Straight 2 SQL Server 2008 Webinars

JC Armand is putting on a series of SQL Server 2008 educational webinars. These Live Meeting sessions cover a variety of topics on SQL Server 2008, from both a DBA and a developer's perspective. The sessions occur every Tuesday and Thursday, ending on Thursday, April 2, 2009. Each session is scheduled to start at 11AM EST and last for approximately 1 hour.

2/24/2009: Why SQL Server 2008
2/26/2009: How Windows Server 2008 benefits SQL Server 2008
3/3/2009: Upgrade/Migration strategy & Overcoming upgrade challenges
3/5/2009: SQL Server 2008 based Business Intelligence
3/10/2009: SQL Server 2008 for Developers
3/12/2009: What’s new in Reporting Services 2008
3/17/2009: SQL Server Consolidation Strategies
3/19/2009: Resource Governor
3/24/2009: Upgrade SQL Server clusters to Windows Server 2008
3/26/2009: Database compression & Back-up compression
3/31/2009: Database auditing & Transparent data encryption
4/2/2009: Optimizing SQL Server licensing for your business needs

For more information, or to register, go to http://www.pragmaticworks.com/StraightTo8Webinars.aspx. After registering, links will be emailed for joining each upcoming session, as well as viewing past sessions.

Windows 7 in 6 varieties

On Tuesday, February 3rd, Microsoft described its product lineup plans for its forthcoming Windows 7 operating system launch, expected in early 2010 or possibly earlier. Currently 6 different varieties will be made available:

1. Windows 7 Home Premium for consumers
2. Windows 7 Professional for businesses, with an upgrade path from Vista Business
3. Windows 7 Enterprise for Software Assurance customers only. The enterprise edition will support advanced data protection, lower cost compliance and IT tools to streamline PC management. However, it won't be available from OEMs or retail outlets.
4. Windows 7 Ultimate for enthusiasts who want a full-featured OS, including BitLocker.
5. Windows 7 Starter edition on new PCs for channel partners
6. Windows 7 Home Basic edition intended for distribution in emerging markets.

Windows XP users will be able to upgrade to Windows 7 without paying the full price. However, XP users will have to perform a clean install of Windows 7. Finally, Microsoft is heavily suggesting that Windows 7 will be capable of running on netbooks, which are smaller notebooks that typically use lower cost hardware components. Currently, netbook vendors sell them running a version of the Linux operating system or Windows XP. With Windows 7, Microsoft is on track to have a smaller OS footprint with faster boot-up and shut-down times, and improved power management.

Source: Redmondmag.com

Clouds and Collaboration Special Event

Clouds & Collaboration
How Collaboration and Cloud Computing are Transforming Business and Innovation

Turbulent times are also times of Opportunity. Companies are looking to survive but also to innovate and compete. Increasing the opportunities for innovation and improving productivity are essential. Improving Collaboration AND using Cloud computing will help you address these needs. At this event we welcome you to hear about these trends, and learn about what it can mean for your business.

This will be interesting for:
People defining Business and IT strategy
CIO’s or people reporting to the CIO
Enterprise Architects
IT people interested in innovation

You should attend if you would like to:
Get the latest information on Collaboration and Cloud computingBe inspired & informed
Meet your peers
Be ready to create your strategy around the topic
Register to receive a complimentary copy of our upcoming book on this research topic

Speaker information
The speaker at this event will be Erik van Ommeren, who is managing the US branch of the Sogeti International Research Institute for New Technology. He is an author and public speaker on topics such as innovation, collaboration, service oriented architecture, crowdsourcing and new media. Please note that this event is not sales oriented and is free of charge.


Date: February 19, 2009
Time: 5:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Location: Beacon Place (lower level conference room)
6055 Rockside Woods Blvd
Independence, OH, 44131

RSVP by 2/13/09 to sue.fellner@us.sogeti.com

February .Net Events

Feb 10th: .Net User Group (Text Template Transformation Toolkit (T4) in VS 2008). To register, go to http://www.bennettadelson.com/seat.aspx?sig=net&ID=141

Feb 11th: Cleveland SharePoint User Group (Implementing Dashboards). To register, go to http://www.sharepointcleveland.com/default.aspx

Feb 12th: ONSQL User Group. To register, go to http://www.bennettadelson.com/seat.aspx?sig=sql&ID=141

Feb 14th: GCPCUG General Meeting (Identity Theft Prevention). To register, go to http://www.gcpcug.org/

Feb 19th: Special Event (Clouds and Collaboration). For more information, go to http://clevelanddotnet.blogspot.com/2009/02/clouds-and-collaboration-special-event.html

Feb 24th: TechNet Events (Software-plus-Services, System Center Configuration Manager and Virtual Machine Manager). To register, go to http://msevents.microsoft.com/cui/EventDetail.aspx?culture=en-US&EventID=1032402428

Feb 24th: MSDN Events (Azure, Debugging and Mobility). To register, go to http://msevents.microsoft.com/cui/EventDetail.aspx?culture=en-US&EventID=1032402398

Feb 24th: Cleveland C#/VB.Net User Group (JQuery). To register, go to http://www.clevelanddotnet.info/

Feb 25th: Cleveland SharePoint User Group (TBA). To register, go to http://www.sharepointcleveland.com/default.aspx

Feb 26th: TS2 Event for Microsoft Partners (How to deliver business value to your customers utilizing Microsoft technologies). To register, go to http://www.ts2seminars.com/liveEvents.aspx

Feb 26th: BPOS Event for Microsoft Partners (An expanded workshop on Microsoft Online Services and the Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS)). To register, go to http://www.ts2seminars.com/liveEvents.aspx