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NCMR 2008: Bill Moyers Speech
Posted by Markus Langenfeld - 06/08/08 at 05:06:23 amThe National Conference for Media Reform is in full swing in Minneapolis this weekend. Unfortunately I didn’t make it down to the convention center to experience the discussions and workshops first hand but Free Press is uploading videos of the featured keynotes and speeches. Here is yesterday’s keynote from legendary journalist Bill Moyers –
INTEROP Las Vegas 2008, April 27th - May 2nd
Posted by Markus Langenfeld - 04/10/08 at 09:04:40 am
Times like these I wish I lived closer to the southwest so I could attend all of these big events. Interop Las Vegas is one of the largest business IT conferences in the country with over 250 sessions that cover everything from IT security to unified communications. The exhibition hall alone includes over 500 vendors including their major sponsors Microsoft, Cisco, Oracle, Dell, Intel, Novell, and Google among countless others. Also, this year there will be keynote speakers from all of the major players of the industry including Microsoft, Citrix, McAfee, Motorola and Cisco Systems.
If you find yourself in Vegas at the end of this month right now you can pick up a free expo pass on the Interop website, and by using priority code CMCLNL01 you can save 20% on a Conference Pass.
Thoughts and photos from a HERO.
Posted by Markus Langenfeld - 04/02/08 at 10:04:59 pmI’m not sure if everyone is aware of this but… I am a real live hero. It’s true, at the launch event I attended yesterday Microsoft told me that I along with all of the developers, geeks, and admins in the IT industry are heroes as long as we run their new software.
That new software is of course Microsoft Windows Server, SQL Server, and Visual Studio 2008. The all-new additions to the Microsoft arsenal offer endless new features and functions designed to make management, storage, and development easier for the rest of us. You can check out all of the details about the new titles and the launch events on the tour website.
This was my 4th Microsoft event, 3rd Launch event at the Minneapolis Convention Center (MCC). My first Microsoft conference was the Windows Server 2003 launch about 5 years ago and when I compare the photos from then and now not a lot has changed. There are more vendors at the partner pavilion and some of the workshops (or breakout sessions as Microsoft calls them) moved around but for the most part it’s the same event just with new banners and products to show off. Still, it’s a lot of fun.
Tuesday’s conference had a great keynote speech done by Gabriel Broner who is the General Manager of the Storage Solutions Division at Microsoft. Gabriel claims that he works in Redmond, WA but keeps a home in Edina, MN. I found that interesting because it is a ‘tour’ after all and the other speakers didn’t claim to be residing in Minnesota. I’m curious if Gabriel actually does have a home here or maybe he just looks up a city in each state he hits on the tour and claims he has houses there also. As if I didn’t already have limited free time on my hands now I’ll have to call random residents of Edina asking if they work for Microsoft just to get to the bottom of his shenanigans.
The massive convention center is a great venue for something of this size as each area can essentially have its own floor and each session has its own room. The Partner Pavilion where all of the sponsors had the booths set up was moved to the lower floor into an utterly gigantic warehouse like space. Totally underground, I didn’t even know it existed. In fact, MCC is such a large complex that while the Microsoft thing was going on they were also holding the Minnesota Sportsman’s Show along with another private conference simultaneously and there were still tons of unused space.
Having the opportunity to learn about the new technology is quite an experience but we all know the best part about trade shows is the free garb. I literally got a huge Dell tote bag full of pens, t-shirts, balls, Frisbees and magazines along with a flying monkey, USB charger, and a thing that untangles the cord on my phone. I also received a very nice Microsoft branded lunch bag but the crème de la crème, the big enchilada is of course the mind blowing $550+ worth of software just for attending. I received a kit that includes full copies of Windows Vista Ultimate SP1, Visual Studio 2008 Standard, and a year licensed copy (extended trial) of Server 2008 Enterprise. Now you know why I bother going to these things.
Despite snapping pictures with a camera being frowned upon I did manage to take a few more pictures while I was down there, you can see them all by Clicking Here.
Earth Hour 2008: Join a global movement in energy conservation.
Posted by Markus Langenfeld - 03/29/08 at 11:03:17 amThe above video pretty much explains what Earth Hour is all about. Tonight, massive cities and huge corporations all around the world will participate in a unified effort to raise awareness about our global needs. It doesn’t stop there - You too can take action by getting involved with the Earth Hour movement or just simply by turning off lights, computers and appliances tonight at 8PM for a mere 60 minutes.
Jon Lee blogged about Earth Hour earlier today which is how I learned about it, he points out how even technology companies like Google are raising awareness for this event.
You too can easily do your part by spreading the word to family and friends. Turn off the lights tonight at 8PM.
NCMR 2008 in Minneapolis, MN June 6-8th
Posted by Markus Langenfeld - 03/26/08 at 06:03:10 pmThe National Conference for Media Reform (NCMR) is coming to Minneapolis, Minnesota this June 6th through 8th. NCMR is put together by FreePress.net which is the same organization that coordinates the efforts behind the SavetheInternet.com Coalition for Network Neutrality. NCMR is an event for everyone from concerned citizens and activists to educators and journalists who are calling for change in our nation’s media system.
The people who know me personally should know that I’m a firm believer in media reform and with NCMR in Minnesota this year I just might drop the cash for registration. Passes aren’t cheap but right now they are offering early bird discounts until the end of March, scholarship opportunities are also available for those who qualify.
Want to learn more? Check out the video clip and PSA posted below or visit the NCMR website here.
Looks like I’ll be going after all.
Posted by Markus Langenfeld - 03/25/08 at 08:03:13 pm
I recently blogged about the Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Launch Tour and the limited seating the events have this year. I was bummed that it was showing all of the spots as taken or ‘sold out’ for Minneapolis on the tour website and I didn’t think I’d be attending this event, I guess I thought wrong. I randomly checked the website today and to my surprise I had the ability to register for my city but only for a select number of tracks. The track system is essentially the set of workshops and breakout sessions that the attendee prefers but if you manage to get into the event in the first place you’re really free to attend any of the workshops you want. I immediately filled out my registration as a partner and I will be attending the launch event a week from today at the Minneapolis Convention Center.
Aside from the Keynote and loitering in the sponsors pavilion some of the workshops I hope to sit in on include – ‘What’s new in Windows Server 2008‘, ‘Reach End-Users with Next Generation Web Applications’ and ‘Securing your IT Infrastructure with Windows Server 2008’. I’ll try to take some pictures while I’m down there and I’m sure I’ll have plenty to write about.
Windows Server 2008: “HEROES Happen {here}”
Posted by Markus Langenfeld - 02/27/08 at 09:02:55 pmHEROES! not just IT professionals. Today Microsoft officially launched the new server operating system along with their Visual Studio and SQL Server 2008 products.
After every big launch there’s always a national tour that follows and I normally attend the tours when they hit Minneapolis, but this year may be a different story. It appears they are now starting to limit online pre-registrations and Minneapolis along with many other big cities are already sold out. They haven’t done this in the past with the Vista or Server 2003 launch events but I guess I can understand why it’s needed; the Vista launch I attended last year was packed and apparently they are giving out full copies of the new software to the limited number of attendees (which they have done in the past, but now they’re advertising it).
The big theme this year is brackets, {like this}. Actually the catchy title “Heroes happen here.” caught me off guard, I didn’t know if it was the official launch tour or a private seminar/bootcamp like the TS2 Partner events. The event website has all of the details about the different workshops and things they will have going on, although most of the content requires you to have the Microsoft Silverlight plug-in which they almost force you to download throughout the website.
Anyway, almost every Microsoft event I’ve gone to I have received $100’s worth in software and goodies completely free. That in addition to the information, seminars, and workshops they offer definitely makes it worth every bit of your time. I just might take my chances waiting in line at the door to get in this year but if you want to guarantee yourself a spot there are still many cities with open registration. Check it out.
My thoughts on the MacWorld announcements.
Posted by Markus Langenfeld - 01/16/08 at 11:01:10 am
MacWorld may not be over just yet but the announcements have been made. The big enchilada of course being the new ultra-portable Apple MacBook Air, along with a couple other new products such as Apple TV 2.0 and Time Capsule. ArsTechnica has a full list of Apple’s new innovations.
To be honest, I’m not real impressed… Maybe it was because everyone knew the Air was going to be released and it wasn’t much of a surprise, or maybe it was simply a lack of ‘wow’, I mean there wasn’t a “One more thing” this year. Maybe I’m just not an Apple fanboy and it takes more than a couple over-hyped products to get me interested.
I have a theory for the whole “Something’s in the Air” bit, I’m thinking that some marketing guy said it at some meeting and they thought it was really catchy so the theme for the next conference needed to have that line. So they had to design a product that went with it and thus the MacBook Air was born. I don’t know how else the name could have been hatched. If you think about it, it doesn’t make a lot of sense. Is it lighter than Air? It takes up less space allowing for more air to reside in its surroundings?
The MacBook Air is a sleek little machine, the specs are decent but they don’t nearly justify the $1799 base price especially with a lack of optical drive (you can get an ugly external for just $100 more!), removable battery, and Ethernet port which is a deal breaker for me. Also, the Air is almost too thin, you can actually see the LCD screen flex as they close it in the commercial. I shouldn’t have to risk destroying my $2000+ laptop just from closing the screen; obviously their precious recycling friendly aluminum isn’t good enough. Also, who the hell is going to recycle their ridiculously expensive computer for the 19 cents a recycler will fork over for the metal anytime in the remotely distant future? Jobs kept advertising how eco friendly the computer is because it’s made of this highly desired aluminum as if the laptop isn’t designed to be sold or passed down when it’s no-longer used or obsolete, it’s supposed to be liquefied by the dirty recycling guy down the street for a dollar.
The MacBook doesn’t have an optical drive which means if you don’t spring for the $100 external drive you’re out of luck… But wait, Jobs has another innovation to solve this, here’s what he said –
You’ll see in the finder called Remote Disc — it will show you all the Macs and PCs that have some special software on them, and you can pick one of those machines and ask to borrow its optical drive…
…Once they’ve accepted your request you can see what’s on their optical drive — a PC can read a Mac disc and send it wirelessly over to your MBA and it’s just as if you had a local optical drive. It’s amazing” *Big applause*
Sharing optical drives over a network, AMAZING! So amazing that Windows (as with other operating systems I’m sure) have had this ability for a decade or more, no special software required.
I’ll stop giving apple a hard time though, there were a couple cool announcements this year right? The iPod Touch update which give’s owners all of the additional applications that come standard with the iPhone, although I’m somewhat disappointed that it costs an additional $20.00. The Time Capsule is neat; it’s essentially a proprietary NAS device that allows you to easily back up your Mac’s. The keyword of course is proprietary, it’s unclear if it could have the same functionality for PC’s or if you’re able to use it as a true NAS with file sharing abilities. There was the big iTunes announcement which was also expected thanks to all of the apple rumor websites, the ability to rent movies for your PC, iPod, and Apple TV device. They will be offering some of the rentals in High-Definition which is awesome but they are a bit overpriced with the HD new releases starting at $4.99.
That is about it really, nothing else really worth rambling on about. It’s funny because Apple has had a tendency to steal CES’s thunder in the past but I’m glad that definitely wasn’t the case this year.
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