As many of you know I'm looking after content end-to-end this year forTech·ed Australia 2011and we have reached the first of many milestones that we have in planning such an event.  Today we would like to announce the availability of the Call for Topics tool for those of you wishing to submit sessions to this years conference.  In my opinion content is king and we rely on the technical knowledge and creativity of our speakers to make a great event!

So with that please submit your sessions to: http://teau11.eventpoint.com/cft 

This year we have a similar breakdown of content tracks to submit your sessions against which are below.

Architecture
Cloud Computing and Online Services
Database and Business Intelligence
Developer Tools, Languages and Frameworks
Dynamics*
Middleware and Integration*
Office and SharePoint
Office 365*
Security Identity and Management
Exchange and Lync
Virtualization
Voice of the Customer
Web Platform
Windows Client
Windows Phone
Windows Server
*Indicates a Virtual Track

TheCall for Topics toolwill be open untilMay 25th 2011so get your thinking caps on and start submitting sessions.  There are some tips for successful submissions which include:

• A good session title – this must engage attendees and must match what is going to be delivered.  Make sure the title entices people to want to attend the session!
• Technical readiness – remember Tech·ed is about technical content; not marketing content!
• Session objectives – what do you want the attendees to gain from your session and what do you want them.
• Abstracts – limited to 300 words so need to clearly describe what the session is about.  Remember sessions are 75 minutes long.
• Tech·ed overall theme – This year’s theme is heavily focusing on Private Cloud and  how it can help customers run their business's more efficiently so think about that when you submit sessions.

Good luck and we look forward to seeing some great submissions!

Jeffa

Starting onApril 1st2011(no really) and going through toJune 30th 2011we are offering 3 extra months to the normal 12 month TechNet subscription.  It’s pretty good value and now includes 3 extra months free.  This for new subscriptions only.

This is aTechNet Professional Subscriptionwhich includes:

• Full-Version software for evaluations only for 70+ Microsoft products with no time or feature limits
• Priority support on TechNet Managed Forums with technical answers within 2 business days
• 2 Professional Support Calls to help resolve critical technical issues
• Microsoft E-Learning to keep your skills up-to-date and prepare for certifications
• As well as additional support and productivity resources
  

If you don’t have a TechNet subscription as of yet; this Friday is a good time to start!

Jeffa

It’s been awhile but I wanted to let you know that the TechNet Live! meetings are back and next month we are going to be featuring everything Internet Explorer 9 for the IT Pro.

Overall Theme

Internet Explorer 9 is out now and there has been a lot of discussion on what it has to offer.  Join us in throughout April as we take you through the ins and outs ofIE9 as it relates to you the IT Professionaland how it will impact the enterprise.  We will have 4 sessions in all covering what’s new, security, deployment and application compatibility.

Session 1

Title: TechNet Live! Australia - Internet Explorer 9 – New Features

Abstract:  In this session we discuss how IE9 is fast, clean and the most trusted browser on the market today.  We’ll take you through the changes since IE8 and the speed improvements we’ve made and how we now take advantage of the GPU in your computer instead of just the CPU!  We’ll then take you through the changes to the interface including the integration with Windows 7.  Finally we’ll discuss security feature changes in IE9.  There will be demo’s throughout this session showing each of the major new feature changes.

• Date: Friday April 8th 2011
• Time: 11:00am – 12:30PM AEST
• Registration:  Clickhere to Register

Session 2

Title: TechNet Live! Australia – Security in Internet Explorer 9

Abstract:  Security when browsing the web is more important today than it ever has been.  In this session we’ll talk about the core security changes in Internet Explorer 9 and how they just keep you browsing even if there is a problem with the site.  We’ll discuss how we have built upon the security advancements we made with Internet Explorer 8 and what’s new and what’s been enhanced.  We’ll also demonstrate the UI features that enhance security.  Finally we’ll discuss and show the group policy settings for IE9 security.

• Date: Friday April 15th 2011
• Time: 11:00am – 12:30PM AEST
• Registration:  Clickhere to Register

Session 3

Title: TechNet Live! Australia – Deploying Internet Explorer 9

Abstract:  Installing Internet Explorer 9 on 1 or 2 machines is easy but what if you need to deploy it to hundreds or even thousands of machines?  In this session we’ll discuss some of the options available for deploying Internet Explorer 9 in the enterprise.  We’ll discuss deploying Internet Explorer 9 into a Windows image via slipstreaming,  customizing the Internet Explorer 9 installation using the IEAK and managing the settings for Internet explorer 9 through Group Policy.  In each section we’ll go through the concepts and tools you need and then show you how it works.

• Date: Friday April 29th 2011
• Time:11:00am – 12:30pm AEST
• Registration:  Clickhere to register

Session 4

Title: Application Compatibility with Internet Explorer 9

Abstract:  As part of any deployment project whether it’s OS upgrade or a new browser such as Internet Explorer 9, you need to think about how your existing applications are going to work.  In this session we’ll give you an overview of Internet Explorer compatibility and what has changed since earlier versions of Internet Explorer.  Then we discuss and show you some of the compatibility tools that are available to help you get there and finally we’ll discuss and show you some of the ways to virtualize Internet Explorer.

• Date: Friday May 6th 2011
• Time: 11:00am – 12:30pm AEST
• Registration:  Clickhere to register

I hope you can take the time to attend these events as I think you will be glad you did.  Also make sure youcheck out my recent IE9 postwhich has some links to tools for IT Professionals.

Jeffa