What we’re about
philly.NET is a 501(c)3 non-profit user group focusing on modern development technologies. We hold monthly Meetups, hands-on labs, and code camps. Most events are held at the Microsoft Technology Center in Malvern, PA and include refreshments courtesy of corporate sponsors. Though we normally focus on Microsoft tools and services, many topics are of interest to general software development and not entirely Microsoft specific.
Everyone is welcome to attend in-person! We also live stream most events and archive the recordings on our YouTube channel at:
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- WinUI, Phi Silica, Windows Copilot Runtime, Azure OpenAIMicrosoft, Malvern, PA
Build intelligent apps with WinUI, Phi Silica and the Windows Copilot Runtime
The Windows Copilot Runtime (WCR) is a set of AI APIs in the Windows App SDK that enable powerful, local AI capabilities in your Windows apps. In this session, Alvin Ashcraft will explore the features of the WCR and how to integrate them into a WinUI application using C#.Ensure High Availability for Azure OpenAI
Join Brian Minisi as he showcases a resilient architecture using Azure API Management (APIM) including custom policies for intelligently routing OpenAI calls across regions. Learn how to optimize performance, ensure seamless failover, and keep your AI-powered apps running smoothly.🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔
Microsoft requires everyone to check-in when entering their facility. You must provide your first and last name when signing up for this in-person event to be on the attendees list we submit to Microsoft.
Hoagies, chips, cookies, and water will be provided. Refreshments are sponsored by TechBash 2025.
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Alvin Ashcraft is a seasoned software developer specializing in Microsoft technologies like .NET, C#, XAML, and SQL Server. With a focus on clinical healthcare applications since 2003, he has also contributed to industries such as manufacturing and insurance. He authored Learn WinUI 3.0 and has reviewed multiple .NET-related books for Packt Publishing. As a founding board member of the TechBash Foundation and organizer of TechBash, he is dedicated to supporting the developer community.
Brian Minisi is a Solution Architect for Neudesic. A Microsoft MVP and ALM Ranger, Brian is a frequent speaker at code camps and user groups. He is also an organizer of the Philly ALM User Group and the Philly Azure User Group. Brian is also a board member of the TechBash conference held in the Poconos each year. He has been working with Microsoft technologies since 1998 and has been working in .NET since 2001. He is passionate about architecture and all aspects of the application lifecycle, cloud and DevOps.
- PLACEHOLDER - July 2025Microsoft, Malvern, PA
Details to follow. May be cancelled if there are no speakers available.
Thrill Us, Then Kill Us? AI Existential Risk: The Hardest Conversation
Every major AI CEO signed a 22-word statement in May 2023 saying "Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI shouldbe a global priority alongisde other societal scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war." So why isn't anyone acting like it? Nuclear and pandemic threats are both highly regulated fields, led by elected leaders, experts and organizations that are accountable to the public. AI is led by unelected leaders motivated by profit, accountable only to their shareholders. You hear and read all day about all of the amazing things AI is going to do for us. This talk is not that. This is the hardest conversation humans have ever had. The makers of AI openly admit their technology could kill all life on earth, openly admit the technology is not aligned with human goals or values, openly admit they do not understand how it works, openly admit it has the power to cause human extinction, within 1-50 years, and openly admit that they are focusing nearly all of their time and money making it stronger not safer. The greatest, most immediate threat to you and your family is artificial intelligence. Learn why and what you can do about it.🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔
Microsoft requires everyone to check-in when entering their facility. You must provide your first and last name when signing up for this in-person event to be on the attendees list we submit to Microsoft.
Hoagies, chips, cookies, and water will be provided.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
John Sherman is an entrepreneur and former journalist living in Baltimore. As an investigative local TV news reporter from 1999-2010, John won every major national journalism award, including a Peabody Award, a duPont-Columbia Award (the electronic media version of the Pulitzer Prize), a National Emmy Award, a National Edward R. Murrow Award, among others. In 2010 John left news to start Storyfarm, a now 15-year-old Addy and Emmy winning creative video agency with clients including Under Armour, SAP, Uber, Match Group, T. Rowe Price, Starbucks, Mastercard, and many more. In March 2023, John read Eliezer Yudkowsky's AI safety article in Time Magazine on-line, and his life was forever changed. The son of a nuclear arms-control negotiator, John grew up to believe our most serious problems are solveable. So he put his communications skills to use, launching For Humanity: An AI Safety Podcast in November 2023. For Humanity is becoming more than a podcast, it's becoming a community of people who believe the AI makers when they say their products can kill us all, and are committed to spreading the word to any human who will listen. John joins the AI safety reseach leaders in believing there is literally nothing on earth more urgent.
