Next week, I head to Redmond Washington for the annual Microsoft MVP Summit. This is always a fantastic event, full of technical information (sadly, much under NDA) and great people. I look forward to learning more about Windows Server storage technologies like ReFS, Storage Spaces, SMB 2.2, and more. If you are an MVP, I look forward to seeing you next week; if not, watch for more information here on the blog.
But there’s one big difference this year: There is no “Executive Keynote” session on Thursday! That means no Steve Ballmer, no Toby Richards, no nobody. The full session was the one time when we could see just how many MVPs there are (and such diversity!) and I’ll surely miss this opportunity!
I’ll spend Tuesday, February 28 and Wednesday, February 29 in breakout sessions with fellow File System Storage MVPs like Derek Shauland and Dennis Martin. There are always deep technical discussions at these sessions, with the inimitable Dilip Naik pointing out the history of everything Microsoft storage. It looks like we’ll have quite a few new MVPs joining us this time as well.
A welcome reception Tuesday night and product group event Wednesday evening set everyone up for the big annual attendee party on Thursday night. We are heading to CenturyLink Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks (NFL) and Seattle Sounders FC (MLS). Last year, at Safeco Field, a few ex-Mariners were mingling with the crowd. I’m not much interested in meeting NFL stars, though it will be fun to get a background look at the field.
One thing missing from the schedule this year is a big keynote from Microsoft management. We have previously been treated to howls and snarls from Steve Ballmer, along with other more low key Microsoft executives. This time around, I don’t see any such event on the schedule. In fact, Thursday, March 1, seems almost entirely open, schedule wise. Maybe I missed something, or maybe the Summit won’t have an executive keynote this year!
I’m sure that my friends at Microsoft are looking forward to giving me a pat on the back for my recent, and widely read, post on NTFS deduplication. I wonder what they will say about my recent anti-CIFS rant, however! No matter, they know that I’ll always say what I think, and I thank them for inviting me in my fruity computers back to the Summit year after year anyway.
If you would like to get together with me Tuesday night through Thursday morning, just let me know. The best part of Summit (apart from visiting the company store) is the opportunity to have deep technical discussions with like-minded people. See you there!