About 10 days ago, the VBUG elections results were announced and I am delighted to announce that I have been elected Chairman, and Tim Leung has been elected Vice Chairman.  Both myself and Tim are very, very excited about the next two years in our roles.  We have some great ideas and plans for the way in which VBUG can move forward over that time, initially we are addressing the first 6-12 months but will also be looking to plan for the following year too.  We will be working hard with the team in the VBUG office and our excellent Regional Coordinators to provide VBUG Members and the community with the best level of support we can offer.

Tim's comments on his appointment:

I am delighted to have been elected Vice Chair and wish to thank all of those who voted for me. I would also like to thank Mark and George for the hard work that they have put into the group over the last 2 years.

Both Andy and I are enthusiastic about the challenges that we face and we look forward to bringing some positive improvement to VBUG. I hope that this fresh change in leadership will revitalise the group and I shall work hard to achieve the goals that we have set ourselves.

My comments on my appointment:

First and foremost, I would like to issue a huge thank you to all who have voted for me in this year?s election. I am very, very pleased to have been elected Chairman and I am very much looking forward to the next two years in the role. I would like to echo Tim's sentiments and issue my thanks also to Mark and George for their sterling work that they put into VBUG as Chairman and Vice Chairman over the past two years.

As was evident by the thoughts of both Tim and myself in the run up to the election, we have a number of ideas of where we'd like to see VBUG develop and how to do that. I am looking forward, very much, to working with Tim to deliver on our thoughts for the VBUG membership.

We are in a very rapidly developing community and indeed industry, and because of this, both myself and Tim will be looking to start planning how we will deliver on our aims for VBUG, initially over the next 6-12 months and then onto the following 12. We both look forward to meeting and talking to all of our members as we visit the various regional groups over the coming two years, at the Annual conference, and please come up and say hello if you see us at any of the many developer community events around the country.

Once again, thanks for your support, and I hope to meet and talk with many of you soon

Now the events and speaking engagements have gone quiet for the summer break, I find myself with too much spare time on my hands. This is another example as to why July 2007 has been a very bad month for me personally. First with the loss of my powerpack, a blocked filter in my washing machine (which I've now fixed) and other personal issues, July hasn't been a great month for me so far.

The weekend after DDD5 I was busy getting the house ready so I could help a very dear friend out. I later found that my friend had made alternative arrangements and so my efforts were not needed. However this was a job I was planning to do soon before the winter and I suppose was better it happened now than in the Winter.

My back room has a conservatory attached and for a while now I've been wanting to put up new curtains to cover the doors (Mainly during the Winter) but also to try and cool the house down. I started by hanging new Curtains on the front window - Fine! I then tackled the Conservatory Doors. I'd borrowed a Hammer Drill and went about my work early on the Saturday morning. Got the majority of the brackets up for the new curtain rail. There were a couple I wasn't happy with (I had just screwed these in), so I thought I'd do a proper job and secure them properly while I had use of a Hammer Drill.

What a mistake to make! I managed to drill right through a water pipe!!! I had water everywhere but fortunately the stop valve was nearby so I managed to stop the flow quickly and no major damage except to the wall and pipe was done. Fortunately I had a level of insurance/cover and so I called out an emergency plumber - thanks to Northumbrian Water's Homeserve Program! I then had to wait in for the plumber, get it sorted and now I have a plastering to do! Both my Uncle and the Plumber have said they're surprised there's water pipes where they are but I think it is to do with the work done when the conservatory was put in and the kitchen taken out. Hey its a mistake and I'm sure everyone's done something of equal magnitude at some point but it just put another major downer on the month so far!

We have a number of events planned for VBUG in the North East of England over the coming months, indeed we have a meeting a week on Tuesday. Here are the details of the forthcoming events. For the events in May, July and beyond further information will be available soon.

Mark Johnston, Developer & Platform at Microsoft UK, will introduce ?WPF/E? and Expression. ?WPF/E? is the codename for a new rich internet technology that allows developers & designers to create very rich applications that are delivered cross-browser & cross-platform. He will introduce the technology, show some sample apps & create an app using Expression & Visual Studio tools. Expression is a range of tools aimed at designers wanting to create rich user experiences on the desktop & on the web.

Venue: - Northumbria University, Ellison Place, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 8ST - Virtual Earth Map

Time: 18:30 - 21:00 (19:00 Start)

To book email emma@vbug.com or call 01753 649680

Thursday May 31st 2007 - IIS 7 For ASP.Net Developers with me, Andy Westgarth!

With the launch of Windows Vista came Internet Information Server 7.0. IIS7 is the latest release of Microsofts Web Server which will form part of the forthcoming Windows Longhorn Server. With this release comes a new extensibility model which gives us more options than ever before. During the session we will investigate the new model, look at extending IIS7, configuring IIS 7, develop new modules for IIS and take a look at the new UI for managing IIS7.

Venue: - Newcastle Full details to be confirmed

Time: 18:30 - 21:00 (19:00 Start)

To book email emma@vbug.com or call 01753 649680

Wednesday July 11th 2007 - Ruby On Rails with Dave Verwer

This session gives a first look at Ruby on Rails as both a language (Ruby) & a web development framework (Rails). With all of the buzz & hype around this new technology, this session will give a view of it from the perspective of somone familiar with Microsoft .NET development tools and technologies. It will cover some of the basics of Ruby as a language & will then show some of what can be done with Ruby on Rails.

Venue: - Newcastle Full details to be confirmed

To book email emma@vbug.com or call 01753 649680

For information all events running across the country at various venues go to the VBUG Events Page and take a look, or why not subscribe to the VBUG Events RSS feed?

Hope to see you at an event soon!