Last week, I gave two talks at the Belgian TechDays in Antwerp. This was my first time at the conference, and it was a great event! I’ve created a resource page on Code Gallery for the presentation materials from my talks: http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/techdays
I’ve included the direct links below as well.

Future Directions for Visual Basic
(Slide Deck, Demo Code)
In this session, we’ll discuss the future direction of Visual Basic both in the near and long term. Come see the exciting new language features in VB 2010, including additional LINQ functionality, syntax simplifications and dynamic language runtime support. We’ll also discuss trends in the industry that are likely to influence the direction of the language going forward. Next, we’ll show what to look forward to in the Visual Studio 2010 IDE which has been rewritten in WPF. Join us as we explore new IDE features that are designed to make you more productive in a number of areas in the development lifecycle, including better navigation, tools for understanding code and a focus on consume-first development.

Visual Basic 2008 Tips and Tricks
(Slide Deck, Demo Code)
In this session, learn how to turn yourself into a Visual Basic 2008 guru with the new language and IDE features. Tips and tricks include how to maximize your IntelliSense experience, leverage Refactoring features, and improve the performance of your query and XML code. Come learn how to get the most out of your IDE! We’ll also explore the integrated XML support in Visual Basic 9.0, and see how you can use the features to work with XML more naturally from your Visual Basic program. With respect to LINQ, we’ll go deep into best practices, pitfalls to avoid, and answers to most frequently asked questions.

Cheers!
Lisa