Talking TechMentor -- Redmondmag.com

Barney's Blog

Talking TechMentor

When I first went up to Microsoft the company had just moved over from Bellevue, Wash. I reckon this was either late 1986 or early 1987.

Bill Gates still got a cheeseburger and fries every day for lunch from a local fast food joint. The new Redmond campus had two buildings with a cafeteria in between (the burgers apparently weren't good enough for Bill) -- apps folks one on side, OS jocks on the other. This was all so the two teams could share ideas and make the two families of software get along together.

TechMentor, an IT training event run by Redmond magazine, is not nearly as ancient as Microsoft, but at 14-years-old is no spring chicken by show standards.

This August, for the first time, TechMentor will be held on the Redmond campus. We started using the Microsoft headquarters as a show site with Visual Studio Live -- an event for Visual Studio developers -- and it got rave reviews.

Redmond, Wash., might not be your typical tourist mecca, but Redmond magazine readers aren't your typical tourists. I bet you'd think being on campus is pretty darn cool. Last time I was there I ran into Steve Ballmer and my ex-brother-in-law in the same building by accident. Surprisingly, both at least acted happy to see me!

There's another change in TechMentor: We've combined our traditional content from gurus and magazine authors such as Don Jones and Greg Shields with a new set of sessions based on Microsoft TechNet that are driven by internal Microsoft experts. Kind of the best of both worlds.

Another cool thing: Mark Russonovich -- who's now a Microsoft Technical Fellow -- will give a keynote address, and guaranteed showstopper Mark Minasi is scheduled as a breakout speaker.

The show starts on Aug. 20, 2012 with pre-conference workshops. The following day is all about Microsoft TechNet content, and the next three days are pure TechMentor -- independent, hands-on and in-depth training.

And while Las Vegas and Orlando, Fla., our usual locations, have casinos and amusement parks, the Microsoft campus has Lake Washington, Pike Place Market, Pioneer Square and Puget Sound all nearby. This makes it a good place not just for you, but for a spouse and family too.

If you want more information, the address is simple: TechMentorEvents.com.

Posted by Doug Barney on 06/06/2012 at 1:19 PM

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