Partner Otaku

If you can’t attend in person, this is great opportunity to get some quality content. 

Check out the event here: http://vepexp.microsoft.com/thenewefficiency

Agenda

Windows 7 Track

9:00-9:45am      Taking Your Application to the Next Level with Windows® 7

9:45-9:55am       Break

9:55-10:40am     Beyond Human Interaction with Windows 7 Sensor and Location    

10:40-10:50am   Break

10:50-11:35am   Building the Next Generation User-Interface with
                            Multitouch Ribbon on Windows 7

11:35-1:15pm    Break

1:15-2:00pm      Windows 7 for the Optimized Desktop

2:00-2:10pm      Break

2:10-2:55pm      Windows 7: Make People Productive Anywhere

2:55-3:05pm      Break

3:05-3:50pm      Windows 7: Enhanced Security and Control

3:50-4:00pm      Break

4:00-4:45pm      Windows 7: Deployment Enhancements

Windows Server 2008 R2 Track

9:00-9:45am      What Developers Should Know About Windows Server 2008 R2

9:45-9:55am      Break

9:55-10:40am    Windows Server 2008 R2: Develop with New 
                           Parallel Computing Technologies

10:40-10:50am  Break

10:50-11:35am  Windows Server 2008 R2: Web and Enterprise Solutions

11:35-1:15pm   Break

1:15-2:00pm     What’s in Windows Server 2008 R2 for IT Administrators:
                          A Technical Overview Part 1

2:00-2:10pm    Break

2:10-2:55pm    What’s in Windows Server 2008 R2 for IT Administrators:
                         A Technical Overview Part 2

2:55-3:05pm    Break

3:05-3:50pm    Windows Server 2008 R2: New Server Deployment & Migration

3:50-4:00pm    Break

4:00-4:45pm    Windows Server 2008 R2 Virtualization Technologies–
                         Saving IT Costs

Exchange 2010 Track

1:15-2:00pm    Introducing Microsoft Exchange Server 2010

2:00-2:10pm    Break

2:10-2:55pm    Voice Mail with Unified Messaging in Microsoft Exchange 2010

2:55-3:05pm    Break

3:05-3:50pm    Exchange 2010 High Availability and Storage

3:50-4:00pm    Break

4:00-4:45pm    Exchange 2010 Archiving and Retention

Just a reminder if you aren’t already aware.  On July 1, 2009, the Beta will start to reboot every 2 hours and expire August 1, 2009.  You need to move to the Release Candidate fast. 

The RC download program closes August 15th. After that, you won’t be able to get the download, but you can still install the RC and get a key if you need one. (To get a key, just go to the Downloads page and follow the instructions.)

If you’re using the Windows 7 Release Candidate, we hope you like what you see. Let us know — go to http://input.microsoft.com and tell us what you think. You’ll be able to give feedback on various aspects of the operating system.

I like the new login screen in the RC1 build of Win7, but when I read this article by Rafael Rivera, I thought it would be nice to customize mine as well.  Below you can see Rafael’s login screen – which looks really nice.  

The problem that I encountered was that the logon text is often very light and difficult to read. I searched online and couldn’t find anything to either change the font or add formatting.  

I read this article in Life hacker today and found that this hack helps in readability. Not perfect, but better than the default text as you can see below.

Today we released the Windows 7 RC Training Kit for Developers as part of our ongoing effort to enrich existing content and provide additional valuable content for the developer community. This version of the training kit includes 10 presentations and 8 Hand-On-Labs, covering most of the Windows 7 light-up features as well as application compatibility topics.

If you haven’t seen the news, Win7 will ship in the fall.  I’ve been using Win7 after PDC and each major milestone has seen improvements in both user experience and stability. Most of my friends outside of work, use either Vista or XP and often ask me why should upgrade to Win7.  I usually

discuss features that would be useful to how they use their computers. It’s often met with  “Ok…” Clearly it’s hard to visualize a new or improved feature. However, whenever they use Win7 they are deeply impressed with it’s performance and usability.  It’s like night and day. I can’t imagine having to go back to Vista. 

If you’ve been considering a netbook and heard that Win7 Basic would impose a 3 applications limit, well thankfully that decision was changed.

Quick note, the first link is still being built out, if you wish to register go the “Register here” link. 

Location – www.WindowsPartnerReadinessDay.com

Time – 8:00-2:45pm (Pacific Standard Time)

Registration – The event is FREE, Register here and be notified the day prior with the link to the live feed of the event.

At this event you will have the opportunity to learn about Windows 7, the next-generation operating system from Microsoft. Online attendees can take advantage of the readiness and marketing tools made available specifically for partners to help prepare for the Windows 7 business opportunity. 

Windows 7 Partner Readiness Day will provide the resources you need to become a Windows 7 expert and help better prepare you for customer conversations. Microsoft executives and product experts will be on hand to answer all your questions and to provide you with a look at the following Microsoft product strategies:

• Industry trends and how Windows 7 will affect the marketplace 
• The business opportunities that Windows 7 brings for partners
• An overview of the key steps and programs to get ready for Windows 7

The ISV track includes information on the Windows 7 Compatibility Tool and the Windows 7 Logo Program.

Microsoft is hosting a series of half day, complimentary Windows 7 application compatibility labs across the US. The purpose of these labs is to assist ISVs in ensuring their applications will run on Windows 7 and to provide feedback to the Windows product group as issues arise.

Here are the cities:

Chicago, IL - April 20-24
Irvine, CA – April 27-May 1
Dallas, TX – May 4- May 8
Waltham, MA – May 11-15
Ney York, NY – May 18-22
Atlanta, GA – May 25-29
Silicon Valley, CA - June 1-5
Reston, VA – June 8-12

To register for the lab, see http://www.msregistration.com/Win7USA. All registrations are available at the same Website. You can select morning or afternoon session for your location.

Registrations will be on a first-come first-served basis