TechMentor Orlando 2011 is Next Week
TechMentor Orlando 2011 is almost here (March 14-18 ). To get ready for my first TechMentor, I am looking at the sessions more closely to choose which ones to attend.
For the first three days, there is a PowerShell Boot Camp taught by Don Jones and sponsored by Sapien Technologies. Don has authored several books on PowerShell and is finishing up on his soon to be released book, “Learn Windows PowerShell in a Month of Lunches” Don has also created several videos for CBT Nuggets including Windows PowerShell On-the-Job Training Series and Windows PowerShell V2 — Advanced and New Capabilities, This boot camp requires a special registration, but it looks like it should be good.
I won’t be able to attend the boot camp, but I am looking forward to PowerShell presentations by Jeff Hicks. Jeff is a Microsoft MVP, author and speaker. In fact, he and Don Jones co-authored “Windows PowerShell 2.0: TFM”. Jeff is presenting three sessions on PowerShell: PowerShell Scripting Best Practices, Top 10 Active Directory Tasks with PowerShell and Getting Started with PowerCLI and VMware. As a Server Administrator, I definitely want to attend the Best Practices and Active Directory sessions. My toughest decision so far has been with the scheduling of the PowerShell Best Practices session. Mark Minasi is presenting “The Secrets of Technical Talks: How to Explain Tech Without Tucking ” at the same time. I enjoy any chance to improve my speaking skills, but I want to learn PowerShell! Decisions, decisions, decisions! I should be able to attend other sessions by Mark Minasi, especially the session on Windows Power Tools Treasury: Best of the Power Tools.
Whether he knows it or not, James Conrad is responsible for helping me upgrade my MCSE Windows Server 2000 to MCSE Windows Server 2003. James helped me through his CBT Nuggets videos on the topic. Currently, James is the Lead Recruiter and Instructor for CBT Nuggets. In the past, he has worked with Microsoft on their certification program. For me, seeing James at TechMentor is like going to see a favorite band in concert. After watching several of James’ recordings, I will get to see him perform live. Can his live performance match his recorded performance? I will get to see him first hand. James’ teaching style is very personal. As part of his videos, it is not uncommon for him to share his personal photos to illustrate a point. James is teaching four sessions and I am looking forward to “Using Free Tools to Control who Gets on your LAN. It’s More than Just Security!”
For you Exchange Admins, J. Peter Bruzzese will be presenting five sessions on Exchange. I have watched some of the training for Exchange 2010 that Bruzzese created for TrainSignal and it is incredible! I know enough about Exchange to know that it is a difficult topic to master. It seems that every system administrator skill that you have must come together for one product (skills like Windows Server, DNS, database, PowerShell, and Exchange specifics). However, when Bruzzese explains Exchange in his videos, it looks so easy. And it looks easy because Bruzzese has a gift for not only understanding Exchange, but also how to teach it. If you are an Exchange Administrator, you owe it to yourself to attend TechMentor just to attend Bruzzese’s sessions. He is also presenting a Pre Conference tutorial on Four Hours of the Very Best Windows 7 Tips, Tricks, and Tools on Earth. In addition to being a TrainSignal instructor, J. Peter Bruzzese is also co-founder of Clip Training. Also, joining Bruzzese for the session “Capacity Management for Exchange: Lessons from the Field” will be Jay Paul Gundotra, founder and CEO of ENow, who has worked with Exchange since version 4.
I think that I will be spending a lot of time in HP Master Consultant Bruce Mackenzie-Low’s sessions. I am especially looking forward to taking his pre conference tutorial on Windows Crashes and Hangs: Simple Steps in Finding Every Root Cause. I believe this session may have the biggest impact on my current job as a Server Administrator.
In addition to looking forward to the instructors, I am also looking forward to the venue at Disney’s Yacht Club. Having stayed at Disney before and being a Disney World Annual Passholder, I can tell you that it will be a lot of fun. Disney’s Yacht Club is located close to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios. If you are attending TechMentor and are bringing your family, they will love it. The Yacht club has its own beach and the pool is beautiful! Transportation is available to take you to any of the Disney theme parks or to Downtown Disney for late night entertainment and shopping. You can even catch a ride to check out other Disney hotels. You will find the staff at Disney’s Yacht Club very friendly and helpful.
I am looking forward to going to TechMentor next week! How about you?
Registration continues through Friday, March 11th. Save $400 on a full conference registration by using discount code UGTM6. First time conference attendees will receive a $400 discount off the five day conference.
I Am Going To TechMentor Orlando 2011!
TechMentor is coming to Orlando March 14-18 and I am finally going to have the opportunity to attend! TechMentor is a five day conference targeting IT System Professionals and is held twice each year. In the Spring, it is held in Orlando and in the Fall it is held in Las Vegas. This year’s TechMentor Orlando will be held at Disney’s Yacht Club Resort at the Walt Disney World Resort.
I have heard about the TechMentor conference for years, but I have never had the opportunity to go before. On the website, the organizers (1105 Media, publishers of great IT magazines and websites such as Redmond Magazine) promise an environment where sales pitches are thrown out the windows and unbiased, technical training from experts prevails. There are 11 technical tracks consisting of 60 sessions.
The 11 technical tracks are:
Active Directory Management and Architecture
Advanced Troubleshooting for Servers and Applications
Architecting and Administering Microsoft Exchange
Deep Dive: Becoming an ESXpert!
Don Jones’ PowerShell Boot Camp
Getting More out of your Existing IT Investment
Deep Dive: MCITP – Server Administrator Certification Mini Boot Camp
Security and Malware Protection
Deep Dive: Windows Deployment University
According to the agenda, Monday and Friday are considered Pre and Post conference sessions. Most of the sessions are offered Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The conference brochure pdf can be downloaded here.
A special highlight this year is a PowerShell Boot Camp taught by Microsoft MVP, Don Jones. The boot camp is taught Monday, March 14 through Wednesday, March 16. There is a special registration fee if you want to include the PowerShell boot camp as part of your conference.
I am looking forward to listening to and possibly meeting some of my favorite video instructors. James Conrad from CBT Nuggets and Ed Liberman and J. Peter Bruzzese from Train Signal will be there.
Oh, and did I mention that Mark Minasi will be giving the Tuesday keynote on “Cloud Computing: A (Lapsed) Economist’s View”?
Now, do you want to join me at this conference that is full of information that you can use right now on your job? Right now, on the TechMentor website, they are offering early bird pricing until February 18th that gives you $200 off the standard price. However, I have been given a TechMentor discount code for first time attendees to TechMentor to receive $400 off the five day conference. When you register, use discount code UGTM6 and first time conference attendees will receive a $400 discount off the five day conference.
If you cannot be at the conference with me physically, then check back at my blog or follow me on Facebook or Twitter. I will be posting updates from the conference.
I hope to see you at TechMentor!
Congratulations to Our Microsoft Certified Career Conference Pass Winner!
Congratulations to Kamlesh Rao who won the free pass to the Microsoft Certified Career Conference! I hope that you will learn a lot during this 24 hours of Career Information coming up online on February 17th.
Registration is still open. Microsoft Certified Professionals qualify for a special discount. Check your latest MCP flash for details.
Win a Pass to the Microsoft Certified Career Conference
The next Microsoft Certified Career Conference will be held on February 17, 2011!
The Microsoft Career Conference is a 24-hour virtual event where you can:
- meet potential employers
- hone your technical skills
- acquire job-seeking skills
- network with fellow professionals
- glean career advice from real-life experts in the field,
Some of the highlights you will find are:
- Cloud Computing Talent…What is it? A conversation with Chandra Prasad, one of the world’s foremost authorities on cloud computing.
- Deep dive into the Microsoft Masters program, featuring content from official MCM training courseware.
- Podcasting Your Way to a Job. Podcasting is the perfect tool to open doors, build relationships, and grow your career. Michael Surkan podcasts about job searching, entrepreneurs, and the economy under his alter-ego, The Optimistic Bear. (NOTE: I am looking forward to this one!)
- Fresh perspectives from top-notch Tech·Ed speakers, including Asli Bilgin, Joao Paulo Clementi, and Niraj Bhatt.
- Round II of the wildly popular Are You Careerable? game show with all new content and prizes.
TrainSignal Instructors Ed Liberman and J. Peter Bruzzese will also be on hand again to offer training on Active Directory (Liberman) and Exchange (Bruzzese).
Here is a link to the current agenda for the conference.
The cost of the conference is $50 and registration is open. However, Microsoft has generously provided a free pass to the conference to give away to one of my lucky blog readers.
Here is how to enter to win the free pass to the Microsoft Certified Career Conference:
- Comment on this article telling me why you want to go to the Microsoft Certified Career Conference.
- You can obtain a second entry by visiting the ITCertPro Facebook page and clicking on the Like button or just click on this button:
- The contest will close on Saturday, February 5th at 11:59 PM EST. I will then randomly pick a name from the comments and Facebook likes. I must have a valid email in order to contact you in case you win. In the case of the winner being on Facebook, I will try to contact you through Facebook.
- You can only enter once on the blog and once on Facebook.
- I will also announce the winner on this blog.
Good luck to all and I hope to see you at the Microsoft Certified Career Conference!
New Book Reviews Coming
I am pleased to announce that I have partnered with O’Reilly Media, Inc. to bring new book reviews to ITCertPro.com. As you may know, last year, O’Reilly became the distributor of Microsoft Press titles for North America. In the coming weeks, I will be posting reviews of Microsoft Press titles that have been provided to me through O’Reilly’s reviewer program.
The biggest change that O’Reilly has made in the last year is higher availability of MS Press titles in electronic format. O’Reilly is behind Safari Books Online and has been a pioneer in digital publishing innovations. You can visit the O’Reilly Media store and purchase digital titles of their books in four DRM-free formats: Android .APK, .epub (compatible with Nook and other eReaders), Kindle compatible .mobi, PDF and DAISY. O’Reilly also offers an “Ebook Deal of the Day” where you can purchase a digital title for as little as $9.99.
I wish to thank O’Reilly Media, Inc. for this opportunity. Hopefully, you will gain some great information from my reviews to help you make a more educated decision on your IT book purchases.
