Developer launch of Vista and Office in the UK – Register now
As I’ve hinted previously, we’re planning a developer launch event in the UK for 19th and 20th January 2007. I’m now able to provide some additional details including the registration link: http://www.microsoft.com/uk/launch2007/dev/default.mspx
There are a few things worth bearing in mind about this event:
· We’re really pushing hard to make it work online as well as a physical event. To this end, we’re broadcasting the keynote live and are prerecording all of the technical sessions and putting the recordings up on the site at the same time they’re delivered here. The recordings are being made to give you the impression you’re in the audience watching, so you should get a really good experience even if you can’t make the physical event
- We’re including a number of real customers on stage with us (and of course, these will be in the pre-recordings online as well). These are developers from customers who have built solutions using the technology we’re talking about, so that they can share some of those experiences with you and help illuminate the technical content you’ll be receiving
- The keynote will be delivered by none other than Sanjay Parthasarathy. He’s the most senior Developer & Platform person at Microsoft, based in Redmond (and my ultimate boss, so my neck’s on the line if this all goes wrong). He’s incredibly well placed to position these products to developers and provide the top-level view of what we’re trying to do
- Ah and you may have noticed that 20th January 2007 is a Saturday. What’s that all about? Well, we’re really keen to allow you to get your hands on these products as developers. So we’re building a huge room full of machines and inviting you to come along and write some code with us. We’ll brief you on an assignment then give you help to write the code in a two hour period, making sure that you get real experience of the platforms. And we’ll have some fun too, seeing as it’s a Saturday.
There’s plenty more to talk about but hopefully that gives you a flavour. This will be a significant launch event for us and if you have even a passing interest in this technology and attend just one event this year – it’s the one to go for. We’re pulling out the stops for this one.
UPDATE: People have asked me about registering for the online event, as the link posted above is only for the "physical" event. You don't need to pre-register for the online event, just visit that same link on 19th January and you'll be directed to the sessions etc. We will ask you to enter some info about yourself when you do this, but nothing too onerous.
Comments
Anonymous
December 08, 2006
so how do we guarantee free stuff if we can't register online until the actula day?Anonymous
December 08, 2006
Hi, To be clear: we're not guaranteeing free copies of software for everyone. We plan to give away 1000 copies of Windows Vista and 1000 copies of 2007 Office system, which means only 1000 people will receive these. And it's still an intention at the moment(which is why I'm saying "We plan to.."), not yet confirmed. So how do we decide who gets them? You need to actually take part in the event rather than just registering for it, which is why we don't need a registration process for the online event. We're still working out how this piece (the "taking part") will operate, but it will probably involve you being required to watch some or all of the webcasts for either Windows Vista or Office. HTH Ian.Anonymous
December 08, 2006
got ya cheers. thing is...if i sit through everything you ask, i might still not get anything at the end of it :(Anonymous
December 08, 2006
Yeah that's possible. But hopefully you'll gain something by taking part even if it isn't a copy of the product :-) And even more "hopefully" you will get a copy though. 1000 copies is quite a lot, so the odds aren't too bad.Anonymous
December 08, 2006
Hello Ian, just registered for the event. Hopefully I'll see you there? I was hoping to do a bit of a vodcast whilst there, possibly hold an interview with you?Anonymous
December 08, 2006
Hi Max, sounds like a good idea, more than happy to talk to you on the day. See you there!Anonymous
December 08, 2006
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December 08, 2006
What is the dress code for the day?Anonymous
December 08, 2006
Dress code? Pretty relaxed, jeans are fine.Anonymous
December 09, 2006
This sounds good :-) With regards to "free stuff", is there going to be free stuff at the physical event? If we would like to be in with a chance of getting a copy of Vista, should we stay at home and hope to be one of the 1000, or would we stand a better chance at Reading?Anonymous
December 10, 2006
how many people do you estimate will take part in the online event? haven't heard a lot about this event elsewhere.Anonymous
December 10, 2006
Matt - the plan is to give away some stuff at the actual physical event, although we can't give a definitive answer about what exactly at the moment. Why? There are legal and commercial issues to consider and that process is still happening. However rest assured that if you come to the physical event you're unlikely to be short-changed in terms of things we give to you on the day. My advice: if you can get to Thames Valley Park on the 19th or 20th of Jan then register now as places will go quickly and join us on the day. If you can't, and there are plenty of people who can't due to work, distance, other commitments - then join us online on the day for a near identical experience.Anonymous
December 10, 2006
F, We don't know for sure how many people will take part online but it will be in the thousands. We're likely to be ramping up the "noise level" about the event - both physical and online - much more over the coming weeks and into January.Anonymous
December 11, 2006
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December 12, 2006
Hi Ian, I'm planning on attending the launch event but I'm simply a student, not so much a developer. As I'm not really a developer as such I'm probably not going to attend the 2nd day, but do you think I should/it would be worth it? JonAnonymous
December 12, 2006
Hi Jon, It depends what you need to achieve. Day 1 is about technical content and will assume you know something about development. If you don't, you'll struggle with some of it. Day 2 puts the content into practice, however you won't be left to your own devices. You'll be working in teams of two so you'll have someone to bounce ideas off, and there will be plenty of help and guidance. It's a really good way to make sense of what you learned on day 1 - there's nothing quite like getting your hands dirty when it comes to learning things. So should you attend both days? There's no clear answer that's right for everyone, but if can cope with the content provided on day 1 you should be able to write the code on day 2, and in many respects it will give you a more rounded experience if you take part in both days.Anonymous
December 14, 2006
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December 14, 2006
UncleBuck, You'll be ok for day 1, but based on your description day 2 might not be. However day 2 is a good opportunity to say "yeah I've done some .NET Framework 3 / Office development" when those pesky team members of yours accuse you of having lost touch with what development is really all about :-) If you've got a place secured at day 1 I'd hang on to it and come along, there's a long wait list. And you won't be disappointed. But if you do decide not to come please let me know and we'll release your place to one of the people on the waitlist. Thanks for your comments and in summary yes this is a developer event and expect to see plenty of coding / demos in the sessions. The only part of the whole event (both days) that won't contain coding is the keynote on the 19th - that session will give you an overview and context of the two products from a developer perspective. And we're broadcast that live online of course (9.15am to 10.15am on Fri 19th Jan).Anonymous
December 17, 2006
Well myself a Microsoft Student Partner and 4 of my friends from the University of Kent registered for the first day before we went to the TechNet Launch of Windows Vista in Reading, but unfortunately only 2/5 of us have managed to secure a place for both the morning and afternoon sessions of the second day! Which is a shame really as while we were in Reading for the TechNet Windows Vista Launch that day, in the evening/night we went to check out some Hotels/Clubs/Bars etc in the hope of all staying the night of the second day that the other 3 would register for when we got back! :) But yep by the time the other had logged on to register had they noticed that they would now be on the waiting list :( I guess at least we all got a place into the first day, and I guess we could always stay the night in Reading anyway, guess we shall have to think about that though. ;)Anonymous
December 17, 2006
Hi Darren - yes the event filled incredibly fast. In fact it's been more like a rock concert booking than a developer event, the interest level has been amazing. Which is great news in many respects, but does mean that a number of people have not been able to get to attend the physical event. Which is why we're doing the online version of course, although I realise in your case having some people physically here and some online is not ideal, you could both be coding the solution at the same time, but in different locations. Anyhow, we will get some cancellations so if you're on the wait list there is a chance of you getting in, I'll keep fingers crossed for you. Rgds Ian.Anonymous
December 21, 2006
Thanks Ian, looking forward to seeing if you really look like your MSDN caricature! :)Anonymous
December 21, 2006
That caricature is seriously scary. That's all I'll say.