Last year Tech Ed sold out in three weeks.  This year more than a month has past since we opened Tech Ed sales and we still have tickets available – it must be a consequence of the current economic climate…

Anyway, this is just a reminder that if you haven’t bought tickets, there are still tickets available, so get yours today.

In the SQL Track, we will have some excellent speakers here this year, which I’ll reveal more about in due time.  Rest assured Tech Ed will be well worth it this year!

*UPDATE* We’ve now got seven Canon IXUS 100 digital cameras to give away if you register before July 31.  Full details here.

Hey look – another user group!

This time its focused on Silverlight and it looks like it is more technically oriented.  The blurb:

The Wellington Silverlight Usergroup is brand spanking new, with the wrapping paper still on.

It was created specifically to quickly disseminate to the Wellington area's developers and designers the knowledge necessary to build engaging web and RIA applications, in the hottest and fastest growing technology on the web today. We have the luck of having several very knowledgeable presenters willing to present over the coming months, starting with Andrew Tokeley, with many more to follow, covering front-end, backend, design, and everything in between.

The first evening will be a presentation on Silverlight accessibility.  The abstract for Andrew’s  presentation follows:

Much has been written about how to make traditional, HTML based, web sites accessible to users of all abilities. There are published guidelines, validation tools and an abundance of online resources. However, the increasing popularity of Rich Internet Applications (RIA), like Silverlight, raises interesting questions about how to achieve the same levels of accessibility.
We'll take a close look at using Silverlight under the latest version of the New Zealand e-Government Web Guidelines (www.e.govt.nz/standards/web-guidelines) and discuss strategies for maintaining compliance while still leveraging the power of Silverlight. You’ll even discover that, in some cases, Silverlight can make your sites more accessible than is possible with just HTML and CSS.
Plenty of demos - including a look at the recently launched www.buttercupreader.net application, specifically built for the blind and partially sighted

Looks like fun.  The first event is 6pm Wednesday, July 1 at Xero, Level 1, 98 Customhouse Quay, Wellington.  RSVP to skysigal (at) xact-solutions.com.

Jack Welch is well known as the former CEO of General Electric.  I remember years ago listening to the audible version of his book “Jack” and enjoyed hearing about the success he had at GE and the way he did things.

Jack and his wife Suzy (former Editor of Harvard Business Review) are now in a reality show featuring online which has been made by the creators of “The Office”.  This is a Microsoft sponsored show, which is now freely available online.

The first episode is up with a few more to come.  If you are a business junkie, watch the first 20 minute episode.  It follows the story of Jack and Suzy’s discussion with Connect – a car sharing company started by Hertz in the US.  I really enjoyed the strategic business thinking in this episode and I’m looking forward to more.

SQL Server 2008 has some cool new features including:

• New spatial features such as routing
• Master data services
• Extended self service BI capabilities

As well as reducing still further the management overhead and enhancing the core product even further.

If you are itching to get your hands on a copy, I suggest you sign up here to be notified when SQL Server 2008 R2 hits the first CTP milestone.  Let me know how you go – I’m keen to hear your feedback.

In a couple of weeks I’ll be attending the New Zealand Community SharePoint conference.  While community might not say much, the calibre of people who are coming from around the world to speak at this conference is top notch.

So if you are considering SharePoint or have SharePoint, this conference will help you get your head around issues you are either going to encounter or already facing.  The topics at the conference cover everything from design and architecture through to taxonomy and information management.

The cost is $500 (discounts available), but given the people who are speaking and the airfares, accommodation and other costs they’ll incur, this is excellent value for money for two days of full on conference. Notable speakers include Adam Cogan, Debbie Ireland, Erica Toelle, Ian Morrish, Joel Oleson, and many more.

I’ll be there at the Microsoft stand.  If you are interested in talking about SharePoint (good or bad), I’m keen to hear about it.

Full details and registration is available from http://www.sharepointconference.co.nz   See you there!