I had the great opportunity last week to go down to Brigham Young University (BYU) to be a judge for the Imagine Cup 2004.

There were three teams that had to create some software that had to meet the following requirements:

1. The app had to be written using .NET technologies (each team chose C# as the language of choice)
2. The app had to run on a PocketPC (or rather, had to rely on the Compact Framework)
3. The app had to utilize Web Services

Each application was judged on a variety of factors:

• Innovation
• “Application Smarts“
• Usefulness
• and to a lesser degree, Style (though I deem that one of some import)

Each of the three teams came up with some pretty cool stuff.  The winning application was a 'reminder' app that would remind you of tasks or assignments based on location.  It used Web Services that the team wrote as well as the Microsoft Map Point Web Services.  While GPS-functionality had not yet been written into the program, it was the next logical step.  The goal was that, based off of your task list and current GPS information, your PocketPC would remind you of to-do items as you approached the 'hot spots'.

Pretty cool - especially if integration into Outlook were ever completed.

Good job guys and keep up the great work!

A few years ago a fellow MS consultant (and very good friend of mine, Matt Smith) and I had the bright idea of starting a .NET users group here in the Salt Lake Valley.  Well, time has passed and the group has flourished.  I have the opportunity of serving as the President of the group.  This responsibility is daunting and requires a lot of time.  I have two great aides that help guide the group (Jason Walker - VP and Josh Crosby - secretary).

We meet every second Thursday of the month at Northface University at 6:00 pm.  We invite all to attend.

Please visit our site and drop by in you're in the neighborhood.

Well, this marks it!  After much deliberation and wavering, I have finally decided to start blogging.  This post represents the first in hopefully a long line of posts on the Zupancic Perspective.  Allow me to introduce myself.  My name is Aaron Zupancic.  I am a native of Las Cruces, NM.  I am the oldest of six children.  Back in 1991 I graduated from Mayfield High School.  Shortly thereafter I took two years to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mazatlan, Mexico.  In Jan 1992 (just months prior to my mission) I moved up to Salt Lake City, Utah with my father.  Since my early years I have had a stong inclination towards computers and the so called 'technical' realm.  This devotion has continued on to the present.  I have had the opportunity to be a trainer for several years.  How I love to teach!  Following that, a friend and former student of mine, Ryan Redmond hired me to a software developer for a small company called Avysta Software.  I functioned as a technical team lead and architect of a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system that grew quickly and continues to thrive.  Soon thereafter my devotions fell to consulting.  I had the opportunity to offer my services as a Microsoft Consultant - what a thrill!  Microsoft is awesome, despite what some people may say (I might just blog about that one some day).  Currently, I am a consultant for Keane, Incorporated in Salt Lake City and am happy to be there, offering my services.

My hopes for this blog are high.  The primary reason for establishing it is to disseminate my discoveries, techniques, and insights into the world of software development.  There are other motives too, of course, but that is the main one.  I love software development and want to share what I know and learn with the greater community.

Hopefully this blog will be useful to those that use it and scour its pages.  Please feel free to provide comments and ideas.  I look forward to ongoing feedback and interaction.