About the Authors

Lars Powers is an ISV Technical Advisor on the Microsoft Developer and Platform Evangelism team. He works with Microsoft's largest global ISV partners to help them craft solutions on top of Microsoft's next-generation technologies. Prior to joining Microsoft, Lars was an independent consultant providing training and mentoring on the .NET platform. Lars is also the co-author of Visual Basic Programmer's Guide to the .NET Framework Class Library (Sams Publishing, 2002).

Mike Snell has more than 14 years of experience as a software architect, consultant, and public speaker. He has led a number of enterprise-level projects and delivered training and mentoring to hundreds of developers. Mike has recently been working in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to build the Microsoft Consulting Practice at CEI (www.ceiamerica.com). With his team of architects, he ensures the successful delivery of all Microsoft .NET projects for CEI's many clients.

Mike is also recognized as a Microsoft Regional Director (http://msdn.microsoft.com/isv/rd/default.aspx), Microsoft Certified Solution Developer (MCSD), and a Project Management Professional (PMP). He is also the co-author of Visual Basic Programmer's Guide to the .NET Framework Class Library (Sams Publishing, 2002).