Lo and Behold - What You All Have Been Waiting For...

NEXT ROUND OF TOPICS!!

Building Self-Updating ColdFusion Builder Extensions- Brian Rinaldi - This will cover not just the basics of building ColdFusion Builder extensions but will also incorporate a library of components that allow you to make your extension update itself when new versions are released. The library is being built as part of a ADC article to be released in late January. It will even directly link to RIAForge to look for updates.

What Your Mother Never Told You About ColdFusion 9 ORM -Bob Silverberg - The ColdFusion engineering team have made it very easy to make use of Hibernate's ORM features out of the box, but what if you want to do something a bit more complicated? In this session we'll cover some topics that are important to understand, but that might not be that easy to pick up by reading the ColdFusion documentation. These topics will include Hibernate Session Management, Understanding Object States, Working with Detached Objects, Concurrency and Event Handling.

Real World ColdSpring - Kurt Wiersma - Have you ever wondered what ColdSpring is and why you would want to use it? If so this session is for you. We will go over the problems that ColdSpring solves and how you can use it to make your applications better.

CFWheels - Convention over Configuration - Mike Henke - Would discuss how Conventions over Configuration make life easier and use examples from CFWheels.

ColdFusion One Liners - Sam Farmer - ColdFusion is all about making the hard things easy. This topic will explore this concept by showing examples of what can be done with one line of ColdFusion to produce compelling results in AJAX, Rich Internet Applications, Converting Files, PDF and Object-Relational Mapping (ORM).

Practical Ajax Security-Jason Dean - With the introduction of Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) over the last several years, it seems that everyone is jumping on the RIA bandwagon. But is any thought being given to what might need to be done to ensure that our Web 2.0 applications are secure? Or are they are not introducing new vulnerabilities into existing applications? In this presentation, we will look at some of the security issues that can arise from introducing Ajax into your applications and about how to mitigate the risks of opening up remote services for Ajax.

How to Read a Stack Trace -Daryl Banttari - Learn how to gather, interpret, and act on Java exception and running-thread stack traces in ColdFusion.

Searching With Apache Solr - Shannon Hicks - Solr is now included with ColdFusion 9, but are you using it to it's full potential? Explore using Solr directly, instead of using CF9's built-in search tags & functions.

Testing and Debugging CF for Flex UIs - Joe Rinehart - When ColdFusion returns an error message to Flex, you're not exactly given a user-friendly error message. Instead, you often have to dig to find out just where the error occurred. Join Joe as he shares lessons learned from four years' of enterprise ColdFusion + Flex RIA development. We'll discover how to use MXUnit and ColdSpring to simulate a running Flex client, how write to automatic Flex tests for your ColdFusion services, and how to see exactly what bytes are travelling between your ColdFusion server and Flex clients. After this session, you'll be able to write ColdFusion RIAs with less bugs, and spend less time fixing problems when they do occur!

Big Announcement! Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back...

Last year was so nice, we are going to do it twice! That's right everyone, we have been invited back to the AAA Four-Diamond Award-Winning Lansdowne Resort for CFUnited 2010 and we have RSVP-ed with a resounding, YES!

I mean really, how could we resist? We are looking forward to seeing the faces of the friendly and accommodating staff, checking in to the sumptuously appointed guest rooms and suites, learning and networking in the award-winning conference facility, and getting in some playtime on the championship golf course and sparkling aquatic complex. Only the best for us please! Stay tuned for the code to book your hotel room at a discounted rate, we will be sharing the room block information shortly. Please let us know right away if you are interested in room sharing this year so we can begin putting something in the works. We have locked down the resort for July 28th - July 31st, 2010.

But wait, there's more! There were a lot of people who contacted us because they have wanted to register but needed to have exact dates/location in order to. For those people who missed out on the last early bird because they were waiting for this announcement, we are going to be offering the 11/30/09 early bird price from now until Monday 12/21/2009 at midnight. To take advantage of this offer, use the code EBEXT50, when you register.

We are so thrilled to be back at Lansdowne! 2009 was truly special thanks to the location, but you don't have to take our word for it. Here are some comments we got after last year that really convinced us to come back for 2010...

"And the location... one word, unparalleled. I mean, this place was a gem waiting to be discovered. I'm going to reserve the majority of this blog post just to talk about the conference center / hotel. Not that the sessions don't deserve more attention (they were beyond my expectations), but after all the previous CFUnited conferences I've been to (which were great), I never realized how much better an event can be just with subtle improvements at an event location." - Jeff Coughlin

"I really can't say enough good things about the location. The Lansdowne Resort was a beautiful location, it had great rooms, amazing food - and snacks and drinks were available all day, every day! - incredibly helpful staff and a good bar." - Sean Corfield

"Comfy room, lap pool, play pools, plenty of space to hang about, etc. There are advantages to being closer in to DC, but I'd come back here again, for sure. In particular, the outdoor patio was perfect for the evenings, and it was remarkably pleasant outside after the sun went down." - Barney Boisvert

Announcing first round of CFUnited sessions:

ColdFusion and jQuery: Two Great Tastes that Go Great Together : jQuery is one of the leading technologies in the javascript framework world. See what happens when we take advantage of some of CF9's cool ajax functionalities to build an application with CF9 and jQuery. - Jeff Coughlin

Flex 4 for Flex 3 Developers : Flex 4 offers a whole new approach to development. What do those of us who already know how to build apps in Flex 3 need to know to start being productive? - Jeff Tapper

Understanding Security in Adobe AIR Applications : Wait... You mean AIR applications have different security concerns than regular web applications? Yes, they do. Since Adobe AIR applications are desktop applications we have new security considerations to think about. Come learn how to ensure that your AIR applications are secure. In this presentation we will go over the Adobe AIR security model and some security best practices in Adobe AIR for both Flex and Ajax applications. - Jason Dean

Real Life RIA Powered By The Adobe Stack : This session will include a short introduction to RIA technologies for newcomers to the full range of Adobe RIA technologies. We will take a look at how ColdFusion, Flex and AIR empower developers to easily create engaging Rich Internet Applications. We'll take a detailed look at how SlideSix.com utilizes these langauages, frameworks and tools to create a multimedia presentation sharing community. This session will include demonstrations on how to convert a presentation file to a browser based SWF using Adobe ColdFusion and Java, creating a powerful management console that allows users to record audio/video narration directly within their browser using Adobe Flex and extending the user experience to the desktop with Adobe AIR. - Todd Sharp

New Caching Features in ColdFusion 9 : In this presentation I explore new caching strategies introduced with Ehcache in ColdFusion 9. I walk through the use of new granular caching mechanisms including changes to as well as new caching functions, caching objects and data, page fragment caching, and finally disk and memory caching. - Aaron West

Making Bad Code Good- Part 2 : This talk is structured much like Part 1, examining code samples and making improvements in readability, structure and maintainability. Often, refactoring is discussed in context of patterns, but much can be gained by writing or rewriting code into easily understood forms. Since we spend a lot of time deciphering other people's code, this talk is geared to providing practical skills in interpreting code and restructuring in a way that saves time and money. This is a must see talk for those working in team environments! No powerpoints, only real ColdFusion code! - Dan Wilson

Automagic Validations for ColdFusion Objects : Are you confused about where to put the validation logic in your object oriented application? Are you tired of writing one set of validations for the server side and another set for the client side? Are you looking for a way to encapsulate your validation logic, so your business objects do not have to change each time your validation rules change? If you answered yes to any of those questions, then this is the session for you. In this session you will learn about an open source project that delivers all of the above, and is easy to integrate into any project. You define your business rules in a simple XML file and the framework will automagically perform all of your server side validations and generate all of your client side validations. What's more, the framework is flexible and extensible enough to allow you to define an unlimited number of custom validation types and messages, all without touching any of the framework's or your own code. You'll leave the session with an understanding of what the framework can do for you, as well as how to implement it into a new or existing application. This framework is meant to be used in an application that makes use of objects. This would include ones that use Transfer, Reactor, hand-coded beans/DAOs, and, of course, ColdFusion 9's ORM. - Bob Silverberg

Digging Into The Developer Toolbox : Every developer has their basic toolset - a robust IDE, source control and a good bug tracker. But what else is in your toolbox? In this presentation I'll explore some additional tools that can increase your productivity and allow you to concentrate on developing applications. Some of the tools we will explore include: Autohotkey - save time and type less! Autohotkey can do simple text replacements and well as complex GUIs! Keyboard Launchers - clean up that messy desktop and stop hunting for icons! Virtual desktops - Now that your desktop is clean - organize your applications into task focused areas. Cron - replace the unreliable Windows Scheduled task with a simple to use task scheduler. Clipboard managers - quit typing the same things over and over. A clipboard manager can keep a long running history of what you type so you don't have to. and more... All of these are free, open-source and for the most part have similar equivalents available on all three platforms - Windows, Mac and Linux. In this presentation we will focus on Windows. - Jim Priest

Thank you to all those who have submitted session topics so far. This is only the first round of session announcements, we plan to announce more topics in December and January. CFUnited call for speakers is still open so keep your submissions coming!

Happy Halloween! Time to get tricky, send cara(at)cfunited.com a pic of your geeked out costume and/or jack-o-lantern. The very best will get a treat! And don't forget to register before the witching hour on Hallows Eve to get a wicked discount! Use the code MAX09CF to get $100 off registration.

I know its early, but due to popular demand we are opening the CFUnited 2010 Call for Speakers today!

For the past few months we have received emails from all over from individuals with ideas on what they would like to present at next year's conference. We are looking for talented speakers, fresh topics, and juicy ColdFusion & Flex content. Fill out the following form to suggest your topics http://callforspeakers.cfconf.org/

Watch out for more details about the call for speakers in the upcoming weeks.

We are opening 200 tickets at $499 for the 3 day price. But we also have to cut it off September 25th. So tell your friends who didn't have the opportunity to go this year. It is more affordable than ever. Once you have your ticket, that's half the battle!

2010 will rock and you might just be surprised that we will be able to make it even better.

The event will take place in August and will be in the DC metro area. We will announce the exact location and dates in the upcoming weeks. If you register now and upon announcement the venue and dates do not work for you we will refund your registration, so there is no risk in taking advantage of the early bird price.

There is only one more week left to take advantage of our lowest registration packages, register while the offer is still available! http://register.cfunited.com/

RIA Unleashed : Boston is a one-day, three-track, event that covers Adobe Flex, Adobe AIR, Adobe ColdFusion and related technologies and disciplines, with 20 sessions designed to allow you to focus on the technologies you are interested in. Get exciting updates on the Adobe Flash Platform, learn the latest tips and tricks from the leading RIA developers, and network with your peers.

The event is being held on November 13th at Bentley College in Waltham, MA. There is already an amazing lineup of speakers including Ray Camden, Adam Lehman, Ryan Stewart, Peter Bell, Jason Delmore, Simon Free and many more! Currently registration is only $50 for individuals and $40 for groups and that includes the full day of sessions, lunch, prizes and an after-party. On top of that, there is a special CFUnited discount of $10 off if you use the code "CFUNITED". Plus, if you register now, you are eligible to win a PlayStation 3 Slim through our referral contest if you refer your friends and coworkers!

So don't wait as space is limited and past events (formerly Flex Camp Boston) have sold out! Register today.

Hello CFUnited alumni and fans! It's Fall and the leaves aren't the only thing changing this season. Big news everyone, drum roll please... Liz Frederick is joining the Developer Relations team at Adobe to become a Community Manager! APPLAUSE! Liz has helped to build CFUnited into the premiere ColdFusion conference for over the last 8 years and has done an amazing job as manager and director of CFUnited, putting place practices and procedures that have made for an excellent ColdFusion community event each year.

As Liz is joining Adobe she will be missed at the office but we will retain her guidance through the detailed procedures she leaves behind. She will also continue to be an integral part of CFUnited conferences as a member of the Advisory Board, offering guidance to the Stellr team whenever needed. The Stellr team, including myself, Elliott Sprehn, and Cara Beverage, volunteers and its newest list of advisers (Charlie Arehart , Raymond Camden, Sean Corfield, Shlomy Gantz, Adam Lehman, Liz Frederick, Chaz Chumley, Bob Flynn, Simon Free, Brian Kotek, Andy Powell, Dan Wilson, Todd Sharp, Scott Stroz, and Mark Drew) are committed to put together an amazing CFUnited event in 2010. Registration is open for business, were running an incredible deal of $499 for a 3 day package, from now until September 25th! Things went great this year and it's totally gone to our heads! I guess we're just feeling really generous, take advantage and get the BEST DEAL EVER, so far.

Please, feel free to contact any of us if you have any questions or concerns. Remember, Adobe MAX is right around the corner, Cara and I can't wait to see you there!

Here is a round up of the recent CFConversation podcasts that spotlight the CFUnited conference, sessions, and speakers. Big thanks to Brian Meloche for doing such an awesome job of organizing and hosting the podcasts!

Barney Boisvert - this episode in the Speakers of CFUnited series features Barney Boisvert. This is a great episode, which was recorded on Day 2 of CFObjective in May. Barney talks about his session, CFGroovy - Groovy for the CFML Developer, which he's doing Thursday at 4:45pm at CFUnited. Of course, that means he talks about Groovy and why he uses it with CF. We also talk about Hibernate, Grails, Fusebox and his mini Fusebox-inspired framework called FB3Lite.

CFUnited 2009 Day 2, Part 1 - The new venue for CFUnited this year, Stellr, the day 1 keynotes from Liz Frederick and Adobe, day 1 sessions, birds of a feather and hints at several other things that we dive deeper into in part 2. On the roundtable panel: Brian Meloche, John Mason, Timothy Farrar, John Farrar, Anita Neal, and Jason Dean

CFUnited 2009 Day 2, Part 2 - Covering a lot of stuff, including things both at the conference and other things to think about. Joe Reinhart's inspiring day 2 keynote that prominently featured Todd Sharp's Slide Six site as an example of sites CF developers should aspire to build rather than oldschool CF CRUD-style apps that ColdFusion no longer has the same advantages it historically had over other languages.We discuss some of the interesting day 2 sessions we attended. Janine Driver, Mark Phillips, Charlie Arehart, Mike Brunt, Adam Haskell and Barney Boisvert were singled out as speakers with interesting talks. Lastly, some of the demo derby apps were discussed, as the two Johns and Timothy are each competing in the derby.

Lawrence Cramer - Lawrence is speaking (in one hour! - apologies to all) on Real World eCommerce with ColdFusion, and he talks about his presentation. He also talks about how he got started in Dreamweaver and later ColdFusion, ColdFusion 9/ColdFusion Builder (still code named, at the time) and some other projects.

Post-CFUnited 2009: Wrap-up, Withdrawal & Fallout - a post-CFUnited 2009 "wrap-up fallout" roundtable, where we review the conference as a whole, "post-conference withdrawal and fallout" of things that both happened and what didn't happen during the conference. On this roundtable, we have: Brian Meloche, Adam Haskell, Dan Wilson, John Farrar, and Mark Mandel

I am so appreciative of all the comments people have given Stellr about the event. I truly enjoyed this event from beginning to end and I am glad everyone felt the experience was worthwhile.

This is a developer's conference. If this was a "What does Liz like to do?" conference it would be purple purses as gift bags and photoshop topics and everyone would be getting pedicures during the evening event. But its about you. I've been studying the developer community for over 8 years. I know what you want and how you want it. I also know everyone deserves to be treated like a rock star. It?s my job to make CF look cool. Geek is cool, and it is about time. Being smart and creating amazing apps that do incredible things is something to be recognized for. It's also about community. People who have a common interest can do more for the world just by sharing ideas and find out short cuts to save time.

You can't build yourself a new rocket ship without knowing how the other guy did it.

And you can't build a new rocket ship without the right tools.

And you can't show off your new rocket ship without an audience.

And you can't take off in your new rocket ship without the experience of others to tell you what happens when you get to outer space.

Hopefully your new rocket ship comes with great food and excellent resort staff so that you can enjoy that success.

Anyways, that is my way of thinking. I put this conference together because I know people will create amazing online applications that will help other people and blow their minds. Information is the essential ingredient towards faster growth.

ColdFusion is just one of those things I want to be apart of. It's been the underdog and the brunt of jokes. I knew in my heart that if I could get people together and unite them with a common interest, that someday CFers all over the world would benefit. ColdFusion is cool. ColdFusion is a bad-ass language that if you are worthy enough to join this club of genius, then you will understand that in the end you have saved your company time, money, and gained free advise for a lifetime. Why do I buy the name brand items from my grocery store? Because I know if I have a complaint or the bag is busted, that company will do anything in its power to help me. If I got my meat for free, it might be a little harder to cook and I would have to do a lot more testing to get it to taste just right.

Not only that, we have welcomed the Flex community as well. There is brilliance to be combined in this great adventure. Technology is fascinating. Being involved with this community is like a roller coaster ride that has the most challenging loops at the fastest speeds.

Stellr was created as a service to this community. CFUnited is our product wrapped in platinum gift paper. What happens next? We want you to create apps with the experience in mind just like CFUnited. It deserves to be fun, desirable, long lasting, and appreciated. Stellr can help you accomplish that. And we just love turning you into a rock star!

What now? Everyone asks. CFUnited is 75% thinking about Lansdowne next year. Although I would triple the number of shuttles and take more care on travel and timing in the AM. I would make the evening events slightly more random so it's not the same event but having the same impact. I would have 3-4 breakouts but use those small rooms for several Hands-on classes through the event and repeat them during the week. I'd have to limit the event to 800 attendees. Can't fit more than that but I guess a few more than 800 could squeeze in. I would hired more room monitors to help out my speakers and I would let others organize their own activities to add some variety.

As far as express events, I m thinking about it. It is hard to break even for those kinds of things. So I will have to think up some new ideas. I will be at MAX doing CFUnited Express. We plan to help out some other events going on soon. Why, do you ask? Because the CF community is huge (750,000+), there is enough to go around. And the more we can get new members to join the conference going community, the better for all of us.

BIG Thanks to so many people. It's hard to leave anyone out.

Adam Lehman, first, because he came to me just after he got back to the states and he should have been in bed rest, but he said to me some things that were very important and he inspired me to keep things going after last year?s event.
Ben Forta, well he's going to always be at the top of the list for me. He hasn't missed CFUnited yet and I don?t think I've ever thanked him publicly for that.
Terry Ryan, I think you fit in really well with everyone and we really like you too.
Sean Corfield, he is always perfectly honest with me and he?s almost always the first to respond on my advisory list.
Raymond Camden is one of my good friends that I would do anything for and he has done so many unselfish things for everyone, I don't know how to thank him.
Scott Stroz is an insightful person and my favorite funny man.
Simon Free helped me with my Intro Jokes and he helps fill in everywhere he can, I owe him a lot.
Ben Nadel has shown me how in just a few years someone can make such an impact on a community with just an ounce of opportunity.
Joe Rinehart has this amazing way to see everything in a broader perspective and I?m glad he shares that with me.
Shlomy Gantz some how gets it right all the time and has helped me see my potential.
Charlie Arehart is the most detailed man I know and I would probably embarrass myself if it were it not for his watchful eye.
Gertz Franz is just an amazing person with a smile that is contagious and I know he is on to great things in the future that will benefit everyone.
Peter Bell is a great resource and willing participant.
Mark Drew brings the alternative perspective and makes me believe in possibilities.
Doug Hughes is genuine guy and a good business man.
Dee Sadler is a gal on a mission to educate and bring people together.
Jeff Coughlin is so much fun and wasn't scared to challenge me (even in flip cup).
Bob Flynn has been a loyal attendee for as long as its been running and we love his honest feedback.
Josh Adams has an appreciation for people and new experiences.
Andy Powell stepped up to the plate and helped me put together an awesome line up of people I never heard of but made a huge impact on the event.
Chaz Chumley turns a bad day into a good day and knows just what to say.
Nate Nelson keeps it cool and interesting.
Mike Brunt has the experience to make you wonder and appreciate the direction we are headed.
Michael Smith believes in me and recognizes my abilities.
Nafisa Sabu knows when to tell me its time to make a change.
Cara Beverage keeps us sane and takes care of everyone no matter the task.
Tara Kossari was reliable and brought lots of energy.
Elliott Sprehn helps makes it all happen and has a big heart.
Oguz Demirkapi helps document all the greatness and catches every moment.
Eric Stoike is a good friend with a ton of talent.
Brian Meloche is so excited to get the real perspective from each and every person.

All the attendees made it really easy for us. Even with the badge printing hiccup and shuttle confusion, we still managed to keep everyone happy. It's just one more thing I get to improve on and blow everyone's minds next year.

I hope this experience makes you appreciate your career choice. I hope you go into work this week with a twinkle in your eye and an extra skip in your step. I can't wait to see everyone again and please don?t hesitate to share your ideas with the Stellr team.

Thank you again.

Here are some of my favorite moments.

More photos at http://www.flickr.com/groups/cfunited/