Hmm water and electricity #TEE10

What could possibly go wrong....

Nice one #Lavazza and #Berlin

Just had one at the restaurant, so didn't try this; but a vast improvement i should think over the cheap and cheerful Nescafe machines on display at other stations.
Next time i'm passing I'll remember.

Nollendorf station.

This #TEE10 convention centre is huge

And we're only in the southern half with 7,000 delegates...

Hotel weights and measures

1mm - the minimum clearance around the bed
1kC - the maximum range in temperature of the shower
£450 - the acceptable rate per MB for Hotel WiFi
£15 - the minimum reasonable cost per bottle of water supplied to the room
By the lift - a quiet location
7:15 - sufficiently close to 8:00 for your alarm call
17.4kB/sec - Super Fast broadband connnection
By the car park entrance - alternative quiet location
2 - a wide range of pillow choice
€12 - a reasonable charge for laundering socks
€17.50 - bargain charge for 2 boiled eggs and a slice of ham for breakfast
45minutes - close to the City centre
6:30am - reasonable time for room service to knock on your door to see if you have left for the day
2 - sufficient hangers in the wardrobe
1 - copious supply of electricity sockets
1st floor overlooking the main road by the lift and the car park entrance - the quietest room in the hotel

#TEE10 Keynotes and how not to do them

if you keep a weather eye on my twitter stream (www.twitter.com/pjbryant) you may have noticed i got a bit annoyed this afternoon at TechEd Berlin.

This was because of the keynote. When Brad turned up in suit and tie, i knew we were
in for a repeat of the 2009 disaster that was (now departed to Nokia) Stephen Elop's keynote. I could go on for ages, but i'll summarise instead:

1) Keynotes at conferences have been paid for by the delegates in some way. They have certainly given up their precious time to attend the conference, and expect value back from Microsoft for so doing. At a cost of €1895 for the conference, each session is about €75. I like to get value for that.
2) Keynotes have (traditionally) been exciting. They have brought a genuine WOW into the day, and kickstarted the conference such that everyone feels energised and ready to go.
3) Keynotes have been timed to the start of the day, so rather than meander into the conference you'd want to turn up, get your freebie (if there was one), and see something you've not seen before (the South African drumming especially comes to mind).

This keynote repeated last years failure - Microsoft clearly have not learned from the maxim that you have to remember the past, else you are condemned to repeat it. It failed on the criteria above as:
1) This was not value for money, i did not come out (and many others did not) feeling it was €75 well spent. In fact i came out thinking i'd wasted an opportunity to better plan my conference.
2) There was no excitement, nothing new, no electrifying demo
3) The keynote fizzed out. At the end of the day people left to go and do something better. This keynote was clearly timed to be able to broadcast to the widest possible community (most of whom HAVE NOT PAID for it) including the US. Brad was talking to the suits outside the room not the golfs and t's in the room.

Finally, i was pretty active on twitter during the keynote. It was interesting to note the large number of tweets coming from Redmond (and other locations) staffers who were clearly deluded enough (or encouraged enough) to cheerlead from the sidelines.

Microsoft, get your house in order. Make the next TechEd Keynote 100% relevant to the people in the room, and let others watch because they are interested, not because they are the true audience. Make sure delegates go away:
1) fizzing with excitement for the rest of the week
2) glad to have been there
3) inspired to do something when they get home
And that the online viewers really wished they had been there.

Repeat the same mistake next time, and i'll know for sure you don't care about me as a delegate, and that may mean I (and others) may give up coming. I can watch a lousy keynote from home; and have nicer coffee.

Ye Gods the bags have got smaller and cheaper! #TEE10

But frankly that's a good thing. My wife doesn't really understand why I want to keep 19 previous TEE bags :-)

And to be honest I'll never have 20 laptops to carry around.

#TEE10 Apple 1 Microsoft 0

At Tech*Ed there is a wireless network. With 7000 delegates and staff (possibly more) it's a network i would not like to have to supply. It can get a bit flaky. This morning they are still tuning the setup i should think and the organisers prefer not to have a strong signal in the session rooms to put people off using their devices.

Well, the new iPad has maintained the connection so far, the winmo6.1 phone has connected but been unable to shift a single byte... Maybe I should upgrade to Windows Phone 7...

#TEE10

Under a lowering sky, and the lightest of showers, Tech*Ed 2010 is under way

#TEE10 prizes for bag contents

A) for a tempting goody and probably the strongest draw to a stand Dell. For the single glove and a "get the other at our stand". It's a tad cold here in Berlin, and if you did not bring gloves, you may well be tempted

B) for chutzpah Nokia. For advertising a non Windows Phone 7 device at the Tech*Ed immediately after the winmo7 launch. A bold move :-)

C) Microsft for cutting the cloth accordingly. I've already commented on the bag this year (although that blog entry seems delayed in my phone as the day 1 WiFi seems flaky) but given the choice between a financially secure Tech*Ed and yet another smart laptop bag, i know what i would choose

Now, to Exchange 2010 DR and HA planning :-)

Tech*Ed Berlin 2010 - PDC sessions track has been released

The PDC sessions track is now released.  The content team is adding some of the sessions from the Professional Developers Conference (PDC) (being held in Redmond next week), to the TechEd Europe event.

For any developers feeling that Tech*Ed has too much of an IT Pro focus, this should redress the balance!  Go to the sessions page and filter by Track = “PDC”.

Tech*Ed Berlin 2010 - Connecting With Fellow Attendees

Microsoft recently announced the Tech•Ed Europe 2010 Delegate Directory

So, let people know you're attending the event.  It's a chance to make connections people with similar skills and experience and expand your professional network.

If you have registered, then sign on, and sign up.  There are many people I meet at Tech*Ed, and it'd be nice to make contact before the show to organise a beer or 3!  Too often I bump into them on the Friday, sometimes even at the airport - too late then.

The directory is to be published in October, so sign up soon.

Note, if you didn't join the directory during registration you can still sign up by returning to the registration site and accessing the Returning Services Menu, Attendee Directory.

Tech∙Ed Europe 2010 - Sessions & Speakers Details

A while back the speakers and sessions were announced, if you've lost track of the details - then head over to the session builder, not only can you see what is on, you can build your own schedule.  A full list of sessions by track can be found here: TEE10 Technical Tracks

Don’t forget about the Pre-Conference Seminars on 8 Novemberas well!

Registration is still open for the event – so it's not too late to join 1000's of IT Pros and Developers to learn more about the latest and forthcoming technology from Microsoft.

Brad Anderson to Keynote Tech∙Ed Europe 2010

Brad's the Corporate Vice President, Management & Security Division  so I guess if you are a developer you might be worried about the keynote content this year, but to be honest - I expect Microsoft to take the Keynote far more seriously this year after last year's significant walkout during (the now departed for Nokia) Stephen Elop's.  Admittedly, timing the keynote for the end of the day whilst a good idea - was in this instance bad planning as that night was the celebration of the Mauerfall - 20 years since the Berlin Wall came down and a spectacular (but damp) domino fall of wall-like segments - you can see a bit of it here: Official Mauerfall site from 2009

And there's a mass of videos of the event here Google search results for Mauerfall 2009 videos

Tech*Ed Berlin November 2010

Even if you are going to Tech*Ed Berlin next month, you may have missed the Channel 9 videos about the planning and expectations for the week.

They are still available for viewing here Channel 9 Tech*Ed Videos

But it's far too late to win the free ticket!

Tech∙Ed Europe - free TechNet Professional Subscription

If you've not gone to Tech*Ed in recent years then you may not know that Microsoft have handed out a free TechNet Plus Subscription for a few years.  This year the freebie changes slightly as it's now called the Professional Subscription (but still costs about €275).

But the content is the same, and what's more, you still get the 2 complimentary support calls to Microsoft Support.  If you're a freelancer like me, these can be a great "get out of gaol free" cards.  As much as you like to think you can solve any problem, sometimes it's better to call, and (other than call charges) this is free. 

And of course you get access to reams of software to evaluate and try out (just don't run your business on it!).

You can see more about what the subscription offers at TechNet subscriptions