I previously presented my impressions from TechEd 2006 - Europe. Both technical but mostly non-technical info. So now I feel that I need to explain how this experience has helped me or will help me in the future.

Well, the the most important thing about TechEd is that it is one place where people meet to find out about new Microsoft technologies and improvements. The first thing is that this is an OFF LINE meeting. That’s right, and it is a very important aspect. A few days ago I went to a RONUA (ROmanian .Net User Association Group) meeting. It was related with TechEd, but what I want to point is that Aurelian, the RONUA coordinator, highlighted the fact that off line meetings are extremely important. And I fully agree! Physical interaction can help you to better understand a subject or see it from a different perspective . It can’t compare with online interaction or isolation.

So why exactly is it so important or helpful? Hmm… I’ll tell you from my perspective.
As you probably know, I went with Todi, the Microsoft Academic Program Manager and 6 other Microsoft Student Partners. Although I’ve met all of them before, during these 4 days I got to know each one of them:
- Tudy Damian - Sys Admin & Web Developer, with passion for Astrology, leader of the most important Romanian guild from Guild Wars
- Mihai Tataran - former Team Lead in UPT, following a Master and founder of startup HPC Consulting
- Sorin Damian - Team Lead in UAIC, my Nemesis in computer games and a guy who appreciates fine cars
- Lucian Baciu - Team Lead in TUIASI, an art and nature lover and passionate with engineering
- Alex Ghiondea - former Team Lead UPB, art lover, an explorer, a pro
- Alex Savu - Team Lead ASE, knows what he wants, takes photos of what he likes
- Todi - the man behind all this
Besides these modest descriptions, I got to know what they like and what they don’t, what they do and want to do in the future, we developed a friendship and I know that in the future I’ll be able to get help from them and help them if they need to. All this in 4 days.
Next, during the conference I met a lot of new Developers, both Romanian and other, as you know from my previous posts.

Going back to TechEd and the conference aspect, this is the real stuff! You get to see and meet people that design the future. You can actually see them in action both at presentation or at the Ask the Experts booth. I got to talk with one of the Speakers about PowerShell and even now I regret that I didn’t attend his presentation. Presentations… There are 10+ presentations that go in parallel so there’s no time to loose. The only downside is that you have to carefully select which one is most important for you. But this won’t be a problem, because al attendees receive their own DVDs with all the presentations. I can’t wait to get mine!

(Read more…)

Today is the National Day of Romania. So, happy National Day to all Romanian folks!

I also found these beautiful youtube clips via Cristian Maier

You don’t know Romania? Take a look at some nice pictures and hear the beautiful sound of Gheorghe Zamfir:

LATER EDIT: embedded clips don’t work any more, here are the links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwGHFW33dHc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzcuBbztn-0

If you like sightseeing the wild countryside, find unique landscapes and natural wonders, visit historical places with traditional craftsmanship and many other things, visit Romania. You’ll like it!