And With That, She's Geeky Bay Area #4 Ends...

I had a fabulous time at She's Geeky again this year.  Just like last year in Mountain View, it was a great chance to experience the various kinds of geekiness that bringing over 150 women together in a room generates. I hosted a small session about Systems Administration on the last day and spent the rest of the conference enjoying sessions on things like cyber identity issues, open source standards creation, "being present" while juggling new mobile technologies and wine tasting.  (Hey, there are many kinds of geekdoms!)

The next She's Geeky will be held in Washington DC, so if you or someone you know is in the area (and happens to be a geeky woman), I totally recommend attending at least one of the days.  Personally I go to all of them, since it's impossible to know ahead of time what each day will bring!

I've got some great ideas for some upcoming posts based on some of the things the event got me thinking about more, so stay tuned.  Meanwhile, don't forget about the Pacific IT Professionals meeting tomorrow evening. Be sure to RSVP if you are planning to attend.

Finally in other news, today is the day that IANA has handed out it's last block of IPv4 address.  Check out a quick post over at www.Howfunky.com that explains more. 

Get What You Need from TechEd 2011

If you are planning on attending TechEd 2011 in Atlanta this May, don't wait until the schedule is set to wonder if there will be sessions that strike your fancy.  Take a few minutes to weigh in with the Session Preference Survey.

I've attended TechEd for several years now and really enjoy the sessions and opportunities to connect with other systems administrators. It's great to hear about other people's experiences with Microsoft technologies and software. Sometimes there is so much information, I have trouble keeping up with the events schedule!

Can't decide if you want to go or need to convince your boss?  Check out the rest of the TechEd website for what to expect and some resources for making your case.   Maybe I'll see you there!

There's Still Time to Win a Copy of Windows 7

If you are looking for a way to get your hands on a copy of Windows 7 Ultimate and you have a good story about how Windows 7 helped save your company money, solve a problem or somehow made your IT day, you have until the end of January to submit the story to Microsoft and win!

Microsoft will be giving away 10 copies of Windows 7 Ultimate to the 10 "Best Windows Stories".  If you've got a great story, check out the contest rules and fire up your literary side.  The contest ends at 11:59pm on January 31st.

PacITPros Takes on Los Angeles

The Pacific IT Professionals is pleased to be able to host "in-person" meetings in the greater Los Angeles area starting January 25, 2011. Jessica DeVita from UberGeekGirl and Joy Beland have generously donated their time and energy to make a meeting happen. Joy and Jessica will be leading up the group but they would love to have additional help if you have time and interest.

The kick-off meeting will be held at 6:30pm at the QuickStart training facility in El Segundo and expect to talk some tech with the meeting sponsor, StorageCraft.  Also, Chris Henley with Microsoft will be presenting on general Microsoft technologies and what you gain by using them. Finally, Harold Wong with Microsoft will be presenting on Exchange.  So don't miss out on this great way to start of 2011!

Please keep in mind that the day of the week and the location may change as the group grows and becomes more established.  Meetings are free and open to any IT professional, just join  PacITPros the group (also free) to get meeting notices and RSVP information.

Need A Second Shot?

Microsoft Learning and Prometric have brought back the "Second Shot" offer until June 30, 2011.  Sign up for an exam and pay 15% of the regular exam price in addition and you can re-take your exam if you don't pass it the first time.

Personally, I'd rather have less Second Shot offers and have the second shot be free, instead of the 15% surcharge for the off chance I don't pass.  Of course if you are serious about getting some exams under your belt, you might want to consider the certification packs - up to 20% off and the second shot is free for packs of 2-5 exams.

Online Event: HP Experts Day on January 11th

On January 11th, HP Forums will be hosting an "Experts Day" to answer questions about printers, all in ones, notebooks and desktops.  If you are a home or business user of HP products, this might be a good opportunity to check out the HP online forums and get the answers you need.   Not only will HP experts be monitoring the boards, but Microsoft MVPs as well.

The event will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 11^th  from 12:00 pm to Wednesday, Jan 12^th 12:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time. 

New Year = Second Year Microsoft MVP!

I’m excited to share that I’ve been awarded the Microsoft MVP award for the second year. 2011 is certainly starting out with a bang and I’m honored to spend another year as part of this great group of technical folks who are involved in supporting the community.

I’m looking forward to another great few days at the MVP Summit in February, catching up with the likes of Emily Freet, Stephen Rose and Jake Gray from Microsoft and some of my fellow MVPs!