Having attended more local and international Microsoft events than I care to admit, the stand out events for me were several WinHECs in Seattle. My biggest complaint about these events were that there were way too many good sessions running concurrently, rather than the usual situation I find myself in of trying to fill my agenda with content that was relevant (and interesting, of course…). The spiritual successor to WinHEC is the Windows Summit, which was just held as an online event.

If you have an interest in hardware advances and how Windows is going to take advantage of them, read on, and visit the site. These sessions can be watched online, or the videos and presentations can be downloaded for offline consumption.

And now, the official promotion piece…

We are excited to announce that Windows Summit 2010 content for the Device, Software, and System tracks is now available.

Windows Summit 2010 is a special event that allows attendees to learn about building great software, hardware, and systems for Windows 7. The Summit has been highly successful with over 3,000 unique registered attendees since the Device Technical Implementer track launched in May. We are pleased to announce that all track content, including opening talks from Microsoft experts is now available simply by logging in.
Here’s an overview of each track:

· Device track, led by Mark Relph, Senior Director, Windows Developer and PC Ecosystem team. Discover the rich customization features in Windows 7 that enable partners to create a custom user experience for the PC or device. Targeted at software and device firmware engineers, this track will provide you with the direction and technical information to unlock the power of Windows 7 to create a great device experience.

· System track, led by Brad Brooks, Corporate Vice President, Windows Consumer Marketing and Product Management. Understand the features of Windows 7 that you can leverage to create and deliver the best system possible. You'll see how implementing a few fundamental techniques can dramatically improve overall system quality and key user experiences.

· Software track, led by Dean Hachamovitch, General Manager, Internet Explorer Team. The Windows 7 platform makes it easy for developers to create engaging, user-friendly applications by providing familiar tools and rich development features that allow them to take advantage of the latest PC capabilities. The sessions in this track will guide you through the key developer advances in fundamentals, richer application experiences, and the best of Windows and the Web.

· Extended Device track.  On June 30^th the Device track was extended with a new set of Windows Summit 2010 technical sessions and virtual workshops. The workshops focus on Device Stage for all types of devices, and cover a new tool that simplifies implementation of Device Stage for your products.