Microsoft is making preparations to run one of the largest cross country software development and IT Pro conferences ever to hit Canada. The Microsoft TechDays 2008 event will be a two day or one day event in some cities, and feature some of the industry’s leading experts in software development and Information Technology!
If you are passionate about software development and technology, spend hours on end reading technology blogs like Techmeme and Microsoft MSDN, Scott Hanselman’s Computer Zen, and ScottGu’s Blog trying to make sure you stay up to date, this is the event for you! If you spend your nights trying to get the latest tech previews of MVC and Expression Blend compiling your sample applications, this is the conference you don’t want to miss!
Software Developers in Canada listen up!
At TechDays guests will have incredible access to speakers like John Bristowe, Jean-Luc David, Rodney Buike, and much more. Not only will the event feature national speakers, but it will also feature local talent in each city! While you might think nobody in your city is an industry expert in a specific topic like ASP.net or Expression Studio, you might be surprised at the people you meet in each city! Want to know what your friends are working on? Don’t have any friends and want to make some geek friends (Just kidding), this is the event for you!
So when is TechDays coming to your City? Check out the announced date’s for each city for TechDays below:
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Date
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Location
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October 29th and 30th November 6th and 7th November 27th December 4th December 10th and 11th December 17th January 21st and 22nd |
Toronto Montreal Ottawa Winnipeg Calgary Halifax Vancouver |
I personally have been waiting a long time for a conference like this because it allows more Software Developers and IT Professionals the ability to attend high caliber events that they normally would not be able to attend because they are not in their local city, and far too expensive to travel to.
This tour will allow companies to send their staff to a relevant, in depth conference, rather than the typical local course at a college to keep within budget and only send their true elite to the Toronto, San Francisco, Orlando conferences. I know from our team, we will be sending nearly every developer to this conference.
What Will Be Covered at TechDays 2008
This “Tour De Force” will leave all the marketing fluff back at the office, and solely focus on in depth technical training. There will be several tracks that software developers and IT Professionals can choose from such as: Windows Development, Web Development, Virtualization, Data Management, and Infrastructure. The two day event city’s will have 40 sessions, while the one day events will have over 30 sessions!
Also you won’t want to miss the lunch “birds-of-a-feather” sessions at TechDays! This will be your chance to mingle with your city’s tech elite and also meet some top experts from across the country!
What Should You Do?
If you are a software developer, you should email your boss or team lead immediately and ask them if you can attend the event in your city. Not only will you get a chance to participate in some amazing technical presentations, but you’ll also get a ton of free stuff!
Check out all the free stuff you are going to get with the TechDays Learning Kit:
- 6-month TechNet Plus Subscription
- Visual Studio 2008 Professional – Full Package Product
- Expression Web – Full Package Product
- Visual Studio 2008 Team Suite – Evaluation Software
- Expression Studio – Evaluation Software
- Virtualization Resource Kit30% off certification voucher – Applicable to All MS Certification Exams
- TechEd 2008 DVD Set
- $100 Discount Coupon for DevTeach/SQLTeach
If you are a software development manager or a team lead, make sure you take this opportunity to bring out your entire team! There is no way you will leave this event feeling disappointed. Yes there is a cost associated with this event, $124.99 for the one day event, and $249.99 for the two day events, but this is hardly a fraction of a fraction of the cost it normally would be to attend an event of the caliber that TechDays will be! Your entire team will be motivated and thrilled you made the investment in them to make them a part of this event. A similar event was held in Toronto earlier this year (Energize IT), and was phenomenally motivating for everyone in attendance. Check out some footage below:
Congratulations to the Microsoft Canada team for putting this together and working through all he logistics to make this happen! It’s great that Microsoft has listened to their customers, and brought this kind of an event to a ton of cities across Canada!
Lastly, this one goes out to anyone from Winnipeg. If you want to come to this event, and are worried that “My company won’t pay for me to go” or “I will never touch any of the technology I will see at this event”, contact me directly at: miguelc@anvildigital.com, visit our web site at Anvil Digital and if you are a Software Development Master and want to work with Silverlight and WPF all day long, I will hire you, train you, and obviously pay for you to come to this event!
I’m looking forward to meeting up with some of you during the TechDays tour!