Yearly Archive
for: ‘2008’

Digital WPC – watch it Live!

Posted Jul 3 2008 by in Conferences with 1 Comment

I don’t know how many of you are aware of Digital WPC…

Digital WPC will be the landing page for the official Microsoft internet video content specifically from the Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) next week.  Quite a bit of content is going to be available – both live and on demand.  It’ll be long form video – but will definitely give a good flavor of what Microsoft sees as the important technologies for partners to focus on for the coming year.  If you’re not attending – I’d recommend having a cup of coffee (or two) and watching some video…  I would definitely watch the keynote on Tuesday, July 8th at 8:30am CDT (Live!) – great theatre and a great overview of new technologies.  I expect to hear a lot about Software plus Services this year.  We’ll see if I’m correct.  And I’m hoping for a repeat of the monkey dance!

VARvid!

https://partner.microsoft.com/global/40058548

Blogging Tools

Posted Jul 2 2008 by in Tech Tools/Gadgets with 0 Comments

I’ve been thinking about starting a personal blog for a few years but never quite executed on it.  So many of my peers from my Peer Group (HTG3) are blogging now that I’ve finally been shamed into it…  As I do, I (over?) researched tools and technologies to use for this endeavor.  After doing quite a bit of reading about different blogging platforms and tools, and creating accounts on several, I chose Typepad as my platform because of its history and how well it interoperates with other tools like Flickr and YouTube.  I’m a big believer in using domain names to make yourself “findable” so I registered varvid.com and used the typepad tools to assign the domain to varvid.typepad.com.

The point of this Blog is to talk about Video in Business – specifically for Microsoft Partners – so I needed easy ways to integrate video in – the biggest is YouTube of course – and I also created an account on soapbox.msn.com.  Both seem to work well.  I tend to take more photos than video – so I also got an account on Flickr for sharing photos.  Finally I lined up Mike Simmons with Voodufx to make this blog look good.  I think he did a fantastic job, even down to the favicon he built so if you bookmark the blog you get the cool "v" in your Favorites.  Outstanding job Mike!

Just as I was finalizing the design with him (over the course of last week) my family and I started our trip to Cando.  I realized that although I had a Sprint card for my laptop, I would likely have large portions of my trip with no data coverage. I was certainly correct about that!  So I started researching offline blog creation tools.  The best tool I found was Windows Live Writer – a free tool from Microsoft that allows you to post to a large number of blog hosting sites (like Blogger, Typepad, WordPress, Live Spaces, and even SharePoint!).  I’m writing this entry using Windows Live Writer (as I have all but my first post).  It has worked great – lets me post when I get access to a cell tower…  It’s a very robust tool, highly recommended!

VARvid!

Speaking about WPC tomorrow.

Posted Jul 2 2008 by in Conferences with 2 Comments

Stuart Crawford from Small Business IT Radio asked me and several other Microsoft partners to speak on “Tips for preparing for the Worldwide Partner Conference” on Thursday, July 3rd, at 9am (PST).  This is Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) – and biggest Partner event of the year.  It’s an incredible event, attended by over 10,000 partners – with keynotes from the likes of Steve Ballmer and other Microsoft Executives.  There are also hundreds and hundreds of sessions on various Microsoft Technologies and lots of structured networking opportunities.  Please do come listen in and ask questions on Thursday.  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/smb

If you aren’t attending WPC this year – please be aware that I will be doing video blogging (in partnership with Pat Dolan and Al Bias from TCC Technologies) from WPC.  It won’t be as effective as attending in person, but it will give you a great overview of what we think are important technologies and trends to pay attention to.  Those Video Blog entries will be embedded here at http://www.varvid.com starting Monday, July 7th!

What: Tips to Succeed at WPC
When: Thursday, July 3, 2008 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM
Where: Small Business IT Radio

VARvid!

Final Day of Driving over.

Posted Jul 1 2008 by in Travel with 0 Comments

I’m pretty burned out but super glad to be home.  Yesterday we drove 13 hours to Butte, and then today we had just over 12 hours of driving (almost all of it on I90 from Butte to our home in Bellingham.  A few stats – we averaged 24-25mpg in the Honda Odyssey (it has the “Eco” feature that turns off 3 cylinders when cruising), during our 1522.5 miles these past two days.  There were vast sections of North Dakota and Montana where we were in cruise control, locked in at 82mph.  Most expensive gas we saw was in Washington State today – $4.49 for regular unleaded.  Wierdest thing to me was that Super is cheaper than Regular in North Dakota!  Super has 10% Ethanol so it’s cheaper… (took me a bit of reading the gas pump to figure that one out)

All in all, it was worth the time, expense, and hassle.  I got to meet (Kelly’s Mother) Virginia’s family – good german stock.  (The Eggl’s)  And Augustus and I got to go on a Farm Tour with Kelly’s Uncle Jocky Haus – and see his 10 quarters of Soybeans, Flax, and Wheat.  It’s amazingly machinery intensive now to Farm – and it was fun for me to recall my Agricultural Economics classes from UC Davis in college.  (They didn’t have a Business degree for Undergraduates – so we studied Managerial and Agricultural Economics – that’s why I have a BS in Ag Econ).  One of the best parts of getting that degree was taking Tractor Driving as a 1 credit elective (Saturday mornings at 8am).  That 20 year old memory came flooding back – as my son got to climb up on a big John Deere tractor and pretend to drive it.

We also had a spectacular fireworks show and bonfire on Saturday night – out on the farm where Virginia was raised.  That was my favorite food of North Dakota – Brats and Smores from the campfire.  The hot dishes we had at the Armory for three days got a bit tiring for this Northwesterner – though we did have GREAT pies there.  Now I need to work off all that food…  Most of all though, Kelly got to reconnect with her family and our kids had a ball playing with cousins galore – and had an incredible adventure.

Our kids were amazingly good despite this video of Dorothy – over 50 hours of driving in a weeks time – and although there was some crying and yelling (“unbuckle me” was sung a few times too) it could have been far, far worse.  I remember making big road trips growing up, but we didn’t wear seatbelts then – and us kids roamed all over the Station Wagon – playing grab-ass is what my Dad called it.  It’s a far different experience when they’re trapped in place, even if we have DVD’s for them to watch.  No fun!

Good to be home, now lots of work to do before flying to Texas on Saturday for WPC.  I’ll be webcasting our HTG All Peer Group meeting on Sunday (with TCC doing the camera work) and then working with Pat Dolan and Al Bias all next week doing video blogging at the Worldwide Partner Conference in Houston.  Come back to VARvid frequently next week as we’ll be posting new videos at least twice a day during WPC.

VARvid!

Early to Rise (Early to Bed didn’t happen, sadly)

Posted Jun 30 2008 by in Family with 0 Comments

Click_Here_to_See_Our_Route!

Getting back on the road quite early this morning for the drive home.  We are on Pat Crotty time – so that means ON THE ROAD at 4am – then drive all day with breaks for gas/bathrooms. (we have food packed in the cooler for drivetime dining).  So…  Although we have 1521 miles to drive – we’ll be home by tomorrow night.  Today, we’ll drive 842 miles to Butte, Montana.  Tomorrow we’ll push it the rest of the way home to Bellingham.  Our kids are the smallest of the bunch – so this travel style is pretty rough on them, despite the drugs (portable DVD players we bought for the trip) we’re giving them.  Augustus is 3yo and Dorothy is 9 months.  Dorothy has always been a great car traveler, but the drive to North Dakota kind of ruined that wonderful trait.  She’s sleeping now of course, but I fear that when she wakes up that we’ll be hearing about it…VARvid!

Eggl Family Reunion = Masterful Organization

Posted Jun 29 2008 by in Family with 0 Comments

Eileen Clark Eggl's 95th Birthday - 5 generations of Eggls!I was noticing how some of the hallmarks of good family reunions are the same as the hallmarks of good business on this trip.  The Eggl sisters had all the meals and chores organized down to the “t".  We all had chores assigned via email before we arrived – and we had a schedule of events.  The food was a little Midwest bland for me, but there was plenty of it and it was hot and on time for Dinner and Supper on each of the three days of the reunion.  When you consider that 150 folks were being served at once, it was an impressive achievement to keep the trains running on time – several times a day.  (plus afternoon coffee with more food/desserts).  I’m afraid I gained about 10 pounds. :-( VARvid!

Submit a video for WPC

Posted Jun 25 2008 by in Conferences with 0 Comments

Here’s a great opportunity for Microsoft Partners!

Submit a video at: http://www.wpcvideos.com

It may be featured at the Worldwide Partner Conference…

Deadline is July 2nd, 2008 – so get cracking.  Below is a sample of a type of video (interview style) that could be submitted.

Video submission requirements:

  1. Showcase a technology your company has developed or delivered.
  2. Provide a brief introduction to your company or an individual from your company.
  3. Include interviews and screen captures (You can use screen-capture software available at no charge from Microsoft Office Labs).
  4. Ensure video is less than 100 megabytes, less than five minutes, and in .wmv format.
  5. Limit post-production editing, similar to what you would see on MSN Video Soapbox user videos. The unpolished videos can be serious, informative, or fun, based on the personality and culture of your organization. But all videos submitted should demonstrate innovation in a transparent environment.
  6. Submit by July 2, 2008.


Video: Extended Results Sample Video for Microsoft Worldwide Partner ConferenceVARvid!

On the Slab!

Posted Jun 24 2008 by in Travel with 0 Comments

P1010285 Greetings from I90 in Idaho.  Kelly is driving and I have my Sprint AirCard so I’m blogging at 74mph.  Kind of nice to catch up on a few emails while zooming along.  It’s been a very busy few weeks – working on a video for the Windows Home Server team with Al Bias from TCC Tech – losing most of a week to that project. 

Then just starting to hit the email a week ago on Monday, and then my mom got really sick.  Have you ever heard of Meniere’s disease?  It has caused temporary deafness and horrible vertigo for my mother.  (The doctors actually call it labyrinthitis instead of vertigo – because it feels like the world is spinning around you.)  A nasty business.  Mom ended up getting really sick and lost so much fluid she had to be admitted to the hospital for some IV’s for a few days.  Mom is 71 but acts like she’s in her 50’s – and looks it.  So it’s been tough.  Mom is doing much better now – and my brother Noah is keeping an eye on her, so we’re off for Cando, ND for almost a week.

Kelly’s mom’s mom is turning 95, and the family is having a family reunion (150 confirmed attendees). So 17 of us are caravanning from the Puget Sound to Cando.  Kelly is commenting that it’s probably the largest economic event to hit Cando in 25 years – the Eggl Family reunion!  I’m really looking forward to arriving – it’s a lot of road time.  Tonight we’ll be staying in Great Falls, MT.  Some new country for me…VARvid!

Speaking at SMB Summit in Dallas

Posted Jun 23 2008 by in Conferences with 0 Comments

I was honored to speak at SMB Summit this year.  Microsoft asked me to speak on messaging in Small Business Server 2008 (Microsoft asked us to do pre-release testing of SBS 2008 with our client, The Bellingham/Whatcom Chamber of Commerce – we’re one of only 11 Microsoft Partners in the World to be so honored).  I also spoke on how Windows Home Server can help back up important client PC’s in a Workgroup OR a Domain environment.  Below is a video of me speaking with Aanal Bhatt from the Windows Essential Business Server team – about 1:30 in.

VARvid!

Hello World!

Posted Jun 22 2008 by in Family with 1 Comment

Welcome to my Blog – generally focused on business video for the Value Added Reseller (VAR), but it’ll also include my thoughts about my business and my life.  My business is a big part of my life – so they are all intertwined here.  Below – my son is doing some running last spring (2007).  Seemed like a good illustration of life – running in circles at times, but having fun and learning new things along the way.

VARvid!

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