Tomorrow marks the official start of TechEd Australia 2012, Microsoft’s annual IT pro and developer get-together on the Gold Coast. At the 2011 event, some of the things I learned included how to keep the peace between developers and IT managers, how Harvey Norman uses Azure and when it makes sense to pursue perfection. This time around, I have an even more ambitious agenda
The fact that Windows 8 is due on October 26 for consumers and is already available for business users, as is Windows Server 2012, means that there’s lots of new information to be absorbed. While I’ve been playing with Windows 8 on the desktop for months, I’m still expecting to pick up extra ideas on how it can be used, especially in a business context. The change of interface and the increased emphasis on cloud features across the Windows range also creates fresh possibilities. I’ll get my first in-depth hands-on with Windows 8 RT and the Office RT client, which should be fascinating. I’m a long-term Office user and am very curious about how that experience translates to the forthcoming Surface range of tablets.
I’m also very excited by the fact that we have our three guest bloggers coming along to cover TechEd 2012 for us, with a particular focus on Windows Server 2012. These three gentlemen — David Klemke, Terry Lynch and Craig Naumann– all have very different expertise and experience to me, so I’m looking forward to the diversity of coverage we’ll see as a result. We also have additional reporters and videographers working for Lifehacker, so if there’s something worth knowing, we’ll pass it on. Meanwhile, all our regular content will continue; it’s going to be one of the busiest weeks on Lifehacker in recent memory.
Anything else you think I should be investigating at TechEd 2012? Tell me in the comments.
Disclosure: Angus Kidman is attending TechEd 2012 as a guest of Microsoft.