TechNet

Meeting Location:
Partners in Dental Care
2565 Forest Hill Ave SE Suite #200
Grand Rapids MI

(lower level - use side entrance
from parking lot on North side)

Time: 6:00p.m. to 8:30p.m.

Between now and October 22, 2009 the new Operating System will be rolled out to the different channels and then available for the consumer to purchase.
Come listen to Matt Hester, Microsoft TechNet Presenter, as he shares with us the latest offerings and availability on Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2.

Do you have questions? Of course you do!

Oh yeah - if the topics don't interest, you maybe some of the door prizes he will bring for our members will change your mind ... but you can say it was the educational material and networking!

Unless something comes up last minute, I plan on being there too to answer any questions people might have.

As seen here, take a short survey before June 30th 12pm PDT for a chance to win a copy of Windows 7 Ultimate.

The survey link is here.

The forums are open for business! You can check them out here. Feel free to ask questions and leave comments for fellow Microsoft MVPs, Microsoft employees and others.

If you see a user named "Aaron Tiensivu" on there, it is me.

(W7 Beta officially came out today too)

If all goes as planned, I'll be helping out moderate the Windows 7 forums on Technet. Hopefully, it might indirectly generate some Windows 7 content for this blog as time goes on. I have a long history with Windows 7 already, so I'll be putting it to the test shortly.

If you go to the Server 2008, SQL 2008, and Visual Studio 2008 launch event in your area, it looks like you will be getting some Not-For-Resale goodies.

1. Windows Server 2008 Enterprise RTM (64 and 32 bit) with a product key
2. Visual Studio 2008 Standard RTM
3. SQL Server 2008 CTP 5.0 with a voucher for a RTM copy when available

If you happen to go to the Grand Rapids, Michigan or Detroit, Michigan event, I should be in the "Ask the Experts" section with Microsoft, if everything goes as planned.

I have heard rumors of discounted TechNet Plus subscriptions too, so those are always nice too!

Details originally spotted here.

To purchase online, visit the TechNet Subscription Site.
Use promo code:TMSAM04 to get $100 off! That's almost 33% off.

Only lasts until 5/31/08 and only valid in the US.

Originally spotted here.

If my schedule allows, which I hope it does, I'll be down there to see the demonstrations on May 16th. It looks like they will be talking about wireless security, network intrusions, and Vista. Since I plan on putting out 802.11x authentication when we move into the new building, this seminar might help out with that process.

http://blogs.technet.com/matthewms/archive/2006/05/02/427068.aspx

To register for the event:
http://www.technetevents.com/mhester

If you have a TechNet Plus account, you'll already get the beta content, but if you want to test drive these new programs, especially Exchange 12, you can sign up at the TechNet Pre-Beta Release site.

From the site:

Lead evaluations for new technologies and understand their impact on your IT environment and their potential for your company by pre-registering here. You will be the first to be notified when the Windows Vista, Office "12," and Exchange "12" public beta releases become available. Additionally, you will receive updates and information regularly through the Microsoft TechNet Flash newsletter, from the time you pre-register until the launch of the product.

Link:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/beta/preregister.mspx

Looks like it will be mainly covering wireless security and Windows Defender aka what used to be Microsoft Anti-Spyware, which used to be Giant AntiSpyware. It has come a long way since then though, especially for Terminal Servers. Giant used to launch 3 processes per user session, ouch.

Register for it here:
http://msevents.microsoft.com/cui/EventDetail.aspx?culture=en-US&EventID=1032291929

aka

http://tinyurl.com/n6ydd

Go to all 4 Exchange 12 Preview TechNet Webcasts, and fill out an evaluation by 3/31/06, and you just might win a subscription.

Register for them here:

03-14-06 - Exchange 12 overview

03-15-06 - Giving the administrator more control

03-16-06 - Client access and web services

03-17-06 - Message security and active protection

I will be there as long as I'm not onsite somewhere for work or buried in phone calls. Of all the betas that I want to be involved in, this is the one. Due to Sharepoint 2001/2003 [WSS] and Exchange 2000/2003, I'm very familiar with the JET database backend and I'm curious to see how it has morphed in this version of Exchange. Besides, Monad is just plain cool for scripting junkies like me.

As time goes on, more and more people have come up to me to say that they were searching on the Internet (is it proper to capitalize Internet?) about a problem they were having and a link from a search engine brought them here. As strange as it sounds, the same thing has happened to me on accident.

I was looking up information on Quickbooks and Terminal Services and this website was one of the first links to show up. I don't know why but I found that to be tremendously cool. My little place on the web is making a difference to people.

It is also helping get my unusual last name out there. My grandfather came over at age 18 from Finland to Michigan. The rest is history. He was a communications marine in World War 2 over in Iwa Jima, among other things. Yeah, that Iwa Jima. I hope he is watching over us from up above and that I am doing our family name proud. I still think about him a lot and the fact that he never got to meet his great grandchildren.