Last night was (at long last) the first AuTechHeads Melbourne MeatUp! At 7.30 a bunch of geeks rocked up to Squires Loft Steakhouse for a night of steak, wine, beer and chat. We were fortunate enough to be joined by Microsoft staff Jeff Alexander, Catherine Eibner and Rocky Heckman, in addition to AuTechHeads James Bannan, Chris Brown, Jodie Miners, Ben Ball and Jerome Brown.

Much discussion was had about all things ranging from Xbox to System Center to Golf. Zune Music Pass was the subject of much attention, in the wake of its Australian release last week.

Hopefully last night is a sign of good things to come within the Melbourne end of the AuTechHeads community. If you're in the area, please sing out, we'd love to hear from you. Please don't forget to join the Melbourne Members group.

Thanks again to everyone who came along, we appreciate your support

Yes, we know it's next Monday, and a school night, but hopefully we will see you there!

Venue has been confirmed as Squires Loft City Steakhouse at 12 Goldie Place, Melbourne 3000, booked for 7.30PM.  RSVP is mandatory for numbers reasons, so please use the registration form below or tweet us.  Please hit either @hjmcmanus or @chrisbrownie up on Twitter.

Officical hashtag is #MelbourneMeatUp so check it out!

Link to map of venue here.

G'day All (and anyone else listening in),

Just a heads up to let you know that SMBiT Professionals Brisbane is running a Spotlight Session this coming Sunday (2011-10-23) at the Chalk Hotel in Woolloongabba where we're delving into Group Policy with Alan Burchill and Remote Desktop Server with Bryce Telfer as related (in particular) to an SBS 2011 environment.

The event will be streamed live for financial SMBiT Professionals members in our SharePoint site, under the Brisbane sub-site.

For everyone else, the event will be streamed free (of cost, password, however not advertisements) at:

http://www.justin.tv/hiltont

http://www.Ustream.tv/channel/SMBiTPro-Brisbane

So, feel free to get your geek on with us this weekend - the show starts around 10:00 AM and will be over just in time for us to watch the Rugby Union final!  :)

Please click here and check out our website, PowerShell Down Under for more info!

It always strikes me as to how many awesome people I meet at Tech.Ed - whether for the first time, or finally putting a face to a name.

This year was no different. Between the Microsoft people who live and breathe the event for months in advance, the delegates who are excited to be there, and the random people on the Gold Coast who stop and chat - it's one of the best things about the conference and one of the major reasons I really enjoy going. Networking is a big part of any IT conference, and Microsoft are pretty good at it.

The Fun Factory party at the close of Day 2 was great, and I really enjoyed it a lot more in contrast to last year, but I already touched on that. I used Day 3 to catch up with people and content - enjoyed catching @orinthomas in his Interactive Theatre session for DPM client backups - being an area I've not yet played with to the extent he has, I enjoyed it, and it was a great way to pick up even more tips for future presentations.

I also caught up with a bu ...

There is no Tagly badge for "I presented 4 sessions and nobody died".

Another day, another blur. Once again, I remember delivering my sessions, and I most certainly remember the "Fun Factory" party!

As I've progressed with presenting the sessions, I've settled in and built confidence, and they've felt much better overall. I really enjoyed presenting the Exchange and "Making DPM Hum" sessions, and also enjoyed fielding DPM questions from people throughout the day. I'm glad to have had the opportunity, and I really appreciate the DPE team's support for it! I have a lot to take away and use from the experience, and it was a great challenge to take on!

Fastforwarding through the day to the party, it was great! I enjoyed it more than last year, and had a good time playing Star Wars Kinect (what, no George Lucas to kill?), posing with the 501st (with added Hodge), looking around and talking to people. I ddin't actually manage to get everywhere, but I did enjoy what I saw of the trivia!

Our very own Simone "Kitty" Bennett - @kittenstix on Twitter - who's one of our awesome Core Team members, was the runner up in Microsoft's Women in IT Community Contributor of the Year Awards held on Wednesday 2nd September 2011, at Tech.Ed Australia!

Simone is a smart, intelligent, and knowledgeable woman that truly shows many of the qualities that women can bring to the IT industry, and I can't express just how deserving she is of this kind of recognition. I've gladly talked before about my own support for women in IT, but nothing could be better than seeing one of our own both nominated and recognised!

While she's hardly the type to put herself forward when it comes to community recognition, Simone easily wins the respect and admiration of many that know her. I'm very proud to call her a friend, but far more thrilled to see her lauded for her efforts!

Unfortunately I didn't catch the name of the winner, and I'd be happy to update with this - congratulations! I think the recognit ...

Hi to all our new Tech.Ed 2011 TechQuest, and Party 2011, signups!

I'm sorry we've not had much chance to directly acknowledge you on the site as yet - we're thrilled to see you, truly! Tech.Ed is, of course, taking a lot of our time and effort in itself (since we're a purely community run group) and I know I've been flat out making sure I'm ready for the sessions I'm presenting! We also had the AuTechHeads Party, so it's been a busy few days!

I'm sure a lot of you have an idea of the AuTechHeads concepts - that we're here as a group that transcends geographical boundaries, bringing together IT Pros and Developers from across Australia and the surrounds. We work to keep it free, and it's all entirely volunteer run. One of the key things for us is for people to get involved - by posting their own blog posts, getting involved in the forums, posting their own events in the calendar, and more!

The overarching basis for the group is that we all benefit by sharing with one another - whet ...

Wow. What a night the AuTechHeads Party turned out to be. No less than 300 people came along on Tuesday night for free food and drink, networking, fun, and prizes! The buzz and atmosphere was fantastic, laughs were had by all, and boy did we demolish that drinks budget (twice)!

I'd particularly like to congratulate the winners of our various prizes:

 @JinOhChoi - winner of the 5 day DDLS Microsoft course

@MikeRedden - winner of the Telerik Ultimate Collection for .NET

@OrinThomas - winner of the iPad 2, courtesy of Vonage Time To Call

Brenton Smith - TechSmith Snagit and Camtasia!

I'll be making sure Orin, Brenton, and Mike get their prizes ASAP!

Thanks once again to all those who came along, and to our awesome sponsors - we couldn't possibly have done it without you! And we hope to do it again next year ... bigger and better yet again!

I've had some great feedback and stories already from people, I have some hilarious video t ...

Last night we partied, and today we got down to serious conference time. I was oblivious to a lot of it, since I was more focused on preparing for my own two sessions - first time speaking at Tech.Ed and all! It's not my first time speaking, but it's easy to feel the pressure of presenting to peers on a product you're passionate about - I'll take all the feedback I can get to improve and grow!

The day really went by in somewhat of a blur, but I certainly remember delivering my sessions. The first was "Data Protection Manager - 30 Reasons in 30 Minutes", and I was seriously nervous! In some ways, it perhaps was the hardest to kick off with since it needed to be a hugely broad overview of features and capabilities, while having a bit of fun and getting into the swing of it. You don't get opportunity to rehearse or practice Interactive Theatre sessions at the event, so it was always going to be a tricky one for the first session.

I was thrilled to see a decent turnout - people were telling me ...

So, a few miffed tweets and a blog post or two, and I find myself picked up by itnews.com.au (totally without my knowledge, mind!), and the story grows legs, and takes off all on its own.  That said, I stand by what I have written, and I firmly believe that I have delivered an even handed and fair appraisal of what occurred from my personal perspective surrounding the issues with the Pre-Conference Technical Training at Tech.Ed Australia 2011. Bottom line, most delegates in the training did not get what they paid for.

Technical failures happen.  In our industry, we all have to deal with them.  In a previous blog, I made mention of the fact that a great organisation is made by how they respond to this sort of event.

As a result of my blogs and tweets, I had some chats and emails with people from Microsoft such as Jeff Alexander and Sarah Vaughan.  Both of these guys made every effort to apologise and to make sure that I was listened too and responded too ap ...

So my Tech.Ed Australia adventure is off to a very bumpy start so far.  I, along with a few hundred others, paid the princely sum of $715.00 (plus extra accommodation, food etc) to attend what should have been two fully packed days of learning and tech geekery.  Instead, we encountered death by PowerPoint, error messages such as "SYSTEM IS FULL - All of our available lab connections are in use at the moment, Please check back at a later time" and generally high levels of nerd-rage and frustration.

The day started off fairly normally - there was an introductory session, and info on the new stuff, complete with complex Visio diagrams and verbose PowerPoint slides.  We then progressed onto the first of the lab sessions, of which we were expected to complete three in around an hour and a half.  Simple stuff like adding server roles, creating users and OUs in AD.  Instead, we were served up with endless loading/progress bars, VMs that wouldn't start, and generally ...

"So, how do you improve on giving away an iPad 2, a 5 day Microsoft course, and the Telerik Ultimate Collection?" That was the question that Betsy Weber, Chief Evangelist from our latest sponsor TechSmith, posed to me today. "That's easy, Betsy!" I answered, "Give away your awesome products!" 

And so it came to pass. TechSmith have very kindly added copies of Snagit and Camtasia to our awesome list of prizes!

Snagit and Camtasia are legendary products. From screen captures to recording, they can help you to make awesomely professional presentations, handouts, and video. Whether it's technical documentation, training materials, or even sales info, they'll make you look good!

Betsy will be at the AuTechHeads Party herself to help us give them away - it's her first time in Australia, and what better introduction to the locals than taking part in our 2nd annual event! Say hi to her and make her feel welcome!

You must, of course, be at the AuTechHeads Party 2011 ...

So we've told you of the pre-party competition to win an iPad 2.

We've told you about the opportunity to win a 5 day Microsoft course from DDLS.

What more could you possibly want??? Okay, what about one for the developers among you?

Our returning sponsor Telerik has generously thrown us a license for the Telerik Ultimate Collection for .NET! An award winning package with best-of-breed UI and productivity controls from Telerik, one of the masters of rapid application development! It retails for $1,999 USD on their website, with around $8,000 worth of value!

We use the Ultimate Collection at my work, and it was an essential part of our open source Snomtastic project. Telerik controls are used throughout the AuTechHeads site, too. There's simply no doubt that Telerik know their stuff, that they really deliver solutions that simplify application deployment, and that this is a seriously awesome prize!

To win, you must be at the AuTechHeads Pa ...

So we've already kicked off the season of giveaways with a bang, with the pre-party competition to win an iPad 2.

"But Matt," I hear you ask. "That competition allows people who won't be at the party to win - what of those who are coming along? Will we be left out in the cold, doomed to enjoy free drinks, food, networking, and to listen to the terrible wonderful jokes to select the winner of the iPad 2?"

 Well, do we have the prize for you! DDLS have generously offered a 5-day Microsoft Official Curriculum (MOC) course, valued at $3,400 inc GST, for one lucky party goer. DDLS is the trusted learning solutions partner for Australian organisations, and a proud sponsor of the AuTechHeads Party!

 We'll be sure to concoct a means to give this baby away at the party - in the meantime, make sure you RSVP! We're fast heading toward capacity and we'd love to see you there!

To win, you must be at the AuTechHeads Party 2011 by T ...

In ze build-up to zer party, ve vill be giffink avay einer iPad Zwei, zanks to..*thwack*

I'm sorry, I'll read that again.

In the build-up to the AuTechHeads Party 2011, we will be giving away an Apple iPad 2 32Gb WiFi, thanks to Vonage Time To Call! You need to enter before the party, but we'll pick the winner at the AuTechHeads Party! Note: You do not have to attend the party to win, but it's free so if you'll be up at the Gold Coast on 30th August, RSVP NOW!

Vonage is introducing the Time To Call app for Apple iPhone and iPad mobile devices, bringing affordable phone calls that can be charged to your iTunes account. 

Time To Call is simple to use: select the country you want to call and tap to buy a 15 minutes phone call. The amount is charged directly to your iTunes account and you can then place your call. Calls to landline or mobile numbers cost th ...

The AuTechHeads Party page is up, and that can only mean on thing - you need to RSVP ASAP!

Whether you're going to Tech.Ed Australia 2011, or just happen to be in or near the Gold Coast on 30th August, you're invited to the free AuTechHeads Party 2011 by Thycotic! Free food, free drink, music, networking, socialising, and prizes - an awesome introduction to the Tech.Ed week, and a great way to connect with other IT pros and develoeprs!

Last year was a blast, and this year is sure to keep you wanting more! We have a fabulous lineup of new and returning sponsors, including our new naming sponsor Thycotic, makers of the awesome Secret Server!You'll see them around the site for a while through the sponsorship arrangement.

We couldn't do a free event like this without our sponsors, and each and every one has been more than happy to support AuTechHeads, and we can't thank them enough. So as usual, we ask you to as well! Check in to the Party page soon for their sponsor pa ...

It's a shameless cross-promotion, of course (like all good cross-promotions!) but here's a blog post outlining my sessions at TechEd New Zealand and TechEd Australia.

I'm speaking on User Device Affinity (UDA) in SCCM 2012, and how to migrate from SCCM 2007 to SCCM 2012.

 UDA is going to revolutionise user, workstation and application management in SCCM, and the architectural changes in SCCM 2012 will make you want to jump ship from SCCM 2007 as fast as possible (awesome product though it is).

So check out my sessions and say Hi at TechEd :-)

Over the time I've worked in the IT industry, I've met and worked with a number of amazing women. It's no surprise then, that I am a big supporter of Women in IT - amongst their many qualities, they bring a keen intelligence, analytical skills, intuitive problem solving capabilities, and an ability to absorb and retain information quickly and easily.

It's a shame that there are comparatively fewer women in IT than men, but this is something I believe to be changing and picking up steam. Most, if not all, of us know smart and intelligent women in the IT industry - I can think of plenty that I'm proud to call call friends, follow on Twitter, or connect with on Linked In and Facebook. In this industry where brains are the primary prerequisite, it should be completely unsurprising that these women shine at their roles.

The Annual Women in IT Community Contributor of the Year award will again be awarded this year at the Women in IT luncheon at Tech.Ed Australia. This is a fabulous opportunity to ...

Last year we held the first ever AuTechHeads party during Tech.Ed 2010, and it was a resounding success - over 200 people descended on Waxy's Irish Pub at Surfer's Paradise, following the Tech.Ed Australia welcome party! We had some great prizes, free food and drinks, and an overall awesome time.

Hold on to your seats, because we're doing it again this year! We're planning to hold it after the Welcome Party again, and Waxy's will be the venue of choice once more. We've been working to meet our budget targets, and I can say that we're definitely going to be ready to roll come 30th August!

As with last year, we expect to start receiving people just after 9pm, with the party kicking off around 9:30. To ensure Tech.Ed attendees and speakers get plenty of sleep, we'll wind up the formal party by around 12am.

The focus this year will be on networking and socialising, as we don't want to heavily encumber the evening with prize giveaways - but there will still be some awesome ones. And mos ...