Blain Barton's Blog

Pre-Order Windows 7 for a 50% discount before July 11th! Win7 Premium is US $49 and Win7 Ultimate at US $99!

blainbar — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:42:00 GMT

Finally, as a way of saying thank you to our loyal Windows customers, we are excited to introduce a special time limited offer! We will offer people in select markets the opportunity to pre-order Windows 7 at a more than 50% discount. In the US, this will mean you can pre-order Windows 7 Home Premium for USD $49.99 or Windows 7 Professional for USD $99.99. You can take advantage of this special offer online via select retail partners such as Best Buy or Amazon, or the online Microsoft Store (in participating markets).

This program begins tomorrow in the U.S., Canada and Japan. The offer ends July 11th in the U.S. and Canada.

Act fast if you want to be the first in line to get Windows 7 at this screaming deal! Note: The special low pre-order price will vary per country.

For more information on this special pre-order offer, click here.

Windows 7 Pricing Options and Availability is Out!

blainbar — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:35:00 GMT

Check out the availability and pricing options for Windows 7 on the Windows 7 Blog!

http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/windows7/archive/2009/06/25/announcing-the-windows-7-upgrade-option-program-amp-windows-7-pricing-bring-on-ga.aspx

IT Pro Tiki Hut Tour comes to a close with Fantastic Results!

blainbar — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:34:00 GMT

Thank you all for signing up and attending the IT Pro Tiki Hut Tour, it was a blast!

In fact we are planning the next series of events !!!

Here are some of the results !!!

The IT Pro Tiki Hut Springboard Tour planning started in January 2009 for spring time delivery. The 10-stops tour covered Huntsville, Atlanta, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Charlotte, Ft Lauderdale, Pensacola, Orlando and Tampa. I worked with 13 different MVP’s and Influential’s throughout the tour and evangelized to over 937 people in 10 cities. Event scores range well over 8.5 in most areas. Blog hits for my blog reached 13,839 hits for all Tiki blog postings.

I had a blast! Nice work in the community everyone!

Blain

Windows 7 Beta to Expire and other information regarding Windows 7 RC

blainbar — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:33:00 GMT

“Still on the Windows 7 Beta,? You need to move to the RC and fast. Starting July 1^st, the Beta will start to reboot every 2 hrs and expire Aug 1^st.

Want to download the RC? . The RC download program closes August 15th. After that, you won’t be able to get the download, but you can still install the RC and get a key if you need one. (To get a key, just go to the Downloads page and follow the instructions.)

If you’re using the Windows 7 Release Candidate, we hope you like what you see. Let us know -- go to http://input.microsoft.com and tell us what you think. You’ll be able to give feedback on various aspects of the operating system.”

Mahalo to those that presented at this last weeks IT Pro Tiki Tour!!

blainbar — Tue, 26 May 2009 23:34:00 GMT

We start back up this week with Ft Lauderdale this Thursday 5/28 and then Pensacola 6/1, Orlando 6/2 and the finale in Tampa 6/4!

Reston , VA (Wash D.C.) 5/19/09

Attendees = 71 (68 evals received)

We had great participation from MVP’s Rhonda Layfield, James Chong, and Lead Oz Ozugurluz and all the help we got from “OZ’s Crew” !

Great work. Pictures of the event and the prize winners !

Prize Winners for Reston, VA!

Many thanks to the MVP’s for presenting!

Below, “Getting All Crazy!”

Charlotte, NC 5/21/09

Attendees = 100 (92 evals received)

Great delivery once again by Rhonda Layfield, what the deployment options from

Windows XP to Windows Vista to Windows 7. Majority are leaning toward Windows 7.

Prize Winners for Charlotte, (Far right, Top row) Rhonda,

(Bottom row) Yung Chou, Dave Sanders and myself.

Blain Barton

Senior IT Pro Evangelist - TechNet

IT Pro TIKI Tour to bring in the Spring - ROCKS the House!

blainbar — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 04:25:00 GMT

Huntsville, AL – 4/20/09 (Madison AL)

Attendees = 103

Overall - these events went very well, with 103 attendees and great presentations from MVP Chris Rue!

Scores looked good and the timing of the sessions went well. When asking the questions about who uses Windows XP or Vista,

Majority went to Windows XP. Most are thinking of skipping Vista and going right to Windows 7.

Tiki Hut Members – Blain Barton, Sujata Devraj and MVP Chris Rue

Atlanta, GA - 4/23/09

Atendees = 70

This was a great event. Content was well received and John Baker, MVP Gary Olsen, UGSS Contact Paul Hailey and Yung Chou were a great team to work with!

Paul Hailey attending as well. We have a couple of new User Groups to form out of this meeting.

The picture below is of the team members and giveaway winners for Atlanta !!!

Windows 7 Ultimate Beta is included in your Technet Subscription- 15% Off Subscription - Use Code TMSAM01

blainbar — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 15:33:00 GMT

Want to evaluate the Windows 7 Beta?

Subscribe to TechNet Plus and evaluate Windows 7 Beta at your own pace without feature or time limits. In addition, to help with your evaluation experience you’ll also receive access to the TechNet knowledgebase library, prioritized online forum support, online chat assistance, elearning, support incidents for problem solution support and other resources and tools.

An annual subscription to TechNet Plus is just $349 USD.

Visit www.microsoft.com/technetplus and enter my promo code TMSAM01 to get $52 off the regular price.

New IT Pro Managers Hub! Check out these resources!

blainbar — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 16:11:00 GMT

IT Manager Community Talks coming up – Virtualization and BI

Kevin Remde and his colleagues at IT Management Community are doing a series of chat sessions they call “talks”. Find out how Microsoft products and technologies address your issues, and engage with your peers to share best practices. These chats are a great opportunity to have your questions answered, hear from your peers and members of the guest panels. Here are the details for the next couple of talks.

IT Manager Community Talk with Kevin - Virtualization (Level 100) 4/9/2009 11:00 AM

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032409138&Culture=en-US

Join a discussion with your peers to kick off the Community Talk series addressing Virtualization Solutions and answering your questions to demystify virtualization, simplify your understanding of the technology and its purpose today and discuss the ways in which Microsoft can help jumpstart your efforts.

IT Manager Community Talk with Kevin - Business Intelligence (Level 100) 4/20/2009 11:00 AM

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032409141&Culture=en-US

Get involved with your peers in the new Community Chat addressing Business Intelligence (BI) and answering your questions to demystify BI Solutions, simplify your understanding of the technology and discuss the ways in which Microsoft can help jumpstart your efforts.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/itmanagement/default.aspx

This IT Pro Manager's Community hub aims to help IT Managers plan, influence and grow in their career, hence it fosters a “dialogue” through improving access to the Microsoft resources, providing better MS platform planning guidance and supporting peer connection around the profession of IT Management.

Check it out!

Max Trinidad Gets Microsoft IT Pro Momentum Win! Nice Job!

blainbar — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 14:59:00 GMT

Upgrading to Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008

Max has been a part of the IT Pro Momentum Program for a year now and have submitted some great beta product projects. Here is just one of them.

Max states "After acquiring our new Windows Server 2008 w/Hyper-V we needed a tool to manage both Hyper-V’s and Virtual Server’s 2005. With our recent integration of PowerShell into our infrastructure make more sense to upgrade our System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) 2005 to 2008. PowerShell has become an effective tool to built automation solutions in our network, systems, and even our business applications."

Want to be a member of the Microsoft IT Pro Momentum Program?

Send me an email from this blog!

IT Pro Momentum Overview

IT Pro Momentum is a Microsoft Early Adopter Program for IT Professionals who bet on the newest technologies to drive business value for their companies and advance their career.

Through IT Pro Momentum, you will be able to:

Discover and evaluate the newest MS technologies
Pilot and deploy MS beta products
Access MS Beta Product Support
Connect with an international community of IT Pros through Momentum forums
Share your experience adopting a new technology with the IT Pro community worldwide
Work with beta products like Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 7 and IE8 betas

Program Benefits

IT Pro Momentum will support your early adoption project with the following technical resources:

Get Started

Want to know how to get started with IT Pro Momentum? Just follow the steps below: Profile your project

Click on My Projects and provide details about your project (description, technologies involved, phase, etc.).

Find content & training

Search for technical content and trainings and learn more about the technologies you are interested in.

Pilot beta products

Use you TechNet subscription to have access to beta bits and pilot the newest MS products (*).

Get help & support

Open support requests for beta products through the portal and participate in the Momentum forums (**).

Share your experience

When your project is completed, let your MS contact know. He or she may be able to help you share your experience with the world (blogs, events, TechNet, etc.).

Should you have any feedback or questions just send a message to itpromfb@microsoft.com.

(*) In order to activate your TechNet subscription you must have at least one project at the Plan Phase. TechNet subscription is offered free of charge for 1 year.

(**) In order to activate beta support you must have at least one project at the Pilot Phase.

Interview with James Chong (Exchange MVP) on TechNet Edge

blainbar — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 20:16:00 GMT

I had a wonderful interview with James Chong at the TechDays Event in Washington D.C.

Check it out on EDGE:

http://edge.technet.com/

My 15 Year Celebration with Microsoft

blainbar — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 18:44:00 GMT

Microsoft has and continues to be one of the best companies to work for.

In 1988, I started with Microsoft and saw the first Windows product come off the assembly line. That day made history and now, there are computers in almost everything we do. On the desk at home and in the office, in the car, in appliances, in whatever gadet we use. Computers have changed the way we communicate and live. It amazes me. and thank you Microsoft.

It is now 20 years later. I have seen some of those changes in the world, in fact, I have lived through some of those big global impact changes, like email and office productivity tools.

This last Tuesday Oct 22nd, I had the priviledge of going to Seattle for my 15 year anniverary dinner. There at the dinner were almost 360 plus 15 years veterans and their dinner dates.

Brad Smith (Legal) and Lisa Brummel (HR) discussed changes that took place 15 years earlier. He are some things that happen back in 1993 (I left MSFT in 1993 and went back in 1998, so my magic bridge start date is 1993).

Waco Tragedy
The ATF raids the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas and a seige results. The seige lasts for several weeks until a fire breaks out (I have heard some reports that the Davidians themselves started it and some reports that the Federal agents started it) killing most of the cult members including leader David Koresh and several children.

Israel and PLO Sign Peace Accord
PLO leader Yasir Arafat and Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin shoke hands in Washington D.C., September 13, 1993 adter 45 years of fighting.

NAFTA ratified
North American Free Trade Agreement, it eliminated trade tariffs between Mexico, the US, and Canada. The biggest fears were that jobs would go south to Mexico, and that the environment would suffer.

Czechoslovakia splits
The Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic were formed in the split.

Legal euthanasia in the Netherlands

Paid public admission to Buckingham Palace

Explosion at the World Trade Center in New York
February 26, Muslim funamentalists tried to destroy the World Trade Center, killing five people and trapping tens of thousands of office workers in the tower. In March, four men connected with Egyptian sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman were convicted and sentanced to 240 years.

Abortion doctor killed by fanatic
An antiabortion protester shot Dr. David Gunn in Pensacola, Floria outside his abortion clinic in March. 17 months later, his sucessor was also shot.

Michael Jordon retires
After his father was killed, and allegations of gambling, Michael Jordon retires to play minor league baseball. 17 months later he returns to basketball.

European Treaty ratified in October

Iraq is bombed again
Refusal by Iraq to obey a no-fly zone over it's country, and to dismantle plants capable of nuclear weapon production led to bombing of military and industrial sites.

The Lorena Bobbatt Trial
Lorena Bobbatt, who claimed to be a battered wife at the time, was given a suspended sentence for amputating her husband's penis. Lorena, who was on trial for felonious assault, claimed to have no memory of the event in question? About six months after the trial they divorced.

New Kids Call It Quits.
Summer 1993: After much speculation the Boston quintet New Kids on the Block finally called it quits after 7 years together and 6 albums. The boys decided that they were too burned out to continue with touring and persued interests in other lines of work which include solo singing careers, acting, real-estate and music producing.

The Final Episode Of Cheers.
After many years and many Daytime Emmys, Cheers finally closed its doors in March of 1993. Ted Danson, Sam Mallone, ended the series with final scene in which he said "WE'RE CLOSED!"

Warships To Haiti
U.S. President Bill Clinton sends 6 American warships to enforce United Nations trade sanctions against the military-led regime in Haiti.

World Trade Center Is Bombed
Suspected terrorists drove a car bomb into the basement of the World Trade center in New York. 8 years late, September 11 takes place.

Pablo Escobar is shot down in Columbia
In 1993, after many years of rage and terrior Pablo is killed in a Columbian apartment by Columbian and American police and military

Hubble Fixed
Dec. 1993--Hubble telescope mirror flaw fixed and clear pictures from outer space received.

Prince Changes His Name
The singer Prince, changes his name to his signature symbol to avoid an unknown legal problem. Shortly after he changed it back.

MOD Hacking Gang Busted
Around 1993, a hacking gang named MOD was put to an end. They were a group of teenagers that loved technology, and stole passwords to different phone systems to learn more. Some of the most well-known members were Mark Abene, John Lee, Eli Ladopoulos, Paul, and Julio.

Andre the Giant Dies
andre the giant died

Snow Releases Informer
Recording artist Snow releases the #1 hit Informer further poularizing the pop-reggae form of music.

Black Hawk Down
On October 3rd, 1993, US raid on somolia, in which 18 soldiers and two black helicopters were lost in a succesfull attempt to capture somolian leader.

Cheers Call It Quits
In the year of 1993 cheers finally take a time to call it quits.

New York Rangers win the Stanley Cup
The New York Rangers won the Stanley Cup.

Power Rangers Begins
On August 28th, viewers from all over North America were glued to their seats as five teenagers in muliticoloured tights fought to defend the universe from the evil Rita Repulsa. Created by Haim Saban, the popular children's programme is now in its thirteenth season.

CIA Massacre
January 25. A pakistani immigrant armed with an AK47 opens fire on a convoy of cars filled with CIA employees. 2 were killed, 3 others were injured. The incident occured 1 month before the WTC bombing making it one of the 1st acts of Islamic terrorism on U.S soil.

Jurassic Park
One of the hit movies in the 90's was made in 1993, Jurassic Park. (1 Of 3 Movies)

Nancy Drew Books
As of 1993, Nancy Drew book sales reached 80 million copies and were printed in 14 languages.

Welcome to my Blog!

blainbar — Sun, 06 Feb 2005 18:27:00 GMT

Microsoft Contact(s):

Name: Blain Barton

E-mail: blainbar@microsoft.com

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

· 16 years at Microsoft including Worldwide OEM System Engineering and heading up the Visual Basic Support Team. Founder of the “Microsoft Campus Connection” program in 2005 to start educating our young people on today’s technologies for tomorrow’s world.

· Lifetime # of event speaking engagements from the last 10 years equals about 800+ “live” events

· Awards received from the TechNet MSAM Team include :

- Top Presenter FY02, S2

- Top Presenter FY03, S1

- Top Presenter FY03, S2

- Top Presenter FY04, S1

- Realizing Your Potential, FY04, Q3

- Top Presenter FY05, S1

- Realizing Your Potential, FY06, Q1

PERSONAL www.facebook.com

- What do you like most about your work / being an IT Pro?

What I love most about being an IT Pro is educating and enlightening the folks that attend my events. To see them lighten up when I talk about the new technologies that is being presented, it brings me satisfaction in my role. I like to talk face-to-face with our customers and work with them towards finding problems and solutions.

- What's been your toughest / most interesting challenge to date?

The most challenging thing about my position is having to know all of the Microsoft Technologies both breath and depth. To work amongst the finest, smartest people here at Microsoft, it is still hard to admit you know “everything”. There’s a lot of knowledge out there and being honest to customers and working through their issues is the best solution. To close, stomaching the box lunches after the events, takes it all.

- Alternate dream career?

My alternate or ideal dream career would be to build a recording studio (music label) and organic berry farm! I really want help promote young artists and help them fulfill their dreams and get their music out into the public. I’m also interested in build an organic berry farm, with Raspberries, Strawberries, Huckleberries and others here in Florida. The last thing is that I have pondered on is writing a book about my life which I have started to write.

- Role model?

Believe it or not… it’s Bill Gates. He had an idea, so do I. He has a patent, so do I. He has a plan, so do I.

He has the drive and ambition, so do I. He has millions and I do not. Ever since getting hired in 1989, I have watch Bill succeed in his building of Microsoft and wonder if this could happen for me and my ideas in the future?

- What traits / quirks / personal passions do you bring to your role as a Presenter?

Well, I’m known as the wig guy. I use humor and informal control at my events. I get the audience involved in the presentation and use them to do demos and help me with events. I love the crowds and they seems to work with me to make our event an interesting learning experience.

- What's one thing most people don't know about you?

I play the drums and have taught downhill snow-skiing for 13 years on a professional level in Washington State. I also worked as an apprentice during my summers in college for my father’s Heating and Air Conditioning company.