chris e. avis - blogstrocity

Science and Technology at the Oscars–Recognizing the Nerds….

Chris E. Avis — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 23:04:00 GMT

The 84th Academy Awards – “The Oscars” – will be on TV this Sunday. Most people are familiar with the drama and suspense around seeing their favorite actors and actresses being nominated for and winning (or losing!) the coveted golden statue. I have watched...(read more)

Download….Learn…and pick up a $20 MS Store Coupon and a chance at a killer Lenovo laptop!

Chris E. Avis — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:12:05 GMT

In the US, we are holding a promotion that has two very easy steps and then you receive $20 to use at the Microsoft Online Store. To begin, go visit the Microsoft Private Cloud Offer site . Offer Period: Now until June 30, 2012 Click the Download button...(read more)

Office365 Saturday this weekend at the Redmond Campus!

Chris E. Avis — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:23:23 GMT

Join us in Redmond for the inaugural Office365 Saturday event! On Saturday, February 25th you can join other business users, administrators, developers, and professionals that work with Office365 and its corresponding technologies: SharePoint,...(read more)

Get involved with the Reference Architecture for Private Cloud Wiki….

Chris E. Avis — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:10:08 GMT

I just stumbled on this site last week while I was on vacation. It looks like Tom Shinder, long time Microsoft MVP and now Principal Knowledge Engineer with Microsoft (he is also the man behind the ISAServer.org site!), published the first draft of this...(read more)

All done with vacation….

Chris E. Avis — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:39:33 GMT

I took some vacation time last week which is why there has been a gap in my 70-659 exam Series. I am quickly sorting through email and other work items and then I will resume my posts. It may be another day or two before you see the next one in...(read more)

IT Camps–Hands on Learning!–Coming to you!

Chris E. Avis — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:02:00 GMT

In the West Region, Harold Wong and I are hosting a set of events in the March and May / June timeframe. In November 2011, we tried out a new format for events which we called IT Camps. This new format included the ability for the attendees to select...(read more)

Free stuff for Startups…

Chris E. Avis — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:55:01 GMT

As a follow up to the other developer related post I made this morning, I am asking that folks take a look at my buddy Matt Harrington’s blog where he details some cool stuff that Startups will be interested in. From his post - Do you like free stuff...(read more)

Passing the Windows Server 2008 R2, Server Virtualization Exam (70-659) – Part 5 – I’m a developer! Why Virtualize?

Chris E. Avis — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:12:00 GMT

Virtualization is not just for production work loads. Developers can benefit as well….if they just check it out! What the heck? Developers? Virtualization? Sure! I have spent countless man hours configuring my development...(read more)

TechNet Radio: How to Transition from GroupWise to Office 365

Chris E. Avis — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 23:01:00 GMT

About This Video In today’s episode, Sr. IT Pro Evangelist Chris Avis welcomes Chad Lindley from Quest Software as they discuss the ins and outs of migrating from Novell GroupWise to Office 365. Tune in as they chat about driving factors on why...(read more)

Passing the Windows Server 2008 R2, Server Virtualization Exam (70-659) – Part 4

Chris E. Avis — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:48:15 GMT

First things first – If you do not already have a test machine, build one! - Download a trial version of Windows Server 2008 R2 and install it to a capable machine that you can use for study and learning. ---------------------------------------------...(read more)

TechNet Webcast: Complete a Seamless Transition from GroupWise to Office 365 (Level 200)

Chris E. Avis — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:09:52 GMT

Are you considering or planning a migration from Novell GroupWise to Microsoft Office 365? Do you need to provide coexistence between on-premises and cloud users? Join Chad Lindley, product manager at Quest Software, as he discusses solutions and best...(read more)

Passing the Windows Server 2008 R2, Server Virtualization Exam (70-659) – Part 3

Chris E. Avis — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:38:37 GMT

First things first – If you do not already have a test machine, build one! - Download a trial version of Windows Server 2008 R2 and install it to a capable machine that you can use for study and learning. Next, do yourself a favor and read this short...(read more)

Passing the Windows Server 2008 R2, Server Virtualization Exam (70-659) – Part 2

Chris E. Avis — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:03:49 GMT

First things first – If you do not already have a test machine, build one! - Download a trial version of Windows Server 2008 R2 and install it to a capable machine that you can use for study and learning. Nothing beats hands-on experience. I guarantee...(read more)

Echoes of Me….

Chris E. Avis — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:54:59 GMT

My team – West Region Developer and Platform Evangelism Team – recently had an off-site meeting. The goal was to review deliverables from the first half of the year and set expectations for the remainder of the year (through July 1, 2012). It isn’t all...(read more)

Private Cloud Toolbox all in one blog post – (2012 Update)….

Chris E. Avis — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:00:00 GMT

You know you want to get your hands dirty. Well as dirty as us geeks can get them in this increasingly virtual world. As you know, I am spending a lot of time right now talking about Private Cloud. I want to make you have as much information and all the...(read more)

Writing my first Windows Phone app (I hope!)

Chris E. Avis — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:12:39 GMT

As an IT Evangelist, I like to make fun of developers from time to time. We live in different worlds and do different things. There has always been an imaginary wall between the IT and Dev departments with only a few daring individuals willing (or forced...(read more)

Building an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Cloud Using Windows Server 8….

Chris E. Avis — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:44:23 GMT

With the run up to the beta of Windows 8, I am fielding a LOT of questions on the Windows 8 Server and Clients. My standard answers have been – Keep an eye on the Building Windows 8 Blog ! Mostly because that is the first place that official Windows 8...(read more)

February WNUG Meeting Tonight!

Chris E. Avis — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:49:05 GMT

Our next monthly meeting is scheduled for, Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at Lincoln Square Center in Bellevue at 6:00PM. If you will be able to attend, please RSVP Here . Session Details Our guest speaker will be Sharee English of SeattlePro Enterprises...(read more)

TechNet Radio: Cert Talk - New Private Cloud Certification Exam and 20 Year Anniversary of the MCP….

Chris E. Avis — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:44:00 GMT

It’s the 20 year anniversary of the Microsoft Certification Program, and in today’s episode your Cert Talk host, J. Seymour welcomes Sr. Director for Microsoft Learning, Don Field, Product Planner Jim Clark and Sr. IT Pro Evangelist, Chris...(read more)

Beta Exams coming up for Microsoft Private Cloud Certifications….

Chris E. Avis — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:39:04 GMT

If you head over to the Microsoft Training and Certification site, you will find that we are publishing some information about the upcoming Microsoft Private Cloud Certifications. The Private Cloud certification is built on Windows Server 2008 R2 and...(read more)

Passing the Windows Server 2008 R2, Server Virtualization Exam (70-659) – Part 1

Chris E. Avis — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 00:33:29 GMT

You have seen a lot of messaging from Microsoft as well as others in the tech industry regarding Private Cloud. With the update of the System Center 2012 Suite to Release Candidate status, we have a very solid platform for IT Pros to develop and...(read more)

MCT presentation on Cloud Computing

Chris E. Avis — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:37:57 GMT

Thank you to everyone that stuck around for the presentation Private Clouds that I delivered to MCT’s last Thursday. Mother Nature was not very kind to us that day and is continuing to cause problems in my area. The power outage I suffered at my...(read more)

Private Cloud gets real! - System Center 2012 Announcements….

Chris E. Avis — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 22:05:08 GMT

As you may have heard, there have been some big announcements regarding System Center 2012. All of these announcements are directly related to the Private Cloud conversations I have been having with IT Pro’s for the last year. Before I dig into...(read more)

TechNet Radio: Cert Talk - Virtualization 101 with Edwin Yuen….

Chris E. Avis — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:54:35 GMT

Today we’re talking Virtualization with Microsoft Director of Cloud and Virtualization Strategy, Edwin Yuen. Tune in as Edwin lays the foundation for what it is, how VMware stacks up to Microsoft Virtualization technologies as well as how you can personally...(read more)

Free TechNet Webcast - Career Progression: Getting Ready for the Cloud….

Chris E. Avis — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:52:17 GMT

My buddy Dan Stolts is delivering a webcast on January 18th - Please Register https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032501883&Culture=en-US About this TechNet webcast: The "cloud" is simply the next level of virtualization...(read more)