive (Brad Calder)
  Brad is the storage guy.  He runs the storage team and knows every detail of the design and implementation.  If for no other reason than that, you should be at his session if you care about storage.  In addition, Brad will be covering a few new features that I can’t tell you about yet…
• Windows Azure Tables and Queues Deep Dive (Jai Haridas)
  Jai, who works on the storage team, eases you into this topic by giving a good overview of the features, but things get really interesting when he starts talking about common pitfalls and tips for getting the most out of the storage service.
• Windows Azure Monitoring, Logging, and Management APIs (Matthew Kerner)
  Matt works on the Fabric team, and he’s going to show you the new diagnostic APIs and what they can do.  Want to have a live view of what your servers are doing?  Matt will show you how to do it.
• Automating the Application Lifecycle with Windows Azure (Sriram Krishnan) 
  Sriram will cover the new Service Management API and upgrade options, including how you can automate things like deploying new bits to the cloud.
• Developing PHP and MySQL Applications with Windows Azure (Tushar Shanbhag and Mohit Srivastava)
  This is another session that hasn’t been published yet.  It’s a talk that may surprise you, but you’ll have to wait until PDC to find out what it is.  Tushar and Mohit showed cool things like running MediaWiki using PHP, MySQL, and memcached in Windows Azure!  A must-see for people interested in these technologies.
• The Business of Windows Azure: What You Should Know About Windows Azure Platform Pricing and SLAs (Dianne O’Brien)
  If you’re interested in the business side of the platform, or if you’re a developer who wants to understand how pricing should influence your application design, this talk is for you.  Unlike the talks above, this talk is about the full Windows Azure platform (including SQL Azure and .NET Services too).

There’s no real substitute for being at PDC in person, but if you’re unable to make it, all the sessions should be posted online a day or two after they’re presented.

If you are attending PDC, be sure to stop by and say hello.  Lots of Windows Azure team members will be around and are eager to talk to you, so don’t be shy!