Upcoming Events... Cool Stuff, In Person!

Are you in the Portland area?  Are you a SharePoint fan?  A favorite MVP of mine, Zubair Alexander will be presenting at SharePointlanda 2015 this coming Saturday (Nov 14th).  You can still join him!

Not into SharePoint? Are you thinking about Windows 10 for your enterprise instead?  I've got you covered for that too...  My fellow Tech Evangelists are hitting a bunch of cities across the US over the next several weeks.  Boston, Atlanta, Philly, Dallas, to name just a few.  Learn more at Ignite Your Business.

And for you folks who are stuck in the office, check out Part 7 of Blain Barton's "To The Cloud" series! Blain Barton welcomes Microsoft MVP Adnan Cartwright to the show as they discuss the inner workings of Server Manager in Windows Server 2012 R2 and how you can manage roles and features in the cloud.

• [10:04] DEMO: Introduction to Server Manager

If you're interested in learning more about the products or solutions discussed in this episode, click on any of the below links for free, in-depth information:

Websites & Blogs:

• Blain Barton's Blog
• Florida IT Server Group
• Integrity Solutions
• Check out the book! "Setting up your business in the cloud"

Videos:

• (Part 1) To the Cloud! What the Cloud can do for your Business
• (Part 2) To the Cloud! Getting Started with Office 365
• (Part 3) To the Cloud! Storing your files in the cloud with OneDrive for Business
• (Part 4) To the Cloud! Keeping track of customers with Microsoft Dynamics CRM
• (Part 5) To the Cloud! Managing Devices in the Cloud with Microsoft Intune
• (Part 6) To the Cloud! Building and Running Servers without the Hardware

It's Nearly August... Don't Ask Me How That Happened

I don't know where the summer has gone!  With vacations, keeping busy at work and all those things we love about managing our lives and families... I just can't believe August is approaching!

Of course, Windows 10 is coming!  I've got a couple devices just waiting for July 29th, including my parents machines... so I'll be enjoying some time helping them get their computers upgraded.  

However, once August rolls around, there are other things to do, so it's time to get out from behind the computers and check out some upcoming events.

First off, for you Seattle folks, SITPUG will be having their August 5th meeting from 6:00 to 8:00pm in Bellevue.  Visit www.SITPUG.com for more information.

If you are in Boston, Portland and Denver, be sure to check out the upcoming Angelbeat events in those areas.  My Tech Evangelist colleagues and I have been presenting at those events as we can and they are a great way to get a quick update on tech topics.  The Boston and Denver events will even be having special extended sessions on Azure.

Ready for Windows as a Service?

If you are still trying to get your head around how managing and updating Windows 10 will be different than how it's been done in the past, mark your calendar for July 16th.  Simon May will be presenting "Preparing Your Enterprise for Windows 10 as a Service" live, from 9am to 1pm.

Go on and register... you know you want to!

Windows 10 Lands July 29th

Are you ready?  There has been a lot of information flying around about Windows 10 and I have to admit, I'm looking forward to seeing it officially released.  With the Windows Insider program and personally getting to use early releases internally at Microsoft, I almost feel like July 29th will be anti-climatic for a lot of people.

But then over the weekend I had a conversation with my father about the "notification" for Windows 10 in his task bar, a discussion about if he and my mother will want Windows 10 for their computers and the realization that part of my summer vacation to visit them will involve showing them Windows 10 and helping them decide if the upgrade is right for them.  So not every is on the cutting edge!

For a great overview of what's to come with Windows 10 for Enterprise, check out this overview video from Ignite. If you want to dig down into the changes we are making when it comes to cyber-threats, watch this one, too.

For those of you who dislike that little notification thingy or need it removed for some reason, it's delivered via KB33035583 and you can find lots of instructions on how to remove that on the 'net, like this.

If you aren't ready for Windows 10 yet, you can stay on your existing operating system if it's still supported and mark your calendar for these important dates:

• 4/11/2017 - Extended support ends for Windows Vista
• 1/09/2018 - Mainstream support ends for Windows 8.1
• 1/14/2020 - Extended support ends for Windows 7 SP1
• 1/10/2023 - Extended support ends for Windows 8.1

For those of you who want to get on-board with Windows 10 *right now*, visit the Windows Insider program and join in. It's not too late!

Spring Cleaning? Nah... Go to Tech Events Instead!

Wow... it's been a pretty crazy few weeks around here in Microsoft-land.  First BUILD, then Ignite... plus a bunch of IT Camps.  There is a lot going on with more to come, I can barely keep track of it all.  I'm hoping this week I will have time to check out a few sessions that I missed at Ignite (I'll share my list!) as well as get more hands-on with whatever version of Windows 10 we have flighting for those Windows Insiders.

Meanwhile, don't miss a few more upcoming learning events!

Next week in SF on 5/19  - Hybrid Cloud and Azure, IT Camp!  If you are just starting to think about using the cloud for workloads you've had on-prem for decades or just want to get your feet wet with Azure, this camp is probably for you!  Seriously, come pick my brain about Azure IaaS.

• For other IT Camps in other cities, visit http://www.technetevents.com/

Mobility Transformed: The Path to Windows 10 roadshow will be coming to 11 cities in May and June. Join members of the Microsoft product team for interactive discussions & demos and be one of the first to learn tips and tricks for Windows 10, Office 365, and more to ensure you are on the leading edge of devices and services!

Check out https://itpro.mobilitytransformed.com/ and register for a city near you:

• 5/12 - Seattle, WA
• 5/12 - Houston, TX
• 5/14 - Denver, CO
• 5/19 - Minneapolis, MN
• 5/26 - San Francisco, CA
• 5/28 - New York City, NY
• 6/2  - Anaheim, CA
• 6/3  - Newton, MA
• 6/4  - Indianapolis, IN
• 6/9  - Charlotte, NC
• 6/11 - Jacksonville, FL

If you are Dev-minded or have Dev buddies who didn't get to BUILD, the Build Tour is starting and hits 5 cities:

18-May New York City - https://newyork.build15.com/
20-May Atlanta - https://atlanta.build15.com/
29-May Austin - https://austin.build15.com/
10-June Chicago -  https://chicago.build15.com/
15-June Hollywood - LA - https://losangeles.build15.com/

Seattle IT Pros: Feb 4th is the next SITPUG Meeting!

The  next meeting for the Seattle IT Pros User Group is scheduled for Wednesday, February 4, 2015 at the Microsoft Civica Office Commons (South Tower) in Bellevue, WA at 6:00PM. Please RSVP if  you will be attending! 

The guest speaker will be Ben Armstrong of Microsoft. Officially Ben is a Principle Program Manager at Microsoft who works on the Hyper-V development team. Unofficially, he is the virtualization guru at Microsoft. Some of you may know him as the Virtual PC Guy from his blog posts on MSDN. The topic of his presentation is Hyper-V in Windows 10. Ben will discuss the new functionality for Hyper-V that is coming in Windows 10 and the new scenarios Microsoft is hoping to enable in the new version.

Ben’s complete bio is available here.

Windows 8 Giveaway

SITPUG will be giving away a copy of Windows 8 Professional at the meeting. The name of the lucky winner will be announced at the end of the meeting. Please check out the rules on the SITPUG Web site.

Directions

The meeting is held at the Microsoft Civica Office in Bellevue. Parking will be validated by the receptionist at the sign in. Visit the Directions page for details.

Microsoft Civica Office

205 108th Avenue NE
Suite 200 (4^th floor)
Bellevue, WA 98004