I went to my first dot net (.NET) user’s group here in the Dallas area the other day - it was held at Microsoft in Las Colinas (Irving) and about 130 people were there. The main topic was LINQ (a very interesting new programming tool for Visual Studio 2008) and I admit, it was fascinating.

Now, I’m not a hard core programmer by any means, but going to these types of groups seems like a great way to learn more and maybe swap ideas with other programmers. Some of the people at this group really seemed to know their stuff, but what was most fascinating was the variety in specialties even under the umbrella of “.NET”.

There are a couple of ways to get together with people like this - I’d recommend checking out the following:
[1] http://www.DallasASP.net (Dallas ASP.NET Group)
[1] http://www.DallasASP.net (Dallas Dot Net Users Group)
[3] http://www.NDDNUG.net (North Dallas Dot Net Users Group)

And the special once a year event sponsored by Microsoft, Sun and others with tons of informational session, Dallas Tech Fest ([4] http://www.DallasTechFest.com)

And, if you see me there, say “hi”!