Luis Majano - Computer Engineer currently employed at ESRI (Environmental Systems Research Institute) in Southern California. He was born in San Salvador, El Salvador and is the president of Ortus Solutions, a consulting firm specializing in Adobe ColdFusion & Java development. His background includes over 9 years of software development experience, architecture and system design. He is the creator of ColdBox (www.coldboxframework.com), an open source Object Oriented ColdFusion framework and is the Adobe ColdFusion user group manager for the Inland Empire. You can also read his blog at www.luismajano.com

CFUnited Class: CBOX-100 : Intro To ColdBox August 11, 2009 9:00am - 5:30pm

1. Have you spoken at CFUnited in the past? What would you tell someone who hasn't been to CFUnited before?

Yes, last year was my first CFUnited experience. I had never been to CFUnited before and I had a blast. It was an incredible conference and I know that this year will be no different. The conference is packed with lots of sessions and great time for networking and learning. If you have not been to a CFUnited before, I definitely encourage you to do so. In every little corner of the location you can find interesting topics and overall ColdFusion awesomeness.

2. Who should attend your session "CBOX-100: Intro to ColdBox"?

Intro to ColdBox is an intense 1-day training course that will get you started with ColdBox Application Development. This course focuses on the main aspects of ColdBox Development and it delivers a one-two punch in order to get you started in no time. The content materials are awesome and in book format, so you always have reference materials at hand. Not only that, the course comes with a set of exercise booklets and workshops that could keep you busy for at least 3 weeks. We also give you lots of schwag and an entire eclipse workstation already configured with lots of goodies. In other words, this course really gives you with a lot of materials in order to get your development in tip top shape.

The course curriculum can be found here: http://coldbox.org/index.cfm/courses/cbox100

3. Are there any pre requisites?

1. Lots of coffee!
2. Basic CFC knowledge
3. A laptop with a CFML Engine (Being political here)
4. The willingness to learn

4. What are some key points to take away from this class?

The main point to take away from this class is the general concept of what ColdBox can do for you or your business. You will get to see first-hand all the features and concepts that make ColdBox a next generation ColdFusion Development Platform. The second point is materials. I have spent more than 2 years preparing all the course materials, documentation, schwag, exercises and software. So you will be more than satisfied with the incredible amount of material you can take home, where the real learning really starts.

You can see some testimonials here: http://coldbox.org/index.cfm/training Or video testimonials here: http://coldbox.org/index.cfm/media

This entry was posted on July 16, 2009 at 2:30 PM and has received 4740 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

Ever wonder what you will be eating at a conference? The hotel has come up with a delicious menu and we want to share it with you.

Vegetarian and Kosher options will be delicious as well.

8/11- Pre-Conference Classes - Deli Style

Insalata Caprese with Ripe Summer Tomatoes and Fresh Mozzarella Cheese

Summer Vegetable Cobb Salad

Corn, Cucumbers, Mixed Greens, House-made Ranch Dressing

Premade Sandwiches:

Roasted Turkey Breast with Pesto Mayonnaise on Whole Wheat Potato Rolls

Slow Roasted Beef with Brie Cheese and Horseradish Spread on 3 foot long Ciabatta

Grilled Vegetable and Goat Cheese on Sun Dried Tomato Baguette

Strawberry Shortcake Display

Macerated Strawberries, Short Bread Biscuits, and Whipped Cream

Fresh Baked Rich Fudge Brownies

8/12 - Wednesday, First day of Main event - Mediterranean Style

Gemelli Pasta Salad with Grilled Vegetables, Roasted Pepper and Pesto Vinaigrette

Lansdowne Caesar Salad with Focaccia Croutons and our House made Dressing

Rosemary and Lemon Grilled Chicken Breast,

Grilled Mushrooms and Peppers, Balsamic and Herb Jus

Red Wine Braised Beef Short Ribs, Creamy Ricotta and Herb Polenta,

Citrus and Herb Gremolata

Orecchiette Pasta Baked with Vegetarian Sauce Putanesca and Feta Cheese

Chocolate Espresso Cake with Mocha Buttercream

Classic Tiramisu On the Rocks:

Ladyfingers, Whipped Mascarpone and a Reduction of Coffee and Kahlua

8/13 - Thursday, Second day of Main Event - BBQ Style

Bean and Vegetable Chili,

Fresh Baked Cornbread with Roasted Jalapenos and Cheddar Cheese

Red Bliss Potato Salad

Macaroni Salad

Slow Roasted Chicken Al Diablo, Roasted Tomato and Corn Salsa

Grilled Atlantic Salmon, Tequila Macerated Pineapple and Black Bean Salsa

Smoked Pork Loin, Grilled Peach Chutney, Riesling and Basil Vinaigrette

Baked Mac N Cheese with Grafton Cheddar Cheese

Sliced Watermelon and Fresh Fruit Salad in Honey and Mint

Warm Mixed Berry Cobbler with Streusel Topping

Pound cake Display with Assorted Toppings and Garnishes

8/14 - Friday, Third day of Main Event - Pan Asian Style

Lo Mein Noodle Salad with Napa Cabbage, Crunchy Vegetables,

Crushed Peanut Vinaigrette

Salad of Edamame, Marinated Tofu and Roasted Mushrooms,

on Baby Spinach with a Soy and Sesame Vinaigrette

Lemongrass Marinated Chicken, Toasted Peanuts and Fresh Herbs

Short Smoked Mahi Mahi, Miso Honey Glaze, Crispy Mushrooms and Leeks

Bulgogi Marinated Flank Style, Spicy Marinated Vegetable Pickles

Vegetable Fried Rice with Baby Bok Choy and Sugar Snap Peas

Coconut Rice Pudding

Ginger Infused Creme Brulee

Cinnamon and Orange Flavored Panna Cotta

Fortune Cookies

8/15 - This menu will be added soon. Possibly a Deli style lunch like the pre-conference classes

This entry was posted on July 15, 2009 at 4:34 PM and has received 3271 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

Shlomy Gantz - President and founder of BlueBrick Inc. He has over a decade of management experience in the hi-tech industry, and an extensive background in application development, database integration and project management. He works with Fortune 500 companies around the world. He frequently presents in technology and management conferences and various user groups across US and Europe. Prior to founding BlueBrick, Mr. Gantz was a Senior Consultant for Computer Horizons, working for some of the nation's major airlines. Mr. Gantz was also the co-founder and vice president of technology for CoreActive ACG, a leading provider of web based solutions.

CFUnited Class: Managing Web Projects for Developers August 11, 2009 9:00am - 5:30pm

1. Have you spoken at CFUnited in the past? What would you tell someone who hasn't been to CFUnited before?

Yes, I have been speaking at CFUNITED since the first one and am always excited to come back.

CFUNITED Newbies should always check out the hotel bar, this is where you will usually find speakers arguing the finer points of CFSCRIPT vs. CFML tags, or even an Adobe employee that while under the influence might let something slip about ColdFusion 10, you never know.

2. Who should attend your session "Managing Web Projects for Developers", is it mainly for project managers?

Actually, the class is mainly geared toward any developer that needs to manage others or even themselves. I often find that even the best coders have a hard time managing others. The seminar will be useful not only for the corporate developer but also for those of us doing freelance work.

3. Are there any pre requisites?

At least a year or two developing web based apps

4. What are some key points to take away from this class?

I think the main take away would be a better understanding of what works and what doesn't in the real world of software project management. While the seminar is completely buzzword compliant (Agile, XP,CMM?) it is based on real world experience and research. Attendees will be better equipped to estimate, plan, develop, test and maintain applications. Attendees will learn effective ways of managing other developers and the development process as a whole.

This entry was posted on July 15, 2009 at 1:37 PM and has received 2591 views. There are currently 1 comments. Print this entry.

Its Demo Mania!!! (formerly known as "Demo Derby", but the name was misunderstood)

At CFUnited, on Friday August 14th, we will have a series of Demos from anyone in the community willing to show off their their cool app in 7 minutes or less.

Fill out this survey to enter. http://tinyurl.com/demomania-cfunited

Not everyone will be accepted but everyone will be mentioned

How your app makes it on stage: Must be new. Must be cool. Must be able to demo in a short amount of time.

Types of Projects include: Website Apps, Air Apps, iPhone Apps

Oh yeah, You must be attending the conference to enter and watch ;-)

http://tinyurl.com/demomania-cfunited

This entry was posted on July 14, 2009 at 8:19 PM and has received 4071 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

Railo is giving away a ticket for CFUnited 2009 to one lucky winner in a Twitter-based competition held over the next seven days. Six runners-up will get a "Got Railo?" T shirt of their choice.

For a chance to win, all you have to do is Tweet something cool or witty about Railo!

Competition Rules:

• Entries must use the #cfunited-railo hash tag to identify them.
• The competition is open Wednesday July 15th (tomorrow) thru Tuesday 21st (seven days).
• The Railo team will pick what we think is the coolest / funniest Tweet each day.
• When the competition closes, the pick from each day will go into a hat and the CFUnited ticket winner will be chosen by random selection. The remaining six picks will get a T shirt of their choice from our store.
• You may enter as many times as you want each day (but we will pick a different entrant each day).

We will contact the winners by DM on Twitter so you must follow @railo to be notified!

We will Tweet each day's pick once we have made a selection (our goal is to make each day's selection the following day) and we will blog all the winners within a day or two of the competition closing.

Good luck!

This entry was posted on July 14, 2009 at 2:35 PM and has received 3433 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

Voting for Community Achievement Awards is now open! The awards, formerly known as the CFEmmy awards, are a way for the vast community of developers who utilize Adobe tools to recognize outstanding accomplishments by their peers. Big thanks to Todd Sharp for organizing the Community Awards annually.

The winners will be announced live at CFUnited.

Please note: due to lower then anticipated participation in the nomination process some of the categories don't have as many nominees. If you feel strongly that a worthy person, site or project was not included we strongly encourage you to write that person in. If you write someone in you will probably want to spread the word via Twitter or your blog to help get others to write that person in too. Feel free to write yourself in too!

Make sure to use the hashtag #CFUnitedAwards on Twitter so everyone can keep up with the voting.

This entry was posted on July 14, 2009 at 2:23 PM and has received 5663 views. There are currently 1 comments. Print this entry.

Charlie Arehart is doing a pre-conference class on ColdFusion Builder. Announced today.

CU250 - Charlie Arehart - Getting Started with CFBuilder, for those coming from Dreamweaver, CFStudio, HomeSite, etc.

Register now

You've heard the buzz about ColdFusion Builder (code-named Bolt and referred to hereafter as CFBuilder), now get a walkthrough (hands-on from your own laptop if you bring one) from someone who's been down the same path, coming to CFBuilder from other non-Eclipse-based CFML editors like Dreamweaver, HomeSite, and CF Studio. In this day-long class, Veteran CFer Charlie Arehart will introduce you to CFBuilder, presuming you have no prior experience with it or Eclipse/CFEclipse. (Indeed, if you do have experience with those editors, this is not the class for you!)

Whether you want to or are being told to use CFBuilder, it's clearly the CFML editor of the future, and you'll come away with a clear appreciation of its strengths and capabilities. You may even, like Charlie, grow very quickly to like it.

Many who tried in the past to make the transition from those other CFML editors to CFEclipse (a close cousin to CFBuilder) struggled, partly from the significant differences between the editors, and partly from a relative lack of guidance (and indeed a sense of not belonging) for those making the transition. You were generally expected to tough it out and "get with the program".

Adobe has done several things to address those challenges in CFBuilder. There's still room for improvement, sure, but they've also added still more powerful features that make it all the more worth the transition, including many not ever provided in the other CFML editors. Charlie will gently guide those using the other editors to appreciate the power and even the simplicity of CFBuilder.

More Details and Outline

This entry was posted on July 14, 2009 at 11:32 AM and has received 3259 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

I'm working on the attendee packet and one of the things I'll be explaining is the venue map. I showed this sample of the how the layout is divided a few months back.

More information about maps, shuttle schedules, lunch menus, nearby restaurants, travel info, and more will be included in the attendee packet.

This entry was posted on July 13, 2009 at 7:42 PM and has received 3175 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

Aaron Wolfe and Lance Smith "Handling Errors with Error Handling: has been canceled. :-(

Douglas Knudsen moved Saturday time to 8:30am

Mike Nimer changed description "Unit and Functional Testing your Flex Apps" http://cfunited.com/2009/topics#topic-301

Todd Peters changed title/description "Coordinating Ajax Development Across the Organization - An End-To-End Software Toolset" http://cfunited.com/2009/topics/353

Darren Pywell changed title/description "CSI: Who killed CF" http://cfunited.com/2009/topics/348

Dan Wilson's "Practical Refactoring: Making Bad Code Good" moved from Friday at 4:15pm to Wednesday at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

CHECK YOUR PERSONAL SCHEDULER!!

This entry was posted on July 13, 2009 at 6:23 PM and has received 2163 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

CFUnited has been a handful this year! Its because we have so much great stuff going on.

Help me welcome Cara Beverage and Tara Kossari our new interns!

Cara, a friend of mine, has been a big helper every year and she's decided to join the Stellr team for a little while.

Tara also comes from University of Maryland and she's my event planning intern who is really eager to make this event amazing.

So that's Liz, Nafisa, Cara, and Tara who will be hosting your experience this year. Don't under estimate what's to come.

This entry was posted on July 13, 2009 at 5:29 PM and has received 3325 views. There are currently 1 comments. Print this entry.