Getting Ready for MIX09

Our MIX09 conference in Las Vegas is only one week away, and things are heating up! We’ve finalized the keynote content, published all of our session titles and abstracts (well, except for a handful we’ll announce at the event), locked-down the on-stage customers and demos, and handed off the bits for replication. It’s a flurry of activity, and we’re all very excited!

I thought I’d take a moment to highlight a few things that should help you plan for MIX09, even if you can’t join us in-person:

• The session browser was upgraded today, and you can now create your own personal schedule. First, look for the [SIGN IN] link just below the session grid. Login with the same username and password that you used to register for MIX09, then click the green “plus” symbol next to each session that you’d like to add to your schedule. You can quickly filter sessions by clicking a tag in the left column (like Azure, ASP.NET, or Expression). The grid will display your selected sessions in green, and you can use the Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday links to change your view. Note that at MIX09, you can attend any session you’d like, and by adding sessions to your own personal schedule, you are not “reserving” a seat. Don’t miss the .ics or Printable Schedule links…they’re pretty handy too.
• If you’re a Twitter user, be sure to follow MIX09 for little bits of information before, during, and after the event (and Anyware, if you dare listen to me). If you want to participate in the conversation, add the #mix09 hashtag to anything you tweet. To see what people are tweeting, you can search on the #mix09 hashtag, or download any number of Twitter applications. There are a lot of apps out there, but since I live in Outlook all day, I personally use OutTwit. Oh…I almost forgot…there’s a MIX09 Tweetup event on Facebook too.
• As we’ve done for MIX06, MIX07, MIX08 and PDC2008, all MIX09 presentations will be recorded and published on the internet for free, for anyone within 24 hours after the session is complete. This makes it much easier to pick from two conflicting sessions that share the same time slot, knowing that you can download and watch the missed presentation at your convenience. We’ll also post the slide decks and any sample code that the speaker provides, though these don’t always show up within 24 hours. Watch the MIX09 site for details.
• The MIX09 event site is your best friend. During the show, all keynotes will be streamed live on the home page. So, if you can’t join us in Vegas, carve out some time, sit back, and tune-in. And if the Twitter feed isn’t providing enough information, subscribe to our MIX09 headlines RSS feed for even more news. Bring a snorkel.
• Friend, colleague, compatriot, Mastodon-worshipper, and MIX Online curator, Thomas Lewis, has written The Devil’s Field Guide to MIX09. Read this if you want to be “in the know.” Plus, he mentions me…isn’t that enough? :-)
• After you’ve scheduled your favorite sessions, don’t forget to add these must-attend events to your calendar:
  • The Wednesday night attendee party at TAO. Let’s hope for warm weather for TAO Beach!
  • The very special screening of Gary Hustwit’s new film, Objectified , on Thursday night…just days after its world premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival. By the way, Gary will be on-hand for Q&A after the screening.
  • Immediately following the Objectified screening, stick around for Show Off, and see what cool stuff your peers have been working on. Check out the MIX08 Show Off winners, and when you’re done, go buy Crayon Physics Deluxe, last year’s winner. It’s addictive.
• Last, but not least, if you want to be a true MIX09 geek, watch the most recent Countdown to MIX09 episodes with Jennifer and me. They’re 10-minutes in length, so you don’t have to endure us for too long. :-)
  • Countdown to MIX09: Internet Explorer 8 Says Hello World
  • Countdown to MIX09: Design Is the New Black
  • Countdown to MIX09: MIXAPALOOZA!
  • Countdown to MIX09: Show Off shows off your talent and smarts!
  • Countdown to MIX09: Twitter, Objectified and ShowOff, Oh My!
  • Countdown to MIX09: The Headless Workshops
  • Countdown to MIX09: Discovery with Scrutiny, Obesity and Stella!
  • Countdown to MIX09: Gotta get me some of that content!

For those of you who are attending MIX09, if you see me wandering the halls, stop me and say “hi.” I love meeting my blog readers!

Have a safe trip, and I’ll see you in Vegas!

Comments

• Anonymous
  March 09, 2009
  The time period between the RTM and launch of IE8 shows the red tape MS is stuck in. You could've always released it to the download center early and still demoed IE8 at MIX.

• Anonymous
  March 10, 2009
  PingBack from http://www.alvinashcraft.com/2009/03/10/dew-drop-march-10-2009/

• Anonymous
  March 10, 2009
  Great summary of the events.  I'm having one of those days where next thing we all know we're going to be wondering the halls of the Venetian again.  Good Times!