TechDaysSF is June 5th and 6th

Did you miss TechEd? Do you regret it?
Then register now for TechDays-SF which will be happening June 5th and 6th in downtown San Francisco. PacITPros brings you a great list of presentations and speakers. This year the price has been lowered to $200, you really can’t beat that. Details on sessions at http://techdays.org and the schedule is up on Eventboard.
Some great topics being covered: PowerShell, Microsoft System Center, Hyper-V, Lync plus many more.
Presented by folks such as: Jason Helmick, Darren Mar-Elia, Symon Perriman, Aleksandar Nikolic, Steve Evans and many more.
Even I’ll be there!

TechEd!!!

Today starts off Day 2 of TechEd!  Yesterday, I spent a lot of time working in the Microsoft Solutions area (MSE) talking about Windows and Mobility.  You can find me in the “Device Bar” today and I’ll also be at the “Ask the Experts” event this evening.

So great announcements came out during the keynote yesterday.  I can’t wait to get started with Azure Files and the new site-to-site VPN tunnels between Azure VNets.  Also, being able to deploy Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 clients to Azure for testing and development is a great addition.

While I’m here at TechEd, my fellow colleagues have been busy blogging about what’s been going on as well.  Check out some posts below:

Don’t forget, even if you aren’t here in person you can still stream a lot of great TechEd content from ch9!

Can’t Make it to Houston?

At this year’s TechEd we’re going to take the wraps off a range of new products and services, and we cannot wait to talk about—and demo—some of the remarkable new capabilities and functionalities we are going to deliver to the IT and developer industry.

Can’t make it to Houston this year for TechEd 2014? No worries – just join us online via Tech Ed Live Streaming all week long from the keynote and technical breakout sessions.
Register Now for the Tech Ed Live Stream
In this article, I’ve included the schedule for this week’s TechEd sessions that will be live streamed and the registration link you can use for joining us online.  Hope to see you there virtually!

Don’t miss these TechEd Live Stream sessions!

We have a full week planned of great technical content via the TechEd 2014 Live Stream sessions. Be sure to tune in for these topics …

Day Time Session Title Primary Speaker
5/12/2014 09:00AM – 10:30AM Central Time Tech Ed 2014 Keynote Session Brad Anderson,
Corporate Vice President, Windows Server and System Center
5/12/2014 11:00AM – Noon Central Time Enabling Enterprise Mobility with Windows Intune, Microsoft Azure, and Windows Server Adam Hall; Andrew Conway; Demi Albuz; Jason Leznek
5/12/2014 01:15PM – 02:30PM Central Time Windows PowerShell Unplugged with Jeffrey Snover Jeffrey Snover
5/12/2014 03:00PM – 04:15PM Central Time RemoteApp for Mobility and BYOD Demi Albuz;Samim Erdogan
5/12/2014 04:45PM – 06:00PM Central Time Microsoft System Center 2012 Configuration Manager: MVP Experts Panel Greg Ramsey;Jason Sandys;Johan Arwidmark;Kent Agerlund;Steve Thompson
5/13/2014 08:30PM – 09:45AM Central Time INTRODUCING: The Future of .NET on the Server Scott Hanselman;Scott Hunter
5/13/2014 10:15AM – 11:30AM Central Time DEEP DIVE: The Future of .NET on the Server David Fowler;Scott Hanselman
5/13/2014 01:30PM – 02:45PM Central Time Group Policy: Notes from the Field – Tips, Tricks, and Troubleshooting Jeremy Moskowitz
5/13/2014 03:15PM – 04:30PM Central Time Microsoft Desktop Virtualization Overview Session Demi Albuz;Robin Brandl;Thomas Willingham
5/13/2014 05:00PM – 06:15PM Central Time TWC: Sysinternals Primer: TechEd 2014 Edition Aaron Margosis
5/14/2014 08:30AM – 09:45AM Central Time Making Sense of the Microsoft Information Protection Stack Chris Hallum
5/14/2014 10:15AM – 11:30AM Central Time Mark Russinovich and Mark Minasi on Cloud Computing Mark Minasi;Mark Russinovich
5/14/2014 01:30PM – 02:45PM Central Time Entity Framework: Building Applications with Entity Framework 6 Rowan Miller
5/14/2014 03:15PM – 04:30PM Central Time Windows PowerShell Best Practices and Patterns: Time to Get Serious Don Jones
5/14/2014 05:00PM – 06:15PM Central Time What’s New in Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V Jeff Woolsey
5/15/2014 08:30AM – 09:45AM Central Time Real-World Windows 8.1 Deployment: Notes from the Field Johan Arwidmark
5/15/2014 10:15AM – 11:30AM Central Time Async Best Practices for C# and Visual Basic Mads Torgersen
5/15/2014 01:00PM – 02:15PM Central Time VDI Deployment Walkthrough John Kelbley;Rich McBrine;Robin Brandl
5/15/2014 02:45PM – 04:00PM Central Time 2014 Edition: How Many Coffees Can You Drink While Your PC Starts? Matthew Reynolds

Join TechEd from wherever you are.

Use the link below to register for the TechEd Live Stream to watch the sessions online this week – live from Houston TX.
Register Now for the TechEd Live Stream

Join the discussion! What are you most excited about?

Which of the announcements, new features or enhancements are you most excited to begin leveraging in your IT organization? Let us know your thoughts in the Comments area below!  In addition, be sure to follow us online via the #MSTechEd hashtag on Twitter.

Moving to Hybrid Cloud with Microsoft Azure – Online Event!

Get the best of both worlds! With Microsoft Azure and System Center 2012 R2, IT Pros who manage infrastructure can easily extend on-premises networks to embrace the power and scale of the cloud—securely and seamlessly. Solve pressing IT issues with hybrid cloud solutions that you can implement today. In these Jump Start sessions with live Q&A, explore how to manage more data without more hardware, protect data with off-site backups, and prepare for disaster recovery.

In these sessions, field-experienced Technical Evangelists focus on Microsoft Azure storage, virtual machines, and virtual networking. Complete the hands-on labs, and walk away with a fully functional Windows Server 2012 R2 or Linux cloud-based test lab running Microsoft Azure. Be sure to sign up for the free Microsoft Azure trial so you can follow the demos during the sessions. Don’t miss this event!

COURSE OUTLINE:
Day one:

  • Introduction to Microsoft Azure
  • Cloud Storage and Virtual Networks

Day two:

  • Virtual Machines
  • Monitoring Public and Hybrid Clouds
  • Microsoft Azure Active Directory

Register now! (linkto: http://aka.ms/MovetoHybrid)

Moving to Hybrid Cloud with Microsoft Azure
Date: May 21 and May 22, 2014
Time: 9:00am‒11:30am
Where: Online virtual classroom
Cost: Free!

Monday Tidbits!

Here are a few items to start off your week!

— 1 —
Investigating Cyber Threats? Want an easier way? Learn more and request your invitation to the upcoming private preview release of Microsoft System Center Advisor at: http://next.systemcenteradvisor.com

— 2 —
The IT Pro Evangelism team, Microsoft Learning (LEX) and the Microsoft Virtual Academy are pleased to announce the next free and public event DevOps for IT Pros Jump Start. This online event will run on Wednesday, May 7th  from 9:00 am – 2:00pm PT hosted by Microsoft technology experts David Tesar, and Morgan Webb.

— 3 —
Save the Date! Join Stephen Rose for a discussion that will cover past, present and what’s next for Microsoft technologies.

WINDOWS UNPLUGGED
AN EVENING WITH IT PROS

May 27, 2014 6:00pm-8:00pm 
The Box SF 
San Francisco, CA 
— 4 —

TECHDAYS-SF IS JUNE 5-6! Register now for TechDays-SF which will be happening June 5-6 (so no June user group meeting). We already have shaping up a great list of presentations and speakers. Register at http://techdays.org/2014/04/register-for-3nd-annual-techdays-it-professional-conference/ This year the price has been lowered to $200, you really can’t beat that. Details on sessions at http://techdays.org

Tis the Season… Conference Season!

I admit it, I’m a bit of a conference junkie.  I love attending events, listening to interesting keynotes or panel speakers, passing through the expo areas and chatting with other IT Professionals.
There are only so many weeks in the year though and my calendar is starting to fill up with some promising events.

CITE Conference (April) –  Okay, well, you just missed this one. The last day is today. I attended it yesterday and thought it was a great conference around Consumerization of IT and Mobility in the Enterprise. I highly recommend looking for it next year. Visit their website to keep track of them via all the popular social mediums.

TechEd 2014 (May) – There is a special place in my heart for TechEd… this will be my 10th year attending and you’ll be able to find me in the Windows Client booth area.

TechDays SF (June) – Brought to you by PacITPros and hosted in the Microsoft SF office, this two day event is like a mini-TechEd bringing you similar caliber speakers talking about all the current topics.  Registration is currrently open.

Dev/IT Connections (Sept) – I was able to speak at this event in 2013, but won’t be able to attend this year.  Still, it’s a great event and I hope to be able to attend in 2015. Plus everyone needs a reason to visit Vegas, right?

That’s just a short list… Do you have any conferences you love that I should try to check out?

On My Start Screen: NextGen Reader

I’ve been a Windows 8 user since the beginning and because I’m most often a business user, I live on the desktop, just like those old days of Windows XP or Windows 7. But there are some great modern, native apps that I use and I wanted to highlight one I use every day: NextGen Reader.

Prior to it’s demise, I was a long time user of Google Reader.  Since that service was discontinued, I’ve been on the lookout for the best way to manage the reading of blogs and other RSS feeds. I didn’t necessarily need to read from within a browser and with Windows 8.1, I really wanted to take advantage of the touch interface and what my employer likes to call the “immersive experience” of the modern OS.

NetGen Reader had a version for Window 8.1 and the Windows Phone, which makes it the perfect solution for my feed-reading needs. The backend is powered by feedly.com which ties to my Google Account.
Using Feedly, you can group feeds into different categories, control how feeds organized and then sync that across multiple devices and platforms.

It’s not a free app, but the modest cost gives me some peace of mind that the developers of it will continue to support and improve it going forward.

Now if you’ll, excuse me… I’ve got some reading to do!

Become an Early Expert in Virtualization

In an increasingly multi-hypervisor world, more and more IT organizations are using Microsoft Hyper-V and Microsoft Azure to achieve superior performance and workload flexibility at the best possible price. With nearly two-thirds of businesses on more than one virtualization platform, adding Microsoft virtualization and cloud skills to your technical repertoire can improve your career options and prepare you to face new IT demands.

Join Early Experts! We'll help you get certified!

What is Early Experts?

Microsoft Early Experts is a free, online study group for virtualization professionals who want to extend their Microsoft Hyper-V, System Center and Microsoft Azure knowledge with official Microsoft certifications. We’ve organized our high-impact learning resources into online Knowledge Quests that include concise videos, prescriptive study materials and hands-on practice with real products. Complete the weekly quests at your own pace and enjoy the flexibility to stop and review certain topics when you need more time.

Rewards and Prizes (U.S. Only)

Complete the online Quests and receive a completion badge suitable for printing or sharing online to showcase your new skills with Microsoft virtualization! In addition, IT Pros located in the U.S. are eligible to win one of several cool prizes during monthly prize drawings in April, May and June 2014. **

Rewards, Prizes and Certification: Join Early Experts today!

If you’re located outside of the U.S., you’re certainly still welcome to join us and take advantage of the Early Experts study materials to help you prepare for certification.

The clock is ticking … Join us today!

Early Experts study groups are forming now for existing VMware / Virtualization professionals targeting the following Microsoft certification:

Join Us: Become our next Early Expert!

**NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open only to IT Professionals who are legal residents of the 50 U.S. states or D.C., 18+. Sweepstakes ends on June 30, 2014. See Official Rules.

Are you ready to begin your Quest of the Cloudwalker?

Hark beleaguered IT Professionals! We know of the evils which plague you daily—mountains of help desk tickets, crashing computers, ridiculous requests from management, and far, far worse. But fear not, for we have felt your misery and despair, and created a fantastical world where you can use your hard-earned knowledge to crush demonic personifications of your IT woes.
So begin thy quest, choose from one of three heroic avatars, and arm yourself with up to four of the righteous weapons of IT. For each mystical weapon you arm yourself with, you’ll receive a code to enter in the game for a chance to win a fabled Xbox One.
Then carry onward into battle, where eight of your greatest foes await. There is Tickakomus, the God of forgotten passwords and missing power cords; Messglore, master of server closet chaos; and of course, the most feared monster of all, Chronos, Devourer of Time and Destroyer of Reality!
The task before you is mighty, but if you are true of heart and steeped in knowledge, your victory is assured. Become the savior all besieged IT Pros have been waiting for, in Quest of the Cloudwalker!

FREE Windows 8.1 Camp: Discover Key Windows 8.1 Solutions for IT Pros

IT Camp: Windows 8
As IT professionals, it’s your job to keep up with the latest demands – ensuring your organization has the fastest, most intuitive technology and uninterrupted services, while giving people the freedom to work anywhere, anytime, on a variety of devices.

Join us (the IT Pro Evangelists!) for the upcoming IT Camp, “Empowering People-Centric IT with Windows 8.1 for IT Professionals,” and learn about the new features in Windows 8.1. These capabilities simplify the migration, deployment, and management of tomorrow’s IT environments, while tangibly improving the end-user experience.

At this IT Camp, you’ll get hands-on experience with Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 in the enterprise. Explore the new Windows 8.1 feature set while you dive deep into key enterprise scenarios around System Center Configuration Manager 2012 R2 and Windows Intune management, deployment, security, desktop virtualization, side-loading apps, and mobility.

Session Requirements

  • Be sure to bring a modern laptop that can run the following prerequisites.
  • Modern operating system, including Windows 7, Windows 8, Linux or Mac OS X
  • Modern web browser supporting HTML5 and Javascript, including IE 9 or later, Chrome, Firefox and Safari
    Remote desktop (RDP) client – included with Windows platforms.  Mac and Linux RDP clients can be downloaded for free at http://www.2x.com/rdp-client/

Visit http://www.technetevents.com to learn more or register by clicking on the city closest to you.

Date
City
State
4/29/2014
WI
4/29/2014
TX
4/29/2014
FL
4/30/2014
MI
4/30/2014
NY
4/30/2014
CA
5/1/2014
IL
5/1/2014
FL
5/6/2014
MN
5/6/2014
NY
5/7/2014
OH
5/7/2014
GA
5/7/2014
PA
5/7/2014
CO
5/7/2014
CA
5/8/2014
KS
5/9/2014
FL
5/20/2014
OH
5/20/2014
VA
5/20/2014
IL
5/21/2014
TX
5/21/2014
MA
5/21/2014
NC
5/22/2014
WA
5/22/2014
MO
5/22/2014
AZ
5/28/2014
TX
6/4/2014
CA

Much thanks to Matt Hester, who let me “borrow” his blog post to re-post! Why reinvent the wheel, right? 🙂