What Can Metadata Do for You?
In addition to being an absolute game-changer for companies looking to increase collaboration and teamwork, Microsoft SharePoint is a powerful document and content management tool, right out of the box.  But companies who fail to plan the taxonomy of their corporate information and the metadata used to catalog and find that information will never realize the full potential of SharePoint within their organization.
During this presentation, we will give a brief introduction to the concepts behind and importance of taxonomies and metadata to a corporate knowledge management tool such as Microsoft SharePoint.  Then, we will build out a demo taxonomy and metadata structure from scratch, implement it within SharePoint and show the resulting positive effects on knowledge workers in the organization.
We will also highlight some of the SharePoint-specific benefits of metadata, such as attribute-level integration with Microsoft Office 2007 documents and search relevance.

Joseph W. (Joe) Mack –  The Portal Group, LLC
A recognized Microsoft SharePoint thought leader, evangelist, consultant, author and blogger.  Joe is also the Founder and Managing Partner for The Portal Group, LLC, an Indianapolis-based consultancy, and SharePointSupport.com, which provides off-site SharePoint administration, support and maintenance services.
As a consultant and solution architect, Joe has been working with SharePoint for over 5 years and has more than 75 successful SharePoint engagements and implementations to his credit, ranging from small businesses to Fortune 100 customers.  His company, The Portal Group, also provides knowledge management and business intelligence consulting services.
The Portal Group can be found online at www.theportalgroup.biz.  More information about the off-site SharePoint administration, support and maintenance service can be found at www.sharepointsupport.com.  Joe Mack can be found blogging at www.themackpage.com and tweeting as @mack247.

SharePoint Workflows for Developers
Workflows have a home!  Workflow Foundation provides an extensive framework for allowing developers to host their own workflows.  However, for developers who just want to focus on the business process at hand, SharePoint provides robust capabilities for hosting workflows.  During this talk we'll gain an understanding of how workflows can be created for and used with SharePoint.

Jeremy Sublett - MVP SharePoint Server, MCSD, MCT. Jeremy Sublett is a software architect and senior partner with Composable Systems, LLC, specializing in SharePoint-based business solutions.  Prior to becoming a SharePoint MVP, Jeremy was focused on using the latest Microsoft technology to implement service-oriented applications.  Jeremy has worked professionally with Microsoft development technology since 1994 and is a Microsoft Certified Solution Developer (MCSD) for .NET as well as a Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT).  Jeremy contributes regularly to the Microsoft development community by speaking on topics such as ASP.NET, WCF and SharePoint 2007.  Recently, Jeremy was asked by Microsoft to be one of three people nation-wide to teach SharePoint development for Microsoft partners.

We will discuss What is needed to develop a Silverlight in MOSS 2007. The multiple levels of integration of Silverlight 2 and MOSS 2007. SharePoint Web Part as a wrapper for the Silverlight application. Walk-through building an application that tracks time and attendance inside of MOSS 2007

Jody Morgan – Exodus Integrity Services
Jody Morgan is a Systems and Software Architect for Exodus Integrity Services, Inc. in Willoughby, Ohio. Since 1999, Jody has developed a distinctive approach to solving business needs with Microsoft Technologies. Jody has worked in the Manufacturing, Retail, Transportation/Logistics, Healthcare, Staffing firms as well as for the Federal Government. Jody is strong in the Windows Application and back office architecture. He has help write coding standards along with patterns and practices for specific clients to fit their needs and unique conditions. Proficient in C# and VB as well as SQL Script. Jody has worked hard to collect a broad knowledge base of both software development and IT infrastructure to blend with his ability to help understand and solve business needs of his clients. Jody is passionate about sharing knowledge and educating the masses. “Knowledge leads to meditation which leads to insight which leads to inspiration. Without Inspiration we would all still live in caves and carry clubs.”

Influenced by the consumer search experience, and driven by a clear need to provide information workers with timely, customized access to relevant business data, companies are looking for comprehensive search capabilities that span disparate information sources and integrate seamlessly with existing infrastructure databases and people and experts.   According to IDC estimates, information workers spend 15% to 30% of their work time just looking for information.  So, providing the people in an organization the ability to quickly find, use and share the right information is critical to helping them make better business decisions, be more productive, and achieve greater business success.
 
Microsoft search solutions address this need by helping to  reduce the time information workers spend looking for information, deliver relevant actionable results and drive higher levels of productivity.  With Microsoft Search Server 2008, Microsoft Search Server Express 2008, Windows Desktop Search and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, Microsoft provides a robust platform of business-ready search capabilities to quickly, securely and seamlessly connect people with the most relevant business information, people and expertise via familiar, easy-to-use, integrated.

Matt Hester :: US IT Pro Evangelism - Being an IT Pro means working with computers right where the magic begins, says Matt. He loves reaching out to users and customers in the local community and gets a thrill from installing a server that can send email or provide other valuable services. Matt is a seasoned TechNet presenter, an Exchange Server insider and he worked as an MCT for over eight years before joining Microsoft. A movie buff with a massive DVD collection, he also runs marathons and dreams of being a pro football player or joining the PGA tour. Matt cites his father as his role model: "The older I get, the smarter he gets." Funny how that works. http://blogs.technet.com/matthewms

Creating Workflows with SharePoint Designer and Visual Studio 2008. Comparing and contrasting SharePoint Designer and Visual Studio.

Speaker: Paul Papanek Stork
Instructor/Developer Courseware Manager with Mindsharp
SharePoint Server MVP MBA, CTT+, MCT, MCSE+I, MCSA, MCSD, MCDBA, MCITP, MCPD, MS CRM Certified Master; has specialized in Microsoft products since the mid-1990s. Paul is a "Jack of all Trades" who has developed expertise as an administrator, developer, and DBA. His primary area of expertise is Microsoft application servers, which defy compartmentalization and leverage multiple technologies. Paul’s depth of knowledge makes him ideally suited to teach custom courses for Mindsharp that combine modules from their Administrative, Development, and SharePoint Designer courses. In addition, Paul manages updates to Mindsharp’s development courseware

I Am MOSS Unit Tester (And So Can You!) -
SharePoint is a powerful platform to develop on, but that doesn’t get you around the need for solid testing as you build your software. Unit and integration testing are still critical pieces of creating great MOSS/WSS solutions for your clients, but unfortunately the industry isn’t giving much guidance about how testing in SharePoint ought to work.  This session will show you the basics of unit and integration testing and show how they apply to SharePoint.  We’ll also discuss some of the yucky corners of SharePoint where testing may not make sense.

Jim Holmes, Quick Solutions
Father.  Husband.  Certified Geek. Veteran.  Co-author of “Windows Developer Power Tools.” Coffee Roaster.  MVP for C#.  Founder of the CodeMash Conference and the Dayton .NET Developers Group. One-time setter, middle blocker, and weakside hitter. Blogger (http://FrazzledDad.com). Practice Lead of the Information Worker Studio at Quick Solutions in Columbus, Ohio.  Big fan of naps.

In this presentation, Bill English, MVP, will cover the latest research on Findability and discuss why Findability is much more than a set of applications or technologies.  Bill will outline the inherent problems with keyword queries and offer suggestions on how the SharePoint product can be improved to be a foundational technology in an overall Findability solution.  This session will challenge assumptions about search technologies and is appropriate for technologists as well as project managers, information architects and CIOs.

Bill English
An author and educator specializing in SharePoint Products and Technologies, Bill English (MCSE, MCSA, MVP, MCT) is an industry leader on this exciting product set from Microsoft.  Since 2000, Bill has authored 11 books on Exchange and SharePoint products and is currently working on another book with Microsoft Press. Bill is the co-owner of Mindsharp (www.mindsharp.com), a company that offers top-notch educational opportunities on the SharePoint platform. He has presented at Comdex, The Microsoft Exchange Conference, TechMentor, TechEd, Advisor Live, TechEd Europe and Networld Interop. You can find his blog at his AdminCompanion book site. Bill lives in Minnesota with his wife and two children where he enjoys boating, photography and summer.

Workflow Foundation + SharePoint
This talk covers the basics of Microsoft’s workflow technology (Workflow Foundation) and how it can be applied to typical .NET programming scenarios.  SharePoint offers a way for humans to interact with workflows built with this technology.  We’ll take a look at what SharePoint workflows offer and how they can be used to complement your business processes.

Jeremy Sublett, MVP SharePoint Server, MCSD, MCT
Jeremy Sublett is a software architect and senior partner with Composable Systems, LLC, specializing in SharePoint-based business solutions.  Prior to becoming a SharePoint MVP, Jeremy was focused on using the latest Microsoft technology to implement service-oriented applications.  Jeremy has worked professionally with Microsoft development technology since 1994 and is a Microsoft Certified Solution Developer (MCSD) for .NET as well as a Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT).  Jeremy contributes regularly to the Microsoft development community by speaking on topics such as ASP.NET, WCF and SharePoint 2007.  Recently, Jeremy was asked by Microsoft to be one of three people nation-wide to teach SharePoint development for Microsoft partners.