Dallas Tech Fest 2008

Next Saturday (May 3) I will be attending Dallas Tech Fest 2008. It is basically a day event where other developers such as myself will get together and learn about some exciting things others have been doing with various technologies. So I will be learning a lot and more importantly, I will be coming hope with some free goodies (hopefully).

If you are looking for a free chance to learn some new things then this will be the place to be. So far there are session tracks in .NET, Java, Ruby, Flex, and Emerging Technologies. You can attend an entire track or attend different sessions in any of the tracks (as I am).

It should be a good time and I hope to see you out there. I will be sure to give a nice update on Dallas Tech Fest 2008 once I have attended.

The Crazy Places Life Takes You...

Well folks... This past Tuesday I found myself somewhere I NEVER thought I would ever be. I attended a Microsoft Launch Event for their 2008 versions of Visual Studio, Windows Server, and SQL Server. I did not know what to expect when I was arriving because as many know, I just recently started using MS development products and that was because I was forced to do so at a new job. Microsoft has a tendency to "brainwash" developers to a degree so I was wary of going to what I thought would be an all day sales pitch, but... I was WRONG!!

Microsoft knows how to throw a good party and send the attendees home with some nice freebies. I got free standard versions of all the new products as well as a free version of Windows Vista Ultimate SP1. I haven't used any of it, but I plan to begin reviewing it all in the next few days. I'm not fully converted to being a MS developer and I never will be, but I'm starting to see that Microsoft isn't that bad. They just catch a bad wrap for all the money you have to spend on licensing, but if you look past that none of it is any different than any of the other companies pushing development products.