We are giving away 50 copies of Windows 7 Ultimate to the first 50 Get On the Bus event attendees through the door at every stop, plus some chances at some other great SWAG.

What is the Get On The Bus Tour? Well, it’s where Microsoft comes to you, and we are coming to the East Coast May 21-June 4. Come spend some time with us as we dive deep into Windows 7 and Office 2010, along with a specific path on how to get certified. Learn why Windows 7 has received rave reviews from IT organizations and why so many IT Pros are excited about Office 2010. We will show you best practices for deploying Windows 7 and how to keep it running efficiently after deployment. We will also take a tour through all of the Office 2010 features from an IT Professional’s point of view.

Registration is free but limited at http://thebustour.com. For the latest updates follow us on Twitter @thebustour.

More to come,

Mitch

Subscribe to the TechNet Flash newsletter

The TechNet Wiki is a great way to find content authored by the community and Microsoft, and the Azure Survival Guide—one of many survival guides on the TechNet Wiki—has a wealth of technical resources on using the Windows Azure platform and deploying applications to the cloud.

More to come,

Mitch

Subscribe to the TechNet Flash newsletter

You can now evaluate Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM) 2010, the new backup & recovery solution for unified data protection for Windows servers and clients. Register for the trial download and get access to technical resources—such as forums, solution accelerators, white papers and webcasts to aid in your evaluation.

Likewise, the System Center Essentials 2010 trial download is available along with resources from the experts to aid with your evaluation. System Center Essentials 2010 provides IT professionals in midsized organizations a unified physical and virtual IT management experience, enabling you to better secure, update, monitor, and troubleshoot from a single console.

Read more about the RTMs in Jason Buffington’s “All Backed Up” blog

More to come,

Mitch

Subscribe to the TechNet Flash newsletter

Microsoft today announced the release of SQL Server 2008 R2 to manufacturing. You can expect availability in early May through Microsoft's distribution channels. To get jump on all the SQL Server 2008 R2 enhancements, check out the SQL Server 2008 R2 Digital Tour.

Here’s some additional resources:

• SQL Server 2008 R2 Tweetup Video Montage

• Download the SQL Server 2008 R2 Guide

• Download the free SQL Server 2008 R2 e-book

• Download the SQL Server 2008 R2 Resource Kit

More to come,

Mitch

Subscribe to the TechNet Flash newsletter

April 29, 2010, 9:00 AM Pacific Time

The virtual roundtable “The Last Mile: Pilot and Deploy Windows 7” will cover the process of planning, testing, assessing and rolling out Windows 7 in an enterprise organization. Mark Russinovich will be joined by a panel of IT professionals who are currently in the piloting and deployment process, along with Microsoft subject matter experts who can speak in depth about the technologies. 

The event will be broadcast live over the Web, and will be available for on-demand viewing following the broadcast. The discussion will be open and candid, with the panel sharing insights, dispelling myths and getting down to the real story around technical adoption of Windows technologies. Specific topics will include the role of the pilot and the critical information it provides, best practices and tips & tricks for ensuring a successful effort, tools and technologies that will help automate the pilot and deployment processes, and conducting a frank post-pilot assessment. 

During the event, Mark will field questions coming in via the web from viewers across the globe.  Questions can also be submitted in advance to vrtable@microsoft.com.

More to come,

Mitch

Subscribe to the TechNet Flash newsletter