Since it’s a holiday week, I figured it’s a good time to throw the switch and cut over to a fresh blog platform.  I opted for the “simplicity” of wordpress.com, partly because “everybody is doing it”.  I’ve know people who are really familiar with designing for WordPress, people who used to work at WordPress and since I don’t want to overthink it, well, here I am. 🙂

I did toy with the idea of hosting my own instance of WordPress on Azure, but the reality of life means that I really can’t be worried about the “webmastering” of the whole thing.  I really just wanted it “as-a-service”.  I want some widgets and some columns and the ability to type and post.  That’s it. Nothing crazy.

Anyway, let me know what you think of the new design.  I’ll be doing more tweaks and updates over the next few weeks, I’m sure!

• LearnIT! (San Francisco, 10/31)
• Silicon Valley Code Camp (San Jose, 10/3)
• Central CA .NET User Group (Fresno, 11/19)
• IC3 DevOps Conference (San Jose, 10/10)

Are you in the Portland area?  Are you a SharePoint fan?  A favorite MVP of mine, Zubair Alexander will be presenting at SharePointlanda 2015 this coming Saturday (Nov 14th).  You can still join him!

Not into SharePoint? Are you thinking about Windows 10 for your enterprise instead?  I’ve got you covered for that too…  My fellow Tech Evangelists are hitting a bunch of cities across the US over the next several weeks.  Boston, Atlanta, Philly, Dallas, to name just a few.  Learn more at Ignite Your Business.

And for you folks who are stuck in the office, check out Part 7 of Blain Barton’s “To The Cloud” series! Blain Barton welcomes Microsoft MVP Adnan Cartwright to the show as they discuss the inner workings of Server Manager in Windows Server 2012 R2 and how you can manage roles and features in the cloud.

• [10:04] DEMO: Introduction to Server Manager

If you’re interested in learning more about the products or solutions discussed in this episode, click on any of the below links for free, in-depth information:

Websites & Blogs:

• Blain Barton’s Blog
• Florida IT Server Group
• Integrity Solutions
• Check out the book! “Setting up your business in the cloud”

Videos:

• (Part 1) To the Cloud! What the Cloud can do for your Business
• (Part 2) To the Cloud! Getting Started with Office 365
• (Part 3) To the Cloud! Storing your files in the cloud with OneDrive for Business
• (Part 4) To the Cloud! Keeping track of customers with Microsoft Dynamics CRM
• (Part 5) To the Cloud! Managing Devices in the Cloud with Microsoft Intune
• (Part 6) To the Cloud! Building and Running Servers without the Hardware

1. I like the convenience of widgets and easy theme management.
2. I’ve dabbled with WordPress in the past, but not sure I want to go with the hosted version or run my own web server in the cloud.  And honestly, at the time I didn’t really feel like learning another platform.
3. I did take a peek at ghost.io, but didn’t feel it had the dashboard management that comes with WordPress and I kind of want to stay away from CSS editing if I can help it for theme adjustments.
4. I married a UX designer who’s spent some time designing for WordPress (handy!).

This is your last change to join in on the IT Camp happening tomorrow in sunny, warm (seriously 108 degrees) Las Vegas!

It’s going to be all about Azure and Hybrid Cloud and even some Windows 10!

Check out details and register!

I’ve had the pleasure of spending this week at Microsoft Ignite, but not everyone can get away for a week long conference.  If you would like to learn how to get your organization hybrid-ready, consider one of the FREE IT Camps near you.

In just one day of hands-on training, you’ll learn how to move your IT workloads from on-premises to the cloud and back again. After all, who wants to choose between your datacenter and the public cloud? With Microsoft Azure, you get the best of all possible scenarios – plus, powerful virtualization, on-demand application scaling, complete data control and much more.

• Tempe (5/14) – http://aka.ms/AzureITCampAZ 
• Philadelphia (5/14) – http://aka.ms/AzureITCampPhil 
• Downers Grove (5/12) – http://aka.ms/AzureITCampDG  
• Minneapolis (5/12) – http://aka.ms/AzureITCampMPLS 
• Denver (5/12) –  http://aka.ms/AzureITCampCO   
• Orlando (5/11) – http://aka.ms/AzureITCampOFL  

Extend your datacenter with Microsoft Azure – Learn how to get your organization hybrid-ready at a FREE IT Camp near you, particularly if you are in the midwest or on the east coast!

In just one day of hands-on training, you’ll learn how to move your IT workloads from on-premises to the cloud and back again. After all, who wants to choose between your datacenter and the public cloud? With Microsoft Azure, you get the best of all possible scenarios – plus, powerful virtualization, on-demand application scaling, complete data control and much more. 

Expect lively demos and hands-on labs from IT experts who will get you fired up and ready to apply what you’ve learned. Here are just some of the topics we’ll cover:

• Migration of on-premises virtualization to Azure Virtual Machines, Apps, and Storage
• ADFS on Microsoft Azure and Office 365 Integration, including  Multi-Factor authentication
• Microsoft Azure for Test and Development (IaaS)
• Application migration to Microsoft Azure (IaaS & PaaS)
• SQL BI, Media, Backup, DR and much more

Regardless of whether you’re new to the cloud or you currently use an on-premises, hybrid or fully cloud-based solution, you’ll learn valuable new ways to extend your datacenter and expand your IT options. Don’t miss this free event in your local area. 

This week events are upcoming in  Jacksonville (4/29),  Hartford (4/30), Miami (4/30) and Des Moines (4/30)!

Because you don’t have enough on your calendars yet, right?

April 23rd – Microsoft Intune Core Skills Jump Start 
Doesn’t it seem like there’s a shiny new mobile device released every other day? And another story about someone losing one of those devices (along with 100,000 customer records)? As the IT superhero you are, you do everything you can to enable mobility, but it often comes down to a tradeoff between flexibility and security. We can help, as we look at the latest mobility features in Microsoft Intune, a born-in-the-cloud device management solution, including how you can integrate with the existing market leader in endpoint management, Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM), and manage mobile devices with Office 365. 

May 5th – Exploring Microservices in Docker and Microsoft Azure 
Get a look at the future of application architecture, and put it into practice now. Update your site in milliseconds with microservices, which are supported by Microsoft Azure and offered as a service. Self-contained for fit and purpose, they are a key part of the world of continuous delivery and DevOps. Investigate the benefits and challenges of microservices. learn from real-life examples and demos, and get lots of practical guidance.

May 14th and 15th – It’s not an MVA course, but join Microsoft MVPs and Developer Experience CVP Steven Guggenheimer for a free 2-day virtual conference. Register today to learn about the latest tech trends. 

Since it’s Monday, it seems like a great day to tell you about some more free online training that’s coming up from the Microsoft Virtual Academy.