TechEd 2005 - Day One

I was able to enjoy an early trip to Orlando since I was a vacation with my family just a short distance away in the Florida panhandle.  My son joined me Sunday for a trip to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure.  Happy fourteenth birthday, Dylan!

On Monday morning, I listened with eager ears to Steve Balmer’s keynote address.  I was pleasantly surprised by the humor provided by comedienne Samantha Bee of the Daily Show.  Balmer’s keynote focused on ‘the new world of work’ where information workers can cooperate and collaborate regardless of location or time – all of these capabilities built upon the foundation of Microsoft’s Dynamic Systems Initiative (DSI).  There are three hallmarks to this new world of work:

1. Access without compromise
2. Self-service infrastructure
3. Policies that give IT management control

All of this verbiage struck me as a (more-or-less) the standard ‘marketecture’ message that Microsoft has used for the past few months.  However, Balmer did make a couple statements that surprised me.  First, he stated that he believes that the next decade in information technology will deliver more value than the previous decade.  Second, he stated that he believes ‘no one here’ will regret a career in information technology.  This surprised me since the industry news informs us of frequently unhappy news about the long-term prospects for many people in the IT industry.

Finally, Balmer made mention of several areas where Microsoft was making significant advancement in the product line.  For example, there will be a new version of Windows Server 2003, the R2 release.  This release will include support for virtual servers, multicore chips, and better high-availability, among other features.  A new version of Active Directory is in the works.  Plus, there will be a wide variety of enhancements in Direct Mobile capabilities.

After the keynote, I had an afternoon session to deliver.  My session was DBA303, ‘Performance Baselining, Benchmarking, and Monitoring’.  I learned just how big the OrlandoConvention Center truly is.  I thought I was doing well to arrive twenty minutes early for my session.  But then I noticed that there were other speakers in my room – uh oh!  Yes, I was in the wrong room.  I was in 310H South when I should have been in 310H North.  I quickly sped out and down the stairs and through the exhibit hall - the enormous, cavernous exhibit hall.  Now, I’m a pretty fast walker, but it still took me around fifteen minutes to get across that enormous space.  I arrived, red-faced and sweaty, with just three minutes to spare.  After a few minutes of hasty preparation with the A/V staff, we got the session up and running and jumped right in.